A Wintry Blast

It was a cold, snowy day today.  We haven't had much snow this winter so I guess we're way overdue. How many weeks until Spring?

This is my Hydrangea bush.  I thought they resembled mushrooms with the pointed snow cap.

Interesting how the blue tones show when dusk is setting in.

 My wonderful grape vine.  Shortly after we moved in we were able to make grape jelly.  I'm kind of new at this preserving thing so it was quite exciting (and edible).  LOL!!

This is Katie, our snow dog.

The Old Homestead

Here are a few pictures I missed in my original post.  These pictures are either from when we first moved in or shortly after.  There is a lot to be done to our home.  A blue roof is not something we desire and the siding is on the orange side.  As a temporary fix, hubby and I are hoping to at least stain the siding a darker colour as it should go better with the blue roof.  It's a steel roof (or maybe aluminum) so we're not sure if we can paint it or not or whether that would just be too costly or difficult, etc.  Does anyone have any experiences or knowledge they could share on this?  I would love to hear your comments.

We were also able to get a portion of the gardens redesigned this past summer and hope to continue with this project this year.  

YIKES!!!!!  This is what the side garden looked like in the Spring after being neglected for a while.  I knew I was going to tear it out and start over so I had to try not look at the mess, it was quite embarrassing.  I had just started to tear the railway ties out when I took this photo.

This is what the garden looked like after it had been redesigned.  The plants actually filled out more before Autumn hit, I'm looking forward to seeing their next season of growth.  Some of the perennials were transplanted from other areas on the property while some were new purchases.  I'm sure I will be tweaking it more this year but I'm happy with the progress so far.

Please ignore the hose, it seems to be a permanent fixture in the garden lol!!

I just love barns.  We're hoping to get more work completed on the inside of it this year.  I will post a future blog on this, the inside will not be what you are expecting.  Stay tuned for that.

God's Sunrise

God's beauty graced my view this morning.  This was the view from my front porch.  The silo is on the other side of the road (sorry, the photos aren't very clear).

This photo was taken 2 roads over, the sunrise was beginning to fade but it still looked beautiful.

Harvest Table Adventure

Hi Friends, I wanted to share a little story with you.

This past summer hubby and I went to a large community garage sale that was set up in an arena.  We arrived right on time to find there was already a huge line up waiting to get in.  We thought, "this is going to be good".  I went in ahead of hubby so we ended up getting separated.  BIG MISTAKE.  I had already made a purchase when I went down an aisle that I had originally missed...and there it was...the table of my dreams. I think I stopped breathing at that moment.  I plopped my purse and bags on top of the harvest table hoping it would appear that I had already claimed it, but it didn't work.  Nearly every person that walked by (with me standing in their way) was dragging their hand down the table admiring it. Then it happened...another lady came by and she was really checking it out, she was touching it everywhere, walking around it, looking underneath it and so on.  I knew I had to act fast, I told her that we were already planning on buying the table.  Hubby and I had already discussed that we were on the hunt for an old primitive harvest table.  I just hadn't discussed this table with him yet.  By this time I was in a state of panic.  Where oh where is hubby?  The arena was absolutely packed and I searched for his head in every direction and found nothing.  By this time I'm sure I was breaking into a cold sweat lol. A few minutes later I saw my knight in shining armor walking in my direction, although he hadn't seen me yet.  He wasn't moving very fast as he was trapped in a wall of people, he couldn't get there fast enough for me. I felt such relief when he finally reached me.  Just after hubby arrived and we were discussing the purchase, a man squeezed through the furniture directly behind the table (another aisle) and stood there waiting.  This man wasn't leaving and the next thing you know, he had come around and was now beside hubby. He waited and waited and waited.  So if we were going to do this we had to do it NOW!  We found someone in time and up went the sold sign, I was so relieved.  I realized later that as there were many volunteers walking around accepting money for purchases, anyone could have purchased it any time without us knowing it.  What a fun but stressful day lol!  As we were driving away hubby heard someone say, "there goes that table".  I smiled.

From what I can recall, I have been wanting one of these old primitive harvest tables for approximately 20 years.  I still admire it daily and it has that primitive country warmth that I was looking for, it just fit.

Until next time...

Linked to:  Turn it up Tuesdays

The Vintage Sewing Box

I would love to tell you about a gift I received from hubby this past Christmas.  It's a wonderful vintage sewing box.  I just think it's so cute and I can't wait to start using it for my crafty creations. From what I have been able to determine, it is a 1950's to 1960's Danish sewing box.  Has anyone else seen one of these before and know the history of it?  I am interested in knowing more about it.  I just love vintage and antique items, especially the wooden ones.  It is definitely a weakness of mine.

I am hoping to get back to crafting shortly.  I had more or less stepped away from it for a few years but am just itching to get back at it.  I did make some crafts this past Fall which was so enjoyable. The hardest part is getting started.  Once that happens I have problems stopping (or sleeping, lol, with all the ideas running through my mind).  At this point I am seriously considering setting up an Etsy shop but am still researching it at this point.  Stay tuned...

These are just some of the crafts that I have been working on in the last while.

My helper is at it again.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your time as much as I did.

Out with the old...

Hi everyone, Happy New Year!

A new year always brings new beginnings, new ideas, new dreams.  I love this time of year as I get quite excited about what I hope to accomplish in the next 12 months.  Organization is always a big one for me.  As I look around my home I find many areas that I can improve upon.  Today...it's reorganizing part of the kitchen.  Hubby and I removed a cabinet that we had in the kitchen and replaced it with one that is better suited to my taste and the space.  One day I hope to paint this cabinet to give it that old primitive feel.  For now, it's all about reorganizing and making the kitchen more functional while working toward that primitive farmhouse style that I love so much.  Thank you my friends for visiting.  If you have any ideas that you would like to share on kitchen organization, I would love to hear from you.  Until next time...

Out with the old...

...and in with the new.

Every job needs a foreman.

New Beginnings

Hi there, welcome to Homespuns 'n Hayfields.

This journey begins with my lifelong dream of living in the country becoming a reality. I love everything country and feel so fortunate to be here. In the last couple of years or so there have been many changes in my life. One of the these changes allowed me to realize my dream of living in the country, my hubby and I are just thrilled to be here. It has been 1 1/2 years since we moved here and we wouldn't trade it for anything. But...there is lots to be done both inside and out. My hope is to share this gradual transformation and also share my love of crafting, antiquing, decorating, etc. with all of you. I hope you can join me in this adventure.

This is where my journey begins...