Seating Arrangement

For 2 years I've been watching and waiting for just the right chair for the living room at the farmhouse. I think I've found it!  On Craigslist, I ran across this cute shabby chair and ottoman for cheap and the lady lived about an hour away from me.  I emailed her and she answered  back and it was done!  Hubby hauled me over there after work and we scooped it up.  I thought I was actually looking for a leather chair, but it hasn't materialized and i thought this one would fit the bill.  I'll get Tony a leather chair/ottoman when we get our new house at the farm built.  Whadaya think?  I've been piddling around with how to arrange everything as the room is small and there are two antique china cabinets I'm keeping and some other stuff that has to stay...

This little farmhouse cottage is a mish-mash of texture, color and style.  Not quite Shabby Chic, not quite Cottage, not quite all antique, not quite all vintage, not quite all primitive.  It's garage sale stuff, estate sale stuff, some antiques from the family, hand-me-downs from family - mostly grandmothers' stuff on both sides, and last but not least, some treasures pulled from the dumpster at my work at the storage facility (you'd be surprised what people throw away when they get tired of hauling stuff around...) 

Yes, I admit, I AM A DUMPSTER DIVER.  Actually, a dumpster "fisher".  I refuse to actually get into the dumpster.  I have a couple of long sticks and a piece of metal that I've fashioned a hook of sorts on one end  that can reach most stuff.  Anything I can't reach that is absolutely, positively a MUST-HAVE, I get my husband or son to come and dig it out for me.  Sometimes you can use a box for a scooper.  I can get real innovative when it comes to digging a "treasure" out of the dumpster. 

Only thing is, our dumpster sits just across from Ewing Irrigation, and they are a busy, busy place.  They sell lawn sprinkler stuff.  Landscaping, etc.  I have to be a great joke to the fellows working there and their customers.  I could probably sell tickets to this show. That's another reason I'm not getting into the dumpster.

I've actually found quite a few really neat things that I've taken home and used. Books, lawn chairs, boxes of office supplies, a sweet antique floor lamp (in my living room), antique dishes and pottery, a nice farmy painting print that is hanging in my bedroom, some power tools for my husband, this list goes on...

Found these two little antique/vintage prints at a garage sale recently - I thought they were sweet and they're in their original frames, too.

Well, I'll wind it up.  Princess is back at school, and we are back at work and our regular schedules.  Three weeks til we leave for Mexico.  I'm really looking forward to a break AND having all my kids with me.  First time in a few years to have that.  And our best friends and their kids are going.  I'll be sure to share pictures of their vacation home in Akumal so you can feel bad for me.  It'll be just terrible I'm sure...

Keep yer gown down!

Savannah Style...

Good morning people!  Lookie here what I won!  Manuela at The Pleasures of Homemaking had a wonderful giveaway awhile back and SEE WHO WON - ME!  The prize was this beautiful coffee table book from Paula Deen.  It is a gorgeous book by a true Southern Belle - Paula talks perfectly normal to me  y'all. I don't know why people go on about the way she talks .....

Anyway, I would love to share a few photos from it with y'all from this book if ya don't mind...

It has beautiful outside dining layouts............wouldn't you just love to attend THIS picnic???

......or spend the night in this quaint little bedroom...........

...............or take your mint julep and peach cobbler on this lovely porch.......

...........or howdy at your neighbors from this veranda...........

........how 'bout adding a little whimsey to your beachside cottage..............

..........me, myself, and I?  I really like this rustic, more primitive style.......

.......and I LOVE this front porch all decorated for fall!  Isn't it gorgeous????........

........and who could forget Christmas in Savannah?  Why, it's mahvelous! 

Manuela, thank you so much for having such a nice giveaway - and for drawing my name!  I love this book. I keep picking it up to gaze at the beautiful photos of Paula's home and hometown.  It's great for inspiration - beauty to the senses - and of course, "southern" in style, which we all know is what I'm all about.

Y'all come on back now, ya hear?

He Thinks His Tractor's Sexy!

Handsome Hubby got himself a new toy!

Finally did it this weekend on Saturday.  He's been wantin' one for two years now and finally decided to take the leap and bite the bullet.  We needed it here on the farm.  Ya just gotta have a tractor if you got land.  There's always so much mowing/ shredding, movin' dirt, leveling, and stuff that a farmer/rancher's gotta get done.  We all got to drive it.  It's not a huge tractor.  When/if  Tony takes over the hay production one of these old days, he'll have to get bigger equipment but this'n 'll do just fine for now.

Princess and her dad were doing some cleaning up around the barn area and some burning.  She's mastered that "flipping the bucket" up full of dirt.  Takes some coordination to the the "flip" just right and not lose all your dirt...

Daddy had his turn - I think he was more excited about the getting the tractor than Tony!  He did some mowing and grating... stayed over at our place ALL DAY... 

Mom of course had to have her picture made looking all farmer's wife-y... very cute, mom!

And last but not least,  me , myself, and I  --- I did drive it around and piddle a bit with it....

A good July 4th holiday was had by all.  We stayed out at the farm all weekend, and ate way too much. I don't have internet out there, so no July 4th post.  But you can bet that we were thinking about all that it meant.   And we're out in the country, so there were fireworks going off all around us - we didn't have to buy - just sat outside and enjoyed....

I was in the house watching the (Macy's) fireworks display at some point and the great music numbers on TV.  It would be so neat to be there on the Hudson River for a display like that and hear all the old patriotic songs and sing along.  My heart swelled with pride just listening on TV.  At the end, when they played the Star-Spangled Banner I did have to stand up and put my hand over my heart and sing this moving song with the band & the rest of the nation.  It still brings a tear to my eye...  We flew our flag...

We cooked out a couple of times, spent special times with family members and beloved friends, ate WAY too much.  I finished canning a dozen jars of peach preserves - YUM.  Also, put up another dozen pints of hot sauce... did some yard work, went to church, and we just had a wonderful 3 day weekend all the way around.

An aside... you see how low my flag is to the ground?  Well, Sam and Alice have noticed.  They love to run and jump up and hang on the flag with their little toenails!  They think it's great fun when they're out wrestling in the front yard and attacking each other to include my nice flag in their antics.  They look like little mini-Tarzans as they go leaping through the air and swinging around on my flag.  Note to self:  PUT FLAG AWAY TIL NEXT HOLIDAY...

We move Princess back to school this weekend... if...
                                                                                       if...
                                                                                                  if...

IF we can git her off the tractor!!!  There she goes again!  Mowing the fence rows!  Princess, wait! Come back!  You have to go back to college!!!!

Skies on the Farm

My breath is just taken away from me sometimes when I look up to the heavens.  I don't think there is anything that makes me feel closer to God in nature.  It's like when I'm looking up and searching the skies, the clouds, the sun, the stars, my face is lifted up towards the heavens and God is looking down on me. I know He can see me all the time, but I like for Him to see me looking up to Him.  His light is infinitely brighter than the sun, yet the sun is the brightest thing we can see. And when that radiance from the sun shines down onto my upturned face, it feels like the very light of His face is warming my soul and loving on me.  I love skies.

I love to sit in the dining room with the morning sun streaming through the window while I pray.  Especially in the winter, I need that warmth and light so much - His light and warmth.  Even at night with the moon shining down, it feels like He's right there keeping me company.

You know when there are lots of thunderheads in the sky like there has been the last couple of weeks?  And the sun is behind them and there're rays of sunbeams streaming out?  That is my idea of heaven sort of.  That the radiance of the Lord is so brilliant that it has to stay behind the cloud or we just couldn't bear to see it. But someday we will!!!

There!  Can you see it?  A very faint rainbow!  Actually, there were two, but the other one's behind the pine tree on the right.  We have so many trees here that it's hard to take sky pictures.  Out at the farm, I love it, cuz we can see all around us.  I love the promise of the rainbow, too.  We got no rain, but some beautiful skies this evening!  (OOOPS!  I lost my rainbow picture - will have to fix that!  OK now it's fixed...)

Gotta throw one kitty picture in.  Here's Sam upon meeting Hayley's dog, Bella.  He bowed up and started spittin' and clawin'.  Look how he stands up on tip-toes.  He was not at all happy!

Well, gotta keep it short and sweet tonight, good buddies - keep your dress down!!!

Summer Vacation

Blogger is not updating all of your posts this morning! What's going on? Some of them are fresh, but some of them are not! Anybody else having that problem?

courtesy - http://www.locogringo.com/research/ruins.html

Our best friends from church have a vacation home in Akumal, Mexico, and we have planned a family trip with them for the first week of August. All our kids grew up together, and nobody's married yet, so everyone is going! I'm really excited as we haven't been on a family vacation together where ALL are going in several years! We visited our friends' home on the beach in Mexico about 9 years ago and it was beautiful!! Here's a link ----> http://www.akumalmexico.com/suenos.html  AND here ---->  http://www.locogringo.com/akumal/casasuenos.html?name=Casa%20de%20los%20Suenos  . Check it out - you might wanna go stay there sometime! It sleeps 2 families - great place for a group to go. It's BEAUTIFUL! Can't wait!!!

Akumal is a little further south of Cancun and Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan. We fly into Cancun, rent a Suburban, drive to Playa, go to the grocery store, and then on south to Akumal. A little out of the tourist areas and quiet in a small lagoon with ocean views from every window. Most of us (except me and Hayley) are divers so Hayley and I will be snorkeling while the others are diving. The Mayan ruins at Tulum are nearby so I'm sure we'll be visiting there. It's the most beautiful, breathtaking place I've ever been.
(Lord willing, and we don't get a hurricane...)

We woke this morning to soft rumbling on the southern horizon. It later developed into a slow, soothing, soaking rain. It's noon now and it's gone on most of the morning. I sure hope it rained at the farm... We've harvested all the purple hulls peas and green beans. The watermelons are about ready (I'm hoping to have one for July 4) and the corn's about ready, too. The cucumbers are waning, the potatoes need to be dug as well as the remaining onions. We cut the peas back - dad said he did that a few years ago, and they came back and bloomed again and he got another crop. I'm gonna try that. I'm having a bumper crop of tomatoes & jalapenos and canning salsa is on the agenda again for this weekend. Altho we have a wedding at 3:00 on Saturday that we HAVE to attend. Good friends...so I imagine I'll be smellin' all onion-y and garlic-y for the festivities.

Just thought I'd post a few pics for ya - hope you're not gettin' tired of garden pics...not much going on right now except garden stuff and trying to stay cool. At least today is a little cooler because of the rain...

This is a baby scissortail in my garden. His momma and daddy were perched overhead in a tree and they kept fussing at me for taking his picture, but they never did swoop at me like the jays and mockingbirds do...

All for now, friends.  Hope you have a great rest of the week!  Keep your dress down!