The calm after the storms

I spent the day in the town where the community college is located. Of course, I had to check out their Goodwill and that cute little thrift store again while waiting for Christopher to finish his classes. I was so happy to find a plate similar to my collection of autumn/Thanksgiving plates I began a couple of years ago. It is a brown transfer ware type plate with a Thanksgiving scene and this one actually has a turkey in it. I was able to get it for 99 cents because it has a crack but it is noticed only on the back. It is now hanging in my dining area as an autumnal addition to the wall. :)

I adore dishes. The dish aisle is the first place I head in a thrift store. When I stop the car at a garage sale, my scanning eyes come upon dishes before anything else. When I bought that plate today, I was thinking for a moment that I have enough dishes to cater the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (an ever so slight exaggeration). What is quite amusing is the fact we use our simple plastic plates the most, purchased at K-mart back when hunter green and burgundy were all the rage. That is because I live with two men who like to eat and watch TV in the family room at times. Need I say more?

I also purchased five or six sets of metal knitting needles there. Learning to knit is on my "planning to do soon" list so I figured spending 49 cents for each set would be a frugal way to start. I have no idea what sizes I'd need but these go from a small to a quite large size. There is a young woman at church who I know is a great knitter and she's offered to teach me.

At the little thrift store, I found a few books (The Best Devotions of Luci Swindoll...one of my favorite writers , a biography of John Muir for young people, a part of The Victorian Bookshelf series called Dear Theodora, and A Woman's High Calling by Elisabeth George). I also purchased the sweetest little unframed oil painting of a robin and flowers. The robin is the official bird of our house (I've written about our "first robin of the season contest"). What, doesn't every family have an official bird? I love them because they are common but lovely.

This is the second oil painting I've found while thrifting recently. The first is now hanging in my living room, an amazing autumn scene with horses, a creek, a barn, and trees in various colors... beautiful! I'll try to get some pictures to share soon. It replaces the oil painting of roses I had at the same place. I liked it a lot but my husband didn't.

Speaking of pictures, I love the picture above. It is a Dominique print from Art.com (I don't have the title). It reminded me of a conversation I overheard this past week. I happened to be having coffee next to two University policemen and would overhear the dispatcher speaking once in awhile. At one time, there was quite a nervous pronouncement of a "man with a possible rifle" walking through a parking lot.

Now, that caused me to smile because where I live, I am often awakened at various seasons of the year by the sounds of gunshots. It wouldn't cause a raised eyebrow to find someone walking down the road with a rifle. I remember walking out to the county road to get the mail not too long ago, hoping I didn't look too much like a wild turkey to anyone hunting. Believe me, first thing in the morning I just might look more like one of the "birds" in the picture above than the human which I am...

I was walking to the car early this morning when I heard a flock of geese flying overhead. The trees were blocking them but I'm assuming they were heading South. It would seem to be that time of year.

That brings us to the weather. Yes, we are still here. Yes, it was a rather scary evening with the tornado sirens going off twice. We are fortunate to live in a county that believes in spacing tornado sirens throughout the countryside. There has to be one near us because I can hear it with the windows closed. Fortunately, I had weatherproofed the deck and brought the umbrella from our deck table to the front porch where it would be safe.

No real damage was done in our area but I've seen reports out of Nappanee, Indiana. That's where my mother-in-law's family is from (Pennsylvania Dutch people). They have a very large Amish population. Christopher didn't have a clue where the town was. I guess we should have made family history part of his curriculum.