I ♥ My Aunt Do Do!

A True Love Story

Click the above link to read a previous post on my aunt.

I am so thankful for the many years this woman graced this world.

She is my mother's ONLY sister/sibling.

She is my ONLY aunt.

She will be missed terribly.

I am pretty sure the economic crisis is due to the fact that this sweet lady

had to quit shopping due to her illness...but never fear, her family and extended family will continue to carry on her legacy!

As a child, when she and my mother would get together, they would take us to the mall with them....GAH! It was TORTURE on a child going from

one store to another...spending HOURS looking at jewelry...watching she and my mom buy the SAME OUTFITS!! They weren't just any run of the mill outfits either....they were ECCENTRIC outfits!

I swear that they could even buy the same exact outfits in different states and blindfolded....it never ceased to amaze me.

I was the youngest in this small family, so my memories are of me being dragged shopping with them while the older children got to stay home.

The older children remember a time when my aunt was a Susie Homemaker.

I, however have very limited memory of that time....actually, I do remember her getting a "pizza making" basket for Christmas one year...and I thought to myself, "What on earth did they get that for her, she doesn't cook!"

Apparently, before I was old enough to realize it....she did cook.

Now, I'm sure there are memories of that somewhere in my head...I just think I spent more time training my Pet Rock than I did hanging out in the kitchen.

(Yes, I actually spent hours training a PET ROCK while at their house...WHAT? It came with it's own training manual!)

I remember when I used to be embarrassed by some of their clothing styles.

I remember being scared to death to ride with her in a car when she was driving.

(Did I mention she drove in DALLAS every day?) We Oklahomans don't KNOW how to drive that aggressively. Actually, I think it was one of those driving expeditions where I learned to REALLY PRAY.

I remember Thanksgivings and Christmas' in Texas at their house.

I remember being scared that Santa wouldn't find us in Texas....amazed me EVERY TIME he DID find us!

I remember sitting around the kitchen table in the mornings drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

I remember sitting at her vanity and trying on her jewelry and pretending I was a gypsy. (This woman had A LOT of jewelry)

I remember wishing she was a vegetarian when we went to eat at a restaurant, because she would send her meat back at least twice to get it BURNED before she would touch it.

I remember upsetting my own mother when I gave Aunt Do Do my very first ceramic piece I made in a class.

I remember she got DRAFTED into WWII, because she wasn't expected to live at birth and the Dr. marked her birth certificate as MALE. I often wondered how long it would have been before they discovered that mistake if it weren't for our government.

I remember the nose that she inherited from her father....of course she didn't like it one bit. She eventually had some work done on it, and got the pretty nose she always wanted. It was short-lived due to some skin cancer on her nose. This was devastating to her. I remember going to visit her after her surgery.

I remember her face when she walked into the kitchen with her nose all bandaged.

I remember her LAUGHTER when she realized all of us had our noses bandaged too!

I remember going through an awkward stage where I couldn't say Aunt Do Do (pronounced Doe Doe, yes! just like the bird)...I would just start talking to her so I didn't have to say her name aloud and someone might hear.

Did I mention her last name was Pickel? Yah, just like pickle.

Thank God that was very short-lived.

How could one not LOVE that name? You will never forget it...as I will never forget the person behind that name.

Well guess what AUNT DO DO....I FIGURED it out and I would stand at the top of any mountain and scream AUNT DO DO to anyone who wanted to listen!

I love my Aunt Do Do Pickel!!

I am very thankful for those times we were together and wouldn't trade them for the world. I am thankful for the friendship she had with my mother.

They are true role-models for how siblings should be with each other.

I am thankful for her marriage to my Uncle Jim. What an inspiration their marriage was to me!

I will never forget the sound of her infectious laughter!

I will forever cherish my Aunt Do Do.

Guess what? Although I don't care too much for jewelry, I now dress eccentrically and love to shop....guess she got the last laugh, didn't she?

Doretta Wood Pickel November 27, 1929 - March 28, 2010

Are You Looking for a VINTAGE Refrigerator?

I am soooo excited to show this to you....

While at the Oklahoma City Stockshow which lasts THE ENTIRE SPRING BREAK, I take some ME time and head to the wonderful area antique shops.

A blog friend, OKLACOOKIEMAKERQUILTS, turned me on to this WONDERFUL DIVE!

THE RINK in Bethany, OK.

As soon as I walked in the door, I fell in LOVE with this 1950's refrigerator!

This thing was in such great shape that I thought it was RETRO!
I think I might have SQUEALED when I opened it!

I didn't even know they had rotating shelves! Why oh why did they ever quit doing that to the refrigerators?

The ONLY thing I could find remotely wrong with this thing was the gasket had some rust and wear from age on it. Seriously, even the warranty book looked NEW....yes, it has the original warranty book with it.

I don't think anyone has ever actually used it!

Does anyone know if these can be re-wired so they don't pull so much electricity?

What was the price on this you ask?

Before I tell you, I must tell you that I would have this pretty baby in my house had I found it 3 years ago!!

It is priced right at $1600.00! Have you looked at the RETRO versions of these?

We are talking $5000.00 and up!

When you enter the store, if you make it beyond the vintage fridge, you will be greeted by these lovely little darlins'! After you run amok like a kid in a candy shop.....looking at the price tags....you discover there are NO price tags!

So, you will find the nice gentleman who knows something about these chairs and tables....then he will ever so sweetly smile, look at the direction of the tables and chairs....I took this tiny opportunity to wipe the drool off my mouth while he wasn't looking at me.....then he says...."Oh, those AREN'T FOR SALE."

WHAT??? Did I actually call him KIND?

Apparently, at some point they are going to have a coffee shop in here...arrrggghhhh!

I started feeling my bottom lip purse....my chin began to quiver....

Quickly, I started batting my eyelashes.....I tilted my head....I turned on the charm!

I was still told NO!! I slumped....I was devastated because LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!

An IDENTICAL match to MY vintage dining chairs!! I found TWO identical matches!!! WAAAHHHH, and they weren't for sale!

Every 5 minutes, I wandered back to just stare at the chairs....

then I would hit on the guy again....

He was still telling me NO!

Finally, he referred me to THE BIG GUY...no, not the "scurty"...

I felt 'pecial.

When I met him, I didn't even say hello, I just blurted out a price for the chairs....

He looked at me, looked at the chairs, looked at me....I think he spotted the tear in my eye....saw my pouty lip....saw I was packing a gun....and said SURE!!!

I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF 2 MORE VINTAGE CHAIRS FOR A TOTAL OF 6 CHAIRS!!!
Click here to see my table and chairs story.

Here are some more pictures of various items in the shop.....

Oh LOOKY!! It is ME! I have a stalker....that is MOM...everyone say HI MOM!

This is daddy-o looking for The Phantom of the Opera book...first edition...'cause he does stuff like that.....even with old man knees!

No, this is not a stove to go with the vintage fridge...it is a TOY!

The prices were really great for quality stuff!!!

A very vintage bubble blowing MONKEY!!!

This is very unusual....I always thought they wore WHITE corduroy jackets....

Yah, an old TV turned into a CAT HOUSE...had this been a dog house, I just might have bought it!!

These are the pictures I am looking for....if you find any for $5.00, give me a holler! I have a sneaky suspicion that they are catching on....hard to find them under $15.00. I do have a budget and won't pay over $5.00 though.

Yep, I would be the proud owner of the cowboy one and the Williamsburg one!

I really LOVED this booth.....

I am looking for a WORKING pink or turquoise phone like this....

Love this coffeepot....unfortunately, I have a really cool one already...had to let this one go.

Lovin' the lamp....and that little radio on the bottom shelf....

Yah, so this picture is about 6-7 ft. tall!

If I hadn't worked so hard on the chairs....I might have worked on this poster....LOVE IT. It is NOT for sale....pftttt....as if!

Gotta love some old finger chopping fans......

Did I tell you I am looking for one of these phones in pink or turquoise?

So, here is where I started my all day search for some gaudy cowboy boots....NONE of them were in my SIZE!!!

...and if you read my previous post, you would know that I found some elsewhere.....and LOVE THEM TOO!!!

Make sure you stop by this place if you are anywhere close to Bethany!!!

I'm a REAL Cowgirl Now!

While on Spring Break...while at a stockshow...what's a gal to do?
GO SHOPPING FOR COWGIRL BOOTS!
For some time now, I've been searching high and low for some thrifted gaudy cowboy boots....TO NO AVAIL!
I wanted some thrifted $600.00 boots like the local Mexican men wear WITHOUT the little silver tips. ;)
A little birdy informed me that boot companies have started to make vintage lines of boots....

Behind Door #1:

I LOVED these boots....very 70's embroidered detailing.
I was very surprised how comfortable they were on my feet.

Then behind Door #2:

ALLIGATOR!!! GREEN ALLIGATOR! They were very soft and felt well used. The even had cutouts on the leg part...look closely and you can see socks and pant legs...

Behind Door #3:

Brown vintage inspired with red inlay!
These boots were tall also...the toes weren't too pointy, which is a good thing since I tend to drag my feet some and tripped myself in another pair.

SO WHICH DOOR DID I CHOOSE?





I chose DOOR #3!

I REALLY liked the embroidered pair, but felt that if I wore them with my TRUE COWBOY, he might be somewhat embarrassed to be seen with me...although he would NEVER tell me that!
The Alligator was really nice too....'cept when you want to tuck in your pants...then it all shows through the little cut outs.
The brown ones were really comfortable AND they wouldn't embarrass my REAL COWBOY in public....he actually kind of liked them!
Now, I need to go through my closet and find the perfect outfit to go with them! I might even find some THRIFTED outfits!

Do You Need to Make a Special Thank You Gift?

We are 2/3 completed with the spring stockshows.

Sydni and Regan both made the premium sale at the regional show.

For those who don't know about premium sales, here's the down-low....

The exhibitor's animals go through a sale pretty much like a normal auction.

The difference is, the animal is not really "sold".

The money is given as a donation and the "buyer" gets a tax-deduction and a really pretty picture w/ the exhibitor, the animal and themselves.

To show our appreciation to the "buyers", we give them a token gift for their generous support. Most "buyers" are businesses who hang the pictures in their office to show off their community support.

We have done special shirts to baked items to baskets to towels!

I found these floating frames and knew exactly what I could do with them!

Do you see that they have see through glass.....really adds a POW to the picture.

Sydni's steer was "bought" by Armstrong Bank for $600.00!

Regan's looks black because she has the black shirt behind it....

As with all the pics on this blog, you can click them to see them LARGER.

Regan's goat was "bought" by Munding Milling Feed for $650.00!

This was Sydni's last time to show at the regional show...sniff, sniff.

I can't believe she is only a few months away from graduating homeschool high school....sigh.....

I will post pictures of the local show when I get them in.....stay tuned!!!

How to Tell if a Manly-Man has a Daughter....

If you know me at all, you know I go to stockshows to PEOPLE WATCH!

This is a friend of ours who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons....other than the fact that he KNOWS where I live!

I just thought this was precious...I do believe it will tug at all mommy hearts out there.....not to mention all those millions of daddy's girls.

I wonder what he learned about his daughter by listening to her IPOD?

GOALS 2010 February Update

February 2010 Goals had some successes and some failures.

We did NOT get to clean the rooms in the old house. We changed from doing the bedrooms to just the livingroom and we just didn't get it done. Now, we will have the task of doing the bedrooms AND the front porch/storage! We will either continue w/ the livingroom and porch or bedrooms and porch.

I have kept up my daily devotionals and missed only 6 days in February...once again, the weekends tend to be my weakness.

Yah, FAILURE on the eating out.....that's all I'm saying about that.

Doing pretty good on my FlyLady Zones. Not perfect, but keeping things flowing. I did make my bed just about every day!! This month, I want to add sweeping the kitchen floor EVERY night before bed....we live on a farm...need I say anymore?

Still too wet to do the culvert....

I have lost a total of 12 lbs. I am shooting for 5 lbs. a month. I was successful for January and February....even eating out...woohoooo. I think my other 1/2 has lost over 20 lbs. sheesh....to be a guy!!

Ok, I totally messed up the Feb. monthly goal of 15 min. of moving activity daily....I thought I was supposed to do 15 min. of devotional time...LOL. So, guess that will be my March "NEW" thing. I am doing quite well with the water...I had ONE pop in two months....and it was not GOOD either....spew, gag, cough.

We cashed in our change jars and had a grand total of $224.00! We are 1/2 way to our $500.00 goal for the goat fence, which needs to be done by April 1st. I also sold some stuff and added to this fund!! Remember, we are trying to get the money from something else than our regular budget...we are being "creative".

We listed some items on Craigslist and had numerous people contact us, but no sales. I need to re-list since it has been 30 days, but have to wait til we aren't neck-deep in stockshows.

Well, feel free to join me in Goals 2010 and let me know how you are progressing!!!