November

This time of the year, it is total madness around the farm. Even dropping two major shows for November has not improved things. Thankfully I did, as this fall is not going according to plan. Actually, while you know fully that the farmer is the organized partner in the farm and I just live here, and organization is not what I do best...I do usually have a fairly good game plan for the fall season. While it doesn't usually include what Ronnie wants me to be doing ( I ignore him as much as possible!), and you will remember I was digging stuff out of snowbanks last fall, and I believe planted my tulip bulbs in December, I actually DO have a scheduled plan for fall. MY plan. We will call it Plan A. Difficult to keep at times, I sometimes find myself reduced or advanced as the case may be, to Plan E or F, but this time. This year, I am at Plan X, already! With 6 more weeks of shows and such to go. I fully expect myself to be without "plan" at all very soon.

To add more stress to my already stressed out fall, Ronnie got hurt at work on Sept 23 and has a herniated disc. The past 5 weeks, I am doing farm chores and fitting all that into a very tight schedule, as it is. Any idea of being seen in public with fingernails is gone!

No one would recognize me anyway. I barely have time to clean up. Hairdo is reduced to ponytail and baseball cap. The other day I dragged out my infamous red wool cap to work in the yard while raking up leaves to fight off damp weather. Makeup? Putting away farm equipment, stacking haywagons full of wood into sheds, raking leaves and dragging them on tarps to the gardens..isn't very conducive to getting all prettied up. AND I can't back up a wagon, or piece of farm equipment worth dittely! Having said all that, and hoping you have pity on me..the real pity is for Ron. Poor guy.

He sees the neurosurgeon on the 15th. I am doing a big show that weekend, unloading my truck of 2 trucks for that show on Sunday night after I get home, and taking him to Grand Rapids the next day. Then I have 3 days to get the shop back in order for our Christmas Open House that Friday!

Godfrey! As you can see, my "plan" is reduced to whatever comes along, this year. I have added chocolate back into my 5 major food groups. While I am sure your energy level drops when chocolate wears off, I have decided if I eat it regularly during the day, I can keep my strength up. Even IF that doesn't work, I will at least be happy! We'll count the dimples on my ankles next spring, not now.

I have one rosemary plant left that I haven't killed off yet. Inspite of me, it continues to thrive. We could start a raffle to see how long it takes to die. My hope is that taking it into the back shed of the shop which is cool but not cold, will keep it thriving all winter. This has become a challenge! I always lose, so I don't know why I don't just throw it away now and save myself some grief in trying to keep it alive. I will update you on the exact day, the last green of it falls off. I know. Mark your calendars....

Yesterday, while struggling to keep the tarp anywhere close to my leaf piles in the wind that came up just as I contemplated that chore of dragging them off to the garden, my heart just absolutely smiled as I heard a robin. Singing like it was spring. Even today if you can look past the piles of leaves, the weather outside is very remiscent of spring. Looks and smells just like April. Soon my entire yard was full of robins. I couldn't even count them all. I had to sit a spell on the porch and enjoy this gift to me in fall, as our robins have been gone since early August.

Inspite of all my farm work, I have been working on new stuff to show you, for the shows, and our Christmas Open House. We have them posted early on http://www.highbuttonshoe.net/newitems.htm and you can see them now there. Several of them will be shown on http://www.rantingraven.com/Exhibit95.php. While there, be sure to check out the things offered by Wendy Stys of PineBerryLane. Miss Elspeth is one of my favorite artists.

We have updated (we, meaning Beulah, you know I can't do computers good, let alone create and maintain a website!) the website again to show pictures of the farm. All those nice green lawns you see are now covered IN LEAVES, or piles of leaves, or drag marks of tarps. We have some new pictures of the shop in the step into the shop icon. And to see anything new, please check our new items icon often. New things will be appearing as I get them finished.

I am still hoping to get this card idea off the ground. Right now, it is all here somewhere in the computer. And I don't have a CLUE how to get it out. But the kids will be coming for trick or treat goodies, so I will look as pathetic as possible and see if they can get them out on a disc for me.

Suppose that means I should stay out of the trick or treat bowl so there is actually something left in there for me to entice them with. Aren't there always drawbacks to everything? IF this actually works out, I have taken pictures of our stock (folk-art, not animals, silly) and old things from my house, and photographed them (yup, I actually did it myself (Big smile) and no, not with the digital camera..that still turns off before I have the manual sentence read fully!). Anyway, the idea is that these pictures will be greeting cards. I have two weeks to figure this out. I know, I know. But I might! And you will love them...I hope. If not, everyone on my Christmas card list will get one of these cards!

BrunieMae's Christmas Open House www.saltboxfarm.com is coming up on the 12,13,& 14th. Next Saturday Brunie and me are running down to Nashville to the Pig in the Poke show. This is such a great show for primitive folk art and antiques.

Someday I will explain to all you people new to the newsletters about the odd names you read in my letters. Thankfully we were not born with these names, but we sure are having fun with them now. There is another new one this past week. The former Judy Doyle of the Cinnamon Stick in PA is now Miss Permelia. I believe Miss Permelia fits you well! Some of this is recorded in the old newsletter on the website. Not all newsletters make it there...

Okay, I have to get busy. Today I am drawing out (no pattern) the santa and snowman shelf sitters and the face doll makedo's you will soon see. They are like the witches, but now are santas and snowmen. plus trees. I have developed a fetish for trees.... so watch for these things to come.