Ma and Pa Kettle-like Porch...

This little porch/gazebo had been on my mind for a while.  Meanwhile, my friend's family built her one...sigh.  So this summer when my grandkids, John and Addy, were with us a couple of days each week, we enlisted their help.  Well, their efforts along with lots of Hubby help, went way beyond my expectations. 

                                               
                                           I even love it in the winter!!!

We didn't buy anything except some final screws.  Otherwise, we used the boards from my daughter's old deck (floor, frame and roof supports), parts from old screen houses (back wall and side railings, leftover steel siding from our little red barn (roof) and porch posts that we found in the pole barn!!!

Can't wait to have coffee and read and play with Kenzie in the spring!!!

Take care, 

Bonnie

Barn Quilt Square...

Because I'm a quilter, I've always wanted to proclaim it on my barn.  I finally found a woman who would make me a large quilt square and after a period of time....she notified me that it was done!!!  It is two colors...love the red and white - and it is 6' square and in a frame.

So then I had to find a way to get it hung on the barn.  I kept asking around until I found the perfect person (and his brother) to figure out how to get it up very high without renting a machine of some sort.

So they did it the old fashioned way with ladders and ropes and brute strength on a very cold and windy winter day!!!

It is so welcoming when I drive in the driveway and see my huge quilting symbol!!!

Take care,

Bonnie

Gramma's Teacups...

My Gram was a collector....mainly of teacups and souvenir plates.  When her friends and family members would go on vacation, they would bring her back a teacup or plate - the plates usually had a picture of the area they visited.  They were very colorful and decorated the walls in her kitchen.

I still have many of her teacups....so I decided to finally use them for a project I have been thinking about for quite some time.

Not every one sews but I think everyone has pins and needles.  So I made pinkeepers out of the cup and saucers.  I made them for my girls and my grandgirls for Christmas.

 


I wrote up this little description of my Gram and some of the things I remember about her and Christmas.  My daughters were able to spend time with her but my grandgirls never got to meet her.  She was such a special lady....
 

This teacup is from your Grandma/Great Grandma Matilda Wilhelmina Brandvold Johnson Solee's collection.  She was born in 1903 and died in 1982.  You never saw her without a crochet hook or needle in her hand.  She made and sold many Weary Willie dolls and gave away many afghans.  Christmas at her house was a feast of Swede sausage, meatballs, mashed potatoes,  lutefisk, Swedish brown beans, homemade rolls,  pickles, olives (one for each finger), and every kind of cookie imaginable - Spritz, Washboard Ginger Cookies, Fatigmand, Krumkake, Mexican Teacakes, Icebox cookies, Date balls, etc.  She must have cooked and baked for days ahead of Christmas Eve.  Her home was small - the second floor of a house built on the side of a hill at on the East Side of St. Paul.  It was crowded but we loved it there with her.  Her hugs were the best.  When her friends returned from a trip they would either bring her a souvenir plate to hang on her kitchen wall or a teacup to put in her cupboard.  So after taking care of her teacups forever,  I thought it was time to share them.  I hope you enjoy this remembrance of your Grandma/Great Grandma. 

Love, Mom/Gram 2016

I think everyone liked them and when they use them, will think of her and maybe even me...

Take care,

Bonnie

Just a walk around my yard...

Thought I would get a post written even if it is just to show you my yard today.  I don't have all the weeds taken care of yet...not sure I will conquer that soon.

But my wheelbarrows that I have planted look pretty good...we've had hot weather with enough rain to make sure the lawn needs mowing every week.  Different for us in central MN...which means the weeds are very happy because in places, no one is interfering with their growth.

I have wanted a little garden shelter/gazebo/she shed for a couple of years.  Upon showing the picture I had from Pinterest to a couple of friends, their families got right to it.  


I think guilt got the better of my Hubby so he and my two g'kids have begun the project.  Yay!

 

It is coming along nicely - we're using all things we have collected....the old deck from my daughter's house, porch posts we got at a garage sale, the frames from two old screen houses will go up next for the side railings and back wall.  Decorating it will be so much fun.  I can't wait to show you more pictures as it progresses.

I'm in the house as the heat is climbing again and the humidity returns tomorrow.

I hope to post more regularly with projects that I am working on.  And for sure my new garden gazebo!

Take care,

Bonnie

It's Farmgirls Country Sale time again!

The weather man just said that - because the trees are blooming, the nights are staying warm enough to let the blossoms open.  So little chance of frost - maybe just a light frost possible but not in the next weeks.  Yay!

This year we are doing a spring sale in our little barn so each day I try to spend at least part of the afternoon out in my shop painting and creating and upholstering, etc.

Last fall's sale....we have lots outside already!

 So I thought I would show you a couple of projects that I am working on...

A vintage shelf with book.magazine rack and hooks.

I used Reclaim paint and then contact paper to cover a rough area.

A little vintage 1/2 table in tough shape.

I painted it red so I didn't have to fight with the stain bleeding through!

 After talking with my daughter and Hubby, we decided to hold the sale at both of our barns with finished and unfinished projects for sale.
 

Way in the back of this picture is the other barn with more sale stuff.

Our theme this sale is going to be funky colors - furniture, garden things, my Junk Jewelry, Jen's lovely jewelry, Hubby's recycled creations, Alissa's green projects, fun pillows, colorful mirrors, wreaths, and more will be featured!

Mark your calendar for Farmgirls Country Sale on Fri., June 10, 9 - 5, and Sat., June 11, 9 - 3.  We sure hope to see you in one of the barns!!!

More before and after projects soon!

Take care,

Bonnie

Applique Projects...

I have made many different kinds quilts but my favorite kind is appliqued quilts.  But now I'm working on smaller projects and I'm making applique pillows and towels.  Here's a few recent ones.

Home

Enjoy Your Journey

Just Go! and Scottie Dogs

Today is our first sunny day in a long time...we've had peeks of sunshine but today was a spectacular spring day in the country.  The grass is growing and the weeds are sending long roots down...yikes!

I have put out my red bowl with grape jelly to entice the Baltimore Orioles that will be returning shortly.  I can't wait to have them back outside my window.

We have begun to get ready for our Spring Farmgirls Country Sale scheduled for June 10 and 11.  It needs to warm up a bit more though to be able to paint in the barn...my fingers won't work if they are frozen.

Hope you are having a great early spring and we'll talk again soon!

Take care,
Bonnie

Unexpected Joy...

Another long absence...life sure gets complicated and is going way too fast.  I always say - "It's Thursday again - garbage day!."  Well - when you are retired there are certain things you have to remember or there are consequences....like living with your garbage for another week!

My latest projects ended up being so much fun.  I had a request to make pillows similar to my final outcome.

So now I'm on a roll...pinkeepers, hoops, and more pillows.  Maybe even a journal cover....tote bags...to name a few.  Ha!

Back later with more applique...one of my favorite ways to express myself.

Take care, 
Bonnie

 

 

Cooking With Minimal Heat in the Summer...

I am in love with my new Presto Pizazz Plus

 (click on the name - it will take you to Amazon where I bought mine.)

This is the machine - the part with the heat and the tray that sits on it and goes around.

You set the timer for the time your oven would take.

But there is no preheating and there you are - done!

We love pizza but this summer - the heat - oh - the heat.  So I saw that a friend of my daughter had one of these.  So I decided to go to Amazon and see what it was all about.

I'm so glad I did - I brought it to the lake where I'm never quite sure of the oven which is always gas.  I guess I'm somewhat afraid of gas and when its an oven I don't know...well, you know.  So I bought this little contraption and it worked great!

My g'kids loved it and so did I.  We made pizza and chicken wing appetizers on it.  It's great for those kinds of things.  Oh and we made Toaster Strudels and S'mores on it too.  We did have a small fire...the marshmallows need to be cut in half or as they get nice and brown...well, nothing was damaged.  And this is why you have to be near when you are making that kind of thing.  The kids and I still laugh about our S'more flare up.

Easy clean up too!  No smoke coming out of the oven so the fire alarm doesn't go off!!!  Yay!

Supper's done!

Take care,

Bonnie

Anticipation...

Most of the time, I live in anticipation.  It seems like I am always getting ready to do something - getting ready for another shop sale, making a special order, and now getting ready for a Farmgirls Country Sale at our farm.

I don't know if its healthy or not...I would like to totally relax.  But I'm thinking that I'm not that kind of person.  I suppose I need those goals to keep my spirits up - my drive going forward.

Reading in the middle of the day is a real luxury - I need to give myself special permission to do that.  Some day I will read during the day every day.

Most of the time I spend on the computer is for my business...bidding on auctions, keeping my Farmgirls Country Sale Facebook page updated with comments and pictures, pinning ideas on Pinterest to use on my old vintage stuff, and purchasing stuff I need to do all of that.

Anyway I needed to put words to paper and tonight was the night to do that I guess. Anticipating tomorrow and what it will bring...and getting my To-Do list accomplished.

 Now to go relax and read...finally,

Bonnie

Melting in Minnesota!

Ok - enough hot and humidity already.  This is Minnesota...remember?  It is true that we've only had 3 or 4 days of this heat and high humidity but I give.  I have stuff to do and can't when it is like this - and I'm inside the house!

When I water the plants on the deck, they are dry before I get back into the house. The tomatoes are doing pretty good in the galvanized tubs and wheelbarrows but next year it is back into the ground where they do so much better.  I just didn't get the raised beds weeded in enough time....actually they aren't weeded yet!  Too much to do always!

The beans Addy and I planted the end of July are doing pretty good as long as the snow holds off for a couple more months!!!

We're going to the lake for four days next week and by Monday, we will have relief.  But and I say but!  I have to get stuff ready to take with and then there's food to make.  Jeez...

Well - not to go on and on too long, that's all I can think of to say because I am melting in Minnesota!  Funny - I just remembered that my most popular post is about too much snow... Ok - That's Enough Snow Now...never happy I guess.

Take care and take time to dig in the dirt and smell the roses or zinnias or petunias....they are all good.

Bonnie

Cecil, the Lion

It is a sad day when a hunter kills a beloved Lion..."Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."  He is a dentist from Minnesota...I'm embarrassed that he's from MN.

I can't wrap my mind around this concept.  I'm just so sad - now Cecil is dead and his 24 cubs will be killed by other male lions so they can mate with the mother's of his cubs.  

I think of all the elephants and rhinos that are maimed and killed for their tusks and horns.  Humans just can't leave nature alone and at peace.

 Rest in Peace, Cecil.