Bran's house

I went to my sister's yesterday for a visit. She lives about 20 miles away from me (too far) and has 3 kids so I usually go to her. For anyone who doesn't know this, we are "BFFs" in the most serious way. Even as kids we were joined at the hip, always assuming all sisters were like us. I was in high school before I realised some sisters really don't like each other. Weird.
When my parents came home with me from the hospital she was almost 4 years old and her response was "Thank you for getting her for me; she's just the kind I wanted!" Typical Brandi optimism and enthusiasm. She is an awesome big sister. The best. Whenever her oldest daughter complains about her little sister Cassie I explain the Cassie is her biggest alli. Nobody else will ever think Ellie is cooler or above Ellie ever; a little sister is an unfailing unwavering supporter always and forever! Even though she may be, at times, a huge pain in the ass.

Bran's house (like mine) is chocked full of cool stuff everywhere. Here are pictures of just a few groupings of neat stuff. Above is an alligator head atop a silver candle stick, a clay cherub, a small black clay horse head (made by yours truly in 12th grade) along with various other items waiting to be put to use.
Below is a cornucopia of various Halloween items; witches, a Devil head, owls, pumpkins & gourds, tiny tomb stones and a tiny Man in the Moon to name a few. Isn't it all so festive?

Here is a supply cabinet in the kitchen. We both take after our Dad by keeping non kitchen items in our kitchen/dining areas. At Dad's house the kitchen table is really a bullet loading bench with various presses and other bullet making accouterments clamped right onto the table. Kitchen cabinets where you might expect to find food are stocked instead with gun powder, primers, brass, cast bullets, beeswax etc. In Bran's kitchen her husband Jim has staked out a claim on the business end of the kitchen (he is seriously the World's Best Cook) but her art stuff dominates the half of the kitchen with the table. Cabinets are filled to overflowing with Halloween Art supplies and a console table I gave her one Christmas is her staging area for photographing her works to be put online. I love this cute white cabinet chocked full of Halloweenery!
My kitchen/dining room does double duty too as per family tradition. The tile topped island in the middle of my kitchen stores small hand tools and my prized chisel set. Drawers are packed with my favorite type of screws, "deckmates". My buffet provides the perfect storage space for larger tools in their cases, my beloved 18 volt lithium battery Makita drill, DeWalt jigsaw, Dremmel as well as things like a hot glue gun, jewelry making supplies, things I need to keep handy like tape measure, pliers, screw driver etc.


"If I go home and craft all night long it's a FAMILY TRADITION"!
-Hank Williams Jr. (sort of)