happy June 2015

a few more things i have been painting...

this one has not been started yet....

June is a happy month. It includes my Grandma's 90th birthday get together...it includes warmer weather, except for the rain and humidity the sunshine is wonderful!

It also includes me filling buckets of mulberries to make things in the kitchen with them..and my driveway being slippery since the tree hangs over that...my suv covered in purple and white bird poop, and the neighbor pointing out her discontent with the tree as it hangs over her driveway as well and her suv. hmmm. well then. 

she could always move, not my favorite neighbor ever.... :). but not all bad...

And theres the swimming pool I bought for the dog, lucky marly that my son calls linda. imagine me asking paypal what my forgotten password hint is, they gave a clue, its the name of your pet...ok lucky? marly? max the cat? i had no idea... the lady narrowed it down a bit more...and told me a letter it has in it...what?? oh yeah .. how could i forget that. thanks for the strong hints. They could tell i was clearly clueless to that and suggested i write down my passwords from now on. Problem is i would lose the note they are written down on when i put it in that ever so safe spot they also suggested i use...that is the same spot, i have forgotten where i decided to use and need a very important paper from!

yep the dog hates water. so the pool was useless to cool off or play in for him. i put the plastic pool in my driveway to lessen the loss of berries, and to help lessen the slippery berry coating on my driveway....of course. it would. rain. and fill the pool halfway up with berries and water...that the birds also seemed to love having a bath in as i painted the buffet nearby...am thinking the berries in the water will just have to be for the birds...not even taking those in the house. I did manage to pick tons yesterday and froze them in a vintage tupperware container. i will make something out of them soon! and so many more to pick still.

finally broke down and spent a little more on paint than usual for heirloom traditions chalk paint. gypsy green hillbilly blue and buttermilk. perfect colors to start out with and it dries so darn quickly! love that time saver for sure.~ will seal everything with polycrylic water based sealer to avoid wax, and to avoid discoloring over time. already avoiding sanding and that is my favorite thing of all since sanding is my least favorite thing of all~

stay tuned and check back often...i cleared out an estate sale, well sort of, brought home quite a few things...the house was filled from top to bottom, and that is no exaggeration! with a majority of the inventory being dolls, quilts, and chickens and rooster figurines and statues. i could not believe how many roosters there were in one house. i now can say i have a couple shelves filled with them in my mcm hutch. just may even post a few later on...once i can absorb just how many roosters and chickens i brought home....much less, why i brought home so many...i not only have an addiction to buffets, chairs and unique vintage things, but i have an addiction to chickens and roosters too.  Not really an addiction as i can stop bringing them home anytime cant i? right...

maybe a better explanation is i treasure hunt for great items. and bring home to enjoy all of them until they find new homes.

had a feeling...there was something out there for me...

will add a photo tomorrow.

had a feeling with garbage day tomorrow in my neighborhood that i should drive a few blocks vicinity. getting discouraged after finding a couple 1940s little golden books in a pile of junk (they were in a drawer with no dresser and not a quality drawer either...so it was left behind, but the books came with me...

i thought if the light musty smell from the books wouldnt come off with dryer sheets in a box for a couple weeks i could resort to using the pretty pictures on the pages, and nursery rhymes to decoupage onto little chairs, desks, or bookshelves....then my mind began racing with possibilities of which little chair would go with which picture...didnt come up with anything at the moment and wasnt yet home, so set the books aside and...


i continued on to a few more alleys, just when i thought there was nothing else...i found a little blue painted rocking chair. missing one third of the seat. ugh. at least it was in decent shape otherwise.

deciding i would figure out something with it, i picked it up to put in my suv. lo and behold there lie the mssing piece of the seat in what little grass appeared after the wrath of our long midwest winter.! yay. it can be repaired, wood filled, glued sanded and repainted...

will definitely get a before and after picture of this and add it here.

I figured as cold as it is outside here still, and the little find i was not going to score much else in the local area, and didnt really want to get gas with my last few dollars today so headed home. tomorrow will get the little chair ready for a before picture.

just had a feeling the universe was trying to deliver something to me, i just had to go out and look to find it! two books and a little diy chair paint decoupage project. or rescue two little golden books from musty smells using dryer sheets. maybe a little of both since i can maybe just take copies of a few pages and decoupage them on. win win situation. unless there is a copyright on the pictures from the 40s...hmm. will have to check that out first!

my little table first of the year diy project

This lil table was given to me. It was covered in sticky wallpaper on top, and all painted in chipped brown paint.

i decided to use some lovely 99 cent quarts of paint from my nearby neighborhood Ace hardware store. and gave this little table a brand new look.

still deciding on whether or not to paint the pretty ladderback chair with rush seat or leave it untouched in great condition that fits perfectly with the table. i think leave it as is for now. will get a photo of chair soon to show better what i am talking about.

now it is fun funky colors and will look great as a very unique piece added to any room. still going to touch it up and add some suprise touches to the top and sides. will work on a second photo of the whole finished project when i am done.

facebook links to pyrex in the midwest! iowa illinois quad cities area

here is a new page on facebook where i will be offering suprise discounts and specials with random new customers and friends who visit and like the page. :).

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-PyrexGypsy/575109379300376


here is a closed group on facebook...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/midwestpyrexenthusiasts

and Yes! the Quad Cities was a Jeopardy question on the game show...name the cities in The Quad Cities area! my home town stompin grounds... :)

if you missed it or really dont believe me, or are just curious, please do check out one of our local radio stations that shared a link to the Jeopardy video :). http://97x.com/the-quad-cities-were-featured-as-an-answer-on-jeopardy/

Pickle Soup or Zupa Ogorkowa (google translate to learn how to say that ;) )

With the holidays coming up, Easter and such I thought back to the beautiful Easter eggs painted for Polish holidays. What talent!

just found this website with pickle soup. or in polish zupa ogorkowa. What does that have to do with Easter eggs? Nothing, i got side tracked thinking about making soup...

 Being part polish and hungarian I just decided to start researching that portion of my family tree a bit more. The best part of research is holiday customs, and great new recipes that are pretty affordable to create on a tight budget. they say kids love it. cannot wait to try it. seems fairly inexpensive to make and would go great with cheese biscuits fresh from the oven. 

So glad to have found so many recipes and webpages with great things to try! not sure about testing my skills painting detailed easter eggs yet though...that may have to wait just a little bit longer..

I do not get credit for sharing this link, and do not claim creation of the following link. I would like to thank the author however, for all the wonderful foods to try! http://www.agataspolishrecipes.com/zupa-ogorkowa-1.html

beautiful day out here in the midwest spring is on the way

WHile it is a beautiful day here in the midwest it is still too cold to paint anything.

I have had a rough couple of years and want to give a thanks to those who have supported me through difficult times

and to those who disappeared and are coming back around Thank you! It is always great to see old friends, earn new friends and

look forward to a whole new spring and summer ahead for 2015.

We may have rain tomorrow to melt the rest of the snow here in Iowa. THat would be wonderful which with hopes of the time change coming this weekend ahead, i am getting pretty excited for spring to arrive!

Looking forward to lots of recycling, upcycling, and rehabbing projects with chairs, chalk paint, regular paint, acrylics, end tables, desks, tables, chairs, oh did i already say chairs? Ah 4thelove ofchairs of course i did! Hoping to find fellow new members for the Womenpainting Chairs club and see it take off for getting lots of projects completed this spring!

john michael montgomery and android movie studio

So at the last minute someone had tickets to see John Michael Montgomery tonight. With less than an hour to be ready and at the show, i accepted the offer. Thanks Mom and thanks for saving seats for me too. :).

Over 20 million record albums sold by an artist who came to Bettendorf, Iowa's Isle of Capri casino is pretty amazing in my book.

As usual with some of the biggest artist names out there, the crowd was pretty tame, er lame, as instructions were no dancing etc. during the show. Which being one level floor makes sense, as the first few VIP rows during shows there offer little protection from seeing anything but butts, when a makeshift dance floor is allowed right in front of the first row seats.

But still, being such a big show you would think there would have been a lot more noise and excitement.
There is one good thing about tame shows, being that older crowds can enjoy shows here without worrying about being trampled or body surfers being passed overhead...with the only excitement during a small rush to the front of the stage when gobs of guitar picks are tossed out to the crowd....
and two being that with a more relaxed atmosphere, it is a more personal touch as one can hear the entertainer, and the entertainer can interact with the crowd at a more down to earth level.

https://www.johnmichael.com/

The show started out and continued throughout with all hit songs, the excitement was there, some audience participation with karaoke fill in the song lines. so over all was a fun experience. There were special moments, not that i am saying the entire show wasnt special because it really was actually!  But there were especially touching moments during the show that showed the true good qualities and good character of this performer and his band.

It was extremely quiet during the show when John Michael Montgomery introduced the band which is amazing as well! and then mentioned the loss of a dear friend Gordon Dillingham, just the night before. And still, with such a loss, the show went on. There were no words for such a moment, just sadness and knowing there were challenges the band faced with loss and grieving while also being there to entertain. Prayers go out to you all for peace in this extreme cold weather and rough time. The tribute song for this was a good choice.

As always many a great entertainer will honor our  troops, service members, veterans to ensure they are remembered at each show. It was touching to hear Letters from home and honestly really hits a special place for many of us when we hear it, me included.
It was performed beautifully.

One of the best songs in my opinion was the one that Mr Montgomery said was on his album that could only be purchased at his shows, just before he sang it, he said it was the worst song on that album. If that was the worst song, I would have to say this would be one album not to be missed, as i am sorry i thought it was going to really be a bad song, lol and missed recording the first part of it. It was not bad at all. For someone who sold over 20 million records, never believe them when they tell you they have a bad song on an album cause chances are they are just full of it and the song is really pretty great.

Yes, someone actually stood up and proposed and the girl said yes, right in the aisle right in the middle of one of the best songs. In this instance, the cheers were not for the song so much as they were for the couple whom about interrupted the show, but it will make a great memory and is all for a good cause i believe. Life's a dance, you learn as you as stated by the one and only, John Michael Montgomery ;). love that you added a Good Luck to the couple after the song ended.

http://bettendorf.isleofcapricasinos.com/entertainment-events.html


which leads us to the annoying part of concerts, people with cell phones cameras and videos..my pet peeve being heads that bounce back and forth in front of my camera when i am attempting to record parts of the shows. will be the first to admit, i am a contributor to the little distractions, but what better way to share my experience than attempting to record it right? which leads me right

on to phones recording and movie studio on android...

On a separate note, i did attempt to use movie studio on my, yes, outdated android phone. and did manage to get a few clips of a few songs. I had not had time to buy and add a new sd memory card to my phone before the show on short notice to get there in time.
And what do ya know? my phone said low storage space, functions may not work correctly. great. i found movie studio in my phone and thought i would give it a try to see if the app would hold songs for me to record.
sure enough there is about a half hour worth in two movies i managed to record.

It does say export movie. Where does it export to? mp3 or 4 file. which i would think only works well if you have enough storage space on your phone, so off to the store tomorrow to get a new card that has more space than my full card i had removed.

then? we will see what happens!, worst part is the android phone does not zoom in well at all so no clear shots of faces, does not edit out bright stage lights, so again no clear anything except bright lights really...and of course, who knew you couldn't rotate and edit recorded clips? yes there are several sideways clips in my movie! which i guess is ok, if you truly could care less about looking at the sad video quality and only want to hear the music. THe best part is, we were in the same room with John Michael Montgomery for a couple hours and he was singing to us, well us and quite a few hundred more people too...that was amazing. Thank you for stopping to visit Iowa!

will attempt to add the video clips tomorrow..It may not be pretty but it is the next best thing to being there for me for those who couldnt make it to see the show. it is a nice memory, and something to show for my really sore arm from holding up the phone a bit too often...may just have to strap the phone to my forehead for future shows and push record... ;). just kidding...a tripod also may have helped...or better yet, i suggest just purchasing the album and a tshirt if you can make it to the next show!

oh and maybe a new phone...




 thanks for stopping by my blog page~