there was just something about him.....

when I first saw him, he was nestled in the old mitten just as you see him.

His crown chipped and his little hand long gone....

Someone before me had surely loved him and

had seen to it that he was safe & warm before they

let him go.

He has been there, asleep on his old mitten,

giving

Peace, Love & Joy every Christmas

and every day

in between.

***

I wish for you all

much love, peace and joy

this Christmas

and

every day in between.

with love,

Christine

***

~Our dear Mr. Jefferson & the Deerfield Ladye's send their very Best to you all

and hope that you are enjoying the Spirit of Christmas.

They will return again with stories and news in the New Year~

Bless you all for your friendship and love,

Merry Christmas

&

a blessed New Year

My dear Madame....

a voice called down from the top of the old cupboard-

"My dear Madame"...

Mr. Jefferson spoke with great calm & dignity "Please, do not trouble yourself concerning my first meeting with the ladyes,

"he said, peering over the edge. " As you can see, I am quite well"... He looked surprisingly well. I also took note that in the short time he had been on the shelf that he had fashioned for himself a hat made from a bit of the wrapping paper that he had arrived in.... and tied some of the string around it to keep it in place. A resourceful fellow...since his arms were themselves tied on with string.

"In fact, he confided, as he adjusted the paper hat. " I was quite taken with their enthusiasm upon my arrival....I understand that the ladyes may not be used to much company, especially when that company is a gentleman. Of course, my sudden appearance has probably caused a bit of unexpected giddiness.

..."and the parlor tea table seems to have a bit of a tilt to it...and...." his voice trailed into a whisper... " I'm afraid that my spectacles were still in my vest pocket and I actually lost my footing and went down on my own accord...I do believe the ladies were only trying to help me up again...

and so as he spoke and told me about his missing spectacles, the fact that one leg is a bit shorter than the other, these combined with the tippy parlor table and apparently our Mr. Jefferson was much older than he had let on, it all became quite clear what had actually happened. it would seem that along with a most enthusiastic welcome, our dear Mr. Jefferson is a bit of a clumsy fellow without his spectacles...and more importantly, he is much older than he let on...in fact, quite old. Something to do with being "repainted"....poor fellow...

"and so dear Madame...if you would do me the kind service of finding something more appropriate for me to wear until my clothes are mended, I shall be most honored and pleased to join you with all your dear family for tea in front of the fire this evening...perhaps we may all begin again."

He smiled down at me.

He was now leaning precariously over the edge of the shelf, dangling a thin sock with a hole in the toe... "do you think you might be able to do something with this before the appointed hour?"

~~~~

to be continued...

oh, Christmas is lovely ...

oh, isn't Christmas time lovely....

it's the first of December, looking out my windows snow is falling as I write. The candles are lit on the mantle, the fir wreath on the front door is dusted with snow, a good fire in the fireplace and the scents of Christmas have come to my little farmhouse.

We've been to the woods with our little grandchildren to cut our tree, we've been going to the woods since I was very small...and we carried the tradition on with our children and now our little grandchildren... it's just lovely...seeing their excitement and the snow falling as we tramped through the firs and pines looking for the perfect tree to bring home. Feeling the same excitement ourselves...making snow angels under the trees, wondering if they'll be found before the snow fills them in... Seeing Christmas through their eyes makes this celebration just what it is meant to be. Peace & Joy, great Hope, love for each other and the promise of good things to come.

This evening our tree stands in front windows, not yet dressed and waiting for it's old paper and tinsel, wonderful beeswax candles & chalk ware Santas , gingerbread animals & sparkling glass charms .

Each year we add more and each year our tree is even more beautiful...and Christmas more meaningful as our family gathers and is together.

oh, Christmas is lovely....

with love,

Christine

Deerfield Farm

~~~

Dear Readers,

Our story of "Mr Jefferson comes calling"

continues tomorrow...with

"My dear Madame".....

Mr Jefferson comes calling~a little story

You see, while we were lately traveling in Virginia, I happened upon a handsome country gentleman, sitting high on a shelf in the milliner's shop.

He immediately impressed upon me that he was perfect to take home to the Deerfield ladyes.

~They being weary

of too much female company.~

I invited Mr. Jefferson-his given name-for a cup of hot cider-at a nearby tavern tea room where we might discuss the possibility that he seriously consider a visit to our farm in Oregon.

He being a gentleman farmer himself was quite intrigued with the idea of seeing the workings of a farm on the western frontier.

I discreetly mentioned that there were also several unattached ladyes there that he might like to meet and he quickly agreed.

Well, I'm quite sure that you can imagine all the high pitched interest that arose at seeing the large brown paper & string wrapped parcel when I brought out the trinkets & treasures I had gathered to bring home to the "girls".

The tiny fans and wee drawstring bags were quickly thrown aside and forgotten as they all ran and stopped at screeching halt to see this handsome gentleman farmer from Virginia emerge from his brown paper wrappings.

For he, indeed, is quite handsome. Stately & broad shouldered, his carved wooden face had been carefully chiseled to show his strong chin and noble brow. His flax hair is primped and curled and tied back with a black silk ribbon, he is indeed the epitome of manliness.

Well, to make a long story much shorter, in their eagerness to meet him, there was a bit of a scuffle and I'm ashamed to say that a little hair pulling and the tearing of his clothes occurred.

The saddest part of this story is that he is now a little traumatized and without any clothes -being wrapped in a bit of old linen - until I can mend his frock coat & cravat...as for any other clothing such as his pocket and trousers...I have yet to locate them.

He has only one shoe...(I'm told that one of the ladyes may have hidden it as a remembrance)

He is now safely hidden from their view until he recovers from his first meeting.

The ladyes are now quite red-faced and appalled at their apparent lack of propriety and usual quiet natures and now have gone back to their stitching and quiet reading.

to be continued~~~~~

Peace & Plenty -A Blessed Thanksgiving

how very blessed we are on this good earth.

in the beauty of it all, Her forgiveness when we are not good to it, the bounty of it when we are. the fields and flowers and the animals that grace our lives. Finding peace in the quiet of the first snow, woodsmoke rising from every chimney

in our little valley...

a flickering candle in every window

and the warmth of my family that smiles at me from around our table.

For dear friends near and far

and for those men & women in service to our country

away from their own families,

who watch over us and keep us safe.

for all this I am most grateful & thankful.

I wish for all of you the blessings of the most precious of all good things,

I wish you

love & peace.

with love on this day,

Christine

Deerfield Farm

first snow

"The first snow is always a very delightful happening"

~Tasha Tudor~

Our first snow is always a delightful happening,

the air becomes very soft and still.

Our hills become pale ochre & white.

The birds seem to be coming from everywhere to find bits of rose hips to eat.

Even our old rooster pheasant, a solitary old man who we thought was gone, suddenly appeared in the old crab apple tree by the garden fence.

A comforting sight for me to see an old friend looking happy and content.

lovely

I thought you might like to see some of the clothing that we were able to see-

these gowns and the gentleman's silk breeches & waistcoat were all newly made for the symposium. Each were completely and very beautifully hand sewn by the persons wearing the clothing.

The gentlemen as well!

Amazing!

~~~

Dressing a New Nation: these photo's are of some of the clothing that was made for the narrated fashion show of reproduction costumes from 1600-1840. Included were camera assisted dressing demonstrations, Linda Baugarten narrating, with Colonial Williamsburg milliners,mantua-makers,tailors,wigmakers and the staff of the Costume Design Center and museum educators.

~~~

What makes your heart sing?

the farm girl becomes a school girl

we're home again, home again, and while we had the most wonderful time away for the past 2 weeks, it's so nice to be home.

To see our mountains covered with snow, to have coffee with Mr. Jefferson and visit with "the treasures"

and sleep in my own bed again.

While were away celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary

I did a little something just for me...

I attended the

"Remember Me When This You See " ~Embroideries and Painted Arts of the New Republic~

Symposium in Colonial Williamsburg.

It truly was a most wonderful experience.

I felt like an enthusiastic and eager school girl, drinking in every delectable bit of the lectures in story telling, pictures and seeing first hand the early school girl arts, mourning art, early clothing and textiles-most wonderful were lectures given by Linda Baumgarten, Curator of Textiles and Costumes at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Amy Finkel of M. Finkel & Daughter Samplers and Silk Embroideries.

On the last day I was one of 15 other women that were able to go on a tour with Linda Baumgarten into the conservation buildings where all the treasures are stored. Behind locked doors and temperature controlled rooms, wearing white cotton gloves Linda pulled out huge flat drawers, one after another filled with everything imaginable that could have been embroidered and hand sewn of wool, linen, cottons and silks. 1700's French ball gowns, hand embroidered silk stockings, mitts, shoes, caps..some with the silken threads still bright as if new, 2 drawers full of embroidered and stitched men & ladye's pockets-

be still my heart-

there were embroidered silk mourning pictures,theorems, paintings, hand painted wallpapers...

what we were able to see is still overwhelming to me

and my visit much too short.

After all this,

I will never be the same again,

inside or out.

~~~

So now this farm girl will continue her efforts as a school girl herself.

I've begun to draw up a large sampler to stitch of silken threads on linen.

a large farmhouse in the center surrounded by trees and fields and

gardens filled with flowers

& every bird and animal on our farm.

and most certainly a winding flower'd & fruited border surrounding it all

and in the very center

all the names of those I hold dearest stitched between.

happy to be home,

xoC

peace & plenty- a walk around Deerfield

I wanted to share what I see when I go for walks here at Deerfield.

My beautiful mountains, these are the

3 Sisters.

Mt. Jefferson

in honor of our Mr. Thomas Jefferson

our 3rd president of the United States.

He's here every morning to have coffee with me.

our high desert has many beauties, maybe only in the eye of the beholder,

but the dearest place on earth to me.

if only you could smell the heavy scent of juniper and sagebrush.

one of my favorite roads to walk

~Hay Creek Road~

fat & happy black angus cows awaiting the birth of

fall calves.

nothing sweeter than a newborn black angus calf.

I'm looking forward to seeing them run and play.

I hope you enjoy seeing a little of what I see every day.

If you close your eyes and let the crisp air brush your cheek

you can almost hear the sagebrush whispering

there are many tales in these old hills.

xoC

~~~~~

on women & friendship

I am not often in the company of other women as my life here has always seemed to be connected with the land....my beautiful farm...what it needs and what we need to do to care for it. It is a constant quiet calling, a gentle hum of days filled with work from dawn to long after dark. There is not much time for "lunch with the girls" or shopping other than for groceries and feed for the animals.

I grew up this way and am quite used to it.

But lately I have felt a calling for myself beyond the call of my beautiful land.

...the company of other women.

and yet, it is a foreign place for me.

my dear friend, Gayle, who is quite a wonderful & successful business woman- she owns 3 wonderful antique malls in Portland, Oregon.

She has been my dear friend for nearly 20 years and I feel very comfortable in her presence.

We can visit up a storm and not see each other for months at a time and then when we do, we can start right where we left off

as though no time has passed at all.

She understands my love of the land and yet she knows, too, that we all need the company of other women...and she gave the gift of an experience that I would not have had.

She draws me in from the fields with words like "early home, early antiques...gardens...and invited me to accompany her into the most delicious of experiences such as an invitation to lunch with other women, all accomplished, all genuine and all wonderfully interesting beyond my realm. I loved it.

and it all took place in a home that just sang to my heart.

Rufus Porter murals-handpainted by our hostess- surrounded us at a long black table decorated with the fruits of autumn, flowers and candles in pewter candlesticks, delectable food & champagne which I need to ask the name of...a fire burning and crackling in the fireplace and reflected in the satin smooth wooden floorboards.

My eye was drawn to the colors of the walls, a pale persimmon with a collection of very early mirrors, so beautiful that I could not breath at first glance...beautiful hand hooked rugs and stone fruit, early paintings and silhouettes...

everywhere you looked was a feast for the eyes and soul.

Lovely old paned windows let in the late afternoon light as we all became sisters around that lovely old table. With stories and laughter and tears shed with the sharing of each others accomplishments and strength in the adversities of life.

I became aware that I am a sister to other women and need them.

It was a treasured afternoon that I will never forget.

xoC

Congratulations & thank you dear winners

and the Lucky Winners are.....

The Grand Prize Winner

Gladys Battson

2nd prize winner of a lovely antique worn velvet

pinkeep-seen in the background-

Ulla Milbrath

The winners of the

~fine hand made pin keep boxes are~

Carol S. Curtis-Reinbold

Norma Templeton

Kathy Barrick-Dieter

Dixie Redmond

these are very lucky ladye's indeed

as there were very nearly 700 entries!

my very best

Congratulations to you all!

thank you so very much everyone

for helping me to Celebrate my 20th Anniversarie

of dolly making

it was great fun!

schnuffling out the winners

Honorable F. Pigg

schnuffles

the winners cup.

it's almost time!

the Honorable F.Pigg

has kindly agreed to officiate our

Anniversarie Celebration

this afternoon

as my grandchildren

are just getting over a case of the sniffles.

so

all is in readiness

Let the Merrie -Making begin!!!!

be ye watchful on the morrow

Fine Pigg has been trotting back and forth in a marshal air for the past few days...

quite proud of his important post here at Deerfield.

We thank him for his diligence and attentiveness to the important task at hand.

***

There are but a few hours left before we turn the old hat over

&

pick 5 names

from all of you have been so kind to have asked to be added into

the Old Top Hat.

Thank you!

I can't wait to announce the winners

tomorrow

October 1, 2007

5 pm

~pacific time~

fine pigg finds employment

Fine Pigg has come to play...

the girls, however, are not amused...

"He'll just knock us over, we might break!" whispers Charlotte from the back...her smile frozen....

Nellie looks away while the other girls all stand quietly waiting.

Miss Know- it -All, who thinks two heads are better than one, tells F. Pigg,

"Let's play house! "

You be the Dad and go to work...

she says most decidedly

with her hands on her hips.

oh..ok...I'll be the Dad,

says Pigg...

most grateful to be included

What kind of work is there to do around here anyway...

Poor Pigg... to keep the girls from throwing fits and causing general discord within our peaceful home I told Pigg that he had a most important job...

he could be our Guard Pigg.

He smiled his biggest Pigg smile

and grunted happily...

oh yes! I would Love to be the Guard Pigg.

So he trotted quickly along beside me to the

old tea table in front of the fireplace and

there he took his place of honor

on the tippy top

of

The Old Top Hat

which is filled to the brim

~safe & sound~

all of the names for the 20th Anniversarie Celebration.

Doesn't Pigg look proud of his new station?

You can be quite assured that nothing will come to harm under Guard Pigg's watchful eye.

There is just 1 week left to add your name into the Old Top Hat!

Our 20th Anniversaire Celebration Drawing is October 1st

Please email with your full name & email address

to be added into the Old Top Hat!

wee hours princess

I have long been aware that my dollies

come alive at night.

I can hear them scurrying and rustling downstairs in the wee hours as they carry on their dolly lives. Visiting & playing tea party at the little doll table and reading their books together on the settee.

I knew that when the

beautifully beribboned glittery crown

arrived for my Katie's birthday

that Elisabeth was quite smitten with it.

although she didn't say one word...

her eyes sparkled~

you could see she could not wait for night to fall.

Early the next morning

as I crept down the chilly stairs

I could hear them oohing and ahhing...

and was not at all surprised to see

Elisabeth & her dolly....

the old story book in their laps

and Elisabeth playing Princess

in the early light of morning...

with the glittery crown upon her head.

I must speak to our dear friend about a bit of glittery

with a beautiful E

for our dear Elisabeth

and just maybe a tinier one

for her beloved dolly.

happy birthday, my katie bird

time moves much too fast for me

who would have it

sit still...just for a moment...

to soak it all in.

memories of my tiny girl,

my bright little baby bird

always laughing always smiling.

She has her own nest now

and her own little birds to

guide and teach how to fly

Bless you as you go my little katie bird...

and sit quiet and soak it all in.

for time moves much too fast for the heart that would have it

just sit still.

my gardeners- better known as the Breakfast Club

oh my, see how the babies have grown...

now they can help prune the roses,

the apple trees,

and the raspberries

along with Mom & Dad, Uncle 4 point and Auntie Rosebud

and all the various relatives and cousins.

Good morning to my Breakfast Club

Anniversarie Celebration!

my dear friends,

oh, where does the time go?

It doesn't seem that so many years have passed since I first came to Deerfield Farm as a new bride. Where we made a home for our family & where the very first Deerfield dolly was made for our first Christmas tree angel.

~~~~~~~

I have been so very blessed...and now I must

thank all of you,

my wonderful friends, old and new...

who have met me with such joy, such wonderful support and love and enthusiasm for my little dollies & me over these past 20 years.

and so

In Honor of celebrating these 20 years of my dolly making that has been done here under the old Deerfield Farm sign above my door

I am offering a most Wondrous Doll as Grand Prize in a drawing that I will be conducting.

I will be accepting entries from today until

September 30,2007.

On October 1st, 2007, we will draw 5 different names,

4 of which will be awarded

lovely prizes of Wonderful Goodes

made by myself just for this Anniversaire Celebration.

The Grand Prize winner will be given

a most Wondrous Doll

that I have made just for this most Special Occasion.

Please EMAIL me with your full name and email address if you would like to be a part of this most Special Anniversarie Celebration. Your entry will be put into the old top hat.

My little grand children will be drawing out the names and the winners will be announced on October 1st.

I hope that all of you will enter, especially those of you who have given homes to my dollies over the years.

I'm so happy and pleased to be doing this as a small of offering

of my sincere thanks and humble gratitude to all of you.

with love,

Christine

Deerfield Farmhouse

within her heart

she stood quiet

and let the gentleness of early light fall across her breast.

she closed her eyes

and she knew that no rusted wire or torn fragments of paper'd treasures, nor tatter'd relics of silken gowns

could cease the warmth within her heart from flowing out onto all that passed by her....

~~~

Dearest Friends,

News of

my

Celebration Event

will be posted over the coming weekend

~~~

I thank you for your kind patience.

~view from my sewing room~

passing on memories

The old trees have a few deep yellow leaves, the wild roses by the front gate are covered with beautiful crimson red rose hips...and I'm feeling like another time has passed by me...

yesterday as I carefully washed and dried each piece of my very first set of antique dishes to give to my son & his wife, I felt an unfamiliar twinge of being the one who is passing on a legacy....and odd feeling when you consider yourself still a young woman,

not the Mother and grandmother

that I really am.

These old dishes were given to me by Bryan & Katie's grandmother when I first became a part of their family, many years ago now. I know they had no money for such things and yet they found these and bought them to give to me for my first Christmas with them. A set of indigo blue Staffordshire dishes called Calico. Such a loving and giving family, I never knew such generosity and love in my life than I found in this family..... ..now I'm passing them on to my Bryan and his Nita for their home.

These lovely old bits of deep blue graced our table for many meals together, from Lucky Charms and Cheerios to bouillabaisse and tea parties. For wedding showers and baby showers, for birthdays, for Christmases long past....for potluck suppers and Thanksgivings. I know that my children hold them dear in their memories, maybe even as much as I do.

They know the significance of them and all the feelings that go along with them.

I know that these old cups and plates and bowls will grace their table for many years to come and for their little ones birthdays and Christmas dinners, for Cheerios and pancakes....and

they will know the story about their great- grandma who found these and gave them with all the love her heart could hold...

hand in hand

And hand in hand,

on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

the moon, the moon!

They danced by the light of the moon.

my son Bryan & his beautiful Nita

Happiest Anniversary

oh...thank you

I have to say that I was more than a little surprised to find that I had 3 of these in my mailbox all at once...that's a huge surprise and pretty humbling for me.

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Lately I have been thinking so often of all the special women I have met throughout my life and work and especially those truly wise & wonderful, genuine and giving women that have touched my life in such a way that it changed my life forever.

Some are now long gone, or moved away as their lives changed,

and some are still there every day, a note in my email or a phone call...a letter...all like the fragrance of flowers coming through the window on a soft breeze.

How they have touched my life, whether it was a kind word, holding out their hand in true friendship, just being by your side when you needed to know that someone was there.

You never know whose life you touch as you go about each day.

Every woman deserves to know how very special they are.

and I thank you for this.

This is for all of you.

just the woman for the job

Farmer Boy has called me to the fields...he desparately needs parts from town and it seems that he's the only one that can handle this job....too many odd numbers to relate to the parts man behind the counter or something to that effect... besides the fact that he occasionally needs a break

from running the combine for hours on end...

so...sweet wife that I am...

I've come to "spell him off" for awhile.

now where is he?

there he is "ok honey", says my Farmer Boy.... "just finish up this little dab and I'll be back in no time!"

what a sweet talker he is.... and off I go..... and you thought I sat on the porch sewing a fine seam & playing dollies all summer... to be continued...

finding peace and quiet

in the early morning quiet of my kitchen I have my coffee and enjoy the peacefulness of my little farmhouse.

it's a lovely cool early morning here. the light is amber and the shadows are long. I've been out walking in the orchard in my nightgown, the hem drenched with dew.... and listening to everything waking up. I can feel fall coming in the soles of my bare feet- The doe and twins are down in the trees, ears perked and watching me, blackberries hanging from the branches of the red bud tree, the vines have twined up into it as a make-do trellis.....it's beautiful. the workers are down in the garlic fields, picking and trimming in the cool of the early morning...their straw hats bent...

my little rooster,Winslow, is letting us know the sun is nearly up...

this is where I can breath and find my peaceful self. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, in the meantime, I want to assure you,

my Dear Friends,

my quietness does not mean idleness, oh no!

My days are spent working & planning

and getting ready for my

Celebration Event

for all of you to enjoy & be a part of.

I'll be announcing the date very soon!

Please email me if you would like to be added to my mailing list for this

Wonderful Celebration Event!

I hope you all are enjoying these quiet & peaceful late summer days.

something wonderful is coming.......really...it is!

please email me if you would like to be added

to my mailing list for this

Wonderful Event!

such a beautiful girl

isn't it wonderful when lovely things happen for your friends?

I'm so pleased for my friend, Aleta Breese, who -just recently-

was quite notably and honorably awarded

with not just one

but 2

Toby Awards for her sweet bear,

Princess Mirabell & Sophie

Aleta & I had talked about us making a collaboration piece together. I would make wee doll to be with her beautiful Princess Mirabell ...

and so I made little Sophie-seen here with the illustrious Princess M. herself.

Sophie has had the honor of being her traveling companion to all the best soiree's,

award dinners & tea parties.

Not being educated in the bear maker's world,

I soon learned that earning

a Toby Award is very much akin to receiving an Academy Award

and being recognized as one of the best in your field.

TOBY (Teddy Bear of the Year) awards

are presented by Teddy Bear and Friends magazine.

See more about Aleta and her wonderful teddy bears here:

thesillybear

I have oohed and ahhed at seeing their formal portrait together.

Now, I must say that after having actually met

and held the Famous Princess Mirabell this past Friday that I was not prepared for what an absolutely beautiful bear she is in person.

she is indeed quite breathtakingly-

A most beautiful bear girl.

Her eyes speak volumes and she is dressed in such lovely antique clothing, complete with a tiny pale robin's egg blue purse and a sweet little cream silk parasol.

I was a little sad to have to put her back and wave goodbye to them.

I am so very happy and proud for Aleta

and I'm very honored to have been a small part of

her exciting journey into the Wonderful world of a bear maker's "Hall of Fame".

ps.I must apologize, Aleta, for not including our picture together...I'm afraid that whatever was on my camera lens marred our pictures, so if yours are much better, I look forward to seeing us both on your blog!