In the Quiet Places.....

In the quiet places of this Memorial Day, please honor those who pay, and have paid, the ultimate price for our freedom.

(Note, you will need to pause the Playlist at the bottom of this screen to listen to this....it's so worth it....)

Please don't ever forget those who serve, and have served, and the families behind and beside them....

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, 1915

Sweet Surprises: Uncle Sam and The Crows

I love me my surprises....

And this week I had two of the most wonderful sort.

The first one was this primsically wonderful Uncle Sam that I received as the winner of Sara's giveaway at Salmon Falls Prims .  :o))))))
And what a giveaway it was!!
Besides the most wonderful gift, the best part was that Sara kept what the winners (yes, there was more than one) would receive a secret....
All she said is that it would be something Americana.....
What she didn't say is how amazing it would be!!!
(And, yes, she taunted and teased with photos of all the gorgeous crafts she was creating while she kept everyone guessing....)

Luckily, she used priority mail so we didn't have to agonize too long (Nod is a long way from California).....

My "surprise" was this wonderful Uncle Sam.....

He's HUGE!!! (Note awesome crow on his hat brim....)  ;o)

(My photography stinks, so I "borrowed" the above photo from Sara so you could see a bit better Sam's detailing.....)

Thank you SOOOOO much Sara!! He's absolutely, positively, delightful!!!

Like I said, Sara has been busy making some really fun Americana pieces....If you want a peek, check out her blog or her Etsy shop.  She has some fun, fun, stuff.....and has a crazy talent with wood and paint. 

***************************************

My second surprise came when the recycle basket I ordered from dear Ann at 1803 Ohio Farm Baskets arrived.

Of course the basket was amazing (you put your plastic bags in the large opening at the top, and can dispense them one at a time through the smaller opening in the wood bottom):

(Ann's photo)

But I expected that - I've seen and heard of Ann's legendary talent.  What I didn't expect was that, in addition to the basket, Ann also included a whole bunch of wonderful crow goodies she had been collecting for me.  How stinkin' sweet is that?!

An "olde crow" plate:

 
A metal crow hanger and a teeny, tiny, little sign that says "no crows allowed" (What???!!)  ;o)

A little crow hanger thing:

 

And a darling crow tin:

 

 Thank you so very much Ann!  Nobody - but nobody - does baskets like you do.  And I am so very touched that you would have been collecting crow things for me.  I truly love everything you sent me.  Now let the tweaking begin! :o))


In addition to her selling blog, 1803 Ohio Farm Baskets, Ann has a great Etsy shop and another blog, A Hole in the Basket Primitives, where you'll find a little bit of everything - fur babies, hooking, stitching, antiquing, and even baseball.  (And psst....in conjunction with the summer celebration her Etsy group, The Old Farmhouse Gathering, is hosting, Ann is giving away one of her incredible Ball Mason jar baskets.....)  


*************************


Happy Memorial Weekend!

Seeds of Happiness....

....all the way from Nova Scotia!  My sweet blog galpal, Miss Kim from Millie's Mats sent me a little package of happiness last week.

Although Kim (not to be confused with "Millie" who is actually Miss Kim's adorable little (but wee-bit-psychotic) furball) is an amazing hooker (errr....RUG hooker), she also has a mad talent with her thighs and knitting needles....

(You do do that with needles, right?)  (As for the thighs...hey - I'm not going there.....you'll have to ask her!)

Anyways....she knitted up some wonderful dishcloths and sent me a whole stash of them - in the most beautiful neutral colors.  I LOVE knitted/crocheted dish cloths!

 

The girl does some pretty work, doesn't she?

 

Kim also sent me this little "seed of happiness":

I'd never heard of these before - but so sweet!  They are little "smiles" made from leftover lumps of clay by Mark Borella, "The Seeds of Happiness Guy." 

Awww..... I love him! (The clay guy - not Mark.....although I might love Mark if I knew him....that doesn't sound right either so just never mind.....)

 

 Thank so much, Kim!!  You're a sweetheart!  Somehow you always know when I need a smile.  I've already broken in one of the cloths - and it almost does make that mundane chore of washing dishes a bit more fun (note: I did say "almost!") 

Kim is an absolute hoot....She's brought me lots of smiles over the past year or so that I've known her.  This one is an extra special kind of smile.  Thanks Miss Kim.  (And, uhmmmm, is it true you'll be celebrating a birthday on Thursday??? Woo Hoo!! Happy, Happy, Birthday!!!  I don't think my card is going to get there on time....) :o

Oh....and for all of you who might be wondering, this is "Millie" (Hope you don't mind my "borrowing" this photo Kim.....):

 

 

The Merry, Merry, Month of May....

  

 

(My grand-niece, Kayla, and her goat....)

A Tattered n' Torn Kind of Love

I admit it....I have always wanted at least one....

Even before starting my blogging journey, I had heard of this amazing husband/wife duo that created some of the finest prim wares I'd ever seen.

And the insidious lusting and longing began.....

But this artistic duo did not sell online....and they lived farther than an old crow's flight away.....
 So, once my journey began, I sat and watched as they posted photos of their wonderful goodes that were not to be had on their blog, and as their delightful wares appeared on the blogs of others fortunate enough to attend shows where these two set up shop....

And the longing grew deeper and more intense.

And then, one day, it finally happened....."They" offered a few things for sale on their blog, and it went from there.....The "she" part of the duo actually specially made two "special" gals for me.....

I'm most pleased ~ and honored ~ to introduce Eliza....an original creation handcrafted by the overly-talented (and way-too-funny) Stacey McClure of tattered 'n torn prims:

And Eliza's BFF, Jane:

(Some photos "borrowed" from Stacey as she is a much better photographer than I am....Gee, bet you can't guess which photos are hers, can you?)

And sweet Stacey gifted me with this bemusing angel hanger.....Perhaps she thought I needed a little "angel dust" to help me atone for all that lusting and longing that had been going on...Thank you, so much, Stacey.....

Like I said.....A tattered n' torn kind of love......

:o))))

Everything There Is To Be Known....

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge

 and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you,

 you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.....Winnie the Pooh