Sweet Honey In The Antique Shop

Over Memorial Day weekend we packed up and headed out to the glorious Bear Lake Valley to visit my in-laws and family.  There is one antique shop right there in town that only opens for a short season.   Her opening day was on Memorial day.  Her prices were very extravagant and I didn't find anything that really clung onto my hear strings.  

We visited another right near the lake called "Jail House Antiques".  I was looking for a metal milk can to put on my front patio and she had a few right out front.  So, we stopped in to see.  

My Sweetheart of a DH had worked a lot of overtime on his last on call shift and bought me this awesome hanging scale.  I have wanted one for years!!!  Oh, it's so beautiful.  I can't wait to hang it up and build around it.

Then my sweetheart bought me these really neat wools spools.  The store owner got them from the mill in the town over the mountain.

 And last, but not least, my honey bought me this beautiful yellow crock.  It's absolutely perfect.  No cracks or chips of any kind.  Thank you dear husband who loves me and understands my love for "old" things as my kids call them.  I was giddy the whole way home dreaming of where to put these precious gifts. 

Do you remember these?

In one of the small towns in the valley, there is an old park that no one visits much anymore. 

I remember riding these horses as a small child.   

It was sooo much fun to watch my children discover how to make them move, to ride high, have horse races, and to name their new favorite "pets".  I actually got on one too and rode and rode with my kids. It was really a great time.

Laughing and playing with the roosters and hens.  They also got to pet a baby calf and ride a horse.

We stopped on a rocky beach to throw rocks. "Middle" found this one and we all thought it reminded us of something.  Can you guess what it reminds us of?

On Sunday it just rained and rained so we took a drive to the bird refuge.  We saw so many kinds of birds.  These are just my favorites.

The end of our little drive through the refuge took us to the North side of Bear Lake.  It is famous for it's beautiful blue waters and nice sandy beaches.  This is on a cloudy day,  you should see it glistening in the full sun.  The color can be absolutely mesmerizing.

Thanks for joining me on our Memorial Day Weekend memories!!  It was a fun time to get away. I hope you all had a lovely Holiday too.

Out with the old~In with the new

~Out with the Old~

It makes me wonder, what downtown looked like back in the day.  Fresh new buildings, booming businesses, people bustling around the railway.  A town full of hope and promises.  3 or 4 square blocks is all they began with.  The faded signs are all that's left of someone's hopes for a better life.  It's what's left of their dreams of having their own piece of the business world.  A paper company, a hardware store, a car lot, a produce company, a grainery, a seed store, or a welding business.

Vacant and left to be torn down.  In the last year I have seen three of these beautiful lots grounded and whisked away to make room for.........

~In with the New~

Can you believe this?  A blue eyesore of a car lot.  It's so convenient you know.  You can sell your car, buy a new one and get a tattoo and belly button ring all in the same afternoon.  I believe that most of the residents of my town cheered the day this went in.

I am pretty sure I was born in the wrong era.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Memorial Day.  

Take Care:)

Lipstick and Rouge

Lipstick and Rouge is all this homestead needs.  A little love and it would be a grand place to have three little girls running around. I could sit and stare at the picture all day imagining the things I could do to it.  How fun to put a tire swing in one of those big trees, a porch swing off the patio, flowers everywhere.  We could have some chickens running around and a wonderful garden out back.  I can see the family reunions, the baseball games, the barbeque's, and parties.  How magical it could be for the Holidays.  A place my kids can bring their kids to.  

Hubby can park some tractors in here.  He always did want a small backhoe of his own.  The riding lawn mower, boat, etc.  What's above the garage?  A small apartment for visitors?  The building was built in 1912.  Isn't it so awesome?

The place is for sale in the country just outside of town.  It wouldn't be hard to move.

Dreams.......so glad I have the time to have them.

Living with IC and without a Keyboard

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball when you least expect it.  This has been one of those weeks.  I started showing symptoms of IC right after my middle was born.  I was extremely busy with two little ones born so close together, and with living in Alaska away from family, it was the most stressful time of my life.  Which is what I think caused the ball to start rolling.  The move back to the states with two babies in tow and driving the Alcan for 7 days caused a flare up so bad that I thought I was dying.  After dealing with symptoms and Dr.'s for 3 years, I was finally diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis.  I was so relieved to find out what was happening to me and then crushed to know that this was something I was going to have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life.

So far, after the initial flare up that sent me to the Urologist, it has been under control with minor incidents here and there.....  until this week.  It's been the worst it has been in 5 years.  It's been all I can do just to put on a smile for the girls and get the mess cleaned up.  

So, if you have reoccurring symptoms of a UTI , all  your analysis come back negative, you have to visit the bathroom constantly, and you are at your wits end trying to figure out what is wrong, I suggest you make an appointment to a good Urologist and check out this website.  It is a great place to learn about IC, connect with others who have it, and to get the latest info on the things (such as diet) that can help you manage your condition.

Learn More About Interstitial Cystitis

If this post can help just one person, then I am glad I shared it.  I wish I would have known about this years ago.

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We had an Apple cordless keyboard that went on the fritz.  I found out the hard way that you can't spray a light mist of Lysol on it for disinfecting purposes:{  Nope, not even in the slightest......the Bluetooth in it made my computer wacky afterward.  We had to throw the old keyboard away and it took a while to get a new one.  It's been a challenge to not be able to use the computer and liberating as well.  No e-mails, blogging, facbook time, or even searching the Internet.  But, I obviously have a new keyboard now so I can visit my friends again:) 

Have a great day, and thanks for reading my long post.

Beeskeps and Pansies

I love to join Misi's Tuesday Display Chains that she hosts because it's a great way to get involved, stretch my creative mind, and to meet other bloggers.  I did not however, expect to be rewarded:)  That's a perk.  She sent me this beautiful beeskep with dried florals and wax pansies. And, as the wonderful person she is, threw in the most amazingly smelling herbal mold and beautiful wooden bowl to go with them.  The whole lot just smells outrageous.  I put the pansies and mold in the guest bathroom and now, I just go in there to smell:)  The beeskep and dried florals are on my piano next to the primitive paper mache house I just bought.

Thank you Misi for such a beautiful gift!!  

Misi will soon be hosting a scavenger hunt.  I hope you all use the link I've provided to join in and read about how much fun it's going to be.

1890 Gable House Musings

Fishing Fun~A Marathon Giveaway Winner

Finally, last weekend was warm enough and still enough to take the boat out for her first run of the season.  We were all so excited to spend the day fishing on the lake.  Here are the girls on the way to the lake.  

Daddy has to rig up all the fishing poles.  Everyone is standing by.

The older ones actually got to fish virtually unsupervised.  They did pretty good managing their poles and hooks.  I did get hooked in the face though....I screamed loud enough that everyone just froze and thankfully it never got set.  No damage done.

"Baby" got a line and sinker.  She tried so hard to catch a fish.

But finally gave up to take a break instead.

"Oldest's" Rainbow.

"Middle's" Rainbow.

The scenery is beautiful to an "Idahoan"eye.

DH dropped us off on the bank for a bathroom break and a chance to wade and throw rocks.  Then went out to troll the bay by himself.

There are thousands of tiny shells for girls to take home in their pockets to be washed in the washer and smashed on the kitchen floor.

Plum tuckered.  It took a good 20 minute ride back to the dock.  The hum of the motor and the rocking of the boat put them right to sleep.  

Thanks for joining in on our family fun.  Boating and fishing is a great way to bring us all together in the evenings and on the weekends.  

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Most of you know I ran a four day craft marathon last week.  DH was out of town for those four days and I always miss him so much when he is gone.  I knew I needed something major to keep every minute of my day filled so I would not just sit on the couch and cry.  

I found myself not alone, but surrounded by many friends over those days who were running right along side to encourage me and to cheer me on.  I came out a winner because of all of you.  So, I decided to put all of the ladies names who joined me in a drawing to be the winner of my marathon.  If you commented all five days you got two entries.

I wish I could send each of you a gold medal or something:)  Just know that I appreciate each and 

everyone of you so much.

But, I could only pick one and she is:
~Janet W.~ 
(Over The River And Through The Woods)
Janet is one of my newest blogging friends.  She is a wonderful person who lives just a hop, skip, and a jump from me.  She always reminds me of the most important things in life.  Janet, I will make you a pillow with any color fabric and graphics you like.

Thanks for visiting me today and for uplifting me.  I will be visiting you too!!

Make Prim Happen Marathon~Day 4

I often visit Mary at Gettysburg Homestead.  When I saw the tutorial for her faux Redware, I thought it looked like a lot of fun.  I have always enjoyed painting with acrylics ever since I was a child.  My mother always had bunches on hand.  It's been along time since I have free handed pictures on to something though.  This project was more fun than the others because I baked a bunch of the circles for my girls and we all sat around the kitchen table Friday night and painted together.  It was crazy:)  All chairs at the table filled, paint flying everywhere (including all over the girls), and everyone seemed to need help brushing, squeezing, rinsing, painting, and drawing.  It's a wonder I even got mine done.  But, here they are.  Black Ware, Yellow Ware, Redware, and Terracotta Ware.

Here's what the girls did.  I let them pick their own colors.  I expected pink and purple and yellow flowers and rainbows, etc.  But they surprised me with beautiful browns and oranges with designs much like their mamma's.  So sweet!!!  Oldest has the top row~Middle has the middle row~ and baby has the last.

This marathon has been a wonderful journey for me.  I really needed to take the time to connect with myself this way.  Sometimes a full time mother can lose herself to others (which is really the way it's suppose to be), but we need to take time for ourselves once in a while.

After 4 days of intensive crafting, my house needs the attention now.  You know what?  I don't mind doing it this time.  

Thanks so much for watching me run and for cheering me on.  It's been fun to have you along my side this whole time and leaving me such sweet comments.

You are the best friends a blogger could have.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Make Prim Happen Marathon~Day 3

Loook!!!  Look what came out of my printer.  Not the pillow silly:)  The graphics that are on it.  I have seen this done and new instantly I wanted to try it.  I did have my doubts though.  Too good to be true...and if anyone could kill a printer this way it would be me.  But, being one to enjoy a good challenge,  I decided to take my chances.  I am so glad I did because I have found something else to obsess over .  There is something just thrilling about sending a piece of fabric through a printer.  Have you been over to The Graphics Fairy?  She has the most amazing collection of free vintage graphics for all your projects.  Day three is done and I've still got breath for one more day.  Just one more though:)

My girls were asking me when I was getting a new package as we were driving to the mailbox.  I told them I wasn't expecting anything soon.  And there, the only thing in the box, it was.  A small package from Katie.

I opened the letter and just about cried "again".  Earlier last week I had pinned a picture of Katie's doll collection because I loved it so much.  She was sending me one of my own to start my collection.  

Oh my Heavens!!!  Just look at her....she just melts my heart every time I look at her.  I am naming her Katydid because "Katie did" make me so extremely happy and loved. 

Katie is one of the most genuine, friendly, funny, and strong people I know.  She has the best things to share with all of us on her blog.  I stumbled upon her one day and new instantly she would be someone  I would have over for lunch every day if she was my neighbor.  She has been such a good friend to blog with.  Thanks again Katie.

Thanks for sticking with me....just one more day to go.