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some of my favorite things here at home

Home is a name, a word,

it is a strong one;

stronger than magician ever spoke,

or spirit ever answered to,

in the strongest conjuration.

Charles Dickens

~*~

a note to my lovely friends~

While winter is keeping the fields quiet and my little farm sleepy,

I'm working on dollies here by the fire at Deerfield Farm.

I have several little ladyes that will be wanting new homes soon.

Please don't hesitate to email me anytime and ask me

whose little petticoat or bonnet

is being stitched

and what might be in the sewing basket by my chair~

Thank you my friends,

I hope you have a snug day there in your corner of the woods

Christine

early morning ladye

before the snow started falling early this morning,

the sunrise

barely peeked over the hills

and

came through the old farmhouse windows

for just a few delicious fleeting moments

and this happened....

sunrise smiling through old glass...

wishing you all a happy winter weekend.

A Simple Life~Jill Peterson's new magazine

A Simple Life

Many of you are familiar with the fabulous country books

"Homestead" and

"the Settlement"

by author Jill Peterson,

and know just how wonderful they are.

If you aren't familiar with these wonderful books

and have a love for early homes,

early things and the simple way of life

get ready for a wonderful treat.

Jill has a brand new Magazine coming out in February called

"A Simple Life".

We who love early have been "hungry" for such a publication~

In Jill's words~

"Our mission statement is,

"When your magazine arrives in the mail, it will be like getting a letter from an old friend."

Each Issue will feature 2 wonderful homes, one living history museum, historical essays,

short story fiction about early times,

educational features on various antiques, early projects to make, recipes, book reviews and lots MORE!

I know I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation.

It should be out by Valentine's Day!

I can't think of a better token of affection for yourself and

to give to your friends.

We're looking forward to it, Jill.

quiet days & the lonesome old homestead

I hope that these lovely days of quiet January are just what your heart needs.

I love them, for the stillness and the slowness of them. The contentment in them.

I can dream and draw, make plans, move furniture and clean the

clutter away from my heart

and my old farmhouse,

No hurry or scurry.

My farmer and I like to go traveling the countryside of our high desert

on these cold quiet days of January.

Taking the big 4 wheel drive down winding & muddy roads out into old homestead country

we often come across old homestead houses and barns,

falling down fences, rock cribs marking the 4 corners of the places

and sometimes, if we're lucky,

we find a once beautiful old homestead house.

I like to think of the lady of this old house standing on her porch a 100 years or so ago,

shading her eyes and looking out into the vast openness, looking for a puff of dust.

Knowing that puff of dust

was her farmer with his plow and horses working up a new field.

She would have dinner cooking in the wood cook stove, maybe a venison roast

and few carrots and potatoes, some good biscuits,too.

The scent of burning juniper wood in the air,

a faint blue smoke rising from the skinny kitchen chimney.

The laundry flapping in the wind on a make-do clothesline out back of house.

A few chickens scurrying and scratching around the kitchen screen door.

This old homestead was a once grand place.

At one time it had fancy cut shingles,

glass windows, a wide porch, a parlor, a kitchen lean-to

a garden with herbs and wild yellow roses

and a lovely privy out at the end of a rock edged path

in the back.

It was indeed grand and full of hope.

like the dreams of these old homesteaders,

grand and hopeful.

Until then, we are off, traveling the country side

to find more treasures of our high desert to

share.

I hope that these quiet days are filled with what you need,

peace filled and hopeful

in this new year...

which I'm calling the "aughts"

"aught ten" feels good to me.

early christmas morning

Christmas

that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia.

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance -

a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.

~Augusta E. Rundel

a merry day to all of you

filled with love and peace

Susannah & Dollye make Pressed Glass Shortbread cookies for Christmas

pretty little gentlewomen

~ Susannah & Dollye ~

(see news of Susannah & Dollye below)

asked to have their likenesses taken

after they had taken off their aprons and brushed the flour from their noses

Our dear girls both have a new home for Christmas!

Thank you so much,

~~~

Cold and thick fog hangs heavy outside my windows this dark afternoon.

While inside my snug little farmhouse, the air is warm and filled with the scents of fir and cedar,

beeswax candles burning on the mantle and a good apple wood fire crackling

in the big fireplace.

With the last bits of thread and scraps of dolly making swept up

and everything put to rights, Susannah & Dollye have been helping me in the kitchen.

From from the kitchen, the delicious scent of wonderful Christmas cookies baking, comes

wafting through the old house.

We've been baking wonderfulPressed Glass Shortbread cookies

for our neighbors and friends.

~Pressed Glass Shortbread cookies on a lovely old pewter plate ~

aren't they pretty?

~gather your pretties ~ Susannah & Dollye climbed up into the old cupboard and got down some of our old pressed glass drinking glasses to press the designs into the shortbread dough. We used a small tarnished silver salt shaker lid for cutting out tiny cookies just right for dollies and little girls. A butter knife is perfect for lifting the cookies out of the dough after cutting them out. We rolled out the buttery & tender shortbread dough with the rolling pin. Then we lay the pretty pressed glass on it's side and rolled the design into the dough.

The stars and feather'd edge circles make the prettiest cookies. We used an etched glass goblet with a very thin edge to cut out the cookies. We even used an old wooden butter mold with a carved lamb for some very special cookies. We baked them for just a very few minutes on parchment paper'd cookie sheets.

A few of these wrapped in pretty parchment bundles and tied with heavy linen thread or red ribbons with a sprig of fir tucked in makes a wonderful and much appreciated gift.

~~~~ Buttery Shortbread recipe ~ ~~

1 lb. real butter

4 cups flour

1 cup fine sugar

~

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Sift the flour & sugar together. Work the butter into the flour & sugar with fingertips, then knead until blended and smooth. Break into 2 pieces and pat out onto flour'd table. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll out from center to make a thin sheet of shortbread. Roll your pretty pressed glass over the dough to make swirls and stars, feather'd circles & vines. Cut with thin edged cookie cutters, carefully lift the cookies onto parchment Bake until set, with very pale light brown bottoms. cool on paper

~ share them with your friends, family and neighbors. Enjoy!

~Susannah & Dollye~ both now have Good Homes for Christmas

thank you & a very Blessed & Merrie Christmas to you all.

wonderful amazing Jolly Old Santa

Isn't this jolly old Santa wonderful?!

He is just one of many many wonderful old Santa's that my dearest

and oldest friend, Norma DeCamp,

has been making for years.

Norma is world reknown for her

Amazing & Wonderful

Old Santa's and Victorian looking old dolls and toys.

This Jolly old Santa is being offered on eBay

along with more amazingly wonderful

Jolly old boys.

I have one of Norma's Santa's and an Old Woman in a Shoe pull toy

that is just unbelievably wonderful and so old looking.

They make me smile every time I look at them...

~I understand that Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey and many more

have Norma's Santa's in their collections~

Please have a look and enjoy him too!

Norma's wonderful Santa's and dolls will surely get you in the Christmas Spirit!