The Stone Rabbit

PINKS FOUND ON OUR LITTLE 'DAYCATION'

 

Recently, I took a "Daycation", with a couple of my pals.   We headed to historic Leavenworth, Kansas, which is about an hour away from our town of Independence, Missouri

You've probably heard about a couple of places in that town already.....like Ft. LEAVENWORTH, which is the oldest active Army post West of the Mississippi and LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PENITENTIARY, which is the largest maximum security institution in the United States, currently housing 2,000 inmates.

We did drive by those places. . . but our mission on that day was on the lighter side.  We were in that area for entertainment, exploration and fun. . . in other words for some serious shopping, antiquing, and dining!!

 

The downtown historic district is composed of several blocks of gorgeous old buildings that are the homes to many fine businesses.

 

We were in the downtown area from 9:30 a.m. until about 5:00 p.m. . . almost going at a break neck speed just to be sure we covered as much of the area as we could.

This was a great antique mall. . . and if I had my van that day I would have done a major impulse buy on a great old dining room table and chairs.  I did take pictures of it and re-looked at them many times, eventually talking myself out of a trip back to buy them.  Anyway....this place had tons of terrific items!

This was a very fine quilt shop.

While we hit several other antique shops, specialty stores and ate at a delightful spot called THE PEACOCK CAFE', our MAIN reason for heading to Leavenworth was to visit this wonderful shop!!

An antique vendor friend of ours highly recommended this store, so we decided to make a day trip out of it. . . .and we are so glad we did!

You can just tell by the amazing exterior of the store that it would be filled with spectacular and fun items!!!  Heck....that PINK awning was worth the trip from KC!!!  :)

We were promptly greeted by Stacy, the sweet owner, and given a quick overview of some the items she offers for sale. . . many of which are hand made by local artists!

 

 

There are so many darling displays and punches of PINKNESS in this shop. . . I have to say I was nearly drooling on myself!  I'm really wanting to find a chalkboard/easel and paint it PINK like Stacy did. . . isn't it the best?

 

Here we are for our "group shot".  L to R  Me (Dana), Bonnie, Marian and ?!!!  I'm so sorry I have forgotten this lovely lady's name!!  

Stacy didn't want to be in the photo, so she had her sales lady step in while she took the picture.   I don't recall her name,  but I do remember she was as sweet and helpful as she could be!!

Stacy makes candles. . . tons and tons of candles.  Sadly, I didn't  get a photo of her display wall, but you would be very impressed by the large variety of colors and scents she has to offer.

You can visit Stacy's shop via Face book simply by going to this link!  CANDLE QUEEN CANDLES.  You'll see lots of great store pictures and you can also shop on line!!

After  sniffing every scent she had to offer. . .  I came home  with this one and I LOVE IT!!!  It's the perfect smell for this time of year.  

 

THE STONE RABBIT is in agreement with me about how wonderful my new candle smells and how beautifully it burns!

Stacy has a few scents with some pretty shocking and catchy names.  You can see in this picture just how  shocked Bonnie was when she saw that label!!!

(Bonnie is so good about following my orders:  "look shocked", "look happy", "look sad".  She's a real blogger's asset !!  :)

 

Yep. . . here's the label on the candle she was holding.   Stacey says they fly off the shelves!  :)  

Bet that would make the perfect gift for someone in your life, huh?  

We had such fun visiting Leavenworth, Kansas.

 I know YOU will have fun visiting the loads of bloggers waiting for you at HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  

Beverly has everyone organized for another fun weekend of PINK shares!

Thank you, Beverly!

Happy PINK SATURDAY to everyone!

DANA

"BABY TALK" ON PINK SATURDAY!

 

Bonnie and I recently visited one of our favorite antique malls.  I think we have done this type of thing for so long that "the thrill of the hunt" has taken on a new meaning.

It used to be that finding something we collected or couldn't live without was what it was all about.  However, I've grown to realize that finding the fun stuff.....like this faux authentic Davy Crockett Coon Skin Cap (modeled by Bonnie)  or . . .

this carved coconut "person" with the Viagra clock displayed behind it is much more interesting!!!

Not far from where we spotted the Coon Skin Cap and the Viagra Clock we found this  combination.

First was what appeared to be a GI JOE with a great sign. . . .

 

 

 

made even better when it  "clicked" with us that he was riding GARFIELD!!!

I think we both decided we'd like to meet this vendor because they were on the same page as us. 

And just as we were recovering from our fits of laughter over this little display we spotted this next to it. . . .

 

 

yes, indeedy. . . .we found Prego Barbie. . . and a couple of her friends!!!!!

As the mother of a girl, I have seen a fair number of Barbies in my time. . . Holiday Barbie, Dentist Barbie, Ballerina Barbie. . . . but not With Child Barbie!  Did you notice she was wearing PINK?  :)

We wondered if GI Joe and Barbie had become a bit more than friends after hanging out in the antique mall for a while!

 

Moving on. . . .

Not long after the Prego Barbie, I took this photo  of one of my exercise classes.  I was standing at the doorway of our workout room. . . waiting for class to finish so we could . . . .

surprise our sweet teacher with a BABY SHOWER!!!

She has been our instructor for over 7 years now. . . .and we all love her to pieces.  We are sad to see her go. . . .but very happy that she is about to start her family!!!  

 

One of our members baked these yummy cuppy-cakes. . . placing a PINK flower on the one that belonged to the new mom.

 


Our other exercise instructor prepared this awesome citrus infused water for us to enjoy with the cuppy cakes!!!
 

It was amazing how quickly we could make a "surprise shower" happen right after a class!!

Here we are. . . the Monday Night Step Class!!!  :)  Thank you Stephanie for being such a great teacher. . . we know you will be a wonderful mom, too!!

Did you notice how she wore her PINK shirt. . . just for you?  :)

Have you enjoyed the "baby talk" so far?  

Today, with the super duper hot temps, I thought citrus infused water sounded like a great drink!!!

 

THE STONE RABBIT and I each fixed a glass and headed to the front porch this afternoon.

Did you notice how we added a cherry to our drinks, too?  

We sat on the porch steps,  watching the  Grand Dog Izzie survey her domain while trying to decide if she really wanted to trot out to the yard to do her business in the heat of the sun or if she thought she could "hold off" a little longer.

While we were watching Izzie and sipping our glasses of citrus water,  I shared a great surprise with THE STONE RABBIT.

You see. . . a couple of hours earlier, I was at the grocery store, when I received a text message from my son.  He and his little family were at the Obstetrician's office and . . .

they just found out that they were going to have another BOY!!!!!!

 I  do not care about the gender of the new Grand Baby, we're just happy to have another one on the way. . . . .but  it was great fun to find out ( well, we "think" we know!!! )!!!!

THE STONE RABBIT and I toasted the good news.  

Clink!!!!

This was how we were given the "told" about the new Grand Baby at Easter Time!!!!!  What a blessed gift.

 

Grand Boy #2  will arrive in late December or early January. . .  . . . .     :)  

Now, . . . I hope I can keep up with three little ones!  

That does it for the "baby talk" today.

Please visit Beverly of HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  You will find lots of other bloggers ready to share their PINKS with YOU!!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

DANA

IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR BINGHAM-WAGGONER 2011!!!!

 

Oh my. . . . I can barely STAND it!!!  

 

The one day of the year I look forward to the most will be here on Saturday!  Yep, it is the day we are treated to the best antique and craft fair of the summer on the grounds of the historic BINGHAM-WAGGONER estate in Independence, Missouri.  

 

On Saturday, the lawn of the estate will fill up with:

 

awesome vendors

 

 

 

 

 

great PINKS

 

delicious foody treats

 

 

 

 

 

wonderful music

 

 

 and US. . . old friends and new friends. . . . along with tons of fellow shoppers.

 

 





We come in the rain. . . .

 

and in the heat. . . .

 

to look . . .  

 

and look . . . .

 

 

and to buy. . . .

 

and buy!

Then at the end of a long hot (or wet) day of shopping and eating our way around the sale. . . it's a great just to kick back, sip some iced tea and/or lemonade and just relax.  

You just can't beat the atmosphere of fun, friends and finds at the BINGHAM-WAGGONER ANTIQUE and CRAFT FAIR.

 

Here are a few of the "treasures" I found last year!  

In the middle of the items you can see a black metal flower basket.

THE STONE RABBIT wanted you to see that right now,  that black metal basket is in the middle of our dining room table.  It is holding a vintage Uncle Sam bank, a commemorative Bicentennial plate and a bit of flag ribbon!  

 

I can hardly wait to see what goodies come home with me this year from the sale!!  :)




Please be certain to visit our hostess Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  She is so kind to host PINK SATURDAY every week, just so all of us and gather and share our PINKS!!!

 

Have a great PINK SATURDAY!

 

DANA

A FUN PACKED WEEKEND. . . with touches of PINK!

Two weekends ago . . . was soooooo filled with super fun times!!!

 

First, my hubby, daughter and I took The Grand Girl on her very first bowling extravaganza!  

 

 

Our daughter was the number one bowling instructor for The Grand Girl.  

Reviewing these recent photos tugged at my heart strings.  It doesn't seem so long ago that I would take my girl and boy (The Grand Girl's aunt and daddy) bowling when they were youngsters.  I recall the days when my little girl used that same technique to roll the ball down the lanes!  Sweet and fun times for me. . . that's for sure!

 

 

The bowling extravaganza was on a Friday. . . on the next day, Bonnie, Patty and I headed for Greenwood, Missouri, and their annual Spring Open House!!!!

Our first stop was OLD GLORY and FRIENDS!!!  I've posted about this wonderful shop before.  

In this photo are: Vicky (right) and Jennifer!   Vicky is the owner of this must see venue which specializes in Colonial and Early Country decor. . .plus antiques and primitive and tons of great decoratives, including candles and florals. 

 

 

 While shopping at Old Glory, I ran into my friend Brenda and her  son!

 

 

Vicky was serving up the sweetest of sweet treats on this wonderful tiered dish!  

I zeroed in on one of the yummy little cupcakes!  She knew I would be there that day. . . searching for PINKS, so I'm certain that's why she added the little PINK sprinkles to her cupcakes!!!  :)

 Across the street from OLD GLORY is another of my favorite shopping venues. . .THE GREENWOOD ANTIQUE MALL.  

I love vintage paper mache' Easter bunnies!  This vendor had several for sale!  Note the PINK one!

 

 

 I don't know if these PINK pigs are old or not, but they looked sweet on the table!   I also thought Lynn, of HAPPIER THAN A PIG IN MUD, would love to see these little Missouri Porkers, too!!!

 

Patty and Bonnie wandered off while I was photographing the pigs. . . and when I found them, they were nibbling on some yummy sugar cookies the mall was serving up!!   They picked out the ones with PINK frosting!!  I think I have then trained!

 

This is my favorite booth at the mall. . . it belongs to my friend Claudia!!

YUMMMMMMMMM!  Claudia left little candy Easter eggs in vintage glasses for shoppers to enjoy.  Thanks, Claudia. . . I ate two of them!!!  :)

 

After we shopped the booths, we had a great lunch in the GREENWOOD TEA ROOM, which is located in the mall.  I snapped this photo of a PINK door leaning against the wall in the tea room.  It was decorated with the cutest garden hose wreath!!

 

That evening, we attended a birthday party in honor of our 3 year old great nephew!!

 

Watching the birthday boy, his sister (sporting the cowboy hat and PINK dress) and  The Grand Girl as they checked out the birthday loot, reminded me of years ago.    Yep, it seems like yesterday, but it was years ago. . .when the great nephew and niece's mom, and her sister and their brother. . .along with The Grand Girl's daddy and his sister, would gather for birthday parties!  Those were some wild times and fun times. . . and I can't believe I'm old enough to watch the next generation enjoy the same things!!  WHERE did all of those years go?

 

 So, now that you know what I did a couple of weekends ago, I thought you might like to see the loot I brought home from The Spring Open House in Greenwood, Missouri!!

First, as many of you know, I LOVE old green baskets.  I have several tall ones (I refer to as "funeral baskets") and I now have a few of these smaller ones.  I am drawn to their wonderful color...and their sweet shape!  THE STONE RABBIT loves them, too!! 

I flipped when I spotted this at the GREENWOOD ANTIQUE MALL...and snatched it right up, cuz it was marked at a terrific price!

 

 

I bought a great piece of over-dyed wool, in orange.  There is a booth inside THE GREENWOOD MERCANTILE that has a huge selection of wools.  I will use this in a fall project. . . maybe part of an appliqued pillow!

Vicky had these awesome faux forsythia branches in her shop. . .I brought home two.

I also bought a couple of these little egg wreaths at her shop.  They are atop two bags of  paper Easter grass, purchased at MILLET and CO....another fun store in Greenwood. 

Sandee, the owner of MILLET and CO and GREENWOOD MERCANTILE also had some of these sweet little faux bluish eggs that needed to come home with Bonnie and me ! 

The fun cotton twill Easter ribbon was at MILLET'S, too!!!

 

 

Yes, it was a good weekend, full of "fun and finds"!!!  

 

 

If you visit Beverly, of HOW SWEET THE SOUND, you will be treated to a long list of other bloggers who have Fun Pink Finds to share with you, too!

 

Have a great Pink Saturday and a terrific first Saturday in April.  I hope your weather is wonderful. . . ours is warmer today...and will be AWESOME on Saturday!!!  

 

DANA 

 

 

OK....I just had to show you one more bowling picture. . . .the VERY FIRST ROLL!!!  ;)

 

 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE COLLECTIONS

 

 

My interest in vintage hammered aluminum pieces started with my friend Mary.   I remember she was the first one I knew of who actually liked those items.  I wasn't crazy about them, then, but because Mary liked them, I would keep an eye out for them at garage sales and present my finds to her as  birthday or Christmas gifts. I didn't know the history of these wonderful pieces or that they were manufactured by different companies.  I was just looking for hammered aluminum items.

A few years later Bonnie, another good friend, started collecting hammered aluminum. . . zeroing in on those made by the "Rodney Kent" company.  The vintage items from that manufacturer have the sweetest tulip bouquet imprinted on them.   Below is a round tray, about 14 inches in diameter.  The tulips are off to one side.

 

This particular tray has handles on it.  Another signature mark of the Rodney Kent vintage collection are the ribbon design touches....such as on the handle.

As Bonnie's collection swelled, I became hooked on Rodney Kent, too.  This is one of my trays. . . I have several.  Some are round and some are rectangular.  I LOVE them.  I especially love them because they can be used in so many ways...all over the house.

 

Later, another friend, Eloise, became a "Rodney Kent" fan, too.  I enjoyed finding pieces for her, but pretty soon she was collecting them for herself!!  She and Bonnie have had great luck buying "Rodney Kent" items off eBay.  I just stick to antique malls and flea markets and good friends. :) For instance, Eloise gave me this particular compote!

 

 You can see the tulips imprinted on the top of the compote. . .

and the ribbon design that forms the stem or the legs.

 

 Bonnie gave me this awesome pitcher for my birthday!  I had wanted one for a long time.  I have a glass jar with a rooting plant inside of it  right now.  You can see the gorgeous tulip design on the front.

 

THE STONE RABBIT loves "Rodney Kent" items, too. . .  especially when there are yummy oatmeal cookies piled on the compote.  

Actually, I made the cookies using a recipe my friend Jill, of  BITTERSWEET SOAP CO., shared  recently with this link  at SMITTEN KITCHEN.   I have to say, this is now my new favorite cookie recipe!!  I substituted Craisins for raisins and pecans for walnuts.   The cookies are wonderful!!   In fact, they were SO yummy that my husband and I were gobbling them up. .  . SO I had to take drastic steps.  I bagged up the remainders and froze them.  Sadly, I can still hear them calling my name. . . what a temptation!   

 

Today, I'm linking up with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES for her weekly gathering called Second Chance Tuesday!

DANA

WE LOVE. . . . DANCING SANTAS!!

 

 Today I'm linking with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES for her Second Chance Tuesday!

 

As I said in the title of this post, we LOVE dancing Santas at our house.  I have been collecting them for a few years. . . and only buy them if they are inexpensive or if they can give me a good reason why they need to join "the collection".

Recently, this little one caught my attention at a Christmas Open House in Greenwood, Missouri.   This little guy was cheap and was in the antique booth of a vendor friend of mine.  ALSO. . . it actually plays music when you twist him around!!!  Yes, he met the guidelines!

 

THE STONE RABBIT thought he made the perfect new addition!

 

 

 

In fact, he and the other Santas could hardly wait for the "new guy" to join in the fun this year!!

 

If you'd like to read a post I wrote a couple of years ago about the Dancing Santas who live at our house, click HERE!

I hope you're having a great Holiday Season and don't forget to dance a little!!  

DANA 

IT'S TIME TO PULL OUT THE "WHEAT DISHES"

Today, I am linking up with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES for "Second ChanceTuesday".  I hope you'll visit her blog to see what others have to show us!  I know I will be!!

I am sharing a few of the photos from a November 2008 post in which I featured a table-setting where I utilized some of my Golden Wheat dishes.

A few years ago, I had decided I wanted to have a set of "fall" dishes.  I  recalled the Wheat Dishes my mom used to have when I was a kid and started looking for them in antique stores and flea markets.   My friend Patty became interested in obtaining some of them, too.  Over time, we each amassed quite a collection of the dishes.  In fact, we had so many, that we were able to "let go" of the ones we'd initially "found" that weren't in great shape. . . keeping the ones with the shiniest gold bands and the best images of the wheat. 

As a child, I recall that mom got the dishes out of detergent boxes.  When I looked on line, I found out that the Golden Wheat dishes were offered in the 1950's as a premium in boxes of Duz detergent.  Each month there would also be an additional sized plate, bowl or serving piece added to the boxed Duz, thus enticing customers to buy the soap as an affordable means to acquire the dinnerware, which was made by the Homer-Laughlin Co. 

 

 

The silver-plate  belonged to my mother-in-law.  I remember she very fond of these pieces.  As a young bride, I loved her little collection of silver-plate, too.  It was so much fun to help her polish the pieces as she prepared to use them for a special meal. These days, that silver-plate is used at our house for holidays and other important occasions.  I cherish it so much.  As I bring it out and prepare to use it, I'm filled with great memories of my MIL.  

I found the little amber glasses at the Salvation Army Thrift store.  Since these photos were taken, I've also added Fostoria amber water glasses to my fall collection of dishes.

The candelabra is an item I bought at a flea market years ago.  It's wrapped with a fall garland and draped with a seasonal ribbon.

 

As usual, THE STONE RABBIT was helping me out as I set the table.  He was in charge of pumpkin polishing. . . he's very good at that!


Thank you, Jillian, for hosting this event!!!  

DANA

 

A LITTLE PINK TREASURE!

Over a week ago Bonnie and I started preparing for our annual Tag Sale.  We held it in  her garage and drive way this year.

It takes hours and hours of hard, backbreaking work to pull this event together.  Here's Bonnie spiffing up some of our treasures we had stored!!

 We put up lots of tables, arranged and covered them,  then started putting out our wares!  

It sounds simple, but it's not!

This year we had lots of goodies to display....and it really was a challenge to make everything "fit" in the garage. Below is a  shot of the early stage of "arranging" our treasures.

We were under the threat of bad weather all day Thursday...the day of our "pre-sale" for those who attend the sale before hand. . . a kinda "early buying" experience for them.  During this time we served grilled hot dogs, iced tea, chips and Marian's homemade cookies to our shoppers!!

This photo was taken on the next morning after the pre-sale---before we opened.  You can see we put two tents up.  We had covered them with plastic the day before because of the stormy forecast.  The rain did roll in Thursday evening after our pre-sale, but the plastic helped our tents to stay dry.  However, on the day before, the wind gusts were so strong that our tents were nearly air born!  The tent on the right took a real beating....the leg looks a bit bent as I look at the photo.

 Back to the inside. . . this was also taken the  morning after our pre-sale...just to give you an idea of some of the stuff we had.

In order to hold our tents down, we filled plastic buckets and bottles with water and tied them to the legs!!!  We saw someone do that at a flea market sale one time.  They make great weights!

  

When we had a break in our "pre-sale" action, I was talking about how I needed to be taking pictures of pink items for PINK SATURDAY.  Guess what......we really didn't have too many pink items.  However, we all agreed that this sweet little PINK teapot would surely be a hot item and really couldn't believe it was even still there!

 Here's Sandra with that item.  She is one of Bonnie's childhood pals!!!  I don't know why she didn't buy that little item. . . she looks great with pink!!!

I'm pretty sure Bonnie was probably thinking that maybe she would like to keep the teapot for herself.  She's really starting to like PINK a lot since I'm always talking about PINK SATURDAY!

   

On the other hand, her husband was not so sure he wanted to be drinking his tea out of a PINK pot!!  
 
 My pal Patty had come over early and helped us put the finishing touches on the sale.  She was also really impressed with the PINK teapot!  Shhh---don't tell her, but she just might be getting that little item for a birthday gift!!!  She looks mighty fine with PINK , too!!!

Honestly. . . .can you believe it was still there. . . it only cost $3.00!!!  
 

Oh well, the one thing we've learned after many Tag Sales and flea market booths. . . ya just never know what will sell and what won't!!!  I guess that's what helps make such events a challenge and lots of fun, too!!!

This is a photo of THE STONE RABBIT at our sale last year. . . the weather was gorgeous then.   He told me he wasn't interested attending this year and dealing with the crazy weather and the chance of flying tents!!! 
 
 

I hope you have a great PINK SATURDAY.  If you visit Beverly of HOW SWEET THE SOUND, she will have a long list of bloggers with PINKS to share!!

Thank you Beverly for always making our Saturdays the best!!!

DANA  

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND A LITTLE BIT OF THAT!

This last week and a half has been filled to the brim!!!  It started on the Friday evening of Labor Day Weekend when we attended the Irish Festival held at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri.   Everything is GREEN for the celebration. . . .even the fountains!

The Irish Fest is an annual event and is PACKED with those who are Irish, part Irish, a tad Irish, wanna-be Irish and those who are "no part, nor do they wish to be Irish, but it's just a fun place to be" kinda folks!!!

There are bag pipers and . . . .

dancers and singers and exhibits and food and Irish merchandise and lots and lots of beer!!

 
 

In fact, the BOULEVARD STAGE you see below is sponsored by our very own Kansas City Boulevard Brewery!!  They make some of the finest beer around.

If you look beyond the Boulevard stage you will see Grand Street as it goes North,  beyond Crown Center and toward  downtown Kansas City.  That street is the one I will be running on, for about one mile of the 3.1 mile course,  come the middle of October when I participate (I hope) in the WADDELL-REED MARATHON. . . the 5K part of the event.  

Do you see how that street is really a HILL?  OMG. . . I know I'm not ready for that!!!  I hope I can get ready over the next month!!!  Gulp!

I think I may be biting off more than I can chew.  Gulp.  Gulp. 

 Moving on. . . . .the following day, we attended the first birthday party of an incredibly precious great niece!!!

Over Labor Day Weekend, I was also checking on my friend Patty's cat while they were out of town.  This is the one and only time I saw "Lucky" during the three visits I made to their house.  

On that day, he thought he would outsmart me and hide under their sofa, but I surprised him!!!  I think he was really surprised when I lifted the skirt on the sofa and took this photo. . . with the flash!!  I tried to bribe him with a little treat, but you can see, he wasn't interested in small talk.  :)

Here I am the next morning after I completed Week 6, Day 3 of COUCH TO 5K. . . I had just jogged 25 minutes STRAIGHT!!!  I was sweating like a pig. . . but it was a good sweat!!  I never thought I could do that!!

 

That afternoon, my daughter-in-law brought the grand-kiddos over for us to watch over night!!  In this picture, the grand girl was on the patio drawing with sidewalk chalk and blowing bubbles using  her stockpile of bubble bottles  at Nana's House.  The little grand boy was content to watch her from inside. . . occasionally tapping on the window to tell her "hi"!!

While the kids were playing, THE STONE RABBIT was taking a little nap.   The activity levels of the little ones do wear him out!!!  :)

 

When my DIL came back the next day, and was in charge of watching the baby and fixing our lunch :), I started making a proto-type of the grand girl's Halloween costume.  She wants to be ANNIE!!!  How PERFECT will that be with her sweet red curls!

I had found a vintage dress pattern at a flea market sale and adapted it to look ANNIE-ISH.  I had placed some white scraps at the waist, a sleeve and the neck area to see if that would put the ANNIE touch to it.  While the prototype was wine with little white stars imprinted on it, the real dress will be bright red.  I'm holding the ANNIE fabric in this photo to show her that her real ANNIE dress will NOT have stars on it.  :)

Last weekend Kansas City was buzzing with excitement.  Our Kansas City Chiefs Football Team would finally make a Monday night football appearance!!!  They were playing the San Diego Chargers. . . here at Arrowhead Stadium in KC.  The game didn't start until around 9:30 that night!!!  During the game, we had a tremendous rainstorm!!!  Amazingly, the Chiefs hung in there and WON!!!  They have had some very bad seasons over the last few years!!!  I have already decided that if they win one of the next three games, I will invest in a new Chiefs T-shirt or sweatshirt.  That's not too much to ask of them! ;)

I am a bit out of sequence.  The game was Monday night, the newspaper was from Tuesday morning.  HOWEVER, on Monday morning, I received a phone call from Community America Bank, which has a little branch inside our local HY-VEE store......telling me I had WON the Chief's Tailgate gift card drawing for this week!!  OMG....do you realize I am one of the most UNLUCKY folks in the world when it comes to winning drawings...or anything!!!

I was giddy with excitement. . . it's worth $50.00!!  

 
 

On Tuesday morning, I completed Week 7 of the COUCH TO 5K program.   That means I jogged 25 minutes straight on three different days!!!  There was at least one day between the running days. . . this old body could use more than one or two days rest, but I'm on a schedule!!!!

The days were all very, very hard for me.  By the last five minutes of each time out I was cursing inwardly the day I had decided I would do this.  I was begging for jogging mercy.  I didn't quit, however, because, even though my little tootsies were not going fast by the end of each run, they were still going. . . jogging. . . not walking. . . .and when I hit that 25 minute mark and could stop. . . .I was the happiest granny around!!!  What an accomplishment for ME. 

While incredibly hard for me to complete, I did notice by the end of Week 7, I wasn't quite as "wobbly" at the end of the 25 minute run as I was on the first day I did it.  I have to think that is was "building up your endurance" is all about!!  Baby steps.  

Sadly, I think, after studying this photo, that jogging makes my wrinkles appear deeper and my left eye droop is more noticeable!  Hmmmm. . . . the sacrifices we "athletes" make!!  :-)  BIG belly laugh!!!!

 
 When I look at this hurdle that waits for me. . . this hill from H _ _ _ , I have to question my sanity.  At this point, I haven't practiced HILLS!!!!  I'm barely able to jog on fairly flat surfaces for 25 minutes and still manage to inhale and exhale without keeling over.   I still have to build up  to jogging 3.1 miles within a reasonable timeframe.  I'm a long way off from all of that.

S  L O W L Y     I N H A L E. . . . .

OK, so for now, I will just not think about what I have to do over the next month. . . I will focus on what I have done over the last two months.  I have gone from barely being able to jog 90 seconds, to jogging 25 minutes. That's pretty great for this elder chick!  
 

That brings you up to today. . . Wednesday.  

Bonnie (L) and I (middle) are getting ready for our 4Th annual tag sale!!  

Below we are pictured with Patty at our sale last year.  Patty jumped in and helped us  out (once again) so much. . . we wouldn't have been ready without her!  We are posing in our Cracker Barrel shirts. . . we have NEW ones for this year!!

Last year, we set up four  tents and hauled in corn stalks and pumpkins along with our "treasures".  It was exhausting!!  

This year, it will be set up in Bonnie's garage. . . with a couple of tents out front.  We are nixing the extensive fall decorating. . . opting for a simpler, saner sale!!   

Heck, nothing is simple and sane for us...what am I talking about?  :)

 

Over the next week,  we will spend hours hauling all of the stuff to her garage  that it takes to pull off our tag sale!!  Tables, chairs, tents, treasures, signs. . . oh, and food to serve to the folks who come on the "pre-sale" night!  Yes, we turn it into a regular party!! See, I said we don't do anything in a simple and sane way.  However, we have a whole bunch of fun and that's what it is all about!

The Chiefs have an "away" game this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.   We will have to take some time off to enjoy the game. . . my mouth is already watering thinking about the yummy stuff the gift card win will buy for our own mini-tailgate party that we will hold HERE!!  

GO CHIEFS!!  :)

BLOGGING UPDATE!!!  Pat of BACK PORCH MUSINGS has changed her her blog address to

                                   http://backporchmusings.typepad.com

 DANA

BINGHAM-WAGGONER ANTIQUE SALE 2010

On Saturday, July 10, I attended the annual antique show held on the grounds of the Bingham-Waggoner Estate in Independence, Missouri!  I always look forward to this event.  It's a gathering of amazing vendors with their wares displayed in such a gorgeous place!! 

My friends and I always try to arrive early. . . it's cooler and you get to see what's available for sale before items are "picked over"!!   

However, before we start serious shopping. . . we take a few minutes to enjoy a breakfast of biscuits and gravy.  Here is Bonnie. . . SO excited about this annual meal!!  :)

  Temptations were everywhere!!!!

This is my friend Kathy Taylor, a great artist.  I recently wrote about her (HERE) .  Kathy is showing me a rug she is working on. . . it features one of her beloved cats, named Gabby!!!

Here's a photo of that wonderful feline featured on Kathy's hooked rug!



 Marian is pictured with a vintage, plastic Bud Light dog. . . the price tag was (gulp) $110.00!!!  No, she didn't buy it, nor was she even interested in it. . . I just thought they looked cute together in their blue shirts. . . so she kindly posed for the photo !!!   Antique shows present unlimited opportunities for fun. . . as well as great finds!

Here I am, on the right.. . . holding the cookbook  I just bought from the author, Debbie Kraft!  Debbie was also in one of the same shows I did earlier this year.  I didn't have a chance to meet her then, so I was thrilled when I saw her at this sale!!!  Her book is filled with wonderful time-tested family recipes!! 

 

The "Spirit of Independence" Community Band  provided the greatest music during the show!

I knew my pal Jill (on the left) of BITTERSWEET SOAP was going to be at the sale.  It was so fun to run into her and her friend Rita!   They're smiling cuz they found lots of terrific treasures!!

 

This year, there were several overdressed folks mingling with the shoppers!

Whoa!! This guy was heading our way. . . he appeared to be trying to tell us something. . . or offer us some refreshment!!

  It seems he thought Bonnie and I would love to meet  a few of his friends , so he called them over!!!   It was a good thing Jill was there to capture that moment. . . no one would have believed us otherwise!! :)  HUZZAH!!!,

Actually, these fine folks, and MANY others, were "in character" during their time at the sale. . . visiting with the shoppers and promoting the upcoming Renaissance Festival held annually in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

 

After several HOURS of eating and shopping we took a little break and enjoyed some iced tea and lemonade.  Once rested, we loaded up our "finds" and headed home. 

It was another WONDERFUL day at the Bingham-Waggoner Antique Show and Sale!!!   YOU should come next year- - - I'm certain you'd love it, too!

 

A few of my "buys". . . .a great old magazine rack (perhaps to be painted black?) and a "perfectly rusted" coal or ash bucket. . great for all sorts of fall arrangements,

 

a vintage black metal floral basket. . . I'm seeing orange pumpkins and fall leaves arranged in that.

 Bonnie and I each purchased several of these paper mache' flower pots . . . we have a plan!!!

A  metal stand (on the left) that holds pictures.....or messages!  It's not old, but it's sure cool!!  I also picked up two vintage black hats (another plan in mind for them), a neat wood tote (I have a thing for totes. . . especially if they're CHEAP) and some  blue paper  mache' fruit baskets!!   I'll probably use them in my spring show!

   

Here's a super old bench that went to a dressing table at one time.  It needs some work, but I clearly see it has a bright future!

Besides old totes, I love vintage baskets. . . so does THE STONE RABBIT!!!  If I can get him out of this one,   I will use it in tons of ways. . . .displaying seasonal arrangements, holding papers, or maybe it will end up  in a future sale!!!  That's the fun of treasure hunting. . . once you have your "finds" , you can keep them or sell them to someone else to love for awhile!!!

  DANA