A Little Time Away

Life has gotten so busy these past few months....with a flurry of activity around the farm.... construction and farm work have made sewing a thing of the past but definitely something to look forward to. Hopefully once we have moved and settle in, gotten the harvest preserved and all the other necessities done, I will once again return to my sewing room for a little creative time.

Hubbs and I did manage to get away last weekend. Our two sons will be living together in Charlotte, NC. R will be moving in with A. So, last week, we packed R's belongings into our truck and drove 7 1/2 hours to A's house for a weekend visit. We left early in the morning so that we would have a little time to explore. Our plan was to stop in Virginia at the Natural Bridge, as that was something I had never seen. Along the way, we passed the most interesting sign....we had to stop and investigate.

Here is what we saw as we climbed the hill to the left of this sign....Pretty cool, huh? A life-sized replica of Stonehenge....made entirely from styrofoam.This gives you an idea just how big this place is.

We were awed by the grandeur and enormity of the Natural Bridge...carved out of the earth over eons by a tiny creek.

We had a wonderful visit with A and his girlfriend L. We played a little golf, toured a winery, and shared lots of laughs. A treated us to his famous hickory smoked ribs...what a cook he has become!! All in all, it was a great weekend...lots of driving, but well worth it!

Tomorrow we are heading to the beach just for the weekend. Then next Wednesday I leave for Washington State to visit my friend Grace and attend Farm Fair at MaryJane's Farm. WoooooHooooo...should be a blast!

A Day Trip

This past Friday, Hubbs had a meeting (educational) to attend in Baltimore. I accompanied him in the car...to provide some company. With several hours to myself, I decided to visit the Baltimore Aquarium. I thought I would share a few pictures from that visit. I had a great time....just me and my camera!

This fellow kept posing for pictures!

What an incredible world we live in.....Another illustration of how much we have to lose if we are not more environmentally responsible.

Just An Ordinary Day

Actually, today was anything but ordinary. I would say it was extraordinary! Brilliant blue skies and warm summer sun made for a great day of outside work. I thought I would share a few pictures of the day....

Have you ever seen a peony quite so brilliant?

Why, in all these years, have I never before noticed this rosebud type of blossom on the blackberry vines?

It was a perfect day to finish up a few farm chores...like hang this sign that I painted a few months ago by the barn driveway.

Pink Saturday

Well, it has been months since I have been able to participate with Pink Saturday. For those of you who follow my blogs, you will remember that my sewing room is packed and ready to move and most creative projects have been replaced with farm work and preparations to move to our almost completed log home. You can follow the process of that on my farm blog.

I did have hubbs take this picture, though, as I was running out to tend to chores....pink work gloves and pink water bottle in hand.... Even a farmgal can be in the pink!!

Thanks for stopping by for a quick chat...hope your Saturday is full of lots of wonderful pinkness. If you are in need of more pink....check out Bev's blog at http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ for a complete list of participants. And remember Think Pink!!

Missing You

Hi there! I just thought I would stop by my sewing room to say hello and let you know that I am alive and well. I have been spending my days in the garden and amongst the beehives. Spring is an incredibly busy time on the farm and most of my days are spent out of doors. Even rainy days provide a time to get caught up with work in the barn. I suspect that until we move into and occupy the log home, I will be spending most of my time out of doors.



I miss my sewing room so much, but have great plans for my new sewing room. In the next week or two the painter will be painting my two sewing room walls that are not log, and after that point I will begin to do some of the faux painting (wisteria) that will decorate my space. My sewing room theme will be "Feathering Your Nest"...with a nature theme for inspiration. At that point, I will share my progress with you on this blog.



From that point on, this blog will be dedicated to home-decorating as we set up permanent residence in our log house, here on the farm. I suspect I will return to sewing and crafting projects again by late this fall and wintertime. So for now...........we will soon embark on a journey into making a house into a home. Stay tuned for the fun...

Spring Projects

It has been so long since I have had a chance to post what I am doing. As of late, the creativity has been on hold. I have been spending most of my days at the construction site, and the rest of them catching up on household and farm chores. The light at the end of the tunnel is there, though, and I can see the future when chores are manageable, the moving is over, and my sewing room is decorated and open for business once again. For now, though I am concentrating on gardening and farm projects. Of particular interest is the new henhouse that I have just gotten ready. I have ordered 25 hens...an ornamental layer grouping. These should be wonderful showy chickens with colorful plumage and some with top hats and leg feathers. Their eggs will be varied. Here are a few of the girls...


I have ordered a Golden Campine rooster . He will look like this on arrival....

(picture courtesy of McMurray Hatchery)

And will grow up to look like this..... Getting beehives ready for occupancy has also been a major project this spring. I am painting 5 new garden hives and also enough hive boxes and supers to move my old "gals" into five more freshly painted hives. I have 4 more bee seminars to attend throughout the Spring also.

What time I have leftover I spend deep within my imagination...decorating the log home that is soon to be completed. At that point I will resume daily posting on this blog inviting you to a big open house reveal. What fun I will have with that! Until then....have a wonderful Spring and please visit my farm blog as that is where the action will be for now.

Wishing All a Blessed Easter Holiday!

Sustainability Fair

Friday I had the privilege of presenting my "girls" (the honeybees) at a Sustainability Fair at Messiah College. In the middle of a completely gray, rainy day, the sun came out for 3 hours and we were able to be out of doors for the fair. There were displays about water conservation, solar energy and sustainable farming. A small market was set up selling herbs, flowers, and pies baked with local fruit. Honeybees are always a curiosity for young and old alike!

I Am Still Alive and Breathing....

....and spending most of my days at the construction site. Our house is coming along nicely....but it keeps me busy. Unfortunately, I have had no time for creativity. It seems most days I am just keeping my head above water with housework and farm chores. I can hardly wait for the day when we live in only one place. My sewing room will be a magical space....that for now lives only in my imagination. Until then, you will find me.....oror

"Bee"ing Busy!

Well, I am home from North Carolina. What a whirlwind trip. Route 81 south through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia (oh my that state takes forever) and into North Carolina. On the way through North Carolina, I exited to find Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. Up and up a mountain road I drove and at the very top......I turned onto Bee Keeper StreetAnd headed back to the Store. There they had my order ready to go...So I loaded up my car and took off for Charlotte.By the time I was ready for the drive home, I had added an 8 X 10 rug on top of this pile of hive materials. I just happened to find the perfect rug for our loft at Home Goods. I had a great weekend with Andy and headed home to build my hives.
I added finials to the roof for decoration....And here is one of the five finished hives. Now I have to paint them white and then I am ready for my new bees.

Road Trip

I am heading South this morning. After a 7 1/2 hour drive I will arrive in North Carolina, at the Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. Here I will pick up my 5 adorable garden hives that we are adding to the Bee Haven Acres Apiary. I have been so excited for this trip. I am also going to pay a visit to my son in Charlotte. My camera is packed.....so pictures will follow.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Inter-species Friendships

One of the most amazing things to me is how animals form relationships outside of their own species. I love to watch Maddie, our Newfie, with the various animals around the farm. Her favorite is Lucy our farmhouse cat. Lucy lives in the crawlspace beneath our guest cottage. She used to be an indoor cat until she proved that she could not be trusted to faithfully use a litter box. So we moved her outside. Don't feel sorry for her, because her home has all of the creature comforts including automatic feeder and waterer, heated bed, and a second heater for cold nights. She has the run of the farm and endless adventures. What amazes me is the bond that cat and dog have formed. They are quite affectionate with each other.

You may wonder what I have been up to....since my posting has become sporadic. Lately, construction and preparation to move has used up most of my time. I am still working on finishing the Raggedy Ann quilt and spending a bit of time planning my new sewing room. Once we have finally moved, I will decorate my sewing room and have an "open house" on this blog. Then I will once again turn on the creative flow and see where it takes me.

For the rest of the summer, though, I will be spending most of my time gardening and working around the farm. I will keep you posted as to what I am up to.

The Key to Success

Over the years I have found that the key to success is to surround yourself with people who know much more than you....and then soak up as much of that knowledge as possible. Call me a sponge!

And speaking of sponges.....I think I have finally mastered the sourdough. Thanks to Ronna's wonderful sourdough starter, I just finished a batch of homemade English Muffins (recipe courtesy of my friend Autumn). You can find her recipe here.

So here I sit with butter dripping down my chin...scarfing down my second muffin...Yummy. Oh the taste of success is so sweet.

Many thanks to Ronna, Jess, Bonne, and Autumn for recipes, coaching and answers to endless questions!

If you stop by today for tea, I will serve you one of these yummy muffins, too! Have a great Friday!

More Tales From the Hive.....

This week marked the end of beekeeping class at the local community college. I earned a "B" because, as the prof explained....."You can't earn an A in a Bee class." Next week I head to North Carolina for a trip to Brush Mountain Bee Farm, where I will pick up my adorable garden hives and also some other much needed supplies. (A visit to son, Andy and also a stop in Southern Pines to visit with some friends and their horses will complete the trip.)

In preparation for full time beekeeping, I have done a bit more reading and thought I would share some of the interesting stuff with you.

Have you ever heard of mead? Mead is honey wine and is thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverage. It was the beverage of the very early Danes as told in the poem Beowulf. It was the favored drink of the Greek Gods. Yes, honey has been around as long as humankind...and it didn't take us long to figure out how to make wine from it!
Interestingly enough, the origin of the word "honeymoon" comes from a very old tradition. A newlywed couple would drink mead for their first month of marriage to increase their chances of having a son. Since the mead came from honey and a month is one complete phase of the moon......we have the word "honeymoon". Although I am sure that almost no one drinks mead after their wedding anymore.

In Celebration of Spring

I had a little time today to work on a Spring decorating project. I found chunky cardboard letters at the craft store and decided to decorate and embellish them for Spring....
Eventually when I unpack my belongings I will add a few birdhouses and a couple birds to the vignette.

Things that Keep Me From Sewing......

If there is one thing that can keep me out of the sewing room....it's kids....both the human and the goat kind. We are in the midst of kidding season on the farm. Sharing time with the "kids" is my favorite pastime. We were treated to a visit from Andy (home from North Carolina for a long weekend.)