Didn't quite make it to five years...

That's right. It was February 2018 when the girls at the goat farm gave me little Heidi. I went to buy another goat, but the girls said, you can "have" Heidi, just give her a good home.

My little Heidi passed away last Monday. The vet knew right off that Heidi was very sick

She had deformed jaw bones and deformed horns and probably, the vet said, some internal deformities. He said, you've done good if you have cared for her for five years. 

Heidi was a sweetie pie and I am sure missing her. Monday was a sad day.

Isn't it unbelievable how the days fly? It seems like I get nothing done any more. I've cleaned up a little around the garden and moved some plants inside...

We've had record low temperatures lately. Normally, by early November the front yard leaves are raked up and spread over the teeny tiny garden...a warm blanket for the winter, but not this November. 

Most of the leaves are off the trees now and I can't resist picking up pretty ones here and there, and aren't these huge Popular leaves neat. I kinda like this picture...

Anyhow, you know the old saying, "if you can't lick 'em, join 'em", well, that's exactly what I am doing with the leaves. 

In fact, I had raked one small spot in the front yard just before we had a big wind storm.   Then the guineas decided to wallow holes in the one little raked spot...it looked awful! 

Earlier today, I carried my rake and wheelbarrow down to the dam and raked up four loads of pine straw mixed with leaves. I then marched myself back up to the front yard and spread them all! "There you go", I proudly announced. Felt good too. :)

I'm thinking maybe Randall Rabbit and I are best friends now....

Would you look at the size of those back feet...

He's a big lovable sweetie pie rabbit...

and loves old cardboard boxes to push around...

Well friends, I mostly wanted to finish a little post today to wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Guess it will be just Poppy and me  here...He will hunt while I cook us a little Thanksgiving meal. 

Will leave you with a couple of  pictures taken from across the pond that I like.

      

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Love, Henny

Thankful for our crowd on Thanksgiving

We had such a good Thanksgiving Day...hope you did too.

Oh wait, let me back up to last Saturday and the "Santa Christmas Bazaar".  Friends, it was the absolute BEST craft event ever! Way too busy to take pictures, but I did get a couple of pictures near the end...

Shelby's jams and jellies, and that's my table behind the stacked jars...

Here, most of Shelby's baked goods had sold.

We both sold lots of goods, in fact, I sold aprons that, well, I thought would never sell and would have to go in the Goodwill box. You just never know. 

So, back to Thanksgiving Day...

It was an extra special day because...

For the first time ever, Poppy's daughter and her family, and both my daughters and their families were here together. That's Andee, me, Poppy, Windy, and Lynn. I decided to bite the bullet, close my eyes and be in the picture. (actually, the sun was blinding). :)

Had to search to find this one...

Hey, does Poppy look proud? This is Windy, Brian, and Grandson Luke. Luke is 15 years old, 6' 2" tall, and plays football!!

more of the group...

On the left, Poppy's daughter and family; center Andee and husband Todd; group on the right, Lynn's family (with three missing).  Actually the two guys in back of Lynn's family are Jason, Lynn's fiance and Jacob, Michaela's boyfriend... and on the far right, well that's Madison, Andee and Todd's daughter. Whew!

Ah, I like this picture...

Daniel was one of those missing from the group picture...that's him with his mom Lynn, and  my Great Granddaughter Addie.

Had to search for this picture too. Thank you Andee.

Daniel, my first grandchild. 

and here's the other big guy missing from Lynn's group...Grandson Joseph. Addie is his daughter.

On the pier, Grandsons Daniel, Joseph, and John. The other guy is Jacob with Michaela. Here's proof that the old pier is still sturdy after all these years. Poppy built the pier in 1996, with no one but me to help. Glad I didn't see those babies hanging over the edge. Looks like Michaela was holding onto them tight. The little boy is Greyson, Addie big brother and my Great Grandson.

Michaela, Addie, and grandson John in the background.

If there is a dog around, he will be found in Madison's arms. Like her mom, she adores dogs. Of course, Weetie was in heaven.

Andee, Todd, and Madison

Excuse me, but did any of you notice the leaves! The leaves! As far as the eye can see! Actually, the leaves are kinda pretty on the ground at Thanksgiving...it's Christmas time when the leaves begin to look ugly. 

and speaking of Christmas, I am excited about decorating now that Thanksgiving has passed.

Here's a little "before" picture of the lonely looking living room fireplace and mantle...

Hope to be back soon with a warm glow with bright and shiny cheerfulness.

But, alas, this morning we have wind and downpours of heavy rain bringing down als0  the remainder of the brown oak leaves.  It's terribly dark and cloudy and gloomy...

a day fit for nothing but snuggling up on the back porch cot.

 of course, some prefer a warm corner inside.

Okay, I've overdone it today. Too many pictures. But remember what I said after the big flop of a post about Vintage Market Days?

So, this is my happy Thanksgiving Day post! Oh wait, one more...

Completely forgot to take a picture of all the Thanksgiving food, but here's load six of the pots and pans to be dried and put away. Worth every dirty dish!! :)

Love,

Henny 

So much to post, so little time

Well I've got so much to talk about this morning, I simply don't know where to begin. Bet you dread it...

Oh friends, I am trying to adjust to a modern counter height table and stools sitting next to my 1920's mahogany china cabinet. :( Wouldn't it be wonderful if life had a rewind button? Just go back  few weeks and LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE!!

Poppy said, as the last stool was put together and placed under the table, "I can tell by the look on your face that you don't like it".   He also said, "well listen, if the Lord is willing and we're still here a year from now, we will put this set on Craigslist and buy something else". 

Actually, this is not as ugly as I had built it up to be in my mind. But before the stools were finished and under the table, I felt sick looking at that tall skinny table. The stools leveled it out a bit. I was thinking a lace tablecloth (I love lace tablecloths) would give it a more old fashioned look, but it only emphasized the height. 

and, remember the pretty red rug  that was way too small...

well, it is now for sale on Craigslist for less than half what we paid for it. We kept it for two months, waiting to sell the old mahogany table; too long to return it. We have ordered another larger rug. So, as soon as it arrives, I will be back with pictures!! 

Poppy has been mighty patient through all this.

Did you all have a good Thanksgiving? We surely did. Andee and Todd have moved back to North Carolina. Maddie too, but she is away at college. We are very thankful to have them close to home again! Poppy and I had Thanksgiving dinner them. It was wonderful and very special!

So, Andee sent me a few good Thanksgiving pictures for my blog, but the problem is, I don't know how to move them from email to home pictures, or to my blog.  Oh I managed to transport them, somewhere, but where?? The pictures may be headed your way, who knows! Dear dear me!

So my two pictures will have to do for now...

Andee opened the oven door to check the food. All I saw was how clean her oven was. Makes me ashamed. 

The food not only looked good, it was delicious!

Well when I started this post yesterday morning there was so much to tell you...guess now it will have to wait.

The new rug arrived late this afternoon, but I haven't had time to open it. 

Also, Eli spent the day with the groomer...he came home looking like a brand new stuffed polar bear, and smells so good! 

I will take pictures of both, and a few other things and hopefully, will be back tomorrow.

Thank you, friends. 

Love,
Henny

Dinner, and a little critter update

Here's our little Thanksgiving meal...

it was just the two of us, so I  cooked small and didn't do any fancy table setting. Goodness, I could have at least sliced the turkey breast and put it on a platter before taking the picture. Not a very pretty Thanksgiving table, but it did taste good.

and here's Poppy heading back into the woods across the road, to sit in a tree. I offered to go sit in the tree for him if he would wash the dishes and walk Eli, but he said "no thanks".

Granny Marigold recently asked about all the critters, so here's a little critter update...

I am totally shocked at how fast a baby rabbit grows...

isn't she (or he) adorable? She still doesn't have a name. I call her little sweetie pie, but we've got a dozen little sweetie pies already. We need something special, and I just can't come up with one that fits.

Here's big old Bun Bun, little sweetie pie's papa. She doesn't favor him at all, does she?

then there's Fiona. Fiona does her own thing. In fact, she has been hard at work digging a tunnel. See her dirty little feet and nose? She has built a nice little storm shelter under her cage. 

Miss duck duck paddles along the bank with us when we walk. She seems lonely since her best friend Mrs. Muscovy is sitting on a few eggs on the other side of the pond. Crazy, I know.

Eli found a broken duck egg 

the babies decided to leave the heat lamp and sleep upstairs.

cozy little bunch.

and since going through molting, these hens have stopped laying. Not one egg have we found in the chicken house in two months. I've bought two dozen eggs lately. Probably the first store bought eggs we've used since moving here in 1989. 

and that sweet little Rosie. Why she has tried her best to eat every leaf that falls. See her there in the picture with the chickens...eating leaves! We had to close her up in the goat barn until I could rake the lot...

I will have to get a newer picture to show you just how fat she has gotten. She is obsessed with eating. Seriously! Wonder who she got that from? :)

We haven't seen Wilder lately. I do worry about him and hope he is safe in his own little rabbit hole somewhere. Weetie did go tearing off  after something a few nights ago when I went out to close the chicken house door.  It could have been him. Weetie like to chase rabbits and squirrels, but could never catch one.

Maybe I will sew a little tonight. Thank you for stopping by.

Love,
Henny

A quick visit

I don't know where five days have gone, but that's how long it's been since my last post. Maybe I've just been busy opening and closing curtains.

Angel garlands. I cut these from paper chicken feed sacks. After painting them, I added a coat of Mod Podge and hung them in the laundry room to dry. These will go on my table at the craft bazaar Friday. Once the Mod Podge dries, the angels will flatten out.

We are having unusually warm humid weather for the end of November. 71 degrees today and 92 percent humidity. Poppy and I actually heard it thunder once, and tomorrow there is a chance of thunderstorms.

It was a good day to move the hen and eight chicks out of the old doghouse and into a pen on the ground. Mama hen was restless and needed to scratch in the dirt. 

Luckily, I caught them all...tricking them into small cage with cornbread crumbs, then moved them to a pen on the back of the old shed.

Ms. Hen was tickled to death to get a dust bath. Sitting four weeks in that doghouse was tiring.

The chicks thought maybe mama had gone mad. All that kicking and throwing dirt and dust everywhere.

The chicks are in the lot I built last summer from rabbit wire. I've covered one end with a tarp and hung the heat lamp above their straw bed...

making them a warm cozy corner. Once this front passes, we will have more cold weather.

What's wrong with me anyway! Sunday, Poppy and I went down home to Moore County. We were invited there by his sister Pat, to have Thanksgiving dinner at their house. All Poppy's family was invited, and most all of them came.

Here's the funny part...out of all the people and food and good times...the only picture I took was of the big bowl of mashed potatoes sitting on the stove. Pat said she peeled ten pounds of potatoes before going to church Sunday morning.

these potatoes were delicious. I'm telling you, I can't make good mashed potatoes...not even using only three potatoes, but these were buttery and delicious.

Both Poppy's sisters, Frances and Pat, are great cooks.  Oh, and look at that dish of macaroni and cheese!

I simply don't have the personality to go round snapping pictures of everybody. It embarrasses me. So the mashed potatoes will have to tell all. 

while we are on the subject of kitchen stuff...I ran in the Goodwill store one day last week and found this pretty butter dish.  Wonder how long that little rose bud handle will last, around me!

Better get up from here. I will be around to visit and catch up. 

Love,
Henny