When we decide to have an ostrich farm…

Hey Dirt Roaders!  How was the weekend?  Ours was good.  We had a little family time, away from it all.  That was a good thing.  We really enjoyed ourselves.

So….about the ostrich farming.  Um…well…that was a joke.  BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT…I did find a really super-awesome basket while we were away.  Of course, it caught my eye right off of the bat because it was made of “chicken wire.”  I had this vision of just what I could do with it.  I dreamed of how cozy it would look in our home.  How cozy it would feel to have it there while I was cooking a big pot of chili.  What is wrong with me?  Why does everything revolve around chili in the fall?  Don’t know…don’t care….love me some chili!

So…here I was in Marshalls/Home Goods.  I LUFFFFFFFFF that store.  This is one of the super-de-duper big stores.  SO MUCH FUN!  I hoist this ginormous basket into my cart and head off in search of the chicken farmer…and to my delight…we both agree that this is a good purchase for our abode.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  😉

I cannot wait to share with you the other “goodie” that I got while we were gone.  That is another story…for another day.

Happy Monday, Dirt Roaders!  If you have an ostrich farm…you may borrow my new basket to gather eggs.  No…not really. 😉  I can tell you where to buy your own though!

Ostrich egg basket.

I love these “burlap” pillows with Granny Ruby’s quilt. 🙂

I couldn’t resist a little extra editing on this one. 🙂

Take the time to teach a child.

One evening, after supper, I looked out the window and saw a momma cow and her calf.  We are blessed to live in the country and while our “farm” only consists of chickens, dogs and cats right now…we are surrounded by the livestock of our neighbors.  One day, good Lord willing, we will join their ranks and have our own.  Right now…we are enjoying the ones that we don’t have to take care of.  (Unless you count chasing strays back through the fence. ;))

Black Angus cattle have a special place in my heart.  My sweet grandparents had a little farm and that was their livestock of choice… as will be ours someday, I am sure.   Granddad’s gentle way with his cows amazed me.  He probably didn’t realize it, but it taught me a great respect for the creatures that God has blessed us with.  Especially the ones that aren’t just pets but actually help us, during our few turns on this earth.

There is something about farming that seems very honest and pure hearted to me.  Maybe it is because of the man who I followed through the pasture as a little girl. Maybe it was because the laughter that rang out, as I tried to catch the little calves, came from the depths of a kind and gentle soul.  Little did either of us realize, that there would come a day when I would be the responsible one… because Parkinson’s would enter the picture. I would never trade a minute of those times on the farm…nor a minute of our road trips…with me at the wheel.  I was his ticket to freedom during those years. (I was able to give back…just a smidge.)

I think that the momma cow in this picture is content with her calf.  I think that in the grand scheme of things, this is exactly how it should be.  I think that our relationships with others mold us, eternally.  I’m so thankful for my heritage. I am thankful that someone, very lovingly, took the time to teach me the love for the land and the things that live on it.

Happy Thursday, Dirt Roaders!  Don’t forget to treasure.

A momma and her baby.

Out with the old, in with the blue…

Some years just call for a little change.  Those were my thoughts regarding the cream can.  It was a faded red.  Then I dry brushed over that with white.  (Insert gagging sounds.)  Something about that, I just didn’t like, which is quite surprising.  I love “well-loved” white things.  Not this time.  So…a trip to Wal-Mart was in order.

Today was a day…for major change.  I love it.  It makes me as happy as a cream can…well…can.  (I am smirking…thinking about the people who are rolling their eyes.)  I hope that you like it as much as I do.

Happy Tuesday, Dirt Road Peeps!  Tomorrow:  The fall porch…that is actually from this year!  🙂

I’ll bet you would have never guessed this color. 😉

I <3 bowls!

Do you ever worry that you will misspell a word…and not realize it?  Well in the title for this post I was worried.  Can you understand why?  Have you figured it out yet?  Of course you have.  I was paranoid that I would actually type bowels. That would not be cool.  🙂

Anywho…just wanted to share with you one of my favorite things today.  This bowl was a gift from a friend, once upon a time.  I love it.  Actually there are many bowls that I love.  They are addicting. Thank you Mother.  You passed on your obsession.  The first thing that she and I do, at a sale, is pick up the bowl and do the flip to see what it says on the bottom.  Hey…it’s a junker life skill.

I hope that your Monday is filled to the brim with happy, Dirt Roaders.  🙂

A bowl from my Jenny friend.

Little twigs…little twigs…

Hey…it’s Friday.  A little corniness is allowed, right?  (I’m referring to the title of this post.)  Of course it is!  Three cheers for Friday, you say?  Go right ahead…I will wait.  Dum…dee…dum…dum..dee..dee..dum.  Are you finished?  Okie doke.  Here we go.

So about the twigs.  Have you seen them?  Last year when they came to my attention, I loved them.  I thought that they would look so sparkly and cozy and homey.  Then I got some.  They still looked…well…all of the above…but I just couldn’t get them to feel like “me.”  Does that make sense?  Okay…thanks.  For one thing, they were super tall.  Another thing…they were straight as a stick.  Hardy-har-har. 😉  Really though, they were just straight and sticking up…and had no character.

Enter Pinterest:

My twigs had been residing in a dark corner of the basement.  They just weren’t doing it for me…so I stuck them down there.  Then I looked them up on Pinterest.  (Don’tcha just love it?)  I had one of those “ding-ding” moments.  I could bend the twigs to look more like real twigs…and then bend that super long stem on the bottom.  Now I know that it seems like a simple thing…but I paid quite a little bit for these things and I didn’t want to break them. Then I thought…”Is it better to take the risk…and love them, or leave them in the basement?”  I’m glad that I went for it.  😉

Now…you may have lighted twigs that are 6 feet tall and love them.  I think that is great.  I just couldn’t fit them in where they felt “right” around here.  (Mine weren’t 6 feet tall.)  Now I am in love with my little, curvy, cozy twigs.  They make me smile.

Happy Friday,  Dirt Roaders!  Now…dig something out of somewhere and work it over!

My twisted twigs. 😉

Welcome to our ~((()))~ Home.

Confession time again: I have an obsession with entryways and foyers.  Is there a difference?  What about… vestibule?  There’s an old sounding word.  That’s what we call the entryway at church.  Is there a proper name for each one?  Maybe so.  I just love them…no matter the label. 😉

Have you ever looked in a magazine or maybe at a blog where they have an enormous foyer?  (Foy-yay….;))  I have seen them that are so huge that they have room to put a (very tall) Christmas tree or a round pedestal table with a GINORMOUS floral arrangement.  I LUFF that!  It looks so elegant.

I think that even if your home isn’t built with a certain offset place at the entry…there are things that you can do to create one.  You guys know this.  I am telling you absolutely NOTHING….you’ve got this!  A table, lamp, mirror, coat rack and cozy pretties.  There is just something about these things that help our homes welcome others when they walk through the door.

Welcome

Our foyer of course is very farmhouse style.  That’s just “mu thang.”  😉  But…there are so many possibilities.  Tomorrow…I may share with you my love/hate relationship with those lighted branches that you see.  I promise to end on a positive note. Until then…

Happy Thursday, (ahhh…you are finally here Thursday ;)) Dirt Roaders!  Now…go forth and decorate those entryways!

p.s.  To my husband:  Thank you for reading my blog…even though some of it…is probably not “your thang.” You are my favortie editor.  I love you!  (Sorry Dirt Roaders…that you had to see this. ;))

Mr. Henry

Mr. Henry thinks that his real name is Don Juan.  He used to share his coop with five other roosters and back then he wasn’t very sure of his place in this ol’ world.  Now…he is all alone with his ladies.  He has much to crow about.  He has his own little kingdom out there in his fancy-schmancy coop that my hubby and his dad built.  I would say that Mr. Henry is doing all right in this crazy world.  He has someone who takes care of him…and a life to enjoy.  Hmmmmm…..sounds like us.  God takes care of us…and gives us a life to enjoy.  Are we grasping that?  I hope so.

Happy Wednesday, Dirt Roaders!  Keep crowing!  😉

Mr. Henry and one of his wives.

Is it too early for pumpkin pie?

The girls and I decided it was time to bake pumpkin pie.  (My husband kept dropping hints….that is his way.)  So we tried a new twist on an old favorite.  I have a “tried and true” recipe.  It’s and old, secret recipe. It’s actually the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe…minus a tad of the spice.  We love it.  No pumpkin pie compares to this one.  (Isn’t that the way it goes with seasonal recipes?  You want what you were raised on?)

So, we used the same recipe.  We just made individual pies instead of one pie.  They were so pretty.  So classy.  At least they were…until we covered them in squirty whipped cream.  My family likes to do that.  They are not concerned with their food looking elegant.  They are not ashamed to cover things in dressing, whipped cream or squirty cheese at any given time.  Because they are my family…and I love them…if it makes them happy…I am happy.

We used my big muffin pan for these pies.  It made a beautiful, little,  deep dish pumpkin pie.  Mmmmm….it just tasted like fall.  Can things “taste” like fall?  I think so. 😉

Happy Tuesday, Dirt Roaders.  Bake some pie!