Walking Eli

Poppy and I walked Eli around the pond late yesterday.

Eli wore his leash. We have read too many stories of how Pyrenees will wander off. Eli is good to stay in the yard with us, but if we walk up and down the road, or around the pond, we keep him on a leash.  Just across the woods a ways, a young couple keep dogs tied in their back yard. We don't want Eli to go off visiting.

All these hot pink flowers, Obedient Plant, have grown from a handful I pulled from the front yard a few years ago. Guess they must be happy here. 

And another thing! 

We're going to whip Poppy for telling Eli that he looks like Foghorn Leghorn.

Eli has pretty legs!  He does not look anything like that silly rooster. One of our favorite old cartoons was "Foghorn Leghorn".

Better get busy. I hope to get the back of Poppy's shop cleaned and painted today and here it is lunch time already! Where do the days go?!!

Love,
Henny

String to Strings

At the moment, Poppy is in the woods sitting in a tree. When he left he said, I'll be back when it starts raining. 

I've added another string. This ball holds every string off every bag of feed we've opened since 1989. It is a very slow growing ball but when you think about starting with just one string, well. 

A favorite little shelf above our Crosley Record Player (reproduction, of course), which, by the way, I still love to play the old records on.

Poppy and I have a ton of old record albums. Several are from back in the early 1960's and belonged to Lynn and Andee's Dad and me. Long before Poppy and I ever met. 

Some of the best music here belonged to Poppy back his single days in the 70's and 80's...back when music was good!  

Then there are my favorite added in here and there. Well I did buy a few along the way.

Everything from Alabama to ZZ Top lined up here in alphabetical order. Out of the bunch, my favorite would have to be Luciano Pavarotti. As Lynn would say, be still my heart! 

Now when I'm busy sewing at night, alone in my little sewing room, I listen to Bluegrass music. Guess maybe I like lots of different kinds of music. I do not care for any of the new music, popular today. Does music today even have a beat? I don't think so.

Good grief! I had no idea what to post when I sat down here. Now I could just go on and on. Guess I will stop here and get busy. Still no rain yet!

Love,
Henny 

I do apologize

Poppy comes home from hunting around lunchtime then goes back into woods around 3:00 and sits in the tree until 6:30. Eli and Weetie love to hear that four-wheeler coming up the road.

It is not often that a Virgo gets her facts mixed up and puts out a bunch of wrong information. Why Virgos are, after all, perfectionists! But I'm afraid this time it was me who screwed up. 

To all my dear sweet Canadian blogging friends who asked me, "where in the world is Green Mountain Canada", well there may not be a Green Mountain Canada. Shelby and Jimmy, Pat and Mike were vacationing in Blue Mountain Canada.

When Shelby told me that it was Blue Mountain and not Green Mountain, I said well I'm pretty sure you said Green Mountain. Shelby said, no, I'm pretty sure I said Blue Mountain. We laughed and left it at that. Later going through papers on the bar, I saw my note scribbled when Shelby called before they left for Canada...it said, will be in Blue Mountain Ontario Canada. Oops! I apologize.

I have just about killed myself working again today. I cleaned the goat lot...an area in front of this little manger looking barn that was a foot deep in rotted hay, goat droppings, rich soil, and earthworms. Eight wheelbarrow loads I struggled to push up to the garden and empty.

Then I cleaned out and raked under the shelter where we park the mower and the four-wheeler and store the hay and stuff. 

Poppy may be needing the computer. Hope to be back soon. The bed will feel mighty good tonight.

Love,

Henny

Outside on a sunny day

This day has been so pretty! I started to point the camera right at the sun and take a picture. We have had beautiful sunshine all day long and after two weeks of cloudy rainy windy weather, well it felt wonderful.

After making the bed, putting the dishes away, and straightening up the house I carried Eli to the groomer. He came home clean and white.

Have to admit though, I am beat. Simply worn out. I cleaned out most of the garden today, pulling up all the bean and tomato stakes and then the vines. I potted up five pots of Dill for the teeny tiny greenhouse, then moved the thirty small Rose of Sharon plants I've started to the greenhouse. I then started mowing the front yard and up around the garden. The mowing is what did me in! The grass had gotten so tall I had to mow over each row twice.

The animals enjoyed the sun today too. I was clipping and getting some knots from BunBun's fur when Smokey came along and made himself at home.

Smokey is a trip! He is everywhere! Have I told you how he catches a mouse almost every night? Well he does, and leaves them at the front door. Must be his way of thanking us for giving him a home.

Oh my, it is 10:00, bedtime! Poppy probably wants to look at the computer so I will say goodnight. Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

Mama's car

Good morning! on this rainy windy chilly Monday morning. Tomorrow though, the SUN is supposed to shine! Will we even know how to act? Probably not me!

Lately, having to use the windshield wipers every time I get in the car has sure made me think about mama. Mama could say the funniest things...and be very serious about it.

This older model Toyota Corolla that I drive, once belonged to mama. She bought this little car brand new in 1998. She was as proud of this car as she would have been of a Rolls-Royce, seriously!

Anyhow, several years back, I had gone to spend a weekend with mama and on Saturday we went out shopping, "you drive, and we'll take my car, said mama. It was a rainy day, but the rain had turned into an aggravating mist and drizzle . Working with the windshield wiper knob and only finding 'high speed' or 'low speed', I asked mama, "can't you set the windshield wipers on intermediate"? "oh good Lord no", she said.  "This little old car didn't come with anything but a set of seats". 

This picture was taken on Mama's 90th Birthday in 2007, the same year she died. Mama always had that little smile.

Before the rain started two weeks ago Poppy and I got the front and one end of the shop painted. Maybe with some sunshine later in the week we can get this job finished. I'm also making new curtains for the ugly little windows. This shop really is an ugly little building and if we had it to do over, we would not pick that fake log look. Yuk!

I will leave you with sweet Smokey sleeping in Weetie favorite spot. Makes me want to take a nap.

Better get busy. Poppy is on vacation this week. Black Powder deer hunting is in. He went in to work to take inventory but will be back soon.

Thank you my friends, and a special thank you to a new follower, 'Woods Country Cove'. I am so excited!

Love,
Henny

Our living room sure gets lived in!!

Did you know that Eli is trying to take my place on the couch? Well, he is. The big fat chair belongs to Eli. To sit for a minute and put my feet up on the coffee table, I now have to beg and plead. This sweetie pie can be stubborn as a mule. I just don't like sitting in the middle of the couch!

This big dog is an angel, but still, the wear and tear on this small house and especially on the living room furniture is unbelievable! Looks like we've kept a horse in the house. 

Speaking of the couch...

Several, and I do mean several, years ago, Lynn gave me two beautiful pillows for our big leather couch. These pillows are now ragged, worn out, and dirty, filthy dirty! I have taken them apart, washed, and re-stuffed them. I have patched holes and stitched up rips. Seriously, the time has come to let them go.

Plundering through my stash of fabrics, I found a piece similar to the old pillows. Friends, I went to work trying to sew two pillow to look like the old ones.

Actually, the new pillow turned out much better than I expected. Making the ruffle from the heavy fabric was the hardest part. Still have to finish the second one.

What an improvement! I'm not that crazy about the purple in the new fabric but I can live with it. I'm just tickled that we will have two nice clean sturdy fabric pillows!

Cousin Pat has sent me another surprise package. She is good at that, you know.

Lots of vintage, doilies or scarves. Are these called doilies? What were all these tiny doilies used for? Does anyone know?

Pat sent these things for me to cut up and use for doll making. It would be hard to cut these pretty things.

and a teeny tiny pocket that measures 2"x 2", embroidered with a rooster.

I do so appreciate these things. Thank you, Patty!

Our weather this morning!! It is windy, pouring rain, temperature 59 degrees. This is supposed to continue on through the weekend. We should all be down right depressed by then! I'm fixing to bundle up and run to the grocery store for a few things.

Hope to be back soon. I appreciate your visit.

Love,
Henny

Seriously, A book Post!

Okay friends, picture this; me, writing a post on the books I've read recently and those I want to read. Yes, that is exactly what I am doing...and drinking tea, and relaxing, and wearing reading glasses. Gosh, will wonders never cease! I'm glad none of you can see me!

Seriously, want to know what got me started?

It was when Marty Damon's book "Earthly Needs" became available at Amazon. Marty's blog, martywdamon.blogspot.com  is one of my favorites. I could not wait to get her book ordered and read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then it was Donna at anenchantedcottage.blogspot.com who told me about the book, " The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly", by SUN-MI HWANG so I ordered it too. 

Oh my goodness, I loved this little book about a chicken. In four days I had finished both books.

So now, fired up about reading I did a search through the bookcase and found the book "Maggie Sweet" by Judith Minthorn Stacy. This is one of Shelby's books. I had promised to read it and return it a few years ago but never did. Oops! I finished this one in two days and loved it! 

So now I am about half way through the book "At Home In Mitford" by Jan Karon. This is one of Shelby's all time favorite books and I can see why. Oh my! I want to live in Mitford.

Even before reading those first two books, I read and enjoyed the book, "More Than a Ticket" by Argie Ella Hoskins. I found Argie's blog while writing a post about my Daddy's business trips to New York  in the 1950's. Argie's book is full of great pictures and stories from those years. Argie was an Airline Stewardess for American Airlines in the 50's. Being an airline stewardess was my dream in high school.

I've never been one to sit and read. Very intelligent people are avid readers, right? Wonder if I would become intelligent if I became an avid reader? Very doubtful. Now Shelby has always been an avid reader. Mama used to say, "Shelby has always got her head stuck in book". Growing up, I would get so tired of Shelby and her reading. She never heard a word I said! We were supposed to be playing but no, Shelby had to read every word on everything! Guess that's why she was always in the Beta Club in school and I barely got passing grades. I love you anyway, Shelby! :)

Better get busy. There's lots of work to be done around here. No time to waste sitting around. :) 

Love,
Henny