Wednesday, October 31, 2012

BOO-O-O-O


This is my "baby". . . .
His name is BOO. . . . .


Six Halloweens ago, he climbed on my shoulder and came home with me.
 He's been special from the beginning. . . .

He saved our home from a fire when he was only a few months old. . . .

 He plays with unseen "angels". . . .



He massages my fibromyalgic muscles. . . .how he knows where to hit is still a puzzle to me. . . .

He knows when I need a snuggle. . . .and kisses. . . .
He's a TLC (Tender Loving Cat). . . .


He can talk and carry on a conversation. . . .if he's so inclined. . . . 
But, if I talk too long on the rotary phone, he unplugs it. . . .


 He's in my lap if I'm sitting. . . .On top of me if I'm napping.
John calls him "Velcro". . . .


So far, he's not unlike most cats, huh?


Well. . . .actually. . . .Boo is also a walking Miracle. . . .
And, he's one of the few "working" cats you might meet. . . .

You see--he came down with Addison's disease a few years ago--
 VERY rare and usually fatal  in felines. . .
Yet, vets are seeing it more and more in animals nationwide. . .
It affects his kidneys and the ability to rid his body of toxins. . .


Boo has  lived with Addisons for four years--not without some close brushes with death--
and not without his monthly hormone shots, special food, spring water and an excellent vet--
but so far, his will to live--and plain stubbornness-- has won out. . . .

Dr. Cato says Boo is on his third set of nine lives. . . .and has left the vets scratching their heads. . . .


Recently, Boo got the attention of Pfiser Pharmaceutical. . . .
They wanted to know what makes this walking miracle tick. 

So, we talked it over with Boo.
(I'm serious. . . . )
He agreed to help out Pfizer and hopefully others in the animal world.

Once a week, Boo goes to work. . . .giving his blood and urine samples in exchange for
 medical care. . . .and he receives the new experimental drug furnished by Pfizer, if needed. . . .

I had to laugh when the offer came. It hadn't been more than a month since I'd told Boo he would have to find a job to pay his medical bills. Little did I know. . . .

 Tests and treatments are administered and monitored by Dr. Cato
and reports are sent to Pfizer. . . .
Boo's in very good hands. . . .


He pretty well does as he pleases at" the office". . . .has his own private room,
where a framed photograph of him hangs on the wall. . . .
He has his own radio. . .his pick of attendants. . . .
He often "assists" Dr. Cato in surgery. . . .from his huge cage. . . .
and puts rowdy dogs in their place.
Sometimes he spends the night with the doctor;
other times he comes home after his day's work is over. . . .


We're very proud of Boo and the courage he's shown. . . .
He's won the hearts of so many people. . . .
And, certainly he has ours.
Each day we have him with us is a day to celebrate. . . .


Every Halloween is BOO-day for us,
as we thank God for letting us keep him one more year.


Wishing a
Happy Boo-day to All. . . .

from our farmhouse to yours. . . .
The Farmer's Daughter

Sharing this post with: * Rural Thursday

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Ta-Dah. . . .The Checkerboard Floor Is Done. . .


"By George. . . .I think we got it. . . ."


Well, it's been a long time coming. . . .but FINALLY we have a finished checkerboard floor. . . .


 I know that many of you probably thought we'd never finish. . . .We began to question it ourselves. . . .
We certainly didn't do it quickly. . . .but, we kept pursuing the look we wanted. . . .
"Patience--Patience--" we kept telling ourselves.
Eventually--It Worked!!!!!

Want to hear the whole story?
Well, read on. . . .



First came the inspiration. . . . 


Then the "blue print". . . .

Since our keeping room/ kitchen is 26 feet long, we decided
checkerboarding the entire floor would be way too much. . . .
So, we went with an "area rug" in the keeping room, 
to help divide the eating area from the kitchen, 
without interfering with the wide open space. . . .


I had the idea to follow the cupboards, instead of squaring it off. . . .
While it turned out to be a wonderful styling choice. . . .
It caused us a lot of problems--hard to get the squares to come out right. . . . 



Then came the black paint. . . .really liked it and thought we'd leave it that way. . . .
but when we replaced the table and chairs, it looked like one big mass of black and wood tones.
 Not the "pop" we wanted. . . . .

Many of you liked this look, but it just did not work for us with our furniture--
the camera made it look a lot better than it did in person. . . .


Back to the drawing board. . . .
Loved this black and off-white floor that had been my inspiration through the whole project. . . .
so we painted the remaining squares with Antique White. . . .
chosen so the white squares wouldn't be too glaring.

It took some time, since we had to tape the squares in sections.

Finally, we polyurethaned it. . . .
To our dismay, the poly was suppose to NOT yellow but it did. . . . . 
yellowed the white squares. . . . also, the poly was lifting the stain from the original floor. . . .

Very ugly. . . Very disappointing. . . .Very frustrating. . . .


 Boo was the only one who was calm and content for the next few days. . . .
  while I thought about it. . . .
I decided there was no choice other than purchasing a primer and start the white again. . . .
It took over a week to redo--two more rolls of painter's tape--a different brand of poly. . .
 
tape a little. . . .paint a little. . . .let it dry. . . . paint a little more. . . .
"Patience--Patience--"

Then. . . .Saturday morning. . . . .when the sun came up. . . .
John's first words were,
"By George, I think we got it!!!!!"

Thankfully, the floor turned out exactly as we'd envisioned it in the beginning--
We have a beautiful floor that we both love. . . .


We're letting the finished floor cure for a week or so before we move the table back in.
All I can show for now is the floor--
Sorry ladies, we're not finished with everything in the room. . . .
We still have the cabinet tops. . . . the fireplace. . . .and a few other small things.
We're on the down side of it, though. . . .

It won't be long before I can reveal the entire project to you. . . .


If you should decide to checkerboard your floor, please learn from our mistakes:
1--An "area rug" is tough sectioning off unless it's a square or rectangle
2--Stacked squares are a lot simpler than those on the diagonal
3--Use a primer on the entire area first
4--Then paint the lightest color over the primer
5--Tape and paint the darker squares last
6--Be sure the polyurethane is CLEAR and non-yellowing--
7--Do a test board along the way. Poly WILL change the color--
including the clear--so test first


Was it worth it?
OH! YES!
We LOVE everything about it. . . .

. . . . Now that it's done. . . .
  

It's the "POP" we wanted to transform and emphasize the keeping room area. . . .

Don't you agree?


In the next few days, I'll let you peek inside the farmhouse cupboards,
as I fill and organize them with family items and farmhouse finds. . . .
This might be your only chance to see inside. . . .

Til then. . . .

blessings from my farmhouse to yours. . . .

Friday, October 26, 2012

There Are Times The "Honey" Gets It Right

Now, I ask you, ladies. . . .Did my "Honey" get it right?


Not only beautifully tarnished, but a real steal at $4.99. . . .


Yep. . . .
I said $4.99. . . .but wait. . . .
my Honey's a Senior, so he got a 20% discount. . . .
bringing the grand total to $3.99.


He was so generous, he threw in a $1.99 (minus 20%) tarnished silver stand,
and a white English bowl (.49) to go in it. . .


I absolutely LOVE it! 
The wonderful patina will fit in perfectly with my plain and simple
pewter pieces and the galvanized buckets. . . .
Don't you think?


I can hear my Mom now--"Oh, NO! You're NOT going to use it in you kitchen, are you?"
"Doesn't it need polishing? Here--I'll polish it for you. . . ."

No, thanks, Mom. . . .I have my own style now. . . .


You see, I think it's okay to use a tarnished, shabby coffee server,
along with a vintage tin bucket of mums in my plain old kitchen. . . .
because that's who I am. . . .
a little bit tarnished, a little bit shabby,
but still shining through. . . .
Plain & Simple as that. . . .


So, big HUGS to my Honey. . . .
Yep, he got it right. . . .
He knows me so well.

from my farmhouse to yours. . . .
The Farmer's Daughter

Sharing this post with: *Make It Pretty MondayMop It Up Mondays  

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

A Sweet & Simple Farmhouse Kitchen Feature

I have to admit. . . .things are in a mess here at The Country Farm Home this week. . . .I'm hoping I'll have a kitchen floor to show you in the next few days. . . .and get my house back in order. . . .til then, I wanted to share a kitchen with you that speaks "Sweet and Simple Farmhouse". . . .


Many of you already know Cindy from Old Time Pickers. . . .We always enjoy her finds, most of which she graciously shares (sells) on Etsy. . . .I've told her that it's a good thing we don't live close to each other or we'd be fighting over the same pickins!!!!. . . We have such similar tastes. . . .The above photo is a case in point. . . .The old box, the rooster, the jar of cookie cutters would feel right at home in my kitchen. . . .

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. . . .


This month Cindy has launched a second blog--Old Time Farmhouse--and is it a "sweet" one! In fact, that's how she describes it--"Sweet and Simple Farmhouse Style". . . . .


And, that's exactly what HER kitchen is all about--
Look at these photos. . . . So inspirational. . . .The enamelware, the ironstone, the blue jars, the farm touches, and vintage style. . . .
It's the first of Cindy's Farm Fresh Features that will happen every fourth Monday. . . .

In fact, she has something special planned for each Monday in the month. . . .the Old Time Link Party on the first Monday. . . .a Sweet & Simple Giveaway on the second. . . .the Winner of the giveaway on the third and this fourth Monday she started the Farm Fresh Feature with her own kitchen. . . .In the coming months, she'll be featuring other "sweet & simple" homes. . . .Yours might be one!!!!

I don't want to give it all away. . . .You need to drop in and see it for yourself. . . .It's a fun place to be. . . . I know it will inspire you--as it has me. . . . . . How could it not?. . . .Just look at another of my favorite touches in her kitchen. . . .


Are you ready to hop over there and see Fresh Farmhouse Style for yourself?
Here's the link:

You're in for a treat. . . .
And, I'll be back in a day or two with more from The Country Farm Home. . . .
 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Sometimes A Single Pumpkin Is All You Need. . .


Sometimes a single pumpkin is all you need. . . .
to make your photos "POP". . . .


unless you have three pumpkins, that is. . . .


I've been playing with PicMonkey.com. . . .
planning to use my Fall photos to send Greetings to Faraway Friends. . . .

I love how they turned out. . . .
almost "artistic". . . . 

I'm constantly amazed at what a computer can do. . . .

Once they're printed. . . .I'll add them to the front of some card stock, 
folded into a Greeting Card. . . .
and add a personal note.

How simple it that?


Please feel free to print any of these out for your own Cards. . . 
If you don't want The Country Farm Home printed on yours. . . .
then just crop it out. . . .I don't mind. . . .

  
Hope you all had a great weekend. . . .We came back from Tennessee full of energy, 
so it looks like it will be a busy week for us. . . .
The weather is suppose to be super. . . .lots to do outside. . . .
and in between we're finishing the checkerboard floor. . . .
Yes, we're still working on it--you won't believe all the trouble we've had. . . .
but, that's for another post. . . .


I'm gathering my tools right now and heading outdoors for a little Fall sunshine. . . .
How about you?. . . .Get out and enjoy the Fall weather. . . .
It won't be long til winter, you know. . . .

from my farmhouse to yours. . . .
The Farmer's Daughter

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Almost Too Big For The Barn

 

 It's not only a charming barn. . . .but a charming draft horse, too. . . .


He acted as if he was accustomed to having his photo snapped. . . .


He's almost too big for the barn. . . .


See what I mean?

Sometimes I feel this way in my own home, too. . . .
  
***************************************
This charming log barn is located at The Homeplace. . . .
 . . . .on the Tennessee part of Land Between The Lakes. . . .
 . . . .in northwest Tennessee. . . .
It's one of our favorite places to visit. . . .
especially in the Fall. . . . 

That's where you'll find us this weekend. . . .

***************************************

 from my farmhouse to yours. . . .
The Farmer's Daughter
 
I'll be sharing this post with Tricia's Barn Charm


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