We are in the grips of a terrible cold weather front this week, and I just want to curl up in my fuzzy gray throw and nap till the weekend. At the same time, I am working to  destash my basement.  I'm get ready for Spring so the nap must wait. I am working on a new adventure with a product line called Chalk  Couture. It is a clever concept using a more permanent form of chalk paste to create signage and artwork for the home. I can teach friends to paint their own home decor pieces, and I can sell product or finished pieces as well.  However, I am struggling to stay within the lines of the stencils or transfers, and that's not an easy task. My hands and my brain are used to handling lettering and artwork in more free style fashion. Meanwhile, my garage is full of beautiful vintage chests of drawers, shelves, and home décor items that need a little bit of love or paint or both. My other half is more than happy to provide me with expert repair work on many items. He also is a great judge of furniture, of the character. weaknesses, and strengths, of the items that we find at various venues.
My beautiful daughter is looking for a new house, for her and my wonderful grandchild.  While it is an exciting time for her, it is very stressful. The market is a free-for-all for sellers, who are taking advantage of the numerous buyers and the best offers they can receive. As long as she can still live close to me I will be happy with whatever her choice may be.  My son, in the meantime, has built himself a nice little house in sunny Phoenix. Lucky me, in June I am going to fly down to visit and to help him scavenge and pick for beautiful Southwestern home décor without spending an arm and a leg. Phoenix evidently has some wonderful vintage and antique shops, and I might have to pay some shipping charges to get stuff home that I can't live without myself. Their new homes and the new lives they will lead as a result of having a new home of their own encourage me to get my house in order so that I can help them decorate their wonderful new homes.
So today is lunch with my best friend after a great haircut by my best stylist, then home to more cleaning up and sorting. The house is nice and warm and I am grateful for that goodness. Thanks for visiting with me. More chat to come soon! Love and blessings!

Hello, all!  I cannot believe that I have not been visiting my blog since October of 2017!  Shame on me!  I have been very busy, creatively and family wise, so I am sure you will forgive me. It's also amazing that I have had this blog, and have followed many other blogs, for over 7 years.

So, to catch up a bit from October of 2017...

Once my husband set out on his road to recovery, while slower than I had hoped, he stepped up and brought himself from the brink.  While I was so afraid of his seeming inability to gain momentum to at least return to his prior state of health and mind, it was just a matter of his finding his own core strength and making it happen for himself. I could only be emotionally and sometimes physically supportive; sometimes my ability to step up and build a railing or tear down his garden diminished his self-esteem, which made him sink into that post-trauma level of depression that can be catastrophic for everyone involved.  He shows his age more, as do we all, but his strength is now much greater than that of most men his age.  His determination and his healthy lifestyle are back, he is daunting in his physical stamina, and he has become my helpmate in my furniture rehabbing and creating.

As the New Year of 2019 approaches, hours away, my own determination has directed me to new approaches.  I've quit the vintage shop in which I have rented space for the past 3-4 years - changes made by the owners moved my primo front room spot to a dark back room, and my sales plummeted.  My sense of loyalty kept me struggling in place for a year, and now the time has come to find a new venue or venues for my need to create and share. 

For the past three years I have been setting up in my niece's amazingly fun and successful barn sales, at The Olde Hayfield Barn, right next door to us.  Could I ask for a better arrangement?  I feel like Santa rolling across the back fields with our 'Gator and trailer full of all sorts of useful and fun stuff to sell to my ever-growing fan- and customer-base.  I love my customers, and they seem to be coming back every season to see what new and crazy items I have either rescued, rehabbed, or created.  This past Autumn, I spent 8-12 hours in my garage, painting up awesome vintage furniture pieces and selling them right out the garage door, saving my poor aging back from carrying heavy stuff to and fro, shop and barn.  Return customers are bringing me their own finds to restore and shabby up for their farmhouse or rustic home decor.  It's more fun that I could have ever imagined, and I've made some great friends through Facebook Marketplace, where I advertise my finished products to the general public. Then these great new friends show up at the barn sales.  It can't get any better, but I am working on new ways of advertising, and sharing, and selling more pieces so I can make and paint more pieces!!!  I recently found a desk for a friend and delivered it to her before Christmas. 

I started selling on etsy.com years ago, and as my attention span waned and sparked, so did my etsy account.  Being attentive to my outreaching resources is definitely something I need to improve, because as soon as I pay a little attention to my shop, so do potential buyers!  Duh!  Poshmark is a new outlet for some of the fabulous clothing finds I score or some of my high end clothing from before retirement.  It's a great resource for me, and it is a fun place to shop for more high end clothing (I just can't help myself!)

Now, in the midst of all this paint and sawdust and wire and beads, my life has been totally enchanted and transformed by a sweet little thing named after me, Therese Marie.  She is now 7 years old, and I am so totally in love with this "mini-me", who spends her days with Papaw and me (Nana), and who paints her toy horses, draws alacorns, unicorns, and more on every sheet of paper we will give her.  Her craftiness is unlimited, her imagination uninhibited, and I am so excited that she seems to be an artist by nature.  She is a chicken tamer, dinosaur expert, snake handler, and more.  Her future is as open as she wants it.  She is also, might I say, beautiful, in a way that I have never experienced before. Her uncle and her mother are beautiful people, very much so, but there is an ethereal aura to this child that draws people to her, that she uses to make everyone her friend.  Can you tell how much I love her?

So, tell me what you want me to talk about, as I have lots to say.  I'd love to share a sort of pseudo-autobiography, something to explain how this person that I am became that person.  Everyone has an amazing story of themselves, and I love hearing those stories about other people.  There is a reason for everyone being who they are and acting how they do, thinking how they do, and feeling how they feel.

In the meantime, I think I will start inserting photos of us, of my finds, of my messy world of collecting project pieces, and anything that strikes my fancy.  Maybe I can link my Pinterest to this blog for your pleasure and exploration, certainly my etsy shop is going to be linked, and I am linking to a new website which I just built, www.theresemarievintage.com.  I am so proud of myself, a senior citizen, they tell me, building a website that will connect me to a whole new world of communication and technology.  I love that you are reading this and hope that you will follow me through my adventures and misadventures.  I may be ridiculous, but I am certainly not boring, as they say!!!

October is my favorite month. Some of my favorite people have birthdays this month, including my hunny, my granbaby, and me! As we dig our way out of a disastrous August and difficult September, this month is shining just a little more than usual, with the light at the end of the tunnel.

Our barn sale two weekends ago was absolutely spectacular. All my painting and scraping and cleaning paid off with a very successful sale. I love that people come back each sale to see me and make me feel like I have a fan base!! Isn't that awesome? Now it's time to prepare for our holiday barn sale on November 18. Lovely trees and ornaments as well as more sweet chalk painted vintage finds and more. Keep watching for my updates. Here are some shots from our September sale.

Well, we've been making it all work, somehow, with hospital, physical therapy, kindergarten and lost teeth, and it looks like life might become more "normal" pretty soon. Mr. has made great progress this past week so we are working on what we need to go home this week! I finally got back to prepping and painting for the shop and for the upcoming barn sale on September 30 next door at The Olde Hayfield. I can't  wait for it all to happen. Hope to see my friends there! Heading home from the hospital shortly and have two projects  to work on when I  get home.

Bumps in the Road

Well, it was a rough weekend. My sweet husband did not do well by returning home from his surgery so soon. He was so full of pain medicine that he could not think straight, and he tried to manage moving on his own in the middle of the night, and he fell and, yes, he broke his hip. Today he suffered through surgery to repair that fracture, and he is sleeping in his hospital room while I watch and pray that they will give him time to recover a bit before sending him home to try again. I ordered them to discontinue any narcotics, and within hours of that demand, his mind is clearer and he is once again the sweet but strong man I know and love. Now to manage his pain and physical therapy and get him back on his feet, quite literally. I see a rough two weeks upcoming but hope we can make that time work for us. Lots of friends and family are rooting for him. Thanks for the love!!

Mr. Man is in the recovery room. All is well. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers! Now I  brace myself for the road to recovery, grateful that he is a healthy and determined soul who will do what it takes to get back on his feet.

So grateful!!

Today I  sit and wait for news of my hubby's progress in knee replacement surgery. The thoughts go through  my mind of the risks of surgery, the anesthesia, complications, and the long road to recovery ahead of us. There are still chores to be done that will fall to me, chickens to feed, lawns to mow, weeds to pull, but the hope of a new lease on life and a renewal of activities that were restricted by his deteriorating joint gives me strength to move forward. We love to go to flea markets, yard sales, and antique shops, and I hope that his new knee will give him a few more miles of walking and picking.

Hospitals are the most uncomfortable places to have to sit and wait. I have my tablet and cellphone and my old-fashioned notebook, so I can be occupied for a bit, but sitting still is not my thing, and I  didn't think to pack one of my jewelry projects or my vintage-inspiring magazines. Oh, well, when his other knee gets done I will try to remember to bring something creative along.

I am feeling the good vibes from all my friends' prayers working, and I thank all of you for your comfort and support!

 I  retired in November of  2015, after trying to outlast the power mongers of my organization, and it was the best thing I could have done for myself and my family.

Since that moment, I have been working on my art and vintage treasures, and took on my granddaughter's care, and could not be happier. What an adventure! She is a miniature adult with a wicked sense of humor, and she is her Papaw's sidekick.

I have been blessed to participate in a series of barn sales right in my own neighborhood, and these events have become the delight of my creative life. It means meeting people and making friends who add joy to my life and become followers of my work. The hosts of the barn sales are very kind and well organized.  They have made their farm a home for all of the creative souls around the town. Right now I  am preparing for the Fall sale. I will have to show you my progress here soon.

Wow! Time flies, and, while Facebook and other social media are great for staying in touch with everyone, it's not a good idea to express yourself and share your true spirit there. I miss my blogging and the connections to people with similar passions and interests.

I spend my days now picking, painting, repurposing, and selling my treasures in a fabulous little Shop called "Repurposefully Yours,"  just a short hop from my home. The owners are a motivated couple who treat their vendors like family, and who help me move and stage my finds to their best advantage. I manage part of the "white room", a beautiful arrangement of white, off white, ivory, black, and grey furniture and home decor items, along with a few of my little craft and art pieces.

I  am just getting a new start here on my blog, so watch for more catching up photos and tales of my adventures and misadventures since we last connected!! Thanks for checking in with me!

Hello, any loyal followers who might be around still.  I have decided that 2014 should be packed away and archived somewhere so that it never rears its ugly head again!!!  I lost 2 cousins, my mother, my sister-in-law, my favorite old professor at work, watched 3 friends each lose a parent, and just after the clocked turned over to the New Year, I had to put my beloved 16+ year old puppy dog to sleep. My job became so much more stressful than it had ever been, and still no relief or light at the end of that tunnel, but at least we are secure and comfortable, my children are healthy, strong, and good, and I thank God, and hope that my mother will watch over me and keep me that way. My son is living and working, and thriving in Phoenix, happy at his job and home, loving the weather, and I miss him terribly!

My granddaughter suddenly turned 3 last October, and now she talks like a college student living the life!  She's a back seat driver, she has great conversations with me when she sits on the potty, and her Papaw and her are closer than ever.  So much to be grateful for, very blessed I am.  So, I need to step up, believe in the New Year, and pray that everyone I love stays safe, healthy, and happy.

More determined than ever to chase my dreams, find my vintage finds, and create.  I'm in a lovely shop less than a mile from home, where I set up my finds and my art, and share it with others who love my style!  It's my therapy, and, even though I have to climb to the third floor to get to my space, just anticipating seeing it again energizes me, even at the end of a long, difficult day at work and discouragement from former supporters of my craft.

With all that, I am sure that I will be loading up many more photos and conversations to share with all of you.  If your Mama is still with you, hug her, hold her, go visit her as much as you can, because, even though I am now a grandmother, I still want my Mama, but I can't have her until we meet again where she so clearly resides now...

Time Flies

Well, the best of intentions went awry for me!  Not that I haven't been creating and sharing, but this poor little blogspot has been sorely neglected of late.  I hope to catch up with everyone, but there are so many creative and lovely bloggers out there who may laugh at my attempts to share my world of creativity and vintage preservation, that I had to stop and think about whether or not I wanted to continue with this blog.

I do, and I will set aside "Me Time" to do just this!  My doctor has told me to eke out a spot of time every day, just for me, just for a few minutes, so that I might better care for myself, and, as a result, care better for those in my life whose needs and wants follow me through my days and nights. I love being needed, I love sharing, I love pulling my beautiful granddaughter through the yard in her wagon until we come to the daisies at the back fence and she has to have just one.  When the purple coneflowers bloom later this summer, she may faint from the joy and beauty of it all.  Her enthusiasm for birds and flowers and her mother and her Papaw is uninhibited, clear, and brightly expressed.  This is love, to love my children, then to love their children, and to bask in their light and hold their hands in their dark days, and to share this with my love, my husband and friend.

The holidays were wonderful, winter was a challenge, but I have been spending weekends combing flea markets, antique shows, yard sales, estate sales, and, yes, the occasional dumpster, looking for amazing vintage and collectible finds.  My little spot in the local antique shop is thriving - my white and shabby chic style brighten up alongside the older, more primitive pieces.  I am surrounded by creative and driven people in this shop, from the owner to the newest vendors, and we work together to make everyone shine - I am so blessed and so very happy to be a part of this little clique.  We understand each other's drive and passion to create and to collect, when others may not.  Hubby is interested, always willing to be the mechanic, restoring a broken box or a chandelier that needs some TLC - he spent a good part of his winter refinishing a couple of old wood pieces for our home and for the shop, and he shares the joy when I have finally sold that one little table, or that packet of handmade notecards, and we laugh with the fun of doing something together!

I hope to spend a few minutes every day, either adding pictures or comments, and I hope that someone will happen upon my little spot here and will smile with the recognition that creative people have for each other.  I need to catch up with that fun and creative spirit that drives me to keep moving forward and to keep collecting and cherishing those tools and accents that hold the past so dearly in their being.

 Here is the little monster herself - caught her in the process of showing off to me!  Luckily this is her happy side in these photos!  More later, as soon as I get some shots off my new cellphone!

Always Running to Catch Up!

It's time to get ready for the holidays, and I am just now getting out of my summer post and into this one!  Open House at the Country Hearth Primitives, with me painting sweet children's faces with butterflies and football logos!

Meanwhile, you know who is growing and showing her stuff!  Baby T is such a wild child, now a year old, and just waiting to pull our chain at every opportunity.  I told her to stop touching something with her hand, so she put her foot on it instead, and looked at me with a gleam in her eye!!  Gotta love that spirit, although her mommy may want to shriek in frustration!  All normal, all perfect as it is.

Yep, no one and nothing is safe from her little grasp!!  She's lovely, and I am still just as enthralled with her as I was the day she was born!

Thanksgiving is on its way, so I hope to have more photos  soon, of everyone I love.

Bits and Pieces of the End of Summer

Part of my shop in Country Hearth Primitives

I love the cages, and decorating them is half the fun.

I sold this precious little shoe so fast, wish I had a dozen more, they are beautiful.

My gorgeous little granddaughter is walking now, and I think she loves it!

She's looking for that special find at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio.

Well, she did find that mums do not taste very good!

Papaw is helping her to get ready for the cold weather.