Friday morning dawned bright and clear…
we took a quick walk through all the in-process-of-being-set-up booths at Simple Goods, then a quick check and fluffing of our booth and headed out the door…
places to see, things to do!
Our first trip to Ohio, we were off to hit a couple of must-do visits!
An hour-and-a-half later, we arrived at Curry’s Antiques in Lancaster, Ohio for Ginny Curry’s Christmas Open House!
We followed the drive (as directed) up past the main house to a field at the top of the hill…
The view from our parking area was breathtaking!
We had heard so much about Curry’s, excitement was just bubbling up…
We couldn’t wait to walk back down the hill to see everything!
But first, we had to stop and visit with the chickens…
and snap photos of this adorable log shed…
and of course Ginny’s dooryard garden, too!
We headed back down the drive to the shop and outbuildings…
so much to see and take in… so beautiful!
Everywhere we turned there was a beautiful garden…
and creative holiday display…
I just love the way they use apples in their garlands… so pretty & festive!
This sign pretty much spells it out… PINCH ME!!! Am I really HERE???
It’s funny how weird it feels to have looked at photos for years of a place
and finally
have the opportunity to see it IN PERSON!!!
This fellow was set up outside demonstrating for passers-by…
BUT
we had other things to see first!
After stopping to chat with a couple of friends who had traveled from New York for the festivities and show, we ventured into Curry’s Antiques!
The shop was a delight…
with holiday displays and gorgeous antiques in every nook & cranny!
Absolutely loved this Christmas tree display… soooooo neat!
Such a pretty bedroom set-up and…
a couple of our favorite people, James Cramer & Jill Peterson were doing book signings of their new book, ‘Tis the Season – Christmas Eve with James Cramer and Jill’s new book, Simple Cooking for a Simple Life (note there are a few of our recipes within those gorgeous pages)!
We love them AND their books!
(Sorry this shot is blurry, but it was hard to get them to sit still! Oops!)
A beautiful pomander display greeted us in one room~
I loved this pine garland with simple mittens for decoration… so sweet!
Christmas was everywhere~
Back outside, we had a chance to visit with the blacksmith…
Such a nice guy! He showed us how to make a rose-head nail… so neat!
My cohorts in crime, Doreen & Judy (of Country Plus), headed back up the hill to our truck!
We headed off to our next destination…
passing by this sweet log cabin,
this picturesque church and burial ground,
and we parked in this little field next to an adorable farm, complete with vintage truck in the back yard! Gotta love Ohio ❤
We could hardly contain ourselves… Miller House Antiques, here we come!
As we walked down the country road, we got a glimpse of a log cabin and a puff of smoke…
ALMOST THERE!
Oooooooooohhh! So excited, “LOOK!!!”
No words can describe or pictures portray how sweet this place is…
AND
how nice Linda and Ralph Miller are…
we were welcomed in style!
With fiddlers on the shop porch… and lots of food!
It was like walking into a fairy tale!
So sweet~
Great antiques, displays and Christmas goodies everywhere!
The shop was a total delight and the food on the porch was delicious! Have to keep our energy up, you know!
Next was the Miller’s home… open on this special day, what a treat!
The dooryard garden was so sweet… little special touches everywhere~
Visions of others…
so sweet!
It’s the little touches that warm my heart.
Perfection.
Special things for special folk…
how privileged were we to experience this special place.
Warmth and comfort,
overflowing.
Taking a deep breath, trying to soak it all in…
s l o w l y…
I headed back outside
to see what other little surprises awaited.
Alas, it was time to go…
so much to see, so little time.
BUT
we’ll be back, of that I’m sure.
We took another quick stop at American Traditions Antique Show in Lancaster, Ohio which was organized by Donna & Don Smith of Southern Star Antiques.
Again, we were in such a rush… visiting with dealers we know and love… never took the camera out for photos. This show was fabulous, lots of great antiques and handmade crafts… a wonderful group of people!
We hit the road again… back to Mount Vernon and Simple Goods~
Here’s that sweet little church again…
an abandoned farmhouse…
and this dilapidated old house, set up on piers and forgotten… saw this on our way, had to stop and take photos on the way home!
Finally, back at Simple Goods for the vendor dinner where Candy & Max outdid themselves, a quick walk around the now-more-completed booths and we were greeted by this atrocity! Miss Chickie would be mortified by this CHICKEN CHOPPING BLOCK! Shhhhhhhhh… don’t tell her! Guess it’s a good thing she didn’t come with us after all.
A few more revisions to our booth on Friday night…
and we were ready for showtime!
Saturday dawned cold and clear… we moved along quickly, getting dressed in our colonial attire (probably takes us a bit longer than the ladies of 1700!) and headed down to the breakfast room where the place was hopping with anxious and excited shoppers and happily stressed vendors.
We had the opportunity to meet new Facebook friends, greet old ones and quite a few customers from all over… WHAT FUN!!!
Then we were off to the show. Customers were waiting in line outside the main building, warming their hands by the campfire… the excitement was palpable!
A quick walk through the main building, admiring all the booths… finally complete… and we were off to the second building and our own booth. We buzzed around, getting organized and preparing for the crowd that was sure to come!
I took a walk around our building since everyone was finally set up there as well… beautiful booths, wonderful people! Such a great atmosphere~
Our next door neighbors~
Sweet Audrey of 1824 Antiques talking with Jenn of Rabbit Hill Primitives… lovely ladies, both of them… Facebook friends we finally got to meet in person!
Another Facebook friend, Lesa Cook of Brier Creek Primitives had this great booth… so fun to meet all these wonderful talented people!
Loved this lady’s jacket! She was gracious enough to pose for me~
Folk Magazine‘s booth… never had a chance to meet and talk with Ben Ashby, though… another Facebook friend.
Carriage House Lighting has beautiful light fixtures… love them!
Putting on the finishing touches… that cupboard in the back left came home with us!
Stacey Mead (The Goode Wife of Washington County), another Facebook friend on the right in Stephanie Monahan’s booth, Monahan Papers… some of Stephanie’s papers came home with us, too!
Entrance to our booth just before opening~
Kristine Berg Doss and Kris Thomas from A Primitive Place & Country Journal… our neighbors, such sweet ladies! We met Kristine and Kris at Walker Homestead for one of our 2010 Simple Treasures from the Past – Antiques & Primitive Goods Shows and Kris stopped by to visit us this summer when on a trip east~
Doreen’s beautiful rug she made for Candy & Max, using Candy’s design for the show!
Mickey Bakeman of Primitive Pursuits and Sue Beahm of The Painted Cupboard… great neighbors!
A special surprise we were able to get for the show… yes, it’s POD CORN!!! We were totally beside ourselves when we found it… pretty scarce around these parts this year!
This is a close-up… so neat!
Once the show opened, this is how it was… busy, busy, busy! So wonderful, but difficult to get back into the booth to re-stock!
As I mentioned before, our dear friend, Judy Coffey of Country Plus, was helping us out for the show. Here she is posing with Kristine & Kris and the newest issue of A Primitive Place & Country Journal WITH HER HOUSE ON THE COVER!!! YES, Judy’s house is featured in this issue… don’t miss it!
More of the crowd!
As the crowd slowed down, we took the opportunity to leave Judy (soon to be known as Harriet) in charge and headed over to the other building (in a horse-drawn wagon!) for a quick run-through.
That’s it folks!
We completed our journey over the next two days, stopping again at Seville Antiques and Bridgewater Primitives before leaving Ohio and heading east.
What fun! Just wait until we hit the road again!
Fun, food & laughter all the way~
Walker Homestead's Blog 
