OMG!!! KITTENS!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend.  It is quite eventful here on the farm.
Look!!!

Five kittens!

Here is the story...We are animal lovers and rescuers, and around about January this skin and bones young black cat appeared in the barn.  He was SO wild, we have spent months trying everything we could think of to catch this feral cat to have him neutered.  So we fed him, and he hung around.  All the wild cats that appear around here have always been males, as they are wandering.   Anyway, about mid April he finally began putting on weight, then disappeared for a day and returned all thin and sleek again!!
Haha, the joke's on us, she  showed us way up high behind a barn beam where she had her kittens  by deliberately walking to it right in front of me.  We never would hear anything up there, and we worried that maybe the raccoons got them.  Yesterday I went out to feed the horses, and there were 4 kittens!  She had brought them down from up high.

So now that they have actually been born, it is my responsibility to keep them from being eaten !  So I set up a large dog cage in the barn with bedding in it, put the kittens in, then sat ALL Afternoon in the heat about 4 feet away from the cage.  The mother FINALLY went in to nurse, and BAM, I kicked the door shut!  Success, finally!!!  We carried the entire cage inside and up to a spare bedroom.  What a relief...all is well.

Then yesterday morning (the next day) I went out to feed the horses again, and there was another kitten crying his eyes out!  We missed one!  I would have thought the mother would have known one was missing, but I guess she can't count.  This little kitten survived almost 24 hrs in the heat, without nursing, and with raccoons coming  around at night!  I brought him right in to nurse, and I think it spent hours nursing...all is well now and I can't even tell which of the two black ones it is.  There are two black, two torties, and one calico.

Now here is something else interesting.  While I was waiting out the mother the other day to get in the cage, I talked and talked to her, and told her that I wasn't going to hurt her, that life would be so much better for her and her babies, never hungry, never cold.  Then after I finally caught her in the cage, she just immediately calmed down, almost like had understood me.  This wild, feral cat now lets me pet and stroke her, and hold her babies,  and I think knows that all is safe now.

All five kittens are already spoken for, we have lots of animal lover friends!  They will all be neutered and have their shots, and live a nice life!

Sorry to ramble on so, but this has been quite exciting here, and such a relief to know that everyone is safe now.

Melinda

A few oldies but goodies

Hello friends,
As we go into a very dry Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would share a few pictures of samplers stitched years ago ...oldies but goodies.  We are having a drought here in sw Ohio, and in May!!  We normally have a wet spring, and everything should be so lush and green, instead of drying out already.  I spent all day today watering the garden, trying to keep things alive...I can't imagine what it will be like in the heat of the summer if it is this bad already.

Enough complaining, here are a few pictures I took today, sorry for the nasty flash bounce.

First is Hannah Pepper, from SANQ years ago.  The beautiful antique frame was given to me by my good friend,  Pattianne.  It was the perfect size!

Next is Mary Livcey.  I remember the day that Pattianne and I saw this chart in a shop, we were so excited!  We had never seen a turkey on a sampler, and from then on referred to this sampler as "turkey".  This was back in the day before all the internet shopping when you actually went to the local needlework shop, before they all went out of business :(

This is the simple God Bless Queen Charlotte sampler.  The frame that I used is actually an old side insert from a grandfather clock.

This is Sarah Piggott.  Christmas samplers are rare, and I still think this is so precious.

Finally, this is Martha Smith from Scarlet Letter ...way, way back.  See how at the bottom she didn't put in the letters that were missing, just xxx?  Something like Thomas Gibson was born July the 14?  Just my guess.

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.  I took some more pictures of old samplers and will try to post more in a day or so.

Melinda

Happy Mother's Day to Me and You!

Hello, I hope everyone out in blog land has had a wonderful Mother's Day.  It was overcast here and spit rain occasionally, but nothing to put a damper on this special day!  My son gifted me with flowers and a gift card from Olive Garden to take me to dinner, and his long time girlfriend, Joanna (probably my future daughter-in-law) made me this darling terrarium with succulents.   She is so creative!

I also did a little Mother's Day shopping for myself!  I hope that is not too awfully tacky, but I picked up this beautiful mirror and the old spool box.  The mirror is, I'm guessing, Eastlake design, probably walnut, and I love the age on the mirror part itself.  The spool box underneath is also walnut, and both the drawers and the box itself are beautifully dovetailed.  Somebody has decided to "antique" it, but for what I paid, that is alright.  Perhaps I will eventually strip it down to the original finish.  I'll put that on my list :)

This tine of year, most of my day is spent in the garden.  This is a beautiful David Austin rose, Gertrude Gekyll, in bloom.  I love English roses, but most of them are not suited for this climate (I know, I've tried), but this particular one seems to love her home.  I've even ordered another one!

Here is a picture looking back toward the garden and barn.

The evenings are spent either rug hooking or stitching, and I try to occasionally work in some cleaning!!  haha!

Happy Mothers Day to all,
Hugs,
Melinda

Rug Progress and Postage Stamps

Hello, greetings to all...
The gorgeous spring continues ... although we did have several nights of frosts this past week.  I had to get out sheets and blankets to cover things up.  This is a picture of the fringe tree in the yard.  It us just spectacular when it blooms, but boy does it make a mess when the blossoms drop!  It is the white tree in the background.  The farm bell on the post is original to the house.

I guess this post is kind of all over the place.  I took a picture of these first class stamps featuring antique weather vanes.  Surely some kind of rug project could use some of these designs.  I especially like the one on the right.

And, finally, here is some progress on a large hooked rug I am working on.  I am using mostly 8.5 cuts with some 8 and various worms worked in.  The design is from one of Pat Cross's books.

This was taken about a week ago.  I can't wait for all the roses along the fence to bloom!  They are already making their little buds...Melinda

My Fun Day at Curry's Antiques

Many of you may be familiar with Curry's Antiques in Lancaster, Ohio.  Even though I only live 1 1/2 hours away, I have never managed to make it down there.  They hold several open houses each year, and last Saturday a neighbor friend and I went to their Spring Open House!  How wonderful everything was.  Her house is up on a hill surrounded by beautiful rolling hills, and landscaping and flower gardens to die for.

First are a couple of pictures from inside her antique shop.  I have never seen so many wonderful old early paint cupboards in my life!!

Boy are they pricey...most in the $2,000-$4,000 range.  Unfortunately, I was not able to purchase one of these, haha, but I could afford this darling little mouse.

I was able to tour her home, but did not photograph inside the house.  It is very primitive, all authentic, all genuine antiques before 1830.

Being an avid gardener, my favorite was the beautiful landscaping, full of all sorts of primitive "stuff".millstones, stone chicken feeders, beeskeps, etc.  I was so impressed with how she stages her garden areas, I am now trying to copy the best I can.

 Oh, did I mention log cabins?  If I ever get rich I will buy one of these and attach it to my kitchen.

 If you look closely below, you can see the broom maker underneath the overhang of the cabin.  The stunning chimney at left is all dry laid stones.

Besides my little mouse, I bought one of her beeskeps and a tall cedar birdhouse, and a hand made broom from the broom maker making them while you watch.  The beeskep is unusual as it is taller than most.  Sorry for the crummy pictures, I didn't remember until 9:00 this evening.

She paints and waterproofs her beeskeps.  This is the opposite of what a lady at an antique store in town where I bought a vintage beeskep said.  Her instructions were to take it home and soak in a tub of water, as it was dry from sitting in the store and that they need moisture.  So...two completely opposite opinions.

Till next time,
Hugs,
Melinda

Dining Room Re-Do

Good afternoon, what a glorious spring day!  This is the prettiest spring that I can remember for a long time, everything is so green, and the blooming trees are spectacular!  What a gift just to be alive to witness such beauty.

My dining room colonial re-do is finally finished ... almost, hehe.  I still have to make the shutters and curtains for the second window.  Gone is the pink wallpaper, the glass chandelier, and the white curtains. The woodwork is now Valley Forge Mustard, the favorite paint color.

The first picture is the cherry corner cupboard filled with my great grandmother's flow blue china.  My mother found this corner cupboard in a barn, back in the 1950's when antiques could be found everywhere.  The table is cherry also, I hooked the rug on it, and also stitched the Dutch Beauty sampler.  I worked on it for four years on and off.  Perhaps you will remember the chandelier that I got on Craigs List for free.  When I took it to the Tin Peddler in town for repair, he recognized it as his work and said it was a $450 Chandelier.  He charged me $25 to repair it, including the light bulbs.   The tin sconces on the wall are repros from the Hospice Shop.

The next picture shows the back stairs going up to my son's part.  The framed pictures are of my great grandmother and grandfather, not the same one who had the flow blue, but on another side of the family.

On the tea table is a penny rug made by a friend, with a prim light from the Tin Peddler, an antique tea caddy made by another descendant, and a Brenda Gervais punch needle bird pattern punched by me and mounted on an antique oil can that I found in the barn.

On this side of the room you can see the shutters that I made using Judy Condon's instructions in her book
"Of Hearth and Home".  I love how they turned out and made a very simple valance for the top.

The sampler is one of my antiques, Elena Tratman 1824.  She is stitched on a very small count of linen, probably 50.  I have always had the intention to chart her and stitch a copy, but have never got around to it.

This is an original built in corner cupboard.  Next to it is a hand painted trunk and an old repro flyer from England mounted on wood, advertising "Sacrilege", for someone had broken into the parish church and stolen all "The Communion Plate".

So this was my main winter project.  I am very pleased with how it turned out, however, I want to ask your "HONEST" opinion on one thing... is there not enough "stuff"?  When I look in the prim magazines and books, they just have "stuff" everywhere.. do I need to add, and, if so, what and where?   Would love to hear your opinion, please let a comment.

Hugs,
Melinda

Beautiful spring day and Margaret Leadbitter

Greetings to everyone on this absolutely beautiful spring day.  The sun is shining and the temperature is a perfect 65 degrees.  It doesn't get much better than this.  Hope the spring weather is lovely where you are.
It's a great day to be a horse, too.  Here's Pip's Affair, looking pretty dirty and scruffy, but ready to go out in the pasture.

Not too much is blooming outside yet.  This is the time for fertilizing, trimming, and planning.  Here is an ancient lilac next the the original barn.  The barn has been around for a couple hundred years, maybe the lilac has too.  It smells heavenly.

Everything is so lush and green.

Some tulips in the garden

And last but not least, some progress on Margaret Leadbitter that I am stitching with a friend.  We are pretty much staying together.  I am going to save the temple for last, as it looks to be great fun to stitch and that way I have something to look forward to.

Till next time... enjoy the beautiful weather!
Melinda