Monday, October 29, 2012

Junk, Beautiful Junk


Despite how it may appear, this is not an abandoned blog. As much as I love it,  blogging just hasn't been my top priority these past several months.

My husband and I are empty nesters. But, even with all the kids out of the house--and out of the state--the past several months have been anything but life at the corner of Ho Hum and Easy Street (although we did stand in that sweet spot with my dad in Carefree, Arizona, just long enough to snap this photo last week). We both have aging parents who increasingly need as much of our attention and assistance as we can provide. After all their years of sacrifice and commitment to us, it's now our turn to give back.  Not as easy as driving across town, though. Hubby's parents are two states away, in Illinois, and my dad is more than 1,200 miles away, in Arizona.

Even with frequent long weekends away, I was able to launch my Etsy shop this summer, but haven't been able to fulfill my goal of creating and listing as many handmade items as I'd like.

I don't know how often I'll be able to post here over the coming months, but I'm not giving up. I hope you'll stick with me and check in occasionally. Even though I don't have as much time to post these days, I try to keep up on your blogs as often as possible. I continue to be inspired by all of you out there.

This weekend, I finally found time to photograph the great  items I picked up at the Nebraska Junk Jaunt in September.


These beautiful old jars are the extra big ones. They might make interesting over-sized snow globes for the holidays.



The sewing machine drawers have a wonderful design of what looks like branches in a frame shape around the carved handles. I haven't cleaned these up at all, so you're seeing them with dust and crud and all. They're so lovely, they deserve special treatment to highlight that charming carving. Onto the future painting project list they go.


This raggedy, dirty old cloth tape measure was a mere $1, but is so much more precious than its price would indicate.



Soda crates and pulleys and tongs, oh my!


One of two nice wood stove handles I picked up. This one is from a company called Quick Meal Ranges.





I see a role for this primitive rake in a horror movie. After Halloween, it can be repurposed as a unique jewelry hanger.



These tongs are fascinating, although I'm not sure what they're used for. I thought they were meat hooks for use in a packing plant, but others think they're ice tongs. As you can see they can expand and contract to different sizes. The top is a hook that looks like it might hang over a pulley line. Do you know what it is?


A nice cast-iron biscuit pan is great in the craft room to hold small items such as beads, clips, pins and small bits of paper.


I love my new treasures and am already looking forward to Junk Jaunt 2013.

Make it a great day!
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Weathered Window


This broken window, with it's sash askew and a piece of white fabric flapping in the breeze has captivated me for a few years now.

We see it on one of the North Hills Pottery Tour stops each year. It never fails to delight, set into the chippy red siding of this aging barn.

This time of year, it could be considered a subtle Halloween vignette--especially when the cloth flutters in the autumn wind.

I used the same shot, cropped in tight on the window and applied the daguerreotype feature on Pic Monkey to give it a more mysterious feel. In the spirit of the season.


What do you think? Ghostly or just ghastly?

Make it a great day!
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Monday, October 8, 2012

Sci Fi Sunday at the Pod Farm


The first weekend in October is the annual North Hills Pottery Tour here. A number of artists at four locations north of the city display their wonderful creations, serve up some great homemade soups, pizza, desserts and wine against a backdrop of local music and the gorgeous colors of autumn in the countryside.

We take part in this event nearly every year. The range of pottery styles on this tour is as diverse and colorful as the autumn landscape. The tour atmosphere is delightful, the artists accessible and friendly and the drive beautiful.

One of the more whimsical pottery collections draws guests' imaginations into the world of aliens and pod people.

Hope you enjoy this photographic tour of the Pod Farm.









Emerging from the Land of Pod, the view is distinctly more earthly. But just as wondrous.


Make it a great day!
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

If Only It Could Last


I cried over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.
Carl Sandburg, Autumn Movement

Oh, the colors of autumn! Is there anything else like them? 

Last weekend, the North Loup River in the Nebraska Sandhills was dressed in the first hints of gold and red. And, while many of the trees remained green, summer's end was clearly evident.

I'll just let the pictures tell the story.




A bald eagle scouts dinner in the corn fields along the river.



Make it a great day!
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Monday, October 1, 2012

One Man's Junk . . .


If you're someone who likes to sift through junk as I do, Nebraska's annual Junk Jaunt is as thrilling as Christmas morning.

This past weekend, while our husbands enjoyed a weekend of high school and college football, a dear friend and I took to the road and soaked up the autumn sunshine, Nebraska Sandhills scenery and miles and miles of treasure hunting.

The Jaunt is a 300-mile loop of sales, mostly in the Sandhills in the central part of the state. Because this is a small-town and rural area of Nebraska, vintage farm items and rusty, dusty, crusty thing-a-ma-bobs abound.





Treasures were plentiful, indeed. I could easily have filled a U-Haul with architectural salvage, antique furniture, wooden boxes, metal crates, vintage tools, glassware and other pretties, novelties and oddities. My friend and I didn't have a specific agenda or shopping list for this trip and were pretty restrained in our purchases.

This week will be a busy one at work, so I won't have a chance to photograph my goodies until next weekend. I'll be sure to share some of them with you in a later post.





We made the most of the Jaunt experience, taking our time, patronizing the local establishments, partaking of the local brats, homemade pies and cookies and regional wine tastings. We stopped along the route to appreciate the beautiful fall colors along the North Loup River and take some photographs, which I'll share in a later post. We didn't make it even half way 'round the loop before we had to head home. Maybe next year . . .









Make it a great day!
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