TONIGHT on TDIPT Mercantile...

♥ ♥
I'll be offering my Polka Dot Folk Art Hens.
♥ ♥





See you then!!
:> )

Long may she wave...

You all know I can't get enough of our beloved American flag!

So with Independence Day right around the corner, these rooms couldn't be more appropriate.

This one is my favorite!






Clever, clever clever!!! I LOVE it!!






Isn't this in the HGTV Dream Home?






Have a great weekend all. Remember to get your red, white and blue on.

♥

I just look at the pictures...

Yesterday, in all my excitement while searching for paint colors for my hutch, I failed to read the article that went along with the photo.

It turns out the awesomely painted antique cupboard that I absolutely adore, dates back to 1900.



So when it comes to matching this exact color, I'm SOL.

Wait a minute! I have an idea!!!
Does anyone have a Delorean and a bubble vest I can borrow??!!



:> )

So many pretty colors...

How do you choose?!

Pretty green.
I can only imagine the look on my hubs face if I dragged my hutch outside and decorated it. (If he wouldn't put me in the Loony Bin, I would do it too)


Pretty red.


Pretty white.


Pretty blue.


Pretty yellow.


Pretty black.


Pretty cream.
This one is my favorite! Every time I find something I absolutely love, it's on the "Country Living" site. Not sure how it looks on your screen, but on mine it looks awesome!

Man, I wish they would state the paint colors they use.

Hmmmm. I wonder what the name of it is? It's probably named "Ha! Ha! You're Never Going To Find Out The Name Of This Awesome Paint Color" paint.
:> )


I still haven't broken the news to my hubs that I'm painting the hutch.
Although he already said, "It doesn't matter what I think, you're going to paint it anyway."

He knows me so very well.
((giggle))

A vintage monstrosity...

A few months back when we purchased our vintage, fan back Windsor dining room set, the previous owner was also selling the matching hutch.

Knowing it was super enormous (6' long by 7' high and quite frankly all scratched, gouged and dinged up), we asked if we could just purchase the dining room set because we didn't have the room for it in our old farmhouse. She agreed.

But before my hubs drove down to Connecticut to pick up the set, the owner emailed me saying we were more than welcome to take the hutch too at no charge.
Wow! I was so very grateful and thanked her for her extreme generosity!!

So in the barn the hutch did go until I figured out what to do with it.
But when I saw my sweet hubs loading it up with greasy engine parts I just about sh*t a brick! I will give him a little credit though, he did place greasy rags down under all the greasy engine parts. Sigh.

I decided I would somehow fit this vintage monstrosity in my tiny work studio. The hundreds of drawers would be perfect for all my doodads and whatchamacallits. My hubs and our dear friend wrestled it into my tiny studio this past weekend.

Now here it sits...



The million dollar question is, should I paint, antique and distress it or leave it as is?? I was thinking a pretty off white or butter cream color.

When I told my hubs I was thinking about painting, antiquing and distressing it, it was his turn to just about sh*t a brick. "You can't paint all that nice wood!!" My response, "Well it reminds me of an old, early 70's, king size, pine, waterbed headboard!!" If I have offended any of you early 70's, king size, pine, waterbed headboard owners, please don't take it personally. That particular look isn't my bag, man. ;> )

So what to do, what to do...
Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

:> )

Welcome home...

A hand-annotated personal version of the U.S. Constitution owned by George Washington is returning to Mount Vernon, after a record auction in New York City.



A bidder spent $10 million on the folio, which had Washington’s personal notes on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

After the auction, it turned out that bidder was the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, which operates Washington’s home.

“We are thrilled to bring this extraordinary book that belonged to George Washington back to Mount Vernon where it belongs,” said Ann Bookout at a press conference following the sale.

Bookout is a regent for the board. She said the book will be the centerpiece of a new library at Mount Vernon.

The folio had been on a long path since leaving Washington’s former library at Mount Vernon. At one time, it belonged to William Randolph Hearst, and it wound up with a collector outside Philadelphia, H. Richard Dietrich Jr.

Dietrich paid $27,000 for the folio in 1964.

Christie’s had expected it to go for $3 million at auction. Instead, it went to Mount Vernon for $9.8 million after a bidding war broke out.

The book had been at Mount Vernon originally and was sold in 1876 at an estate auction in Philadelphia for Washington’s nephew’s son, Lawrence Washington.

The folio surfaced again in 1892 when it was bought for $1,150 at another auction.
(Article from Constitution Daily.)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

A huge "Attagirls!!" to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union who purchased our Founding Father's Constitution. These gals are a private, non-profit organization (501c3) founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunningham.

Breakfast of champions...

Wheaties?? Wheaties are for sissies.

I'm talking warm from the oven, homemade brownies and washing them down with a glassful of cold, organic milk.



I found an brownie recipe that I want to share. Go grab some paper and a pencil because you're going to want to write this one down.
Go on! I'll wait right here.

Okay. Ready??


Best Brownies

1 C ~ Melted butter
3 C ~ Sugar
1 Tbsp. ~ Vanilla
5 ~ Eggs
3/4 C ~ All purpose flour (add more flour if you don't want them gooey)
1 C ~ Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C ~ Chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. ~ Baking soda
1/2 tsp. ~ Salt

Pre-heat oven at 350°. Grease 9x13 pan and set aside.

Mix melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
Add chocolate chips. NOTE: Here's a great trick to keep the chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan while baking. Lightly dust them in flour. It really works!

Spread into greased pan. Spreading slightly upward around the edges.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. (38 minutes was perfect for me)

Pour yourself a beverage of choice and enjoy!!
I'm thinking you need to make these today.

:> )

A cute Saturday giggle...

Sunday School Teacher: "Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city. Unfortunately, his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt."

Little girl responds: "What happened to the flea?"

If you don't get it, re-read it until you do. I promise it will make you smile.
:> )

A Restoration. Well, sort of...

I love old milk cans. But not pristine ones. I love the ones that are old, rusty and well loved. They're a piece of American history.

Years ago, we went to a barn sale and I found this old milk can.



What really attracted me to it were the faint, worn images on it.



At one time, someone lovingly added colonial style decals. My guess was maybe the late 60's early 70's. It brought back wonderful childhood memories for me. On July 4, 1976 we all (as a nation) celebrated our Bicentennial. Two hundred years of independence! I remember how excited and proud I was to be a part of it!! (Man, how I wish my mama still had our '76 American flag!)

So it got me thinking. The previous owner of this milk can had the same love for country as I do. Wouldn't it be cool if I could find those exact decals and replace them?

For sh*ts and giggles I went on eBay and typed in "vintage colonial decals." Lo and behold, guess what I found???



They arrived yesterday.
I had to pay more than 39¢ but I think they're worth it.
;> )

I can't wait to put 'em on! (I'll slightly distress them too)

Have a terrific weekend and remember to always save a piece of history. No matter how small or insignificant you think it may be.
♥

A moose is loose...

You can find him roaming around my Countryfolk Keepsakes selling blog.

:> )

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~Melody Beattie



♥

Tick... Tick... Tick...

I LOVE ticking. But there's one thing I love more than ticking itselfand that's a 50% off coupon from Jo-Ann Fabric to buy more ticking! Woo-hoo!!


I'm going to make slipcovers for our front porch wicker furniture. Well "slipcovers" sounds like I know what the heck I'm doing. So let's just say I'm going to make "fabric envelopes" and tuck them inside. **giggle**

Yesterday, I freshened up our front porch light fixture. Make that "we" freshened up our front porch light fixture. No I don't have a mouse in my pocket; my hubs helped, kicking and screaming of course.
I always manage to rope him into my projects someway or another and it usually consists of him having to wrestle something back together for me. Which he did. The light fixture came off a lot easier than it went back on.



But now it looks like a new fixture! Someday I will convince him, it's all worth it.



Ummm... Probably not.
:> )

Like I always say...

the cornier the better!


Why wouldn't the shrimp share his treasure?
He was a little shellfish.

How does the Man in the Moon cut his hair?
Eclipse it.

What does a blonde owl say?
"What, What?"

What do you call a missing parrot?
A polygon.

What is the difference between a fish and a piano?
You can't tuna fish.

What did one volcano say to the other volcano?
"I lava you."

What is gray and has four legs and a trunk?
A mouse on vacation.

And my all-time favorite.
Where might you weigh a pie?
Somewhere over the rainbow, weigh a pie.
(If you don't get it, try singing it to "Over the Rainbow.")

Have a terrific weekend everyone!

:> )

June 14th is Flag Day...

"Ragged Old Flag"

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda run down,"
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hangin' on it."
He said, "Have a seat," and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is,"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of
That ragged old flag."

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.


(General George Washington crossing the Delaware.)

And it got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
Writing "Say Can You See."
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
Tugging at its seams.
And it almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.


(Feb 24, 1836: Alamo defenders call for help.)

She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,


(Civil war 44th New York Infantry.)

And the south wind blew hard on that ragged old flag.

"On Flanders Field in World War I,


(Battle of St. Mihiel 1918.)

She gotta big hole from a Bertha Gun.
She turned blood red in World War II


(Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941.)

She hung limp, and low, a time or two.


(USS Crescent City ~ World War II.)

She was in Korea, Vietnam, she went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.


(Korean War POWs posing with hand-made American flag.)

She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
And now they've about quit wavin' back here at home.

In her own good land here she's been abused,


(Bill Ayers ~ Former member of the 60's radical Weather Underground Organization.)

She's been burned, dishonored, denied an' refused.


(1969 ~ Washington DC anti war protesters.)


(February 2012 ~ Occupy Oakland protesters.)

And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning
And we take her down slow every night.
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.


(The Countryfolk Keepsakes homestead.)

On second thought
I do like to brag,
Cause I'm mighty proud of
that ragged old flag.

Written by: Johnny Cash



♥ Teach and fly your flag. ♥

:> )

Time for some barnyard fun...

Click on the "Critters" button below to see more!

**oink**moo**neigh**quack**
( Just making sure you're paying attention )



:> )

Old MacCountryfolk Had A Farm...

E-I-E-I-O.

On her farm she had a...


goat, a pig, a cow and a horse.
E-I-E-I-OOOOOOOOOOOO.

My Countryfolk Critters will be available on my Countryfolk Keepsakes selling site soon! I'll keep you posted.

:> )