A sneak peek...

Here's my new offerings TONIGHT on TDIPT Mercantile!

A Primitive Mallard Duck


A Primitive American Eagle


A Primitive Holstein will be offered on my Countryfolk Keepsakes selling site.

Moo

Hope to see you there!!
:> )

Treat everyone with politeness...

even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." ~Unknown



"Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out." ~Frank A. Clark

"In a world full of people who couldn't care less, be someone who couldn't care more." ~Unknown

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." ~George Washington Carver

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines. ~Charles Kuralt

Because nice really does matter...
:> )

“There is no substitute...

for hard work." ~Thomas Edison



"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~Thomas Edison



Pray Hard*Work Hard*Trust God
♥

Peace to each manly soul that sleepeth;

Rest to each faithful eye that weepeth.
~Thomas Moore

♥

All this time I thought Bob the Woodchuck...

lived under our old brooder house. Apparently "Bob" is really "Bobbie" because I caught her two lil' young'uns having a picnic inside my rustic barn wood flower box. They were chowing down on my lovely petunias I planted last week.



Chewed 'em down to nubs. The only thing missing was the red and white check tablecloth.
Who knew woodchucks could climb???



As soon as they saw me walk towards them, they each did a swan dive right into the hole in the ground below. (Very similar to a Bugs Bunny move I saw once, minus the orchestrated music.)

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. But one had an iPhone on him. I'm pretty sure he snapped a pic of my reaction to what they had done. Which is probably why I heard faint giggling as I walked back to the house.

First chipmunks bandits, now the furry Doublemint Twins. Tomorrow, a deer will probably hit me with a paint ball.

Enjoy nature.
:> )

What Does a Red Door Mean?

A red door means “welcome” in an old early American tradition.



If a family had a red front door, tired travelers traveling by horse and buggy would know that the home was a welcoming place to rest.



They would be able to spend the night there.









I decided I'm going to paint our front door red... again. (I painted it red when we first moved in, but painted it black about 5 years ago.) I'm even going to paint the storm door red too. I just need to find the perfect shade.
♥

Please remember why...

we have a three day weekend.

Be grateful.

Be thankful.

Be respectful.



Enjoy your Memorial weekend.
♥

I do set my bow in the cloud...

and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 9:13-16



Enjoy nature.
♥

When you live in the 21st century...

you really have to be creative when living in a house built in the 19th century.



For example no closet space. Back in the 19th century, homes were taxed by how many rooms you had and a closet was considered a room. Folks had armories instead. So I can understand why some homes had only a closet or two.
Another example is a small bathroom. Which if you think about it, it makes sense. How big of a room do you need to "do your business" in? Unless you plan on doing a gymnastic floor routine before landing on the crapper.

Our upstairs full bath needs a lot of work. Since we moved in, I've avoided it like the plague. Although a few unmatched updates were done (I'm guessing) back in the 80's which included carpeting. I know most cringe at the thought of carpeting in a bathroom. I did too until I took a shower in the dead of winter in this drafty old farmhouse. Trust me, I am grateful for the previous owner's wise decision.

Since I went on a "simplify and lighten everything up" kick the first of the year, I decided to paint the paneling (yes, it's partially paneled) white, painting the lower part a forest green. Most of you know besides a passion for American history, I have a passion for nature. So I went with a nature theme. Pine cones and birdhouses. With a little bit of whimsical, old "fashionedness" to boot.



(I made up that word)



What I love about this bathroom is the low placement of the window. Gives the room such character. But when the guy came to give us an estimate on the replacement windows, I wasn't too thrilled to hear it would cost more to replace that particular window because of safety codes. As far as I knew, I had no plans on pushing my hubs out that second story window. BUT after hearing the replacement cost, I was almost tempted to give the window guy a little accidental shove. "Oopsy!"

I also love the old light fixtures and mirror in here. Man, they don't make 'em like that anymore.



I guess if you have unlimited finances, you can turn any old home into whatever you want it to be. But in my opinion, contemporary renovations can sometimes takes away the charm of an old home.

Who cares if I don't have enough electrical outlets, or a fancy spa bathtub or heated towel rack? I suppose it could be worse... I could have to "go" in an outhouse and "use" an old Sears Roebuck catalog.
So I won't complain.



Yes, I love my simple bathroom.

:> )

Flower planting, black fly bites and a slight concussion...

So how was your weekend?? Mine was interesting to say the least.


First, I planted all my annuals. Yippee! I went with a red, white and blue color scheme. ♥ But as I was planting all my flowers, the black flies chased me around our land with tiny knives and forks with napkins tucked under their chins. Yes, I hosed myself down with that "Fly Spray" but it didn't stop those lil' vampire b*st*rds from chewing on me. I was a bloody mess. But wait, there's more...



A few years back, my hubs found an old, rusty, heavy metal rod in our barn. He bent it into a cool looking shepherd hook for me to hang flowers on.
I decided to move it from the front of the house to the back. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, not for this accident prone gal. As I leaned over to jam it into the ground with all my might, you would think I made sure the hook was facing away from me.



You would have thought wrong. As I jammed it into the ground, the hook came right down on the back of my head.



I can attest those Looney Tune cartoons are correct. Stars and birdies really do circle around your noggin.



After my sweet hubs checked me over and saw that I was still in the vertical position, he got me an Advil and an icepack. He then proceeded to read me the riot act about how I shouldn't do stuff like that, how he worries about me and how I'm going to give him a heart attack. When he goes off on a tangent I tend to tune him out and hear Mrs. Donovan, Charlie Brown's teacher. "Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah wah..."

I know he worries about me but the bottom line is I was fine, just had a headache. It'll take a lot more than a doink on the head to keep me down.
Besides, this new knot on my noggin matches the permanent one I got when I was hit by a car crossing the street in my early twenties. **doink**

But the best part was as I laid on the couch with the icepack, I really enjoyed our new windows! ((giggle))



Happy Monday everyone!! Have a terrific week!
:> )

P.U. is right...

Last year I mentioned I found a natural recipe for deer fly repellent, but never tried it. Here in the rural northeast not only do we have a horrid deer fly problem, we also have a horrible black fly problem.

After being chewed on all week by those wee blood thirsty black flies, I finally mixed up a batch of the repellent.



Here's the recipe:

FLY SPRAY
old spray bottle
apple cider vinegar
water
10 drops tea tree oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
20 drops vegetable glycerin

Fill the bottle 2/3 full with vinegar, fill the rest of the way with water. Add the essential oils and glycerin. The glycerin helps the oil mix with the vinegar and water. Shake well before using.
Be careful not to get this in eyes or other sensitive spots. For those areas, spray the mix in your hands and pat it around the area.

Lordy!!! Does this stuff stink to high heaven!! I can't even describe it.

But man, does it work!! Just make sure you have no human contact unless you want folks to look at you "funny."
When my hubs walked towards me the pungent aroma hit him like a ton of bricks. He said, "Please make sure you immediately bathe after you get done working outside so you don't stink up the house!"

I'm like a female version of Pepe Le-Pew.



Maybe I'll dab a little behind my ears before I go to bed tonight.
((giggle))
:> )

"On the eighth day...

God created coffee."



Happy Monday everyone!!!
Wishing you a terrific and productive week.

Have faith and smile.
:> )

Happy Mothers Day...

♥

Can you hear me now?

In my quest to simplify and get back to basics, I recently made the decision to do the unthinkable... That's right, I decided it's time to get rid of the cordless phones in the house and use corded phones only.
**gasp**

First I thought we should REALLY simplify...



But then I thought... Baby-steps.



I love the candlestick style because not only is it Americana looking, it will force us to stop multitasking while talking to someone and actually focus on the conversation.

I'm really digging this late 1800's reproduction below.



But I love the simplicity of this next one and I like the cord better. It looks more authentic.





I didn't think my hubs would be on board. He likes to wander when he's on the telephone. But he agreed. Worse case scenario, I'll have to duct tape him in place to keep him still.



Maybe I'll really freak him out and hide all the television remotes. Then tell him he has to get up and physically walk over to the T.V. to change the channel.
Can you imagine??!!
"Oh, the humanity!!"
;> )

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." ~Hans Hoffman
♥

The Perfect Pound Cake...

I know it sounds too good to be true but this really is the perfect pound cake!!



I found this recipe on sweet Paula Deen's site. But of course!

The Perfect Pound Cake
Ingredients:
All ingredients at room temperature!

3 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks softened butter
3 cups cake flour (use regular flour and you’ll be sorry)
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar in a mixer.
Add 1 egg at a time.
Add flour and cream, alternating between the two.
Add baking powder.
Add salt.
Add vanilla.

Put in greased and floured “pound cake pan”, you know, the one with the funnel in the middle.
Put in cold oven, middle rack.
Turn oven to 350 and go run errands. Come back in 1 hour and remove. Let cool.
Devour.
P.S. If you have children, take a third of the cake, wrap it up, and hide it for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll never get any.

I tweaked the recipe a little to my liking by using lemon extract instead of vanilla. (I bet almond extract would be tasty also) I like to dust mine with confectioners' sugar. Other than that, I followed this recipe to the tee. Trust me when I tell you, it is deeeeeelicious!!

:> )

“I'm a little pencil...

in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world."
~Mother Teresa
♥

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
~Corrie ten Boom
♥

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." ~ Robert Schuller
♥

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see." ~Corrie ten Boom
♥

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."
~Mother Teresa
♥



♥

Steve's new pal...

Steve the Chipmunk has a new friend. So he's been showing off all weekend thinking he's all that and a bag of chips.

"Hey!! Look at me!!"


"I said HEY, LOOK AT ME!!


"Look how tough I am! I could bend that barbed wire with my bare paws!! But I won't."


Sigh... He really needs his own reality show.

Meet Steve's new pal Stubby. He doesn't have a tail. I'm not sure if he left it in his other pants or he just wasn't born with one. I'm going to guess the latter.

He's still very shy around me. But I'm sure Steve will teach him the ropes on how to work me.


Clarice is back too!! YaY!!! I was so happy to see her!! ♥
She mentioned something about going for coffee and a mani-pedi.


Enjoy nature.

:> )