Vintage Furniture = Love.

I love Apartment Therapy. My favorite read is their "Scavenger Roundup" which is their picks from various Craiglist Ads from across the country. These are my favorites that I've seen today.

Sexy Little Red Leather Chair.

With Sexy Leather Couch...I love the tufting, and the rolled arms...sigh.

This lounge-y metal chair is begging me to find one like it.

The lines are so spiffy.

Look how great they look as a pair.

I'm hoping to make our house masculine, like a professor's study who plays rock and roll on the weekends. I do believe that falls into the eclectic category. Let's just hope I can find furniture like these beauties for a steal when I can finally decorate. I'm itching to make this house into the home I envision it to be.

PS--Earlier my dog and I had to chase a groundhog out of my mother-in-law's house. Picture it and you may chuckle a bit, but believe me it was quite the adventure. Never know what my day may hold. Let's hope the storms later keep under control.

Good Barbecue, Odd Death.

I probably confuse a lot of people with my titles. It comes down to having a very busy day and only a single post to tell it.

Tonight for supper we had beef barbecue with homemade sauce and pita bread that I made on the stove top instead of an oven (it worked a lot better, it made it toasted and yummy). I will definitely be making this meal again.

However, on a sad note, when I went out to feed this evening I was coming back up to the house and stopped at the hutch nearest the house to check on my young does that are all housed together. Three came to the door to greet me, which left one unaccounted for. I found her on her side and dying behind a wooden box I have for them to play on. She was breathing very calmly, and her eyes looked clear, but she was obviously dying. I picked her up and she was limp, and had some viscous clear liquid around her genitals, but other than that she looked normal. I gave her to my husband who took her to the barn and put her down humanely and quickly so she wasn't suffering anymore. The more I think about it, I honestly think she may have broken her back. I've never seen an animal with clear eyes be so sick as to lay prone, and the other girls seem very healthy and fine, so I'm assuming that's what happened.

A Lumping of Treasuries that included my Items.

Rustic Look... featuring "Wash Day"

A Few of my Favourite Things, featuring "Cold Days Ahead."

The Farmer's Daughter featuring "Is It Any Wonder?"

Heavenly featuring "Queen Anne's Petticoats."

The Unexpected featuring "Mason Jar."

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Father's Day is in June.

"Butch's Truck" was featured in this cute little treasury by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: The Darling Buds of May.

"Foggy Morning" has been chosen to be featured in this beautiful treasury by thebeautifulproject on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Before Dinner.

"Pablo's Portrait" was featured in the treasury "Before Dinner" by isheshop on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Nature's Bounty.

"Reach" was picked to be included in the treasury "Nature's Bounty" which was curated KitzieG on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Celebrate Cinco de Mayo" curated by Birdnestsandpaper on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Love You Dad.

"Butch's Truck" was chosen to be included in the treasury "Love You Dad" curated by Birdnestsandpaper on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Violet and Scarlet.

"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Violet and Scarlet" picked by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Kentucky Derby.

"Placid Afternoon" was featured in the treasury "Kentucky Derby" curated by BastowDesigns on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: I Got Swagger.

"Joe's Red Chair" was featured in the treasury "I Got Swagger" curated by steampunkfunk on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Little Fluffy Clouds.

"Above the Clouds" was featured in the treasury "Little Fluffy Clouds" curated by LittleWrenPottery on Etsy.

Name Game: First Round.

Here is the buckling goat. He's a LaMancha, blonde and white in color, he has wattles under his neck (you can see them in one of the pictures). He is very ornery, and loves to torment the dogs. He really needs a name (along with a bunch of my other livestock), so the plan is to have you help. I've decided anybody who submits a potential name will be included in a drawing for a free print from my shop. I'll have the drawing once all the livestock have been named. So, the buckling is the first to get named.

Thanks in advance for all the help. Have fun with it. Keep in mind I really like 'human' names for animals, and names with backgrounds (ie, from novels, movies, etc.), and names with variations to be used in future generations (ie, if his name was King, then I could name his daughter Princess someday, as a hypothetical example).

You can submit your suggestions via comments on this blog, commenting on facebook, email, phone call, etc. Happy Naming Everybody!

Sorry all of the photos are action shots, he doesn't like to sit still.

You can see his wattles in the image above.

He's got white markings on his face, and beautiful light colored eyes. He was supposed to be disbudded, but the horns are coming back in as scurs.

The Bee Swarm (Pictures, finally).

Hundreds of bees that were hanging on a branch outside my house. So pretty.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Gentle on my Mind.

"Joe's Red Chair" was featured in the treasury "Gentle on my Mind" curated by StoneandFiber on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: My Life with Johann the Monkey.

"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "My Life with Johann the Monkey" curated by reneeanne on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Shades of Gray.

"Railroad and Weeds" can be seen in this treasury curated by FlightsofFancyStudio on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Country Roads Take Me Home!.

"One Lane Bridge" was featured in this cute treasury by SoapGarden on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Nature's Bounty.

"Reach" was picked to be included in the treasury "Nature's Bounty" which was curated KitzieG on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: The Darling Buds of May.

"Foggy Morning" has been chosen to be featured in this beautiful treasury by thebeautifulproject on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Celebrate Cinco de Mayo" curated by Birdnestsandpaper on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Father's Day is in June.

"Butch's Truck" was featured in this cute little treasury by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Before Dinner.

"Pablo's Portrait" was featured in the treasury "Before Dinner" by isheshop on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Little Fluffy Clouds.

"Above the Clouds" was featured in the treasury "Little Fluffy Clouds" curated by LittleWrenPottery on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Violet and Scarlet.

"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Violet and Scarlet" picked by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.

My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Open Air.

"Wash Day" was chosen to be a part of the treasury "Open Air" curated by twirlaway on Etsy.

Real Estate Hankerings: A House for My Sister.

My sister lives in Indianapolis. Whether she believes it or not, she needs to move from the big city with her kids and find a place in the country to raise them. I'm slightly biased about rural living. Anyway, there is a property in Elnora that would house her brood rather comfortably. It's a 5 bedroom, 1 bath farmhouse. It probably needs a bit of work, but for the price I would think it could be turned into a super-nice farm.


It has outbuildings, but the listing doesn't say what size the lot is. I imagine some of the farm ground around it could be bought to add to the property. It looks as if there is plenty of open land around the house.

The property is located at 11616 N. 275 E., Elnora, IN 47529. They are asking $48,300, and I'm curious what the house looks like on the inside. It's got lots of potential just from the pictures to me.

Chow Down: Greek Macaroni and Cheese.

Photo Credits: Todd Coleman for Saveur.com.

I don't know if I could convince Mike to eat this, but it sure sounds delicious to me.

Greek Mac and Cheese

From Saveur Magazine

3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces (I'd use Whole Wheat and probably leave the crusts on)

9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt, to taste

8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

4 cups grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese (about 12 oz.) (I imagine any cheese would be good here, but a mixture of provolone and jack cheeses will probably be my choice)

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

8 large shallots, finely chopped (I'll switch the shallots and scallions for half a large onion and a couple cloves of garlic)

16 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped (I'll use a little less for Mike's sake)

8 scallions cut into 1/4"-thick rounds

1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh dill

1 3/4 cups crumbled feta (about 8 oz.)

1. Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tbsp. butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

2. Heat remaining butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in milk and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 10–15 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in graviera, cinnamon, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper; set béchamel sauce aside.

3. Heat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, 3–4 minutes. Add spinach and scallions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved béchamel sauce, the dill, and the reserved pasta and transfer mixture to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs and the feta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

SERVES 8–10

Craigslist Cravings: Thomasville Chair.

Granted, it may be hideous when you see it in person, but I really like the way it looks. I even like the stripe colors. They are asking $150 which I imagine it's worth, although I'd much rather pay less than $100. I'm sure one will cross my path someday that is similar to this and I can nab it for less. Here's the link if you're interested.

From Where I Sit.

The pasture from where I'm typing this post (my house is in the background).

I'm introducing my goat girls slowly to the new baby. The easiest way to do that is take them all out to the east pasture and let them graze together while I play guardian if the baby feels he is being picked on. So this is my view this evening. I'm typing this as they eat. The bugs are eating me pretty well, but it's so nice out I am trying to ignore them. A wild rabbit just came within five feet of me and just stared, then hopped slowly past as if I was no threat. I appreciate that.

The girls aren't paying him much attention tonight. Last night, the Alpine kept chasing him, but I wasn't surprised because she chases the dogs and tries to butt them all the time. She's not nearly as mean tonight, but then again he's keeping his distance. The LaMancha is indifferent toward him. She just takes everything in stride. "Oh you bought another animal, alright." kind of mentality. I wish I had about 4 more just like her. Don't tell my husband, although he actually likes the goats more than any other animal on the place. They don't cost anything to feed, and they don't take up much room. Surely he wouldn't notice if a few more showed up, right?

The Name Game.

Image via books.google.com.

I've been dwelling on naming my breeding stock since I got my goat does, and the buck and doe rabbits last summer. Nothing seems to fit them, so instead of trying to do it all by myself I'm going to ask you to help me name everybody. I've got 6 rabbit does, and 2 rabbit bucks, plus two goat does, and 1 goat buck who all need new names. I think the best way to do it is for me to post a picture of each animal plus a short description of their personalities next week, and you submit names for them either by commenting on the post or emailing me or by whatever means necessary. Whoever comes up with the best one for each animal will get their name put in a hat and I'll be drawing 2 names out to get a signed art photography print by me! So, start thinking of names and be ready when I post photos of the cuties.

Renewing Community.

I think the first key to a thriving community is a sense of 'oneness.' To get people together and out of their solitary, fast-paced lives communities have to come up with inventive event ideas. I'm hoping Worthington will become a "Stars Hollow al a The Gilmore Girls"-esque kind of a community by the time I'm old and gray. I'd be happy with a community event every week of the year. Here are some of the community events across the country that I think would be fun.

A chicken coop tour in Austin, Texas. The poster is by one of my Etsy favorites Joe Seppi.

Petaluma, California has the Butter and Egg Days. You can buy this poster via here.

The Tacoma, Washington Film Festival. I couldn't get the website to come up, but I love this poster. The lumberjack cracked me up. Via Google Images.

And of course the farmer's market. I think we need one in town every week. We've got a nice sized park, or the high school's parking lot is a large size. You can buy this beautiful poster via Etsy too.

I am not sure how to go about campaigning to get 52 events planned for next year, but I'm definitely going to see what I can do. The events we do hold annually could use a bit of help too. The festival I sold at (or at least set up my booth at) last week was very poorly advertised for, so I don't really think anybody knew it was going on. That's a big key to making something work: advertising, food, and easy parking make for good crowds.

What events do you have in your community? I'm truly curious.