Thanksgiving at Jennifer's

This year we had Thanksgiving at my sister Jennifer's home. She set a beautiful table using new and vintage china and glassware. Jennifer and Kevin's home is the one that has the beautiful gardens.
Before the meal we had a little reading (in the leaf covered paper) about what Thanksgiving is and how it started, and how it matters to all of us who came here from different lands at one time or another. The little folders housed a tag on which we listed 5 things for which we are thankful. We shared these also....they ranged from making us laugh to making us cry!
And here is my neice reading to my nephew John...all about the pilgrims. We had a wonderful day.

Apple Hat

A couple of weeks ago we went to a baptism for our newest family member. Isn't she a doll!? This is the little hat I made for her. It's still a little big on her at the moment, but I'll bet it will be perfect in no time...they grow sooo fast!

This is the first felted item I am trying...the yarn is so beautiful! It's a bag and I can't wait to see what it is like when it comes out of the washer. I have it done and I just have to work up the courage to wash it. I actually knit this twice. I finished the body of the bag the first time and wondered why I had only used half the yarn....of course I had knitted it single strand and it is supposed to be double. So I pulled it out and started over. Yikes.

Christmas Knitting!

I'm working on a scarf for my daughter for Christmas. I'm using a pattern from this book. I love the I cord fringe! This is to go with her navy blue pea coat. The yarn is TLC Wiggles by Coats and Clark. I'm enjoying working on something that is mindless enough for me to knit and talk at the same time....and a scarf is such quick work! Christmas is coming up on us fast!

Vintage in my Sketchbook

• I keep a sketchbook that I try to draw in each day. You can see it here. Here are a couple of finds in use at my house and my mom and dad's house. The lamp is an old one I found at a sale. I had a classy ivory silk shade on it but the other day my mom found this great old shade made from green burlap with evergreens painted on it...with fabulous trim around the bottom. I like my home to be classy, but usually I will pick interesting over safe any day....so, off went the plain shade and on when the slightly worn but ever so cool vintage shade. The magazine is Cloth, Paper, Scissors...one of my favorites!

edited 10/19: Someone commented on this photo (posted elsewhere) that I must not have kids. Actually I do and the fact that most of my stuff is thrifted makes it easy to live with. So I thought I'd price out this photo.

• The sofa is 14 years old, and the fabric is starting to look kinda worn on the edges, but it doesn't show much unless you look closely. For years it and 2 chairs in that room were our only seating area...so you can guess that it has seen tons of use. It was $800 dollars on sale when we bought it new. It was a stretch for us back then, but we have found that it is worth it to get as good quality as you can afford.
• The next most expensive thing ($?) is the aquarium!
• birdcage stand holding plant: $17 in junk shop (but Dad bought it for me)
• 2 plants on sale at big box store for $5 each
• ottoman: my newest purchase $20 in resale shop
• carved bench used as end table: this is a carving bench once used by a carver friend of my husband's. When he died his wife gave it to us. One of the best things we own.
• coffee table: is actually an old pallet from an electrical company. I found it at an antique fair (even though I'm sure it does not qualify as an antique) and it had already been sealed and had a glass top. I thought it would be cool, since my husband is an electrician. I paid $150 dollars for it. Seems like a lot but a new real coffee table would have been more and I think this is more interesting anyway!
• Lamp was $20 at an auction
• Shade: Mom bought it for me at a garage sale for $1!
• Pillow: Waverly bought on sale at Hancocks for $12. Actually belongs in another room, but everything moves in this house. Good reason for making colors compatible I suppose!
• Antique picture over the aquarium (of a couple looking over their catch after fishing!) $30 at an antique mall. Just a little joke on the fish...I'm easily amused.
• Child's chair under plant: $5 at garage sale

So you see, even when I have 20 teenagers in that room (quite often!), I don't really have to worry because things are not that expensive....and I want the kids to feel free to come and hang out.

Bonnet, yoyo's and more neat stuff!

Recently I quit my job at the grocery store (I have been working as a cashier for the past 10 months). Now I am going to try and concentrate on home, ebay, and substituting at the grade schools...in that order. I used to have an antique store called Home Again. Now that I no longer have the store I just occasionally put something on ebay when I find something too cool to pass up. Above is a pic of the store window...looking out towards the square. It was fun having a shop on the square, but we just could not get the traffic we needed to stay open. We were there for two years.

I found this sweet little bonnet at a sale a few years ago....It unbuttons into a very simple shape that would be easy to use as a pattern for more.

Aren't these the cutest?! I believe they are tie backs for curtains and I think they would be sooo cute with simple white muslin curtains. They are made from yoyo's. They look like something straight out of Home Companion magazine.

Sweet little child's dress with blue hand embroidery!

This little baby dress is made from the finest cotton with white on white embroidery....would be cute on a doll or as a nursery decoration.

I have listed all of these on ebay.

New Name....More Stuff!

I have changed the name of this blog to reflect a wider range of interests. I still love garden junk! But what about all the other vintage treasures that I find and sometime remake in to a new treasure? Here I will share wonderful finds, remade items, garden junk, and even some of my handknits. Some of these items will be for sale at ebay or etsy---depending on what they are of course.

The cute little witch and pumpkin planter is on of those items. The pumpkin is flocked and just tooo cute! It is for sale on ebay under my seller name homeagain_in_il. I have several things up for sale right now...for the first time in a looooong time!

What? No blogging??

I haven't gone away, just been very busy building a porch and getting our son graduated from high school. We had a big family party for him, and it was a lot of fun. I promise....soon I will have some new photos to post. I have been working on some things-I just need to get pics taken!

My Sister's Garden

Or should I say my brother-in-law's garden--he is the gardener, she is the garden appreciator and flower arranger--a match made in heaven!






This is my dear sister and brother-in-law's house as seen from the pergola. The house sits at a right angle from the road and faces the garden. I should have taken a couple of photos of the garden from the upstairs window so you could see how it is layed out.






This is the pergola as seen from two different angles. The wisteria smells divine! My DBIL made the structure out of osage orange cleaned off of some land--so I guess it could be called garden junk--salvaged wood! They have plans to lay pavers under this so that they can put tables and chairs there for parties. There is even electricity to the pergola and it looks beautiful with little white lights on it at Christmas.





This is an aisle made from osage orange. They are going to put cross pieces so the sweet autumn clematis can form a canopy overhead. My daughter says she wants to walk down this aisle to the pergola to be married.






I don't know the name of these ramblers, but aren't they beautiful? They grow along the drive.

School Desk Planter

Well, I am ever on the hunt for neat junk used in the garden and I saw some today. A friend had these in her garden and was nice enough to let me take pics. One, the little wagon, is pretty common but still a great idea. The other I had never seen before. She took the top off of an old school desk and planted it up with snapdragons and petunias. I think it will look especially smashing when the snaps are blooming and the petunias trailing--I'll take another pic then, but I thought it was an idea someone might be able to use right away.

French Toast Girl rocks!

I have recently had a wonderful time exploring the site of Élena Nazzaro -she has inspiring art and an inspiring spirit. I am going to start chalking early in the morning in a nearby park due to her inspiration. If you would like to ckeck out her site go here:
http://frenchtoastgirl.com/

Flower Cart

This is once again not my work, but something I want to make and have collected all the parts to make. Are you detecting a trend here? This was sitting outside an antique shop in Michigan and the owner gave me permission to photograph it.
This flower cart is made from bicycle parts and scrap wood. Last year I picked up some old bikes during spring clean up days in our town. Now I just need to get myself out there and see if I can do it!

My Dream Treehouse

I have always loved little hidey holes. When I was a kid I used to make a nest in a closet and read or sometimes I used my Granddad's old boat that had a little cabin. I have always wanted a tree house--and at 42 years old I still do! I am actually afraid of heights but a treehouse seems like it would be sturdy enough that I could get into it. When I was a kid I sometimes climbed trees in spite of my fear because I loved to sit up there hidden in the leaves.

My dream grown up treehouse would have:

• a non-scarey way to get up there
• screens to keep the mosquitos out
• a hammock to read in
• I could use an oil lamp, but electricty would be the berries (for dark rainy day's)
• tin roof over part of it--for rainy days-love that sound

Unfortunately, most of the trees around our house are on city property. The couple in our yard would not make good treehouse hosts. My aunt has a farm near here that probably has some possibilities. I'll have to scout that out. Her grandkids would love it if we made one!

100 Things About Me

I have heard that this is something bloggers do alot and since I am just starting this blog, it seemed a good way to introduce myself.

1. I have too great teenagers-a boy and a girl
2. I am married to J who I met when I was 14!
3. I love art!
4. I love gardening!
5. We live in a 100 year old house that we are slowly fixing up.
6. J and I (and the kids) love to ride our bicycles.
7. I love dogs.
8. I was born in Hawaii.
9. I try to be organized but find it hard.
10. My favorite color is red.
11. I drink Diet Coke.
12. Growing up, I spent summers at my grandpa's lake cottage.
13. I still go there as much as possible.
14. I cannot play any musical instrument.
15. I wish I could.
16. I am addicted to decorating magazines.
17. I love chocolate!
18. Chicago is my favorite big city.
19. Red is my favorite color.
20. I am a Christian.
21. I walk every day for exercise.
22. I used to be skinny.
23. Now I am not.
24. I have short hair.
25. My eyes are dark brown.
26. I am interested in history.
27. I am interested in preserving older buildings.
28. I like to go fishing.
29. I don't like to clean fish.
30. Books....can't have too many.
31. I recycle.
32. My favorite way to recycle is to make something over.
33. I am an antique dealer.
34. I stop for garage sales.
35. I think you can tell a lot about a person from their home.
36. Nature inspires me.
37. I go hiking whenever possible.
38. I went to a Big 10 university.
39. I accumulated a lot of credits but no diploma.
40. I think most parents need to pay more attention to being good parents.
41. Basketball is my favorite sport to watch.
42. I used to swim on a team.
43. I worry too much.
44. The porch is my favorite part of the house.
45. Soups are my speciality.
46. I like music from the late 1970's.
47. I like music from the 50s and jazz too.
48. I love it when it snows.
49. I like to go fishing.
50. I like target shooting.
51. I know how to knit and crochet.
52. I don't mind doing laundry.
53. I don't like to put away laundry.
54. It always amazes me when people are mean.
55. I have a fire in the fireplace most days in the winter.
56. Chicago is my favorite big city.
57. I have never traveled to another country,
58. but I would like to someday.
59. I am trying to get into shape.
60. Making stuff is such great fun for me!
62. I make scrapbooks.
63. I don't care for Sinatra's singing.
64. I do like Dean Martin's singing.
65. I like romantic comedies--even though the critics rarely do.
66. I don't watch daytime soaps.
67. I do watch Desperate Housewives.
68. I always buy used cars.
69. I have a room that I use for artwork and sewing projects.
70. I used to have studio outside of our house but found I didn't use it because I like to be at home.
71. Someday I would like to build a treehouse.
72. I do not like shopping for clothes.
73. My favorite type of garden is the cottage garden.
74. I just love to shop in office supply stores.
75. I love to be near the water.
76. We love to take backroads when we travel.
77. I want more roses in our yard.
78. I want less grass in our yard.
79. I like trees.
80. I like to be around positive people.
81. I avoid negative people.
82. I get really excited when I receive something personal in the mail instead of just bills.
83. My sisters and my mom are my best friends.
84. I am kind of scatterbrained.
85. I used to work as photographer for a newspaper.
86. I now think 100 is a very large number!
87. I have painted some very large murals.
88. Little kids make me smile.
89. Someday I'd like to live on the water.
90. Log cabins....I am very attracted to log cabins.
91. I am still in love with my husband after 23 years of marriage.
92. My kids are great people that I love to be around.
93. I like to find ways to save money
94. and still have great quality stuff.
95. I think it is important to volunteer
96. so I have in the schools, at church and on community committees.
97. I have an aquarium.
98. I like to go to museums.
99. I love chocolate ice cream.
100. I love to laugh and to make others laugh too.

This is a birdbath that I mosaiced. I used my old birdbath which had a hairline crack and so had a slow leak. I am such a chicken sometimes about finishing a project. I put the pieces on this three summers ago but was just chicken to grout it. Finally this winter I put the grout on and sealed it. I really like the way it turned out and my husband says that the birds are using it all the time--but I haven't seen a bird in it yet.

Pretty Fountain from Garden Show

This is a fountain that I did not make, but purchased at a garden show. It is something that I would love to learn how to put together if I can get J to help me learn how to do the metal work. Since I am an antique dealer and attend alot of garage sales and auctions I come across lots of old silver and such that would make great fountains!

This is my first post!

Ok, I don't really know why I am doing a blog---except that I am always looking for garden junk stuff on the web. Now I will be adding a little garden junk info to the little that is out there.

I am a gardener.
I am a junker.
I love garage sales.
I love to make junk into something usefull or beautiful or fun.