MEMORIAL DAY FUN AND ADVENTURES.....

The last day of May...where did the month go???   I need to slow down and make my days last longer.   Today - by tradition - Tony and I got up and were out of the house by 4:45 am to seek out treasures at the big Memorial Day flea market....sadly ...not many treasures were found (sad face)...but I TRIED very hard to find them.   We then decided to go to the Olde Engine Works in Stroudsburg....and again...not much to be found - what we did find was great though!!!  Will all be in the store soon.

Thought I would show you how the "Fairy Garden" is growing...another fairy has moved in and immediately raised the "Flag" to celebrate all the veterans!

I have alot of rusty old bed springs and sometimes use them as a make-do - I saw a picture (somewhere??) of a "music cone" filled with dried flowers and thought I would make one for my counter.  I used a water tube to put fresh flowers in it.   Made me smile all day Sunday!

I should have had this vintage straw hat with me today....the sun was blazing early today and there wasn't any shade to be found should .  This is a really great vintage hat...stop by and try it on!!!

BUT the most fun was spending the afternoon with the grandkids - we had a picnic at my daughter's and  "christened" her new pool.....(her boys were in the pool two weeks ago when it was freezing) !!!  The water is already warm from days of very hot weather here in PA !  I posted pics of our fun day on my PT... Two of the boys were done with swimming for the day and watching the LaCrosse championship on TV !!  The life these kids have...yi yi yi yi !!!

GRADUATION DAY...

My youngest grandaughter "Blakely" graduated from pre-school yesterday - they grow up so fast....
I think she really wanted to wear this...

What wonderful gifts "grandbabies" are.....love them to pieces!

OLDE GLORY BANNER CLASS -

Our banner class was so much fun last night...but how could it not be with these three creative souls!   We  had three gals  take the Olde Glory Banner class and although it started with a terrible thunder storm and the lights going out (YIKES - we are in the attic studio with the spirits!!) we managed to make unique one of a kind banners!! (these gals are creative)  You can't see the rusty stars and add-ons that they did !  More pics are posted on  www.picturetrail.com/thecinnamonstick   !!

Our next class will be a "Captured Fairy" - we have done this class before and it is always fun.    Info will be on our picturetrail  in the Class Schedule album! (we also have the books "Are There Fairies at the Bottom of Your Garden signed by author Betsy Williams  $8.50)!!

I have been making some unique pedestals - and they are very popular with our customers.  After purchasing one I realized  "I CAN DO THIS" and have been having fun ever since.   I love pretty dishes (the whimsical side of me - oh I'll confess - I love pretty doilies too)  and pick them up at flea markets or antique malls whenever I find one I can't live without.    This is a picture of a "rose" dish that I put on a candlestick - it is for sale at the store!   (last night I served mini cupcakes on one) !!  Have a fun day today!

MEMORY LANE...

I grew up in a row home in town...where everyone sat on their front porches after dinner....the adults would retire early and then the TEENAGERS would gather.   I can remember sneaking out on our porch to listen to their music - (I was a child of the 60's)!!!  But the BEST music was produced during the 50's....take a listen..

   http://carolynspreciousmemories.com/50s/sitemap.html


Gosh what memories those "innocent" songs bring back!   ENJOY!!!

THE BOSS...

This is "the BOSS" - struting -  king of our yard - and all our feathered friends know it - under no uncertain terms may they "bother" him until he is finished eating - he leaves them the "spoils"....but we are way ahead of him and refeed the menagerie of birds and bunnies that visit us each day.
Today he is pecking on "popcorn".....in the front yard the little birds are feeding on seed.   Love pulling one over on him!!!

He is HUGE - truly HUGE...a very shiny black and LOUD !!!  I did my best with the pictures - he did not co-operate this morning!

GREAT IRON GRIDDLE...

I love this "cake griddle"...it is marked "Mrs. Schaeffer's Cake Griddle"...dated Sept. 25, 1889 !!  Just an old pancake maker....!!!!

Lots of new "olde goodies" in the store...from water pails to neat old carriers!

My "Fairy Garden" is starting to take shape....another little"pixie" joined the fun today....and some garden tools - I will have to get some "updated" pictures.   It is fun to just play in my little world sometimes!

OLDE GLORY BANNER...

Memorial Day is coming fast and I have been trying to get some Americana goodies together in the store.  Today I made this banner ( I have fun making the banners and thinking of having a class on this next week) !!   This could stay out all summer - Proud to be an American!!!

I also am having fun stamping the silverware....this morning I came up with this saying....

"TALK TO ME"  and added it to a small crock with varigated marjoram...too cute!!! 

Something else as sweet as sweet can be.....( Yesterday I watched my youngest grandaughter "Blakely" ) - this is her breakfast....dill pickles and watermelon......she takes after her Grandmom!!!!

IT'S HERE....!!!

The summer issue of " A SIMPLE LIFE" is in the store today....great magazine for everyone who loves the primitive country style of decorating.   Real people, real stories....wonderful decorating ideas...so much to enjoy!!!  Stop in for your copy ASAP !!

Can you believe it will be Memorial Day in alittle more than a week....????  Some patriotic goodies are arriving  in the store for decorating  - we still have some beautiful herb plants for sale too....(one of these days our weather will be fit to start planting!!) - and new wire carriers (3), sprinkling cans and other summer decorating goodies are waiting for you - so come and get it!!!! 

Loving the sunshine this morning....

LEMON BALM...

When I opened the window in our back hallway, letting in some fresh air while cleaning,  the aroma of lemon was delightful - underneath the window is a huge patch of Lemon Balm growing...now ready to be harvested into bouquets for drying.  I went out an cut a big bunch to hang on our kitchen porch door - it will greet Tony when he comes home tonight.  (although I think the garlic scent of dinner might be more to his liking !! )

(a real make-do chair reinforced many years ago, prim bowl of Lemon Balm and a little bunch of sage)

The wild rose bushes (across the street in the woods) are in full bloom and the scent of those are intoxicating - when you pick the flowers they die very fast...(sad face) but then if you leave them alone in November you get the prettiest red rosehip bunches.    Of course you have to remember where they were blooming cause they get hidden with the rest of the woodland growth.  Personally I purchase ours for the store from my "gatherer"...Kathleen....I don't know how old she is....older than me and you all know I am old...but she tredges (with an adult grandson) thru thicket and vine to her favorite cutting place and fills all the local stores from Lancaster to Hereford with her bounty!!  (and very reasonable too!)  (am I talking Christmas????- forgive me) ~~~!!!!

SHARING..

Isn't this great...makes my heart flutter !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_N4Wl3SUqg&feature=player_embedded

A BANNER DAY...

(that sounded like a great day huh!!)  Not quite....what it means is - today I worked on making banners - only got one finished....here it is  -  (it is so hard to get a good picture in the store ...too many windows and I don't know how to work the camera - if you want the honest truth) !!  You really can't see the great colors on the pretty paper and the aging that is done in green...like grass stains !!!

I finally attached it to the back door so I could get a better picture.   The others are just in beginning stages ...these are fun to make!!

Now this is a hard one to sell.....I am truly a make-do kind of gal...and this canned ham tin, with the piece of wood divider nailed in, is just what makes my heart tingle...!!   The second picture is of my candies that I am hooked on...Almond Joy pieces...(and they match my canned ham!!)   I have almost eaten the whole bag in two days....left alittle for breakfast tomorrow! (kidding) !!

I had a surprise visitor today...Susan from Henny Penny's Country Store....I did not recognize her (sorry Susan) but she forgave me as the only time I met her she was dressed like this...

Yep - that is her alright...Susan is having an open house this weekend and was doing some last minute shopping - she is 91 miles from us but said she couldn't be this close and not stop in....it was so great to see her and I just kept talking and talking....gosh I could talk to her forever!!  BUT I finally let her get on her way....I love my job!!!

SWEETPEA...

The above picture is of "Sweetpea"...a bunny that lives under Tony's workshop - although she is wild (we both talk to her and give her "nibbles") -  we can now get to within 4-5 feet of her before she hops off!  The other day I found two baby bunnies - newly born - lying dead in the stones- I was very sad and didn't know who they belonged to....as you can see by our friend's ear they must have been her babies and she put up a "fierce" battle to save them.  Her ear is healed as far as I can see....Tony planted a patch of "sweet clover" behind his workshop and I am afraid it has drawn other "not so nice" critters to feast...sigh!!!

It has been downright cold here in PA and not nice weather to be playing in the gardens so I have been working in the attic studio trying to keep the store filled with new handmade goodies.   What I really NEED is a fun day shopping trip - for inspiration and new ideas - I think I should plan an excursion soon!

ARRIVING THIS WEEK.....

The Summer 2010 issue of "A Simple Life" will be mailed to us this week....woohoo!!!....not exactly sure when but certainly will be here by opening next Wednesday!!!  (fingers crossed sooner!)  I will let you know as soon as it arrives...this promises to be another great issue!!!
Today was "one of those days" - started a dozen different things...finished some....some need tweeking and some are a labor of love for sure!   Just one of those days........(sigh)!!

PEACEFUL MONDAY...

Did I really say it was peaceful....???  I had alot to do to today just to catch up...the laundry, my fabric room looked like a tornado went thru it...(it is all folded and stacked nicely in the color coordinated bins now - but that took forever)!!  Finally got the "hair do" taken care of and groceries purchased...and ta-da Monday was GONE. 
I did take time to "smell the flowers" and to pick a bouquet for the kitchen table....life is good.
I posted pictures of the Herb Faire on our picture trail -   www.picturetrail.com/thecinnamonstick  if you would like to take a peek.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!

The sun is shining but boy it is cold....such a roller coaster ride of weather lately!  I put all the herb flats on the ground, under tables and tried to protect them as much as I could from the wind we had last night.   I am sure they are fine - (I can remember having frost during our Herb Faire one time)!!   Most of the herbs are sold from Friday and Saturday ( a good thing) so it really wasn't much work.
Our Herb Faire has been great....just seeing lots of customers is so much fun!!  (of course I am still running 2 hours behind in my life) but trying hard to catch up!

This is my Mom - Polly Esther ( her fun joke - as she was "invented" before polyester)...she passed in 2004 and I miss her much - she was a "fun" MOM - our family has so many wonderful memories - she made life as special as she could for us!

Today we will go to my daughter's to celebrate Mother's Day....a great way to end the week!!!

APOLOGIES...TO MY EMAIL CUSTOMERS...

I know I said I would have the pictures of "Sadie Rose" (our door prize for the Herb Faire) on at 6 pm and I am two hours LATE.....that is how my day has been....I got UP two hours early so how did I end up falling so far behind???  I think I try to do too much in too little time.....hmmmmm...could be that those wonderfully scented tarts and candles were delivered today from Crows Nest Primitives....(they had to be priced and displayed) but not until I made every customer smell the Tomato Leaf one...."oh my garden" does it smell so real!  I didn't melt a new tart today BECAUSE I was too wishy washy on which one I wanted to try first...(see I told you my day was upside down) !!  I decided it is between Lemon Mint and Herb Garden....tomorrow will tell!!  Okay...I know you want to meet Sadie Rose....well here she is tucked safely in the outhouse... (isn't she too sweet!!)

...a picture of the tarts waiting to be priced...

...and here is a picture of my Herb Faire banner from Ivonne at http://folkartbythecracklingcrows.blogspot.com/

One last picture of the back porch almost ready for tomorrow morning...None of the Garden Art is out yet...I will try to get more pictures before we open when everything is set up.

Everything else is ready to go except the Lavender Pound Cake, which is still in the oven....I have to make the Rosemary Citrus Cooler in the morning and cut up fresh veggies and I am ready to "party"....hope you can come this weekend!!

PLAYING WITH FORKS, SPOONS AND KNIVES!!!

I am having so much fun playing with my new "toy" (although it is NOT as easy as it seems - or I am doing it the hard way) !!  These are ready for sale...plus I did some words/names on forks and butter knives...I will have to take more pictures!!! ....FUN STUFF for the herb plants!!!

CLEANING THE OUTHOUSE...

Doesn't that sound gross!!   Not my outhouse though, it is not gross at all and it  is all ready to be fussied up - When winter comes we close the outhouse for the long, cold months and reopen it right about now....but oh my - it was cob webby and dusty - quite messy.  So I hooked up the hose and gave her a good washing !!  Now it is all ready to be decorated !!

Tony made me this outhouse when we were in the Morgantown store as a place to store the things I put outside of the shop.  When we closed the Morgantown store the new occupants did not want to purchase it (very cheap too) so we moved it with us to Hereford...I am certainly glad we did as it is a fun place to decorate.  I was busy today crossing the items off my "to do" list !!  I got the mini-gardens planted....I have to put the little goodies in them so the fairies will come and sprinkle them with fairy dust - I will do that tomorrow.

Of course today it was a beautiful day - warm breezes and lots of sun so I was able to get alot of outside work done.   Everything is green and so pretty here in PA - soon the wild rose bushes will be filling the air with their amazing scents.   The honey suckle is already blooming....think I will pick some to put in a vase for the store tomorrow....Have a nice evening.....

NEVER FAILS....

Today Tony and I picked up our herbs for our Herb Faire that begins Friday.....When we left the house the sun was shining...just a beautiful morning.   We stopped for some flowers to add to our "mini-gardens" and had  lunch.  Then stopped at home to pick up extra tables etc. and took both cars - and THEN driving to the store....drip..drip...drip....on my windshield...by the time we started to unload the herbs this is what was happening....truly a MONSOON!!   BUT we had to unload, needless to say we were soaked thru - thank goodness it was warm...actually quite muggy which made you feel sticky - if it weren't for the "heavenly" scent of the herbs I think I could have been "grouchy" !! 

I still made Tony (even though he was soaked) plant the coleus in the flower box...he was smiling though cause he loves to be around the plants!!

I stayed for awhile to set up where "who and what" is going to be displayed and tomorrow I will clean the outhouse, plant the mini-gardens in old agate bowls, price what needs to be priced and clean the store...I ordered a banner for the back porch and it should be here on Thursday - from http://www.folkartbythecracklingcrows.blogspot.com/  - she put the banner I ordered on her blog!!  Something different and I love it!!   New candles and tarts from http://www.crowsnestprimitiveshoppe.com/  - all very herbal - will be in this week too...Lots of new goodies to share with you!!!

NEW GOODIES IN THE STORE....

Morning friends...yesterday was a beautiful day in my neighborhood especially when the UPS truck pulled in the parking lot.  I wasn't really expecting anything.....(oh yeah - the preserved Sweet Annie that I ordered)...that did come but it wasn't the "special" package...oh my!!  Terri (Olde Button Tin) surprised me with these....putting a BIG smile on The Cinnamon Stick !!!

A cotton stuffed pillow all hand appliqued....(my favorite)

...another pillow hand appliqued....what a statement these pillows make! (my favorite)

...a sweet garden doll named "May" all cotton stuffed and aged with Terri's unique way of making her items look like they are from long ago!   (my favorite)...okay they are all my favorites!!

I didn't get pictures of the hand appliqued vintage doilies...I will do that today....they are truly one of a kind! (and my favorites!!)

...these are seed packet pillows made by me.....I love pillows...can you tell!!!