Holiday Hunt

Sonja Henngeler and Kristi Wolbert threw one heck of a "Holiday Hunt" last Sunday at The Hanger in Maryville. They really out did themselves, bringing in some of best artisans, showing us that "this ain't no ordinary craft show".

My hands down favorite was the pottery of Andy Rogers. Andy lives in Maryville and creates the most beautiful pottery. He has mastered blending his love of ceramics and gardening in his organic forms. I'll tell you more about Andy and his work in a later chapter. Let's just say I bought myself a Christmas present...or two...or three..Okay, four! Dammit I deserve it!!! You can check Andy out at www.andyrogersceramics.com. Sorry about the blurry photo. Here are some more pictures of Andy's work.

This is my new BFF, Ben. His family works with stone from Israel. They do a lot of building for people who can really afford it! At the show, Ben was selling soap dishes, coasters, and key chains made from the stone leftovers. His mother made cell phone carriers from wool she gathered from their sheep. She also confessed a love for buttons and had many interesting items made from old buttons. The patriarch of the family was hand engraving custom key chains. They also provided stones for children to play with and entertain themselves. They were an interesting family!








In the past, Sonja and Kristi have held a bi-annual event called "Hodge Podge". Their booth offered a lot of recycled, re-invented, and re-purposed items. I bought a long, narrow basket full of greenery for my front door. It also had a Christmas ribbon and was adorned with an old rusty buckle. When I got home, Sam's comment was "You like rust, don't you Mom?". Yes, son, I do!!!

Holiday Hunt also had many more booths ranging from prints, ceramics, home baked goods, purses, baby items, and much, much more. Sonja said they were already making plans for next year's Holiday Hunt! I'll be looking forward to it!!!

C.J.'s Barn

This little red barn is like a sentinel waiting to greet me every time I reach the south edge of my small hometown. It belongs to C.J., a long-time friend of my family. I love the view of the bottom land sprawled out behind it. I also love the fact that it is a RED barn! Sadly more and more barns are being torn down, which makes the remaining ones even more special. Morton buildings dot the landscape, and while I am sure they are functional, they lack the personality and charm of old-fashioned barns. I can easily see in my mind's eye a farmer headed to the barn to do chore in the early morning light.





On this particular day, I decided to visit the barn instead of just driving by. I wanted to drink in the view, to savour the beauty and the smells of the scene on a beautiful Fall day. I needed to stop and show my appreciation to the ordinariness of a small barn on an ordinary day in my ordinary life.






I was rewarded with another treat. I hadn't been up close to the little wash house in a long time and had forgotten all about it. The tiny little structure is trimmed with gingerbread. It's front door is intricate and the glass window it a complex etching. We certainly don't see buildings like this anymore. All this detail for a wash house!!!






Even the wood stacked between the trees had it's own visual appeal and conjured up images of a warm fire. I could almost smell the wood smoke.





So maybe it isn't just about learning to appreciate what is ordinary in our lives, but finding the EXTRAORDINARY that lies in the ordinariness of our lives!

Blog...What Blog????

For those of you who have been kind enough to notice, I have been absent for awhile. This disappearing act can be attributed to a myriad of circumstances. During my absence I have been having an internal debate on whether I should continue. I've decided I want to go forward with my little project. So... I'm baaacckk!!!

I originally started blogging after becoming a fan of Pioneer Woman, who is probably THE most well known blogger. Being somewhat of a negative person, I was impressed with how she took her, well frankly, pretty ordinary life, scrutinized it, photographed it, wrote about it and suddenly, it became an extraordinary life. Because everyone's life IS extraordinary!!! We've just become so busy we don't take the time to realize each and every one of us has an extraordinary life in it's own way. Life isn't about the big things, which are few and far between. It's about appreciating the little, everyday moments! And so I started to see how even my ordinary life does have it's special moments. Blogging also gives me a chance to let some creativity flow. When I write about my small adventures it forces me to appreciate the normal life I have and be thankful! It makes me realize I have a very full life!

So as I go forward, I would like to see my blog become more interactive. That means I would like someone to comment besides my sister!!! Please, become a follower and give me some feedback!!!

To celebrate my return, I will be having a "give away" contest in a few weeks! I'll give everyone a chance to realize I'm back and join me on my journey. Trust me, you won't want to miss my "give away". It's a good one!!!