Happy 33'rd Wedding Anniversary....

....to us!

Love you Richie,  Lisa

...and to help us celebrate, we have Hurricane Eric on the way - WoW!  Happily, he's mellowed with age, kinda like us :>)

Frantic Friday

Friday is always such a busy day for me - tons of chores, mountains of laundry, eBay and Etsy, shipments to pack....the list just goes on and on and on and I've gotta rush rush rush to get it all done.   But a short while ago as I was doing frantic laps between the house, office, and kennel, I suddenly noticed Sundance quietly watching me, and the expression on his face.  I got my camera out and took a picture of him.  As I gazed into his eyes, a feeling of calm came over me.  One look can be worth a thousand words so I listened with my eyes and slowed down.  Aren't animals wonderful?

   

Can One Have Too Many Cats?

These were found at an estate sale last weekend and are just a tiny fraction of what someone had collected since the 1940's.  The cats were displayed on 3 long tables and looked very impressive. 

Oh, there was a mouse too.  Only one though , and I grabbed him fast as he had a pleading look in his eyes.

Most will be for sale soon in Sky's The Animals Magic Shop on Etsy to benefit animal charities.

Our Unusually Friendly Wisteria Plant And Other Green Friends

My husband loathes this Wisteria plant but I love it because every year it wants to come inside our home and keep us company, (or maybe it's spying on us...hmmmm....not sure.).  In the fall, I prune it,  but come spring, it's tendrils once again gravitate to the front door, slowly but surely making their way to the door's edge,  and eventually getting inside the house.  First a tiny leaf tip appears indoors,  then a stem, until finally...it's in!  It doesn't seem to mind that I open and close the door often ,which can't feel too good. So how you can not love a plant that wants to come inside with you?  I think this plant deserves a name.  Maybe my husband will like it more if it has a name?

I got this metal cat at a yard sale and the concrete pedestal too.  It's underneath the wisteria plant.  The woods here are filled with ferns and they pop up everywhere.

This is our front door.  See the wisteria growing to the left and right?  The porch and stairs really need a good scrub, so don't look too closely!

A purple gazing ball  with a make-do birdbath in the background and a cherry tree in back of that.  When we built the house, we splurged on some granite walls both outside and inside.  Need to do some pruning and weeding here too - oh my!  The English ivy provides food for the deer in the winter.  They pretty much strip it bare, but it all grows back in the spring.

A closer look at the birdbath which is made of pottery and set on a clay pedestal - both yard sale finds. Paying for the house and 12 dogs, even after 23 years, doesn't leave much money to spare so almost everything outside was collected over time and purchased at yard sales and flea markets for a few dollars.

An antique grinding wheel, for sharpening axes and such. Richie made a new stand for it, of oak.  He did a great job copying the original exactly.

A closer look - with a few other grinding wheels underneath I've collected here and there.  The largest came from the Freetown State forest.  Most of the ground on this side of the house is covered with moss which is great because you don't have to mow moss.

I love the scent of Lily of the Valley.  It was growing on the land when we bought it. 

A German Shepherd guards the front door of the kennel building which is attached to our home.

And here's the dogs' favorite saying...

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Wild Pink Ladyslipper Orchid Flower or Moccasin Flower

Wild ladyslipper, growing in our woods.  Beautiful, isn't she?  This one is a pink ladyslipper, or moccasin flower, because of the shape.  They can live to be over 100 years old, but are very particular about their habitat and don't take kindly to being transplanted.

Rare Miniature Book By Tasha Tudor

I first "met" Tasha Tudor at my local library in book form and admired her from that moment on.  Many books have been written by Tasha and about her, so I won't go into her history and accomplisments other than to say she was an extremely talented and creative woman who lived her dream to the fullest.

What I'd like to share is one of her rare books, entitled "Mouse Mills Catalog For Spring",  which measures only 5" tall and 3" wide.

I read that Tasha created the Mouse Mills catalogs for her children, which were delivered to them by Sparrow Post and published quarterly - one for each season.  How long she did this for I don't know.  Timothy Deer Mouse and his family were the proprietors. 

This catalog contains illustrations of different items the children could order for themselves, their dolls, and their stuffed animals that Tasha would knit or sew for them.  They paid her in buttons which were earned by doing different chores around the house.  Prices ranged from 10 to 100 buttons.

Inside the catalog, Tasha attached samples of ribbon, yarn, and fabric choices.

Throughout the pages,  her sense of humor was apparent as was her love of animals.

The clothing and accessories were styled true to the fashions of the 1860's and 70's, (but the period Tasha loved most and felt she belonged in was the 1830's).  Below are some bonnets and  stockings which "don't sag".  Garters could be purchased to hold them up in either red or black.

There were even offerings for the Clerical Crow, and the Bird About Town.

And to make things complete, a note to valued customers with a page for suggestions to improve the business.

All in all, the catalog contains 40 pages, quite an accomplishment for a single mom who did everything the old fashioned way without the benefit of plumbing and electricity!

Here's a photo of Tasha Tudor with one of her goats. Tasha said a lot of interesting things, but my favorite quote by her is,
 "I spell God  N A T U R E".  Hope you enjoyed seeing this little book!

To learn more about Tasha Tudor and visit her family's website, click here.

Increased Spending At My First Antiques Show Of 2010!

I set up at the first antique show of the season the second to last Saturday in March - a small show in a local church hall less than 10 minutes from my house. Here's my table below.

This area is not especially well off so I brought items priced no higher than $25.  What people buy and how much they spend at this show is usually a good indication of how the rest of the season will go for me.

Vintage jewelry was the best seller, as usual, with sterling at the top of the list, and rings being the most sought after - I sold every single ring that I brought that day!  Vintage sewing buttons, linens, hankies, lace, kitchen items and ephemera were the most popular after that. 

Women seemed a little more interested in decorating themselves rather than their homes, and most were buying for personal use as opposed to buying gifts for others, which were two big changes from the past few years.  They were most pleased with items which could be used for multiple purposes.

Normally, almost half of my sales are to men and this year was no exception. The guys were most interested in ephemera, things made of bone, wood,and metal, and unusual objects that were interesting as opposed to beautiful or functional.  I noticed that in the morning, the male antiques dealers were there early waiting in line for the door to open but the female dealers were not, with very few attending the show at all.

As far as haggling over prices, most customers didn't.  Actually there were only two. Most folks just wanted to treat themselves in some way but were still cautious about what they were spending and seemed to have set limits before arriving on how much they were willing to part with.

The womens' group in the church also had a space which included a large offering of linens; all washed and pressed to perfection by one of the group members. Their space is shown below.

All in all, it was a successful day for all the dealers and very few customers left empty handed.  I made about $80 more this year than last and am cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season!

One thing I noticed is that many people were talking about buying vintage and antique items because they were concerned about the environment and felt they were helping the earth by doing so.  I heard a lot about conserving resources and recycling/upcycling/re-purposing which made me very happy!

Personally, I've loved old things since childhood. I used to save my allowance for weeks in order to go antiquing during vacation with my parents, buying treasures such as marbles, seashells, and tiny glass animals.  Now, it's a full time job and although I don't make nearly as much as I did when employed by a large company, I have the pleasure of working with inventory I love, and helping the planet too!