Painting in the Wind

hey y'all,

just a quick post to stay in touch with blogland. rough week, physically. i think this ever-changing texas weather is wreaking havoc with my tired old body. and, according to my rheumatologist, everybody's been hurting these past couple of months. thanks, doc. misery loves company.

speaking of the weather, it's been as windy as a (insert your favorite simile here; i got nothin'). but i think you get my drift. it's been damn windy in central texas. and as luck would have it, i was bitten by the dreaded SP bug. that would be the spray painting bug.

if you've ever been bitten, you know what i'm talkin' about. once you start spraying, almost nothing can stop you. even 60-70 mph texas winds. my best guess is that only about 30% of the paint actually made it to the desired destination. another 30% was gone with the wind, and the remaining 50% must have gone straight up my nose because i was blowing white snot for days. you do the math. ;-)

so i've had these old chairs forever it seems, bought along the junkin' trail over the years. and never could muster the energy or desire to paint them. ah ha! but of course i wait until we have record-breaking wind speeds to get myself in gear.



i covered an old pillow with a sweet vintage sheet for the seat cushion. i honestly think it turned out adorable. got the chair for $1, a little elbow grease and $30 worth of spray paint (heh heh) and voila! finis!



this little sweetie pie of a chair was a freebie from newly-wedded belinda, sister of moi. while cleaning out her garage and house, she bestowed it upon me. because i asked her for it. love bentwood chairs but of course it needed some TLC. that would be terry lee craziness.



painted her pink, reupholstered the seat with a rachel ashwell shabby chic curtain found at a yard sale for almost nothing. sweet, pink roses! am pleased with these results as well.



and finally, on a final note ... not much junkin' this week/end. i hit a couple of friday sales, at one of which i found this:



i've been wanting some architectural pieces, columns and the like, but they've always been too pricey. even at flea markets, etc. it was sitting on the side of the house, as if not part of the sale. but on a whim, i asked the lady if she was selling it. she said "no, that old thing?" and my heart sank.

then she said, "it's falling apart, so you can have it."

i can almost hear the hallelujah chorus even now.

whaaa?! i honestly couldn't believe my ears. poor old lady even lugged it to my car because i'm unable to lift anything right now (long story about rib and back pain ... for more info, see my rheumatologist).

she's right. it's crumbly. but i sprayed it with a clear coating of whatchacallit to protect it. i think i'm in love. it's a beauty!



oh! and i finally painted my church bench!! it was also free, which i think i blogged about last year. anyhow, it had been sitting in my sitting (!!) area, covered in a gorgeous ashwell quilt ... but i had matt haul her out to the painting porch so i could get wild and crazy with the pink paint.

interestingly (well, to me) i used ashwell shams for the bench cushion. i cut the original church pew cushion (an old, ugly blue ... think of all the baptist behinds that have plopped down on that thing!) in half and then covered them with the shams. soooo sweet! sadly, those pics will have to wait till next time because the poor pew needs another pint of pink paint. when i looked at it the next morning, it was splotchity. ack! i blame it on the damn wind.

see?! this is what happens when you cross a stubborn texas gal with the stubborn texas wind. half-ass projects and a cheap thrill-ride high for the project-artiste (just joshing kids. don't sniff spray paint. don't do it. really).

y'all have a great week ... and don't blow away!

love and hugs,
terry lee

okay, one last thing, for reals. y'all remember that $28 chest i bought a few weeks ago? i bloggity blogged about it. anyhow, i finally finished it too. as a reminder, here's the before:



here are some after pics:

Spring Break-down

hey y'all!

can't believe spring break is over. already. hubby goes back to work tomorrow, matt and i are back in the home-school saddle and we all head off into that loooong strrrrrretch till summer break!

anyhow, here's a little recap of my SB, 'cause i know y'all are dying to know what kind of trouble i managed to stir up ... what with all that free time and all. heh heh

monday: my sister got married!!! woohoo!! congrats to you and teddy, dear sis! i served as maid/princess of honor and official photog. i was a bizzzy bee. but i loved every minute. they had a simple, short, sweet ceremony in their church with family and close friends in attendance. oh, and one dog. domino (our shared, joint custody long-haired chihuahua ... technically, belinda has complete custody now but we babysit him occasionally).



belinda surprised us all with limo service for the day! having lived a v. sheltered (and boring) life, it was a brand new experience for me. it was lots of fun except for all the scooting one has to perform when getting in and out of the limo. ack! my poor old bones and well, my, er, lady-like sensibilities rebelled. all i can say is, thank gawd i was wearing pants.



anyway, after the ceremony, the limo took us to sundance square (downtown fort worth) to the lovely restaurant, reata. beautiful, with yummy food!

it was a v. special time for my sister and teddy. i'm soooo happy for both of them. theirs is a sweet, romantic love story which you can read more about at belinda's blog.



tuesday: i honestly can't remember a dang thing. i was exhausted from all the traveling and festivities on monday, that i think i slept most of tuesday ... or rested in bed watching the office reruns. oh! hubby did find a double-yolked egg while cooking his dinner! that is all.



wednesday: bonnie and i (2/3 of the FAGs, the other 1/3 was in new mexico with family for SB) went to gatesville, via a winding out-of-the-way country road. we were in no hurry and besides, we were on The Watch for bluebonnets.

came upon the pearl community, which naturally included a cemetery. i'd never been there but i know of it v. well. my children's grandparents are buried there (their father's parents). we decided to take a looksee around the old graveyard in hopes of finding their graves. no luck.



BUT ... as i was walking back toward the car, i noticed some tiny blue blossoms on top of a grave which was covered in seashells, of all things. i stopped dead (no pun intended) in my tracks. whaaa?! stooping down to get a closer look, i almost couldn't believe it.



"bonnie!! these are baby bluebonnets!"

i quickly snapped some pics (as evidence for yous guys) of the sweet lil bonnets and then left, not quite certain how i felt about my first official sighting of bluebonnets for this season.

on. a. grave. hmmm. one can only hope that isn't a harbinger. you know how i get with signs and all. a little spooky.


found some bling in gatesville at a little shop called, appropriately, debbie's bling bling 'n more

also got this beauty. all jewelry was 1/2 off. so i had to get two pieces!

a killer hatbox, found in a shop on the square

back in cove, we visited sue's booth at crafter's and ohdearlord, did i find some delicious delights there! ahhh. love my sue-fix. always.

sue, your collages make me crazy. how? do? you? do? it????

sweet lil white basket with flowers. too cute!

thursday: another blur of a day. are you seeing a pattern here? one day of activities, one day of recovery. welcome to my world.

friday: hubby and i drove to west, texas which happens to be about the half-way point between fort worth and killeen, to return The Dog to the wedded and blissful, post-honeymooned couple. all were happy to be reunited. hubs and i were happy to get them reunited. heh heh

saturday: bon and i had flirted with yard/estate sale-ing on saturday but honestly, i was worn out from the week and besides, the weather had gone south, so the mission was scrubbed.

however, around noon-ish, cabin fever got the better of me, so i hit craigslist and found two inside sale listings. one a church jumble, the other an estate sale.

got my junkin' mo-jo on ... and off i went, solo, to conquer the world. well, two sales anyhow. first stop, the church jumble. which happened to be held at the first baptist church benefitting the youth's summer mission trip to alaska. now that sounds like a real mission trip (as opposed to baylor).

the church priced this tole tray (!!!) at 50cents. felt like i was stealing from God. yikes! isn't it lovely?! also found some linens, including that turquoise tablecloth on the right

pink basket of lace-and-things ... sweet!

while there, i ran into an old grade school chum, karen. we hadn't seen each other in decades, but what a fun experience to catch up on each others' lives. insane how you can live in the same town as someone for 40+ years and never see them.

these are identical (except for the wear) miniature silver-plated trays. strangely, i found the first one at the church sale and the second one at the estate sale! weird.

second stop was the estate sale out in harker heights. unfortunately, i couldn't stay long because there were smokers (one cigar, one cigarette) in the house and i simply couldn't breathe. ack!! as cool as it looks to smoke, it's not much fun to breathe. just say no, kiddos. heh heh

however, between holding my breath and masking my face with a scarf, i managed to score a few really sweet pieces. total cost: $5 and an increased risk of lung cancer. not bad.

vintage tin of cookie and sandwich cutters. pretty cool at $0.25!

for some odd reason, this is one of my fave pieces of the weekend. an old, old box with roses on it. it has a little drawer that pulls out ...

... and it has letters and other papers inside!! i didn't take the time to go through them at the sale, and i still haven't. but i'm looking forward to sitting down with my newfound treasure to see what i discover.

today's sunday and i'm layin' low. the sun is shining but that horrid wind is still howling like a monkey. or whatever it is that howls. and it's brrrrrrr cold.

damn groundhog.

love and hugs,
terry lee

The BIG Show!

hey y'all!

as i'm sitting here this gorgeous sunday morning, with my usual get-me-going cocktail of caffeine and motrin, i find myself still floating around in a dreamy fog of a post-junking high. come on. y'all know what i'm talkin' about.

saturday was an ohmygawd, over-stimulated kind of experience. The Girls and i went to the county-wide garage sale at the expo center in belton. this was the 17th annual sale to benefit the bell county museum.

we've attended in years past and we knew it was huge. over 100 vendors packed the exhibition hall (a HUGE barn-type building with concrete floors ... just awful on your feet and knees and back!) and thousands of junkers just like us. well, not just like us. we're special. heh heh

anyway, aside from the crowds (ack!!) ... oh, and a few cranky vendors ... we did all right. only once or twice did i feel the need to run out to my car for a xanax. but i didn't. mainly because we had to park a mile away. anyhow, i managed the irritating, agitating, always-in-my-personal-space-bubble crowd by keeping myself busy taking pictures, browsing tables from afar and some good old fashioned cussing. always good therapy. cussing, that is.

honestly, i started the day with the notion that i was not going to buy anything at the sale. only look. seriously. i had to clean out my front living room on friday night to make room for the new junk that i knew i'd find at the sale. i got so hot and bothered (not in the good way, either!) that i finally snapped.

"this is ridiculous! i don't have room for any more junk!" i screamed to no one in particular.

that's when i determined that i would. not. buy. anything. at. the. expo. sale!!

so to keep me honest, i shared my resolution with the FAGs on the drive over there.

you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

"hello?? did y'all hear me??"

nothing. just the sound of silence (but my words like silent raindrops fell).

"i mean it. i'm sick of this! i've got to stop buying so much junk, no matter how much i love it!"

one of them ... i'm not sure which ... muttered a very quiet and drawn-out, "ooo-kaay."

hmmph. those rats didn't believe me. perhaps because of the three of us, i usually buy the most (or biggest pieces) and they get stuck squeezed into the backseat or in the front with crap piled on top of them. yes, i've offered my trunk space for them to lie in, but it's always packed too.

alrighty. back to The Sale.

first booth we looked at had some adorable linens and what-nots. nope. i don't need any more linens or what-nots. the helpful vendor, however, felt the need to inform me that the what-nots i was looking at were only $0.25. ouch! a cute turquoise bunny that doubled as a cotton ball dispenser was only 25 cents?! it'd be a sin not to get it!



i glanced over at bonnie and sure enough, she was watching. busy body. i simply carried on and bought a sweet lil vintage chenille rug from the same lady ... for 50 cents!



at some point, we lost jannetta in the crowd, but bon and i kept a similar pace and path. at the end of the first row of vendors i hit paydirt on all things shabby yet chic. wow. this vendor had the goods! i bought an old, sweet turquoise avon bottle and a gorgeous turquoise table cloth with pink flowers. $2 each.



"that's it, bonnie. i'm not buying any. thing. else! i've gotten a few really cute, inexpensive items and i'm done. stick a fork in me."

she nods and smiles.

we move on.

and then i see this:



and right behind it:



it's an aqua kinda day, what can i say? these are both painted in a pale shade of turquoise/aqua and i love them. and after all, i need a shelf thingy to display all my lovely cups! the vendor and i cut a deal as she slaps a sold sign on both pieces ... and she even babysits my bag of other purchases while we continue to shop. i'm hands-free once again!

by then, the concrete floor had gotten the better of me and so i took a break to people watch while The Others persevered. let me tell you, there were babies everywhere!

on daddy's shoulders

asleep on makeshift beds

baby dolls in vintage sleds

when people watching at an event such as this, there's always plenty of entertainment. these kind folks were dressed up in civil war era costumes. mercy me. having an inquiring mind, i bit.





they were gearing up for and promoting their upcoming battle of temple junction civil war reenactment. click the link to read more about it. if you're into all that.

i asked if they needed a scarlett o'hara-type character, ready to offer my services. i saw one of the ladies shaking her head like i was a nutjob. lookit. I'M not the one in civil war get-up at a garage sale. still, i promised a plug so there it was. do with it what you will.

this is something you see every weekend at garage sales, right?

of course. a deer head sitting in a scooter chair. makes sense to me. poor bambi's grandpa has serious mobility issues. no legs.

uh huh. i want a vintage bedpan. please!!

sign, sign, everywhere a sign. blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

by the way, long-haired freaky people need not apply. just sayin'.

i'd finally had my fill of freakness and got up to find The Girls. we were getting mighty hungry and tired. and at least one of us was on the cranky side.

as we were loading up the camry with our treasures (yes, mostly mine since i'm a liar and promise-breaker) we ran into none ... other ... than ... dear MARTA, from for the love of junk!

we compared notes on our purchases, snapped some shots of each other and did the best we could to catch up while fighting the wind and crowds. soooo good to see you marta!! thanks for the lovely pink linen you gave me (she bought two of the same ... and gave one to me, a fellow pink-lover).

lovely!



after a minor showdown at the fork in the road, we headed south to salado (instead of north to belton) for lunch. we landed at cowboy's bbq joint.

yum yum!! just remember to ask for the lean beef brisket! killer sour cream and cheese potatoes.

after filling up on bbq, the sides, bread, iced tea and cobbler (peach for me, blackberry for jannetta and bon) with bluebell (what else?!) ice cream on top ... we asked a waitress to take our group photo. this is what happens when i let them stand behind me. juveniles.



we thought we were headed home after lunch, but one cannot be in salado and not do a little shopping. salado market days were in session, so we stopped in and browsed a bit. i found this beautiful metal paris-themed piece for my front room. looks lovely behind the candelabra, no? it's not vintage (have seen these at hob-lob) but still.



old red ice chest in salado. this is like the one my parents had when i was a child ...

and thus concludes the latest of our grand FAG adventures. y'all enjoy spring break and keep your eyes peeled for those bluebonnets!

love and hugs!
terry lee

took a pic of this poster 'cause it caught my attention. when i saw the $1.00 price sticker, i had to bring it home!