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!

Wetlands...

Me and the heathen took a drive yesterday mornin' to catch an early glimpse of the wildlife in the area...and just to get away from the work that always awaits...

I love it when I see this sign, Pheasants Forever, it means that a parcel of property has been purchased for the restoration of wetlands. This is not far from my home, my husband used to hunt Canada geese here every season...we were married not far from here in a wetland restoration area...cool huh!

We decided to take a stroll to the scenic overlook...alotta sniffin' goin' on here...

This is the vast hardwood forest that the first Americans would have viewed from the bluff...and the Mississippi River...so sad that only 1% of all these forests are left in Iowa.

Come on Ma...

Vast waving fields of prairie wildflowers line the walkway...
I'm in my element here...

Buck brush...

and marsh mallow...

and cattails, always bordering the farm ground...soybeans...

a mighty river over steps it's bounds...

...and a field of dreams at the entrance of this fabulous wetland sanctuary, fertile river bottoms
still farmed on this century farm...some day it too may be a part of this valuable, irreplaceable wetland...ancient native American hunting grounds...
we can only hope!

Shadow Shot Sunday...If I had a dream...

If I had a dream
I'd take me back to olden times
I'd sing me sweet and simple rhymes
I'd play me harmless games of life
I'd dress me 'n simple threads so nice
If I had a dream
I'd live me life a brand new day
I'd ask the crow to show the way
I'd fly his course up high above
I'd pray for peace I'd free the dove
I'd walk the Earth in special shoes
I'd breath the air and ask for truths
If I had a dream
I'd ask the one inside of me
I'd ask what am I here to see
I'd awaken me to these Earthly dreams
I'd be back to live these golden themes
I'd write a book of the highest vow
I'd live the dream and live it now

like there was no 'morrow
ask me how

I'd dream

s.wilson


Always the dreamer, always looking for shadow themes...a simple life, a simple task...play along won't you...SSS...

Lavender fields...

Everyone loves lavender...right...
fragrant, delicate buds bursting into a multitude of purpose...

Ol'timey lye soap...finally...
I had some time and some ambition, so I dragged out all of the apparatus it takes to do this process and this is the fruit of my labor...
isn't it beautiful!!!
I used a different recipe this time, so my mold full, I had some left over for the fleur de lis molds.
Soap making the ol'timey way is a long process, waiting for the oils and the lye solution to reach the same temperature so the melding of the two can take place, then a curing process takes over once the soap is unmolded.
So you can see, it's a very long process and one that consumes all of your spare time,
one batch takes 3 hours to produce,
but the wait is worth it and my kitchen smells like a perpetual field of lavender...
mmmmmm...

I must add a note...
ALL SOAP IS MADE WITH LYE

So don't be thinking that this is some sort of toxic brew that'll make yer face fall off...
this is what creates the saponification process...inotherwords...
bubbles.
Without it, the soap will not set...now let me repeat...
ALL SOAP IS MADE WITH LYE
Unlike the soaps in the stores, the glycerin is not extracted from homemade soaps, making it more moisturizing to your skin.
So when you see homemade soaps at your local farmer's market...
BUY IT...
This is the best soap on the market, with exception being the pure glycerin soap,
which is made from extracting all of the glycerin from store soaps,
a by product, but a more refined product used in all sorts of manufacturing products.
More money is made from the glycerin than the soap product...
again the consumer loses out!

This soap will be sold at my new shop at the Pink Chateau and to various dealers in the area, this batch is already spoken for, but soon, more will be on the way...
now we wait for the drying process...
you thought my kitchen slash sweat shop was full before...
HA!!!

The Fabric of Sweet Repose...

I love the texture of old...
old lace, old plaster, old paint...

Faded old fabrics layered upon layer...
wear spots complimenting each other in faded regalia
and deceased pomp...

Pictures of ancestors and thoughts forgotten in time...
brought back to life in a decorators theme.

Elegance crumbling, awaiting a next assignment into the present and certain future...

The sun arises again through my kitchen window, though shrouded in clouds,
it never fails to stimulate the knowing of what is past
and what is future...

Yes, this is...The Fabric of Sweet Repose...

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

Shadow Shot Sunday...The Virgo ...

I drink it all in
a seasonal thirst for
color splash and chaos

gardens gone wild

trust me
I had no hand in this
mad rush of carnival
methinks some mad
pirate of posies
spun this yarn
of petal pushers

not I
ye fair Virgo
one of order and harmony
pruned and proper
mistress of working conditions
am I out of order

so be it
I'm also out of time
a rare disorder
for the semi-retired
yet I have the cure
simply pop the pill of labor
nothing that a good pair
of pruners won't cure

bare toes and
sunscreen set into motion
a mile wide smile
and a trip to the trenches
me hearty's

prune on lads n ladies

yoho

s.wilson

Dawn dragged me into the yard this mornin'...what a carnival...my gardens are a mess, but tomorrow will be a day of reckoning, mowing, pruning and dead-heading...
Do you see the rogue milkweed plant...I love it, food for the wandering monarch, this is a natural garden, one truly born of chaos...
but it's my chaos...ahhhh!

Please head on over to Harriet's place and sign up with the rest of the crew...
we're waiting!

Happy 4th of July freeman everywhere!!!

Sweet temptations and horse tradin...

Ol' timey China cupboards...who doesn't luvum...especially with this wonderful old wood patina.
One door pane is broken, but the other one is still good, however, this intrepid housewife covered the windows with ol'timey lace panels to hides it's pain...ha!. I think I'll just remove the other pane and use it as a display piece for the new shop.
I can't wait to decorate this wonderful ol' relic!

I delivered my usual soap order up to the Amanas' and Sandy had this great cupboard, she said it had my name written all over it...I'm not sure what that means, but I likey...
maybe old and weathered but still useful...yeah, that works for me!
So we did a little horse tradin', cupboard for soaps...
did we do good...

Check out the interior, old wallpaper, can you say 'decorating dream'!!!
What great patina to play with. On top of the wallpaper was this old oil cloth that had been painted white, but was disintegrating, soooo...I pulled it off to reveal two more decrepit wallpaper designs.
Weeeeeeee...thanks Sandy...
American pickers at their finest...

You can see how Sandy's soap display is expanding, they are flying off the shelves...
plus she has a lot of repeat customers, that's what it's all about!

Also a drop-off at Sisters'...I couldn't resist the sun shining on the back porch at Bloom...ahhhh...summertime!

Speaking of sunshine...Lemon Verbena is always a hit...
Happy Summer!!!
Can you believe it's July already!!!