Whatever Room

Do you have a room in your home that you call your" whatever room"? I do. This room is off our dining room and in 3 years has been home to many different "things". It is not big enough to do a lot with, so I have just filled it with favorite things. It was my office, but when you entered our home you could see the computer (where the mantel is now) and I did not like that soooo, out came paint and a quick mantel hunt and computer moving...all while Lee was hunting...and when he got home this is what he found. He now hates to be gone from home to long..just never know what he might find when he returns. What do you have in your whatever room?

The healing process is going great, just a little sore, but I think that is the stitches. I have lived on jello, pudding and applesauce for 2 weeks almost (except last Saturday...that was"my last meal") This ..you think...would be a great diet right??? Well, trust me it aint all that great...and pudding has calories!! I think maybe all total I have lost an ounce!!!LOL Like they say..at least I am happy and healthy......and here is hoping that you are also. Have a blessed day.

Robin

Scrappy Duck

This is scrappy duck, he is put together using some scraps from leftover projects. He will be tea dyed and stained up a bit. It's nothing like the rugs from the previous post..LOL. I am going to try and make him into a throw pillow.

I had my surgery yesterday and all went well. There is very little swelling and little pain, nothing some tylenol can't handle. Thanks to all who called and sent me e-mails to check on me, I really appreciate your kindness. Well, I am late posting, just thought I would say hello to all.

Have a blessed evening,
Robin

Rugs, Rugs and more Rugs!!!

Look at that detail...!!!

Lori's design....Amazing

This rug was beautiful

Toooo Cute!!

Hello to All! What fun we had at the Rug Fest. We saw some

of the most amazing rugs. It was so hard to pick just a few

for this post. Each of those rugs were hooked by hand, aren't

they just beautiful? I finally bought my wool cutter and a bunch

of wool for some of my own hooked "things"...notice I did not say rug!

I think I am to scared to try something that large!!

I want to thank Lori for inviting me to be a part of this event, I truly

learned a lot and met some very talented "hookers". I have my

surgery done tomorrow so I am not sure I will be able to "talk" to you

for a few days, so until then....Many Blessings.

Robin

Friday Ramblings

A very big Thank you to everyone for their concern about Sassy. She seems to be doing fine and has had no more seizures. I am going with Lori to the Va. Rug Fest tomorrow and very excited about going. I have never been and I know that there will be some amazing artisans there. I am a "newbie" at rug hooking, although I really enjoy hooking. For me though, needle punch is so much faster. Maybe one day I will learn how to be a "quick hooker".

With all of the talk about spring finally being here I thought I would share this WONDERFUL recipe with you folks. This is very good and good for you. The sauce is great to dip french bread into.

Vegetable Medley Salad

1 can French Style Green Beans

1 can small peas

1 can shoe peg corn

1 jar pimentos

1 cup EACH diced green pepper, red pepper

celery, onion

Drain liquid from can vegies and mix all of the above together

Boil 3/4 cup cider vinegar

1T water

1/2 cup oil

1/2-3/4 cup sugar

1t. salt and pepper

Pour over vegies and chill-best when chilled overnight or for 24 hours.

I got this recipe many years ago from my stepmother. Pair this with some

fresh salmon or even hamburgers. You can serve it with toasted

french bread and fresh fruit and have a meal. Enjoy!

Hiram went to his new home yesterday..Thank You, it was a pleasure to make him for you and I am so glad that you liked him. We just finished a torrential down pour here and I can see the clouds breaking up and the birds are now singing at the top of their little lungs...it's going to be a beautiful day! Enjoy your day and will post on Sunday with some pictures of the rug fest.

Blessings,

Robin

Remounted Needlepunch

I made this in the fall last year and decided yesterday that I did not like it. Soooo, I "un-made" it. I took tea and walnut stain and sprayed her down and sun dried it. It is mounted on a cloth covered board with a rusty wire hanger. Now I am wondering, is it to dark? It did not look that dark when I sprayed it but as it was drying it kept getting darker. I have rubbed a little cinnamon on it in a few spots. Oh well, you just never know how things will turn out.

Sassy was taken to the vet last night, she had a few more seizures. She is now on anti-seizure medication, we just hope that this works. We had to leave Tinsley "home alone" for the first time EVER...he was not at all happy. When I shut the door to leave he was howling at the top of his little lungs. He has never been separated from Sassy, not even when we board them for vacation...they stay in the same run. He was soooo excited to see her when we got back home, and he seems to be very protective of her right now...I just wish he would stop trying to stick his long nose down her throat. Hopefully the drug she is on will keep all seizures at bay.

This is very short today as I overslept this morning, gotta get going so I can open the shop.
Enjoy your beautiful day,
Blessings,
Robin

The Gift

These were given to me by Lori in celebration of Millstone's one year anniversary, aren't they pretty? Very simple and elegant. They are saying to me that spring has truly arrived. I put my wool out at the shop on top of the "bird house condo" and what the wind has not taken away the birds have. (I have noticed that the wind has taken away many price tags of our outdoor collection so I guess I will be re-doing that this week.) I find myself at this time of year with an intense wanderlust, the urge to travel and see spring as it awakens, to open the windows and let the fresh air in, to hang clothes on the line and smell that wonderful clean smell they will have, to dig in the earth and plant the bulbs and reap their beauty, I guess you could say that I am in awe of the re-birth of a season. I love all the seasons but for me spring is when we all come alive again and forget just how much snow we did receive. Our neighbors will come and gather in the yard and talk about the waist high snow removal and laugh...although we were not laughing when we were shoveling! We shall here the laughter of children playing in their yards and the wonderful(?) sound of the lawn mowers. Spring has sprung and we too shall come out from hibernation and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.



I am off to the home shop to finish up some eagles, sac lights and "whatnots", but first I think I will go and play outside with my puppies. Sassy..my jack..had a small seizure yesterday but she seems fine today, we are watching her closely!!!! And Tinsley..my cartoon character...well, he is just Tinsley.



Have a meaningful and blessed day,

Robin

To Paint or not to paint?

Your opinion matters! I added these stars to my steps when we bought our olde home. At the time I painted them red and blue, now I am wondering...Should I paint them white so they look more like an embellishment on the rise of the steps? The steps just looked so plain and I really wanted them to stand out. So....should I paint them white or leave 'em alone? Thanks for helping me decide.

Yesterday was a very productive day...Hiram was finished, ditty bags were made and I have created a sac light from old ticking. Today it's the old run of the mill errands to do. I will be going to pick up some more beeswax and pouring up some more "shoes"and such this week at the shop. I have a list of stuff that has to be ordered for the shop, hopefully I will get to that this afternoon. But if I don't...there is always tomorrow.

I am on my countdown until Monday, the dreaded oral surgeon appointment. But I know that this has to be done. Lee will be my "nurse for the day". Just wondering if he will dress in a cute little white outfit for me!!?? Probably not, but the thought is tooooo cute!

To each and everyone, have a great day!

Blessings,

Robin

Finished Hiram

Hiram was a commissioned piece that I was asked to make into a pillow. Well, here he is. He is thrown into the chair a little crooked, that why you can see a little of the material. Whatcha think about him? I am going to try very hard to make this into a pattern. We shall see what happens.

Spring has definitely come to Amherst, its so sunny here today, don't know what happened to the rain they were forecasting. I decided this morning to stay home today, it was just so yucky looking outside, but me thinks I may have made a mistake. You know what they say...shoulda, coulda, woulda...but I am enjoying being in the home shop and getting a few things done.

On a BAD note, I have my oral surgery done this coming Monday, or at least in my shoes it's a bad note. I broke the ENTIRE side of my tooth off. I am going to baby my tooth until then...it does not hurt...so I guess until then I will live on yogurt, pasta and jello. Good time to start the diet...right?!! I am scared to death of doing this, I hate a dentist. I am not going to be put to sleep, we are doing this with a valium and novacaine. I just hope that is enough.

Well folks, I am headed back to the shop, just wanted you to see Hiram and to wish you all a very blessed day. Until tomorrow,

Blessings,
Robin

Hiram is off the hoop...

Hiram is off the hoop and getting ready to be completed!! He is a big ole cat. I had such fun punching this one, except when my neck would flair up. The background is very large and took 16 skeins of floss!! I think he has personality. Hopefully he will be done by this weekend, but with the Rug Fest on Sat. it may be the first of the week.

Today is the anniversary of Millstone Mercantile. One year ago today we opened our doors. We have met some wonderful new friends and had so much fun, I am so looking forward to many more years. I want to thank everyone for their help and support, without you it would not have been possible.

Today is also the anniversary of a friend of mine....Jane... Happy anniversary to you and Steve and I hope your dinner goes as planned, have a wonderful time with your family!!! (At least it's not raining!!!)

Date night was fun...no cupboard...so the hunt continues, but we got some really nice old crocks, which I collect, and just some "stuff".

Our first day of Spring was amazing...you could almost hear the flowers singing and see the grass growing....yep broke out the lawn mower and mowed and mulched the beds at the shop. Looks great. We even planted some flowers...hope we do not have any late snow!! Well, I am off to the shop...but first to go and pick up a cake for our anniversary. If you are in the area please stop by for a piece. Again, a very big THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT.

Have a beautiful day!!!
Robin

Friday Ramblings

Good morning to you all!! It is the start of a beautiful weekend! Thought I would show you the table in my kitchen, this was "found" in the back of the auction house and no one wanted it. I thought it needed a home and Lee thought I was crazy! It had an enamel top on it, or at least part of it did, the other part had turned to dust it was so old and weathered. Soooo, yep I brought it home, took off the rest of the top and look!!! Oak tongue and groove top, all for three dollars. It took a lot of washing the dirt off the legs but I think it was worth it!!!



Changing the subject...do you give Easter gifts to adults?? If so, I am going to give you the recipe for "White Trash Mix". I have been making this for over twenty years...I have heard it called Monkey Mix also. This is what I give at my Christmas Open House, it really makes a lot. Put it in canning jars with some homespun or raffia and you will have a nice gift that is really good. I have received the empty jars back with a request for it to be "re-filled".

White Trash
In a heavy saucepan mix together

2 sticks margarine

1- 12oz. bag of chocolate chip

1-18oz jar creamy peanut butter

Stir until melted and creamy

Pour into a LARGE bowl...Add

1 Box Chex Rice Cereal

1 jar UNSALTED peanuts

1 box raisins (not snack size)

Toss to coat well. Dump in white trash bag (hence the name)

Add 1 box Confectionery sugar...tumble to coat

Add another box of sugar and tumble to coat again.

Place in airtight containers of choice

(I double my trash bag just to make sure )

When I make this I use an extra large pot, dump the cereal etc. into that and mix...less clean-up! This would be cute in the pastel zip lock baggies and put in an Easter basket also. Remember, this makes a bunch!!! It is a great t.v. snack...and healthier than chips (and dip)!

I hope that you all have a great weekend....it's SPRING!! Must be 'cause Lee has on shorts! This weekend is Millstone's anniversary weekend, on Sunday we will celebrate our 1 year anniversary....Thank You to EVERYONE for all of your kind words and for helping to make Millstone a success. Have a beautiful day!

Many Blessings

Robin

Sun Bathing

These are my "babies". Sassy is my Jack Russel and Tinsley is my little man. They love to chase sun rays that filter into the den. Sassy is almost 10 and is very laid back, Tinsley is 3 and wide open!! He thinks he is 10ft. tall and bullet proof. They are the best of friends. Poor Sassy can not do anything without her "shadow" following. He has slept by himself 1 night in a row...yes he sleeps in the middle between Lee and I. Both of them are spoiled rotten, but isn't that what they are for?
*****The show date for Summer In the Valley has been set*******

July 24, 2010

Early Bird from 9-11

Regular Buyers 10-4

Lee and I are very excited to return to Fishersville, we had so much fun and met so many wonderful people. We shall return with new wares to peddle.

And with that said, I am off to the home shop...much has to be done!!!

Just In....

.....An Aunt has the right to brag....Lee just brought me the paper and my niece is on the front page of the sports section. How cool is that? She is the star pitcher for her High School girls softball team and she threw a one hitter yesterday!!! They won (of course) and to top it off they beat the defending Group A Champions. WAY TO GO BULLDOGS!!!!!!!!!!

O.K., now I am off to the home shop.

Hope you have a blessed and happy day

Robin

The "Bestest" Books

I call these my "Bibles" They are truly great books for ideas and just to drool over. I just ordered Judy's newest book..The Country Home" due out this month. I would love to have the job of going into these amazing homes and seeing all the primitive pieces people have collected. The painted furniture has my heart. Where I live it is very hard to find...and very expensive if you do run across a piece. Jill's books are equally amazing, some of the homes and gardens that people have are just beautiful. I sit with these books almost every night (and I really do read them!!) and get the best ideas for furniture placement...although most of the time mine do not turn our like the picture!!! I have bookmarked almost every page, for somewhere on that page is just something "I must have"...know what I mean. I am on the look out now for an old hanging cupboard to go in the keeping room. I want to hang it over a dry sink that right now is being used as a bedside table, but will be brought downstairs soon. But before I bring it down I must get rid of a piece...you know the story; one comes in and one must go. I hate letting pieces go but I have no where to put the old cabinet. I have thought about putting the cabinet in my home shop and use it for fabric storage, we shall see. So, I guess you could say that right now I am on the "hunt", and there is nothing better than a good hunt. You feel so good when you have finally found the piece you were looking so hard for. I keep hoping one will turn up at an auction, which by the way is this Friday (date night!!!) but so far they have not had what I am looking for. They were close a couple of weeks ago but it was way to big; that cupboard would have taken up an entire wall, it was way to long.....so the hunt continues!! Here's hoping that what ever you are "hunting" for, whether it be piece of mind, the perfect piece of fabric or the "must have's" of your life, you find. Until tomorrow....

Many Blessings,

Robin

Family Gathering

Allow me to introduce the family. We have my parents, Lee and I the nieces and nephews, my brother and his wife and last we have my sister and Rachael. Trust me when I tell you, we all look better in person, I hate a picture. We all look soooo old. But we were together and the food was awesome.
I will be heading to the home shop in a while, I have some crows and make-do's calling my name, hopefully they will be finished up this evening. But, with the sun out and warmer weather I am thinking that it would be nicer outside. I really need a window in the shop, at least then I could look at the sun. Lee and I took yesterday and went antiquing, found a really nice display cabinet for the shop at a great price. Why is it things look smaller until you buy them? We like to have never got it in the shop, it's 7 feet tall!!! My ceiling is not far from the top of this thing!! It just did not look that big until we had to unload it, plus it's really heavy. That is the story of my life...buy the biggest and heaviest, strain every muscle you have getting it in place, decorating it so that it is perfect, and then deciding you want to move it somewhere else!! Do you know what I mean?LOL. Thank goodness for moving pads!! Here is a little something...

She Awoke...

Alive

Refreshed

Renewed

Dormant she was for so long

She Awoke..

Abundance

Rebirth

Radiant

She Awoke....

Giving life to all things

She Awoke.....

...She is Spring

written by me at 4:00am 3/15/2010

Many Blessings for a beautiful day,

Robin

Refreshing Saturday

Oh My Gosh, it's only 12:30 and I am pooped! Lee and I awoke this

morning at the crack of dawn and decided to Spring Clean. I guess this

was a good thing since now I can start taking some pictures for

Mercantile Gatherings. Of course with the animals we have it will not stay this way long.

I see in the picture my cat has already brought out one of her toys, a squeaky mouse. The above

picture is part of our den. Actually where the blue cabinet is hanging is my

"office". It was so nice of hubby to help, he cleaned all of the bedrooms

and foyer upstairs while I did downstairs. We did our Spring cleaning at the shop

last weekend, so other than a few windows...I am FINISHED...YIPPIE. All of this and it is

still one week before spring arrives. Maybe for once I can be ahead of the game. Trust me

when I tell you, that it would be a first.

Tonight is a family gathering at New London Steak House. My brother is in from

Texas with his wife and 2 children and we have not seen them in almost 3 years! So there

will be 12 of us for dinner...poor waitress! We will have almost all of the family

together, we will be missing 1 sister, brother-in-law and a niece. But it will still be nice

to have everyone together, and who knows when we will get the chance to do this again? I love

a big gathering, since most of the time it is just Lee and I. Our house stays so quiet, except when

it is play time with the dogs, the cat plays on her terms!

Well folks, I am off to go and get ready, leaving early to go by Michael's and the fabric

store before meeting with everyone. I hope that your weekend goes as planned.

DO NOT FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD

Have a great day and will hopefully have a "group" picture tomorrow.

Blessings to All,

Robin

Re-Potting

Good morning to you all!! It feels like we are having an early spring, and I will take that any day. I have spent the last few days re-potting the hens and chickens. They seem to be EVERYWHERE!!! They are in pots, hanging out of pots and on the ground. I wish I could finish my projects as fast as these things seem to multiply. The ones that are in the pot above are actually some of Lee's grandmothers and we transplanted them from his Uncle's house in W.VA. When we brought them to their new home we kinda just "put" them on the ground, they took off. Keep in mind, Lee is 53, and his Grandmother has long since passed, so these are old. I am sure that these are babies of the original ones. It just felt soooo good to get my hands dirty, although they do get pretty dirty when I am dying something, this was different. When I am recycling something from the past, whether it is flowers or a bit of cloth, you have to stop and think about it's beginning. Where did it belong before you acquired it? How many hands touched it? What was it's purpose? I think about all those things, when working with the flowers I could almost picture Lee's grandmother doing the same. When using bits of old quilts I am always wondering about the person that made it and for what reason. Was it made for warmth, as a gift or simply to use as a decoration? Our fingerprints do not fade from the lives we touch.

I shall leave you with that. Have a beautiful day.
Blessings,
Robin

Almost Finished...Sorta

This is Hiram...not Horace{told you I could not remember names} All that is left is background and then to make him into a pillow...whew, I have more left than what I thought. Whatcha think about the background color? It's an earth tone just a little darker. Thought that this would make him and the stars "pop" more. He has really been fun to work on.
Going today to find the dreaded bathing suit. Do they still make the ones like women used to wear in the 18oo's....they seem to hide a multitude of things!!! I really do not care about what's "in Style" cause what they put on them size 1 manakins just do not look like that on me. Go figure?!! I hate shopping, at least at the mall anyway. I love Goodwill and yesterday I did find some really cute capri pants...covering them thighs and hips!!!LOL. Do you find yourself holding onto the clothes you use to fit in? I do, thinking that one day I may wake up and be that size 7 again....THAT IS JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN! But I still hold out hope. I really should clean out my closet, but if I did I would have very little left. I figure that there are clothes in there for every size, and just like life, You Really Never Know What Can Happen!! I may wake up one day and be that smaller size....just not today.

Have a beautiful Day.
Blessing,
Robin

Happy Dance

YIPPIE!!! The Happy Dance can start, I finished my part of our taxes. I have my room back. This is no longer the tax table, she has gone back to just being a plain olde farm table. Noooo, I did not take any pictures of the "tax room" when it was in full glory....there were papers everywhere, even the floor had bits and pieces piled up. I am thinking about having a "Stitchn' Round the Table" soon with a light lunch and plenty of laughter. Just need to figure out a good day for it. I am leaning to do it in April. Maybe by then I can manage to have some fresh cut flowers. Well today is short and sweet, I have got a boat load of errands to go and do. I shall talk to you later.

Blessings,

Robin

A Little Something...

Hello to all....I just can not seem to take a picture, don't know if it's me (probably) or the camera. Could be the fact that Lee needed the camera today and I was in sort of a hurry. Anyway, the little picture was made by me. It does say Family, we love, we live, we laugh. There is a piece of vintage lace and a few rusties on there as well. The fabric...which you can't really see, is a civil war repo. And of course the frame has been worn.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, Lee and I went to the store, tore it apart and put it back together. But she just needed an overhaul. Today, I WILL finish the taxes. I just seem to keep finding receipts and having to calculate all over again. After that I will head to the home shop to work on some goodies for the next show and the shop. I have a lot of ideas in my head, it's just getting them out of there and onto paper that is hard. I have said before, I can not draw. It is a challenge, but it's one that I enjoy very much, especially when it works!! I can not wait to get down there!!! Well, I am headed to the farm table...aka the tax room...to finish up and then to the drawing board

Did you know: The first coin minted in New York, a copper penny, bore on it's face the date 1787, and the legend "Mind Your Own Business"...not In God We Trust.



Have a Blessed Day and keep Smiling,

Robin

Friday Ramblings

Can you see it? ...The shadows! Yep, it's sunny!!

The sky is blue and it's Friday. That also means that it is

Friday Night Date Night!!! Yep, tonight we have our date.

Yesterday was our 10th anniversary, however we did not

celebrate to much. We decided to combine our anniversary with

my big 50th birthday and leave the country in June!! We will be heading to

the Dominican with our cousin Lynette from West Virginia. Should be fun.

Your picture above is my back porch, or part of it. Probably shoulda cleaned

it before I took the picture, but as usual I am running late. That seems

to be the story of my life. One day I will get it all together, but until then I

will just enjoy running in my own little circles.

We have added a new room spray...Country Summer. Freshly

bottled yesterday. Of course it is not labeled yet as I am trying to learn how

to make the darn labels on the computer.....any help? The computer

IS NOT my friend!!LOL Maybe if I would have learned how to make nice

with it years ago it would have helped, but at my age when I was young there

were no computers!!! Well friends, it's that time, gotta go shower and get

ready to go to the shop.

Please take a moment to enjoy your day and your passions.

Blessings to you all,

Robin

I almost forget....Jan's birthday was Wednesday...We celebrated that

yesterday, however she is still YOUNG.

Happy Birthday my friend!!

Thursday Findings

Happy Thursday to you all.

Look what I found today! I just love the green granite ware pail!

She is a larger one and the flowers make it look like spring!

Could not pass it up...the price was just toooo good...ready? It was $3.00

The large crackle bunny is so very cute and on the right is a hand

painted recipe book. My grand total...drum roll please....

$7.00.

I was really glad that I made myself go out today...on cold days

I would rather stay home sewing or punching.

The bunny will taker her place in the center of the keeping room table

And I think I will leave the pail on the kitchen table.

Horace the cat is coming along, I have a pinched nerve in my

neck so I have to take breaks often. Hopefully I will be posting

pictures of him soon.

If you read the blog from Tuesday I talked about the barber poles and

was just wondering if anyone knew where the blue came from in the stripe.

Did You Know: The doctor that delivered Dolly Parton was paid for his

services with a sack of cornmeal.

Have a blessed day and a wonderful evening

Till next time,

Robin

Almost Finished

This is the double wringer that I bought at the show the other weekend. I decided when I saw it to turn it into a coffee table in front of the settle. It is almost finished. I have to paint the boards and I am going to put a long board across the bottom. I am thinking a white wash finish would be nice? As you can see (kinda) it still has the writing in the side. I just love it. I bought this from Sue at the Maggie Blair House booth. She asked me what I was going to do with it and when I told her my plans for it I thought she was going to keep it. I am soooo glad she sold it.
It is tax season (YUK) so yesterday was spent at the farm table looking at a bunch of numbers! Just getting stuff ready for the accountant is tiring. But she always comes through for us and our heap of papers we bring to her.(What filing system)
Today is suppose to be around 50 degrees..yippie!!! Of course they are forecasting snow tomorrow, but just a light dusting. I hope they are right. Just think.....Spring is just around the corner and day light savings time will start in just 2 weeks. YEAH
DID YOU KNOW: Barbers' pole were originally solid red with a little pot hanging underneath. The red was for blood since barbers performed surgery; the pot signified that they also "cupped" or bled clients. The white stripe, added in the eighteenth century stood for linen bandages. (I do not know about the blue stripe, perhaps we added that to be patriotic, does anyone know?)

Have a blessed day,
Robin