Sunday, December 25, 2016

mirth & merry ~ in a quiet country way



Whimsical cows from my big sis, Randi, and a new book
from my favorite local author.  And a discovery that the 
book has an autograph, a "bless you" from Michael.

This quiet dairy farm often offers me the answer, even when
no question has left my lips.  


Sunday, December 18, 2016

here's to hope



                    Wishing you the magic of this season...
                    and that hope will remain as we enter the new year.




Saturday, December 17, 2016

vintage holiday memories



Each year, when I unpack my Christmas bins, these two
almost always bring the most joy to me.  They are from my
childhood...and I think of them through the eyes of a much
younger Kari.  

What will we pass on as Holiday memories, to be some
day unpacked & cherished?  I wonder...

Sunday, December 11, 2016

holiday finds

Dave & I went on a little local antiquing jaunt yesterday.
With snow on the way, we stayed close to home.

After years of collecting, my choices to keep are now select.
I base my choice on patina, sweet detail, color & how the item touches my heart.

These were some of my Saturday finds...

A dala horse tin cutter.

Little bunches of mushroom picks.

An ironstone pitcher with green detail.

When I make a connection to something I know I will keep,
it usually is with no thought of how the item will fit or where it will go.
I just know it will.  
I know I will smile to see them become part of my home.




Monday, December 5, 2016

jingle all the way



heading into the holidays with hope to not get lost in the "busy"...





Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Sunday, November 13, 2016

to hibernate

There are four distinct seasons in Wisconsin...
we now prepare for one of the hardest.
But, there is a part of me ready to hunker down, to be forced inside...
to hibernate.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

dusk



                     There is still beauty all around us!  



Sunday, November 6, 2016

my dear hearts

I sit here typing, kitten in my lap...my dear Lucy.
I have learned that our farm would be empty if there
were not dear sweet furry souls that shared it with us.

We buried one of our dearest hearts on Friday...our 
Taffy goat.  She called Meadowview Farm home for 
almost 10 years (a long life for a goat).  When we 
brought her home, we promised to make her life a 
happy life.  We promised to care for her.  In turn, we 
received such love back.  So, tears for a soft white 
sweet girl goat.  May her memory be for a blessing.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Squirrel Away Savings

   Stop over to my booth at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique
      Mall for a 30% off sale (includes items marked firm)!
   The sale ends at the close of business on Friday, Nov. 4th!
      Sale extended through 
       Friday, November 11!









Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Midnight

I take pet ownership seriously.  We care for & love our
animals...investing in their well being.  So when an older stray
black cat started appearing in the barn, I was not too pleased.
Would he fight with my cats?  Would he bring illness?  

Dave called him "Midnight" - it stuck.  And over time, he stuck too.

Midnight found the stairs to our hayloft a safe place to watch from, 
and eventually join in the evening meal from...with his own dish on
the upper most step.  Over time, I coaxed him down to a lower step
to pet him.  He was an older boy...rough around the edges, wide at
the face, scarred.  After a meal, he would lay on his back, just barely on the
stair and reach out with his paw.  I learned to not worry about him
biting or scratching.  But he was a fighter, no doubt...just not in the solace 
of the barn that had slowly become home to him.

For over a year, Midnight joined our cat family in the barn...often running
across the soy bean field when my blue car turned into the driveway.
Eventually he joined the other barn cats, rubbing against my legs as a form of
socialization, and maybe a gentle thanks.  

Midnight now takes his own place in the chapters of this farm, and in the 
memory of this old heart.  He taught me not to judge too quickly.  
I still watch for him across the soy...and suspect I always will.


Friday, October 21, 2016

Sale!



           Sale through November 4th in my booth at the
                    Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall!




Friday, October 14, 2016

lessons learned on a farm

So, here are some things I've learned at our farm:
  • A good pair of boots are essential
  • Hay is not the same as straw
  • Walking out to the barn can ease your mind
  • Pigeons love silos
  • The sky just seems larger
  • And the life of a barn cat is measured in months, not years....
Farewell Sweetie -- we will miss your dear purr.


Sunday, October 9, 2016

a bittersweet season


            little bits of orange...

             greens to browns to russet tones

           and a jack-o-lantern here & there




Saturday, October 8, 2016

Saturday, October 1, 2016

she rises

I have learned that courage can be found in the quietest of places.


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  
I will wear my pink with pride too.



Thursday, September 22, 2016

Welcome sweet Autumn!



She arrived while we slept.  Quietly falling into our morning as if 
she had been there always.  I had felt her presence in the dark clouds the eve 
before...and looked to the sky with awe.  I woke early to greet her.








Thursday, September 8, 2016

Sunday, September 4, 2016

bits of early autumn


ever so quietly, fall begins to arrive at Meadowview Farm...
               


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

kitty love



Daisy, Lucy, Hope, Chestnut, Luna, Pearl, Sawyer, Chippewa,
Sable, Sweetie & Midnight.  Kittens at Meadowview Farm.

I will take a sweet purr any & every day as I count my kitten
blessings.  Little soft noses.  Gentle little souls.


Monday, August 15, 2016

hold it

I use vintage bowls & baskets to hold everything.

Remotes are always better in Ironstone.


Magazines...in a harvest basket, of course!


Coasters find a home in a garden pot base.

Hold it, contain it, keep it organized in vintage!


Saturday, August 6, 2016

the unexpected


Life is measured in how we handle the unexpected.
Living in the country often magnifies this.

Raccoons find their way into the seed & feed...rethink storage.
Snapping turtle in the pasture, out maneuver back to the stream.
Strong winds with only fields to our farm...bigger chainsaw.

The unexpected is also measured in moments of surprise.

Sunflowers around the farm, when we hadn't planted any.

Yellow flowers magically appear all along the fence line.

And morning glories, planted years before us, returning.

Nature reminds us that the unexpected never fits neat & tidy on 
our planner...but will & does guide & build how we measure our days.



Friday, July 15, 2016

knee deep in summer


It is sunflower time...and yes, they have planted themselves
again this year.  They are indeed the happiest of flowers.


       And on the vine, pumpkins & gourds begin...


                  With a deer to climb on too.


The neighbor stopped by...one of their bee colonies
took off today, just up & flew away.  He wondered if they 
had taken up residence at our farm.  No sign of them yet!

Summer is ripening & unfolding all around us.




Thursday, July 7, 2016

morning greetings



This is what often awaits in the morning.  Ralphie loves
his bridge...and my timid Little Moo is always curious.
Good day my sweet boys!




Monday, July 4, 2016

boom!



Mom lived in the perfect place for July 4th...right across
from Winnequah Park in Monona.  When I was younger,
we could line up our lawn chairs right across the front yard
to watch.  The day would start with baseball games at the 
two diamonds...then Healy Lane & all the Trails would begin
to fill through the afternoon.  The small carnival, craft fair & 
beer tent were like beacons ~~ drawing in the people.  Each
laid claim to their piece of the park with a blanket.  By night
it was like a swarm, and we spent as much time, maybe even
more, enjoying the people watching.  And then with several
booms, the night filled with the lights of freedom, independence,
and pride.  My mom would announce, "I like that one!" or "That
was a good one!"...and we would hoot & applaud in symphony.
I was always befuddled by the number of cars that would leave
during the show...as if beating the crowd out was the grand prize.
For the Wind girls, that was the time when we brought out the sparklers, 
and with reverence & some fear, I would run the yard with spitting
fire in my very hand.  

Happy Birthday America!

Friday, June 24, 2016

there are moments...


       there is this path from the road thru the trees at our property 
     in northern Wisconsin...I never quite know what sight will await 
         when I enter the clearing ~~ this was my gift on Saturday.



Saturday, June 18, 2016

pardon me as I climb upon this soapbox

A fashionista I am not.  I have always thought it would be cool to be stylish
or boho or professional chic...but at the end of the day, I don't have time
for that - it is just not a priority to me.  So I usually find a comfortable pair
of shoes, a roomy top, a comfy pair of pants and wear them out.  

So, with rare form, Friday night I went shopping.......for clothing.  Now I 
wish I could say it was because I had just shed extra weight or had been
invited to a Whitehouse gala, but it had more to do with a new job
around the corner.

Carefully picking out some comfortable & "cute" looking tops ~~ I headed to
the mirrors we all love in the dressing room ~~ and that is where this story
actually begins.  There were clothes strewn all about, every hook taken, piles
on the floor - even empty make-up boxes in the mix (theft).  I was stunned that 
women did this!  When I went to the dressing area nearer the "older women"
area, it was no different.  Seems manners fall away behind closed doors.

I grew up learning that we pick up after ourselves, just what you did.  As a teacher, I 
always made sure the kids knew "there are no clean up elves".  

When I went to check out, I asked the clerk if the dressing rooms were always
so thoughtlessly left.  She said that it was actually part of her job to pick them up
& on that Friday they were left better than usual by customers.  Wow!  Just wow!

So it may not be a big deal, but for this young women that probably spends a 
few hours a day picking up after pigs...I mean others, kindness starts behind
that dressing room door.  It is where we, as women, accept ourselves for who we
really are.  



Sunday, June 12, 2016

porching it

We are ever so lucky to have a large three season porch off the
summer kitchen.  With 12 windows, it offers sun & breeze.  One
of my vacation "to dos" was to refresh the porch with its mix of
second hand furniture.  Dave repainted the floor a forest green,
which highlighted my love for green in all of the shades of nature.
I threw an old blue floral comforter over the comfy couch and made
sure that bits of red, green, and blue were anchored with white.
With two ceiling fans, a place to grab the right shoes or boots when
heading out the door & tables for eating or setting loads on their 
way in or out...this is a versatile space.  Yesterday, we added buffalo
check valances in a perky shade of Apple green...I will add more of this
color as I nip & tuck over time.

As I type this, I hear the rustle of the breeze through our cottonwood 
tree, one of several pairs of wrens singing, and the melody of a farm
yard wind chime.  Porching it!





Saturday, June 11, 2016

for the love of Pinterest

I am loving the new look....loving it!  They are inspiration collages!





Saturday, June 4, 2016

home

My home is an 1857 Federalist style brick house in Augusta, Wisconsin.
It is the love of my life.





My home is a 28 year old boy living on his own in Mill Creek, Washington.  
He is the love of my life.


I cry when I leave both ~ that is what makes them home to me...




Tuesday, May 31, 2016

there be mountains



Taking a little time off to visit my son, Ian, in Seattle.
We are taking in all the sites unique to this place.
And as we travel, Mt. Rainier travels with us.



Saturday, May 21, 2016

pink it is...


   Sunrise...



   Sunset...




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