Merry Christmas from our Prairie Homestead!

New on Ebay This Week!!!

Finally a Warm Up! YIPPEEEE!

It has been like living on the arctic tundra this past week!!! You know its cold when your boogers freeze every time you take a deep breath :) So after a week of dressing in 20 lbs of clothes to haul hot water to thirsty critters and doing barn chores in below zero weather a little warm up was very welcomed!
Riley decided to take the goaties up to the riding arena for some fun and games!!!

Holiday Tips!!!

I got these great tips in an email last year and I got such a kick out of them I thought I would pass them along....


1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.
In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're
serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You cannot find
it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000
calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an
eggnog-alcoholic Or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me.
Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on.
Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the
volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports
car
with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your
eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the
time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while
carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted
Christmas cookies or pralines in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming
the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes.
If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you
don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.
When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost.
I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or
get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips;
start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this
motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out
and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

New to Ebay this Week!

We have been busy little elves this weekend! Here are our listings for ebay this week!!!

One of my all time favorite performances!!!!

New to Ebay This Week!

We have been hard at work in the little red barn coming up with new designs! Here are few of the primitives we are offering on ebay this week!

Pssst-A Must See Video for all you Horse Lovers!

Look at this AMAZING video of this man riding his horse through a trail/obstacle course bridleless...What an awesome leader he is for this horse and what a terrific horse!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp40sNYnzCc
I am an avid student of natural horsemanship and know what it takes to get to this level and hats off to this guy...just goes to show you do not have to force horses into submission. With the right love, language, and leadership they are the most amazingly willing partners.



Here is my little Gracie...i took this picture a few months ago right after she turned one. She was pretty much untouched when i got her. The first time I tried to groom her she tried to kick and bite and bite me everytime I touched her...I am proud to say that little Miss Gracie now will stand tied for hours, stands good for the farrier, can be blanketed, loads in the trailer like a dream, and as of last week will jump small barrels, cross a tarp, and let me drape the tarp over her body. One day i hope Gracie can do what the horse in the video does....

A Long Time in the Making...

I have alot of ideas...they sometimes take a long time to manifest! Such is the case with this dutch door we FINALLY finished for Rileys room!!!
Since she is a bright and cheery little farm girl we thought her room should be a reflection of her. So whats better for a country girl than a barn door in her room!
Hubs made this door out of 100 year old pine so it has some great character!!!

Finally something i can cross it off my to do list!!!

We'll have Holiday offerings galore.....and a HUGE giveaway right here beginning November 1st! So mark your calendars, and be sure to join us for our Holiday Open House on the Mercantile!
We're also ready to unveil our "In the Spirit of Giving" project to you, and will be making it available for purchase, come November 1st!
We hope you'll join us for all the fun and festivities, celebrating a very special month on the Mercantile!

New to Ebay this Week....

<


Check out this awesome dry goods bin!!! Made from 200 year old wood it is chock full of character and early appeal. I just love how it turned out!!!

The Frost is on the Pumpkin OR ?????

The pumpkin is just frozen solid!!! Here in Colorado it would be the latter! With freezing drizzle and temperatures in the teens this weekend it seems Mother Nature has decided to forget all about Fall in Colorado and launch us directly into winter!!!!
These are the trees in my front yard....


Howabout some frosty little bucks eyeing the girls through the icey fence!



Or some frosty lil pygmies?????

New on Ebay!

After some much needed time off, I am trying to get my creative juices going again! We just got a new shipment of 200 year old barn wood and I am working at creating some wonderful new designs! I listed both these pieces on ebay this week!!!

TDIPT Funny Pet Contest !!!

Starting on SUNDAY 9/6 on the TDIPT Group Blog is the funny pet photo contest!!! TDIPT is filled with animal lovers and there are lots of great pictures of our group members fur babies doing fun stuff!! Our entry is Miss Mabel Jean. And everytime she dances i think of this song...so i just had to add it to my playlist!!! If you would like to check out the contest please just copy and paste the link below to your browser!!!
http://todwellinprimitivethymes.blogspot.com

Every good photo session has some good outtakes...here are the pics that didnt quite make the grade but still made us laugh!!!

September TDIPT Mercantile Offering!!!

So this is one of our new designs for Fall!! Hubs made it all out of old reclaimed wood...I am just thrilled with the way it turned out! If you are a lover of primitives and/or folk are please be sure to be check out the other artists offerings as well. There are some wonderful goodies to be found there!! The link to the TDIPT Mercantile is on the right of my blog!!

I found an ad for....

Mille Fleur Banty hens and i came home with.....drum roll please.....

This is Stewart aka Stewie, or as i like to call him Stew Laroo.
Had i intended to get another kitten??? Not exactly. Ever since Rileys little cat disappeared a few months ago she has been pestering me for another. It is easy to say no to ads on Craigs List though. "No more kitties." I would say..."We have two already and soooooo many other animals..." YOu can imagine my spiel, i mean it is a legitimate argument afterall!!! That is until the barn door opened and there was Stew and is his littermates. He is a Ragoll/Siamese cross and quite possibly one of the cutest kitties i have ever seen. And that was the end of my legitimate argument. Suckerrrrrrrrrrr.
Stew really enjoys helping Riley with her schoolwork.

He seems to be good at making friends too...

Aside from being so very useful, he is just darn cute, did i mention that already?

Better Late Than Never!!!

I took pictures of Riley and her goaties at County Fair, i swear i did! But none of my pictures turned out in the indoor arena!!! Luckily another Mom with a better camera than mine snapped some pics!!!

This is Riley getting ready for showmanship. Another 4her was kind enough to show her the ropes. You have to scrub your goats tootsies with a toothbrush and then put BABY SOCKS on them so they dont get dirty on their way to the show ring!! And apparently your goats clip job must be perfect or else the judge will tell you so...that kind of stung a lil...i always fancied myself an above average clipper person. Apparently not!!!!

Goat showmanship is tricky, you must always be on the opposite side of the judge even while leading your goat. You are asked to do all these maneuvers and answer all kinds of questions. If i had been Riley i would have needed a valium or two....

Riley got 4th...i was elated both with the idea that she got fourth and that it was over! Phew-intense!!!!
Next we had the breed classes. Riley got second in both of those.


So what does a goat girl do in her spare time once the Fair is over??????

My Awesome Swap Gift!!!

TDIPT has had yet another wonderful swap!!! My swap partner was Tink from The Blackberry Briar! Lucky, lucky me!!! Tink is an incredible artist and i feel so fortunate to have recieved some of her wonderful goodies!!!
First i must share with you this fantastic lil black and white goatie she made me! I just loooooove this fella!!!

I would have been more than thrilled just to have gotten the goatie but guess what???? That wasnt all that was in that box!!!! Tink made Riley a little horse that looks just like Pippy, her real life miniature horse! OMG-now i am having to lay down with a wet rag!!!!

That would have been enough to make my summer but guess what? Yep, there were even more treasures!!! Tink makes the BESTEST room sprays and candles your sniffer ever sniffed!!!! Finally my house smells like something other than eau de dog!!!! She also included some goats milk soap :)
Thank you Tink for being such a super duper partner!!!!