Photo shoots...and saying goodbye...

Ki Nassauer of 'Junk Camp fame, dropped by Sister's Garden yesterday to check out the shop...what a hoot...and you thought we were just a nobody lil' ol' shop somewhere in Iowa...sometimes you just have to give out the information...Iowa...the lost continent is found...

In this shot we are saying a fond farewell to the 'to die for' glider, as it will be living in Minnesota with Ki...lucky girl...Barb and Ki clinch the deal...you know Ki, that was supposed to go on my porch...

Now there's a crew of trash pickers if I ever did see one Jane and Sara are partners in crime with Ki, having just raced here after the What Cheer flea market, fun was had by all, as the intrepid junkers oooooed and ahhhhed their way through the shops...full truck and bags they're on the road again...who knows where they'll strike next, long way back to Minnesota!

As Billy Bob rides in the back seat enjoying he/her mint julip...ahhh...life on the trail...hope you got your brakes fixed girls...

Come to Iowa and see the hidden treasures that abound in the serene countryside of the lost continent...IOWA...

Iowa, the new Texas...

Can we talk SUMMER...things that make ya drool...

Can we talk comfort furniture...I had see this glider without it's cushions...and thought what an unusual piece...then when Brent put on the cushions...let the games begin...or rather the drool...this is soooooo me!!!

...and the summer whites never end at Sister's Garden...Barb asked for a fabulous piece for her entry...YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND...is this chest not to die for...could you see this in a bathroom with a fabulous sink basin in it...let your imagination run free...it's summer you know...

...and I just restocked with white, white frames and a wonderful white Madonna, with her crystal rosary...you can't get much more magical than this...right...

...a tiny lil' vanity for the princess in your palace, with wonderful crystal knobs to impress her Royal Highness...

...and last, but not least, a rusty relic of the past...the lowly yard chair...what would our yards be without all the memories they tell of a summer's past...in Iowa...shhhhhh...it's a secret...

SWEET...

I was over at Sue's blog yesterday and she was having a time debating whether to paint or not to paint...well...here's my debate, though I'm not really concerned with this piece, 'cause it just speaks to me 'as is'...a little bit of Bri wax and I think I'll leave it alone, booboo and all. I just love the patina...

...as you can see the booboo is bad, from a drippy flower pot no doubt, but I'll play with it and see what I can come up with and post another pic later...but can't you see a setting focused on the cool red of this old frame and other red accessories...me too...

...lots of white frames n stuff goin' to Sisters'...

...however, this grand dame is staying with me...I love to collect vintage shots of grand old hags...this is a compliment...women of an age where knowledge is supreme...women who have survived and their knowing is taken to heart by the youngers...they hold the knowledge we all seek.

...and lastly I'll keep this photo of a happy couple and their dogs...however, the frame will be going...going...gone...have a wonderful day friends...

A journey...I never tire of...

Come on...I'll race ya...

...down a country highway...a step back in time in my world...why I love driving to Sisters' and Palo...it's a journey in a day that I wouldn't trade for 'all the tea in China'...don't ya just love those ol' timey sayings...

...let's take a moment...remember that 'woosh' of new can of home brew being opened...with that lil' key that you always hoped would never break off in mid-can...but sometimes you had to rewind...I will soon be 60, as a matter of fact, it falls on Labor Day this year...but imagine how lucky my generation of baby-boomers were to have these simple mem'ries...black and white TV, pen pals, diaries...and fresh Folger's coffee...out of tea cups no less...ahhhhh...

...see the bluebirds of happiness in every day of your life...they are there with you always, you just have to notice...

...imagine back in the day, everyone gathering the hay in fields together, singing songs, children playing, blood, sweat and tears of an era long past, but still embraced by a culture that has chosen to live a day in the life...the Amish...

...and of modern giant bales lining a fence row...

I hope you never tire of seeing my beautiful Iowa countryside...down hilly dales and vast green horizons, my quest for a day in the life is a never ending journey...I'll take you along too...if yer not in a hurry...

Bright summer whites...

Yup, we're back at Sister's Garden and Bloom...enjoying the cool summer whites and the fresh country air...that's if the wind is blowing in the right direction...cows...

Sweet country tables and white, white chairs, fill every room, waiting to go to yours...

Time to bring the outside inside and decorate those summer porches with all things country...

Garden rooms are always HOT at Sisters'...we live for the summer and want to feel it and see it all 'round the house...

Don't be shy...come have fun in the country, let our fantasies be yours...Sister's Garden and Bloom...Kalona, Iowa...

Shadow Shot Sunday...An Ordinary Day...

Nothing special awaits here
just an ordinary day where
words are not to be found
as crisp morning mists arise
and greet another
summer song
in an uneventful day...

Maybe another cup of Joe
and a few more rocks
in my new old chair
will somehow croon to my heart's
desire for poetic license
and a mood setting moment
in an ordinary day...

The evening's dragons
now still and humbled
were perfectly timed
as a needed rain quenched
a parched thirst
in withered produce and posies,
just a summer storm...

But beauty spreads
it's sun drenched shawl
all crossed my har'bring soul
as crickets serenade
in harmony with the wren
and the still
of a typical day...made in the shade.


s.wilson





Do you think the weeks are flying by...I think the people in the Midwest tend to mourn the days of summer passing by so quickly...we know what's in our future...WINTER...it's a dragon and we fear it's scorn.

However, just for now, it's Sunday in Australia and we want to play a game...it's Shadow Shot Sunday won't you play too...

Of red hats and a summer morn...

The Red Hat Society girls...you can spot 'em a mile away...matriarchs flaunting their love of life, giggling and joking their way into your heart...free spirits. Some widowed, some divorced, some happily married to the loves of their lives, all women living life to it's fullest...fulfilling a summer's day trip...in high society style...

Mmmmm....corn on the cob and fresh cherry tomatoes...since this portion of the plantation has never been planted and the soil worked over, my ears are quite small...but boy do they scream IOWA...oozing with butter and salt, a fare fit for a queen...and cherry tomaters is about all I will get out of my 6 plants that I planted this year, due to heavy rains and little scorching heat...but not complaining, I love fried green tomaters...I love summer...

A sit in the sun on the porch of our home, my lil' furry heathen will grab any chance to sit with 'Mom' and guard her kingdom from on high...not allowed to wander the tall prairie grass for vermin right now, due to her grass and mold allergies, she is content to sit a spell and enjoy summer's heat till the cows come home...

Those lazy, hazy dayz that we all want to last forever...are limited you know...as fall progresses and we start to squirrel away for the coming cold...enjoy each day, each hour, each minute...a day in the life...till the cows come home...

New friends and connections...

Someone complained on a friends blog the other day about how sick they were of seeing shop pics and people's homes and kids...how sad to awaken every morning to the doubt and confusion in one's mind as to what you wish to complain about in the course of a day...

I enjoy hearing about what Willow had for breakfast and how Charmaine's deck is coming along and walks on the shoreline with Gemma and Theresa's next shopping trip and Deb's lil' Bella's progress and Cathie's gardens and Marnie's roses and Barb's new settings and the 2 Chippys next fling and TOT's next creation...it's all in a day in my world...why would I complain...

I hope this person will see the sun rise in a different shade this morning, as a day in the life is way too short...and a baby doll head is just a head...if you're creeped out, I'm sorry, but don't steal the moment from the ones who care...shut your door and turn off your computer...we have lives to LIVE, however just know that you are loved!

My brand new old chair awaits the sun on a hazy summer morn...this chair faces the East so I can watch the sun start it's day over my lil' piece of paradise, as the birds sing their sonatas to a new day's dawn...in my world...

A young Katydid tries to hide from my peering lens...then scared the crap outta me when it jumped on me...in my world...a simple thing...

...and once again, I never tire of my Iowa country roads and the paths I follow in a day in the life of a woman with a simple plan and the words of a friend...JUST BE...

Thanks for the coffee Robin...

Till next time we meet...

Well, the time worn gypsies are on their way back to Kentucky...booty in tow, they(Theresa) conjures up visions of what her next venture will be...Marburger Farms perhaps...Texas bound in just 6 weeks, Craig has got to empty the truck and prepare each item, as Theresa paints and prices and envisions each setting in her mind...so the stage is set...

Y'all know what that is all about...plan, plan, plan...she'll be posting soon...goodbye friends!!!

Camp Junk...

Well here we are at Camp Junk...after a long day of trash pickin', a couple of beers n burgers and fresh-picked sweet corn from the Chateau's own patch...don't git much better'n this...right...

But a trip to Manley's Antiques was first on our list...isn't this just the most to-die-for pink chest...and the lil' pink fern stand...how SWEET is that...

Love the blues in this sweet country setting...LeeAnn just does the best displays...

Well, today Palo and Sisters'...we're on the right track to Junkville...stay tuned for more high adventures...in Ioway...

...and they're off...the race is on...

Yesterday Barb and Brent from Sister's Garden rambled into the lil' burg of Palo...Barb's first time to the new shop...naturally she was amazed at our abilities to cram stuff into such a small space...like her ability to cram stuff into the back of their convertible...

Well, I'll be delivering the rest of the stuff today...Barb also visited the other new shop in town Griffin's Antiques and grabbed a few goodies in there too...who knew...

Then our intrepid dealers from Kentucky, back from their successful show at Brimfield are here to shop Iowa...eat your hearts out Lauri(Chippys) and Deb n Cat Daddy(Talkin' Trash) we're on a mission...so get outta the way...TOT comin' through...as Craig reloads the truck for the goodies she'll be draggin' in the next two days...eeeeeeee...are we havin' fun yet...

...as another day dawns in good ol' Ioway...the lost continent...

Shadow Shot Sunday... I Remember...

The moon and the stars glow
on the eve of my becoming
bright beings peek
into my dreams
reminding me of another home
what if my Father was Zeus
what if my Mother Athena
what of other worlds
and legacies of mere mortals
what if...
what if we were not
of this terrestrial plane
what if great ships
greeted Aboriginal kind
what if star seeds
were me
and I shared grace with the dolphin
what if...
what if my Mother
what if my Father
came home
would I run away
or would I
remember...


s.wilson


Shadow Shot Sunday is upon us once again...and again I wander to my world of 'what if'...always seeking answers to questions unknown, my mind takes a celestial turn, as I look to the stars on a starry night...or at least on the pattern of moon and stars on top of this old camel back trunk, as the early morning drifts quietly into my room.

Check us out for other terrestrial shadows...Hey, Harriet...you wanna play too...

Yard gone wild...

A butternut squash rambles through the mint untethered by nets and fence...

Ol'timey garden varieties never let me down...just look American don't they...

...gateway to the chateau, a welcoming mix of wild and tame...sorta...

What's left of my garden after the drain field was laid, we'll deal with those issues next year, now that I know what's stayed with me...

...the owl and the pony guard the entry in wildlife fashion, can you imagine a field full of Queen Anne's Lace...me too...next year perhaps...but for now she lines my drive welcoming a traveler 'long side a country lane...

Finally...my Turk's cap lilies have started to bloom, they are at least 6 feet tall...what grand nectar for the hummers...

...even if I don't see a kernel of corn out of my wee patch, tis fine with me...the sweet scent of corn tassels wafts through the air and provides a natural, Iowa born fence to keep out the meanies...I will be pleased...it is a simple thing...

A drive in America...

You know, they say Americans are stuck on themselves...I don't think that is quite true...well maybe, but we have a very short foot print compared to our neighbors and our Native American brothers and sisters.

I just think we have a deep rooted pride in what our nation was built on...we were all refugees at one point in time and have accomplished quite a bit in a very short time frame, whether good or bad...we are here and we love our land...and this new world is beginning to awaken from the long sleep of greed and corruption.

Hopefully some day our Grandchildren will get it all figured out...that we are not just African American or Latin American or German American...we are human beings...all the same with different cultures, but breathing the same air...we share spirit with the past...and pray for a future.

Let's travel back in time...Manley's Antiques...

Where do they get all this neat stuff...it's a road trip baby...we all know all about it...right...so let's take a ride in the country...

See that lil' red SOLD tag...this great piece is going to our lil' friend Cathie for her new studio...lucky girl...lemme know when you want it delivered...









That was fun huh...for the best in the oldies and the settings to make you drool, check out Manley's Antiques, it's always a trip...say hello to Dave and LeeAnn...

WOWZA...where does she get this stuff...

Is this piece not to die for, it's huge...has a marble top to it too and the two pieces that fit on it's top...can you just think of all the stuff you could cram into it and the display...oh my...

...another view of this stunning piece...it is big and full of mystery...what was it used for anyway...

...she who has gifts...Barb certainly has a way of making a simple farm table look divine...can you see it in you home...I can...

...a seashell chandelier sends a tiny tink'ling when the winds catch it's form, adding to the spell of dream time...not to mention the vintage shade that I have been drooling over for days...

I love this lil' corner in the upstairs of Sisters', it's all white and just dreamy...the old wallpaper screen adds to the ol'timey flair...and the stage is set with linen scents, so...DREAM!!!

Of virtual friends...

I have just received the most incredible award from one of the most wonderful people I have never met...yet I feel as if I've known all my life, Gemma of Greyscale Territory.

Gemma and I met online somehow a year or so ago, as we all do in this wonderful blogosphere, but a connection was made that has grown through the days, as we write back and forth across the sea, worlds apart. She's an English teacher from the land down under, Australia and she writes poetry and prose of the land she loves, the Dromana Shores in her Mornington Peninsula.

We walk the sea and talk of the sky and our love of the land and the simple things in life...she is the one who encouraged me to put my words into prose and share with the world the romance and love of an ordinary woman's day in the life.

This award, given by Bonnie Bonsai of Sydney, Australia:Quadrat in Focus, is the Bella Sinclair Award for Art and Inspiration. Such a heartfelt gift is to be given to others with merits you also admire, but without giving it back to my dearest friend Gemma and so many other deserving bloggers, I wish to pass this award on to another dear sister, Robin of One Still Frame.

The daughter of a friend that I met during my website days, she's an artist, a photographer, a loving daughter and mother and wife and has become a most treasured friend, again, whom I've never met, but we share a bond with the love of the land and a true friendship among the sisterhood. We share a cup of coffee daily and are inspired by each others words.

This is for you Robin...thanks for being just you...say hello to Mom...

Thanks Gemma, sweet sister of my soul...

Shadow Shot Sunday...I Slip Away

whilin' away the hours
shelled peas in red rimmed pans
share plates with fried green tomatoes as
sweet tea quenches a summer's burn
the rains pass by
and the sun dries my harvest heart
winds will call the oriole's song
as the soprano dreams of my day slip away
my silent soul sighs
into the night
on the road that I return to again and again
till the end of my days
down graveled paths of kindness and caring
guided by ghosts of mem'ries past
I while away the time
into the hours passed by
I slip away
I slip away
into a sweet view


s.wilson


Can you believe it's the weekend already and we're all back for the shadow shootin'...check out Hey, Harriet for all the wonderful shooters...after all, it's Sunday in Australia!

Through the front door...Sisters Garden and Bloom...

Walking into Sister's Garden always sets the heart a flutter...Barb has the most extraordinary way with a setting, it let's your imagination run wild...

A walk into the front door of Bloom, has the same magical effect...the WOW factor at work...

Farm cupboards everywhere...and birds and blooms...

Maltese crosses and pretty pink posies...

...in the upstairs at Bloom is a corner of a child's dreams, with summer toys and furniture fit for a Princess...

Out the backdoor of Bloom is a shaded patio to cool your spirits and make you dream of that home in the country...I have that bit of paradise...how 'bout you...

Expansion...already...???

Do you remember this lil' shop across the street from our shop...Broomin Sisters, well the owner Cheryl and Lorie and myself have concocted a solution to our dwindling space and her need for more display areas for her yarn product and floral designs...share the space...

How novel you say and with Lorie's decision to move to Palo...soon...it would fill the gap in the hours we are both able to work at the shop. Everyone in this little community is trying their derndest to get this town back to where it was before the flood and with neighbor helping neighbor the task of rebuilding has begun.

A totally different side of the creative energies, as Lorie and I fill Broomin Sisters with a kaleidoscope of interior decor...the possibilities are endless...and the expansion will help me pull the candle/soap business into full force as more room is allotted for candle display.

A thriving candle biz in a growing community near a huge, ever-expanding city like Cedar Rapids, is the catalyst for pulling in local and repeat customers at all times of the year...a steady clientele.

Cheryl's wonderful floral designs and 'Gerty' knitted fashions will expand into the line she always dreamed of for her shop.

...her personal style and our insatiable appetite for trash...I mean neat stuff...er antiques...will pull another dimension into this delightful little shop and Cheryl will have more freedom to design.

Check out Cheryl's web site and read the story of how Broomin' was created and how Lorie and I will fit right into the profile...

Broomin...a feeling, an experience...
Sisters...well, you know the meaning...

Griffin Antiques and Art...Palo, Iowa...

If you enjoy 'folk art', you will love Palos' newest antique shop...Griffin's Antiques and Art. Dave Griffin is also executive director of the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, which is a non-profit after school organization offering a wide variety of classes, such as dance, drama, art, writing and music.

Add his love of primitive folk art and you have a fun shop and studio, Dave fondly calls the shop 'his office'. Altered art made out of seemingly collected pieces of old junk, dot the newly refurbished Palo bank building, also where Dave will hold classes. This building is beautifully restored and is worth the trip to Palo.

David is also having an open house this Saturday, it's something I won't miss, how 'bout you guys...come to Palo!

Just what are glory dayz...

THAR BE BEES.....

All three of these shots are individual bees soaking up the nectar of the coneflowers...I haven't had any bee activity for 3 years...this to me is a glory day, even as the aerial spraying for corn-bore moths continues in the fields around me and the herbicide and pesticides are lavished on the fields through irrigation rigs...life pulls through regardless of our death wishes...


...when a day of shopping goes well...closeups can be seen on the 'White' blog...

...and the Earth wears her fluffy crown of supremacy...all is glory on a country road somewhere in Iowa...

Welcome summer to the country...

White wicker on front porches sends messages clear and sound...
summer's again upon us and all 'round laughter's found...

...while porches and sunrooms spring to life, red geraniums announce to the world...SUMMER...

...harvest tables and church pews long for the dinner bells of summer...buttery sweet corn and ripe red tomatoes drizz'ling down my chin...

...let's catch butterflies and katydids and while away the hours...

...on a powder blue chest of drawers, bouquets of hyacinth await a cooling waft of summer...

...a cascade of yo yos hanging in a summer breeze...

...come on...let's play in the country...Sister's Garden & Bloom...

Shadow Shot Sunday...the fabric of sweet repose......

simple fabrics sewn for a nation
the fabric of freedom
fabric of separation
fabric of determination
the fabric of sweet repose
out of the shadow of tyranny
a simple woman sews my heritage
do you remember
where a Mother's tears were shed
on distant shores
or hallow'd grounds
the new Americas
yes, land of the free
certainly home of the brave
I remember thee
my wish for thee is clear and pure
this freedom of heart
and soul
and country
and faith in a future
shall be spread all 'cross these lands

let freedom ring
from shore to shore
from brother to brother
and soul to soul
all 'cross these hearts
Earth
my home sweet home
on this Independence Day


S.Wilson


As we remember our independence here in the states, let's not forget that freedoms are still only a promise all over this globe, many suffer for the word FREEDOM, something we take for granted here in the USA, but it's meaning grows deep...we are still struggling from tyranny...let us remember what we fight for...freedom for ALL humanity...we are all family...

So head on over to Harriet's house for more shadows...and Happy Freedom USA...

A Granny's pride...sweet dude...

Kids...what are ya gonna do...my daughter Piper and Grandson Jerid...I wonder where they get their foolishness from...

My Grandson is an avid skateboarder, has been since a wee lad. We've been through all the boo boos you go through(should've invested n 'Band-aid' stocks) the cuts , the scrapes, the bruises...even the hollowed fame of being the first broken bone on the newly built skate park in our lil' burg...

But Jerid quit his factory job to do the job of his dreams, working in the newly built Zumiez skateboard shop in the Coralridge Mall in Iowa City...he's in paradise...a huge pay and hour cut...but who knows what may come...and you know, that dream job only comes around once in a life...so why not ride the wave...

My Grandson, the salesman...and like his Mom and Grandmom and Great Grandmom, he's a natural salesman...before you know it you've bought out the store...a new life begins...

IT'S TIGHT...

Transformers...

This lil' smoking stand has been stripped and no finish put back on it...and I like it just the way it is...no more transforming...SWEET!...and on it's way to Palo...

A beautiful focal piece to any one's home, this sweet server/buffet has the cutest lines to it and now it can be see at Sister's Garden, along with the other black set...

See...some may have loved the finish, but the end product is wonderful...as is, the piece would not work in most homes, the top was scared and in dire need of work, so decisions were made...

Cute, but rough, this pair of bedroom end tables can now be used as sofa tables or anything for extra storage...

TA DA...again the black has transformed rough finishes into pieces of designer furniture, brought back from mediocrity to style...going to Sisters'...

Sweet lil' farm chair, I love that the back of the chair has heart carvings in it...how cute is that...a McCoy cream pitcher, an old bird house, a neat old scale and of course, Mary...all heading to Palo this Saturday and yes, I will be open on the 4th...why not!!!

Remember...

Remember my lil' shadow shot picture of my fledgling corn patch...

Well...this is what it looked like after the straight-line winds went through before a nasty thunderstorm a few weeks back...

Well, since my cup is always half full, I diligently went out and stood each stalk back up...now mind you, if this was 300 acres, that wouldn't have happened...but I have never grown corn before. The 'X' always said it takes up too much room...especially when all of his friends and relatives raised sweetcorn that we can go pick anytime...I see his point, BUT...

My patch is more of an ornamental thing, kinda a privacy fence to curb the drone of the 4-lane in my back yard and give me the privacy that I crave until the money comes in to continue building my privacy fence.

But...if I should get a few ears of sweet Iowa corn, I'll be happy as a lark...plus this is the area that was trenched for the septic system, so it will have to be prepped anyway...so hopefully the storms will stay at bay for a while anyway. It's something we are getting used to in the heartland, the ever increasing storms of extreme destruction.

Global warming perhaps....