...sorting, packing, tossing.

SO.

My 'favoritest' of months has come and gone.

THANK GOODNESS for 'OCTOBER'!! 

For some reason, it is a month that has ALWAYS resonated with me.  ...and gave me power to be strong!

We had a LOT of FUN in October, nothing extraordinary, just a LOT of laughs (like trying to figure out 'who' was enjoying our pumpkins SOOO Much!)


(We did finally catch a glimpse of Him in action...)

The excitement of capturing the season through 'new-eyes'...

(Miss Fi loved the bag that we gave her for her '10-30' SECOND BIRTHDAY!)


Along with all of the FUN, October was a also a Very Sentimental Journey.

~ The store at which I have worked for the past 15 yrs. closed it's doors for the last time.  138yrs. worth of STUFF to sort, pack, toss...

~A good friend sold her house and moved out of state.  STUFF to sort, pack, toss...

~J's childhood home has sat empty since his parents went into a skilled care facility a yr ago.  The ownership of the house is in the process of being transferred... sort, pack, toss.

~A Very Dear friend died in June (87yrs).  She never married or had children.  Just a very packed home.  It recently sold and had to be emptied by Oct. 31... sort, pack, toss.

Oh, all of the Memories...

THANK GOODNESS October gave me strength, because

OUR COFFEE MAKER DIED!!!

THANKFULLY we were home at the time, or I shudder to think of what 'might' have happened!

About a week ago, while J was home for lunch, we noticed a smell of ?burning plastic/rubber?, upon checking we found smoke coming from our 'OFF' coffee maker!!  We quickly unplugged, and removed it to the driveway!

After MUCH time spent on the phone with the manufacturer, and reassurance from them that they had never had anything like this reported to them in the past... we made arrangements for them to replace it...

Which they did promptly.
~BUT~
The new unit arrived SHATTERED.
So, now, we are anxiously awaiting the next replacement!


THANKS for listening to me whine...
I'll leave you with this TOO CUTE picture of the 'PLARN' bag in action on Halloween!

**There is an ADORABLE Mini-Mouse costume under the Winter Coat!!

...the Best of times.

Reflecting back on THIRTEEN years of...

...the Best of adventures & Fun!

...the best of friends!

and

 I'm sure, THE BEST is yet to come ;-) !!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY J!

LOVE YOU!

..."TERRIBLE"?!

Some like to refer to 2yr olds as 'TERRIBLE', I personally adore this age!!  (maybe it's because I'm not The Mom??)

Well, we have the SWEETEST little one living next door to us, who will be TWO on 10/30

(OH, SOOOOO close to my Favorite Holiday!!)

J & I wanted to give her something little for her birthday - BUT, What do you give the little girl who has EVERYTHING???

How about her 'very own' special mini Plarn 'Trick-or-Treat' bag?!!
...after, it can tote her books to/fro the Library (yes, Thank goodness her Mom takes her there!!) or she can tote her own soggy swimsuit in the Summer!!

When I finished that up, I was in the 'Plarn-swing-of-things', so I finished up the 'body' of a bag I had started for myself ages ago!  BUT, I decided I wanted to try something different for a 'handle'..

Hmmm...

So, I went to my personal 'Library', and did a refresher course on a skill that I hadn't tried since 3rd grade Art Class in elementary school.  Well, let me tell you - I give that Teacher a LOT of credit, she MUST have had the patience of a Saint to teach a bunch of 8yr olds this 1970's Craft!!!

Maybe it's using 'plarn' instead of cording, but this whole process is a LOT more time consuming than I remember.... I'm not real sure the 'look' is exactly what I was after, but I guess it's not 'Terrible', so I think I'll continue - and, just a couple of more evenings and MY bag should be completed! ((FINALLY))

NOW, I'm off to do some prep for a weekend of celebrating '#13' with J !

   8-)!!

...$3 of HAPPINESS!

It has been said before that I'm "easily amused" and "a cheap date" - often taken as  'less-than-flattering' statements, but I guess it's true.

Hit a 'Final Day' Church Rummage sale on Saturday - 

"FILL A BOX FOR THREE BUCKS"!

(Just buy a 'print paper box' and fill it with whatever you can!)

and OH what FUN was had...

Yes, I DO know how to pack a box!!

As always, LOTS of 'stuff with potential' (ie: craft supplies)

'New' foldout storage carry-along (in Pink!), metal zippers, scrap ornaments for wreaths, jello mold for mushrooms, 'New' package of decorative papers...

LOTS of 'Tools of the Trade':

Why are there some things that I just.can't.leave behind??  I have more mini C-clamps, Hot Glue Guns, Dymo Label Makers, and heavy old clunky staplers than I could possibly 'need' in a lifetime.  Yet, I couldn't walk away from them?!!

A FEW THINGS THAT WERE ALL ABOUT ME!

This chalkware cathead and mini lantern perfume bottle are headed directly to MY PERSONAL 'museum'!


A BIT FOR FRIENDS:

'Cat-Lover' - check!  'Mini toleware Collector' - check!
OH, and hey, MORE CROCHET PATTERNS!!

and A FEW FOR RESALE:

Beautiful handmade PINK/WHITE DOILIES, 'Durham' vintage metal & plastic drawers, barware, Halloween stamps, NM (McCoy) white pottery hand vase, KODAK metal film cannisters, W. Germany candles, Hawaii wallet, Spaghetti 'DECEMBER' figures, Steubenville 'IVORY' bowl, jingle bell, and, and, and!

Isn't this NIB Irwingware 4pc BARWARE set amazing?!! (complete with instruction book!)

...and The NECESSARY 'WHAT THE???'

This mini kit came WELL TAPED, so thought we were getting a 'Grommet set'.  Imagine my surprise when we inspected it closer at home.  Solid metal 'points' with 'screws'!??  I'm thinking some kind of shoe or cleat replacement spikes (golf? baseball?).  Are these still legal (to sell?).  Any market??

~AND~

Larger than marbles, metal, heavy and a Whole baggie full...
WHAT ARE THEY FOR??
WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THEM????


All in all, I think we did okay.
The fun-of-the-hunt and the sorting after kept me HAPPY for quite a while !!

...'if these sands could talk!'

I 'needed' a little 'therapy' on Tuesday, so I made a jaunt to one of my favorite thrifts.  I soon found that I just.wasn't.into.it (!??!)

Soooo......

I decided to take advantage of the sunny afternoon, and try another form of 'therapy' ~

I headed to 'my' seaglass beach...

 Now, mind you, 'my' seaglassing spot isn't really a beach, per se'.  It is merely a small strip of land on the North Shore of one of the larger Finger Lakes with water access.  It's on the edge of a park, between piers and boat launches.  You have to climb through over growth, to find the 5'-10' x 100' strip of heavily littered and neglected area of 'sandy beach' adjacent to the water's edge.

You can imagine my 'disappointment' when I arrived, and found two older women already 'combing' 'MY' beach!  In good seaglassing form, I started my search on the opposite end from where these women were.  I was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED to find that it was a 'stellar' day for seaglass though!  BIG WAVES were bringing in new specimens as I watched, and 'dove' for them before the waves carried them back out.

As my path crossed with the two women, I chatted with one of them (the other was clearly Disgusted that I was there!).  In usual 'beach combing' form, the woman eyed my quart size ziploc, and asked what I was looking for...  I told her 'Whatever catches my eye!'.  It was then that I glanced toward the LARGE grocery bag she was rapidly filling.  She closed it abruptly and stated "Oh, that's my bra, I had to take it off because it was bothering me and my boob kept falling out"

OH MY!!  T.M.I !!!

 My afternoon of soaking up a few 'rays',  yielded 'the most' seaglass I have EVER gotten in one quest, an 'interesting' encounter, and proper 'therapy'!

Now, if somebody would just explain 'The Gold Horse' that I found...  or maybe not.  I'm quickly learning that some stories are best left untold!!

...making the MOST of it!

Fall has ARRIVED,

and we have been taking advantage of the 'INDIAN SUMMER' that we had last week...

J & I have been hitting the garage workbench to do a few 'last minutes' before the COLD sets in.

We've been drilling seaglass and beach bricks, to stock up for future projects...

and even bringing the Food Processor 'out-of-doors' to whip up a batch of totally 'toxic' HORSERADISH!! 

Now that the holes are drilled, some new projects are on the horizon...

Wire-wrap PUMPKIN Pendants for a start!

 NOT-TO-FEAR,
saling has been on OVERLOAD lately - as a bonus of the local Nursing Homes and Churches getting in on the FALL-CRAZE, with their annual Bazaars & Rummage sales (7 this past weekend alone!!)

Vintage and Craft Supplies to hold me over 'til SPRING!!

**NO WORRY! I'm not getting in OVER my head with Crocheting!!  Friends have a Full-Time business reselling CROCHET PATTERNS (whodda thunk it?!), so I pick them up for them whenever I find them 'on the cheap'! ~ This weekend was VERY Lucrative!!

Some of my purchases put me into the 'travelling frame of mind'...

SCARED?!  Yes, I would be WELL-prepared for any UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY invites that may come my way, but hopefully they will ReSell!!

The weekend ended with the spotting of a BEAUTIFUL 'Full' Rainbow ~ hope this is a sign of good things to come!!

OH! I almost forgot two of my favorite 'acquisitions' of the weekend... 2014 Royal Haeger #2 and VERA #7

...bittersweet.

Tomorrow the doors close for the last time... What the next chapter in my journey shall be, I have no idea.  Good bye Nugents.