Spring has Sprung!!!

Last day of February in Central Florida, and after 2 nights of unexpected frost, spring is definitely upon us. Lowe's garden center is bursting with flowers of every description, the azaleas are in bloom everywhere, and people are out in their yards with that look on their faces...you know the look...what should I plant over here...and look at the flowers on that plant...and what outside project can I do today...that look. I cannot seem to walk outside without feeling the urge to grab a rake, or a trowel or the pruning shears! Started a project on Sunday that's a work in progress. Had a "path to nowhere " through my front garden area that was looking pretty rough...reclaimed some great flagstone pavers a few months ago, and decided to redo the path with the pavers, brick and pink granite chips, with landscape cloth under all to slow down the constant weeding. Easier said than done, and after 2 full days of prying up the old stuff, I only have half of it done. It's gonna look great when it's finished, but that darn real job of mine keeps getting in the way!! Hope spring is heading your way soon...enough of that ol' ice & snow!!

2 teeny sales...getting stuff ready for resale!

Planned on NOT going to any sales this weekend, but 2 just jumped out on front of me on my way to work! Found some rickrack at one, along with the very funky lime daisy...1.25...and the 2 little peeps chickens @ the other for a whopping .50...had to bring them home for the spring re-do of our re-sale space. Had a slow start for February after a terrible January...just made the rent on that one! Checked the shop on Friday, and we had been cleaned out! WooHoo!!! So...I've been accumulating spring stuff all month, and spent a good part of the day cleaning & pricing, so we can get things in place for this week. Busy tourist week here, w/ the Daytona 500, so hopefully we'll be busy all week. Also put together another little vintage sewing stuff frame, so I'm going to put that in and see how folks like it. Have 6 more pairs of vintage "crane scissors" and once they're gone I'll have to come up w/ something else. Don't want to dip into my private stash of sewing goodies...has to be new found materials. Am also finishing a cute wood sign...done on old cedar paneling. I made 1 as a secret santa gift, and the lady in Ohio who received it was thrilled, so painted another on a smaller scale. Don't have much of the cedar left, so had to cut down on the size. So, that ends my 2 day weekend...probably won't have another for a couple of weeks...damn!!! Seems like there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things that are rolling around my brain! Need to retire soon, while I have the energy to do all this stuff! Lotto rolled over to 34 mil...now that would be a nice retirement fund, huh? have a great week, folks...*elaine*

Cheeep Sales and more Goodies!

Another good weekend for sales...went to 2 on Friday, not advertised but lots of cool stuff. Guy had a garage full of goodies, all marked $1, .50, .25...my kind of prices! Got all the stuff in 1st picture for 3.25...second sale was an ongoing moving sale...found the cool wood vintage frame, with a tag that says "Loves Defiance"..$1.50, & a wood needle case & pack of old needles for .25 each. I collect old sewing stuff, so was happy with those finds. Saturday, hit a benefit rummage sale, & found all the stuff in second picture for $2.00! Some things are destined for the re-sale space, others I'll have to keep! I'm distressing the small frames, & doing little assemblages with old scissors, trim, fabric & buttons etc. I'm thinking of putting these for sale on Etsy...have signed up for that, but have never tried selling anything. It's a new year...it's time to try some new things!! Hit the local GW this AM...for $5 got a vintage Yahtzee game, w/ Bakelite dice, a memory board that needs re-doing, and a cute wood snowman for next Christmas...can't seem to stay away from these places! Is this an obsession, or a harmless past time???! Happy Monday, folks. See you again soon! Oh...the last pic is my cabinet of old sewing stuff...this was taken before I started re-doing that room, but the inside of the cabinet remains the same...I got tired of dusting all the stuff, and found this old kitchen cabinet for $10...perfect storage & display! Love the chippy old paint, too...e

Cool stuff...One sale...

Only got to one church rummage sale on Saturday...been going to this one for years, & word must have gotten out re: all the good stuff, cause the place was packed!! Could not even get into the parking lot..had to park on the street..worth the hassle, tho...found this awesome Skyway train case, $5, before I even went inside. Have had a fondness for old luggage for years, and this one just kind of jumped into my arms as I walked by! Got inside and decided this would be my only stop before heading off to the real job...tons of stuff on tables, but even better, tons of unpacked stuff in boxes under the tables!! I love to rummage in boxes! Takes time, but is usually worth it. Found all the goodies & pieces of goodies in various boxes...Dept. 56 ornies that I would never buy new, but @ .10 each, I'll have no problem pulling them apart & reusing the neat pieces. OH, almost forgot...in the train case I found a teeny, tiny perfume bottle (empty) & a teeny, tiny tube of Carter's Little Pills (not empty). The labels are so funny...perfume was TIANNE..eau du parfum..by Nettie Rosenstein...WHO??!! The pill bottle is TOO much..."relieves the following symptoms when due only to...constipation. Sluggishness..Bloated feeling...Headache...and Nervousness" HUH??!! So, if you had a headache, or heaven forbid..nervousness...you could only take "1-3 pills" if your symptom came from constipation?? ROFLMAO!! Happy Sunday, folks..sorry for the fuzzy pics..it's early & I guess I needed 1 more cup of coffee before I started w/ the camera!

Ground Hog Day disaster...1 year later

Today is the first of February...where did January go?...and tomorrow will be a blue day here in our little community. It will be the one year anniversary of the tornado that swept through here, destroying all in it's path, killing 13 people and shattering lives. After one year, we still have people living in FEMA trailers. Some have built small site built homes, others are in larger double-wides, and others have put their land up for sale, vowing to never return. Saturday night, at 6pm, we will have a memorial service for those who died that day, and we will all relive the fear and pain that came from the sky with no warning...and we will cry and comfort those who lost sons & daughters, mothers & fathers, and we will move on once again, because that's what we do. I will place 13 roses at the site of this small memorial, one for each life lost, and pray that we will never wake up to the devastation that we witnessed one year ago. I'll hug and laugh with Nellie and Ed, the elderly couple who lost their home that sad day... Nellie stood in the front yard where their house used to be, in her bathrobe, with cuts and scratches on her face...and said to the reporters.."t'aint nuthin but stuff...me and Ed and my sister are all okay...can we help any one else?" What a lady!! Don't know if I could have been that calm, or accepting...and I hope I will never have to find out. Our home was 1 block away from the tornado zone, and we were never touched. So, while I pray for those lost neighbors, I will also say another prayer of thanks for our blessings that day. Thank you, Lord, and give us the strength to help our neighbors once again tomorrow. We still need your blessings.