Look what's in Leslie's apron....

She robbed my garden and my henhouse!
Get my gun!! She is not going to make if far with my booty from my garden especially a German Pink Tomato!! Actually she was here yesterday helping me make peach preserves and frozen peach pie filling and chicken-n-dumplings and...... so I guess she can raid my booty if she wants to. This headless apron wearing hunter is Leslie from http://www.ce.mommy.blogspot.com/.

OK Now folks today is the day. It is finally time for me to turn my 5 guineas out to allow them to free range. You know these were my little peeps out of my very first clutch that I ever set on, I mean incubated. I am very very over protective of them!! I don't want to get my feathers ruffled today either. Leslie had way to many ruffled feathers and bit nails when she turned her's out at first. She lost 2 of hers before they learned about how to go out and do their job of finding bugs and making their way back home to the right bed at night!!!! See why I am stressing over turning mine out!!!! Wish me luck!!!

"Do the green pepper crawl"

Have you ever seen so many peppers? Not me! At least not in my garden!
They are sooooooo big. Let me tell ya I have big hands and they are as big!!!!!

I have never had this many (I have already frooze several and used many for cooking) and it has been years since I have even had a few. Last year the ones I planted didn't even have a bloom on them. The year before there were no plants around anywhere. So I decided to make up for it this year!! Good plan huh? Most of these are actually red or yellow ones but they couldn't hang any longer to turn colors. I will chop these and freeze them with my foodsaver and have them ready for chili and many other dishes!!! Hey already chopped too!!!

I just frooze 32 ears of corn and my Mom is going to bring me a bushel of peaches tomorrow. I also have 1/2 bushel of cucumbers to put up and a mess of beans to break and cook. And to think people ask me what I do with myself now that I am in retirement!!!!!!! They just need to come hang out with me one day ;-)

She lost her battle...

My dear friend Laura Leigh Burton, that I had mentioned only a few short months ago that needed prayers, lost her short battle with cancer on Friday.

I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful person she was. One of those "who once you are fortunate enough to have stumbled upon for some reason has enriched your life and made you a better person because of it" kind of people. She was truely beautiful on the inside and out. She had a work ethic as a nurse practitioner that was second to none. Her family was her world. She leaves behind a wonderful loving, kind and generous husband who was so in love with her that it was obvious just by the way he looked at her every day. Her oldest daughter, Laura Leigh also her namesake, is an exact replica of her mother. In her name, her beauty, her smile, her acts of kindness and generosity and her passion for her career choice. Her middle child Caitlin is also a truely beautiful young lady. She has all of Laura's wit, compassion, integrity, determination and kindness. Her son Christian, her youngest only a teenager, is also a great young man. Handsome, popular and a great athlete. Laura was so involved in his life making sure that he turned out to be the best man that he could be.

Laura was so proud of her entire family. I can't even begin to imagine the grief that they are experiencing right now. Please pray for them as the next few days will be so hard. Laura's death was so untimely at the age of 49. I will miss her greatly as will an entire community.

Her obituary can be seen here...... http://www.legacy.com/roanoke/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=131107530

Thanks for the prayers!

Amanda, this ones for you....

Now don't ya just love a good yardsale? Ya know the ones who don't know the value nor understand the beauty and versatlity of a vintage Fire King mixing bowl. I thought you would like this one Amanda, .........glad I found it first ;-)
My newest ebay find!


This is what we did yesterday!! Look Mom, no hands!!

Antique treasures...... and then some

I found this great little Costco rolling cart this week in antique store. It is great condition with only a couple little blemishes. I have almost zero counter space and I had purchased this to go in the rental kitchen but once I got it home I found that it was needed in my kitchen worse. It will be a pain to have to roll it away when we need something out of those cabinets but when I need counter space it will be worth it! I think I will be able to use my big mixer for a lot of jobs right where it is without having to put it up on the counter. I use it alot.
These are scalloped eyelet curtain panels from the same shop. They are just beautiful in person. Oh I really wish I had a good camera.

I have the perfect spot for these ;-)

This little guy I picked up a while back and have put off painting it. This is a vintage record cabinet for my collection of lp's.

These are before pics (almost forgot!) I am starting to shabby it up a little and put it at the Fairy's Rest

Incase you couldn't tell by my playlist......I love old country music from the 70's , well actually any music from the 70's. I have about 100 lp's and my dh got me a great little record player for Christmas a couple years ago. I just purchased a lot of 24 this week at my favorite antique store. They were priced at $75 individually and I got the whole lot for $24. I love to put on the records and listen to them while I am doing housework or just relaxing. It has been in my bedroom and when I am ironing I would pick out one from my collection and listen. I think it would get more use at the retreat by me and my guests if they in fact are old enough to know what a record is!!!!!!

I purchased this old feed sack at a quilt show a couple years ago. I have a friend who just purchased her first home and I decided to make her an apron. I was able to get both of us a cute but simple apron out of the whole piece. Not a thread of fabric was left. Good planning huh? I hope she likes it.

This little beauty is my grandaughter Morgan modeling my apron that I couldn't resist from Ross's last week. I plan to use it as a pattern to make some more and put this one in the rental kitchen. Don't make her mad with a rolling pin in hand!!

What a beautiful day!!!!

This image was taken in April 2008 but it has been just as beautiful here today. A tad warmer though. Probably 40 degrees warmer to be exact! I have been puttering around getting all sorts of things accomplished too. A lot of house cleaning. Laundry. Cooking. Go on over to The Fairy's Rest blog to see my vintage pillowcase collection. I laundered and ironed them today. They were just lovely hanging on the line while the sunshine whitened them right up!! Boy do they smell good now!!

We spent Saturday at the land getting started on setting the mobile home and hopefully it will be set this Saturday. I worked inside as much as I could while having no electricity or water or A/C. It had to be 95 degrees out there and the boys were working soooooo hard. Good job boys!!! They looked like praire dogs when we left, red clay soil and sweat, get the picture? Dh is bartering some work. He is going to clear some land for a friend in turn for helping with the set up and the septic tank. REALLY GOOD IDEA HUH????? That makes me soooo happy. I could really get into bartering!!! Maybe I could do some bartering with The Fairy's Rest. Maybe I could find someone in Italy who wants to trade a couple weeks here...............well don't laugh. Didn't you see the movie The Holiday!!!! If you haven't seen it you really should. Then you would know what I was talking about!!

Hope you have had a beautiful day in your little corner of the world!!

The Fairy's Rest!

Hop on over to http://www.shabbylittleshack.blogspot.com/ to see my latest project in the works!!