Sunday, May 29, 2011

let freedom ring...



The Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
 
 

i am gratefully proud of those in my family that have served in defending freedom in our country.   my grandfather in WW1, my father in WWII, my brother in the navy, my uncle in the korean war, my nephew in the iraq war and my husband in the army reserve.  and for all veterans, living and deceased...my heartfelt thank you!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

striking resemblance...


meet my sis...the one on the right with the wine bottle of course...don't know who that other gal is!  the local winery just happened to be right smack dab in the middle of our 'coming and going' on my recent trip to the northwest.  not only does *westport winery* have fantastic wines, but they also have a wonderful little restaurant, plus an exquisite gift shop.  we had to partake in a little of everything.  after finding some fabulous marigold kitchen towels, we just knew it was all meant to be. 

she's the brains of the family.  no matter what tricky bookkeeping problem i present her with, she always gets it straightened out in my books.  i know she cringes though when i call her with news of yet another property purchase, sale or trade...she especially hates the trades!  i redeem myself periodically by descending on her 4 story house to practice my organizational skills.  it's a wonderful home, but 3 flights of stairs almost do me in.  i get my very own room on the 3rd floor.  i'm sure it must've been the maids room at one time, so it's just perfect for this 'all american maid'. 


and speaking of all american...we're both on the band wagon for buying american.  after finding this old fan with wiring too far gone to repair, i decided to just cut the cord off and let it become a work of art...a tribute to a time gone by when made in the u.s.a. was proudly stamped on the majority of household products.  though somewhat tarnished, it still makes a beautiful metal sculpture, sort of reminds me of a flower that has seen it's better day.  even in it's rusty state, it still has that solid feel of real metal, beautiful curves and of course, the inscription that reads 'made in the u.s.a.'

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

in need of rescue...


2 pillows, 2 piles of chicken feathers.  i wonder if the brown feathered chicken layed brown eggs.  well, it didn't take long for them to take flight, just a few gusts of wind and they were gone.  i have to admit that i felt a little guilty as i ripped open the old pillows for love of the pillow ticking fabric.  it made me stop and think of all the time and effort some dear saint must've put into plucking who knows how many chickens to make soft pillows for her family to lay their weary heads on.  but then i consoled myself with the fact that they had served their purpose and would now lend the primitive fabric to an idea that's bouncing around in my head.


why i get so giddy over this type of old fabric, i'll never know.  it's got to be more than just the 'junk' chromosome.  there's some other little quirky chromosome mixed in there, i think it's a 'rescue' chromosome.  ever since i was a kid, i've had a heart to rescue anything and everything.  animals, people, furniture, houses...anything i see potential in.  it really wears me out, but i know i'll never change.

this 'rescue' got me in alot of trouble.  i was helping my sis take a load of trash to the local landfill.  as she was backing up and keeping her eye on the pile behind us so she wouldn't back into it, i was jumping out of the vehicle, headed for the top of the pile where i had spied an old nail keg.  it had all fallen apart, but i was able to save several staves and the great twisted wire that had once held them in place.  then she had the nerve to tell me that i couldn't put that...hmmm, stuff...in her car!  but she caved, after all...i AM the older sister.  for some reason, she snuck out of the house with the next load...didn't even invite me to go along!  i'll have to make something surprisingly cool out of them so she'll have to recant on her opinion.





Sunday, May 15, 2011

this is how we do it...

this is terry and i, starring in our own comic cartoon.  this pretty much describes how we buy properties.  so far we haven't gotten stung too bad, just usually end up with alot more work than we initially think.  but somehow everything always turns out ok.  here's the lineup of houses we've acquired so far in victor, co (all before pictures).  all diamonds in the rough, just waiting for someone to love them.


house number 1.  this is the one that started everything.  we bought it over the internet, sight unseen.  that's about the craziest thing we've ever done, but it turned out great and we just traded it for a commercial building that we'll begin renovations on later this summer.


house number 2.  i found this one on craigslist and convinced terry that it just needed 'lipstick'.  this one is a joint venture with our son and we'll be living here until we finish the building renovation. 


house number 3.  this one really got us excited.  it has all the original trim, hardware and flooring inside, plus original leaded glass window in the front window.  the only thing that's missing is the antique mantle, but hopefully, we'll find a replacement in one of the many surrounding antique stores.  this one is for our daughter. 


house number 4.  now we've gotten more of the family interested in vacation homes in victor.  my brother has called dibs on this one.  i seriously need to stay off the internet home foreclosure sites!


this is the one i really fell in love with.  it will house a new business venture as well as an apartment for us to live.  i love everything about it, even the old broken down windows.  they'll get the broken glass replaced, but windows are staying!  with our plan in place, we proceed with all the strength we can muster up, praying we've not gone astray.

Proverbs 16:1  we can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God's hands.














Friday, May 13, 2011

eight is enough...


i can't believe my good fortune to find 8 vintage canvas shopping baskets, all matching, in their original rack.  another little detail i can check off my 'what am i going to do about this?' list for the mercantile.  so now i have inventory, displays and ideas...just need the building finished.  only 6 more weeks and we'll be on our way!


after wondering how we were going to get what's left of our furniture in IN moved to CO, we decided it might be best just to buy our own truck.  the only problem i see now is that it's looking too small.  it might have been adequate before i bought display racks from a store that was closing.  and then there's all the stuff still at the antique mall and stuff on loan over at the chicago bakery.  this is definitely going to require our finest, most stragic packing ever!  one thing for sure, this will be our last move.  after bouncing around from IN to AZ to CO over the last few years, we're ready to stay put. 





Sunday, May 8, 2011

memories...


my son torry posted this on facebook today for mother's day.  i remember this day vividly. terry had just gotten home from the service and we were celebrating 4th of july down at 'the cabin'.  this was a cabin owned by an aunt and uncle on my grandfather's side.  my siblings and i spent many happy days there as children.  i even planned a scandalous 'running away' with 3 other girls when we were in 3rd grade.  we all felt we were being overworked at home and should run away.  i piped up that i knew the perfect destination...never mind that it was 20 miles away and i didn't know exactly how to get there.  the plans were laid, bags packed with clothes and food and stashed under our beds.  we were to meet at 12:00 midnight at a certain place.  however, only one of us showed up, the rest of us slept right through the appointed time.  the police caught the one 'faithful' runaway and she spilled her guts, at which point they immediately called all the other parents to see where their daughters were.  i remember my parents waking me up (having found my suitcase under the bed), pointing to it and saying "what is this"?  that's right, i remember their exact words.  seems like i was always in trouble for something.  i remember one teacher in the 6th grade calling me the ring leader.  he was right. 

so for this and all the other times i caused my mother grief, dispair and agony, happy mother's day mom.  thank you for not killing me in my prime!