Christmas Wishes

Yes, it is I ,the long lost Country Mouse. Surprise probably doesn't cover the shock that you are experiencing.LOL! There was no way that I could allow Christmas to come and go without taking a moment to wish each of you dear sweet people the best. May each of you have the Merriest of Christmas Season !!!

I feel it only fair to explain my absence just a bit.My last post was about loosing my dear sweet friend Buddy.  While that was a hard blow,it was only the start.As some of you know, my mother has not been in the best of health for a while with a heart condition.At the time of Buddy's passing my mom was not acting herself but it was hoped that it was medicine related.Sadly, I must say it was not.Since June she has pretty much been bed ridden.In the last few months we have found out that she has a number of serious problems.I will list them as best I can...she has Chronic Kidney failure that goes back and forth between stage 3-4, 3 aneurisms on her aorta,pleural effusion, moderate COPD , 2 masses in her right lung ,congestive heart failure ,pulmonary hypertension of 70 +,high blood pressure,Osler Weber Rendu syndrome and suffered with hallucinations for a couple months.She is still occasionally  having some hallucinations. They are not nearly as bad as they were in the beginning.I feel as if I have left out something but as you can probably guess my brain is pretty much mush at the moment.Both the kidney doctor and cardiologist have said that there is nothing more that can be done for her.She is on full time oxygen support.

My mom is top priority in my life at the moment and will continue to be for as long as I am blessed to have her.I hope that you can understand why I do not visit or comment on your blogs.It is not that I have forgotten about any of you just that  I am so tied up at the moment. My sister and I are caring for momma and would appreciate any prayers that you care to send up for our family.

This post is not meant to be a downer at all.I am blessed to have my momma for  at least one more Christmas and for that I am thankful.It is my wish that if nothing else this post makes you grab someone you love just a little closer in a hug and be sure to tell them how much you love them.
Merry Christmas and God Bless each and every one of you! Hugs and love,Jen

Saying good bye

The past several weeks have been an up hill climb with one thing after another happening.I am sorry that I have not had time to be on the internet or keep up with your blogs.It is just that there have been many issues that prevented me from being able to do so,please forgive.

Today I come on just to say good bye to an old beautiful friend.This is a hard day but I know that it will eventually get better.My friend is now no longer in any pain and for that my heart is grateful.Buddy was just that,my buddy...He kept watch over the goats as well as me when I was around.He was a huge gentle giant.Six years was so not enough time to spend together.Rest in peace my big furry friend.

HACKED!

Friends please do not open any emails from me as my Yahoo account has been hacked once more! I am so very sorry! Hug,Jen

Have a Happy and Blessed Mother's Day !

Meeting a blogging buddy

This past Saturday was a wonderful day as I got to meet a blogging friend!!! Shirlee and I have been following each other  along on our  blogs for two years or more.We only live an hour and a half away from one another,so it was not a long travel time.I will let you in on a little secret....nervous does not begin to describe my feelings early Saturday morning. It was so silly of me, but you see I am a homebody and most of my friends are you folks online,so I just knew I would make a goober out of myself.Thanks Shirlee,hope you don't mind me borrowing your  word.LOL! It was all useless worrying on my part! Shirlee is a beautiful, dear person!She is as sweet and kind in person as she seems online.I have gotten to know her through her blog and private emails that we have exchanged over the last couple years.She has encouraged me so much spiritually as well as creatively. I am truly blessed to call her friend.

Shirlee's home is jaw dropping gorgeous!We are going to have to badger her to share more of it with everyone.She is an amazing cross stitcher and has helped me so many times with my questions,always being very patient .Even if it takes me several questions to understand things with my thick brain.LOL! Needle punching is something that Shirlee had tried before and gave up but I knew it would be easy for her to master it.She is a perfectionist in every since of the word,and that is why she was having trouble.As any of you that punch know when you start a  project it does not look like much of anything but the more you punch the better it looks.So even with my poor teaching skills Shirlee has indeed learned to punch.Be sure to check out her blog post to see her wonderful sheep.
Here is a pic of Shirlee working on her punch needle design..

You go girl! I think we have created a punch needle monster and I am loving it!
Shirlee and her husband are planning on listing their home for sale so she sent me home with so many beautiful and thoughtful gifts!I can not share all of it because that would take a month of blog posts.She is decluttering and reorganizing her things and I am so blessed that she shared the things she no longer needed or had room for.Yep, I am still doing a happy dance!!! Get ready to be blown away...

Love this old Sunshine Krispy cracker metal box!! And here is how I displayed it...

See that beautiful old walking wheel (from a spinning wheel) and that gorgeous butt basket,well those are from her as well!

I have wanted one of these huge jar lamps for a long while now,but had trouble finding one .

This little black doll was another gift..

This awesome grater light ...

This wonderful old oak sewing rocker!!!Yes you read that right...

Friends this is only a small part of the goodies I came home with on Saturday. She blessed me with so many wonderful things from crafting things to wonderful prim goods.The most wonderful gift though is the gift of her friendship!! If I had came home with nothing but memories of our day it would have been enough.She is a  wonderful Christian woman  ,a generous,& loving friend! Thank you dear friend for my many goodies but thank you most of all for that friendship!!

Here is a pic of Shirlee and I standing outsides.Pardon our windswept hair.LOL! It was already a bad hair day for me so the wind only made it worse.LOL!

I am off to hopefully check out your blogs.My computer has been behaving stupidly (could not be the operator.)so I will try it.Thanks again for a wonderful time Shirlee! Blessings,Jen

Mail goodies and my heartfelt thanks!

Hello friends,yes it has been a bit since I did a post.My apologies,Spring has sprung and I have been trying to get things caught up.I promised myself that the computer would be off limits till I had met some of my goals.Once I start reading all of your wonderful blogs I find it hard to stop.LOL!
I am shouting with joy as I share my mail goodies with you.Almost 10 days ago I received a surprise package in the mail!Again I humbly apologize for the delay in posting. It came at the perfect time to because things have been a tad rough lately.Some wonderful, amazing person had ordered me one of Lecia's gorgeous bonnets! The card stated that it was from my friend in Christ.It brought tears streaming down.I can not express how touched I am by this person's generosity!!! Lecia's bonnets have always been beautiful in pics but in person it will blow you away.Such a talented lady.Thank you Lecia as well for the part you played in my surprise.Be sure to check out Lecia's blog.Here is a pic of my bonnet.

Isn't it beautiful and doesn't it look great on my old trencher.Thanks Shirlee! ( I stole the idea from her.Wink)
Love and am so very thankful for it.The bonnet is beautiful and so is the friendship and thought behind it.!!!

My second mail goodie came a few days after my bonnet.I was the blessed person to win a giveaway hosted by Willa
I urge you to check out Willa's blog!!She is a super lady and oh my gosh is she talented.As some of you know I used to paint but Willa blows my stuff out of the water.I am in awe of her painting skills. Her piece will always hold a place in my home and heart.Thank you so much Willa for the lovely piece! Here let me show you what I won...

Love it so much!!!! It is hanging just as you enter my dining room!

Just look at this little painted fabric heart!Gorgeous!

And a close up of her rooster.Did I say I love it? LOL!

Thank you Willa and to my secret bonnet giver! I am so blessed even on the days when I don't realize it.I have met so many super ladies on the net and I am thankful for each one of you! In  my next post I will share about a special day that I had where I was able to meet one of my good blogging buddies.


As I bring this post to a close I would like to ask for prayers for all those dealing with the harsh storms that happened overnight.It is so sad to see the destruction and loss of life.My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with them. Have a wonderful day my friends.Blessings,Jen

 

Say it isn't so!

This is what I saw when I peeked out my window this morning! My jaw dropped because I just could not believe it.We have had some beautiful weather lately.The temps were in the 80's over the weekend,now they are in the 30's.Yesterday I wore capri pants  and short sleeves,my windows were open the house was being cooled by a nice breeze.There are only two good things about this: one is I know it is going to be short lived and the other is it made Shirlee smile.

 My poor irises and daylilies look so sad,especially since their tree was taken out.

The apple trees are full of blossoms that are now snow covered.

A closer shot of them.

My maple trees are leaving out,the snow must be a shock to them.

This is a shrub that came from my late Grandmother,it is usually white with blossoms not snow.

I will stop my griping now because it doesn't matter that I am unhappy.LOL! Just gotta remember that snow is still a gift from God.He knows what is best but if I could put in a request it will be for warmer weather.Giggle

Have a blessed day friends!Hugs,Jen

March finishes

Good morning all,hope that your Monday has started off in a positive way.It is kind of dreary here this morning with rain but as the saying goes April showers bring May flowers.It has been a busy couple of weeks with things at Momma's house going bad.Last week her well pump burned out so hubby and I drove a  40 mile round trip to pick up a new one.It was raining to hard to be able to change it out till the next morning but when we opened the box we found that it was used.Apparently someone had returned it after using  it for a new one.Irritating! We returned the pump to the store to find out that they didn't have another one so we had to drive 45 minutes one way to find the proper pump.Good news is that Momma now has running water.LOL! The week before her breaker panel went bad so that was a major headache as a wall had to be torn out in order to get the old one out but it too is fixed.Mom really did not need the stress as she has been dealing with some worrisome health issues.

I had promised to share a few of my finishes forMarch with you all,better late than never I guess.There are not to many ,I promise. I haven't got anything started for April.My hands are missing holding my needle and I could start having strong withdrawl symptoms soon.I do have plans for a new large design with a primitive looking whale and some other goodies.There have been a lot of nautical designs floating around and they have my brain moving.So look for that to come about in the near future.On to my March finishes...
 1. A simple pillow that I made for my sister's birthday.

2.A few woolie strawberries....

This one is made of cotton fabric and it was gifted to my sis.

A couple different sizes.I actually made three of these,one for mom,my  other sis and my niece.They are from a wool jacket the my mom wore a lot ,so they have sentimental value .

3. A pin keep made from wool and velvet.

4. A needle punched pillow...

The color is much more prim in life.

5. A paper mache box with a needle punched design..

Comb painted the box.

6.To go with my robin box is a little robin....

7.What is Spring without the buzzing of bees busy at work? So I made another paper mache box with a bee punched design.This box I used paper to cover the box.

Front view

Top of box

Inside the box

8. A simple penny rug..

There you go, the last of my March projects.All of projects  are my own designs.I hope that you enjoyed seeing them,and just maybe there will be a few to share for April.
   Friday and Saturday we spent shopping around.I have decided that I hate shopping for two particular items.One, a new bra( nope  not shopping for that) two... a new mattress,yes that is the one that had our attention .My word, we spent most of Saturday running from store to store testing mattresses out and I am now more confused than before we started. If our mattress wasn't in such sorry shape I'd throw the towel in and quit.But seriously my mattress  could be used for make do spring projects,just slip the covers and sheet off and go to work.Think I have put it off as long as I can. Yesterday after church hubby and I worked in the yard ,we had a couple large trees that had to be cut.It always breaks my heart to see a tree taken down but in this case we had no choice as they were damaging the foundation of our home.Today I will be working in the craft room cleaning up my huge mess and doing laundry.Well my friends I guess that just about wraps up March and some of April too.I will be trying to get around to your blogs so I can  catch up with what has been going on with you all.Spring blessings,Jen

A beautiful day and win

Good morning all ,I hope that this post finds you all well and happy.Can you believe that today is the last day of March? Where in the world does time escape to anymore? The sun is shining here and the temps are warming up.We are expecting temps in the 70's this week.Can I get a hooray ! I am so excited to think that I might just get to start clearing my flower gardens off soon.The above pic was taken on 3-18-14.Like a kid watching cookies bake in the oven I have been waiting for this to happen....

Finally happened this morning.LOL!

Now that you have seen those pretties let me share with you another one....

Isn't it gorgeous!!!!! I was the blessed person to win this beautiful postcard from Debbie of Woolensails.It never ceases to amaze me at the talent out in the blogging world!Debbie has a big heart and so much awesome talent,she sews, needle punches,paints and designs her own patterns.Debbie painted  Frakturs several years ago and sold them on Ebay,she really should start it once more.I am sure that I have left stuff off the list but if you will check her blog out you will learn more about her.Please stop by and say hello.
 As soon as I received my beautiful postcard,I knew it had to be framed.So I dug around in my collection of frames and found one that would work.Never being able to leave things alone I pulled out my paints and started painting.LOL! Here is the end result...

closeup of frame

I am so thankful to own of Debbie's Fraktur designs.Thank you so much Debbie! It is one of my most treasured possessions. 

Well I am off to finish a few March projects and will be back soon to share them with you all.May God bless each of you.Sunshine and hugs,Jen

Long time no blogging...

Sorry friends,I was surprised when I realized how long it has been since I last did a blog post.Time sure gets away from me anymore.Things have been busy with the cold temps and the last winter storm which gave us snow and ice. I am like most everyone else and holding my breath for Spring.The weather is nicer here today and the snow is melting pretty fast.It  does make for  hazardous walking though,just ask my poor aching body.I took a spill this morning while out feeding,landed flat on my back and banged my head against the ice.LOL! I knew it was a good thing that I am so hard headed.Hope that everyone is doingwell and staying warm.Here at home, I have been battling a stomach bug for the last three weeks or so,I think it is over but then it knocks me down again.Hubs has been fighting a rough cold.

I want to take the time to say hello and welcome to my new followers.I am so happy and honored to have you following my little blog.To all those folks that left comments on my last post,thanks so much for all of your sweet comments.I did try and reply but my email was doing weird things and I finally threw my hands up in the air and quit trying.I was afraid that I might send some bug or something to you.

This is one of the things that has been keeping me busy.I apologize about the poor pictures but she just would not be still.She is hopefully going to be going back outside this weekend or the beginning of next week.She is a super sweet little goat.Folks may I introduce Penny......

I will try and get a better pic when I take her outside.She was wanting to run and play this morning.

I have been dreaming of warmer days and long walks in the woods.All that thinking has made me want to work on a few Spring goodies. Even though I have been sick I still have managed to do a few things,so stick around if you would like to join in my show and tell.

My first project was a few wool eggs.I used a pattern from Keri of Calico Rabbit and changed it up a bit to make it my own.The rabbit was her patten but the nest and basket of flowers are my designs.It is a fun egg to make and so easy.

The next is a cross stitch design by subrosa,it is a really sweet design and fun to stitch.

Another  project was cross stitch design that was offered free  by cosmichandmade.com.I took certain areas of the design to make a small cupboard tuck .I also added the wool strawberry.It turned out kind of cute.I plan on displaying it with  bowl of wool strawberries,just haven't had time to make them yet.LOL!

Keeping with the strawberry theme is another strawberry that I punched using yarn and the oxford #10 punch needle.It looks like wool and is a large one at 7 inches long.LOL!

Front side and with flash on.

Back side and no flash ,it is a really pretty prim color in life.

It just would not be me if I did  not have a few needle punched pieces too.The next projects are all my designs as is the above punched strawberry.

I made this pillow by first punching the rabbit and then adding it to the wool background with the coordinating wool pennies.I then did the feather stitch to hide the seams where I added the wool strips around the rabbit background.

 

Closeup of the punched rabbit and yep another wool strawberry.

 

 

The next piece is one that I calls Spring out to me.I mounted it on a whale tail hornbook that I cut and painted.

I did use a lot of my overdyed floss in this piece.It was a fun whimsical  project.I did not want everything perfect so I just added the pennies randomly as I punched it.

Last project is one that drove me nuts! I still am not satisfied with it but called it quits,the thing almost went in the garbage can several times.

It is not as bright as it appears and I used mostly overdyed floss in this design.It is hard to see but the smallest bunny in the design is holding a flower.

Last but not least of all is the best picture! 

When I see these sweethearts I know that it will not be long till I am out enjoying the warm Spring sunshine.It was a long post and for that I apologize but I am trying to catch up and will in the coming days be catching up with all of you as well.For some reason I am having problems commenting on some of the blogs I follow using bloglovin.Is anyone else having that kind of problem.It is mainly blogs that open up a new page for you to leave your comment,any help would be wonderful.
Have a wonderful day and weekend friends!Be blessed,Jen