Decoration Day...

Or Memorial Day is one of the lesser-known legacies of the Civil War.



No matter what the war, please pay your respects and remember our fallen this weekend.

♥

Be Still My Beating Heart...

I know. I know... People either love or loathe ceiling fans.

But when you live in an 1800's farmhouse with no central air, trust me when I tell you...
You will love ceiling fans and I love, love, love this first one!
I can picture it twirling around in our living room. Oooooh... Ahhhhh....



It screams "I NEED TO BE IN THE COUNTRYFOLK HOMESTEAD!!"
You heard that, right??!!
Ummm... Now I just need to convince my sweet hubs he can hear it, too. Something tells me he's not going to hear it.((giggle))

They are sold online here.







Happy Tuesday, all!!!

Remember to get outside and enjoy the day.

:> )

First they're in a magazine...

and now THIS!!



If we're not careful, their furry noggins won't fit through the doorway! ((giggle))





Gee, I wonder which cap I'll be wearing and which one my sweet hubs will be wearing??

Happy Monday, all!!

:> )

Cuteness Alert!

Last year when I first saw this adorable hummingbird swing, I knew we had to have one for our wee feathered friends who come to visit.



Man, I can't wait to see one perched on it! ♥

Also, I have a question I hope someone out there in blogland can help me with. I have a few dear blogger friends who are now unable to comment on my blog. I haven't done or changed a thing, yet they can no longer post a comment.
I have noticed when I type a post, Blogger mentions something about http and https. Is this the problem??

Remember I said I have a love/hate relationship with technology?? Here's a perfect example. This is so frustrating!

I'd appreciate any help someone can offer.
Thanks!!!

Happy Saturday, all!!

:> )

Well it's official...

Stella and Gracie are forever immortalized in Country Sampler magazine! YaY!





About a year and a half ago the editor of the magazine contacted me stating a staff member saw my blog online and they were interested in featuring the patriotic, ol' Countryfolk homestead in their July 2016 issue.

I must admit I was completely shocked! Our little, humble farmhouse in a national magazine?! Seriously??!!
I was so shocked that after she emailed me I checked to make sure she was legit.
I've lost count of how many emails I've received telling me I've won a foreign "lottery." Heck, I should be rolling in dough by now! ((giggle))

When I spoke with her on the telephone I told her what I did. We both had a good laugh.

So last July, architectural photographers (a sweet husband and wife team) came to photograph our farmhouse. They spent the whole day here.

Truthfully, I didn't want to mention it on my blog or to anyone for that matter, until I saw it in print. Today was the special day it arrived.

So if you're out and about and see this July issue of Country Sampler, thumb through it. There are many more photos along with the fun article.



What's even more special to me is although both my parents are no longer with me, today would have been their 59th wedding anniversary. What perfect timing. My mom loved to decorate.

I have a feeling they're both looking down from Heaven, smiling proudly with my mom saying (quite loudly,) "She gets it from me!!!" ((hee-hee))

Happy Wednesday, all. For the second time.


P.S.
Since they photographed our home I completely changed our kitchen, dining room, keeping room and master bedroom. Oh well...
Thanks for that crazy gene, Mom!!

:> )

Ta-dah!

Well, it took me longer than expected to stitch these new curtains up. The buffalo check print wasn't square. Ack!
Since I'm not an expert sewer, I basically flew by the seat of my pants to make them look as straight as I could.

What a difference in the beautiful, natural light that streams in now!! YaY!!! The kitchen looks so much bigger, too. Double YaY!!



My only concern is the length at the sink window. They are level with the faucet handles. I should shorten them seeing mine and my hubs occasional dirty mitts will eventually get those clean, crisp curtains all cr*pped up. Maybe at the sill would be wise.
I'll pin them up to see if I like how they look.

I even have enough fabric leftover to make a valance for the powder room window off the the kitchen.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how they came out.
Buffalo check makes me smile!!

Happy Wednesday, all!

:> )

Happy Mothers Day...

to all moms!





:> )

Looking for a new front door mat...

I found myself giggling at many of them.
I would consider the last one since it is a rule in our home.



















Happy Saturday, all!!

:> )

My sincere apologies...

to our Founding Fathers for thinking I could tea stain a printed copy of the United States Constitution on parchment paper.



Especially to you, President Madison.



I will leave this new one as it is.

Lesson learned.

:> )

Can't decide on a length...

Ack!!



I finally had some time to get a visual on how the French Gray Buffalo Check will look. Ooooh me likey!! But I'm still not sure of the length.





Sorry about all the weird lighting. It's been overcast and gloomy. An icky-poo-poo kind of day.


Do I want them to the bottom wood trim like most standard curtains? Or will they look too squatty because the windows are wide but not tall. OR do I want them longer?? Making the windows look taller since the ceiling is vaulted.
Heck, I don't know!!

So what do YOU think?? I'm pretty sure I bought enough fabric to make them as long as the ones I made previously.

About 8" past the wood trim.



Here I pinned them up to the wood trim....



Maybe a happy medium would be 4" longer than the wood trim.

:> )


Happy Tuesday, all!

I only have one word to sum up today...

YAY!!!!!



My fabric arrived!
Time to make the curtains...

Wish me luck! Lord knows I'm gonna need it.

Happy Monday, all.

:> )

I ♥ My Nerd...

I like the idea of having my computer at my make-do desk but hate how the monitor takes up so much space! Have I mentioned I have a love/hate relationship with technology??

So when I asked my sweet hubs if he can turn a small, flat screen TV into a computer monitor and hang it on the wall, his face lit up like a Christmas tree!!

I'm pretty sure I saw smoke from his heels as he ran to get the brackets and cables he'd be needing.

Ten minutes later...

Ta-dah!



He's so awesome!!

All I need to do is camouflage those really annoying hanging wires and I'm good to go.

Now... How do I keep Tommy and George from logging on when we're asleep????

Happy Sunday, all.

:> )

TOMORROW Night on Early Work Mercantile...

Man, I didn't realize how long it's been since I made some dollies. I thought it was time.

I decided to do a crackle technique on my Hannie Annie. I've loved Raggedy Annie dolls for as long as I can remember. As I kid, I was one for Halloween!



This is Nineveh. She's one of my favorites too. I made her Mother Hubbard apron from an antique feed sack.



They will be available on my Early Work Mercantile selling page.

Just click on the banner below.




Hope to see you there!


:> )

This is too funny not to share...

Told ya.

:> )

Even though the curtain fabric...

I ordered is back ordered and won't be shipped until May 5th, it didn't stop me from grabbing the curtain clips I'll be needing. This way I'm prepared and all I'll have to do is start sewing.
Man, I would have made a great Boy Scout.

I was so excited to see what they would look like, I had to clip the wee fabric sample they sent me. I'm pretty sure one toilet paper square is larger than this sample. Oh well... ((giggle))



After my Lowes run, I stopped by the pet supply to grab some Flexi Nylabones for my Stella.

She looks enthused, doesn't she??
She is the ultimate lounge lizard.



Thank the Lord above she hasn't had another seizure. I am praying it was the high sodium kibble that caused it. Since I switched her food she's been her usual playful self so that's a good thing.

I was absolutely on the mark with Gracie's diagnosis. How I want to call the vet and say, " I was right! Nah, nah, nah, nah nah!" ((hee hee))

She's acting like a little spring chihuahua chicken now and she's gained a pound and a half! YaY!!
I did find out the hard way she cannot eat anything with sweet potato. It caused a hypoglycemic reaction. So she has to stay away from all potatoes and rice.

I ordered a doggie cookbook.
Yeah, I know. I need my head examined. What else is new? **snicker**
But this way I'll know exactly what's going into those adorable, furry little bodies and it will give me piece of mind. Like that's possible.

Well, that's it for now.

Happy Monday, all!!!

:> )

"Baby I'm A Star..."

You most certainly are.

You'll be sadly missed.

Rest in peace.

♥

Man, what a week!

We've been worried sick about my little furbaby. First our Gracie, now our Stella.



Most know Stella is the (second) love of my life. My sweet hubs being my first.
Out of the blue, early Sunday morning (3am) Stella had a grand mal seizure on our bed. A few minutes later she vomited. She's also been drinking a lot of water.
Even though she's only 3 1/2 years old, the horrors of numerous medical problems ran through my head.

I contacted our vets office and brought her in on Monday for some blood work.
Everything seemed relatively normal. Except her ALT was slightly high, her ALKP was slightly low and her AMYL was low. What I find more odd is these levels have been the same with the last three blood draws I've had done.
The vet isn't concerned with it. Nor were they (there's a group of vets in the practice we go to), but it is a concern with me.

So the neurotic dog owner that I am, was determined to research and research until I could possibly pinpoint something to that seizure.

Then I turned to what I'm feeding her. I do home cook some of her food and mix it with a quality, grain free, kangaroo based kibble. But if I run out of her home cooked food, I feed her straight kibble until I cook up another batch.
I chose kangaroo because it's a novel protein. Being a Boston Terrier she has all kinds of sensitivities to proteins and carbs/starches. But the chance of her having an issue with kangaroo would most likely be slim. I started it in February and she LOVES her kangaroo.

Yesterday, I hopped around other neurotic dog owner forums and found out many who were feeding the same brand as I, noticed their dogs drinking a lot more water than usual. Hmmm. In my best Arte Johnson impersonation, "Very interesting..."
Since dog food companies don't list sodium amounts in their food, a gal contacted the company. Come to find out the sodium amounts in all their food were high.
Not only does high sodium intake make one thirsty, in some cases it can cause seizures. Again, in my best Arte Johnson impersonation, "Very interesting..."
Now could this be Stella's problem?? I'm not sure. But I will say I believe it's the cause of her excessive trips to her water bowl. Since she has no body fat, maybe the high sodium caused that seizure. Who knows?

I do know she is a physically fit healthy and strong little dog and I love her to pieces!!
I'm about ready to toss all the commercial dog food I have on hand and stick to home cooked food only with added supplements.
But I'm still not ready to go completely raw though.

Happy Thursday, all.

:> )