A story from "The Frumpy House"

as most of my followers/readers out there know, I have an etsy shop...a shop for vintage items.  If you didn't know, check out the righthand sidebar on my blog that links to the shop and has pics of newly listed items.

This is just some info for you who may like to shop vintage....

A few weeks ago, Greg and I, made an impromptu day trip to Detroit.  We had never been there together. I hadn't been there since I was a kid.

My mom's sister, Joyce has lived and worked in Detroit for the last 35 yrs or so.  She has been at a mission in the downtown area.  Well, the mission has of course people giving them things (some people leave them their whole home & contents) to do with as they want.  Usually, they sell the homes and items to help fund the mission.  One of the things my aunt does throughout the summer is run yard sales.  Just down the block from the mission they have a large (I mean LARGE) garage/storage facility that is just piled high with items that they set out, hang up or pile up for people to look at and buy.

Well, in a visit with my aunt a few weeks previously I had mentioned my shop and that I was selling vintage things that I had thrifted or found at sales (yard, garage, flea etc).  She said come on down and have a look through the items we have.  If you find something you can sell, sell it and we can split the profit....

So of course, we made the trip!

I wish I had taken pics of the place.  It was amazing.  Like going to the largest rummage sale ever!!  Rummage I did....for hours, to my hearts content.  I found some pretty amazing and fun things.  I was digging through huge bags of clothes, as in moving these bags out of the way to get to some boxes, to get to boxed items that I hoped would hold some treasures.

Treasures found!!  So, here are some pics that show a few of the things I have listed.  There are more to come!!

Vermillion, Springfield, MO 100% Walnut Salad Set***

The biggest Granny Square afghan EVER!!

Mattel toy gun, not listed yet, have to research!

The 100% Wool Beret, not the cutie, is for sale!

Lincoln, Beautyware Coffee and Tea Canisters 

Pretty in Pink '50's Salt, Pepper and Vinegar Set

Melamine Fish shaped Hors d'oeuvre Set!

There is soooo much more, I'm hoping to head back to the Motor City and find some more goodies, possibly @ the end of the summer!!  We'd like to take the girls to the Detroit Zoo....Maybe a dual purpose trip!

***So, I'm thinking of marking items that are from the mission in the shop.  Would it make any difference to any of you readers in making a purchase if you knew a certain percentage was going to a good cause?  Let me know what you think, I may or may not, depending on feedback!

The end of an era....

As of today we will no longer wake in the night as we hear the rain pitter patter on the skylight! We will no longer jump up and rush the towels & buckets to catch the aforementioned rain as it ran in rivulets down the aforementioned skylight.

THAT my friends is a good thing...& I am very happy!!

My dad, the best "free" contractor around....sometimes whatever is freshly baked is enough for payment....worked hard all day to repair the roof & close up the skylight.

I'm usually the apprentice I just don't get to do all the technical stuff, I'm more of a hander-upper.

So early this morning we had this on our roof...



Working minutes it looked like this...



Now it looks like this...


Thanks again dad! It's gonna be my job to "finish" the job....cleaning all the dust & debris up tomorrow!

PS: since I had an appointment in our nearest "large" town (re: has a Wal-Mart & more than one fast food restaurant) I did a little thrifting.....will share some fun things soon!

--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone

She is the best of times....

She is the worst of times!! Yes, my lovely Lauryn! My first born, my golden haired beauty, my strong willed eldest!!

She can go for days at a time being petulant, moody, oppositional & grotesquely whiney!! Yet the girl has all the lights on, plus a few amped up flashlights if you know what I mean!!

She has brains in her belfry. Illustrious gray matter in her noggin. She's got them there smarts y'all!!!

Lauryn is blessed with many things....she is quite stunning with her blue almond shaped eyes, symmetrical facial features, naturally curly blonde hair.....she has an outgoing personality, odd little sense of humor & smarts from somewhere other than maternal or paternal!!

Golly, that girly is S.M.A.R.T.

We are blessed enough to send her to a private Christian school which not only teaches her her ABC's and 123's, but the beliefs that we hold dear!!

The end of the year is much like any other school! She got her last report card, a printout of how she scored on the National CAT testing and of course the bill!! Everything looked great, well it had been great all year! She'd been on A Honor roll each quarter (95% avg or above in each subject) so nothing new to us!

Then comes Honors Banquet, where all students are recognized for their achievements throughout the year! Yeah Tigers!!!

We were sitting toward the back of the auditorium, due to the nonstop action of the 5 yr old girly!! But we weren't missing a thing!

Imagine with me now.....name, blah, blah, blah, applause.....no disrespect to anyone, it's just fewer words when you "blah" a bunch out!!

Outstanding work by all! Lauryn's name was called & she was given her certificates for music (did you see the penny whistle post?), volleyball (she actually got to play a game this year due to kids being sick & the other school having a young team too), and pins for recognition in each subject that she had the highest % (or GPA).

Ummm, HELLO! 5 PINS!! Heck yeah!! That's my girl!!!




Math, social studies, science, English, and spelling!! Whoooeee!




She had so many things to hang onto, she started dropping them!


Then comes the fun part....trophy time!!
I was back in my seat after rushing up to take pictures of her getting her certificates & pins....

When they said the honors of highest GPA for 1st thru 5th grade levels goes to "Lauryn"!! I decided maybe I should get a pic. Then they said the highest number of PACES (the curriculum is made up of workbooks that are an avg of 25 pages long, each student must complete 3 books in each subject (Lauryn had 7 subjects) each 9 week quarter w/ above 80% on their tests) for the 1st thru 5th grades, "Lauryn"....um yeah! Wait I'm coming for pictures, stay there....




Posing for me....she looked upset about the wait didn't she!?!?

Okay, that's all the excitement a momma can take! I was about to burst my buttons, and NO it was not from the fine dinner we had beforehand!

So the night progresses & many other wonderful students get awards....then some more come Lauryn's way!

Our retired principle still comes to the school everyday & works with the students who may need a little extra help. She is very involved in the group 'Daughters of the American Revolution'. Embarrassing as it is I'm not sure what all this group does, but they are national. Each fall the children are given a topic to write an essay on & draw a stamp. This years topic was "keeping history alive"....I think! Eeep!! Bad mommy....anywhoo, Lauryn won 1st in her grade level for district, state & honorable mention @ national level. I'm pretty impressed & she was given a $10 prize, she was VERY impressed!

The last major award of the night goes to the students who have memorized 8 months of scripture (a passage of about 12-20 verses)! Lauryn received a trophy for that accomplishment too!!

Whew, this has been a lengthy post. I usually try to keep my insanity to a low level...but for reals, this stuff is too good to not share!!

SO CONGRATS LAURYN, you've gone and doned us parental units proud!!!!
















Oh, did I fail to mention Lauryn is 7 and just completed the 3rd grade?!? No? Well, I tried to tell ya the girly is S.M.A.R.T.....she's also a smarty pants (so don't hate, I'll be the first to tell you none of us is perfect)!!

I Love my Lauryn & I'm really excited to see where her smarts will take her in life!!



--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone

I have a great....

husband! Now for you friends that have been reading for sometime, you may think that I only have complaints about the hub-a-roo.  NO, really!! 

He is the kind of husband, dad & son that only wants those around him to have a fun time.  To make sure that each person is busy, & doing something fun (sometimes he gives the girls ideas of things to do so that he can lay on the couch & take a quick nap....do you really blame the man?!)

Well, when Greg's mom was with us we shuffled our work week around so that we would have one of us home each day...it was not easy, but it was doable!

So, Greg works 2/10 hr. days & I work 2/10 hr. days....thus giving us a 40 hour work week.

 Greg was home with the girls just a couple weeks ago and put them thru the paces of "school".  Oh, he had a music class, writing class, art class, gym class & the girls' favorite (Greg's too I think) nature class!!

We live in front of 80 some wooded acres that belongs to my dad, grandpa & uncle. So we have quite a bit of space to "explore" for our nature hikes.  Not to mention there is a wonderful babbling brook & laughing river back there too!

Of course, if people get to go on a hike, so do the animals....Maddie, one 14 year old beagle/boston terrier mix & our feral cat "litttle Mammma" who came to us pregnant,  about 4 years ago.

To tell the whole story here I have to tell you that Maddie is quite the hunter.  She to this day, that we know, of has caught & killed 2 of these, many of these, a plethora of these, and sadly at least a couple of these.

She's a beagle/boston terrier, you can't really blame her....

Here's the scenario....walk in the woods with camera, bucket (for all the cool things found), dog, cat, dad & two girlies!!

Everything's going great, they are finding the usual detritus from the woodlands.

Pine Cones

Wild Strawberries

A Babbling Brook

Then they happened upon a most EXQUISITE find!!! Well, actually Maddie came upon it...literally drug it out of hiding....

An Adorable Newborn!

Being a good little critter & hiding away under the bushes...where momma prob'ly put it.  Until the meanie Maddie came & drug it out by it's hind leg!!

Please, hold the comments until the end...they kept Maddie from gnawing on the poor little thing (closed her up in the garage so she couldn't go back out there & have fresh meat for dinner)!  Greg & the girls left her right there where she was found.  Greg & I walked back there that night with Maddie & let her sniff around....no baby was found!  Momma must have come & led the little one away from danger!! YEAH!

Of course not before the girlies got a chance to do something they may never do again....

Lauryn & the fawn...

Liyah & the fawn....

Of course the girls had to get daddy holding it!!

All ended well, and the girls (Greg too) got to see nature at it's sweetest!  I'm kinda bummed that I didn't get to see the cute little critter!!

NOTE: All photography in this blog was taken by Lauryn, & her picture was taken by daddy! Thanks for the great pics Lauryn!!

What's up!!

Yesterday was Memorial Day! We as a nation celebrate the freedoms we have, by remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of life! We also remember others who have died before us.

We live right across from a large cemetery. So every Memorial day weekend we see more traffic than we see through the majority of the rest of our year.

Monday morning my thoughts were to go to a large flea market in the area. Meet up with some friends & spend the morning walking around & drooling over some vintage things.
It wasn't meant to be!!

My mom called at 8:30, & told me she was gearin up to plant the garden...our garden. The plot is on mom & dad's property, but for the past 2 years we've all enjoyed the planting, harvesting & EATING the fresh produce!!

So that's how I spent my Memorial day....the morning atleast!



Planted: radishes, carrots, beets, cucumber, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers & winter squash!!




TOMATOES!! prob'ly my fav summer food!!




Yep, the girl's garden was growing too! White lilacs off my Mom's bush!! Heee!




Of course, this is how we do it in our neck of the woods!! Barefoot, hillbilly style!!

I truly hope that your Memorial weekend was full of family, fun & the focus of our freedom!!


--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone

A little about the Insanity...

at the Frumpy House.  The home, and the people who live therein.

It has been 2 1/2 years since I started writing the blog.....calling Sane a 4 letter word.  We do NOT use 4 letter words in our house (although, if I'm being all truthful & such I have thought of plenty 4 letter words). 

We opened our house for Greg's mother to come & live with us 2 1/2 years ago.  She had been diagnosed sometime in 2003 or 04 with frontotemperal dementia.  Unable to live alone after a few years, she had lived with some other family members that were able to care for her.

Then in January of 2009, we were able to take her in and care for her.  Well, as some of you readers may know that is what led me to start this blog....the insanity that ensued was almost the end of me!!  I think that if there were no nights to sleep & recharge I would have so been in the looney bin!  You see the blog title has nothing to do with dementia...it's all about this momma's sanity, and the testing thereof!!

At that time Patty was still able to do some things for herself (and even when she couldn't she tried...) the girlies were both little,  everything seemed to be going on at once.  I wasn't working outside the home at the time, although for sanity's sake I did start working in December of that year.

Now, tho' it's a pretty quiet house.  There isn't the insanity that I experienced the last 2 years.  The girlies are both older, more settled & not into everything (only her own closet & drawer, Liyah).  They are looking forward to summer vacay & both being in school this fall!!

So.  This is my question....should I change the name of my blog?  It being no longer insane, & Sane being more freely spoken of & used in context to our daily lives.  What's your opinion?  I have an etsy shop that is called "The Frumpy House"....it could be a tie in title to this blog.  Sharing more of our family, everyday, thrifting, crafting, life experiences.  Things that we are doing as a family, not so much focused on how momma has to hide in the closet to keep from devouring her young.  

I'd value some other bloggers opinions....you can leave me some comments (please, it's like a dry and barren wasteland in my comment box...I've seen a vulture circling for the last 2 months, & even he's getting skeletal looking)

If you think the change would be to difficult for the 24 followers I have to handle....I understand....change has been a little difficult for us lately too!  Bear with me tho'.  I don't want to be just known as the insane mum who only writes about her craziness....so what do you think?  Should a change be in the works....or shall I keep Sane on my 4 letter word list???????

PS...for those of you desperate to read a missing post here's one I wrote that got posted @ the beginning of this blog (as if it was my first blog post).  Here'tis: http://mynew4letterword.blogspot.com/2000_12_01_archive.html

Some pics....

Not much to say. I KNOW surprising huh!!??

I just thought I'd share a few pics I've taken w/ the Instagram app on this sweet iPhone I own. Yeah, the one my mom said I couldn't live a week without!!

Anywhooo! Enjoy!







A couple pics I snapped on my way home from work last Friday!!







A walk in the woods after work. 2nd pic is wild strawberries, they seem to be all over this year.







This is what happens after a busy week, fell asleep 1/2 way thru Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets.











Enjoying the wonderful weather outside Sunday afternoon & evening. It was cooler out under the cherry tree than in the house!




On my kitchen windowsill...they just make me smile!



After breakfast...couldn't help but take this pic cause the colors were so pretty!!

Eh, it's a lazy post. I will say that there is a really fun post coming this Thurs. or Friday!!


--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone