Sunday, February 14, 2010

love spoke....

...last evening,
by the candle lit fireside
our Augusta had a gentleman caller....
they sat side by side and listened to the quiet crackling of the fire
he leaned in closer....and whispered into her crumpled little ear
"oh my dear"..."how lovely you look this evening"...
and then pressed a hand written letter,
sealed with crimson wax, into her hand.
and while bowing low
he kissed her mitted hand,
and bid her good night...and a wish to see her on the morrow.
Inside, he had written in beautiful spidery letters, all in sepia ink
"I love thee - I love thee,
'Tis all that I can say
It is my vision in the night,
My dreaming in the day."
~Thomas Hood~
she could not have been more surprised...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~three of my favorite things ~

an early paper Valentine

sawtooth edged & folded

tied with old garnet ribbon & tarnished silver threads

resting on a wool pin keep, all on a lovely pewter plate.

a pretty little what-not, all.

I hope that this day of sweethearts and Valentine's

have brought all that your hearts desire....

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

the honorable fine pigg schnuffles out a recipient...or two

good morning dear Fine Pigg.
Waking up early was, at one time, for our old friend, The Honorable F. Pigg,
his very best and finest of attributes...
that and making sure
that not one crumb or scrap of anything remotely edible touched the floor too long...
and to keep watch over the little dolls from falling from the shelf where they played at night.
He is quite old now and sleeps in this nest in an old shoe most of his days.
You see, he came from Prussia many many years ago and came across
the Atlantic Ocean to New York City,
he then rumbled along in a nest of wool batting to
where he rested on a small shelf in an old farmhouse in upper New York.
After many years, he then traveled on to
another old farmhouse in Iowa and then on to his home,
a little dairy farm in Oregon...before he came to live with us, his faithful friends.
He is getting a little slower these days....and he was extremely pleased to be called upon to
"schnuffle out a recipient" for a lovely pair of hand made bees wax candles.

"my dear Mistress Crocker, there is not enough fan fare for such an occasion", he snorted!!!

and so, without further adieu, he poked his snout into the end of the tin candle snuffer,

tossed it into the air

where it flipped precariously end over end

and then,

as if by magic

it landed perfectly on his bristled old head.

Right in between his sweet floppy

& spotted ears

"There now", says he, with a smile..."perhaps we can make something special of this occasion"!

and so, with that old tin candle snuffer as his Master of Ceremonies hat

the Honorable Fine Pigg schnuffled out (you can almost hear his accent, can't you?)

the names of 2 fine ladyes,

Donna

and

Kim

These ladyes will each receive a lovely pair of hand dipped beeswax candles that my

little family and I made this past fall in the old orchard.

and now Fine Pigg can go back to his nest in the old shoe...oh...I see he's already left....

thank you Fine Pigg!

Thank you all for your lovely notes of what makes you feel happy this time of year,

in between late winter & early spring. I was particularly happy to see that what makes us all happy are the simplest of things and yet the most valuable to us.

To all of you that live where it is snowing so wildly, we all send our best thoughts and prayers that you're snug and safe.

The sun will soon be out and melt it away into spring flowers.

Christine

Deerfield Farm

~~~

I wanted to thank you all so much for your wonderful birthday wishes & greetings.

Some of you didn't have an email, so I thank you from here.

It was a lovely day out and dinner with family last evening.

~and oh yes, I did get my little tin nutmeg grater

and the lovely tin lantern for the barn is on order!

Won't that be a lovely light to carry out to the barn to make sure the hens are snugged for the night?!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

traveling the countryside

my farmer told me to put on my boots and get my hat this morning...
or in his real words "get yer girdle on, Hessie, we're headed to town".
So we left the old homestead and headed out for a ride around the countryside...
and maybe stop at the old mercantile and see what new shipments had come in...
maybe a new pair of satin slippers
or a length of robin's egg blue ribbon...

these store shelves in Old Sturbridge makes my heart just leap

I've had my eye on something special from the tinner...

a new tin nutmeg grater and a lantern for the barn.

I'll be back in the morning ~

I had totally forgotten it was my birthday this morning so will have the

Honorable Mr F. Pigg choose

a winner tomorrow morning!

have a wonderful day!

Friday, February 5, 2010

early February at home

these quiet days of February are becoming filled with the promise of spring.
my little farmhouse sits in the midst of greening fields....
each morning the fields, hills and valley's are
covered with heavy mists in the early morning light.
and even before the sun begins to peek over the hills, the robins down in the
orchard begin their sing~song to greet the new day.
~
inside, candles are lit and my precious bits are illuminated.
a wonderful new-old silhouette that I've had for sometime and found
here and just love
~

an old cupboard in my kitchen, wearing a worn and much loved bees wax heart, hanging from an early old gilt and blackened wavy glass mirror. somehow, just looking at it makes everything right in the world.

and my favorite...

old pewter plate and spoon filled with an old cloth heart
that carries this verse...
"But he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast"
(Pro. 15:15)
I wish you all mists that lift, spring peeking over the hills
& a merry heart within.
~
yrs on this day,
Christine
~
I would love to hear what makes your heart merry this time of year~
please write
and the Honorable Fine Pigg will draw a name
on Tuesday next,
my birthday,
for a little handmade gift for someone.