Fun, Fun, Fun!

So.. I did some errand running this afternoon..not too much fun, but needful things that had to be attended to. The fun came along after all of the errand running this afternoon, when dear daughter requested a trip to Joann's Fabric Store...so there I was in Joann's when....what should I spy but a shelf full of sewing machines and all on sale at that!!

Now, I had been wanting a sewing machine for a little while, and had told my husband a few days ago that for my upcoming birthday (which is on the 17th of Sept.) that I would like to have a sewing machine...so...what was a gal to do...but hastily get on the cell phone and in a sweet voice say..."umm honey..hey there..umm I'm here at Joann's and they have their sewing machines on sale today...can I go ahead and get one for my birthday while I'm here?"...and that sweet man of mine..well...he said Yes!...so...wooohooo! I am now the proud owner of a little Singer sewing machine..now nothing super fancy smancy about it....but I'm a gal here that has not used a sewing machine in 10 years...and this is going to be totally new territory to me again. I am both nervous and excited.:0)
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I had no idea last night when I found some darling notions to sew with, that I would soon have a sewing machine to create with too...but..I went ahead and bought myself some awesomely sweet trims. Look at this CUUUUTE eye candy..aren't these trims just luscious??!

And yep..they are now mine..couldn't resist..and they are vintage trims too. Whoot! Whooot!

Now the aqua tassle and aqua square trimmings I intend to use to edge valances at my new home, and you can bet that if I tire of what the trim is attached to..ha..I am going to use a seam ripper to save the trim to use over again..yep..I like it "That much"..hee hee. But..anyhow let's take a look at the fun eye candy now shall we? I still have no idea what I will be creating with all of these gorgeous trims... but I'm sure the inspiration will hit me soon.:0)

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And..since I'm on the topic of "Vintage" I thought I'd share a few more of my Vintage treasures with you all..Items that are tucked away awaiting the new home.
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but first..take a look at this sweet, sweet, sweet "Bicycle Built For Two" that I will be using as a photo prop to create little images with?

It is a small bike only about 4 inches tall, but I intend to create images that can be converted to darling note cards...using flowers and such to create vintage looking scenes..fun!-fun!
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O.k.....now on to the Vintage Treasures.....
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I fell in love with this lamp shade..isn't it just awesome? I think it has the coolest design on it..and I'm going to use it on a lamp that my daughter and her grandfather made using a large gourd..I intend to paint the gourd base in a complementary color that will go with the lamp shade.But isn't this the neatest lamp shade? The lamp will most likely be included in my master bedroom decor.As the master bedroom will be a yellow color.---------
I have a few of these little enamelware European tea pots that will grace my 1950's themed kitchen..I have a collection of 1950's era chickens and roosters in bright reds and whites and yellows and blacks..and the little teapots complement the theme perfectly.
The kitchen will also have a red and white vintage potholder collection ..but anyhow..isn't the little teapot adorable? Such a cheery color!
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And..one cannot forget about decorating a laundry room now, can one? I found these darling chalkware placques a while back and they are perfect for decorating a laundry room ...I think. Aren't they just so sweet?

Now..only to sell the current house..so that I can bring out all of my fun treasures and get to decorating.:0)

--------We did have a house showing this past Saturday..but have not heard word back yet on how that went....sometimes the realtors are a bit slow to let us know the feedback whether good or bad on things..wish that wasn't the case..but such as it is in this process.

I hope that you have enjoyed your visit to my blog..and come back again real soon.

~The Garden Goose!~

My first art doll attempt..and more..

Well, things on the house selling front are going rather slow..drat it...sigh..we had a showing this past Thursday, but apparently the realtor that showed the house was NOT in touch with her clients needs/wants or either said client did not reveal his needs/wants adequately enough..needless to say it was another case of a waste of time on every one's part..the yard according to this person was "too big"..like umm... duhh..if you or your agent had actually taken the time to have read the listing you would have known that the yard was a little more than .33 of an acre..duhhh.

Anyhow..yeah..a bit of sarcasm and frustration in my writing there folks.O.k. rant over...but sigh...

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Well..I decided to give a bit of crafting a try..albeit all of about an hour and a half of crafting,but crafting none the less.

I wanted to see if I could create a small art doll of sorts. Of course I do not have much in the way of any craft supplies on hand, so I created with what I could. A leftover scrap of canvas, a tiny bit of stuffing, and some Prismacolor markers and...wallah!..this is what I came up with. My 5 year old really likes it, so that is what matters. A professional doll making career I'm afraid is NOT in my future..but it was fun none the less.:0) and funner still to see my little 5 year old happy to carry around this wee little "pocket pal",and to take it to bed with her at bed time.:0).

I must admit it turned out better than I expected.

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On the gardening front..I haven't done much at all in the way of gardening this year...most of everything that I am growing is in pots awaiting transfer to a new home. And I gave away a fair amount of plants recently to our lawn service folks.

I did receive 39 variety of bearded iris the other day, which I potted up in batches of 5 into 8 large pots..they were small rhizomes so they worked out well being planted into large pots . I expect that they won't produce anything until next year in the way of flowers.

I do have 2 totally cleared out 4 ft by 8 ft raised beds in my backyard, which I was not planning on putting anything in them , but have decided that since things are going a bit slowly on the house...that I might as well try to grow some beans that are the fast growing bush bean type...and if the house doesn't sell within the next 60 days...at least I will have some beans to freeze...if it does sell during that time then someone else can enjoy some fresh beans...either way...I'll be planting some beans in those raised beds...and getting a chance at least once more this year to do a little "playing in the dirt"

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Have you started your Fall garden?..or planned a Fall garden this year?There is still time to get some items in the ground. Things like greens (turnips, mustards, collards). And lettuces, radishes, endive,chard.This is also the time to plant garlic.

I have some of the items mentioned above available in my little garden shop online. Feel free to check it out. http://www.myvictorygarden.etsy.com/
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Wishing you all a lovely week, and thanks for stopping by. :0)

~The Garden Goose!~

In love With Irises

So there I was last night sitting on the floor of my kitchen area with 11 big plastic pots surrounding me that had been filled with potting soil. Nearby was a large box I had received a few days earlier from Stoney Creek Iris (http://www.stoneycreekiris.com/) 39 varieties of beautiful iris rhizomes to get potted up.

What fun!

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I found the plastic pots at my local Kmart yesterday at 70 % off! Pots that were normally $9.99 were marked down to $3..I saved myself a whopping $77 on plant pots. Yay! I think every gal likes a nice bargain every now and again.

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But..back to the Irises. I am smitten..and my Irises haven't even bloomed yet..but..I know what they will look like when they do, and that is what excites me!

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Look at some of the varieties that I will be growing.What an amazing array of colors!

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If you love Irises I highly recommend dealing with "Stoney Creek Iris" next year . Get your order in early next year though(around the end of March/First of April, as lovely Irises like these ones sell out quickly.
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~The Garden Goose~

August/September 2009 Issue of "Small Town Living"

The August/September 2009 Issue of "Small Town Living" has now been posted to the website at:

http://www.stliving.net/

Highlights:
*Fox Hill Farm Celebrates 90 Years
of Farm and Family
* Attracting Humming Birds
*Easy as Pie:
In the Kitchen with "Not Quite June Cleaver"
*The Stuff of Dreams: By Dean Abbott
*Growing Plums
*The American Artisans Guide

......and more

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Please also join us at our forums at www.smalltownliving.ning.com

Where we share with each other our knowledge about gardening,crafting,back yard chickens and a whole lot more. A community of sharing and caring. We also have a "live chatroom" over at the forum every Friday evening at 8 p.m. CST...Come join the fun!

Hen Box GiveAway and chicken musings...

Another chance to get your name in the hat for a backyard chicken Hen Box over at "Georgia Farmwoman":

http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com/2009/07/chicken-nest-box-giveaway.html

Maybe 3rd time is a charm for me??

Yes, I must admit I'd be over the moon if I actually won one of the chicken nesting boxes featured on this fun blog.

See, Georgia Farmwoman's hubby crafts these awesome hen nesting boxes from quality materials, and you can tell just by looking at the photos that a lot of pride and craftsmanship goes into the creation of these nesting boxes.

I'd actually really love to add something like this to our future chicken coop.

Right now we do not have any backyard chickens, but we did have 2 hens ,and it was so nice to watch them strutting their stuff in our backyard and providing us with more than enough eggs for our family.... unfortunately something scared our favorite gal a few months ago and she died, so her coop mate went back to the feed store where we purchased the gals, and someone else gave her a nice home.

Kind of hard to keep backyard chickens when a home is for sale and being shown... as not everyone in the city/coming to look at a home that is for sale in the city understands the backyard chicken concept. :0)

But..we will definitely have backyard chickens again in the very near future..as soon as our current home sells and we get relocated.

We'd love to have at least 4 hens at our new place.

My oldest daughter and I have talked about the types of chickens we'd like to have, and we both like the Polish Crested /probably if the younger children become involved with a 4-h poultry club they can show the Polish Crested, and my daughter had 2 Ameraucanas...that was what our gals were before...friendly little hens that both laid pretty greenish- blue eggs. So we definitely would like to get a pair of that type again.

Anyhow... hop on over to Georgia Farmwoman's blog to check out the nest boxes.

The drawing ends on 8/1.

~The Garden Goose~

Decorating "Farm Style"

Sometimes we all want a fresh look in our kitchen..but sometimes the "old is in"...meaning... sometimes we can create an awesome new look by going back a few years, and bringing vintage styled items into our rooms,creating an all new look that adds cheeriness, as well as a good bit of nostalgia.

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I don't know about you, but I for one do not want my home decor looking like everyone else's, or full of big box store items...the look that everyone and their sister can find for a dime a dozen, and marked "made in (insert some foreign country name here) ...

Nope...I tend to gravitate towards things that fit into the "vintage" category...true some of them just might have come from another country...but, I didn't support a big box store when I bought them...nope...I supported someone who took the time to unearth these treasures at either an estate sale, garage sale, or dug out of a box from grandma's attic or such.

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You seee...I enjoy shopping on etsy.com for my fun decor finds and thought I'd share a few farm themed items I came across here for you.

All of the items posted here are posted along with the shop name of where you can find these inexpensive, but fun, and vintage decor items.(no, I am not being bribed, paid, or begged to list these items here...I'm doing it just for the fun of it) Enjoy!

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Apron from http://www.revivalfinds.etsy.com/

Kids and Farm print in black and white from http://www.thevintagemode.etsy.com/ (would look great in a red frame)

Copper Cookie Cutters from http://www.zellesattic.etsy.com/(these would be cute hung from red ribbons against gingham curtains.or in a small basket with a rolling pin nearby.)

A set of 2 awesome cow anatomy prints from http://www.vintagegoodness.etsy.com/

These would make a great framed set.Very detailed illustrations. (I could see these framed in classic black frames or again in cheery red frames.) Next up... these four seasons on the farm prints are available from http://www.kelleystreetvintage.etsy.com/

These are very pretty I think.Showing each season on the same farm. These would look nice I think displayed in frames over top of the kitchen cabinets..,in a panoramic sequence of frames starting with Spring and ending with Winter.

Wouldn't this old book be so cute propped up on your counter next to a display of little farm animals, or alongside your vintage chicken display along with a plant? Available at http://www.auldthingsnew.etsy.com/

What about this cute old goat print? Not often that you can find a nice print like this of a goat. This fine print is available at :http://www.kelleystreetvintage.etsy.com/

Goats and cows not your thing? What about horses? This lovely horse tray is available at: http://www.pinksupply.etsy.com/

Into gardening..how about this little "Inch by Inch, Row by Row"..tiny plate? isn't it adorable? Available at:http://www.crabvilleinautumn.etsy.com/

And last.... but not least we can't forget the little cluckers...this cute rooster figure is available at:

http://www.oldethings.etsy.com/

Hope you enjoyed discovering a few new places to shop. Have fun decorating your Farm Style kitchen!

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose!~

Gone to the Birds...Bird Rehabilitating that is

Well...

my afternoon was spent on bird rehabilitation.

Not because I really wanted to, but when I took Collin(my mini schnauzer) out to go to the bathroom this afternoon ... he kept sniffing and straining towards the big christmas tree type tree we have in the backyard...

and that's when I saw it...a wee tiny mockingbird(about 3 inches tall) that could not hop very well at all it kept tumbling over itself, and could not get away very well at all.(Couldn't fly at all) and when it tried to hop it literally did tumbles over itself..poor thing...

So my daughter and I scooped it up, found a nest that has been blown apart and another nest that was tipped sideways in the tree, so my daughter took the one good nest and set it back upright into the tree and we put the baby bird back in the nest.

I went back out about 3 hrs later and the same scenario ensued... baby bird back on the ground, no parents around, and the nest was again tipped over.

So this time around we went ahead and scooped the baby up and brought it in to keep the ants from getting it.

I have left little birds before like this thinking that nature would do what nature would do, and the parents would find them only to return to the bird a few hours later to see fire ants having a feast...I did not want the fire ants to have a feast on this little one.

So this afternoon has been spent making sure it eats. I have also discovered that its leg is broken up near the hip joint, so I tried my best to bind the leg with some very fine,thin seam binding and tape. What a chore! Not only is the bird a little wiggle worm, but my gracious birdy legs are so thin! It is tough trying to bind a baby bird's leg.

But the good news is it is a vigorourous eater and has really been scarfing the blueberries and some moistened dog food. So that is promising.

My daughter managed to get it to eat a grub worm this afternoon too, so that is really good.

The one leg that I had to bind, it refuses to move it and the foot is just being held very limpy, the hip joint just kind of flops around, so I tried very hard to bind it up to minimize the flopping of the leg.I could see where the leg joint had gotten broken, but other than binding it up of course I don't know how to set it.At least it tries to hop around on its one good leg though.And boy it can chirp loudly too.So..that's how our day has gone this afternoon.------------We've gone to the birds..LOL
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The leg appears to still have color and blood flow to it, so that is promising at least.(same coloring in the toes and foot as the healthy leg/so this is a good sign/only thing is it isn't using the leg and the leg has a good bit of "flop" even once it is bound) it definitely eats well, and tries to peck at the foods also.... so this is a good thing.... so far it is doing well.

We are using a Warm rice pack to keep the critter warm too.

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Now if this was a baby dove I would not have even tried this, as doves have to be fed regurgitated "dove milk" ..but this one is a mockingbird, and eats a good bit differently.Had a treat of a fresh grub earlier that it enjoyed, and really enjoys fresh blueberries and moistened dog food.

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I looked all over for any signs of other baby birds that might have fallen out too but this was the only one.

Had the situation not repeated itself 3 hrs later I would have just left it alone of course.

But we have some wicked mean fire ants around here that would have had a nice lunch had we not intervened, as I saw a few of them up under the tree when we rescued the baby.

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Last year we had a baby blue jay fall from the nest and I spied the parents nearby, so I left it where it was... only to go outside a little while later to see it covered in fire ants...the poor thing. I know nature can be cruel, but I honestly did not want to give the ants a chance today.

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I looked online for wildlife rehabbers and from what I could tell... the closest wildlife rehabilitator to us is about 40 miles away. So, we will do the best we can to take care of it here.(yes, I have a little experience in these types of things as we rescued quite a number of little birds like this back when I was a teen, and I have done some research also on how to take care of the wee one/if I feel that the little leg needs to be amputated I will find a capable vet in the area/am keeping a close eye on the development with its little leg and so far the color and blood flow look to be good)

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This afternoon and evening the little chirper packed away the following:

Lunch:

the insides of about 2 big juicy blueberries

1 fat grub worm

1 rolly poly bug

and about 2 pieces of moistened dog food

dinner:

4 rolly poly bugs

and 1 big juicy blueberry innards.

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All's well so far at the "zoo" ...LOL

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Have a goood day!

~The Garden Goose!~