Winter Hike

It was so quiet. My eyes hunted for waking bears.



The trees stood tall and proud, soldiers looking for the edge of spring.


The warming sun began to steal the ice.


Nevertheless, the mountain stayed for a moment in a pair of giant smiles.


Kentucky's Natural Bridge State Park

Weekly Thrift Feed: 9 October 2011

(Libra bank found in Alabama-so meant to be!)

Well, another year came and went for me on the 5th. I had a fabulous night: a Louisville friend took me to a restaurant 16 stories above the city and we watched a sunset from the terrace. Everywhere, I could see the explosion of crimson, yellow and burgundy of trees. Louisville is such a gorgeous city!

I splurged and bought myself this cross-stitch deer and fawn. I love them and it is huge (3' x 2') and framed in a great vintage frame. My photograph does not do it justice at all (I will post again once I get it up on a wall). It is signed Geo. Gahn and, I suppose, Geo. could be Georgina or Georgia, but I like to think it is actually George (note to self: Google later). It was an expensive purchase from one of those fabulous KY flea markets. Yeah, it set me back $11. :) I bought another item the same day, but I am saving it for WTF?! Tuesday.

(Temp gauge, wooden Cuban cigar box and a weird metal horse)

I found this cool Honeywell temp gauge for a buck. This was a new to me thrift store in Louisville and it is one of those really junky ones. The employees were so sweet and one of them told me a great story about how her adult son has a way with animals and sends her messages to tell her he's thinking about her via a flock of birds or some other creature. It was a fun day!

(Cute Charlotte Becker lithograph print)

(MiJ collie wall art, ceramic bird, and chemistry ring on top of a red chipped folding chair)

All of the above I snagged at a flea market. everything was less than $2 each (the bird and chemistry ring were around $1). The chairs I bought at an estate sale. I bought three for $10. I love how they look all chippy (despise that word) and old. The (cute) guy who helped me carry them to my car was saying over and over how much he loved the chairs.

Well, that's it for Flea Market Finds and Thrift Share this week. Check out the other wonderful discoveries out there this week! Thanks for all your comments last week!

Pteromys volucella

(Once again, I apologize for the horrible photographs!)

Sometimes thrifting makes me sad, but then I am a sucker for the underdog, the forgotten, the abused, discarded and the sentimental.

A few examples:

*My obsession with old religious ceremony certificates (I just cannot fathom how a family could dispose of them!)

*Animals hanging out near or in the road. My mom has a giant, fluffy grey cat I rescued from a Very Busy interstate. I saw this little fluff near the median barrier and thought, "Did I just see a kitten?" I left the highway at the next exit, drove the opposite way to the exit on that side, drove back to where I thought I had seen the fluff, parked on the side of the highway (with my emergency blinkers on, of course!) and quickly dodged semi traffic to find a (fortunately) unscathed 6-7 week old kitten. I grabbed it, re-dodged traffic and he has now been living with my mom for about 5 years. I also have a soft spot for turtles (and saw two box turtles today!)

*Even before the current trends, knitted or crocheted blankets. I have several, plus handmade quilts and I use them.

*Books with hand-written notes from the giver to the recipient. It's hard to hold on to everything, but I do wonder why some things get donated to thrift stores.

And this brings me to my case-in-point. Today I was late getting back to the office and knew traffic would be a bear. I decided to stop at a (slightly claustrophobic) GW near the entrance to the express way and kill time enough to allow the first flush of traffic to flow through the city. I looked through the book bins (50c a book) and then went inside. Almost immediately I spotted a framed Audubon print with flying squirrels. I love nature and had seen something similar at a flea market recently. I picked it up and noted it was $5. Hmmm, a bit salty for something I don't really need...

A side note, isn't it funny how $5-10 can seem expensive at a thrift or yard sale, yet I know with shipping I pay more than this for items on Ebay. I also shell out at least this for a decent lunch. Actually, even fast food is at least $5 for a meal. And, don't even get me started on my coffee addiction!

OK, where was I? Oh, so I put it back, but then I picked it up again. I turned it over and noted an inscription:

To my granddaughter Hannah Sarfield from her grandfather Taylor Hay (and his
wife Joanne) on Christmas 2000. This hung at the Scotland Farm. With Love, Pa
Taylor Hay

Awww! Now by the time I came along to my older parents (I was one of a younger group of children born when they were in their 30's and 40's), my grandparents were almost all dead. The only living one, my paternal grandfather, was a stranger to me since I only can remember seeing him maybe two times. Once he gave me a ball point pen with the name of a lumber mill in Pikeville, KY. He said, 'I hear you are good in school..." Then he walked over to a gorgeous armoire and fished around until he found the pen. Nothing special, but I still have the pen! We also called him "Pa" (I think it is a Southern thing).

So, as I was looking at the flying squirrels print (which I also thought was pretty neat), I wondered why Hannah gave it to GW. Did she have lots of things Pa Hay gave her and it was to a point she just had way too much? Did she have bitter memories of him? Maybe he passed on and the memory hurts. Maybe (gasp!) she just thought the print was junk!!!

This particular GW is in the wealthy county in KY. I find many, many high end brand name clothing there, modern knick knacks and current books. I rarely find vintage things let along lithograph prints from the late 1800's. I decided to buy the print. I really like it and wondered if it really came from Scotland (I have Scottish ancestory).

I Googled "Taylor Hay" when I got home and found this interview. Amazing what one can learn from a discarded object and the Internet.

Taylor Hay (and, thus Hannah) are descendants of one of the original Buffalo Trace distillery founders (then call Old Taylor Brand Whisky)! Scotland Farm is the original Kentucky homestead bought by Colonel E. H. Taylor when he began the distillery. If you have time to kill, listen to Pa Hay tell the story of his grandfather. It is sad that Hannah didn't treasure this gift from her own grandfather (the Colonel's namesake) who, along with his wife JoAnne, are obviously very interested in history (so this gift would have been from both his heart and mind). Perhaps he usually just gave the family Bourbon & money and was disowned by Hannah when all she received in 2000 was some old squirrel picture.

Well, whatever the story, I love it and will hang it up with pride. The odd thing is my own maternal great-great grandmother was a Hay, but, as far as I know, I don't believe she came from KY (and she was Native American and not Scottish). No matter, I'll just pretend (like I do with the religious certificates) that I am related to the Buffalo Trace Bourbon folks! Hey, Pa, thanks for the history lesson and the wonderful keepsake from Scottland Farm! :)

A Good Story with a Junky Ending

So, one of the first people I met when I moved down to KY was the wonderful woman in the office next to me. We work for the same agency, different programs. She helped me tremendously with getting acquainted with other KY colleagues and learning some of the job. She is a wealth of experience and interesting stories. We even share similar ideologies!

Imagine my surprise when I mentioned I loved thrifting and I found out her and her husband (also a retired colleague in the same agency) are avid collectors, thrifters and auction attendees. We even have similar favorites as far as what we like to collect (I love the 30's/40's era). She could roll off maker's marks like nothing!

Well, the other day we were discussing spice racks for whatever reason and she mentioned she has a favorite one that is missing one piece. She has looked constantly for the missing piece, but has not been able to find it. She described it to me and the piece suddenly jumped into my head as if she had the rack in front of me (she did not). She ended up taking a picture of it and as soon as I saw it I recognized it. See, years and years ago I thrifted this one spice canister: Cloves. I have no recollection of when or where I found it, but I have carried it around with me for years. I thought it might even be in my China cabinet back in IN.

I was right. It is her missing piece!! What are the odds that two people would find complimentary vintage spice elements so far apart? How odd that the very one she is missing is the one I have? I wrapped it up and I cannot wait to gift her with it on Monday (thank goodness Gov did not shutdown!!)
I also want to share my fabulous find. It is the owl lamp I have admired in my favorite pub! I need to find a shade and I am debating painting it a solid color (except those freaky eyes), but I was so excited to spot it at a St. Vinnie's in KY. And, I saved the best for last! Here is the GORGEOUS Pyrex casserole dish I won from Brittany at My (Un)Intentional Life. Thank you so much! This pattern (along with Gooseberry) has always been my favorite and I have never found any of this one! I will treasure it!

Thrift Share Monday: Rainy Day Blues

It is rainy today here in Louisville and, coupled with the boxy-ness of my shotgun house apartment, light is horrible and so are these photos (we'll just pretend I am a brilliant photographer and I can actually blame the rain and architecture). OK, truth is I am horrible at pictures and learning to use my blessed camera has been on my 'to do' list for years. Anyway, I am determined to share at this week's thrifty parties: Her Library Adventure and Apron Thrift Girl .

Check out these gorgeous hands! So delicate. how in the world did she make it through the bins of a thrift store without breaking one of those siren red nails? Oops! Unfortunately, a not so delicate hand (mine) dropped her upon bringing her home (head popped off, but her nails stayed purrfect!)

Vintage wrapping paper, a couple of books...

Atlas of Kentucky

Cute cement basket planter and cherub fabric

Shadowbox frame and McCoy gravy boat(?); I did not notice it was McCoy until I brought it out for the photo (my horrible photo does not do it justice). The mark is really light and probably went unnoticed by the GW price police as well. "Baby Owl" mold...I have no idea what I will use it for, but for 60c it was too cute to pass up!

So, there you have it. A quick sampling of some of the past few weeks treasures. I have more, including a great handmade shelf with carved swallows, but I am too tired to deal with blogger and photographs. I am being a really lazy blogger lately (too much work crap occurring at the moment and it is stealing my drive to do anything non-work related...even, gasp, thrift!)

Where Art thou

(Kentucky Fun Finds! Log cabin is marked something Brown, hillbilly guy reminds me of my childhood and the bunny is MIJ cuteness!)

Man, what a couple of busy weeks I've been having. I missed thrift show and tell again this week (too tired to even lurk about on here). Life is crazy. I have two weeks of treasures to show y'all, but I am just not feeling up to messing with photographs tonight. In fact, most of it is still in the trunk. I have to fly out to Minnesota in the morning and still need to pack. So, I will just give you a lil' teaser now and then, when I have all my projects caught up this weekend (LOL), I will photograph and do a post a day next week (Ok, in theory anyway).

Dropping Balls

Well, I still need to do a Thrift Share Monday post. I dropped the ball on getting it done by Monday and, hopefully, I will be able to get it finished by Wednesday. I have one or two or five cool finds to share. Life is exciting (good and bad ways) and hectic at the moment. I also dropped the ball on dates and found out this weekend that my child's 1st communion is NEXT SUNDAY. I, for what ever reason, memorized MAY (not March) and now I am scrambling to send invitations to family and friends (we are having a fiesta afterwards at the in-laws home).

I have to travel again next week (Minnesota-never been there) and it was a rushed plan of action (dread the rush travel). This has meant I had to alter my regular schedule on top of the news I had erroneously heard the wrong dates for my son's event (as an aside, part of the issue is I am not Catholic and the tradition is somewhat confusing to me. Plus, I am away during the week right now. My husband was suppose to be spearheading this important cultural thing and never told me any dates at all except a May date. Sadly, we dropped another ball when we did not finish an art project son was suppose to have at his retreat on Saturday. He was the only one without the project and I felt really bad for him-stupid parents! We have remedied this with a planner strictly for his church events).

I am still working on getting us organized to sell and buy a Louisville area home. Hard. When I returned back to KY from No.IN on Monday I was utterly speechless because the trees had leafed out and were in full-flowered beauty. It is actually spring here!*

*Meanwhile, back home, they are calling for snow this week. :(

I am in Love

Ok, I suppose it is bad to be in love with a house and land. Maybe it makes me seem materialistic, but...

THE HOUSE IS PERFECT!

I swear this place was built in mind for me in 1911. Is that possible. It has everything that I had placed on The List for the next house: wood burning stove, front porch, pond, mature nut trees, mountain, flat area, old barns, had-cranked wells for animals, creeks, chicken coop, hardwood floors, beautiful views, and room! The house even has that great "old house" smell of wood and ashes and age. I love it all.

I could have built this house from my dreams.


While waiting on the realtor (who got herself lost and was over an hour late), I prayed that my path would be revealed to me. I don't want to sound overly religious (I'm not, believe me and my potty mouth), but I believe (or at least hope) we have some spiritual guidance in this life and I hope we are being guided now.

When the realtor showed up, I told her I planned to offer something soon. I wanted to check out a few things first. She says,"You are the only interested buyers for nearly a year; no one wants to live out here. The owners are retirees living in FL. They want it gone." (She was calling the listing agent while I was there to ask him questions). She says, "Let's start low...like..." and it was EXACTLY what we paid for our house up north for 4X the land and a bigger house. I had told my husband I really would like to buy it for what we paid for IN house and land. Is this a "sign"?

While I waited for her I saw a murder of crow sisters, heard the sweet chorus of peepers, and felt the spring warmth of a southwesterly wind. I felt like I was home.

How to Open a Door

This summer my marriage was on the rocks. I wanted out having thrown up the flag of defeat caused by the stress of our lifestyle. Both my husband and I were tired. Tired of long work commutes; tired of not having time, sweet, priceless time. I was overwhelmed being a full-time worker and full-time single parent (or so it felt) because his job kept him from home for days at a time. He tried finding a different job, one closer to our IN home (he drives 90 miles one way to his job in yet another state and I was driving 40 miles OW to mine in a different county). After receiving a job offer with weekend home time, the offer was canceled (corporate office placed a hiring freeze and they told him he was going to receive first offer once lifted. It's been over six months). Job prospects are looking bleak in this area of the country (um, two words: Michiana area). Homes we bought for fair prices after tons of research (I'm a scientist by training and rarely jump without a whole lotta over-analysis) have depreciated. Quickly. We lost a HUGE amount on one of the houses (and we are still dealing with the after-effects of the loss in the form of taxes). We truly felt we were being bent over the coals in Indiana (as many are feeling all over the world). We realized our generation (the X one) would not have the same opportunities are parents and grandparents knew (long-term jobs, houses that were investments, possibly retirement and one parent being home comfortably). If we continued down the path we have been on, we could find ourselves without incomes (Dh's job depends on gas prices and mine was a term contract job with the black cloud possibility of being eliminated).

I actually received the offer on my new job in 2009; however, another economy hire freeze, had put the offer on temp hold and I had been waiting for the "OK-to-hire" word for over a year. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be decided it needed to be moved further south to Louisville. I had no idea about Louisville and had never given the area or KY a thought. Once I started researching the area, I fell in love! One of the best parts: it is only four hours from where we were living (my husband's hometown). Believe me when I say: it could have been a much further distance. Even better, Hubby's employer has a division in Frankfort-a hop, skip and jump from Louisville! It seemed truly "meant to be". We both feel comfortable and happy in KY. Moving down during the week and returning home on weekends seemed like a reasonable experiment if it meant something better in the long-term.

So, what is the problem (besides selling another home hopefully not at a lose, changing schools, finding a new house...):

My mother-in-law lives nearly 1/8 of a mile from the IN house. She is close to our children (and the reason I was able to make the temporary move to KY). She cares for them, loves them, and is a huge important part of their lives. She was, as anyone could muster, terribly unhappy about Louisville. She even offered me money to move back home. She told me I could not move for 15 years (the time when my children will be done with school). She is in her late 60's and FIL is in mid-70's.

Last night I stopped by her house to pick up the boys on my way home from KY. She and her buddies were sitting around talking and drinking a few beers (a popular neighborhood past time and hang-out. She and my FIl have been in the area for many, many years and everyone knows them. FIL is a local politician.) They often ask me to join them, but after the summer events (me wanting a divorce) I haven't felt as welcome (probably my own imagination). They asked last night and I took them up on the offer. Thank goodness I did!

See, after a couple of beers I began to open up the topic of KY and the fact we would be moving south. At first she was upset. She has been in denial since I moved positions. Her friend, at first, defended my MIL not wanting us to move and said to me I was making this a traumatic event. I told them the job prospects were bleak and, unless things changed, DH would be driving that awful drive for the rest of his life (and he drives for a living too). I told them at 36 he is starting to have health issues (she knows this). He is too young for the problems he is having! I told them that with the right area and opportunities I could earn more than he does in his physically demanding job. I invested in my education to be the bread winner (and he could, in theory, take a less paying, demanding job once I reach the right pay-raise and be home more with the boys). I said we needed to think about our future: retirement, college for the boys, being able to afford a mortgage without selling out our time with our children. KY offers opportunities.

Her friend suddenly changed positions and says, "You know, she's right. The jobs are bleak here and it could be worse. They really are trying to stay as close to you as possible. They could be moving further away." I saw she was considering this and the fact she often tells me hubby looks worn out made it easier for her to consider. I told her we were looking for homes with a guest room area.

So, long story here, but we are one step closer to making this move permanent. I feel so much better having cleared the air between us, telling her my motives in "running away" to KY (she thought is was simply because of the marital issues, but we resolved most of the problems before I switch jobs). Having familial support is really important and a major key in a successful relocation to KY.

Crazy Busy (What Else is New)

Busy week, I have been holed up at a really nice hotel near Cincinnati for work projects. Lucky for me, one of my great co-workers and friend was sent here for the project as well and we have had a magnitude of fun after work. She likes to thrift too and we found both a GW and an antique mall only a few miles from the hotel. I missed Thrift Share Monday this week (but I will save something really sweet for the next one), but I will link up to Coloradolady's Vintage Thingie Thursday (check out all the other great vintage thingies-it's addicting!!)

Mother and Father tea cups

Large Mexican tray with interesting embossed design (not sure age)

Betsy Johnson skirt (not vintage, but fun!)

Vintage bird prints in wooden "bamboo" frames

I also spotted a really great cat print at the Goodwill on Wednesday. I picked it up several times. It was only $3, but, in my attempt to not buy too unreasonably, I ended up opting out of the purchase because I couldn't picture where I would hang it. Tonight, my friend and I walked through the antique mall by the hotel. Upon entering one of the aisle, H. says, "I think we've been down this one; I remember that cat." I looked at where she was pointing and, lo and behold, it is the same cat print. I check the back and it was definitely the same print I saw the day before at GW. The new price...??? Twenty.Five.Dollars!

Sneak Peek

Disclaimer: I stole these photographs from the MLS listing. I had to share!

(One of FIVE barns)

OK, so I am trying really hard not to get my hopes up on this "too-good-to-be-true-did-I-dream-this-place-up-in-my-head" house and land, but it is a "too-good-to-be-true-did-I-dream-this-place-up-in-my-head" kind of house!

(wood burning stove in living room)

I am looking at it week after next (due to work travels) and will take my own photos to share (always amazes me how Realtors take photos. I saw this place in person and the land photographs in the listing do not do it justice).

I found an awesome Buyer's Agent after some initial trouble getting my phone calls returned. I even called the listing agent and he was slow to return my call. She is excited and willing to work with our needs (this is the first time I have used a 'buyer's agent').

I am not going to hold back: I am in love with this place! It is everything I could dream up in my head (even the colors throughout the house: yellow, my favorite color; turquoise, lime green in one bedroom and lilac in a bathroom!)

Conundrum of Fickleness

Today should have been a great day...

Instead, it turned out to be one of those grey, gloomy, January, what-the-hell-am-I-doing-in Kentucky kind of days. Remember those $1.64 mint M & M's I mentioned the other day? Well, I am eating them straight out of the bag with my cinnamon tea tonight and hoping I don't fall back into one of the crying fits I've been having all evening.

I'm not sure how all of this happened. Kids and hubby came down to stay with me this weekend in order to give me a driving break and to look at the lovely house. We had a great Saturday: thrifting, trying new Louisville restaurant, picking up shells by the big Ohio River, watching movies back at the apartment. The kids seemed happy to be with me and I was truly enjoying having them near me. I miss them so much during the week (so much in fact, that when they squabble and scream at the top of their lungs in an apartment house it takes me longer to nearly have a nervous breakdown!! ;) They had planned to stay until Monday (holiday for me), but it turns out my eldest boy has scholastic testing starting this week so they left this evening. It actually would have made more sense for me to drive home and have an extra day with them.

Earlier today we did view the house. It is as I described, but I forgot to mention that I tend to be a fickle girl. My Ones only stay Ones in my imagination and I soon discover the flaws are bigger than the drive to make it mine. The house, unfortunately, is just too big of a project for me. And, I am just not in love with the land surrounding it. I think this is the biggie for me. While the house is the perfect shabby I could love and love to restore, the land surrounding it is open and ugly. This is difficult for me because I already own a mediocre house on some really, really beautiful land. Eight less acres than the IN house comes with and no woods or pastures or seclusion like my current home. The bad part here is the current home is not in the state I am living in most of the week. Seems I am stuck in the middle of a huge conundrum!

I did take a couple of photos before my battery died (note to self: check batteries before leaving) and I enjoyed looking through it again (I have to say it seemed a lot smaller to me this time). I even found a third fireplace (on the first floor) in a back part of a built in closet. Why would someone cover it? The disturbing thing I notice was someone had removed all of the fireplace doors and/or are trying to remove them altogether. I stressed to the realtor the fireplaces are what is selling me on the house and without them I am not interested at all. Maybe they are selling them...dumb move on their part because nothing else is worth the investment (maybe the main stairwell too).



On the way back to the hovel, I was lost in thought. Sure, the house has all the qualities that my dream house would have: slightly spooky (check), original features (check), located in a rural setting (check), animal visitors (check-first time a beagle, second a black cat), and priced to sell (check); hoever, something is holding me back. Something is not sitting well inside me.

Once home, KY apartment that is, I looked at my husband who is a terribly patient man (one of his best redeeming feature over and over because it is not just houses I can get fickle about) and suddenly I burst into tears. I can't even tell you the last time this happened to me. I don't just go around bursting out into tears. He hugged me and it was then I knew I just want to go home. Home, in my mind right now, is the ugly house and beautiful land we have back in Indiana.

I suddenly realized I am also not in love with my job. I took a huge leap of chance at quiting my old position and taking this new one. My job is interesting and a great party favor sort of job (you know the one where you tell someone what you do for a living and they get big-eyed and tell you how neat it sounds). It is a great job on paper, but I am not fitting myself into it. I, of course, will always do my best and force a fit, but I will suffer from the pain this forced satisfaction will cause. The pay is also great; I will have a hard time finding something in my field for the same amount. How do you know if you should trust your feelings: Should I give up and accept less money for something I may like better or is this just a temporary winter blues bubble caused by homesickness and stress of a new job? It is literally a mind-F if you know what I mean.

When I think about selling ugly house and buying something new (even lovely house) I just feel exhausted. The realtor was talking about lending and surveys and appraisals and inspections and I just wanted to walk away right then. Do you remember how stressful house buying is? We just bought ugly house three years ago. It is still fresh in my mind. And, the house is in sad disrepair. It will need a lot of major work (not on major systems, though, mostly cosmetic, like crumbling plaster and worn floors). This will require money. Ugly house was move-in ready (of course now we will need to fix our "wear and tear"). I just am so not confident we would be able to get it done. There are no outbuildings-a major problem for a thrifter like me and a procrastinator like my husband.

Anyway, I cried and cried. I needed it! I cried about the frustrations at my job (no training and the whole philosophy you learn after making mistakes-I am not good with this type of on-the-job training as I do not like to make mistakes), I cried about both houses, I cried because I miss my kids so much. I cried because I am starting to believe I made a huge faux pas by moving down to Kentucky. When I cried I wanted to go home, my husband never looked happier...

Lost in My Own Neighborhood

A few weeks ago, one of my new bosses (we'll call him #3) came to KY to see a co-worker off to retirement. I was, of course, invited to the party too and when boss #3 (he is from another state) asked me if I would lead the way to the restaurant, I said I would. I have a GPS system and had the address of the place to conveniently plug into the gadget. I figured it would be easy: hop on one of the expressways, jump off on the exit ('Exit left') and pull into a parking lot.

Well, it was not that simple. First, I misplaced my adapter and couldn't plug the (dead) thing into my vehicle. Then, when I asked directions, the person told me using landmarks as reference (you go by the mall, take the exit to the right, blah, blah, blah...what the f mall were they referring too??!!??) So, I followed the "directions" and ended up leading (ok, we'll leave the loosely defined term for now) Boss #3 and co-worker to another county! Turned out the restaurant was fairly close to the office and we were an hour late. I was so, so embarrassed!

I have been in Louisville area for going on five months now and I still don't know my way around this place. I was shocked to see the street I live on is actually N-S according to the car's dashboard (wow, it really felt E-W to me). I got lost yesterday 1. Mile. from. my. apartment when I went to return my library books. I truly blame this not on my lack of direction (I have learned other cities I moved to better and faster than the locals!!!), but on that stupid GPS navigational system which only shows a tiny bit of a map and tells you where to go. I pay more attention to her than to the things around me. I have no sense of landmarks, familiarity, or direction once I leave my usual paths.

And, I also blame it on the fact that in the 5 months I have 'lived' here, I have traveled to...hmm, let me count, 10 other states/cities. Plus, I go home on my days off and rarely just drive around mindlessly or for pleasure (like I would back home, lol). I go to the office, to the two thrift stores on my way home, Kroger or Target (or the neighborhood pubs, but I can walk to those joints :). I really need to get a map of the area and study it before setting out on new destinations. I also need to have the family come here for once on a weekend (they are this weekend) and time to just explore.

So, I am going to steal an idea I started to read about on another blog. I am going to find 50 new places this year to visit in Louisville (or Kentucky) and (maybe) write about it. Perhaps I will discover more than one way to find my destinations (or at least maybe not get lost driving the one mile from the library to my apartment!)

The Conflict of New

This blog is new, but I am not new to blogging. I kept a hodge podge "life" blog for years and would have kept going on it, but I lost my drive. My life, at the time of the retirement, was a jumble of messes caused by both internal and external stress, including marital discord, a court issue with a land contract, the economy, my job, my in-laws, myself...It's a long, long list. I wanted to just bury my head in the sand ("So, you know where to find me" as the great words in the song "Conversation 16" the National says...maybe I'll put it up for your listening pleasure) and forget it all. I was miserable with the world around me and it was miserable with me. It is the main reason I don't link them here because I want to close the book on that shit and move on to new adventures.

Now, nearly a 3/4 year later (since ending the other blog) I am finding life much more tolerable. We won the court case and then sold the house, our marriage is much better thanks to a little distance (I am so, so, so the opposite of the clingy type), the economy still sucks and my relationship with in-laws is still a bit strained, but I am glad they are in my life (they make our KY/IN life possible right now). However, now that the greyness has subsided, I am wondering if I made the right choice to move to KY. I hate the drive back and forth, I miss my kids (and even the hubby most of the time), and I am looking out at our gorgeous 11 acre property and swooning over the ice covered trees and blue, blue sky. I wonder if I will love a new property when we find it in KY like I do this one (right property, wrong house and location).

The job situation in this area is hit or miss. Like a lot of American cities, we have seen the decline of industry and a brain drain of human resources. I was fortunate to find something in my field and loved what I did, but I saw an issue with sustainability (especially with cut-backs and all) and knew it was a matter of time before I was terminated (well, I was working under contract terms and I thought I may or may not be renewed). When I saw an opportunity to be permanent and an increase in salary I either had to grab it or leave it with a weekend notice. We agreed I should grab it. The husband has been driving 90 miles one way to his job for years (he only has to make the drive 2 times a week) and his company has a DC near the area my job presented itself. He knew he could transfer. It seemed as if fate was moving us to go to KY.

And, I love KY! The people are sweet (I mean I melt when a young man calls me "darlin'"), the landscape is beautiful, and my dad was from eastern KY so I feel closer to ancestral roots there. I live in a metro area of a large city (Louisville) and one of Louisville's slogans are "Keep Louisville Weird". It is a perfect fit for me!!

The negatives are my MIL cares for my children while we work. She sees them off to school and is there when they step off the bus (she lives an 1/8 of a mile from our property which you can understand is both a blessing and an issue). She loves them dearly and they love her. With the move in a few months, we will need childcare again and when we are both on the road for the jobs, it will be a huge issue to arrange childcare when school is in session. She could come down and stay with us, but I do not know how she would feel about this arrangement. I would love to send them to stay with her, but school dictates location.

Another issue is I see my husband losing steam on the idea of moving south. We both know we won't be living on 10 acres on the same price as we have here. We bought the property at a great price and with the thought of using it to sustain us if Peak Oil or other future issues caused us to homestead for survival. I have learned a lot from living with livestock, wildlife, woods and near-by lakes. Now, with the summer move, my hope is to downsize (truth be told we have never had the time to enjoy our property with the long commutes to urban areas/jobs and the ultimate size that keeps us busy with up-keep). I want a smaller property with a more interesting house (i.e. historical home) and hope to just rent community garden space to grow my own vegetable. On the other hand, I also have loved living with out neighbor issues (for the most part*), and will need to deeply screen any neighborhoods we look at in KY (I've had some strange and annoying situations in the past). It may also be nice to have neighbors! I will also miss the wildlife (catching frogs with the boys in spring, the sounds of owls and coyotes, the flutter of songbirds and the occasional sighting of a fox, deer or skunk in the front yard). So much to miss, so much to discover.

All of this is a swarm of feelings I seem to develop on Sunday when faced with four-hour drive back to work. When I return to KY, I know I love it. It is when I am home that I wonder if it is the right place for us. This much I do know: I want my family in one spot and I want a "normal" life. Although I expect it to still be weird. In fact, I need it to be weird! ;)

OK, I need to finish a huge list around here before I leave. Next weekend the family is coming down to me for a change, so I need to complete a couple of projects I started yesterday. I now have a clean linen closet!!

*A snowbird neighbor who parks an RV on wild property near us came home last spring and bulldozed full grown apple and maples trees on OUR property. He claimed the edge of the woods was the property line (it's marked with stakes) and he had the right. He was at least 10-20 feet onto our property and the trees he killed sustained livestock and the bees I kept at the time. I was pissed to say the least!

Weeks Fly By Unslowly

Tomorrow is Sunday. Since September, Sundays have had a different meaning to me: They mean it is time to head back to the south. This week, Sunday is especially hard because my week home has made me sad, made me think that maybe taking the job was not such a great idea. We knew it was going to be a hard year, but still...

Yes, Sunday I will be heading back to KY. No detours, no deviations, just a long four hour roadtrip back across the O-hi-o and into lovely Louisville. O, how I wish my kids and hubby were coming too. Five days without them is a long time, yet overall time is just flying by into oblivion.

Actually, even if they were coming back with me, I would not see them for I am heading to Chicago for work this week. I won't be home until Friday and home will be back with them again in IN. I have to keep this perspective to make the next months bearable. June will be here before we all know it, right?

So, today I packed away the Xmas decor and de-ornamented the tree (still in house with lights as I feel like I barely was able to enjoy it). I remembered I wanted to show you the vintage, homemade card baskets I thrifted in November in West Virginia. I filled them full of Shiny Brights for a quick display. I think I paid $1 for them both.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Cleveland for work and down the road from my hotel was an Anthropologie store. I drool over the items in the catalogs they send me (not so much over the prices or the anorexic-looking models), but have never ventured into one of the stores. Much to my surprise, I found Christmas card baskets just like mine (only not really vintage and slightly bigger). They wanted much more than a $1 for their version (I couldn't find a link on their website!) and the graphics were not nearly as gorgeous as the ones on the WV treasures! So, there you have it: Proof that Thrifting not only yields the same thing as big money retail, but something more authentic as well!

Want to make some for yourself? Here is a tutorial.