Sandy is out!

I just got word today from Sharon, aka Fjerda Pfarkel, that Sandy the horse (is she a blonde or a palomino?) formerly owned by Ki and now owned by Frannie Pfarkel (Dianne (and Roger, too!)) has been released from "quarantine." Check out the Pfarkel Sister's blog, Junk {Re}defined, to see what they and Sandy have been up to since the Junk Bonanza.

Join the Junk Revolution!

The Junk Revolution is scheduled to open its online store on Nov 10. Hurray!! We are all anxiously waiting! To kick things off, Ki is giving away a funky hand-embellished military messenger bag. Do you want a chance at winning the bag? Just click on the picture of the bag in my sidebar or go to Margo's Junkin' Journal where you can find out how to enter the contest to win the bag. I'd wish you good luck, but hey, I want to win the bag for me!

the Gran

What a week it has been!

I have been so-ooooo bad. I've been home from the fall sale at Red Barn MN for almost a week and am just now telling about it. On top of that, we had a Tomboy Tool party this past Tuesday with Tomboy Cheryl Woodward and it was awesome!! There were about 15 of us at Gatherings & Gifts and we purchased a truckload of tools! Cheryl, thanks for such a great evening. You have to come back to St. Charles again sometime. And next time, I will remember my camera. Unfortunately, for this one, there are no pictures.

Back to the fall sale at Red Barn. This sale is in a barn in rural Buffalo MN. I stayed at my friend Kari's house for a few days during the sale. She owns "the barn." We vendors set up our booths on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday morning the shoppers were lined up outside waiting for the doors to open. Here's the scene as I walked from the house to the barn.


There were wagonloads of salvage -- old doors, windows, various pieces of iron, posts, a wringer washer, a porch swing, a sink, grates, even books at rock bottom prices.



Inside were the pumpkin greeters and a barn full of treasures old and new for fall, Christmas and everyday decorating.

















There was no indication of a recession at this sale. Minnesotans know how to shop! I made more new friends and had a ball working at the sale. The days were long and the nights short, but we had fun! Thanks, Kari, for putting up with me for days!

A couple days after coming home from Red Barn, I was off to From the Heart Boutique with more of my goodies. From the Heart is in my town - St. Charles - and is open Friday through Sunday for 6 weekends starting November 7. Barb the owner has been running this boutique for around 14 years. Since it is open just 3 times a year, people flock to St. Charles to shop during those special times. I'm looking forward to working a few shifts during these 6 weekends. I miss my customers!! This should be an excellent chance to visit with many of them. Stop in and see me some time!!

Marge

Red Barn Minnesota Here I Come!

Tomorrow morning bright and early at the crack of oh, 7:00 or so, I'm taking the Womb with a View on the go! We are headed for Red Barn Minnesota just outside of Buffalo for Kari's fall barn sale. Red Barn MN is owned by Kari DeMarais. She builds the coolest furniture that is sold at shops in Buffalo and elsewhere. She also does custom orders. I wish I would have taken a picture of the piece she made for a customer of mine. It was a combination locker and hall bench 5' wide and 7' tall! Gorgeous!! Here are a few samples of some of Kari's pieces that I sold in my shop.




Twice a year Kari has a 4-day barn sale. She invites a few other vendors to set up in her barn and we sell like crazy! The sale starts promptly at 9 a.m. Thursday. It runs from 9:00 until 5:00 each day Thursday through Sunday.

I still have room in the womb for a little more but I think I am done loading for tonight.

Are you going to make the trip to Buffalo? You won't be disappointed!! There will be hand-crafted cabinetry, antiques, primitives, salvage and repurposed finds plus autumn and Christmas decor for your home. Perfect Christmas gifts, too! So now are you going to make the trip? The address is 1569 County Road 37 W, Buffalo MN 55313. Here's how you get there:

I-94 West to the Albertville, MN exit. Go left onto County Road 37 (W). Stay on Cty Rd 37 W for approximately 15 miles. Red Barn MN will be on the left -- the red barn with all the cars in the driveway! See you there!!!!

Marge -- the gran on the go

PS -- I heard something today about Sandy the Junk Bonanza horse --- something about a quarantine. There will be a public announcement soon by the Pfarkels, so stay tuned!

Anniversaries and Barn Sales

Ahhh, autumn.

October – my favorite time of year. This one has certainly been busy and we aren’t even to the half way point! Yesterday Ron and I drove the back roads from St. Charles to Winona. The trees were just gorgeous (and I was without a camera). Wouldn’t this be a wonderful time of year for a wedding? That’s exactly what we thought back in 1974. Yesterday we celebrated our 34^th anniversary! That is so hard to believe, especially since I am 34 years old. Well, in my mind I’m 34. Ron said I should think about changing that to 39. We'll see. I like 34. I’ve liked it for a long time. Not too young, not too old. I don’t like the number 39. It just doesn’t sound pleasant, know what I mean? So if I am going to age, I will make the jump to, hmmm, maybe 42. I have to think about that for a while though. You don’t just age 8 years over night. It will take me a while to reinvent my own mental image of myself. Maybe by Christmas I will be 42. We’ll see.

This morning I went to Wabasha to Papa’s Barn to gather what was left after their barn sale. Everyone was quite pleased at how well the sale went. I know I am happy that I didn’t have much to take home.

I wanted some pictures of the Mississippi valley in all its autumn splendor, but it was completely cloudy and threatening rain. Undaunted, I still took pictures, even some out the window.

Hwy 14 between Plainview and Kellogg

I detoured a little on the way home to the scenic overlook above Wabasha. It would have been prettier with sunshine, but even in the clouds, the Mississippi valley is beautiful.

Then closer to home, I came up behind this.

It’s a grain bin on its side on a trailer being towed by a pickup. You won’t see this in the big city!

Apparently the local fauna were out partying last night and several of them didn’t make it home. I counted 5 dead skunks, 1 possum, 2 deer and 1 UFO (unidentified flattened object). The moon is almost full, so they’ll probably be out partying again tonight. Drive carefully.

Tomorrow I will load up again so I can leave bright and early Wednesday morning for the next barn sale. This time I am heading to rural Buffalo, MN to my friend Kari's barn sale. Her business is Red Barn Minnesota and she has the most awesome barn sale. It runs this week from Thursday through Sunday. Details tomorrow, including directions!!

Names and Symbols

A few weeks ago we traded vehicles. I was driving a 2004 Buick Rendezvous and loved it. I’m still not sure why we traded – maybe because of the huge rebate and low interest offered by Dodge and Chrysler. Anyway, we bought a new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with the Stow ‘n Go seats. With the seats all folded away, there is more cargo room than in the bed of Ron’s truck!

My sister-in-law-extraordinaire Tracy drives a Chrysler Town and Country that is pretty much the same as a Dodge Grand Caravan except for the name. I made some comment to her about not liking the ugly ram’s head decal looking at me from the middle of the steering wheel. She, of course, reminded me that the ram’s head and curly horns look like female body parts. Thanks, Tracy. I like it even less now.

I always called my Rendezvous “the car.” It technically wasn’t, but that’s what I called it. So what do I call this new vehicle?

Grand Caravan -- too long and too pretentious.
Caravan -- sounds too cheap.
Minivan -- too soccer mom-ish.
Van -- sounds too big.
Car -- sounds too little.
Truck -- it hauls a lot of stuff, but we already have a truck.

It's warm, comfy and secure. There is that ram's head/uterus looking at me from the center of the steering wheel.

I will call it THE WOMB.

A few days later I was driving in Rochester and realized that the big windows really gave me a great view of my surroundings.

A WOMB WITH A VIEW!!

Marge, the Gran

Papa's Barn, Wabasha MN

The barn is open this weekend!!

Papa's Barn, that is. This is one of the barn sales where I am a vendor. It is open Friday through Sunday the first two weekends in May and the first two weekends in October. That means there are just three more days in 2008 to shop the barn!!


Papa's Barn is located just outside Wabasha, MN. Take a drive along the Mississippi, enjoy the fall colors and shop at Papa's Barn. There is an awesome collection of iron yard art that you shouldn't miss. I may have to go back for a few huge rusty flowers myself!

The barn holds a fantastic selection of everyday, seasonal and holiday merchandise for decorating your home or for gift giving. This is one cute barn -- you've just got to go! Checkout their web site here to see pictures of last year's sale, but trust me when I tell you that this year is bigger and better. Something new this fall is a separate huge tent of antiques by the Hahlers of Plainview (they were in the tent at the Junk Bonanza).

If you miss this weekend at the barn, you are out of luck til May!!

Tomboy Tools Is Coming to St. Charles!

At the Junk Bonanza a few weeks ago I met a lot of people and made many new friends, one being Cheryl Woodward, Tomboy Tools consultant extraordinaire. I had asked DH to check out the Tomboy Tool booth to see if there was anything I needed. Well, check it out he did and he came back carrying the Traveler tool set for me. What a guy!!

Eventually Sharon (a Pfarkel sister and booth mate of mine) and I made it to Cheryl’s booth, just in time to meet and have our picture with Joan Steffend. Of course, neither of us had a camera handy, but Cheryl did! And here – finally - is the picture (me, Joan, Sharon).

I ran into Cheryl again in Rochester at Gold Rush the following weekend and had a nice but too short visit in the parking lot. We both agreed that she should come to St. Chuck’s, so we have scheduled a Tomboy Tool party for October 21.

October is breast cancer awareness month and we in St. Charles tend to make a big deal of promoting breast cancer awareness. We -- my Women in Business group and local breast cancer survivors and supporters -- call ourselves the Bosom Buddies. We try to have several events throughout the month to promote awareness.

Back to the scoop on the tool party. Instead of having it at my home, it will be at Gatherings & Gifts, a gift and coffee shop in downtown St. Charles that is owned by my friend Laura Kirby. By having it in a downtown business, we hope reach a larger audience and get everyone acquainted with those awesome pink Tomboy Tools!

Cheryl, I hope you are prepared for a fun night with the Bosom Buddies of St. Charles!!!