Plow and Pony Primitive Life on the Farm

Update

2009-07-20T10:07:00.003-05:00

The abandoned Pug has been improving. We have been giving her small and frequent small meals of rice, chicken, scrambled eggs and cottage cheese. Dog food too. She is still skin and bones but when you pick her up you can tell she has more substance to her. I imagine it will take time until she looks normal. I will update with pictures when she does.
We have wormed, de-fleaed (poor thing was FULL of fleas) and given her a bath. She has stopped her nervous pacing and seems to be making herself at home.
She is really sweet and likes to be held. She follows us everywhere right on our heels.
We really like her.

This is so Sad

2009-07-17T17:55:00.004-05:00

I have 2 beautiful Pugs that I may have talked about before. Abby and Lola. Lola was a rescue. My son and I saved her from traffic. We found her owner who seemed so happy to have her back only to turn around a couple months later and ask us if we would go get her out of the Humane Society..said she had been there a couple days...turned out she was there for over a week!
But anyway that is not the story I bring to you today. See the pictures above? We went to let our 2 Pugs in this afternoon and this poor starved Pug came in with them. At first I thought I needed new glasses. Then I just started crying. This gal is absolutely starved! Here's the kicker..Someone had to physically put her over our fence. I am confused...Maybe someone dumped her and she came to be starved and then someone else found her and thought to put her in our yard knowing we already have 2 Pugs and soft hearts. Or do you think someone just couldn't take care of her anymore and thought to bring her here before she died. It looks like she has had pups too in the recent past. She also has a white patch over part of one of her eyes. Cataract?
I scrambled some eggs..(thank God for the chickens) mixed them with some cottage cheese (thank God for the diet) and gave them to her along with dog food.
What else should I do for her as far as food goes? I am worried about her eating too much too fast. Any ideas would be appreciated.
I will do the best I can to take care of her even though we are stretched to our limits with dogs. (She makes 8) and it will be a bit before we have the money to take her to the vet.
This road is notorious for dumping unwanted pets, but I have never had someone actually put one in my yard.

I Miss My Blog

2009-07-16T21:55:00.004-05:00

Wow! What a busy summer I am having! My blog has taken a back seat I see. Glad I still have a few followers. Here's what I have been doing.

Tending the 58 goats.

Driving my boys back and forth to their jobs and extra activities.

Swimming..everyday. Sitting at the computer everyday in the winter takes a toll on the rear. I have been swimming and walking, determined to be more svelte by my 50th birthday.

Working at my paying job.

Selling food at auctions every other weekend.

Getting ready for a huge barn sale.

Making goat's milk soap. So Fun! Will put some in my shop for sale soon.

Ducking all the stormy weather we have had lately.

Thinking up different ways to make stir fry...got any ideas?

My Dad and his wife came to visit from California so we did some fun touristy stuff..the zoo, the Trueman Library and an old civil war jail.

Visiting with friends.

Summer is just too short to sit at the computer. It will be winter soon enough and I will have time for it then.

If I do have time to sit at the comp I have tended to research a cold case I stumbled upon. It is really creepy and not for the faint of heart. Not something I normally do either..but there is something about this case. I just can NOT believe it hasn't been solved. There is a whole message board devoted to it with some 22000+ posts. Some are family and people who live or lived in the area. It gets pretty emotional in there and it takes a bit just to figure out who everyone is and how they relate to the case and their angle on it. There is a documentary too. I haven't bought it but I have been tempted. You can see clips of it on youtube. If you do have an interest just google cabin 28. Or go to cabin28.com

Hope you are all having a great summer!

Sold this in my Etsy Shop

2009-06-04T06:52:00.004-05:00

I was organizing my shop getting ready for a sale. I was putting all my Etsy store items in a certain spot to be kept out of the sale. I came across this wonderful primitive abacus/chalkboard that I had crafted and the thought that went through my mind was, " Wow, This is so nice. Can't believe it hasn't sold yet!"
The very next day.....Bingo! Sold it! Crazy. I have done that a lot with my thoughts. I will be needing something..thinking about it( and knowing the chances are slim to none for finding it) and suddenly..there it will be at a yard sale or something. I am always amazed.
Hasn't worked for a million dollars yet but I have toned it down to wishing for a mere 100,000.00 now..so maybe?!?!
Have any of you had this happen? Maybe not the money part, but the whole concept of wishing for something and having it happen or appear?

Here! I'm Still here!

2009-06-01T06:50:00.003-05:00

Truly, my apologies for not keeping up with my blog! I know some of you loyal readers are disappointed in me..I will try to do better!
I had a busy spring with the kids and all. Kidding season is over and everyone is healthy and happy.
My youngest human kid just returned from his Washington DC trip. He had a great time. I can't believe how many things they pack into 5 days of sightseeing!
My oldest is life guarding at the pool this summer so I get a season pass for half price. So far I have gone everyday using it as a workout tool.
And now for my big news..... (drum roll)

I started making cold process Goat's Milk Soap! I am obsessed! Every nook and cranny of my house has soap in it, curing. Today I am going to make some with hemp oil. Can't wait to get a few of them in my shops to see if people like them. Soon, I will get some pictures and put them on here. I am still developing the packaging.... translated as I am almost out of printer ink and it's not in the budget this week!
I can tell you this..I will never go back to store bought soap! Home made is so much better!

Have a Blessed and Restful Sunday

2009-04-05T07:46:00.002-05:00

Have a Blessed and Peaceful Sunday. Rest. Let the stress of our chaotic world fall by the wayside. Enjoy each moment of the day.

2009-03-22T10:08:00.004-05:00

Meet Nanna. She is a lifesaver. Literally. If you remember, last Saturday when out goats were having all these kids my BF went to buy us a milk goat. Why you might ask? The truth is, while triplet goats are awesome, the chance of one not surviving is huge. Yes, we lost one from our first set of triplets. I am sorry. He went to that big goat bridge in the sky. We talked to our goat expert friends and they told us that a Mom Goat just can not raise triplets successfully. One either dies from being pushed out or the Mother gets her health compromised. Your choices are to take one off and bottle feed it or take it to a sale and let someone else bottle feed it. I don't know why Mother nature is cruel like this. To those of you who read this and have had your Nanny raise triplets successfully, I say,"GREAT!" It doesn't happen for us. Perhaps because of the breed of our goats. But anyway back to "Nanna".
Bottle feeding is not what it's cracked up to be. It's expensive, the babies tend not to thrive as well and they will always consider YOU their Mother which is cute at first but then it gets to be a real pain when they are a demanding 150 pounds. Trust me here. Our compromise was to go out and purchase a Milk goat before we had any more triplets! So the goats are kidding. BF goes out to buy milk goat(a 2 hour drive). Son and I are home watching goats about to deliver and sure enough another one has triplets! We call BF and tell him. Soon enough we see a cloud of dust coming down our road. It's BF driving like no tomorrow on our bumpy dusty road, pulling our stock trailer with Nanna inside. I look at son. Son looks at me. I say, " Dang! When he gets here Nanna will be making butter instead of milk!" Son cracks up and says he was thinking the same thing!
Nanna arrives fine and we set about making her feel welcome in her new home. We milk her for a couple of days and let the triplets get all of their life giving colostrum from Mom. Then we take one off. We give her to Nanna. Well, we make Nanna take her. We still have to go down to the barn every few hours and hold Nanna while Baby Girl eats. But it's working out and all 3 are still alive. YAY! I thank Nanna everyday. She is invaluable.

Play Time

2009-03-19T07:14:00.003-05:00

Kids are having a grand time playing..They love the tire!

Are You Kidding Me? or Kids Everywhere!

2009-03-18T06:06:00.004-05:00

As of Sunday evening we have 13 kids! We still have 12 more goats yet to kid. Kids are everywhere! So much fun and so much work!! The milk goat (We shall call her Nanna) arrived just in time to help feed another set of triplets. The Mommas ideally kid in our kidding stalls that are inside the barn. When they are a day or 2 old they are let out into the nursery area.

Kidding Season is Upon us Full Force!

2009-03-14T08:21:00.003-05:00

We have been busy here on the homestead. Kidding season is definitely upon us. As soon as I get some rest I will have pictures for you. We have several first time goat Mommies and they can be tricky. I worked most of the afternoon yesterday to get one of them to realize that : Yes, she had a baby now. Yes, it was hers. Yes, she needed to let it eat. It took some persuasion of the gentle kind. I finally saw it all click in her young goat mind and she claimed her baby much to my relief. You want to avoid having a bottle baby if at all possible..
Today BF is going to buy a milk goat that is fresh and will take a baby if needed. Plus I can have fresh goat milk and it will give me motivation to make goat's milk soap! This will have to be after kidding season though as we are quite busy now. We had 2 kid yesterday.
Here is our total so far: Nanny had triplets. Young doe had her first baby and is an excellent Mother. Very young doe had her first and as stated she took a bit of persuasion to figure out she is a mother now and not a baby. Last night another one of our older Nannys had twins and she is a wonderful Mother. Lord only knows what is coming today. At least the weather seems to be co operating and it's supposed to warm up!
I can't wait to show you pictures!
Thank you all for your comments and for those of you waiting on your own little kids all my best wishes!

3 Things for Today

2009-03-09T09:31:00.004-05:00

Abby and Lola on a Sunday Afternoon

First: A big huge Thank You to those of you Entrecarders still dropping on me! I am down to 81% on my downloads so it won't be long before I can start doing my drops again. Second: No more kids have been born as of yet and the triplets are doing just fine. It's been warm and they have been out to play. So cute to watch! Third: What have I been doing with my time without my high speed internet? I have been going through all my old jewelry. It's time for it to find new homes where it will be loved. I have picked out some great items, cleaned and polished them and will be listing them in HouseMouseAntiques soon. Keep an eye out. Much of it is 70's style and I have some beautiful silver pieces that I purchased in Mexico.

Triplets on the Homestead

2009-03-03T16:16:00.004-06:00

We are getting ready to go into kidding season here on the homestead. This was the first of our group to have her kids. Triplets born on one of the coldest nights of the year. (Murphy's Law of Goats). We had to put these little jackets on them to be sure they didn't get chilled. The one in red is a little doeling. The other 2 are bucklings. So far they all seem to be thriving! Aren't they cute?

Trying for a Lighter Note or Sunday Blessings

2009-03-01T08:13:00.003-06:00

My speeds are picking up a bit. I am at about dial up speeds now. There is no way I can do my drops yet. This is a tough thing for a die hard Entrecard dropper. I'm sorry my blog friends. Thank you to all of you who are still dropping in on me. I did open Daisy the Curley Cat's blog this morning. It took like 5 minutes but I hate to miss Sunday comics.
Since I am not hooked to my computer in my free time I have managed a few blessings:
My house is getting clean.
Laundry is getting done:
I watched a movie.
Did some long overdue paperwork.
Future plans include: Taking pictures of more items for my shops and writing ads. That way they will be ready to go when speed comes back.
Taking pictures you might find interesting for my blog and writing blog posts for those days when I am busy.
Writing my novel. OK...maybe that won't get done but a woman can dream!

More F.A.P. Ranting or WildBlue SUCKS

2009-02-28T09:38:00.003-06:00

30 days is going to be a really long time now that I have been FAPed. What is F.A.P. you ask? It stands for Fair Access Policy. It is a policy that the satellite company's put on your internet bandwidth usage. I went over mine. I have only had this service for a month. It will take a month of me doing no downloads to get my speed back. I couldn't do a download if I wanted to anyway. Speed now is slower than dial up. I can check my email and hopefully post this blog entry. That's about it. If it's peak hours I can do nothing.
I wasn't told about this when I signed up. Of course in their defense, when I called to INQUIRE about the service, the lady was talking fast and was difficult to understand. I had to ask her repeatedly to repeat things. I heard 2 year contract and when I said," So you mean I am now locked into a 2 year contract?" She said "Yes." So I was reeling from that bit of info and she may have went on to tell me about FAP and I didn't understand. Do they PURPOSELY hire people like this? I think so.
I asked another friend who also has this same company about what happened and she told me she had never even heard of it either! She will find out if she does one too many downloads or looks at 1 too many You Tube videos..
My son got an ipod for Christmas. He was excited to be able to put a movie on it. We had just gotten this high speed internet so he downloaded one. It took 24 hours to download. I believe it to be the main cause of my FAPing. Then of course I had some updating to do also. Things I couldn't do with dial up or I could but it wasn't worth the wait. We watched some YouTube Videos, I put on the Entrecard Bar, and did my drops. Then I downloaded Tweetdeck. It was a 3 minute download but I guess it put me at my 100%. So here I am paying 60.00 a month for nothing. I got rid of my home phone and dial up to pay for this satellite service so I can't even hook my dial up up. Satellite internet is a rip off and they lock you into a 2 year contract. Both Wild Blue and Hughes net have the F.A.P.. With Hughes net you only have to wait 24 hours to get your speeds back. Wild Blue has a 30 day rolling. I think that means I will be lucky to have it back in 30 days. (I went to the library computer to study all this after the fact) I have tried calling them to ask just exactly what a 30 day rolling period means and I can not get a straight answer. They just keep telling me I have to get my usage below 70% and don't do any downloads. They read from a script.
I told her, "Look..I couldn't do a download if I tried!"
She replies," Just do not download anything."
I said, " Lady is there another number I can call for complaint's?"
She said," I can give you an email address."
I said, " Lady, if I could GET to my email I could get the address for myself!"
When I checked my usage on the library computer it said 98%. I have had my router unplugged for 3 days!!!! So see? What the hell? Those of you who think Wild Blue is great, well it is when it is working. It's still not as fast as cable or DSL but it sure is better than dial up. Just don't download ( or upload) too many things. Believe me it isn't much and they will punish you like a 5 year old. Are you aware of the F.A.P.? Did they tell you when they signed you up?
I have my router unplugged now when I am not TRYING to use the internet or working off line. Why? Because what if my AVG (anti virus program) is updating? Is that a download? I don't know but not taking any chances. I'm scared now.

Truthfully, I am tired of this kind of crap. A 2 year contract with Satellite service? It's bad enough with cell phones. It has to be stopped. We should be able to be FREE to pick and choose the best deal/service without penalty. What if they run a cable out here next year?
I pay DOUBLE for Satellite service than everyone else pays for cable or DSL because it is my only choice next to dial up in a rural area. A service that is not even close to being comparable. You may have a FAP on cable or DSL but you will never notice it because it is more than enough to do what you need to on the internet.
I am worried about my drops and my internet business. What will happen to all the hard work I have put into them? I can only get to the library so much.
I am sorry for this long rant. This blog was not intended to be for this. I would make a new one if I had internet service. LOL. I have to vent this somewhere. I look forward to your comments.
Meanwhile, I am going to go bang my head against the wall.

Well isn't this just a Fine Kettle of Fish

2009-02-26T06:51:00.003-06:00

I live in the middle of nowhere as I am sure I have stated before. My option for any type of high speed internet? Satalite. I've had mine a month. I hate it. Not as much as I hate dial up but close. I suddenly have very little bandwidth. Why you ask? Because I violated the FAP. This is my message:
Internet access speeds have been slowed down in accordance with our Fair Access Policy (FAP), which can be viewed at this site. Please be aware that future occurrences, whether intentional or not, can result in the degradation of your service again. Your service will be returned to its previous operating levels once your cumulative previous 30-day’s usage has decreased to 70% of your Usage Level.
Repeated offenses will result in the slowing of services and restriction of access (to email and web services).
What a crock.
So to my dear entrecard droppers. Unless I can get to the library computer. I need to stop dropping for a bit until I can get my usage below 70 percent..whatever the hell that means. I could upgrade but no. Not gonna happen. This package is already too expensive. So yeah, I am not happy.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-02-25T14:55:00.001-06:00

2009-02-24T13:16:00.004-06:00

I must interrupt this regularly scheduled blog with some work/shop/plug announcements!

First of all: I received my bead work bracelet cuff that I won from ThreeFatesDesign. I absolutely LOVE it! It is so me! She does quality work I tell ya! Please give her my love by going to visit her etsy shop or her blog HERE or HERE.

Second of all: I ordered some soap from camsoaps the other day. It came yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect but I will say, this is some of the best soap EVER! Nice large bars. Professionally packaged. The perfect hardness. I believe she told me she lets them cure for 6 weeks. Let me tell you about the scent! It is to~ die~ for~ wonderful! I ordered the Goats Milk Patchouli Oatmeal. I just want to carry them around with me all day! But that would be weird wouldn't it? ( At least I won't have to worry about any of my followers leaving me now because I smell bad) hehehe! Please visit her shop HERE

Last, but definitely not least, to my Cowgirl and Cowboy readers and the rest of you too! My online selling friend Papabear has run into some medical problems where he is unable keep up with all he needs to do. He crafts the most amazing leather work and it has practical uses! Like checkbook covers and such. I am hoping my financial situation gets to where I can order a checkbook cover or 2. ( I spent my money on soap this week) I love the barb wire one! His wife Carol is getting his shop running and you can find all of his wonderful leather work in CarolsCountryStore on etsy. Please go on over and give them some love! Just click HERE.

Please note that these wonderful people do not pay me to blog about their shops. They do not even know I do this! So BEWARE! If I buy something from you and I like it, I'm gonna write about it!

Update on Lost Followers or Silly Me

2009-02-23T15:52:00.003-06:00

Everyone stay calm! No one panic! If you see your blog followers disappear don't dive into deep despair like I did. (see post below) Thanks to Lidian for pointing me to Blogger issues web page. This is what they have to say:
You may have noticed that the count of your public Followers has decreased over the last few hours. We are in the process of integrating with Google Friend Connect.

There are a few users that already use both Blogger Following and Google Friend Connect. To avoid linking the profiles of Blogger and Friend Connect users without their permission, we have set these users to "anonymous". They are still following privately and will able to make themselves public again.

Silly me.
Now on to more important things.

I am Sad! Don't Leave Me!

2009-02-23T12:15:00.005-06:00

Wow! I just lost 3 followers of my blog in one day! Was it something I said? Do I smell bad. Is it my flannel PJs?
Did I scare you with my ghost stories? If so I am truly sorry. I just wanted to throw them out there to see if any others have had experiences like mine. I have lived in this house for 13 years now. No ghost has run me off. If I had to categorize my ghost it would be a class 1 harmless prankster. A child even. And Hey! It's not that I go around looking for this..it just happens here.
Is it my new Top Spots Tip jar? Hey you don't have to buy one! We have a terrible problem out here in the country. People dump their pets out here. Like they are disposable pieces of trash.
Just about all of us on this lonely stretch of road have taken some in. Our shelters in this area are full! I had 10 dogs and now am down to 8 as I did find homes for 2. It costs a lot of money to feed them all. Not to mention the vet stuff. I thought maybe the TOP Spots might help to fund some dog food.
I work hard on this blog. I update frequently. I post pictures. I try to keep it interesting.
Not that you will be here to read this..you left me. I am sad.
Maybe I shouldn't take it personally. But I do. I mean 3 IN ONE DAY???

Ghost Stories Part 4

2009-02-22T18:08:00.003-06:00

Before I continue on with my true ghost stories, I would like to thank all my commenters on previous posts. Thank you for your stories and interest! I really enjoyed reading them! I am so glad I am not alone in having these experiences.
My 2 sons and I have each had our own ghostly experiences in this house together and alone.
When my youngest reached an age and maturity where he could be trusted to be left home alone, he was anxious to try it. We left him alone for the first time knowing that we would return shortly. When we came home he met us outside on the deck wide eyed. "
What in the world is the matter son?" I asked
He said, " Mom, I was watching TV and there was loud knocking at the back of the house. I thought it was probably a woodpecker on the side of the house so I ignored it. So I was sitting on the couch still watching TV and Mom, there was a LOUD knocking right in the stairwell that goes downstairs! It went like this...." ( He proceeds to demonstrate ) Dum da da dum dum Bam! Bam! ( You know the knock? It is tough to type a knocking sound but it is that old familier rythmic knock)
"So Mom, I was scared and waited for you here outside the house!" he said still shook up by his experience.
I believed him because I know what it's like to have LOUD unexplainable noises happen here.
I believed him because I have had my own experiences alone in this house.
My oldest son believed him as he has also had HIS own experiences.
My boyfriend rolled his eyes because at that time he was still Mr. IDont BelieveinGhosts. He had yet to have his awakening.
To this very day neither of my sons will stay alone here. They will stay if they each stay together but that is it. Neither will stay by themselves.

On a side note: That stairwell is not scary by itself. It is carpeted, has a handrail, is well lit and the family pictures hang on the wall. BUT it leads down to the finished basement. You can see it if you are sitting in the living room. Many many times I have caught movement out of the corner of my eye by that stairway. Quick and fleeting. I have always put it down to turning too quickly even if I wasn't. Many times I have just been sitting there reading a book and something makes me look up to that area. The boys have told me the same thing. Once I had some friends staying with me for a couple of weeks and guess what? They also noticed that same thing! Quick and fleeting movement right there by the stairwell. Also, they said my basement was scary..hmmm go figure.
So yeah, I believed my son.
I ought to take some pictures of that stairwell and see if anything shows up.

I Love to Entrecard!

2009-02-21T09:15:00.004-06:00

I really love Entrecard. I learn new things everyday. I learn things I didn't even know I wanted to learn! I try to be faithful about my drops. To be truthful, my drops border on addiction. Yesterday I had my very first 300 drop day! ( Insert " Happy Dance" Here) That is almost impossible in my world because, you see, I like to actually look at and read other people's blogs! I am not a drop and run entrecarder. I can hardly live a day without visiting Daisy the Curly Cat and her brother Harley. If you you haven't been to this blog and you love cats it's a must see! Makes me smile everyday. Of course I love to drop in on all the talented jewelry makers, crafters and hobbiests! There are some amazing artisians out there. So many great contests and givaways to find too!

THE MAIN THING THAT HELPED ME REACH 300 DROPS:
One of the things that really helped me with the speed of my drops is simply this. I ditched Internet Explorer. I use Foxfire now. I love Foxfire. It's faster and more dependable. More secure too. I don't like change and I have used IE for years. When I found Entrecard, IE started giving me more than my usual problems when doing drops. I had heard great things about Foxfire so I decided, what the heck, I'll give it a try and I have not looked back since. It takes me 1/2 the time to do my drops with out all the IE crashes. So if you are hedging and him hawing about switching, don't be scared. Just do it! Still keep your IE, but just use Firefox as your browser. (My techie geek friend told me this) He also told me that Safari is great too!
Happy Entrecarding and a BIGThank You to all of you who drop in to visit me!

Vintage Sterling Silver Spoon

2009-02-18T22:31:00.003-06:00

I just love this little sterling silver spoon with the copper Indian Chief head on top. Wouldn't it make a great sterling ring or some kind of pendant? I am not a jewelry maker but I KNOW there is some awesome talent out there that could do this. You can find my listing for it HERE
I am hoping someone buys it before I misplace it again. Nope, can't blame misplacing it on the ghost this time. It's all me. I have too much going on.
Ghost stories to continue soon.

I Won A Great Prize From ThreeFatesDesign

2009-02-16T20:35:00.003-06:00

I must interrupt my ghost stories with an announcement! I feel so honored to have won a beautiful beaded cuff by ThreeFatesDesign. She ran a contest on her blog to name one of her outstanding beaded cuffs. She chose my name, " Eternal Daydream" out of some really fantastic entries! I love to visit her blog and etsy shop. She makes some of the most incredible beaded jewelry. I am just awestruck by the beaded cuff she has named, "Latte at Hotel Mercedes." Please take a moment to go see it HERE. Scroll down her page a ways to see this cuff. You won't be disappointed!
Thank You ThreeFatesDesign for this opportunity! I am just thrilled!

Haunted House Part 3 and the Potato Peeler

2009-02-15T08:53:00.004-06:00

At one time I was a Tupperware Dealer. I bought this wonderful potato peeler from there. It had special steel blades and a hand friendly shape. It peeled like no other. I loved it. One day I accidentally set it down with a pile of potato peelings and threw it out. Luckily I was able to order another one from Tupperware before they discontinued them. This time I was much much more careful and particular about this peeler. This all happened when I lived in Az. before coming here to Missouri and the haunted house. What does this have to do with the hauntings?..well let me tell you. I moved to Missouri and my precious peeler came along too.
I was making stew and had peeled some vegetables. I set the peeler on the counter when I was finished. I went about cleaning up. When I went to get the peeler, it was gone! Now I involved the whole family. My special, German steel bladed, hand friendly, made by tupperware, irreplaceable potato peeler was gone and I wanted it found! We looked everywhere! In the trash, the sink, on the floor, in drawers, the refridgerator, just everywhere! I knew I had left it on the counter. The counter was clean and it was nowhere! I was begining to think I had lost my mind. I thought the family was playing a joke on me. They weren't. They were quite perturbed to be taken away from what they had been doing to help find Mom's stupid potato peeler. They didn't take it and they wanted to find it so they could get back to what they were doing. It was just ... nowhere. We all continued to look for it on and off throughout the day. I finally resigned myself to the fact that it was just gone. I mean I couldn't spend the rest of my life looking for it. It was "just a peeler" after all.
The next day we all went to town. We needed a few groceries and had a couple errands to run. When we got home and we all went to the kitchen. There it was. The peeler was sitting right there on the counter near where I thought I had left it. In plain sight. It wasn't glowing but it should have been! We all looked at the peeler and at each other with our jaws dropped in disbelief. We all laughed nervously and cracked jokes about how the "Ghost" must have needed to borrow the peeler.
This is one of the experiences in the house that has really bothered me. At that time I was still getting used to strange noises and my kids being frightened of the basement..and me too for that matter. (I still hate to admit that because I do laundry down there.) It just bothered me that the ghost could take something physical and make it disappear. I mean CAN THEY DO THAT? Is that allowed in the ghost rules of conduct? Weird! Bothersome! Scary! Glad it gave the peeler back though. Thanks.

More on My Haunted House

2009-02-12T21:57:00.000-06:00

Alright. I have a little interest in my ghost experiences now so I will continue with more incidences in my home.
I have a finished basement. My kids never have liked going down there. I teased them about being scared when the truth is, that there were times that I felt a little creeped out down there myself. Being one to poo poo the whole ghost thing I refused to let it get to me. I fixed it up real nice down there for the kids. They have a place of their to play video games, watch T.V. or just mess around. It's fairly nice for a basement. Carpet, drywall and a bathroom. The people that built the house supposedly lived down there while they were building the upstairs.
Things go along. The boys play down there and watch TV, etc. for a couple months with no incidences. Then one night my oldest son comes running up the stairs scared as heck. I ask him what in the world is the matter. He looks at me ready to cry and says, " Mom, I was just shutting the light off to come upstairs when I saw someones arm go around the corner of the bathroom.!" He was seriously frightened! I was like "What the heck?" We were all upstairs and my youngest son had just come up minutes earlier.
So BF and I go down to check things out and of course there is no one. BF puts it down to my son's imagination. I am not so sure. I know my son. He is level headed and not prone to an over reactive imagination.
BF absolutely did NOT believe in ghosts. But let me tell you my dear blog readers, he does now. He recently had his own personal experience with our ghost/ghosts. He doesn't tease us about our ghost experiences anymore! ( More on this later ) I still have several more incidences to tell you about before we get to my BF's big awakening..
Please comment if you want to hear more...

My Haunted Missouri Home

2009-02-10T10:40:00.005-06:00

I love to drop in on Haunted Missouri's Blog. I thought perhaps you would find it interesting to read about MY Missouri haunted house. I have always poo pooed the whole ghost thing. I am not scared to be alone or anything like that. I am more scared of people than I am of ghosts. So yeah, I live in the middle of nowhere. The first event ghostly occurrence that made me realize all was not what it seemed here, went something like this: I was on the phone near the front door. Kids and puppy were playing in the same room as myself. It was towards evening but not quite dark yet. There was a sharp KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the door. Puppy looked at door and barked. Kids looked at me. I told person on phone to "Hang on. I had to see who was at the door." I was right there. I looked. I opened door. ( stupid me) There was NO ONE! Before you put this down to the ole Ding Dong Ditch trick, remember I live in the middle of nowhere. Where are you going to go? For that matter where did you come from? Wait. Don't answer that. Writing that just gave me goosebumps. So Yeah, I am a little more scared of ghosts now than I used to be. I will tell you more of this story in a later posting. Yes there is more... Stay tuned.

New Etsy Shop is Now Open!

2009-02-09T23:18:00.003-06:00

I did it! Settled into a name and opened my new Etsy shop. The name picking was agonizing. A huge thank you to all who saw me through that! I would finally decide on a great one and it would be taken! Do you like the name I picked? HouseMouseAntiques. I am slowly but surely filling it with treasures. Now..I need a banner! Another mind taxing creative endeavor!

Etsy Shop Name

2009-02-04T19:26:00.003-06:00

So yeah, I'm going to open another Etsy shop for all my cool vintage and antique treasures. Problem is I need a name before I can build it. I agonized over a name for my first shop. I knew the feeling I wanted to convey. The name had to be simple, easy to remember and one that would stick in your mind. Days went by. I went through every primitive, crow, country type name I could think of. They all felt so " already been done". I wanted unique.

I was sitting on my front step one morning, drinking coffee. I looked over at the old antique horse drawn plow that serves as a yard decoration. BINGO! That was it! Horse and Plow! (I have 7 horses too.) That didn't sound as smooth as I would have liked so I played with it a bit. That is how my shop came to be named The Plow and Pony.

Now I am traveling this road again. In brain agony over a name. I believe your shop name needs to reflect your work or whatever it is you're trying to convey. You then build everything else around that. Your banner,your avatar,your business cards. You want to put your mark on everything you do relating to that shop. You want people to remember you.

A Big Thank You to My Entrecard Top Droppers

2009-02-02T14:19:00.002-06:00

A big huge THANK YOU to my entrecard top droppers! MUAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
BeadedTail
Youniquely Chic
Three Fates Design - Beaded Jewelry
Favorite Online Shops Blog
Mu-Yin Jewelry
Spicybugz World
Silver Sachet
The Cat / Dog Log
Robin's Nest: Scrap out loud
Daisy the Curly Cat

Computer Issues

2009-02-02T09:26:00.003-06:00

So yeah, I've had some problems as of late. I've been sick. Not just a little sick either. Bronchial pneumonia sick. Am on antibiotics so hopefully soon I will be back to myself. I've had computer issues too.
Living in the middle of nowhere USA gives you only 1 choice for high speed Internet. Satellite. While it is is faster than dial up it is still slower than DSL. You are also at the mercy of your satellite signal. There can be weather issues and such. I chose Wild Blue as my provider. So like I was saying I started having computer issues. I was unable to connect to any websites. I had the signal but sites would time out before I got there. I called Tech Support. They are awesome! We were on the phone for a couple of hours going through every possible thing it could be.
To make a long story short, the problem turned out to be on my end. You see, I am paranoid about computer viruses, spy ware and nasty computer bugs. I had 2 anti virus programs, 3 spy ware programs and a couple of registry fix-its all keeping watch over my computer. Tech guy was laughing every time I mentioned a program I had. " Oh you have that too?!" he would ask, chuckling.
So yeah, you only need one of each. 2 anti virus programs are NOT better than 1. They fight with each other. Have conflicts and such. They totally slow down your comp!
After getting off the phone with nice tech guy, who is probably still laughing as I write this, I proceed to uninstall a few of my computer condoms.
It worked! My comp is faster than ever now. It's happy. It still has good protection.

Creative Altered Composition Journals

2009-01-27T10:08:00.006-06:00

So Yeah, It's cold outside. It has been since October. I call this the winter that never ends. The wood shop has no heat and it's really put a crimp in my woodworking. I didn't pre plan for winter did I?

"Must create, Must create, Must create!" my brain has been screaming at me.

Sooooo who was I not to listen? I started altering composition notebooks. A project that can be done in the warmth of your house. I am LOVING how they are coming out! Going to put them in my Etsy shop. It will kinda ruin the whole old -time ambiance of the shop but don't care at this point. Just want to keep my creative addiction fed and I am happy!

My Entrecard Addiction

2009-01-26T10:58:00.004-06:00

When I joined the Entrecard community I thought it would be just another traffic driving chore. Little did I know, it would quickly become an addiction. Everyday I travel around the world of blog looking at other peoples sites and enjoying the ride. There is so many great sites out there! There's some not so great sites too. I genuinely enjoy reading other peoples blogs. Sometimes I comment. Sometimes I add them to my feed. Sometimes I start following them on Twitter. Sometimes I watch their YouTube videos. Sometimes I simply DROP and move on. I find out all kinds of interesting information. I find great blog contests. I learn what is good and what is not so good when it comes to blogging. I have had to limit my time doing this or else I would get nothing else accomplished!

WIN 50.00! Voice of Bragg Blog Site Review

2009-01-25T09:26:00.007-06:00

While doing my Entrecard drops, I came across this very informative blog. Here is a review of this wonderful site! "Voice of Bragg"
A+ quality content. I read several posts through to their entirety after I arrived there. It's unusual for me to do that due to time restraints. I normally just scan posts looking for interesting or pertinent information. Randy has helpful informative technical and non technical type information. The kind of things we all want to know! Concise writing style. Easy to understand and relate to. An example of this is Randy's, " In Case of Emergency" post. He talks about applying ICE (In Case of Emergency) to your cell phone. A must read for all of us!

The blog is clean and uncluttered. "Voice of Bragg" obviously cares about high quality content. Not a lot of fluff, fancy graphics and mind numbing advertising. He gets to the point in his posts. This blog grabs your attention and doesn't let go!
Relevent information is placed at the top where it can be viewed upon entering. Important links are right there. " Voice of Bragg " is a user friendly site with easy navigation.

Randy cares about his blog and takes blogging seriously. It appears that he cares about the rest of us bloggers also! He is offering 50.00 to the person who can write the best review of his blog. Fantastic!! While I could use the 50.00 and I don't know many of us who couldn't right now, Randy is also offering something even more important than cash for writing a review. More important than money you ask? YES! You write a review and he will link to your site on his blog. He has a page rank of 228,00 on Technorati. This will give your site EXPOSURE and a much needed LINKBACK! Priceless! Click the title to this post for a link to his blog ~or~ go here to get right to the post and rules for writing the review : http://voiceofbragg.com/review-my-blog-win-50/
As a member of Entrecard, I look at many many blogs daily. Some great and some not so great. I would rate "Voice of Bragg" one of my top 10 favorites!
Thank you Randy for offering this opportunity!
http://voiceofbragg.com/

Sunrise

2009-01-23T07:29:00.004-06:00

Thought I would share this beautiful sunrise with you. Picture was taken outside my front door.

Inauguration Day for President Obama

2009-01-20T06:43:00.005-06:00

Today is the beginning of a new chapter in American history. I feel hopeful for the first time in as long as I can remember. I am not one who cares much for the ceremony of the whole thing. I care more about what comes tomorrow and the following months over the next 4 years. I hope that everyone will take a moment to say a prayer today for our 44th President and this country. President Obama has his work cut out for him. I am hopeful that we can all come together as Americans to support him no matter what our political views or affiliations are. This country needs change. We the people need change. President Obama will hear us. He already hears us.

Congratulations President Obabma!

I Believe!

Blogging and the Learning Curve

2009-01-16T21:25:00.006-06:00

As you know I am new to blogging. I did not realize how important it is to your business until I started doing it! I keep learning new things everyday. Well, except for the days I was caught up in the Twilight series books. If you scroll down towards the bottom of the page you will see I put in a slideshow of items in my Etsy shop! I was so proud! I find it amazing since I did not even know what a widget was until a couple weeks ago. LOL. I still have so much more to learn but am taking it one thing at a time. If you would like to leave a hint or tip..please do so in the comments.

Things I would like to learn:

How to do a blog giveaway.

How to make a button for trade with other bloggers.

Does this look like a blog where you would like to have your shop featured? If not, what would make it that way?

Thank you for any help you would like to leave here.

Distracted in the Twilight

2009-01-12T17:04:00.006-06:00

Having a tough time keeping up with anything the past few days. A friend lent me the Twilight series by Stephanie Myer. I read the first book and was hooked. I moved quickly through Twilight falling in love with Edward and Bella. It was on to Blue Moon. I just love how Stephanie Meyer described Bella's utter devistation at Edward's leaving by writing nothing but the months that go by, each on a seperate page. She couldn't have wrote that any better. The point was made. I just finished Eclipse and am starting Breaking Dawn. I plan to savor every page. I have dark circles under my eyes from reading late into the night. I am beginning to look a little like a vampire myself. I promise when I finish I will get back to the blogging business as usual. Or will it be?

Almost Time For FLW Fantasy Fishing!

2009-01-07T20:59:00.007-06:00

I am so excited! I love fantasy fishing! Forget fantasy football and baseball. You can actually win money and prizes playing fantasy fishing. Not just a little money either! There are 6-100 thousand dollar prizes and the chance at a million! Much better odds than the lottery. All you have to do is pick your team of 10 anglers for each event..or keep the same anglers the whole way through. If you sign up for Players Advantage and I HIGHLY recommend it, you get stats and other tools to help you make informed picks. It's only 10.00. Last year it was 40.00. Only 35 days left until the first event of the season! Hey a person could spend more than that on lottery tickets in a week!
If you are interested click the Fantasy fishing link on the right! Hope to see you there and Good Luck!

Went Junking Yesterday

2009-01-06T07:00:00.007-06:00

My favorite pastime looking through second hand stores searching for that elusive treasure! I made a few rounds yesterday and came up with a couple boxes full. Some items are truly junk but hopefully when I finish with them they will be treasures! I can't wait to show you! I found the most charming framed needlepoint, an old flour sifter and lots of wood items to transform!

The problem with the needlepoint will be taking it's picture. Glass always reflects and I am not the best photographer. I will probably take 20 or 30 pics before I get it right..lol.

I miss you Pam!

2009-01-04T10:51:00.007-06:00

9 Years ago ( I can't believe this it seems like yesterday) I lost my Best friend of 22 years to Breast Cancer. There is not one day that goes by that I don't miss her. She was 39. She was extremely talented in everything she did and she encouraged you to always be the best you could be. When I make crafts, work in the woodshop, make candles or tarts, or just whatever I decide to create, I think of Pam. I think of how much she would have loved what I am doing and ideas she would have given me. She would have had one or two internet stores herself!.

Right now I am in a bit of a creative slump and having troubles with pictures. If Pam was still here on this earth I would have called her or we would have gotten together, had a glass of wine, laughed at silly things, talked about everything under the sun and before I could realize it was happening, my mind would be full of new creations and pictures would come easily!

I dedicate my Internet stores to You, Pam. I know you are watching.

It's a new year. Please have your mammograms done.

2009-01-03T08:40:00.006-06:00

It's a New Year. I don't have "resolutions". I have, "I'll try harder not to______ or I'll try harder to______." You can insert any number of things in those blanks. For me to resolve I will do or not do something is a certain guarantee of it's failure. I am the queen of failure. Just ask my ex husband! I fail at about everything I try and I have tried a lot of things in my life. Does it get me down? Occasionally. Don't get me wrong, I have had many many successes too!

Here is my take on failure: Each failure is a learning experience. Each failure is bringing me one step closer to success.

I experience more things in life than I would by sitting back and doing nothing. That is what I consider true failure. The act of doing nothing by not even trying to do something.

Have you failed today? If you have, be happy and rejoice! You are one step closer to success!

Vintage Jewelry

2009-01-01T07:56:00.006-06:00

I am a sucker for vintage jewelry. I love the bling. I have a few favorite necklaces that I wear out and about. I NEVER fail to get compliments. There is just something about the elegance and uniqueness of vintage that can't be reproduced. I have several beautiful pieces in my Bonanzle store and a couple of stunning Bakelite pieces in my Etsy store. All are estate finds. Check them out!

A Disturbing Abandonment

2008-12-30T19:25:00.008-06:00

We live way out in the country. Over the years I have taken in many dogs that people have dumped or abandoned on our road. It's a disturbing trend around here. Yesterday takes the cake though. Someone abandoned a dog and her 8 (yes 8!) puppies. It was so sad. They simply all stayed in the spot they were dumped at probably thinking their owner would be back for them at any time. I was so angry. Now it had become MY problem. There is no way I could leave them for the coyotes and yes that is exactly what would have happened. They would be coyote snacks before morning. Calls were made to humane shelters all over and everyone was full. I have 10 dogs ( yes, most are rescues ) and just no more room or dog food for 9 more. Thankfully, one of my neighbors (1/4 miles away) agreed to take them all in. God Bless you neighbors! I hope they can all find homes.

Please Please do not abandon your pets. It is a cruel and inhumane thing to do. They don't all get lucky like these did and the ones that have come before them.

Almost a new year! I am starting mine with High speed internet. I have had dial up for years and finally got to the point of wanting to throw my computer out the window. My only option out here in the middle of somewhere was to get a satalite installed. Went with WildBlue. They seem ok but of course now I have to pay 60.00 a month compared to 14.00. So far it is worth it! I bet most of you don't even remember dial up!

That is my most exciting news for today and it's probably only exciting to me!

Garagesalearcheologist - Auction Addict - Bonanzle Lover

2008-12-28T10:07:00.003-06:00

Garagesalearcheologist and Auction Addict, that's me! I am the one at the garage sale that carefully looks over everything and then goes back through to look again. I have found many obscure treasures and oddities this way. Auctions are of equal passion. I love the thrill of bidding against your opponents and winning that one treasure you just had to have! I love collecting and have had numerous collections over time. When I get tired of one collection I simply sell it off and move to another. I have been selling for years, 10, to be exact on Ebay. I am not real happy with them the past few years, they don't seem to care much about us Mom and Pop type sellers anymore. O.K. they don't care at all. The sense of community is gone. The fees are outrageous. If you get a buyer that is mentally insane, well, there isn't much you can do about that either. So I have moved on.
I need a place to sell my wares and collections. I mean there is only so much space in my life for storage and only so much dust I have time to clean. Treasures gotta go! Bonanzle is the place I have chosen to sell my vintage and antique treasures. They will sit in my booth there and wait for their new owners to find them. While they sit, I will enjoy the close knit Bonanzle community and the easiest listing set up I have ever seen. I will be calm not worrying about how much my listing fees will be. I have a goal to list items everyday!
You might not have heard of Bonanzle yet, but you will, you will.
Click on the picture and it will magically transport you to my booth there.

A Bit of Imperfection is a Good Thing

2008-12-23T18:33:00.004-06:00

We, as humans, are constantly striving for perfection of which we will never attain in this life. Primitives strive for that bit of imperfection. They are never quite perfect and that is a good thing! That is part of their charm.

I love making primitives for that reason. I don't have to worry about being perfect. I made some awesome grubby candles this weekend. They are up for sale in my Etsy shop. Grubby candles are great for that early lighting look. My Grubbiest Grunge Dusted candles truly look 100 years old. They are 3rd from the right at top of picture. How cool is that?! Click on the picture and be wisked away back in time to my shop of imperfection.

Prim Grubby Candles

2008-12-20T07:09:00.004-06:00

I received my order of new and yummy scents! I made some great picks. My boys asked me to please quit putting scent bottles under their noses! These are the times I wish I had girls! I did get an idea of which scents boys or men would like though. That information will come in handy when I go to make soap!

Today I am going to test some in grubby candles and tarts. When I sell one of my Colonial farmhouse candle holders I also send along the scented grubby candles to go with them. I have had requests to sell the candles seperately. My prim grubby candles are well loved. I am happy because I put a lot of time and effort into perfecting them. In the Primitive world perfect is imperfect!

My first ones came out looking like pan fried sausages! I have come a long way since then!

My Vintage Selling Life at Bonanzle

2008-12-17T06:37:00.005-06:00

I love my Colonial farmhouse and Primitive items. Re working and crafting these items makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! I have to tell you though I have always been a vintage and antique seller. I have all this stuff everywhere! Vintage jewelry, old toys, pottery, glassware, collectables, and all sorts of unusual and odd items. I don't want to put any of this in my Etsy or Artfire shops because it will wreck the look I worked so hard to create. I love to hang out with the Vintage sellers in Etsy chat and CarriersCozyCottage turned me on to a website called Bonanzle. I went there and absolutely love it. I listed 22 things already. Listing was a breeze and the site is the most user friendly I have ever come across. A little promoting and I expect to see great sales! I can't wait to have the time to put more items in my booth! Please have a look if you get a minute.

http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/PlowandPony

or click on the picture!

ARTFIRE vs. Etsy Search Pages

2008-12-10T07:18:00.003-06:00

I checked out the ARTFIRE search engine today. This being in response to a concern someone brought up in Etsy chat. It goes something like this. Etsy puts your items up in the top 5 search pages by time listed and this makes it so you have to list and relist constantly to get noticed. This generates money for Etsy and cuts deeply into your profits. It does not take long for your items to become buried somewhere below the "who Knows" x amount of search pages. If you do not list and relist, suddenly you see your views and sales fall! The concern about Artfire was this: O.k. So if you do not list on ARTFIRE daily won't your items get buried in 100's of search pages anyway? The answer is NO!!!! I checked this out for myself. Artfire has a different way of searching. They go by lowest price or highest price. You choose. I had my items come up on numerous pages of the first 5 of the word I searched. They came up on just about every page including the 1st page!!! I know people are seeing me! I haven't listed in there in over a week either! I believe they have plans to optimize their search even further but am not sure. Will blog when I find out! This is so much more FAIR! I absolutely love it! Want to find out more about how Etsy is operating? Go to: http://www.etsybitch.blogspot.com and see what everyone is saying about the new way Etsy is having your items NOT get seen!

My Favorite Incense! Best I have Found!

2008-12-08T09:12:00.004-06:00

I LOVE these incense sticks by Zombie Sticks. His sticks have the best scent throw I have ever found. You don't even have to light them to have them fill a room with scent. So many scents to choose from too! I have plans to try as many as I can! American made at it's finest!! Great pricing! If you love incense like I do, go here: http://www.Zombie-Sticks.artfire.com or he has his own website at: http://www.incense-stick.com

My EBAY Selling Days

2008-12-07T13:01:00.004-06:00

I have been so busy talking about Etsy and Artfire I completely forgot about my Ebay selling! I have some items listed this week that end tomorrow. A link is provided under My Links on the left side of the page. I have been a seller on Ebay since 1997. Long time huh? I have 1678 positive feedbacks. I have many many more than that but repeat buyers don't get counted. I usually list odd items that I find at garage sales, auctions and estate sales. Some of my areas of expertise are pottery, glass and vintage jewelry. These days I just tend to list whatever strikes me as odd that an ebayer might want to buy. Pottery and glass collecters have pretty much collected everything they need for their collections so the price of items isn't what it used to be. Ebay is also not what it used to be. They have high listing fees, the seller can no longer accept checks, they protect the buyer which is good but have really no protections any more for the seller. Yes, there are scams on the seller too! But all in all it is usually a pretty quick way to make some fast money to pay that electric bill. The shops, Etsy and Artfire, take a bit more time. I have NOT listed any of my homemade or re-worked items on there and hoping I never have to. For some reason I feel it cheapens them. I feel my work is quality and I want it to be seen as quality. I like the idea of a more specialized store for my Colonial primitive items. I do notice that I tend to put items I would normally put on Ebay into my Etsy shop, like a few of my finest pieces of vintage jewelry. Here is a picture of an item I have up for bid this week.

I WON A Blog Giveaway At NEST in BLOOM

2008-12-02T08:05:00.004-06:00

It could be the winds of change are blowing in a more positive direction. I woke up to 2 good sales in my Etsy store yesterday morning! 2 of my favorite things too! I am going to miss them. 1 is that beautiful Colonial 5 candle candelabra! It was featured in a treasury and really is a beauty. I wanted to use it so very much for my Thanksgiving centerpiece. But I didn't. No borrowing from the shop! Funny how attached I get to my own work!
Then to top off my very productive day, I won a blog raffle at Nest in Bloom! ! This from a person who always grumbles that she "never wins anything!" Winds of change again. Let me tell you that it wasn't just "anything" that I won either. It is the most beautiful,well done,scarflett with vintage pin I have ever seen! I couldn't be more thrilled! Anyone that knows me can attest to my fashion style. 1. I wear a lot of black. Always have and always will. (The scarflett is black) 2. I LOVE vintage jewelry! I sell many pieces of vintage jewelry but you should see the pieces I keep for myself! 3. I recently lost my favorite scarf and have been lamenting it's loss everytime I go out in the cold. . 3 didn't have anything to do with my fashion style but another reason winning this scarflett couldn't be more perfect!
Please go see her beautiful work! You won't be disappointed!
Nest In Bloom is a shop online is run by an artist by the name of Samantha. She makes unique scarves and jewelry. Please check it out by clicking below! You can also click on my blog title!

nestinbloom.com

ETSY and ARTFIRE

2008-11-29T07:50:00.004-06:00

I've started another store at Artfire. They are running a deal I can't pass up 7.00 a month membership to the first 5000 people. After those are gone it will be 20.00 a month. You can list as many items as you want with 10 pictures! It's so exciting to get in on the ground level of something! Especially when I think it will be huge. I looked over their business plan. It looks sound and the main thing that really impressed me is the fact that they are going to spend millions on advertising their site. They have already started advertising and targeted the kind of consumers who will SHOP! Here is a link if you are interested in signing up. http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=sevenforlife&afuid=4375

I would also like to say that their listing page is amazing! Everything is right there on one page! It takes me a 1/4 of the time to list on ARTFIRE as it does Etsy.

I have only been on Etsy a month and already have seen some major problems. The main one being their advertising. You can't get people to shop at the site if you don't advertise it! You the seller are responsible for getting people into your shop. Do you realize how much time that takes? On Etsy it seems to be mainly sellers selling to other sellers. The percentage of sellers to buyers is way out of proportion with sellers winning by a landslide! You simply can't sell at your best potential with a lack of buyers to buy! Sellers can only buy so much or what is the point?

I don't plan to close my shop on Etsy just yet. I put too much time into driving traffic to it already. I do plan on letting it phase itself out and making my Artfire shop as huge as I can get it!

Meanwhile, Artfire will be growing by leaps and bounds and I will be there when it explodes! I am so excited!

Some more notes..

ARTFIRE has awesome on the spot customer service. Artfire is working constantly to get their site the best it can be. Of course there are a few bugs to be worked out..it is new! Etsy has bugs too and when you go to forums to try and get them fixed..they tell you it is something to do with you! I have found that not to be true on several occasions, but try to tell them that!

You WILL get on the front page of ARTFIRE. It's almost impossible to snag a treasury on Etsy let alone get picked for the front page.

I LOVE ARTFIRE (I need a button to wear) I am so excited! It will be huge huge huge!

Colonial Farmhouse Primitive Chalkboard Abacus

2008-11-26T06:53:00.005-06:00

One of the items that I have for sale in the Plow and Pony is a Chalkboard Abacus. Besides my cadelabra this is one of my favorites. It is a vintage item anyway and then I have reworked it to look very old and Colonial. The picture in my shop just doesn't do it justice. I thought maybe you can see it better here in my blog. Not only is it totally farmhouse primitive it is functional too! I have it with my Primitive Star Series. I have several items that I painted stars on with my special color blend.

I love this Primitive farmhouse shelf!

2008-11-24T22:22:00.003-06:00

I love this little shelf I made. Extremely distressed and so primitive! I have some old squarehead flat head nails that I used for the pegs. This would look great in a kitchen or a bathroom!

Farm Inventory

2008-11-24T09:53:00.005-06:00

I am new to blogging and was reading up on the subject. It was suggested that you keep your blog short. I do believe I may have failed on that account yesterday! From now on I will try my darndest to keep things short!

Today I will give you an inventory of all the critters on the mini farm:

7 Horses (4 too many) want to buy one?

35 Goats Mostly Boers or Boer cross bred

25 chickens plus 2 roosters

6 Guineas (the best defense against ticks that I have ever found)!

1 turkey, she's a pet and doesn't have to worry about Thanksgiving!

2 Pugs (1 Pug has 3 puggle puppies 2 weeks old)

1 Puggle

1 Beagle

1 Lab

1 Chow mix

1 Kid Goat that thinks she is a dog

Total 9 dogs if you count the puppies! Holy Smoly!!!!!

I think that is it at the moment, but one never knows what tomorrow will bring!

TODAY AND YESTERDAY

2008-11-23T09:22:00.001-06:00

Primitives have long been a hot decorating style. They are like comfort food for the soul. This world has gotten to be so fast, so technological and in many ways so impersonal. It's tough to imagine but there was a time not so very long ago when there were no TVs, no computers, no cars, no cell phones, no phones, and no electricity to make life easier! What we call primitives today were much needed functional items from that time! Homemade candles along with handmade candle holders for lighting. There were hand carved wooden utensils, what we call treenware and homemade lye soaps for cleanliness. Shelves, boxes and cupboards that were functional and had places for everyday needful items. Clothing was hand sewn with sturdy material. You made your own food and knew where that food came from. Can you smell that fresh baked bread? Can you taste that sweet cream butter that was churned by hand? If something was needed you made it. Christmastime didn't involve a trip to the mall or Wal Mart but a trip to the sewing box or wood shop to make gifts for friends and loved ones. Gifts of love made with your own hands. Entertainment was reading a book, sewing with family and friends, playing musical instruments, singing and just being with family!
Looking back at that time is like looking through a hazy window. We have come so far so fast that we almost forget there were the times before we had all this technology to make our life easier and full of pleasure. But with that it seems there has been a trade off. Our families are scattered. We have so much stuff, or stuff we need to have to care for other stuff. Closets filled with clothes and shoes and purses. We have bill piled upon bill, the car payment, the house payment, the cell phone bill, the home phone bill, the Internet bill, the electric bill which we pay not only to keep our lights on and our home warm or cool but also to keep all of our stuff running. We pay insurance for everything imaginable even for all of the above stuff. We have credit card bills and store accounts. The list goes on and on. If you really think about it, it will make your head spin. We have traded in time. No one seems to have time anymore. Everyone is busy taking care of "stuff", working to pay bills, to keep the car running and filled with gas to get to work and home. We get home and take care of what needs tending. We make dinner, shuffle the kids here and there, do a quick housecleaning, and if you live on a farm there are chores too! If you are lucky, you get a little time to enjoy some of the "stuff" you have worked so hard to get like the TV or the computer or music on the Ipod. Then you go to bed and hope for more than 6 hours of sleep before you have to get up and do it all over again!
I think we know somewhere inside ourselves that all this fast paced, get more stuff, live for the moment, way of life could be temporary. We might even realize that one day we might have to go back to a more primitive way of life or to some facets of it.
Making primitives gives me a deep seated joy and satisfaction. I think I could do it if I had to. I think I could live without electricity and all the other amenities of life we have all come to enjoy. I wouldn't want to but I could. Please don't get me wrong here. I know that life back then was extremely hard. People didn't live as long. I still can't help but to believe, that at the end of the day they went to bed with a satisfaction of work accomplished, a job well done and with a pride of family that worked together, lived together and loved together.

Teenagers and Vintage Jewelry

2008-11-21T07:06:00.001-06:00

This week has been crazy! I have 2 teenage boys and they have been really needy this week. Both of them are in band and 1 also wrestles. I have had to have one to early band practice all this week. That involves getting up at 5:00 am and then I pick him up from wrestling practice at 6:30 pm. It's just crazy! I don't even know what day it is anymore. I live out of town about 11 miles too which makes all this running back and forth more difficult. Thank God gas prices have gone down!
Very little time for my Etsy shop and I have some great ideas too! I kinda wrecked the look of my shop by putting in some great vintage jewelry!
Let's talk about vintage jewelry for a sec. I love it! I have several pieces that I wear when I go out. I always get compliments! There is something so Stand Out about it! The rhinestones, the aurora borealis, the form and the dazzle! I know that jewelry companies have tried to reproduce the look but I have to tell you, I can tell the difference! It just doesn't have that same "look".
Not many people wear brooches anymore that I have seen. I do a unique thing with my vintage brooches. I have a couple of light over jacket/sweater type pieces of clothing (plain color, like black) and instead of closing them with that one button, I use a vintage brooch! It just looks fabulous! You can do the same thing with scarves. I always like to stand apart from the crowd in fashion and have always had my own fashion style. When I was in my 20's and HOT I would wear short shorts and cowboy boots. I couldn't get away with that now and back then it was unheard of but looked great! As a matter of fact my friends from back then still make the occasional comment going back to that cowgirl meets Daisy Duke style of mine..hehehe. I love that!
Another thing with vintage jewelry I need to be careful with is selling it! I have sold pieces that I have truly regretted later. I still miss them!

Etsy and The Vintage Sellers

2008-11-11T08:26:00.000-06:00

I came over to Etsy from Ebay. My Etsy shop is new. It has been quite the learning experience! On Ebay I have 1600 something feedbacks and on Etsy 3. I don't much mind that though as I love Etsy! Ebay..not so much. It feels cold over there while Etsy gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. In the Etsy chat rooms I found a group of vintage sellers and they are just simply the best group ever! So helpful, fun and kind! They have given me a renewed energy for my little slice of Etsy heaven! Their shops are amazing! So many great items! A must see! A special thanks goes out to: http://www.mysouthernlace.etsy.com/ http://www.carrierscozycottage.etsy.com/ and http://www.reprise.etsy.com/ You all have been so helpful. Thank You! I know there are more of you and I look forward to getting to know all of you!

Now I must be off to work. Work interferes with Etsy darn it! I hope for the day that my work becomes my Etsy shop. I know it will happen. I have faith.

Stunning Blue Rhinestones Set in Pewter Vintage

2008-11-10T19:25:00.000-06:00

I found this stunningly beautiful auroa blue rhinestone brooch at an estate sale. The rhinestones are set into pewter. I have never seen a piece of vintage jewelry like this! Has anyone? Too bad it's not marked. Comment and let me know what you think! I don't have it lis

ted in the shop yet http://plowandpony.etsy.com/ I still want to admire it for a bit!

FUN at The Etsy Vintage Sale

2008-11-09T22:10:00.000-06:00

This weekend flew by! I had the best time in the Etsy Vintage sale. They held it in the Etsy site chat rooms. 50 shops participated. Met some great people and browsed the shops for hours. Fabulous items there! Incredible deals. I felt so at home there amoung all the vintage antiques and collectables. Being a dealer of vintage myself, I was impressed with all the items they have. There is no place like Etsy. Love it!

Soooo, I did nothing in my shop. I was having too much fun shopping. A few days ago I did get 4 of my Primitive Star Series items put in the http://www.plowandpony.etsy.com/ . They are some interesting and 1 of a kind items that I reworked and painted with prim stars. They look fantastic together! Please go take a look! I may need to redo a couple of the pictures though. They just don't seem to do them justice.

Farm update:

My Pug had 3 puppies and 2 more Nanny goats had their babies making a total of 6 babies now with more on the way. Boy am I tired! Hehehe.

2008-11-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

Candy Hangover or What's Left after Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

I had a candy hangover today! I had to do some serious detoxing so I could feel better. Glad Halloween is over. Now it's on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time flys so quickly around here! I am hoping to have the Plow and Pony fully stocked in the next couple weeks. I have some great crafting ideas and I need to get busy! Hope everyone will check the store to see what's new! I just love the ETSY web site. So many friendly people there. Many fabulous extremely talented artists there too! I love hand made. If you haven't checked it out yet, now is a great time!

Today was busy on the farm. Had to make sure the triplets were all getting enough to eat from Mom. Fence had to be mended. A nice couple brought us their pet turkey, as they couldn't keep her in town anymore. She is huge. I swear we are just 1 animal from being a zoo out here!

No time to craft today and it is all I really wanted to do. Chores come first and they took all day! Dang. Tomorrow I am hoping to have a full crafting day! I am crabby when I don't get to craft.

My Goat Had Triplets Today!

2008-10-30T17:24:00.000-05:00

One of my goats had triplets today. They are the cutest! 2 does and a buckling. This is my first experience with triplets. Normally they have twins. If it's a first time Mom, she will generally have a single birth. I have 25 goats total after today I have 28. We are trying to establish a good size herd. 50 to 100. The funny thing about all this is that we have bought all of our goats from livestock auctions. You never quite know what you are getting there. Our first 10, they told us all had been exposed to a buck and they were pregnant. Only 1 of the ten were. The next little group we bought, out of the 5, 2 were pregnant. Then we bought 7 goats and they said they were not pregnant. One of these is the one that had triplets! Plus we are positive at least 3 more of these will be kidding any time now! We are happy happy goat ranchers these days.

We have one milk goat but we need her to become pregnant before she will freshen or have milk for us too! I can hardly wait as I want to try my hand once more at making goat's milk soap. As you recall from yesterday my first attempts at goat milk soap did not go well.

Like I said, I love the hemp oil soap I made and please go to my shop to check it out!

I told you I was going to talk about how I came about the name Plow and Pony but that will have to wait until later. I may have a vote on names !

My Slice of Primitive Heaven http://www.PlowandPony.etsy.com

2008-10-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

Here I am writing my very first blog ever! I would like to talk about this shop I have put together at Etsy.com. I have been working on different wood projects for over a year now. Gathering items people have thrown away and redoing them into my idea of functional primitive art. Before I knew it I had a building full of items with more ideas coming every minute. This has all but consumed me! An obsession so to speak. I started making the coolest salt dough ornaments that are my own original ideas with more ideas on their way! I drug out my sewing machine and blew off the dust. I started sewing homespun towels and other prim items to go with primitive gatherings. Then before you could say "Jack Be Nimble" I had a pot of wax going and was making the best scented and totally grubby candles. You see, I had to have some candles to go with all the wood candle holders and keepers I had made. I was idly carving on a piece of wood while surveying all my labor and low and behold before I knew it,I have carved out the most unique and rustic soap dish I have ever laid eyes on! So now of course you know what happens next. Yes! I needed soap to go with it! My soap making didn't go quite as well as the rest of my endeavers. I tried goats milk and could never quite get the smell or size right. Not good seeing as how I have 25 goats. I spent a bit of money and took a lot of showers trying to get just the right soap. Then one day I had it! A fantastic hemp oil soap. Smelled great. Made my skin feel wonderful. Lots of lather and had just the right look for my rustic prim soap dish! Plus I have a bit of "old Hippie" in me and hemp oil soap just seemed like the right choice. I can't wait to get some more money in order to make some more of this soap in different scents.
So now I have all these great primitive items (with more ideas coming at me) not to mention all the vintage things I had gathered and the question arises. What do I do with all this stuff?
Someone told me about this great website called ETSY. Thank You Someone! Etsy is a place where you can sell your handcrafted items. Better than just looking at them all the time and trying to figure out how in the world you are going to put it all in your house!
I now present to all of you primitive, rustic, western, antique, smell good, feel good people my shop. Drum roll. Horns Blowing. American flag waving in the breeze..Ta DA! http://www.plowandpony.etsy.com/ Come visit me there and tomorrow I will tell you how I came about the name.