Weathervane

Joe found this weathervane late Saturday.

 I was tired and did not go with him to the sale.

 My mistake.

It is five feet tall and copper except for it's cast iron feet.

This weathervane is worse than a lamp to photograph. 

But look at that patina. That is real.

 I think Joe is developing an excellent eye. 

This will be in our booths Christmas Open House November 10th. 

Please join us from 1pm-4pm at Ridge Antiques in Ridge Spring, South Carolina.

linking@Wow Us Wednesday

joy and peace

Olive

Two Weekend Surprises

I got the best phone call on Friday, Bob, from Ridge Antiques called 

and said that a blogger friend had been shopping our booth and had insisted he call me.

 He said "It was Diane from Lavender Dreams." Yay.

Now Bob does not read blogs and likely thinks they are not real so for Diane to arrive and stand there and tell him to call me is about eight kinds of cool. Diane is the sweetest to stop into our booth and shop on her way to the mountains. Please visit her fun and energetic blog here.

Thanks bunches Diane and maybe one day we can go shopping together.

The second surprising blog related event that happened this weekend

 was I ran into an old friend "D" at church this morning. 

She's an R.N. {like me} who is now enjoying retirement. 

And she reads Olive Out.

She said she now had time to surf the net and had just came across Olive Out one day and had been reading it for a while. At first she did not realize I was the author of the blog. She said she loved the content and for me to keep writing and taking pictures. I remember when her child was small and she remembers CC when she was tiny. It was a big encouragement for me to see her. 

You just never know who is reading your blog.

I am thankful for these two wonderful friends that blessed me and encouraged me this weekend.

I am also thankful for those of you who are continually faithful to comment here even when I am not so faithful to post on any kind of regular schedule.

Come back on Tuesday when I am posting about one of Joe's best finds ever.

 It's five feet tall, weathered, and copper.

~all of these images are from my front yard~

joy and peace

Olive

Needlecraft Reboot

Hello friends and happy Friday.

I have not done embroidery in twenty years but have started again.

 I enjoyed this needlecraft from age fifteen until age thirty. 

Having a premature baby and working as an R.N. did not leave me creative time.

You can read about my outlandish embroidery, for my aunt, here 

in the Hold Everything Lightly Series.

This is the finished runner, blurry though it is, thanks to my assistant Gremmie. 

I found several embroidery kits for three dollars. 

The same kits sell for twenty dollars online.

Now I am working a white runner with a rose on each end. 

My stitching is improving with each piece (yay).

In Olive Out news I am doing embroidery again to relax because

 I seem unable to get myself together these days.

 I adore blogging and miss all of you. 

The connecting with you part of blogging is what I miss most. 

 I will blog when I can.

 Perhaps once to twice a week. 

I continue to have an issue with my ear.

 I had a minor surgical procedure on it about four weeks ago and it has not healed.

The bone is exposed which puts that area of the ear canal at risk for infection.

 If it does not heal I may require a surgical graft in the operating room. 

I am busy pricing Christmas items for our antiques booths.

 Christmas decor is bursting forth all over our dining room.

I'll photograph the open house for y'all. 

joy and peace

Olive

Functional Beautiful Secretary

Don't you think it is serendipitous when beauty is matched by functionality?

That is what we have got in this secretary I bought from my friend The Talented B.

She and her husband painted it with Valspar's Linen paint.

Tear drop pulls attract me every time.

Ball and claw feet get me too.

We will be organizing our bills and insurance papers in this piece.

I knew it would fit perfectly by our front door and it does.

Linking@Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive

Cleaning Vintage Suitcases

  Here in the Deep South where it can get to 103 degrees easily in the summer these old pieces of vintage luggage can get quite musty stored in attics, garages, and basements.

 I pick up pieces like these frequently at estate and garage sales.

In my last blog I was not clear on what I do to remove this musty smell.

 Some of you thought the aluminum suitcase I had shown had been used as a cat litter box.

 That was my lack of clarity. 

I would never sell something that was used as a litter box.

Cleaning A Vintage Suitcase

1. Remove any debris from inside the suitcase.
2. Layer two pounds of new cat litter inside the case.
3. Let the litter sit for 48 hours.
4. Remove litter and vacuum the suitcase.
5. Lightly wipe suitcase with multi-purpose cleaner.
6. Clean the outside with bees wax furniture polish or your favorite polish.
7. Do not go for perfection on the outside cleaning-patina is good.

The cat litter removes the musty mildew odor from our hot climate very well. 

I have tried baking soda and it does not work as well.

I had a photo helper today. 

Gremmie loves window gazing like I love vintage suitcases.

linking@Organized Clutter

joy and peace

Olive

Vintage Aluminum Suitcase

I spotted this incredibly cool aluminum suitcase under a table, at a garage sale, a few weeks ago.

 It did not smell good. 

It's been sitting on the deck with cat litter inside it. 

Today it has been cleaned and de-littered. 

No odor anymore.

Bees wax was applied and now it is ready for our booth.

It's a bit rusty but that adds to the appeal for me. 

The handle is heavy.

 I think it has an industrial look.

Today Donna, The Rust Goddess (Distressed Donna Down Home), and I went thrifting. 

 We found this watercolor of magnolia blossoms from 1955.

 The frame is original and is oak. 

Thrifting alone is fine but with a fellow thrifter it is divine.

To see my stack of vintage leather suitcases from 2012 click here.

Linking@Be Inspired 

happy thrifting

Olive

Living Room Chairs

Hello friends.

 I hope you are having a good week.

The chippy green primitive chair in our living room has acquired 

a vintage suitcase and a basket of fall gourds.

I found the white chair at an estate sale.

 It is slip covered but pretty rough otherwise. 

Yes, I nailed a chair to the wall.

It has beautiful primitive curved legs.

 It's a child's chair and was hand carved. 

I think it's a piece of art.

If it was on the floor the legs would be unseen. 

 Dried forsythia is in the urn. 

I dried it quite by accident and liked how it looks.

Ghost Cat Alert!

Sometimes camera hiccoughs are fun.

Linking@Tweak It Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

joy and peace

Olive

Fall: Yellow House Exterior

We have no porch to speak of which is decidedly non southern so two mums, a real pumpkin, and my old concrete pumpkin is the extent of our fall decor for the exterior of the yellow house.  That thick grass is monkey grass (lilirope). We cut it annually in February.

Mr. Smirk, the old concrete pumpkin will make an appearance, every fall,

 as long as we can lift him. 

He is solid and heavy.

Someone wanted to help her mama. 

Outside, outside she's yelling. 

Loudly.

Happy Saturday

Olive

Madison Market

The Madison Market in Madison, Georgia had just had a delivery of pumpkins.

The pumpkins were not arranged but sure were pretty piled up like that.

The Madison Market is full of European and American antiques. 

I did not take inside images as it was very dark.

A vintage bike greeted us out front.

This is a tremendous fairy garden. 

Fairy city perhaps?

General Sherman did not burn the city of Madison in his march through the south. Therefore the city has an abundance of stately southern homes and darling cottages. Madison has one of the largest historic districts in the state of Georgia. The downtown is splendid.

 If you are near Madison do visit. 

This was my first visit thanks to The Talented B. 

 I will be going back soon.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

joy and peace

Olive