Laying a nest to rest...

We are so close to Winter now, it sends a chill through my bones...

My lil' pink shack, the porches cleared of artifacts,'cept the
nail keg that holds the sand for the frost covered ramp,
oh yes, and let's not forget the ice and the snow,
it makes traction so much easier.
Boy, that just sent a shiver up my spine!

Gardens are laid to rest, fruitless and flowerless,
dead and dying...so sad to say goodbye!

Autumn on the sand prairie...
Iowa, my home sweet home!

A wild hair...

I was playing around last night with a thought...what if...
I had an old shade frame and some raw burlap fabric, sooooo...

I whipped up a lil' rustic shade...
I wonder what golden hue this fabric will bring to light...
very primitive, yet something about it gives it a more eclectic whim...
I think the new shop will be the perfect place for this lil' gem!

Thufferin thucatash...

Another blue day of rain, rain, rain...isn't this the cutest lil' wind runner...Sylvester...
I just couldn't resist, he had to live at The Pink Chateau!

Perfect don't you think...

This is how close the highway(4-lane) is to my house...ARGH...
The sign on the right is the old Candle Shed sign, which I left up because I knew someday I would have another shop there...heehee...

Ominous clouds form over the horizon, harmless, but FULL of rain.
My lil' piece of paradise starts at this turn-off...full of scrub trees, cedar and elm, but perfect habitat for wildlife, the center is filled with prairie grasses and forbs the wildlife eat, such as partridge pea...my shack is in the middle of all the walnut trees in the middle of the shot, right under the tail of the storm.
It ain't much, but it's my much!

It never hurts to dream, as you can see from this darling cabin in the Catskills'...
My Shabby Streamside Studio
Check out Sandy's blog, girls, you are gonna swoon...I'm not that kinda shabby fufu kinda gal, but this is candy for the eye and gives me food for thought, as my own lil shack is being built.

Check out her blog...and watch the drool!

What I did on my day off...

What do you do with all that tarnished old silver...
well, I just watch it hang around and wait for a breeze to make it sing.

This old pump pulley is fair game...the tinkle of silverware hangin' in the breeze is a pleasant country sound that I just can't get enough of.

BEFORE...

AFTER...
Isn't she just the cutest...first haircut for this Schnorky...
what a face!

I warned you I'd make use of the body parts...
check out 'The Wild Thing' for the rest of the show...
don't be afraid...

Oh yeah, I made a batch of strawberry jam too.
This'll be yummy on toast with coffee on a cold winter's morn.
Just a bit of my day off...
Hope yours was fun!

A day on the road...score...

Twins and funky birdhouse...cool huh!
I couldn't resist this matching set...and I love the stripped finish, they will stay 'AS IS'.
no paint for this set!

Went shopping at The Junk Asylum the other day and got some great buys...
isn't this walnut table beautiful, tighten a few joints and it's ready to role, especially on it's adorable porcelain casters...sweet!

Every time I went up there this lil' vintage baby stroller captivated my eye...isn't it just the cutest...it's metal with a padded interior. Right now it's taking a space at the Candle Shed, but as soon as my garage arrives, it'll be harboring bundles of posies for my open house at
The Pink Chateau.

I can't believe this happened, totally different shops, but I scored the other half of this vanity drawer set...how funny is that...the other one is being displayed up at Sisters Garden...I think I'll take it to it's mate...a reunion of twins...ha!

This is just the cutest lil' table, it's a tall one...
and the back is open for magazines, etc...

Many of my pieces I would normally paint and some I will, however, I'd rather sell these cheaper in an 'as is' state...let you decide.
This is what my shop/garage/studio is all about...
as each new piece comes through it's doors, it's repaired and or painted and put right in the shop section for display, so there will always be pieces in progress on the floor.
Now that's what I call a working studio!

A picked chair from the Salvation Army...is it not 'to die for'...
and looks FABU in my house, it fits right in...argh...I hate it when that happens...oh the decisions...sell...save...
well the Chateau is starting to fill again with new stuff destined for the new digs.

I think I'll also be purging some of my personal stuff too...this Virgo is always seeking change in her domain, my brain is ever moving through the hours of my life and I want to enjoy it all before my next journey begins.

NAMASTE

This is what it's all about...connecting...

A friend from afar reads your blog and connects...
Sheri follows my blog and enjoys, like so many others, the escapades of me and my furry heathen 'Scratchy'...over yonder at the Pink Chateau...

She found this adorable children's book about a troublesome terrier that looks exactly like you know who...

...more than she knows...

OMG...it is Scratchy...!!!

Thank you so much Sheri...sorry for the delay in response, but my daughter just found the package that was misplaced in the move mess...
Your heartfelt response to a blog that spills my life onto the front page for all the world to see, is affirmation that the world listens...
and the yearning for friendship is not just a human trait...
Here's some of my faves of the furry heathen to bring a smile to the face of my friends...

You guys are da bomb!!!

You wanna piece a me...

Pie face...snow face...

Character study...

What's over here I might need to sniff...

This is the life...

My domain...

Ahhh...sunshine...

WHAT...
I didn't do it...

Immerse yourself in you...

I've been moving in a more spiritual direction these days with my samplers, these will go into the new shop...affirmations of spirit and peace and the love of Nature, this is my new mantra for the store.
I've been reading my astrological charts more these days and feel that I am in touch with the new light happenings in my life...it's all right on...well at least I choose to believe it and can make it happen...after all, I am in charge...right!

This is just some of the insight I've been reading on Dan Dowd's astrological site and it all fits into perspective in my world.

Venus connects to the North Node this week so there is likely to be a lot more than we bargained in the world's financial markets... The problem we have now is that business & governments have gotten so big they are collapsing under their own weight... Even if all people in the world pretend things are getting better... Sooner or later someone is going to notice the "Emperor has no Clothes"... This is the result of 50 or more years of reckless spending... Whatever... In order for there to be growth, people have to make "create & produce" things... Trading paper with numbers on them, is based in fantasy & illusion... Stay away from the stock market until production & manufacturing begins again.

This can be the most incredible time to start new businesses & ventures... It can be as simple as building one or two things that others need & want... It's the essence of Capricorn where you start small & build & grow... It's not so much about the making the dough, but more about putting your talents & abilities to work & being able to experience the personal satisfaction of being able to give your absolute best to others & being able to prosper too as a result.

Do you see and feel things moving in this direction in your own life...boy, I sure do! Things are falling into place, they are not accidents, it's destiny...and I'm what that's all about...

Living in the moment can be really real and fulfilling!!!

But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with it!!!

NAMASTE brothers and sisters...

Something to ponder...ghost ads...

Something crossed my path yesterday in my emails...ghost ads...those wonderful ads from not so long ago, I remember as a child being more vibrant, yet something of an eyesore...
isn't this a grand old structure...a derelict old building owned by a tight-ass, slumlord attorney that wants an outrageous price for the building...many have offered to buy it at a fair market price and restore it for condos and retail space...but he holds fast to his blood money ...jerk!!!

So I wandered the alleys of our downtown and scored a few shots of what used to be.

The Batterson stores were mercantiles, 3 floors of cool stuff. I'll never forget the jewelry department on the first floor...back in the day me and my Mom would circle the counter looking for the perfect set, necklace and earrings, you know, the clip-on style that gave you a headache after 15 minutes...and wonderful baubles that would make her hand sewn dress just zing with style...my Mom was the most beautiful Mom in the whole world when she dressed up for church or the dances her and Dad would go to at the Colosseum Ballroom.
Those were the days when we got to have a babysitter...oh so long ago!

Groceries...our downtown boasted many such mercantile...I'll never forget taking the bus downtown with my Granny, to the butcher shop for her weekly meat stockpile.
This store had a cool old floor that squeaked when you walked acrossed it...and the faint smell of cigar smoke and smoked fish...what a treat...this was a very busy and vibrant community in it's day.

I don't remember what was originally in this old building, it was on the South end of town, the rough end of town that we never went to much, lots of bars and flop houses for the clam diggers, a very important part of the cities economy...pearl buttons from the Mighty Miss.

These next two shots are an old feed store, this is where I buy my bird seed and once my chicken feed...TeStrake Brothers...it is still operational today. The building behind it was the old ice house where ice was cut from the river in the frozen winters and stored here for sale to house wives for their 'ice box'...can you imagine...before my time for sure...

This is all I could find this time, but my awareness has been peeked and so may be yours...many have been painted over, as most consider them to be eyesores...
a sign of the times...

A beautiful day at Sisters'...ALMOST...........

The porch at Bloom is always a treat for the eye, as yellow brightens it and screams...SUMMER!!!

Brandon has been going crazy making pillows with old and new fabrics...
TO DIE FOR...
especially displayed in this wonderful French wash tub painted the perfect grey...

His posies and artwork, always an inspiration, have the ladies pondering their own feats of decorating style...

I LOVE old tables with chippy old paint, so easy to pop in just any ol' place to harbor some special collection...or two!

Wonderful old table...it's HUGE and has great patina to boot...
SO FUN...until...

I noticed as I left Sisters' the skies, again, where starting to show signs of approaching storms...
so I hustled...
I was driving past Lone Tree, when I noticed this unusual cloud bank forming...

It was really growing fast, so I did the unthinkable...I sped up...
for those who don't know me, I never speed, I'm always that person you wish you hadn't gotten behind...hey, I'm enjoying life already...
But these clouds were really taking shape fast and I knew I had a small window to get past them...in theory...

As I entered the town of Nichols, the home stretch, there was rotation starting to form over my head...so again I moved faster to get away from this mass cause it was clear toward Muscatine...

NOT...

The storm had rotated 'round and was now chasing me...as I got to the turn off to go to the Candle Shed, the sky in front of me was...
THE GATES OF HELL...
Talking to my daughter on the cell phone, she was oblivious to the storm. I told her that I wasn't sure I'd make it there.
No sooner than I got to the mall, the tornado sirens went off, so I immediately headed for home...
OMG...
wind and rains and high winds and TORRENTIAL RAINS...
AND WINDS...
Now I remember why Scratchy would not leave my side, begging me to come with, I just have to recognize which is a normal begging and which is serious...
This was a huge storm that battered it's way NE and charged it's way into the windy city causing much damage there too.
We were all glued to the weather channel, waiting for an all clear, as my cell phone lay in two inches of water outside my truck...
but it's still working...
WHEW...what a day and all is well at
The Pink Chateau...
only a few more gray hairs...