Farm Sunday

Last Sunday I asked Kailyn if she wanted to take a little drive.  I'd been reading in an Old Stuff magazine about an antique sale that was ending on Sunday.  The address was Kelso, so I figured it couldn't be much more than about 40 miles or so from home . . . a nice Sunday drive!

We hopped in the car and she plugged the address into the iPad and away we went.  It turned out to be a bit further than I had expected,  as we left the freeway and were following signs down scenic country roads and turned onto a dead end road.  We saw this sort of hodge podge of stuff as we bumped across a big field and came to a stop. It was worth every minute of the drive.

There were lots of antiques and "vintage" garden art scattered around, some in little old buildings, some under a covered area.  I found a couple of things I felt I had to have, one being this beautiful old washbowl . . .

 . . . which has a Johnson Bros. England stamp on the back.  It's very big and deep. Originally I was going to use it for a birdbath, but now I'm not so sure.  I don't want to ruin it, as it's in nice condition.

Another treasure was this sweet little bowl from Japan.  I have a few pieces but none quite like this one. It's a little bigger than a teacup, and I'm not certain what it's purpose was.  But, it goes in my kitchen, so I bought it.  Besides, it was only $4!

I bought one more treasure, but I won't post a picture yet, as it's a gift.  If life would have worked out as planned, I would have already given it away, but this week went a little amuck. More on that later!

As we wandered the shop, we couldn't help noticing that this was a very special place.  I asked the owner if we might peek inside this adorable play house and she said that the grounds were open, and we could look wherever we wished!

So, we went inside and I just wanted to stay and play!

The kitchen was a little girl's dream!

I especially loved this piece.  There was also a darling little ironing board and iron.

Can you believe this miniature pay phone!  The little house also had electricity.  

The beautiful garden was well protected by this gentleman!

The lush greenery and flowers were a haven for the birds and the bees!

I asked Kailyn to pose in front of the garden shed.

Inside the garden shed . . .  

Inside the chicken coop.  

We got a kick out of watching the chickens and cows.

Doesn't this look like the perfect place to sit a spell?

There are many more pictures that didn't make it into this blog.  As we were paying for our purchases, I asked the owner about the place.  She told me they had been there over 25 years, since they married.  She is the gardener, and her husband enjoys building and decorating with their treasures and findings.  The prices were amazingly good, considering it was certainly off the beaten path.  I plan to return and take my friends with me!

As for my crazy week, here's a bit of what has happened.  My friend Deb and I had planned weeks ago on a little beach antiquing trip, and we were supposed to leave Wednesday morning.  I've been really looking forward to spending time with her, and I could hardly wait to get our mini adventure started.

However, my husband and I learned that his oldest and dearest friend, Dave, was diagnosed with another brain tumor, (they found the first one a year ago) but this one was on the other side.  He has glioblastoma, a pretty deadly brain cancer, and the surgeon wanted to operate as soon as possible.  It had grown to the size of a walnut in less than a month and was in the speech area of the brain. Our friend and his wife (my good friend, too) were told to meet with their pastor and prepare for the worst.  My husband rarely breaks down, but did after talking with them on Monday.  I decided I needed to stay here and support my husband and friend during the surgery, instead of going with Deb, as the surgery was scheduled for Wednesday morning.  

It was the right thing to do, although it was one very long day.  The good news is that the surgery went well, the tumor was removed, and amazingly, our friend is already home from the hospital!  It was all pretty scary, as we were with them when the doctor told them (prior to the surgery) that there was a real possibility that his speech would be affected.  After the surgery, he was in recovery for a couple hours. We waited until he was in ICU and took turns going in to visit for a short time.  I didn't cry in his room, but I couldn't help the tears when I got back to the waiting room.  We were all hugging and crying. Dave was talking coherently, and even joking, despite being in pain.

Surprisingly, the doctor had told us right after surgery that Dave would stay in ICU for two days, and then it would be about six more days until he would be able to go home.  I guess there are numerous neurological exercises or tests he needs to pass, as well as physical things.  He passed with flying colors, days ahead of expectations.  Pretty powerful!  Of course, the battle isn't won, as he starts radiation in eight days, and then there will be chemo again.  But, we are all grateful for more time to spend with Dave.  He's a pretty special guy!

Finally, last Sunday at church, there was an urgent notice in the bulletin that a lead cook was needed for the middle school Bike Hike.  Guess who volunteered?  I think I'm a little bit crazy, as this is a camping trip and I pretty much dislike camping and dirt!  But, Kailyn offered to go along as my assistant, and I decided it might be fun.  There's a ton of preparation to be done, but once there, except for cooking, it shouldn't be too bad!!  We're going to Farragut State Park in Idaho, and I checked it out.  It's gorgeous, and I'm hoping Kailyn and I will get a couple nice hikes in when we're not prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning up!  Today I baked up three double batches of brownies and wrapped them individually for one of the desserts.  Tomorrow we meet at church for packing in the morning, and we head out after lunch on Sunday.  

I know I'm a little crazy, but I'm looking forward to this "working vacation".  I may not like camping, but I love nature, so it will be good.  (I'm having my husband take the seats out of my van, and I'm putting a blow up mattress in it for me to sleep on.  I am not sleeping in a tent on the ground!) I checked the weather and it's high 70's - low 80's and 0% chance of rain for the next ten days.  It's going to be great!  

Deb and I rescheduled for the following week, so we'll still have our trip to look forward to. 

Life is pretty darn good right now!