p.quinn

MIA

Sorry to have been gone so long.

Did you miss me?

I was knocked flat by a nasty, nasty, nasty flu bug.

{yes, I had my flu shot...}

Luckily, the bug struck the day after the {big} flea market.

I have been struggling ever since.

Anyway.

Here's some of the cool loot I scored at the market....

Heavy glass bead necklaces.

The yellow to figure out the construction method.

The white for those lovely rhinestone spacers.

A funky pin.

You know....

The kind you can't photograph without getting a reflection of you no matter how hard you try.....

Another funky pin.

Bought with up-cycling in mind.

Table runner or pillow trim?

Drapery tie-back?

Looks stunning on burlap....

And these.

Oh, my.

Ear bling that defies the imagination.

I tried them on.

You really can't imagine.....

These cuties are Homer Laughlin.

They look so homey.

So comfortable.

So "just a spot"  of tea....

However, no "just a spot"  of anything here.

We are talking big and bold!

Yet ever so sweet.

The poor thing called to me...

Sitting there with a broken and re-glued handle...

For the $3.00 price, I decided a rescue was going to happen...

I was thinking it would hold lots of beads on my work table...

{or lots of ice cream if I happened to be so inclined...}

And I was right!

But I think this was my favorite find of the day....

Isn't that just so cool?

English brown transferware, ever so lightly colored....

Lovely scences depicting the seasons.

{duh}

So detailed!

Nesting birds.

Bunnies.

The moon.

All that is missing are the sheep....

So intricate.

{that's not a chip...whatever it was washed right off...}

So much beauty.

Ahhhh......

A few of the things I bought will wind up in my empty vintage Etsy shop eventually, but for once, almost everything I found was for little old moi....

Just because I liked it!

And it was good.

~~~~~

Hopefully I'll be feeling more chipper this week and able to get back to posting regularly.

And reading your blogs again.

I miss you all!

XOX

The One-Hour Activity

My quest to simplify has begun.

One of the biggest things that has to go is stress.

I've been making a list {and checking it twice...} of some of the things that cause me the greatest stress.

{and are things I can actually do something about...}

I have started to realize that some of my troubles could be alleviated by participating less in the activity of procrastination.

{which I have honed to a science...}

Recently I came across a fabulous idea that I think will help a lot.

I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I can't.

{Sorry!}

Back in Deadwood, while waiting for clothes to dry, I sifted through a stack of  old  magazines in the apartment building laundry room.

Something about clearing clutter/creating order caught my eye.

The idea is really very simple.

Brilliant, actually....

First, you gather all the supplies you need for your task, because you aren't allowed to go looking for them later.

This could be big garbage bags to clean out a closet, everything to write your Holiday thank-yous, or, in my case, all the stuff to fill in the new year's calendar{s}.

Get yourself something to drink {and maybe a treat...} and make a trip to the bathroom because your next 60 minutes will be interruption free...

Now set a timer for one hour and get busy!

No stopping to check emails...

No going out to the kitchen to see how much coffee is left in the cupboard...

No walking off to look for your lost _________...

This really helped me because my mind tends to wander and I am very, very, very easily sidetracked.

The idea here is, that one hour isn't that huge of a commitment.

But the hope is, after one hour, you might be:

A)  Done

B)  Far enough along that you want to keep going

C)  At least have a good start

I always put off transferring all my dates and appointments to my brand new calendar.

It is like some strange ritual.

I can be flipping back and forth between the old and new year for months.

And now, not only do I have my calendar to keep track of, but my Mom's as well.

Even more stress.

So I tried the idea from the magazine article.

On New Year's Day, no less!

Stuff all together, I sat down, set the timer and began.

Some things on the calendar, I really look forward to!

Some, not so much.

{Actually, I'm hoping to do away with the need for this reminder before 2012 is over...}

I kept at it.

Highlighting and filling in the squares.

I never left the chair.

And 61 minutes later, I was done!

Try it!

It works!

I'm already planning my next One-Hour Activity....

Settling In

And here we are in 2012.

The Holidays are past.

I spent Christmas with my Mom for the first time in nineteen years.

When I got to the house, I rummaged in the basement, found a string of lights {plus a leaking hot water heater...} and piled them on a glass cake stand.

I drug out a few decorations from my Christmas past...

Including a burlap and felt Nativity wall hanging that my Mom made back in the 1960s.

Burlap and felt.

Nifty then, tres chic today.

Hard to imagine.

But what really excited me was the Christmas Cactus had started blooming!

It is ancient.

It was my Grandma's.

She died almost 36 years ago.

Then it became Mom's.

Now I guess it has become mine.

The poor thing was almost dead when I got here last May and I nursed it along all summer and fall.

The buds started appearing before I went back to Deadwood in November.

I was afraid I would miss the show....

But I have received my flowery reward!

Gorgeous!

Besides enjoying quiet Holidays, since I got here I have survived the episode with the hot water heater and {handsome young!} plumber.

And the plumbing inspector.

I've made a few pieces of jewelry.

Done a bit of year-end bookwork.

Read.

Ate.

Slept.

And resumed one of my favorite Sioux Falls activities....

Squirrel watching!

Another favorite activity comes Saturday....

The {big} flea market!

Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

Well, it doesn't look like I will be finding any WiFi for a little while yet.

Until next year.....

Doesn't that sound odd?

But I wanted to be sure to wish everyone a Happy New Year anyway!

I plan to ring in the New Year dressed in my comfy old sweat pants...

Chowing down on a pizza...

Enjoying a cold Dr. Pepper...

My butt planted in my Grandma's cushy rocker...

Reading a stack of decor magazines...

Sounds good to me!

How about you?

How are you bringing in the New Year?

Stay safe and have a good one!

Talk to you in 2012!

{XOX}

Not Yet.......

I was hoping to go in search of WiFi tomorrow.

Instead, I will be sitting at Mom's house waiting for the plumber......

So.

Until next time.

{XOX}

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.

Luke 2:14

(NLT)

I'm Off.....

I spent the afternoon boxing up and loading things in my car.....

Including lots and lots of beads.

These caught my eye sitting on the table with the sun streaming in from the back...

Made my thoughts dance around just a tiny bit.

Other crafty things are also making the trip.

Hopefully I will still feel crafty once I get there.

I'm looking forward to many cold days spent alone in the house, stringing beads, playing with fabric and trims, messing with paints....

I plan to take off in the morning, headed east to my Mom's, packed to the brim like a Beverly Hillbilly.

{minus the stuff strapped to the top}

So, it will be back to WiFi for me.

Talk to ya when I can!

Bye!

{xox}

p.s.  Yes, I got my jewelry special order done.

Snapped a few photos.

Show you later....

 

Added Wednesday PM:

Snow prevented my take-off.

Now planning to leave Friday AM....

 

Take Good Care Of This Moment #3

Material Things.

Or, how about just material?

I love material.

And trim.

And buttons.

And....

You get the idea.

I purchase bits and pieces here and there.

New, vintage, at thrift shops, flea markets and garage sales.

Always thinking I am going to do something with that.........

Which usually amounts to stuffing it away somewhere along with my good intentions.

But lately all this material has been niggling at the back of my brain.

So the other night while I was digging through a drawer of stuff and came across a stash of some {kind of} forgotten material, I pulled several pieces out.

Doesn't it look so pretty just sitting there?

I gives me a rather strange, calm feeling.

That definitely is a Moment  I would like to remember.

Seems that lately I could do with something calm....

Yes.

I know.

The material is pink.

But right now, I even like that.

Wow.

Perhaps this pile is a little more my cup of tea though....

Some stripes.

Some burlap.

And a dash of bright.

But what I am liking very much in this Moment  is the fact that I am feeling a little creative.

For so long I've just felt tired.

So maybe I'll take a sack of material along when I leave for Mom's next week...

See if her old sewing machine will still run...

That is if I even remember how to use it...

Whip up something plain and simple like a table runner...

A pillow...

Or just keep on looking at the material sitting on the table, the winter sun streaming in the window.......

Feeling calm.

And happy.

Yup.

Definitely a Moment  to remember.

 

I am linking this post to:

Now go visit Lynn and read other Moments .........

 

 

 

I Got Mail!

And that is putting it mildly.

When I got back to Deadwood after being at my Mom's for over six months, I had quite a stack waiting for me.

I still haven't gotten through all of it.

Lots went right into the Round File.

But there were a couple very special things waiting for me.

From a couple very special Blog Buds.

So, in the order received, here is the first....

What, oh what, did Tami send me???

This box arrived shortly after I left, so I had to wait a L.O.N.G. time to open it.

That about drove me crazy!

But it was certainly well worth the wait!

 Isn't this Flora Door neat?!?

I have no flowers {real or otherwise} around the house at the moment, so I substituted a scrunched up red plastic bag, but I think you can get the idea.

Come on.

Play along.

Use your imagination.

With a heavy plastic lining, this will be perfect for creating all kinds of arrangements to hang on my doors!

A new-to-me idea.

But then I lead a very sheltered life.

And guess what?

If you go visit Tami right now, you can sign up to win a Flora Doora and several other cool prizes in her year-end giveaway.

But do it soon.

She will be picking her winners on Monday, December 19....

Alright.

There was more in that package!

Look at these teeny clip-on chalkboards!

I am just amazed at all the things I've never seen before.

I've already thought up lots of fun ways to use these with my beading supplies.......

Look at that cute tag!

Tied with string and a key!

{a couple of my favorite things!}

Tied around what?

Could it be?

Yes!

A wonderful bag of sea shells that fit perfectly in the little butter dome I just bought at the flea market this past weekend.

Cool.

Thanks, Tami!

{XOX}

On one of my next posts, I'll be showing what else I got.....

 

Now go visit Tami at High Street Cottage and sign up for her giveaway!

She has a much  better photo of a Flora Doora.....

 

Ain't She Sweet?

Isn't this itty bitty covered glass dome dish thing-y about the cutest treasure you've ever seen?

And can you believe it was my only purchase at our little flea market this past weekend??

Whoa.

Was my idea of simplification actually taking over?

Nah.

It was just a crummy flea market.

The lady I bought it from thought it would be great for a cheese ball.

{I thought that would be a mighty skimpy cheese ball...}

{and since when have I ever made a cheese ball?}

Why waste all that cuteness on cheese when you can fill it with sea shells instead?

I love shells.

We don't grow them around here.

So where did I get my pretty shells?

I'll tell you on my next post.....