Macro Linky Party

I am so excited to see Tracy is hosting a Macro Linky Party this week...As a doll artist and designer, my journey into photography started with the Macro lens...

Here is one of my favorite photos of a 16inch Ball Jointed Resin Sybarite doll from England, she is wearing a one of a kind fashion from my 2009 fashion collection.
(fashion has been sold and is now part of a private collection.)

Check out the other macro photography posts at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures...

Blessings Kelsie

Tea, Quilts and Antiques...

A couple of weeks ago I shared photos from a Mother Daughter Brunch with my eldest daughter...We had visited the Suwannee Rose Cafe, which is located in the same old Coke Factory building as the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe, and there is even more quilting stuff and antiques in the old Ice House building behind it, including the Antique Sewing Machines and Pink Antiques I shared in other previous post...Today I wanted to share the last of the photos from this visit.

This lovely egg plate was my daughters favorite antique piece, but alas it was just a little out of my price range that day...Maybe it will still be there on our next visit...

My gorgeous daughter standing in front of some of the bolts of fabric...She is holding our "birdie bag"...Our lunch was garnished with fresh citrus and since I am allergic I brought it home to hang on my bird feeder because they love them some citrus..

More bolts of fabric...They boast over 5,000 bolts and a library of 400 quilting books...Impressive huh...They also offer a number of different classes...Maybe one day I will have time to take a couple..

How fun sheet music fabric...I know, but where are the teacups?

Next door in the Ice House building

Sadly I did not get close ups of the each cup because I was running out of room on my camera...

They had the complete set of these...or at least to me it looked like a complete set...

More tea cups..

The pink one was my favorite of course, but out of my price range also...

I really loved this display they had set up with the old cans and the geese, if it was not for the price tickets showing it could be a dresser at grandma's house...

Hope yall have a wonderful week...Blessings Kelsie

Sharing this week for the following parties.

Rose Chintz Cottage & Inspirations - Tea Time Tuesday

Lady Katherine Tea Parlor - Tea Time Tuesday

Wander Lee and Pam's - Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

and party Co-hosts:

Martha's Favorites - Tea Cup Tuesday
&
Terri, Artful Afirmations - Tea Cup Tuesday

Village Bridge Artwork

While traveling to Orlando a couple of weeks ago, instead of taking the interstate and toll roads, we took Hwy 441, so both myself and eldest daughter could get a feel for that route when we need to drive it...I don't do interstate driving of any kind because I am a big chicken about merging and with eldest daughter now living in Orlando I need to know how to get there...Now if I could just get lil Sara to travel nice...lol.

Hwy 441 might take a little longer because of the lights, but it is a more direct route and much more scenic than the interstate and toll roads...As you can see by these photos...

While stopped at a red light I snapped these photos of the foot bridge...I am so enchanted by the way they painted it and the amount of detail included...Many of the bridges in this area were painted with themes, but this was the only one we stopped "just right" to get some good pix.

Even the bottom of the bridge was painted to resemble wooden planks...I look forward to the day we can actually stop and go shopping at the villages, but for now I will just have to admire the foot bridges as we drive by :)

Blessings Kelsie

Introducing the New Girls..Plus Bob Cat Update...

These old girls have yet to be named as they only arrived late Thursday afternoon...I am told they are still laying, but time will tell if they are or not...If they are not, well I guess they will help us get rid of the table scraps lol.

I know yall think we must be crazy to get more chickens when we have a bob cat problem, well funnily enough Thursday morning that problem was taken care of by the neighbors ...Later that day a friend of mine called me to tell me of 2 chickens needing a new home...So here they are...

Today is the girls first time out of the pen, as you can see Master Bravo is more than happy to show them around...Lil Sara was told she must stay with Nadia (the dog) so not to scare the new girls away...A well trained dog will do wonders as a child rearing tool lol.

Master Bravo lead the new girls across the yard to his favorite spot...

The Communal dust bath lol..

(WARNING: Details and image of bob cat are posted below, if you think it will offend please do not scroll any farther)

BOB CAT UPDATE:

As most of you know for the last few months ourselves and our neighbors across the other side of the 55 acre hay field have been plagued by a bob cat...I lost both my ducks (The Tweedle Boys) These ducks weighed in at 10+ pounds a piece, so we knew we were not dealing with a light weight predator...

It was also very crafty and cunning, and managed to snatch 2 of my laying hens right out of my chicken coop which has a six foot wire fence around it, with in just 2 days of each other...Not to mention taking full grown turkeys from the neighbors pen as well.

He was pretty braize the night he took our last hen, because it was just 10pm and all the lights and TV were on in the house and since the pen is just on the other side of the driveway and lite by the security light, it was a bit of a shock he would not wait until all was quiet.

The most frightening thing though is the risk to the children, as you know we have lil Sara who is just 2.5yrs old and they neighbors have a 4yr old...Needless to say we had not being allowing the children outside an hour before dusk unless with an adult...

Thursday morning at 10.30am, as I was getting myself and lil Sara ready to go to the library and I hear, pop-pop-pop and then Nadia our dog barking...It is hunting season (or was until this weekend) around here so did not think much of it...

Just 10minutes later as I am about to pull out of my driveway my neighbors pull in with this in the back of their truck...

He was walking through their yard in broad daylight...So he was not just a threat to the animals anymore...I am so proud of Peggy, as it was her that shot him...I think I would have been pooping in my pants and not had the frame of mind to grab the gun...

I know that some of you are probably going to be offended by this post and my soft animal rights heart hates that such a beautiful creature had to die...but the mother in me is very relieved, especially when just 2 weeks ago a full grown woman in a neighboring county was bitten by a bobcat in her own backyard when she tried to rescue her cat from being attacked. That bobcat turned out to be rabid.

Kelsie

Pink Bargain...

Now the cute pink bunny has your attention....

How cute are these soft storage bins?

They come in multiple shapes, sizes and colors, and will fold flat for easy storage when not in use...They are just perfect to help keep lil Sara's toy shelves organized and I can't wait to go back and get more...

Where did I get them you ask?...

AT THE DOLLAR TREE!!

Can you believe they are only a buck each...amazing huh...I am also going to get a bunch for sorting out my craft studio...

I *Heart* Dollar Tree bargains.

Happy Pink Saturday
Kelsie

Sharing these pinkies today at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ for Pink Saturday

Library Visit

Thursday was a busy day for us, which is why I am only now getting around to posting the photo's I took of lil Sara at the library yesterday while we were waiting for the Pre-Schoolers program to start...As you can see by the bag she is carrying, she was allowed to borrow her first book this week...Let's just see how willing she is to give it back next Thursday.

She thoroughly enjoyed the Pre-Schoolers program...They did lots of dancing excerises, singing along to songs in both English and Spanish...For the story they had 2 readers, Miss Wilma would read the page in English and then Miss Emma would read the same page but in Spanish...They also did a craft to bring home that was related to the story...She had a blast and can't wait to go again...

Anyone out there with little ones and looking for some thing to keep them busy, I strongly recommend checking out your local library to see what free programs are available...Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the best part of this program is that fact it is totally FREE.

Blessings Kelsie

Phone Scam Warning...

So today I received a very interesting phone call that went something like this....

Ring Ring...Caller Id "Unassigned"

Me: Hello

Man with thick Indian accent: Hello Ma'am I am calling from Microsoft Windows, we have been receiving reports from your computer for sometime now that it has been infected with a virus...

Me: What?

Him: Your computer has downloaded a virus from the internet and is in danger of crashing at any moment...This virus is *incoherent pretend gobblity goop* and heading right for the processor blah blah blah...
(now for a split second my brain was like this guy almost sounds like he knows what he is talking about but not quite)

Me: How do you know my computer is infected...

Which he tries to answer me with a bunch more pretend gobblity goop about how a virus works and what it will do my computer and mentions a couple of times that my computer could crash at any moment....But side steps my question...but tries to tell me if I will just give him remote access to my computer he can fix the problem...

Me: How do you KNOW my computer is infected since I have never bothered to register it...

Him: Because when you purchase any computer is it assigned a number and when it sends automatic messages to our system we are able to identify it using that number...

Me: But I have never registered my computer or software with Microsoft so how did you get my phone number??

Huge warning bells are going off at this point and I check my computer is still inactive and I have not been hacked already...

Him: We were able to track the number and got your phone number from your internet provider...

Me: YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT...CLICK...

This call was so brazen and almost convincing, I actually know many of my web clients that would fall for this stuff, older ppl with a lot more to lose if someone was to hack them...Scary stuff...I took the time to call Microsoft Customer Service and was told they have been getting bunches of reports of these calls and there was even a news report a couple of weeks ago about it...

So please please PLEASE remember to NEVER give any "tech" remote access to your computer unless you have initiated the contact or call about your computer...Just like you would not give out your social security number to someone calling you on the phone.

Kelsie

Come on a journey with me....

I am so excited to finally be able to share my new endeavor with yall...I have launched a new blog...So what? I hear you ask..Well the new blog is very different to this one which is just a personal account of day to day life at our house.

This new blog is where I am going to share my other passion...

Photographing old buildings...

Over the holiday's during those long nights of nursing lil Sara, it gave me lots of time to think in the wee hours of the morning...For years I have been saying I wanted to document all the old abandoned homesteads in the area...So I decided that this year was the perfect time to do it...

Today after dropping lil Sara at daycare, I headed to the first of many homes I hope to share with you and snapped about 100 photo..After that I headed to home number 2 and snapped about 100 more...A few of the images have already made it to the new blog..

I would love for you to stop by and check them out at...

THE LOST HOMES OF LEVY CO...

Blessings Kelsie

Afternoon Tea Party...

Today started with a morning play date for lil Sara...She had so much fun...They played with a train set and dressed up as pirates and spent lots of time outside on the slide and swings and climbing the tree house...So of course when it was time to leave there was bound to be tears...and this mummy hates tears...So I did what every soft hearted mummy would do...I bribed her.

I told lil Sara if she was good and did not cry as we got in the car, when we got home we would have a tea party...with MUMMY'S TEA SET...the words were barely out of my mouth and she was saying her thank you's and goodbyes...

Alas she was so tired she fell asleep in the car on the way home...But the second her eyes opened after the nap she was asking for the promised tea party to begin...Let this be a warning to all you mummies...if you are going to bribe your child, be ready to follow thru with the promised treat lol.

Look at that excited little face...She is so proud to be using the big tea set...Please note the candle sticks on the table, she insisted as I was getting the tea stuff out of the china cabinet we use the candles also.

On the menu today we have:
Teddy Bear Cookies
Fruit Flavored Dora the Explorer Treats
Apple Slices
Honey Grahams
1% Milk

Sara very carefully poured her own milk...

As you can see we are using my all white pieces, the teacup and saucer are Gibson "Everyday" and came from Walmart, the creamer jug (matching sugar bowl still in cabinet) Martha Stewart from Target..Tea Pot Corelle from Lowes Foods NC many moons ago...The 2 tiered server is Kmart brand and was from their Easter collection I believe.

No surprise the Dora Treats were the first to go lol...

Next to go was the Teddy Bears...
It tickled me how with both treats she very carefully placed them around her cup...

I slipped in a couple of chicken nuggets since she slept thru lunch...

We are so glad you could join us again today for another "on the spot" tea party...

Blessings Kelsie

A Special Happy 1st B'day shout-out to Sandi's Blog Party

Please be sure and visit all the other lovely parties this week

Rose Chintz Cottage & Inspirations - Tea Time Tuesday

Lady Katherine Tea Parlor - Tea Time Tuesday

Wander Lee and Pam's - Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

and party Co-hosts:

Martha's Favorites - Tea Cup Tuesday
&
Terri, Artful Afirmations - Tea Cup Tuesday

Grab Buttons

Finally got off my virtual tooshy and created a couple of grab buttons...

So now you can take home a gorgeous rooster or duck and start your own virtual barn yard...Or at the very least let ppl know you have stopped by "Our Country Home" and they should come visit too.

<a border="0" href="http://www.kelsie74.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXT_JM8keQC-hWoAk_MsycPliLmBITJJDNVisulz3h4x_WnXxtDgHZmhj62l55e40c_mp-v7K_qQ4IlIuYMTtRfmMlwIwD8jD98a3mvPFFuf9Zcia81vBhy3NfdFKVeThQ_hKQX_bqJqfc/s150/buttonroster.gif" /></a>


<a border="0" href="http://www.kelsie74.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDC_QHzsw_4aQ5rLdtXcyU7JtLFHfADUcbIdun5c_iA1eLoE0hTSNv07D8ObDkvqYfRLhfHow7zxpDgVHSrm_ZqDxp0ytHeASQr1r54lEE37mNQKKgsM9-u3BNir55uzHkZVzpWyOtQCz/s150/buttonduck.gifif" /></a>

Simply choose your preferred button, copy the code in the box below it...Paste that code into your blogger "Add HTML/JavaScript" gadget and SAVE.


Blessings Kelsie

Antique Pink

A few pink things from the Antique Shop in the old Ice-house behind the old Coke Factory Building in Trenton, as mentioned in previous posts
(Mother Daughter Brunch and Antique Sewing Machines)

I had hoped this pink teacup could come home with me,
but alas at $24.95 was not in my budget.

Lovely pink glass in the window...

I would have loved to gotten closer but large pieces of furniture separated me and the pretties.

The round dimpled piece is my favorite...Maybe next time I will try again to get a closer look.

Blessings Kelsie


Be sure and pop over to http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/ and check out all the lovely Pink Saturday post there.

Country Crystal and Library Visit

It is a damp and dismal day in Levy county today, a day just asking for a warm glow and some sparkle to be added...

So a broke out my favorite Country Crystal AKA Mason Jars, add some water and tea candles...

Instant sparkle as the flames dance and reflect off of the glass and water...Added bonus, they also reflect off of the black granite counter top...

We originally had a play date at the park planned for today but with such yucky weather it was postponed..So instead I took lil Sara to the library to fill our morning and also inquire about a toddlers reading group...and was delighted to find they are running a Preschooler's (2 -4 yrs) program each Thursday until the end of March...this should help keep lil Sara entertained while we wait for her to get into the Early Head Start program (she is currently on the waiting list)...She will love it if today was anything to go by, she had so much fun in the kiddie area, with all the jigsaws, books and teddy bears...Plus one of the girls that works there entertained her a little so I could go grab me a book too.

I checked out Emma by Jane Austin after seeing this on so many bloggers reading lists...I can't wait for nap time to get started on it...This was the first time I have stepped foot inside a library in years...It was nice to be back in the land of books again...

Blesssings Kelsie

Trinkets for under $1.50

During our trip to Orlando yesterday we stopped by the Altamonte Mall so lil Sara could run off some energy in the kiddy play center before the long drive home again.

We also happen to walk by the Christmas clearance basket at Sears, where I found these adorable flowers for just .27c each...original price $2.99...I was a good girl and only got 4 of each design for a total of 12 flowers.

They are perfect as a starting off point for decorating lil Sara's "big girl" bedroom which I want to do country craft girlie...Not sure exactly how they will be used just yet but know they are going to look FABULOUS.

I also got this little guy who is perfect for my small heart shaped birdcage...He was just .47c...original price $4.99...

And how sweet is this cherub...He as just $1.49 from some "Dollar Store" in the mall...I just could not resist him.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing these fun shopping finds today for

Bobcat Photo

Well there we have it, at 6.04 this morning he passed by the motion camera that is set up next to the chicken pen...Really is a pretty kitty but also a chicken killer, and sadly now it has discovered how easy it is to pray on penned animals it will continue to kill both ours and the neighbors fowl instead of hunting...If we are lucky we will trap it tonight and the wildlife ranger can come take it away tomorrow.

Mother Daughter Brunch

While lil Sara was at Day Care last Wednesday, I took the opportunity to have a nice quiet brunch with my eldest daughter Mic (now 18yrs)...It was bitter sweet spending this time with her as she moves to Orlando in just a few short days and I know how much I will miss her and being able to spend time with her each day.

We went to the Suwannee Rose Cafe, which is also the entrance to the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe...Both as I mentioned in my previous post about the vintage sewing machines, are housed in the old Coke Factory building on Main Street Trenton FL.

Inside is totally charming and they have married the old and new parts of the building beautiful...My only complaint was the hot tea was simply "hot" water from a pump thermos on the side board and a selection of tea bags. The water really was not hot enough to get the leaves brewing...I might mention this on my next visit...Plus I would really have liked to have had the option to order tea for two and had a teapot on the table.

The desert case will have your mouth watering in just seconds...The cakes are all baked in house and you can order by the slice or an entire cakes for those special occasions..

This is my beautiful daughter, a young lady getting ready to go out and conquer the world...I am so proud of her and thank God daily he lets me be her mum...I did get another photo of her smiling but decided I like this one better because she looks so grown up in it.

I was going to share with you the lovely chicken salad croissant I had for brunch, but I was so hungry I ate it before taking a photo...I ordered it with the broccoli salad as my side and OMGoodness it was delish, it had dried cranberries and pine nuts in it.

We ordered a slice of Chocolate Torte for desert to share...This is my half...They actually took one of the large "slabs" from the desert cabinet and sliced it in half for us...

After we finished all this food we needed to walk it off so visited the textiles in the quilt shoppe and then headed over to the ice house where those lovely sewing machines were....I will share more images of both places in later posts.

Oh I should mention I had Traditional Irish Tea and Mic chose English Tea Decaf

Blessings Kelsie

Come Tuesday I will be sharing this outing with the following parties.

Rose Chintz Cottage & Inspirations - Tea Time Tuesday

Lady Katherine Tea Parlor - Tea Time Tuesday

Wander Lee and Pam's - Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

and party Co-hosts:

Martha's Favorites - Tea Cup Tuesday
&
Terri, Artful Afirmations - Tea Cup Tuesday