Flower Frogs and Snow Days

Remember these?

A couple of days ago, I asked you which one of these things is not like the other.

The answer is Number 3. It's a furniture coaster! Thanks to Auction Dave, I didn't try to shove flowers in it. On my behalf, I think I would have figured it out, but it made me think this would be a good contest for my blog!


These girls got it right!




Since I had such a good time when Cora drew a winning name last week, I thought I would let Skippy give it a try. Since we have lots of snow, the girls and Skippy (Hazel, too, but I still think of him as a girl) were still in the hen house.



When I opened the door, the chickens were having a little snack inside. It's just too cold to venture out! I can't say I blame them!


I gathered the pieces of folded paper in my hand and held them out to Skippy. He kept looking at me as if to say, "That is not food."


But eventually, he did snag one of the names. (Stupid Blogger is flipping my photos again!)

The winner is...

Hope at Pixie's Ponderings. She's my first overseas winner!

Woohoo! Thanks everybody for playing!

Am I the only person who collects flower frogs? I'll have to show you some of my favorites, sometime soon. I haven't taken photos yet and don't want to get out of my chair right now! Lazy girl, I am!

While I was out torturing Skippy, I walked around my yard and got some photos of the snow. Isn't it funny how snow makes everything look so clean?

This metal bird used to hover among my roses until they all got yucky and I dug them up and gave them to Pretty Sam!

Last year, the top of this tree broke off when we had freezing rain. It's still gorgeous!

I was surprise to find the newspaper at the end of the driveway, especially when our road looks like...

THIS!

Knowing that we will eventually want to get out of the house, Will took a turn shoveling snow. Tony and Rick worked on it yesterday, but more snow fell after they were done!

If I could clear some of the crap out of my garage, my truck might fit inside!

My cement chickens tickled me. Under the snow somewhere are three cement chicks! Gives new meaning to the term "frozen chicken"!

After lunch, we decided to take a family walk up to the main road to see if it looked any better than ours. It did not.

Of course, Stunt Boy had to ride his bike and pop wheelies almost the whole mile long walk! I have already told him we can't get out of the driveway to get to the emergency room, so if he needs stitches, I'll be doing them with pink cross-stitch thread and a needle held over an open flame for sterilization! I don't think he believes me!

Just look at that blue sky! None of the animals were in the pasture on the right. In the distance I could see about 6 peacocks roosting in a tree, but couldn't get close enough for a photo. From where I was, they looked like trash bags had blown up and caught on limbs!

Tony told me I had too many clothes on before we went on the walk, but since I'm always cold, I didn't believe him. I was ready to strip down when we got back to our driveway!

Time for hot chocolate for Rick, a rug in front of the fireplace for Riley Dog, and Will is off for more sledding and Stunt Boy behavior. Check his forehead next week for those pink stitches!

The History of a Red Neck

You know how you think you KNOW the history behind a certain term? If I were on Jeopardy and the answer was "The term 'red neck' came from this event." I would bet every penny I had and I would so get it WRONG!

The quintessential redneck!

I would have sworn the term red neck came from the necks of farmers who spent loads of time in the sun while also wearing a t-shirt so that only their necks are red. WRONG! Now that I think about it, that's where the term 'farmer's tan' came from. If the farmer took off his t-shirt, the white skin on his back, shoulders and belly would look like he still had his t-shirt on.

Cutest dang farmer's tan!

My husband is a History Channel junkie. The other day, he was watching a program that started out being about the production of moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains. It somehow led to the battle between the Hatfields and McCoys and from there to coal mining.

In 1921 in Matewan, West Virginia, the locals coal miners got into a battle with the unions. who brought in men to work the mines. Local people were murdered by henchmen for the out-of-town union bosses. Locals were kicked out of their homes and had to live in the woods. Their salaries were replaced with scripts to the local general store. Makes getting ahead in life next to impossible!

Redneck Army

The locals banded together. Each wore a red bandanna around his neck so that, even when they were covered in coal dust or in the throes of a battle, other locals would be able to identify an ally. They did not want to be affiliated with the unions. They were called the Red Neck Army, hence, red necks!

Confessions: I have been to Matewan, WV. Six years ago, our family and two others loaded up our dirt bikes and four wheelers and hit the road. Matewan allows these vehicles to be ridden on the road inside the city limits. Old trails leading to coal mines are now open to anyone who wants to ride. You could ride all day and never cross a path you had already traveled. It was more fun than I like to admit. I rode my big old camouflaged four wheeler that was given to me on our 12 anniversary. My hubby is such a romantic! I guess this confirms that I am a redneck!

One of These Things is not Like the Other

Warning!!! Stupid Blogger is at it again!

Remember this song from Sesame Street?

"One of these things is not like the others

One of these things just doesn't belong

Can you tell which thing is not like the others

By the time I finish this blog."

Small change in the words by me!

I bought this box lot of flower frogs to add to my collection. I didn't look at them good until Auction Dave pointed out that one of them wasn't what I thought it was. Can you guess which one?

Since frogs are pretty much the same no matter which direction you look at them, I guess it's not too big of a deal that stupid blogger turned them sideways! This is the view of the frogs in their upright position.

And this is the back of the frogs. Yep, somebody was selling number 2 for 25 cents! I got all 5 for a dollar! BARGAIN!!

So which one do you think is not like the other and why? In a couple of days, I'll draw a name from all of the correct entries and the winner can choose which frog they would like for their own collection.

This and That and a Few More Auction Goodies!

This post has bits and pieces from the last week. Before the snow, I made a last minute trip to Goodwill in search of a dress to cut up for a craft I'm working on for a swap. Look what called my name!

All I need is a pillar candle and I'm set. I can't wait to see the patterns the light throws of when only the candle is lit!

This poor little cardinal has been hanging out in the bird feeder in front of my kitchen window. When I first saw him, I thought something was wrong. It finally occurred to me...he is missing his 3 inch long tail feathers. I don't know if it a birth defect or a mean predator. Maybe his daddy was a lizard!

These are the fairies I made for a swap. Don't tell! I think they turned out cute.

Feathers from the girls, moss and acorn caps from the woods, vintage buttons and pipe cleaners and that dress from Goodwill!

Yesterday, I mentioned I have two really unusual flower frogs. Here they are...

This one is my all-time favorite!

The side view is even better!

And the curly-Qs on this one make me happy!

Vintage flower frog dreadlocks!


Here are the last of my goodies from the auction last weekend.

The Mr Peanut mug is in great shape!

This thermos is in great shape, too. All it needs is a handle!

It took me and Auction Dave a while to figure out how to get the top off. The seam in the first picture looked like it should open there. It would spin but nothing else. We finally figured out the white circle with the black dot was the lid. The black dot can be turned to pour without removing the whole lid. Inside is a glass ATLAS jar. Pretty cool, huh?

And this guy, I'm keeping! It is getting a workout on the back porch! With snow, warmer temperatures, back to freezing, etc., it just might bust a spring before the weeks over!

And the next friend who has a baby is going to get this beautiful embroidered pillowcase for a baby pillow. You gotta love the bluebird of happiness!

Auction Goodies for Little Girls

I don't know what it is about cute little girl outfits that makes me swoon, but I could not leave these cute things at the auction house! With all of the testosterone in my house, I never even got to touch one of these unless I wore something so cute as a baby!


This little outfit couldn't be more perfect for Little Jane in the throes of August! The ties at the waist leave the rest of the top open for a little fresh air. And the matching bloomers keep the unmentionables under wraps!

You know Little Mary has to wear this oh so chic outfit for the 4th of July picnic! The open back and halter top allow for a little sun on the shoulders. Again, matching bloomers keep the pampers out of site!

I'm sure these bloomers used to have a matching top that got lost through the years. The upper left pair are my favorite. They have elastic in the back, but the front is smooth and tailored to provide baby with that slim hour-glass figure!

You know when you come across a good deal, you have to stock up! A pair of bloomer shorts for every day of the week. One light blue, one denim and 5 pink! After all, they are for a girl!

Remember the mix and match outfits from Buster Brown. How cute! UNTIL...I scooped the pants up to return them to the box and this was underneath.


It felt sort of like insulation crumbs! I figured no mother would want this yucky stuff up against their little girls skin so they should probably head on over to the dump!

When I was little, I loved playing with paper dolls. Robin and Rachel came with a bag full of clothes, but they haven't been cut out yet. So, they get to hang out in their swim suits until I get around to cuttin out some spiffy little outfits for them! I think these girls are from the 70's. Wasn't that the era of big eyes?

What kind of outfits did you love for your little girl?

Linens! Woohoo!

When the hell did I turn into such an old lady? Do you know any young hip chicks that melt over a pile of beautiful old pillowcases? Just have a look at these colors! The embroidery! The crocheting!

I learned how to make pillowcase dresses for little girls last year. Some of these are headed to the sewing room. If I didn't drool so much at night, I would put the Sweet Dreams on my big pile of feathers!

Maybe I'll use the ones with the A embroidered on them. They still had a Christmas gift tag on them. They were made for Aimee. Aimee? Anna? Semantics!

This is a wonderful piece of chenille fabric. I have seen some really cute jackets made from old chenille bedspreads. Would that be too old-ladyish?

Damn Blogger got me again! Tilt your computer sideways and have a look at these sheets. My cousin had these when we were in elementary school. They were Born Free sheets! Remember the TV show and the song from the 70's?

"Born free

As free as the wind blows

As free as the grass grows

La la la la la la la la la"

A box of sheets, about 8 fitted and 8 flats, was also included. I'll keep a few to back some quilts. The rest are going next door to Neighbor Terri's. She has two birds, Baby and Bart. In order to hush them up, she has to cover their cage with a sheet. They don't like this! Hence, they tear the sheets to shreds. If I didn't love the Born Free sheets so much, I'd send them over to see if the tigers intimidated the birds. I would bet not!

And the Winner is...

There are some smart girls and boy who read my blog. And maybe a little perverted, too! But, I'm the one who bought this thing, so I am the Queen Perv!

Davol was a really old company that didn't mind split-ting words on their packaging!

All of these folks guessed correctly:

Jenny from The Red Bulletin Board

Linda from A La Carte

Mick from Everyone Goes to Mick's

Carol from Liberty Threads

Anne from Fiona and Twig

Llyn from Llyn M: Living in Vintage Style

Jill from Jill Ruth and Co.

Ruth...But I can't find a link to her blog!

Vintage Breast Pump

The apparatus is a breast pump! Good job! If I'm being totally honest, I thought about trying it out just to see what it felt like, but ya'll know what would happen if I did...my 44 year-old-not-so-firm-boob would get sucked all the way into the red squeegy thing and I would wind up in the ER to have it removed. You know it is true! A couple of the guys at the auction offered to check it out on other body parts, but I wouldn't want to touch it if they did.

SEE! REALLY!

Ah, but I digress! The winner was chosen by my very own Cora Bell...

And the winner is...

Linda from A La Carte

I'll be looking for Anti-Colic Nipples and Nipple Shields from auctions in the future!

Be on the lookout for a package of goodies from my basement! And don't worry. I promise I won't embarrass you in front of your mailman by sending you a vintage breast pump!