Unexpected Discoveries

Well, The Wife and I went out this afternoon in search of a 'junk' antique store she was told about up in Smithfield, NC. It was described as a 'junk hole in which you would have to dig and dig for treasures.' As thrilling as that is for me (sarcasm inserted here) I begrudgingly agreed to go.
On the way to this ultimate find we cruised past a store named JR's. There are two of these stores that I know of (may be more) in North Carolina and we have passed one continuously throughout the years in Greensboro, NC without stopping. "Discount cigarettes, bargains galore, must see, cheap prices" reads the banners that cover the exterior. We always imagined a disorganized mess with bins everywhere and trash on the floor. So you can imagine we entered the store with trepidation. Complete opposite than what we thought. It was crowded and there was a lot of stuff everywhere but it was clean and the prices were indeed cheap. Clothes, boots and shoes, flags, aforementioned cigarettes and also cigars, bedding, you name it. We cruised by a small garden section they had and made a great discovery.

The smaller pots were $2.00 each and the larger ones were $3.00 each. I have seen these same pots in the Big Box stores for $8.00 to $10.00 each for the small ones. Always have a use for a good pot. The Wife picked up some flags, we got a wind chime and a few other items and headed for the door. Surprising place and we'll definitely be back but we'll be there earlier. The place was full of Yankees. 

Our next stop was the junk antique store. And upon arriving in the parking lot my suspicions were confirmed. And it got no better inside. The building was a small part of the Selma Cotton Mill, once a 1,000,000 sq. ft. plant. Most has been torn down down except this section and the office building outside. It's more of a consignment shop but there was stuff EVERYWHERE! The don't have heat or AC to keep costs down and the lady running it also takes in stray animals until they get adopted so they were everywhere too. Here's a few pictures. 

You really have to dig and dig to find what you want but I'm sure it's here. I found this and wondered the chopping count that died over this stump? The Wife found herself a sleigh for decorating and a coal bucket for the dogs toys. 

We may go back but only when it warms up some. Outside. 

Good surprise when we got home was that my main order for Sustainable Seed Company arrived. I am going to work on getting the Green Beans plus some herbs and stuff on order tomorrow.  

Well, Chewie (Chewman, Chewster, Chewmeister, whatever) has hit his stride and now has been WOFIFIED. 

Off to bed so until next time go find those "treasures."

First Day of the Year

And what a day it is.

• The beginning of 2013
• A day off
• The Wife's birthday

Yes, The Wife had another birthday today. We didn't do anything per her request but I believe if the weather is cooperative this weekend, we'll all go out to a nice place in nature and do a family photo. Something we have needed to do for some time and she enjoys them. There's a nice state park not too far from us so we might look there. And maybe hit those hiking trails to rid the 'holiday' weight I have added :)

Ordered most of my seeds this past week and only have a few more to get. Green beans are one and I'm kind of gun shy as what to get this year. My snap bush beans failed last year so I am thinking of runners this year. I still have a lot of the bush beans if someone wants them. Beans, Peas, and potatoes, plus a few more flowers here and there. I did pick a head of the red cabbage yesterday. Good sized and hope to have it later this week for supper. 

There are a few more in the garden but I'll wait to get those later this month. Then it will be close to seed starting time for the vegs and some of the flowers. 

Resolutions anyone? Mine is obviously getting out more this year. Stay of FB and other crap sites, keep up the blog and keep moving. The WOF needs to lose some weight too so we'll be walking buddies. 

Another is to simplify things around here. This is definitely involve getting rid of a bunch of crap. Yard sale in the near future if you're interested. 

Off to work tomorrow (sigh) so we'll catch up later.

Goodbye 2012

Winding down the year of 2012 with a small supper with The Wife and Youngest Boy. Don't know if we'll be up at the stroke of midnight. Well I may be up, waiting on the Oldest Boy to come home from his night out.

Here are a few observations/news/notes from the past year:

• President Obama re-elected to a second term.
• Neil Armstrong passed.
• Super Storm Sandy
• Curiosity lands on Mars
• Newtown, CT
• Whitney Houston passed
• A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing sold for $4,620,000.00
• The Mayan's missed their mark
• Costa Concordia runs aground in Italy
• NY Giants win the Superbowl
• Putin wins presidential election
• James Cameron dives to Challenger Deep
• Michael Schumacher retires
• The Summer Olympics
• Apple 1 computer sells for $374,500.00
• South African police fire on protesting miners, killing 34
• Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno
• Giants win World Series
• Chewie became a Murray

Interestingly seems there's always more bad news than good being sent to us over the airwaves. That's something that needs changing. 

Last sunset of 2012 for us.

Happy New Year kids. 

Let's make this next one better.

Jp

Good Week So Far

Chewie update!
He's still with us. The woman who picked us to foster hasn't contacted us about getting him back so we are just now contacting her to find out what's going on. But for all intent and purposes he's staying. He and The WOF have now been playing in the yard together and now seem to get along great. And as I type this they are both asleep and The WOF is snoring good.

I started framing up another bedroom upstairs a few days ago and have made some good progress.

Start (ignore the crap in the back)

After day one. My Father in Law helped me with this work. 

Yesterday I got the closet framed in, two cubby holes framed in, and set all of the boxes. 

I am going to start the wiring this weekend then will probably wait to finish the rest until after the new year. There is a lot to do and I can do most of it myself which saves a lot of money. This room will eventually be for The Youngest Boy plus help with overflow when family comes to visit. We can actually add another bedroom, a rec room, and a bathroom. The builder already installed the rough- ins for another hvac unit and plumbing so that will help in the future. Long road ahead on these projects and they will get done when I get the time. I've yet to get the garage ceiling finished but it's too cold to do that work now. I have a lot of items on my "To Do" list which seems to get longer and longer. 

Watching Northern Exposure again and The Wife is on me to post this so there will be another one tomorrow. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

We're getting close now. Christmas Day is almost upon us and we're as ready as we can be here on the homestead. The homestead has actually gotten larger by one. We have picked a 'temporary' addition to the house in the form and name of Chewie. 

Go ahead with the Star Wars sound effects. That's The WOF on the left above. The Wife and I went shopping a few days ago and found him in a chain pet store. They were looking for a home for a few days so we brought him to ours. Things between The WOF and Chewie have been surprisingly smooth. He's a six year old mix and knowing that most people won't look towards older dogs near his age, we took him for fostering. He'll more than likely stay as he's a good dog. 

Well, Shop Around the Corner is on TCM so off to watch it and order seeds tonight. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Christmas Movies

Sitting here today watching The Santa Clause 2. I love Christmas movies although I am partial to the classics, back when they didn't try to make too much nonsense out of the season. This one is a good if you like Tim Allen. 

One of my favorites is It's a Wonderful Life.

Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Great movie! Also high up on the list are Miracle on 34th Street, The Shop Around the Corner, The Bishop's Wife, The Bells of St. Mary's, A Christmas Story. The best though.....

A Muppet Christmas Carol.

Christmas is Coming to the Dogs

And it is at a record pace. And I have been gently kicked in the arse for not posting for a while so I'll let everyone know what's going on in our neighborhood.

Well this past Saturday The Wife and I cruised out to do a little shopping and to see what's what. My main objective was to go to a pet adoption "show" at a somewhat local mall. I wasn't really interested in the shopping but we did get some done. We have been kicking back and forth about adopting another dog for the family as we are dog people, and since I lost my old cat years ago I don't think one could ever replace her so off to the hounds. I had originally started out looking for a Golden Retriever puppy, but we don't support puppy mills nor dog breeders that want $600.00 for a puppy. We are pound people, plain and simple. So at the adoption "show" we saw a few (they had a total of 5 dogs) that we really liked. Actually being said we'd taken all of them. Just the house couldn't take them! These people would take dogs and foster them out as they are a no- kill organization. Great people. We had a nice long talk with one of the foster's and he helped us in the right direction for adoption. What brought this on in the end? I found an older gentleman of 9 years named Bucky. Gray beard, probably a slow gait, needed a house with a ramp. My kind of guy.

Just found out that this great guy is being given a home. Sorry, we love dogs. We'll keep looking.

On the Christmas front things have been busy around the house. The Wife got the inside decorated with her 50,000 Santa's that she may share with you. It's kind of creepy sometimes. I worked on some of the outside and got it looking somewhat good. Not truly up to my usual standards but pressed for time. 

I got some planting done this weekend of Pansies and checked on how the cabbage was doing. 

That's Kale with a few Pansies thrown in. 

I do have a better post coming with more info but right now I need to get back to work. Oh, WOF of the Week. Long time for this so I'll let the picture do the talking. 

It's about what we are all feeling right now. Until next time (which will be real soon) keep your tails wagging.