Time Flies

Where has the time gone? I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! I know I owe you some pictures of what came home with me from the Junk Jaunt, but you'll have to wait a little longer (I haven't taken pics of everything, yet)! Sorry! Things have been kind of crazy around here lately. Between all of us being sick at one time or another, swaps, and working on the haunted house, I really haven't had time for much else!


Last weekend was the 2nd (and maybe last) Holstein Haunted House. I was suffering from migraines, so I didn't get to be in it - I was sure that the screaming would have definitely triggered one. I did go in on Saturday to get a few pictures, though! They're not the best pictures, one of those headaches was trying to sneak it's way in, but I hope you'll enjoy them anyway!


My sis-in-law, Jocelyn, played "Fritz" the clown. Fritz was the one who guided the guests through the haunted house. Jocelyn is quite a character herself, so she was perfect! My nephew, Cole, was the funeral director. I tried uploading a video of his head-drop, but it didn't work. I'll keep trying, though, because it is AWESOME!

Jeremy's uncle Mike and Cole in the cemetery (Cole was following me around trying to get into every picture!)

This was the vortex. I really wish I would have gotten video of it. It was amazing! It was pitch black in this hallway except for the green light. It's just a laser pointer my father-in-law attached to a computer fan to make it spin, and the fog from the fogger in there made it look like you were in a spinning tunnel!

There was also an insane asylum, medical examiner (our M.E. was the local butcher, and he brought in one of his tables that he uses to chop meat - his daughter had to lay on it because she was the autopsy - and a couple of racks full of cow hearts and tongues!), funeral parlor, Bloody Mary, and a child's room. In the child's room, my neice Jadyn was laying on a bed and a monster came out of the closet and crawled under the bed. Then, she would "wake up" and fall out of bed onto a rug. As soon as she was down, her dad (he was hiding and you couldn't see any part of him) would pull her, screaming under the bed. Once she was under, the monster would come back out and go back into the closet.

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I did have time for a few crafty things, though. One of those things was a clock. I found this container in my grandpa's old barn when we went out there a few weeks ago. It was made by the Sunflower Manufacturing Co., and there's a ruler on this inside, but I don't know what it was used for. It had two small holes, one on the front, and one right across on the back, that were the perfect size for a clock kit! The screw on the kit was about an inch long, and too big for the hole, so Jeremy cut be a piece of wood (I didn't want that much of the screw sticking out anyway), painted the gold hands red, and put it all together. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to add numbers. I kind of like the simplicity of it now.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween! If the weekend goes like I'm hoping it will, I'll have a couple of things to show you on Monday, and even add a few handmade items to my Etsy shop!

Nebraska Junk Jaunt 2009 - What I DIDN'T Buy!

This gorgeous tree was found in Dannebrog, NE.

I have to admit, I've been a bit grumpy for the last few days. I have decided to boycott any antique "dealer" who sells things that have come from abandoned homes. Just because there's a farm out in the middle of nowhere that nobody has lived in for years, you DO NOT have the right to go take whatever you want. That farm still belongs to somebody, and there's always that chance that the owner (or a son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter of the owner) wants the things that are still there. So, when you go load up an old woodburning stove from the 1920's, you are not only a trespasser, but you are a THIEF. And, if I find out who you are, I can guarantee that I will make sure EVERYBODY within a 300 mile radius knows you for the thief you are.

Now, on to the JJ! There were soooooooooo many goodies, and I came home with a few. Mom and I managed to fill up the back of my dad's pick-up and the trailer. Until I get around to taking pictures of everything I bought, I'll show you a few of the things that I passed up. There are some pictures missing, though. My camera has been doing funny things like saying the JPEG isn't compatible, which is odd since I've used the same camera for a couple of years now. It's probably just time for a new memory card. Anyway...here are a bunch of pictures. They're not necessarily in the order that they were taken, but here they are!

A man in two suits. Love it!

I stared at this old Red Cross uniform for a long time, and it almost came home with me.

This is only part of the collection of old sporting supplies for sale in Broken Bow.

I don't remember what town this little building was in, but something about it just appeals to me.

I always thought the Hotel California was in Cali, but it's not. It's in Elba, NE!

There were a LOT of tractors (and saddles) for sale. I would have loved to have come home with one, but seriously. What would I do with a pretty tractor?

We pulled into Elba, and it was like a huge party there! Our new, smaller traveling gnome got to hang out with Santa and Sam.

I'll try to get busy and take pictures of what I did bring home, and also some of the things we found at my grandpa's farm last weekend. Dad thinks mom and I are slightly crazy, but we're teaching him to appreciate junk a little more!

Nebraska Junk Jaunt 2009

First, let me tell you that I won't have any pictures to show you until I can get my camera from my mom & dad. Silly me, I left it in dad's truck when they brought me home!

The Junk Jaunt was a lot of fun, and we're already making plans for next year. Oh, the things we saw, and the people we met! I'm really not sure what I enjoyed most, looking at 300 miles worth of goodies or meeting many wonderful people. My dad has family out by Arapahoe and Holbrook, and when we were in Broken Bow, I met a delightful gentleman and his beautiful wife who know my dad's family well (they are from Arapahoe)! They are close to my grandpa's age, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I love talking with people from that generation.

In Elba, we met an adorable little guy who nearly broke my heart. He and his wife celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this year. He lost her just recently, and listening to him talk about her while looking at the house they shared for those 65 years, it was clear just how much he loves her. My parents and I felt almost like we were robbing him. He had 2 beds for sale. One was an old metal/iron bed, much like the one dad used to make my, now red, bench for me. The other was one of those old metal hide-away beds, the kind that folds up into a "U" shape. Mom went to pay for the iron bed, and he told her she could have both for $1. Yep, you read that correctly, ONE DOLLAR - for both!

Although I didn't find what I was really hoping for (an old dress form), I did find lots of other goodies. There's a scale, some doilies, a cute apron, some table cloths, a few books, and even a boyfriend who we'll call "Old Blue" for Rusty Red!

Junkin'

Friday morning, I'm going to be dropping my boys off at school, then I'm going to disappear for 2-3 days while my parents and I cover half the state looking at "junk". That's right, the 2009 Nebraska Junk Jaunt starts Friday and ends on Sunday! I'm bringing my camera, and hope to have lots of eye candy to show you come Monday.

Until then, I do have a wonderful little find I came across a few weeks ago. Every year, we have a family reunion on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. My grandpa's family farm, or what is left of it, is located nearby so my mom, aunt, and I went exploring since I had never been there. We stopped at a cemetery to take some pictures of some ancestor's stones, which brought up a few questions I would like to answer.

There aren't many buildings still standing. There is one little 3-room "house" still standing, but it won't be for long. I took a picture of the outside, and will take more pictures when my parents and I head back up there in a couple of weeks. This little building was home to 6 people (grandpa's aunt & uncle, and their kids), and I can't even imagine how crowded it must have been.

Next to that little house, there was another one that had collapsed. As we were walking around the little crumpled house, we were discussing how much of the old wood we would come back for, and I noticed some scroll work in the dirt. I crawled under some locust trees, thankfully avoiding the massive thorns, and realized it was a bed! After fighting with the trees and the wood from the house trying to keep the bed, we finally freed it. It is now sitting in my garage waiting for the spring when I'm going to plant it in a flower bed amid a field of white daisies.

On the way to the farm, there is a beautiful old church. I had my aunt pull over so I could take a picture. I'm hoping that the leaves will be turning (and still on the trees) when we go back. Can you imagine what a beautiful picture that would make? I'm excited just thinking about it!

My Babies are Growing UP!

Faye passed away on Wednesday, August 12. Mom and I headed for Chadron to take care of the funeral arrangements on Friday, August 14. The funeral was on Monday, the 17th, and I walked through our front door about 11:30 that night. On Tuesday, August 18, I sent my babies off to school. After having both boys home all summer, and the chaos of the 4 days before, I wasn't sure what to do with an entire day all to myself. I unpacked and did some laundry, baked some cookies, washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom (a never ending job at our house!), then I just sat on the couch, staring at the clock begging for 3:00 to arrive.

It finally came, bringing my little guys home. I smothered them with kisses, and spent the couple of hours eating cookies and chatting about the weekend - they wanted to hear all about Chadron, Fort Rob, and Toadstool Park, and I wanted to hear about the fun they had with Jeremy and my in-laws. I heard all about their first day at school, about how they both love their new teachers. Taylor was excited to see his girlfriend again. Landon thought it was unfair that out of the 15 kids in his class, only 3 were boys (they have since gotten a 16th classmate - another girl)!

Then it was time to start supper, and the boys went off to play. Fifteen minutes later, I was looking forward to the second day of school! They started out playing so nicely together, then BAM! They were fighting. Ah...brotherly love!

Weekend Wisdom

"I love my freedom. I love my America."

~Jessi Lane Adams~

Photo found here.

Healing Powers of Corn?

The last month has been a rough one, to say the least. August 12, 2009 is one of those days I'd like to just forget. I'm one of those people who look for the silver lining, but I admit that I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to find any good in losing two amazing people.

Maddie
I just don't know what to say. I searched high and low for a card to send to Jetta, but couldn't find one I felt was appropriate. I needed one that said something like, "My heart is breaking over the loss of such a sweet little girl. I'm also completely pissed at how unbelievably unfair life is!" (Okay, I did some serious editing there.) My pain has turned to anger because I really don't understand why she had to leave so soon. Her organs were donated, so whoever recieved them had better do something completely remarkable.

Faye
Faye's passing hit us all a little harder than what we were expecting it to, I think. My grandma had 2 brothers - Charles and Faye, no sisters. Charles married (cancer took him in 1984), but never had children, and Faye remained a bachelor all his life. So, when Faye left, the Stewart name kind of went with him. Charles' widow, Irene, is still here with us, and my younger brother's middle name is also Stewart, but there are no more boys to carry on the last name. In some ways, Faye was also our last link to my grandma, who was taken from us way to soon (she lost her fight with Ovarian Cancer in 1988). The family farm was sold a few years ago to a man who is related by marriage (Irene's nephew), and he is letting our beloved farmhouse fall apart. Do you remember Scarlett O'Hara's dad telling her how important the land is, and how much she loved Tara? That's how we feel about the farm. The farm was Faye's life, so he was laid to rest with a small jar filled with his land. I miss his "farmer talk". I miss talking to him and realizing how fulfilling a simple, uncomplicated life can be. I miss the M&M's he used to buy for my brothers and me. I miss climbing on the stacks of hay bales, getting chased out of the chicken coop by the rooster, riding Sandbur, catching snails in the horse tank, feeding the calves, exploring the hills. I miss him. He was ready, though. He had become friends with a local pastor (Faye has always been a Christian, but has never belonged to a church). The pastor was telling us about a few weeks before Faye passed. They had driven out to the farm, and when they got there, the pastor shut the car off, rolled down the windows, and Faye just laid his head back and closed his eyes as a breeze blew threw the car. Faye just sat there, eyes closed, taking deep breaths, taking it all in. There's no better smell than the air at the farm.

Losing so much all at once made me feel lost. I felt like I was suffocating and was afraid that I was sinking into a depression. I was seriously considering seeing a therapist. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was driving home from town and happened to notice the corn. It was beautiful. The photo above doesn't do it justice. The corn is starting to turn from green to a gorgeous golden brown, just waiting to be harvested. I saw the waves of green mixed with gold and the purple tassles dancing up to meet the bright blue sky filled with fluffy white cotton, and I felt a calming peace fall over me.

Life is good.