Mr. P's Emporium- Manassas Va.

Still working to get the stories told about vintage finds in an outing last week-

  I have been following the blog of Deborah Fisk--Confessions-

 for a while now. 

She lives in Northern Virginia
 and has tried a couple of places for her retail spot

 and has landed at the Home Store in Manassas, Va.

The-Home-Store-Antiques.

once again I forgot to take a photo of the store
 and had to use their Facebook photo-
so sorry for the blurry image

Deborah has a super collection of repurposed and painted goodies
 as well as a good eye for display.

Check out her facebook page here-Mr.P'sEmporium
 and a Facebook photo of her niche display area-

and way back in June I fell in love with this little bench.

on this blog post- What's in at Mr. P's

 it must have something to do with the name- Connie.

 She found this when she was out hunting with her friend- Connie.

I really didn't think that it would still be in the shop whenever I got there.

But the heart tug was still there when I spotted it.

and the date on the bottom...

And now it has a home in the "still in renovation process"
 of the garage- lounge in the old carport-

And my husband thinks I am crazy too.
For loving this old beat up thing.

And the little white enamel coffee pot
sitting underneath had to come home with it, too.

It has new friends.

And since we are practically neighbors,
and if you get a hankering to visit this little piece of forgotten history,
just give me a shout out and stop on by and have a sit.

And we can make up stories about all the things
 this little bench has been a part of since June 1937.
 And thanks for being just a wee bit crazy too,
 for the love of peeling paint and the wear and tear of life.

Blessings,

Connie

Harriet's General- Culpeper, VA

         Part Two of the out and about day

 with daughter Sara brought us to Culpeper, VA.

Just love Virginia downtown areas that look like
 they are well taken care of and loved.
The hanging flower baskets are lush and full.

Even the transit system look like a pull out of a time hat
 with buses that look like trolley cars.

Doesn't appear that anything is hopping here
 at the restaurant that use to fill the hardware store.

White paint on brick that told life of another story.

This looked interesting- and we were not disappointed.

Unique and top-notch display unit
 for cards right when you walk in the door.
I got so excited when I stepped inside
 I forgot to take a photo of the  wall-mounted Airstream camper.

Candles galore.

This little shop in downtown Culpeper- has an uptown feeling.

With a down- home mentality.
They buy and sell American made goods.

At the check out is an old seed container from a hardware store.
Those bins pull out for deep storage.
 Filled with old-time games and toys for children.
Found a couple things here for my next door neighbor's children.

And behind the counter--- this amazing "barn door".
Made by a local craftsman.

And a bit of iconic nostalgia.

And a bit of pinball wizard.

Harriet's General-
for the people, by the people

Acie and Kate Shrewsbury
172 East Davis Street
Culpeper, Va 22701
540-317-5995
Harriet's General
http://www.harrietsgeneral.com
See their website to find out more
 about this wonderful little shop.


As I checked out I had to get some info
 about the items in the store-
 Many of the items
 were hauled out of
 Squash a Penny Junction in Doswell, VA.
Squashapenny.Junction

Squash a Penny Junction

oh dear -- looks like another road trip!
You in?

Eye Candy at the Empty Nest- Warrenton, VA

Capturing a day with youngest daughter Sara, 

we set out to explore an area we are pretty unfamiliar

 with in Northern Virginia- Warrenton.

I  have been following the blog- The Empty Nest

 with Janet Metzger for awhile and we decided to go check it out.
The Empty Nest.

 This store has so much eye candy -
 you are first captured by the window display.

 Janet has delightful painted furniture pieces, and carries Annie Sloan chalk paint.

She teaches classes in her store.  Think you would learn from an expert here.

She graciously allowed me to take photos, (even with just my phone),
 took time to chat and greet,
 and welcomed us with fine hospitality.

Her collection of vintage tablecloths and linens was fantastic --
 (think I remember when she talked about her grand garner in her blog....)

And even though this visit was a purchase of some small things-
 a square metal pail for flowers and some washi tape,
 I will be back for inspiration at a shop with heart.
Follow Janet at The Empty Nest on FB.


And for the rest of our adventure-
we had lunch at Renee's Gourmet to Go-

smiled at the distant hills and said -
 think we have to come back here to  Main Street, Warrenton, Va.

A fine outing on a beautiful summer day.
Thanks for the time "to be" and make memories, Dear Daughter.
Next post- our time in Culpeper, VA.

Just Gotta Dance

 On this rainy Friday, just thinking that maybe some times 

you just have to throw all the lists aside

 and find a friend and go out dancing

..... anyone want to join me in a rain dance?

Throw your head back and laugh.

 Give God praise.

 And feel the rain on your face.

Psalm 149:3

Let them praise his name with dancing

 and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

Blessed almost weekend to you all,

Connie

Bearing Fruit

On a recent trip back to the homeland of Indiana,

 I was able to stop by my brother's place near Tocsin.

His wife Gina was giving me a garden tour

 of a late summer garden and the fruit trees laden with fruit.

                      A very healthy rhubarb plant.
 Yes, this caused a major sin splurge of ENVY.

This just does not grow well in Virginia.
  I dream of gardens filled with these large leaves 

and pink-red stalks.

And then there is the wake-up reality
 of paying up to $6.99 per pound when I have a desire for rhubarb crisp.

There were heavy branches with apples soaking up sunshine, 

waiting out the days to ripeness.

Peaches slowly getting their ruddy hue hinting at nearness for picking.

Then Gina smiled and said she wanted to show me
 something special in a tree.

Pushing aside branches, I see a bottle tied in a tree
 with a full size apple INSIDE the bottle.

On a visit to a vineyard they had seen a bottle of wine
 with a pear inside and a $250 price tag.

Well, my vintner brother took that as a call to just try that out himself.

So, the story goes that they worked around the branches with blossoms
 and worked to find a branch that curved just so and fit into the bottle.  

Then  they watched the process as the blossom became the apple inside.

 I think next year when I stop by, there will bottles tied to every branch on their trees.

Not that they will ever see a $200 sale on a bottle of their homemade vintage,
 but it is just way cool to watch.

But, I keep coming back to this picture and thinking about bearing fruit.

Wondering if maybe sometimes God has had to "tie me down"

in order to bear fruit.

Maybe that is part of the maturation when you are allowed
 to stay in a ministry setting for 24 years.

Maybe that is when you finally get to the mature phase to bear fruit.

John 15:8

This is to my Father’s glory, 

that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

So may our fruit-bearing bring God Glory.

And every time this image crosses my mind- it will remind me of 

the disciple-making process of God's new creation

He chooses to work in Me.

Sweet Bridal Shower

This weekend included the gathering of dear Megan as bride.

 We pulled together the friends who were in town this weekend,
 her mom and dear grandmother

 for a personal shower.
Desserts in the Garden.

Daughter Sara and I set up a fun spot on the lower deck.

A Little Bit of Queen

I usually don't get to enjoy these late summer beauties very much. Dear Hubbie is very allergic to these graceful lace stars.  I didn't know it early on in our time together and had filled vases of them on tables for our rehearsal dinner celebration. Of course,  he always contended he was not "allergic" to them.

But, minutes of sneezing continued long enough for me to remove them. And be forewarned. And so.. my sweet love affair as been from afar every since.

They are so delicate and arranged with symmetrical  precision. I can remember all the "experiments" that we did with these flowers growing up.  Food color in tall glass vases in a variety of colors- and plunking in a handful of flowers into each glass. And waiting and watching for them to change color.  Oh, I loved the pink ones. and the blue too...

We used to cut whole bunches of them for our mom and she graciously received them with a sweet Thank You.  A weed along the road way for some. But, they will always be the flower that could adorn a grand court in my book.  Sweet sweet Queen Anne's Lace.

Blessings,

Connie

Color Therapy

  Think it is time to spend some quiet hours in the studio.

My box of colors are calling to me-

The markers

The colored pencils

Sorted

Available

Waiting

In the little squares of an old

GRAPETTE

soda box.

A Rainbow in a Box.

Weekends Are Just Like That Sometimes

In stride with this new place in life -

 the calendar gets full and 

 wonderful events and celebrations

 are packed into one Weekend-

it is just That Way Sometimes.

  An Outreach Conference teamed with

 Lutheran Hour Ministries this past weekend in Richmond.

 Think I may have a new personal motto-

Then on to an installation service - also in Richmond, VA

Left to Right- Husband John- SED President

Rev. John Greig ( father to the newly installed- Nyck)

Rev. Nyck Greig- Associate Pastor at Trinity, Richmond, Va

 and Senior Pastor- Rev. Michael Pottschmidt

Pastor Nyck-

a very happy day

Our Visual Prayer for Pastor Nyck and his wife- Stephanie 

and their new church home- Trinity Lutheran

And May the Lord bless and keep them

 and their new little one to arrive in November.

A full and blessed weekend, indeed.