How Could I Not With This Provenance?

 I know I am supposed to be sworn off buying doilies but I did it again.  I had to go in to the office yesterday and was feeling a little sorry for myself this morning over no estate sales in my "driving bubble" so decided to check the listings one more time.  Low and behold, I had missed one I figured I could make it to.  This basket of doilies was the lone purchase but it was not a desperation purchase.

 How could I not buy it when it was half price and came with this sweet provenance??  I love this story.  Thank you, Emma and Lily, for sharing this with me!  I will treasure it.

 I don't know if this is the top or the bottom but I adore that it was "luggage" in the day.

 I did not count the pieces but it is brimming with goodness and many lengths of trim pieces, not just doilies.

 How pretty against the background of the antique basket!

 Look closely and you will see this is a sweet little crochet basket.  It is a little flatted so I will stuff it with tissue and maybe a millinery flower for a display piece.

 It is apropos that I would find this today.  I just caught up on my blog reading this morning and saw Laurie and Terri's posts about lace books and was thinking it is time for me to finally start one with all that lace I got from my MIL many months ago.

Well, I have pretty much doubled what she gave me so I really have no excuse now!  Tonight I will rummage around in my fabric drawer and start making a mess!
BTW, I did take one wrong turn and drove about 10 blocks in the wrong direction before I figured out I was going the wrong way but I did not decide driving down a boat ramp in to a river looked like a good idea.  Why do people do that??  TWO MORE DAYS until I can get the new prescription!!

A Junk Fix!

 I'm not going to say the junk fast is over since I jinxed it by saying that  a while back.  I just GOT LUCKY this weekend.  It took me 3 stops but I managed to gather a respectable little pile and got my "fix".

 Lots of little bits and pieces.  The metal game pieces have been added to my collection and the other smalls will become part of inspiration kits and The Shadow Boxes That Never Sell, but I love to make them so that is kind of okay.

 You all know I am not a doll person unless they are a little creepy.  How could I pass her up when she has one good eye just like me!

 I love this 23 Skidoo postcard.  It is postmarked 1908.  You know, a LOT of the old postcards I buy are postmarked from that year.  They often have just a name and a town.  Those were the days!  It must have been a fad or maybe it was something new that year.  I'll have to investigate one of these days.

A-dorable vintage sewing patterns.  I love them even if they are incomplete because the pictures are so sweet.
Wishing you all a junky week - in a good way, of course!  8+)

The Pennsylvania Trail

 A few of you know that our younger son and his wife recently moved from Portland Oregon to their new home in Pennsylvania.  It was a reverse Oregon Trail so they named the move The Pennsylvania Trail.  We tracked their 6-day journey across the country via daily text messages and I recorded it on an old road atlas.  A piece of artwork for the new (old) barn!

 We were blessed to have him within hugging distance for 34 years and this is a big change for our family but we are cheering them on in their grand adventure!

After two more weeks of cleaning and unpacking, they settled yesterday in to their new home in northwestern Pennsylvania.  They bought a c.1820s farmhouse on 15 acres.  Their adventure has just begun!

Happy Valentine's Day and a Giveaway Winner

You are ALL my Valentines and I wish each and every one of you who takes the time to stop by and read my little blog a very happy day!
Today is the day to announce the winner of the Grown Your Blog giveaway and the random number generator says it is Caroline at Glitter Tart Designs.  Congratulations Caroline!!  Send me your address and I will get your inspiration kit in the mail.  Thank you to all who stopped by. I loved meeting you and finding some wonderful new blogs and friends.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

The junk-less forced confinement of the snowcropolis wasn't all cooking.  I did work on a couple of projects, one I can't show until it is delivered to the recipients plus another page in the new altered quote book.
As always, I tend to use things I have accumulated in my junking and this time was no different.  I painted petals on some vintage crepe paper and rough-cut them so the color showed a little around the edges.  When I glued them to face circle I just scrunched the bases a bit so they would have some ruffle to them.  Nothing new, I'm sure, but I like how it gives some dimension.
It sounds like Mother Nature is flexing her muscles on the Southeast next.  If you are in that path you are in my thoughts and I will be happy to share my Toll House cookie recipe.  Stay warm!

Cabin Fever

The snowcropolis continues and I have not set foot off the property since a little after noon on Thursday and it has reduced me to baking.  I think I have lost my mind.  I don't cook, just ask my husband.  Now don't get me wrong, I did go through my earth-mother phase when I did plenty of cooking, baking and canning when my children were small.  Then they grew up and I retired from that job.  Or maybe retreated.  At any rate, I don't cook but last night I made bacon and eggs and pancakes for dinner.  Today I dug around in the freezer and found a bag of vintage chocolate chips and part of a bag of walnuts so I hunted up my crusty old Toll House Cookie recipe and my equally crusty Skoville mixer to see if I could still do it.  And I made a tuna salad recipe with shredded cabbage.  And I told The Husband I would make some meatballs for dinner.
I can't take much more of this.

Snow Day!

 First of all, thank you to all of you who sent kind wishes this week.  My eye is healing nicely and another couple of weeks I can get my new prescription and finally see clearly again.
We have snow here in Portland.  We don't get snow very often, or even every winter, so the city comes to a standstill when it happens.  We have no equipment for clearing the roads and we don't even own snow shovels here so all we can do it sit and wait for it to melt.  Temps have been in the low 20s and very windy so it feels even colder.  Brr....The local news programs sure do love it!

 Snow Day implies staying home and playing but no such luck for me.  I have a lot on my plate right now so I worked remotely and that always feels like more work than working in the office - lol!  It all works out in the end, though.  Today felt like I worked on a Saturday so when Sunday gets here it will feel like a bonus day off.  Seriously.  That's is how easy I am to fool.

And this is the ugly side of the winter wonderland.  The direction of the wind has filled the covered patio with snow.  The husband lifted the lid on the barbecue and snow has even sifted inside.  Luckily, snow never lasts long around here.  We have one more day to go then Sunday will be rain and in the 40s again.
It isn't looking good for junking tomorrow...!

The Eyes Have It

Image from The Graphic Fairly

Good morning, my friends.  Just popping in to apologize that I haven't been around to visit everyone for a couple of days.  I had cataract surgery on my left eye yesterday morning.  I am doing great and will get the patch off this afternoon and back to work tomorrow.  When I peek out I am quite astounded by the colors I (eye!) see.  I knew my world was shrouded in fog but had no idea it was really dirty brown smog.
I will "see" you all soon!

The First Step...er...Page

 I started a new altered book this week and chose this quote from Martin Luther King to mark the beginning since taking the first step is often the hardest part of a new project.  It is not on the first page since I will work randomly in this book, just like the last.

 The book I chose for altering is a sturdy copy of Joy Street by Francis Parkinson Keyes.  I love the name of the book so I used parts of the dust jacket for my altered cover.  I'm sure there is probably something illegal about that and the copyright police will be knocking at my door any minute.
I couldn't resist a little embellishing but I stayed away from very dimensional and dangly things for now.  At least I learned that part of the lesson from last time - lol!  That stuff can come later.  Right now the book feels very stiff for working in.  It will "break in" over time and hopefully not burst in the process.

Several people asked about removing pages.  In the last book I did it as I went but this time I removed a bunch at the start.  I removed 3, glued 2, removed 3 and so on.  Clearly I did not cut them all exactly the same!  I am sure all those glued pages are part of the reason it feels stiff right now.
It is good to have a new friend!