Monday, August 30, 2010

Lucky Enjoys A Swim


Lucky is in my granite ware dish pan for a swim. The little webbed feet begin to paddle and stir the water.

Luckys head dips under the water.

Lucky is searching for some food while under the water.

Lucky can not find any fish to eat in the pan.

Lucky ends the swim by paddling around the pan.

Lucky has grown but can still fit through the birdcage door opening.

For now Luck is still living in a bird cage. Lucky likes the safety of the birdcage and comfy wood shavings. It will not be long before Lucky will out grow the birdcage and will have to move in with the other ducks. Lucky is really tame at this point. If I walk away while Lucky is swimming Lucky will jump out and follow me. Lucky dose not know its a duck and not a house pet yet. Lucky will first move into the bunny hutch before being put with the other ducks. By then Lucky will have a full body of feathers.

Blessing Til Next Time!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Peg Boards Are Done


Finally the peg board with the plate rack for the dinning room is finished and has been put up.

I have put the dishes in the plate rack. I got all them from auctions - flea markets - yard sales.

Up close of the filled plate rack. I still need to find one more goblet. Now my dishes are not hidden in the kitchen cabinets & I have room for some food in that cabinet.

I hung sheep shears from a peg near the hall that I got at a festival and a gray granite ware berry bucket near the hall on the other side.

I have hung some baskets with flowers - taper candles & wood mashers from the pegs. I believe I will let the other pegs empty. I like to see the pegs to.

Close up of the quilt rack. My first penny rug runner is now finished and I hung some dish towels I got at an Amish market. I looked around for some things I had put away to put on the shelf above the quilt rack and found the jars filled with buttons that were from my Gram - a friend & from a flea market. The red basket was a gift from my Mom. In the basket I added a dollie I found at a church sale & gray granite ware pie plates my Gram gave me. The candle sticks with hand dipped grungy stubby pub candles was made from an old wood spool. It was a safe place to display the two old brown crocks that were my Grams fathers. I am guessing they are pretty old. She was 76 when she passed and that was over 8 years ago. One was given to me by my Pap. I received it shortly after he passed. The other was given to me by my Mom who received it from Pap. So I am the fouth genertion to have these crocks. I plan on changing the linens from time to time for a new look. In a previous post I showed you all the colonial lovers knot black & mustard runners I found on ebay. They may be the next change with another penny rug runner I have started.

This was a fun project for us. It took some time since we just winged it. I am very happy with how it all came together. It was all attached to the wall with screws in case I will ever need to take it down. It could be cut apart to have two short peg boards & a long peg board. The plate rack and quilt rack could be hung alone. I thought this way it could still be used in smaller rooms or another home.

Thank you all for your comment and suggestions while this was in the making.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Blooming Again & Plate Rack Progress

The garden is coming alive with blooms again since the weather has gotten cooler and we have been blessed with rain showers off and on.

Beautiful bright crisp pink blooms kissed with rain drops. Oh how they smell so good. The rose bush was a gift from my oldest son and his daughter my first granddaughter.

Plenty of blooms for the humming birds to feed on before they make there journey for the winter.

Finally the morning glory flower has bloomed. This is the first bloom this summer. Not perfect but still beautiful.

These came up from last year. Such wonderful colors.

I see this little one very often in the garden while I am watering or weeding. I do talk to it often. I think it may be paying attention because its little head moves around and it rubs its front little legs together. I find most creatures fascinating. To take time and enjoy the beauty of Gods hand is a pleasure.

I found another goblet to add to my collection at a market. I need one more to fill the plate rack. Maybe I will find one at the fall festival this year.

In between the rain showers we had some sunny clear weather to get the peg board / plate rack painted. I can not wait to get it up in the dinning room. The kids went off to school today so it will have to wait a bit.

Blessing Til Next Time!

Giveaway Thanks


I won the giveaway at Sew Many Raggedies. I was so surprised when I recevied the email letting me know. Yesterday the little prim doll and her pumpkin arrived. She was tired from her long journey to her new home. To make her feel at home I just had to find the her the perfect spot at the homestead right away. She and her prim pumpkin are now relaxing amongest the sunflowers in the homestead dinning room. The black crow is keeping her company and helping her tend to her little fall garden. I would like to thank you Rene for such a lovely doll! She is just prim wondeful!

Blessings Til Next Time!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Plate Rack Progress


We made a little more progress on the plate rack today. All the edges have been sanded. We will need five more pegs screwed in for the bottom shelf area. We had rain this afternoon so the painting had to be put off. Maybe we will have a rain free time Tuesday for the boys to get it painted since school will be starting Wednesday. We do really need the rain so I will not complain. I will just be thankful and praise the Lord for the rain.

Blessings Til Next Time!

A Primitive Place Premier Issue



I have been very busy the past few weeks but in between everything that has been going on I have been looking and reading and looking at my first issue of A Primitive Place magazine. I am truly happy with my decision to subscribe. It may be a magazine but to me it is more like a book. There are so many lovely homes featured in this issue that have one or more feature in them that I have been dreaming of having here at the homestead. To find the article on peg boards was an added surprise considering that is the latest item being added to the homestead these days. Mine is a bit different than the peg boards in the earlier times since it has a quilt rack and plate rack being incorporated into the peg board.

I do not like to see appliances since it takes away from the old fashioned looks of a kitchen. To see the custom built cabinet to hide and house the frig was a surprise to. I so much want one someday to hide and house my frig too.

I have been dreaming of remove a 6 foot wall in the kitchen that goes into a very small room behind it where I would love to have a walk in pantry with lots of shelves for canned goods. My thought is to also have a long narrow wood farm table in the center where I could put my sewing machine cabinet and sewing machine. So the article on the buttery - pantry was a surprise to.

This issue was packed with so much that hit home for me and the photos were beautiful. I am so much looking forward to my next issue. This magazine is a must have.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Todays Progress On The Peg Board

I just had to share the progress we made today on the peg board. I did decide to add the plate rack into the peg board designed similar to the quilt rack.

A bit more has been added since the last post on the peg board. These brackets are in the front.

The shelves have been added and brackets to the back. Some of the pegs are screwed in place also.

I could not wait I just had to add some dishes to get an idea what it will look like. Guess what I read the last page of a book before I read it. Always in a rush to see the end.

Well Lucas got his drivers permit and wanted to drive a little so we went to a garage sale right near the homestead. I found this pastry board and it is still sealed in the plastic wrap. It will work great for rolling out pot pie dough. We eat a lot of pot pie around here. When it gets cooler we will have homemade bread with it. The pastry board will be a great place to cool the bread to. All my I got a package in the mail today. Inside were two colonial coverlet runners. I will be hanging these from the quilt rack. It has been a busy day here at the homestead. Sam is feeling a bit under the weather so he needs to get his rest and needs my attention. Lucas and Laken have returned home after visiting the local fair. I am a bit tired myself so I must go for now.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Grease Rust Steam Show

Last Saturday we visited a Grease Rust Steam Show.There were plenty of tractors for Sam to see. There was a flea market set up also. There was a very large old lock with a skeleton key at one of the booths I would have loved to have purchased to hang from one of the pegs on the peg board but it was way more than I could afford or even would have considered paying. A whopping $200.00. As you can guess I passed it up.

Sam and I always love to visit the animals of course. We so love the donkey. We would love to add a donkey to the our homestead collection of pets.

There was something so peaceful about watching this long horn just chew and chew.

The sheep was very curious and was willing to pose for its photo shoot.

This little piggy is so so cute. If they could just stay little. Sam and I would love to add all these creatures to the homestead some day. For now we will just have to visit them at special events.

I always find sawmills fascinating. My Pap owned and ran his own sawmill until he retired. So you might say it is in my blood. The smell of wood and saw dust smells so fresh. I like to visit the wood section of Lowes not only to bring boards home but to smell the wood.

Steam engines are a favorite too. The sound of the chugging and puffing of thick smoke clouds filling the sky. The bell rings out. They move so slow but did much work in the earlier days.

My Pap was always fond of steam engines too. In fact he built a small replica of one. It ran off gas not steam. We purchased it at the public sale after he passed. It needs alot of work. We would like to put it in the fall parade some day.

The day was full of fun for us. Of course we had fresh cut french fries soda and hand dipped ice cream to end the day before we left.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Dinning Room Peg Board Started & The Lucky Duck

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on the dinning room brain storm post. We were pretty busy with Sams swimming lessons the past two weeks Lucas & Lakens work schedules. Sam passed to the next level. Now things have slowed down a bit and we started working on the peg board for the dinning room. some of the boards have been cut. We are waiting for the pegs to be cut and some boards for the plate rack.

This much is done and temporally put up so I can get an idea how the built in plate rack will look. I wanted a visual idea to see if it would really be something I would want before the pegs were screwed in. I will see. So far so good.

Sunday Lucas had a birthday & the homestead owner found this little duckling in the duck house. Its mama seems to not own it. This was the only one and so lucky the other ducks did not tramp it to death. That is how it got the name Lucky. So I guess you could say we have became its new family. Lucky likes to swim in my granite basin & eat in my granite wash pan. For now Lucky lives in a bird cage inside with us.

I was surprised to find when I checked my email Monday I had won a giveaway. I am tickled pink and can not wait to receive the primitive doll from Rene at Sew Many Raggedies. Thanks much! Stop by and visit Sew Many Raggedies blog soon. Click the prim doll photo to get there in my right side bar.

Blessing Til Next Time!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Last Nights Brain Storm For The Dinning Room

Last night I was looking in some boxes to see what I may already have to put on the shelf and hang from some pegs. While I was doing this I was standing back looking at this new creation. I am really happy with how nice it turned out and was thinking that the peg board would look great extended to the dinning room.

The room extends another twelve feet. The hallway is in the center.

I would like to extend the peg board from the hallway opening to the other wall.

The spot above the desk is where I was planning on putting a plate rack to put my pewter dishes some day. So I was thinking it would be nice to have the plate rack designed into the peg board. I would want the plate rack to be designed similar to the quilt rack. So this was my brain storm last night. So what do you all think of this idea? Will this be to much or compliment?

On the way to Sams swimming lessons today we seen a car trailer parked along the road with scrap lumber on it & a large sign reading free scrap lumber. There were some long pieces in there. What can I say but one mans scraps are a treasure for me.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Monday, August 9, 2010

A Peg Board & Quilt Rack For The Homestead LVR


After looking at blogs & many Country Sampler magazines I decided that I seemed to also like quilt racks to. So a quilt rack was designed into the peg board. Lucas & Laken are holding the first try up to see how it will look. We noticed the the shelf on top of the quilt rack was not very deep and the brackets were to close to the wall to hang something on it. I wanted more space between the bar and wall. With a deeper shelf it also allowed for longer pegs which allowed hanging larger items from the pegs. The pegs in the peg board in the hall are a bit to short & I had to put tacks in the pegs to keep the lantern & wire jar holders on the pegs when the hall doors were being shut. So we got a wider board & waited for the homestead owner to get it cut. I had to giggle a little when Sam asked if we were going to hang our coats from the pegs.

The wall was a bit bare & it seemed the perfect place to put a peg board to me.

For now I have the penny rug runner I am still working on hanging from the bar. This is where I wanted to put some colonial coverlet runners. Thank you all for sharing the web information to find them in my last post. You are all so helpful & sweet.

I am very happy with how it all turned out and the more colonial look it has added to the LVR. So far I have two new lovely baskets to hang from the pegs. I have been wanting them for a long time. There is a third basket I plan to hang from the center hall door when they get recovered. The baskets were a gift from my Mom. I thought it would be awhile before I could get anything to hang from the pegs. The baskets were perfect and perfect timing too. I think I would like to hang some bunches of dried herbs from some pegs. Not real sure what to put on the top of the quilt rack shelf. I am not giving up on a blanket crane. I think it will just have to go in the master bedroom when dollars allow for a little remodeling in there.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Where Can I Find Those Beautiful Colonial Coverlet Runners

I really like the colonial runners I have seen displayed on blanket cranes, quilt racks & tables. I have seen these in photos on many blogs. I have seen the bed coverlets in some magazines but not the runners. If you know of a web address I can just purchase them from please comment on this post. There are no shops in my area that have these. To find any prims you have to now travel about 30 miles. The prim thing is not big in my area. Thanks!

Blessings til next time!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

What We Have Been Up To


One of our little kittens sure likes to sit in the flower baskets hanging in the gazebo. She sure looks much better than the dried half dead flowers that were in the basket. I watered them but the heat was just to much. They looked better hanging empty than with half dead flowers.

Lucas & Sam still have to get the pond hole a little deeper for the new pond. You can see the old pond wall is caving more and letting out the water. We have had to put the job off for now since Sam is taking swimming lessons this week and Lucas is caring for the church grounds. Lucas will be planting shrubs at the church soon. He is just waiting for the Pastor to get the shrubs and give the go ahead.

I finally was able to get a photo of the little frog who lives in the pond. It likes to sit inside this stone ledge while the over hang shades him or her.

I started some dolls but I am not getting much done in the craft area right now. My daughter Laken has came back to the nest. She got a job and is doing on the job training. We have been working on the peg board for the LVR. It has been an ongoing project this week. I was not really happy with what we came up with so we are going to Lowes for another board soon. We took photos to share when we are finished. It has been interesting. You will just have to check back and see for your selves. I received my Country Living magazine the other day and I just love this house make over they featured in it. I am not crazy about the size change in the magazine. I keep all my issues and they fit just right in my metal picnic tins. The new larger issue will not fit. Really I hope they go back to the smaller size. I wish you all lots of happiness in the days to come.

Blessing til next time!