Weapon of Choice

My friend Vee is using modern methods to deal with the annoying cowbird.

A COWBIRD STORY

We must live a sheltered life in Illinois because I've never seen a cowbird or her other nemesis, a turkey vulture. Maybe I'm just a terrible observer.

We do however, have lots of other pesky critters. We've got some type of annoying bird that repeats the same call over and over and over until you want to scream.

too tweet
too tweet
too tweet

too tweet
too tweet
too tweet

Just when your irritation is ramping up they switch out the call.

tweet too
tweet too
tweet too

At this point Vee's pellet gun sounds mighty interesting.

We've other annoying critter that could use a little swat to keep them off my property. Voles! Seriously, if they stick their little heads outta the ground they're fair game for a swat. Squirrels? Ditto. Possums and biblical swarms of rabbits who consume every leafy sprout are also on the list.

Speaking of biblical, my form of swatting is low tech and taken right from the the Bible. Think David and Goliath. I defend my turf with a moose.



My sister and I were on a road trip and came across a gas station that had a terrific section of cheesy souvenirs. Some of the souvenirs were not so cheesy, including a beautiful hematite ring and my moose.

Isn't he adorable? All the better to lull the critters into a sense of complacency before I strike.



Truth is, I need a lot more practice.



I should probably try hitting some larger targets.

Say, a coyote that decides to drag deer carcasses into my yard.

What do you think? Should I go modern with a pellet gun or stick with the slingshot?

Field Trip - Nada Farm Barn Sale

Let's go inside the barn and see what we can find. The first thing is a lovely vignette. There's a water fountain an architectural piece and an old wire gate.



This is the very beautiful check out area. Anne Marie's children were helping out.



I have a week spot for old suitcases and picnic baskets.



There were beautiful arrangements everywhere you looked. Lots of inspiration. This area had books covered in pages from old books. There were also some covered in paper with antique looking calligraphic writing. This is something I'd love to try.



Here's the lovely Jen Rizzo. Love the dress.



Fifi O'Neill was there, signing copies of her book, Romantic Prairie Style.



Don't you LOVE those cowboy boots filled with flowers? More inspiration. Now I've just got to find some boots.

This totally cracks me up. "Sorry, I've got to go out into the cornfield to take this phone call."



Thanks for coming along to the barn sale. Although the magic of technology allowed you to share the experience, I truly wish you could have been there in person with me. We would have sit a spell in this spot, enjoyed the evening breeze and some conversation.




WINNERS

The winner of the guess-where-we're-going portion of the contest is:

B.V.

The winner of the hasoo-she-given-herself-a-photoshop-facelift portion of the contest is:

Marilyn

You know the drill. E-mail me with your address.

Field Trip - The Boho Ball at Nada Farm Barn Sale

Did you guess that we were going to the Boho Ball at Anne Marie's Nada Farm barn sale? You were correct. Thanks for the clever guesses. Belly dancing lessons? Seriously? That's a mental image no one needs to have.

I was crazy for the dangling earrings because these are not something I would normally wear. I was even more crazy for the necklace.



There are actually very good representations of jewelry I owned back in the day. At the bottom are tiny jingling bells. Both pieces are from Forever 21. I certainly can't fit into any of their clothing but their jewelry and acessories are fun and affordable.

Let's go to the Boho Ball.

Anne Marie and Jennifer Rizzo always put together a fabulous event. It's such a pleasure to be taken away to a beautiful retreat. The theme for this sale was Italian Boho. On Friday night they host a champagne preview ball and guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion.

This is a very popular event and people come from across the country to attend. We have to park a little distance down the country highway. The first thing you notice as you step out of the car is the silence.



It's dreamy peaceful out here on Illinois farmland. But being Illinois the wind is blowing, creating a soft white noise as the air moves through the grass. The fields have just been planted and soon green sprouts will be appearing. Those are the outbuildings at Nada Farm.

As I said, Anne Marie and Jen manage to put together a beautiful venue to shop and visit with friends. Throughout the space they've put burlap banners. This is the entrance and the wind blown banner says welcome.



As promised they provided a bloggers tent for people to meet up talk about whatever strikes their fancy.



The tent was so beautifully appointed, it's a wonder anyone ever left. There was an antique iron daybed layered with lucious fabrics. Hanging from the ceiling was a large colorful parasol and another parasol next to the daybed. Under the table they've layered persian rugs.



On the table were lucious chocolate candies and Jen made for us. I'll ask her for the recipe.



I can't get enough of this image. How about you?



The sale is so popular that they've added vendors and spilled out of the barn onto prairie. The evening was beautiful but the wind made it a challenge for the outside vendors. At the recent bloggers get together I met Carrie from the Hot House Market. Her and husband Don travel all over the place selling their wonderful wares. This weekend they'll be at the Randolph Street Market in Chicago. They're based in Indiana.

HOT HOUSE MARKET

Here's a peek at their booth. I love the mid-century farmhouse esthetic. Lots of cool chairs, pillows, and aprons! You know I'm crazy for aprons. They even had a couple of old fashioned clothes pin bags that would hang on the clotheslines.



Here's a display put together by one of the other vendors.



The truth is that I don't usually buy anything at these sales because I'm in that "divest yourself" stage of my life and the thought of bringing anything else into this house gives me nightmares. I did however, make a beeline for this cubbyhole piece.



Unfortunately it was already sold. Also notice the other orange arrow. I want to point out the general distance between farms in this area. That's Anne Marie's nearest neighbor. When you get further west of here, closer to the Mississippi river the farms are two to three times that distance from each other.

There was lots to love in this booth.



And look at this beautiful display. People are so talented. The blooming foxglove had me swooning. My friends in the deep south are green with envy because we can grow some fabulous perennials here in the midwest that just are a no-go in the south. I have a hosta that measures 6 feet across!



More vendor goodness. This tent was draped with some gorgeous fabric. My question to you..... do you like the trend that seems to be popping up all over the place - painting furniture turquoise? I'm not a big fan.



I've got lots more pictures. Come back tomorrow and we'll go inside the barn, meet Fifi and poke around looking at the treasures. I'll also announce the winners of the contest. See you then.

NADA FARM LIFE WITH ANNE MARIE

JENNIFER RIZZO

Monday Morning Staff Meeting

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Monday Morning Staff Meeting. This morning we're going to start off by munching on some delicious candies.



These tasty morsels were at the event I attended on Friday night. Tomorrow and Wednesday you'll be coming along with me as I recap the gathering.

Don't forget to enter my contest. There are two questions.

1. Can you determine where I'm headed by looking at my earrings?

THE FARMER'S WIFE HEADS WEST

Here's another hint for you - think Boho.

2. Has the Farmer's Wife given herself a Photoshop facelift?

Be sure to join me tomorrow for the answer to those questions and some pictures of a wonderful event.

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Lots of bloggers have just returned from the spring Quilt Market. This great event is not actually open to the public, it's a trade show for show owners and others. Thankfully we are able to attend through the magic of digital cameras and the internet.

One of my favorite booths was Joanne Figueroa's "Fresh Figs". I'm in love with her esthetic and color palette.


Source: Joanne Figueroa's Fresh Figs


Look at those postage stamp wall hangings! I'm crazy for them.

You can view more photos from her booth here:

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

..... and here:

A BIT MORE MARKET

If you check out her sidebar you'll see a link to some free patterns. Yay for designers who offer free patterns! Of course you know the Shabby Fig Apron is my favorite.

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I've just stumbled across a blog that you might be interested in. It's called Mr. Goodwill Hunting. Since Goodwill and Salvation Army are two of my favorite places to find treasures for repurposing, his blog has been added to my Google reader list.

Mr. Goodwill Hunting is actually Rashon Carrawaya and in addition to writing the blog, he appears on the Nate Berkus show, something I've never watched. I'll have to check out whether we get the channel it's on.

MR. GOODWILL HUNTING


Source: Mr. Goodwill Hunting

That's a cool vintage bar cart that he found for a client.

In addition to shopping in person at Goodwill, I also troll their website. Did you know that Goodwill has an online presense and ships?

SHOP GOODWILL

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Do you have a sewing machine? Extra fabric? There's another pillowcase project. Read about it here:

PILLOWCASES NEEDED TO FULFILL SOMEONE'S COMMITMENT

No one has to ask me twice to fire up my sewing machine.

An outpouring of love and support......

PILLOWCASES START POURING IN

One of the commenters mentioned something called Little Dresses for Africa which sent me searching for more information about that effort.



These little dresses are made from pillowcases and heaven knows I've got lots of them in my fabric stash.

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And finally, it's wedding season and a young woman who writes one of the blogs I follow is being pressed into the stress factory that wedding planning can easily become. My advice to her was to follow her heart and not the crowd. Keep it simple, do what you can afford, make it your day - those were my suggestions to her.

I came across this beautiful image.


Source: Gia Canali Photography

The bride made her own gown using doilies and lined the garment with green fabric. I love it, but then again I love doilies!!

Here's link to the story of Jillian and Dax's wedding:

CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN ELOPEMENT

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And finally, thanks to all my wonderful online friends who somehow, without my having said a word, knew that I was struggling with the isolation that comes with living/attempting to care for an elderly person. In the last few weeks I've won books and handmade items, gotten a postcard from my friend in Germany, a magazine subscription from my buddy in Texas and e-mail's galore. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. It's so important to know that we're not alone in our challenges.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the answer to the mystery, Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego the Farmer's Wife?

Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego? the Farmer's Wife?

Today we're going to play a guessing game. There will be prizes!

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I plan to take you along with me to somewhere fabulous. It will take two days because I have so many photographs of the trip. But first you're going to guess where we're going.



There's a hint included in that photograph. Look at the earrings.



Very gypsy. Very bohemian.

Actually there's going to be two prizes. I'll put all the names of those who correctly guess the lcoation into a hat and draw from there. That way everyone who sleeps late on Sunday can be included.

The second prize will be a drawing for those who correctly answer the following question.

HAS THE FARMER'S WIFE GIVEN HERSELF A PHOTOSHOP FACELIFT IN THESE IMAGES?

Thanks for participating. See you tomorrow at the Monday Morning Staff Meeting.

Read the Directions Before Proceeding

Have you tried the refrigerated cookie dough that's available in the stores?



The Other Mother has a wicked sweet tooth and although I'd rather keep these types of things out of the house she won't be deterred. The new nurse informs us that as you get older your taste buds die out and the last to go are the ones that can detect sweetness, thus the wicked sweet tooth.

I'll have to admit the cookies are very, very good and there's no muss or fuss in the kitchen. However, it's probably a good idea to read the directions (and packaging) first.



Uh oh....... I think I'm in some serious trouble.

Old Dog, New Tricks

My neighbors always seem to find the most interesting things to do. Two weeks ago we attended a cooking class together and it was so much fun. After 40-something years of cooking it was interesting to learn something new. The class was focused on Mexican street food, which is one of my favorites.

Think street vendor food, a hot dog cart with a twist. The idea is to create small, handheld morsels. This was one of the only times I've worked with masa harina and I've been wanting to learn how to handle it so that I can eventually make some tamales. They are time consuming but so delicious.

The Country Garden Cooking School is held in a small brick dwelling that was rescued and moved to this location.



The bricks were handmade back in the 1800's by one of the Durant brothers. It's a very tiny home but extremely cozy. It was home to elderly nuns who decided to donate the building to someone who would lovingly restore and use it for teaching purposes. The nuns were in a teaching order.

Here's Elizabeth, our instructor, who was explaining the process. We were to break up into teams and each tackle one element of the menu.

x

Sorry, no pictures of the cooking in action because we were so busy mixing and frying that I didn't have a chance to snap a picture, but here's the final product.



My team members were Lynn and Jan. We made the Gorditas, which means "little fat ones". Here's what I learned about masa. It's impossible to mix it using a spoon or pastry cutter, you must just dig in and mix it well with your hands. You'd be there all day with a pastry cutter.

Here are the potato and chorizo empanadas. They were delicious.



Do you see that white bowl on the platter? That was my favorite of all, and the simplest! It's called Simple Sour Cream and Lime Salsa. When I think of salsa, I think of tomatoes, onion and cilantro but I guess it means accompaniment. Mexican sour cream or crema, is thinner than the sour cream that's sold in our grocery stores. It's more on the order of creme fraiche. Drizzled over the food added a fresh taste.

After all our efforts we dug in to try a meal, Mexican street food style.

Here we are eating the fruits of our labors. Unfortunately, I caught them mid-bite so I've cropped out their heads. Wielding the cropping tool gives me Red Queen powers! Off with their heads!



Speaking of fruit, none in our group was a big fan of the fruit dusted with chili powder. It was HOT, HOT, HOT and even the cool juiciness of the fruit could put out the fire.

I hope you enjoyed visiting the cooking school. I encourage you to look for a similar place in your area, or start one yourself!

I'm not sure whether the recipes she provided are copyrighted but the salsa recipe is widely available so I'm going to include that one.

SIMPLE SOUR CREAM AND LIME SALSA

1 cup crema or sour cream (crema is available and hispanic grocery stores)
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
snipped fresh cilantro

In a small bowl, combine sour cream or crema, lime zest and lime juice. Sprinkle mixture with cilantro and serve.

If you live in the greater Chicagoland area, check out the school and sign up for a class.

COUNTRY GARDEN CUISINE COOKING SCHOOL

Check out the photos of that very beautiful historic home. Owner Penny Newkirk has created something very special.

Goldilocks and the Tottering Elder

This would have been posted early yesterday morning but it seems that Blogger was feeling ill. Hope everything is much better now.

Recently I took the Other Mother to a school function for her great-grands. A school outing with a 90-year-old (technically OM is 89 but her birthday is soon so I make the leap) is a huge challenge. At one point during the morning I learned that in order to observe the great-grands in their classrooms we'd need to climb three flights of stairs! I suggested that the Other Mother stay put at a table in the gym with a nice cup of coffee.

But, of course, she refused that suggestion and up the stairs she tottered, with me behind to break any potential falls. Let's just say that I'm challenged daily with OM's sometimes dangerous behaviors. I can't understand the attraction of putting yourself in harms way.

The students put on a nice presentation and at one point this girl took the stage. Of course I would never show her face, identifying her without her permission, but I feel that the world needs to see her adorable dress.



Perhaps this silhouette is so appealing to me because I was raised in the 1950's and 60's. Like a baby duck who imprints on their mother, I imprinted myself on the late 1950's prom dress style.

This coral dress was so adorable, with it's wide, gathered waistband and fabric flower. The hem was what they used to call a lettuce edge, all wiggly like curly green leaf lettuce. For modesty she's topped it with a little shrug. The dress wasn't too short, too tight or too revealing. It was the Goldilocks dress - just right.

When Life Gets Crazy Busy

What's the old saying? It's always something!

Yesterday was the last day of college for our son. He's officially graduated from the nursing program and the pinning ceremony will be on Thursday afternoon. We are so happy and proud and he's anxious to take the state boards and get on with the next chapter in his life. He waited over two years to get into the program and another two years studying, so it seems like it was a long haul.

I had lots of plans for today. There were last minute errands to be run, a trip to the grocery store to buy food for a small after-pinning get together with the small family group that will be in attendance but as I said, it's always something.

The Other Mother was up all last night coughing and that does not bode well because she's had brochitis twice in the past couple of years. She was giving me some grief about going to the urgent care this morning but I'll be damned if she wasn't going to go. Her tack is always, "If I'm not feeling better tomorrow, then I'll go."

I was not in the mood for having the plans for our sons pinning possibly disrupted with a trip to the emergency roon on Thursday. Believe me, this kind of thing has happened before and I was in NO MOOD. The problem is that she really resists listening to me and so I enlisted the help of the new in-house nurse!!

My son got out his stethoscope and listened to her lungs.

"I'm just fine, right?" she asked.

"Sorry, grandma, you're going to the doctor. It sounds like brochitis."

And she went with me. No kicking or screaming. Heck, if I knew that's all it took I would have encouraged our son to go to nursing school many years ago!

Have a great day everyone. Tomorrow I'll be running all the errands I was supposed to do today.

Yes, it's always something.

NOTE: Yes, the doctor confirmed that she has bronchitis and commended me for getting her in early as it is in the beginning stage. She's wiped out though, as brochitis will do. We'll see whether she can attend the ceremony. She's on the big gun antobiotics. The in-house nurse has reminded her of the importance of taking ALL the meds. It is a very bad thing when people quit taking them the minute they feel better. OK, that's all the advice from the nurse today.

Happy Mother's Day

Source: Martha Stewart.com

Have a Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Snookered Again

Do you remember awhile back when I pulled into Mickey D's and was dazzled by the beautiful photo of a strawberry shake? The image was so compelling I ordered one and pulled away with my mouth watering in anticipation. I was very disappointed. There were certainly bits of strawberry but somehow it had an odd fake taste.

I vowed never to be mesmerized again. But you know what they say, never say never.

On my way to run some errands I pulled into Mickey D's for a large diet Coke. I don't order food from there but I do stop for the Coke because a large is only a dollar.

SHAZZAM.....there was a beautiful image of their new drink - frozen strawberry lemonade. All my resolve and willpower went flying out the window. I ordered one. Two bucks. Half the size of the diet Coke and twice the money.



Bleccch. It was awful. Once again a fakey taste and besides that I had brain freeze, throat freeze and tooth freeze! Perhaps it's because I grew up in a neighborhood with fantastic frozen Italian lemon ice and everything pales in comparison.

OK, once again I'm going to vow not to order these specialty drinks. Coffee or Coke for me please.

How about you? Have you tried this frozen lemonade?