A SHORT BUT SWEET POST

 I'm not sure how many of you follow my FB page but I posted this last week - 
it was such a heartwarming experience for me and my husband.

There was a Nuthatch that had a nest in one of our trees....30 ft. up!!!  Well it was a SMALL hole in fact - she had 5 babies and they didn't fit in that tiny hole so they fell out as soon as they started to wiggle about. One died, one had sores on its head and it died the next day -
3 survived. It was such a long way down to fall.

Here's their short story.

The first two stayed huddled at the base of the tree but now and then
tried to climb the tree only to fall back down.
We were so afraid of neighbors cats that roam so we built a little fenced in area for them
out of some birch logs - it worked and kept them corralled.
Mama always seemed to find them and fed them all day long!!

Then there were three!!!
We could pick them up and cuddle them and they were just fine with that -
never shied away from us at all. They were so very trusting.

This was their little corral for about 5 days
Every now and then one would find the trunk and try to climb and they just trembled,
only to fall back down.
Now we knew the weather was going to change.
We had several days in the high 80s but bad weather was coming.

And it did....the cold weather hit overnight!!!
We went from 85 degrees to a low of 39 and rain...we knew these little things would not make it with such extreme cold so we took plastic and wrapped it around the logs and at night
Doug put hand warmers in around the area they huddled in.

When we went to check on them now and then they would just look at us - I hope they knew we were trying our best!

They trusted us so much - they liked being held and I'd cup my hands around them and they would huddle in and close their eyes!!

Then one day they were GONE...one by one they left....until this happened....

One of them, not sure which because all three let us pick them up and cuddle....we hadn't seen any for a day and a half...I was outside moving plants around for the sun and came back in, went back out same door to do something else and when I started to come back in guess who was right at the door prancing around and chirping? Yep....she came back for a visit and she let me pick her up and we chatted awhile before I put her in the mulch...then she went up the tree - ....bye bye again! She just melted my heart!

Hope you enjoyed this heartwarming story of
Mother Nature at her best!!!
Blessings to all
Karen

HAPPY MAY EVERYONE!

I think I'm finally getting my blog posts to happen
more often now - at least it's feeling that way!

Not a lot has happened since my last post and maybe
that's a good thing, not sure these days.

Last month Doug and I took a weekend trip to Ohio to the
 Simple Goods show and Earlier Times show. 

Plus we went to Ginny Curry's open house as well as Linda Millers open house.
It has been a few years since we have gone and it didn't disappoint.  So many wonderful antique dealers and hand mades at all of the places.
Plus we got to see a few FB friends - along with a few treasures.

.Doug and I with Vicki and Mike Zellner (Two of the sweetest people ever)

With Tina Nikkila 

With Sandi Wise

With Nikki Dull

We met up with these wonderful ladies on Thursday before the shows

Debbie Crowe Jenkins, Lynn Erbesti, Nina Meacham, Me
Betty Crowe, Gayle Pope Ferguson.

And a few items we found

I just love this quilt has a diagonal hand stitched quilt pattern

This cupboard is quite large from what it looks here.

It's actually made from an old crate.

We're hoping to put it in the kitchen next to our
upper cabinet where there's wall space

This garland is made from dried leaves of some kind - they are almost round in shape
They remind me of a miniature lily pad shape.

I couldn't pass up this awesome Uncle Sam at Ginny Curry's

This grapevine wreath is quite large and where you see the 

Forsythia it's built out like a little shelf that will hold

things so you can change them out for the seasons

This Bee Skep was from Ginny Curry's as well

It's vinyl and painted so it will stand up in the elements quite well

Found these 5 quilt squares at Simple Goods

I think I'll make some pillows out of them.

The picture is not doing the color justice!

They are like a creamy yellow with a bluish/gray design

This sweet wool bunny was from Earlier Times

as are the next two photos

I love that this picture is wood and wool!!

Doug and I have been busy making

Bee Skeps this week.

I have orders for 7 of them and after that we'll 

make more for our October show.
For some reason each one turns out different
than the one before it - you would think by coiling the Sisal

around in a circle when you are using a definite size

base they'd come out the same....NOT!!!

I do the gluing while Doug guides the rope - it's more of 

a feeling kind of process getting the shape.

Our granddaughter got the nursery ready for

our next great-grandbaby

Kira is due to arrive on June 7th!

Big brother Zayne is so anxious for her to arrive

That's it for this post

Thanks for stopping by

Karen

HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG???

 I can't believe I haven't posted since the middle of January!

Well here I am finally - but not much has happened, maybe that's why I haven't gotten on here.

Have you ever gotten on the bandwagon? I did it this past month. One lady on FB posted that she purchased a metal Windsor bench from Tractor Supply Co. and the craze started!!!

I don't know the exact number that purchased them but at one count there were 110 that I could find...I wonder what TSC will think when they look at the inventory the end of this month 😂😂

We bought two of them - the funny thing is that most of the stores got in just one, possibly two if they were lucky so anyone wanting 2, like us, had to go to another town to purchase the second one.  But it was so worth it - they are a very very heavy metal.

I've been busy the last couple weeks getting into the designing mode and will be just as busy for the next several months till the show in October.  Our dining room table has been full - although I had to clear it off for Easter dinner - but it went right back on.

A friend here in town raised bees and I asked her if she had any filtered beeswax I could purchase - she said she did - I got 20 lbs. of it from her for my poured beeswax shapes.
I should have enough for what I need once I start pouring.

Oh and I forgot that I purchase some new molds and now I'm anxious to get pouring!!!

And....because we don't have fabric stores near us I buy what I can

 when I can so here's my latest stash!

Some I used already to cover a set of Mache boxes for a customer

 and some I have used as backings for my penny rugs.

I hope you all had a great Easter - we did - we finally had some of our family for dinner.

Being Doug and I had both vaccine's we felt good about having the kids here for dinner.

But for breakfast Doug and I had 'fried bread dough'.
I grew up having this as a special treat when mom and or grandma made bread - they would save some and fry it. I love butter and sugar on mine.

It's way better than pancakes or French toast.

I finished punching this sweet pattern this week.

I love the mellow colors

I'm sure there's more I've missed but that's it for now!!

Karen

C-C-CHANGES!!!!

 The country is having many many changes and so are we here at the Martinsen's

All good - first off we are delighted that we are to become great-grandparents again in June.

Granddaughter Alexandra/Jade are having a girl.

Doug and I have been busy here making changes to our basement stairway.
A much needed re-do.  The only thing we ever did was put stair carpet many many years ago.
So it will be complete this time.
The walls and backside of upper stairs is going to be bead board painted an off white.
I wanted a color but really needed it to be bright.
I have been painting the boards (3 coats) and Doug puts them up.

We bought a new light and will put new carpet on the stairs in a brown/cream tweed.

Removing the trim and the hand rail, next the carpet

Next the sidewalls and finishing up the upper part

On New Years day we made a fantastic
standing rib roast - and it was delicious!!
I had only made this once before so I was so happy it turned out.

If you follow my business blog you would know

I have one of my Valentine Punch Needle

patterns available
It is a huge seller this time of year

And...I will be making beeswax hanging hearts
that you can put on your mini tree

The mold is coming in the mail this week
and I can't wait to make them and put them on my website.

I have made and sold many of these woven fabric hearts

I have some fabric left if you are wanting any.

Email me if interested

Thanks for visiting today!
Karen