old doors...

i stumbled across some photos online taken by a photographer in 05 of interesting historical buildings.  to my surprise, two doors of our buildings were included.  

original gardner mercantile, 1899

olympia hotel, 1899

nothing is more exciting to me than chippy paint and historical buildings with great potential!

show and tell...

does this qualify for steam punk?

it's actually what's left of the tire rim of the trailer my husband was pulling behind our motor home to bring the last load of our possessions from IN to CO.  it was 1 am and he had made it as far as co springs and felt a 'rumbling'.  thinking  it was a rough lane, he checked his right mirror and changed lanes.  the rumbling continued, so he checked his left mirror to pull back over and that's when he saw sparks and flames shooting out from under the trailer. 

after getting the rig pulled over, he saw he'd been dragging the trailer on the rim, tire gone, for who knows how long.  the steel belts from the tire had wrapped around the axle.  the jack broke from the weight of the trailer while trying to jack it up to change the tire.  thankfully a good samaritan stopped by with a heftier jack and he was able to get it changed and made it up the mountain, arriving about 4 am.

we're thinking we've used up all of our 'moving' grace.  God has spoken...this is your last move you crazy people!



higher ground cafe...

every now and then, i like to look through the picture files on my computer.  tonight i ran across these pictures from one of our many 'adventures'.  we can only laugh about it now.  it was several years ago and while out looking at a jobsite, we happened to stop in at a little cafe on a lake in 'zimmyville'.  after ordering our breakfast, i got to looking around at all the filth and couldn't/wouldn't eat what i had ordered.  BUT...there was a for sale signed propped against the wall.  i did another take...hey, this place could be cute!  the next day we made an offer on it, accepted...new owners!  that was the first of august and within 4 weeks the place was remodeled and open for business by labor day.  but wait...i don't like to cook!

entrance before...is the mop bucket part of the decor? 

 yea, this is why i couldn't eat  my breakfast.  had this place EVER been health department inspected???

cafe entrance and counter after

here's our son in law, justin, looking way too happy about cleaning the greasy filth off of the fridge after being talked into joining this adventure with us.  ever heard the expression "grin and bear it"?

do these pants make my butt look big?

 akins excavating truck getting filled with unusable furnishings from the cafe. 

grill and vent hood before cleaning.  there's a little drawer on the left where the grease runs in...then you clean it out.  this one was totally packed with congealed grease, barely able to pull it out.  then we took the front of the stove off and i literally had to stick my arm back as far back as i could to pull out huge grease blobs.  cleaning the vent went much faster, i just got some carb cleaner from the shop, stuck my head up in the vent and went after it.  they both turned out spotless.  in fact, they were so clean, i wouldn't let anyone fry anything on the grill.  one morning a man came in wanting fried eggs.  he was promptly told we didn't fry eggs.  he was incredulous, saying, "you have eggs?...you have a grill?...why don't you have fried eggs?"  what was i thinking?

starting the renovations.  this stub wall would be rebuilt as a solid wall to conceal kitchen / prep area

slightly different angle, but this is the rebuilt solid wall

dining area before

dining area after

front dining area before

front dining area after

and now the hoosier cabinet has made it's way to marigold mercantile in victor, co.  still full of amish specialty foods.  wow, what a journey for all of us!

lesson learned?  don't step out of your comfort zone in business...i should've stopped with the renovation!  after lasting a whole 6 weeks, we locked the door and put the building up for sale.  if you're ever in the area of baldwin lake in union, michigan, stop in at george cafe...they like to cook.

a walking tour...

you are here...victor co.  on a recent trip back to IN, i found these letter tiles and had to have them for my store.  they are available at the following website:  http://languageartonline.com/   take a look!  during my open house, they got knocked off the counter and the v came up missing.  so for several days, it was ictor.  then gertrude from the german bakery came in with the v.  she had been standing by the letters when they fell and the v went in her big coat pocket...mystery solved.

as i was walking up the street to the bakery, i had to take a picture of one of my favorite buildings in victor, the fortune club.  just across the street on the other corner is the monarch hotel.  after being empty for several years, it has just sold and i can't wait to see it get the attention it deserves.

i had to add a picture of my mom's felted wool ornaments she makes by hand.  so many little details and wonderful knubby wool fabric.  each one is truly a one of a kind.  now she's working on donkeys and penguins...i'll be anxious to receive a new shipment from her...it's always like Christmas!

check back soon as i'll be posting pictures of our newest, next adventure...our own hotel! 

this girl loves to pose...

meet linnea anderson...my coworker/co junkie.  she couldn't resist posing for the camera at the store grand opening last week.  notice the striking resemblance in stature to the christmas lady in next photo.

i found this cute little artsy piece at a local thrift store and was immediately reminded of linneas photo from the open house. 

and here she is at age 16...posing way back then.  but the interesting thing is her surroundings...a garden of marigolds!  we think it was Providential that we would one day end up 'playing' together at Marigold Mercantile.

aisles are made for dancing...

awe, get a room!  well, with the great music provided by local musician, greg brazill, at the store grand opening, these two just couldn't resist a little two steppin' right in the aisle.  my good friends, kathy and jimmy justice never miss a chance to cut a rug.  jimmy is the caretaker at the most beautiful lake i've ever seen.  bison lake...where i caught my first fish ever, and it was a whopper!  kathy makes pies that are off the chart good, particularly her apple crumb.  she recently made me one that i took home hot, right out of the oven.  there wasn't much left of the crumb topping by the time i got home...and it's only 3 blocks away.

the grand opening went very well.  i'm always more comfortable behind the scene, but somehow thought it might be socially unacceptable for me to go work in the backroom while it was going on.  i love talking to people one on one, but crowds make me nervous...always looking for the closest door to make a quick exit.  it must have something to do with being claustrophobic.  my husband says he's going to quit buying me tickets to events that involve going below ground, as i always bail on him.

my brother and sister in law snapped this picutre in cripple creek of donkeys that have the run of the town.  supposedly they're descendants of original burros from early mining days.  this picture reminds me of something my husband always tells people.  he says i'm a horse and he's a donkey...because a donkey knows when to quit and will sit right down when it's tired, but a horse will run itself right into the ground, not knowing when to stop.  he's right yet again. 

i'm so grateful for the help they gave me getting ready for open house (brother and wife, not the donkey).  particularly when i worked through the night and ended up having to sleep during the day.  someone had to open the store and they both stepped right in and handled it all.  i was so out of it when i woke up that evening that i couldn't figure out what day it was or what they were doing at my house.  seriously gotta cut out those all nighters! 

gold coin club...

after finding myself afoot one morning after fuel pump went out on my vehicle, i decided just to walk to the store...even though my neighbors graciously offered to take me (after all, it's all downhill).  it was a beautiful cold, crisp sunny day.  i always do a double take when i pass by the former Gold Coin Club.  although i haven't researched all it's history, i know it was a 'hopping' place at the turn of the century, providing an upscale gathering place for local miners. even Teddy Roosevelt paid a visit there during the labor wars.   after the decline of the mining industry, it was also used as a hospital.  now privately owned, it is a beautiful reminder of the glory days in victor, co when fortunes were made...and lost...in the search for gold. 

after pondering for weeks what i could use for price tags in the store out of the norm, i was down to the last week before i was to open.  time to start pricing, and no decision on tags yet!  then walking down an aisle of walmart, they they were...a roll of carnival tickets...perfect!  although it made a little more work by way of punching holes and stringing each tag, it was just what i wanted.  then it was a mad dash to get all the store items priced and tagged.  thanks to my mom who came to help for 2 weeks, everything was priced and ready to go on opening day.  what a trooper...82 years old and she can work circles around most young whipper snappers!

here she is showing one of the local women some vintage amish boy hats brought from IN.  the amish jams, salsas and pickles have been a great hit in the store.  check out risenrollbakery.com for a complete list of products.  and if you ever pass through middlebury IN on US 20, look for the big red roof building and stop in for home made donuts and candy crunch.  we call it amish crack...one bite and you're hooked!