thank you

Thank you everyone who sent such lovely notes & emails telling me how

much you've enjoyed your time

while visiting me here at The Pastoral Doll maker this past year.

~

Thank you from my heart.

~

I have to say that many of your letters

put a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.

I'm so glad to know that you have enjoyed

my writings, my stories and images about our life here

on Deerfield Farm .

I loved reading every one

of your letters.

thank you all so very much.

~

with love

on this day

and always,

Christine

~~~

the first of may

from my humble garden to you

happy first day of May

my first year blog anniversarie celebration & news

One evening, over a year ago now, I sat with my daughter on her bed playing

with her lap top...

"oh, I've got to get one of these!" I said, emphatically.

Speaking of her lap top, of course, and exclaiming over her then new blog

HomeKeeping Hearts all at once.

How luxurious,I thought to myself. To sit upon your bed and sail the world over!

To visit exciting places and wonderful people,

seeing such things that I had no idea even existed.

things that can only be dreamt of.

and so~~~~~

with Katie's help,

The Pastoral Doll Maker was born that very evening.

From my chair by the window I can see our farm unfolding hill upon hill, dressed in her best soft green gown of spring...

the twittering of the meadow lark, the sound of contented frogs

singing from the newly filled pond.

oh! there's the scent of crab apple blossoms catching me by surprise while I write.

and I can share it all first hand.

This has been a wonderful year of learning, of growth & discovery and I am grateful for all of you, my dear friends, new & old, who have come to Deerfield Farm

for a visit & peppermint tea on the porch or

for a walk through the fields with me.

I have visited & made new friends in countries all over the world from my old wing chair.

all while sitting here, snug, by the crackling fire on snowy winter evenings.

~*~

To celebrate my First year blog Anniversarie,

I invite you to write a sentence or two, a paragraph maybe and tell me what you have enjoyed most while visiting me here this year...

and what you would like to see & hear more of.

This is your entry into the First Anniversarie Celebration.

Mr Fine Pigg is away for a few weeks away to visit his family at the neighboring farm

and so I will be drawing the name of a lucky someone who leaves their kind thoughts.

There is a lovely Paper Trifle to be given away~

hand made especially for this occasion.

The winner will be chosen on Friday, May 2, 2008 shortly before my

Sweet Springe Celebration

beginning at 5 pm that First Friday of May.

I hope that when you do come for a visit,

that you'll feel comfortable and please leave a comment.

~please leave your name and a way for me to contact you~

I love to hear from everyone and will do my best to do the same for you.

I look forward to hearing from you~

with love

on this day,

Christine

~news from the Deerfield Doll House~

~*~

ps. I have heard from a little bird that the newest issue of Artful Blogging may contain

a little something about The Pastoral Doll Maker.

April 24***after traveling for hours and miles

and spending my children's inheritance for gas...

I have not yet found the newest issue of Artful Blogging.

We sat on the floor in front of the artist's & crafter's

magazine shelves

at Barnes & Noble

had wonderful mocha's.

We basked in the heady coffee aroma & delightful atmosphere

of a real live book sellers .

Spent some delicious time looking through

all the newest magazines,

but did not find the one issue

I was looking for.

it surely is coming ... and it is somewhere...

my little bit of being published is not in the Spring 2008 issue.

but rather the Summer 2008 issue

on the newsstands May 1.

I can be patient....being surrounded by rows upon rows

and piles of books

and other bookish people was heaven.

double mocha's and patience...do they mix?

ah yes, they do for me.

I have not yet seen this little bit of story about the dolls myself,

but I hope to very soon.

love,C

a blessed easter

early spring garden in Colonial Williamsburg

~~~

Easter has come very early this year...

most times there are enough tiny blooms

to make my own bouquet for Easter brunch,

but this year,

just one tiny daffodil is bravely

blooming down in the orchard.

My treasures, the old black hens,

are fluffed and snug under the old budded lilac.

The promise of spring is evident,

just not yet here.

In my heart I visit a peaceful, green,

lovely and serene brick walk

in one of my most beloved places to visit.

From my home,

I'll share a fragrant and fresh bouquet of

white crabapple blossoms

from the old knarled crabapple tree

with you.

sending wishes to you all

for a beautiful

Easter with those you love all around you.

and hopefully -

a lovely chocolate bunny

who is most definitely hard of hearing.

with love to my friends,

on this blessed Easter day,

Christine

Deerfield Farm

more love letters of home

I adore this early mirror. It belonged to a wonderful old friend

who spent her life collecting early things.

She lived her love of early.

Everything she did was connected to another time.

The first time I visited her, I was put to work washing lambs wool

in an old trough. She was busy making mead that day.

My chalk ware lamb is precious,

Netty made her for me a long time ago.

early morning light falling on my favorite

linen toile pillow.

I have had this lovely old brown linen toile

in my home since we first came to

Deerfield Farm...it's all in pastoral farming scenes.

I do love it.

Notice the young man ....

in every vignette

he is lazing about while the ladye works hard

at harvesting the wheat, tending her lambs,

turkies & hens and milking the cow.

I can't help but laugh at the look she gives

him.

I'm quite sure he's imagining the wonderful supper she's going to be

making for him .... just as soon as her

chores are all done, of course.

what was the old broom closet at the end of the hallway.

I took the door off

and fitted it with shelves

and painted it all a creamy white

to display some of my old white ironstone.

Perfect.

love letters of home

late afternoon light dances

across the walls

glowing golden on

early quilted petticoats and bonnets.

I like to think of the quiet little corners of my home as love letters to myself and my family.

You know, when you put together a little place that feels just right, with your treasured things. and then, when the light comes through, it surprises you with just how pretty it is...

the feelings that come from experiencing it for the few brief moments that the light comes through and you know how much you love where live...

then looking forward to the next little moment when the light changes again.

these are my love letters of home.

every doll has a story

Every doll has a story.

And for as long as I can remember my dolls have told me their stories, their dreams and secret wishes and thoughts. Long before they were dolls, they were stories in my thoughts, sketches on paper, most of the time they come to me in my sleep.

For me, the dolls have lives just as interesting and varied and as real as you and I.

and so, I would like to share these stories of the dolls with all of you.

All of you, my dear readers, who have written such wonderful letters to tell me how much you love & enjoy my dolls and their stories, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have begun something special for all of you that you may continue to enjoy the dolls and their stories from Deerfield Farmhouse.

a window into the Deerfield Doll House the dolls & their stories

Here you will find all the adventures and goings on with the daily lives of

the Ladyes of Deerfield Farm;

Mr. Jefferson, the handsome gentleman farmer from Virginia

who, besides his great desire to experience farming on the western frontier,

has come to call on the Ladyes of Deerfield Farm

along with a wonderful and interesting cast of characters throughout.

*a small note*

~and this is all in good fun~

~not wishing to injure any Dear Reader with delicate sensibilities~

Life for the dolls is not unlike that of real folks, with the joys and trials of everyday life and perhaps,

a secret romance may be found.

So, my dears, if it is just a pretty doll story that you want to read,

you may wish to avert your eyes from the story and gaze upon the pretty pictures I have thoughtfully added just for that very reason.

again, this is all in good fun

I hope you enjoy!

sending love,

Christine

and

the Deerfield Dolls