Vee's Note Card Party

Hey there!  I'm hooking up with Vee's note card party this month, and since it's soon to be officially autumn, think I'll do some fall decor cards with images from last year.  So hang on to your butts seats and let me search back through my blog....

My front porch October 2009

Below are some photos I took at a farmer's market in Franklin TN when we went up to Nashville to see my oldest son Adam.  This was such a neat place and really screamed  AUTUMN!!!  Tony had to drag me away. I could have stood there and looked at all day long!

Franklin, TN October 2009

October 2009

October 2009

Hope you enjoyed my cards!  Now I'm off to see the rest of yours!

If you'd care to join in the fun, here's your link ----

Autumn, Aprons, A Rose is a Rose...

What a glorious morning!  The last couple of days the temps have been in the upper 60's first thing in the morning when I go out to feed and water my chickies.  I feel a little "fallish" coming on!  I don't wanna rush but it makes me long for cool days, sweaters, soup on the stove, and one of Becky's soy candles in Pumpkin Spice burning on the table.  You know that delightful shivery feeling of autumn?

Well, we've got upper 90's again coming back, but it sure is nice! What's going on in your neck of the woods?  I'm trying to get a little painting done today.   Something new for me - I'll be sure and post pictures over at South Light art blog later - link on my sidebar if you're interested...

Here, at the farm, let's see who's minding the henhouse....

Well, for starters, Mr. Black/Yellow Garden Spider is keeping watch on the back side of it, and...

Miss Gypsy is guarding the front.  Actually, I had thrown some rolls to the chickens and she tried to do some digging to get one of them and I had to shut that down.  I even gave her one of her own and she buried it behind the AC unit outside.  Silly dog.  She comes to the back door every morning and asks for her dog biscuit.  Sometimes, she eats it, sometimes, she buries it.

Did I ever show you  my vintage apron collection?  Well, if I did, you're gonna see it again.

I didn't mean to have a collection, but it just happened.  I had a couple of aprons that were my grandmothers' that I'd saved through the years.  As I visited garage/junk sales, vintage aprons kept drawing my attention and were so cheap (most of the time).  When I looked at them, I immediately thought about the women who wore them, the work that they did to feed their families, the hands that dried themselves on them, the eggs and garden goodies that were collected in them, the children who grabbed onto them pulling at their mom for some attention, and perhaps even the tears that were shed on them.  

One by one, another worn and faded apron came home with me on my forays.  I now have 18 - EIGHTEEN - yes, you heard me right, 18.  It just happened.  But you know what's fun now?  When we have friends over to the farm for supper, I shall have all the ladies put on one of my vintage aprons while we're getting everything ready.  It'll be fun for all of us!  The aprons all hang on the door in my kitchen so they're easy to grab one up and go.

See what my sweet husband brought home last night?  He stopped and bought me 3 bouquets of Tyler roses!  They are so beautiful.  "Just because..."  And they smell heavenly...  I had enough to make two pitchers full.  I love roses - I don't care if they're not the swanky long-stemmed ones.  I think I actually prefer the little Rose-stand roses - they're lovely, really smelly (  :)))) and easy to put in my vintage pitchers and vases.  He was so thoughtful!  And I'm so lucky!

Take care, friends - you coastal folks look out for that hurricane a-comin'.  And by all means, no matter what you do, Keep Your Dress Down!

Garage Sale Finds

Sunday night, a quick review of Friday garage sales.  I only went to one this week, squeezing it in between bank runs and post office.  I've been looking for something to help me organize my little garden shed at the farm and I stumbled upon the neatest thing!!!  No, it's not pegboard. You know how you stack all your garden implements in the corner and they all slide eventually and fall down and you step on them and they're in the way, or you get too many in that corner and then you can't find anything you're looking for cuz you grab a handle and have to follow it down with your eyes to see what you've got ahold of, and dirt and hay collect behind them and you have to move every stinkin' one into another corner so you can clean out from behind it? (how's that for a run-on sentence?)

It's THIS!  Can you tell what it is???   Or once was???  Here's another picture...

Now, do you know what it is???  It came out of an old lumber yard.  It used to house WEATHER STRIPPING of all different sizes.  Isn't it a cool color?  Vintage green.  Must've been a really "with it" color back then, because I see SO many different things painted this color.  And it was only $10.00!!!

Anyway, I thought it would make an excellent storage place for all my garden tools.  There are slots in the top that you can slide your hoes, shovels, rakes, etc. down into.  It has a cool lid, too, but of course I can't close it with the stuff in it.  I thought it made quite a unique storage place.

Also, I found at the same sale, all these wooden boxes, made from pieces of old produce crates.  Some were small with lids that swung open sideways attached on only one end by a nail.  Some were old drawers with dividers that had been used at the lumber yard to store different size nails and hardware.   I thought some of them might be of storage use in the garden shed or I guess could be used as planters.  $ .25 EA!I'm open for suggestions on these boxes - what do ya'll think could be done with them?  I'd love to get some more ideas for them. Would you paint them different colors or would you leave them alone and let the old produce marking show?  That was mostly on the bottoms. It wouldn't show anyway. 

Some of the drawer pulls were made out of old coke bottle lids with a screw.  It was definitely a make-do situation on these little boxes.  I love how frugal people used to be and would just make do and be creative and use what you had on hand to make things work.

Anyway, we worked all day at the farm. Sorry I didn't get any fall pictures taken. There is so little time on the weekends - we have THREE houses we're trying to keep up right now - our home, my in-laws' house, and the farmhouse & land.  It's running us ragged.  We've got to do something with one of the houses QUICK!  I'm going to have an estate sale at my inlaws' house ASAP.  Gotta do it before the holidays or just wait until maybe February or March.

Well, girls, Ya'll have a wonderful Monday - I 'magine I'll be staying pretty busy this week.

Keep you dress down!

The Big 5-0

My sister is having a surprise 50th B-day party tomorrow and we'll be out of town for a couple of days. I promise to have a post up and running when we get back. It's been crazy busy around here which makes me brain-dead and unable to come up with anything interesting to say. And raining every single day for nearly a week now, but I'm not complaining. It's been nice and a bit cooler. I will be back next week & try to catch you up on what's going on around my neck 'o 'the woods! Have a wonderful weekend!!!

These pics were from last fall, but I'm in such a fallish mood, I wanted to see them, too! Hope you enjoy!!!