Traveling south

4:30 a.m. - alarm sounds

5:30 a.m. - car heads out

destination - south

Madison, Sun Prairie & Columbus, Wisconsin

on the horizon.

8:30 a.m. - there they are:

The Dumpster Divas (and one Dude) and a sale to rival all sales!

John, Nan & Sarah

Madison Junking Celebrities.

They offer a once a year end of the summer sale in Madison.

*I arrive honking, elated to finally attend this event*
My pile grows as I shop all the vintage finds...
"darn" I think, left the bigger car & trailer home.

P.S. If you attend my Barn Sale...you might just recognize Sarah & Nan
(aka - the Barn Cats).

From here, I travel to Sun Prairie to gather up Jani.
*Yes, Jani from the blog
(not to be confused with Jenny from the hood)
& Barn Sale.
Lunch with a friend...
then off to the Columbus Antique Mall
(featured in the new edition of Flea Market Style magazine).
We shop for hours - but it feels like minutes.
Jani's find of the day - a vintage Santa...
a wish come true
(literally - Jani was just sharing that she was looking for these,
before the words came out -- there one was winking at her)

My day ends in Madison again -- with my very own Ian at my side.
Supper, 1/2 Price Books, shoe shopping --
whatever I do with that boy makes my heart sing.

Home by 10:00 p.m.
Tired, happy!
Traveled south
 -- with friends, family & finds
at the end of that rainbow.

home again...

I am a home-body.

I simply & honestly love to be home.

If I could, that is where I would spend 99.9% of my time.

I am just plain happiest at my farm.

But, truth be told, I spend a fair amount of time away.

I just returned tonight from two days spent in Polk County for my job.

Polk County is absolutely gorgious...

and I spent last night near the falls in St. Croix Falls.

But....

coming home takes my very breath away.

Are you a traveler or a home-body or

somewhere in between?

Color Collection: sparkle

silver, gold, tarnished tin, crystal, clear glass

These shiny, sparkly additions

add magic to a home.

Gilded frames

-- no need for even a picture - beauty is in the frame itself.

Candy jars filled with sparkle...

vintage garland & crystals.

A sweet vignette -- cake pedestals add sparkle here.

My "sparkle" collection includes:

Vintage beads, glass door knobs, clear glass compotes,

anything with vintage glass glitter.

Do you collect sparkle?

Color Collection: brown

In my home, where there is a fair amount of pastel shades...

brown keeps it all in the grown-up world.

It is my mature go-to color.

Butterfly book plate & a sweet tea cup.

The little tea cup was a "have to adopt" when I found

this wee little house inside of it.

Little whisk brooms with velvet on the top.

*Why was there velvet on the top of a utilitarian object?

So sweet - so pure.

 

 

Little wire baskets, teeny abandoned nests.

My brown collection includes:

Feathers (found in the yard), transferware, worn/discolored ironstone, clothespins.

Do you collect brown?

Color Collection: green

I adore - absolutely love - green.

If I had just one color,

it would be green.

Checkerboard green...

this little hot pad holder now holds notes in my kitchen.

My kitchen floor -- checkerboard green too.

Clocks & Frogs - never enough!

Fabulous pitcher, sweet planters...

Green, green, green --- love it I do.

My green collections include:

Pottery, frogs (from garden statuary to Steiff), bird cages, painted stools & benches.

Do you collect green?

Sweet little ones...

Here is our spring litter...Summer, Spring & Winter

They are on the porch,

a little hospital triage set up to get them better.

See, part of farm life that I am still learning

is "mass doctoring" animals.

If one is sick, with shared food dishes, you treat them all.

Seems my hurt Marmalade brought home illness with his injury...

and we had to make a

mass exodus to the vet on Wednesday - 7 cats.

These little ones (as well as Marmalade) were running high fevers &

were dehydrated.

Fluids & antibiotics given...they seem to be rebounding.

Now my day starts & ends with antibiotics....

given to 7 cats.

We are not out of the woods yet -- will need to get thru ten days of this,

but each morning -- a greeting from kittens & goats...

is absolutely priceless.

Really doesn't take much to make me happy.

Sweet little ones, they climb into my heart & fill it.

I send prayers up for their well being & care...

and celebrate their sweet little ways.

August 14 Update:

Touch & go...

but it is now looking like go for all my sweet ones. 

Still have the newest babies sequestered on the porch.

Hope to let them out soon.

Momma Hope chooses her family over her freedom every day.

I let her off the porch, she comes back in to be with them.

I learn so much from these little ones.

Never ever question investing in love.

A happy ending to this story...August 17:

This morning we carried all the babies back to the barn -

they were home.

Whisper & Chestnut & Momma Hope followed us -

a celebratory parade.

Marmalade met us at the door and kissed each one.

Even the goats came in to greet them.

They all made it...the little ones almost doubling in weight in

the 7 days on the porch-hospital.

As I walked back to the house, Hope and the babies were running with

such joy to the corn crib to play.

For this moment, for this morning -

all is right at Meadowview Farm. 

Color Collection: yellow

Such a happy color yellow is...

truly sunshine on my shoulder.

A chick chick here & a chick chick there.

One of my sweet children's plates.

A serious little plaster chick and polka dot McCoy pottery.

Also beaded flower peaking off to the left...

And sunflowers.  swoon.

This one made by my Ian years ago.

Beginning to bloom about the farm.

My yellow collection includes:

Pottery planters, pitchers & bowls, pears, chicks.

Do you collect yellow?

Color Collection: pastel

These sweet demure colors are so often underrated. 

In a world of more, brighter, bigger...wow....

we often miss sweet, kind, nice.

That is pastel to me-often

best experienced as a group.

Faded vintage Christmas bead picks.

A bowl of charm.

The "Forget-me-not" bracelet is from my mom...
probably 1940ish -- a name collected for
each sweet friend.

Floral, floral, floral...
*the Raggedy Ann was bought at a Thrift Sale
this summer from sisters in their 70's.  It was theirs, mended, loved.

My pastel collection includes:
bark cloth, wicker, Shawnee & McCoy pottery, toy/children's chairs.

Do you collect pastel?

Color Collection: red

Such an intense little color, yes,

red is strong.

Vintage store price tags

Vintage kitchen utensils and Polka Dots!

Apple crates with wonderful graphics.

Let me share a quiet little story of strength about

my Marmalade, resident tommy, not quite 1 year old -- but worldly all the same.

He is my orangey red kitty boy--a barn cat.

He limped home last Wednesday morning - hurt bad,

we didn't know if he would make it.

We hand fed him, encouraged him to drink...

blood at his eyes, nose & ears -- really hurt.

For 4 days he slept, sometimes on my lap -- so hurt, so worn,

yet still purring.

Tonight he got up on his own & ate with the other cats.

Strong -- yes -- that is red...and that is my Marmie.

My red collection includes:

children's brooms, spice tins, transfer ware, faded flags, red handled cookie cutters.

Do you collect red?

Interrupting all previously scheduled programs....

Getting ready for the

Autumn Meadowview Farm Barn Sale....

October 8 & 9, 2011

Augusta, Wisconsin

Making Posters.

Readying Postcards.

Work, work, work.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list --

feel free to drop me a note with your name & address.

Contact me by leaving a comment on this blog or emailing me at:

meadowviewfarmwi@gmail.com



Watch this blog for the super secret password

that entitles you to a 10% discount the opening morning of the sale.

Color Collection: blue

In my home, blue represents cool, quiet, calm.
It is a soothing color...

Blue bottles...sometimes in a row, sometimes in a cluster.

A hint of blue in my vintage trim basket.

A blue ice cream bucket, now a planter.

 

I wake to forget-me-not blue on the walls of my bedroom.

Our three entry doors to our house are blue.

Blue bids welcome, good day...

it will all be O.K.

My blue collections include: 

Ball canning jars, blue bird dishes, blue spatter ware, anything with vintage blue paint.

Do you collect blue?



Color Collection: white

August will be all about color...

highlighting pieces from my vintage collections.

I have become a fan of the serene feel of white.

As I love white on white decorating...

I love color more, so have never quite gone that route entirely.

But creamy, subtle white most definitely lives here.

Ironstone with pearls, a glass tray over book plates.

A wash bowl filled with buttons.

Sweet little white surprises tucked in a glass front cupboard.

My white collections include: 

swans, Ironstone, vintage lace, doves, enamelware pitchers, sheep.

Do you collect white?