done

So, I learned a few lessons this July:

1.  Setting up a Barn Sale may be just too much for a semi-perfectionist.

2. Working the next day at the Hixton Antique Mall might not have been a good idea.

3.  Dave is a trooper.

Our July 2019 Barn Sale is in the books, our thanks to those able to attend.

We gave away a lot of stuff, took a load to Hixton, and will be listing a few items.

The hayloft is well on its way to cleared out.  

Dave & I are exhausted. 

💚

decision

I am generally pretty good at making decisions...

But, each time someone has asked me if we will be having a Barn Sale this year (2015), I would sputter out a "maybe".  Then it happened on Friday.  Someone asked, I began to sputter & explain.....and then out came a very clear "no".

No, there will not be a Meadowview Farm Barn Sale this year.

There are so many reasons I had held back on a clear, concise answer: 

  1.  What if I just held a smaller sale?

  2.  But it is so much fun to get ready...

  3.  My hayloft looks so empty & lonely!

But for every reason why, the list of why not was longer.

So...there, a decision.  

No Barn Sale in 2015!

Now, as for 2016~~~~I will think that through later.

that question...

Seven!

I had to actually go back and count exactly how many times

we have opened that blue door at the top of the stairs & invited folks

into our 100+ year old hayloft for a Barn Sale.  I remember thinking 

that this would be a fun adventure...and each year it grew, with a line

that awaited the opening of that door at our last sale in October of 

2013.  Never did I imagine that it would take six of us to run the sale

the first morning.  Needless to say, it surpassed all my hopes!

I would guess that you have a pretty good idea of the time it 

takes to ready for a sale.  Certainly it is a labor of love, but it 

does require time.  And between my health and now a job change, 

time is a luxury!

A week does not pass without someone kindly asking if we will again host 

a Barn Sale.  And as much as I want to answer with an enthusiastic "yes"~~

the truth is I am not sure.

This remains the place where I will share any Barn Sale updates.

Thanks for asking...and for your gracious support.

one last reminder

Just so that no one shows up at our farm this weekend...

there will not be a Meadowview Farm Barn Sale this year.

This event has taken place on the second weekend of October ~

this year, for many reasons, we are taking the year "off".  We 

will certainly miss seeing so many now familiar faces!

Have a wonderful Autumn weekend!  Miss you!

reminder

Just a little reminder...there will not be a
Meadowview Farm Barn Sale this year.  We will miss setting up &

then seeing so many folks we now consider friends arrive and
fill our driveway & hayloft.

For the why, click HERE

          We thank everyone for their continued support!

in the hayloft

I am drawn to our barn.

A place of solace and quiet.

Over the weekend Dave helped me set up a workshop at the back of the hayloft...a place to work on vintage finds.  A place to sand, poly, pound, fix, repurpose.

With my radio on and kittens nearby, I work.

I am lost in time, most content.

As you know, there will not be a Barn Sale in 2014, my health helped me to reevaluate this year........but, I am still ticking, still gathering, still adoring time in the barn.

Over the weekend I did set up furniture in case I decide to offer a "pop up sale"  ~ a day I decide to just throw open the blue door at the top of the stairs and invite folks in.

Not sure if I will or not, but I set the stage, just in case the mood strikes.

For details on that blue door opening, 

be sure to "Like" the Meadowview Farm Facebook page to the right.  

some decisions are difficult

 update...2016

Over & over each year we have debated hosting a Barn Sale again

With mixed emotion, we have made the decision to take some time off.

There will not be a Meadowview Farm Barn Sale at this time.

We began these sales in 2010, and have been absolutely amazed by the response.  Each sale has gotten better & better, bigger & bigger.  Many of you may still remember the one try at a November sale and the cold, cold, cold (but warm spirits) in the hayloft!  This last Barn Sale in October, 2013 exceeded all expectations -- actually adding a new dilemma - how to thoughtfully "manage" the volume of shoppers on the first morning and eliminate long waits to check out for future sales!  Such wonderful "problems" to have.

But, in all honesty, my health in 2013 and recovery in the years following put a wrench in it all.  Dealing with breast cancer ~ surgeries and recovery ~ has meant that my energy has been near depleted.  Working my full time day job, keeping up with our farm, loading my booth & case at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall is all I can manage.  I needed to make the decision that right now I have needed to breathe in every day of every season.  I know you understand.

And -- I do want to say how much I honor & adore every single one of you that supported our sale through notes on this blog or through your attendance.  You have touched my heart!

Finally, my thanks with an exclamation mark to my Dave & Ian for being there!  And to Jani, Nan & Sarah -- (and at the 2013 sale, Jani's husband, Norm) --- aka "The Barn Cats".  If you attended the first morning of any Barn Sale -- these are the hard working folks that helped, checked you out...."woo hooed" their way through this philanthropic adventure called friendship...driving 6 hours round trip to be here.  My love for these peeps of mine is deep!

So, you might ask -- will there be another Barn Sale?

 I honestly am just not sure, but my blog is certainly where I will announce it if we do!

And, please "like" the Meadowview Farm Business Facebook Page for even more updates.

This is where I will post potential "pop-up sales" at the farm, vintage furniture for sale and other stuff that just might interest you.  This is also a place you can be in touch with me.

You can find us here: Meadowview Farm on Facebook

You can still find me at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall! 

For now, dear friends, my thanks....

Kari  xxoo

Autumn Blessings ~ indeed

My heartfelt thanks............

To each of you that ventured out this weekend for our Barn Sale.

To each of you that provided words & gifts of support & care.

To each of you that drove miles & miles to be here.

To each of you that waited to get in & then get out Saturday morning.

To each of you that never cease to surprise me with your generosity and love.

You lift me up on Autumn wings!

And I thank you.

 

 

 

Do check out Lisa's great blog, MaryJanes and Galoshes, for a wrap up & pictures from our Barn Sale....and get the dates for her upcoming vintage sale(s) in Dalton, Wisconsin -- first one is on November 9!    MaryJanes and Galoshes

sales galore

Not only will this beautiful upcoming weekend, October 12 & 13, 2013

be the Meadowview Farm Barn Sale......but it will also be a weekend of 

Sales Galore!

Here are a few "sale seeds" to plant in your mind!

1.  Barn Sale...find your super secret password to 10% off from 9-2 on Saturday in a post below.

2.  Or arrive after 2:00 on Saturday, Oct. 12, for 20% off!

3.  Or how about 30% off from 12-5 Sunday, Oct. 13?

4.  Of course every little detail is to the right under "Chapters"- Barn Sale!

5.  And, please find me at the Barn Sale (I will be wearing a green apron) for a special "Friend of Meadowview Farm" membership card that will always entitle you to 20% savings on any item(s) from my "SPY" booth and/or case at the Hixton Antique Mall.  These can only be given to you by me.......my special gift to you as a thank you for your support!  

6.  If this was all not enough sales, I have kicked off a "clean out the Hixton Antique Mall Booth" -- Dealer "SPY" major megaroonie sale........50% off!

7.  And to grease the wheel---Hixton will have their flea market this coming weekend too........for more about Hixton---head over to the right under "Chapters".

8.  Finally, if you should see a piece of furniture in my booth or at the Barn Sale with a price over $100 or noted as "Display" and you are interested in it.......I will consider a reasonable offer.  The mall has my number.

9.  All proceeds from this year's sales will go toward my medical expenses.

10.  Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!  

                    Kari from Meadowview Farm

Autumn Barn Sale 2013

tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...

The count down begins to October 12 & 13!

All you need to know in prior posts, or to the right!

gatherings

our little crop of baby jacks...

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12...

Counting Blessings, yes, this year I gather blessings!

When I walk my farmyard, when I reflect on the past 6 Barn Sales, when I think of family & friends and their love and support, when I think of those of you that drive year after year to our little sale....or perhaps will join us new this year.......blessed is how I feel.

Counting blessings is what has provided me great strength over these past months of change, and what will take me through the rest of fall.

Perhaps then it was just natural that this will be the super secret password.

If you should attend the Meadowview Farm Barn Sale,

please take 10% off your purchases from 9-2 the first day of the sale with these words at check out: 

"Counting Blessings"

counting the days

With Barn Sale on my mind, I begin the countdown with earnest!  There is much ready & much to be done.  With crisper temps, it is fun to work in the hayloft....radio on, creative energy flowing - it is therapy for my very soul.  October 12 & 13 is now within reach!

With change in the air, I listen for the geese- their exit south will mark the "get ready, get set, open the blue door" ---- the door at the tippy top of the stairs, the stairs paved with vintage license plates, the stairs to the hayloft.  

For all the details about this year's Barn Sale.....head to the right column under "Chapters" or scroll down to the prior post laden with the then & thats & what & where.

       Super Secret Password to 10% savings the first morning of the sale coming soon!

2013 Barn Sale count down underway

And so it begins!

The next weeks will be full!  My "to do" list is much longer then my "to done" list -- so, feeling a bit like a squirrel readying for winter. 

This is how the weeks ahead will look:

• gather, gather, gather -- vintage finds come rolling in!
• complete & hang posters -- all over the Chippewa Valley!
• update mailing list and send out postcards -- I still like the old fashioned way of card in hand!
• If I miss you with a postcard - my apologies, means you are not on my mailing list - yet...email me if you want to be with name & address:  Email
• untarp the hayloft and begin to unload bins!
• gather, gather, and gather some more!
• open prized seasonal & holiday bins in house -- my stuff -- begin to let go of some of my goodies for the sale!
• update this very blog with the SUPER SECRET password to 10% savings the morning of the sale!
• gather, gather, gather!
• cut corn stalks, harvest pumpkins, "fall up" the hayloft and farmyard!
• breathe.....!

Hoping you will be able to join in on all the fun!

When:  Saturday  October 12, 2013         9:00-5:00
              Sunday    October 13, 2013       12:00-5:00

                                     ****Sorry, absolutely NO early sales****

Where:  Augusta, Wisconsin
               S13181 County Road R

What:    Hayloft brimming with Antiques & Vintage Finds
               AND an Autumn Produce wagon from Amish neighbors

Specials:  20% Off from 2-5 on Saturday
                 30% Off all day Sunday

Join us at Meadowview Farm.  Meet Ralphie the goat & Acorn our ferocious Tom Cat!  Enjoy an apple from our little orchard while you walk the grounds - seeing how vintage finds can enhance gardens!  Climb the stairs to the hayloft of our 100 year old Danish Barn & fill up a basket!

P.S. -- I am feeling like this may be my last sale, I am not going anywhere, just realigning my life a bit.  I will head into (hopefully) my last surgery the week after the sale. 

                I will treat this sale as a true Celebration! 

Thanks for letting me dream with my eyes open!  Cross it off my bucket list once more!
Kari

the show must go on!

After dealing with a crazy two months of doctor visits, surgeries, recovery....with major surgery slated for next week ---- I had this epiphany in the wee hours of this morning.

This is me!  I am the driver of this "vehicle" called Kari.  I am at the wheel of my own fate.  I will steer this ship. 

So after consult with my surgeon this afternoon, to be followed by a visit with my surgeon & plastic surgeon this coming Friday -- I will be postponing surgery until October.  My surgeon decided it would not be "too dangerous" to do that (how's that for an answer).  My cancer, so far, has shown up as "noninvasive" -- so I figure where can it get to in an extra month?

I have too much to do right now, too much that I enjoy doing.  I will never get this time back, so I will take it with gusto!  I love Autumn and just will not give it away.

• I have apples and pumpkins to pick.
• I have animals to tend -- with a litter of kittens finding new joyful homes.
• I have my house to get in order before October -- as well as my work life.
• I have a body that needs time to rest and heal.
• I have a loving husband that has worked tirelessly to support me that needs to be allowed to rest.
• And dag nab it -- I have a Barn Sale to get ready for!

So, the show must go on!

**wow this has been one heck of an emotional roller coaster! 
Hang in there, bound to be bumpy ahead -- but oh such an adventure!

Here is my fabulous 100 year old Danish barn.

Behind that blue door is a hayloft just bursting with antiques and vintage finds!

 

I am so looking forward to this year's Barn Sale -- will be a celebration of sorts!

 

This is what greeted me on my drive home tonight!

We need only take the wheel & open our eyes....blessings everywhere - including you!

Barn Sale ~ 2013

And so it begins.....the Barn Sale readiness list printed today!

Areas have been set up for a first go round in the hayloft ~ items gathered, priced & stored.

Meadowview Farm Barn Sale ~ 2013


If you live near Augusta, Wisconsin, consider this a "save the date"!


   Saturday, October 12 from 9-5
   Sunday, October 13 from 12-5


Would love to have you join us for this Vintage & Antique Sale! Come out and meet the goats & kittens. Grab an apple from our little orchard. Walk the grounds of our 1857 farm. Climb the stairs and enter the blue door to our hayloft....it will be brimming with vintage finds.

one more little reminder....

No Spring Barn Sale beginning in 2013.

Last year at this time I was in busy mode, getting the hayloft & farmyard up & running for our May Barn Sale.  After two years of two sales, the reality had set in.....this is a huge undertaking! One that was tricky, at best, to align with a full time job rolling out a new program in 10 counties in Western Wisconsin.  So, offering myself a gentle reprieve, but still allowing the fun of hosting a Barn Sale with antiques & vintage finds in our 100 year old barn, we have scaled back to just one sale a year ~ in October.

This Saturday, I will be behind the counter at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall instead. There will even be a little flea market going on there. Stop by if you are in the area, and do know that I am always willing to "wheel & deal" when I am at the mall!


For all the information on the Barn Sale or Hixton......jump to the right under "Chapters"!

pieces of my heart

If you do not know already, I am a collector ~ a gatherer.
There are few things better to me then a day of antiquing....junking.

So Friday & Saturday were extra special when friends joined me in an Adventure in MN.
Jani, Nan & Sarah drove up from the Madison area Friday, collected me at the farm....and on we traveled. Nan cheerfully drove through wind & rain & sleet & snow----following a GPS that seemed a bit in over her head (I'm referring to the Garmen here) in the metro area (I ~ 4 ~ 9 ~ 4).

Our first destination...Junk Bonanza! Starting out with a hug from the one & only Ki, we were off, oogling over the beautiful vendor booths, each finding a treasure or two along the way. It was the closing bell that sent us off to our next stop - IKEA. Three hours in IKEA ~ you bet! Saturday was set aside for the Minnesota Flea Market....first of the year. Now, perhaps I failed to mention that the Twin Cities got about 5 inches of snow Thursday night! Did not matter...we are hardy Wisconsinites! Outdoor vendors, sure- they are hardy Midwesterners too - and the sun even warmed us up.

I am lucky beyond lucky to have such fab friends. They laugh with ease, aren't afraid to get dirt under their nails, travel 5 hours to hang out, and can carry on meaningful conversations about anything....anything. The car was full on the way home, packed & repacked. And as they turned left at the end of my driveway....pieces of my heart traveled home with them. How ever did I gather such friends?

little Barn Sale reminder

Just a little note to say....we will be hosting just one Barn Sale in 2013
 ~ ~ on October 12 & 13!

Details? Check out "Barn Sales" under Chapters to the right.

Also....a little birdie (named Marie-aka Olde Lady Morgan) tells me that the Barn Sale appears in the spring issue of Flea Market Style Magazine (as it did last year too). Although I have yet to get my hands on a copy...I am feeling just a bit proud.

some explaining

Just recently I was asked, "So, you're not going to have a barn sale this spring?"
The answer is, No.
Our one & only Barn Sale will be in October this year
~~ October 12 & 13, 2013 to be exact.


Now no one has asked why, but I thought I would do just a bit of explaining.

When we bought our farm and first climbed the interior steps to see the hayloft in our 100+ year old Danish barn, once we looked beyond the bales & bales of old straw & hay, we saw the promise of an antique sale right up there. I soon added that thought to my bucket list. I pictured this little old sale, I would have such fun setting up "rooms" in the hayloft, we would then open the doors and we would sit gingerly by and enjoy selling a few goodies. Never ever did I picture hundreds of folks arriving with the need for help on the first morning of the sale (thank you to my sweet friends Jani, Nan & Sarah for the gift of happy help). Never ever did I imagine that it would take almost every free moment leading up to the sale to gather & set up. Never ever did I imagine that this little idea would become a bit of an event. The sales have exceeded every expectation I could have imagined. I have loved every minute of it all!

So, truly the success of the Barn Sales are why I am scaling back to once a year, there are just not enough hours in the day (smile)! With our full time jobs and our work & sales at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall.....it has been tricky to find enough time for everything. Add to that the fact that we are back to tackling projects on our home & farm........and we are finally building a bit of a cabin on our property in northern Wisconsin - so it is really difficult to find extra time.

So, this spring I know I will miss opening our barn door and seeing many of you -- but I hope to see you in October. As for Dave & I, you might find us on the road looking for vintage treasures, behind the counter at Hixton, with hammer or paintbrush in hand at the farm, or maybe even in a hammock with a book or on the lake up north.

gratitude

As the sun sets on our 2012 Autumn Barn Sale....

I wanted to just share how truly appreciative I am.

To my bestest "Barn Cat" friends that help the first morn: Jani, Nan & Sarah ~ my thanks!

To those of you that ventured through the rain to attend ~ my thanks!

For the many that traveled hours & miles ~ my thanks!

To our Amish neighbors that sent over a hay wagon filled with harvest ~ my thanks!

To my Dave, who parked cars in the damp weather ~ my thanks!

For the giggles, smiles & good spirit of all ~ my thanks!

My heart is happy indeed....

Gratitude is priceless.

A round of hugs to all!