We have been a little out-of-sorts lately so Dash and I went on a little outing. We just spent a night (Friday) away from home and did a little shopping, sight-seeing and such. It was nice to get away, if only for the night. We went to the movies and saw The Raven with John Cusack, on opening night no less. We NEVER go to movies on opening night. The movie was fun and Cusack is such a solid performer. He's easy on the eyes too, lol. This movie also features Brendan Coyle of Downton Abbey fame.
A neat surprise was the family of Bluebirds outside our hotel room window! There were four chicks (just fledged) and the parents. They hung out on this Woodpecker-hole-riddled pine tree. The babies were learning to fly and mom & dad were busy bringing them bugs. Sorry for the lousy quality, these photos were taken with my iPhone, through the window, into the sun.
The babies kept peeking at us.
"Can they SEE us?" They wonder.
Daddy bird wasn't happy with our stares.
"Who are you LOOKING at?," He asks.
Daddy flew off to catch bugs and baby s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s his wings.
"This flying business is such HARD WORK!"
We went to a town near Tulsa called Jenks, as we'd heard they have lots of antique shops to visit. We hadn't realized it was also the weekend of their annual herb festival so they were crowded like you wouldn't believe ~ but we had loads of fun. I found lots of goodies:
Jars and jars and jars of buttons. A very pretty (and tiny) clear glass flower frog. Some neat old commercial thread spools. Two jars full of old, old wooden thread spools.
A cool Needlecrafts book. This thing is HUGE. Some old leaflets, including an early Prairie Schooler. Then I also found several lots of 1980-90's cross stitch magazines. When I've gone through them I will offer my duplicates up as a giveaway, k?
Eeek!
So sorry about that! I had to include an "I live in freakin' Oklahoma" story for you. The other evening I went out to get the mail and there were hundreds of tiny spiders all over my mailbox and the planter it sits in. Oooo! Spiders kinda freak me out if there is the slightest chance they could get ON me. So I go get the bug spray and give the mailbox and the planter a good dousing. To my absolute HORROR seven (OMG 7!) huge Black Widow spiders come rushing out from between the bricks of the planter. I gave the planter another good dousing of insecticide and phoned Dash at work to tell him I'm packing up and moving to Antarctica where surely it's too cold for spiders. He convinced me to stay by promising to spray around the house inside and out. Incidentally, after he sprayed, I found another Black Widow dying on the front porch! Don't poke your hands into places you can see around my house. Just sayin'. I have found Black Widows here before but never so many at once.
Maybe I will stay here in Oklahoma. Our weather has been just lovely lately and I have spent many, many hours stitching on the back porch. Since it's usually too windy, too rainy, too cold or too hot for me to stitch outside this is quite the pleasant development. I have several things to show you but I'm going to just tease you for now! See you soon!
Thank you for visiting my blog today!
xox
42 comments:
How fun to go off even for the night....
My daughter wants to see The Raven but it isn't showing locally so I have to drive to OKC to see it. :)
Jenks has a great aquarium but I didn't know about the antique shops. What fun!
Oh yes, black widows, I too see them and get creeeeeped out.
I think my heart stopped when I saw that Black Widow!!! I feel really weird right now...maybe I should lie down...EEKKKKkk!
Glad to hear you got out and had a great weekend! I want to see the Raven too. I love Poe and John Cusack is nice to watch :D
Great jars of buttons and spools oh my!! Nice haul there!!
Hugs
Anne
Ok, I'm officially freaked out by your spider story. Yikes!!!! Black widows too! OMG! I'm shivering. lol! Love your finds. Looks like you had a fun time on your outing. Glad you did it!
I was enjoying my read until the last photo. AUGH!!!! Antarctica is a little too cold but I'd definitely consider a move!
I has no idea OK was such a spidery state; I always though black widows were a California thing, lol. I'm glad you has the chance to get away. DH and I love taking those quick impromptu trips.
So glad that you got a chance to get away! Hubby and I have to do that too! What marvelous finds! Oh that little flower frog is great!
Cool birds, nice finds and scary spiders. Your blog has it all! I wonder if black widows like to live in brick structures. My husband thought he saw some around a block retaining wall we have. Ewwwww.
Cathy
Sounds like a wonderful weekend. What great goodies you found! As for the spiders, well, I'll leave them to you! We have them here too, but I don't like to think about it!!
Shudder. We used to get black widows in our garage until we started leaving the light on 24/7.
yikes! glad you saw those spiders before they got to you.
Ahhh! Those spiders are huge! I would have gone off running! We have to deal with nasty cockaroaches and palmetto bugs in South Fl, but I will take them anyday over spiders!
Glad you had a nice evening with hubby.
Jen
We have them in Virginia also. I've seen two black widows in my life - one in the kitchen and one on the front porch. The only good spider is a dead spider.
Oh how SCARY!!!! I think I would be packing and moved by now. That is one ugly looking spider!
Glad you got some time away.
Gah! I hate spiders too. I think I am very lucky where I live, since we don't have too many creepy crawlies. The cold weather every winter seems to do a good job of killing them off.
I love your finds from the antique shops. Weirdly, that is one of things we don't have very many of around here.
Sounds like a wonderful night away - great find with all the magazines!
what a lovely haul! Like the little flower frog. :)
and you lost me at the black widows. deadly spiders creep me the heck out. not going to OK! EVER!
Okay so if we're ever going to meet you have to come to my place. I'm allergic to spider bites and they always seem to find me. Yours are freaking me out!! Besides, it's colder here, lol!
I love all the treasures you found in the shops. Those buttons are wonderful! Glad the two of you were able to get away if only for a weekend.
I can't wait to see The Raven! Your outing sounds like lots of fun! And I don't usually mind spiders, but your experience sounds kind of like a scene from a horror movie. :D
Well, I live in Kansas, and we have spiders here! A couple of years ago I was working in my rock garden (WITH my leather gloves on) and turned over a rock....there was Mama Black Widow and her next of babies!!!! Killed them with spray too! We usually end up spraying around the outside of the house 1-2 times per year to keep them out of the basement.
Debbie in Kansas
Glad you enjoyed your mini holiday and that you found some great treasures. Normally I'm not creeped out by spiders but Black Widows would certainly give me pause for thought - and that many? Yew.
eeek, I am so glad we do not have those spiders here in Holland
Sounds like a nice trip. The baby birds are so sweet and you got a great haul at the antique shops.
I'm not bothered by spiders, but then we don't have any that are actually harmful, I might feel differently if we did...
Sounds like you had a wonderful time away and what a stash bundle to find x
Sounds like you had a lovely night away. Great finds. Lovely photos.
Ewwwww nasty eight legged horrid things, i hate spiders.
Lovely goodies you came across and gave a good home to.
Cute birdies, we have some nesting in the ivy outside my conservatory wnidows.
Sounds like you enjoyed your time away.
Lovely button jars.
Those spiders are truly awful, hope you can get rid of them all.
It sounds like you had a great weekend. Sometimes you just need to get away. I am glad to hear that the Raven was worth seeing.
Ugh! spiders!
I'm with you on the spiders.....We are over run with Daddy Long Legs....I hope they go as the weather gets cooler. You made some fabulous finds. Gotta love that! Are you going to use the flower frog as a scissor keep, or do you collect Depression glass?
UGH on the Black Widows--I've never seen one and never want to!! But, how I would love to see a Bluebird in real life--lucky you :)
Glad your getaway was fun--you sure found some goodies, Sharon! Look at all those great jars of buttons and threads! I need to go to more antique and resale shops soon!
Hope your OK weather keeps staying as lovely as it has been...
Sounds like a productive day away from home... great stashing! Love the buttons and buttons and more buttons :)
Ewww.. icky... big spiders.
I've always wanted to visit Jenks as that happens to be my maiden name. :)
One of these days!
Right there with you. Our family room is spider central. So far have not found anything dangerous but don't want to. Love the goodies you found.
I'm glad you got to getaway for the night. It does a person good sometimes I think. Looks like you found some good treasure too on your outing. I'm with you on the whole spider thing! I don't care what size they are, they all creep me out! I think I'd just pass out cold if I saw a black widow!
What a great get away! Love your stash.
Ick, hate creepy crawlies. We have them here, but none that are actually dangerous.
I've lived in SE Oklahoma before and used to occasionally see tarantulas.... they were the size of my hand and hairy all over... shudder. I did learn though, that if you poke them with a stick, they'll run toward you, then run away. There were also scorpions and the occasional rattlesnake down there too.
I think evidence of black widows means that you should stay in side all summer and stitch.
Like the birds - the spiders not so much:-)
I don't like spiders and snakes. . .or any other kind of creepy crawlies! I'm afraid someone else would have to be getting the mail for awhile unless I had one of those long grabbie things!
Holy smoly!!! Look at that spider!! You guys have brown recluse up there too.... :S
Birdies are SOOOO cute! We came in to work today and there was a bird on the ground. We initially thought it was dead, but hubby took a closer look and saw it moving.... so he scooped it up and carried him in. Found out from the receptionist that she heard a bang and it must have been the birdie hitting the glass. :(
So hubby got a box, put birdie in there and kept checking on him. 15 or so minutes later, when he checked again, birdie was all "LET ME OUT!! LET ME OUT!!!" so, hubby took the box out back and opened it up. Birdie was all "blink... blink... huh wha?? OH!!! SKY!!" and out he went.
GAH!!! SEVEN!1!!one!!!!! We had one in the garage, and a couple days later, one of her (we presume) babies in the same place. Fortunately they were pretty much out in the open...but GAH!! We did have two giant hairy black spiders (heads and bodies the size of gumballs) with BRIGHT turquoise patches scurry out of some plants we bought once, and that freaked us the heck out for sure! You can bet we "beat the bushes" before we planted the rest of them!!!
Neat buttons. =D
OMG 7 Black Widows!!!! I hate spider too and I'm so glad here there aren't poisonous or just big spiders that go around!
On the other hand the birds look super cute!
Spiders....shudder....
I used to love Cross Stitch magazine and made 5 of their beautiful Christmas stockings in the 90's, all different. I also own the Needlecrafts Encyclopedia and keep it in my library as a reference book!
What wonderful finds! You will certainly enjoy them.
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