I caught the bug.....

So I am thinking I must be a little crazy...I have spent the day spring cleaning and ENJOYED IT...or maybe it is just the fact I found a rhythm without having the toddler underfoot today...

Either way the master closet is somewhat organized now...my side of the room is now clothing and shoe free...Hubbies side of the room on the other hand is a big ole mess..The man has a dresser all to himself over there and still can not manage to get his clean and folded clothing put away...Maybe if he is lucky I will take a garbage bag tomorrow and clean up for him....yer I am evil *wink*

Blessings Kelsie

Blooming Pear Trees Everywhere....

This week the pear trees exploded into bloom all over the property....

In case you have not guessed it from previous posts...We have lots of bugs in Florida...

We have a total of 12 pear trees....

And all filled with masses of blooms...

So pretty to look at...Shame they stink or I would bring some inside to put in a vase...

We started getting in the posts for the front fence this week...Here is Lil Sara helping Daddy pack in the dirt to hold them nice and firm in the ground....As you can see in the background, the front yard is in desperate need of lawn...With the fence up to keep the chickens out we can finally seed and get rid of all the lovely white builders sand....You can also see one of the pear trees peaking up over the roof of the house.

Going to leave you with this little teaser...

What do you think this is?

Or rather what do you think this will be when we are finished with it?

Blessings Kelsie

Joining the following parties this week:
Farm Friendly Friday @ http://www.verdefarm.com/
Cottage Flora Thursday’s @ http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com
Flaunt Your Flowers / Fertilizer Friday @ http://www.tootsietime.com/
Show and Tell Friday @ http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

First Butterfly Sighting of 2011

I am so excited report our first butterfly sighting of 2011 today...I opened the back door for the cat and happened to notice a butterfly fluttering thru the back yard...Did not get a close look but think it was the same as this one in the photograph that I took last year....

On the weekend I scattered a BUNCH of wildflower seeds in the rose garden that are supposed to attract birds and butterflies...I noticed a few little specks of green showing between the mulch this morning...OH happy times SPRING IS HERE.....

Ok back to helping hubby build the fence around the front yard now....

Blessings Kelsie

Popcorn Chicken....

Ever wondered how we make popcorn chicken on the farm??

It is pretty simple really...

All you need is, some chickens, some popcorn and a 2 year old...

Blessings Kelsie

Black & White Country Bedroom Update

Spent a little time fluffing up the Black and White (French) Country bedroom today...It is kinda losing it's "French" along the way oops...This room was (is) my eldest daughters, though now she has moved out of home, it is where our guests get to stay...You can see how the room looked before I fluffed it up today by clicking here

I finally got around to sanding the head board a little, giving it that lovely shabby chic finish...alas before I finished the foot of the bed, I ran out of sandpaper being I could only find half a sheet to begin with.

This is the view as you enter from the hallway...

Behind the mirror hides the flat screen TV...The lovely looking vintage chair in the right bottom corner is actually husband's computer chair covered with a vintage style lace table cloth and a cute golden pillow...I keep begging hubby to upgrade to a laptop but he declines, so plan B is getting him a computer Armoire to hide his ugly old computer, which has now also been moved into this room to free up the old "guest room" to become lil Sara's bedroom.

View from other side of the bed...

I got this little cherub a few weeks ago from Orlando. I have since given him a little glaze/drybrush treatment with burnt umber and then another over coat of vintage white to add some definition to the details and give him a little bit of a vintage look....

This is what he looked like when I brought him...stark white..

I still need to finish the lamp shade. It is currently just pinned together and I want to paint the base as well...As you can see I have begun to bring my porcelain dolls into this room also...

This would be the biggest change to the room...I finally found a round piece that fits the bed netting perfectly...The netting I have had since my eldest was a baby, it was over her crib and bed as she grew up...Over the years the plastic frame that held it up disintegrated...I am so happy to finally be able to put it back where it belongs...

And finally the white "doily" pillow case...This I have also had for years and it came from my mother...I paired it with a pink under pillow case to add an even more of a girlie touch to the bed...

I hope this is enough to Wow Us Wednesday over @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Don't forget Kim is also hosting a great give-away as well...

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-giveaway-time.html

And I am also posting to Pink Saturday with Beverly @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com

Blessings Kelsie

Spring time bee on a white pansy...

This if for all of you in the frozen north...

I thought you might like to see a little white that was not snow related....This little guy was a scout, it did not take long after seeing him to hear buzzing coming from the pear tree in the backyard which opened its blooms yesterday...

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing these today for Mosaic Monday @ http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com

This is so cool....

My BFF just posted this to her blog...I am so jealous...

http://kmbrans.blogspot.com/2011/02/kidz-blog.html


So cool I just could not help but share it with yall as well.

Blessings Kelsie

How to catch a Fairy...

Our spring gardens include plans to create a fairy garden in the back yard....

Of course to have a fairy garden you need fairies...

This got me thinking...How does one go about catching fairies...

Fairies as we all know love all things pink, sparkly and shabby chic...(Much like many of us lady bloggers)...Oh the photo btw is not about catching fairies...It is just a sneak peak at something I am working on to go into the fairy garden as well :)

This is our fairy bait...because we all know a fairy can not resist a pretty teacup (again much like lady bloggers) and we have some lovely smelling rose buds and some ever so pretty sparkly crystals...

But it is not enough to simply attract the fairies, we need to catch them....So I placed my fairy bait inside of a cage set in my herb garden...Fairies LOVE herb gardens...

Fairies are also very fussy, so not just any cage will do.

It must be a vintage pink bird cage...

OH MY!!!

It worked...seems we have caught not one, but two fairies...

Oh what a sweet little face is peering out at me...

This one is enchanted by the lovely fresh parsley I planted yesterday evening...

I know it seems cruel to capture fairies, but it is only so I can invite them to come live in our lovely garden I am creating just for them....Without such drastic measures one might never see a fairy, let alone have the chance invite her to tea...


I hope you all are having a magical Pink Saturday...Don't forget to pop over and visit Beverly @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com and enjoy all the other lovely pink posts...

Blessings Kelsie

A birds eye view to introducing Nancy...

Momma Human has been running around without her head this week, doing 100 different little projects here and there...So we girls are going to give you a quick look-see at few of the things the warmer weather has allowed to happen out here in the yard..and introduce you to the new addition, that momma and daddy human have been crowing is going to help out around here no end...

She was scratching around putting in the Dusty Miller's in the garden in front of the porch this morning, but when we started scratching around farther down the row she got all upset and started waving her arms and yelling at us...I over heard her telling daddy human that the front might just have to wait until the fence is up next week...

FENCE? WHAT FENCE? We are free range hens, we don't need no fence...

She is so proud of this new bird feeder, we chickens like it too, those little birds sure like to share the seed with us...I am not sure why she likes it though, it looks just like her big house, why does she need 2 the same?

Out the back, she has been scratching away as well...She even closed the gate so we can't help her...Little mean if you ask us...Those herbs sure smell good and I bet there are some tasty bugs and worms under all that compost, mulch and hay...

This Lemon Mint smells especially good....

She does some strange things, like painting this old bird cage pink and putting it in the new herb garden to catch fairies....Even stranger, she did catch 2 little fairies, but then the lil human that feeds us came and took them away to play with...

Ethel got a peek at these new juicy looking seedlings when she bravely snuck into the ppl house the other day...I think they will be going in the new herb garden...Maybe we will get a chance to sneak through the gate now and again to grab a nibble...

Oh we almost forgot...This is Nancy...She is very noisy and eats sticks and leaves...This really does make the humans so happy...and then when Nancy has done eating she poops it all in the bag and the humans are all excited about that too...

When we poop right on the porch in front of the door for them to find, all they do is yell and refer to the mystery fence project ...Well we better cluck out of here before we get caught again...

Much Chicken Love From the Hens.


Joining the following parties this week:
Farm Friendly Friday @ http://www.verdefarm.com/
Cottage Flora Thursday’s @ http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com
Flaunt Your Flowers / Fertilizer Friday @ http://www.tootsietime.com/
Show and Tell Friday @ http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Dreams can come true...

I am so excited I could spit...

Some of you may remember back in September I posted a wish list *Click Here to view the list* and right at the top of the list was a wood chipper...well I am so excited to say, we finally have saved /budgeted enough money to make the dream come true....

This week I am getting a
Earthquake 9070300 Chipper/ Shredder Briggs & Stratton Powered! Self-Feeding Action- Dual knives are placed at angles to create a self-feeding mechanism. As the knives rotate and cut, they pull the material into the cutting zone for easy feeding. Plus the hopper stands 34 in. high, offering a comfortable working height while still maintaining a low center of gravity for increased stability.

I can't wait to get this little baby home and start getting rid of all the piles of branches we have all over the property and making them into mulch for my garden...Not to mention all those lovely dead leaves into compost....

It comes with great reviews and is $400 less than the other one I was looking at, at Home Depot....Hubby can either pick it up today from the local Tractor Supply Company, after work or on his next day off which is Wednesday...I am crossing my fingers for today hehe...We have to pick-up some fencing supplies this week anyway :)

Our garden is going to be soooooooo Pr-ur-ty

Blessings Kelsie

Early Valentines Surprise...

Tonight my sweet wonderful husband came home from work with this lovely potted orchid...

To say it was a surprise in an understatement...We have been married for 10yrs and have NEVER celebrated valentines day on the principle that hubby thinks it is a "commercialized BS holiday"...He also will NOT buy me flowers on a similar mannish principle...(I think he is just mean on this one and have even tried adding flowers to shopping lists and he still will not buy them lol)...So it really means the world to me that he not only listened to all my hinting about the orchids this yr, but he broke his firm manly beliefs to make me happy....

Feeling very blessed tonight...Kelsie

PS: He also got me my favorite chocolate, a big bag of peanut M&M's mmmmmmmm yummy

PPS: Since I practiced what I learned about Bokeh from Tracy to take this photo, I am add this post to her fun Linky Bokeh Party - http://tracys-trinkets-treasures.blogspot.com/2011/02/boekh-party-time-is-here.html

Taking a closer look...

^{II Chronicales 7:14} if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This was where the preacher started his sermon today and what can I say but OUCH...He then went on to ask, if we are painting a portrait of Jesus each week by our actions in the world, what would the portrait we are painting look like...Would it have definition of subject, clean lines and sharpness of color or would it be sketchy, undefined and the colors muddy and running together...

I don't know about you, but I intend to clean my paint brush and start over with a fresh and renewed canvas...

Blessings Kelsie

I can keep silent no longer....

Ever since I have been blog hopping there is one thing that stands out on some blogs that makes the entire experience (much) less than pleasant...and that is the song lists....

I have debated and debated whether to mention this issue, I truly do not want to upset or offend anybody, but since most ppl do not understand some of the issues the song lists create for those viewing your blogs I though it was time to share how I feel...

As a web designer the first thing I tell a client is DO NOT include music on your website, it is a great way to lose potential views because as soon as the music starts they will close the window...

My top 3 reasons for not including music are....

If you are listening to your own music and a page begins to also play music then it is just annoying...

Some ppl will argue to just turn your speakers off if you do not want to hear it, but then I can't hear my message alerts etc that I want to hear on my computer...

If you are on dial-up or satellite internet, the play lists are bandwidth hogs and will slow down how quickly the pages load or even prevent it from completely loading all together...

Some of us in rural locations do not have the option of DSL or Cable internet so this can be a big issue for us..

And this would have to be my number one reason I dislike play lists:

I have to scroll the entire length of your blog to hit the pause button, now the trouble with this is, firstly your page will be slow loading because of the play list and it will jump and drag while I am trying to scroll...In the meantime I have got 3 or 4 blogs open and each is conflicting to play their own play list...or even if it is only one blog with a play list, I still have to scroll to the bottom of every other blog to find which one is the offending blog...Then when I try and open an individual post the play list will start all over again, so SCROLL SCROLL to shut it down again, same if I try to comment on some of your blogs...

Sadly this means I simply end up closing the window and moving on...There are a some gorgeous blogs out there that though they are my favorites, I will avoid them because I do not have time to deal with the play list issues...

Please Ladies if you really feel like you must include one...add it to the side bar near the top of you blog so those of us that don't want to listen can turn them off quickly...

I hope I have not offended anyone with this post, that was not my intent.

Blessings Kelsie

Pink Nap

It has been a very long exhausting week here...

Even a tea party with the dollies will wear ya out...

Hope yall have a wonderful pink weekend...

Blessings Kelsie

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

Planning and Planting....

It is another cold, cloudy and rainy day in Florida, so I have to settle for just dreaming of my garden again today...

Yesterday we did get a little bit done, David tilled and leveled one side of the front yard, we white washed an old piece of lattice for behind the rose garden we are creating...Lil Sara was a big help and filled the wheel burrow twice with rocks from the garden at the old house and then rode in the wheel burrow with the rocks on the way back to the new house while mummy and daddy took turns pushing it....She tried and help lug the 8ft 4x4 garden boarders from one house to the other also...Mummy did not really appreciate that help though..

This lovely cascade of wisteria is from last yr, we have it growing wild all thru the wooded part of our property...Eventually I would like to try and tame it a little so it would stop killing the trees...I noticed yesterday the tips of the vines are starting to swell up so it will not belong before we get to enjoy them again.

Here are the two roses I brought to start my "rose garden"...I love all the different colored blooms on the Climbing Pinata and have planted it up against the white washed lattice...Of course with our little blue house how could I not get the Blue Girl...She is not far from the climber and will be surrounded by all the lovely bulbs I got today...

After the bulbs are planted I am going to scatter this packet of seeds, so hopefully (if the birds and chickens do not eat them before they sprout) we should have a lovely showing of flowers from spring thru autumn *crosses fingers*


Spotted these dwarf hydrangeas in Walmart...now to find the perfect home for them at my house...Oh and the money in the budget for more plants :0)

Hopefully soon they will start running the plastic rows in the fields behind the house and start planting the watermelons...(Remember I get to use the rows that are directly behind my house for my veggie garden this year)...Once they start planting the melons, I can start planting my veggies...

Herb garden bed is also on hold due to weather, but we did get the seeds in the mini green house planted today...Also on hold is planting the potatoes, which are now happily sprouting in the bucket in my utility room...Oh and no pics of the "rose garden" in the making because it is just to wet and icky to go outside and take photos today...

That about wraps up my gardening plans for now...Bring on the blue skies and warmer days.

Blessings Kelsie

Joining the following parties this week:
Farm Friendly Friday @ http://www.verdefarm.com/
Cottage Flora Thursday’s @ http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com
Flaunt Your Flowers / Fertilizer Friday @ http://www.tootsietime.com/

At the end of a rainy day...

Nothing beats a hot cup of tea in your favorite chair...

That is unless you throw in a couple of great magazines...

yes that is a fall issue I am a little behind in my reading

Then if you add a slice of banana creme cake with a little whipped on the side...
Mmmmmm, just perfect...*happy sigh*

I love these cute little Beatrix Potter fork and spoon set my MIL gifted to lil Sara...They are just the right size for mummy to borrow for a tea time :)..The blue napkin also courtesy of my MIL...I love how the color complements my Homer Laughlin cup and dishes..

All served on one of my favorite thrift store finds...My $7 wooden TV tray that will one day become a white shabby TV tray...

And I can't forget my favorite snugly blanket...

So please pull up a comfy chair and join me, we can chit-chat about the weather and such things...

Please stop by and visit my other blog Lost Homes of Levy Co ...
If you love country and you love old things, you do not want to miss this...

Blessings Kelsie

I will be joining the following tea parties on Tuesday to celebrate.

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

And lastly

Marty, A Stroll Thru Life - Table Top Tuesday