January 17, 2007   

High Button Shoe & the farm update

 

Good morning,

What a beautiful morning here. We got that drated snow Sunday night that covered our still bare January ground, but not the monster snow amounts that others got. About 6 inches on the ground now, and full sunshine on it this morning. It is however beastly cold. Even my wood fire isn't taking the chill off the house yet and I may have to resort to the old wool grey hunting socks to warm my bare feet. But we do have power, which I understand some of the southern part of the state still did not have yesterday. Like most people who live in the north, we do own a generator, but thankfully rarely have to use it. I have, however, thoroughly enjoyed the bare ground for so many weeks that we normally have lots of snow. We have some 'snow' pictures of the farm up on the website for those of you, like Moira, Jana, Melanie and others who long to see snow. You know, of course, that I merely tolerate winter, as it is my least favorite season. Snow means boots! And while I often wear boots, I still prefer a jaunt to the mailbox barefooted. And for those who live in southern states, you don't have to mess with snow tires, roads white with traces of the salt put there to melt the ice (which in turn is all over your truck), the continual wet mess on the carpet in the truck, or watching for the guy who drives too fast and slides thru the stop signs.  We won't even talk about parking lots!!!!

As my winter activity amounts to voicing complaint, and the positive side, shoveling snow, I will be getting back into that.  The other day I shoveled my paths to the sheds, the birdfeeders, cleaned off the porches and the pavers and sat with steaming coffee on my porch and simply enjoyed the beauty of the day. Coffee on the porch can be a full season activity.

Speaking of coffee, as we are spending a lot of hours working at the shop to ready the move, I generally make coffee here and trek with it to the shop for Ronnie. Sunday we decided while buying yet another truck load of shelving units and all those packing boxes that the big boxes are full of now, probably thinking all of us are in the 'organization' mode... to buy a new coffee pot for the shop. After looking at the many types available and the prices ( for a dumb coffee maker!!) we found one exactly like I bought last year for this kitchen. Ronnie, probably thinking I could get the box open, the coffee maker out, and cleaned, left me to my own devices. Two broken fingernails later, I got the box open. Practically standing on the cardboard flaps, and pulling the  inside cardboard and styrofoam out together, which had they come out easily, would have surely propelled me into the living room, I got the maker out.

So, ok, I already have this coffee maker.  Probably don't need to read the manual ( my nemesis, you will recall) so I take out all the cardboard and packing stuff and plan to wash the coffee maker before we use it. How difficult can that be? Assuming the lid opened the same as my other one, exactly like this one (un-huh), I proceeded to lift the top. Well, that wasn't going to happen. It would only lift about 1/3 of the way. You can't get the coffee grounds basket out or even the water in. Not wanting to break this thing, I decide to read the manual. Have you ever read the disclaimers on things? I already know most of the idiot ones. And found a few more 'you have GOT to be kidding' ones.  But did not find the secret to opening up that top. And yes, I had taken off the tape holding it down. So I waited for Ron to come home. To my credit however, he couldn't get it open either for a while.  I really thought we would break it trying to get it open.  He is more persistent than me.  And finally before thoughts of throwing it against the wall, the top did magically open and we mastered the coffee maker. I hate buying new stuff!

 

Update on the hair situation. Driving home from visiting my brother yesterday, I got back into town about 4PM. Even with conditioner on my long hair, which I never use because it makes it so soft and silky I can't do anything with it for a week, I had begun to look like a blond, white, Diana Ross. Wild hair comes to mind. Walking into the hospital, I followed an old woman, who could barely walk, and while I never saw her face, I did surely see her hair. Pure white, rather Diana Ross like, not as long as mine but still 1/2 way down her back (which I could now touch with my hand on the back of my jeans waist.. or at least  the split ends of it), I regretted not having my baseball cap on. With no appointment, I stopped into the beauty parlor in town, where I go about every two years for a haircut OR where I go when I have done something really bad to it for her to 'fix'. Luckily, she had just had a cancellation (there really are hair gods), and was mildly appalled at the condition of my hair, although she was nice about it. I said I wanted it cut off to just above my shoulders, all one length. just blunt cut. She wouldn't go that short, as it was so long and thought maybe I should think about it. I did. For two minutes. And had her cut it shorter. It still isn't as short as I wanted. But it looks healthy again, and she has a bad hair story to tell about. So, for all of you who know me and had a  bet down on which day in January I would cut my hair ( I only think about cutting it in January, my prime self destruct month), you win the prize if you had January 16th as the date.

 

I went browsing around on the websites the other night and found a great primitive website for you to check out, if you haven't already. They sell on ranting raven, but I so rarely have time to run around on a lot of websites. This one, I should have paid closer attention to. Absolutely wonderful primitives!  www.blacksheepprimitives.com/index1.html   I LOVE their work! With the word 'primitives' tossed around so erroneously on some websites, it is refreshing to find some great primitives there.

Also,  www.primitivelyours.com   I had been wanting to get some new address labels. Occasionally getting mail, with a great return address label, I wondered where they got such great labels. Especially ones that nobody else has. Well, Jeccica has them!  I got the old bucket one. LOVE these address labels.  Check her out.

We have been making changes in our website as well. We, meaning Beulah. She is the designer and maintenance of the website. I merely make the products and photograph them. We are still offering sales on many items and will continue to do that as I will be continuing the downsizing. We have taken off the items that were sold out to make room for new items. We also added a

"From Tilda's Collection" icon and will be showing new items for sale regularly on that. Some folk art, some antiques. Some I can barely part with. Check often, as this will be changing often!

 

Crow soup was released Monday. We can be found at

http://www.crowsoup.com/Market586.php   We are showing some rabbits, cats, (the ones Ronnie refers to road kill as they are flat!), carrots, a framed picture of old doll clothes, and a simply marvelous old 1/2 of a pestle & mortar that I repurposed into a pinkeep. All the 'stuf'd' stuff is stuf'd with dried grass clippings to give it a wonderful look and feel. AND the carpeting under my harvest table now looks like a fresh cut lawn in June. Even being as careful as I could, those tiny opening you stuff critters through are very difficult to stuff with grass!  We also have our 'antique' grass available for your Easter baskets or spring displays. Ok, I KNOW it's winter... but you can never think spring too early!! And we have the cloth Easter eggs again. I love those!  I have 7 dolls in various stages of doneness. Well, I have the arms and legs stuffed.  I thought I might try the bodies with rags and sawdust, but I haven't gotten the grass off my shirt yet from the last episode...or maybe it is a good time to stuff those bodies.

 

Also, as it IS still winter, remember Mrs Seeleys red mittens!  AND as several of you have asked about ivory/white mittens, she is currently making those. Please order..if you think you might want some as I do not know if these will be available for this 2007 fall and holiday season. For those who own the Seasons book by Cramer and Johnson (major drool and page wear!), we are hoping we can come up with the mittens featured on page 216.  I have to take the book to Mrs Seeley for her to see. Definitely don't wait on those!  If she can do them, of which I have no doubt, I know they will be very popular! I don't know what the price will be, as I assume they are more difficult to make, but will let you know soon.

 

Maxine came up one day about two weeks ago to pickup her mittens and we had a lovely visit. An interesting woman to say the very least, I now know she believes herself to be the incarnate of Martha Washington!  Having known her for several years, this came as a complete surprise to me!  So, as many of us have unusual names we have adopted for the journey thru this lifetime, Maxine is now Martha to me!  When the spring does come and the grounds are bare again, Martha and me are planning a trip to a cemetery miles west of here to the grave of a famous DAR woman who is buried there that Martha has ties to, and I will glean some information of that time. I LOVE old cemeteries and am sure our day will be filled with laughter, sadness, surprises and a common love for places like that, that hold such valuable information in those old stone markers.

 

Ok, I am supposed to be working in a corner of one room today 'organizing'.  You know, IF I was an organized person to begin with, I wouldn't be in this mess! Last week, Ronnie had a stack of wood things by the wood stove to burn, and as I was feeding the fire, I put in one old wood trim piece from the back of a chair off the stack of about 8 of them, and couldn't bear to burn the others (they will be wings for angel dolls this next winter).  Also took one crate full of old architectural stuff away from the stove and put it back away. Yegads!  at this rate, we will never get this house cleaned out. AND I have used up 1/2 of January.

Thanks for asking to be a part of our farm!

if you decide not to, just reply with remove BUT remember, you will be missing out on updates of the move and pictures of the old house as it continues its journey to becoming a homestead again. My heart smiles with each part of this journey.

in fond regard,

Tilda,    new hairdo

broken fingernails

shovel-er of snow

keeper of the still alive rosemary