March 24, 2009
High Button Shoe
the farm update
& goings on of the farm
....actually not much is going
on. Not worth sitting down to pen to you, probably. I can thankfully
report that most of the snow banks are gone, but the highest ones where
the snow was piled up over my head to begin with. It has been a very long
winter, to say the least. Spring officially on the calendar has come and
gone. That date on the calendar rarely corresponds with any actual
spring type weather. But I am
so happy that there is dead brown grass to look at. When we get that brown
grass in July when we have not had rain, I am never so thrilled, but in
March or April, I am. Anything besides white!
On my daily treks to the
flower garden, which in post winter looks pretty pathetic I might add, my
100 white tulips are poking up
through the ground now about
3-4 inches high and I mark their growth each day with a smile. Other
plants are beginning to surface too. The old lilac bush has tiny buds,
with the few days of warm weather we got. It is way too early for them,
and they will surely take a set back with a sure to come frost.. they
always do.
And true to my word, I have
not complained about mud... I know. You didn't think I could refrain from
that, did you? I do believe however, that I must get the truck detailed. I
never can think of an appropriate season to have that done. Spring/mud.
Summer/sand. Fall/mud. Winter/salt & wet snow. But I best be making an
appointment as the other half of the farmhouse is making serious comments
to me that this should be done. When I get the 'serious' comments, I know
enough to pay some attention. Otherwise I basically... don't. And about
the end of April I will have the snow tires taken off. When I make plans
to do it earlier, we are most often hit with another foot of snow for a
few days and driving is difficult. I don't know the latest figures, but
the local paper reported a while ago, that we had gotten 214 or 217 inches
of snow since November...and we have gotten a couple more inches since
then... Indeed, we woke up last Saturday to full ground cover of snow. It
broke records this year, not to mention my faulty to begin with, patience
!
I am really looking forward to
putting the snow shovels, mittens, boots and heavy coats away. Unless hung
on the back landing to the basement, they found spots hung on the summer
porch, which is not heated, so while being a mess there all the time, they
didn't dry well either. My goal this season, is to find all matching
gloves and mittens and put them together for the start of the fall season
when they will be needed again. Why I do this, I don't know. Somewhere, in
between putting matching sets together and actually getting them out in
the fall, some seem to vanish into thin air. All I ever find is one of
any glove set, not two. So my normal attire of winter wear is always two
mismatched gloves. However, there is always hope.. vague to slim perhaps
but still hope.
Today, while 38 degrees, it is
COLD, with high winds, so to work in the barn I had on my ski cap too. It
reeks havoc with this short hairdo, the same as it did with the long hair.
I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw a magazine that was completely
short hairdos. I almost bought it. But I am doing better with this short
hair. Except for ski cap days, of course. Then....nothing helps.
I am going to recycling
tomorrow, so I decided to go thru a big basket of magazines I had kept all
winter. The idea would be that
if I had kept them, they must
of had some importance to me. I was wrong. A big box is going to the
hospital to recycle to them.
A bigger box is going to the
recycle center. And I ended up with a whole Kroger sack bag of stuff to
burn in the wood stove.
I have a small pile of
magazines to go thru again to see if they have any merit. Magazines I
always loved just aren't what they used to be.
I cleaned out the refrigerator
today, a chore I hate doing. It is always good to do it when Ron isn't
home. Occasionally he gets to snooping around in there and actually
removes the lid from some container to see what it is. Obviously I do that
on occasion myself. But while disgusting, my reaction is never quite the
same as his. My theory on frig cleaning....if I don't recognize the
container, it is not necessary to open it to find out the contents. Just
throw it away. But with the coming of bare ground, I resort back to my
throwing of waste into the garden off behind the wood stove...so I may
have to pay more attention to what is past
date in there.
I got a most pleasant box in
the mail several days ago. Max (of Candy&Max, as I always think of them as
in one word...)
of
www.simplegoods.net is making Civil War
greeting cards, as well as old pictures of black people ( I mean that
nicely, but
can't think of a good way to
put it...) I have found that it is hard to find pictures of black people
from long ago, so I was
the website to find out... I
have told you before, but it bears repeating, Candy & Max are two of the
most amazing women.
Their show, Simple Goods is
one of THE best shows around, held in Ohio in November. All information
about them and the show is on their website. Should you decide to order
the cards, you simply will NOT be disappointed. Also as a side note, they
will be hosting another show, besides the SimpleGoods, in April 2010 in
Ohio. There is information about that on their site.
The farmer's new tractor was
delivered last week. I was gone that day, taking my folks downstate for
medical..so didn't get to
see the 'arrival', but when I
got home hours later...Ronnie's smile was still plastered on his face. He
had run it over to Beulah's so grandson Mattie could "drive" the tractor,
which is to steer it while Papa did the actual driving. Ronnie spent an
evening reading the manual which amounts to a good sized 'book' on
procedures and where to find things. I haven't been inside the tractor
yet, but
looking at the manual, I do
believe the 'buttons' closely resemble an airplane control panel! Like
I am going to touch anything in there! I may have to get
a pogo stick just to jump up into this thing! Or perhaps have a pulley
hoist by the door to get myself
up there. Ron did show me a
full page (which I ignored) that is hand signals. Can you imagine? They
actually have an entire page of hand signals !! While I know I will never
decipher them, remember them, or care about them, I will continue my
method of
when he gets red in the face
and his arms are thrust wildly in the air, and I can't hear his words over
the tractors roar, but KNOW it isn't good.... I will just come home. I
did tell you didn't I, that he traded MY tractor in on this one, so I
suppose I will have to
pay some attention to how to
drive this thing, once I figure out how to get up into it. Scary thought.
The upside? I am sure the ground shaking under it's coming, will surely
scare Fritz the Anaconda straight off into the swamp. Of course, I will be
in the swamp soon on my annual picking of the pussy willows, so perhaps
that isn't such a good thought afterall.
I updated our
countrycraftshowonline (13 new items!) before the 15th. I am late to tell
you, obviously. Also
www.theprimitivegathering.com was updated
too. Our links are below. We will have new things on
www.lemonpoppyseeds.com on the 31st,
also. I am cleaning out some of my own folk art for sale, and showing more
of my antique smalls. There are a few GREAT bench/stools on countrycraft
online. Ones I thought I would never part with...but now I am. While the
farmhouse has MANY benches and stools in it, I simply cannot fit anymore
in. If these don't sell, I plan to redo the house soon and make a few
changes.And perhaps bring these in, inplace of some I can take out.
Also please check out
friends Miss Elspeth (Wendy) of
www.pineberrylane.com on the primitive
gathering and also goodest
We are selling our great
looking grass for 2 bags for $15 includes shipping. Wonderful for spring
displays!
One bag of flax for $17.50
includes shipping. Great spilling out of baskets...or use for doll hair.
The Country Sampler Magazine
House Tour which features our farmhouse for $8.50 shipping included.
The Farmhouse Collection CD
(about 300 photographs of the farmhouse and the grounds) for $8.00 post
paid.
As I continue working in the
barn, I will be adding new items to the sites listed below and we should
be making some changes soon in the website.
Also, check out daughter
Robin's (Beulah) blogspot. She has beautiful photographs and pensive words
written in her blog, that
shows her true inside beauty
as she shares her take on the day with you.
Thanks for asking to be a part
of our farm.
Should you decide not to,
merely reply with remove and it will be kindly taken care of.
in fond regard, Tilda
the farmers wife,
with short hair,
happy with the thoughts of
spring,
keeper of the rosemary