Shadow Shot Sunday-The Three Stooges

Well...no poem today cause these three stooges are on a mission...shoppin' till we droppin'...

Theresa from Time-worn Interiors is on a buying trip, to restock for the Texas shows. Her and the wild and crazy Martha are bunked up at the Pink Chateau, Martha on the couch and Theresa on her cot, which she's having a love affair with...what a blast...a sleep over with the yaya junkin' sisterhood.

They had to corral the girls behind the fence for the shadow, cause they were just havin' too much fun at Sisters'...they'll be leavin' in the mornin', headin' back to Kentucky...but fun was had by all.

So head on over to Hey, Harriet for the rest of the shadows and join in the fun, it's Sunday in Australia...

Things the Queen likes...

A Walk...

The Squirrel...

To drive the truck...

The vermine hunt...

FOOD!!!

A warm butt...

GRAMPY!!!

A bath...WHATEVER!!!

The hose...

A stick...

MOM!!!


Such is the life of a dog...it is good to be Queen!!!

A Birthday...

When your Mommy has a birthday and lives so far away, all you can do is wish her the best and all your love in the best way ever...tell it to the world!

I want to tell her that she is the best Mom ever...a loving, caring Mother who only wanted the best for her kids. She would strive to give us everything she didn't have as a child during the hard times...taking many jobs to make ends meet...all the clothes she sewed for me, all the shopping trips a Mother and a daughter take, all the boyfriends, THE TEENAGE YEARS (argh), the sibling arguments, the pets, the Grandchild(and all the babysitting)...through divorce and marriage, you were always there, though we didn't always agree on everything...you were still there allowing a child to form personality.

I just want to tell the world I have the best Mommy ever...AND I love her with all my heart!!!

I'm still the favorite one, right???

Luv ya Ma...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY...go to the beach for me, will ya...

At the shed...

A boutique...a word I haven't used in a long time, but a sign of the times upon us. Each of us has a particular vision in our burg that demands a certain style and Friends Candle Shed has been in our town for 15 years...10 of it owned by my daughter, as she transformed my old biz 'Friends' into the full service candle shop that it is today.

Two summers ago my daughter lost her husband in a courageous battle with brain cancer. Matt and Piper built the 'Shed' into a fun-loving icon in our historic downtown, one that people from all around the area visited regularly to buy soy candles and have their cleaned out jars refilled at a reduced rate, thus saving them money and lessening the footprint glass jars have on the environment.

Friends Antiques was the vision of me and a dear friend Cathie, This Girls Art, who upon a visit one day to Sisters' Garden, decided we needed to do an antique shop too...so the story begins, but I have to laugh, Cathie is not one to easily part with her favorite things, so being in the antique biz as a seller, was not her forte and she continues to collect her eclectic style today, but that's a whole other post. As her gardens start to flourish this summer, I'll do a post on her wonderful antique filled cottage, you'll love it!

So on we go to what the shed is today, a shop FILLED with neat old stuff and funky new stuff. The antique shops of old are no longer desirable to today's savvy junkin' yaya. A mix of old and new fills the shop and gives it a certain glow to fill many needs...or dreams, with prices more easily managed by young new homemakers...and us old trash-pickers...let the retail therapy begin...SHOP TILL YA DROP!

We love you and miss you Matt!!!

Hello wall...

Stairwell...

Bathroom...

Living room...

Bedroom...

Kitchen...

Ever had one of those Mondays where you are just there...so much to do and so little time...when the walls just suck you in to nowhere??? Well today is one of those days where you say...'hello wall', like in the movie 'Shirley Valentine', my all time favorite movie. This is the movie that was the catalyst for my divorce. A good woman trying to do the right thing, yet trying to become someone that was there all along, but just couldn't quite be...

This is one of those chick flicks that's just a feel good movie...at the end of the movie...just imagine yourself there on the beach drinking that glass of freedom...I did. So now I have all the freedom and not enough time, so I thought I'd give you a glimpse of the walls I talk to on a daily basis...

But today my daughter and I are going to really book out on candles for the shop and rearrange the soaps ta git cha in the mood for those SPRING scents...I said it and it felt good...SPRING!!! Actually the first day of Spring is March 20 and daylight savings time is march 8...OH MY GOD...it's so close, I can almost smell it...SWEET!!!

So tomorrow you'll get to see the new look at the shop and I think a new blog for the Candle Shed is in order...ahhhh Spring...bring it on already!!!

Shadow Shot Sunday...Whisper and Wait...

A Winters' warning

stirs soft, lazy dreams

disturbed white frozen fluff

again harbors a silence

it whispers...wait...

a nights dark howling presence

gathers it's carnival

of wicked unrestrained revelry

while thee sleep

demons gather Mardi Gras

it howls...observe...

do not be fooled

by masked monks

these spring nymphs

masquerade and swoon

follow me...soon...

I will shower thee

with a cache of promise

fresh green garland

petal-strewn hair blown free

sweet song and scent

nourish hope...listen

I follow the wind

I am the prelude

I am unrestrained revelry

I am carnival

the rite of spring.

Funny how things can change in an instant...Mulder thought Spring was upon him, but like we say here in the North...it ain't over till it's over...I won't complain(too loudly) of the 3 inches we got last night, because deluding myself is fruitless, Spring is a month away.

But as March approaches, we know these snows don't last, as warm airs move them in liquid form to the South, to the Gulf.

But for now it's Sunday in Australia, Shadow Shot Sunday is again upon us...our charred neighbors to the South could use a little of this snow and rain, instead we'll send you shadows...in hopes that it will lift some of the sorrows your country feels today...as we here in the states are witnessing early tornadoes, lake effect blizzards, mudslides, ice storms, freezing temps and wildfires in my Florida, river floodings and droughts...have I left anything out...geeeez Louise, what next!!!

Have a wonderful weekend...in spite of the snows(and see above), my bloggy friends!

And more...

It was a cold, damp, bone-chilling day at Sisters' the other day when I went up to deliver more soaps and stuff. I emailed Barb to tell her I was in a rearranging mood and the timing was perfect for her too, as someone finally picked up the heavy Victorian sofa, so a huge space was emptied...well, all of you in the biz know what that means...THE DOMINO EFFECT...

This means that it's time to redo a room, as everything no longer fits where it sits because of the gaping hole in the middle of the room...PLUS...it's time to sweep...argh! But as you well know, this is the uplift every shop needs on a regular time-frame.

I too was busy in the upstairs at Sisters', moving in new pieces and rearranging the old...what a blast and sure it's alotta work, but don't you get in those modes at your own home where you are just sick of the status quot...thought so!

As I was busy dragging stuff around, I could hear Barb and Elaine downstairs, dragging and groaning and sweeping...a well-oiled machine, as the four of us squeezed through the store, a fool on each corner of a butcher block, removing it to a man's truck outside...and who needs aerobics you ask??? And for those of you who've been lucky enough to have been to Sisters', know how easy that chore is...we have a rule...don't move it till ya bump into it!

Have I mentioned that we love our job...this is what makes us tick, a piece moving out the door and new stuff coming in. That's why every time you come up, there is something different...OK...maybe an addiction has something to do with it...but WOW, it's a fun one!

What a crappy day...but...

Little bits of spring are peeking through the halls of Sisters' Garden...as this cute lil' patio set is dotted with bright yellow watering cans and vintage tablecloth. Bee skeps and iron trees are waiting the warm weather to be free in the garden again.

It was a cold...did I say COLD...day today at the stores. Barb and Elaine and I were there again like troopers ready to rearrange and pull in more of the new stuff and to fluff and sweep, cause we know cabin fever is out there in full force.

This new cupboard top just arrived, it's a thin piece, probably used in a barn or shop to hold tools. Made of old pine, it's a perfect porch piece to hold garden stuff, you know...the stuff we put away eons ago, to be replaced by ice scrapers and mittens...ewwww, let's not go there...OK!

I love this cute lil' pine wash stand with porcelain knobs, totally stripped, it is such a cute accent piece and looked wonderful in my house...sigh...but the beautiful old vase on top is just gorgeous, but has a chip on it's rim...it has a mere $6.00 price tag on it...was such a temptation, even with the flaw, it was beautiful! And how cool to set the long vintage mirror on end to add height to the setting...clever girls...

Love this fancy little vanity, with unusual mirror style, topped with the cutest pink ring fingers and a pair of matching gold desk lamps, totally rewired, very cute.

For those of you who've never been to Sisters', the house has the best creaky ol' floor, some areas flux as you traverse, the walls are faded and plaster shows through here and there, ambiance to the max, but new features have been added too, like the front garden room and the bay windows. But they all work so well with the overall look, you'd think they were original to the house...we'll never tell...oops, did I just tell...?

Then this VERY HEAVY buffet, what a beauty with sweet little floral motif on its' middle drawer and the beautiful nymph lamp, also very heavy, is a new addition, topped with a new hand-sewn shade, really gives it a look of elegance. Orange is a popular color this year and new orange candles top the look, as does the vintage purse and shell lamps.

So come on, brave the cold air, we know Spring is just around the corner and a new piece is just what you need for a fix to the last days of Winter...and none too soon!

A Shop of my own...

Isn't this just the cutest storefront...I found this one day surfing the net. A dream yes, but not an impossibility, right. I've resolved myself to the fact that I have too much going on to actually have a shop of my own, so I'm pouring everything into my daughters' shop and Sisters. Trying to do them and one of my own has been trying to say the least.

But, with renewed interest and adjusting to a 'work at home' lifestyle...I think I've got it by George...the best of both worlds! My daughter and I have totally redone her store and many more after hour redoes are in the schedule...SPRING CLEANING...at it's finest. Isn't it funny how things are for us women, give us a little spring weather and we go all goofy on ya. Like nymphs dancing to the tunes of the faun...we tread through our worlds with dust mop and shopping cart, ready to tackle a new day and a new season...men have no clue(unless they're gay...God love um)!

Funny how the season of winter slows everything to a stand-still, while we pour through our old copies of Victoria and Country Living for the inspiration needed to bloom in the spring...our time of freedom from the shackles of winter and the boredom of being stuck at home for months on end...sounds like paradise found...I'm home at last, free...more coffee please...

OK...whatever...I'm a born junker(my Dads' fault)...I feel road trips on the horizon...to wander lustfully in the realms of the Trash Gods...sifting and clambering over hill and dale...honey holes to be explored...big-garbage pick-up...ahhhh...this is the life...show me a piece of treasured trash in the ditch and get the hell out of my way!!!

Ahhhh...SPRING!

DUH...

I was over at Deb's blog 'Talkin Trash' yesterday and she was talking about Carolyn Westbrook's new look on her website and how she is doing a monthly magazine on it.

All of us frustrated by the loss of our favorite magazines...it dawned on me...we are all doing a sort of magazine ourselves in our little blogs. We all have our faves we go to, to get our decorating fixes, we all show shots of our homes, our favorite haunts, our projects, our travels and our furry companions.

So to me, this is the coming of a new era, where magazines, filled with pharmaceutical ads and trash advertising takes up three quarters of the magazine, very frustrating, as the costs sky-rocket, yet we still have our decorating needs, especially when the desire to be inspired is calling our name...YO...I NEED HELP!!!

What a grand scheme and an easy way to show our new product and see what is new on the horizon...yet we've been doing it all along...we are the magazines of the future...AND...it is never ending in this vast virtual world we now live in. I would think our sales reps would really take hold of this new era, just think of the gas miles they would save. They would see your shops online and can tell you up front what your particular shop needs and what is new on the market.

And to think I balked at getting a computer...the shame...