Some things I'm thinking about today...

It's going to be a crazy day. I do like the quilt I am trying out so I stopped at Walmart last night and bought a set of the pillow shams. They only had one set and I didn't even think to look at the size. Ended up with King size when I actually needed Standard. So a trip to Walmart is in my future sometime today to look for the Standard size.

How many of you have memories of the old Hoosier cabinets? I have long wanted one of these but can't find one in good enough shape at a price I can afford. But I continue to look. If I ever get one, I want to fill it up with Pyrex, FireKing, Glasbake and Federal bowls and bakeware.

I am on the hunt for a set of vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy. I like the soft cream fabric instead of the bright white. I should look for the really primitive ones, but some of them are scary looking. This is the style I like .... although this particular set is on sale for $1500 on the internet. Yep, not gonna get this pair.

Heading to McKay's today to change out some books. There are two books I need to complete a series. Surely in a store this size, I can find those two books. 

Tonight I get to go to Smoky Mountain Adventures. This is Dolly Parton's new dinner show in Pigeon Forge. As an employee of Dixie Stampede, we market this show as well so they are giving us all a free ticket so we are able to tell our guests about it. I am going with Sue & Mary from work and expect it will be a very fun time.

Time to get ready to head to McKay's. Have a great day.

A funny story.....

I was at Walmart Saturday with my daughter and granddaughter when I decided to pop into the bedding section to see if they had any primitive style quilts. The only I saw wasn't exactly what I wanted but I did like it real well. Shelby said "That's just like Mamaw Sherrie's new quilt". Well, her Mamaw Sherrie is my best friend that I go shopping with a lot and I remembered that yes, her new quilt was like that.

When I got home, I was telling her about picking out the same quilt but couldn't decide if it was what I wanted. It turns out that when she bought hers in a queen size, it didn't come down as far as she wanted due to her thick mattress and mattress topper. But she couldn't take it back because she had thrown away all the packaging. She went back and bought the king and just stuck the queen in her closet. So she said if I wanted to try the queen and see if I liked it, I could take it for a "test drive" and if I wanted it I could keep it or if I just wanted to use it till I found exactly what I wanted. So needless to say, it is now on my bed until I decide what to do.

I think it does look primitive. My cousin and sister who have excellent decorating taste both say it is primitive looking. So I am going to start incorporating primitive decor to see if I want to keep this or look for something different. I had a few pieces in other areas of the house, So I brought them in to start putting a look together. This is also temporary till I know what I'm doing. I love my weeping willow tree and it is what started my whole love of primitive and wanting to do a room in that decor.

I had a blanket Mom made me in primitive stitchery with homespun fabric so I laid it across the foot of the bed. I like  how well it blends with the quilt.

I will keep you posted on my updates. Time to shop my house and check my storage closet to see what else I can find. 

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a great weekend. My sister came to town and dropped off some goodies from when Mom closed down her home for her move. Some stuff was from Mom and some from my sister. I haven't had time to go through it all yet, but wanted to share a few of the things I have found homes for so far. One is this gorgeous cast iron rooster napkin holder. Though as I look at the photo, I need to swap places between it and the flowers. Notice the chickens are looking away from each other. That messes with the mild OCD moments I get. Going to have to change that.

And I love the big red crock. I am using that for the utensils I seem to be collecting with red on them.

I need to fix a display with these and my bowl, but for now I just wanted you to see my Pyrex cups and S & P shakers in the butterfly gold pattern that I have started collecting.

When Mom had surgery a few years back, I gave her this Thirty-One bag to take to the hospital. It has circled its way back to me. I always loved this pattern.

I love my baskets. I'm not sure if they came from Mom or Sis but I absolutely love them.

Mom had made this one year at a craft day with my cousins. Love the little Christmas mouse. 

I didn't get to see my sister much, but we did get to go to the Corning Ware outlet together where I found this small plate and bowl. This will be perfect for me to have a snack of chips and dip or my melted cheese with little sausages for dipping. It was just $4.98 for both pieces since they were on clearance. This is the new Pyrex Vintage Charm pattern that is the take off from the popular vintage butterprint pattern. I love it.

And they had the vintage charm butterfly gold (my new fave) pattern. I love these storage bowls and especially for just $4.99.

My sister treated me to one of the daily bonus specials. It is a casserole dish with lid and she got it for just $3.99. That was amazing. Going to make something in it for supper on my day off this week.

That's all for now. I'll share some of the other goodies she brought me later this week when I've had time to look through everything. Have a great Monday.

Sunday songs

Top 10 for Thursday

Here are my 10 favorite things I found on Pinterest that I am liking this week. If I get my bedroom switched to primitive before Halloween, I love some of these ideas.

Does anyone know where you can by these small craft ladders? I just love this.

What a cute idea for a shadow box for a sewing room. However, I would just find vintage thread that is old looking to put in there, not a regular spool with ribbon on it.

Another cute idea for a ladder if I can just find a ladder somewhere.

I love what they call subway art. This one is perfect.

I am always looking for things to make with fabric. This is too cute and you could use any quilt pattern design.

Oh my goodness I love this. I am a fan of red and aqua together. This is adorable. Of course the fact that it has Pyrex bowls makes it even better. 

What a cute idea for a pin cushion. A vintage jello mold. I really like this.

While the focus of this picture may be aprons, I am posting it because I love the ironing board cover. I need to Google and see if you can buy plaid ones. Somebody probably made this.

And last is something I shared last years and never got around to doing it. I really need to find where to get craft ladders. 

When God uses an umbrella....

Sometimes God produces miracles that are so mind blowing that we can't see how people can not believe in Him. And sometimes, He moves in the simplest ways that we fail to see it was Him.

I want to share an experience I had the other day. I hope you take the time to read it through. Our God is an amazing God. When we took Mom shopping, she wanted to run into Dollar Tree. While she was in the checkout line, I noticed there were small umbrellas on the counter. It's an impulse buy ploy. So I acted on impulse and thought "I'll get a black one for work. You never know when you will need an extra umbrella." I paid for it and stuck it in the trunk of the car and thought no more about it. It was just an umbrella and it was just $1.00. No big deal.

BUT GOD (don't you just love those words) had another plan in mind. Fast forward to Monday when we were traveling home. We stopped in Corbin, KY to have lunch at the original KFC and to view the museum in the restaurant. On the curb in the parking lot sat an elderly man. He was very thin and gaunt. He had on a long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt, jeans and a Veteran ball cap. I didn't think much of it because he didn't appear to be panhandling or holding any signs. He just sat there looking down at the ground hunched over.

Once we got inside and were eating, I saw someone stop outside and speak to him. He came in shuffling behind them, still looking forlorn. They told him to order whatever he wanted and then they added some more to his order. They went their way to a table with family and he sat across from us and ate like he hadn't had a meal in a week. He kept his eyes downcast and ate every bite. When he was done, he cleaned up his mess. He even took a napkin and wiped off his table and got up and left, not speaking to a soul.

When we left, he had returned to his seat on the curb and was just sitting with head bowed again. It had started to sprinkle and by the time we got in the car (which was near the old man), it was a pretty steady mist and my shirt was getting soaked. Immediately, my mind came to the new umbrella I had in the trunk. I heard a voice in my head point out the old man was getting soaked. I popped the trunk and got out the umbrella and stepped up to the curb. He didn't even look up. I squatted down to his level and said "Excuse me sir, but it appears you are a little down on your luck right now." He said, yes ma'am. Just busy trying to survive." I said, "Well, I'm just passing through and can't do much for you, but I'd like you to have this umbrella." He finally looked up and smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said "Thank you, ma'am. That means a lot. God bless you."

As I got in the car, I was reminded of all the stories and bible lessons over the years that tell of how many times Jesus will visit us in various forms or situations and we ignore Him because we don't even realize it is something God is doing for us to help us grow. 

I will never see that old man again. I will never know what brought him to that place in his life. But I DO believe with all my heart that God led me to purchase an umbrella on Sunday in Barboursville, WV that I didn't even need because He knew there was a man in Corbin, KY who was going to be sitting in the rain on Monday with no umbrella and no place to go. You may think it is just a coincidence. But I know it wasn't. God knows our needs before we do and He will put His plan in action to make sure we are taken care of. 

Have you missed me?

I've not posted the last couple of days because I got to go to West Virginia to see Mommy. And I got to take my three youngest grandchildren with me. They were up and ready by 5:00 a.m. to hit the road on Sunday morning.

They loaded in the car, all smiles. I figured they would start dozing in about an hour. Nope. Shelby dozed about 5 minutes when we got close to Charleston, WV and Colby slept about 15 minutes right before we arrived.

They were so excited about the sunrise. It just fascinated them. Alexis was designated photo opp gal so she snagged some good shots that morning.

It was so good to see Mom. She has settled in well to the health care facility she moved to and is really looking much healthier than when I saw her in May.

We took her out to lunch at Wendy's. She wanted one of their baked potatoes. Yes, that is a fireplace in a Wendy's. 

The kids were having a blast with their Mamaw Helen.

Then she wanted to go to AC Moore. She had so much fun. Especially with her three little helpers showing her all kinds of things they thought she would like. 

Even though my sister and I live 5 hours from each other, our minds have always been in sync. She is 61 and I'm 60 so we have been really close all our lives. I always laugh and tell people that we think exactly alike. Imagine my surprise when I showed up to Mom's and Sis had on yellow just like I did for the day....especially considering in years past, yellow has just not been one of our major colors. Now the summer I go yellow, so does she. We were cracking up.

When we got back from taking Mom out, we sat out in her courtyard. Check out this cute little planter someone made.

The kids loved exploring around the gardens.

We are blessed that the staff wanted to get Mom in a room with her bed by the window. They had a room come open a few weeks ago right by the courtyard that she loves to go sit in. So they asked if she would like it and she does. So my sister went and bought Mom some outside hooks, bird feeders, etc. Now Mom has her own personal garden view. Complete with a little hummingbird that is a bully. He is sitting on one of the hooks. Every time another hummingbird approaches, he dive bombs them and runs them off. It is quite a site to see him battling against other birds. He isn't intimidated by the big birds either. Nobody stays for long when the bully is on duty.

On the way home Monday, we stopped in Corbin, KY and had lunch at the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was originally Sanders Cafe.

The old part of the building is set up as a museum. We got to see Colonel Sanders office. I've got more to share about that on another day.

And of course, I had to stop at my favorite antique store in Milton, WV before we left that day. I have been wanting a red vintage sewing box so bad and can't find one anywhere. I finally found one for $12 (new ones are $29 and up). And I love the plaid.

It is definitely vintage because they don't even make them with metal hooks for spool holder any more to my knowledge. I've never seen one. 

It has the manufacturers tag in it and it says Dritz Sewing Basket. So I Googled it and found this exact basket. If the info on the internet is correct, this has been narrowed down to possible late 30's to early 40's. Most source I found reflect more of the 1940 era. Dritz made sewing items from 1920 - 1969 when they sold the company. The new company changed the name and sells some items under the new name and some still under the Dritz name. But bottom line is this thing is old. And I am excited.

I also found the Indian Glass Thumbprint pattern compote dish in the teal blue. I have been looking for one of these in either the green/blue carnival glass color or in a blue. I finally found it in Milton for $5.00. I wasn't going to pass it up. I still want the one in the green blue and one day I will find it somewhere where it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. But I am excited to finally find the teal blue. 

One the way home we ran into the worst monsoon of rain I have ever had to drive in. You could barely see the white lines and the traffic on I40 in Knoxville was going about 30 mph because nobody could see. Even the big semi trucks had slowed to a crawl and were being cautious not to splatter huge waves of rain when they passed you. Alexis took this picture when it first started, but it got a lot worse.

By the time we hit our exit, the skies had cleared and it was blue sky and sunshine.

It was a wonderful trip and I told the kids I would love to take another trip someday with the three of them. They were so good, but then again they always are.