What A Day!

Star is on the front peak of our woodshop.....I love stars!

These are Amish made from near here....they use re-claimed barn roof metal....I painted this one myself...

The next picture (below left) is a couple things I just put together.....

one is an old pulley and the metal hanging basket is some sort of mineral block holder for cattle or horses.....DH's dad said I could have it if I wanted it (shaking his head wondering why and what I wanted with such a thing) it makes a great flower pot holder/hanger...... :)

Well......

Good Morning Blogger Friends,

I hope each of you are doing well and staying cozy and warm!

The power was off here yesterday and a LARGE portion all over......the town nearest us was TOTALLY without power for most of the day!

Even Wally World was closed!! The local AM radio

station we were listening to on our battery weather radio said that officials were telling folks to stay off the roads unless you were in an emergency situation.......

I wasn't able to get on and post yesterday......about

2:00 AM Wednesday until 5:30 PM lastnight we were without electricity.....Praise the Lord (and I did!) it came back right at dusk lastnight.....

Our neighbors and DH's parents power all came back on when our's did but they all lost power again about an hour or so after it came on and all of theirs is still out, except for one neighbor across our road!

Their daughter's family lives right slap next door and they don't have power either......that's odd....??

I am SOOOOOO THANKFUL ours is back on!

I shouted words of praise outloud when it did!!! :)

We fixed DH's parents a sausage and biscuit this morning and took them a thermos full of hot fresh coffee.....DH went up to take another battery up in order to get their generator going again....no he and our DD have gone into town to get more gas for the generator......

I'm so proud of how my husband takes care of his parents needs.....I am always reminded of what the Bible says about honoring your father & mother.....He does a great job honoring his....he's their only child and he really does look out for them.....they are some very strong people....neither of them just sit back and let others do for them......they are both hard workers......Poppy is always busy working on something, feeding the cows, or helping DH or the kids with something.....I am blessed to have wonderful in-laws!

I called yesterday morning to check on my parents to see if they had lost their power.....

They live about 15-20 minutes from us......my dad said they had electricity and were making it

just fine.....he had two kerosene heaters on stand-by and they have a gas log fireplace that they've hardly used....I was so relieved they had electricity and were doing good.....the roads were a solid sheet of ice yesterday and I did not want my dad to get out and it would have been hard to get to them where they live.......lots of hills.......

Here are a few more pics I went out and took this morning.......

The holly tree beside our house has red berries this time......lots of 'em!

The view from my kitchen door......over in the neighbor's field (below).

The view from my kitchen windows facing out the front.......(below)

This limb fell yesterday from the big old oak in our yard......

It sounded terrible when it fell, it actually stuck in the ground making a hole then fell across the pic-nic table DH's dad made....thankfully it did not hit the house or damage the table.....

This is the big oak tree (below) it's a beautiful tree but it's had a hard life......

Since we've been here it's been struck by lightning at least twice and has places on the bark to

prove it......parts of it are hanging towards the house......I cringe when the wind gets up.....

Most of these trees are hickory trees.......this is what is ALL around our home.....they are VERY TALL TREES........

Can you see why I had a hard time sleeping with all the ice and limbs falling in the night???

I just kept praying they wouldn't hit our home/shop/woodshop/garage and such.....

PTL they didn't!!

I am going to put on a huge pot of chili for lunch and take to our friends/neighbor's (the one's from PA) She has laryngitis and her daughter and her five small children (under 9yrs. old) have

been staying with them since yesterday morning.....they are within walking distance of us and still are without power......the lineman just came by DH's parents to ask if they had electricity....

They are having a hard time figuring out where the problem is.....these guys have worked so

hard these last few days and I've heard some have gone without much sleep if any and having to climb ice-covered towers to work on the problems......

My heart goes out to them in times like these....I keep them and all the emergency workers in my prayers throughout each day.....they've really done a great job and have so much still to do.....please keep them and all folks in that line of work in your prayers......
DH took our neighbors another kerosene heater and our Coleman cookstove.....I used it

all day yesteday......it was a big blessing!

We had sausage patties and homemade biscuits (I was rolling and cutting them out by coal-oil lamplight!! LOL!) for our breakfast and I did breaded chicken strips and Ramen noodles for lunch.....I know that may not sound too great.....it was pretty doggone good to

us and it at least it was hot and warmed ya up!!!

DD stayed in her room and played most of the day, by a couple oil lamps I put on her desk and on her chifferobe....she said she kind of enjoyed it for a change....at least for a little while....

It's times like these that make you appreciate what you have even more and how much you appreciate and love those around you..... :)

Stay warm and safe all!!

Backwoodsprim

Monday Morning Hello!

Hi blogger pals!
Hope everyone is warm and well...... :)
We are preparing for possible bad weather.....
The weather forecast for us is.....sleet,ice and snow......OH MY!! (couldn't resist that)
I vote for more snow and no ice......
It was sleeting lastnight before dark, but it didn't last very long......
The stuff tonight is supposed begin somewhere around 9:00 or so.....at least that's what they're
saying for the Winter Storm Watch.....so I guess we'll wait and see.....huh?
I suggested that DH should look at the kerosene heaters and make sure they are in working order just in case.......even though we have wood heat....it takes electricity to kick the blower on...
He said he was going to get the generator out and make sure it worked too.......gee, I sure hope we don't have to use either!

Well, we had a wonderful time Saturday night with our friends/neighbors coming over.....
So much food.....the counters were filled on both sides of the kitchen!!!!! Everyone chipped in and brought great things!!!!
My friend that's originally from PA, brought Pecan Bars.....Oh my goodness! They were divine!!
She also brought a linguine salad that is the bomb! I love that stuff!
She makes great salads!
My other sweet friend made her cheese potatoes (they were terrific!!) and a yummy cherry cobbler, along with a tastey taco dip.....that I just about forgot to get out of the fridge......I remembered when we started to play cards.......

DH's ribs were really good and everything tasted just great.....I didn't eat as much as I would have liked.....I still feel stuffed from all the Christmas binging....... :0
Anyhow......we played this game my PA friend brought over called "Worst Case Scenario" Survival Game. It was ALOT of fun with our group! She's a "yard sale nut" and bought this game for .50 at one!!! It looks brand new!!
While there were actually four of us playing...... all the others were sitting in the living room with us with satellite radio playing music from the 60's and 70's......what fun!!!....We all laughed and laughed so much....I even had to excuse myself to the restroom! :0
The game has questions on cards that you ask to each player about what's proper thing to do in a certain type survival scenario.......some of the most logical answers were the WRONG answer.....and some that seemed to be the most ridiculous answers were the RIGHT ones!!!
Too Funny!!!!
We played that for quite awhile then decided if we were going to have time to play Rook that we'd better get started.
So, three of our friends and I went to the kitchen table to play cards and the others stayed in the LR and played the game, listened to music and watched music videos back and forth.....we heard them laughing alot while we were playing cards.....
We played about 4 or 5 hands in all......it was fun but I'm still learning so we really didn't keep up with the points.....I was told I was doing pretty good though.....??
I think it was about 11:00 or so when everyone started going home......I believe we all had a great time!

One of the nicest things is that we all saw each other again Sunday morning at church!
No one had a hangover (cause we don't drink) and weren't embarrased or ashamed for anything
we might have done the night before......just good fellowship and LOTS of laughter!
DH, our kids and I feel we are truly blessed to have such wonderful neighbors that happen to be our best friends! The kids look at them as adopted "Aunts and Uncles" more than just neighbors......I may sound sappy for saying this, but they are in a sense part of our family.......
I know they'd do anything for us if we needed them (and have) and we would do the same for them (and have).....we're blessed!

Sorry for the book......lol.... :)
Guess I had better go get ready to work on some furniture in the woodshop......
Already fixed my DS's lunchbox and he's left for work, washed up the breakfast dishes, made our bed, straightened things up a bit, washed a load of whites and need to toss them over into the dryer......there's a load ready to fold and one left to wash.........
Wonder what to fix for lunch?
It's probably going to be tuna fish or a salad for me!

Have a good day to you all!
Backwoodsprim

Something New!!!

Happy Saturday Pals!
Just wanted to show you the little trunk/chest DH made.....
I won out on this one and got to put it in the house this time!
DH usually says it all has to go to the shop for sale......
I made it look a bit more "grungy" or "prim" than what I usually do pieces.
I REALLY love the look!
We are working on a blanket chest now as well as about three other pieces.....
The blanket chest is finished except for rusty hinges being attached to the top and a rusty keyhole plate added to the front.....I like it too..... :)

I guess I'd better go for now......DH and two of our best friends/neighbors are smoking pork ribs and chickens on his big ol' grill with the winged piggy on top...... :)
We are having some of our dearest friends over this evening for supper and to play cards....
Several of them are ROOK nuts.....I'm learning....but DH and I will probably just stick to playing SKIP-BO or UNO...... :)
Along with the yummy chicken and ribs......we're having baked beans w/ ground beef, cheesey potatoes, salad, blackberry cobbler (made in a cast iron dutch oven)and a banana pudding......just to name a few!!!!!

Have a good rest of the weekend,
Backwoodsprim

Trying to Get Back Into The Swing Of Things

Good Monday Morning!
First of all.....thank you for the well wishes to get better....
I appreciate your thoughtfulness!
I do feel quite a bit better....thank the Lord...but I'm not hittin' on 100% yet!
My ribs are sooooo incredibly sore (especially when I cough....ohhhh!!!) and I have laryngitis to boot!
Everybody is sooo busy today.....
DH has so much on him to get done....he has a truck to finish working on (PTL!!), we need to get
firewood in here ASAP......colder and possibly snowy weather is coming..... :-O

Our son was asked to come in to work today....he's usually off on Monday's.....but his boss needed him to come in.....he works in a machine shop not far from here....he's been there since right before he was 17.....he'll be 19 in July....this is the only job he's ever had other than working with my DH on trucks and here on the farm....He was stressing about having to go in "unexpectedly" to work when he has another job(mechanic work on 66 Ford) in the shop that he planned on doing work on for a gentleman....It has had to have ALOT of work done to it and still more to do.......
Then, his and DD's calves are out of feed....and he was going to have to go get that too.....
Welcome to life in the real world....huh? :)
I'm so thankful that we all live on the farm together and where one can't get it all done others in
the family are there to step in to help!
DD is going with my FIL "Poppy" to get the feed so my son won't have to go during his lunch hour and get it and then unload it after dark when he gets off work....he'll be glad of that..... :)
Then,I'm sure Poppy and DD will help my DH get some logs cut
(DH has had some back issues) and bring a load of firewood home for us to stack outside by the woodstove.....
Since I'm still under the weather....I have been doing housework.....made the beds....washed dishes...put a load of clothes in to wash and the other load in to dry.....fed the "kitty boys".......
I'll need to go to town....run by the bank & pick up a few things at the grocery sometime today too.....
Need to fix something warm and tastey for lunch....especially since some of the family has spent part of the morning outside and it's pretty cold here today.....

We were planning another trip to Market later this week to shop for the store.......don't know what the weather is supposed to do for sure yet......so we don't know if we're going to get to go or not.....????
I really want to.....but I sure don't want to DH to drive in bad weather and risk having a wreck....it's so not worth that!!
Guess we'll have to wait and see........???

I'd better go plan something for lunch and get it going......
Need to do the vacuuming too.....so until the next post.....

Have a great day! :)
Backwoodsprim

Not Feeling Too Well

Morning blogger friends, well what's left of the morning anyhow.....look over if I mispell something....I'm still half asleep I think......
It's been a looong time since I've had any sort of stomache bug, but I sure did last night.....
I woke up at about 2:30-3:00 the first time......absolutely freezing and shaking all over.
Covered up in the LR chair with two blankets and was still chilled!
I checked my temp. and it was 97!!
So, I got up from the chair, pushed the thermostat up and went a took the hottest shower I could stand (yes, at 3:30 am).....then I got out and put my sleepshirt socks and robe back on and covered up again....it was no time at all until I started getting sick to my stomache....uhhh ohhhh!
Let me tell you, I believe I hate that feeling worse than anything when you feel bad! :(
Especially the dry heaves (sorry for those of you that have a weak stomache)
I prayed and prayed for that stuff to pass by soon!
I ended up dozing off and on but, every 30-45 minutes I'd be off and running to the bathroom again! This lasted until about 5:15 a.m., then I remembered I had some Phenagren stuff in the fridge and went to find it! :)
I settled down after that and didn't wake back up until DH got up this morning..........
He was sweet to ask if I needed anything and if it would bother me too much if he were to cook something for their breakfast.....so I decided to go back to bed and just got up about 20 minutes ago...
My throat is so sore and I feel a headache coming on...still have not eaten a thing...
At least the sick stomache thing has stopped......PTL!

I know I will be taking it easy today.....they will be home from church afterwhile.....
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday and I hope to be back on here in a day or so.....
OH!! By the way,DH has built a new 6ft. harvest table and finished up on building three or four other pieces yesterday....
They'll be ready for paint and finishing soon.....can't wait to share them with y'all! :)

Take Care,
Backwoodsprim

To Paint or Not To Paint???

Please refer to last post...............
O.k. here is what the bed looks like now, it sort of matches the antique dresser and trunk.....
Leave it or paint it black?
I've even thought about re-painting the room a lighter color and then the bed black......?
What do ya think?

Primitive Decorators....Unite!

Sorry, these pics are not in order......... Please refer to the last pics and post before this one...
BTW.....How do you move a photo to a different place in the same post?
I've been trying and trying to get them in order as you "pan" around the room...
but....I can't get it figured out....GRRRRR!!!!

Here's the next area to the right of the t.v. cabinet....I love my wing back chair!
Don't use it though....because you can't see the t.v. from where it's at.
I had thought of getting rid of the dark cranberry chair in front of the widows and moving the wingback at an angle under one window and putting a piece of furniture beside it.......??

Primitive Decorators......Unite!

I REALLY need your help blogger friends!
Seriously!
After taking down the Christmas tree & decorations....it really hit me how dissatisfied I am with this part of our family room......yuk! I'm embarassed to even show it!
What does it need? Be nice please....I can hear you....bulldozer.....start over.....just please help!
First of all, the sectional has to stay where it is and as much as I'd love to not have it there or anywhere for that matter......for now, DH's recliner needs to stay where it's at too......he does ALOT for me and he's already given up his hunting cabinet to put a dry sink in it's place.....took nearly 12 years :), but.....anyhow.......this is a little room folks.....as you can see it presents quite a challenge!!!!

I think it needs all the stuff off the sectional wall and the short wall by the window taken down....then,I'm thinking a tall slender piece of furniture (don't know what color, though?) needs to go on the short wall (by the window) or in the corner behind the recliner (where the ladder w/ quilts is).......?? Ugggghhhhh!!!!!
AND/OR........some type of long bulky shelf over the sectional with lots of neat prim/colonial
type stuff......OR a wall cabinet like a long horizontal shaped one with doors? or no doors?
I'm SOOOOOO CONFUSED!!!!!!
I'm also a visual learner so if you have pictures or links please add them on if you could!
I'd appreciate it so much!!!
I have stuff in storage that I might be able to use or move stuff from another room!
DH could build what I need to go where I need it!!
I just need your wonderful ideas! Keep in mind I would like a bit more of a Colonial/prim
look than what's here(most definitely).....I also like hints of that old Aqua color here and there.... You'll notice the dry sink is that color and other elements around the entire LR/DR area as well....
I'm also going to post pictures of the other parts of the room so you can get a better idea of what everything looks like......it's not a huge room.....but it's what I have to work with..... :)
I can hardly wait to have your help!!!.....I really want to get this in shape and show you all what you've helped me to accomplish!
Thank you all so much!!!
So put your "thinking caps" on and let me know! O.k??
Sincerely....

Backwoodsprim