Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

With all the destruction from Hurricane Sandy in the news, it doesn't feel much like a holiday. Our hearts go out to all those who lost family and friends, who lost their homes, and livelihoods.

Here in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, we've had several days of rain, and a fair amount of wind. But overall, we were spared. 

But for much of West Virginia, and some surrounding states, this hurricane brought huge amounts of snow. SNOW? From a hurricane? Incredible!

Every time our area gets hit from a hurricane, it amazes me. We're so far inland. There are lots of mountains between us and the sea, either from the east or the south. 

But we do often get hit, sometimes severely as was the case just a few years ago from Hurricane Ivan. We had major, major flooding all around us, and I doubt there's anyone here who doesn't have a story to tell from that day, and the days that followed.

We feel blessed that we were spared this time around. Our hearts go out to those folks in New York and New Jersey, and to the many other areas who were hit so hard. We are praying for you.

And now it's a snowman

It's that time of year again............

Snowmen.

 

And as proof that just about anything can be turned into a snowman,

I present to you Exhibit A:

 

Snowmen silverware.

 

And Exhibit B:

 

 

Snowman sunglasses.

 

Hmmmm....

What else can I transform?

 

Gotta go.

There's a paint brush and some white paint waiting.



Country Life = The beauty of Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year.

I wait patiently, and each year I'm rewarded with it's beauty.

This year, God has granted us an especially colorful season.

 

It seems everywhere I look, the colors are incredibly vivid.

This is the view from our kitchen....I drink it in every chance I get.

 

I decided to take the camera, and get a closer view.......

The chickens thought I was coming for them.

 

So did the goats.

 

Sorry girls, I'm on a mission.

 

 

The woods await.

 

I headed in, but not alone.......

 

 

Billy never misses a chance for a walk.

(He thinks he's a dog. Don't tell him any different.)

 

 

The leaves were absolutely gorgeous. 

While I took their beauty in, Billy stood guard.......

 

 

While I looked for nature's hidden treasures.....

   

 

 Billy watched for nature's foes.

 

 While I admired our cows through nature's perfect frames..........

  

 

Billy decided to pose so I didn't forget who was most deserving of admiration.

 

 

Ahhh, yes....

Around here, Billy is King.

 

 

Lest we forget.

 

After properly admiring his regal beauty,

I went back to the autumn beauty.

 

 

 

 

And that's when it happened.

A snort.

 

 

 "WHAT WAS THAT?"

 

Don't worry Billy.

It's just a deer.

We couldn't see it, but it could see us.

And it didn't appreciate our presence.

 

Oh well, that's ok.

I don't appreciate the deer's presence in our yard either.

More specifically, the garden.

 

 

 I went back to admiring the cows.

 

 

And the trees.

 

And I could have stayed there for hours.

But, darkness was starting to creep in.

 

And while by day I feel no fear in our woods,

night is a different story.

 

When the coyotes start howling,

I want to be safely tucked inside the 4 walls of our house.

 

 

So we headed back, and watched the rest of the daylight fall

from the comforts of the front porch.

 

Ahhh, fall.

 

The Girl Graduate

This is fun.......

The Girl Graduate

Her Own Book

It's a memory book that belonged to a Virginia McConaughey.

She graduated from Southern Seminary in Buena Vista, Virginia

on May 24, 1920.

 

Much of the book is not filled out, but here & there she did record her memories.

On these two pages, she writes about the Senior Banquet, held May 19, 1920.

There's something about holding a book that was handwritten so long ago.

It really brings the past to life.

Vintage fun!

Some of what came out of the barn I showed in the last post

 

A wood wash tub.

As in washing machine.

Kinda makes you appreciate our modern ones, huh?

 

Four wheelbarrows.

Two with metal wheels and two with rubber wheels.

Perfect for your yard filled with pumpkins & mums.

Or flowers next spring.

 

I've even seen them turned into a fire pit for roasting s'mores!

(Saw that on Pinterest.... where else?)

 

 

Isn't this old rusty tool box the coolest thing ever?

Or is it a tackle box?

Hmmm.

 

 

 And how about this grinding wheel?

This was literally spoken for within seconds of us putting it out on the floor!

Very heavy!

 

 

A Griswald burner.

I don't know if it could still be used as a burner or not.

But I think it would look great on a porch with potted plants setting on top.

 

 

We're always on the look out for more wheels of any size.

The biggest one in the back (right side) sold within minutes.

 

Vintage fun!

Auction day

George and I went to a farm auction on Saturday. It was threatening rain, in the upper 40's and windy. Brrr!!! Oh! And on a hilltop......just right for the wind to cut right through you.

But when the contents for sale come out of a barn like this one, you smile despite the cold.

 

Isn't that cool? We didn't get to go inside the barn, though I would have liked to. Everything for sale had been removed and was laying around it and in a large yard up from it.

 

Looks like it's in the middle of nowhere doesn't it? Alas, it was actually right beside the highway...

 

 

I was standing in the same spot when I took the barn picture and the highway picture, so that shows you how close we were to the highway. I'm sure before the interstate system, it was a nice quiet farm. But now, you hear the constant roar of the traffic.

 

 Sigh.

 

Back to the auction. At first, we thought we had driven an hour for nothing. The bids were high. Way too high for our blood.

 

And one man in particular was bidding on everything we wanted. And getting it. We couldn't go anywhere near his prices. Usually when that happens, it's because we're bidding against an individual who is buying for his or her own collection.

 

But in this case, the man was a dealer. His customers must have lots more money than mine do! I don't know how he was making any profit when he was paying so much up front. Oh well, that's none of my business is it? lol.

 

But as the cold morning wore on, the sun started peeking through, and our luck started changing.

 

 

When it was all said and done, we had a truckload. And could have had more, but we passed on several things because we knew we were full.

 

It's all barn dirty and needs a good hosing off. I did a little of that yesterday, but the weather was even worse with a cold steady rain. No need to make myself sick playing in the water!

 

The weather looks a bit more promising today, so I'll be pulling everything off and cleaning it. Then it all gets loaded back up, then unloaded again at the store where the slow process of entering it into inventory, pricing and tagging and putting it out on the floor begins.

 

Lots of work involved, but the thrill of the hunt never gets old!

New fall crafts

Some new fall crafts I've been working on....

Instead of putting these scarecrows on a wreath,

I opted for barn wood...

I picked up an orange piece of fabric at a thrift store.

Very, very orange.

It was just enough to make some bowl filler size pillows,

which I decorated with some black paint.

 

This fabric also came from a thrift store.

Actually, it was orange curtains!

The boxes in the center are vintage berry boxes.

Complete with berry stains on the inside!

I had fun turning them and the small flower pots

into jack-o-lanterns!

And speaking of fun......

I wish you could hear the giggles every time

someone reads the slate on the left out loud!

If you think

I'm a Witch

you should meet 

my Sister

I ran across the other saying a couple days ago...

If the broom fits, ride it. 

Yep, another good saying for my pretty little witch!