The Invitation

A conversation Himself struck up with a stranger at the Amish plant auction, led to a delightful afternoon.  Somehow their conversation turned to raspberries and L asked if we'd like to have some heirloom raspberries.  Free.

Well YES!

A few days later we drove out to their lovely farm.  After digging the raspberry starts, L and her husband R asked if we'd like to see the old grist mill on the property.

Well YES!

L drove us down to an old bridge.

A really cool rusty old bridge.

A cool old bridge that looked out at the grist mill and dam.

A cool old bridge held up for many years on limestone pillars.

It was a lovely place for a chat or a picnic.

Then we headed back up to their home to meet their pets.

A sweet faced old boy.

And his 'Betty Davis eyes' sister.

This darling girl is 16 years old.

And her horse.  She had his mother and raised him from a baby.

There was a cute Shetland too.  You could tell she works with them a lot as he wasn't snotty like most Shetlands.

Why are pony noses so cute?

Her gardens were beautiful.

Too soon a storm kicked up and we had to leave.

The raspberries?

Here's the little shoots...

...and the long more mature canes - which already have berries on them.

Since I wasn't planning on planting raspberries this year, they will stay potted up until this fall  when I will have a nice fenced in bed made for them.

If It Fits... I Gets...

How do you like my latest roadside flotsam find?

There's a story behind it...

Himself and I were out for a country drive combined with some 'power walking' for him (meaning finding the biggest hills to climb) and I looking for some photo ops.

When we met back up, he told me that on the other side of the valley someone had been dumping some yard debris off the side of the hill and had lost their wheelbarrow.

What??  A free wheelbarrow??

Well Alrighty then!

(We figure whoever had a truckload of stuff and not wanting to get too close to the edge of the drop-off, had been using the wheelbarrow to haul stuff to the edge... and lost control.  Now their wheelbarrow was 20 feet down the embankment with their junk, and they weren't feeling it to climb down to retrieve it.

Himself said "No problem" and in short order it was up on the roadside.

Now there was a problem...

You see, little Mattie is a sweet little car with a nice size trunk for her size.  But she is no Little Red pick-up.

And that wheelbarrow did not fit.

I was determined it WAS coming home with us.  We spent a good 10 minutes rigging it up to get it back to the house.  An Ikea tote and some plastic grocery bags to tie it down did the trick.  (Note to self: get some rope and bungees in the trunk!)

A third wheelbarrow is going to be so useful!

From Shabby to Country Chic

I love old tool boxes.  In fact, I love anything with a tool box shape and have been picking them up whenever I see them at garage sales or thrift stores.  So I was delighted to find this one at Goodwill...and it was color tagged to be half off too!  I paid a whopping $1.99 for it.

Guess folks couldn't see past the poor bunnies.

It didn't take long to change it from bunny to country.

I'm doing a 21 day "farmhouse style decor" challenge (more about that Tuesday) and in it we learned to make our own chalk paint.  I used a 'mistint' from Lowes to make my paint.  I like the color.

Then to give it some personality I wrapped some jute rope around the handle.  For the front I used an antique hinge I picked up in Winona, MN at the ReStore.

I think it came out really cute.  Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to use it.  I have several ideas to work through.

How would you use it?

Hunting Season Begins!

Bargain hunting that is!

Yard sales are in full swing now.  On our way out of town Saturday, we left a bit early so I could hit a few yards sales.

The hunting was very, very good...

The Rummikub game was only $1.  This is a favorite at our church game nights.

I found a few things for crafting... the bunnies will be cute in moss gardens, the ribbon is perfect for a Christmas wall hanging I want to make for next Christmas, and the curtain rings will be used in several projects.  $1 for the lot.

I found a whole herd of shaggy Little Ponies (a couple didn't make it into the picture) for .20c each.  There's going to be a Pony spa day soon!  They are some sort of special edition so I know Little Bird doesn't have these.

Two packages of pencils for .10c.  Those went into my Operation Christmas Child stash.

Cute leg warmers for next winter, new and only $1.

A nice heavy glass pitcher for $1.

Magazines... free!  The treasure is the "Cooks Illustrated"!

Some blinged out tennys for the Little Bird.  I think they are one size too large for now.

Cute little drawer set.  It's about 10"x12"... for $1.  I think it will work perfectly in my jewelry making organization.

And a Little Pony 'chariot'.  It's remote control... Little Bird is going to love that.  The lady threw it in with the ponies (she REALLY wanted that herd thinned out!  LOL)

Not a bad start for the summer hunting season!  

How To Groom Your Little Pony

Little Bird has an upcoming birthday and her party is going to be "My Little Pony".  I knew this back in June when Himself and I were at the Trenton town yard sale.  There was a little girl who was thinning her herd and had "Pinkie Pie" up for sale.

For .50c!

Needless to say, Pinkie came home with me.

But Pinkie had been living the wild life.  Her 'coat' was dull with dirt and a few stray markings.  And that mane and tail... oh my!!  What a ratted mess.

First thing I did was to wash her down with good old soap and water.  Better but not perfect.  So then I went over her with a Mr. Clean Eraser pad.  

Oh yes, that worked wonderfully.  She looked like a new pony!

Next step was to deal with that mane and tail.

I broke out my hair conditioner and started working in large dollops until all the 'hair' was saturated.

Then I gently worked it in.

Can't forget her tail!

Then the combing started...

This step took about 40 minutes.

As I finished each small section, I flipped it over to keep it out of the way.  The conditioner kept it where I put it.

Some areas were really ratted... pony split ends!  Those just had to be trimmed off as the damage could not be repaired.

Finish comb through.  No more rats!

Then it was time to rinse...

... and rinse some more.  I was very careful not to get it knotted again.

Pinkie Pie is squeaky clean!

A bit of inverted drying to give her mane some 'lift'.

Pinkie Pie is looking glamorous now!

A mane any girl would envy!

Buy Local: Natural Mulch

In getting our yard under control we use wood mulch... and we need a lot of it.  Fortunately just 4 miles down once you get to the main road, there is a company that does natural mulch and composting.  They are called "The Compost Company"  http://www.compostcompany.com  

They take this... 

...and turn it into THIS!

  

No loading, they do it all.

He does a great job getting it packed in.

See... I told you it was packed! (It's darker than this sun exposed photo shows - the below shows it better).

That is one cubic yard of mulch.  It cost just $25.  If we had bought it in bags at a big box store it would have taken almost 14 bags and would have cost us about $46.  And those bags would have had dyes and chemicals in them.

Here's a sneak peek at one of our projects that we will finish this week with the coming round of cool mornings. 

To find out if there is similar business near you, contact your local agriculture extension office or a nursery that does not sell mulch.

Thrifty Finds - Power Tools for my Jewelry Making

As my studio comes closer to completion, I am becoming excited over different projects I’ll be able to do.  But one project was staying unreachable… making jewelry from my sea glass and sea pottery.

I didn’t have the drill press I needed.

Then not too long ago a friend decided to sell a bunch of tools that had belonged to her late husband.  One of those tools was this drill press…

Can you see why I jumped on this?  Perfect for my needs and I know that John took excellent care of his tools.

A short time after that I found the other power tool I needed for my projects – a grinder.

I picked this Black & Decker grinder up for a mere $5 at that citywide yard sale we went to a few weeks ago. 

I’m going to be having some fun this winter making jewelry!

A Whole Town of Yard Sales

I like going to yard sales but I'm not so crazy about all the driving around it takes to get to each one.  So when there is a town-wide yard sale, we try to go.  A couple weeks ago the little town of Trenton, KY held their annual yard sale.

People set up all along the main drag, which happens to be Highway 41.

You arrive in whatever your 'wheels' are... auto, tractor, or horse buggy!

Then you start walking!

I'd say 90% of the houses are having a sale... some houses have several sales as friends bring in their stuff too.  This darling house belongs to one of our friends... and another set of friends has set up under the tree.  What fun!  Visiting AND shopping!

The old school's yard is full of tables too.

Even the local business establishments will put out a table or two.

Different musicians played from this flatbed trailer. 

Was it good shopping?

Oh yeah...

These little silver pieces were only .50c each.  They will be holding beads in my studio.  I haven't decided if I'm going to clean them up or not.  

What else did I come home with?  

Let's see... 4 large ice tea glasses for $2 for the set.  (Dad, these should be big enough for your ice tea!)   About 70 different embroidery flosses for $5.  An old 45 rpm record stand for .25c which will hole photos and post cards.  A Pyrex cobble plate for $1.  Miscellaneous 'creative' odds and ends for a coin or two each.  Five medium large steel mixing bowls for $1 each.  A heavy duty stainless steel 10 qt pot and lid for $10.  

Not a bad day...