Memorial Weekend at Wellers

Opening weekend started out GREAT! The best thing about it was seeing familiar faces from last season and catching up with them again. It was also good to meet new people and get to know them.

For once I remembered to bring the camera along to the store with me and I got some pictures of some of the first people in the door after we opened officially for the season. I also managed to get a shot of the first group to come in off the river this yesr.



Grace Buck headed straight for the linens (that's one of my favorites, too!)

Not far behind Grace was Diane Rait. She was also drawn to the linens and both ladies went home with some nice vintage flour sacks and an apron made from flour sack material. Aprons seem to be making a big comeback.

Peggy Manson came back in for an embroidered comforter she spotted one evening when the wiring was being worked on. She also found several other nice items while she was at it.

The first to stop in after completing half the river trip was a group from Green Lake. Jason Koepke, Lesley Kenney, Andy Koepke, Mariel Manslowski, Laurie Koepke, Kendall Koepke and Katie Bardenwerper said the water was great.

At this point the camera was forgotten in all the hustle and bustle of the day. Stay tuned for more photos in the coming days (IF I remember to drag the camera along with me, that is!)

Many thanks to these folks and all the others who made opening day a big success! I also appreciate all of the pre-season customers who stopped in to shop while we were getting ready to open last week. I appreciate each and every one of you!

And So The Season Begins...

The Weller Store is officially open for the season today! All the hard work paid off and I must say it's looking pretty good. The Junque Shoppe at Wellers is now open and "The Mayor" is already clearing out yet another room for collectible toys. Pre-season visitors to the store loved the Junque Shoppe and had fun sifting through all the ephemera and do-dads. One woman really had a lust for rust and she left with a whole trunkload of goodies. It may be a challenge to keep the room well stocked if things continue to fly out of there.

Look for the opening of the Collectible Toys room soon. In the meantime we have a huge new assortment of glassware, including some nice depression glass pieces. I especially love the light blue Bubble and Fire King items. We even have a few "Porta-Walls" from an old Packard and some more vintage tools for the guys. We brought in even more vintage jewelry and some lovely old hats for the ladies.

Taliesin - Spring Green

Yow! It's been awhile since I've posted! Much of my time lately has been spent at the Weller Store getting ready to re-open for the season. We've added a new and very fun room - The Junque Shoppe at Wellers - and "The Mayor" has been clearing out yet another room so we can expand even further. Weller's season officially begins the Friday of Memorial Weekend when we will be open 7 days-a-week. In the meantime, you can give us a call if you'd like a preview. We're always happy to open the store especially for you at any time. See the website for contact information. www.wellerstore.com

There are still a lot of pictures from Stephanie's visit to share with you. Here are several from Spring Green in Dodge County - featuring Taliesin, the home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright as well as some of his other creations in the area. The home was not yet open for the season so we were unable to reserve space on a tour. :-(



















You can take a peek at the Taliesin Estate HERE.

A Visit to the Red Mill

Last week I had a visit from some dear friends - Stephanie, Dan and Adele from Ann Arbor. They spent most of the week with me and we had so much fun!

Stephanie had a camera along that she bought just for this trip so we have some great pictures to share. These were from our trip to the Red Mill - just a few miles from Rural and Waupaca. Behind the mill, where the Crystal River winds it's way through some very picturesque scenery, is one of only two covered bridges in Wisconsin. A walk across the river on the bridge takes you to a lovely little wedding chapel.

You can see more pictures of the Red Mill in various seasons by clicking on this link: RED MILL On the map at the bottom of the page #1 is the Red Mill and #2 is the Weller Store in Rural.



Dan & Adele goofing around by the Crystal River - It's really hard to get a picture of them together without "bunny ears"!
A sign that spring is really here! (That, and all the fat robins hopping around eating earthworms!)

Ta Da!! Florida Giveaway Winner Revealed!

Congrats to Jeanne Selep! She'll be serving tangerine marmalade from Florida on her scones very soon! You can find her blog full of WONDERFUL photography here: http://jeanneselep.blogspot.com/

Thanks to everyone who commented on my posts! This was so much fun that I plan to give out some more blog candy soon! Add me to your Google Reader so you don't miss it!

Vintage Ad for Land in Florida

This is an ad that was in a 1950's Workbasket - in the 1940's my grandfather bought land in that area for $100 an acre!

Those old Workbaskets have some great old ads and pictures.

Florida Flea Market - Last Chance for Florida Giveaway Entry

One of the highlights of my stay in Florida was the access to garage sales and flea markets. Up here in Wisconsin the weather is just getting nice enough for such things. There's a really gianormous flea market between Milwaukee and Racine on Highway 41 called the 7 Mile Fair - you really should plan to stop in if you're in that area some weekend.
Back in Florida, I located a flea market not far from where I stayed in Ocala. It was advertised as a "Super" flea market but there wasn't too much to it. (Maybe they, too, are somewhat seasonal?) The following week I saw an ad for a flea market about an hour to the north of Ocala on Highway 301 in Waldo. Somewhere between Gainesville and Starke. My sister-in-law and I headed up there to check it out on the weekend and it was so much fun that I went back the following weekend and I made sure I had the camera along with me.



The flea market in Waldo was so much bigger than the one in Ocala, even with a portion of the stalls empty. It was bustling with shoppers and brimming with all kinds of goodies. The fresh fruit and vegetables were beautiful and priced just right. I couldn't resist loading up on a few bags to bring home to Mom. Yum!







Vendors were assembled both indoors and outdoors with their wares. Some of them looked like thay had been in the same spot for years. Indeed, the old guy with the architectural goodies looked like he could have lived there among the maze of stuff he had on display.





I was surprised to see vendors from many states other than Florida. There were, of course, some from the southern states but also from farther north like Minnesota, New York and even Wisconsin.


On my first trip to Waldo I met a vendor named Cindy Cross who had all kinds of lovely old photographs, ephemera, rusty hardware, skeleton keys, etc. I only picked up a few things knowing that I would have to carry whatever I purchased back with me on the plane. After I got back to mom's I thought I should go back and pick up more the following weekend and ship my treasures home by mail. Unfortunately, Cindy was nowhere to be seen when I returned. If you happen to stop by this flea market sometime, look for Cindy's stall. She also sells some nice western boots.


I was able to find some excellent vintage post cards a great old typewriter, buttons, coins and other assorted bargains and ship them back to the Weller Store. Now it's time to get ready to open the store in May! I'm excited about all the new things we'll have to offer this year!

Don't forget to leave a comment for the giveaway! (You may leave a comment on each Florida post.) Drawing will be held sometime during the evening of Monday, April 20th. Add my blog to your Google Reader so you won't miss the announcement of the winner. Good Luck!

EASTER BLESSINGS!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

TGIF! And another chance to win the giveaway!

Friday is finally here! I'll be heading down to the big city to pick up my college student for a nice, long Easter weekend. Before I go, here are a few more shots from Central Florida...

OK - so these are orchids - and they're indoors. They were growing by the swimming pool and I couldn't resist taking several pictures of them. Technically, they're growing in Florida, so commenting on this blog gets you another chance to win the giveaway!

Finally! Fabulous Florida Fotos!

After a long and unsuccessful search for the missing camera cable and a couple of snafus at the photo shop, I finally have the pictures on a CD and can upload them to the blog.

This also means the blog giveaway has officially begun. Just comment on one (or all) of the Florida posts and I will randomly choose a winner. The prize package includes some vintage Florida post cards, a couple of ads from the 1950s for a free Florida vacation book and Rainbow Lakes Estates in Ocala, and a jar of YUMMY tangerine marmalade. Be sure to give me some way to reach you if you win.


Today's selection of photos include palm trees, oranges and flowers! I went a bit crazy with the flower pictures - it was so wonderful to see spring after leaving gargantuan piles of snow behind in Wisconsin. There's still no sign of color around here except for a few green sprouts making their way into the light. We should see some crocus blooms soon I should think.
The azaleas were just about finished blooming when I arrived. Still, they were a delight to me!
Of course, when a Northern gal is down in Florida it would be a shame to come home with no proof that she saw any orange groves. So here you go...






The only amaryllis plants we see way up here are in pots - it was lovely to see tons of them all over town just popping right out the ground.

Just in Time for the Easter festivities

Ms Cora Bond and Ms Willie L. Dutton arrived yesterday and just in time to help us celebrate Easter on Sunday! Cora and Willie came from Suze Persechino's blog giveaway and they are just as cute as can be!! You can see them on her blog here: http://junquedrawerchick.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-giveawaymeet-ms-cora-and-ms.html

Thanks Suze! They are so wonderful!!

My giveaway - I'm convinced that I lost my camera cable somewhere between here and NYC so I'm going to have a CD made tomorrow. I've been dying to post the Florida photos and start the giveaway. In the meantime, I found a vintage ad for property in Florida that I will add to the goodies. So, c'mon back!

My First BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

I'm finally back home from Florida and there are still lots of dirty little piles of snow about. But I'm not going to let that stop me from seeing signs of spring! There are green shoots of plants popping out of the ground all over the garden and there seem to be more birds flitting around. Those are good enough signs for me!

Now, for the giveaway...

I have a few small items from Florida to give away on my blog this month. The package will contain some vintage post cards from Florida and a jar of some yummy tangerine marmalade. All you have to do is leave a comment on one of the posts with pictures from Florida. You can comment on each post for extra chances to win. Be sure to leave me some way to contact you if you are the winner - send me an e if you do not want to leave your email address out on the comment.

So...... just as soon as I find the cable for my camera so I can download the photos, I'll start posting them on the blog. I know it's here somewhere....

Stay tuned....