One person's trash, another person's treasure

Donya and I wanted to support Paws so we attended their spring rummage sale. We passed 2 or 3 rummage sales on our way to Paws, and decided to stop on our way home. I have no idea why we decided to load up with dolls.. perhaps it was the price offered to us. We were admiring a table full, trying to decide which one to buy. They were priced from $2.00 to $5 each, which we thought was pretty reasonable. The owner spied us contemplating, and came over and offered us all 14 dolls for $1 each. hmmmm mmmmm you got a couple boxes to put them in?

This is number 14
I found the pretty lamp at Paws, along with 5 more lamps (4 Brass and 1 crystal) The silk boquet was from another rummage sale. And of course, since I live in a dairy barn, the milk can cookie jar needed to come home with me as well. Just a dollar, so why not?

We took my van, and brought it back very loaded. Now... I'm like the previous owners ... where will I put all these treasures?!!

Bluebells, dandylion and art

Donya is so talented with photography, and took this photo of the bluebells the day we went to the Devonia Swap Meet. It is such a lovely piece of Iowa.

I used her camera to snap this nice shot of Donya in the bluebells field. I had to take about 6 shots, as I kept holding the camera a bit wonky.
Mmmmm dandylions. This was our first harvest of blossoms this year.

And a photo of the goodies cooking after being dipped in the thin pancake batter. The dandylion was brought to America to keep the first settlers from starving. My ancestors arrived on the second 'shipment' of pilgrims. It is probably good that they were made of sturdy stock and cheap to keep.. did not require much food to survive. Unfortunately, I definately come from that stock and although I do not need much food to survive, I eat it anyway. If there is ever a famine, I have enough stored up to gaurantee I will be a survivor !!

Donya designed this lovely card, using the Cricut, Door County Stamps and Copic markers. She is a certified Copic instructor and teaches how to use all the materials and tools in the shop. Many times guests at the Dairy Barn B & B will have us open the shop after supper and they receive personal help and instructions.

Devonia and Bluebells

Devonia swap meet and Bluebell fields

It was sooo cold for the Devonia Swap Meet. Anyone that had blankets or quilts for sale in their booth, as well as sweatshirts, sold out. I wish I would be ready for the pair of peacocks that were for sale. They were so beautiful, but Alfie is a bit too young to teach not to chase the peacocks. I'm sure he would have pestered the life out of that male, by chasing those impressive tail feathers.

As I stopped by Mike's Chicken Place, the caged goose had just laid an egg. The kids hovering around that booth was so excited, they thought a photo should be taken. If you look closely at the cage, you will see that egg near the rear end of the goose. Cute little kids, hunh?!!

Mike is pretty good at promoting. He set up a contest that would end the swap meet with lots of memories and excitement for the kids. He duct taped a $5 bill to the leg of a guinea hen, clipped her wings so she would not fly away, and planned to turn her loose and let the kids chase and catch her. Who ever caught her got to keep the hen and the $5. If mom would not allow them to take the hen home, they could bring it back to him and he would buy it from them for another $5.

About the last thing before ending the swap meet was a hillbilly auction. I had never stayed long enough to see one, so this time I decided to stay. Let me tell you, it certainly was hillbilly.. the red capped lady was a perfect example. They were selling her left overs from the 2 day swap, and she was running the show... big time. Usually you leave that part up to the auctioneer. I reconized him as a professional that sells machinery and parts to Don and Fred. He does a real fine job the first Monday of every month. The rest of the auction went rather normal, selling a mtorcycle, books, knives, what have you. I must say, that red capped lady was VERY entertaining.

There was a very friendly goat there, but I decided not to ruffle Don's and Fred's feathers by bringing it home. Lots of dogs, of every variety. It was fun to see the new owners looking lovingly at their new pooches and telling them how handsome or beautiful they were. And the little red hen I almost bought turned out to be a rooster. He sure was handsome, but not a good thing to try to put him in with our grey silky rooster.

The next Devonia swap meet is in the Fall. It is usually pretty cold about that time as well.



The Bluebells were in full bloom, so we stopped by a favorite feild of them on the way home from the swap. It was not very sunny, so the blue flowers do not show up too well in the photo.. but they were absolutely stunning in person. I caught Donya taking a photo of Sally, so snapped one. The photo Donya took is just beautiful. And one I took of her, using her camera, was perfect as well. I must borrow her camera so I can download a few photos to share on my blog.

Till later... got garden to plant, you know.

Allison's tea party

Yesterday at the barn: It was fun to watch a tea party that was planned by the hostesses as a shower for soon to be newly weds Allison Scoby and Justin Becthold. The menu was cucumber sandwiches, cheesecake with raspberries, heatshaped cinnamon crackers, creamy lime punch, coffee and of course, tea.
Hats were offered and a lesson in tea etiquette was provided.
From my office I could hear many complimentary comment about the cucumber sandwiches. I must find a recipe and try that when I have fresh cucumbers from the garden this summer.

Rainy day

It's been raining for 2 days and nights. The rain brought the farming to an abrupt halt. Sure is good to see things getting green after such a long winter.
With yellow of the jonquils shining so brightly in spite of the dark cloudy day, who can be grouchy? Donya and Don.. that is who !!
As soon as the weather will permit, we will have to hustle to get the weeds pulled.. while the ground is still soft by not mushy. Those pesky stinging nettles decided to move in with the flowers again this year. I must find that recipe for cooking them. They are such good greens to eat first thing in the spring, as they are a blood cleanser. Get all that winter clutter out of your system. They are only good for eating when they are very young. Let them get mature and they will get you instead of you getting them!
Fred left his goat wagon parked in the front yard. I like the way it looks there, perhaps I will have him leave it there. It looks good in the snow or when the grass is green. The Devonia swap meet is a couple weeks away. Wonder if Don and Fred will be unhappy if I come home with a goat to hitch to that wagon. heh heh heh

Happy Birthday to me !!!

Yesterday was my birthday. My dear friends, Sally and Marilyn, surprised me with a lovely bouquet of a dozen roses... a plaque that could be used as a garden stone as well.. and a couple pairs of corduroy jeans. Wow! Thank you gals.
I waited till the morning of my birthday to open the gift Rhonda sent... A lovely box with compartments full of scrap booking and card making supplies AND an album. Donya added some cherry items, a bird feeder with a blue bird to hang it from with the saying 'life is just a bowl of cherries', and a new night gown covered in cherries AND a new case for my camera, with cherries.

I can't show you the special (favorite of mine) lemon cookies Fred and Michelle brought over. yum !!

As much as I love the gifts, and the kind thoughts that go with them, it is a reminder of having used up another year and not really feeling like I have made it count.

I ended the day with bed and breakfast guests from near Fargo ND.. on their way to Missouri for a college reunion.

It was a fun day .. life is good.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter !!

I almost missed Easter. I was working on a job in the sewing part of the shop, that needed to be shipped as soon as possible. I finally finished the project, got it packaged, and headed for Clear Lake(that is the closest Fedex terminal) Saturday morning. They closed at noon, so had little time to spare. The shipping bill came to $35 for the 2 parcels, and let me tell you, they were heavy as well as large boxes. They are on their way to Parker Colorado. I've not met the client, we use the phone and e-mail.

Donya had Saturday off, so went with me. We decided to make a day of 'shopping' and visited the thrift stores in Mason City. I found a nice straw hat and Donya found books. We picked up texture at the lumber yeard, for Don to finish the room project (will he ever get it done?!!) and then shopped at our favorite grocery store, Aldi. We like that store for their real German Chocolate candy. The kind that melts in your hand.. and oh so smooth. yum!!
Aldi had only 1 'Chocolate fire egg' left. We snatched it along with some packages of truffle eggs and headed for home. The fire egg was wrapped ever so pretty, it was a shame to open it. After taking off the outer wrap, there was the shape of an egg wrapped in foil and sealed with a pretty sticker on each side. When you broke one seal the other seal acted as a hinge. It was filled with German chocolates. Some with nuts but all were truffles.. my favorite. I'm sorry we forgot to take a photo before we all dived in on those chocolates. And just look at the thickness of the chocolate egg!! REAL chocolate, no wax in it.

We had chili for Easter dinner, and our wonderful egg. Donya and I spent the rest of Easter at the scrap book shop getting our cards finished for card club (due tomorrow), Michelle decided to work with a scrapbook client for the afternoon, and Fred and Don spent the whole day moving things around with their tractors. (You know how everything gets put on a dining table instead of being put away? The guys do that to our yard.. and that is a lot of stuff when your yard is 5 acres.) The snow is gone, so their clutter really shows.

We were blessed with a lovely sunny Easter day, with a breeze that turned into WIND and a temperature of 58 degrees.