Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Farmer's Daughter......

I know I have lamented about the fact that there are no primitive shops in Nod....But, 'tis not the whole truth....There was one shop in the next town nearest to us that I dearly loved, but it closed when the building in which it was located was sold. This past fall, however, it reopened in a new location....
It's called "The Farmer's Daughter," and is one of my all-time favorite haunts.
I'm sharing some photos of the shop from a few weeks ago (note green grass and absence of snow.....) I apologize for the Christmas theme so late, but I truly meant to do this weeks ago.....

















Gloriously, hopelessly, primitive....nothing else.....

The Farmer's Daughter is located at:
630 Forest Street
Wausau, Wisconsin 54403

Generally, it is only open Saturdays, but the lovely proprietress, Kathy, is happy to make appointments and will accommodate you by opening when she can just for you.  She can be reached at 715-845-6366.  Tell Kathy I sent you - better yet, let me know you're coming and I'll meet you there! 

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Wishing you all the joy and peace of a happy heart throughout the new year.....

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas In My Heart.....

I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.  Charles Dickens


Merry, Merry, Greetings My Friends!
I hope this post finds you still imbued with the Christmas spirit, and your heart still filled with the melody of the season.

I confess I have fallen hopelessly behind in blogging, with no rational hope of catching up.  I have tried to visit you all, although sometimes without time for a comment....But I have wrapped your Christmas wishes about me like a shawl and they have warmed my spirit and my heart.

 I have struggled a bit this year finding that joy and spirit that in other years so eagerly and readily overtook me....It has been a strange year in many regards. "Strange," at times, in an awkward and unwelcome way, and at others, in an amazing and heart-warming way. And at this holiday time, more than ever, I was touched with kindnesses that truly filled my heart.

One of these many kindnesses arrived a few short days before Christmas....when I was running woefully short of "merry." A HUGE box was delivered to my doorstep from someone I've only relatively recently met, but I could swear one of my multiple personalities and her just might be twins from different mothers....dear, sweet, Shirlee from Farmhouse Ponderings.  Inside was my very own Christmas:


Can you believe it? And what amazing gifts were inside those wonderfully wrapped packages.....

Some of Shirlee's handmade beeswax ornaments - scented with spiced berry and dusted with a fragrant spice mixture....each one different:


These darling little prim candles on clothes pegs:

Little saltbox tart warmers (smelling of yummy cranberry) in the sweetest little ditty bag:

A Swan Creek candle (Spiced Oatmeal Cookies scent...YUMM):

A sweet little prim flicker candle with pan and "fixins'":

An adorable little painted sled:


And, yup, there's more.....

I LOVE this "Silver Bells" pillow (that has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs, and when I was living in Spain and couldn't come home for Christmas, my little brother tape recorded it and sent it to me....):


Gifts that would melt any Grinch's heart....but there was still one more, very special gift.....handmade by Shirlee....don't know how or why, but it was the one I opened last:

 

A wonderful, wonderful, "Gone Sledding" pinkeep that Shirlee stitched...and finished with her sweet little chenille trim finish....LOVE it!! :o)))

It truly took me the better part of an hour to open each gift, wipe up the drool, coddle it, and then repeat, and repeat, and repeat.  At the end of the time, I sat there, surrounded by pretty papers, amazing gifts, with my favorite Christmas songs playing on shuffle, and a thought that kept circling my brain....Why? WHY had she done this?  After all, I didn't really even know her THAT well or that long....But then, I thought of Shirlee's huge heart, and I thought of all the other incredible gifts I had just recently received from the holiday hearts of Lil Raggedy Angie, Robin from The Primitive Hutch, Karen from My Colonial Home, Tricia from Hillcrest Home Prims, Pam from basketsnprims, Mary from Prairie Homeplace, and the ever-gifting Mrs. Parker from Parker's Paradise, to name a few (and that's NOT even mentioning any of the very many and amazingly wonderful and generous giveaway gifts I've been blessed to win); and like Ebeneezer, who awoke to find Christmas in his heart, or perhaps the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes that day, I knew why. And it covered all my cold parts in a warm blanket of Christmas.
Thank you, my dearest Shirlee.....I love each and every gift - it's as though a true and well-known friend chose each and every one.  There's more than a little bit of angel in you.
   
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Too mushy?
Ok....I'll move right along here....

Being the behind kind of gal I am these days, I'm also once again behind in paying my propers....(for those of you not schooled in that parlance, that means saying "thank you....")

A few weeks ago, Tonya (better known as "The Farmer's Wyfe") from Pumpkin Pie Painter had a contest of sorts for anyone who could guess the book that she chose for her Farmer to read when they were dating.
Well, I didn't guess correctly, but I was actually a winner in her "consolation" drawing and the eve before Christmas eve, a wonderful package was delivered to my door.....

Containing...

...this amazing birdhouse gourd ornament made by Tonya:
 (Wish my photo were better - it's truly beautiful....the leaves are dimensional, the painting detail is gorgeous and there's wonderful glittery highlights....)

And....this sweet little musical ornament: 

And this GORGEOUS scarf!!!

You would not believe how soft it is...and, it happens to match my coat perfectly:

How cool is that???
Thank you SO MUCH Tonya! Each and every one of your gifts is truly special to me and each has filled my heart with joy. (Let me tell you, you have some AMAZING consolation gifts....yes...I'm more than consoled!!) 
If you have time, visit Tonya at Pumpkin Pie Painter .  She not only has an incredible talent for crafting and painting, but for the written word as well. She just recently posted an amazing story regarding the gift of a doll....and if it doesn't melt your heart, you're channeling the Grinch even more than I was....

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So....that's been this Crow's Christmas.....
We had a very quiet and understated holiday and it was good in its way.
For those who have asked (and to whom I have not been very responsive), thank you for your inquiries about my son. He is doing well and getting about. Unfortunately, the surgery apparently didn't correct the issue, as his knee is continuing to dislocate. His therapist has been trying to contact the surgeon, but with the holidays, these attempts have been futile. We have a follow-up appointment on January 4th and will know more then.
As for me, I'm brushing up on the theories of jurisprudence, equitable maxims, alternative dispute resolution, the protocols of APP citations, and other fun things.

Wishing you magic and joy and the hope of a new year.....




Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Joy....

Merry, Merry!!
Sorry to post and ditch, but I think I'm so far behind I think I'm even behind for next Christmas already.  However, I've received some incredible gifts that have brought me such joy and I need to thank some people....Somehow, without the thanking, the gift does not seem complete.....

I want to start by thanking Mona from My Old Crow Primitives.  I won her recent holiday giveaway and WOO HOO - it was a truly special giveaway!! It came packaged so adorably I almost wanted to just put them under my tree and look at them for a few days.....ALMOST.
(Come on, you know me better than THAT!!)
  
I knew, from the photo on Mona's blog, that they were going to be good....but OH MY HECK!!!
Joy....PURE JOY!!

The most darling primitive black Santa in a mustard coat and hat....And, oh yeah, he's MINE!! YIPPEE!!  :o))))

And this precious, precious, pumpkin pinkeep:
 Love me my pumpkins, I do, I do!! And the detail and exquisite craftsmanship is incredible! 

I also received this sweet little liberty star....wish you could see the wonderful little cross-stitching all around the edges that Mona added:


Pretty incredible, huh? But...what truly astounds me is the amazing, amazing, workmanship in these things. Mona's work is like nothing I've seen...absolutely incredible.  Thank you, Mona, from the very bottom of my holiday heart....Each of these creations is a treasure to me and I'll have a little of you to bless my home all year long....

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I have also received several gifts in the mail....Wow. I think I will be carrying around some extra bags of guilt soon, as I got nary a card in the mail....and yet, I have been blessed over and over again by some of the most generous and caring people I've never met.....

First up:

A very, very, special gift from one of my dearest blogging buddies, Robin of The Primitive Hutch.  Wow....I really don't know what to say - except, Robin - you are amazing. And you touch my heart over and over again...in the most special of ways. You are so gifted and talented - and so generous, kind, and giving. When I grow up, I wanna be like you.

Robin sent me a wonderful package....with neatly wrapped packages inside:
 
And inside those neatly wrapped packages, these most wonderful treasures:
A "Lil Bean" votive and candle (in "coffee cake" scent), some Lindt Lindor Truffles (oh yummm!)....

The cutest dang Santa:

And this precious little "Christmas Joy" pinkeep:
Finished ever so neatly with little cross stitches all around the edge....ADORABLE! You really do some incredible work Girlfriend....

Thank you so very much, my friend....These are very special gifts to me....and are wonderful tokens to remind me always of the larger gift of your amazing friendship.....

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Next Up I received a box...and a mean a BIG box....from the sweetest Lil Raggedy Angie. Like SHE doesn't have enough of her own going on in her lil raggedy world - but she knew I was channeling the Grinch - or Ebeneezer - or perhaps both as of late, and decided to do some channeling of her own:



A little Cindy Lou Who Christmas in a box a la Raggedy style:
 And that isn't even all of it....I see I'm missing the little tags Angie included, and my special package of "cheer" from my darling kitteh Fudge...

But a few close-ups:
  Prim peppermint stick bundle...

Beeswax stars, snowman and birdie bowl fillers/ornies.....

 Candle sconce and candle....

 Prim burlap stockings.....(skinny - just in case I'm still channeling The Grinch come Christmas....)

A Raggedy Snow Dude.....

Thank you my dear lil raggedy...you're the bestest....
Thanks to you, there will be Christmas in the Nest....one way or another.... :o)

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I also received this wonderful beeswax Santa from the lovely and talented Pam at Baskets n Prims:


Pam is a incredibly multi-talented sweetheart....she makes beautiful baskets, stitcheries, and wax goodes....plus, they don't come much sweeter....She has a great selling blog (Primitive Basketcase) too....check it out (addiction likes company you know)....Thanks so much Pam...I love him!!

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And....lastly, but not leastly, I received this sweet little mitten ornament, and a beautiful card, from Tricia at Hillcrest Home Prims:


Thank you Tricia!!! I will smile and think of you every time I see this sweet little mitten....

And speaking of trees....yup....got one up finally:

 (Note: No topper...long, long, story....And only one gift under it - but, hey, it's wrapped....)

And a few outdoor decorations:



It's snowing now....light, gentle, and soft....I know so many of you are wishing for a white Christmas....Wish I could bottle this magic and send you some....truly.

Don't know when I'll be able to pop back in here, so I'll leave you with my Christmas wish for a season-full and more of blessings, love, joy and magic.....