Enchanting Northern Trip...

This weekend, the first thing I asked myself when I arrived home after visiting relatives in beautiful Bennington, Vermont was "Why did it take so long to make the trip back here?"

Nestled among some of the most breathtaking American scenery, filled with orange, red & yellow mountains, wildlife, fall foliage, maple syrup & a dog named Sasha...My sister had asked me a month ago..."Sis, do you want to make the trip to Vermont to visit some relatives?" Ummm... I first thought to myself "Nope, can't do it...family, the dogs, work, time away before the holidays..." but when I thought about the years that have slipped away, time that seems to be going by quicker than I can count... my next breathe I said, "Yes." And I'm glad I did....I would have missed all this....

Fifth generation farmhouse, that once was a tavern....

Front side view...

Side/back view...if you look closely there's a flag for practicing golf!

Next to the farmhouse is the historical wood workshop where my cousin makes custom golf clubs. The workshop is heated with several wood stoves...

Part of a family owned rock quarry...that was once craved out to supply stone for some local churches, & other buildings in Vermont...I climbed the mountain behind the farmhouse to see this...I'll admit I was on the watch for "bears"...but someone was there who was one step ahead of myself, my sister, & cousins. Someone who knows the land well, & takes a daily walk with my cousin among this beautiful land was....

Sasha!

Sasha, an adorable six year old Bernese Mountain dog was in true form. This beauty~bright & an incredible gentle giant for 92 lbs., was our escort for miles on the mountain, through trails of leaves & historical pathways. She stayed one step ahead of us, knowing the trails as if she had carved them out of the mountains herself! This was the only "little bear" I would see all weekend! Whew..... :)

Also, this weekend my cousin made my sister a custom set of golf clubs....to read her story, please visit... http://mudpuddlegirl.blogspot.com/

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

The Fine Art of Writing a Note...

Begins with a beautiful card! With everyone so busy, we usually communicate through email, text message, etc...but what a fine luxury if we would actually take the time to sit down & communicate with the fine (almost) lost art of simply writing a note. A written note of thank-you, Happy this or Happy that, any special occasion just seems to be coming back~ especially with the many techniques now being created with stampin', & scrapbooking & more.

I ordered these esquisite cards from Sue with "The Sista's"...The detail, the packaging, the time I know it took to create each & every one will be cherished by all that receive them! Thank you Sue for sharing your passion of card creating! I love my cards!

Sue can be contacted at: zotte_5@msn.com

New Cottage in the Family...

A new home to one of our sons & soon to be daughter-in-law. But only "new" to them as this home is rich with history built in the 1940's, came with lots of bees, coats of wallpaper to take down, and rooms to come alive again...and a yard to clean up for nature to thrive...very charming indeed...

Look what was uncovered when a tree was trimmed up. Are those the marking of a woodpecker? These little indents can be seen all the way up the tree's bark.

If you would like to read more about the "who" in the family is making a splash~ doing this renovation go here:

http://mudpuddlegirl.blogspot.com

Hope you had a nice weekend!

Life is Good...Life is Great....

Life is good when you turn six & all you want for your birthday is a set of golf clubs & you receive this gift...Then life turns great when your Great Grandfather spends the day teaching you what he has learned on the course for many years...

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Fall Swap!

Look at the goodies I received! Recently I participated in my 1st swap with handmade bath & body products, & candles on a Soap forum I like to visit. This is how it worked: One person was assigned to receive all the "swap items", along with a check for 8.95 (mailing). Once all the items were received, then this person put of each items in a box for a the "swappers" to receive. Well, it was like Christmas! I don't make candles soooooo I was very excited to see these handmade votives. Everything smelled so good, I almost hate to use anything! And although I love to make handmade soaps, lotions, etc....it was a treat to have someone else make them. Also included were some crafty incense-that I had not seen for years!

Also~ If anyone is interested in visiting a soap forum~ a new one is just launching called Pixie Lee's Forum at: http://pixieleesoaps.com/soapforum/, this forum is more than just "soap chat" it's about everyday converstions, cardmaking, etc... the creator Michelle is working hard to "tweak" this wonderful project to open the door wider for all us who love to create handmade items!