Friday, March 30, 2012

Friday Fun Facts

Another week just flew by....

Just like the Summer did...

It will soon be back though!

Ok, today's facts...

1. Despite common belief, the United States does not have an official language.
(Imagine that)

2. It takes 43 muscles to frown.
(17 to smile)

3. Worldwide we consume 400 billion cups of coffee each year.
(make note...remind me to buy some coffee stock)

4. Japan's Okinawa Island has more than 450 people living all above the age of 100
and is known as the healthiest place on Earth.
(hmmm..make another note to possibly retire there)

5. Cheetahs are able to change direction in mid air.
(I have a hard time just changing direction)

Hope you enjoyed these facts this week.

Spring Blessings everyone
Janice

Thursday, March 29, 2012

What The Heck Happened




2 weeks ago we received our store's water bill.
Usually the bill is $20 dollars each quarter,
however this time it was over $200.00
YIKES...well that's a nice way of putting it. LoL

Bob immediately went down in the basement and found
that the washer that hooks up to the meter was gushing water.
Again...YIKES

Then he noticed that the main beam and 22 joists were rotten
to the core...literally the main floor of our antique store was caving in.
YIKES!!! I wish I could tell you what we really were saying
Rhymes with HIT, CLAM and some other choice colorful words.

Fortunately Bob knew someone he could hire out
and he would help get it done.
Unfortunately they could not get the 20 Ft beam down the stairs,
therefore a hole had to be cut into the floor.

The original cut into the tiled floor was 17 ft by 2 ft.
Underneath the tile was about 2 inches of cement.
Then they found more damage, so they had to cut another
4ft by 5ft to repair those joists.

We are just so thankful that the floor did not cave in
while we were open, and no one lost their merchandise.

Since our vendors pay us rent, we are going to compensate them
for the days that we are closed...but it is killing us to even have the store
closed for one day..and its been 3 days now.

So for all of my blogging friends who shop our store,
I just want to let you know that we are closed for now.
Bob and the contractor have been working 15 to 18 hours a day trying to get this done.
Bob is hoping to get done tomorrow to be open by Saturday...
but right now that's a big
IF
Its a big project, but to quote Bob:
"Once this floor is done, a truck can drive over it."

We were suppose to go to a prim show in Breckenridge
Saturday morning...
but we have to play it by ear now....
I will be so disappointed if we cannot go,
but the store needs to come first.

Spring Blessings to all
PS. We had snow falling this morning here in our neck of the woods.
Another YIKES!!!

Janice


Monday, March 26, 2012

Monday Montage

I am under the weather today,
therefore this montage will be brief.

We went from 80 temps to snow falling down this morning ...
which is probably contributing to me being sick.

Plus they are predicting frost tonight.
I took these pics of my flowers popping out yesterday..
good thing I did.


Pick Hyacinth

Yellow Tulips

Daffodils starting to peek out.

Chocolate Chip Aguga

Bridal Bush starting to leaf out.

My Climbing Wild Rose Bush.
This was a present from the birds.

Back to the couch I go.
Spring Blessings to all!

Janice











Friday, March 23, 2012

Friday Fun Facts

I'm a little late in getting these facts out,
but at least Tanner won't be mad at me this week. LoL


1. Apples can wake you up better than coffee.
Or in my case, some strong ice tea..
but it's really the natural sugar of the apple that wakes you up.


2. Approximately eleven and a half omelettes can be made from one ostrich egg.
That is some whopper of an egg!

3.Checkmate in the game of chess originally came from the Persian word
"Shah Mat"
It means, "The king is defeated, helpless, ambushed or stumped...
but NEVER dead."

4. The second person to survive going over the Niagara Falls,
later died from slipping on an orange peel.
What are the odds of that happening?
I myself don't even want to try...


 
5. A light bulb manufactured in 1901 has been burning continuously since.
This light bulb is still glowing in Fire Station 6, Livermore, CA.
 and was designed by Adolfe Chailet; not Thomas Edison.

Bonus for missing last week

6. The first toilet to be seen on TV was on Leave it to Beaver.
Way to go Beav!

Hope you like these fun facts today.

Spring Blessings to all
Janice

Monday, March 19, 2012

Monday Montage Spring Containers

Before I show off some Spring,
this is what I had to drive in this morning.

FOG
This picture does not really show it very good.
As the old adage goes...the fog was as thick as pea soup.
I could see maybe 2 car lengths in front of me
the whole stretch of the river to work;
which is about 30 miles....not fun.
Plus they are telling us that it will be foggy both night and morning
for the next three days around here. YUK. 

Onto the Montage.
I believe if something has a hole in it,
use it as a container..
except sometimes I feel like my head has a hole in it at times,
so I do not think it would be wise to try and stick something in that. LOL

Here are some of my spring containers.
An early tin paint can filled with some daisies


Industrial Springs

Grape Hyacinths in a milk bottle.
 
Yellow Forsythia in a salt glaze crock.
Lavender in another milk bottle.

Pink flowers in another salt glaze crock.
If anyone knows what these are, please let me know.

Tulips and Delphiniums in a bean pot.

Finally a sure sign of Spring
is my sister's homemade Easter Candy!

Its so hard being at the store and not grabbing some...

My big kittie Tanner was mad that I forgot to do Friday Facts last week.
He wanted me to let you know, that if he could have got on the tablet,
he would have done it himself.  ;-)

I promise not to forget this Friday Tanner.

Spring Blessings to all!
Janice








 




Saturday, March 17, 2012

200 Follower Giveaway

Since I am getting close to 200 Followers,
I decided that it was high time
to let you know what will be my giveaway
once I reach that goal.


1. First is a wool felt penny pillow.
The colors are navy blue, red and mustard yellow.
All prim colors.

2. Second is this blue crock bowl.
Made in the USA.

If you would like to win these goodies,
all you have to do is be a follower of my blog
and comment to this post only
that you would like to be in the drawing.
Its that EASY!

Drawing to be held when I reach my
200 Follower.

Good Luck to all,
and let's get me to that magical number.

Prim Blessings to all!
Janice


Goodies from Bunny Swap

First off, I want to thank everyone
for their prayers.
Not only was Bob's sister alright,
but NO one lost their life in those three terrible tornadoes
that hit our state the other night.
In Michigan we do not get tornadoes
like some of our neighboring states do,
so when it happens, we are all on edge.
However with this freaky mild Winter
and now these devastating storms...
makes me wonder what next will happen.
Onto more exciting news.
Amy from Bumble Bee Lane hosted a wonderful
Bunny Swap and Ellie
from Ellie's Country Accents
was my swap partner.

I was so excited to receive my package in the mail...
Had a bad day at work, and when I saw the package....
well I was like a kid at Christmas and ripped open
all of the pretty gifts before taking pictures of them.

I know...patience is a virtue...
so very sorry for not showing you the before pics...

The after pics are so awesome though!

This cute egg just jumped into my ditty bag.
 
While this darling egg wanted to stay next to his bunny pal.
Love the simple face, don't you?

Then my lamb tin wanted some attention.
But he showed his Easter smile when I laid
this chick and egg mat underneath him.

Or maybe his smile was for his lady friend
that moved in next door to him.
Although I beleive it was the twinkle in her eye
that made that little lamb grin!
Don't you agree?

Then Ellie's next gift was this note pad.
Arts and Crafts Keep You Sane.
That's the truth....

Plus this yummy candle..sorry for the blurred pic.

Thank you Ellie for all the wonderful goodies!
Also a big shout out to Amy for hosting a fun giveaway!

Take care everyone.
Prim Blessings to all
Janice



 


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Need Your Prayers

Just a little note to ask you 
to say a little prayer for us.

Here in Michigan
we just had a tornado outbreak.

One of the tornadoes has passed over
the small town of Milan where Bob's sister lives.

We are unable to reach her and have been watching the tv
for some kind of news.

Bob is seriously thinking of driving
to her house which is 2 1/2 hours away...

So please we need a little prayer. 
Thank you.

Janice





Monday, March 12, 2012

Monday Montage- Shades of the Season

I'm GREEN with envy at this post!
A few old croquet ball on a vintage dogwood tablecloth.

Green crock bowl to the left.
Green rim early enamelware bowl to the right.
An 1872 apothecary wavy glass jar in the middle.

Homer Laughlin Pottery

Early hooked rug
Close up...and these loops are not all even.

 
1896 Hat Pin Holder

Close up showing the design of green milk glass.

Brillo Cleanser Soap

Green sponge ware bowl.

This week our temps will be in the mid 60's.
A sure sign of Spring!!!

I am so tired right now.
Wishing I could be like my dear Ace.

Sleeping on the couch right now.

Prim Blessings to all.
Janice







  



Friday, March 9, 2012

Friday Facts/ Store Update/ Swap Update

I have much to say today,
so here goes....
First today's Friday Fun Facts are as follows~
1. There is a museum dedicated to salt and pepper shakers.
It is in Gatlinburg, TN for anyone interested in visiting.
2. The Mayans never specifically predicted that "The world is ending December 2, 2012."
Bob tells me constantly that the world is ending this year...
So my comeback for him when I want something for the house
really, really bad...
"But honey I have to buy it, the world is going to end."  LoL

3. Hawaiian Islands are born when Mother Earth had sex with Father Sky according to Hawaiian lore. 
In the story of creation, Wakea (Father Sky)
who is partner to Papahanumoka (Mother Earth)
gave birth to the islands.
Hawai'i is their hiapo, or eldest child.

 
4. The steam from a cup of coffee contains the same amount of antioxidants as three oranges,
 which helps prevent cancer and heart disease.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning...
but do not like to drink it. How about you?

 
5. Only about 2% of the world population have green eyes.
Both Bob and I have blue eyes, so that counts us out.

That does it for another week...
Boy has it been a crazy one.

Next on my agenda today is a few pics of the goodies that will be in the store tomorrow.
I did not have time to make a lot of Easter items,
so fair warning to those who are waiting for me to bring them in.

Prim bunny with carrot.
Prim Fabric Eggs

This cute little prim bunny is a pattern from one of my dear blogging buddies Lisa.
Please visit Lisa's blog at
 themoonlightstitch.blogspot.com
Lisa can you tell what I forgot to add from your pattern :-)

Lastly, Bob has been sick this week, so unfortunately my bunny swap goodies
did not get mailed out to Ellie who was my swap partner.
I am so sorry Ellie...I am going to mail out your goodies tomorrow morning,
since our local Post Office is not open before and after I get out of work.
Ellie sent me some wonderful goodies that I received in the mail yesterday.
I will post next week for sure. I am hoping you will like what I made for you especially!
In the meantime, please visit Ellie at her sweet blog
Elliescountryaccents.blogspot.com

Take care everyone!
Janice

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Come On In

The weather is fine here in Michigan today.
Well, all my blogger friends,
I have more news on our celebrity status.

The producer of the show contacted Bob yesterday.
They want to do a follow up interview with us
in the next few weeks...

But first they want us to email them a picture
of us together...yuk..did I say I hate my pic taken.

One of my co-workers said we should get
a professional picture and an agent..LoL..she is too funny!

Here are more pics from our fun day of shopping.

Antique skeleton jailer keys.
the large one is 7" and the other is 5 1/2.

Half of a wood bird candy mold.

Wood Bucket

A vintage glass cloche
Vintage pink dresser scarf, glass cake plate and pedestal dish.

Pie Safe with original green paint and screens.
If my house had any green in it, this would have stayed there.
Alas cannot keep everything.  :-)

An early shaker bench.
the patina on this piece is so cool!

This is a Fluter, which would be used to iron pleats.
Can you imagine having to iron your clothes back them?

A general store Carnation malted milk tin.

Two tiered bench.

Last but not least..an 1800 dry sink.

Our van was so packed that we had to move our seats up
and it was pouring rain all the way home...
thank goodness we were able to get everything in before it rained.

Today in our neck of the woods 
the temp was 63...woohoo Spring is around the corner for sure.

Don't forget for all those who are in Daylight Savings Time
We have to move our clocks forward this Saturday.

Prim Blessings to all,
Janice












Monday, March 5, 2012

Monday Montage- Goodies Part I

Before I start showing the pics,
I want to let everyone know that
the estate sale that Bob and I went to last Friday 
was for the HGTV show Cash N Cari.

I told Bob that I did not want to be on camera.
I hate getting my picture taken...
but it happened that we purchased 2 of the featured items.
So guess what...I got on camera.

They interviewed me by myself three times
and Bob and I together twice.

I must say it was quite the production.

Just standing in line, they made us all stand a certain way,
and turn to the right and then to the left.
Then we all had to smile and they took our pictures again.

Cast Iron Door Stop

Oh, I forgot
We all had to sign a waiver before they started filming
After that a young gentleman put our name on a small chalkboard
and he took our pictures individually.
I sort of felt like someone being arrested and they took my mug shot. LoL

The first time I was caught on camera
I was tricked.
I had picked up a checkerboard.


Then Cari's assistant asked me if
I had seen the game board in a different room;
which I did not.
Of course she had to show me...

This game is called Krokinole or Carrom.
It is similar to shuffleboard.
This particular game is from 1902.

Back to the story.
When the assistant started telling me about this reversible game

Checkerboard on the reverse side.

She lifted the board up a little and I lifted my eyes up a little...
That is when I saw the microphone above me.

Close up of Pocket

I did not dare turn my head...
I knew they were filming me then. Yuk.

Gorgeous splint handled early basket

After she was done explaining the game
she asked me if I wanted to purchase it.
Of course I had to ask if she could do better on the price.
She said she would have to ask Cari.

Preserve Crock

That was when I heard
"CUT""
"Let's get Cari in here."

Coke Ice Pick

I turned my head then and saw 5 guys standing there
with cameras, microphones, clipboards.

Then Cari came into the room,
and I heard
"Action"

I felt like I was a movie star then.

Cari asked me if I wanted to purchase the game board.
I asked her if she could do a better price.
She said hmmm. Let me see...
She looks at the price and says, how about ____
I said "SOLD"

Then we were interviewed for purchasing this beauty.

It was quite the experience.
The show we were told will air sometime this Summer.
I will try and let everyone know when.

Part 2 of our finds another day.
Prim Blessings To All
Janice