Who CAN resist?

Today I received the loveliest rusty gift from my friend, Jennifer. She just spent the Holiday weekend camping at the mountain lake resort we all love, Lake of the Woods, in her sweet glamper. 

A couple weeks ago, she told me about this old Valspar paint can she had found stashed out in nature when she was up there camping. 

Well, this morning she brought it in to our shop to show me. From deep within the paper Grange 

Co-Op bag, she revealed this beauty! OMG!!! SO AWESOME. 

Just look at the rust. Look at the patina. Look at the COLOR!!! LOOK AT THE GRAPHICS!

And then she just smiled her big 'ol happy smile, and says, "I got it for you!" HUGS!!!

I don't know about you, but THIS is the PERFECT color with RUST! 

I'm making up stories in my head about the wooden boats at the marina... I'm imagining some grandpa out refinishing his lake house deck. 

Oh, how my mind wanders...but seriously, I bet I'm not too far off! 

I'll be enjoying this silly little can for a while... Who CAN resist? Not I.

Well Wishes and Whatnot - #4

Bee and Echinacea, commonly known as Coneflower.

Photo taken in Jacksonville, Oregon. July 2014.

 

This bee has it right... stop and smell the flowers.

 

Even a stroll down a city sidewalk can be a thing of beauty.

 

You just have to slow down.



Rusty Tour

If you've been reading my re-vamped blog the last couple of weeks, you know I have a lust for rust. Ok. That's a bit of a cliché statement, but... well, I think rust is AWESOME!

It just adds so much character to old steel that would otherwise just be considered past-its-prime.

I tend to pan and scan the ground and my surroundings for anything rusty. I've used bits and bobs in my artwork, and taken hoards of photos. Walk with me and I'm known to stop, say "hold on! I need a photo of this..." or even just stop whatever I'm doing... "squirrel!" and pick up metal pieces, smooshed pieces, pieces covered in dirt, etc. You do that too, right??? Please tell me I'm not just at the precipice of becoming a crazy bag lady.

You MUST know by now...my favorite poem is Hector the Collector by Shel Silverstein. I've posted it before, on my archived PatinaMarie blog. Someday, I WILL create a wall hanging of this poem. It's just SO me.

 

HECTOR THE COLLECTOR

by Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul‹
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin' gold.
Hector called to all the people,
"Come and share my treasure trunk!"
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked...and called it junk.

 



It's all good. I'm happy with all my collections. I'd rather be gifted some random piece of JUNK, than two dozen roses or a trip to the mall.

...but I'll keep on rolling along...filling up the totes, bags, boxes. Life's too short to live in a WHITE BOX!

My poor kids! "I love you, boys." 

Well Wishes and Whatnot - #3

 Playing with light and shadows. Barn Wood and Chain.

Taken in Central Point, Oregon. March, 2013.

 

 

Aged.

 

Aged beauty.

 

Aged to perfection.

 





There Seemed To Be A Theme

Much like when you buy a new car and THEN you notice ALL those same cars on the road.

Well, our 5-day road trip to Art Is You - Santa Rosa and back, I found a theme was kind of, sort of forming.

Here I am about to cross to the "other side of the tracks".

Janice and I shopped until the car was bursting with treasures. We mapped out a bunch of thrift stores down the 101 and our little 6 hour drive turned into 12-1/2 hours. Oh what fun we had.

We stopped at thrifts, small boutique shops, scrapbook stores, antique stores and of course satisfied our culinary desires - sugar-free breve mochas, cupcakes, trifles, beignets, Thai food, Mexican food, pastrami sandwiches, lettuce wraps... we ate lots of small meals, but with lots of flavors!

 Yeah. SO me... ya think? Yes, this shirt came home with me.

And... well, this was just too cool NOT to snap a photo of.

See, I'm not only a little "trashy", I'm also eclectic.

Cheers and Happy Tuesday!

Well Wishes and Whatnot - #2

This photo was taken in September 2013.

It was one of those "pull over, Honey! I need a photo!" moments.

Stop and appreciate the "little" things.

Happy daisies and a sprite of a mushroom.

Happy Wednesday.

Well Wishes and Whatnot - #1

A lovely Mr. Rooster photo taken by me in June of 2012

on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii.

The first of many simple Wednesday posts.

Well Wishes and Whatnot will be a mix of photography, quotes, and other items of interest.

A Short and Sweet break to get us all through the week.