Whatever Has Happened To My HGTV???

I hate to write about a channel that I once adored and always watched on a daily basis...But I'm gonna!
HGTV once stood for Home & Gardening Television. NOT ANYMORE!! I've realized after countless repeats of the same old shows, featuring boring themes such as:
1. House Hunters
2. House Hunters International
3. Design to Sell
4. My First Sale or is it $$$$$$$ ?
AND at least 7 more shows with the same theme...sell, buy or rent part of your house out...
I've come to the realization that Realtors MUST have bought large shares of HGTV and are now filling up a pretty worthless schedule with their version of reality shows.
Where did the GARDENING part go??? IF I happen to catch an occasional garden show, it's on so early that I never get to watch it. Where's the wonderful Country Home show that used to delight me?
Where's the HOME???   I've lived in our same home (notice the use of the word home instead of house?) for over 25 years now. I want to make it a home and sometimes I need help. But unfortunately, no longer from this channel. I realize that there are folks out there, that are forced to move constantly. But you still want a safe haven to come HOME to...don't you?
Oh sure, there's Color Splash...BORING with a BIG YAWN, since he's moved to Miami and got rid of his co-workers for younger, more HIP??? tattooed people. I have nothing in common with his designs. So, I don't watch.
With all of the blogs, the new magazines springing to life and even Country Sampler...finally giving us Primitive lovers what we crave...you'd think that HGTV would figure out..."Hey! Let's do a decorating show aimed towards this huge untapped group!"  But no, they haven't considered us, the realtors hold the reins.
So, I have found myself drifting towards wonderful blogs about crafting needful things, primitive decor & other exciting blogs & magazines that whet my appetite for Primitive Decorating. Promoting a Primitive lifestyle is what I crave...so I've started with the easiest of ways...I turn off my TV.
I take long walks with my grandsons or ride my "new to me" 1952 Farmall Cub Tractor up and down the road, gleefully watching the wide grins of disbelief from neighbors and strangers in cars passing me with thumbs up high and best of all, little children coming up and asking for rides! How much more fun is that than sitting indoors watching repeats!
Email HGTV like I did and ask for a couple of shows based on Primitives and you'll probably get the same high brow attitude I got....with a little polite note attached...Thank you for your imput.
So, former favorite channel of mine...no longer...here's my imput!

October Porch

October. What can anyone say about this month except...FUN! I think of Halloween, Pumpkins, Gourd gathering & unfortunately...the worst thing ever...cleaning my front porch! Sweeping off all the summer dust & dried grass that "magically" appears with every mowing of our lawn. (Turn the mower the OTHER WAY fellas!)
I love slapping on fresh paint onto my outside furniture which resides on my porch. I think instead of a traditional white for that andironack chair this year, I'm going...BITTERSWEET! A slightly brown orangy color that sings to me during the fall time. My dear son Tyler has unloaded a heavy bale of fresh straw on my small porch for me. Perfect for placing bittersweet springs, gourds & of course the wonderful pumpkins!
My wonderful daughter in law has even gotten caught up in my annual porch frenzy! She went out & got 3 bales of straw! Along with pumpkins of all colors...even the little white ones & gourds. She arranged it all carefully & it looks wonderful. My sister in law informed me that I was contagious. (I'm hoping that's a good thing.)
Tomorrow, if I can talk my dear hubby into abandoning his recliner in front of whatever game I'm sure will be on...) I'd like to string some orange lights around the front door. Nothing is as inviting to the local halloweeners as a brightly lit & welcoming porch.
I don't like the icky halloween...you know, Jason & other knife yielding fiends! I'm still in love with the vintage halloween of my youth. Bright orange & black garlands, tons of fall colored lights & child friendly front porches!
Show up at Halloween at my place this year...you'll see what I mean! Happy Fall Everyone!

Antiques Picking Memories.

Like clockwork, every September & October...you can find my dear Charlie & I on the winding back roads & pathways of Missouri, Arkansas & other states. Our annual "picking" & auction junkets are as natural to our way of living as anyone else going to work.
Because regardless of how many folks out there tell us on a daily basis..."Oh! I'd love to have your job!" Give em a chance to come with me for a day & most would be high-tailing it out of a spooky, dark barn full of black snakes & almost always a bat or two! Picking is not for the faint hearted or those who wish to stay clean.
My "work" uniform consists of overalls, turtleneck sweaters with the elbows blown out, worn out pairs of leather gloves & scarves for head cover from the rat & bat droppings.
I've met personally & up close...very close...several black snakes. One whose name happened to be Harold, or so the 80 something gent told me while thoughtfully chewing on a piece of straw. (I STILL think he could have at least told me beforehand that HAROLD was living upstairs in the barn loft.
There has been close encounters with mice, rats, a possum, a racoon & on one memorable occasion, a slightly mad pig. Dogs will nose you from behind as you crawl around the stuffed barns...making for quite a catchy song & dance routine for many a totally delighted property owner! I try not to visibly shudder whenever we show up at an old farmstead with owner in tow & realize that in the darkened hollow down below their newly built house... is the old house in which we are expected to search.
Flashlights are always a Godsend until they fail, & they do...often. No matter how many spare batteries that I carry...they seem to work for less than an hour. I just love being upstairs in an old house during an dark, gloomy storm only to have my flashlight go out. I've edged my way downstairs many a time using lightening from a storm that filters in from the windows or wide chinks in the walls as a guide to watch my step. Because we were silly enough to remove the stair railings BEFORE scouting upstairs, I have to trust the shaky wall behind my back as I creep down the stairs. I keep reminding myself that I love the hunt...I love the thrill of the hunt...OMG! Was THAT THE BIGGEST SPIDER YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE!

Bittersweet and Queen Anne's Lace

My secret patch of Bittersweet in the woods behind my house is beginning to develop it's little round buds. Soon enough, they'll pop open in the most amazing display of bright orange and soft brownish yellows. I can hardly wait until Sept or October to go out with my basket and begin cutting the sprigs of little fragrant blooms.
I tie each bundle up with florist wire and hang it upside down to dry from a 9 paneled wood patio door without glass. The door hangs from the roof of my (Stem & Vine Greenhouse) which is on the southwest side of my little country shop.
These make the most natural air fragrance available. I love using them on homemade wreaths for Halloween and Autumn.
Queen Anne's Lace is everywhere here where I live. Along the roadside ditches, in meadows and even growing along Possum Creek. I gather them quickly before the heat gets to them and hang them upside down and also dry some in my microwave. Spray them with some hairspray, and they're ready for my dried flower arrangements. They also make the perfect snowflakes on a Christmas tree!
Roadside Beauties! That's what my dear husband calls my arrangements.

Quilting Machine Envy

I want one of those quilting machines so bad. But Lord! Have you seen the prices of these machines? I bought my Mini Cooper for the same price as one of these beauties! And I could drive it every single day if I wanted to. I don't think I could ever piece enough quilts in my lifetime to warrent buying one of these dream machines.
I own 3 Singer Featherweights, 1 Brother, 1 Jamone, 1 White, 1 Kenmore, 1 Jamone Serger and a wonderful Singer Treadle Sewing Machine nestled inside a Birdseye Maple cabinet. I'm SERIOUS about sewing folks!
I've always sewn off and on from my teenaged years. But when I turned 50 a few yrs. back, my dear hubby Charlie, gave me a wonderful gift. Quilting lessons! My first quilt won a Blue Ribbon at our local fair. From then on, I was hooked. I manage to piece at least 2 quilts a year. But I can't quilt them in the style I'd like, because I don't own a long arm quilting machine. Instead, I have to bundle up my precious load of carefully pieced fabric tops and tote them to a quilter. Unfortunately, she doesn't free style quilt. She has patterns that she quilts by. Boring patterns that sometimes don't bring out my quilt's personality. Needless to say, we've clashed.
I've begged her to consider taking long arm quilting classes to expand her ability. But, she's comfortable in her rut...I'm not. I've got at least 3 pieced quilt tops that I just can't bring myself to take to her and her predictable patterns. Fluffy clouds repeated over and over on my complicated design? I don't think so!!
So, I go to all of my favorite quilting shops and gaze longingly upon the newest and latest in quilting technology. Sure, I could buy 1 on easy payments plans of 48 to 100 months with a rather harsh first up front payment. But I kinda love my firstborn son...and besides, he's already turned me down. (Can't catch a break!)

Finding antiques for Quilting Room.

I found the cutest wrought iron table and chair set for only $50.00! It was marked down from $199.00! The lady at the antiques mall was leaving and didn't want to take all of her stuff from her booth back home. So I lucked out and wandered by as she was marking everything down! Yoo hoo!
I thought I'd repaint the rusty white set. White doesn't go well in my antiques shop. I tend to have more darker, primitive colors. The table and chairs will go into a corner of the new quilt room that I've desinated for all the quilting books and patterns. Folks can come in and have a seat while thumbing thru some books.
I also stood ALL DAY in the hot sun at a auction for a chance to bid on a really cool metal chicken coop. Snagged it for $5.00! It made my sunburn almost bearable. It'll look cool holding fat quarters!
I also have an antique 10 foot wooden bench from Boston that I picked up from one of my favorite antiques malls that I frequent. Won't tell ya how much I PAID for that baby! I'm having my Pa hang the bench on the wall above the cutting table. It'll hold about 100 bolts of fabric! It's that long!
When the quilting room is finished, I'll post pix then.

Working on the new addition

We're trying to add another room to the antiques shop...during this June and July. The HOTTEST months ever! How silly are we to work inside the NON AIR CONDITIONED new room, working up a sweat...when all we have to do is simply WALK out to shop and that sweat just pops out!
I designed some nifty shelves for the new fabric and yarn that will go into the new quilting room. My Pa is the BEST at figuring out my chicken stratches on paper and turning them into an actual item!!
What really hurts us working out there right now is the lack of AC. If we use fans on stands, it blows sawdust along with probaly some mouse poop right at us! Yecky! The other part of the shop is nicely closed in, with AC. It has to be spotless because of the tea room. The newer room is basically still part of the old barn and isn't closed in yet. Lord knows what gets in there when we leave.
But we shall overcome!! I'm hoping that by April...(more likely October) of our next season, we'll have it all closed in and CLEAN!!

Think owning an Antiques Shop in the Countryside is Easy??? Think again!

Primitives...I love them. Sometimes I love them so much that I can't bring myself to sell a wonderful piece that I've bought at an auction or from someone. I can't tell you how many times that has happened!

My dear hubby Charlie and I spent an good 4 months adding a tea room to our shop. The Pumpkin Seed Tea Room can seat 12 folks. 6 upstairs and 6 downstairs. I love the upstairs view of my shop below. There is a railing upstairs that allows for a full open view of the shop below. All of the tables are cherry stained squares of wood bolted onto old treadle sewing machine bases. The hanging lights over each table is from Lowes. They're silver heat lamps that you use to heat baby chicks or keep water pipes from freezing over. I just put in a 11 or 12 watt clear bulb. No heat, just a soft glow that's directed onto the cherry wood top. I bought silver galvanized rippled tin to hang around the room as a chair rail/wainscotting. Easy to wipe off!

We also added a customer restroom. I LOVE this addition more than anything! Whenever I had to (you know) I always had to sprint...no, make that more...like a locked knees gait...to our house to use the facilities. It's so cute. I found this really darlin' washstand with a drawer and 2 doors, to use as the sink cabinet. I'd had for years, a sweet little cast iron and white porcelain sink with tall back splash. I simply cut a hole in the top of the washstand, fixed the drawer so it wouldn't be able to open, popped the sink with pipes into it and presto...a primitive looking sweet old fashioned sink.

Now we're going to get to work on the old greenhouse that opens into my shop thru old glass paned doors that I bought for $10!!! I found 2 wrought iron table and chair sets to go inside the greenhouse for folks to eat at during cooler months. It gets soooo hot during summer. Charlie built the greenhouse the same time that he built my shop inside one side of his hay barn. He did this for me in 2001 after my 1st breast cancer surgery and chemo/radiation. I would sit on a flipped over bucket and s l o w l y paint each square on my newly poured/cured cement floor. Pumpkin Spice and Earth Brown are the colors on my checked floor. I plan on painting the greenhouse's cement floor the same colors.

Ta-Da! My First Blog!

I'm finally dragging myself into the world of computers. Oh, I know how to mindlessly search the internet for silly little things such as recipes, fall decorating, how to host a easy Halloween. (Is hosting any Halloween party, easy? I think not.) But I've always wanted to rant along with the rest of the bloggers I've chanced to read. Well, not rant exactly. But express myself.
So later, I'll try to have one of my sons help me with adding pictures to go with the words.
Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm literally panting for fall weather. I LOVE Fall! I love the smell of leaves burning, the sounds of neighbor children getting on that wonderful big yellow school bus, crows cawing in the depleted corn fields. I have a secret spot in the woods behind our house that produces an abundance of bittersweet. I gather it up every year and twist and bend it into garlands or bunches to hang from my mantel or our ceiling beams. Its fragrance is like a sweet, yet woodsy smell. It's the best air freshener that I've been able to get ahold of. Although, I do like throwing in a handful of cinnamon into a boiling pot of water for a couple of hours. Ah, bliss!