makin' it look old...

old bead board retrieved from the basement of building...

i couldn't have made it look more random and aged if i'd tried...

a little muriatic acid on new tin does the trick!

after hours and hours of grubbin' around in the basement for old lumber, scrubbing off 100 years of dirt and grime, the front of the store is finally complete.  well almost, the front doors patiently await their 'lipstick'...a nice coat of barn red paint.  we ran across an old door with several men's names and dates from the 20's-30's.  just for fun, i looked one up on ancestry.com and found his occupation to be, what else...a miner.  oh, if these walls could talk!

What a find!

while showing my mom one of the old houses we bought in victor, i decided to pull up some nasty carpet in what i was sure was the original kitchen.  i couldn't believe my eyes!  not only is this old linoleum in pristine condition, it's all my favorite colors!  this house was not at the top of our list to start working on, but finding this amazing flooring has just moved it up a notch or two!

2 vehicles, 2 trailers, 2 grandkids

his...

hers...

on the road, finally!   after 6 weeks of packing, loading and reloading we leave IN bright and early on a friday morning...one kid per vehicle.  no problems until the iowa border when i had a blowout on my trailer.  i was bringing up the rear so by the time i got the fish tailing trailer under control, pulled over and cell phone retrieved to call hubby, he was miles down the road.   then it was several more miles before he came to an exit to turn his rig around.  thankfully we had a spare tire and in less than an hour were back on the road. (i lead the way after that).  what was normally a 9.5 hour trip to our first stop took 13 hours.  we rested up for a couple of days before the last day of driving that stretched into a 16 hr drive thru 105 temps in KS.  after colorado springs, we could barely go 20 mph with the loads we were pulling and 10-15 when we got up in the mountains.  but we arrived safely at 8 pm and were all glad to bail out and delcare we are HOME!



spring has sprung...

fall has fell, summer's here and it's hotter than

an oven...and a steamy one at that!  that little diddy kept running thru my head after i found all these springs.  i think it's one of those childhood memories of when us kids thought we were ever so clever...or maybe it's the distant memory of getting my mouth washed out, not sure which.  for someone who is in love with all things wire, this was a great find.  some will hang from my Christmas tree for ornament extenders, some will serve as photo holders and some will just make me happy to look at and imagine what i can do with them.  in the meantime, the old wooden silverware holder is just perfect to keep them corralled. 

yesterday we removed the lettering from our box truck of the former owner's business.  it's no longer 'ye olde speedy delivery'.  we haven't thought of a proper name yet to rechristen it, but the wheels are turning.  and, litterally, the wheels will be turning in 13 days as we leave IN and head to CO.  i'm nervous, excited, scared, overwhelmed and focused.  all these feelings wrapped up in a 5'2" stature that will hopefully hold together through the loading and long drive.  i keep thinking about what's waiting on the other end and it keeps me plugging away.  mountain air, no humidity, a renovation project...yes...definitely worth it all!

drool, slobber, hyperventilate...

another great day for yard sales!  i stumbled across one of those rare sales where you're thinking 'pinch me, i must be dreaming'!  this time i loaded up with a vintage mannequin, vintage dress form, old bicycle, stack bookcases, antique child's cupboard and a whole set of sofa slipcovers and cushion covers in the above vintage bark cloth fabric.  they are in absolutely pristine condition.  i've already carefully taken them apart.  the ruffles will become valances in my new store and the balance of the fabric will be fashioned into upcycled purses.  and...again... i had that guilty twinge when i started cutting them up.  but...again...consoled myself that i didn't have a sofa that they would fit on.  then, i reminded myself that my real passion is in transforming something from it's former life into a new and useful thing of beauty.  aaahh...life is good!

the countdown is on, in a little less than 3 weeks, we'll be pulling out with our moving caravan.  just when i think i'm making headway on the the packing, i hit another yard sale and it's back to lowe's for more boxes.  my husband will either have to tether my vehicle to his for the drive to CO, or else put blinders on me so i won't see all the yard sales between here and there!



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!

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.'

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.



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.





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.