Found Treasures

I did what I said I wasn't gonna do...bought more rummage stuff

again this year. Can't help it, the rummage hunter is in me. But

who could resist this owl basket? Not me! Had to have it.

Fits in good with all my Fall/Halloween stuff. The rummage sale

was a huge success again this fall. In one and a half days we raised

over $3000.00! The Lord DOES work in mysterious ways,

the rummage sale is proof of that. I was totally exhausted,

but not so tired I couldn't walk the Chapel Hill Craft show on

Saturday.....

Huge crowds of people. Four Fair barns full of high quality crafts,

all handmade and ripe for the picking... If you could get close enough

in the booths. I managed a few purchases...just little ones. You can

see more pics on my Flickr page if your interested. Even the kettle corn

tent had a line of about 20 people waiting to buy a bag. Our plan

of attack was to walk down the middle of the isle and scope both sides out.

Then if we found something that caught our eye we would jump right in.

I got my mixes for dips, those things are so good!

My sister Sue and niece Kayla. First time for this show and I think

it won't be their last! Even my Mom made it through. She had this

seat/carry thingy, that she could sit on whenever she got tired.

It stored our purchases in the bottom too. Real handy piece of

equipment. We all say "thanks, Bev" for that.

After the crafts, we stopped at our favorite pumpkin place and bought

our pumpkins and gourds. She sells the coolest pumpkins, not your

regular tall orange, but these fairytale ones. They look like something

Cinderella used to make her carriage. That's my Mom and her sister

Marie hiding in the shadows.

They even have these huge ones for sale, anywhere from $75 to

$200 per pumpkin. I'm talking BIG, HUGH, MONSTROUS things!

This is what I do with mine. A little vignette of pumpkins and

gourds. I like to stack them (it's not my idea...I have to give

credit to Martha Stewart for that one). Oh and that metal egg basket

I picked up at the rummage sale too. Another treasure.....sigh!

Taste of Autumn

Its beginning to feel a bit like fall around here. Bailey and I have been
collecting acorns and acorn tops that have fallen from the oak trees.
I love to make the felted balls and add the tops. Looks great in an old
wooden bowl. Lots of things going on around here. Allegan CountyFair
started this week, my FAVORITE thing to go to, all that good old
greasy fair food! Yummo! Walking around the animal barns,
watching the idiots ride those crazy rides. Geary always wins me a
stuffed animal, isn't that sweet?
He really loves when they have the guy in the dunk tank and you
buy the balls to knock him off his perch. Geary has had white hair
since he turned 45 (he's a tad bit older than that now :),
so they always call him an old man, until he throws the balls...
that guy can hit his mark! The guys in the tank get really pissed,
sometimes Geary doesn't even let them get settled back
on before he knocks them off again! Don't call my man "Old"...lol!
Saturday is my bead shopping day...Rings and Things is having
their Fall Sale in Grand Rapids. That is one of my favorite
bead shopping trips. I'm gonna take my "shopping assistant"
Kayla with me. Maybe we'll stop by the lake and see
Aimee and Eric.
Speaking of my family...Bev and Arte spent the week here
while Gustav was having his way with the Louisiana coast.
They went back Saturday, just in time to wait and see what
Ike is gonna do. It's very stressful to have to wait on the weather
like that.
Last, but certainly not least, I'm planning my Third Annual Tailgate Party.
All my family and friends are invited, they bring their own chairs and a
dish to pass. I'm supplying the pulled pork sandwiches. Lots of hearty
fall food and fun times. We play cards and if the weather is permitting,
we are going to Fennville to Crane's Orchards and do the corn maze. Or
just eat apple pie!
No, there's no football at this tailgate party! Everything but. Just a good
fun time.

Needle in a Haystack

Well, I think this store will be a little easier than that to find.
Finally, we got our own little yarn store. I haven't visited it
yet, but from the looks of their website, its pretty nice. Maybe
after all the summer crowds leaves I'll stop by. Old SH is growing
by leaps and bounds, we now have a quilt shop, bead store and
yarn shop. Wahoo!

I can't hardly believe that its already Labor Day weekend. This is

our last fun fling of the summer. The annual Arts and Crafts Fair

is this weekend. Bev and I used to do that show every year. Some

times I miss it, sometimes not. We had some good laughs though.

Speaking of Bev. .. I put my Momma on a plane last week so she

could be with Bev while she was healing. But it might be that they

will be coming home. They are making plans, depending on what

Gustav does in the Gulf the next couple of days. I doubt the thing

is just gonna fade away, but pray it doesn't turn into some kind

of monster. Those poor people down there aren't recovered from

Katrina.