Barton

We headed off into the wilds of south eastern Tioga County yesterday to attend an on-site country auction in Barton. We left at the screech of dawn in an effort to squeeze in an estate sale on the way. If you look closely you'll see that the moon was out when we first set off.

Ken definitely has his priorities straight when it comes to early morning jaunts!

The auction took place on a lovely old farm. The house looked to be about 1840's. Many of the outbuildings had seen better days.The property was full of wonderful old trees - tall cottonwoods, sugar maples, apple and pear.

As usual there was much to see and buy,and yes these lovelies came home with us!

Sadly I was outbid for these fabulous glasses.

I came to the firm conclusion that the only thing better than an auctioneer
with a big old trucker hat,

is two of them.

There were two auctions going on at once.
One under the tent and another out in the field.

I got a big kick out of watching the help. It seemed items were hand picked for the maximum embarrassment of each runner. Here the young Amish fellow is showing fashionable 1950's hats and glasses.

This fellow got stuck with the fancy ladies beaded bags. He held them up like they had some awful contagious disease. It was too funny! Sadly the photo I took of them with the ladies bloomers, corsets and girdles came out a little blurry. I sure it was because I was in convulsions from laughing so hard!

At the end of the day our car was packed and much of it has already made its way to FOUND!

Ken and I have been talking about getting a truck or a van to go to auction.

Perhaps we should just consider making it ourselves...

Porch

Any day that begins like this is bound to be good.

After weeks of non-stop go-go-going I decided to break from the frantic pace and have myself a nice long sit on the porch. I can't remember the last time I indulged. This delight was immediately followed by gardening. I know it's seemed like I've given up entirely on the whole gardening thing lately but today I came back with a vengeance and planted three peony bushes in the bed next to the driveway. It'll be wonderful to see those link pink and white blooms out the kitchen window. Maybe the fragrance will even float inside.

Though it's officially autumn now you'd never know it. It hit 93 degrees today. Somehow the leaves have heard the call though and they're well on their way to a colorful show.

I have high hopes for this season.

Roses and morning glories are all still enthusiastically in bloom.

It was a good day.

Momentous

After weeks of wrangling procrastinating bankers and we finally joined the ranks of those in search of lower interest fees and a quicker pay-off on the mortgage by closing on the refinance of our home. For a while it seemed the professional buck-passers would get the better of us. While we were at the table with the lawyer this afternoon we completed another very important task. Ken is now officially on the deed to the house. From the moment he moved in I've considered our home his as much as my own, but now it's official, he owns it too! 'bout time I think.

The weather is glorious these days and more of the same is predicted for the week. Clear skies, warm sun and brisk evenings. It'll be a two-cat night tonight for sure with temps down into the upper thirties. If I'd spent more time in the garden this summer I'd likely be frantically searching the closets for bed sheets to cover the basil and the last of the summer tomatoes but I figure since they've done fairly well fending for themselves all this time why start looking after them now? Next year I'll garden again (a girl can hope can't she?).

FOUND is going gang busters these days and I'm plum worn out being excited about it! The challenge now will be to find enough time to buy cool old stuff to keep the booth looking full and fresh from week to week. Our grand opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, October 2nd. We'll debut the stylish FOUND tee shirts and other cool merch for sale and to give away. Just look at some of the neat things we've got in there right now!

Sometimes I pinch myself just to be sure I'm not dreaming.

Medford Leas

We made a quick trip down to Medford, NJ on Friday and Saturday to visit with Ken's dad Howard. It was great to see him and two of Ken's sisters - Kathy and Barb.

Howard's heart might be weak but his spirit and his smile are strong.
We spent time with him in his room visiting and chatting about this and that.

While we were there Ken revived Howard's computer and I tried my hand at reviving his plants.

Looks like the geraniums will make it. Not so sure about the hostas...

After a while we decided it was just too nice a day to stay indoors
so we rounded up the nearest wheel chair and headed outside.
There are many modes of transportation around Medford Leas

but it seems the electric cart is the preferred vehicle.
It is just beginning to feel like fall in Medford. The sun is warm and the air is cool. On our walk we saw areas of the Medford Leas campus I'd not been to before. Much of the campus is a made up of a series of lovely small apartment groupings, each surrounding an intimate courtyard.

The neighborhoods are inviting and welcoming.
After a while I noticed several of these signs.There are days I think I need one of these on my door.

Each grouping of dwellings has its own personality.

Some had courtyards planted with herbs and flowers, others had a full blown zen garden theme going on, complete with koi pond
flowering water lillies,
and statuary.

There is obviously a great deal of garden pride!
We'll be back to see you soon Howard!

Dents

I am in constant catch-up mode these days - at school, at home and at the shop. Small dents are being made in the mess but it would probably take a week of non-stop work to really get fully caught up just at home. Seems while we're asleep someone keeps putting antiques in our garage...

We had planned to stay home on this cold dreary day to find some kind of order in the downstairs. Clearing a path in the dining room was high on the list as well as entering recent auction purchases into inventory. Instead, in a fit of spontaneous inspiration we decided to hit the road for an on-site country auction in Bainbridge, NY. It's about 90 minutes from here over hill and dale with lots of twists and turns in the road and some amazingly dramatic hills. A lovely ride even in the rain. We arrived just late enough to find that there were no spots left under the tent and with the high only into the 50's today let's just say it was a little "challenging" to be hanging out in the weather and leave it at that. Fortunately there were bargains to be had and some interesting items to see.

This is a vintage airplane fashioned out of coke cans...

Definitely crafted by someone with some significant time on their hands.
I wonder if they fly and if the caffeine-free version flies
any lower than the regular classic coke?

There was a lot of amazing jadite

and an ovoid jug with beautiful blue decorations. It went for over $400.

We scored an armload of Adirondack criss-cross frames with leaves at the corners, four lovely 1940's boudoir lamps and a cool home-made wardrobe with cowboy decals on the front. Not bad considering we only stayed only a few hours. It was nice to get home in time to put our feet up for a bit, get a chicken in the oven and tidy up a little. Dents were made today. Now on to the new week where I'm sure in no time I'll find myself just a little behind in some totally new category. It's all good.