Shoulder Spurs, Surplus and Sewing Patches

Shoulder update: Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts.  The diagnosis my orthopaedist gave me was pretty much what I anticipated - I have shoulder spurs and minor rotator cuff damage.  He did give me an injection to help with the pain but it turns out that the numbness I've been experiencing in my arm, hand and fingers have nothing to do with my shoulder and everything to do with my neck.  Several years ago I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease (along with, sadly, several thousands other people). I was told that my spine had quite a bit of damage and the damage seemed to be excelerating fairly quickly. The numbness I'm feeling is from those pinched nerves in my neck.  I'm doing some exercises that will hopefully help to alleviate some of the pain and tingling. An MRI will better define what's going on or, more specifically, what treatment paths we'll be taking.  Continued prayers are appreciated.

Anyone who knows me knows I've been diligently working  trying to use up and otherwise get rid of my miscellaneous mess extra supplies of fabric and needlework supplies for the last four or five years recently.  Believe it or not, I'm actually starting to see success somewhere in that dark hole I call my sewing/art studio.  But, as I was sorting through dresser drawers, I started seeing another hoarding trend that I didn't even know I had started.  

 Pillow cases. Not sets or pairs of pillow cases, mind you.  Just pillow cases.  One at a time, no matching partner, no fabulous story, just single pillow cases.  Lots of them.  A few of them are vintage (very few) with some pretty embroidery work or trim on them.  I can probably recycle and turn some of them into potpourri pillows or the like.  But others are just plain ugly.

I have no idea what to do with them.  Do you have any ideas? Aside from donating them to Goodwill or trying to hide them in a box and send them to the auction, I mean.  (By the way, I didn't include the ugliest of them in any of the pictures.  Yes, they are THAT ugly.)

Speaking of ugly - does your husband insist on keeping a certain pair of jeans?  (Not accusing your hubby of being ugly, just a possible given pair of his jeans.)  Sweet Hubby has a pair of jeans that I have patched and repatched so many times that the only original part of them is the zipper.  Why do I patch them?  Because he would wear them anyway and the holes are, well, in areas that could cause him to be arrested.   And no, I won't show you those particular areas!  I'd love to hear your favorite jean stories.  They don't have to be YOUR favorite jeans, as obviously the above pair are not mine. 

My Hubby Hates our Property

No kidding.  He's been wanting to move for years.  I think it all started when I fell down our hill  and broke my ankle.  That was the first or second year we lived here.  And, today, I took another hard fall.  He blames it all on our property, which is mostly situated uphill.  (or, downhill, if you're falling...)

Most of you know I have RA (rheumatoid arthritis).  You may not know that I have almost all the other "itis"s, too - osteoarthritis, tendonitis, bursitis - and as each summer approaches I find it more difficult to give proper attention to all my flower gardens.  As a result, I seem to never get all the work accomplished in the "big garden".  The west end (above) is a sad combination of weeds, some perenials, vines and more weeds.   

Today I decided that THIS would be the day to clear out said weeds, vines, etc.  Well, it sure is easy to fall when you're pulling stubbornly-rooted weeds while standing on a hillside.  The good part is, I already have an appointment with my orthopaedist for Tuesday morning.  The bad news is, it's for the shoulder I fell on.  The area between my neck and right shoulder has been sore and swollen for about a month and lately, my entire right arm, hand and fingers, have been numb.  (Crazy-bone hit kind of numb.) 

Anyway, Sweet Hubby and youngest stepson had just returned home from running errands.  Hubby made sure I had no broken bones and insisted I let him and s-son work in the garden.  (Sure, Honey, if you insist...)

I did manage to pick up a broken flower (phlox) on the way to the house.  Don't you think it looks nice against my lace kitchen curtains?





Shop Talk, Garden Stuff and (more) Sam

Two posts in two days?  Wow, I'm on a ROLL! 

I was going through some of my photos this morning and thought I'd share some shop photos with you.  But first, get a load of this bumper sticker:



Can you read it?  It says, "Peace Hon".  Southerners are so friendly.

This is one of our booths (Hubby and mine).  I bought the little white cabinet at a garage sale, brought it home, cleaned it up, painted it and Hubby replaced the drawer front for me.  The original drawer front was (we thought) too thin and cheap-looking.  I had the teapot drawer pull in my stash and voila!  Cute, huh? 

 Would you believe I found a supply of these plates at another garage sale? 

These are only a few - some of the sayings were too funny or too true to pass up.

This dress form is to die for - but it's neither for sale nor is it mine!   It's the creation of Gail Schmidt of Shabby Cottage Studio.  I love her creativity!   She made the skirt out of paper that she rolled into cones.  She said she bought the wings off Etsy.  This table isn't ours, either; I saw it in another area of the shop.    I've seen similar on HGTV but thought this was just adorable.  It didn't last long - it sold within a couple days.  Now, this sofa IS one of ours: 

It's in absolutely beautiful shape!  We have a price tag on it of only $399.  I'm surprised it's still in the shop, as merchandise there sells so quickly.  It sits like a brand new couch, looks like a brand new couch but it is antique!  I told some friends that, if I didn't have a husband and parrots, I would keep this piece.  (I obviously chose my hubby and birds over the couch)

Now for a few photos of my cottage garden - these are all of the largest garden:

I never get tired of taking pictures of this angel.

  Puppy Sam seems to really enjoy running into the garden through the gate and out of it under this corner border, trampling my plants and everything else in his path.  I resolved that by "planting" a few boxlot plates that nobody wanted.  This fence is a recent addition:

Actually, it's an "unfence".  Sweet Hubby scored them at an estate sale.  They were twin beds in their previous life but the rails were nowhere to be found. 

Sam, by the way, loves to "help" me pull weeds.  (I do have fingers on both hands, by the way.  The angle from which this pic was taken looks otherwise.)

Problem is, he generally tries to pull the weeds out of my hand.  But, surprisingly enough, sometimes he gets it right on  his own! 





Puppies,Potatoes and Ponderings

Okay, so this little shed doesn't fit into my post title. I couldn't find a synonym for shed that starts with a "P".

Did you know that the words "want", "covet" and "desire" don't have "p" word synonyms, either? (I really want a shed like this one!) 

  
I saw it at a yard sale the other day. No, of course it wasn't for sale and I was by myself so I didn't have anyone to scheme with me on how in the world one of us could distract the owners while the other one loaded it onto the top of my van without being noticed. So, instead, I just complimented the older gentleman who had built it what a cool looking shed it was. Don't you agree it would really look at home sitting next to one of my gardens?

Speaking of gardening: I was tending to our veggie garden the other day and thinking about the first time I followed my former mother-in-law into her garden. I watched in awe as she stuck her shovel into the ground and unearthed a crop of beautiful golden-brown potatoes. We had a small garden when we were growing up but everything we grew happened above ground - you know, tomatoes, green beans and the like. I was so impressed that she knew exactly when to harvest something that couldn't be seen. I was later told that you delay the harvest until the green part of the potato that grows above ground dies. So...would someone like to tell me what in the world happened to my crop?

It would be difficult to find a pebble smaller than this!!!

Thank you for your cards, comments, emails, etc.of condolences you sent when I told you about losing Frankie, my pal and furry child of 17 years. I now understand the pain one goes through when a beloved pet dies. I still tear up when I think of him; we literally traveled alongside one another for the past 17 years. I told my husband I would never have another dog. Not ever. And then... We had to go to Knoxville for my rheumatologist appointment. It was on a Friday and we stopped at a flea market on the way home. It was there we spotted a young man carrying two very cute puppies that he had to sell. The mom was a full blooded pug, the daddy a combo pug and bulldog. Did I mention how very cute those puppies were? Long story short (okay, so the story isn't so long), we brought the black puppy home with us and named him "Sam". Here is Sam and Doc Jones. You can't even tell Sam is getting his first puppy shot; he's being so good. Yep, Sam and I are now an item!

.

Gardens, Goodies and Good-byes

Isn't this a cool old door? The large middle pane and the bottom pane are broken out; the others are green with mold. Hubby said it was useless. Aren't men silly? After cleaning the glass, I painted some "fantasy flowers" on one side of the panes and lightly sprayed the opposite side with white. (I knew I'd be using it outdoors and didn't want the wild birds to injure themselves flying into the glass.) Once the paint was dry, I took some clear packaging tape and adhered it to one side of the glass - that way, if the glass gets broken we won't have a lot of shards to clean up. ...and - voila! A new door to replace the old screen door that had long ago served its purpose. Remember that box springs frame I put in my big garden a couple years ago? It serves a great purpose as a large trellis and for hanging baskets and items used for dressing up the garden. This coffee pot and cup were added this morning. How do you like my special hooks? I twisted an old spoon into an "S" hook; works great! We went to an estate sale Saturday and came out with a lot of vintage China and some great figurines. I especially love this old powder box/trinket holder! She's cleaned and tagged and on her way to the shop! The three figurines in front are all from occupied Japan. They've been cleaned and are waiting for their turn for tags.

The Colonial figurines were my Hubby's find from a thrift shop! I've said it before: He's a Keeper!

Our one large purchase for the day was this dining room table and chairs. We also bought the dinnerware, tablecloth and napkins at the same sale. On a sad note, my Hubby and I had to say goodbye to Frankie, our Chow/Collie mix. I pulled him out of a crawl space almost 17 years ago. He was only 5 weeks old when he came to live with me; I could hold him in the palm of my hand. We knew something was really wrong the night before he died. The next morning, I put him in our van and headed to the vet. I was stroking his head when he died. He didn't make it there alive. He's now buried in my biggest flower garden next to the angel. We put a solar light over his grave; he was always afraid of the dark. RIP, sweet friend and furry partner.

Lists and Lies Told to Me Growing Up

Bluebird in back of our house this morning. A branch is covering most of his head but it's the best shot I could get before he flew away. WHAA? Has it really been seven months since my last blog post? Yes, Sher, it has been. Stop acting like you're surprised. You know you've been doing other things ~ other things on your LIST and several other things that never made it to that almighty list. Yes, blogging has actually been sitting on my list of Things to Do for, well, at least six months. Other things like find, clean, repair and take items to the shop remain there as an ongoing task. Let me tell you, the antiques business is not one for get-rich-quick schemers nor is it a non-time consuming business. Actually, it's been a very busy winter for Sweet Hubby and me. The shop (the Corner Nest, Elizabethton, TN) continues to stay busy and our spaces have done extremely well. We ended up buying this made-over former U-Haul truck (It's either a 14 or 16 ft long truck, depending on how you measure) so we'd have a better way of hauling furniture. If you're on Facebook, I hope you "friend" the Corner Nest and me (find me under Sher Sison Miller). BTW, we're not D&D Hepard ~lol! ~ getting that lettering off is (hopefully) on my hubby's list. Something else accomplished: We finally got rid of that old hideous, embarrassing, worn and stained carpet that was probably in style at one time. We now have hardwood (okay, laminate, but we found it wears better and won't tear up under the stress of big bird cage wheels) flooring, a freshly painted room and a new couch! The wall is more yellow than it appears in this picture - I'll take more pics when I get everything back in place. Our NE Tennessee weather has been shifting almost as quickly as Hubby switches the TV channels. This morning was really nice and I took an opportunity to wander about in our yard and survey some of the havoc caused by winds we've had the last couple days. I kept a careful eye out for snakes. You know how terrified I am of the long, slithering, fangy things. This thought brought back one of the outright lies alleged truths I was told in my childhood. You know, the one about snakes being more afraid of me than I am of them. I'm also convinced that, if I I won't get hit by a truck if I don't have on clean underwear. (I choose to wear clean undies for other reasons. lol) While I was outside I shot a few more photos and made several mental notes. I'll share a few of my thoughts and notes for my "To Do" list. I sure wish I could blame this mess on the wind. Here's another clean up item for my list. (This is the NW corner of my largest garden) OMG! The most easterly end of the big garden. Having one of those "What was I thinking this time last year?" moments. Small flower garden between the house and back drive. Lots of weeds and wild strawberries in here. The wild birds like the strawberries. Am now wondering whether I should leave the strawberries alone. How did this happen over the winter? Where in the world did that broken bike come from? Why is Hubby dumping stuff in my garden under the old dogwood tree? (Adding to my list and not bothering to cross out bad words.) If you live in the area and feel like pulling weeds, come on over! Okay, even if you don't feel like pulling weeds, you're welcome to stop by!

Mixed Blessings, Mixed Media and Woman-Eating Snakes in Tennessee

Cell phones. They fall into the "Mixed Blessings" category here in the Grinnin household. We finally bit the proverbial bullet and changed our T-mobile plan from one that offered unlimited talking to one that offers unlimited talking, texting and web stuff. The texting is actually for the grandkids and myself. It seems to be the best way to stay in touch with the under age 25 bunch. My eldest grandchild is 17 so I thought I'd better get into the groove of things. Wait, they don't say that anymore, do they? Basically, I decided to get into the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" texting movement. We traded our handy-dandy flip type phone for a Nokia Nuron. It had one of those touch tone screens that turned into a disaster. Both GrinninGrampa and I hated it. We now have a Samsung Gravity3. It doesn't have a touch screen; it has numbers on the front so Hubby can make his calls and it slides open to expose a keyboard so I can text the grandkids and occasionally play on Facebook from the phone. Half of us hates it. I, on the other hand, am getting used to it. GrinninGrampa wants the now outdated flip type phone we had before back. That's one thing about cell phones - they are outdated quicker than you can say "SIM card". Okay, now for the scary stuff! Look what I spotted when I was pulling weeds next to the house this afternoon: (SHRIEK!!!) A snakeskin! Thank God the snake wasn't still in it. To make things worse, Hubby wasn't home to save me from it. Yes, I DO need to be saved from a snakeskin. OMG, I am SO afraid of snakes! And, look how BIG this thing is! Hubby tried to tell me it's a Black Snake. I don't care if it's Black or White or Oriental or Swedish. A snake is a SNAKE! And, I happen to know that Black Snakes bite. One bit my friend, Steve, who lives in Nashville. It was apparently trying to get back at him for stepping on it. Anyway, I've decided to never even get near that side of the house anymore as I'm 100% convinced it's either an Anaconda or a Rattler. Either way, it's bound to be a woman-eating snake. Well, my cell phone experiences left me totally weirded out as I pondered all the things it is supposed to do. My brain needed a release and I ended up making this mixed media piece. Here's a closeup of the highlighted definition above the man's head - it defines "thinking" and regardless of how smart these phones are, I really prefer to fall back on the old tried and true brain power that the good Lord gave me. While I was feeling creative, here's another piece I did using a piece of house painter's canvas that I stretched and stapled to an old wood picture frame. The woman's picture I used is a vintage photo that I plucked off the net several years ago. I've used her image many times in my art; this time, I aged her somewhat. A more mature beauty just seemed to be more at home in this garden. Oops, gotta run - our dog, Frankie, managed to get sprayed by a skunk and Hubby and stepson are giving him a tomato juice bath. No, I'm not hurrying out to help. This is an event that HAS to be documented in photos! lol