Farm Friend Friday: Some Serendipitous Finds and Farm Style

Isn't he lovely?

A few years ago I saw a precious vintage rooster tablecloth on eBay, but the bidding got so high I had to let it go. It was The One That Got Away.

So, fast forward to Tuesday when I was in the Big City on errands with a few minutes to spare. I spied a thrift store I'd never been in, and --like any frugal farm girl would do--I went in. There I discovered four curtain panels and two valances in the exact pattern of The One That Got Away for the mere sum of $1.50!

Something to crow about!

Not only is our kitchen this color of split pea soup on a cold Winter's day (aka 'Avocado' in the 1970's),  I've been looking for two window coverings for this room!

 

My painting 'The Emerson' above the sofa with potential dog bed material

I also found a bedspread and two pillow shams of a wonderful Jacobean print in all the oddball colors I'm using in several other rooms: coffee brown, mint green and persimmon for $7. Jacobean prints with their bold branches, fruits, flowers and birds remind me of the kind of in-your-face nature I experience on a daily basis. I've been looking for something from which I could make several dog beds. (Why is it all dog bed manufacturers assume hunter green and navy will work with everyone's decor?)

Although my style sensibility (if you could ever call it that) is best described as Atomic Ranch meets Martha Stewart Living at Pier One--and would likely give an interior designer nightmares--Farmer Rick and I are at home with this kind of eclecticism.

How about you? What's your farm style?

For more Farm Friendly features, visit Farm Friend Friday.

Sunday Stills: Pets

Happy anniversary Sunday Stills! This week's theme of pets coincides nicely with the designing our holiday greeting card. I've always loved the hand painted cards over at Punkin's Patch showing each of the farm animals and pets and wondered if someday I might do something like that photographically. Only our animals don't tend to get along with each other that well.

So, today I made the attempt. Using our well house as a backdrop and setting up the camera with a time delay on a tripod, I took multiple exposures of the various animals one at a time with us and then I used Photoshop to collage them together. Don't we look like the peaceable kingdom!

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Pictured (L-R) are: Wilson, Finley, Topaz, Me with Avo, Starley, Farmer Rick with Millicent, Francisco and Cody. These are the main characters of my blog. We are only missing the other 49 chickens and a couple of wayward kittens. You can even read the label on the pitchfork: Ranch Hand. Sort of a twist on American Gothic.

For more pet pictures visit Sunday Stills!

Sunday Stills: The Letter T

Finally, our colors here are Turning. Fall comes very late when you live so close to Mexico. I've been thinking of it as Summer, since our Summer was Hell. This is the part of my house that used to be the Town Post Office until 1968.

I was inspired by dibear and the shot of her cactus earlier this week, so when mine opened I took one too. I know it's supposed to be a Christmas Cactus, but I think of it as a Thanksgiving Cactus as that's when it always seems to bloom.

Here's my Thoughtful Husband, Farmer Rick, icing a birthday cake he baked for me. Everyone tells me 50 is the new Thirty. This is because they are all older than me and it makes them feel better, too.

I was able to capture Starley, my camera-shy Terrier, giving me a kiss.

I got this nifty set of Tools. One of the advantages of aging is the gifts get better. Remember how thrilled you were at 14 to get just a dime store curling iron? Jewelers use dapping blocks and punches to form metal into curved shapes. This set ranges from itty-bitty to door knob size. Wow! If you've been following the progress of our chicken coop, then you'll know how much I like curves.

I also love the curves of my new Toaster!

Some friends sent me this  Ten Good Things About Getting Older card. I particularly like #5 You can take bets on which part of your body will conk out next. Remember the rib I dislocated earlier in the spring when we began the new chicken coop? Well, I did it again, on my birthday, no less! (By the way, my chiropractor goes by the name Dr. T. I will be calling him Tomorrow!)

How did this happen? Tearing apart our bathroom. Seriously, the space has been bothering me for a long time. Everything came out except the Tub and Toilet (this will eventually be traded out for a low flush model, since our water is like gold to us now). You may remember what I started with when I got this idea back in the summer. Ultimately I decided the only thing I really liked about the room was the switch plates! Well, you have to begin somewhere.

So, I began at the most logical place...by purchasing Toast, Tan, and Tangerine Towels to match...

...and collecting Tile for the mosaic mirror surround I plan to make.

But renovation isn't all fun and towels...it is going to be a Terrible Trial of our carpentry skills.  Remember that big mirror?...well apparently it was covering some hidden Trouble!

OMG: WWBVD? (What Would Bob Vila Do?) For more takes on the letter T, visit Sunday Stills.

Sunday Stills: Happiness is...

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Empress Antonia butterfly (Asterocampa antonia)

coming across something new and never losing your sense of wonder.

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The start of a quilted jacket.

making something beautiful and useful from all the odd little pieces of your life.

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Momma, the burrs just jumped all over me!

not worrying about small problems, as things are never as bad as they look.

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Taken by a friend at our $150 wedding.

finding true love long after you've given up looking for it.

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You can see the end of the rainbow! Check out my new blog header collage with this view from our garden.

is realizing with patience the end of the rainbow will find you!

For more takes on Happiness visit Sunday Stills!

We Are Not Normal

Today Millicent, our wiener-terrier rescue, discovered Francisco's toy frog. It has been in her mouth all day long. Usually she plays with a dozen toys each day. Usually she plays with the kitten. But not today. This. One. Is. Special.

Sunday Stills: Eyes

These eyes belong to Francisco, our Husky-wolf rescue dog. He's afraid of storms, gunshots, fireworks, and other dogs. Oddly, he gets along well with cats.

This fearful eye belongs to Cody, our Chow mix that was severely abused by his first owner. I have spent years helping to restore his trust in people.

This is the blind eye of Phoebe, our rescue sheep, looking like the Earth from the moon. Her other eye unfortunately had to be removed because of damage. I found her dying on the side of the road, where we suspect she'd been hit by a car. The vet did not want to tell me she probably wouldn't make it.

But she did, through much nurturing. And--a big surprise to us all--delivered Finley a month later. We had no idea we were rescuing two! He has beautiful eyes.

And of course, the eye of Avo, their rooster. He thinks Phoebe is his big, fuzzy "hen" and is certain Finley is his son. His secret desire is for all of us to be part of his flock.

Check out all the other eyes at Sunday Stills.

St. Patrick's Day Apparition

Woke up this morning and thought Mother Theresa was laying next to me. When I put on my glasses I realized it was Starley, our Jack Russel Terrier.


Here's a photo of the lovely morning. Could that be Irish Mist on the mountain?

Frank's Fiber Factory

This is NOT snow, it's Frankenfur. Most people have dust bunnies, but we have dust buffaloes made of this. Most people have dogs, but we have a fiber factory.

Today was Francisco's day at the groomer and this is what we BRUSHED off of him. With this much fur, he was always carrying around sticks, leaves, entire ecosystems in his tail alone. It took us six hours (nine if you count breaks) and by the time we were finished we had enough fur to build a couple more dogs. If Aunt Sara can spin this, maybe I can knit an entire bed spread. (which is where it would have ended up anyway).

Frankie was an exceptionally good boy. Here's Aunt Connie with her infinite patience and tender touch. The last groomer I used sedated him without my permission. Connie doesn't use sedatives, she just charms all the dogs into thinking they are royalty and that baths are really fun.

Here's me and my big fuzzy who'll be a lot cooler this summer.