Snow Creek Farm Harvest Festival

Snow Creek Farm

This past weekend, my friend and I attended an open house  and sale in Woodford, VA.  The house and the yard were beautifully decorated for the fall. The ladies who own this business open the farm to the public four times a year. All year they search for unique items to sell. 

The had antiques, vintage linens, candles, honey, seasonal items, china and numerous other items.

Check out their facebook page for future dates.

Old Friends Are Gold

A few weeks back, I spent the day with my high school friend (we met 47 years ago in the 8th grade).  Old friends are just so special!  They know things about you that not even your family knows.  Things like first boyfriends, favorite and not so favorite teachers, sad and happy teenage experiences.
 

We were shopping when my friend came across this bunny tassel and decided it would be great hanging on my china cabinet.  She bought it for me and I hung it when I got home.  I love it, but most of all I love that everytime I look at it I have  memories of the day we spent together recently.  We had so much fun, we're definitely going to get together more often.

Harker Pottery

Yesterday I passed through a tiny little town in VA called Bowling Green.  There were several very nice antique shops on Main Street  and beautiful large Victorian homes.  In the Stone Creek Antique Shop, I came across this platter and bowl.  I thought they'd be pretty with my black toile dishes and I love silhouettes.  Even though  they show lots of wear, they are very beautiful!

After doing some research last night, I found that they were made by Harker Pottery.  Mr. Benjamin Harker emigrated from England and settled in Ohio.  For 131 years he produced fine dinnerware.  In the 40's and 50's you could get Harkerware as premiums at stores and theaters.  His pottery business was sold in 1969 and closed in 1972.



Another Neck Tie Purse

I collect ties for my friend in NC who makes purses out of them.  I recently found the tie in the middle with the mother panda bear and her babies and mailed it to her.  I asked her to please send pictures when she used it in a purse.  That was a mistake!  I had to have it!  She did such a good job of coordinating the colors.  Consequently, the panda bear tie came back through the mail in the form of a new purse.  Now that I'm retired, I don't know where I will be going to use it, but I just love looking at it.  This lady has so much talent!





This is the back with a nice size pocket made from the small ends of the ties.

Vintage Hat Collection

I have been collecting vintage hats for a few years and have some beautiful ones.  Last summer for my birthday, my daughters, granddaughters, friends and I  went to a tea party.  I took my box of hats and everyone chose one to wear for the party.  It was so much fun!

This is my favorite!  I love the color.

I found this one in an antique shop in Floyd, Virginia.  Floyd is a small mountain town in southwest Virginia.  It reminds me of something Julia Roberts may have worn in the movie Pretty Woman.

 

Visit to the Outer Banks

On a clear day, you can see forever...

Last spring, my daughter, my granddaughter and I visited a friend at her cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.   The beach wasn't crowded in  May and  I loved being there before the temperatures got so high.  One night when we where out and about we discovered a small canal that had hundreds of turtles swimming around. 

The girls also saw a mother fox and her babies at the beach late one afternoon.  She was so beautiful!

I love everything about the ocean!  I love the sound of the waves breaking on the shore, the smell of the salt in the air, and the feel of warm sand under my feet!

Mr. Murphy Green, our wonderful host!

Mr. Tree Face

Mr. Tree Face guards my front yard from unhappy thoughts.  You can't help but smile when you see him.   He recently had a fresh haircut!  I love the ivy roots, they look like veins in his face.

I think the furgirls and I will spend some time outside with him today.  It's hard to stay inside when we are having beautiful fall weather.  I frequently hear Canadian geese flying over now.  I love that sound!

Miniature Hornet's Nest

Last winter I made a 1" scale flower shop and thought it would be fun to have a hornet's nest on display on the outside.  I experimented with a piece of a cardboard drink carrier and this is what I came up with.  I moistened the cardboard and then molded it around a tiny limb.  I thought it was pretty realistic.   One day I noticed a small pile of sticks and gray paper on the floor and realized that my nest had fallen and Arabelle had reshaped it for me.  I'll have to take time to make another soon and be more careful to glue it in place next time!      







It wasn't me!



New Life for Old Shoes

It's always rewarding to me to see old things take on a new life.  These worn  work shoes show signs that they spent my hours working in the garden before they became planters for hens and chickens.

I found these little boy's cowboy boots at a flea market and filled them with chickens too.  They haven't done as well because they dry out so quickly but they're still so darn cute!

In just a few weeks it will be time to plant spring bulbs.  I can't wait to plant those big yellow daffodils.  I might start looking for bulbs this weekend!

Vera and Kallie

Vera and Kallie

This set of salt and pepper shakers is the latest addition to my Susan Paley collection.  Susan did several ethnic vases, etc. that are absolutely beautiful!  I love their little sundresses with the vibrant colors.  They are about 3" and 4" inches tall.

The attention to detail on their pretty faces is amazing.

Miss Heidi

Heidi is six years old and my middle corgi.  She's always very serious and gets upset if she thinks I'm not happy with her.

Heidi despises anything with wheels!  She will bite the lawnmower wheels when the mower is running, consequently she could never be a therapy dog like Hanna.   It is amazing how all three have such different personalities.

She loves to help me in the garden and play frisbee with Arabelle.   Her favorite thing is having her tummy rubbed!  Gotta love Miss Heidi, she's a mess.

Apple Picking Time

My daughter  and  her  friend   went to  an   orchard near Charlottesville this weekend  to pick apples.  Since it's still early fall, only the Golden Delicious were ripe and they were beautiful.  I can remember my mom making applesauce from these apples when I was a child.  It is so easy to make.  I made it for my girls when they were babies.  Homemade applesauce tastes nothing like commercially canned applesauce!  It's funny how we forget how things are really supposed to taste.

Photos by JB Photography

Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!

Between Naps on Mom's Bed

Since I  retired, people ask me all the time "what do you do all day".  Well, here's the answer.  I spend my time opening the back door for  Heidi and Arabelle to run around the backyard and chase squirrels.  Meanwhile, Hanna has been lounging in the sunshine on the front porch and now she wants to come in for one of her naps.  In a few minutes she'll be upstairs whining for me to put her on my bed (it's too high for her to jump).   By now her sisters have gotten hot and they are at the back door barking to come in.  Pretty soon one of them  will be ready to go on the front porch and the other will want to go back outside.   Basically what I do all day is whatever my three furgirls want me to do.  I almost forgot one thing, right after dinner, Arabelle will be standing at the back door with her frisbee in her mouth wanting me to play.  It's difficult to say "no" to such a cute fluffy face.  By bedtime, I'm exhausted!