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Along the Dirt Road

Along the Dirt Road

Category Archives: Country Life

A New Page

03 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Farmhouse Style, heart and soul

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

country life, farmhouse style, heart and soul, Jesus

Hello sweet Dirt Roaders! How is life treating you? I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and are having a happy start to 2018. Whew! Can you believe it? Time flies!

We have been fighting off sinus germs here. It hasn’t been super fun. It’s also freeeeeeezing cold here in southern Missouri. I guess it is winter though, at least in our neck of the woods.

The Mr. braved the frosty weather and grilled steaks over the holiday. They were really good. A little taste of summer…in the heart of winter.

I found the quote above somewhere on the internet. I think it’s fitting for a blank page, how about you? “where no foot has been before…” God is like that. He beckons us to put down our fear and run to Him, as He guides. What better way to blaze the trail of a new year, than to follow the Leader?

Love from the Farmhouse,

Tucking In

12 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Farmhouse Style, Simply...living

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Tags

country life, cozy, farmhouse style

When the days grow shorter, do you find yourself tucking in? Gettting chores done earlier is a must around here. Then evening comes earlier and sometimes bedtime.


The Mr. loves this time of year. The time to tuck in the garden, on the years that we have one. The time to make sure the livestock are prepared for the colder months. Also…time to tuck in the swimming pool until spring.


I love fall and winter evenings with a good cup of tea. Maybe a cozy throw too. Just soaking up family life. 


May you and yours be tucked in, all nice and cozy, on this Thursday evening. I would love to hear some of your cozy season favorites!

Love from the Farmhouse,

A Little Bit of Country For You

15 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Farmhouse Style, Simply...living

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

country life, farmhouse style, home decor, summer

I posted a little thingy on Facebook last week that said this: “I would rather hear cows mooing than horns honking.” It’s true, but not everyone feels that way and I totally respect that. Today though…I thought that I would post a little bit of country for you. You know…just in case you love it.


We have been helping one of our kids learn to drive this summer. That means lots of dirt road rides. One day we had Mamaw with us and we decided to take a new path. We wound up by some of our relative’s home place and the cemetery where our kid’s great-great- great-grandparents are. How crazy is that? Folks don’t stray far from home in these Ozark hills. Anyway…it was a gorgeous place…out in the middle of nowhere. My favorite kind of adventure. 


I wish that I had snapped a picture of the beautiful pasture full of round bales. There were so many and it was gorgeous. One of my favorite summer views. I’ll share a picture of  Gingerbread instead. She loves hay too. 


It’s been rainy out here on the dirt road. Although we are enjoying the cooler weather…we are missing the swimming pool. It has been nice and cozy though.


And all of that coziness makes you want to  turn your home decor in the direction of fall.


I have been clearing off a few spaces and rearranging a little. You know…just in case a pumpkin needs a place to sit. ๐Ÿ˜‰ You “nebber” know! (As my little brother used to say.)


So…a little bit of country for you on this Tuesday. I hope that your day is peaceful and that the love of Jesus warms you from the inside out.

Love from the Farmhouse,

Crazy-Busy Summertimeย 

19 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, RaMbLiNgs, Yum for the Tum

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Tags

Pineapple Whip, summer, take it easy

Hey guys! Are you crazy-busy this summer? We seem to be. Always something going on and now we have hit a heat wave. How about you?

Today we have stayed home and pretty much did only laundry. It is a constant in my life. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Faithful friends…that washer and dryer. Last week the kids had camp…so they are detoxing from that…in a good way. They love camp and are sad when it’s over.


In other news…the Mr. and I tried our first Pineapple Whip ever!!! It was yummy! Where have we been? Under a rock?


I hope that you all are staying cool and remembering how to take it easy. We are relearning that one!

Love from the Farmhouse,

Weekend Vibes

26 Friday May 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Farmhouse Style, heart and soul, Simply...living

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farm life, memorial day, weekend

Holiday weekends are fun aren’t they? While we remember those that have given their lives to protect us…and our loved ones that have went on to Heaven…we usually gather with family. That is such a gift. I learn that more and more…the older I get. So weekend vibes feel alive and well today.


We have new babies on the farm, so with feeding them four times a day, our weekend vibe will be busy. We have a momma goat that totally would not feed her twins. Then another that only took one. Sooooo…we are striving to give these babies the best chance possible. 


Whatever you guys do this weekend…may Jesus bless you and warm your heart. May you quietly look around and absorb the love of your family. That is one of my favorite things to do. I used to see my dad doing that. He would just be enjoying his family and sitting there with a little smile. My granddad was the same way. I have been blessed with good teachers. 


Happy Memorial Day from the Farmhouse.

A Succulent Here…A Succulent There…

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, everyday stuff, fluffin' the nest

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Tags

home, succulents

You can never have too many succulents. I promise. You need a succulent here…and a succulent there.


They will make you smile as you walk by. Or waltz by. Whatever you do.


Their colors, as cool as the Caribbean waters, will delight your eyeballs.


They are whimsical, fun, and low maintenance. (Don’t over water.) They just add a bit of fun to your space. Like you guys didn’t already know all of this. My Dirt Roaders are smart. 

Happy Monday!

Dirt Road Riding

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, everyday stuff, heart and soul, livin' a little healthy

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

country life, dirt road rides, Jesus

Today, my mom came over. She is precious. She also has shingles. Nothing is touching the pain…so I whipped up a mix of essential oils for her, doctored her sores, and wrapped my arms around her gently, and asked Jesus to help her. She was feeling better in no time. Thank You Jesus!


That is an old picture. Neither one of us has felt that good in a while. I am on the heat pad…as we speak. Anyway…after that…we decided to ride to town to get something to eat…just as we were. Don’t ask. Lol!


We might have looked like that. Ha ha!

Anyway…we did run through the drive thru at “the Dairy Queen.” Chicken basket anyone? On the way back we, of course, hit the dirt road. They are inevitable if you want to get back to our little hillside farm.

We found this beauty, in the spring sunshine.


Dirt road riding is a favorite of mine. It is a means of relaxation. Mom and I have been doing that…my whole life. I am thankful to live on a dirt road. I will trade it for a clean vehicle…any day of the week. 

By the way…while I still have you here…I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for reading my few words. Thank you for mentioning to my husband that you read my blog…and thank you for the comments. They mean so much to me. Thank you also for being patient…while I try to get my health back on track. It has been a booger bear the last couple of years. I never knew…but now I know. Compassion fills my heart for those that feel cruddy…every day. Anyway…just thanks. My Dirt Roaders are the best!!!

Love from the dirt road,

Sharing Independence on the Farm

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, everyday stuff, heart and soul

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

farm life, fellowship, independence

Hey friends!!! How are things? We have been busy lately. (Nothing new there.) We are in our annual “Get everything done, the church folks are coming over.” mode. We are gearing up for sharing Independence on the farm.


Each year, on the Sunday night around the Fourth, our church people, and anyone else who wants to join, come to our little farm and we celebrate. We celebrate the freedom in Christ and the freedom in this country.


It’s such a sweet time and an honor to share our home with others. I love the way that some of our older ones join up in their lawn chairs and just visit. The grill gets fired up and the fellowship is sweet.


This year as we come together, we are a group of believers, that are holding onto each other. Our sweet pastor went to be with Jesus in April…and as a church…that he taught ever so well, we are all in this together. Fellowship seems more important than ever at this point, and the Mister and I don’t take that lightly. As we share our home this year…the main goal will be to provide as much balm as we can for broken hearts, all for the glory of God. Brother Hight…we sure do miss you.


I won’t leave you there, in the sadness, sweet readers. Our pastor loved to laugh and we all do too. We plan to eat hot dogs and make homemade ice cream. We plan to fellowship and ooh and aah over the babies. We plan to listen to a devotion and absorb what God has for our lives, and we plan to sing together on this little hillside farm. We plan to open our hearts in every way.


We will be sharing Independence on the farm, Lord willing…and the creeks don’t rise. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Kelli

The Mason Jars of Summer

10 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Farmhouse Style, fluffin' the nest, Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

ball jars, farmhouse style, mason jars

I might have been the last to know. Did you know?  You know…that Wal-Mart was carrying quart sized, AQUA, Ball jars this year?  They will definitely be the Mason jars of summer at our house this year.


They come in a pack of four. I needed eight. Lol! Needed… might not be the word. Truth be told…I am a bit jar crazy. (My Mister understands this about me…and lovingly tolerates my ways.) We have used Mason jars for drinking glasses for years now. Nothing better in my opinion. (Each to his own.) It all started with Longaberger canning jars and snowballed.

 



They are also carrying little pints. Maybe another size too…I can’t remember for sure.  Anyway…they are fun, and summeresque, and if you get tired of drinking out of them…can something. ๐Ÿ˜‰


I hope that you all have a lovely weekend!

Love from the dirt road,

Kelli

p.s. I thought you might like to see the little light in our kitchen.

Adding Chickens to Your Farm

14 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Kelli in Country Life, Culinary Style, everyday stuff

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

backyardchickens, eggs, farmhouse, farmhouse kitchen, farmhouse style, farming

Disclaimer:  These are not my eggs…er…um…our chicken’s eggs rather. ๐Ÿ˜‰ A friend gifted them to us.  They are French Copper Maran eggs, and I may just need a hen or two like this.

 

When we moved, years ago, we started out with just shy of five acres.  In the Ozarks…five acres is a farm…so we had a few feet to go. Since then when have added more acreage and have a farm of about sixteen and a half acres.  Just enough for us.  We have a few head of cattle, a few goats, a donkey, a miniature horse, chickens, and dogs and cats. Our farm has grown over the last few years.  This may actually be a sort of warning to you. We started with chickens.

 

Chickens are addicting.  We started by ordering those little balls of fluff from the feed store.  Do you have Chick Days in your neck of the woods?  Well…we do.  We raised them in the garage…caring for them and wiping their little hineys if needed.  (It’s so much easier to have a momma lay the eggs, hatch them, and take care of her own kids.) Even though we would order all pullets, except one, we would usually wind up with a few roosters in the mix.  The excitement came when it was time to turn them out into their brand new chicken yard. They were so cute running around out there.
 

We now have a wide assortment and even some little Polish gals with the wild “hair.”  My brother gave us those and they are so sweet.  Such good tempered hens.  We get lots of enjoyment out of our chickens.  They are fun to watch in the summer evenings, before they go to bed. When you have your own chickens, as long as they aren’t molting and are laying steady, you always have something to eat.  I remember my delight in skipping the egg cooler at the grocery store.  I felt very self-sufficient.  lol!

 

I think that it’s wonderful how farming is catching back on in this generation.  We live in a very rural community, so it has always been a way of life around here.  All of our grandparents farmed at some point.  You actually don’t go very far here without running into a farmer of some sort.  Even folks that don’t have any stock, or live in town, a lot of them raise a garden.  That is some of the toughest farming that there is.  Some folks even raise a tomato plant or two in a five gallon bucket.  I love that.  I love to see the light in their eyes when they talk about how well their “crop” has done. We raise a pretty good sized garden here and I preserve lots of things.  It’s one of my favorite things about country life.

 

 

Did you know that you don’t have to live out in the sticks to raise a few chickens?  Of course you did!  I believe, in our town, that you can have hens but not roosters and there is a limit on how many.  So even if you don’t want a lot of acreage to farm and take care of, you can still have a few hens to lay eggs for your family.

 

 

Our chickens are big scrap eaters.  That makes me feel great!  I hate wasting things, so even the vegetable scraps or leftovers…the chickens go nuts over.  They love old fruit and things like that too.  We even feed them our old pumpkins after Thanksgiving.  It is rumored in the organic community that this helps with worming the chickens.

 

I hope that if you are thinking of adding chickens to your farm that this has encouraged you.  We enjoy ours so much and are very thankful for them actually.  It’s funny how all of these critters just seem to be a part of your family after awhile. This farm life…it’s so much deeper than some realize.  It speaks to your heart in ways that you never imagined.  God is good to do things like that for us.

Love from the Farmhouse,

Sigturquoise

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alongthedirtroad

Kelli

Kelli

Welcome to our stretch of the dirt road! It is filled with junkin' trips, culinary experiments and anything to "fluff the nest" which is our farmhouse. I love home decor that fits my family. I love a simplicity that we can live in. Maybe that is why the country life is so appealing to us. It's a place to breathe deep...and enjoy the journey. Join us! We would love to have you. (You might even see a chicken or two.)

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alongthedirtroad

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