A New Film Charts the Decline of American Barns

A New Film Charts the Decline of American Barns (<--click to link)

In 1935, 6.8 million farms operated across the United States, most with at least one barn. Now, just around 650,000 barns remain standing.

If that statistic is correct...well, that just makes me feel kind of sick.

Much of my artwork features barns.  I love them.

Other people love them. And after reading the article that I linked above I am more committed than ever to get out there, hitting the road, photographing as many of them as I can...before they aren't there any more.

I can't even wrap myself around that.  Can you?

It's not helping that everyone has to have barn wood for every freakin' project they take on now.

Case in point: that horrible television show where some company goes out and rapes old barns of their wood (sorry, they "deconstruct" them) for huge profit (sorry, for "preservation purposes").

I'm so passionate about this it makes me almost cry.  It's not quite the same as how I feel about animal poachers but you know what?  It does feel a little bit similar.

I cannot imagine taking long drives in the countryside and not seeing any barns.
I hope you can't either.

Maybe if everyone stops buying barn wood and buying into the whole barn wood = trendy it will help save the barns.

Here are a few resources for how to not use real barn wood:

HOW TO MAKE NEW WOOD LOOK LIKE OLD DISTRESSED BARN BOARDS

HEWN LIVING FINISH BARNWOOD

MONTANA GHOST WOOD: "Our mission is to provide an alternative reclaimed wood product to the growing demand for reclaimed wood and barn wood while preserving our historic monuments."

It's Okay To Feel Stuff

This is what being alive’s all about, all those f**ked up feelings. 

You’ve got to have them; when you stop, watch out. 

-Irvine Welsh

Please read that quote a few times.  Let it sink in.

Then step away from all those gazillions of pretty sunset pictures with the trite platitudes that tell you to be happy all the time; that you must always press the magical happy or forgiveness or whatever button, etc. and if you don't then you are doing life wrong.

What a bunch of baloney it all is.

Don't feel guilty because you're mad or sad or angry or depressed or frustrated or overwhelmed or anxious, etc.
It's okay to not make lemonade out of lemons; in fact, it's more than okay.

Ha ha, I really don't but this was really funny.  Want one?  Get it here.

I don't know where this constant happiness came from or how it started but I suspect it has something to do with computers enabling anyone to slap some text on a pretty picture.  Whatever the case, I implore you to ignore it.  I implore you to get real.  I implore you to be authentic.  Not doing so buries all of the things you're feeling and I promise they are going to come out one day, one way or another, and it won't be pretty.

You were given emotions for a reason and I don't think it was to pretend you don't have them.
Have them, recognize them, then move on from them to the best of your ability*.  Sometimes you need to have a bad day.  I have chronic pain + anosmia + migraines so I have a lot of bad days.  Most of the time I don't let it get to me and I've learned that when it's really bad I need to amp up the good stuff to the best of my ability: anything that makes me laugh or gives me material to make other people laugh, creating art or something else.

Sometimes, though, I just need to lay in bed or cry or vent it out to my long-suffering husband and daughter.  They let me be real and I do the same for them.


 

*If you seem to be stuck and can't move on to feeling better, help yourself by seeking help.

Life In South Jersey

Why, yes, those are turkeys standing on top of and all around my Wrangler.

This is what they resort to in an effort to get my attention when I don't feed them on time.

Apparently they weren't going to let me go anywhere until they got their dinner.

My $14 Indoor Window Shutters

I wanted shutters for the downstairs bathroom and found an online company that did really terrific custom work...but they weren't cheap.  And the shipping cost was crazy.


I have a very strong aversion to anything expensive.  I'd rather spend money on experiences and having fun together instead of stuff.

The shutters I was interested in were really very simple - just plain wood panels, stained or painted, with primitive-style star cut outs.  The cut outs weren't very important to me and the design was ridiculously simple so I knew it was a project I could totally do.

So, off to Home Depot I went...



$14 later I had what I needed:
(1) 1x6x8 pine board, cut down to the 4 panels I needed
(2) pkgs of black hinges

It's fabulous that Home Depot cuts lumber for you. Normally JP will do my cutting but I wanted to do this project completely on my own and I wanted it done before he got home from work.  You just find a Home Depot person and ask them to make your cuts.  I needed (4) 19" pieces.  It took the guy about two minutes and the cutting was free.

I already had the black glaze that I wanted to use so no extra expense there.  By the way, the glaze that I used is called General Finishes Pitch Black glaze and it's amazing.  It's not cheap at about $15.99 for a pint, but it's worth it. A little goes a really long way. You can buy it here.

These are my boards after I finished glazing them.  Note: I used the glaze like paint and I know that's not really how you're supposed to use glaze but don't worry about rules. Nothing fun ever comes from following them anyway. This glaze gives the wood such a wonderful, silky finish.  I could have used my old standby - my chalk paints, which I adore - but I wanted the finish that the glaze gives.  Chalk paint would work really well on these though, too.

You can see above that I started to use my hand sander to distress the edges.
Yes, it is MY hand sander but for some reason I always seem to have to go looking for it and always find it in my husband's garage next to some project he's working on.  And I do recall that he scoffed at me when I purchased it.  That's okay, though...I use his drill all the time so we're even.  You know it's true love when you share your power tools with each other.  :-)

So the custom shutters I had been considering ordering had cut out stars but since the cut out part wasn't important to me, I decided to just paint stars on mine...

I outlined the stars...

...then painted them, using chalk paint.

Next I added the hinges.

And - voila! - we have shutters!

The finished product is not hinged to the actual window casing.  You could easily attach them but I didn't find it to be necessary.  I can still adjust them with them simply resting on the sill.  The thought of drilling holes into the actual window made me shudder.  (Ha, that was an unintentional pun.)

All in all, they took me about 3 hours start to finish but I had interruptions...phone calls, dogs that needed to be played with, etc.
Happily, the shutters did get done before JP got home ♥

Don't be intimidated about doing stuff like this. If you screw it up, so what? That's how you learn.
It's easy to just go buy and pay too much money for stuff; it's way more fun to do it yourself.

 

Why I Love New Jersey, Reason #5,274,931: Bivalve Farmers Market

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon at the Bivalve Farmers Market in Bivalve, NJ.

I'm actually quite hesitant to post about this because Bivalve is in my most favorite area of my beloved NJ.  It is my most favorite area because it is well off the beaten path and I would very much like it to remain that way.
But I'm not the selfish type and the Bivalve Farmers Market is so wonderful so I have to share it.  Besides, I met some of the nicest people there yesterday who were selling their goods and wares and I would like you to go there in the coming weeks and spend lots of money on these fine folks.


I am lucky enough to live in Cumberland County, NJ, which is where the town of Bivalve is located.
Most people are so caught up in their misconceptions of NJ (and making lame jokes about it), that they don't realize there are places in my state that are literally breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful and steeped in history.  That's probably okay because (most of) those kinds of people are not the kind of people who will come, quietly and with reverence.  (See?  I can make broad generalizations, too! haha)

If you are the type of person who does have appreciation and respect for serenity and history, I think you will find that making the trip down to Bivalve is well worth the time and effort.

See for yourself:

The shore road to Bivalve

Inside the museum

This is what's left of the schooner, Cashier.  Read more about its history HERE and HERE. Built in 1849! 
"She worked the waters, mostly out of Bivalve, Commercial Township, Cumberland County, NJ
from 1849 to 2000."
Amazing. I felt proud to make her acquaintance.

There she sits, in her resting place, watching all the activity around her.

I'm standing on the one of the docks that the market is held on. This is the view from there.

Oyster boat

More of the magnificent view. This is across the water.

Fresh, beautiful flowers for sale

Samples of sailors knots

Fresh seafood for sale and some pretty cool shell art/jewelry

Out front; please note the musician whose music lent itself so perfectly to this oh so perfect place and event

Some of the locals hanging out

A local dining on one of the  local specialties - clam? oyster?

I went home with everything we needed for a perfect dinner: a quart of oyster chowder, a loaf of locally made bread, deviled eggs stuffed with lump crabmeat and applesauce bread for dessert.

The Bivalve Farmers Market is held on Wednesday afternoons until 11/22.  Please note that 11/22 is a Tuesday and I imagine they're doing it on that day so that we can go over and get what we need to start cooking for our Thanksgiving meals on Wednesday.

I can't wait to go back!  If you go, look for me and say hello.  I'll be the one taking pictures of everything.

 

House Tour: Porch

I was outside with the dogs yesterday afternoon and the light was so right that I had to rush inside to grab one of my cameras and take some shots.

I can't tell you how much I love my front porch. We are out there all the time, sharing wine and conversation, and waving at the neighbors - some of whom who actually wave back - and cursing under our collective breaths at the neighbors who for some godforsaken reason walk their dog off leash and pay no attention as their special-privileged pooch runs through everyone's landscaping while deciding upon a spot in our yards where it would like to leave medium-sized surprises.  It takes a huge set to let your dog do this but I'm off on a tangent here.

Sitting on our porch is most of the time blissful*.

*Responsible pet owners/courteous neighbors do not allow their dog to be off leash.

Write

Write because you want to communicate with yourself.
Write because you want to communicate with someone else.
Write because life is weird and tragic and amazing.
Write because talking is difficult. Write because it polishes the heart.
Write because you can.
Write because you can’t. Write because there is a blackbird outside of my window right now and oh my god isn’t that the best start to the day?
Write because you’re trying to figure yourself out.
Write because you might not ever figure yourself out.
Write because there still aren’t enough love poems in the world. --Dalton Day


 

Let's Catch Up

A lot has happened in my world in these oppressive days of August besides people blowing off people on their milestone birthday.  But that's a long story for another time...or for never.

I guess the biggest thing that happened is that I closed my little shop after a grand total of 2.5 months.

The main reason for making the decision to close the shop was because the warehouse building it was in is not air-conditioned.  Unfortunately we were not specifically made aware of this when we signed the lease back in much cooler May.  The management never actually said a word about it and later, when we realized the situation and checked the wording of the lease, all it said was that they provided "ventilation".  Who knew that in 2016 that meant no AC? ("Ventilation" meant floor fans which are almost totally ineffective with booths/partitions.)


It didn't even cross our minds that they wouldn't have AC or some other temperature dropping means


that would keep the building less than suffocatingly hot. June in that building wasn't so bad; July was pretty awful (which is when we realized there was no AC), and by August it was Africa hot in there. Some of you know that I have lung issues and can't be in extreme heat so I couldn't even spend any time in my own little shop which is, of course, ridiculous.  Plus there was no way in hell and in good conscience that I was going to advertise and encourage people to shop there.  What would I say? Come shop in my little shop and be sure to dress lightly and bring lots of water to keep hydrated? Free salt pills for everyone?!

Maybe I could have handed out instructional flyers to my customers
to instruct them what to do in the event of heat stroke.

Luckily, I was able to get out of the lease (for a fee, of course).

So we learned some lessons, the main one being that even though it's 2016 you still have to ask questions about proper heating/cooling! Also, do lots and lots of research before signing on the dotted line.  Ask the "dumb" questions, i.e. the ones that seem obvious. When dealing with business people, there is a lot to be said for transparency...or, alas, lack thereof.  Don't get me wrong: the people were really nice.  But I did feel that when they didn't verbally divulge important things like the lack of a cooling system and instead expected me to figure that out on my own by reading in-between the lines of the contract (i.e. using the word 'ventilation' instead of explicitly stating 'building does not currently have air-conditioning')...well, that's a big turn off.  It felt very disingenuous to me.

One of the main things to do if you are considering a similar endeavor is to definitely watch for the non-specifics. Dig around, do your research! I can't emphasize that one enough.  I found out too late that the owners had started one of those pages where you ask other people to donate money. Theirs was to try and raise money (22k!) for an air-conditioning system.  Normally those pages are for things like helping people with medical needs, charity, etc (although there was that one guy who started one so he could make potato salad)...not for what - in my opinion -  a legitimate, professional business owner should have in place before ever opening a business.  Seriously, if you have to ask people to fund some major part of your endeavor then in all likelihood it's probably a good idea to wait until you have your sh*t together a little more. Had I found out about that before I signed a lease I would most definitely not have signed.  If it feels like a red flag, it IS a red flag.  Pay attention to that.

Oh well, you live and learn.  So for now I am back to selling my stuff online which, quite honestly, feels most right for me.  No pressure and I'm the one in control.  Yup, that's just how I like it.

I've pretty much had enough of summer.  As one of the lucky 1% of the population with Reverse or Summer S.A.D., this has been a summer with very little rain and - as the weather people like to say - "abundant sunshine" as well as ridiculous dew points that make breathing almost impossible. Basically that all adds up to my idea of hell. I spend summer cocooned in my office with the blackout shades pulled all the way down to block out all sunshine, and the air conditioner set to mildly arctic.
Everyone always says "but you have a swimming pool!"  Yes, but why would I leave a comfortable, dark house to go outside and sweat and not be able to breathe?
Thankfully I've found some forums for us one-percenters where everyone bitches and moans about the sun and heat while posting pictures of fall and winter.  Although I'm not a winter lover except for the breathable air part but it does help an awful lot to know I'm not the only one who hides from summer. There's always these great festivals and events in summer and all I can think of is how hot and uncomfortable they must be with "real feel" temps that soar over 100°F and cranky people and uncomfortable clothes that stick to you because you can't stop sweating.  Not my idea of fun.
Here's an article from a kindred spirit: Good Riddance To Summer; A Thoroughly Un-British Season

Was summer always this awful with air so thick it feels as if you could actually slice it?  I mean, I used to be so active in the summertime and there's no way I would have done the things I used to do if it were crazy humid out.  When I was little my mom used to say that one day we would have Florida weather here in NJ.  I used to think she was on something but now I think she was on to something!

But I think the worst part of it all is the lack of rain and cloudy days.  Oh, how I love rain and clouds. Instead it's just been endless days of glaring, suck-the-life-out-of-me sunshine.  No summer storms to break up the heat, no porch-sitting while listening to the faraway rumble of thunder.
Nerves are on edge.  We need the rain and the benefits of its negative ions.

At least there's always wine to get me through until it finally cools down/gets cloudy/rains.