The Junk Asylum...Parkview, Iowa...

This is the first thing you see as you walk into the foyer of Lorie's shop...
she's spent two grueling days rearranging,
getting rid of the Autumn displays and replacing it with Christmas.

Just getting started, she is blending whites and dark woods together
with trees...the scent of Christmas...

I heart this chest!!!

Again, whites and old woods, my kinda look...

Candles and burlap...a must for the warm cozy feeling...

Rustic old chairs in chairs and a star...

Fresh Cranberry soap...oh the color and the scent...it's Christmas time...

She's also displaying the soaps out front to give you a smell-o-rama
the minute you walk through the door,
the light is bright and airy, perfect for display...

So come to The Junk Asylum this weekend for Christmas open house,
you won't regret!!!

Shopping...

Had a wee bit to spend yesterday, so I had to make it stretch...
actually, I had to feed my addiction, so off me and the heathen went
to our secret watering hole(yeah right)
and we found a few treasures!
Sweet chair huh, I loved the chippy white iron
and the decrepit state of the old plastic fabric...
perfect garden chair!

Petite charmers...
three adorable tiny gilded shelves,
all with their wood peeking through, fading elegance...
a nostalgic lil' cabin by the shore, is a watercolor
with an old gold frame, a glass boudoir lamp,
the cutest lil' silver plate dish with lid,
perfect for a lil' bar of guest soap...
AND...

BABY HEADS...
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Thanks Liz and Mark...you kids rock!!!

All displayed in 'a secret garden',
my collections for sale
(maybe)

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!

Green Endeavors...a new shop...

This is what greeted me as I opened the doors to Kathy Bass'
new shop...WOWZA!!!

Green Endeavors is located on the outskirts of Mt. Vernon
across from Palisades Park.
I didn't get to talk to Kathy about the shop,
'cause she had a family emergency,
however, all I know is, this shop wasn't there
last year when I delivered soaps...again I will be selling
my soaps out of her darling shop, so check it out!
Can she cook or what!

New gardens in the back will display many garden items,
as next years growth will promise exciting finds!

Next door is Kathy's son's biz...and
let me tell ya, the best sweet corn EVER...
no icky chemicals!

Christmas has taken hold full swing in the shop...

She even has a fireplace and lounge chairs
for bored husbands to hang out...

LOVE this sparkling, pearl and diamond encrusted topiary tree...

and black...
for those who have an artistic eye...

They gaze out over the fertile fields of Iowa,
where cornfields once painted the landscape green...

Next year, I can't wait to see her Victorian herb garden in full bloom...

Bits and pieces of Iowa...the lost continent...
who knew!!!

Shadow Shot Sunday...After December...

Icicles drip on my mantle
summer breezes turn to frost
warmed breath breaches woolens
forming crystal shards like
diamond cuffs as I'm
dressed in the royal robes
of Winter
The golden light
and fire warmed crackling air
promises tales
of comfort from the inside
while the outside has none
blank pages of
solitude

a passage into a season
of stark white and ice blue
purple horizons glow
whilst white pompous pillars poise
over our rooftops
Winter tornadoes
for a three month stay
I'll seldom visit this crisp Nature
that awaits outside
my snow frosted screens
of summer
it's a long three months
after December


Yeah, whilst they bask in their new springtime down under,
Tracie and her gang take lots of sun warmed shadow shots
as us poor slobs in the Northern hemisphere,
dare to venture out into the cold for our shadows,
bidding a fond farewell to Summer and Autumn...

IT'S BAAACK...

I'm a lucky dog...

Wanna know why...

Not 'cause I sit in a cage all morning while my Mom grooms her dogs,
but 'cause I do it in style...

I have a new pillow and it's feathery down...
I'm almost 9 years old and my bones can't take
the cold floor anymore...
well, maybe I'm a little spoiled,
but that's OK, 'cause I'm loved!

And if I gotta run this joint, it better have
a cushy spot for Scratchys' tush...
sooo, let's hear it for the awwww's!

A little louder please!!!

I figgered it out...

I finally can put a name on my style...
Victorian Tribal Salvage

I played blog jockey last night and toyed around with some style ideas
and this is what I came up with...

Victorian in my parlor...right,
with a mix of lace and chippy old china...

Lace and tassels and plants
and tattered/salvaged lampshades in my living room...

ol'timey kitchen...
now paired with the taxidermy
and other tribal artifacts, I'd say it pretty much
sums it up...
Victorian Tribal Salvage
right...

Sad it's over...

Halloween...right...
it's the one time of year when everyone doesn't say...
ewww, that's creepy.

You can display your strange and no one thinks any different of you...
right???

Creepy crawlies are the norm on Halloween, but what's wrong
with November or even August to display the strange...

Like a turkey head and the Eiffel tower...
nothing odd to me...

The back...

The front...
OK, nothing strange about this, 'cept I just bought this
gorgeous lamp from the Salvation Army for $12.00
and it's wired!

All I can say is, I love strange...
I'll blame it on my artistic side.
Artists can get away with murder...
it's called creative ventures into the unknown.
It's just pushing the limits for me,
the boundary beyond...
the twilight zone.

Money, money, money, money....

What it must've looked like back in the day when riverboats dotted
our lil' piece of the Mighty Miss.
Blue skies and a tranquil view...is it...
Notice the smokestacks in the background,
that's near where I live, as the crow flies.

Yup, these are the ways of America today...
huge corporations are allowed to pollute the skies
with little regard for the people that live nearby.
Grain Processing Corp.

My Dad worked here back in the day, a polluting mega-corp,
whose tax base runs a city council.
Temp Employees now too run the show,
locking out long time employees to bring in cheaper labor,
expendable types that have no incentives to work hard at their menial jobs.
Notice the blue cloud...

This is the cloud that envelopes the South end of town,
the river valley, where years of workers have built their homes
to be close to the river and the rail and the agriculture.
The blue collar worker...sigh...

The thick air clouded my lungs, as I took these pictures
and a haze formed under the brilliant blue sky
drifting over the fields of what they call 'the island'.
This is the river valley where the famous Muscatine melons
are grown. Not really an island, but is mostly
sand from ancient river shores. Three miles down this road is where I live,
so the pollution is seen daily from my kitchen window,
I'm just thankful that I don't live under the cloud.
HOWEVER...
I have my own polluting demons, I live under the flight path
of our municipal airport, whose corporate jets fly in and out all day,
leaving traces of toxic jet fuel in their wake.
Agriculture that is still allowed to aerial spray, surrounds me
and the coal fired ash dump is only 5 miles as
the crow flies, wind-born pollution is everywhere,
you can't hide from big money!