Take A Walk With Us

The Field: Part 1

I looked up from my desk at about 4:25 yesterday and realized it was still light! This is reason for celebration as far as I'm concerned.  I looked at the dog, he looked at me and before I could say 'do you want to go for a walk?', I had my wellies on and he was at the door.

Lo and behold, I'd been at my desk all day, and although I let Lucan in and out a few times, I didn't realize just how nice it was out. 51 degrees! Another reason for celebration. It's February and I didn't even need a coat and gloves. Just a sweatshirt. Talk about making a girl and her dog happy.

Off we went with the sun shining bright. We walked from one side of the field to the other. There was only snow at the bottom of each side. The oddest Winter ever, but I'll take it.



Part Two: The Sky

I had just taken the shot of the barn roof, walked a little further and found the snow heart and then I looked up. I gasped. The huge 'snow' moon was resting on the barn roof.

It was really something. I made Lucan sit for a minute just so I could take it in.

Simply breathtaking. 

Eventually I had to pull myself away, but there were still things to be seen.

This plane had a good view and was reflecting the sunset.

This plane was much higher, but its trail was also reflecting the sunset.

When we stopped at the little cemetery at the top of the field, I found this awesome lichen on the stone wall. The texture and the mustard colored bits were awesome.

Then I caught the moon one last time through the trees before we headed back across the street.

The snow moon is so bright, it woke me up for the second night in a row.

Sunset Meadows

As I peeled myself away from the sight of the moon, I turned as was greeted by the sun going down.

Lovely.

This morning after Gar started his truck, he came back in and said, "You should see the sunrise at the end of the road." So I stepped out and said I didn't see anything, to which he replied, "You have to go to the end of drive and look East." I did as instructed.

The sky was on fire.

It's not as warm today, but the sun is shining and it's nice enough for another walk in the field. That's what we're planning on here..........well, if I can rouse the dog from his nap on the couch.

Have a great Tuesday.  By the way, not a lot of entries in the giveaway so far.  You're all giving the current entrants a really good chance of winning. Just throwing that out there. Of course, they'd might prefer that I just clam up.

Tomorrow, the second installment of Marketing 101.

See you on the flip side,

Take A Walk or Two With Us

Beachcombing

We both took January 2nd off. Hey, sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind, and push the accounts payable to the back of your mind. We all need a little rest and recovery time.  Somehow I don't think we were the only ones with Monday off. 

Luckily, it was not a typical January day. It was pretty darn nice out. Sure there was a breeze, but it was warmer than it would be normally.  We had talked about a walk at the beach the night before and that's exactly what we did.

It was glorious.  Sun shining. Blue skies. Low tide and lots of sand to walk on.

Oh, did I forget to mention the freak snow cloud that rolled over when we hit the beach. It pelted us with mini-snowballs.  It did eventually pass.

We walked all the way down North Beach to Boar's Head along the water and on the way back we did a little more beachcombing. 

We found great beach rocks, rope, brick, driftwood, sea bark, shells, parts of lobster traps and we scoured for sea glass. It's not as prevalent as it used to be in these parts, but we scored more than I thought we would.  15 pieces...not a huge cache, but we were happy. I even found a piece of sea-worn asphalt.  Who knew there was such a thing. One last treasure as I was about to step off the beach......a sponge!

We didn't bring the dog simply because we thought we might go out to lunch afterwards. We nixed that idea though, and instead headed home for a laid back afternoon. 

We took Lucan across to the field for a romp when we got home. That way we didn't feel too guilty about not bringing him to the beach with us.

The sun was bright and beautiful.

All in all, a wonderful day. I hope you got to enjoy one more day of downtime like us.

Yesterday we were back at it and the weather changed dramatically with the coldest air of the season thus far. Despite that, the hound and I took a walk in the field yesterday at the end of the day. I wrapped up in layers, but still came home with bright red cheeks. 

I have to say though, I'm quite happy that the light is starting to eek out more time in the afternoon. 

This morning, it remained FREEZING.  Thankfully the wood stove is still cranking.

Sunset Meadows

This was the end of our day on Monday.  Just lovely.

I hope your holidays were as wonderful as ours (caveat..........we still have to celebrate with our friends the Harrington's this weekend...Fun with a capital F).  And I certainly hope you got to enjoy some downtime.

Tomorrow will begin Mercantile Muse's first Gotta Have It/Gotta Blog It Shop & Blog Link Up Party of the New Year. If you have an online shop or a blog, or enjoy shopping and reading blogs, be sure to be here and by all means spread the word!

Have a great day.

ttfn

Yard Sale-in' By Foot, Deer Me

Not Everyone Can Pull Off a Tu Tu At a Yard Sale

Our neighbors Lauren and Jay, and Lauren's mom Carol had a yard sale yesterday. Right next door. Woohoo! Put my flip flops on and brought them all some Irish sausage we'd cooked up. In return, they offered me a mimosa. Don't you love this yard sale already?

It was a beautiful day and we (Gar, Carol, Kate ....she's Lauren's sister and that's her above, Jay, friends Mary Paige, Dan, and baby Collette) all enjoyed sitting there chatting while the bold and the thrifty tried to talk Carol down on designer shoes that were already next to nothing. 

Sandee (Dee Dee) and her brood of gals (sans one hillary), came over after church to see what they had to have.

Carolyn, was sporting a tu tu, as bright pink as the day was sunny and blue.

Dee Dee and her girls all found something, but that yard sale-in' can be exhausting.

Though Carolyn didn't seem too phased.

Seriously, how cute is this hand?



Here's my favorite finds from the yard sale........

LOVE these ship bookends. Got a deal from Carol and had to have 'em.

And, this architectural column top from Lauren.  OK, it's really Styrofoam and I could lift it with my pinkie, but who would know? It was a freebie to boot. What's not to love?

We got home from the yard sale and Mom stopped by with another bunch of goodies......some more tatting thread she used to use to edge hankies (can you stand it?), a lamp, and some old McClure's magazines. 

Not a bad haul for a Sunday when I only walked next door and came home.

Walked Mom to her car, and when I was going back into the house, I noticed this guy.  He looked a little worse for wear, but he was still doing his praying mantis thing.

In the Field

Gar, Lucan and I took a walk over to the field at the end of the day. Gar got to the crest of the hill first and signaled that there were deer. He kept Lucan in one spot and quiet while I got the camera out.  I was still pretty far away, so as not to disturb them.

I think there was six total.

I tried to keep quiet, but they finally spied me.

And then they were off.............white tails bobbing.

Sorry so fuzzy, as I said, I wasn't as close as I would have liked. And obviously I wasn't holding the camera as steady as I'd like either.

Sunset Meadows

The sunset was casting a pretty pink glow to the East and the Moon was looking large.

Tomorrow, will be the first in the Muse's new Be Our Guest Series. First up is Kristen from By The Book Paper.  She is quite the crafty wizard when it comes to things made with paper, besides being super nice. Kristen is sharing a tutorial on how to make a paper heart garland. We're talking cute people, so stick around and learn something.  Be sure to check out her store to see all the wonderful things she makes with paper. 

Next week's Be Our Guest poster, will be Daena from BadRabbitVintage who will be sharing a how-to that involves a transfer and a tray with a wonderful vintage feel. Love it, and I know you will too.

Be sure to keep your eyes open for future Be Our Guest posters including:

• Stacey from Maggie Jane's Vintage, who is currently recovering from the big barn show at Na-Da Farm she participated in this weekend. 
• Courtney Jo from Milk and Honey Naturals. Her soap is out of this world! 
• Jaime at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy, if here new scheduled ever lets up! 

There's lots happening at The Muse, so share a link with a friend. The more the merrier.

Oh yeah, if you are an artist, crafter, or vintage maniac who would like to be a featured Be Our Guest poster, shoot me an email.

I do hope your Monday is as glorious as ours is in Stratham.

See you on the flip side.

Dreaming of France FREE Printable, Preview and a Walk

Bonjour France

I've been inundated with images of french country interiors the last few days. Perhaps someone is trying to tell me something? I'm not sure what it is, but since I have France on my mind, here's a FREE printable note card for you......Letters from France:

It includes some vintage images (one from the Graphics Fairy) and a couple of my own illustrations.

It's designed two cards to an 8.5 x 11 page. Click on image below, save to computer or copy and paste into document. Print and cut down the middle and fold in half. Stick in envelope. Easy as all that.  When is the last time you wrote a note to a loved one and actually mailed it? Getting email just isn't the same.

What's in Store

I'm busy adding merchandise to the store, and here's just a taste. 

A very cool antique piano music roll. Beethoven.

From 1900 no less.



 And some very pretty handiwork.

Someone took their time embroidering this lovely table runner. So sweet.

Stop by Bates Mercantile Co. to see what else we have in store, like the little vintage dish. 

More Fresh Air

Lucan and I got over to the field for a walk last night. It's really a great way to de-stress at the end of the day, get a little exercise, and of course some fresh air.

It started with bubbles of light.

Nose to the grindstone. Nix that. Nose to the grass. 

Love old wood. Any kind. Even this fence post. So much character.

More dandelions. Weeds or not, they're so delicate.

Not giving up the stick. No way. No how.



 A pop of color. Berry style.

A view of the barn, from the far end of the field.

One last look.



Sunset Meadows

By the time we got back across the street, the sunset was changing to this.

A final goodbye to Summer. Though I love Fall, it makes me kind of sad.

Enjoy this Thursday in your little corner of the world and I'll do the same, despite the rain. I have wellies after all.  Thanks for being here.