Dusting off and Autumn Beauty

I want to thank all of you Sweet Friends. For understanding and being thoughtful, encouraging, and nurturing.  There is something reassuring about going through a tough time and knowing there's friends out there to share in your worry and offer up prayers, even if you haven't met them face to face.  If there's a way to feel a little better you have made me feel that, my family is awfully grateful for your thoughts and prayers more than I can express....Thank you.

 I have decided to dust off for the time being.....to hand the whole worry of the situation over and look forward.  I'm focusing only on a recovery for my father...positive thinking.  I will keep you all posted on the situation. 

So I am back to share a few good things that I have experienced this past season.  On a more positive note....

We decorated up the Farmhouse for Autumn in fall's festive colors.

I turned another year wiser and younger.  My sweet SIL made me the prettiest (and tastiest) chocoloate cake evah...

my favorite!

  We enjoyed a tasty fall Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast....

We also attended the annual Pinelands Jamboree that we love.

Local farmers brought their beautiful bounty.

Local BlueGrass bands entertained us with great music.

The sweet local family we purchase our produce from is there each year and we LOVE their truck that they deliver in. 

Personally I'm a Chevy girl, but this old Dodge was just
too pretty!

Our area has alot of Cranberry Farms.  Here is how we purchase them....by the pound from an old cranberry crate straight from the farmer.  Love that color!

Some of the old timers brought their laundry...hehe.  They had alot of working antique machinery on display.  Thought provoking for us homemakers!

My mother and I are going to try our hand at the craft shows, my father will be helping to make some new things between feeling well (we are hopeful).  We are excited and I think it might be a positive distraction for all of us.  It's something that we've talked about for a while now and it seems like a good time to try, the income will help.

  So we did some research when we headed out to some annual Craft Fairs this year.

We attended another favorite Country Craft Show...our local

Country Living Fair. 

Here's one of the beautiful handmade quilts that was hung on display to be auctioned off.  I wanted so badly to win this one....

I've posted about this location in the past.  It is one of my favorite historical places to visit and serves as a pretty backdrop for the fair with all of the barns and out buildings. 

This beauty was way out of my Budget but if I could have I certainly would have...

I love the colors and the history of this old sign!

There's also an antique car show we love to stroll through.  I loved the color of this one.

This reminds me of an old picture.  It could have fooled me in sepia.

Okay, I seriously want one of these for my front yard....
for decorative purposes! 

Corn shucking demonstrations...looked like fun!

Another Old Timey Entertainer from the front porch of the big house.

I loved this sellers items and their display.

Ahh love at first sight.....I would so drive this truck!  It reminded me of one of my dad's trucks when I was a young girl.

This country band played some great tunes as we were heading walking around.

I'll be posting a few more fall things as soon as I can.  Thanks for stopping by and more importantly for all your support and prayers. 
I am so thankful for all of you.

Take care,

xo

Dee

~THANK YOU~

To all of the veterans and soldiers. 

We are so blessed by your sacrafices and dedication.

xo
Dee

And so.....

The past two months have flown by so quickly I have rarely had time to peek on blogs much less make a post on my own.  I have to tell you that I'm sorry I've been gone and want to thank so many of you who have left messages and emails of concern, you all are so sweet.  I have missed blogging and intend to get back to it when possible even if it is not as frequently as I would like. 

A few things have recently affected the personal time I have on the computer, the first being my adjusting to the new job and balancing family life with it and more importantly the second reason is the return of my father's cancer.  And so now I have returned to ask for your prayers....for my father and for our family. 

My father has been in remission for the past three years and recently discovered a lump which has now been confirmed as the same cancer he battled the first time around.  He will be treated even more agressively this time and it will be more taxing on his body requiring hospitalization for periods of time.  During  the holidays this will not be an easy way to celebrate so we've changed our plans and will be spending as much time with my father and family as possible. 

It is so difficult to see him weakened by the treatments, he has always been a pillar of strength for our family.  He has been laid off for sometime due to the economic effects on the mom-and-pop employer he's worked many years for.  Coincidentally, my mother was also laid off from her job of 25 years this winter only to discover the cancer the week following that news.  

Although, I am terribly concerned about their job situation there couldn't be a truer testament to everything happens for a reason.  It will be easier to get him back and forth for his treatments that are a couple hours drive from their home without worrying about her job.  There is obviously a bigger plan in place.  My mother has a very positive attitude about all of it which helps.  I know that this is what life holds when your parents age, but it is not easy none-the-less.  I know must faithfully trust that they are where they are supposed to be right now even if I don't like it at all and so we could certainly use prayers, the strength of prayer in numbers would greatly be appreciated!

The front porch above seems to be a place I sit to reflect the past couple of weeks.  I retreat there in the autumn evenings when my worries overcome me.  I can sit in a rocker in the solice of the early evening after the day is done with a warm sweater and watch the sun go down.  Even if it is only a short time it helps me to clear my mind and keep things in perspective.  Reflecting on positive things.

Something that has certainly become evident to me these past few weeks is that I will focus on gratitude this season like no other.  For through all of this, we can still be grateful.  Especially for the past three years my father was in remission and pray that he will make it through this once again.  Thank you for returning....I wish I had a more upbeat post but unfortunately this is what is on our plate right now.  I'll be back soon to share some Autumnish things that have still occurred amidst the troubles....promise.

Take care,
Dee

All Hallow's Eve

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late"

The second one said, "There are witches in the air"

The third one said,"But we don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run"

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"

Wooooo, went the wind

And out went the light

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

My son has been singing about the Five Little Pumpkins all month long..too cute.

A police officer and a pirate this halloween.

So much has gone on this past month, I cannot believe that October is over already!  I have been absent on my blog for good reason, I'm sorry.  I will be ready to share more the next post. 

I hope you all had a delightful Halloween!

Take Care,

Dee

Welcome Autumn...We've been waiting for you!

An Autumn Welcome Wagon...

It's official, autumn has arrived!

Take care,

Dee

A Fishin' We All Went!

A Fishing Birthday Party....

 for my baby....who is becoming a big boy too fast!

When I asked him what kind of party he wanted for his birthday this year he exclaimed a "Fishing Party momma!"  He loves to fish with his Daddy so I knew this would be a party that would really suit his interest and mean something for him.  It took a little planning, but it was all put together with very little effort,

and rather low cost and when all was said and done, I enjoyed putting it together!

So a Fishin' we all went!

I packed brown bag lunches for each child, with a sub, gold fish, and raisins.

Each child received a fishing hat, small tackle box, a cane fishing pole and candy "bait" for favors.

He has an old fashioned all boy theme in his big boy room so I plucked a few of his decorative items off the shelves and used them on our buffet table where the adults could assemble a sandwich for themselves.

An antique tackle box holds favor bags of "bait". 

A local park served as the beautiful backdrop for our party, so peaceful and serene.

Thats my Birthday Boy on the playground in his fishing vest.

It was great for keeping the children busy in between fishing and games like

"Pass the Bait Bucket"

The children each used a baited cane pole to fish for sunnies off the dock.

A few caught a fish....

While a few played with the worms.

I don't know who had more fun...the kids or the dads!

After washing up they sat down to eat their fishing lunches.....

And then we sang Happy Birthday and ate

Simple Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes, my sons favorite, with bass toppers my sweet SIL made for us.

and we sent them home with goodie bags of "BAIT"... make that kid bait!

Gummy worms, inside celophane sacks tied with a homemade bait fish tag that we wrote a short thank you note on the back of.

Well I hope this post finds you all well.  Things have changed here in our farmhouse and my family is still adjusting to school and their momma having a job there.  I love my new job, seriously, I do.  I am still trying to find a balance with juggling work and a family (my number one priority) which can be a challenging but we are managing just fine!
I will be working on some autumn signs and am almost finished with the fall decor so I'll be sharing in my next post.  Enjoy your week and Take Good Care of yourself!
XO
Dee

May we never forget.....

September 11th

May we never forget.....

Take care,

Dee

The School Bell Rang!

Wheweeee, this summer sure has flown by and I haven't blogged as often as I would have liked to.  I wanted to spend as much time with my children as possible before another school year started so blogging had to take a back seat.  To those of you who contacted me, thank you for your concern, ya'll are too sweet!  Well I have some catching up to do over the coming weeks but I wanted to share our special day first. 

Yesterday was the first day of school for my children.  They are each in different schools due to their ages so we had our annual Back-to-School breakfast quite early and then repeated our back to school pictures with each one of them throughout the morning.  This year I made a Stuffed French Toast dish that you can prep the night before and bake in the oven while everyone is getting ready, add a side of sausage or bacon....so easy!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

You can get recipe HERE

Each year, since they started school, they stand on the front porch in front of the screen door and pose for a photo. 

 It's fun to look back through the old Back-to-School morning photos and see how much they've changed from year to year. 

They wait nervously for the school bus each year....even though they are reassured they will do quite well. 

I am confident of that and they always do.

It is always so hard to see them go....whether it is the 11th time I have seen them off or the very first as in my son's case!  Little bit of tears this year....from me!  I also started a new school year this year with my children as I will be working part-time in the district, I'm very excited and loved my first day as well so this year their momma had first day jitters too!

I hope that those of you who sent your children off for their first day had a good experience.  To those of you who no longer have little ones at home, you must have some great memories made. 

I have a Back to School story to share with you...

This story took place about five years ago, and is about a mom and her two girls (her son was not even cooking in the oven yet) all very excited to start a new school year.  The father took the morning off as usual to see his girls get off on their first day of school and the mother was all prepared well in advance, very proud of that fact I might add.  The girls were bathed, clothes layed out the night before, bookbags packed with bus passes ready to go, she had it all under control. 

The next morning they all rose early, got ready and had their big BTS breakfast together everything went so very smoothly, so nice and relaxing.  Out the door they headed to the bus stop at the end of their driveway...and they waited.....and waited some more (afterall the buses' are on a new schedule and always run late the first day).  Before long cars driving by started slowing down and looking at us them.  A few even rolled down their windows asking if school started today.  We she assured them that it did and they hurried off in a frenzy and some just looked plain confused.  Surely she thought they must have forgotten that today was the first day of school and must be rushing home to get their little ones ready! 

After what felt like an eternity to the girls, a neighbor finally drove by and slowed down to turn around.  They pulled in front of us them and said she had just been to the school to pick up her daughter's bus pass and that school didn't start until the very next day!!!  What?!!!   

Well that silly momma somehow got the start day wrong and had her children dressed, fed and all ready for the bus.......a whole day early! 

The children never let the momma forget that story either and each back to school breakfast there after they reminisced about the morning they were a day early for the school year!

Anyone else have one of those stories?  Do you have any back to school rituals?  Anything you do that makes your child's school year more organized and eaier to manage...I'm curious to hear, do share!

I'll be back to read and catch up over the next couple of days, thanks for stopping by!

Take care,

Dee

. 

Swingin' in the Summer Breeze

Life was just a tire swing.

'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing.

Blackberry pickin' eatin' fried chicken

And I never knew a thing about pain.

Life was just a tire swing.
Jimmy Buffett

Ahhh....to be a kid once again....just a swingin in the breeze.

While time just stands still.

All is good with the world

when you're swingin' on a tire swing right?

When I was a kid we had one.  It hung from a large old oak tree in our front yard.  It was quite the attraction at our house.  We would swing like mad during the hot summer days, higher and higher we climbed with each shove.  My brothers and I could sometimes be found climbing the nautical ropes that the tire hung from about 25 feet in the air.

(Well that never pleased my mother!)

The stunts that could entertain a group of neighborhood kids during our daredevil shows.  Oooohing and ahhhing with each foot climbed, it was enough to take your breath away while you sipped your cup of red Koolaid.

The death-defying tailspin in which I would sit in the tire center and my brother would spin me at a rate of 50, yes 50 miles per hour folks....he,he. 
Okay it might of been 10 mph!

Twirling round and round, I would flip my head back to stare at the sky through the tree's canopy and my long hair would sometimes drag through the dirt...and I didn't pay any mind to it either.  That dirt washed out with each evening's bath.

Oh, we were never bored.  If you admitted to that, your mother made sure you had something to do. When you were bored you thought up stunts or shows with the neighborhood kids.  When you were sad you headed to the tire swing to do some thinking.  It was always home base too.  I often wondered where my brother hid that he was so quick to be waiting on that tire swing huming a tune when we arrived. 

We had a wood slat swing out back too.  For some reason that one just wasn't as popular though.  On the tire swing you could pile a handful of kids....ours was from a very large truck so it was quite big.

Life seemed so much simpler then.  Kids now are so interested in things with batteries and plugs. 

We didn't worry about that.  On a summer's morning you headed out the door as fast as you could throw your tennies on to meet up with the local kids in the field or fort and you planned your day from there.  The swing is long gone at my parents house and I will someday have to search through their pictures for an afternoon of my childhood of my brothers and I all piled on that old swing. 

My son found the joy of a tire swing while at his uncles and what a joy a summer afternoon could be.....It brought back a flood of wonderful childhood memories for me when I saw the fun he was having just swaying in the breeze!
Oh, the things we will remember!

Now onto an important announcement on the winner of the KINDRED SPIRITS SIGN GIVEAWAY....

I'm sorry I'm getting this up so very late, we had company this evening and well you know how it goes when you start talking about good times with loved ones....the hours get away from you!

I want to start out by saying how much I enjoyed the stories of your Kindred Spirits you have each found.  They were truly inspiring stories of women starting their family and getting support from a K.S. from across the country.  The grandmother one had never met, the women who have sent words of encouragement, support, gifts, money and prayers to one another.  Even the ones who have met one another and gained a family member or friend in person!  It makes you know the world is a much warmer place with folks like that around, even if you cannot physically sit with them!   Thank you to those of you who put a link on your blogs too.

After reading all the comments it would have been difficult to pick just one since I enjoyed each story told.  I also tallied up the commentors, posters, and customers adding to the grand total of entries...so I use the random number generator.  And do you know what happened?  It chose a single digit number...I haven't seen this before but it chose #2.........out of 95 entries!

Congratulations to Kathleen Grace

You have won the Kindred Spirits Sign....

Check out her adorable blog for inspiration and good ideas...

who knows you may find another Kindred Spirit there!

Thank you all for your entries and sharing your beautiful stories.

As usual, I wish that I could give each and everyone who comments here a sign of their own...but I can't, sorry!   But, if you are still interested in this sign for yourself or as a gift for your Kindred Spirits I will be extending a bonus discount of 10% off to those of you who took the time to comment and customers who have ordered this year.

I will be listing it in the Mercantile in the coming days so when placing your order let me know that you were a commentor and your profile name so I can adjust the invoice.

Have a great week!

Take care,

Dee

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart!  I like to joke around with him and call him old man since he's got a few years on me.  It's a running joke between us, we are quite young afterall, but next year he will hit a milestone birthday and we will be preparing him all of this year to keep him on  his toes of course!

When my children get older I get melancholy, but when my husband gets older I get silly and joke around....thought I would share just a few with you all....all in good fun and for a laugh.

A 'late night' now ends at 11 pm.

 About half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief".

 All your favorite music is in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart.

An "all nighter" means not getting up to pee!

Conversations with people your own age often turn into "dueling ailments."

It takes twice as long to look half as good.

 It takes two tries to get up from the couch.

It's tougher to lose weight, because over time your body and your fat are really good friends.

MTV News is no longer your primary source for information

People call at 9 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"

The pharmacist has become your new best friend.

There's nothing left to learn the hard way.

You and your teeth don't sleep together.

You are proud of your lawn mower.

You burn the midnight oil till 9PM

You can pinch an inch on your forehead.

You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.

You constantly talk about the price of gasoline.

Hehe!  I can't imagine what he has to look forward to next year....when he actually is old......(according to our girls)!  Yup, that's the way we roll here....

Dear Honey,

Happy Birthday and many more!!  I hope that you had a wonderful birthday weekend!  A lazy day at the lake, fishing trip, a birthday breakfast, a birthday dinner and a nap or two...you are so easy to please!  I love you!

xoxoxo

The Kindred Spirits Sign Giveaway sign up has closed and the winner will be announced late tomorrow.  Thank you to all of you who signed up and posted about it on your blogs and sidebars, you are the best!

Take Care,

Dee