I live on a farm ... — gifts

The handmade gift

December 9, 2014 • children • Christmas • craft • crafting • design • gift idea • gifts • handmade • holiday • inspiration • knitting • Life • love • making • photography • women

...to celebrate that message a bunch of us all over the world celebrate first and foremost the concept of loving one another. And we get inspired to do all kinds of great and wondrous and small and perfect acts of kindness and brotherhood toward those we are close to but also toward others we do not know.

We are makers of things

September 24, 2013 • agriculture • art • blogging • country life • culture • Cyber Monday • faith • family • flowers • friends • friendship • gardening • gifts • home • inspiration • knitting • Life • love • photography • shopping • women

Hello. I have been away ... at home. Enjoying life, working out of doors on flowers and vegetables; working in doors on many new things including books (writing, as well as making actual physical books), making pendant necklaces using prints from my photography and paintings, clearing out and rearranging various rooms in our home in search of a new studio space to create for my creative endeavors, cooking, baking, organizing and participating in our annual Art Trail Festival, resting, reading, studying, ... living. I received an email a while back from Martha Stewart with this as the subject line, "Are you a...

Knitting, and painting, and writing ...

June 30, 2012 • art • country life • country living • faith • family • gardening • gifts • health • home • inspiration • knitting • Life • love • marriage • photography • relationships • spirituality • summer • travel • women • writing

Good morning ... I hope you are having an enjoyable summer so far. I give mine mixed reviews. I spent the first part of June in Denver visiting with my parents, which was wonderful of course but not without some bittersweet feelings as well. I love living here on the farm in New York, an I would not trade my life here with my dear husband for anything. We enjoyed our sixth wedding anniversary this past April and continue to feel amazed and blessed that our 3-month online courtship and subsequent marriage worked out so very, very well. It is,...

Bittersweet

May 17, 2012 • art • faith • family • flowers • friendship • gifts • home • inspiration • knitting • Life • love • personal • spirituality • thoughts • women

Bittersweet. I look outside my studio window as I write, viewing a great bounty of lush green growth. Trees, green grasses, flowers, an abundance of life that is breathtaking in its simplicity and rustic charm. Several Amish families in open, black buggies pulled by elegant dark chestnut colored horses have passed by on the road, their children wearing straw hats in the bright morning sun. I am blessed. I look over at the watercolor painting I am working on with two swans I photographed on our river last year on a perfectly gorgeous June day. It is amazing to...

A spring full of creativity

April 25, 2012 • art • country life • country living • culture • family • friends • gifts • home • inspiration • knitting • Life • needle felting • shopping • thoughts • travel • women • yarn

We have been very busy, very productive. Last week I was not able to blog because I was working all out, day in and day out to prepare two full-color two-sided brochures for the now annual Artists of The Oak Art Trail the last Saturday of August. This is the third year that our artist group has organized and held our own Art Trail event. The first two years we worked with a local arts organization but this year we have struck out on our own. My husband and I are the Art Trail organizers, and I felt strongly that...