We took a drive this afternoon...

dopey me forgot to grab my camera.
So I had to use my sweet hubs phone.







Well hello there, ladies...






A drive like this makes you forget all about the craziness going on in the country and cures all your ills.

I highly recommend one.

♥


Happy Sunday, all.

:> )

Are you following the presidental election?

Do you need a good belly laugh??
If you know about "Bad Lip Reading" (overdubbing) videos, you know what to expect.

If you don't, no matter what your political view, you will definitely crack a smile.

Enjoy the silliness.


P.S.
Watch it in full screen mode, too.



:> )

As I was sipping my coffee at the kitchen table on this beautiful sunny morning......

I witnessed an "eclipse!" The sun streaming in my kitchen window was completely blocked for a few seconds! It scared the bejeebers out of me!
As I jumped up and looked out the window, I saw this...



I know why folks choose to fly around in a hot air balloon around these parts.
The exact same reason why we bought property here.

Views out our windows.
I snapped these yesterday.







Happy Tuesday, all.
Remember to go outside and enjoy nature's beauty around you.
It's there. You just have to notice it.

♥

I'm at it again...

Besides the kitchen (heart of the home) being my favorite room in this old farmhouse, our Keeping Room is my second favorite space.

Because the room is small, has absolutely no wall space and a hearth and doorway threshold that takes up a lot of floor space, I have found it difficult to arrange what little furniture we have in there, to where it has the proper flow and feels cozy, too.

I swear I have wrestled the plaid settee everywhere possible expect for one spot. Here's the one spot.
It definitely feels more open.



I decided to swapped out the small tavern coffee table for an even smaller primitive stool.

Since this is our Founding Fathers room, I was going to paint the colonial 13 circle of stars on top of it. But I already did that on the fire board surround behind the wood stove.



Then it hit me. I could decoupage The 1782 Great Seal of the United States on it. So I did just that.
Although I'm not happy with how I messed up the antiquing with the Mod Podge stuff. Oh well... Doo doo happens.

It still looks cool.



I do believe Stella is pleased with the new arrangement.



So now I wait for my sweet hubs to come home to see if he notices this one. He already thinks I'm loony with all the crazy things I do around the old homestead (while he's at work) anyway, so why not add another one to the loony pile.

I'm pretty sure he will notice. I'm also pretty sure he'll grab the big butterfly net.

But he's gotta catch me first.
((giggle))

Happy Monday, everyone.

:> )

Too cute not to share...

As soon as I removed the cast iron pot I placed there, little Gracie made her move...



I have a feeling out of all of us, she's the happiest with the new hearth.



♥

Wishing everyone a toasty warm Saturday evening.

:> )

I'll need a bottle of Advil...

But we got 'r done!! Yippee!!



We moved the new wood stove and replaced the old hearth with the new one. It looks better than I expected! Woo hoo!!

Actually, it went quite smoothly. Even my sweet hubs was shocked.
I had to laugh. He tells me, "You're still a strong chick!" I'm impressed!"

Thanks, sweetheart. Although "You're as beautiful as the first day we met" would have been much nicer. But hey at my age, I'll take what I can get. ((giggle))



I absolutely LOVE the look of old copper behind the wood stove in this next photo.
Now I've got this idea in my head. I must find me some copper sheets.
But after pricing them, over 700 bucks for two sheets (holy crap) I may have to stick with the ugly painted fire board we have on the walls for now.



Here's a few more photos of copper surrounds...





Okay, that is it for today. Time for me to go wrestle a bear. ((hee hee))
Wishing everyone a terrific weekend!!

:> )

A little Countryfolk Founding Fathers pumpkin levity...

Ooooh, I should stitch up a black stove pipe hat to make a very special 19th century pumpkin president.

Happy Friday, all!

:> )

As I sit here sipping a cup of coffee and witnessing a beautiful autumn day...

I am praying for a very dear art friend in Florida who has to evacuate her home. They are predicting her area will take a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew as she is a block away from the ocean.

I spoke to her yesterday when they were unsure if they would have to leave. But in her last email she said they were leaving. She is a nervous wreck and rightly so. Afraid they will have no house to come back to. I can't even fathom that.
Besides your essentials, what do you take with you? What can you take with you? Again, I can't fathom having to make those decisions.

Her family is just one of thousands of people who are facing this.


So if you pray, please pray for those in the hurricane's path. If you don't, positive thoughts are greatly appreciated, too. ♥





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.

Genesis 9:13-15

Perfect timing...

I am happier than a tick on a hound dog!!!

Last week I mentioned we would need a larger corner hearth for our wood stove. After pricing them (holy schnikes!) I thought, heck why can't we save some pennies and make our own? As you would imagine, my hubs wasn't too thrilled with the idea.

So for sh*ts and giggles I thought I'd take a peek at a local business who carries wood stoves and accessories to see how much their hearths were.

Well... What are the chances of me walking into that business and finding someone had ordered and purchased (then decided they didn't need) a corner hearth... in the perfect charcoal gray color... in the larger size we needed/still in the box... AND the business was willing to knock off another 75 bucks?!



The chances were great that day! Yippee!
Quick! Somebody pinch me!!

Needless to say with a bargain like that, I was all over that hearth like a monkey on a cupcake.

After two young men wrestled it into my little Liberty and after my sweet hubs and I wrestled it into the house... we have a new and much larger hearth. Ooooh the girls are gonna be so happy! More room for them to sprawl out on.
Now it's just a matter of swapping out the old with new. Not sure how we're going to do that.
I better eats me more spinach.
Ack Ack Ack Ack Ack...



Happy Tuesday, everyone!!

:> )

I decided to start hemming the kitchen curtains...

and Stella decided to "help" me.



"Help" meaning to stand on the curtain so I can't move it.

Actually she knows exactly what she's doing. If she stands on the curtain, I have to pay attention to her.

Well played, Stella. Well played.

She's cute AND smart.

:> )

Touches of Halloween...

Tis the season to bring out Halloween decor. But I don't go hog wild like I used to. Old age must be settin' in. ((hee-hee))

Instead, I like to subtly place whimsical pieces of folk art throughout our home. Pieces mostly made by very dear art friends whose friendship and folk art I cherish. Along with a few of my own pieces.

Enjoy...





Man, I have so much fun with Groucho Marx Halloween glasses! It always gets a laugh.




I really need to get a George Washington wig for that pumpkin.








Even the powder room isn't safe. Or behind the door.


Does anyone else see the "face" on the wooden pumpkin? :> )






This old timer has been around since my childhood. Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. ((giggle))



Happy Sunday, all.

New Hunter ceiling fan "before..."

It's a great fan. But that light had to go. For me personally, a bowl light is best for a bedroom. Or a den. Not a kitchen. Especially when I like to do my sewing at the kitchen table. These old peepers of mine must have bright light.



So here was my idea.
All I needed was a can of spray paint and my sweet hubs' brain to figure it out...



Ta~dah!









We also decided it was time to say so long to an old friend. This little guy served us well over the years. But we wanted to upgrade to a large Jotul wood stove.



Hello, gorgeous!
While most woman swoon over diamonds and clothing. I prefer wood stoves and lighting.



Let's see... We need to make a larger hearth pad. I need to touch up the stove pipe with spray paint and I need to hem my curtains. Just add these to my projects list!

That's it for today.

Happy Thursday, all!!

P.S.
I'm still determined to find a spot to hang the ol' candelabra I had in the kitchen. I already broke the news to my sweet hubs.

P.S.S.

I thought about swapping out the glass shades with old clear canning jars. But I have concerns about the heat from the bulbs in the enclosed jars. Have to do a little more research on that.


:> )

Sure it looks really cool but...

unless you want your room to have ambience lighting of a candle, I'd pass on it.


,i
There's a long story behind the purchase of the "million dollar" incandescent Edison style light bulbs. Okay, a million dollars is a bit of a stretch. 9 bucks a bulb is pricy to me. But I bought them anyway.

The gist is, our new ceiling fan is up but I haven't shared any photos yet because I STRONGLY dislike the (bowl style) light that is attached to it. So much so that I removed the bowl and have the exposed bulbs for now until I find a compatible light kit that I like. That's a whole other ball of wax. That's because most reasonably priced ones are butt ugly. Ooops. Did I type that out loud?

I did find only one that I love... it's hanging in our living room. I purchased that ceiling fan a loooong time ago. We had it in our first house. I loved it because the light kit looked like old antique gas lights that pointed straight downward.
When we put the house on the market I made sure we swapped out that ceiling fan for another because that one was coming with us!

After hubs figured out he can fit it to the new ceiling fan in the kitchen I made a mad dash to the Home Depot to find spray paint to closely match the new fan AND grab some million dollar Edison style bulbs. How cute that would look, right?? Absolutely yes. Practical? Absolutely not.

Needless to say the unopened bulbs are going back to HD.

So... I will share photos when the ceiling fan is complete.

Happy Wednesday, all!!

:> )

America's Choice!!

:> )