More On The Building...

I thought I'd try to upload more photos of our hard work on Hurst Street in the little town of Bushnell, Illinois.

Starting at the bottom and moving to the top: The first photo is of the west side of the center business section and what will be the coffee shoppe. The man in the picture is Mr. Pantley "Takin' Five". I wonder what he's thinking??? Do I even want to know? I think not!

The second photo is the same room, just the opposite wall. We decided to expose both brick walls on either side of the room. The back of the room, opposite the doorway, will be our kitchen.

Photo Three shows some of the plaster and lathe we pulled from the walls and ceiling. I cannot tell you how much we all loathed cleaning it all up.

The fourth picture shows the exposed brick in the west side (alley end) business room of the building. This will be our gift shop. Lots of work here too.

For Will Ferrell Cowbell photo-you must read to the bottom of the post!

On another note: I'm so glad we came home when we did, I just talked to my sister in west-central Illinois and she informed me they are having sleet and will have snow from 14-18 inches. It wouldn't have bothered me in the least if we got snowed in while visiting though. I am spoiled this year though, I got to see my family three times! A new record. It's just that I love the quiet, slower pace of their town. Here on the east coast, 70 miles from NYC, there is no shortage of people and the quiet places are being used up quickly. I used to be able to drive to the stop sign at the end of my road, look both ways and enter the highway. Now, I sit there while an entire motorcade passes me on either side. I have anxiety before I even leave my road. I do thank God (whenever I'm thinking about this) that I live on the very end of a dead end and I love it!

The whims have been very flimsy as of late-to say the least. Though I must say, the studio redo and the building have been very much on my mind. My studio redo came to a sudden halt when my daughter moved out of her apartment and came home. I needed to put her bed somewhere, so it went in my unfinished studio. Alas, today, she moved into her new apartment and my studio has room again...it's sad for me though, I'd rather have her here. **sigh**

BUT-I actually worked on some neat cupcake purses which I will finish this week and put up for display here and then probably on ebay. I love these purses...they're crochet and I've added some of my own fun-ness to them (I think I just made up a word!) Can't wait to show them to you! I'm also making some little change purses in fun colors that my daughters picked out.

I guess I'll go surfing for awhile on my many favorite blogs and visit my cyber friends. I need to update our favorite blog lists for you all to enjoy too...there is so much to take care of now. At some point in the near future I want to revamp my site. I'm going to clump the old primitives and make new buttons for the fun new colorful things I'm whimming over.

Tomorrow I think I'll share my fun Christmas magazine purchases with you and we can ooh and ahh together. I will say Martha has some awesome ideas and downloads on her site! So much fun to fit into one month! How will I do it all?

I was going to start my Very Fairy Christmas today but I realized that I only have red and white lights. My icky perfecto way of thinking told me I must have pink lights too, so I will be out tomorrow searching for pink or blue lights to add to the white ones. I may use the red ones here or there, but I need pink...I could hear Christopher Walkin say (as he did in the Cowbell Skit on SNL)..."I'm tellin' ya' baby...you're gonna want those pink lights." As long as Will Ferrell's yucky fat belly doesn't come bouncing out of his shirt along with them...I'm okay!!! See photo...I couldn't help it-I thought you might need a visual to agree with me!!

Sleep tight!!!

I Need A Vacation...

Well, my Loves...I'm home. We pulled in about 2 a.m. Monday morning and rushed to get to sleep. The trip takes a good 16-18 hours, depending on how the traffic is flowing. The older kids headed home Thanksgiving night so it was only Dave, Lydia and I on the way home. Lydia had the way back seat of the mini-van all to herself. She was lovin' it! As for me, I sat up front in the passenger side seat with a chihuahua on my lap. No matter what I could not get Mr. T to lay all by himself on the center seat. He is the funniest dog. He's always making us laugh. Unfortunately I was not laughing after so many hours of cuddling a fiesty puppy. He was good, he slept, but it was the holding. The hours and hours of holding.

Well, that's enough about that. I am totally wiped and probably will be for days. This fibromyalgia has a way of kicking your behind...and there's not a thing you can do about it. I need a spa treatment. Really. The only way to describe fibromyalgia is like having the flu without vomiting. Gross, I know-I think I need a pain management class. It's all about coping-and cope I do.

Enough about that...the building's the thing. The photo above shows it at an angle and it's ours all the way to the corner. We even have a parking lot!

Oh yes, I did enjoy visiting my family. Visiting and breathing large amounts of plaster dust and coal dust. Then spending the rest of the evening coughing and blowing our noses. Ewww!!!

We bought this building earlier this year. I know how ridiculous it seems, I live 1000 miles away. What am I, nuts??? It seemed like a good idea at the time. So, whenever I go to visit my family now, it's between knocking out walls and plaster and lathe and exposing brick and shoveling and sweeping...over and over again.

We managed to make some progress this time. The part of the building that will be the coffee shoppe is just about done being torn apart. The last thing we have to do is move the existing bathroom.

We also exposed a wall of brick in the west side room that will be the gift shop. Just way too many things. Dave said the electric needs to be addressed right away in there.

Having Dave there was a great asset. He's known for his ability to fix anything. And he did what he could. I have to give him credit. He'd never seen the inside of the building at all until last Saturday. I thought I'd be in big trouble, but he didn't yell at all. He only said, "We are two entirely different people, Red." I thought it went very well...considering.

For some reason, I can't upload more than what you see here. I'll give it another shot tomorrow. I hate being html challenged...grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'm still cranky, I'm going to bed.

This week will begin the transformation to Fairy Land...Remember Fairy Christmas...I have planned a cookie swap and ornament sale. Invites will go out this weekend. How fun!! And now that I've found Matthew Mead...well, it'll be a blast. Did Helena mention that he actually wrote to us? How neat-o is that!!! Like...WOW!!

Have to much to share!

Oh yeah, Helena...you are so sweet my friend! It's good to be back!! x0

On Their Way.....

What a fun weekend we had, too bad they go by so fast.
We had my oldest son Matthew's wonderful girlfriend Liss with us for Thanksgiving, she is so much fun and fits in so well with our crazy family.
We actually set our alarms early and ventured out on dun dun dun...."Black Friday".
We weren't at the opening of doors to see the crazed bargain hunters, but got there an hour afterwards. We went only because I had never been and thought it would be fun, which it was. Since there wasn't anything on my list worth elbowing anyone for it was fun just to shop, and that's what we did, mainly toys on Hope's list. It was still dark when we went in, and the birds were singing when we came out. 4 stores and done by 10:45am now that's not so bad.
We played the rest of the weekend, went to a playground,gorged at Olive garden (I need to get back to walking, or perhaps running!)
I finished these fellows above.They were a special order for a wonderful customer turned friend (Zoe)I carve them out of vintage wooden sewing spools and miraculously they become Santas!
I still don't know how to post a picture in the post, if anyone would like to offer their wisdom Glenda and I will be so grateful!
Ok, off to serve my homemade turkey soup to Hope, she is home with a cold today poor thing.
Oh, Glenda returns from her trip to IL to visit family today, hooray hooray! She was doing demolition work on her building aka soon to be gift shop and coffee shop. She exposed the brick wall, I love brick and I just can't wait to see pix!
xoxox Helena

Happy Thanksgiving

The table is set and the turkey is resting and I felt the need to hop on and say a huge,"thank you" for the positive response we have gotten since starting our blog.
We even got a wonderful email from Matthew Meade!!!
Blessings to all at this wonderful time of year.
Also, a huge thank you to our military! My son Matthew has been in the Navy exactly one year today and is presently going without Thanksgiving dinner while he is training in the desert. He is happier than he's ever been so for him we are too, and so darn proud.
Time to begin the feast! love to all I miss you GLENDA!!!
xoxox Helena

So Much More Than The Mall.......

I shop locally when at all possible.
Mainly to support the little shops that I would love to one day own, and because you just can't beat the ambiance that comes with strolling through the streets of quaint little downtowns, even if you are dragging your HUSBAND to yet one more shop:)
Two Sundays ago, Summerville SC was holding, "A Taste Of Summerville" and their annual "Holiday Open House". The smells were amazing of all of the local restaurants set up along the shop fronts, and the Christmas carols were playing in all of the shops. Not to mention the first thing Matt looked for, the refreshments, what treats they had!
Since moving here 4 months ago, we have been so busy getting the house in order, Hope adjusted and meeting new friends, back and forth to school,volunteering,and then I jumped right back into my business that I haven't explored our little down town as much as I have been meaning to.
We discovered the most amazing vintage shop called Marigolds, full of the most unbelievable treasures! Aprons, table cloths linens, furniture, chandeliers. I was in heaven!!!
Walking down the brick paved road in one particular section I discovered an empty store that I just can't stop thinking about. Today when I pick Hope up from school I think I will go take a peek in the window and dream of owning my own little downtown shop. xo

Away We Go...

I feel so bad that I haven't been blogging. I do have some wonderful Christmas things to show you that I've collected over the last couple of weeks. I was able to pick up a few extras to offer on ebay or my site. There is so much to do...I need to overhaul my poor neglected site. It's just that I wasn't sure what kind of transformation was taking place in my artistic world. I am so liking retro over primitive now...the colors, the history, the fun!

I did create a painting around Halloween that I called Mr. Wiggles and I'll be making a soft sculpture doll of the painting as soon as I get back...from felt of course! How fun!!

I am also looking forward to sharing some of the work of my hands! This is supposed to be a blog about whims...and I guess getting my studio ready has been my whim-more like whim of the month! It's almost ready...organization is not my strong point...as I've said before. On top of that, my daughter moved back home and I needed to put her bed and dresser in my new-fangled studio!! Talk about a wrench in the works!!! Still, I am so happy she's home! I'll work it out! Isn't my Dining Room here for me to work in-it's not really to have meals in-is it???

Tomorrow we leave for a family visit to Illinois. It will be the first time in 28 years that my Mom has had all four of her children in the same place at once. Wow! Not only that, all her Grandchildren will be there as well. She is ecstatic! There are plenty of things I'll be doing while I'm there. My sister and I bought a building in her town this summer during a crazy idea and I'll be down in town working on our building. We are hoping to open a coffee shoppe in one section and an antique/collectible shoppe in the other. There is so much work to do that I think I'll have no problem keeping myself busy! My husband will be there as the technical engineer, the plumber, electrician and carpenter-and general, all-around handy man. My sons, Brendt (24) and Jordan (20) will be there to help as well. I have 13 major things listed that I would like to accomplish while I'm there this time. Some things to do include pulling the icky paneling off the wall in the antique shoppe and possibly painting/whitewashing the plaster that covers the brick. We need to do something with the scary ceiling tile for now (most likely paint it) and paint the beat up, wooden floor and the window frames.

I'll blog our progess with lots of pictures and you can laugh and cry with us as we move ahead on our project! It's gonna happen! Really it is!!

I forgot to say that while we are driving the 18 hours to my sister's house, I will be making pom poms. I went to Michael's and bought myself a pom pom maker...although I have always used cardboard before and it worked just fine...I thought I'd give myself a little present of the plastic circles and see if they work any better, though I doubt it. For your viewing pleasure I have shown the photo of what I will be working toward...the pom pom wreath from Matthew Mead! His Holiday magazine from Country Home is so inspiring! I wish he lived on the other side of my house...yes, that's it...Paula Deen on one side and Matthew Mead on the other! Oh yes, it seems quite a creative sandwich of neighbors-if you ask me!!! FUN!!!

Finding A Perfect Picnic Spot

Today we woke to beautiful fall weather and decided to go to the Ashley River boat landing to take a walk and some fall pictures.The leaves weren't as beautiful as I had hoped but it is so peaceful down there and we discovered a place to picnic surrounded by palms and walked along the river listening to the rustling grasses.
Across the river we could see another boat landing so we hopped in the car and ended up at the old Fort Dorchester State Park.
"This 325-acre park is on the site of a colonial village founded in 1697 by a group representing the Congregational Church of Dorchester, Massachusetts. The town prospered, but it was seized by the British during the American Revolution. By the time the war was over, the town had been abandoned. Overlooking the Ashley River, the site today includes remnants of a fort, a cemetery, and the bell tower of St. George's Parish Church. Archaeological excavations are ongoing. Kiosks describe the history of the area and what life was like on the upper Ashley River. Fishing, hiking, boating, and picnic areas are available."
We will be picnicking there next weekend if the weather is good, I can taste the KFC now!!!

A Beautiful Shade Of Blue

Yesterday was another incredible day here in the south.
It must've been somewhere in the 80's and the cloudless sky was the most beautiful shade of blue like it is most days.
We were outside doing yard work all day with the yellow leaves falling from the trees and twirling to the ground.
At midnight when I went to bed with the windows open I was listening to the crickets in full chorus and could've sworn it was still July.

Apple Crisp

This season I have made 4 delicious apple crisps.
The first two, I was so new at the whole blog thing and just couldn't bring myself to take a photo of them so.... I ate it. With not much help from anyone else I must confess.
Three and four were made on Friday with every intention of some great shots, although apple crisp isn't the most photogenic of desserts unless you have a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, which sadly I didn't. My daughter Hope even named apple crisp, "Apple Ugly" when she was in PreK.
Anyway, Friday night we were invited to our wonderful next door neighbor's for dinner to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday, and what better way to celebrate than to take a hot steaming apple crisp for dessert.
I also made one for Hope and Michael and had planned on snapping a shot or two before leaving for the dinner. As always in true Helena fashion I left the planning of the outfit until the last minute, got myself all frazzled and completely forgot the pictures.
upon returning home much to my horror the apple crisp had been devoured and all that was left in the bowl was a unattractive blob and a fork, so not photo worthy.
Hope you enjoy this photo for now.

Still Sorting and Organizing...

I wish this was something that could be rushed! I am weary from trying to figure out what to do with all the wonderful "necessaries" I've acquired over the years! The one thing that made it fun was picking out some goodies for Helena for our "Studio Swap". I sure hope she can use the items I am sending her! Note I said..."...am sending" because I must state that at the last minute I thought of something else to stick in her box that I hope she will like and will give her much enjoyment! *giggle giggle* Now it is ready to send in the morning! I'll get my package before her, but I think I'll wait to open it until she gets hers and we can open them on the phone together. Fun!!!

The shelf in this photo was given to me by a friend. It has been painted several times over the years as one can tell by the chipped paint. I cannot, however, bring myself to paint over it. So for now it will stay this shade of green with the brown of the wood and the pink and white and yellow paint peeking through here and there. This setting is temporary-I want to put a white board on top of the shelf and utilize the potential storage space!

The bright pink straw bag I got on a trip to Woodstock, NY after church one Sunday afternoon. I took a whole van full of teenagers and we all had a blast! It was the first time for some of them and they wandered around for hours. I enjoyed the shoppes, the vendors, the food, the colors, the singing, the bustle on the streets...if you've ever been to Woodstock, NY you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's pretty neat! Lydia wants to go again...I'm not sure what goes on there in the winter though...we should drive up there and find out...it's only about an hour and a half from here. I'll definitely take my camera on that trip...you never know what you're going to see while you're there!

Helena- the photos of your fun day in Charleston are gorgeous! It's chilly here and I could just feel the warmth of the day and it was fun to share in your family outing!

I didn't work much in the studio today...I went to the eye Doctor for an exam. I haven't been in a couple of years! My glasses are old and my last pair of contacts were stretched to the max!!!!!!!!!! But I got good news!!!! (No...this is NOT a Geico commercial!) I didn't need to buy new glasses. He said that since I only wear my glasses when I'm at home, the prescription I had was fine. He did make my contacts a bit stronger though. My joy in it all is that I DO NOT need reading glasses!!!!!!!! I was a bit worried about that...but I am happy to say that I only had to pay for the exam and then new contacts! Talk about saving money!!!!! YAY!!! He did say that I would probably need reading glasses next year though.

Sooooooo, on a happy note and feeling wealthy...I drove to AC Moore and bought some wonderful smelling Banana Nut Bread candles, a Family Circle Easy Crochet magazine and the Holiday 2006 Stampington Inspirations magazine-which I will quickly peruse as soon as I publish this post.

Not a very creative day, but I had a nice outing with my 24-year-old son Brendt. We went to Kentucky Fried Chicken (or KFC now.) Anyway-I had a fried chicken wrap...YUMMY! I haven't been out to a fast food restaurant in a very long time...the only sadness was a stray cat that came down the hill from the very busy highway. I threw it a piece of my chicken and it promptly ate it and then disappeared afterward. I told my son I feel so bad for stray animals...I hope I don't end up like so many eccentrics-with tons of cats and dogs! The horror!!! I have 3 dogs right now, 1 cat, Lydia has a mouse and I have 2 fish. Lydia asks for more all the time, she loves animals so, but I put my foot down after rescuing the last little chihuahua we have...NO MORE PETS!!! Those little pooches can live to be 20 years old! If I can get them to sit still, I'll post some pictures in the future!

Goodies In The Mail

Yesterday was a very busy and productive day.
Besides carving an ornament order (almost finished)
I got an ornament swap in the mail for an eBay group that I am in, and I also got my "studio swap" out to Glenda.
I love swaps so much but I always wonder if I have made enough, sent enough, made it special enough.The stress we woman put ourselves through.

While I was in the middle of cooking dinner the door bell rang and there was a surprise on my porch. I LOVE surprises, who doesn't right?
In the package were some wonderful ornaments from Robin of the Krimson Bee.
before I even opened the box I could smell the most wonderful scent, I think it is Sweet Annie. When I opened it there was a Victorian paper Santa ornament sewn and stuffed and lightly sprinkled with glitter and the Sweet Annie, a vintage paper pocket ornament full of Sweet Annie and lavender with the tiniest bell hanging from the bottom, and last but not least a very primitive angel, love them all. Thank you Robin again and again.

Since I received ornaments in the mail I just had to get out my studio Christmas tree. (I really really would like a pink one) Hope and I then decided we needed to put up the 3 ft tree and hang my ornaments on it for sale.
That is still a work in progress.
Oh the clutter I create, poor poor Matt:)

Vegetable Art...

...or...this is the hugest dang butternut squash we've ever seen!!!!!!!!! I had to dress it up and take a picture of it to remember this grande veggie...I like all the colors!! Just having fun! We cooked it up and set it out to cool and a dang racoon got into it and had himself a feast! So, alas, we cooked this Big Mama for the coons! Poor Dave-all that cooking time! I guess we need a pie-safe! One day I'll have a pie-safe whim and build me one...or just go to the antique shop and lay one away! Soon as I get some stuff made and sold!!!

Veggie Art...how fun!!!!!!!!!! Share some of your own!!

Helena!! I am so inspired by your major bulb planting! I've been having bulb whims all week...it's getting cold here so I'd better get it going!!!

x0

I've Been Busy...

I've been working and working on my studio. This is such a bad time of year to do it, but I've been waiting so long to get it going that I can't wait anymore. So, I've been sorting through tons of stuff trying to get it organized (as if that's ever gonna happen!) I've come to terms with the fact that I probably have some sort of disease. If I see something on the ground I think I might use someday, I save it. If I see a wrapper or piece of paper, I save it in case I do a collage and it might fit. I save all my paper scraps. And I have collected so many old books for ephemera over the years that I don't think it's humanly possible to use all the pages in them. But I'm gonna make it all fit-I AM!!

I've got one more wall to cover with shelving...about 3 short shelves and wall shelving over top of them...and (hopefully) then, I should have enough to hold what's in my studio right now. I do have stuff in my basement too that's piled up at the moment because my son Jordan's band jams there for the winter, but I'm not dealing with that right now. Blah, Blah, Blah...I'm sure this ranting is not fun for you to read...but that's how I feel while I'm trying to organize...monotony!! Only because I was not born organized...and I want to read all the copies of "Victoria" I haven't seen in a year and I want to browse through all my Christmas magazines for inspiration.

But the wall I'm showing you is just a tidbit of better things to come. I hope to have lots of creative time in my own little studio. It is sort of like when I was a girl and had my very own room to set up however I wanted. I'm being very, overly picky in here, but I want it pretty and functional.

I have other photos to share that I've taken on the quiet mornings and events of the days that have passed in my absence. I'll post them during the week when I need a break from organizing.

I love Helena's photos of Charleston! Wow, how beautiful! I will come visit someday!! Angie, my sister, told me yesterday she thinks we need to plan a visit down to see her! I agree!!

They Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth.....

As we walked along the wharf in Charleston talking about the 9 long years we had oh so impatiently waited to move to South Carolina, we saw Hope stop in her tracks and stare at something written on one of the posts. I immediately thought she was reading something I didn't want 7 year old eyes to see, and she said "It's not bad, look"

I'm sorry to say that the word, "be" didn't show up, actually I think I cut it off, but I really couldn't agree more!!

Just had to share.xo

My Charleston Fix

Today was a gorgeous fall day in South Carolina with sunny blue skys, and what better place to be than Charleston.
I have to go atleast every 2 weeks or I start to get water withdrawal and taking a bath just won't cut it.
Since Matt my husband, who is lucky enough to spend a lot of time visiting clients in Charleston (probably at the candy shop) and loves to call me gloating (I need to get revenge somehow) discovered the palm tree lined street that the bus scene in "The Notebook" (my absolute favorite movie) was filmed on and wanted to show me.

I took lots of great photos, even jumping in the road for that perfect shot,and actually found the coral colored house for sale, that I am hoping Santa will produce Christmas morning. I even found a horribly in need of total gutting home next door which will happily be my "plan B" just incase I am on the naughty list.

Much to our surprise a Veteran's Day Parade was going by, so we waved at the brave Veterans and service members, and got 2 cute little poppies, then on we went to our favorite candy shop where they give samples of Pralines, gelatto and fudge.
Does it get any better than that?
Our last stop, The Waterfront Park where we swung on the swings overlooking the water, looked for some pigeons to chase, and ended walking by the pineapple fountain.
What a day!!!
Hope you like my pix!!
Don't you think Glenda needs to move here? Have I said that before?:)
xo

Fall In The South

When we moved to South Carolina from New York we thought we would give up the fall and beautiful leaves.
Seeing that we were gladly giving up our snow blower we decided that was a trade we would have to live with.
On a field trip the other day with Hope's class I had to stop and snap this photo of the beautiful fall leaves along with the Spanish Moss that is the epitome of the south.

yesterday we spent most of the day planting bulbs in the cool fall weather, and recuperating from Hope's sleepover.
We planted 120 Daffodils, Callalillies, Iris, Hyathinths about 250 in all. Hopefully the southern squirrels are more compassionate to my aching back than the NY species were, they dug them up as soon as I went in the house, no matter what I did to stop them.
If you have any remedies to keep the squirrels away I would love to hear them.

Happy fall ya'll
xo

Carved Little Trees

Phew, I met my deadline on Grapevine Hollow and Halloween has come and gone, pumpkin seeds have been roasted, and now we are heading straight for Christmas!!!

Christmas!!!
Alright Thanksgiving is next, but we don't have family in these parts, and Matthew's at his desert training and will probebly be eating a dehydrated meal in a bag (hopefully not) but anyway, Thanksgiving is just a huge dinner (my fave) for the 4 of us, oh and can't forget Liss, Matthew's amazing girlfriend, but still Thanksgiving is great and all, but my true excitement about Thanksgiving, other than my "Mom's Apple Pie To End All Apple Pies," and gorging myself, is I decorate as soon as the table is cleared for CHRISTMAS!!

I love Christmas, the music, tv shows, caroling, decorations, seeing people shopping, (not the mean pushy ones) making gifts, Christmas Eve mass all glowy in candlelight....

Christmas also brings, and I hate to say it STRESS!!
Every year I say I won't be stressed at all, and I try really hard, but with
orders
parties
Christmas cards
presents to make
presents to wrap
shipping them all
money to find for all of the above, I do tend to feel a little, in need of a brown bag breathing anxiety, so this is my new solution.....

For the past month,when I have been feeling a little frazzled, this is what I have been doing.....
Some people meditate, have massages,go shopping, eat (ok I do that too)
I have been carving little trees.
It's so much cheaper than therapy:)
This will be my new cure all, any time of the year for any anxiety, and perhaps I should chill out on the huge amounts of coffee I have been drinking.