Saturday, May 31, 2014

This Evening on Early Work Mercantile...

I have two new offerings.

Another Folk Art Dachshund.
This time a "red" one.

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Little Miss 4th.

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I'm running back and forth into the city but I'm hoping to have my new offerings up on Early Work Mercantile at 6pm this evening.

I'd like to ask for your prayers and/or positive thoughts. Had to bring my mama to the hospital yesterday and she was admitted for a blood clot in her lung.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Remembering our American patriots this Memorial Day...



Generations of selfless service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.



Thank you.



So very true.



I wish I knew who to credit the above to. But unfortunately I don't.

Many of us took the leap of faith to create what's in our hearts and put it out there on the internet for the whole world to see.

We spend hours drawing. Sketching. Doodling.
Re-drawing, re-sketching and re-doodling... Again and again until we get it right.

We drive to the stores for our supplies. Spend hours picking out just the right fabrics... paints... materials... colors...

We've pricked, stabbed, burned or cut our fingers.
For me, all of the above.

We've accidentally torn or mistakenly cut, wasting fabric and time. Having to start all over again.

We've cursed in frustration and danced with joy with a finished piece.

I want to thank all of you who have purchased from me over these years. I have worn my heart out on my internet sleeve and am truly grateful to you for seeing the love I put into each piece I create.



That's it.
That's all I wanted to say in today's post.

:> )









Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Mission accomplished.

Don't you love it when you transform (Lord knows I extremely dislike that word but in this case I'll use it) a room and it doesn't cost you a penny?
Me too!!
All it took was a little muscle.

First, I had to empty out the "land of misfit furniture."
Man, what a mess I made! The hallway was so jam packed with stuff, I accidentally barricaded little Gracie in a corner.

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Guessing by the color of those old pine floorboards, looks to be painted about the 1930's. Truthfully, I wouldn't have minded if they weren't all scratched to heck. But they were. So I really minded.

I got on my hands and knees and did a quick sanding, before I threw down three coats of floor paint which I had sitting in the closet waiting patiently for me.

My poor little Stella is still a little under the weather so she hung out the whole time.

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Then I slowly introduced some of the misfit furniture until I had it looking like a spare bedroom/quiet space.
With all the "leftovers, it looks like I'll be having a barn sale this year!

It's nothing fancy. But then again, I'm not the fancy type.
I'm more the old, grandma's farmhouse type.

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And little Gracie came out unscathed.

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:> )

Monday, May 19, 2014

So long old friend...


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This huge, vintage, solid as a rock, heavy, Ethan Allen Early American sofa has been in my family for as long as I've been on the planet. Well over half a century.
But back then is was a groovy avocado green, baby.

My mama passed it along to me back around 2005. So I went ahead and had it reupholstered along with new foam cushions in a cottage-y/farmhouse-y plaid. That I absolutely love.
But an off white sofa isn't conducive for every day living. At least not in this home with my sweet hubs, a couple furbabies and quite frankly... me. I'm usually covered in some kind of paint. Or dirt. Or Stella drool.

Then there's my other problem... I change wall color like I change my underwear. So I had a whole new color scheme after only a year or two.
For the record. I change my wears about every six months. ((giggle))
I'm kidding! I'm kidding! That's all I need is a rumor like that!


Remember I had a green living room?
Make that three different shades of a green living room.

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But I still couldn't bring myself to part with it completely so I asked my extended family if they wanted it. Nope.
Sigh.
That's when I had the brainstorm to put it upstairs in the spare bedroom.
You know the kind of bedroom that has all the furniture you can't seem to let go of and really isn't a bedroom at all? Yeah, that kind of bedroom.
So my sweet hubs and I
(by the grace of God) carried it up our extremely narrow stairway and weaseled it into the spare bedroom. There it sat for a few years.

Well this weekend, I decided it was finally time to say goodbye. Sentimental or not, I had to let go.
Yesterday, I put it up on
**all together now** Craigslist. Since I've been blessed with getting fantastic deals on there myself, I thought it was best to pay it forward and list if for a great price.

I got an email from a sweet, young gal who said she wanted it.

You should have seen us trying to get it down the stairs last night!
Ummm... God's grace was running a little behind yesterday.

This afternoon, she and her hubs and their four wee ones drove about an hour to pick it up. I found out this young family farmed their land. Well, you all know I'm always tickled to find out a young couple decides to get into farming. Lord knows we all need that and we need young people getting into the trades too.

When they got to our home, my sweet hubs greeted them from the front porch. When he saw the wee ones he says, "Well go on in and try out the couch!" Once Mom gave the go ahead, they all piled on the couch. It was an adorable sight that warmed my heart so.
Just then a little one asks, "Mom, can I have something to eat?" That's when I knew all was good.
So I leaned into Mom and quietly asked her if I could give them each a lollipop. She was fine with it and I saw a sea of smiling faces when I brought out my lollipop jar.
When all was said and done and they strapped the sofa down in their pickup, I was at peace with letting go of a piece of my family.

Who knows? Maybe 50 years from now, that little (hungry) one will want to have it reupholstered and continue the history of the huge, vintage, solid as a rock, heavy, Ethan Allen Early American sofa.
Lords only knows with four wee ones and an off white sofa... It will definitely need it. ((giggle))

P.S.
Now I can set up the daybed I had leaning in the corner of that bedroom, in that bedroom!!!
Yee-haw!!

:> )






Sunday, May 18, 2014

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify...

Last spring we spotted an oriole hanging out on our property. He was absolutely gorgeous! But I never had an appropriate feeder to leave him tasty tidbits.

Well, we spotted him
or his twin ((giggle)) the other day! YaY! I was so excited I hopped online to research oriole feeders since I know nothing about them. They had all kinds of fancy ones for jams and such. But I wanted to put out fruit for the little fellow and I wanted a primitive, rustic look.

So I made my own.

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I had this massive block of 1800's timber from our old dairy barn just calling my name. It was exactly what I needed.

So I got out my trust drill.
Added dowels for a perch, some nails and some rope.

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Hopefully I'll see the little guy flying around with a napkin tucked under his chin in search of my good eats offering.

As far as weather goes, we are well behind where we should be. My lilacs are just starting to bloom. But that didn't keep me from clipping a few and putting them on my kitchen window sill.

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The rest of my day consisted of sitting in the Adirondack chair and watch spring unfold around me.

Ahhhh.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify...

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Happy Sunday, everyone.
Remember to go outside and get some fresh air.

:> )






Friday, May 16, 2014

Random silliness...

does the body good.

Ready for some giggles???












:> )





"We need to find God,

and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
~Mother Teresa

This quote is one of my favorites.
As of late, I seem to be reminded of it.



I turn on the television and I see nothing but arguing, chaos, fighting, anger, jealously, pain, violence, deceit... I could go on but you get the gist. It's absolutely everywhere. Whether it's a reality show, the news or the weather.

Even what's considered a comedy, isn't really funny. It's a lot of crude comments peppered with a few funny lines. Heck I'm by no means a prude. But I find myself shaking my head thinking, "Did they really have to say that?" as I turn the channel to find something else to watch.

If you're a history buff, you will see the pattern. I promise not to go all crazy, nasty*ss Honey Badger on you. All I will say is please do the research and educate yourself and your family.

So this past week I decided (for the most part) to turn off the box full of "noise and restlessness."
I can honestly say it's been quite wonderful.
No noise.
Peaceful.

Have a terrific weekend, all.

:> )














Monday, May 12, 2014

Stump Removal 101... What not to do.

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I've been asking my sweet hubs to try to removal a maple tree stump very close to our house. We've both hacked at it over the years thinking over time it would rot away. Wrong! This thing is just as solid as the day we had it cut down.

My sweet hubs had a "brainstorm" idea. His country living roots brought him back to if you needed something removed, you'd wrap a heavy duty chain around it and "remove" it.

So he wrapped one end around the stump. The other around his old Jeep's hitch.

Hmmm... I was a little hesitant. So I decided to watch from the kitchen window.

Well what happened next could have been a YouTube moment if I only had my camera!

C R A S H!!!

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I swear, that chunk of maple had it in for my sweet hubs. Its projectile, laser aim was perfect!!

I ran outside to make sure he was okay. When I saw him get out of his old Jeep laughing, I breathed a sigh of relief and started to laugh right along with him.

Glass was everywhere!! I never thought I would ever say I had to Shop Vac our lawn, but I did. We couldn't have glass anywhere our precious furbabies step. So I vacuumed the lawn.
Craziness.

We still have a little more to remove. But I prefer we go back to the hacking with an axe method.



Next, I must tell you about a fantastic product I purchased and used over the weekend!

It's called "Nature's Secret Weapon." It's a top notch odor eliminator product.



Remember that lovely
(almost perfect) settee I purchased?

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Well it had an odd, funky, musty basement/attic/
(barnyard?? Who knows?) smell that I couldn't get rid of. I tried everything.
I went online looking for something. Anything. Then I found this product. It was my last hope before I chopped up that settee and use it for firewood.

I'm telling you, this stuff is a miracle product!!! The smell is completely gone!!

It's a concentrate, so you dilute with water to the strength you need. Man, if you have cats or dogs, this product is a must! They've got a money back guarantee too. But I'm convinced, it will get rid of any funky smell you may have.

Although I don't suggest you hose down your spouse after a long, sweaty day of stump removal.
((giggle))

Happy Monday, all!

Wishing you a happy and productive week!

:> )













Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Holy Schnikes!

It's been over a week since my last post?!

I've been so busy froggin' around outside with cleaning up everyone's garbage they throw out their vehicle windows
(a pet peeve of mine, can you tell??) and bringing out outdoor furniture.
After this very LONG winter, it feels GREAT to finally get some fresh air!

More exciting news!! I got my first mow in!!!
YaY!!!

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Okay. So it may not be the most exciting news you'd expect to hear. But for me, I'm doing a happy dance!

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Notice how I like to mow in a random pattern.
Mowing in straight rows... b-o-r-i-n-g.
Besides, I'm working on my "cursive mowing technique."

Hey, someone's got to teach our younger generations how to write in cursive and how to use a riding mower.
You're welcome.
((giggle))

Then of course the whole time I'm mowing, I have the canine version of Norman Bates' mother in the window. She's burning a hole through me because she has to stay inside.

Can't see her?
Look a little closer...

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I need to get her a wig and a granny dress.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Take time to enjoy nature!

:> )