Simple Beauty

I boiled a dozen of our eggs this morning. Okay, so boiling eggs isn't all that exciting, but they came from our own hens and just looked so pretty in the bowl. We have 10 black sex-links (a hybrid), 9 Rhode Island Reds, and 5 Easter eggers (Auracana mix).

If you aren't familiar with the various types of hens and the eggs they lay here's the story:

Rhode Island Reds (RIR's) lay varying shades of brown egss, as do the black sex-links. Auracanas lay green to blue eggs. Our are Easter eggers, which are Auracanas mixed with something else. There are so many other kinds, some of which lay almost bronze colored eggs. Hmmm, we need to add to the flock next year...

New Bag from My Sewing Room

I just love working with great fabric! This large bag in Amy Butler's Morning Glory fabric may be my new favorite thing. It was a joy to make this bag and now I can't wait to order more great fabric and keep sewing.

The other thing I love about this bag is its size. As a mom, I always seem to be carrying a ton of stuff. This bag is big enough for all my stuff and theirs and there's an interior pocket so my cell phone can't hide from me anymore.

I may have to make one for me.

New Jewelry from Lori

Lori has new jewelry listings on etsy! These bracelets are just beautiful. I had a wonderful time with the pictures. My photography skills are a work in progress, but I think I'm finally making progress.

The photos were taken at Haven Hill Farms, where my children take riding lessons from Marlene Chavis. She and her husband Steve do a great job with the horses, as well as keeping the whole farm beautiful. They do weddings regularly so there are great places to take pictures.

So, here's the result of my day at the farm:

Gorgeous glass bead bracelet



Bracelet made from vintage wood beads :


Both of the above bracelets are currently listed on etsy.

I took lots of pictures and plan to list many more of these wonderful pieces this week. What's your favorite?

Mother of pearl heart earrings:


Bracelet, made with vintage beads:
Glass bead earrings:


Pssst! These glass bead earrings would be great with the blue bracelet above.

Sidewalk Sale in Aiken

I had a great time participating in the sidewalk sale in Aiken, SC, the last two days. The bedesisters have a booth at the Antique Emporium in beautiful downtown Aiken. The store's owner, Beverly Huff, invited those of us who have a booth to set up outside the store on Friday and Saturday. The town of Aiken had its annual Aiken's Makin' festival and many downtown businesses join in the spirit of welcoming folks to do some shopping. So, here are some pictures of our day.

This is Beverly with Paul, one of the antique vendors who has a booth in her shop. His dear wife was nearby, helping with their sale for the day. She knits beautifully, by the way.

This is the Bede Sisters sidewalk sale set up. The bags looked so nice on the drying racks; the colors were really eye catching.

The table displayed Lori's jewelry so well. Once again, her pendants were the hot item. One young woman stopped short and just gasped at a stone fish pendant. She bought it immediately; it had always been my favorite piece of Lori's jewelry. She has such good design ideas.

Here's photo of our booth inside the Antique Emporium. I think it looks inviting, kind of like grandma's kitchen.

This fun and spirited lady is Pamela Petruschke. (Did I spell that correctly, Pam?) She also has a booth inside the Antique Emporium, along with her very youthful mother-in-law, Dorothy. In addition to the antique store, Pam has an etsy shop, alteredstates. She's been busy this summer and her shop has been on vacation, but should be opening back up in the next few days. She makes jewelry as well as remaking things into new things, like vintage fabric into aprons. Can't wait to see what she puts in her shop!

Here's Paul and his wife, outside the store, enjoying the wonderful weather. Can you see the scarf she's making? It is as soft as it looks. Lucky grandchildren!

The (Canned) Fruits of Our Labor

Here's what we made from the pears! Well, some of it anyway. The golden colored concoction is pear honey, made from pears, pineapple and sugar. The other jars are filled with pear relish, made from pears, onions, peppers, vinegar, sugar and spices. The cubed pears are already in the pantry. We'll eat well this winter!

Picking Pears

Friday evening was just beautiful, the air not too humid and the temperature comfortable. So what did the bedesisters do on such a lovely night? They picked pears! Okay, technically, we sat on the porch while my husband climbed the tree and shook down the fruit while his brother gathered it and put it into baskets. Hey, we picked the low hanging ones.

Here's a picture of our guys near the tree. That's my husband, Andy, on the left and his brother, Kevin (and Lori's husband), on the right. Aren't they cute?


I'm spending my weekend putting up pears-- cubed pears, pear relish, pear honey-- I'm the Bubba Gump of pears.

Whew! That was hard work; lemonade, anyone?

Small Town Life

I went to the feed store yesterday. I love going to the feed store. To appreciate just how strange that sounds, you need to know that I'm a suburban girl. I grew up in a quiet neighborhood, outside a not-very-big city. I didn't like to get dirty or, horrors, sweaty! Now I live in the country, with chickens and a garden (that needs weeding.)

So, now I have to go to the feed store on a regular basis. Chickens eat a lot. I think I like going to the feed store because it feels like stepping back in time. The owner is always there, usually talking to customers about what kind of seed would be best for their garden or which feed is best for their goats. In my case, it's whether I need the layer crumbles or the pellets. He remembers better than I do.

The feed store is a place where my grandfather would feel right at home. There's usually a cat napping on a stack of feed. Occasionally, there's a box of puppies or kittens looking for homes. There are pails on the floor filled with seeds that you can buy by the pound and several boxes of dog treats, also available by the pound. When my son went in with me one day, he came out with a treat to take home to our dog, no charge.

I've never had to load my own feed, although I did have to help get a square hay bale into a plastic bag so it wouldn't make a mess in my car. That's what I get for not driving the truck. I hope the feed store is around for a long time. The chickens don't care where their food comes from, but I do.

By the way, they eat the pellets.

My New Wallet

I got a new wallet last week and I just love it. I bought it from Ripenstitch on Etsy. She does great work. I feel so organized now. This wallet has a place for cards (ID, credit cards, library cards, etc), cash, checkbook and change. I used to search constantly for those things in my purse as well as often misplacing them. Now it's all in one very pretty place. Thanks, Ripenstitch!