Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to you! Do you have big Halloween plans? Our Halloween plans are.......um......well......OK, we have no Halloween plans this year. And we're fine with that.

While lots of you may have been dressing up for Halloween parties this past weekend, we were splitting firewood. Lots of firewood. We told Kevin he may have to quit answering his phone - every time it rings, he gets another order. Just kidding on not anwering his phone, we're glad he's getting so many orders. And, we're happy to help him out. A friend was testing our new splitter, and he said to me, "I bet you never thought you'd be splitting firewood." On the contrary, I love splitting firewood, and have since I was a teenager.

By the way, if you're looking for a splitter, we highly recommend the Splitfire wood splitter. It splits in both directions, and has a hydraulic lift to help lift the logs and act as a work table. It's more expensive than some, but worth every penny. I should have taken a camera, but we were too busy for that.

Back to Halloween - we live back a lane (the one in the picture at the top of the blog), and rarely get trick or treaters. In fact, it's been several years since we've had any at all. Every year, I buy lots of candy just in case, then we end up eating all of it. Since we are trying to lose weight instead of gaining it, I decided this year not to buy any candy. So.......we are hoping we don't get any trick or treaters!

But - if you are taking your little ones out trick or treating tonight - I hope you have as much fun as we did when Jessica and Kevin were little! Lots of good memories of those days!

My OOPS Moment

When digging around for stuff to paint snowmen on, I ran across an old baking pan that was black, with white specks. White specks like snow! Hey! That would be fun to paint on!

So, I did. I painted a snowman on it, added a couple words, 4 stars and some snowflakes. Good enough! I took it, and several other things outside (in the cold!) to apply some spray varnish. I sprayed everything else first, and in doing so, emptied the can.

So, I ran back inside to get another can of varnish. I grabbed the first one I came to, and started shaking it as I went back out the door. I did notice the can was shaped a bit different at the top, but I just figured it was a new style of can, and didn't think anymore about it.

As soon as I got back outside, I started spraying the snowman painted on the black baking pan. I made a few sweeps across it before I noticed something odd. The clear varnish looked dirty. Actually, the clear varnish had a definite black tint. OH NO! I stopped and looked closer. The clear varnish I was using wasn't clear varnish at all! It was black spray paint!

Well, too late now...........I had no choice but to keep going. I sprayed a light coat of black over the whole thing. It actually worked out rather well.........now it just looks like the snowman was baked on. VERY baked on!

Look closely at the snowman, and you will see the black "smudges". And those star in the corners? They were gold before.............well, before My Oops Moment.

The moral of the story? Put the caps back on the cans before putting them away. You see, I had used the can of black spray paint before - but I didn't put the cap back on. And, when I put it away, I put it with the spray varnish instead of the spray paint. OOPS.

I know it's early but......

The weather forecast is calling for flurries this week!

Aack! It's not even Halloween yet.

Well, as much as I would like it to still be early summer...

it's not.

Time marches on, Christmas is coming...whether I want it to or not.

So.............

A Christmas preview is out on the floor.

It's actually been out for a few weeks now,

and I'm quite surprised at how much of it has sold already.

I've never had Christmas out this early before,

I guess that has been a mistake in past years!

I was hunting around for a tree topper,

when I thought of this small red pip wreath with stars.

What do you think?

Barnwood signs and firewood

We had a very busy weekend at our house!

To make a long story short, we worked on firewood and putting a water line from Kevin's house to the chicken coop. Neither job is complete yet, but both have a good start.

If you live in the Moundsville, Cameron, Wheeling area of WV, and need firewood, let me know. Kevin is selling it by the truckload. Sorry, he can't cross into OH or PA with it. There's laws against that!

In between those jobs, I cut up a large pile of barnwood that was sitting smack dab in the spot where the water line was going to go. What will I do with all that barnwood? Well........

Lots of it will become WV signs. I have several other ideas for it as well. Now....I just have to find the time to work on it!

Antique umbrella

How cool is this?

We picked up this old umbrella at an estate auction. It's made from...are ready for this?...paper!
(Guessing it was a sun umbrella, rather than a rain umbrella!

How old is it? Well, in my best estimation, I'd say REALLY old! It's brittle, yet much stronger than you would expect. It will almost open all the way, but I'm afraid to push it. As you open it, you can hear it protesting, so to speak.

I pushed it open as far as I dared, then put a clothespin on it to hold it open. It's hard to see in the picture, but up in the furthest recesses, there is some whitish mold. I have no idea how to clean it without damaging the paper umbrella, or the skinny wood bracing.

This close-up shows the Japanese writing on the inside. Or is that Chinese? I'm going with Japanese.

Whatever..........I just know it's a really cool treasure!

Country Life = Need some eggs?

If you walk toward the back of the store, you'll see this.....

We knew Jessica's college refrigerator would come in handy again!

Once you're closer, you can read the sign on the front...

Feel free to open the fridge, where you'll see this...

Eggs from our own chickens!

And what color would they be?

They would be brown...

You may ask why they don't sit "just so" in the carton.

That's because they aren't all uniform in size

like you find in the grocery store.

Now that we have our own, we question why they

 always look so perfect in the grocery store!

Maybe a little too perfect.

The eggs we sell are only a few days old at the most.

We are truly selling FRESH eggs!

Wonder how old they are before they reach the grocery store?

We sell them for $2.00 a dozen.

Thanks girls!

Oh, by the way...

how many eggs do you think we get each day?

Usually 23 - 25!

From 29 hens!

29 very busy hens!

If you have any egg cartons laying around,

we'd love to have them!

Country Life = Fallen Leaves

Last week was a terrible week. One in which we had to say goodbye to 2 friends - a husband and wife whose lives ended in tragedy. Sadness and disbelief have been sitting heavily on our shoulders. Normally, fall is my favorite season, but this year, the vivid colors of the leaves are tinged with sadness.

But yesterday, we decided to spend some time in the woods. We needed to get away from our thoughts for a while. So we headed to my father-in-laws farm.

The leaves aren't nearly as pretty this year as in other years. Maybe it was the weather. We had an extremely wet spring, followed by a very hot summer, and now we're in the midst of too much rain again. 

The colored leaves are coming in stages. Some turn, then the rains and winds knock them down before the next ones turn. As a result, we aren't getting the full blast of color.

But the beauty is still there - we just have to look a little harder for it.

I've always felt a deep connection to the woods. Sitting in the midst of the woodlands is where I find my refuge. When I was young, many a moment of teenage angst dissolved in the woods that my parents owned. The first place I would take a new friend was the waterfall that we lovingly called Grandpa's Falls, in memory of my grandfather who had owned the land before my dad did.

Just walking through the woods you see the big things - but when you sit for awhile, you start seeing the smaller treasures.

I know people who are afraid of the woods, but frankly, I just don't understand that. They are so full of peace. I can't walk in them without feeling God's presence.

Other than my families voices, my favorite sound in the world is walking through the fallen leaves. We spent part of the afternoon splitting firewood, but first, I took the camera and walked through the leaves. George smiled and said, "are you here to work or walk in the woods?" I said, "there's crunchy leaves"! And he smiled again, knowing that I was in my haven. And when we were done splitting firewood, he said, "let's go for a walk".

I told him once that if I my mind goes when I'm older, just bring me the fallen leaves of autumn, let me crunch them in my hand, and smell their fragrance. That very well may be the last thing that would reach me.

Ahhhhhh..........Autumn. Thank you God, for giving us autumn.

Emotional times

It's been a very emotional week.

A happy occasion...
My sister's birthday is today. Happy birthday Jo! I love you!

The anniversary of a terrible...and fantastic day...
Terrible in that 3 years ago today, our son Kevin was stung by a bee, and almost died. Fantastic in that he survived.

A joyous occasion...
Jessica was home for the weekend, and we and a friend got to visit with my niece and her newborn baby boy.

A tragic loss...
While there, we got the terrible news that we all had lost 2 good friends, a husband and wife whose life ended in tragedy. We, and the many others who loved them are having a difficult time processing what happened.

We don't understand, and probably never will. We're trying to focus on better times, on the many happy memories.

Our shop will be closed Thursday so we can attend the funeral services. May God be with the families and the many, many friends of our good friends who lost their lives too soon. We will love and miss them always.

20% off sale for October

This handmade (by me!) pumpkin set is the door prize for October. To win, all you need to do is stop in the store today or tomorrow, sign your name to a little slip of paper, drop it in a can, and hope you get a call from me next Monday saying you were the lucky winner.

And while you're in the store, you may as well take advantage of the sale!
20% off ALL regular prices!

Friday 9:30 to 5:00
Saturday 9:30 to 2:00

There's still lots of fall to choose from. Most of it is handmade. There's even some real pumpkins grown in our garden!

And, you can take a peek at Christmas, it's making it's debut around the mantle. 20% off.

Hope to see you this weekend!

October Sales Event

You have 2 chances this week to come in 

and save 20% off ALL regular prices in the store!!!

Friday 9:30 to 5:00

Saturday 9:30 to 2:00

Why?

It's our First Friday & Saturday Event.

After days and days of gloomy weather,

we're finally getting the sunshine and warmer temps

 that showcase the changing leaves.

What a beautiful month October is!

Take a drive, enjoy our West Virginia scenery,

and when you need to get out and stretch your legs,

stop on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville, come in and say hi!

We would love to see you!

October equals Pumpkins

I love fall - maybe I mentioned that before.

Look how thick the wood is on the pumpkin above.

An advantage of owning our own saw mill!

And, guess what the brown & orange pumpkins are made from?

An afghan I picked up at Goodwill!

Another pumpkin from the thicker wood.

The witch on the broom has been one of my

 favorite painting projects this fall.

Always thankful for a good fall harvest!

From thick to thin...the ornaments are made from luann plywood

that I cut out on our bandsaw.

How about a pumpkin on a shovel?

We never throw away an old shovel that has lost it's handle!

Happy October!!!!!