farm fresh

Everyday

I receive little gifts like these...

beautiful orbs amongst the hay


warm & smooth to the touch

waiting for me to gather them in my basket...

...and create a wholesome and delicious meal ~

my hens are fat & happy...I am fat & happy.

~ simple country pleasures ~

blessings from the farm,

Lori

be still my heart ~

Happy Tuesday!!!

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!!!
I am blessed with your friendships ~

have you seen these new magazines yet?

they are awesome. I love combining my primitives with vintage-farmhouse-y things...
and I cannot WAIT to start digging in the dirt this year!!!
we will be putting up a greenhouse and I plan on decorating it with primitive & vintage finds ~
do any of you have a greenhouse? I would love to see pics for inspiration....

SPEAKING of pics for inspiration, I have been absolutely lost on Pintrest lately ~
i have asked for an invite at least one hundred times and just LOVE this website!!!
I'd like to pin some of my favorite pics on there too....

.....Like this one:

Iggy, warming his fur-butt next to the woodstove this morning.

and perhaps this one...
my favorite little CLOVE jar that sets upon a kitchen shelf...

how many of you are on Pintrest?

I'm off to enjoy my simple birthday...
I will hang the laundry
feed the chickens

gather fresh eggs

sweep the front walk

and let the beautiful sun shine on my face ~

(thank you, Mom, for having me)
xoxoxoxox

blessings from the farm,
Lori

A finish, spring cleaning & the last year.....

Hi Friends & Folk ~

here is my little Peacock Farm punching all finished ~
(still have to figure out what to 'do' with it, but I do have an idea...)
do you like the way it turned out?

I do...it's Simple & Early-looking...a little wonky & fun too.

I've started on my Colonial Adam & Eve punch,
and I hope to share pics of that progress with you tomorrow...

it was a pleasant day, and I really want to start my spring cleaning here in the farmhouse...
but I still have the woodstove burning, and it tends to make dust, ash & soot that gets on EVERYthing, so I'm taking Mr. Pig-pen Iggy's advice....

"sleep it off...ignore it and the urge will pass...and oh, just take a nap"
(yes, like ALL of my fur & feather friends here, the cats speak to me too...really! lol!)

~ I did however, clean up this blog a little bit too ~

so I was doing a little 'surface' cleaning (read: dusting) between punching, and noticed how pretty the late afternoon light was coming in...
I got the camera and snapped away.....

the purple & blue pincushion was an early birthday gift from my dear friend Joan ~
she bought it in PA last week, and said it reminded her of me...
...I love the early Amish clothing scraps it's made from...

Tomorrow is my 49th birthday ~
(((I feel like I'm 18 yrs old, trapped in someone else's body))

I have one more year to celebrate my 40's and believe-you-me, I surely will!
I love life, love my family & friends,
I don't regret a thing I've done in my life,
as those experiences have taught me how to feel,
accept, breathe, love & survive...and I could write a book, for sure...but ~
I'm blessed with folks who thankfully love me for who I am.

So, spring cleaning will have to wait, I have loops to punch, dogs to walk ~
and a plethora of friends to coerse into celebrating the last year of my 40's with...

...want to come along?

blessings from the farm,
Lori

Sneak Peek of my WIP

Good Sunday to you!

sunny & alot less windy here today ~
...me thinks it will be a good day for finishing this project ~

I'm calling this
"Peacock Farm"

I'm very happy with the colors in this...
very subdued & old looking, I think.
it's a nice size project,
approx. 5 1/2" x 10"...

I love the look of an old hooked rug,
so I'm trying to keep my designs more simple and early looking for you..

not sure how I'll finish this ~
a pocket? a sewing roll? a pinkeep?
...always trying to think of unique ways to finish my work...
I do have something in mind that I'll share with you soon!!!

my next punch project I'll be starting after this one, is called
"Colonial Adam & Eve"

Have a happy & relaxing sunday,
my sweet friends ~
blessings from the farm,
Lori

Feeling a little Punchy & new Kitchen Cupboards

~ Good Saturday Morning Friends & Folk ~

Windy here today...& COLD!!!
the temperature difference from yesterday to today is almost 30 degrees,
....we topped 77 degrees yesterday and right now it is only 41 !!!!

seems like March is xcoming in like a Lamb for sure :)

I've been working on 4 new punch needle patterns,
and thought I would share with you all how I keep my floss (semi) organized:

this is a plastic container that I purchased from Michael's crafts store...
it was intended to hold photographs
(found it in the scrapbooking section, on clearance)

but it is PERFECT for holding my punch needle flosses & supplies!!
see how good they skeins fit??
I took a black sharpie and wrote the colors on the fronts of the little boxes inside ~
I tend to group my floss by colors, blacks, browns, reds, etc....

...I even have one named for just STUFF
this one holds threaders, pencils, needles and such.

and, this is where I like to punch...
on the sofa in the living room...
in front of the woodstove,
next to the windows and of course, in front of the TV!!!

see that little black ball of fur snuggled on the pillow?
that would be Suzy ~ my shadow...

...the view from my punching seat :

and here are the lower cupboards in my newly-remodeled kitchen!!

...they were plain unfinished oak purchased from Lowe's...
Peter painted them for me, then I did the distressing....

we really like how they finished up...
they look like they've been in this old farmhouse forever.
HAPPY HAPPY woohoo!!!

well friends, I'm off to scramble up some fresh eggs,
steep a cup of tea and head to out to the shop...

...have a beautiful late-February day!!!

blessings from the farm,
Lori

...Let's go for a WALK!!!!!

"c'mon Buddy!!! let's go! ~ you are such a lollygagger...."

"yeah, yeah...I'm comin'...your legs are shorter than mine."
"quit complaining....it's a beautiful day and Mom & Dad are WAAYYYY ahead of us!"

"Hey...there's Pinocchio & Daisy, and those pesky Guinea hens...don't let them get ahead of us!"
"...this isn't a race, Lazy, it's just a nice walk...."
"whatever..."

"Buddy, what is that blue thing poking out of the ground?"
"hmmm... I don't know...Mom will know though...*sniff *sniff*"

"...and there...another blue thing....

"...and another!!!! Grrrrrrrrr..."

"no TINKLING on that, Lazy...you are such a TINKLER!!!"
"but.....oh allright."

"what a nice view of our house, huh Buddy?
...Mom & Dad are so lucky, their doghouse is so BIG!"

"uh huh...alot bigger than ours is...but I love our doghouse too..."
"me too... *pant *pant*..."

"is this what our people call the Pump House???"
"ummmm...I think so, why?"
"...'cause I don't want to sound stupid. BARK!"

"can I tinkle on it?"
"really Lazy????"

"....oh, alright...you're such a party-pooper...well a pooper for sure."

"not funny."

"sniff sniff...smells like Spring is coming soon ~ but when I eat this I throw up."
"then don't eat it."

"hey, look who's lookin' at us...he's always lookin' at us."
"oh stop...he's just a ram. he is jealous of us."
"really?...cool...hey RAM!!!! look at us walking!!! and watch me tinkle on this..."
"LAZY!"

"and WHAT is up with Daisy?...she's one crazy donkey-girl..."
"I dunno...she seems a bit off to me, but Mom & Dad love her so I guess she's ok."

("shhh...that RAM went & got his Momma...do you think he really heard me??")
"Lazy...you really have a complex about those sheep. They aren't here to bother you..."
("I'm not so sure of that Buddy...they look suspicious to me...do they eat kibble?")

"what a pathetic sot that Donkey is...you'd think he would have more dignity..."
"oh please, I've seen you beg for toast-crust."
"HAVE NOT!!!"

"look, Daisy is spying on us again...can't we just have a peaceful walk alone with Mom & Dad?"
"Lazy, you have to share them...Mom & Dad love ALL of us here on the farm equally...well, MAYBE they love us a little bit more?"

"Ok...we're almost back home now...there's the sign that Lee & Robin painted for us..."
"yepper, almost back. home."

"ya know Buddy, we have a great life...people who love us, lots of animal friends, and folks are always coming by Mom's shop with bones & treats for us...life is good, no?"
"Yes, Lazy...Life Is Good. *YAWN*"

"c'mon...pick up the pace there..."
"I have to tinkle again."
"really?...ok, I'll wait for you, my friend..."

"ok...all done...*sniff Sniff*...what's THAT I smell?"

"That would be you ~ how many times have I told you not to roll in that stuff?"

"HOME at last...did you enjoy your walk Lazy?"
"ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....."

~ blessings from the farm,
Lori

Gifts from a Friend ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

and a good thursday morning to you all ~

it is a sunny day here on the farm today, the temps are predicted to be in the high 60's
so that means more laundry to hang on the clothesline... :)

I wanted to share some pics with you, of a boxful of goodies that were gifted to me
by Tammy
www.bythyhandstinkerings.blogspot.com

just look at what I found inside the box!

beautiful mohair fabric, sweet red mohair fabric...
a wonderful, OLD slice of blue & white gingham with a cross stitched horse & bee ~
a tiny tin-roofed birdhouse...

bee hive bobbins, a BLUE shoe last, an old rusty bedspring...

a tiny little toy-tin mandolin

and a beautiful, white washed frame that will indeed hold a special sampler soon ~

Tammy's act of kindness has filled my heart, and I am so thankful for my online friends...

Tammy, your gifts are wonderful and I truly thank you for sharing them with me!!!

Tammy will soon be offering her handmades on
Early Work Mercantile the 1st of March...I know I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work!

Hoping you all have a wonderful day my sweet Friends!!!

blessings from the farm,

Lori