What a "State" sale it was!

One recent Saturday afternoon, my husband was running errands and while driving to his next stop, one particular sign caught his eye!

He had to stop!  So he made the turn and approached this small house with a few tables of treasures outside. He instantly saw some yellow bowls on the table and because I have trained him well, he knew that they were Pyrex and for $2, he was happy to snatch them up and bring them home!

The lady running the sale said that the house was open and to go on in and see what else he could find.  So his mind was on finding more Pyrex but he found treasure for himself!  You might say, equivalent to us Pyrex collectors, he found his Starburst!  I have mentioned in several posts, how he is an avid fly fisherman and according to him every stream must be fished!  Well, in the corner of the living room was not one but two antique bamboo fly rods!  We both have kept our eyes out for one at many a sale and antique store, but only to find them priced for at least $100.00!  When he asked her how much she wanted for the fishing stuff in the corner, which along with the fly rods included a net, a reel pole, and tackle box, she said $5!

What a sale that was for him!  I reminded him, "Pyrex leads to great and wonderful things!"  Keep on stopping at those sales!

Ranae

My Dear Husband

Last week we celebrated our 29th anniversary and my dear husband surprised me with a set of Pink Gooseberry Bake Serve Store casserole dishes! This was an extra special surprise because I thought that this set had been bought by someone else!

You see the story goes...While antiquing on our trip in May to southern Missouri, we stopped in at about closing time at this particular antique mall. We only had 15 minutes to quickly scan what they had and right off I spotted this Pink Gooseberry set.  Being the penny pincher that I am, I felt the price tag of $32 was to high and didn't do the impulse thing and grab them quickly.  I knew that we would return the next day because they had a flea market that Saturday morning and the antique mall itself was huge and we didn't have enough time to see everything. So I decided I would think about it that evening and knowing that we would be back before they opened for the flea market the next day, I could get them first thing if I decided to!  The more I thought about those pretty, shiny, pink and white dishes sitting there, I knew they needed to come home with me and I felt the price was fair because after all it was Pink Gooseberry and you don't see it in New Mexico and the prices on Ebay are just ridiculous!

So we got to the flea market about 8:30 am and the mall opened at 9 am. Kylee and I started looking around and my husband went another direction. After finding a few things, we headed into the antique mall about 9:10 am to find my husband and check out the Pyrex.  As we got closer to the booth that had the Pink Gooseberry set, I soon noticed that they were gone! I couldn't believe it, only opened 10 minutes and someone else had already bought them. I can't tell you how many times since then I would think about that and just kick myself for not acting impulsively. 

Well last week, the mystery buyer was revealed!  That sweetheart of mine had beat me to the punch!  He got into the mall and grabbed the set, handed the cashier the money and asked her to wrap them up quickly and if I came asking about them, she didn't know anything about it!  He was able to sneak the box out to our truck and hide it in a cooler and keep them hidden for the rest of our trip!

I will always cherish this set because of how it became to be mine!

Ranae

Beautiful Durango Colorado

One of our favorite camping spots is just north of Durango, Colorado on the Animas River. It is so peaceful and the mountains are always beautiful.

 This was Gunnar's first camping trip and he acted like he was a veteran camper!

 We had rain most afternoons, ate way to much food, took walks, the hubby went fly fishing, had a campfire every night and some mornings, and we all just plain relaxed!  

This was the last weekend getaway for the four of us as Kylee starts college again next week. Hopefully hubby and I along with Gunnar will get out one more time this summer! Hard to believe summer is coming to a close, but who doesn't love everything about fall!

Ranae

Rest easy my friend

On Wednesday afternoon, our 14 year old golden retriever, Pecos, was peacefully laid to rest.  Pecos also became fondly called Poppy.  Over the course of two years, he and his lady, Molly, brought 21 puppies into the world.  This brought love and happiness to many families in the area.

He had bravely lugged around a large tumor on his abdomen for 18 months.  I discovered the tangerine sized tumor in October 2011, while on a morning walk.  At the time, he was 12 years old and the decision was made to just watch it and not put him through surgery.  Boy, did he persevere through its continual growth and did it grow!

What a dog does for a family is show them and give unconditional love abundantly, no matter what their circumstance might be!  Pecos gave us more joy than we could have ever returned.  His absence will be a great adjustment for all of us!  I truly believe that he is in a far better place playing fetch, eating biscuits, napping the afternoon away, and waiting for his family to once again pat his head.

Rest easy Poppy, we love you!

Cherry pickin time!

One day last week we decided that it was time to pick, pit, and bag cherries.  Believe you me, I have a love-hate relationship with cherries.  Cherry pie is my favorite pie and is the favorite choice of my entire family.   Our cherry trees yield Montmorency cherries which are a tart cherry that when you take that first bite you pucker and roll your eyes at the same time!  This is the obvious love part!

Montmorency cherry tree

Cherries

We have two dwarf trees that are not so dwarf anymore and produce an abundance of cherries. Our best year was in 2010 and we put away 40 quarts of cherries and still had some left to offer to friends.  This is usually an all day event, picking then pitting and finally bagging them in freezer bags to be used throughout the year.  Such a sticky mess!  You guessed it...this is the hate part!

Every time we pick, I am reminded of my late great-grandma Frankie.  She was a farmer's wife and her family was her pride and joy and a close second was her garden and it's bounty! I grew up in the country in northwest Missouri and we always had a very large garden and Grandma Frankie and I would have friendly competitions in gardening to see which one of us could harvest radishes, tomatoes, onions, green beans, peas, and the like first.  I fondly remember when it was time to pick cherries or strawberries, she would look forward to helping us out and was always in awe of the beauty of God's creation and blessing us with such wonderful food out our back door and only a few steps away ready to be plucked by our fingers.  She definitely brought enthusiasm to gardening and a joy to life itself by living a simple life and honoring God in all that she did!  I need to remember that cherry pickin IS a beautiful blessing!

Ranae

Pyrex in action

Over this past week, some of my Pyrex dishes have been put to good use!  I am sure you will agree that Pyrex makes everything bake better and taste better, plus it is so darn pretty on the table!  With my son turning 24 on Tuesday and the Fourth of July, the Pyrex got a work out.  Bread, cherry cobbler and two batches of baked beans were just some of the dishes that got snapped up by my camera!

Whole wheat Dakota bread

Cherry Cobbler

Baked Beans

Hope your Fourth of July was a safe one, full of food and good times with family!

Ranae

Such a welcome sight!

Rain has been quite scarce in these parts for several years and the state of New Mexico is in a severe drought.  But as of last week the state has been experiencing some spotty showers. On Wednesday morning I was greeted with rain clouds and puddles on my morning walk!  It was so refreshing to walk out at 6 a.m. with the smell of rain and clusters of rain showers dotting the western skies.  Everything smelled so fresh and clean, with the hope of more to come.  As I was nearing the end of my walk, the rain was closing in once again with a few sprinkles falling on Gunnar and I, but we were in no hurry to get home.  Just soon after we got in the driveway, it started raining as the sun was coming up over the mountains!  What a beautiful sight...

I can't tell you how long it has been since we have seen a rainbow in New Mexico and this eventually became a full rainbow with the start of a second one...bright and beautiful from end to end!  A God smile in the morning!  I hope that we continue to have rain and many more rainbows the rest of the summer!

Ranae