It's Time for a Rooster Party......Something to Crow About!!!

Today is finally here, the much anticipated Rooster Party has begun. Our wonderful hostess who is throwing this crowing good time party is none other than Barb from Bella Vista. What a fun party this is going to be and all the invited guest will be showing off their love for Roosters. Won't you join us in a little fun this summer afternoon in the hen house???

Just click on Bella Vista and all the participants are listed on the right sidebar...very easy to sit back, put your feet up and grab yourself a cold glass of iced tea and enjoy the wonderful Rooster Party. I for one, am super excited!

I wanted to share a few roosters that were shown on my blog the first couple of months I discovered blogging....I love them so much, I thought I'd let them bask in the limelight once more.

These lovely vintage pair sit on my shelf in the kitchen, I really like the colors. They were purchased at a local antique shop over 20 years ago.

This wonderful rooster was made out of beans and grains by my Aunt LaVoice in the 50's I would guess. What a talent to complete a work of art like this. This rooster is one of my prized possessions. He guards my kitchen and watches over all who enter.

Now, this group of chicks is new to the scene. I purchased this tablecloth and napkin set at an estate sale. Love the hens and the rooster. Reminds me of a barnyard scene at a farm.

Well, hope you enjoyed a peek at my vintage roosters and am so glad to have been able to join in this fun event. Have fun everyone visiting Barb and seeing all the varieties of roosters there are in the world. Have a great weekend.

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY: Bears Need Love Too!!

Welcome to this weeks segment of Vintage Thingies Thursday. Thursday is the day to showcase your vintage treasures and to share your special things with everyone. If you are visiting and would like to join us, please do. It is very easy!
To participate, all you have to do is:

* * * * * * * Please everyone, follow these guidelines!

(1) do a post about something vintage.
(2) Visit all the participates and leave a comment.
(3) Link in with the link at the bottom of this post, please use a perma-link to link in with, that way, anyone can refer back to your post if they can not get to it on Thursday.
(4) Be sure to refer back to my blog so everyone can see who is participating today, and if you like include the VTT button in your post. Please be sure to have your post up before linking in.

I am sure at some point, I have mentioned the fact that I collect black bears....and have a room dedicated to all my bears. I have some brown bears, but I really love the black bears. I thought I'd show you a few of my bear treasures.

I found this great metal serving plate at Goodwill a few weeks ago. I just love it. I love the fluted edges and the fact that I don't think it was used much. The back has the owners name and phone number, I left it there....I don't really know how old this is, but I am pretty sure it is a vintage piece.

This little black bear was found at a local antique shop, I think...I really can not remember where I got him.....I think this would make a great toothpick holder. I love the three little fish at the base.

This set of brown bears came from a local antique shop. I thought they were so cute, these are really very small in size.

(click on photo to make larger) This is a great vintage drawing book. I knew the minute I found this I had to have it. You can learn to draw cartoon bears as demonstrated above or the more life like bears below.

These pages show you how to draw black bears...

Here are the pages for drawing Grizzlies....funny thing is, I am not an artist and even though this is a charming book...it really did me no good at all. Even my cartoon bears looked like they had big problems...

Well, that is it today, hope you liked a few of my vintage bear items. I will see ya' next week for more vintage goodies! Have a great weekend everyone!

A Birthday Celebration....80 years in the making!!

It is not everyday someone has a Birthday to celebrate their 80th year. Today is my Aunt LaVoice's 80th Birthday.

I tried to be sneaky and post last week, and then delete the post requesting your assistance in the Birthday celebration. I am so thankful at the response I received and your cards and Birthday wishes started arriving last week! As of Saturday, 35 cards had arrived....I know by the end of today, I am going to safely anticipate at least 80 well wishes!! Thanks guys, you are true blogging friends. I knew I could count on all of you!

Please stop by Thoughts From Meme's Corner and wish LaVoice a very Happy 80th Birthday today....I can not wait for her to blog about her gifts and cards she received for this special birthday...many were inspired with the "new blogger" in mind!

A Little Bird Told You???

This little bird is in big trouble....seems it has been broadcasting through the wires and across the net of a special day of celebration next week on August 25th. This little bird is holding firm to the wire....announcements need to be made, celebrations need to begin and the little bird wants you all to know that he is most excited that your celebratory greetings are arriving......see ya' on the 25th for the rest of the story.......

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY: Mid-Century Atomic Bowls

Welcome to this weeks segment of Vintage Thingies Thursday. Thursday is the day to showcase your vintage treasures and to share your special things with everyone. If you are visiting and would like to join us, please do. It is very easy!
To participate, all you have to do is:

* * * * * * * Please everyone, follow these guidelines!

(1) do a post about something vintage.
(2) Visit all the participates and leave a comment.
(3) Link in with the link at the bottom of this post, please use a perma-link to link in with, that way, anyone can refer back to your post if they can not get to it on Thursday.
(4) Be sure to refer back to my blog so everyone can see who is participating today, and if you like include the VTT button in your post. Please be sure to have your post up before linking in.

This week, I want to share some of my Goodwill finds from a few weeks ago, I tell ya' that day, I hit the mother lode.


I found this set of 3 atomic mid century bowls. They are small, maybe for custard or a small bowl of soup. They are wonderful vintage bowls and depict that time period fabulously.


I have learned from a little research, this type of china,or anything with an atomic feel has burst and become very popular again. I just love these bowls. But do you think I'd want to sell them....well, not really. I really like them and think they are very unusual.

You know, I don't know why I have a knack for finding 3 or 5 of things...very seldom will I find 4 or 6 of anything. I got these for $1.50 for all three, and was really happy. The bottoms of these are marked,
Syracuse China, 6-1, USA
Don't you just think they scream mid century America?

On this same day, I found this lovely cup and saucer. This is also marked Syracuse China, USA. Look at the lovely details on the saucer.

This looks like it was never used. I am thinking it is part of restaurant ware, as it has the fell of that type of china. I think it is rather charming...and as usual, only one was found. Not bad for .75 cents.

Alas, my luck must have ran out that day, as this is about all I have found worthy of mentioning in a few weeks. This week, I did find a couple of things, and an amazing find (I think) at a Thrift Store for .25 cents. I will save these for another day.....

I have some really great things to share next week, Steve and Jeff have been in Colorado this week, and well...when I say I have missed some rather RARE occurrences, well, that is an understatement. I am hoping between the two of them, they have some pictures of the events that unfolded this week high in the Rockies and I will be able to share these unique experiences with you....told by the two of them.


Have a great Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone, and a blessed rest of your week.

A Giveaway for UGG BOOTS to Welcome Fall!!!

This is my daughter, Alisha. For those who know Alisha personally, it is no surprise that she is rather obsessed with UGG boots. She wears them from the first hint of fall in the air until the first breath of summer. She loves them.


These boots make perfect footwear for Colorado. Nothing like your feet and toes toasty warm in the chilling snow!!

There is a great giveaway, and your chance to win a pair of these great boots for yourself or for someone you know.....I know who would take these off my hands if my name was drawn....

Check the icon on my right sidebar, and go to enter for your chance to win or click HERE to enter. You will also receive a 15% off coupon towards your purchase of a pair of boots for the little Miss Priss in your life who can not live without this particular footwear!! Now...I'm off to enter!!

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY: Sewing Patterns

Welcome to this weeks segment of Vintage Thingies Thursday. Thursday is the day to showcase your vintage treasures and to share your special things with everyone. If you are visiting and would like to join us, please do. It is very easy!
To participate, all you have to do is:

* * * * * * * Please everyone, follow these guidelines!

(1) do a post about something vintage.
(2) Visit all the participates and leave a comment.
(3) Link in with the link at the bottom of this post, please use a perma-link to link in with, that way, anyone can refer back to your post if they can not get to it on Thursday.
(4) Be sure to refer back to my blog so everyone can see who is participating today, and if you like include the VTT button in your post. Please be sure to have your post up before linking in.

This week, my post is a bit different....

I have been working on my sewing room, painting, cleaning out, etc. I needed a table for sewing, and have several of these old brown, HEAVY tables in my shed that we save for when we have a garage sale. I was going to buy a sewing table, but decided I could re-purpose something I already had and did not really use by turning it into something I will enjoy a lot.


Well....this one is not so ugly now. (All the pics I took were when the table was wet, once this dried, the bubbles have disappeared) I was just too lazy to retake the photos.

I have a few vintage sewing patterns I found at a local church sale, I decided to use the pattern jackets and decorate my new sewing table.

Wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper, vintage patterns, scrapbook embellishments and Mod Podge all were used in the transformation of this ugly brown table.

I just love the graphics on the front of vintage sewing patterns.

What do you think? I still have a couple more coats of Mod Podge to put on top. I used the Hard finish Mod Podge for furniture. Once that has cured, I will seal the top with sealer and it should be ready to go. I will set my sewing machines on this table. I plan to find some plain fabric and staple to the underneath side for skirting, and added storage. (Did you happen to notice the cute little wiener dogs in the corners???) Sophie's idea...totally....I swear!

I know this was a bit different for me this week, but the patterns are vintage, and truth be told, this old table may be real close to being vintage itself!!

Have a great week everyone!

For The Over 30 Crowd!!

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!
If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... barefoot... BOTH ways Yadda, yadda, yadda......

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia!
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!


I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!
Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take, like, a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to tan our hide! Nowhere was safe!


There were no MP3' s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the local record store and shoplift it yourself!


Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished and the tape would come undone. Cause - that's how we rolled, dig?


There was no such things as cell phones. Nothing was so important that it could not wait until you got home to make a actual telephone call. Speaking of telephones, we didn't have fancy technology like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!
When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your coach, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!


We didn't have any fancy Sony PlayStation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... forever!
And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!


You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! There was no channel surfing! You had to get off your tail and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!


There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!


And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or before!

Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd

~~~I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. A friend of mine sent this to me in a email, I changed some of the wording so it would not offend anyone...still....I think it is funny and a good representation of how fast things have progressed in just a few short years.

Blue Monday: Charming Houses of Cripple Creek

I have mentioned before that one of my favorite places in the world is Cripple Creek Colorado. I love how the little town is nestled among the large Mountains of Colorado. There is plenty of charm from days gone by, one just needs to stop and take a look around.

My late mother in law, Pat, and I always talked about wanting to own a house in town. Most all of the houses are just loaded with charm. Many are close to being well over 100 years old, while many of the houses peppered in the mountains are indeed that old or older. I love driving down the streets and looking at all the little houses, most built very close together and think about what life must have been like here in this little Gold Mining town when the Gold Rush was in full swing.

Just look at this Blue Beauty. I absolutely love all the colors used in this house. This little gem was for sale, but even in the economy the way it is today...it was still out of my price range. I found the real estate office on line and this house was listed for $365,000.00. Now that made me blue........

Now, here is another house that just had me drooling. Notice the beautiful shades of blue in the trim of the house. We looked in all the windows, and read the information about this home. Most of the inside is still original from the 1800's. The hardwoods, the lamps, the molding, fireplace, all the light fixtures were original. When I saw the light fixtures in the dining room and living room, I was shocked at such beauty. You could tell this place in its day was the crowning jewel of this town. It sat on a small hill, just outside the main part of town, but still an easy walking distance to all the hustle and bustle of a mining town. I could picture myself here, enjoying the mountain views and being queen of this castle. I loved this place.

Another charming part of this house was the fence that surrounded the property. I loved it, all the colors and splendor had my head spinning. I felt like I could hear my mother in law whispering what a great place this would be.

Here is a view from one of the neighborhood streets, you will notice the house in the distance has a beautiful blue roof. That Blue Ford truck is Steve's pickup, he was patiently waiting for me to take my photos....well, not so patiently....but waiting he was!

Hope you enjoyed a look at some historic homes in Cripple Creek Colorado.

Be sure to visit Sally at Smiling Sally's Blog for a Great Blue Monday with lots of beautiful blues to see today. It makes a great way to start off the week.

This Post is to Test Your Knowledge...***ANSWER****

OK....Here is the answer to today's challenge question. Do you ever feel like there never is enough time in the day?

Did you know you can take a bag of rice, lay it on the agitator of your washing machine, throw in a load of towels using hot water...and viola....once the washer turns off, perfectly steamed rice...ready for the table.

J-O-K-I-N-G here folks! Can you tell I am feeling a bit silly today?? Might as well laugh at my silly mistakes...this is really what happened......

Normally, you see my sweet Sophie & Dora's picture on my phone, now, you can not even see the screen...because I washed it in the machine with a load of clothes....I hope the rice does the trick....should be dried out if left in a bag of rice unopened on the counter (not the washing machine) for a couple of days....I am crossing my fingers here, as my contract is not up until December....what a mess if I have to get a new phone.

This is a test.............

Please leave your guess in the comment section. I will check back later Friday and give you the answer....I just want to see how many smart folks out there in blog land can guess what this was about.

Now, file this tad bit of information in your head just in case you find your phone floating in the washer one day like I did. I was impressed with all the smart answers.....you guys do know your stuff. Have a great weekend.

See this bag of rice and a regular ole' ziploc bag? Well.....can you guess why I was in need of these two items Thursday evening?? The two of these were quickly transformed to look like this.....



I'll give you a hint......a regular ole' washing machine was involved as well......

Stumped yet?!?!?!? Don't worry too much....I will show you in another photo what it was all about after we play a little guessing game.