Tonight on the Merc...

Be sure to stop by TDIPT Mercantile and check out my new March offering! Here's a peek:

Primitive Patriotic Hen

While you're there, sign up for our 5th Birthday Celebration Giveaways! You could win my Holstein.

Moo

Finally, I have a few new dollies being offered on my Countryfolk Keepsakes site.

Burla

and Lerlene.

We'll see you tonight!!
:> )

Does Anyone Else Have A Love/Hate Relationship With...

Curtains?! Man, I would have nothing on all the windows in this old farmhouse if it wasn't for my husband.

It's the whole privacy issue for him. Which I understand. Lord knows the last thing I want to do is traumatize someone who happened to see me with no makeup on as they drove by.
;> )

I've been struggling with what kind of curtains to have (if any) in my newly painted kitchen. It doesn't help the windows are extremely rectangular. They also look like there are two set of windows side by side. BUT I can only mount a rod across the whole length. Ugh.

Then it dawned on me... Why not have old shutters instead!

Or I could make my own panel shutters if I put my mind to it. Heck, how hard can that be??

P.S.
I still can't tell you about something I'm waiting on. I have to keep my trap shut until the middle of March. But I'll keep you posted.
:> )

Wow! Stan the Beaver Has A New Spread...

His pad used to be behind our property but last year we noticed he wasn't around. I was worried someone trapped him.

Nope. H*ll, he's smarter than that!
As I walked along the path about a half mile from our home I saw evidence he's been quite busy.

It's tri-level!

Then I came upon his beaver Taj Mahal.
(If you look real close you can see the tennis courts.)

Remember to enjoy nature.

:> )

He's Baaaaaack...

Steve the Chipmunk has awoke from his winter slumber! YaY!!

When I walked outside this morning to take out the trash, there he was. Sitting on the field stone looking at his watch and tapping his foot impatiently.

I immediately dropped what I was doing, filled up the feeder with birdseed and put on a pot of coffee. He loves his Dunkin Donuts and states, "Starbucks is for sissies!" (He said it, not me.)

I am looking forward to a new season of his Chipmunk antics!

Have a great weekend and enjoy nature.
:> )

"Open your arms...

and welcome the joy of today!" ~Unknown

"I am not fully dressed until I adorn myself with a smile." ~Unknown

"Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different." ~Unknown

Happy Thursday!!
:> )

I Can't Believe It's Been A Year...

Many of you know my stories about her crazy antics.
She kept me on my toes since the day we brought her home.
I wouldn't have wanted her any other way.
♥

She was smart as a whip and always got into trouble. We joked about how she was plotting to take over the world.

She was a wonderful big sister...

and was quite the busybody. She was our lil' furry Gladys Kravitz.

She was a cuddler.

She loved anything with a motor. I was convinced someday my keys would be missing and I would see her drive off in my Jeep.
:> )

She was a little quirky...

and had to be supervised with toys because she would destroy them in under 10 seconds.

Yet she managed to sneak them in her dog bed without my knowledge.

Then last February she got so very sick, so very fast with Autoimmune Memolytic Anemia.

We had to say goodbye to our Hannah.

I still miss her so.

Our four legged furbabies touch so many souls. They are God's wee creatures and are forever etched in our hearts.

♥

The Kitchen Is Painted...

Yippee!! It covered perfectly with two coats. I just may completely switch to Valspar paint. I am very pleased!

Now the fun begins! I'm slowly redecorating. With this new color palette, I'm finding I don't want as much crap er I mean "collectibles" on my walls. (But I'm still going to hang my pitchfork.) ;> )

I'm also undecided about painting all the wood trim. I find it a nice contrast. I'll live with it for awhile and see.

More pictures to follow when I'm done.
I'll keep you posted.

:> )

Happy Presidents Day...

"I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man." ~George Washington

"All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind." ~Abraham Lincoln

:> )

Perfect Timing...

As I'm painting my kitchen walls I'm looking at how hideous all the trim looks. Hmmm. What to do, what to do...

My first thought was to go lighter. Like the color I painted the vaulted wood ceiling. But I wasn't loving that idea.

Then the mailman came by this morning.

As I reached into my mailbox, there it was. The latest issue of Early American Life. How I LOVE this magazine.

On the cover was the answer!! The colors in this photo are almost identical to the colors I'm using in my kitchen.

So all I need to do is paint the trim to match my kitchen cupboards. Heck, I'm pretty sure I have enough left over in my Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit to do it! Of course, it's going to be yet another big job to tackle but you know me. I LOVE these kinds of projects. I'm a glutton for punishment. ;> )

I also have some exciting news but don't want to jinx myself by talking about it just yet! But I'll give you a hint. It has something to do with a Colonial fan back Windsor chair like in this photo.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Saturday! Remember to get outside and enjoy nature.
:> )

I've Been A Painting Maniac...

After mixing acrylic paints, I narrowed my kitchen wall color down to two shades. I decided to let my hubs pick the one he liked more.

Now we are complete opposites when it comes to just about everything so I knew what shade he was going to pick. But I still crossed my fingers, toes, legs and eyes hoping by some miracle he would pick the one I really wanted. Sure enough... he didn't.
But I kept my word and went to Lowes to match up the color. I told him if it didn't look good, HE was repainting the kitchen. ((giggle))

After putting the first coat on, I must say he was right in picking the lighter shade! WOWIE!! My kitchen looks so light, airy and huge! As much as I love darker wall colors, this is a wonderful change! Besides, all the things I love to hang on my walls like my old pitchfork (yes, I did type the word pitchfork) will look fantastic!

So as much as I hate to admit it... He was right. But you didn't hear that from me.
;> )

I'll keep you posted.

"The real"Best In Show" Dog...

is the dog that's sittin' there on the couch next to you."
David Frei - Communications Director of Westminster Dog Show

Absolutely.
♥ ♥

:> )

What Do You Do When...

you can't find the exact wall color you want after searching for hours through hundreds of colors in the paint department?

You go home and start mixing your own acrylic paints until you come up with the color you want!

I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! Heck, that is how I came up with the perfect shade of red for my Americana flags I've painted throughout my home.

I did try the Cottage White, but oh my it was too bright. It needed to be warmer.
Man I've wasted so much time and money on paint samples I could kick myself. But if I did, I wouldn't be able to climb the ladder to paint this weekend. So I'm not going to do it.
:> )

I'm still tweaking the color, but I've got it down to a mixture of two colors. (It looks rather yellow in the photo, but it's more of a parchment color.

Once I come up with the exact color, I'll scoot on over to Lowes or Home Depot and have it duplicated into wall paint.

Then I won't have to hear my hubs say, "You're crazy!" every time he walks into the kitchen.

But then again I'm sure I'll continue to hear that whatever room he walks into. ((giggle))

I can't help it if I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

:> )

And the winning paint color is...

"Cottage White" by Behr. **and the crowd cheers wildly**

Well, that's the winning color for today. Tomorrow is another day. ((giggle)) I'll know for sure when I go yet again to pick up another sample.
I swear my eyes are permanently crossed from looking at so many color chips. Who would have thought there could be so many shades of white?!

So far from what I can see, Cottage White has a teeny hint of yellow which will look nice with my "English Cream" cabinets.

Man, they are going to be so sick of seeing me at Home Depot. Heck, if I could find me an orange smock I'd hop behind the paint counter and help myself.
Extra wood paint sticks for everyone!
:> )

I'm Stumped...

and quite frankly that doesn't happen very often.

I'm in the process of trying to find a new light kitchen wall color and can't find a color I'm happy with.

I'll find a paint chip that I think looks fantastic, but when I buy a sample of the color it's like, "What the heck was I thinking?!"

I'm convinced it should be mandatory that all paint chip samples are no smaller than a 12" square. A lil' dinky two inch paint chip sample is ridiculous! Unless you're Tom Thumb and I'll bet dollars to donuts even he would pooh-pooh their microscopic size.

Here's what I've tried so far. Let me add, the color on the far right is the wall color I have now.

L-R: Ripe Wheat, (too khaki), Delightful Moon (matches my cabinets), Sesame (too orange) and Fudge Truffle. I also made the mistake of ordering a sample online through Home Depot. I won't even show you that one! Don't ever order paint samples online unless you have the actual chip color! Lordy, I went with what I saw on my computer screen. All I can say is, "YIKES!"

Now the Delightful Moon looks kind of nice. But its monochromatic and rather bright. (to me it is) I loved all the photos of other kitchens with this same look, but I'm not really diggin' it in my kitchen. Maybe it's too much the same color and I need to go lighter since my kitchen doesn't have a lot of natural light. Who knows??

I do know that I'm frustrated. Man I've never had a problem with picking out wall color... until now.

Hmmmm.... Maybe I should just wallpaper.
:> )

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

~Abraham Lincoln

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
♥

"Peace...

- that was the other name for home." ~Kathleen Norris

The Countryfolk Homestead circa 1927.

"Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms." ~William J. Bennett

"I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world." ~George Washington

Me too, Mr. President. Me too.
♥