Van Wie Variety

My Son is an Indie Game Developer!

2022-05-16T16:36:00.000-04:00

My son has been a video game player since he was 2 years old. He is now 27 and has realized his dream of designing and developing his own games. His first game has been released on Steam! His dream game is in the works, but he had to start small to learn all of the processes. This game is appropriate for all ages. Please check it out and consider purchasing it at the great price of $1.99 to help him raise money to put towards developing his next project! It is called Hoverbike Escape. Click on the name of the game to check it out!

Our Vintage Camper Renovation Project 1971 Go Tag-A-Long

2019-05-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

Follow our project from start to finish on out facebook page at Go Tag-A-Long Vintage Camper

This is the before and after of the exterior of our camper. The next pictures will be the before and after of the interior. We did not chose to do a restoration project to the vintage camper. We decided to make it our own theme and chose Adirondack Rustic Cabin.

The above 5 photos are the interior before the renovation project. We gutted it and redesigned the layout for our purposes. We removed the bathroom, stove, sink, and heater. It is basically a hard sided tent with no heat or plumbing. We do have a microwave and air conditioner and refrigerator. We will do cooking in advance for microwave or outside on a portable stove or open fire. We will use water from the sites. We will use the campground restrooms and showers. The following photos are the current interior. We used wallpaper for the stone and log effect without the added weight.

Backyard Campfires

2016-06-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

We love having backyard campfires whenever the weather allows!

Adirondack Garage Sale and Mountain Drive

2016-05-30T08:46:00.001-04:00

(click on pictures to see full screen)

This Memorial Day Weekend was the Great Adirondack Garage Sale. Several towns had town-wide yard sales and it was a beautiful day to go for a drive. The scenery along the way and from the back roads was beautiful The panoramic view was a scene from one garage sale backyard! We went out to lunch at a beautiful restaurant in Old Forge called the Old Mill Restaurant and watched a deer and her baby in the yard of the house next to the restaurant. One of the great parts of the day for me is that I discovered motion sickness patches and used one They work great!

The Old Mill Restaurant

Sign On Restaurant

Doe and Fawn behind restaurant

Full Double Rainbow January, 2016

2016-03-25T22:40:00.002-04:00

We have had a strange winter. This full double rainbow was from a thunderstorm on January 20, 2016.

Beautiful Fall Sunset Hudson River

2015-11-25T17:58:00.005-05:00

Beautiful fall sunset overlooking the Hudson River from our front yard.

Our Daylilies

2015-07-26T21:43:00.002-04:00

A few years ago we dug up a bunch of daylilies from across the street near the river. I love how they brighten the yard every year!

Battenkill River Tubing

2015-07-24T08:56:00.003-04:00

We had friends from Rhode Island visiting for a weekend. We took them tubing on the Battenkill River. There are several places to go but we choose Battenkill Riversports in Cambridge, NY. We took a 2.5 hour trip down the Battenkill River under the covered bridge and through beautiful scenery. A relaxing time was had by all!

Camelot Antique Center and Furniture Gallery in Bennington, Vermont

2015-07-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this antique center in Bennington,Vermont. I can never spend less than an hour there. I stop every time I go to visit my sister in New Hampshire. Click on the underlined words to get to the links to see the Camelot Village Facebook Page and website Camelot Antique Center and Furniture Gallery. Here are some pictures of just some of the rooms full of great antiques. They have a separate country store and furniture barn which I did not take pictures of. If you are ever in Bennington,it is a great way to spend a little time and find some treasures!

Geese Making a Country Roadblock

2015-06-03T21:27:00.004-04:00

This was a nice traffic stopper on a country road during my work day. It was fun to watch the parents make sure all of the babies were safe. They hissed at me when I opened my window to take more pictures.

Chair From Scrap Wood

2015-05-10T18:31:00.000-04:00

Eddie took some old shelves down for a friend and used his planer on the wood. He made this beautiful chair.I will make some cushions for it because it will be going in our living room.

Foggy Tree Scene

2015-04-06T08:45:00.005-04:00

The fog made a beautiful backdrop for this tree in our yard..

Happy Easter From The Past

2015-04-05T15:05:00.004-04:00

This is my family posing for a family Easter picture in 1971.

Our New Puppy Ziggy

2015-03-20T16:18:00.000-04:00

I knew it wouldn't take long after my son began working at an animal hospital before he adopted a dog. This is Ziggy. She was brought to the animal hospital as a rescue after her owner died of a drug overdose. My son renamed her Ziggy since he didn't know the name she was given originally. She is a Rottweiler mix and she is a sweetie. She was approximately 8 months old when she was brought to the hospital. After 5 days my son brought her home as a surprise. She is smart and was well trained. She belongs to my son, but makes a nice addition to our home.

A Heart Appeared with Melting Ice

2015-03-14T11:52:00.000-04:00

This was a beautiful find in our driveway as the ice was melting.

Scenes From a Farm Wrapping Round Bales

2014-10-13T11:47:00.001-04:00

These round bale "caterpillars" are at the farm next to us. We watched them wrap some round bales that they are preparing for the winter. It is an interesting and fast process. They take round bales from the fields that are wrapped with a little netting. They put them on this machine and a continual roll of plastic wraps around them as they are dropped out of the back. The machine moves forward. At the end they cap off the last bale. This season was the first they have stored their hay next to our property.

Fall Sunset at Home

2014-10-05T13:14:00.001-04:00

Some pretty fall sunset pictures I took while we were having an evening campfire at home.

Our Pumpkin Crop

2014-09-21T15:56:00.002-04:00

Our Pumpkin Crop this year. We also grew "pumpkini" from seeds. Last year we had a bit of cross-pollination with zucchini and pumpkin.

We Have Grapes

2014-08-25T19:29:00.000-04:00

This is the first year we have had grapes big enough to eat. They are purple Concord Seedless and they are delicious!

A Day at the Washington County Fair

2014-08-23T15:53:00.001-04:00

Today we went to the Washington County Fair in Greenwich, NY. It is the biggest fair I have ever attended. It is a huge agricultural fair. Today was the sanctioned tractor pulls along with the children's pedal tractor pulls. There were magic shows, midway rides, games, food, and many animal barns. There is way too much to list!!! Visit the site and visit the fair if you can!

Our Gardens this Year

2014-07-24T16:07:00.000-04:00

This garden has heirloom cucumbers, tomatoes and corn.

This garden has heirloom pumpkins, sunflowers and zucchini.

This is just a fun spot in the garden with a little whimsy.

This part of the main garden has butternut squash, zucchini, spaghetti squash and cantaloupe.

This part of the main garden has peas, green peppers, carrots, lettuce, basil, dill, garlic, onions, radishes, more potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers, and cabbage.

This is our Garden Cabin. It started out as our potting shed and seed starting greenhouse. We now also use it as a guest cabin when we get visitors.

This is how we did 18 beds of potatoes this year. they are in plastic garbage cans we cut into 3 rings.

This is another view of our main garden.

These are our grapes this year! It is the third year we have had them....but the first year they are big enough to eat!

Official Geocache in Our Yard

2014-07-21T13:15:00.002-04:00

My husband built a rocket sculpture in our yard in Fort Edward, NY. A local man involved in Geocaching asked if he could put a Geocaching box in our yard. It is called 3,2,1 and... (GC3KCB4)

It is fun to see people stop by and take pictures of themselves next to the rocket after they write in the notebook and trade a trinket in the box. We do not do geocaching ourselves, but I am sure it is very fun. Check out the official Geocaching Website to learn more. www.geocaching.com

The Belairs Band of Schaghticoke, NY Concert with Mustang Car Show

2014-07-20T17:40:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we went to a concert at a Mustang car show. Our cousin is the bass player in the band. They are called the The Belairs Band from Schachticoke, NY. It is the 50th year of the Mustang so this was a show in honor of the Mustang from any year. I enjoyed listening to the band play songs from the 50's to the 70's. It was a beautiful and relaxing day with great music!

My son and his new cousin

2014-07-14T18:47:00.000-04:00

My son and his newest cousin!

My Vintage Patterns Etsy Shop

2014-07-11T15:31:00.001-04:00

I recently opened an Etsy shop called OldPatternsAndMore. I have currently listed over 100 patterns from the 1950s through more recent years. I love the look of the patterns with the styles from so long ago. Check out the site and share with others who may be interested in old patterns. I started my interest in the patterns when I saw a television show that talked about how vintage patterns were sought after by collectors. I decided to start looking for them and have been able to find all of my patterns at yard sales, auctions or from relatives who just happen to have some in their closet. I was getting more than I thought I would. Rather than trying to sell them on eBay I decided to open a specialty Etsy shop with old patterns and related items. It has been very fun to start. I made my first two sales of 5 total patterns soon after I listed some Vintage Vogue Patterns and I have made two more sales quickly. I think I am addicted! I do have some patterns that are missing pieces. I have decided to make home decor craft projects out of the vintage package and pattern pieces. I will share when those are completed.