The thrill of the hunt

This is my back porch. This photo was taken about two years ago.. Since then many things have come and gone, the most unusual thing being the near life-size mechanical pony "Smokey" that came to live with us when Mom and Dad moved last year.
Whatever lands out there, whatever cast-off from other parts of the house.. somehow they just work and it gets "assembled into the BORG" as my husband would say.
Well I don't do as much hunting and gathering or random thrift shopping as I did in past years. And I have learned to start "editing" what I keep and live with. Part of that is just maturing, I think. If you dropped by right now, the porch would not be this organized.. It is recovering from my last decorating endeavor - being a catch-all for the things I moved out of the kitchen during the cabinet repaint. But this picture makes me happy. It reminds me never to question life's little surprises. Part of being a woman is finding a way to live creatively.
On Monday, I spent the day with my Mom. We finally had time to have a real conversation now that the kids have returned to school. We bolted out to the nearest anitique mall to shop for things for the "hoffice". We were on a tight schedule, had a huge wish list and wanted to hit as many of our old haunts as we could fit into one day. It was like going on vacation, I tell you. We enjoyed ourselves, each other's company and all the treasures along the way. She found lampshades for a chandelier, a copper pot for her kitchen, two chairs for Dad's office, a buffet and I found a metal rack to display our scarves on at our next craft fair and a few magazines. But mostly we just enjoyed the hunt.