Traditional Kentucky rock walls
Our final day of the yard sale dawned and we set off to tackle a portion of the Kentucky route. We hit some traditional yard sales and a field sale or two. We also stopped at a really cool old house, turned boutique, with a barn full of dusty old furniture and tent sales set up all around.
Jenny found a really cool ice blue wooden shipping crate, Jenni found a beautiful antique gate leg table, I found a brand new Angel baby monitor and Mom found some dear small things.
Jenny and Jenni also found an antique table to use as a conference desk in the showroom. Great deals were had and the trailer was unpacked and repacked one last time before we headed off Highway 127 at Frankfort and back towards Greensboro.
Oh yeah, and we also stopped for ice cream at the Dairy Queen. Where Jenny and Jenni decided to wash their dusty feet...in the bathroom sink. A couple ladies walked in during these ablutions. They really didn't know what to do with us, so they pretended it wasn't happening. Especially when we scrambled to dry off the wet floor with paper towels before they used the sink...
We had one more stop to make on our way home. Jenni's in-laws in the mountain town of Beattyville, KY had generously offered to let us stay with them. On the drive up, Jenni told us all about this amazing couple, Allen and Cecile, and about Cecile's parents who built the house that they now live in.
Cecile's father built the house with his own hands, using oak from his acres of land. Imagine living in a house so solid that the beams and timbers were made of thick cut oak! Once his house was complete, he not only built a couple barns but an entire second house, just in case. Having lived through the depression, he knew the value of a back-up plan.
Jenni's husband, Evan, and his brother, used to visit their Grandpa and Granny in Beattyville each summer. Grandpa built a special room onto the house just for them. Granny stained and varnished the oaken beams of the high, arched ceiling with it's beautiful tall windows that let in the trees and sunlight of the surrounding wood.
One summer, Grandpa decided the boys needed to learn to swim. With no local pool, he decided he'd better build one. He and the boys dug and constructed a lap pool. Another summer he decided the boys needed to learn basic construction, so they built a fantastic tree house. Each year, he planned a new skill to pass onto the boys.
The basement walls are lined with shelves of jars, that Granny kept full with homemade canned goods. The first time Jenni met Granny, she was up on a ladder, with a rag, scrubbing the eaves of the house. Or as she said "just warshing the house". She was already in her eighties. In fact, she fell of the roof once while cleaning it. Thankfully she wasn't badly hurt. I don't know of any other 80-year-old woman who has fallen off a roof, while cleaning it and come away unscathed! Ok, I don't know of any other 80-year-old woman who fell off a roof...or cleaned one.
When Jenni and Evan were teenagers and dating, her sister and she used to roll their eyes and giggle at Evan and his brother when they would talk to their grandparents on the phone. The boys would always end their call with "I'm Grandpa's boy!". Jenni and Mary Beth thought this was a bit ridiculous for big, strapping teenage boys. They had never been very close to their own grandparents and didn't understand this relationship.
The first time Jenni went out to visit Grandpa and Granny, she was taken right into the family circle. She felt as loved and wanted as their own grandsons. At the end of the visit, Grandpa pulled Jenni aside, winked and asked her "Who's girl are you?"
Jenni enthusiastically answered,"I'm Grandpa's girl!"
The cabinet that Cecile's great-grandpa built
the chest of drawers that Cecile's uncle built
The dough trough that Cecile's grandpa carved for her grandma. She gave it to Jenni.
When first Grandpa and later Granny passed away, Jenni was heartbroken. She felt that she had finally gotten the kind of grandparents she saw others experience while growing up. They left an amazing legacy behind them. One of hard work, love, generosity and kindness. I felt honored to spend the night beneath the sturdy oak beams of one of the houses that Grandpa built.
Their daughter, Cecile and her husband Allen carry on that legacy. They moved into the second house when Granny was failing and couldn't live alone any longer. After she passed away they moved into the main house and have been just as industrious, generous and loving as the parents before them.
The houses were already gorgeous with rich wood and stained glass windows fashioned by Cecile's uncle. Allen and Cecile have made them even more beautiful with their renovations and decorating. I loved their home! But even more so, I loved the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit that just permeates the place. It spills out of the windows and over the thresholds and I know even their neighbors can feel it.
We were welcomed like family. Hugged and spoiled and fed the most amazing dinner. They told us awesome stories of the places they've been on mission trips, the things they've experienced and how God called them home to tiny Beattyville to minister to their neighbors.
By the time we were loaded up and ready to leave the next morning, I felt like saying "I'm Grandpa's girl!" too.
We arrived home in Greensboro late. Too late to get pictures of all our WLYS spoils. But here is some of it being packed into Jenny and Rob's barn.
Here are my spoils safely home:
1940's tablecloth, never used, original paper label still intact! =$17!
vintage Shiny Brite ornaments- 1 box= 75cents!
It was an amazing trip and a month later, I'm still recovering!
I'll be back soon with photos of the living/dining room makeover! Hint, hint (I finally got to repaint!). I also will have pictures of the nursery since it's just about finished!
Linky-links!
