THANK YOU FRIENDS, BOOKCASES, AND A BOOTH AT THE PEDDLER'S MALL

First of all, I want to say thank you to all my wonderful friends in the blogging world for your kind comments, prayers and thoughts while I took this time off. My niece was a very special person and will be truly missed by her family and friends.

Next, I want to tell you about Bob's booth at the Peddler's Mall. He decided he wanted to try making small tables, birdhouses, bird feeders and whatever else he could put together from the scraps of wood in his workshop. Since retiring from mechanical engineering, he has built custom book case units such as the one in the photo he made for my niece on the left and the one he made for me on the right.

So, we gathered up everything we wanted to get rid of or had planned to take to the Goodwill Store and put it in there until he can get some items made. We took the whole first week of April to put stuff in and he and his brother built the booth itself. We still need more shelves and peg board, etc. but we are just getting started. The monthly rent is $120 and we took in $217 in three weeks! I could not believe what people will buy. Some of the things we have sold are magazines, clothing, books, and toys that I thought no one would care about. I had two huge containers of junk left over from a yard sale a couple years ago. It was stored in my outside building. I put it all in there since I never planned on using it again. It did not sell in the yard sale but it is selling in the booth. This mall gets quite a bit of traffic so I guess that helps. What really blows my mind is that it is selling for more than what it was priced in the yard sale!

Once we get it completely stocked with his handmade items we will know what to expect. We are going to give it two or three months and just see what it does. It is more a hobby than anything else. Bob likes to stay busy and I enjoy going to yard sales, etc. I picked up three framed pictures, and two angel statues at a yard sale a couple weeks ago for $6. We sold two of the pictures for $10 in two days.

Here is a picture of the booth as it is today and not yet totally stocked with the handmade stuff he wants to make. He has bought a book on birdhouses and he likes to make tables and has made some really nice tables in the past.

One good thing is that the Goodwill store is across the street and if we decide to give it up, we can just take it all over there very easily and they keep a big dumpster out back of this place, too.

Right now, we are having fun playing with it and seeing what sells or don't sell and what funny things people will buy!

COFFEE IN THE MORNING!

Are you one of those people that can't function until you have your morning coffee?


I am not much of a coffee drinker. Usually, I will have a cup with Bob in the mornings but if he is not here, I don't even make coffee.


I like the international coffees that come in those little tin containers and taste more like hot chocolate than coffee.

Bob has to have at least two cups of coffee in the morning in order to get his day started.

I don't do well with caffeine either. A cup of coffee with caffeine will really wake me up. If I drink anything with caffeine during the day, I stay up all night.

I love coffee mugs and cups and pick them up anytime I see an unusual or different one.


I used to know people when I still worked that drank coffee all day.


Did you know that special studies conducted about the human body revealed it will usually absorb up to about 300 milligrams of caffeine at a given time. About 4 normal cups. Additional amounts are just cast off, providing no further stimulation. Also, the human body dissipates 20% of the caffeine in the system each hour.



Here's a little joke about coffee: A Grandmother was surprised by her 7-year old grandson one morning. He had made her coffee! She drank what was the worst cup of coffee in her life. When she got to the bottom, there were three of those little green army men in her cup. Puzzled, she asked, "Honey, what are the army men doing in my coffee?"
Her grandson answered, "Grandma, it says on TV, the best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup."




Here's how to tell if you are a caffeine addict.


You might be a caffeine addict if :


You think sleep is for the weak.


Your heart beats noticeably faster as a reaction to the smell of coffee.



Your child's name is Nescafe.


You go to sleep just to wake up and smell the coffee.


Your coffee pot is next to your bed and your alarm clock is in the kitchen.



You suck on a used coffee filter whenever the can runs out of coffee.

I love to serve coffee to my friends and family along with some kind of great dessert. You can find a great holiday coffee recipe on my recipe blog: Recipes From A Southern Country Cook.

A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.

Are you a coffee addict or do you not drink coffee?

BYBEE, THE OLDEST EXISTING POTTERY WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

I love pottery! I have collected it for years along with other things. I guess I am just a collector.......










Bybee Pottery is located in the rolling hills of Madison County, Kentucky in the small town of Bybee. It has been in operation since pioneer days. This pottery is supposed to have been established and doing business as early as 1845.









The same processes are used today as were used over a century ago. The clay used is found in deposits about three miles from Bybee and is open-pit mined several feet beneath the rich Kentucky topsoil. History records show this same clay was mined by the first settlers of Kentucky and taken to Fort Boonesborough to be used in making crude dishes.


Bybee Pottery has a following around the world. The building is the "real deal" and remains today as it was when the business first started.






I have many pieces of this pottery and love to find a piece at a flea market, garage sale, or on e-bay where it brings a good price. I have even found a couple of pieces at the Goodwill. It comes in several different colors ranging from navy blue to regular blue to speckled and brown, gold, and even a sort of wine color. It is dishwasher safe and can be put in the oven. Bybee Pottery is usually marked on the bottom with a "BB" for Bybee or the words, "Bybee Pottery".















I have heard rumors that the company is thinking of shutting its doors after all these years because the younger generation is not interested in taking over the business. If that happens, this pottery that is already collectible will probably become even more scarce in the future.





The pottery is sold in Middletown, Kentucky at "A Little Bit of Bybee" or click here: http://www.bybeepottery.com/.




My friends and family know that I collect this pottery and have given me many pieces over the years to add to my collection. I have a six place setting of the blue plates that I love and use it often for company. The plates are big and hold a lot of food. Most men like these plates for that reason!



The pictures are a few of my pieces.





I think it is great fun to have something you can look for when you go out or are interested in even if it is books, toys, jewelry or whatever gets you excited. My day is complete when I make a "find" and especially if it is a cheap "find".

Hickory, Dickory, Dock, I Love A Clock!!!!!!

I have a thing about clocks! I don't know why. I guess we all like some things better than others and collect stuff we like.

My clocks are not old or collectors items. I just like clocks.

If I go into Big Lots, I will look at the clocks. If I go to a flea market or antique shop, the clocks are one of the first things I look for in the store. If I find one I really like, I will come home and take down one I already have and either give it away, throw it away, or try to move it somewhere.

I, now, have one in every room including the laundry room and the garage and I don't want more than one to a room so I have to take one down when I get a new one. I have not put one in the storage building yet but that is a thought!

Some of my clocks are electric but most are battery operated. I hate having to reset them every time the electric goes off like the ones on the stove and microwave.

Every time the batteries start getting low the clocks seem to start ticking louder. I kind of like hearing them tick because it reminds me of the old wind-up clocks we used to have at home when I was a child. You could hear those old things all over the house ticking, ticking, ticking.

Is there anyone else out there that has a passion for clocks? Is there something else that you collect or that you especially like a lot?

Leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite collectible.

Spring Cleaning and Antiques

Living Room Curtains Down for the Wash

I started some spring cleaning today. Stripped the beds of blankets, sheets, comforters, and took down the curtains and started washing everything. I always have lots of energy this time of year. I am ready to plant, clean, paint, and anything else I can find to do to put a new look to the house and yard.

I love the warm spring days when I can open the windows, turn on the ceiling fans, and let winter out of the house!

My guest bedroom has been thoroughly cleaned and awaits the next visitor.

This cherry bed was handmade back in the 1970's in a little shop in Junction City, Kentucky.

It has a canopy but I have it stored at the present time.

I used to be a big collector of antiques and had many items pass through my home over the years. My son got married a little over a year ago and I had promised him a couple of pieces I had since he was a wee tot when he finally tied the knot. He held me to that promise and we loaded up the roll top desk and the lawyer's bookcase and transported to his new home in Lexington. Rob and Sarah had the perfect spot to display both pieces and they look lovely in their living room.

Lawyer's Bookcase and Oak Roll Top Desk

I am glad my children like the things I have held onto over the years. My mother's old pie safe resides with my twins, Anne and Leigh, in Georgetown. My mom and dad bought this piece when they married in 1928 at an auction for twenty five cents.

My Mother's Pie Safe in Background

I still have a another pie safe in my office that I use to store computer paper, envelopes, folders, and such. This one is smaller than my mothers and is made of oak.

Smaller oak pie safe

Antiques are really precious pieces of the past and I am sure if they could talk they would have many stories to tell of times gone by and the people who have cared for them over the years.