Our Dream Road Trip

We have never been on a "sisters road trip" and have thought about this for a really long time.  We are both treasure hunting every chance we get to find new things for our Etsy store or to add to our homes.  Until we can live in the same area of the state we can only shop when we visit each other once or twice a year. We thought it would be so much fun to go together somewhere for a few days treasure hunting and in the back of each of our minds was the 6 state yard sale called the 127 Corridor Sale.  We started investigating further and this is some of what we found.

It starts the first Thursday in August of every year and ends on that Sunday, so this year it is August 2-5.  This sale runs on Highway 127 from Hudson, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.  There are special signs posted on the route so you know where sales are located. Anything can be sold from antiques, collectibles, food items,  handmade, produce to farm implements!  Hopefully no free puppies or kittens along the way.....

Can you even imagine 675 miles of sales?

So we talked again about the trip and how we would need to bring a trailer in case we found something larger (my son has one) and how we would have to learn to drive with a trailer attached without hurting anyone else (laughing out loud now).

We could talk, shop, eat, drink coffee, shop and talk, eat and drink coffee, and some more coffee all along the route while stopping a little diners along the way.  Now that is what we call bonding!

Sadly this year not going to be our year (a wonderful wedding in the family!) but we can dream on it, and make our plans, practice with the trailer a little too.  For now we will have to settle for our twice a year visits and plenty of Skype time, but next year Highway 127, first Thursday of August.....we will be psyched and ready for adventure.........sister-style.

For more information on the 127 Corridor Sale please go to http://www.127sale.com/

What Could It Hurt! Adventures in Plate Drilling with The Twins



This past summer we decided to to work on some hand drilled tidbit plates for our Etsy shop.  Cathy was visiting from Chicago and brought her drill and new drill bits.. This was a learning adventure for Mary, as she had not tried the drilling of the plates yet!  Well, of course we decided to drill outside on the hottest possible day of the summer.  But for us it is not really work, it's play.  We work/play in just about all that we do together.  

It really takes quite awhile to carefully drill holes in porcelain or depression glass plates. If you drill too fast you risk breakage.  So it is a rather slow, long drawn out process using a hand held drill.  So we take turns, cause you end up with hand cramps.  After drilling several plates successfully,  we decided to try something completely different.  We had never tried a clear glass plate before. 

 

So we had purchased a beautiful vintage green depression glass plate a few day earlier and we decided to use that one for our very first glass plate.  After about an hour of taking turns drilling this plate, we noticed the plate and the drill seemed to be smoking just a little.  So it was time for a break.  We got some ice water, to relax with.  A discussion began on the best way to handle this plate.  And then we remembered that sometimes water is used to assist drilling.  This seemed like a brilliant way to speed up this process to us.  Little did we know!  We went back to drilling,  and Cathy says " Do you want to add water?"   I said "At this point what could it hurt".  So as I am drilling she proceeds to slowly dribble water into the area I was drilling.  Suddenly there is a loud pop, that was even louder than the whine of the drill.  I look at her, she looks at me, and we both end up on the ground laughing hysterically.  The water she used was the water she was rehydrating with and it was ice cold with a few small ice cubes left in the glass.  With the heat of the drill and plate and the hottest sun possible, the plate shattered.   So much for our lovely vintage plate, but we had the best laugh that both of our stomachs ached from laughing so hard.

For anyone else, this could have turned into a disaster.  But for us it was another day of bonding, and laughing.  Of course we learned a valuable lesson in plate drilling.  Never ever add ice water to drill a plate LOL.   

Pampering the Backyard Animals With Our Discarded Christmas Tree and Homemade Treats

All year long our back yard animals amuse us and make us smile.  Come wintertime, when
we are snuggled all warmly in our homes, these sweet creatures are fighting off old man winter.
To help our little friends, we put out a heated birdbath and make seed ornaments to hang
on our discarded Christmas tree.  You can also string popcorn, cranberries, even raisins.  To make the ornaments, take some stale bread and pop it in the toaster to make it more firm.  Then use your vintage cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.  Spread peanut butter on both sides and press them into a bowl of bird seed. Use a twisty tie or an ornament hook to poke through the bread to attach on the tree.  Also we spread peanut butter on pine cones that have a long twist tie or string attached at the top and roll in the same bowl of bird seed. It is a great project to do with little ones, to help teach them the importance of taking care of wildlife.  Not to mention bringing a adding the joy of nature to their little lives. Great project for a day with grandma!

In the Spring, we are rewarded with the joyful antics of the birds, chipmunks and squirrels and bird houses filled with fledglings who will give us more joy.  And the circle continues..........

When the Christmas Tree has served it's purpose, just clip off the branches and put them in the
yard waste disposal bag or can, or the burn pile depending on where you live.