Friends to share a meal with.

Night time at our little country church. (Ignore the blue paint, hopefully we'll get to paint in the coming year!)

The table. All set and ready.

We've had a very busy fall! Sometimes I wish the leaves would all fall off my maple tree at one time, so that we could just rake a couple of dump truck loads all at once and be done with it. I love that old tree, and the leaves are so pretty; it keeps us nice and cool in the summer, as we sit on the swing cooling off. I wasn't ready for summer to end, but wow!! It's almost December and the days will start getting longer again!

My Finnish Cardamom Bread

This month, our little Bible study group had a Thanksgiving meal together.  I think we all came really excited, it's the first time we've done something special, and it WAS a special time. I was really looking forward to celebrating God's faithfulness with this little group.  We are so blessed to have this little place to share, to learn, to grow in. These people God has put in our lives. Celebrating what He's brought us through, trials and hard stuff. His providing us with this quaint little country church. He is is so good to us!

It's been that busy time of year for me. November is hectic with bread baking, and I've had a lot of fun baking and selling my bread. I've had a few sell-out days, that's always a nice thing! Except for one more sale in Columbia City, outside of St. Helens, in December, I only have a couple days of special orders, and I'm through the busy baking season, and can do some leisurely homemaking.

This week, we're going to be doing something I love to do before the holidays. Cleaning! I'm talking about sending my husband out onto the beams in our living room with a vacuum lol. Today we got the bedroom all dusted, floors done, everything all nice and clean. I like to spring clean once in spring, once in fall/winter. All the knicknacks cleaned, all those books dusted. When I met my husband I had NO IDEA he was such a book freak! At least his books are beautiful! Well, when the cleaning is done, the nice warm fire is going, the Christmas music is playing, it'll be a day of decorating. Not all-out decorating, but a little holiday cheer. Some warm welcoming on the porch for visitors. Sometimes the stress of what this old world brings gets me down, but you know, I just keep looking up! There is a very good plan to it all!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of blessing, full of reflection on how much we have all been blessed! ~Karen

36 Tube Candle Mold/More of My Finds

Wood Frame 36 Tube Candle Mold

I've been trying to keep working at my Etsy shop, getting more of the things I've found this year into my shop. If you're like me, you put something away to deal with later, and it's like Christmas getting it back out!  Well, I'm making use of the rain we finally got, trying to set myself goals, etc. I don't do a lot of Ebay anymore, but I did put this awesome 36 candle mold on Ebay tonight.  It's just pretty neat! Imagine the lady who used this! I'm not sure, but in those days, it seems like you'd be lucky to have one of these, I always thought the really primitive way to do it was to dip the wick over and over and over.... This is making me want to read Little House books again!
I hope everyone's adjusting to the cool season. It just doesn't seem like some people should have snow already, or that the temperatures have dropped almost instantly. I wasn't quite ready for the rains and cold, but at least I'm getting some stuff done inside!

Time to Start Listing Furniture~My Awesome Step Back

I've spent so much time outdoors this summer taking advantage of our beautiful summer weather, I've fallen a bit behind on stocking my Etsy store, (which I am now challenging myself to fill up) and getting busy selling some of my awesome large finds this year! If you are in the NW Oregon area, and are on the lookout for a nice step back cabinet, I have one you may like. It has taken me awhile to finally decide I'd let it go. I've been on the verge of putting it n my own kitchen, but it just won't fit. Who knows, if I don't sell it, it may be in there after all!
I just listed it on Craigslist, if you,re interested. The photos aren't great, b/c I didn't have it in a place with great light. But I did meet one goal for the day, yay! My other accomplishment was to go with my daughter-in-law to her midwife appt. to hear my granddaughter's heartbeat! Now isn't that something!?

Indoors Once More

What a busy, beautiful summer we have had in Oregon this year! Hardly any rain from July on, until now. Which means coming indoors, lighting the fire in the woodstove, making hot soup more often and barbequing less. I always try to stay outdoors if it's not raining, thus, not much inside gets done til Autumn.
We have a HUGE maple tree in our yard. In the summer, we like to sit in the swing, around an outdoor fire, enjoying family and friends. In the fall, let's just say it is a LOT of leaves to clean up. I admit I think it's kind of awesome when stormy, rainy windy days make the mess; it's all worth it.
I've had a great summer doing things with friends and family. I've had some rough stuff to go through too.  I won't go into all the details but, like the maple in my yard, we may have lost some leaves, but we're still standing, roots dug in deep, leaning on the Lord, who wills and works His way in us. I am so appreciative of the friends who have prayed for us along the way!

I've had an amazing year working with vintage stuff, selling in my Etsy shop, and we did manage a vintage sale with the Vintage Gathering friends. I'd love to have made it to few others, just to be a shopper, but we've had too much going on around home.
I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, getting my Etsy shop stocked with so many wonderful finds I accumulated this year.

Odd things I find! This pin strip roll is awesome!

Hang it from a wall on the piece of string! Neat sewing room decor!

 I am going to be up to my elbows in bread dough a lot of November, with the Finnish cardamom bread that I sell each year. I'm doing 3 sales in Longview, Wa., and 1 in my own little tiny hometown. I'm amazed at how loyal my bread customers are, because they do come back year after year. Right before Christmas I do special orders, which are really kind of fun, sort of a wrap-up of my bread baking year. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me to be able to do this! 

Cute shabby bear!

Precious nursery dresser jars!

I sure hope the autumn season blesses you with it's abundance, with it's beauty. Bringing in the bounty of blessings to get us through the winter days. It's never too early to be thankful!

Vintage Gathering Fall Sale

I don't know how I missed getting this out, but today Vintage Gathering friends are having their fall sale! Awesome finds to be found there, and sweetest ladies you'll meet!

Vintage Flea Market at Deepwood!

Some friends of the vintage style are having an awesome flea market down near Salem that you might really want to know about! Looks fabulous and I hope I'll be able to go! Check it out!
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Cronies Meet Redemption

Ha~! Like that title? Well, after I tell you what it means, you're gonna love, love, love me, especially if you are in the Pacific Northwest.
In our little tiny town of Clatskanie, Or. there lives a couple of friends. Well, there are friends, and there are Junky friends. These are junky friends. You know the kind I'm talking about. The kind that hoard awesome treasures! Well, these two women have, over the space of the last year, opened two awesome shops, side by side in our little town, that are well worth bragging about!
Meet Kelley, one of the most awesome primitives collectors I've ever met. When Kristin (my daughter and I) had our little shop, we had a lot of Kelley's fantastic things to play with. That was several years ago, and since then, Kelley has had booths at the Kalama, Wa. antique shops. But she has now begun to realize her dream! Having her own shop! The pictures I got, I'll admit, aren't the greatest, but hopefully they'll give you an idea of what you'll find. This girl has EVERYTHING, I'm not kidding! I love how she uses her shop space, which, by the way, isn't small. She has it packed full, and every little corner has a little surprise. Her personality and decorating talents are combined in the whole experience.  Meet Kelley, of "Cronies", open Mon-Fri-Sat, 10-5, Sunday 1-5. I can't remember the name of the street, but it's right before our only stoplight in town. Right off of Hwy 30, on your way to the coast. If you're coming from Portland, head west on Hwy 30, we're about 60 miles from Portland, and 15 miles from Longview, WA.

 She's got so much fun stuff packed in this shop, the pictures don't even begin to show you all her little vignettes.

 I know this picture is bad, but I thought it was funny. This little section, she's decorated with a coastal theme. See those sock monkeys above the window? They're her "Sea Monkeys!"

I believe she's eventually hoping to have coffee too, and she should! It's the kind of place you feel so at home at, and she is so friendly and warm. NOW, when you visit her, PLEASE tell her I told you about her! She'll think it's awesome!

And while I'm at it, I have to show you Kristi's shop! Redemption~Junk Salvation for the Vintage Soul.
Kristi's shop, while not as large, is a wonderful artistic experience! I think of the word "color", awesome color, with a light and airy feeling. You'll get an idea of what I'm talking about when you look at my (admittedly poor) photos. It'll be enough to entice you to stop off the beaten path and see what our little town has to offer.
Kristi does some beautiful things with old junk, and she has a great knack for finding it. Besides vintage treasures, she has jewelry, handbags, and all kinds of gift ideas for your special friend!
Kristi is open Fri, Sat, Mon, 10-5, and Sunday 12-4.

Bears for Adoption

Aren't they cute?  I'm still going through totes of stuff from my storage unit treasures! I seem to have aquired a Boyd's Bears collection. I know there are at least 30 adorable little guys/girls here. I should have counted when I was putting them in the basket.  They're up for adoption, if you're interested, make me an offer on the lot. (Gosh, I feel terrible saying it like that! I feel like I need to give them good homes, but don't really have time to adopt individually, and I can't afford to feed them!) Add about $15. shipping to your offer, in the U.S.
Besides adopting out bears, I'm still uncovering treasures. Haven't even started with listing anything yet, I've been sorting, washing pottery and glass, and trying to manage my real life at the same time! I'm racing the clock to have everything organized so that I can be OUTSIDE when we finally get some sunshine. I know everyone thinks it only ever rains in Oregon, but truly, we get some gorgeous weather here, and when we do, we celebrate it!

Vintage Treasures to the Ceiling

No kidding! I've NEVER bid on a storage unit auction before in my life. I don't know why, my parents even own one! (Well, their customers are usually good about keeping their payments up to date, even the lady who rented a unit for over 10 yrs, and her kids found...junk magazines)  I usually would think I'm too chicken to bid, but THIS was too good to be true. There were 3 units getting auctioned and we WON one!! What a blast! What a LOT OF WORK!
Right away we went through a lot of the stuff, ended up with 2 trailers filled with primitive antiques. We got 2 nice beds, one was a big huge brass one! I ended up with lots and lots of totes of smaller stuff that I can't wait to start listing in my Etsy shop. There are a ton of things I would love to keep, but I think I'll probably end up selling . But 3 things especially were favorites.
See the photo of the trailer, and in the very end, on the right hand side? It's a dye cabinet. At first, we thought it wasn't all there, but yep, my husband came across the tins that go on the door. It is turned around in the photo, but the back has some awesome advertising for dye-o-la (I think that was the name) dyes. It has little cubby holes that dye packages went in, but I might use it in my office.
Another favorite was the Hills Brothers Coffee thermometer. I gotta keep it! And then there is the glass mailbox. How awesome is that?
For days now, I've been washing pottery, going through everything, separated, categorizing stuff, getting rid of the junk. It looks like I'm gonna have plenty of cabinets, etc (as if I didn't already) to take to the Vintage Gathering Sale in July. And how many pottery pitchers does a person need anyway?
The lady that bought the other two auctions beside us was so nice. We ended up having a drawer of hers, she had one of ours. We were pretty excited for each other finding treasures. She got the two better ones, but I'm sure not gonna complain. And it's always nice to meet another treasure hunter! We're keeping in touch, so that when we come up with extra pieces, or missing pieces, we can get them to each other.

What else has there been going on around here? Well, I have a friend who hatches chickens with her little incubator. My sons and I got one and gave it a try. We only were successful with 2 little chickies, but they are spoiled little guys. I hate not succeeding at stuff like this, so, yep, we're giving it another try.  That first hatching had me such a nervous wreck, I felt like a father in a waiting room!  I think this little guy is a rooster, he's acted proud since the day he was...hatched!
Our Oregon rain has been terrible this month, but I'm hoping for some brighter days; they seem to be getting better. I am racing the clock to get my treasures organized so that I can do what I love when spring through fall comes-stay outside! Hope your spring is bright and shiny!!

Makes me laugh!

If your day has been needing a little laugh.... this should help.

Talented Toymakers

When Kristin and I had our little shop full of awesome vintage finds (many from other vendors), we got to know some friends who are local to our area. This brother/sister team, well, actually the whole family, is so talented it amazes me.

Jeff makes some of the most awesome toy boats. They have a ton of detail, are finished so well I think he said they can float in a hot tub.  Although we sold some for little boys' toys, big boys liked them to put on their windowsills, too.

 And these little tiny baskets are so neat, too!









And what about these swords? He's got some neat toys that are not your typical box store toys. If you have a little boy with a lot of imagination, you might want to take a look.

And for the girls? Well, Jennifer is the talented sister. Also a very nice person! She is the marketer for "Friendly Fairies" and she's got some pretty neat party hats. Take a look!



I think she does custom orders, too. And no, she didn't even know I was going to post this on my blog. I just thought you might like to see some really cute kids' toys!

I've got spring fever. I hope you are jumping into spring like a kid in a mud puddle! I've managed to get out and do a little tilling, a little planting, a little walking around my yard, dreaming.

Book Lovers Anonymous

I think I've mentioned before, my husband is a book lover. I don't know how many collections he's had over the years, but a LOT! He recently decided to thin out some of his collection. I wonder why I bug him so much about BUYING and COLLECTING the books, but when he decides to part with some, it's harder for ME to let them go?  Maybe because with some of them, I get attached, and they're like family, and... Well, anyway, take a look at some of these adorable little books that will be leaving home soon.... These are a sweet little collection, he read a lot of them to our now-almost-grown-daughter.

 I think the inscriptions are some of the best parts!

Most of the children's books he has seem to have been gifts from either Christmas, Birthdays, or Sunday School. And probably much more treasured than today's average kid would appreciate. Kind of a sad thought.
Jeepers, he caught me taking photos and just like any book addict, he reminds me, "Karen, be really careful when you open them, the spines are delicate, and they can crack if they're not handled carefully..."  Yes, Sweetheart, I know you love your books.