Hanging around for years

I LOVE ANYTHING THAT IS OLD.  I always have.  Even as a small child I would walk around the very old parts of the cemetery just to look at all the old grave stones.  So naturally I would want to decorate my home with old pieces collected here and there.  I guess you would call that decorating in either Rustic, Primitive or Country.  

It may have been as long as 15 years ago I noticed a listing on Ebay for these two E. W. Townsend Sons catalogs dated 1935 & 1938.  The oldest catalog is actually just in black and white and I purchased it first.  When I saw the 1938 catalog with it's juicy red strawberries and bright green stems I knew I had to have that one also.  Since my last name is Townsend and I love the red and green color theme in my kitchen and dining room, I decided to buy them and have them matted and framed.  They have been hanging in my dining room ever since.  I'm hoping they will be something that I can pass on to my grandchildren since I have plenty of them that also share that name.

Another item, among many that hang on the wall is my Nevada Ghost Town Map.  I bought this map, if my memory serves me correctly in the old ghost town of Johnnie.  Since Brad and I absolutely love exploring the desert, this map was perfect.  I have always had a bucket list goal of visiting every ghost town in Nevada.  There are a LOT of ghost towns in Nevada and so this is a really large map.  I acquired this really large poster frame that the map would fit in and I knew I wanted to display it.  Many may disagree, but I decided to lightly burn the edges of the map to make it appear older and give it some interest.  I have it attached on top of a piece of black matte board rather than behind it.  I feel it helps identify the fact that it is a map and the burnt edges gives it character and interest.  After all these years, I still LOVE it!

Here are just a few of my favorite Ghost Town Photos we have taken over the years while exploring Nevada and the neighboring states.  You don't have to go to a museum here in Nevada because there are little bits of history just lying around all over the place.

Feels Like Summer Outside but it's Spring Just Inside My Door

I would really like to know where spring has gone.  With temperatures in Las Vegas well into the 90's it feels much more like May than March.  Then if you add in the factors of recovery from the 1000 mile road trip to Reno topped with the springing a head of daylight savings time, you can see why this week has been pretty much a blur.   

Before our trek across the vast emptiness of the Nevada desert, I had finalized my spring decoration in my foyer area.  I was happy with everything EXCEPT the table runner.  I just couldn't find one that jumped out at me so I opted for a plain ivory lace runner that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I think it was about $6 (1/2 off sale).  Not bad but it really wasn't what I had in mind.  

While I was in Reno, I spent a little time walking around the Ross Store near our hotel.  As I was almost finished shopping, I ran across a picked over display near the front of the store.  This cute little chick appliqued on a set of two cotton dishtowel caught my eye.  Embellished with pastel colored ric-rac and at only $3.99 I couldn't resist.  I knew I had found my perfect spring table runner.

Today I finally got a chance to put the towels together.  A needle and white thread were all I needed to add some quick basting stitches so that the towel ends lined up and would stay in place under my sewing machine needle.  I started with a stitch at both ends to make sure they lined up perfectly and then I worked my way to the center.  I think it only took about 8 stitches and I was ready to get my ZIG ZAG on.  

Since I wanted the runner to lay flat it was important to stitch them together rather than overlapping and then having a thick seam running down the middle.  

Here is my finished table runner and I couldn't have asked for a better fit.  This antique buffet was a trash treasure that my husband found about 2 years ago.  I had wanted a high narrow table to fit behind our front door in our foyer and this piece was just perfect.   

And finally, here is my completed display down to the malted robin's eggs in my antique Red Wing spongeware mixing bowl.  How could something so easy make me smile so big?

Team Townsend Shining Bright in 2017

Organic Apple Orchard- Elgin, Nevada

Team Townsend is a creative lot.  With each of us there is a definite creative bent that is both diverse and obvious. I am very blessed and thankful for this creativity in our lives.  I love my grown children and am so proud of the adults they have become.  I can't wait to see the talents that my growing number of grandchildren will develop.


Now, as for myself,  I'm an artist in the drawing, painting sense.  I have always loved to create art but denied that part of my being for almost 30 years.  I had pushed it so far down inside of me with busyness and responsibilities that I had almost forgotten how to create but with discipline and resolve I have resurrected that joy in my life and have a studio full of artwork, hang in multiple galleries and am just starting to enjoy small steady sales.  You can check out my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  I'm also have Ebay and Etsy stores that feature my work along with Instagram.

Butterfly on Orange Bells - my backyard

Wild Stallion- Near Goldfield, Nevada

My husband and I really don't know that much about photography and we own a camera that is pretty near the bottom of the camera ladder.  It's a  Canon Rebel EOS T2i,  but I can say that we have a lot of fun pretending to know what we are doing.  We even invested in a pretty good zoom lens (a Sigma 150-600mm)  Now when we hook that bad boy up to our camera body I'm pretty sure that to the casual observer we look like we might just know what we are doing.

We do occasional luck out and take some shots that I think are very worthy of being considered art and these three photos I have just recently added to my Ebay store to see just how they do there.

Let me introduce you to some other members of "Team Townsend".  Our oldest son Jared has his PhD in Molecular Biology so he is a classic brainiac, but he is also an excellent writer and can hold his own in the art department.  I have seen some of his sketches, and they are impressive.  He just hasn't decided that he has the time to really develop that in his life I guess.

Our youngest son, Jon is very artistic, a talented welder and is extremely mechanical.  Just like his dad he can tear apart nearly anything with confidence and just has an uncanny ability to understand how it works.  I will be sharing more of their creative contributions hopefully in the near future here on this blog.

But today it is our 2nd son, Jason that I am focusing on. God has blessed this boy with some real artistic talent.  First, he is musically talented and can play a number of instruments and all by ear.  I'm always in amazement when I hear him play the piano or his guitar. Where did that come from?  None of us even realized his abilities until he was high school.  Of course growing up I could never get him to sit still for more than 2 minutes at a time.

Secondly, he is a very talented photographer.  He is what you would call a true professional.  He has studied his craft and produces amazing shots.  His main focus is on portraits and weddings but he sure takes some great photos of my two adorable grandchildren. He gets a great deal of practice on those action shots keeping up with those two boys.  Check out his website at Jason Townsend Photography

Here are just a few of my favorite photos that he has recently taken:




I know this is my grandsons but this composition is SO MUCH MORE than just another family photo.  There is a strong emotion, innocence and stirring of childhood memories that will impact many.  If this doesn't say "Merry Christmas" I don't know what does.

This photo was taken just in the past week after the Albany Georgia area was affected by a strong storm cell which included a tornado touch down.  My son helped his neighbors with clean up efforts but had time to snap this very powerful picture.

What can I say about this amazing photo except, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  Matthew 7:7 (KJV)

The world is full of endless possibilities when you are just a child.  These two look as if they are looking to a bright future.  Lord Bless the United States of America and make her strong again.  Heal and revive us so that once again our children and grandchildren have a bright future to grow up in. That is the prayer of my heart.  Amen!