More on this Month's Giftaway and a Candle-lier Redo

Not too far from here is a little old farmhouse that has been abandoned for several years. The exterior shows obvious signs of neglect. The wood planks that make up the front porch have curled up in areas like a perm gone bad; much of the paint has been beaten off by the weather and the roof - well, the roof looks like you would expect the tin roof of an old abandoned place to look.

Still, the house holds some form of mystery for me. It's in an area of town where one would not expect an empty house to sit for years on end. The lawn stays mowed, yet the house remains unoccupied.

Now, imagine me driving my van past the house today, past a small sign in the yard that reads, "Yard Sale". Yard sale??? Now, imagine how quickly I found a place in the road wide enough to negotiate a U-turn.

I was greeted by a sweet elderly couple who was obviously happy to share a story, their story - anybody's story, actually - to anyone willing to listen. They had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week. She was 77 years old; he was 84. The best anniversary gift, she told me, was the one the doctor gave them yesterday when he told her husband he would no longer need cancer treatments. He was cancer free. She clasped her tiny hands as she gave praises to God. Her excitement was contagious and I had to hug this sweet stranger.

They told me that they had purchased this house four years ago. He was much more spry then than he is now, her husband told me. The repairs would probably take him awhile to do. The people who used to live there were "really old" when they died, she explained. I had to wonder how old "really old" was to this 77 year old youngster. She told me matter-of-factly the house had been in that family for years, until everyone got old and died. All except for the son, who had promised them that, if he ever wanted to sell the place, he would give them first dibbs. The house came with all that was in it. Although I didn't see a lot of furniture, there were piles of books, window coverings, Christmas ornaments and items that had been handmade by the unnamed lady of the house. She had obviously been skilled in crochet, knitting and sewing. Piles of handwoven place mats, old but never used, were spread across a dining room table. It was in the midst of these place mats that I found these aprons.

Well, to make a long story not quite so long, the aprons made it home with me. And why am I telling you this story? Because it affects YOU, if you choose to get in on this month's Giftaway. In addition to the items I've already told you will be included, the winner will get to choose one of these sweet vintage aprons (I'm guessing they were made in the 40's or early 50's) as part of their prize. Apron Selection - August Giftaway

And all you have to do to be eligible is comment!

I've had this black iron hanging candle rack drifting around in the shops for almost two years. I finally decided it needed a facelift, a whole new look. So, I brought it home, hung it in the tree and thanks to magic fairy dust in the form of white spray paint, Phase One was about to begin. (Okay, call it Phase Two if you want to count Phase One as covering up the copper flame protectors.) The final stage was to sew sleeves to cover the chains, slip them into place and add candles. Oh, and to add a strand of little bubble-bauble things...

It's probably hard for you to get the full idea of this little changeover, as I took the picture this morning after hanging it in the shop.

What do you think? Tell me the truth, I can take it. Actually, I probably couldn't take it if the truth is that it looked better before. But then, it did hang in the shop for almost two years... Okay, tell me the truth. Really.