Fun in Florida

family, Travel
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This pretty much sums up our trip.  Lots and lots of balcony time.

Sometimes while painting.

Sometimes with wine.

Sometimes together, other moments relaxed there with a book, napping, or just telling stories and giggling with nieces.

We had a nice kitchen, so were able to eat in when we wanted, but went to all of our favorite restaurants too.

The food was great!

The company even better!

We did get out a bit to shop, and enjoyed a day in the old school side of Tarpon Springs.

We had lots of beach time too.  Once a dolphin swam up within a few feet of Shelli.

We were also treated to a night of self care with facials and foot-cials, plus under eye patches.  Most nights we watched movies, one night we told fortunes.

It was super laid back.  I kept saying that our “job was Beach” and that was Kenough.

A Woodland Wedding

celebrations, family
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My week in Florida ended, but my vacation did not.

Sissy and I attended Bobbie’s granddaughter’s wedding in Indiana the next day.

It was a joyful event, so much happiness and love.

The day couldn’t be more perfect, nor the location.


I’d grown up near it, but had never even known that park existed.  So the day after the celebration, some nieces and I explored the trails.

We might have also goofed around with some of the remaining decor before helping pack it all up for the bride and groom.

Not living in the same state as my family means that I’ve missed out on too many special occasions, haven’t been able to watch the babies grow up, or be a part of get togethers.

Which meant that being there for this was an emotional night.  I was already verklempt from happy tears, then I was wiped out when I saw bouquets with sterling charms featuring Bobbie’s fingerprints.

Ack, there I go, I’m teary again just looking at this picture!

Sights like Hannah dreamingly watching her brand new husband as he had his mother/son dance, made me cry too.  It didn’t help that my seat was facing a sweet memorial table with a framed photo of Bobbie looking directly at me.  I’d glance at the picture, thinking about how proud my sister would be of her kids and I’d lose it.

Tears are even more contagious than yawns, so I infected the table with them and we were a soggy mess.  I kept telling myself not to do it, but I was a time bomb, ready to explode with tears at each and every endearing moment, then causing a chain reaction among my tablemates.

My time in Pendleton was much too short, but was jam packed.  I got to visit with the family who didn’t go to Florida, see my beautiful grand dog, Ryder, go with Sissy to eat our favorite lunch (at the hospital we spent so much time in while Bobbie Sue was ill), walk in the woods, visit friends from school, then plan another big get together with the nieces next year at the beach, and mostly just be happy to be there with them all.

At the Elms

friends
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A special friend having a birthday.

So we made slightly impulsive, sorta expensive, but worth every penny, reservation at the Elms Spa in Excelsior Springs.

We treated ourselves to an afternoon in the Grotto, then relaxed with tea in the spa lounge, where they had a heart shaped piece of wood on the wall.  My kind of place.

It’s an historical hotel, with gorgeous details throughout. And ghosts!  We took a ghost tour and learned about the spirits haunting different rooms.  My buddy even heard a ghostly party in the rooms above her overnight.

 I was jealous.

After our refreshenings at the spa, we got dressed up and went out to dinner.  Since I’d just had a facial, I wasn’t going to mess it up with makeup.  But I did put on nice clothes, which is a big deal for me that late at night.  8pm is way past jammy time for this old gal.

I even wore fancy shoes.  It is very unlike me to be out and on the town at night, and even more bizarre to not be in my spongy, sift, Oofo sandals.  These babies even had a bit of a heel.

Yep, it was a fancy excursion and a wonderful getaway.

Around the cottage lately

cottage, dogs, Sugarwings
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In the month that I was blog-less, things puttered along as usual around the cottage.  Our chickie babies have grown up and started laying eggs.  Some are cuddlers, some are not, most are pretty friendly.  We have one that grew up kinda dumb, one that is skittish, those 2 are typically problems when it’s time to be rounded up.  But over all, I’m quite smitten with the other 20 or so birds and love to take them treats.

Speaking of treats, Molly had a birthday and Sugarwings made her a special pumpkin, yogurt, chicken cake to celebrate.

She was gifted a new toy that she shared.  Sorta.  You can tell by her face that she’d rather have it to herself.

Sugarwings had wisdom teeth pulled, and slept on the sofa a few days to be babied by Grams.  Dorothy helped me keep an eye on the patient.

So did Bones MaGee.  She cheerfully sat nearby Sugarwings during the convalescence.

My eagle sketches were included in a local show.

This one was used to make buttons and postcards to give away.

We took a tour of Monarch Watch at KU to see where Sugarwings interns as a caterpillar pooper scooper. ( Among other jobs there.)

Sugarwings, my buddy, and right hand man, and I went to see the sunflowers in their glory.

The never ending fields of rolling hills in bloom are just breathtaking.

Not so glorious?  We spotted a leak in our ceiling, which of course meant a bigger leak in the roof.

Oh well, houses get old, fall apart and need fixed, right?  It would hypocritical of me to not appreciate aging things, I do work as an antique dealer, after all.  And our mall just celebrated a birthday, with a special evening event and extra day of sales.

So, yep, business as usual during my last month.  I make things, hang with the Grandfairy, chill with Rich, the hens, and dogs.  The house falls apart, we put it back together.  And look around for the pretty things in life to enjoy.

Holiday paintings in my booth

antiques/junking, Good JuJu, Hand painted, hand painted signs, holiday decor
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While I’ve been away from my blog, I’ve still been in the habit of snapping pics of what I’m working on.  And as usual, my main focus has been my booth at Good Juju, in the Old West Bottoms of KC.

I’m over the moon excited about my November sale’s holiday theme and wanted a noticeable way to sell ornies.  Especially after seeing just how many were being brought into the mall by other dealers.

Wow, Juju must have the highest concentration of Shiny Brites in the Midwest.   If you’re looking to add some vintage glory to your tree, uhm,  I think I know what direction to point you in.


On the rear wall of the booth, my banner is flipped over to the Christmas Cottage side. It was a quick transformation from Haunted Cottage.  The pulley system for hanging it made it simple to lower, turn over and hang back up.  I did it by myself in a flash.

Well, maybe not like a lightening flash of speed.  The canvas is 6×8’ and sorta unwieldy.   It isn’t heavy, but a little stiff and bulky.

 And big.

 I waited until I had all of my leftover Halloween goods packed out of the way and the center of the space was open and clear, then tussled with it a bit.   But the pulley process itself was super easy.

Another painted holiday touch is a couple of reindeer I prettied up with pink, white, and glitter.

Earlier this summer, I’d found a set of deer and a sleigh at a garage sale.  I sold three of the cuties with the sleigh and saved back two for my decor.  I kept the ones in the worst condition and gave them a makeover.  They were rather holy, I’m thinking from years of repairs, hanging, and stapling lights to them.  I patched holes with calking and changed the look from traditional to cottage chic with paint.

Since the glitter was sprinkled over Elmers Glue, they aren’t exactly good for yard art now.  The adhesive for the vintage millinery blooms on their sparkly heads and the old ribbon was water based too.  But after 50-60 years of living out in the elements every December, I think these gals deserved a break from pulling a sleigh in bad weather.   They can be house deer now.

Or booth deer, I guess.  I’m rather fond of them and would not be upset to give them a holiday home in my breezeway after our last day of sales, if no one else claims them.

Hey, thanks again for still reading after the kerfuffle of blog switching.  I’ll have more antique mall pics coming plus all the other stuff I’ve been making in the last few weeks.  See you around?

A new, no maybe a continuation, of my journey

Uncategorized
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To quote Frosty the Snowman when he awakens every time someone pops a magical hat onto his head- “Happy Birthday!”

I feel like this is a brand new start for me after 19 years of this blog, we have a new address and hosting site, a little bit of a new look too.  It hasn’t been a smooth (nor a cheap) transition for me, but I think this unexpected expense and the time to relearn how to post is worth it.

I had lots of help, but am still on a learning curve.   Hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things with new stories soon.  Thanks for your patience in following along!

Creepy clowns, cutesy ghosts, and more

Good JuJu, Halloween treats, Hand painted
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My booth is ready for guests next weekend at Good Juju’s First Friday weekend.
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There is a full display of Halloween inspired paintings hat I made on our Florida trip in July.

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If they go over well, I have lots of ideas for Christmas paintings too.  And I’ve been setting aside old book pages that will coordinate with the themes.

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This scary clown might be my fave.

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Although the way it is displayed doesn’t really show it off.

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I have a clown shelf on this rack, and I’m thinking of a little redo before the sale.

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Haha!  I think I just said that I was all set up and ready for our weekend, didn’t I?

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There is always room for a little tweak or add in!

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It’s four more days till our sale, so I think I’ll zip into KC today and do a mini shuffle.  I found some more clowns at a flea market and they are “dying” to be a part of my creepy set up.

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Hand painted seasonal banners for Good Juju

cottage, Good JuJu, holiday decor, parties
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The banners are hung!

Yes, multiple banners!  The original one in this photo stays where it is, right behind the new ones that are hung on a pulley system so they can be lowered and switched.

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 For now, it’s Haunted Cottage for September and October First Fridays.

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Painted onto the backside of the Haunted Cottage is a Christmas Cottage.

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 All I have to do is roll it down with the simple pulleys, flip it over and haul it back up.

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It’s tempting to paint a whole slew of these canvases and switch them up continuously.   This Halloween/xmas one will do me til January, and I can go right back to my original one if I want to.  That would be the practical thing to do…………….

 

 

 

Surprise!

Food and Drink, friends
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My good buddy, Jen, had a birthday surprise party planned by another great pal, Shanna.  She came up with the idea of making a donut tower and adding flags consisting of pictures of Jen’s artwork on picks to hold the treats in place.

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Shan rents studio space at a venue that allows members to make use of a communal area when needed (we meet up there for a weekly mosaic club). 

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The room is already filled with tables and chairs, plus there is bright colored art all around.  We brought in vintage tablecloths and banners to hang.  And I’d just redone my booth at Good Juju for Halloween, so I’d packed up all the paper roses and white wisteria that I’d used in it previously.  
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 I brought two bags full of flowers to spread around the room adding a rosy splash color.

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The meal was scrumptious, you gotta love a pitch in dinner.  They remind me of the annual family reunions we had in southern Indiana.  Everyone goes all out to make that one, special dish to share, so you get the best of the best recipes, right?

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Well, sometimes.  I’m afraid my contribution was a bit simple.  But the dip did include fresh tomatoes from our garden and was in a pretty compote.

The birthday girl was properly surprised (she thought she was running an errand for the Art Guild, then going out to dinner), the meal everyone shared was great, I got to see people I hadn’t talked to in ages, and we had a blast decorating together before guests arrived.  It could not have been a better evening. 

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An Augtober Birthday

family, Food and Drink, Halloween treats, Sugarwings, We're having a party
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Welcome to Augtober!
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I have been neck deep in Halloween decor getting ready for September’s First Friday weekend at Good Juju.
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So when Sugarwings’ birthday rolled around, I was already full on Fall in August.   And that kid loves spooky season, they keep their Nightmare Before Christmas tree up in the bedroom all year.

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It was a natural progression to turn the birthday party into a Summerween bash with themed foods.  Including a dirt and worms buffet.

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The birthday celebrant spent all week using a silicone mold to make chocolates, enough clear ice cubes for  water glasses, and plenty of fruity ones for our signature mocktail of the evening.

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Plus drawing faces on the outside of the cups, filling them with layered ice creams, wrapping and freezing them so they’d be ready to serve for guests.

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We dined on Monster Mac n Cheese.

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Watermelon shaped with cookie cutters.
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With crescent wrapped mummy dogs as the main dish at a fancy, sit down, adult dinner party with some friends. 
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Oh, and a Jack-o-lantern spewing out guacamole.

Why is Jack green instead of orange?  At Summerween, you carve watermelons instead of pumpkins.
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I was prepared to buy six small melons for us to cut up as a party activity, then we discovered that Walmart carries foam ones.  With pink insides!

I’m sure the hens were disappointed to not get a ton of extra fruit, watermelons are their fave.   But this way, we got keepers that could go home as party favors with the guests.  And the foam punk-melons didn’t attract fruit flies like the real ones do.

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After dessert, the kids, well, not kids, maybe young adults? Had a scary movie marathon and sleep over in the office/den upstairs which Sugarwings had decorated with tissue paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling.

Watching my Grandfairy turn 19 was a mix of emotions, but after seeing this get together, I knew that no matter how old, this person will keep their fun loving, silly side and always be my adventure buddy.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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