Come on in friends, and Merry Christmas!

Good grief! That door really needs painting. Anyhow, not much planned here for Christmas this year. In fact, we have nothing planned. Guess it will be just Poppy and me. 

This is the first year ever that I didn't put up a tree in the living room. I did, however, put up a small tree on the teeny tiny front porch...

It's hard to get good pictures. The porch is small, and I can't back up far enough. :)

Poppy cut a big cedar limb, that needed to be cut anyway. It grew out over the dam and got in the way of his mowing. Anyhow, I had a big No. 2 tub of green cedar to use for decorating...

My friend Karen made the pretty Christmas pillows and gave them to me. I love them!

And here's the old cupboard filled with cedar that doesn't show up too well...

Oh my gosh, I left my dusting rag in the chair! We did get another Santa poster for the big old barnwood frame. A windstorm year before last ripped the old one into pieces. 

That's about it for outside. Let's go in, I'll show you my pretty polished red delicious apples...

It just wouldn't be Christmas without them. I buy a two or three every time I go to the store...I've eaten one almost every day in December. Reminds me of Christmases long ago when we got a red delicious apple in our stocking. 

and I bought a small Poinsettia for the table...

So, this is my little Christmas post for December 2025. I mostly wanted to wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Thank you for putting up with me for another year. 

I love you and appreciate you dear friends. 

Henny

 

Black Walnut Trees along Crabtree Creek

Poppy fills his pockets with black walnuts as he leaves the deer  stand and walks along the creek coming home...

Gosh, it's been 30 years since I picked up black walnuts there. Poppy has permission to deer hunt that property. Here's a smaller black walnut tree growing there too...

I want to shell some of these walnuts, and the hickory nuts too but talk about a job!! Wouldn't a taste of these wild nuts be delicious?

 And the tall hickory nut tree that grows along the path on our property...

I'm the one who gathers the hickory nuts...

Add a few ears of dried corn from the garden and...

it makes for a pretty, old fashioned picture. Do any of you love "old fashioned" as much as I do? Sometimes I think I should have lived back in the 1800. (didn't miss it by much, did I) :)

Look, I finally got around to putting up a few fall decorations and got to use some of the dried corn stalks from the teeny tiny garden...

The corn stalks were almost too tall. The dark red mum...

isn't it pretty! Andee brought it to me in September, and the buds have just opened up! I love how mums smell, do you?

I want to show you this tree root I found in the path. It must have fallen off a logging truck. To me, it looks just like a giant spider...

Can't you just see this thing on the side of an old barn or house...

Gives me goosebumps. What do you think, Willie??

So far this fall I haven't decorated the old cupboard, but I did find at Goodwill, the most perfect pitcher, it matches the big heavy dishes...

Hope you will pardon the dust. It is so dry here and when a car or truck goes up the path well, it's like a small dust storm settling over everything. Dust, dust, dust!!

Okay, I've gone on and on about stuff...everything is so pretty in the fall, even covered with dust, so here's few pictures from around the pond...

Guess I should have waited for the leaves to turn more, but I'll be back. :) 

Thank you friends. 

Love, Henny

On the 1st day of September...

a cold front came through tricking us into thinking Fall had arrived.

I rushed out and gathered all the pink and white Spring dishes from the old cupboard, fixed a dishpan full of warm soapy water, pulled out the Old English furniture polish and went to work.

What a dirty dusty mess covered the old cupboard! Henny Penny Lane is dirt, you know. It has been hot and dry and the cloud of dust kicked up behind going and coming cars, drifts and settles on the everything on the teeny tiny porch. 

I pulled out a few "almost Fall" looking things...

We had three wonderfully cooler days and nights, even turned the air conditioner off and slept with the windows open. Been a few months since we could enjoy cool night air and hear the frogs down at the pond. Sleep was good.

Rarely do I pick flowers for a vase except for Goldenrods in the Fall and Goldenrods are not in full bloom yet. There are masses of these plants with tiny little flowers growing along the path...so I gathered a few. 

Sorry for posting three pictures of the cupboard. Would delete one, but that would throw all different font sizes into my post and that drives me crazy! :(   Same with the picture below, It is not worth posting. 

Anyhow, still spending time in the sewing room...

working mostly on bags and bonnets. Can't believe I haven't been to the farmer's market since I started making bags. That's just like me! :(  Guess I need to get up from here and go take a picture to show you. Be right back...

Well, here are a few... Have 3 more bags in the sewing room and 2 more cut out ready to sew...

It's kinda fun using this low hanging limb on the old snowball bush for picture taking. Maybe I should try bonnets and aprons here too. Log homes are dark. I've just discovered how much better the natural light makes things look. 

Don't tell anyone there's a big sweet kitty cat that hangs out in my sewing room...

No way could I ever advertise, "made in a pet free home"...

Good thing Smokey doesn't bother things...like the pin cushion. Sweet Dumperoo, (we miss you so much), would have, with his teeth,  pulled every pin and needle from that pin cushion.

Guess I've gone on long enough. Hate to wear out my welcome.  Forgot to mention above that the hot weather came back with a vengeance. Temps in the high 90s and Wednesday was 102 out here in the country.

Here's a neat sunset picture I took looking up the road toward the garden...

and I thank you very much for stopping by, dear friends.

Love, Henny

Can you believe!! Someone must have heard me talking and for meaness threw some large font words into my post! :)

 

A Bit of Fall

We got just a sprinkle of rain, not even enough to settle the dust, before the much anticipated cold front began blowing through around 3:30 today. What a relief! The temperatures were in the mid 90s today and reached 98 degrees at Raleigh Durham Airport!

These next few days should feel a lot like fall so, I've gone crazy with fall colors, especially in the old cupboard...

Isn't it amazing what rag and bottle of Old English furniture polish will do!

a little closer look...I found the large dinner plates at Goodwill this week...

That's hickory nuts in the bowl...

Have you ever tried to crack open and eat a hickory nut? What a job! Poppy did crack one with the hammer and we both got a tiny taste.

Anyhow, fall of the year makes me want to work outside, clean up, and move things around. 

Wish you could have seen the junk we hauled out from under this old shed. It hasn't been this neat and clean in years. Poppy used to park his four-wheeler here...

Hay is stored in the old freezer covered with a tarp. Nailed a strip of wood across the back of the shed to stand garden tool and my bamboo poles.

Pulled out the old wooden tool box too and filled it with kindling wood. Good for starting fires this winter.

The kindking is kinda dusty from being stored in a cardboard box for too long.

Can't go without a word about sweetie pie rabbit...

I really believe he loves the wide open space in his big ole dog lot, and the ramp up to his box...

and! I'm building a little garden room just outside his pen. There was a mess of old cinder blocks stacked there so I've just re-arranged them a bit...

not exactly pretty yet but I've only just begun...

There is really nothing pretty about a cinder block so I need to come up with some pretty ideas. Any suggestions??

Well, The TV just cut off. Poppy must be headed this way so I will stop here. This is probably way too much anyhow. 

Oh, Smokey wants to say goodnight...

Thanks for looking!

Love, Henny

Going to a festival

Sure wanted to finish the mowing, especially up around the garden, but it simply got too hot...95 degrees and no breeze. We decided to come inside. Maybe tomorrow??

Lots to be done inside too. Shelby and I have a big craft event coming up this Saturday the 4th., thanks to Shelby and her efforts. So, I've been back in the the little sewing room...

Got several new colorful aprons made, plus that little group of dollies there on the dresser...

Don't think I have ever had so many bonnets made at one time. The white bonnet with lavender flowers reminds me of my Aunt Berlie, and I really don't know why.  Maybe even more so, the apron in the first picture.

What do you think of the grey calico fabric? Kind of unusual, isn't it? Will it sell?

Have several gathering aprons with large pockets made too. Good for gathering eggs. Do I wear one? 

Well no! I emptied food scraps to the chickens and brought the eggs back in the empty pan. Maybe I should try one of my aprons!

I like this one with the cherries, trimmed in cherry red. My dear friend Diane in Kentucky...if you happen to look in, thank you again for all the fabrics. I am still using!

Anyhow, this big event Saturday is the Butner Chicken Pickin' Festival". Butner is a small town about a 40 minute drive from here. Had never heard of it before but this will be its 28th year and was advertised in "Our State" Magazine.  We're excited!

You know what? I am still tinkering around with the raggedy old 30 year couch in the living room...

After covering the seat cushions with the $1.69 piece of gold upholstery fabric, from the thrift store, I ordered these yellow quilted pillow shams. It helped the looks so much. Now I want to order two more king size shams for the pillows in back. Hey, it's comfortable. :) 

Guess that's about it for now. Thank you looking in. I did want to mention...

We have not seen the mother Wood Duck and her babies since that first day. Don't understand it. Just hope they survived and are safe somewhere. There is water, a creek on the other side of the dam at the pond. Guess we will never know.

Love, Henny

Sewing on the old couch, again!

Dearest friends,

Thank you so much for the nice comments, get well wishes, and prayers for my shoulder pain/pinched nerve. It hurts! It's that nagging agravating nerve pain that won't quit! :)

Here's the latest doctor's orders...get an MRI, (scheduled for March 2), physical therapy (begins next Tuesday), and prescribed Gabapentin for pain, (it helps with the pain but not the numbness and tingling in my left arm and hand). 

Isn't it amazing how long it takes to see a doctor now days, then wait, wait, wait to get the MRI, and then another wait to get scheduled for physical therapy.

Anyhow, looks like getting that new living room suite has been put on hold again too. Poppy says, Mel, we can't get rid of Eli's chair, it has been his since he was a baby.

He grew up in this big old chair...2015 before I made covers for the cushioned chair arms. 

and still today...Eli's favorite spot in the house. So, what to do. I have searched everywhere for a piece of the vintage gold upholstery fabric like in the picture. I love the old gold with large cabbage roses...but none to be found. 

A few weeks ago Shelby and I, after a visit to my doctor, stopped by the Goodwill store. On the household goods table I picked up a piece, 2 1/2 half yards, of gold upholstery fabric. Who would have thought!!

and so friends, for the amount of $1.69 and with my numb and tingling left hand, I have made, such as they are, covers for the comfortable old 30 year old leather couch. 

You see, this once wonderful, rather expensive, old leather (real cowhides) couch and fat chair was one of the first purchases for our newly built, little log cabin in the woods. I suppose both our heart strings are attached to this old set. :) So what the heck. What's another year or two, or three. 

Not my best sewing for sure. Due to my guess work, none of the seams in front came out in the same place. 

Of course, our living room is dimly lit. Flaws really don't stand out that much. Reminds me of what Tasha Tudor said about her house, "everyone says my house is dark, but people don't realize how dark old houses were. I love it dark. It's like a nice chipmunk's nest." 

However! I did say to Poppy, "once these cushion covers begin to wear, we are getting a new living room suite, right?"

I'll leave you with the warmth and comfort of a nice crackling fire. Got a cold front coming through today.

Thank you for visiting. Thank you to a new follower too. 

Love,

Henny