Channel 7 of Waterloo Dubuque Iowa City Cedar Rapids stopped by to interview a crazy lunatic who opened a new business in the middle of an economic holocaust. (“Pleased to meet you!”) I was game, the only question I had was “Where is this Channel 7?”, I couldn’t even guess which state. My wacky satellite tv sends me local news from 70 miles away and I don’t even know what people in this town are watching for news. Thankfully Channel 7 put this up online for all to see, may it be evergreened to eternity. Thanks to the nice newsies too. They were awfully young and cute which made me feel old and I now regret not taking the opportunity to call one of them “scoop”. Maybe next time.
Tag Cloud
*honk*
I was unaware of any particular event going on last weekend but something brought droves of old-timey vehicles to Galena on Saturday. I jumped out in the middle of the street to get this shot. I love looking old-timey! All day they were driving up and down main street honking their antique horns which may sound annoying but it really was very charming. It is a distinctive honk.
Time to celebrate my yearning for the weird
I admittedly have some of the most eclectic tastes of anyone I know. I say that not in an “I-am-oh-so-interesting-and-cultured” slant but more of an “it’s ADD” admission. I even hesitate to blog too intently about my boundless interests and past-times. In my mind there exists such an intense interest in all things ethnic, old and/or weird that I am afraid to actually start collecting all I am interested in for fear of being featured on Hoarders. As a result, many of the walls of my home are left bare. BARE! And I own a retail store selling HOME DECOR! I have issues.
I am going to start filling up the walls of my house bit by bit this year and I will blog along the way. We have been in this old house for nearly 3 years and this year is my home’s 150th anniversary… holy old house. I feel like I’m disappointing the old girl and I am going make the rounds this summer in search of all the bits of weird and old that I can get my hands on. It’s time for me to boldly go … shopping.
In an ironic twist, my spouse is way more trigger happy than I am for things that I, not himself, have interest in. This makes him a remarkable gift-giver. This birthday he gifted me a vintage Japanese sake set referred to as Dragonware. I acquired an entire set of these at an auction last year and only by accident did I find the super-fantastic geisha image that is imprinted on the bottom of the tea cups, called a lithophane. Now that I have 2 sets I have the beginning of an official collection! What’s funny is that there are different Japanese women on different tea sets so it’s much like collecting Pokemon. I gotta catch em all! So I thank spouse for the tea set and for the nudge in the right direction. Time to stop admiring and start making my house more of a reflection of my twisted mind, as it should be.
Early spring in the midwest
This morning my husband & I took our sleepyheaded baby daughter through the hills and dales of rural Galena before I started my work day. There is a chill in the air but everywhere you look you can see the first brave buds of spring screaming to break out of their dormancy. Don’t let that 29 degrees scare you tulips, be free! It is with this attitude we busted out of the house and into nature. The scenery is just beautiful and as I get wrapped up in the trials of living and loving and working, I often forget the serenity that exists just a few minutes from my home. Every time we venture out, there is something in the country to surprise us. I am still not ready to say I am countrified enough to actually be a farmer, but I’ll admit the idea seems much less exotic than it did a couple of years ago. I have worn many hats in this life, and I can’t refute the possibility that a John Deere cap is next.
Enjoy a glimpse at my morning. Too bad a camera lens is too small to deliver the whole atmosphere of this fine, yet frigid, spring morn.
Moss baskets
I just finished a custom order for some of these moss baskets and I was thrilled with the final product. Looks adorable filled with eggs but I would love to this filled with impatiens! I still have a couple months to go for that though, such is the midwest. I’ll have pictures of flower filled moss baskets when the season changes. Have a great Easter weekend. We’ll be doing our egg hunt in the mud, as is the new tradition.
Mystery ramen
I am a great lover of international ramen noodles. Not the Top Ramen variety but the aisles upon aisles of ramen found at Asian grocery stores. This treasure was actually found at Wal-mart, not at some exotic locale. Note the swirly design in the (re?)hydrated “vegetables”. Oddly, I have failed to identify which food this is meant to portray. That means this is an artificial interpretation of an imaginary vegetable. That means this is art!
Mini-mossfest 2010
I am recovering from foot surgery and am helpless, stuck in a chair while healing. A half-established darkroom sits idle, many mosses weep for me in my stockroom. It was a sad situation here until I decided to make mossfest micro. Meet moss terrarium! I know the mushrooms are grossly disproportionate to the frolicking does, but hey- I’m a patient! If I want mutant giant mushrooms in my fantasy terrarium world- so be it! The mushrooms are vintage stock German spun cotton and all I know about my does is that they are “Handmade in New Mexico”. The bottom layer has red glitter pebbles (resembling hell, perhaps?) and lush mood moss on top. I hope I am not the only one who thinks this is pleasantly insane. (^_^)
New in store
Truly inventive new vases! This collection of bud vases is perfect for bringing a touch of spring indoors.
I need more parsley, duly noted.
If you’re like me, and I know I am, … (I don’t know where I stole that line from, but it’s so appropriate here!) … you have so many ridiculous little house projects in your mind that would literally take 20 minutes of forethought and one hour of action to complete– but somewhere between washing your hair and packing a lunch the thought is lost. You’ve been distracted from the annoyance and this one hour and 20 minute project that will improve the quality of your life (and therefore make you an immensely more tolerable person to those people who must live with you!) will not be retrieved again until the next time that ridiculous little problem presents itself again and reminds you that your *mind is mush*. I am proud to say that I have just completed one such project. How gratifying! Let me introduce you to wall-o’-spice. I found the perfect three-tiered wall shelf at an estate sale, bought a case of 3 oz screw top jars and used return address labels to afix to them. This officially ends a lifetime of me knocking bottles down while rooting around the cupboard looking for spices, alas finding the elusive spice jar only to find it nearly empty, and this may, perhaps, even endear me to my family- I’m a much cuter hausfrau when I’m not pissed off.
Shiny new protective gear
I just finished shopping for some new and improved martial arts sparring gear for my son. Nothing says ‘I’m not from around here’ like showing up to your regional karate tournament with your sparring footwear duct-taped together. That make me sound like such a caring mother right? Except, after these past couple Olympics weeks where my evenings were spent indulging in popcorn and sequins- I SO want to give his shiny new red gear a makeover with a BeDazzler! That may be a little extreme, but seriously, can’t we jazz it up? Is it really only for figure skaters? Can’t the little hockey players and karate kids have some flare? I haven’t decided what to do yet (or if he’ll let me do anything) … but I’m thinking. Hm…
