Hello, Stranger

Hi!!!

I admit it.  I miss blogging.  I miss writing about important to me stuff.  So, here's a little something along those lines.

This is not a blog post about anything rusty or chippy.  

It's not that long awaited "Let me tell you all about our wedding" post that I need to write.  Truly, I cannot write that until I send out all of the thank you notes.  Really.  I'm sure Emily Post wrote that somewhere.  "No wedding blog posts until thank you notes have been mailed."  Surely.  If Emily didn't say it, my Mom did.

Today's subject is a first world problem.  I admit it.  I know it.  I am not saying it should be high on your list of issues.  

Socks.  I'm talking about socks.  Not just any socks.  Some that I like, nay love.  I can't remember who, but someone gave about 4 pair to me several years ago.  Everyone in my family has been asked and not one person remembers giving them to me.  They may have.  They may not have.  It's not unusual for me to ask for socks, so it could have been anyone, really.  For sure, no one specifically remembers giving me these socks.  

The brand is unknown.  The online or physical store is unknown. 

Brown and gray.  Women's.  Woolish.  Slouch-i-ish.  A nice fit for my "healthy" calves.

Look.

Can you tell that they are warm?  Take my word for it, they are.  And they do slouch, I just pulled them up so you could get a good look at them.

Where, oh where, did they come from?

Do you see why I'm asking?  This is my last pair.  Yes.  That's my Christmas Red toenail.

Here I am in blog land pleading:  Does anybody know where these came from or where I can get more?

This is what it's come to.  Me resurfacing on my old business page to ask for help with socks.  And if you can't help, can you empathize?  

I know, Mom.  I should be writing thank you cards.  But, my toe is cold!

Happy New Year!

Just Married

We did it!  It's official!  We are married.  Yee haw!

While we finish off wedding cake and write thank you notes, I thought I would share this picture taken by a friend at the wedding. Proof positive that we are Happy Happy Happy! 

Stay tuned, as I fully intend to sit down and share stories about the entire "having a wedding at our very own house" experience.

Would I do it again?  Yup!

Happy Friday!

~Mindy

The Word for 2013 - Duck

Someone inquired what my word for 2013 was.  After brief contemplation, I have determined that my word is "Duck".  Yup.  You read that right.  Duck. 

December 31 found David and I making the trek to West Monroe, LA where we visited Duck Commander (of Duck Dynasty fame) Warehouse.  It wasn't a planned trip so much.  We had made note of the address, but I had no idea that we would actually go there.  Call me a giddy fanatic.  I was soooo excited to go, be there, take pictures and gawk at anyone within my view with a beard.  (Dear guy in the gift shop, surely you are used to this.)  Anyway, I was Happy Happy Happy!

Duck.  That night, David and I made it back to Jefferson, Texas and ate at Stillwater Inn.  This very fine eating establishment is where David contemplated proposing to me last year.  He didn't "feel" it at the time, and waited for a more private setting a couple hours later.  I digress. 

At Stillwater Inn, of all things, guess what I ate for the very first time?  Duck.  I kid you not.  And I kid you not, I did not put a lot of thought into this selection.  Dear Mr. Chef, thank you.  From what I hear, it's not an easy thing to make palatable - duck.  A fine job you did!  Yum. Yum. Yum.

Now.  Contemplating 2013, what do I forsee?  Good health.  Good business.  Building a house.  Selling a house.  Preparing for Happily Ever After.  Yes.  A wedding.  Hello?  I know.  I've been absent a while.  We are not hitched yet and a wedding is still in our future.

Back to the word:  Duck.  Why duck, you ask?  Let me tell you.  When it comes to questions like "Where do you want the switch for the back porch?" I will duck stress and answer definitively.  (Have you any idea that there is more than one answer here?)

When it comes time to clean out my barn and figure out what goes up for sale at The Primitique and what moves into the new house, I will duck contemplation and I will have an answer.

What color should the brick be?  Water off a duck's back.  The answer will be easy.  Right?  That's the plan! 

Late in December, I reconnected with some friends that I had not seen in about 20 years.  In fact, they hired The Primitique to do some design work in their home.  We decided to work one room into (what was already leaning toward) an "outdoor" fashion.  The husband had recently harvested a duck and somehow (the first time in 20 years), the wife was willing to allow him a taxidermy piece in the house.  Duck.  Are you following me, here?

The word came before I had to think about it. 

In my personal life.  My professional life.  In strife and in daily living...DUCK.  Fly below the radar.  Keep an eye out for the ugly and be prepared to duck.  Allow the stressful, unhealthy water to repel.  Recognize the beauty of nature where I never expected it.  Taste it.  Feel it.  Live it.  Duck.

May your 2013 be all the good that you can stand.  As for me...come good or bad...I will embrace the duck.

Happy New Year my friends!

~Mindy

Buying Freeze. Selling Thaw.

Howdy from Poetry!  The Primitique is preparing for a big sale.  Maybe I should scream that part...BIG SALE! 

We have been on a buying freeze for a while.  The garage, barn, workshop, bunkhouse, yard, land & The P building are full of stuff that doesn't need to be stored any longer. 

The future finds us preparing for nuptuals.  You know.  The merging of households.  The planning and decorating of a wedding.  The purging of what was "me" to make room for "us."

Stay tuned for pictures.  But, the facts are what are important at this point.

Friday, July 27 - 9am to noon.

Saturday, July 28 - 9am to noon.

For the address and directions, please send your inquiries to ThePrimitique at yahoo.com

We will not be taking appointments and there will be no early sales.

The gate will open promptly at 9 both days.

You bring cash.  We'll provide Quirky, Vintage Goodness and lemonade.

Can't wait to see you!

Happy Day!  ~Mindy

Jesus and Tornadoes (repost with pics)

(a repost with pictures added)

Here's the deal. It's the week before Easter. You know, the celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. Yup. He arose! And to be frank, I suppose if Jesus can rise from the dead, I shouldn't be too terribly shocked that somewhere between 13 and 19 tornadoes touched down in the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex yesterday and from the latest reports, not one person died.

Now, to be classified as a tornado, there has to be some kind of scary definition. Something along the lines of "Crazy, fast winds that go in circles and pick up stuff and take said stuff to the sky (or off the ground) and place stuff elsewhere in a not very orderly fashion." That's just my rough guess. One would think that amongst 13 to 19 tornadoes, someone would have been picked up and tossed about and killed. Nope. Doesn't seem to have happened.

Seriously.

Here's my story. All day, I was watching the radars and listening to the experts. When the scary storms were headed to one city, I'd call Dad and tell him to run to the closet. When the scary storms were headed to another city, I'd holler at David to run to his safe place. When the scary storms were headed to Big D, I'd holler at my sister to get somewhere safe. My Mom was no where near the scary stuff. I called her and told her to stay away. Everything seemed to be staying away from my lovely Poetry. I was getting a nice (false) sense of security, watching all those red and yellow zones west of my location.

I got a bottle of window cleaner and a roll of paper towels and started cleaning windows. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Around 3:40pm or so, the nice weatherman and his radars indicated ugliness in Forney. Not just ugliness. The T word. A tornado (later to be rated an EF3) had touched down and it was headed north east. Then, it was in McLendon-Chisholm. Well, my stars. Guess who the T word was coming at?

I started packing stuff into my safe place. I packed water, nuts for protein, 2 flashlights, a spare battery, Burt's Bees lip wax, a box of Puffs, my cell phone, my house phone, pillows and a comforter and pain meds. My safe place is the master closet. I figured if any of those hangers jabbed me in the head, I might want some pain meds. Wasn't that smart?

I put on my engagement ring so that if my body was found, they could identify it by the rock, if not by my face.

Before I made it into the closet, I heard something. Nope. Not the famed "train" that folks say you will hear. I heard a constant roll of thunder. You know how the tires on an airplane sound when driving on the tarmac after landing? That's what I heard.

The electricity went out.

I got to the closet and my ears started popping. I started wondering if the clean windows were supposed to be open or closed. What is the rule?

I was getting text messages and phone calls from all those people that I had been checking on earlier. I began to rely on them for my radar/weatherman updates. Nope. I don't have a smart phone. Nor do I have a battery operated radio (that I can think of). My sister would tell me, "That was a bad one, but another one is coming. Stay put and hang on." Hang on? She told me to hang on? Eeeek!

After about 40 minutes of updates, I emerged. I walked to the clean windows and looked out. I saw no major devastation. In fact, the only odd thing that I saw was a tall weed with it's rootball attached, laying in the backyard. I've looked around the yard and can't figure out where it came from. I guess those scary, fast winds brought it to me.
(it was green when I saw it)

I drove around today. Within a couple miles of my home and of The Primitique, buildings are history. Roofs are gone. Buildings are gone and roofs are there. Buildings are in ponds. Trees have been snapped all over everywhere. I just heard that the tornado that hit closest was an EF2.

Did I mention that there has been no reported loss of human life? Listen here. If Jesus can rise from the dead, well my goodness, tornadoes not killing folks shouldn't surprise me.

God, within the very same breath, showed us His power and His Grace.

This Easter hug your family a little tighter. Praise God a little louder. And embrace with your whole heart the gift of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy Life!

~Mindy