Tradition speaks....

When you want to walk back in time, a trip To Manley's Antiques is what the doctor orders...
however, I'd love to virtually send you there but Dave and LeeAnn are of the old school,
no computer and no cell phone, so you just have to make a trip to see this wonderful shop in Muscatine, just up the street from my daughter's shop Friends' Candle Shed.

Again, LeeAnns' displays tempt...
I went to school with these guys and been buying antiques from them for years. Dave has restored many of my own pieces and would cringe if he knew I painted them...ha!

Every display is a setting of vintage charm, perfectly restored to your dream room fancy...
LeeAnn has a way to charm each and every setting.

This is what started it all, the love of the old, rescuing from certain demise and creating a comfort zone in our own lives that reminds us of Granny and the times we call...
simpler...
though our Granny's would digress...
Granny would always say,
don't lettum kid ya...
they weren't easy or simple!!!

Visit Manley's Antiques
Muscatine, Iowa
563-264-1475

An outing for Scratchy...

For those of you that didn't know, Scratchy had knee surgery last Friday...OMG...I was alone for a whole day...I had the entire bed to myself...I kept hearing her walk into the room, I wanted to let her outside, I wanted to feed her on schedule...
BUT...
she wasn't here...!!!
You know they say when you have an amputation, you still feel the body part, like it never left...

That's how I felt...
WHERE'S SCRATCHY!!!

OK...I may be obsessing, but it sure is good to hav'er back.
She's doing great, though still walking on 3 legs, she's climbing steps and getting fed out of her chair...OK, she's a tad spoiled...
but she's my bud and you do what you do...
when you're not the alpha female!!!

Sooooo...
we went shopping and got some great stuff...
I put the word out for paned windows and doors,
I have this vision of my Rabbit Hole
and a dream of a shack in my yard made entirely out of recycled materials,
how fun would that be...
old windows and furniture and barn boards.
I want my own singing conservatory
where the wind blows through the cracks
and the knotholes and sings the song of the sirens
an ode to
where there's a will there's a way...

HEY...what a great name for the shack(solarium)...

"THERSAWILL THERSAWAY"

Shadow Shot Sunday.....and the kitchen sink...

When you have it all
you naturally have the kitchen sink

isn't that how it goes...

well...
and maybe a toad

but what you really have is an
over-active imagination
a thrill for the ride
a never-ending
quest for the junk
and the dust of the road
you are a dealer
of antiquities and such
a collector of fine trash
a designer of domains
a dealer in strange
a picker...

so keep on reading into yesterday's post
and you'll step into the realm
of one dealer's nest
the love
and the passion of
this person's trash
and of course
the sink

what else !

Check out the others shadows over here...
and please keep reading yesterday's post to see the rest of this magical shop
and the love of the trash and the hunt
to fill this wonderful space
of an Alice in wonderland
my friend Barb Connor's place...

Cross Creek Antiques
Fairfax, Iowa

Come with me Alice...find your own rabbit hole...

Through these doors one enters a magical realm...the wonderland of Barb Connors...her magic filled rabbit hole, a constant inspiration to me...
Cross Creek Antiques and Simply Iowa, the blog...

Will you be inspired
by wispy glass beading
and statues all beckoning
and fountains all streaming
with rusted and crackled
and faded old flair
by sun drenched age'd hollows
in this moaning conservatory
of a mad hatter's lair

...be inspired
listen to the siren song

be not afraid
to follow your heart
have a tea party
with crystal
and velvet
a decorator's art

it's true what I said
this room it does sing
with the wind through the panes
it moans with a ring
of mystics and magic
and the hum of the rains
I was awed by it's foray
in a traveler's dream game

...the church of the soul...

...the gateway to Edens..

...and the mystique all around...

...find your own rabbit hole
the magic
and the mystique
of your very own Alice
your sweet soul
and your wide-eyed
inner peace...


Thanks Barb for always inspiring me to clutter my realm...!

Success..............!

Craig is beaming and reeling from packing all the goodies they found on this trip to IOWA,
boy, what a haul...!

...and let me tell ya, the van is filled all the way to the back bumper...can he pack or what!!!

I managed to find a few goodies too on the two days of junkin' we did...

...couldn't resist...

The front porch at Sisters', which is getting a fresh coat of white paint...love it, it looks so Iowa countrified...

...don't ya just love the yeller...like porch posies...

Then we ran into Anita of Iowa Junk Gypsies, what a wonderful chance encounter that was, as she's plotting her next show at Kane County...

Then it was on to Barb C's place...Simply Iowa...
there is nothing like Barb's shop, I'll do a full post on her tomorrow...

This lil' tiny sink/fountain at Sisters' had us all drooling...

...as did this fabulous chandelier...
what a wonderful few days we've had playing with our best'es buds...
as the wonder of the internet and digital cameras
brings us all together for the memories and the
folly had by all...thanks everyone!!!

TOT's here.....

My new toy Theresa brought me from Kentucky...she knew how much I needed a more convenient method of cutting my soaps that wouldn't callous my hands...
TA DA...

A pizza cutter...how novel is that...and it really works...

THANKS TOT, you made my job so much easier!!!

OK, enough of this dribble...

WE GOTTA SHOP...later..........we're outta here!!!

Another dream satisfied...

I love raising bees, but have been looking for a vintage hive...
however, the other day at Sisters',
I was strolling the grounds looking for pictures...and there it was...
in all it's glory...
my hive...

Isn't it just the cutest!!!
That's what I thought...
so now the business of cleaning and repairing in under way.
I can't decide whether to paint white or to use a waterseal
to retain the weathered patina...

All of the frames have been scraped,
a new bottom has been installed...

Now for the caulking...and the bees...
However, it may be too late in the season for me to order my queen and her slaves,
but if so, there is always next year,
and I will continue to plant flowers and trees for food source
when my lil' critters do arrive.
Can you feel my thrill...?

Next, the chickens...heehee...

Shadow Shot Sunday...The Devil's Collar...

What strange shadows lurk
mysteriously shining
through this window's eye

Well, it's just Scratchy's Halloween collar,
you know,
the one that makes her look cool...

and tough too, right...

most of the time, 'cept
when I'm relaxing from work
fear me not pilgrim

with a mug like this, what's not to love...

no profound words of feelings and life this Shadow Shot Sunday...
only the love of a dog and her pack leader...
unconditional in every sense of the word,
my constant companion
the source of my smiles
and the terrorist of the hood
(yeah right)
Scratchy...the mouse whisperer...
my hero, my wolf, my best'es bud!

The Junk Asylum...

Had to deliver soaps to The Asylum the other day, so I wanted to show some of the new dealers in Lorie's shop...over 75 now...she's on her way, as the shop is filled with busy dealers and buyers, all running around playing with the toys...ok, I was one of them too.
There were tons of things I could've walked out of there with...BUT...
Well, you know the rest of the story.

Enjoy the pseudo-shopping...I'm going back!!!