HAPPY NEW YEAR

Here we are practically in a new year. Time to reflect on the past year and project our hopes into the next. Time to tell out loud what we are grateful for in our past year and what we are hoping to change in the new year.
I do not ever have New Year's resolutions. Why? Too many to name? Too many that I know I won't be able to keep? Not much that needs changing? (Joke) For whatever reason, I have never been one to make up lists of what I would like to change or work on in the coming new year.
What am I grateful for? That list is long and constantly changing and updating like a computer.
I am so grateful that I know our Lord and can call on him at any time of the day or night when I just need to talk. I am so very grateful that I have a wonderful husband that wants my happiness more than his own. I am so grateful that even though he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and is currently having treatment we have hopes of a complete recovery. We went to every kind of Dr. and clinical trial there is currently out there before deciding on a new kind of radiation treatments. We met so many kind and caring medical professionals in our quest. We made many friends of them. We feel we were led to this treatment and hitched our wagon to it.
I am grateful for friends, some good and some not so good. For whichever intention behind their friendship I am still grateful for them and their entry into my life. I like them whether or not they are in this for the long term, or are just a fleeting breath of friendship. That is not for us to predetermine, but to enjoy them while they are in our lives.
I am grateful for family. I have two grown sons with children of their own. I have raised 3 of the 5 grandchildren and they are nearing adulthood too. For that I am eternally grateful!!!!!!! This second crop almost did me in!!! I have three sisters with almost no contact with two of them since our mother died. I pray for them daily even though we are no longer close. But for that one who is still close I am most grateful for her and her love and friendship. Their absence makes her the more precious.
For a lovely home I am grateful. For a business that I love and worked 30 years to "afford", I am grateful. It is so different to work for your own self.
After 30 years of a good job and now a retirement check monthly I am also grateful.
So what else could I wish for? Continuation of all of the above. That is my greatest wish, for continuation.
For a good President to be elected when we go to the polls in 2008. For a new attitude between the two political parties in Wash. That list can go on and on.
I wish for health insurance for all who do not have any at this time in our country. So many who have cancer like my husband are without and cannot have the good care that he is having. What do you do when you have a family member whom you love greatly that has cancer and has no health insurance to be able to have treatment and you have to watch that person die needlessly? That would be so hard.
These are the real tests for our country and elected officials. That is on my list for things I would like to see happen this year.
So on and on I could go. But I won't. Thanks for the opportunity to state my position.
The store is changing somewhat this year. I have a new dealer and I won't announce her name yet but will let her do so in her own blog. I am glad to have her and am excited about working together here. There will be pictures forthcoming I am sure.
I also have taken a picture of the garden room here at the store that will help us get through the winter and dream of the springtime.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all.
Lois

CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas is almost here!!!

My husband James and I stopped this morning on the way to the store to do some last minute shopping.
Just wanted that little extra for the Boys(grandsons who live with us) as this is probably last Christmas we will have them both at home as the oldest is reaching 18 on Dec.27. No time to reflect on what that really means to us yet. I really like that bustle of last minute shopping so I purposely do this every year.

We are not usually open on Mondays but this year since Christmas Eve falls on this day we will open for a few hours for last minute shoppers. I also have a customer who is driving over from Washington-on-the-Brazos to buy a cheval mirror which she put on layaway by phone. She and her family do reinactments and she sells her reproduction clothing at this events so the reason for her buying the mirror. This mirror has a very interesting history. It was originally a prop for the local college drama department. I bought it at a local thrift store. It is about 50 years old. Not a true antique but very interesting item nevertheless. And very large and heavy.

Sometimes we have last minute shoppers for the jewelry items that Wilma carries in her antique store display counter. She carries wonderful costume pieces from 1850 to 1980's with names such as Kramer, Juliana, Weiss, old Czech, handpainted brooches, belt buckles, mourning booches, and so many other items it is hard to mention them all here. She also sells some turquoise items. She rents a booth space from me here.

At this time I have actually 4 dealers who rent space. I have room for one more maybe but
I have so many things I use most of the space for my own things. This building is an old bank.
From the 1880's. It was started by the Gibbs family who still live here in Huntsville when not traveling or visiting one of their other properties in Europe. I bought a document over Ebay which originated in this very bank in 1881 and was signed by the then bank president, one of the Gibbs. A customer is the wife of his great grandson. She keeps trying to buy the document ffrom me for him but I have not talked myself into doing so yet. I will in time I know. As who would have a greater right to it than he. We have named the other rooms of the store after their original function, such as the Vault, which is a large walk in room with 3 feet thick brick walls and shelves everywhere for the money.

So today we have hopes of some sales but if not we are enjoying being here as we have since we went to business after our early retirements from our careers with government. With the federal government you can retire at 55 under the old rules. No longer true for those entering service later after 1982. So we are here and enjoying our new lives working for our own selves.
My favorite thing about the store is decorating the display windows every month with a seasonal theme. This month is a 1800's Christmas theme with fireplace and stockings hung in the main window and the mannequin wearing a deep rose red velvet dress.

I hope to have my pictures posted soon. Theresa of Garden Antiques came by and took some great ones but I have yet to get them transferred. Did you see her latest blog, with friend Marion's house? I can agree with her totally that this house is like a museum in many ways.
Stopped in time. The favorite thing for me was her back porch in the warm months with the white iron bed and all the wonderful white linen. I wanted to take a dive into it it was so inviting.
Marion knows how to decorate. I sold her an old maid's costume a few years back and she had it hanging in her bathroom. It was black with white organdy type treatment at the neck.
Her Christmas displays are truly something you do not usually see, amazing. She should have been in Country Living by now.

Wishing you all a happy Christmas.
Lois

Estate Sale last weekend

Last weekend we did an estate sale for a Church friend who is having to move into assisted living. This was terribly hard work since she sold her house the first day of listing and found out she has to be out by Dec. 21. This created a real challenge for us as we are at the store all day then had to go there in the evenings to price the items, and believe me, she had items!!!!
She knew this was not a desirable weekend due to Christmas shopping going on big time, but there was no other choice. So we embarked. I hurt my back the first day and struggled around for the entire week in preparation of the sale. Working at the store all day, pricing in the evenings then sleeping on a heating pad at night. Wow. What a week.
We did manage to do an adequate job for her and just today finished the report and will drop her check off this evening.
We sold some wonderful things there: an English cabinet that had some oriental influence, a square Chippendale type table, tons of c 1900 Silverplate and quadruple plate and sterling, Haviland Parisiana china service for 12 with a very few chips in the whole set, crystal Waterford, early 1900's etched glasses and plates, a Tell City Child's rocker, mirrors, water colors, oils,
some commissioned pieces, some very old jewelry which I will sell in the store here,
and more things than I can or wish to remember. What I am happiest about? It being over.
I tell my husband every time I will never do another estate sale, then someone asks and I do it anyway. For any who do not know, it is very hard work!!
I would like to wish each and every one a very happy Christmas!!!
Lois

New photos

As soon as I can find my missing camera I will post some Christmas photos of the store.
The case is there but no camera. We have some wonderful new fragrances in Beanpod candles with names like Christmas Memories, White Poincettia, Toasted Hazelnut, Jubilee, Evergreen. If you have not tried soy candles you are in for a real treat. No smoke. No danger to your body and environment. Just wonderful scents.

December 2007

Here it is December and I am finally getting around to setting up a blog. My friend Theresa of Garden Antiques has told me about hers and after seeing all the wonderful pictures she has posted, I could not wait to get started.
I took early retirement from my career of 30 years with the government and opened an antique shop. I had been involved for many years with a booth in an antique mall but felt it was time to venture out on my own. So here I am. Safely ensconced in my new career with the security of my retirement check behind me and a husband who sometimes understands my desire to "save" all the antiques I can.
I must admit that I want to save them more than sell them. I am having issues with parting from some of my items. It is getting some better now and I really enjoy being able to fit the right customer with the right antique and turning over custody to them of the wonderful item. There is one customer, Gwen who allows me to visit the wonderful primitive cabinet I sold her. She is such great fun to be around and I hope she never stops shopping with me.
I strive to bring a new concept to antique shopping in our area here in Huntsville Texas, home of Sam Houston as well as his burial place. For those of you outside Texas, he is just about the most important person in Texas history. General of the Texas Revolution for independence from Mexico, President of the Republic of Texas, first Governor of the State of Texas, and a US Senator for Texas. If you come to Huntsville you will be bombarded with historical places pertaining to Sam Houston. Huntsville is also too well known for being the home of the Texas prison execution site. The oldest prison in Texas is here as well as many other Units of Texas Dept of Criminal Justice, which is not exactly a tourist drawing card, but historical never the less.
I wanted my antique shop to be different than the antique malls that are so often what we see now that it is clearly harder to make a living selling antiques. I like to dress my windows in a theme showing life in the earlier days.
For instance, this month I have a Christmas theme with one window showing a fireplace hung with stockings for Santa, and my lady mannequin wearing a lovely burgundy velvet dress
with Christmas gifts in front of the tree for a child of the 1900 to 1920 period. In another display window I have a sleigh with old shabby ceramic Santa. In the last window there is a sewing rocker, sewing items, all in reds.
I get excited every month planning the next display window but must say that when we are staging it in the window my husband who is my "assistant" in window dressing gets very exasperated with me as I want it to be perfect every time. He likes the "it looks ok to me"
concept. So if we were ever to divorce, this would be the cause of it. I, of course get to enjoy all the positive comments from the customers over it.
I rent booths to three vendors here. One is a lady who sells vintage and estate jewelry. She has many lovely items and specializes in Kramer, Weiss, Juliana, 1930's Czech, and Liz Taylor pieces. She sells antique ladies belt buckles, brooches, cameos, mourning brooches, music boxes and a whole line of older jewelry items.
The next is a lady who has been in the antiques business here in town for over 20 years. She has also owned a Bed and Breakfast locally for years. She is selling many items accumulated for the B & B. She is a delightful person and involved in everything to do with the city. A walking tourist promoter for Huntsville.
The third is a little lady who is recently starting in the antiques business. This is her first endeavor and she is selling items she has collected for many years. This all makes for an interesting variety of goods.
Since I am so new to blogging, this will take some time to get going in a way to please and copy my friend, Theresa. She has a great style and the most cheerful personality that is so contagious.
Her blog is Garden Antiques so check her out. We were in the Sam Houston Antiques Mall together years ago and she did not like me at all then. I persisted and finally I think she does, somewhat. Another old friend in antiques is Marion, she is the greatest arranger of antiques and has the most interesting things ever. All primitive. Until Marion I did not even like primitives, and now look at me!!!! She sometimes still does shows. She did the Huntsville Antiques show last year with her friend. I bought an old metal steeple from her. It had been on a local Church long ago. I love it and several tried to buy it from me on my way out of the sale. No way!!
It is in my yard at home and will stay. Until I go and my sons who hate antiques has that biggest of all garage sale of my things someday. So try to watch out for that one in the future.
I laugh about that but it is probably true.
I also sell Watkins products and Beanpod candles in my store as well as Romantic Homes magazines.
So check me out when in the area.
Lois