Back From the Flea.. Inspiration and Happy Exhaustion!

Hello Dear Friends~

So many weeks have passed since we visited.

I'm sorry I have been away so long. 

I should know better than to make promises of visits 

and checking in.

I didn't make it to the library one time.

Next time I will declare a time of absence!

Honestly, when I'm traveling, I hardly have time to breathe.

By the time I get home I am literally ready to drop

into a happy heap. 

It's so delightful being held captive by family and friends.

Hugs 

laughter

 stories 

 talks 

movies 

and food.

There are two places where we eat that the 

pies are absolutely

HEAVENLY! 

And hunting for oh so many treasures!

At times I felt like I was over doing the shopping a bit

but I've learned when it's

available, you must dive in and relish

in the opportunities.

I sure hope that all is well with you, Lovelies. 

{{Hugs}}

This refreshing New Mexico rain shower left us

with a beautiful double rainbow.

It looks like that truck is headed straight for the

pot O' gold!

 Drying my anniversary flowers in the motel room.

Crossing the Mississippi is always a huge landmark. We always feel like we've crossed over from the west to the east. 

And actually, St Louis is considered the gateway to the west.

Remember learning about The Louis and Clark

Expedition? Do you love learning 

about the history and people of our land? 

I do.

 Do you keep your hands busy when you're on the road?

When I'm not watching the scenery roll by, I work on cutting out and sewing yo-yos. I love watching 

the pile of these lovely, pleated and 

colorful flowers grow. 

I'm so drawn to these gypsy colors lately! 

 Looking for movie posters at the flea market was fun.

Here are two of our favorite 

hollywood stars together.  

Jean Arthur and Gary Cooper.

We love old movies!

This one would have been perfect but $995

was a bit out of our price range.

But so amazing.

Don't you love the vintage graphics and colors?

It may have been an original movie ad poster because it

was about 8 foot tall!

 The day we went to the flea market, it rained a good part f the

day. But we had such a great time as we met so many good

folks that inspired us with their hard work and dedication.

There so many vendors! One thing we learned and will do next time is to make a once around and make notes 
of those vendors that we'd like to make a stop at.
It was such a wonderful learning experience 
and so much fun!

 And oh my... look who I found.

My heart gets so thrilled when I consider Beatrix Potter

and her story.  Such sweet characters and beautiful

watercolors. What she accomplished in her day was

phenomenal! 

 And guess who came home with me?
 Miss Jemima Puddle Duck.

Doesn't she look like she's

 ready to go out and play in the rain with her
 smart little bonnet and jacket?
So sophisticated. 

Getting ready to load some of our treasures.
Chippy pink spindles. 
Oh my!

A Sugartree sunset and dreamy clouds~

It rained most of the time during our stay.

Back to everyday life which is anything but ordinary!

I'm so excited to slip back into it all..

Every day is a gift.. 

If I think of it that way, I hold the time close

and appreciate it more.

Isn't it just glorious to have some warm summer like days?

I'm so happy to be back safe and to have all those

wonderful memories tucked away in my heart.

What the extra-ordinary in your days?

Thank you for coming by. I'm looking forward to

catching up!

Tamara xo

My First Time Pickin' For Old Doors and Windows

I hope you all have had a good week.

Productive and peaceful. 

Mine has been good. 

I'm looking forward to

the weekend and hoping to gather

several times with our kids and grandkids.

It's been raining so much and we

have been enjoying it.

I've had these pictures for awhile now.

Waiting to share this little story about my

first "Pickin" experience.

It takes a lot of courage for me

to think of approaching

people to ask them about stuff

that's laying in their yard!

But at least I was in friendly territory!

It was in the little town of Antrim, Ohio 

where I grew up. I recently shared some photos about the area, when I was

visiting family and friends.

Now that we have a little get-away there and 

we always drive our 15 passenger van across

country, it provides opportunities

to pick up things for projects to make and sell

and for decor around the house.

While driving through this quaint little,

country town, I spotted a charming, 

old door laying out in a yard.

And, gathering my courage,

I knocked on the door and

asked some questions.

I found that I went to school

with the family that owned

the little house. When his sister

arrived, we talked schooldays for a 

few minutes and she offered to let me

see some other doors in her shed that 

she had tried to give away but

folks never came and picked them up..

At this point, I was very excited!

 Here are some of the doors.. 

They were old cupboard doors

from an original house in Antrim. 

She even knew the family's name. 

And by now, I am super-excited 

because, as many of you know,

 I love connecting with my past! 

Above are the pantry doors.

This door came with a bonus window!

I love those old glass door knobs.

 The other white, paneled door came

  from the same stop. 

Those lovely spindles and pedestal 

were bought at a Nursery down the road for

a very good price.

 And this old door came from 

the old country store called "Rusty's".

 I use to walk the two miles from my home

to this store to buy candy and chips.

It's about 8 feet tall and very heavy!

It now sits on the porch behind a 

little wicker love-seat. 

I just love all that chipping paint!

I asked her how much she would be 

willing to sell them for and she said that

I could have them!

I couldn't believe it. 

And so she and her brother

helped me load them in my van. 

I gave them a little something for their 

help and was on my way.

I was excited to have found some treasures and visited with old school mates!

The next stop was at a childhood

 neighbor of mine.

I had driven past where I knew 

she had lived with her father but 

didn't know if she was still there.

But I had seen some old windows 

leaned against the side of a shed when

I drove by just 

"takin' the backroads."

Well, since you see the windows,

you can guess what happened.

The story was that she now lived there

with her husband and children and

they were doing some re-modeling. 

They had tried to salvage the windows 

because the house had been 

built in the mid-1800s!

Wow

But they couldn't keep the cold,

Ohio, winter winds from creeping into that

two-story farm house and so they had

to be replaced.

They just wanted to get rid of them..

and it was the same story as with the doors.

People had stopped and asked but

no one ever came back to pick them up.

We had a nice long visit and they helped 

me load them up and my daughter and 

I took them back to Sugartree and

unloaded. I felt blessed.

 Here they are after being hosed down.

 Aren't the arched ones just gorgeous?!

Some of the frames are falling apart and I wondered about taking them but am glad I did.

And I'm currently working 

on a little fall project that is made from 

two of the small salvaged pieces.

I'm almost finished with it and 

will be sharing it this next week. 

I did share some of them with my younger

sister and I gave her the glass-paneled door.

It seems the love of old junk 

runs in the family!

It's so rewarding to find these old things and 

love them into something new.

It always makes me sad when old houses

and buildings are torn down and bull-

dozed into large piles and burned!

Wait.. 

the history and memories..

the craftmanship...

Isn't it satisfying to re-claim 

re-use.. re-make.. re-love?

or whatever one wants to call it..
And the treasure-hunting part is fun, too.
I'm looking forward to
doing some more of that!

I'd love to hear any stories that

you have about special pieces 

that you've found

or experiences that you've had.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tamara xo