Monday, February 12, 2018

A perfect 'last week'....

For so long this winter we had some wonderful temps and very little snow - just dustings....but then Mother Nature decided it was time,...in three weeks we had 3 good snowfalls...the first one was a surprise overnight one...woke up to 8 inches of the white stuff...but it totally melted within 3 days!



Then Thursday and Sunday we got hit again!





We had a great few days in PA last week.
Saturday on our way through PA we stopped in Ellwood City to visit a dear friend
who has been batteling health issues for the last 3 years.
It was wonderful seeing her again at home and not visiting her in the hospital.
Our buying trip to the wholesale show was just okay....didn't find too many things for the business but did find some embelishments for our gourd garlands.
We then spent 2 days in Lancaster with Doug's cousin and the weather there wasn't all that great either...rainy and icy! Butstill a very enjoyable time - we did get to a few of the shops there and found a few things....but it was just night to get a way for a few days.

Some of these things shown are from the show - the others are from the shops

The red boards have nail pegs at the bottom
I thought they would be great for mounting my punch needle.

A 'new found FB friend' told me where I could find wool to purchase.
It's at The Old Country Store across from Kitchen Kettle
They have just a few colors to choose from but now I know I can get it
and they also carry Valdani thread...also limited colors.


(They are very large like the ones above)
We have been purchasing our large leaves (called Botquin or Quina) for garlands from Primitives by Tracy and she had two boxes left so we bought them...I think we will have enough to work with now 😁

And of course we had to buy more gourds.
I called the Levi Stoltzfus farm to see if we could come to the farm while we were
out there and he was very obliging...they have the best selection around!

Doug knew right away when he saw this huge bird house that it was coming home with us.
The one we have on the post in the garden is about on its last leg.

Found this wall box and florals at Olde Mill House Shoppe


Tuesday while out there we met up with another FB friend for the first time.
We went to their house for a visit and then we went out to
supper with them and 2 Amish ladies, Mattie and Lydia Bieler (sisters).
We hade a geat meal at the Bird In Hand restaurant and then
back to the ladies house for a visit.
These two ladies were a delight....we heard stories and laughed so much with them. 
We now have two very wonderful Amish friends.
And we want to than Lisa and Jerry Thrush for making this happen.

Lisa gifted me with an adorable set of childrens Amish clothing
She went to an authentic Amish store and asked if it was okay to purchase them for a friend and they said it was okay...and I'm so glad - they were the perfect gift.
And 'yes' some orders allow 'buttons'.




So that's what happened here last week....
And now we're back to getting our bathroom cabinet doors and drawer fronts made.
Our son Brett is helping Doug make them - and then my job will be to paint.
There were so many coats of paint on the frames so I had to sand and sand
to make them smooth so the new hinges will fit flat.
They are going to be a very plain Shaker style.
I think I'll paint them and the trim a bone color.
We would like to replace the counters and sink but that is down the line a bit,
maybe when the weather gets nicer and we can have the windows open
because it's going to be messy getting the tile counters off.

This is what they were...







I put a new finished Punch Needle
and finished Penny Rug on my website


Thanks for hanging in there with me....hope you have a great week
Karen