To the woman who made this all possible…

You’ve seen this picture before and you might see it again.

This woman was just a kid of a girl when I came into her life.

She is amazing.  She is kind.  She is generous.  She has taught me so many things that make me what I am.  She is the one that I was blessed to come from and for this I am truly thankful. She provided me with a cozy little “apartment” for nine months.  She made sure that I had that crazy, baby curl going on, on top of my head.  She would hold my hand while she was driving down the road and we  would be singing to the tops of our lungs.  She told me to not be afraid when it was storming and we were in the car.  (Rubber tires…you know..will keep the lightning from getting us.)  Fast forward several years.  She held me while I cried when I lost our first baby. I think that she cried even harder than I did.  I laid by her in the motel bed in Memphis and listened to her snore…when my brother was diagnosed with leukemia.  She was so tired.  She is strong.  So strong.  I don’t know if I have ever met a woman who is a strong as she is. She loves her family from way down deep.  My brother and I talk about her…with smiles on our faces because she is our crazy, wild and wonderful mother.  We also celebrate the fact that she is learing to text.  Ha!  We just love her…enough said.

Except this:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!

Have a wonderful November 15th, Dirt Road Friends.  It’s a wonderful date in history. 🙂

Crock-a-doodle-doo!

Okay…okay…sorry for the corniness.  I just couldn’t resist. I know that yesterday we talked about Christmas a tad, but today we are going to just flip-flop back a bit to the everyday stuff.  I just wanted to share with you one of my favorite things. (Not a few…just one. 🙂 )  I have had this crock for a few years.  We actually found it at a yard sale. If I’m not mistaken, the Mr. bargained with them on it.  It has a hole drilled in the bottom, sadly, because someone used it outside.  I did that too,  for a while and then one day….ding…ding…ding….I brought that baby in the house (after I hosed it down) and now it resides in our entryway.  I love it.  Even though it’s all chippy and looks like it came over on the Mayflower.  (Ahhhh….a Thanksgiving/Pilgrim reference. ha!)  It generally holds a blanket…but when it’s time to decorate for Christmas it holds a flocked Alpine tree.  Adorbs. (Don’t tell my teenage daughter that I just said that.)  It’s just all cozy and homey and woodsy with that tree in it.  I will have to show you what I mean…right after Thanksgiving.  😉

It makes you wonder about all of the goodies that this was used for….back in the day.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Dirt Roaders!  You are halfway through the week.  You can do it!  btw: I love your comments…..don’t be shy!

Christmas in….November?

There you are!  Here I am!  As promised, today I’m gonna show you a little sneak peek Christmas idea…made with junk.  If you are new to Along the Dirt Road let me explain something.  When I use the word junk I am really just referring to something that I picked up that was “gently used.”  After all…none of us really think of our “junk store” finds as “junk.”  Somehow, we have just lovingly dubbed it as such.

So, today I’m gonna show you a little project that is soooo easy.  It all started with a Christmas-y little pot that I found at the …junk store… a.k.a thrift store.  I will walk you through it in pictures.  How bout that?  I thought you would agree.

btw:  I forgot my badge when I edited my pictures today…in case you don’t notice.  This is also a blog post about….nobody is perfect.  😉  I really love my turquoise badge though…so….I will do better next time.  There…a little grace.  That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Start with a great little find from the junk store.

The two topiary balls are from a great little store that has all of this amazing stuff…at wonderful prices. I already had them. (Wonderful!)

So simple. Just lay the big topiary ball in the bottom and insert a bamboo skewer and then slide the smaller topiary ball on top.

 

What a fine little topiary…in her “gently used” pot.

So simple and festive.

Add a tad of garden twine…..for a simply, elegant topiary.

Have a wonderful day, Dirt Roaders.  Get your Christmas decor “game plan” up and running…even if you are trying to be good and celebrate Thanksgiving first…like me.

Pass the gravy…please.

Did you survive your weekend?  Of course you did…here you are.  It’s very chilly here today.  (It’s beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving.)  This kind of weather makes me itch to prepare a big ‘ol Thanksgiving feast.  How about you?  Gravy boats tend to make me imagine what goes inside.  Of course where we come from, a gravy boat doesn’t actually hold enough gravy.  😉 I picked this one up while out junkin’ somewhere.  I’m not exactly sure where.

Have a wonderful Monday, Dirt Roaders. My next post may be a little Christmas junk…sneak peak.  Stay tuned.  Also, I would love to hear from you.  Any junkin’ finds of late?  Leave me a comment and we will visit!

Retro flavor…

Hey there!  Are you doing the happy dance for Friday yet?  I’m not quite to that point yet.  Give me an hour or two.  😉  Actually in our neck of the woods most of the men are happy because gun season opens tomorrow.  Tenderloin anyone?  Well…if you say “yes” then you will need a little S & P won’tcha?  AND…..what is better than salt and pepper in amazing little retro shakers?  I lovity-love-love  retro salt and pepper shakers.  I mean, I haven’t gone crazy like people used to do, acquiring a set from every state (as cool as that was) but…..I do have a set or five…ha!…that I love!  Retro just takes me back…ya know?  Some of it…to my earliest memories.  When I came on the scene, tons of people still had Avocado Green appliances!

Have a wonderful weekend, Dirt Road People.  If you have hunters in your bunch, I pray that they be safe and rewarded for their efforts in the outdoors.  (Maybe you will get a chance to use a little S&P.) 😉

Once upon a November 8th…

Once upon a November 8th

I was as big as a beach ball

That you take to the lake.

Did you like it?  Why, thank you.  Thank you, very much.  😉  We were rewarded by my hugeness that day…and we were blessed by the grace of God.  He gave us yet another amazing child.  She was born in the wake of so much grief in our country and yet she was and still is the most peaceful, little, gentle soul.  We are truly blessed beyond measure.  You see…all of our (and yours too) children have these individual gifts that were placed in them when they were “knit together” by the hand of God in the womb.  I want to see this and I want to encourage the growth of this gift in the way that He has planned for us.

Taggin’ it up today.

Happy Thursday, Dirt Road Sweeties!  It’s a very special Thursday this week, for us!

Hearth and home and breaking bread…

Isn’t there something amazing about homemade bread?  It feels so earthy.  It feels wonderful to share a loaf with your family or your friends.  One of the things that I love about a certain Italian joint is, the fact that they give you whole loaves of bread to share.  Someone usually gets the job of slicing the bread.  Breaking bread with family and friends is such an ancient act of togetherness.  It’s not just good for the body, it’s good for the soul.

The bread in this picture is actually from a Pinterest.  It’s called Miracle bread.  It is reallllllllly good.  This was back before I started blogging and a friend edited it and put my name on it.  I love this picture.  It captures all things…well….bread.  It was so good…warm and drizzled with honey and slathered with butter.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Dirt Roaders.  Now…go forth…and bake bread.  🙂

ps. Some days….you just need a little comfort food.  Today is a good day for that. 🙂

Bring me back a prizey from the auction Babe!

Hola Friends!  I hope that you had a nice weekend.  Also…hi to my dad…in case he is reading this today.  (He’s the best in the world…just so y’all know. )  😉  Did any of you catch an auction or two or twelve over the weekend?  We didn’t go to any but there were some in our area.  Soooooo….I thought that I would share one of my favorite auction goodies today.  Aren’t you excited?  I thought so.

A couple of years ago, my uncle was here from Oklahoma and he and the Mr. went to an auction.  The only thing that my husband brought back was a wonderful, antique end table.  I was thrilled.  I was elated.  I was tickled that I had a spouse that knew my taste well enough…to bid on something so AWESOME.  I used it for it’s intended purpose for quite a while and then………insert drumroll……………I got a hankerin’ for a new coffee table.  I had just happened to read an article about coffee tables and the proper height that they are supposed to be.  (It took the Mr. a little (long) time to get on the “sawing off the table legs” band wagon.)  My husband begrudgingly measured and sawed the legs off.  Then this heavenly music started playing…..not really…but it did look pretty snazzola!  I have loved it ever since.

FYI:The standard height for a coffee table is 16 to 18 inches or even up to 21 inches.

I see lots of things in this picture that have changed over time but the coffee table is still there.

Have a wonderful Monday, Dirt Roaders! I would LOVE to hear about your favorite auction finds!  Need a coffee table?  Go get your saw!  😉

These boots are made for sloppin’…

Hey-ya!  Hope that today is being nice to ya!  I just had to share with you my thrift store find from yesterday.  To back track a tad…I have rubber boots on my mental Christmas list.(What can I say?  I’m easy to please…most of the time.)  Sometimes I jump into my husband’s rubber boots (which are too big) and clomp out the back door.  I wanted some of my very own.  Well….now I don’t have to wait until Christmas.  I found a really cute pair in my size at our local thrift store!  They looked amazingly new!  I was so excited that they had sort of a contour to them…not just your basic rubber boot. Hey…I’m a country life lovin’, working woman…but everyone can use a little class in their rubber boots.  Besides…I haven’t told you the price.  TWO AMERICAN DOLLAHS!  Yeah Baby!

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, Dirt Road Friends.  May you happen upon a thrifty find or two….or even a pair of awesome “chicken feedin'” boots.

I would love to hear about some of your recent finds.  Leave me a comment or two or twelve!

p.s. My wonderful MIL came along on this hunt.  Vanessa, I am very blessed to have a precious MIL…that is also a very dear friend.  I am so thankful.  She and my mom are my junkin’ buddies….second to none.  😉

Creamy, dreamy, screamy pot pie.

Hey!  It’s Thursday.  Are we glad about that?  Of course we are. Thursday is a good day.  Every day is a good day when you are breathing.  Correctamundo?  Exactly.

Sooooooo….what about this pot pie thing?  I have been craving pot pie.  I have been looking at pot pie recipes.  I have come to the conclusion that when I made ours…I must have combined lots of recipes in my brain and just started cooking.  This is how it went:

In an iron skillet pour about two cups of turkey stock.  Let it heat up and then simmer whatever kinds of veggies you want in it.  I used potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and frozen peas. (Throw the peas in at the last, so they stay fresh tasting.)  Cook until veggies are tender. Then add however much chicken you want, two tablespoons of unsalted butter, two cans of cream of chicken and a can of cream of celery.  Stir and cook until heated through.  Okay…now on this next part…I cheated. I used cheater pie crust.  It was grand…because it made it taste like a “real” pot pie.  (The kind that we grew up on as kids, from the freezer section of the store.)  I just put pie crust in the bottom, poured in the filling and then pie crust on the top.  Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes or until browned.  You can salt and pepper your filling to taste and add a little thyme.  (I didn’t type this out in recipe form…cause really, it’s just one of those things that you can read through…and whip it up yourself….but I will do better next time.) 🙂  I served it with rolls and a salad.  YUM!

(The cheater pie crust…with that creamy, dreamy, screamy filling was soooooo good.)

My homemade pot pie filling.

I hope that Thursday treats you well, Dirt Roaders.  I also hope that you make a warm and cozy pot pie.  You deserve it.