In The Good Ole Summertime

Hello friends!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Since our un-official motto here in Michigan

is the Water Winter Wonderland,

we always carry river and lake

 theme products for Summer.

Here are few of those from the front window.

I so loved these driftwood stars.

Bagged up tiny seashells with 

turquoise beach glass.

Another fun item.

I always lay this bumpy tan chenille

underneath everything to mimic sand.

These huge sailboat pillows were a hit.

 So were the swans and this sailboat painting.

Well as Autumn is fast approaching.

let's all take some time to enjoy what

the last days of Summer give us.

Good Ole Summertime Blessings To All!

Janice

The Final One

Good morning friends!

Today is my final patriotic display.

 

When I spotted this scarf in the store,

I knew exactly what I would do with it.

Even though it is really a ladies one....

I knew it would be a perfect fit for my horse.

Don't you think?

Thinking outside the box with this one.

Underneath on the table is one of my

prized coverlets.

An 1800 tri colored one.

The colors are very vibrant in this one.

The owner(s) really took care of this beauty.

A partial side view.

The day I took these pics it was an overcast one.

This pic was without my light on.

In other news.

Only 9 more days until I start my Halloween room.

Every day this week still have been 

checking in Halloween inventory.

I told Bob last night that I may have outdid

myself this year and have no clue how I will

beat next year's display.

He said "honey you will figure it out"

I sure hope I do.

I have so much Halloween and Christmas

inventory now, that I actually

added all of my Autumn goods into the store.

Thank you Sandy for your purchases last week.

Bob and I both enjoyed your visit.

I did add more in this week....

plus there still are some hid somewhere

in our storage room.

Will find it when I take out the Halloween.

Saturday is my grandson's graduation party.

He will be off to college in the Fall.

He is going to a local one 

so he can continue to work nights.

My mom will be coming down and spending

a few days with us, so that will be nice too!

Bob and I also celebrated our anniversary Monday.

We went out for an early dinner since he tires easily.

It was nice going to our fav Italian eatery.

Well off to work.

Hope everyone enjoys their final

weekend of July.

The Final One Blessings To All!

Janice

Patriotic Colors

Well the end is near.

For both July and Summer.

Hello friends.

Hope this post finds you healthy and well.

Bob remains the same.

No worse. No better.

Time will decide it seems.

Back when we first started selling antiques,

I created these patriotic sheep.

Some 14 years ago.
 

I should have ironed this flag but did not

have time. Oh well.

My red, white and blue firkins and pantry box.

The banner on the wall is an antique.

In other news, the other day there was

a tornado warning for my moms small town.

I immediately called her house phone when I got the alert.

When I asked her if she was taking shelter,

she proceeds to tell me

"Well I was until the phone rang" 

All I said after was "ok bye"

She called me back after she got the all clear.

We both laughed as I forgot she can

hear the towns tornado alarm as it is

only 2 blocks from her house.

No tornado this time.

However in the late 90's, 

my brother called me on a Friday

late in the afternoon telling me one did

touch down in her town.

Since I was the closest kid to her house,

I told him I was on my way.

Grabbed clothes for me and the kids

and we were off.

Once I got into town, there were trees down

everywhere.

The police stopped me and asked me if I

was a resident.

I said yes, and he asked for my address.

I gave him my moms and he let me go through.

Once I got to my mom's her house was fine.

She had no power, but told me she

watched the tornado coming from the West.

Once it got close, she took shelter.

Fortunately it went back up

 before hitting her street.

Towards the west is farmland and she

can see for miles.

Witnesses said it came back down

2 blocks east of her near Lake Huron

and touched down in the harbor.

Many boats damaged.

Thankfully no homes or loss of life.

Well off to the store.

Now that most of the Autumn goods

are on display

(no room in out tiny storage area)

[too much Christmas and Halloween in there]

Now I need to check in the Christmas items that arrived.

Patriotic Color Blessings. To All!

Janice

Stars and Stripes Forever

Hello friends!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

All I can say is that it is HOT HOT HOT

and humid here.

We are trying to minimize our air usage so as not

be part of any brown outages here. 

Today I show you my fabric stars.

One of my hooked houses.

The man for those who do not know

is my paternal grandmother's father.

My great grandpa Robert.

The stripes in this post is this patriotic ribbon.

I loved how the sun peeking in casted

this shadow.

Although because of the sun you cannot

see the coverlet underneath the horse,

this is an up close pic of it.

It is a repro but I still love it!

Update on Bob.

He remains the same thus far.

Feels fine in the morning and tired by afternoon.

He is complaining now so I know he must

be getting better a bit. LOL

Stay cool my friends!

Stars And Stripes Blessings To All!

Janice

July CupboardScape

 

There are those who want to

cancel George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Taking down statues of these brave men.

What is our country coming to?

How many July 4th's will we be able to celebrate

before we become a socialist country?

It's so sad to think we are going down this path...

but I see it every day.

I had intended this post to be my July 4th one.

As most of you know, Bob was in the hospital that day.

Therefore am posting now.

I was selling these Pledge of Allegiance signs

in our gift shop.

What I loved most about them was that

 they were American made.

I think I may have two left. They were a hit.

My theme for this July CupboardScape

of course is to celebrate the colors

of our flag.

Reds, White and Blues.

I purchased this twig square vase from

one of my current neighbors who owned

 her own gift shop in town.

I loved going there when I first moved here.

Its been 20 years now since I moved here.

She since closed her store and never did

I imagine I would have my own now.

This flag is a 48 star cloth one.

The huge flag here is also a 48 star cloth one.

I love them both!

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments

for Bob and I.

It is greatly appreciated!

He is still weak with the short term memory loss

and vision loss.

He cannot do much as he tires easily.

Tundra is loving all of the attention though now.

He has both his mommy and daddy home every day.

Bob will be joining me this morning

as I work the gift shop with Tundra.

If he gets tired...which I know he will,

we have a ride for him to go home.

He just wants to get out of the house.

Cannot blame him.

He will not be working,  just visiting for a bit.

Well have to get ready.

Am adding in a few Autumn goodies now.

No more space in our storage room,

(too much Halloween in there)

so I have to put it out on the floor.

Halloween set up is in 21 days.

WOOHOO.

Am getting excited now,

however I was not able to finish my creations.

No new witches or pumpkin folks.

Guess there is always next year.

Still trying to finish up the WIP's I started

pre hospital days.

Well off we go.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Post July 4th Blessings To All! 

Janice

Back To The Swing Of Things

Hello Friends.

It's been a bit since my last post.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts

and prayers for my hubby Bob.

Many days in ER, ICU and then to a regular room,

he is finally back home.

More on that at the end.

For my entry wall, just a few change ups.

The flag pillow and antique coverlet piece.

Just a bit of a change makes it look so different.

Just added in some red, white and red textiles.

A small basket with a patriotic ribbon

Love our patriotic colors!

A simple star tucked into my wall shelf.

So more on Bob.

He did have a minor stroke,

which affected his short term memory

and some vision loss in his left eye.

We found this out once he was to move from

ICU to a regular room.

He also had a loop implanted into his chest.

At night he has a machine that checks his heart

while he sleeps.

The cardiologist was not sure if a blot clot

broke off from the back of his heart and 

ended up in his brain, so a precaution at this time

since he has a family history of blot clots.

We have many appts. going forward.

The doctor is hopeful that his vision and memory

will come back once his brain heals.

For now I will be working from home again

all week with my bosses okay so I can help

Bob out. 

He gets tired easily and will not be working the stores

for two months at least.

We will have that covered, and I will go back

to working the gift shop on weekends again.

So thankful the ER doctor ordered that scan

before releasing him, otherwise he would not be 

here right now.

God was on our side for sure.

My days were full while Bob was in the hospital.

I would go to the stores and grab the monies,

make deposits and then take my FIL with me

to visit Bob.

Would take my FIL home late in the afternoon, 

pick up Tundra and then go back to the gift store

and do inventory.

Our phones would blow up each day with 

those inquiring about Bob.

At times so much that they would die.

It got to a point where I was not sure

what I said to whom. It was crazy!

My Halloween and Autumn items have been arriving daily

and I have to make sure all is alright, otherwise

I would not get my money back 

if something was damaged and I waited.

Well today is my last day off work.

Bob would like his lunch now, so off to make him something.

Thanks again for all of your well wishes and prayers.

It is much appreciated!

Also now I have to play catch up on my favorite blogs.

So glad to getting back to a somewhat normal life again.

Swing Of Things Blessings To All!

Janice

Happy July 4th

Hello friends.

Hope everyone is enjoying their

holiday weekend.

This is not the post I wanted to do for my

patriotic month.

This pic was from a few years ago.

Fortunately Bob's gout went away on Thursday,

however on Friday afternoon

I drove him to the ER thinking he

was dehydrated with the flu

as he had not eaten anything since Wednesday night.

The short story is he had a mild stroke.

He in in ICU now for how long we do not know.

He can talk and had not lost any feeling,

so this is a good thing.

The neurologist is giving him

saline solution and meds to hopefully

break up the blood in his brain...which is quite a bit.

Good thing also is the echocardiogram

came back that this did not affect his heart.

I have been practically living at the hospital right now.

When I get home I try to go to bed,

but everyone wants updates, so I am spending 

more time on the phone lately with 

calls and texts.

There are so many folks that know Bob and I,

and once the word got out....well

its non stop. No fault of theirs.

Everyone is worried nd concerned.

 I have been taking the calls from Bob's

phone and mine as he needs his rest.

Poor Tundra has been left by himself 

all day now.

He is not use to this.

Every  morning I let him out of his crate

and he runs around the house looking for Bob.

Well I need to go to bed,

but I just wanted to let everyone know

I am going to take some time away from 

blogging for a bit to take care of Bob,

and run the stores now.

I took time off work until Bob gets better.

My routine these past days are go to the stores

early in the morning and do the paperwork

and take in the deposits, then I take

Bob's dad with me to the hospital all day,

then I take Bob's dad home, go pick up

Tundra and go back to the stores to make

sure all is well and do inventory at 

the gift shop.

Of course all my Fall and Halloween items

are now arriving and I have to make sure 

nothing is broke and everything was shipped.

When it rains, it pours.

I have stopped working on crafts,

so I am afraid I may not get the rest done in

time now before I set up the store for Halloween.

It is what it is.

Bob is more important right now.

Well as I said before, I am going to try and go to bed now.

Thanks for understanding and know

I will get back to blogging when I can.

Happy July 4th Blessings To All Of YOU!

Janice