Free Stuff and More Bluebirds

The Breadman was on vacation last week, so we managed to go on three picnics, go to Sam's Club, go grocery shopping, visit to Terra Studios, go to the Clothesline Fair, visit the Apple Orchard, have The Bean's birthday, The Breadman attended two U of A football games, go to the MALL, eat at Chili's, take a trip out in the BOONIES on ten miles of dirt roads to look at The Breadman's Grandma's abandoned house, have FREE breakfast at Chick-fil-A and still fit in a little junking.  Vacations are very tiring!

On Friday, I passed this yard.  Can you read the signs?

 Every box was marked FREE. I slammed on the brakes and The Breadman said, "Seriously?" Uh, yea. It's all FREE! 

I think it was the contents of the shed or the garage or the weird things left after an Estate Sale.  In the end, I didn't find that much, but I did find a few things like an old Bushel Basket, an old rope jump rope, a big bundle of vintage bread ties that someone had methodically saved and added to over the years, a couple vintage plastic cat bubble bath bottles and a few other things.  I left behind about fifteen pairs of older used Reeboks - all in their original boxes.  They were dirty and worn, but weirdly enough, those things sell for $75.00 and up a pair, but I am just not into selling things like that.  The "eeeew" factor outweighs the $$$ factor.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the tour of Terra Studios.  I forgot to show you what I bought!

I really hadn't planned on buying any Bluebirds since we already have 50+ of them, but I had to pick up a big pink one.  I have a teeny pink one, but have never seen any of the larger ones second hand.  The pink ones are for Breast Cancer.   This is a second, but you really cannot tell unless you hold it up to a top quality bird.  On this one, the tail has a bit of a lilt to it.  I learned that the seconds are not signed at all, they just get the Terra Studios sticker on the bottom.  So, if you ever find a Bluebird (or red, pink, gold etc.) that doesn't mean that it isn't a "Leo Ward" or a Terra Studios, it just means that it is a second.  Out of our 50+, we had about twenty that we thought were imitations, but now we realize they are actually just seconds but real "Leo Wards".

The second thing I bought was something that I wished they would have, but didn't really think that they would.

But they did!  Teeny Bluebird of Happiness earrings!  I love them!  I don't often wear blue, but I guess I will need to start so I can wear my sweet little birdies.

Since everyone enjoyed the tour so much - here are a few more photos. 

 Awesome tile mural.

Matching mural.

 Troll football player.

 Tile, mirror and glass mural with water feature.

 The water feature made music when it dripped.  Like windchimes, but with water.

 The Wuggytug. (On the left!)

 Another Troll.

 My blue glass wall and the restrooms.  I used the Vivid Color setting on my camera for this one.  Beautiful!

I could have stood in front of that blue glass all day.  In fact, I think I did!

Another mural made of tile, mirror and glass.

There were giant posts leading to the Gallery and each one was topped with dozens of blown glass flowers and bluebirds.  I can't imagine what the ice storm must have done to this place!

Funny highway full of pottery vehicles leading to the Gallery.

 Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

Door leading to the Gallery - smaller door for Trolls (or children).

Gorgeous photo of a stained glass toadstool that I may or may not have taken while using the restroom.  :p

And, the Gallery full of Bluebirds.

Okay, no more Bluebird chatter - I promise!

9-11-11

Always Remember

Who could ever forget?

Happiness - Bluebirds and Otherwise

Today we went to Terra Studios - Home of the World famous Bluebird of Happiness. I see these bluebirds all over blogland and I know they are all made a mere twenty miles from my house, but I had never been. Until today. It was my first visit, but it won't be my last. 

I was a little overzealous taking photos of every single thing I saw until I killed my battery out earlier into our visit.  This is only a small fraction of everything there was to do and see at Terra.  The bathrooms are covered in blue and white hand painted tiles made by local children.  All around the bathrooms and actually, inside the bathrooms too, there are sculptures of trolls.  I liked this one - "Our singer is a little horse" not hoarse but an actual horse.

All around the grounds there were "Trash Trolls" and you were encouraged to feed them as much as you could, all day long.  A fun way to get kids (of all ages!) to throw away their trash.

This was one of my favorite places.  This giant metal bin of sorts held large chunks of the blue glass they use to make the actual bluebirds.  There was the traditional blue and cobalt blue mixed in.  You could reach in and tough it and even pull out chunks to hold.  But they prettiest part was when the sun shone right through it.  Amazing!

This gazebo was in honor of the "little bluebird that made everything possible".  Inside the Gazebo there were 1084 bluebirds.  Again, when the sun hit them - WOW!

If you have even one of these bluebirds you probably remember how excited you were to find ONE - how about 1084 of them all in one place!

Time to visit the Art Gallery.  Although Terra is most famous for the Bluebirds, they make a remarkable amount of fabulous pottery.  Sculptures of all varieties, amazing things.  Every thing at Terra and on the grounds was handmade - the mirrors, the trash cans, the Gazebos, the street lights..even the Employees Must Wash hands sign was handcrafted out of clay.  So much love and labor went into everything on the property.

In the back of the Gallery you could watch them make the bluebirds.  I was amazed at how simple it was to make a Bluebird.  I don't mean to imply that I could make one, but it really was a fast process, about seven steps in less than two minutes. 

Back to the glass chunk wall - as the sun moved, it just got more beautiful with every second.

Here is an example of everything being handmade - this gazebo was completely made out of clay - each piece fired, stacked and threaded to make columns, railings, etc.  It was really amazing.

Here is a huge wall designed by Rita Ward - it was about thirty feet long and beautiful.  I have always been drawn to cobalt blue and that gorgeous aqua blue has been creeping up on my happiness scale lately.

Flowers with faces - what could be more perfect?

How about one huge flower with a face?

You have my word that if any of you ever come to NW Arkansas - I will take you to Terra Studios and I will buy you a Bluebird of Happiness.  You will LOVE it!

 

Birthday Questions and Answers

Thank you for all the birthday wishes for The Bean.  He had a good day, I think.  I let down my guard and let him pick what we did all day.  He is a very quiet kid, never asks for a thing and finds it very difficult to make decisions and choices.  Not because he doesn't know or care - he worries that it will be too far to drive, or to expensive to do or take too much time or....or...or....  He is very conscientious about other people and their time and feelings. 

tu-tu's?  They've got 'em! 

So, yesterday he decided that he would like to go to the Mall.

OMG. I hate the Mall.

But, it was his birthday, so off to the Mall we went.

First stop - Hot topic.

OMG. I hate Hot Topic.

LOUD MUSIC. I don't really mind LOUD MUSIC, but I heard the F* word three times in one song alone. And, the clothes -holely moley - if you are looking for clothes to dress your teenage daughter up like a prostitute (and not just for Halloween - but for every day!) Hot Topic has the clothes for you! See through white shorty short

Okay, so I digress.  He looked around Hot Topic (we were on a quest for a new belt) and found nothing that he liked in the entire store - belt or otherwise.  Whew.  Outta there. 

We headed towards the WiFi area to try out his new IPod touch from Mom and Dad.  We didn't have any luck even though it said we were connected to the WiFi.  We don't have WiFi in the house, but I guess we better gt it so he can utilize the I-Pod Touch.  (I honestly thought the I-Pod was only for listening to music.  My age is showing....)

Next up, much to this Mom's glee seeing as how it was his 16th and all......the Bubble Gum Machine Wall.  They have this HUGE bank of gumball machines full of gum, candy, trinkets, key chains, mini machine guns (I know, right?)  and lots of other weird and fun things.  We like to buy these giant jawbreakers, but they didn't have them yesterday so we settled for some monkey figurines.  I mean, who doesn't need some more monkey love?!?

We decided to go to JCPenney's.  Now, mind you, I do not do retail.  The Mall, in my minds eye is the most expensive place on the planet.  I just do not go there.  Period.  So imagine my surprise when we went down the escalator and all I see are rows and rows of racks of clothes - 70-80% off Clearance.  Who knew you could get good deals at the MALL????  We ended up getting a nice leather belt and three very nice shirts - over $100.00 worth for about $20.00.  I will not become a Mall junkie - but Penney's will be on my bargain hunting list  -  from time to time.

Time to eat - so off to Chili's.  The Bean is an Alfredo aficionado.  He loves Chicken Alfredo and know the best places to get it and Chili's is his very favorite.  Chili's happened to have a one day only FREE Dessert coupon - good ONLY on his birthday, so he ordered some sort of hot molten lava chocolate cake.  It reeked of chocolate.  He looked a little sick when we left, but heck, it was his birthday, so why not go a little crazy?

We returned home where we sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles, then returned the uncut cake to the refrigerator since someone was still sick from Molten Lava Cake.  *I didn't have dessert and I had a salad and I wanted cake, but noooooooooooooooo we have to wait until tonight!  :)

I had a few questions in the comments about why I call him The Bean - so here is the story again for anyone that doesn't already know ( or cares!).  When I was pregnant, we followed the "What to Expect When you are expecting" Book (available at every garage sale and thrift store in quantity).  Around about Week 8, the book said that they baby was the size of a Pinto Bean.  So, we started referring to the  baby as "The Bean."  The Breadman was working at a Grocery Store at the time and as he was walking through the backroom one day, he spotted a lone Pinto Bean lying on the floor.  He brought it home to me and I swear to you - that was the sweetest most thoughtful thing he ever gave me.  I still have that silly bean! That is how The Bean became The Bean.  But, we never call him The Bean to his face - we only refer to him as The Bean. 

As for what his real actual name is...well, here you go.

Thanks for indulging me in talking about my kid.  I know he's not some sweet faced baby boy or ruffly girl, but he's still my kid.  I wish blogging would have been invented...god that makes me sound old.....when he was little because he did funny stuff and I took sweet faced photos of him all the time.  he called Dessert Perzert, the called steps- beps, he was afraid of Ronald McDonald, he LOVED "Man, I feel like a woman" by Shaniya Twain and sang it while he wore his rubber cowboy hat and boots - he was a funny kid.

Off to Goodwill - maybe I will have some JUNK LUCK!

**PS - The Bean doesn't even have his Learner's Permit yet, so how's that for good parenting?  ha.  Homeschooler's have to jump through hoops to "prove" good grades and such before you can get the permit.  His grades are fine, just have to do the hoop jumping now.  Then, off to the roads we go.  Wheeeeeeeee!

Sixteen

The Bean is 16!

It seems like only yesterday he would get his blanket and a bottle and fall asleep. 

Hours spent holding his Pooh.  He never liked Pooh cartoons, or Pooh toys or anything else Pooh.  Just that Pooh.  (We still have him - he's part of the family).

He used to lie in his playpen and read his squeky book over and over.  Now he reads a thousand page book in five days flat and sends Mom running all over town looking for the next book.  (If only he would learn his Kindle is immediate satisfaction....)

He used to let me hang out in the bathrrom while he took a bath.  Now the door is locked. 

Of course, that is fine by me. 

He used to put on a crazy mix of clothes and call it good for the day.

Now he has good fashion sense as long as it has skulls on it somewhere.  I miss those Pooh slippers.

Gone are the days of siting behind the wheel, moving the steering wheel to and fro pretending to drive.  Now, comes the real permit, the real license and freedom from Mom.  :(

(This is one of my favorite photos - sitting on Daddy's Grandma's tractor)

Gone are cheesy smiles and silly poses. 

Well, maybe not completely.

Happy Birthday Bean. 

Mom loves you as much as she did the day you came into my life. 

You are smart, loving and such a wonderful kid. 

Thanks for being MY kid.

Love, Mom.

So Many Signs, So Little Stuff

When I set out yesterday, I knew there would be a LOT of sales. It is the biggest weekend for yard sales in my area due to the Annual Clothesline Fair.  The Clothesline fair used to be where ladies put their quilts on clotheslines to be judged and later sold to the highest bidder.  But, over the years, it has evolved to  a huge Arts and Crafts fair on one side of the highway and odds and ends on the other side of the highway.  It is held on the Prairie Grove Battlefield, so there are rules that everything on that side of the highway must be arts and crafts and handmade.  On the other side, anything goes - repurposed junk, tie dye t-shirts, fudge, produce,  jewelry, etc. 
Because of all of the traffic of the Clothesline Fair, people have garage sales all the way out there and throughout town too.  The sales are plentiful, but a lot of it is just junk and not the sort of things that I want or it is stuff that I want but they have antique store prices on it.  I guess they think that the out of towners will come antique and junk hunting and buy it up.  And, maybe they do, but I don't.  Some years I have had good luck - last year I bought a two foot tall stack of vintage tablecloths and linens for $10.00 and some years I have zero luck.  This was one of those years. 

I did find a few things here and there, but with the price of gas and the heat added to the mix - it probably wasn't worth it.  But, I had a little bit of fun, so then again, maybe it was.

 

I go yard saling in this town often enough that I recognize signs and know where the sale is even without reading the address.  When I spotted one sign I knew immediately it was at "The Grouchiest Lady in the World's" house.   She has the sourest look on her face.  I think she was just born with that face, but the attitude she carries along with it makes her just the most terrible lady.  She stares at everyone - especially teenaged boys - like they are going to steal everything.  Recently I have avoided her sales, but the sales yesterday were so bad, that TGLITW's sale seemed like a treat.  I only bought these two vintage-y suitcases for $2.00.  I scrubbed them up after I took the photo and they are shiny and blue now.  To the Flea Market they go.

Inside the larger suitcase, I found two of these Personal Bat Mats from a hotel.  I like the woodsy lodge feel to it.  They might end up being the money maker of the trip.

Inside the suitcase - a Robert Raikes wooden faced bunny, a Dakin Dream Pet "Bobo the Elephant", a small spaghetti Poodle with rhinestone eyes, three old potholders, a set of teeny tiny molds and a pair of Klackers.  Do you remember Klackers?  Two acrylic balls on either end of a string - clack them together until they whack each other and bounce off each other.  They were popular in the 1970's for a short time, until they were deemed dangerous and pulled from the shelves.  This was right about the time when our teenaged neighbor got a pair of Klackers and swung them over his head like a Banshee and swung them into my face, resulting in my first black eye at the tender age of three.  Ahhh, memories. 

Tomorrow we will be going to the Clothesline Fair, so maybe there will be more junk set up along the roads.  If there is, hold on boys, we are pullin' in!

Until then, have a safe and happy Labor Day.  Sixteen years ago on a Labor day I was in Labor.....:)

Perfect Corner

I think this is what every corner should look like every weekend, don't you?

Too bad they all stunk!
:(