Pull Up A Rocker and Sit a Spell

Summer has definitely arrived here at the FARM. . .and the very best place of all to sit, relax, enjoy a tall GLASS OF ICED TEA is on the wraparound PORCH. . .where there are plenty of ROCKERS. . .and a COOL BREEZE most of the time. . .It's here that our guests enjoy themselves the most. . .where we sit a spell and visit with neighbors. . .and where John and I meet while resting from the daily list of 'CHORES'. . .Ahhhhh. . .COUNTRY LIVING at it's best. . .

Blogging has certainly taught me a lot about my decorating preferences through all the trials and errors of the past three years. . .SIMPLE. . .NOT FUSSY. . .DOWN-TO-EARTH FARM STYLE. . .This is real FARMHOUSE LIVING. . .not 'cookie cutter' farmhouse style. . .It's the real thing. . .We live it each and every day. . .and it's what I LOVE the most about our little farmstead. . .no pretense. . .just good farm living. . .

Like to JOIN us?

I'll save a ROCKER for ya. . .(grin)

(singing). . ."SUMMERTIME. . .and the living is EASY. . .

Fish are jumping. . .and the COTTON is high. . ."

ATTENTION ALL RAG RUGGERS. . .

There's a tip for weaving with T-shirts at: 

OUR OLD COUNTRY STORE

 

SUNDAY: Roses and Thorns

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that would soon blossom. He also saw the thorns, and he thought,"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

 So it is with many people. . .

Within every soul there is a rose. The qualities planted in us at birth, growing amidst the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. . . We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. . .But, if we see the rose within us, water it, love it's beauty. . .We can conquor those thorns and blossom into a beautiful thing. . .(Author Unknown)

"Show us the rose,

that we may overcome the thorns"

~ St. Thomas Acquinas

...SUNDAY BLESSINGS to ALL...

'You're a BOUQUET OF ROSES

in the Garden of LIFE'

 

 



Let's Pop Some Color In There

 

You who know me know that I love decorating with WHITES and NEUTRALS. . .but you also know that I enjoy POPS OF COLOR, too. . .Life is too dull without them. . .for me anyway. . .

The popularity of an all neutral FARMHOUSE DECOR is not too far away from our farm homes of the past. . .Most kitchens cabinets were painted white. . .Often the living room and kitchen walls were also in a neutral tone. . .Bedroom walls usually broke away from the white theme and opted for colors such as candy pink, mint green, and denim blue. . . A house totally in neutrals was rarely the case as it is today. . .

Let's face it, life on the farm was and is hard work. . .rewarding but demanding and endless. . .The average farm wife loved color. . .bringing CHEER and a SMILE. . .Maybe that's why I, too, enjoy POPS of COLOR for our FARMHOUSE . . .

I was playing with the pegs one day last week. . .working toward a Spring and Summer look with the new HEART wreath I found while junkin'. . .I like the all white theme. . .lived with it a few days. . .then decided I needed a little color. . .It looked a little bland to me. . .I was inspired by the lovely plant, too. . .

LOOK HOW ADDING A LITTLE COLOR MAKES THE EYE LINGER IN THESE BEFORE AND AFTERS. . .

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

 There are no rules that POPS OF COLOR must to be flowers. . .

How about a GREEN CABBAGE?

This garden rabbit needed something to nibble on. . .

Cabbage? . .I can hear you shaking your head. . .Sure. . .Why not? . .

With a couple of other additions. . .the VIGNETTE comes to life. . .

The thing I've learned in all these years of blogging and decorating the FARMHOUSE is that NEUTRAL BACKGROUNDS work well in any season. . .It contributes to a CALM and PEACEFUL setting. . .but every now and then I need a little more SPICE IN LIFE. . .Not too much. . .Just enough to make me SMILE. . .

. . .from my Farmhouse to Yours. . .

 

 

Going Big in the Kitchen

When the SPRING and SUMMER seasons arrive, there is much activity going on around the farm. . .outside and in. . .and the FARMHOUSE KITCHEN certainly sees its share of baking, canning, and home grown meals. . .With the prospect of it being no different this year, I decided to stock many of the of the necessities close at hand in GIANT CROCKS and GLASS STORAGE JARS. . .

Canning supplies are hidden in the #8 CROCK. . .baking needs and miscellaneous in the others. . .

A huge canister of flour for breads, biscuits, and cakes. . .10 pounds of beans ready for measure. . .to cook with ham or sausage Creole style (Yum). . .I can leave them simmering all morning on the stove while I'm working in the garden or doing other chores. . .so typical of farm ladies over the years. . .

Large chopping boards clean and ready. . .The bin filled with coffee, sugar, canning salt. . .

Next week you'll find me in the kitchen. . .canning PUMPKIN BUTTER (Recipe HERE) from the puree I froze last Fall. . .Then a few jars of JAMS (One Recipe HERE). . .(Another Recipe HERE). . .Afterwards followed by SAUERKRAUT (Recipe HERE) with the super bargains of cabbage going on right now. . .Won't be long until we have strawberries. . .I have a new recipe for STRAWBERRY BREAD that I'm dying to try. . .Everything will be at hand now . . .LOVE IT!!!!!

How about you? Are you ready to go BIG in the kitchen (grin)

and hide the clutter in plain sight?

. . .sending your way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



 

 

SUNDAY: Angel in a Pick-up Truck

SOURCE: GRANDMA'S DREAMS

 

I have an awesome true story for you today. . .sent to me by my 'adopted' sister who lives in Oklahoma. . .It happened during one of their ice storms. . .I was blown away when I read the letter. . .See if you agree! . .(the name has been changed and the letter is mostly unedited)

 

"A few weeks ago a co-worker told me a story that probably most people would think was fiction. . .but this is what Anna told me. . .definitely something unearthly happened to her the night of the ice storm. . .She has a worman friend that she talks to on her ride home if she's worried or scared. . .She puts her speaker phone on in the passenger seat. . .Well, it was very icy and sleeting so she called her friend and they were talking the whole trip. . .She came to a big hill and she could tell it was solid ice on a very narrow highway. . .She came to a complete stop and waited while two other cars went around her and down the hill. . .They slid and spun and finally made it but she didn't want to try. . .She was too scared. . .Along came a black pick-up truck that stopped beside her. . .A young man came over and she rolled the window down only about 2" or so. . .He wanted to know if she had trouble. . .She told him she was just scared. . .He told her that she could make it and how to do it. . .He had lived in Alaska before moving here to Oklahoma and knew how. . .for her to stay calm and lightly touch her brakes all the way down. . .He then got in his truck and passed her to the bottom of the hill, where he pulled over and stopped. . .waiting for her. . .So her friend on the phone told her that God had sent that man to come to her rescue and encouraged her to go ahead. . .so she did. . .scared to death. . .Didn't slide until right at the bottom where she was to turn off onto a different road. . .She kept seeing the black pick-up waiting but she still went very very slow. . .Just at her turn her car slid a bit but she turned the wheel and the car stopped sliding. . .She looked back and the black pick-up truck was GONE. . .nowhere in sight. . .As she related what happened to her friend on the phone, the friend laughed and said it must have been an angel. . . 

The next day at work as Anna was buying groceries, the cashier (a woman Anna knew from the church) asked Anna if she made it home alright the night before. . .Anna told her the story and the woman said, "That's INTERESTING". . .The cashier had two brothers, both had passed now from cancer, but one of them once lived in Alaska and bought a black pick-up when he moved to Oklahoma. . .He lived on such and such street--within two blocks of the icy hill. . .She said she carried their photo with her all time. . .pulled it out of her pocket and showed Anna, who gasped, "That's him!!!! That's the young man right there!!!!" pointing at one of her brothers. . .Then Anna told her what the friend had said--that he was an 'angel'. . .By now the cashier was crying. . .and I had chills and tears throughout the story myself. . ."



SOURCE



"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."

Psalm 91:11

 

HAPPY SUNDAY,  EVERYONE!!!

 

 

 

Daisies--Ironstone--and Milk Bottles?

Working outdoors in the flower beds inspired me to bring a little Spring inside. . .Bored with traditional bouquets, I decided to do something a little different. . .

Pretty self-explanatory. . .Yep. . .I still like to shake things up a bit. . .Just another lesson in FARMHOUSE making-do. . .

 

HAVE A LAZY DAISY WEEKEND. . .

SUNDAY: Heart Song

"Once upon a time there was a great man who had a little girl. As she was growing up, the man would hug her and tell her, "I love you, little girl." The girl would pout and say, "I'm not your little girl anymore." The man would laugh and say, "You'll always be my little girl."

Even after she left home and went into the world, the man would call her and say, "I love you, little girl." The day came when she received a phone call that the great man had a stroke. He couldn't tell the little girl, who was not so little anymore, that he loved her, and so she went to his side.

When she arrived, he looked small and not so strong at all. He tried to speak, but he could not. The girl climbed up on the bed next to the great man and laid her head on his chest. She thought of how she had always felt protected and loved by him. She felt grief for his words of comfort and the loss she was about to endure. Then she heard, from deep within, his heart beating out the words he could no longer say. . .I love you, little girl. . .I love you, little girl. . .and she was comforted." --Patty Hansen from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul

While I did not write Heart Song,

it IS my story of a deep and loving relationship I shared with Daddy. . .

I was there when he passed into another life. . .

His last words were,  "Love you."

 

Daddy's birthday is this week. . .

Thank you for allowing me to be a bit sentimental. . .

in remembering a great man in my life. . .

 

"LOVE YOU, TOO, DADDY"

Yikes! Stripes!

Know what I like the most about our bath? . .It's so versatile. . .It can be dressed up or dressed down. . .It can be made plain and simple or shabby chic frilly. . .It can easily change with the seasons. . .or change every week for that matter. . .With a large room, strategic placement of "necessaries", and a background that doesn't interfere with most themes, the bath lends itself to any number of farmhouse styles. . .rustic. . .simple. . .chic. . .country. . .

It was by way of a subtle suggestion that I recently changed the bath. . .again. . .It's all the Honey's fault. . .(grin). . .At the time I began gathering ticking for the living room, I also pulled out anything that had stripes. . .mainly to find out how big a stash I had. . .The piles ended up being stacked in the bath. . .in various places. . . 

"Hey. . .That looks good in there" said the Honey one morning.

"I'm collecting for the living room." . . .I was half listening.

"Oh. . .Okay. But I like it" and he was off to begin his day.

About five minutes later, it dawned on me what he said. . .more so that he noticed at all. . .I went to look for myself. . .began pulling a few items from the piles. . .and Voila!!! . .A new look. . .

Ticking and stripes are a huge decorating statement this Spring. . .Around here it's very hard to find vintage ticking. . .but there's plenty new ticking to be found at fabric stores. . .I'm really glad the Honey made the suggestion. . .

While we're in the bath. . .did you see the post at OUR OLD COUNTRY STORE about OLD TIME FARMHOUSE all natural soaps? . .I used them in the bath décor this winter. . .The room smelled fresh and clean. . .but not over-powering. . .My skin loved them, too. . .You know. . .Mother's Day is coming up. . .These soaps in a basket would make a great gift. . .(hint hint). . .I get no compensation for any sales. . .Only wanted to pass along a true discovery. . .

 I certainly hope Spring is coming your way. . .The sun is finally out here and the fields are drying up. . .Won't be long before I venture outdoors to play in the dirt. . .I'm definitely getting a touch of Spring fever. . .Happens every year about this time. . .