Art in the Alley

Yesterday we attended a wonderful annual event here in Smalltownland. It has only been around for a few years, but each year it grows just a little bit more. Named, "Art in the Alley" because it is held in a back alley that runs behind the historic town square.




Art in the Alley features local artisans and it now has many people coming from other small towns and farms that want to feature, and sell, their art work. People sell jewelry, pottery, hand spun yarn crafts, paintings, flowers, and woodworking crafts.

Here we have The Deerslayer and Toots standing by a piece of art made out of scrap metal. The gentlemen also had many yard items, fountains, and some jewelry made of scrap metal.





There were a few ladies in attendance that were selling their own hand spun wool and yarn. One of the ladies even raises her own sheep, shears them, and creates many things from their wool.




Live music was an all day event. While we were there it was piano music....both classical and some contemporary. During the day there was also Bluegrass musicians and some classical violin being played.





Toots had a blast drawing on the windows of the new pizza place. They furnished window markers for all of the children to come and make their own artwork.

All in all it was a really interesting gathering of creative people. There were several paintings that I was pining over, but didn't actually come home with. What about you? Do you have any interesting festivals going on this summer?

A princess here, a princess there...

A few days ago an invitation went out to all little girls in Smalltownland for a princess party. I should say, any little girls who needed some princess training. I was lucky enough to take my own princess, Toots, and her friend, May. Now....the invite did not say that you needed to dress like a princess to attend, but the girls took matters into their own hands. May attended as Mulan and Toots decided to be The Princess Bride....except she insisted on wearing dirty flip-flops and she refused to brush her hair.

Here you can already see that the pink lemonade, served in plastic champagne glasses, is going straight to their heads.



There were several famous princesses in attendance. Namely....Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, and even a Prince Charming. Minnie Mouse made an appearance and quizzed Toots on her current boyfriend.

The crowning glory of the evening was when the girls met up with Cinderella and touched her wand.

All girls in attendance had their nails done, ate perfectly pink snacks, and made their own magic wand. They also had the opportunity to dance on the stage to Disney music while wearing wings and tutus. My favorite game of the evening was, "pin the lips on the frog prince".

Our local high school club, The Future Business Leaders of America, hosted this party as a way to raise funds for their trip to California. I certainly hope they do this again next year. They had a church basement full of young ladies having the time of their life.

Thoughtless Thursday

Oh Internet, where art thou?

Mmmmmm......I love a good Internet connection. Too bad I don't have one. I haven't been able to load a photo for....oh....three days now. I am having withdrawals. I haven't been able to comment on any of my favorite blogs either. How is a chick supposed to keep in touch?

You know, if I had a good Internet connection I would have been able to show some photos of the fake horror blood that "someone" squirted all over the children's bathroom. Yes, it ended up on the rug, the wall and the shower curtain. Suspicious. But, I have laundry skills and a super mom cape, so the day was saved.

Here in a couple of days the clouds should pass and the radiant beam of Internet connectivity shall shine down upon me once again.

Thoughtless Thursday

Cock-a-doodle-do...and a little shopping trip

Just today, on my way home from work, I almost ran over a chicken that decided to run across the road. I missed it, thank goodness, and this doesn't have anything at all to do with this post, but I had to tell somebody.

Our little town has a few shops and, for the most part, you can get your necessities right here in Smalltownland. One of my favorite places to go and just browse is the antique mall located on our town square. It is located in an historic building that used to house a dry goods store....WAY back in the day. It still has its original floors and some of the tin ceiling left, but there is no air conditioning. And, the heat in the winter is kind of dicey, at best. So, you have to be serious about your antiques to shop here if the temperatures are in the extreme range.

There are many booths set up by different dealers. I love the old clocks in this booth along with the old cigarette machine......and the old ice chest and the funky, blue shelf unit, etc.....




Although I know this needlework is a reproduction, I still think it is beautiful.




This bed seems so delicate to me. It is on porcelain casters and moves with just the touch of a hand. I can't imagine one of my rowdy kids trying to sleep in this. I do like to imagine who used it and what kind of family it belonged to.




I am still thinking that I might have to go back and buy this painting.

And last, but not least, my favorite piece of this trip.....the pie safe. In good condition with only a couple of replacement tins. I bet that when it was new in the kitchen it was considered a treasure, just like it is now.

I think it is too bad there is not an "Antique Fairy".

Just a thought

"I am because my little dog knows me."
Gertrude Stein

The week in review, part two

This week has been better than the previous week. Less rain, so that is a plus. More flowers blooming and the garden is sprouting. Finally spring has sprung. However, this week has not been without its life lessons and interesting surprises.

• When cleaning your daughter's room always check behind the door. You may just find some interesting decorations written in, oh let's say....lipgloss. It is going to take some nuclear cleaning to get that stuff off of there.
• When the pet owner in charge forgets to buy more cat food, said cat will default to eating dog food. It is now a proven fact.
• Duct tape is nothing short of a miracle right here on this earth.
• Sometimes there really is such a thing as too much rain.
• When you are trying to Google some information about raising the ph levels in your pool, you just might come across information about how to transform your pool into a trout pond.....for fun and profit. That is some recycling/repurposing right there people. Seriously.

Peace, love, and lipgloss

The Farmchick

Thoughtless Thursday

They've got me surrounded

This morning I was standing in the kitchen eating my bowl of cereal. Toots was eating her breakfast and we were both waiting for the Deerslayer to get dressed so we get could get rolling to school. A pretty ordinary morning.

But wait...to what did my wondering eyes appear?

Was that a cat frolicking out in the yard?

Per chance it was a rabid squirrel?

I wandered over to the side door to take a look.

And then I saw it people. A skunk. A little bitty, half grown skunk....flopping around my yard like he was a kitten. Rolling around in the grass as happy as a clam. Not a care in the world. This was my chance. My opportunity to prove myself as a hardened, experienced farm woman. Did I get a gun? Did I even get my camera? That would be a big negatory to both of those. I got the phone and dialed up Secret Agent Man. Not like that was going to do me any good at all. The man drives an hour just to get to work. I tell him about the skunk situation with only a slightly raised voice. He chuckles. This does not help at all, but then again, what was I expecting. He tells me to get the Deerslayer to "get rid of it". As he is telling me this the little skunk frolics by the tree swing, does a couple of laps around the mailbox and runs right down the hillside to our natural springs.

He is gone. Only to mature and reproduce. Obviously if I am going to remain a "Farmchick", I am going to have to work more on the "farm" part.

Work with what you've got

The rain during the past couple of weeks left our farm drenched. As I have previously mentioned, we have ponds where we shouldn't. Here you see the Deerslayer standing right in the middle of a pond....where there should not be one at all.





But, I can assure you, he was loving it. Anything that has water + outdoors + animals = fun, to him.





He even had the dogs running through the middle of it.





Not to worry, he made sure that he had plenty of free time for some trap shooting this weekend. Hope everyone out there is finally drying out. We finally are and my washer/dryer are so glad.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all Moms out there a wonderful Mother's Day.

The week in review

The above picture is an excellent example of what the past two weeks have been like here in Smalltownland. Wet, wet, wet, cloudy, cloudy, 30 seconds of sunshine, wet and then cloudy. Everything is drenched and a tad bit smelly. There are ponds on our farm where no ponds should be and five wet dogs can create a lot of stink.

All of this poor weather has been dumping all kinds of water in that hot-mess of a pool I have been diligently trying to clean out. Today I scooped out a dead slug. If I were a really brave blogger I would include a picture of said pool. That ain't happenin'.

This morning our local radio station played several songs in an ode to Mother's Day. A couple were quite touching and then they let loose with the Garth Brooks' classic, "Momma's in the Graveyard and Poppa's in the Pen". Just another reason I enjoy living here.

Who can believe that Lil' Kim was voted off of "Dancing with the Stars"? I made an audible gasp when the announcement was made and Toots just sat there with her mouth hanging open. Clearly I underestimated the voting capacity of the cowboy population.

Toots played an excellent softball game this week. Yes, she did get to play on a soggy field with rain heavy clouds in the sky. One of the more ridiculous highlights of the game was watching the coach, of the opposing team, stomp her feet and throw a "hissy" when her team lost. Klassy.

I thought I had really been keeping my new Caddy clean. However, when I let Toots out at school, one day this week, she walked out with a chocolate Teddy Graham stuck to her butt. Obviously I have not been persistent enough in this area.

While driving around Smalltownland this week I heard Tina Turner singing some, "Proud Mary". I love that song and while singing along I had a flash. Both Tina and myself left good jobs in the city.

There you have it people. All my personal news that is fit to print. Over and out.

Thoughtless Thursday

Duct tape, shower curtains, and nothing at all....

Alas....I wish I could take credit for the picture you are looking at right now. To the untrained eye, it is just a make do cover up for an unfortunate accident. But, to a girl being schooled in southern ingenuity, it is a feat of delicate engineering. Albeit just that one tiny fault, that you can't actually SEE out the back window!

About a year ago I ran across this same circumstance, except for the fact that the duct tape was applied to the driver's side window. At the time I had no camera with me....not even a cell phone camera....I know, I know I am so behind the times. So, you can imagine my glee when a friend sent this little gem to me via e-mail.

Since moving here I can seriously say I have seen car windows covered with the following things:

* a shower curtain - and no it was not a clear/see through curtain

* a black garbage bag

* and my personal favorite - just leaving the back window without the glass and letting the dog hang out of it

I will admit to covering a small, rear passenger window with CLEAR packing tape when it was inadvertently broken. Because I was all about pretending that it wasn't broken!

Drive carefully out there and leave the duct tape and shower curtains in the house.

Family visits

This past week The Babs and Mr. B rolled into town for a visit. We had a week chock full of visiting, hanging out, and generally enjoying some time together.





Mr. B ate far too many meals at the new Mexican restaurant. He also told me some tales of his high school days that I can't repeat on this blog....or anywhere else, for that matter.






The Babs got to spend some time with her mom, also known as Bird.






Towards the end of our week together everyone rallied at a family birthday party held in honor of Bird. A 93 year young daughter of a blacksmith, maker of macaroni and cheese, master gardener, canner of all things edible, dipper of snuff, lover of Harvey Wallbanger Cake, mother to eight children, and for many years a member of the "Amen Corner" in her church. Happy Birthday to Bird, we all love you.

And a sad goodbye to Babs and Mr. B.....we miss you already.

The Race is ON!!!

The Race is on here in the great state of Kentucky. Despite the rain, a muddy track, and my favorite horse, (I Want Revenge - being ridden by Joe Talamo), being scratched this morning, the race will go on. Derby festivities have been going on all week in Louisville and The Oakes was held yesterday. If you don't know much about the derby, here are a few interesting facts:

*"My Old Kentucky Home", the song played when the horses are led onto the field, has been played by the University of Louisville Marching Band since 1936..

* Early Times is the official Kentucky whiskey used to make Mint Juleps at the Kentucky Derby, although....the writer of this blog prefers Makers Mark.

* Churchill Downs opened on may 17, 1875 and the very first race was won by a horse named Bonaventure.

*There has never been a winner to come out of post position # 15. Although, this might change today. Dunkirk, a favorite, will be coming out of gate # 15.

* The fastest Derby run was by Secretariat in 1973, at 1:59.40. The slowest run was by Stone Street in 1908, at 2:15.20.

Make sure you take a little time today to watch the derby. Hey, it's only two minutes of your time. Have a little whiskey....or better yet, go on over to Noble Pig. Scroll down and you will find an excellent recipe for Mint Julep Brownies.