The Rocking Horse Antiques and Collectibles

We are all anxious to see those daffodils poking their heads through the ground!  And the tulips are always so beautiful…………….we can’t wait!  How about you? 

Next week is St. Patrick’s Day!  It makes me reminisce about the bar my Dad owned.  Green beer was an annual attraction on this special day!  People came from miles around to toast St. Pat and enjoy a glass or two of that great green beer!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you!

Winter has been eventful for all of us at The Rocking Horse.  There have been new babies and grandbabies, winter vacations to warm & balmy climates, school performances, shopping trips, lots of card games and church gatherings.   And perhaps the best thing of all has been gobbling up all the left overs from the many family celebrations! 

Our new season is going to be fun and exciting!    Wait until you see the beautiful Tiger Oak bed!  It is absolutely gorgeous.  There is a wonderful hand carved scroll on the head board and it is in great condition.   As soon as we have it assembled we will have a picture of it!   You will love it!!

Tomorrow Terry and I are going treasure hunting.  It is always a fun adventure when we get together to do our exploring!  I will let you know of our next great finds.

Have you ever had the opportunlity to watch the TV show on the History channel called “American Pickers”?  My son introduced me to the show and I rarely miss an episode now.  The premise, in case you have not seen it, is two men travel through Iowa looking for great fiinds for their Antique Store.   Terry and I did that on a much smaller scale in Madison, Wisconsin and the surrounding area yesterday.  We went to a few consignment shops, a church sale and checked on the ads in the local paper.   We found some interesting items for our upcoming sale.   My favorite is an adorable little childs rocker.  I know some tiny tot will feel on top of the world when he gets his first chance to rock away in it.   Terry’s finds include some beautiful crocks and glassware.  We are anxious to share them with you.   As a result of our successful day we dubbed ourselves the “Lady Pickers”.   What fun!

We had a wonderful, adventure filled day!  Perhaps the highlite of the day was our lunch.   When we decided to take time out to ease those hunger pains that were creeping up on us we choose The Weary Traveler on Williamson St (know as Willy Street to the locals).  And what a perfect choice it was.  Terry and I both choose the special which was talapi with the most awsome serving of vegetables I have ever eaten.    Everything was fresh and tasty.  Our mothers would have been proud, we licked our plates clean!  And then to reward ourselves for choosing our entre so wisely we had to order some delicious home made dessert.   Terry choose the chocolate cake, in fact it was the perfect chocolate cake!  I choose the cheese cake with some cruncy carmel and nuts on top.  It was excellent.   If you find yourself in the Willy Street neighborhood we both highly recommend The Weary Traveler! We were certainly not disappointed and I don’t believe you will be either.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the Willy Street neighborhood.  We met some really nice, helpful folks.   And we learned a lot of history from one knowledgable shop owner.  We will definitely visit that area again!  And hopefully you will get a chance to do the same.

There are a couple of auctions coming up in the next weeks.  We will be looking for great finds to fill the barn for our Spring opening.  We are excited!  We will see you soon!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  It is extra nice when these holidays fall on the weekend.  Most of us don’t have to watch the clock quite so closely so the day can be a bit more relaxing!  I hope you all enjoyed the chocolates and the roses and perhaps even a few chocolate roses.  The best part is always the hand made valentines that the little ones present us with. 

It was a wonderful weekend at our house.  Our Grandchildren from the Chicago area spent the weekend here.  They wanted to see their cousin’s basketball game on Friday night and they made it just in time!   They brought their dog, a gorgeous Golden Retriever named Luke, along.   What fun the dogs had in the snow!

My Granddaughter loves to play hotel.  So that is one of the activities that we enjoyed.  The best part of that adventure is that she is the “Owner/Manager” and I am the guest!  Room Service was never so sweet!

It is starting to snow again but don’t dishearten…………..Spring truly is just around the corner!  We will be setting the dates for the upcoming sales very soon so be sure to check our web site regularly!  I hope to see you soon!

The sun is shinning brightly, the ice cicles are still hanging heavy from the eaves, the deck is snow covered and slippery, the snow is piled high on both  sides of the driveway, the temperature hovers around zero (not to mention the wind chill factor),my truck grunts and groans when I start it and I need 3 layers of clothing to walk to the pond but I am  still thinking Spring!  How about you?  Hopefully our local Ground Hog will give us a really good forcast in the next couple of days.  If so he will certainly win a popularity contest around here!

We are all eager to open the Rocking Horse again this year.  And I know you will be pleased when you discover all the great new finds that we have for you.  The auctions have been plentiful.  And we have all been very diligent, hanging in there to bring exciting items to the barn!  One of my favorites is a drop leaf kitchen table.  It is one of those pieces that makes you wish that it could talk.  What wonderful tales we would hear as we sit around it with our warm coffee and home made cinnamon rolls.  Another unique item is a darling little girls dressing table.  You can close your eyes and just imagine your little princess sitting there, curling her long tresses and adventuring with a tube of your discarded lipstick

We have not set a date for our first opening as of now.  We are sure hoping that the weather cooperates with us and that we can have an early start.  We are so excited and looking forward to another great season.  See you then!!

 
What a wonderful, exciting year this has been.  I really hate to see it come to an end.  It has been such fun meeting new people and getting reacquainted with ones that we have known forever. 
 
We really look forward to our opening sales this Spring.  No date has been set for the first sale.  We will keep you informed with postings on this site so be sure and stay tuned.
 
I hope all the snow and rain and sleet and wind did not keep you from spending time with your family this Christmas season.  The weather got pretty treacherous this year and in lots of cases it was just good judgment to stay put and not make the usual road trips.  In any event I wish you all happiness and peace this coming year.
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

And now it is really time to start thinking about Christmas!  I have barely begun my shopping so I am beginning to get into that panic mode!  It is a familiar feeling to me so I think I can manage it nicely. 

Our tree is up and shinning brightly.  I really enjoy all the Christmas decorations in the house.  I don’t have a lot, just enough to make it look festive. 
                                                                              
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the outdoor decorations.  I’ll start this tale by telling you that we got a puppy in the summer.  He is a darling mix of Black Lab and (we think) Border Collie.  He is well behaved and as handsome as can be.   At least I thought he was well behaved.    We have a large deck on the back of our house.  Every year I drape garland, white lights and red bows on the railing.  This year it was no exception.  One sunny day I braved the cold and meticulously put up all the decorations.  It was beautiful!  Our puppy, Tux, has a run in the back yard which allows him to get on the deck.   You guessed it, he played havoc with the red bows.  He pulled every one of them down and chewed them to bits!  I was upset, had a little talk with Tux and waited until the next day to replace all the bows.  And yes, he did it again.  Every new red bow was pulled down and he was quietly doing his magic on them!  So now we just have garland and lights, I decided bows were simply out of the question this year.
 
Its time to get out some of our favorite Christmas recipes and begin baking.  I think I will make a batch of fudge just to get in the mood!  And some of the family favorites will be on my list of tasks for next week. 
 
I hope you are all enjoying the hustle and bustle of this joyous season.   

 Good morning everyone!  This year has certainly gone by quickly!  It is difficult to believe that it is time to thaw that turkey and bake those pies! 
 
I have a great deal to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week.  I have a healthy family, great friends and a good life.  My venture into the world of “Occasional Sales” in the Barn has kept me very busy.  My list of things to do to improve the operation next year grows everyday.
And my list of things to be thankful for grows everyday as well. 
 
We had a very successful 50% off sale this past weekend.  Everyone loves a bargain and the bargain hunters were out in full force.  We are pleased to have emptied the barn so that we can begin our quest to have a whole new assortment of goodies for you in the spring.  Let the shopping begin!!   The Barn was buzzing for two days as friends met old friends and made new ones.  We had a great variety of treats to go with the coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  Everyone loved the cookies with a bit of a lemon taste and the cranberry bars and Mexican Wedding Rings and other goodies!  Thanks to Annie, Shirley and Alice for sharing the assortment with our customers.
 
Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone.  May you be blessed with happiness, love and peace.