Unexpected Yard Sale Finds: Firkin, Potato Bin, Cut-Glass Cruets

Last Saturday, my daughter stopped by with Henry and "convinced" me to go yard saling with her.  My first find was a little firkin for cheap that I am going to try my hand at "making over" with the techniques found in A Primitive Place magazine. I will post about it when I've gotten it done.

Next we stopped by at an estate sale! To see what Molly bought, visit her blog at Molly Makes Do.  There were so many wonderful antiques and prims there, I didn't know what to look at first.  I did purchase this sweet, old, oak potato bin.

 Here is a picture of it next to my hoosier cabinet that my hubby restored (it was originally from his family but was in the barn in pieces when he started re-doing it). My daughter said it looks like they were always meant to be together!

I also purchased the little, oak, Bible box (complete with Bible from the early 1800's) that is sitting on top of the bin.

The last two items I bought were a little cut-glass deviled egg plate (yep, 30 years of marriage and I never had one - up until now just watched those little devils slide across the plates) and a cut-glass cruet set.  It is not very ornate and that's just how I like it.  It has 4 cruets: salt, pepper, vinegar, and one that I put sugar in, but I am wondering if it is for mustard? Any one have any ideas?

Of course, there has to be a "cat" thingy in all this ... notice the kitty treats jar? I found that at a local consignment store recently!  Well, that is my show and tell today.  Hope you all have a great stitching and kitty hugging day!

Cat and the Fiddle Win!

Hi All, Hope your New Year's has started out really well.  I have no complaints (so far).  I'm even able to remember to write 2011 instead of 2010 on my checks.  We are in the process of tearing up our kitchen floor to put down laminate.  Why are we doing this? Well, I am married to Tool Man Tim and we NEVER have anyone do something that Tool Man can do.

And yes, I helped! I'm the clean up crew and floor nail puller.  Hopefully we will get the flooring this weekend. After we get the floor in hubby would like to tackle the cabinets. We are thinking of painting them white or cream to brighten up the kitchen since its so small and doesn't get a lot of natural light.

I also won another giveaway! This time the winnings will go to my new grandson who is set to arrive anytime after January 11th.  Isn't this Cat-and-the-Fiddle blanket just adorable and it is hand made by an absolutely wonderful gal named Carol.

Carol makes wonderful items.  I love the little kitty scarf that she has listed in her Etsy Store.  Please take some time and stop by and browse through her store, CC's Kittenknits

I'm still busy with work, the house, and the new arrival and haven't had much time to craft, but I did go through my pattern stash and have picked out some projects to work on for spring and Valentine's Day!

We had a lovely snow last week, but now its all gone and it's just cold outside and kinda brown.  The kitties are staying warm, though.  Here is a picture of Oscar and Ms. B. snuggling. Aren't they cute!

I'll sign off for now and try by best to find some time to visit all of my blog friends and see what you have all been crafting!

Stay warm and hug a kitty today!

Four or Five ... So Who is Counting

After we adopted Oscar, we thought, okay, "Cat Haven" is full. We just cannot take in any more cats. Until ... one summer day in 2005 my husband came home from farm chores with a little surprise. He says isn't she cute, but she's starving, her mother is no where to be found. So welcome Sachi! We didn't intend to keep her, just get her healthy and then adopt her out, but once a cat enters Cat Haven it is really, really hard for us to part with them.  Sachi was really tiny when she came to live with us and was clearly starving to death but has grown up to be a beautiful, if somewhat cross-eyed, kitty. You see, she is part tabby and part Siamese and no, I haven't a clue where a Siamese cat came from out in the middle of rural Iowa (just passing through, I guess). She is somewhat petite, with luxurious fur, beautiful markings, and blue eyes.  Sachi's only bane is being picked up. That is a no-no. Her favorite things in the world are sitting up high and sitting on your lap. This is Sachi sticking her tongue out a me because she is not supposed to be sitting where she is sitting because to get there she has to travel over the piano keys. Sachi also plays fetch ... yep, you throw her fuzzy ball and she brings it right back to you!  Who knew a cat could (or want to) play fetch ... without being trained.  So now we are up to 5 five cats or as we sometimes tell our friends, they are the equivalent of 1 1/2 large dogs!

A SomeWhat "Green" Valentine

One thing you need to know about me is that I've been married for almost 28 years. I say that with pride and affection. Now, after a while it does get a little hard to make each Valentine's Day special. Sometimes life interfers with the card and gifting hunt. My hubby and I tend to be low key about such days but this year I know he went out of his way with a very busy schedule and brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers, an adorable card, and a large bag of jelly beans! This would only have been made better if we had been able to have dinner together that evening!  I on the other hand,  absolutely could not think of a cute gift for him or find a card that I thought worth spending money on.  So what I did was this ... I made him a huge batch of home-made chocolate chip cookies and a dozen deviled eggs! He was thrilled. I like to think it was a little environmentally friendly too!  P.S. the kitties got extra kitty pate that day too!

How It All Started ....

It all started when we (my husband and daughter) found ourselves living on a university farm more than twenty years ago. It seems the farm came with its own horde of barn cats ... over 20 to be precise.  I was in cat heaven! The whole family came to really love those cats.  I always carried a huge bag of cat chow in the trunk of my Corolla to feed them when I came home from work.  Time went by and of course, kittens were born. We adopted an adorable tuxedo cat and named him Harry. My daughter, Molly, wanted to name him Buttons, but we convinced her he would rather be named Harry; although she thought we meant Hairy.  Harry was absolutely the best cat there ever was and we were blessed to have him as part of our family for 13 years.

An accident left him with only one good eye but he was still an extremely handsome cat. He traveled with us from the university farm to the city when my husband and I went to work for another midwest university. He was allowed outside when I did yard work and whenever he heard me yell "get in your yard" would dash back in the yard and look at me like "I'm so cute when I listen to you, aren't I."