Tiny Christmas tree

This is our tree this year. Barely 3 feet tall with white lights, this little tree has only wood painted red cardinal birds for ornaments. Set on top of an antique sugar chest in our living room, this little tree has become our only decor this Christmas.

Usually this tree is on my porch, but with packing in preparation to move to our tiny hunting cabin, Christmas decorating has had to take a back seat. As much as I love Christmas, it is still a joy because we finally have a contract on our historic home. We are praying every day that the sale will be finalized soon. I am so glad for this, but even more to celebrate the birthday of our King! I pray my next post will be from our little cabin in the hollow!  From there we will complete the log cabin we started years ago, which will be our next permanent home, just uphill from the hunting cabin.  Blessings to all for a joyful Christmas!

Our final Thanksgiving at our old southern Tennessee home was celebrated my daughter and her husband. As we await the buyer of our home to come forth, we thank the Lord each day for all the blessings we have enjoyed at our home and farm.  More than any, we celebrate the love and joy of our Lord, who blessed us more than we deserve. 

 As we move on to what we know as God's plan for us, I invite you to visit my new blog Hannah Gap Inspirations, reflections of God's love as we move to our country farm to complete our rustic log cabin we will soon call home.  This new blog will contain inspirational messages and Bible teachings from a Spirit-filled perspective of the Word, as we work to complete our cabin home and create a new life on Hannah Gap.  Join me on our journey, and see a sneek preview of the cabin where we left off five years ago.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!! 

Trip to Bush's Beans

A trip to Bush's Beans in Chestnut Hill, TN this past week was much fun.  My husband and I stumbled on it while taking a backroad to Sevierville while in east Tennessee.  It was truly a backroads trip, and so happy to find their cute store, museum, and the ENTIRE factory!  Even Jake, the Bush Beans dog, was a participant in the store museum movie.  Yes, we sat through it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was not aware

 the Bush Co. began as a packing company for Van Camps. but later became their own company. 

We enjoyed the little Bush camper trailer in the store, as we browsed through their many displays inside the original general store.  I love the wash tubs on the front porch because I just got some for the porch of our log cabin we are finishing. 

Our little journey to Chestnut Hill, with the Autumn leaves at their peak, just made our day. I was so glad we stopped! 

White Ironstone

White ironstone was a hit at the Springfield Extravaganza this weekend.  Although I would have loved to have been at the Country Living Fair in Columbus just miles away, I did not have enough stock on this trip to warrant the cause.  However, we had a great show, and many buyers were also attending CLF, and working both shows into their schedules.  With beautiful weather, my husband to help me, and a huge turnout, it was a super weekend.

 This cute possum belly cupboard with galvanized drawer bins sold right away.  Our furniture buyers were mostly there on Thursday while we were setting up, but this piece sold on Friday morning to a young dentist's wife who was looking for a cupboard for her husband's office.

 I love old bottles, and had numerous great antique and vintage bottles that enhanced several collections.

My walnut wallshelf that used to hang in my bedroom also found a new home.  The antique shelf was custom made for a display in a Shelbyville, TN drug store in the early 1900's.  It is always fun to know the history of an antique.

My husband makes the dish racks that can be hung on the wall or set on a table or countertop.  I didn't sell it this trip, but I did sell the old blue glass kerosene dispenser in front of it, as well as the white wall cabinet down on the bottom right of this photo.

This vintage handmade cupboard also left us.  My huband assisted two young ladies loading it into a small suv with the backseat down.  It was over six feet tall, but amazingly just fit.  They still had numerous smalls they put in the bottom cabinet portion, and then a chair and several other items on top.  I always said a lady can pack it home if there is a will to do it!

I sold half of my ironstone pieces.  I love it, have so many pieces, and still hate to part with it.  Now that we are on our downsizing quest, I realize it time for some of my pieces to be loved by someone else. 

A cute young girl bought all my letters, and another young couple bought my vintage lamp.  If she hadn't, I had decided it was going to replace one in my house and go with me to the next house.

Many more smalls, a great industrial cart, two tables, two wonderful hanging lamps, and several of my crochet hats, a wagon, signs, and mancave items were sold.  We had less than a third left to put back into the trailer at the end of the show.  A big thank you to all of our buyers, the nice folks set up on either side of us, and to the many pleasant people we met on our 3 day weekend in Springfield.

Jewelry at Springfield Extravaganza

If you are visiting the Springfield Extravaganza this weekend, Fri thru Sun Sept 14 - 16, please stop by and see me at booths 480 And 481. I will be displaying some of my jewelry including vintage creations as well as new silver and stone pieces. We will have a great selection of vintage and primitive antiques, with lovely white ironstone pitchers and platters. If you are looking for gothic lights, don't miss us; we have 7 matching lamps that came out of the old Jefferson Courthouse in Plymouth, IN from the late 50's. They are amazing! I will post a few more pictures. See you in Springfield!

Horse Pendant

This is my latest equine pendant necklace. I hand form the horse head with fine sterling silver, using heavy 18 gauge, then pound the form to harden and fix the shape. Next, I wire wrap with a finer sterling wire using black onyx, lapis lazuli, citine, and choice stone beads to complete the mane. With the ends of the wires, I curve and design the forelock, then add a jump ring and cord of choice.

Slipcover Patio Deck Lounge Chairs ? !

Ten years ago, when we built our pool, we bought these patio deck lounges.  I liked them because they had this comfortable woven rush style backs and seats that looked natural, but were made of vinyl. 

 

 We got four of them, and they have held up so well, until last year, when the front edges of all of them began to fray. I supposed it is due to the sun hitting the edge against the black metal, causing them to dryrot. I wasn't willing to discard them because they were still usuable, but were becoming unsightly. After considering different solutions, it finaly dawned on me what I could do to get a little more life out of them.

I still had a piece of this outdoor fabric from recoving patio chairs for my daughter.  I measured the chairs and created a pattern (which I had to tweak a little for the first one), then sewed double rows of stitching on the turned under edges.

                                  

When fitted and completed, I sewed velcro on the edges that would wrap around the ends of the chair, and fasten on the underneath.

I finished them today, and even though I did not repair the chairs, at least I was able to hide the sun damage.  In the mean time, maybe I can come up with a solution to actually repair them.  They look better on the patio now, and after completing them, I thought a little pillow of the same fabric would be nice on each chair.  I don't know if I have enough material left, but I'm going to check.

So, what do you think?  Patio lounges slipcovered?  Or should I say minislipped?  Whatever, I'll at least get another season, and I didn't have to buy anything for the job.  I had everything in my sewing supplies. 

Historic Farm for Sale

 As much as we have loved our historic home in Tennessee, we have made the decision to sell this year, in order to downsize.  This is a wonderful place, with all the amenities of a resort (swimming, horseback riding, trails, creek, farm, pastures, and country life), and it will continue to be a pleasure for a new generation.  We have wrestled with the letting go process, and finally decided this spring to do the dreaded.  I set up as for sale-by-owner listing, and acquired an MLS listing which appears on numerous on-line sites, then added craigslist which has a shutterfly link with over 100 photos.  Now we are waiting the arrival of the buyer!!!

I did a quick walk-around this morning and took several outdoor photos to post.  The front porch of this 1847 home has seen many seasons of several major eras of our country.  Weddings, courtings, and relaxing days have been spent on this same porches.  In the 1800's, the road passed right in front of this porch.  Imagine the horses and buggies that stopped here.  In mid 1900's, the road was "straightened" and moved about 100 yards from the house.  The other end of the house has a similar porch that faces the road.

 The back french doors walk out to a patio onto the concrete driveway, and to the garage.

 White picket fences separate the driveway from the pool area and keep privacy intact.

 The large 14 x 33 sunroom walks out onto the large patio which surrounds the pool and spa.  This is truly our outdoor domain, enjoyed almost daily and with many an eat-out with gathering of friends.

 Sliding doors to the sunroom and the wall of windows give the interior an outdoor feel as well.  Weatherproof speakers allow our surround sound system in the sunroom to be turned on for poolside listening.

 Of course the large screen gives the media end of the sunroom full season entertainment. A year round room now, this sunroom has a quiet heating and air system with an outside compressor and an inside air handler for comfort.  We love it, and live in it every day.

 By the pool is a natural style landscape, that requires little maintenance, with perennials for pops of color and pots of annuals for accents.

 The long concrete drive curves around to the back of the house with heirloom cleome flowers and seasonal perennials viewed from the kitchen windows.

 The antique iron gate to the poolside is a favorite we added in addition to the pool.

  

 Behind the pool is an antique log cabin that is under roof and ready to finish.  We moved it from another farm with the intentions of making it a pool house or studio, but just never finished it.  It needs windows and chinking.

 Heirloom flox graces the poolside with colored yarrow and lavender.

 One of two fish ponds, this pond is set in the courtyard by the rear drive, and has coi and gold fish.  It is always a favorite for the grands to feed the coi.

 Our large white barn has a wide center isleway, 6 large stalls, wash room tack area, feedroom, two large wings on each side for equipment or round bale storage, and a HUGE hay loft that we never have filled.  A 3/4 acre springfed pond lays behind the barn.  Numerous large paddocks are cross-fenced with white vinyl fences, surround the barn, and wrap around the the back and both sides of the house.

 Another large building, the old grainary, set slightly down from the house, has been reclaimed for a combination workshop and adjoining studio, each with separate entrances and adjoining door.  We added the deck and french doors off the studio so I could work with the doors open on pretty days.  Heat and air are provided in the finished studio room.

 White fence divides a paddock from the historic spring house that sits below the grainary.  The basement area over the spring is made with huge hand chiseled limestones. Above the basement is a room with handmade bricks, and log floor joists under the hardwood floors.  A low sleeping loft above the first floor is accessible by a ladder staircase built under the roof of the front porch.  This building predates any brick  building in our county. 

 Pots of Portulaca and petunias add color to the patio, and somehow survived the drought and heat spell (highest day 113 - not our norm in TN).

 The log cabin poolhouse begs for someone to finish and decorate.  It has an a built up insulated roof, allowing for heating and cooling apon completion.

 Even though my pictures were primarily an walk around from this morning, I threw in two of my newly refinished kitchen with white cabinets, antique pewter hardware, granite countertops, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances.  There is plenty of space in this country eat-in kitchen to add a large island.  We have a huge butcherblock, but we haven't put it back in yet.  I have loved the high ceilings allowing space above the cabinets for decor and collections.