Weekend Finds!

Loving the " folk art " found at the Roadside Marked Sturgeon Bay

A Huge Edison Mazda Filiment bulb with original packaging

Pretty as a Peacock

Greetings from postcards

The flowers left from the weekend sale, the basket from Apron Strings with Mom and me!

Summer Photo Album

Lake Michigan from Algoma's shore

Anderson Barn Ephraim, Wi

Sister Bay Harbor Summer 2012

Dodge Antiques and Architecture Algoma, Wi

Jeanines beautiful booth, Chippy Shabby.

Our Vintage Trailer on our little piece of the Door!

A view of the pier from Fred and Fuzzy's ... Waiting for the sunset over the bay.

Anderson's Barn, rolling doors. 

Our Baileys Harbor Home Sweet Home.

Shiner Bock on our little red and blue wicker table

Ephraim HollyHocks along highway 42

Daisys from our lot for the Viva La Cabin Show

Al Johnsons Goats on the grassy roof

J.J.s ... after Fred and Fuzzy'a  Fish Tacos for dinner!

Photo Journal 7*12*12

photo by Aubrey Smith

in the studio

a gathering among friends

celebrate

orange layered cake

sweets

a warm welcome

keep calm and carry on

happy 4th of july!

'Oooo...Ahhh... BOOM Boom POW!' by opendoorstudio

Thanks to Embroitique for the name! Happy 4th to those of you in the USA ... and to those NOT in the USA.. Celebrate anyway!

M I S S Liberty/ platinum b... LulusGalaxy $12.00	Necklace, Tribal, Chevron, M... SimoneSutcliff... $35.00	1970s skirt . tiered gingham... lostboysandlov... $28.00	Red and blue flower cabochon... HMCreativeSupp... $6.89
Ballonoff Porta File Metal B... sorrythankyou7... $18.00	Vintage Red, White, and Blue... WonderVintageS... $10.00	Vintage American Flag, 48 St... saltandginger $36.00	Vintage Red and White and Bl... xoUda $22.00
Sky Blue Chevron Ring, Shrin... PeriwinkleNuth... $12.50	Astro Sneakers nbdg $30.00	Vintage Set of Poker Chips I... FondueAvenue $10.00	OLD GLORY--Red White and Blu... handmadewithlo... $10.99
SALE vintage 4th of july gla... RustBeltThread... $38.40	Captain America Shield - Pen... HoraEffect $10.50	Machine Embroidery Design - ... Embroitique $2.99	1980s Swimsuit - Red White a... DeLaBelle $24.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Wauconda Fest 2012

The best laid plans

My husband looking on with the beer in his hand while my nephew repairs the breaks

On the trip north to Elkhorn. This time looking a bit like the Beverly Hillbillys, the breaks on our truck seized. Thank God we were only 15 miles from my sister's place. She was out celebrating her 33rd wedding anniversary.

My nephew helped repair the breaks as I called to relinquish our booth space at the Elkhorn flea.  Oh well. anyone see something in the truck you can't live without? It is still for sale!  Thank God for nephews who are young, love repairing cars, and have not yet gone out to party for the night...And for husbands who know to douse the breaks (and thought to bring the water jug) when you are traveling far from home!

our little camper disconnected and ready for the trip.

We ended up connecting with my sister and brother-in-law for a nice evening, I browsed her garden,  left the flowers I had purchased for the flea market in a vase on her kitchen table...a collection of Red, White and Blue... and then we went for pizza and even stopped by a carnival to take some colorful photos of the nighttime lights.  They shared their 33rd anniversary with us and that must have been what God was intending for us to do in the first place!

. we were packed and ready to go friday night

. husband came home from work at 11 am

. could not find the keys to the truck until 1 pm

. had to stop to visit his dad at the hospital

. back on the road, needing to stop for flowers and supplies... now 5pm

. breaks went out, sheriff and fire battalion Chief came to help

. repair shops all closed for the weekend

. quick thinking to call my nephew

. we picked up water to douse on the tire for the trip to my nephews, stopping every 5 miles along the way 

. Tony was so distraught he left his beer on the Walmart counter... concentrating instead on the little plastic watering can and gallon jugs of water for the hot breaks ( i usually have a crazy galvanized funnel in the display... not this time!)

. called the flea market organizer who said she was just about to let our spot go. ( 6pm)

.  was able to find an open Autozone to pick up parts needed for the repair

.  limped the truck to my sisters house

.  nephew saved the day!

.  toured my sisters garden and put the flowers I had purchased in a vase with a "happy anniversary" note on her table

.  left their home and was on the way to our home,  a few miles away, they called and we met them for pizza and to look at my other nephews "dream home" on the river... he has been trying to work with the bank on now for months.

.  dinner and pizza, touring Wauconda, IL for Wauconda fest.  

.  finally getting home and able to sleep in well into the morning!

       Ah! Priceless!

Friendship Lasts...

Ever had one of those times in your life, where things are at a low? You are feeling a little sorry for yourself... and then... BAM! REALITY CHECK!  Well, I have and it happened this past week.

Here is the back story in brief.

The Setting:
Barrington, Illinois. St. Paul United Church of Christ Youth Group.  We had such fun, Sunday mornings with our swanky carpet sample laden lounge and boxes of fresh donuts, retreats, softball games, camp outs, trips to Wisconsin, bi-centennial ice cream socials, live nativity ( I was the Virgin Mary) and lots of friendship and fellowship.

When youth group/high school buddies J.P. and Dave turned 16, my girlfriend Tina and I thought to make a special gift.  We painted a little ladder orange, adding to it the likenesses of the boys who were our best friends at the time.  One of them, we used to joke, was a little shorter than the other and so we painted a little made-up saying on the top "Whenever you feel down in size...step right up and measure-ize".  Looking back, the better "play on words" would have been "measure eyes"... but what did a couple of crazy teenagers know.

We had such a fun social group, we were inseparable.    After graduation from high school, making new friends in our new collegate worlds, keeping in touch via letters and phone calls to our land lines, if even keeping in touch at all, after friends moved, got married and found new lives...I would reflect on the wonderful times we shared, filled with laughter and memories of days past.  We all lost touch!

It is difficult when your friends have last names that are so common... Price, Bennett, Smith, Butler, King... It is one of the reasons you kept "Layton" in your email and contact information.  Hoping those folks with the common last names...might someday find YOU.

Well, 15 years after establishing my online identity and nights spent searching for friends who have the same childhood memories...searching via facebook, google, linkedin, classmates.   Not knowing where in the world they were....

Last week happened.

The words we had written on the little orange ladder, were written there...in a post comment...along with the words "where is this written".   A smile immediately came upon my face... I wrote back saying... "There are only 3 people in this world who could possibly be commenting on this" (and I have been in touch with one of them for years...my friend Tina... so there are only 2 people it could be) "and it is written on a little orange ladder... I hope life has been kind to you my friend"   Several days later...

...in the midst of a political rainstorm of feelings with another aspect of my life and while celebrating the successes of family who had been featured on HGTV...Saturday night,  I had a friend request to my business facebook page from "Buck Wheat".  Having long forgotten about that nickname, I just ignored it, until I arrived home to see who it was.  I clicked on the photo and it was a facebook page made up completely for me!  It was my long lost friends, reunited in a photo, and a complete collection of photos of the well used little orange ladder,  It had withstood the test of time and had never made it into a dumpster,  It had moved around the country with Jeff and was finally immortalized in a photo! .. still painted as I had remembered it!

"Friendship Lasts..." was J.P.'s post...That couldn't be more true!

I am so grateful they contacted me.  I feel whole again.  A piece of the puzzle that I call my life... had been found and placed where it should be. Having lost both parents, it is wonderful to reconnect with friends who have the same memories of days gone by!  Thinking of them brings to mind the lyrics of a song called "Everybody's free to wear sunscreen".   If you don't know it, you should!  Google it or better yet, I will link to the lyrics here.

Thank you JP and Dave for finding me again.  I am happy to see your sense of humor never left you both!

You two bring a smile to my face every time I see your photo!