Monday, August 29

Market Monday and MY series of unfortunate events...

well... umm... it is indeed MANIC Monday.
Mine involved avalanches, bruises, shattered McCoys, and a broken camera.  How about yours?
In the end... I DID deliver several items to the booth, that goal met at least, grin!
You can go to my Market Blog if you would like to see more photos...

Saturday, August 27

Yesterday... and some resulting thoughts

Yesterday... I was sick.  And truth is today I don't feel much better, but I have resolved to try and ignore it.  If I ignore it, it'll just go away.  Right?!  That's my game plan anyway.  My optimism is lacking though.

Yesterday... I had planned a trip to the lake to go boating.  I did not get to go.  Whimper.  Shawn was a super dad and still took all the kids and they had a blast.

Yesterday... I found this little note under by bedroom door from Ty.  He was sad I could not join them on the boat.  He is so good at writing me notes... I sure love him!
 Yesterday... I got tired of being inside, so I sat on the front porch.  I counted 7, SEVEN, of these green guys/gals on our front porch.  And everyone of them was nicely suction cupped to a porch column with half opened eyes... lazy day.
 Yesterday... I strolled the woods outside our kitchen window and gathered these itsy bitsy pinecones.  I'm not sure what type of pinetree drops these little cones, but I love them!  I have the kids out today gathering our larger cones from around our silo.  They sure were whiney about it... the kids... not the pinecones!
 Yesterday... my sweetheart was very soft and patient with me.  He even drove to the next town to pick up two very HUGE cement urns I found on craigslist.  I hoped they would be large, the seller had them in storage and could not give me exact measurement... and I was not disappointed.  And was so glad that I wasn't the one that had to heave-hoooo them into the back of the truck and bring them home.  Thank you Shawn... ps, I love you tons!

Yesterday... I visited our coop.  Well, actually, Savannah told me she was 'socializing' the 3 remaining chicks with the old hens and I had to go take a look.  This process can be volatile... the pecking order is alive and well in our chicken coop!
 ...thankfully though, an old hen has 'adopted' the 3 chicks and is mothering them.  This has kept the other hens from feeling the need to harass them the normal amount. 
 Yesterday... I decided to go ahead and name the 3 lone survivors.  These are 'top hatter' chickens and I can't help but think of BIG 80s hair when I see them.  We think two are males because of the size of their 'hats'... and one lone female.
We'll call this guy... Ozzy. 
 And this fella is... Bowie.
And this little beauty is... Lauper
Oh how I loved me some Cyndi back in the day.  Truth is I loved her best in combo red and yellow hair, grin.
Yesterday... evening, Shawn and Christian gathered with friends for a 'friendly' game of Settlers
of Catan.  AND Chrisitan did not win.  I state this because Christian is the most frustrating person to play board games with because the boy never loses.  But alas... he met his match(es).  And I am glad to report that my boy is a good sport about losing... no moping, whining, or tantrums were reported.

Last night, not sure I can actually call it 'night', I crawled into bed at 5:45pm.  I was thinking I would take some meds and catch up on blog reading... while I waited to fall alseep.  I did not even stay awake long enough to fully boot up the computer.  Nope.  I don't remember a thing.  Literally head hit the pillow and lids slammed shut.

This morning I have been thinking on some words of wisdom:

"Sometimes we get so worn out with being useful, that we get useless."

"People who cannot find time for recreation, are obliged - sooner or later - to find time to be sick."

"Time wasted is not always a waste of time."

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards."  
Spanish Proverb

And so I grimace thinking how absolutely 'packed' my September calendar is... and that month has not even begun.  I've got to edit somehow.  Else I fear I shall find myself 'useless' again ;)  Balance sure is not a way of life that I have mastered as of yet...



Thursday, August 25

Sisters, Inc

Every Thursday, us Mayfield gals gather together to hang out and let the kiddos play.
Sometimes we are productive, like creating a photo wall in Alisha's living room, or doing a service project of some sort... but often we just enjoy each others company.
Over the summer we had a field trip to the Train Depot.
 I had never been here.  It was a burning hot day... so we were thankful that there were fun indoor activities too.
 Mayfield cousins are never short on goofiness... the dress-up clothes were a big hit!
 I do not have a regular 'slot' in the rotation, since I can not make it every week during the school year... due to homeschooling.  So I love to have Sisters,Inc here at the farm when I can during the summer months.
 We always serve lunch... and can I just tell ya, we can put out a spread!  Depending on what hostess is in charge... we have mexican, hotdogs, homemade pizzas, sandwiches, etc. 
 Ty sure loves the summer Sisters, Inc the best because the older cousins are there too.  But truth be told, when we attend throughout the year Ty quite enjoys the 'rockstar' status with the younger cousins too... he has his own little groupies!
Today, Ty and I should be at Cari's for SI, whimper.  I am not feeling well so we had to miss.  So at least I could post these pics and grin.

Monday, August 22

Market Monday

I went toe to toe drawer, this week, with the most stubborn piece of furniture I have ever worked on.  I was thrilled and relieved with the end results.  Whew.  I was reduced to name calling and fit throwing but all is forgotten... the final piece is wonderful!  Please go to my Market Blog... here... if you want to see some of the items delivered to my booth today!

Saturday, August 20

I am THAT lady...

Most Friday and Saturday mornings, you will find me out shopping Estate and Garage Sales.  First and foremost, honestly, and selfishly... I want to find treasures for ME!  Yep!
But now I have the added fun twist of finding items for my booth too... so I truly don't whine when the alarm clock goes off at 5:30 am on the weekends.

So yesterday morning I was having tons of fun, out and about.  Finding several things for my own personal uses and collections.  I stopped at one particular sale and spotted this little round ottoman. 
 I am looking for a small round ottoman to use in my entry.  I examined it.  Put it down.  Shopped around... then came back to it.  Meanwhile, the garage sale 'hostess', an adorable old woman, kept giggling.  I was the only shopper at that time.  I was a tad unnerved, truthfully.  I put the ottoman down again and the giggling stopped.  I looked at the sale items one more time, making final decisions on what to buy... and I once again picked up the ottoman.  The vinyl was a gorgeous aqua... but too far damaged to patch in any way.  So then I thought... a cute aqua linen slipcover would give this little 'gal' new life.  
Sold for ONE whole dollar. 
The old woman, again giggling at me, screamed into the house for her husband, Job, and told him to come on out and bring the camera.  I was ready at this point to drop my 'loot' and just leave, unsettled to say the very least.  So Job came out of the front door with camera in hand and said, "You have got to be kidding me!"  I stood smiling awkwardly at them both... ready to bolt.  Then the woman reached out and tapped my arm (probably because she saw the weird expression on my face) and explained....
'the day before, her husband and two daughter were helping her sort and price items for the garage sale.  When she asked their opinions on what to price the little aqua ottoman... the hubby and daughters were all in agreement that it was too far gone and that she should just throw it in the garbage.  The woman disagreed.  She felt it was worth at least something!  That was when the husband stated that there was not one lady in the whole city crazy enough to pay one CENT for the ottoman.  And the daughters chimed in and said... if there was a lady crazy enough to pay money for the ottoman, then they wanted their dad to take a picture of her!'
And there you have it... yep... I was the crazy lady!  And yes, for documentation purposes... I indeed stood there holding my cute aqua ottoman smiling for the camera.  Knowing full well that the whole family was going to be enjoying a huge laugh at my expense... but it is all in good fun.
And I stick to my instincts that this ottoman is going to be cute, CUTE, when I get done with it.  But the joke may be on me in the end because it is a tad small for the space I wanted it for, but if so, off to the booth it will go and I am convinced someone beside 'the crazy lady' will love it dearly, snicker!

Beside the Twilight Zone feeling experience with the ottoman, I found incredible items throughout the day!  Over 5 years ago, I found these little cobbler shoe forms at an antique store in Destin.  They were not an actual 'pair' but I loved them instantly.
 For several years this little set sat in my entry looking darling.
Then I thought how much they reminded me of Ty, my child that never wants to wear shoes... who if I told him to go grab shoes to wear he deliberately grabbed mismatched shoes to make the point that he did not want to wear them anyway.  These became 'Ty's shoes'.

So somewhat subconsciously I started to keep my eye out for cobbler forms for each member of our family. 

 Two years ago I found these... they reminded me of Savannah.  Perfect match.  Neatly strung together, higher on the ankles... because even when she was little she preferred little boots.  Not surprised now that she prefers to wear cowboy boots to flip flops.
 About 6 months after that I found these.  Christian's forms.  They too are strung together with a cord.  I used to have to tie Christian's shoes together by the laces when we took them off else somehow one shoe would be under the couch and the other in his closet?!?  Oh to have the time back we spent trying to find both of Christian's shoes when he was young.  Before I started tying the laces together when they were taken off.
 This Spring when Shawn and I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains for our anniversary... I found this pair.  I had never seen a painted pair of forms.  The white paint instantly made these seem feminine.  Most women shoe forms are very arched so that a high heel could be added later.  But I am a flip flop gal and rarely wear heels.... so I thought these were perfect to represent ME.
 All that to say... yesterday, I found this pair at an Estate Sale.  Shawn's.  They are very different from the other forms but I loved them instantly.  I feared they would be too long to fit on the stair step where I want to display the forms.  But I bought them and they fit perfectly!
 So here 'we' all are.  Ty at the top and in order of age going down.  I love them.  Collection complete!
 A few weeks ago, I confessed to taking the Joy of Cooking Cookbook (pictured on the far right) to my booth only to bring it back home later... I loved it and decided I could not sell it.  Well, yesterday I found another one.  It is a slightly different shade of blue and title font.  Precious!
 Now to my last amazing find of my Friday... the one that made me pull over and text my sister and sil, because I was so beyond happy and had to share.  First... just this past Thursday I was mentioned to Cari and Alisha that there was an old dressform at an antique store that I wanted so bad.  It is called a 'chain link' dressform and so unique.  But the price was HUGE... like $290 HUGE.  I stated that i just wish it would sell so I could quit drooling over something I would never spend that much money on.  Sigh.  

So less than 24 hours later... I am driving home from hitting sales and ready to be home.  It was 10am and that is actually late for me to still be out.  I was driving down a street and saw and Estate Sale sign... stating the sale had begun at 7am and was ending at 11am.  Surely there wasn't anything good left.  But I decided to take a quick peek.  I almost forgot to put my truck in park and pull out the key because I saw 'her' standing on the porch.
 I walked up and did not even attempt casual conversation..."IS IT STILL FOR SALE???!!?"
Yes!  Then the woman started to state all the dress forms imperfections, her broken snaps, her wobbly base, it belonged to her grandmother and had been in the attic since her death.... I do not overstate that I was a tad dizzy at this point.  I was so afraid to ask how much she was selling for.  I knew the price tag of the dressform at the antique store and I was convinced this would be out of my league too.  But I had to ask, bracing myself for the answer.  Funny thing is that I asked and then my ears immediately started to 'buzz'.  Self protection perhaps?  Not hearing the answer I asked again... how much?
$25.
I immediately dug into my purse... paying for her with 5 $5s, and could not get her snatched off that porch fast enough.  I think I left the Estate Lady dumbfounded... not an ounce of haggling, no contemplation, I even forgot to see what else might have been left for sale... I just lifted the form up and put her in the truck.
I sat in the truck only long enough to text my sister and sil about my 'find' and then to let my dizziness pass.  Snort.  And I drove home so pleased with all my treasures.

And I love the form more today then I did yesterday.  I have inspected her many 'faults'.  She has only a single snap intact on the front.  She needs some serious reshaping.  She is wobbly. 
BUT I think a gorgeous 3" thick velvet or satin turquoise sash around her waist would be smashing and then I shall leave her as is.  Perfect!

Tuesday, August 16

A Day Late... and growing pains!

Growing Pains...
I find myself knee deep in 'em!

Go here if you want to see the new items added to the booth today.  And if you feel up to suffering through my break down of 'pains', grin, its all there too.  Thank you!