ONE DOZEN RED ROSES

On December 28th, my hubby, Bill and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.  It was a nice sunny day and our daughter, Robin and son, Jeremy were with us.  We had an easy day planned with a trip to the Winter Farmers Market, lunch at the "Farm Bistro" and then shopping for a new TV.
My hubby presented me with this absolutely gorgeous bouquet of a dozen red roses and a necklace with a marquise amethyst stone. 
Our daughter made a scrumptious breakfast for us and we made supper/dinner together as a family affair.  I'm THANKFUL for Bill and my family!

ROBIN and the REIVER'S REST

Robin, my daughter, best friend and glamping partner was able to visit for a few days during the Christmas holiday and actually SEE our glamper!   We sat inside, chatted about what I had done to the inside, things yet to do and shared ideas.  We also took Silky, my kitty cat out for a visit . . . she did pretty well!  Of course, my dog Bramble, loves it because she IS a glamper dog and goes glamping with us.  So now, it is to carry on with the doll-it-up projects for 2014.  SOOOOOO GLAD Robin was able to visit . . . what a gift and a treasure!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the "REIVER'S REST"

Just a few pics of the farmgirl-ish and simple way our little glamper is decked out for Christmas.  A little artificial tree with mini ornaments and a strand of clear mini lights on it, with another strand  of colored lights around it, sitting on the counter at the front window.  We can enjoy this at night.  

An artificial wreath with a tartan plaid bow at the door, a plaid blanket covering the tanks and a second little artificial tree with red berries on it and "planted" in a Santa boot on the tongue.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

RANDON ACT of KINDNESS

I have been making and trading/swapping ATCs (artist trading cards) for about 3 years and have enjoyed these tiny little pieces of artwork .  (They are 2 1/2  x 3 1/2 inches)

I belong to a Yahoo group and, to my surprise and delight, received  these two beautiful Christmas ATCs from two different artists . . . as a Random Act of Kindness.  They are gorgeous and did my heart good!  What a wonderful Christmas surprise!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

 

Enjoyed a lovely birthday lunch with my hubby yesterday on my birthday at the Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus, Colorado.  A really nice restaurant in a Colorado Rocky Mountains setting.  And, on a Tuesday for lunch it was quiet, peaceful, leisurely and very enjoyable.  A single fresh rose on every table, nice music, elegant Christmas decor.  Great time with my hubby!  Wonderful celebration lunch!

"Baa-Baa . . . a FEW CHRISTMAS SHEEP

I grew up on a farm where a variety of things were raised.  Sheep were raised on our farm . . there was always a woolly flock of them running around, lambing in the late winter/early spring, getting wool sheared in late spring.   We could always count on "orphaned" lambs as well as it seemed like every year at least one ewe and sometimes more than one, would not survive and we'd have teeny tiny lambs in the house in apple boxes on burlap potato sacks by the coal stove getting fed by bottle.  I can't tell you how many orphaned lambs I've bottle fed.  Of course when they are stabilized and able to go outside that's where they went.  Then we'd have to go out with the bottles and hope they didn't tear the nipples off and lose the milk on the ground.  Funny creatures are sheep! 

In the picture, the two on the left are yarn and felt, made for me by a farmgirl friend.  The one on the left is made from resin and has a "pack" with two bags on it carrying Christmas goodies.  The creator of this one didn't really know sheep . . .  I very seriously doubt sheep would ever carry anything like that.  But this liytle sculpture is adorable and I love it!

My BRAMBLE . . .waiting for the next SNOWBALL

Bramble, my sweet Australian cattle dog, LOVES to play ball and in the winter time when we have snow she's perfectly happy catching snowballs.  It's such fun to throw them for her and watch her catch, chew and spit.  Very entertaining.  She also loves to walk in the snow, poke her nose down into other animal tracks and roll on her back in it.  She will be 10 years old this month and has been such a special joy to me/us.

BOWL FULL of VINTAGE

I love things vintage and I found these bulbs in a bag at a thrift store a couple years ago.  Last year I scored a big box of all kinds of vintage glass ball ornaments . . . and I already had this beautiful bowl.  So I decided to just put them together and "serve" them up!  This decorates the credenza in my dining room along with a lot of other vintage/antique Christmas items.

It's beginning to LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

We've been promised snow and cold . . brrrrr!  Today we are getting snow!  Started out with some wind, which makes it not very pleasant, but then the wind pretty much quit and we've had a variety of big, fat, lazy flakes, small flakes  and such.  Bramble and I bundled up and took off for our power walk of 3.5 miles!  Nice to come back to the cozy warmth of the house!

HANKIES in a BASKET . .. and then a BUNTING

A small collection of purple/plum/sage color themed hankies started out in a basket decorating a shelf in our little glamper the "Reiver's Rest".   But I decided I wanted them to be displayed better but not in a permanent manner so they couldn't be hankies ever again.   These hankies became a "HANKIE BUNTING" over the back window in the "Reiver's Rest".  

Sweet, Sweet "SILKY"

In mid-September I decided it was time to bring a new kitty into our home and lives.  I usually go to the local shelter for our cat and dogs and, again, I chose to see what I could find there. The "kitty room" had lots of kitties, adult and kittens who needed homes and it's SOOOOO difficult to narrow it down to just one.  But I fell in love with a year-old tortoiseshell who was sweet, affectionate, playful.  After the paperwork, getting her spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, examined and all that little Miss SILKY came to live with us.  She has been such a joy!   She's happy and we're happy!  Welcome home, SILKY!!!

Note: It has been one year since our SKYE disappeared

A "GLAMPER GIRL" PLACE . . .

. . . to have a cup of tea, listen to music, read, take a little snooze, hang out with my Bramble, doggie friend, write in my journal . . .
Or to lay back on the pillows, look around this tiny little hideaway and dream about other things I can do to glamp her up, look forward to time when my daughter can sit with me and dream . . . dream about the places she can go, wherever our dreams take us.  Ahhhh, the "Reiver's Rest"!

"BRAMBLE" GIVES HER APPROVAL!!!

Bramble, my sweet Australian cattle dog, best canine friend and glamper-dog, has given her approval to what I've done in the little glamper.  Making this into a cozy, comfy daybed/settee.  We are going with using deep plum and cream with a hint of sage green as our colors.  More plum has been added since this photo was taken.  Will be sharing more as progress is made.
But we can have tea, listen to music, read, take a nap . . . or dream!

"REIVER'S REST is HOME!!

This cute little trailer came to "live" with me.  She is a 10 foot, 1971 Sprite, build by Caravan International.  In great condition with very little repair needed.  I've cleaned the inside and started glamping her us in cottage/vintage/sorta Scottish fashion. She will be a little glamper for my daughter, Robin and me on our glamping adventures.
You're invited to stop by for a peek and to have a cup of tea with me!  Her name is "Reiver's Rest" . . . a Scottish term given to some raucous, rowdy Border clans, the Armstrong included!!

Goodbye "ROCKY" . . .

Yesterday afternoon my hubby, Bill, discovered that our llama, Rocky, had passed away. . . so sad!  Bill thinks he may have been attacked by a mountain lion which is very possible as they are very much a presence in our part of the county.  Rocky was one-year old when he came to live with us in 1990 and he had been a gentle, friendly, fun, curious and sweet family pet for over 20 years!  Yup, over 20 years!   He was famous for his curiosity, his friendliness and his gentle "butterfly kisses"!  He lived in our small apple orchard and was just always there . . . he will be missed so much!!!!  I'm thankful that the Lord allowed us to have Rocky because we really did enjoy him!  What a special creature!

CHOCOLATE MINT, CHIVES and OLD GARDEN TOOLS

Just a quick look at part of my herb garden.  Growing here is some wonderful chocolate mint and chives . . yes it is flowering!   My herb garden is bordered with natural rock from our property.  This is the south end of it and I've just displayed some old garden tools from our family farm on the rocks here.   The fork part of a potato fork, a hoe and rake, all of them without their handles . . . .   memories of the farm!

REAL CHINA SETTINGS . . . for an OUTDOOR DINNER

Robin and I were able to join several glamper sisters at the Farm Chicks Gathering near Spokane, WA during International Glamping Weekend (end of May/beginning of June). Our second night there was a potluck dinner but this is the setting that was so graciously and beautifully designed for us.

Several campground picnic tables put together in one long table, real linen tablecloths and some of the most beautiful china settings I've ever seen.  And the flowers were from the garden of Juli who lives near Moscow, Idaho.

Talk about making a glamper girl feel special!   And, yes, we did use the china and there were some girls all ready to wash it all when we were done.  AWESOME!!!

IDAHO . . . HERE WE COME!!

We were getting closer and closer to our destination near Spokane, Washington but went up through Idaho.  The terrain is quite different than our rugged, mountainous Colorado.  Idaho is beautiful with rolling hills and wonderful farms.  We almost didn't stop to photography this beautiful farm!  Not too many barns are white and we just wanted to capture this scene!

PEONY and PETUNIA go GLAMPING!!

Yes, we took our ponies with us on our 3-week Glamping Road Trip.  These are the adult sized hobby horse style ponies I made two years ago and we decided they needed to accompany us on our trip.  So, off we went!  They traveled 4055 miles with us, never caused a problem and were the hit of our glampsites!!!
Thanks for the fun Peony and Petunia!!

GLAMPING ROAD TRIP - here we COME!!

First stop here was Monument Valley, just east of Kayenta, Arizona

I left my house on May 25th, headed to my daughter's house in Phoenix to gather her and her glamping gear up to embark upon our 3-Week Glamping Road Trip.

We are TENT GLAMPERS so the only trailer(s) we have are this cute little one that went with us and when it wasn't decorating our glamp-site it sat on the dash of the van we drove . . rode there the entire 4055 miles!

Sooooo . . . Is It APRIL or MAY???

I had to share this picture of the month of April from one of our calendars.  Over the weekend I remember glancing at this and thinking, Okay May doesn't start until Thursday.  A few days later I was looking at my planner calendar and another wall calendar and saw that TODAY is the 1st of May.  At that time I couldn't remember which calendar I was looking at that said today was April 30th, then I saw it again yesterday and, realized the typographical error on the calendar. Saturday is the 27th, but then Sunday is the 23rd and then back to Monday being the 28th.  One could get really confused if you aren't paying close attention!  I'm happy to know it is, indeed, the 1st of May TODAY!!!  Happy May Day!

it's about time for FARMERS MARKET SEASON!!

Soon, our 2013 Farmers Market season will open and we'll all be back in the swing of things before we know it.  It's hard to believe that it's almost time!  And, I feel like I'm sooooo NOT ready!  It's been a busy fall and winter and I have just got to get more aprons cut and sewn.  And it all has to fit around a three-week "glamping" road trip with my daughter in late May into June.  Yee-haw!  Yahoo!

DESERT BEAUTY

On a recent trip to my daughter's place in Glendale, Arizona I was able to photograph this stunningly beautiful Cereus cactus in bloom in her neighbor's yard.   It's just one type of Cereus cactus and the flower was about  8" in diameter!
BEAUTIFUL!  What a CREATOR we have!

CAROLINE ARMSTRONG . . . gone home!

My husband's mother, at the age of 86, went home last evening and is now safe in the arms of Jesus.  She is pictured here in the center of the photo with my children, Robin and Jeremy.  This was taken in December of 2006 in Tucson at the home of my hubby's only brother.  We had a fun, family gathering there to celebrate my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary.  Her husband and my father-in-law, Sam, went home to heaven the next summer in August 2007.
She was ready to go and as my hubby says, "she's been sitting on a bench by the river Jordan waiting for Jesus to come and call her home". We will miss you "Grannie", but we are praising God for you, your life and that you are now HOME!

A Little "PEPPER" anyone???

Let me introduce you to "PEPPER", our new calf.  She is half Longhorn, half Angus and just as cute as a button, don't you think?!  She is a week old today.  Her mom is Ebony, who is totally black, even though she also is half Longhorn, half Angus.  I just love her markings and think they are rather unusual, elegant, spicy and fun!  I was also able to pet her yesterday afternoon.  That always makes me happy!  She has a sister "Siete" who has very similar markings, and is about 1 1/2 years old.  What fun!

"4871 GLAMPING FARMGIRLS" . . . in Arizona

Robin  . . . aka "Birdie" . . and I modeling our "GLAMPER GIRL" Retro bib aprons at our recent Backyard Glamper Party & Sleepover.  We had a really special, fun, wonderful time in Robin's backyard with some farmgirl friends . . . glamped up some tents, glamped up her back patio, had a spectacular "Tea Party", yummy potluck supper, delectable S'mores, fun craft projects and all kinds of farmgirl/glamper fun!

"BIRDIE'S" little GLAMPER BIRDHOUSE

Isn't this just the cutest little birdhouse?  I thought it would be the perfect hostess gift for my daughter, Robin . . . aka "Birdie" . . . to say THANK YOU for opening her home to a bunch of glamping farmgirls the weekend of March 21-24!   Her name is ROBIN, but we lovingly call her "Birdie" . . . and she collects birdhouses!   Thought she'd like this one and I told her she had to bring it along on our glamping adventures!  THANK YOU "BIRDIE"!  I LOVE YOU!!!

TINY SCONES, CLOTTED CREAM and STRAWBERRIES

For our recent "Backyard Glamper Party & Sleepover" we had  "TEA at TWO" on Friday, March 22nd.  The delectables for our tea were made by some of our farmgirl friends.  Rali, who lives in Scottsdale, brought over tea sandwiches AND these tiny scones with clotted cream.  There were two kinds of scones, poppyseed and cranberry.  With the clotted cream and strawberries and a wonderful cup of tea . . . LOVELY!!!  YUMMY!!

A HAWK . . . WATCHIN' OVER US!!

 I noticed this gorgeous hawk sitting in the very tippy top of a very tall, old cottonwood tree at the NE corner of our property and not very far from our house.  My hubby says he thinks it is a FERRUGINOUS HAWK.  He didn't seem too concerned with my presence, probably has seen us many times.  This tree is a favorite for many birds and we've seen bald eagles, vultures and Canada geese perched up there . . . and I mean UPPPPPP there!  Just love to see them there!

my "GLAMPER GIRL" traincase . . another MAKEOVER

 Okay, one was not enough, I just HAD to do another case.  This is another Samsonite Silhouette case, in a blue which was an okay color.  But these fun "Glamping' prints (Mary Janes designs) were just hollaring at me to put them on a case.  So I did and with some ribbon, rick-rack, buttons, funky brads, etc.  Now, I going to load up my personal things and go glamping!   Yessirree!  

My "FARMGIRL SISTER" train case

 Some of us girls are wild about vintage train cases and some of us also like to do "makeovers" on them.   This is a Samsonite case in a horrid shade of green that I just do not like!  Well, some fabric, ribbon, rick-rack, silk flowers, adhesive and Mod-Podge took care of that!  This is my "Farmgirl Sister" train case and I'm just tickled pink with it.  For now it carries my stitching and crafting projects for when I want them to go with me.  The entire package will most certainly be going glamping with me!

It's NOT SPRING . . . YET!

Colorado Blue Spruce trees in our yard, 20+ ft. tall

Well, it's that time of year, when we get some sunny, clear days, possibly with some warmth and we start entertaining ideas of spring.  And then, we wake up and it's snowing gangbusters, with fat lazy flakes and piling it up on the ground.  Snowing for most of two days, piling up close to a foot of snow.  But then it warms up again, melts it down, makes muck, mud and more.  Just about the time the driveway dries up so you don't smoosh around here comes another round of snow.  And, around and around we go!
Springtime in the Colorado Rockies!  Well, almost . . .

DEAR FRIENDS . . HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

And to my beloved friends . . HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
Love also wraps arms around friends, those people that know us, hang out with us, do things with us, listen to us, laugh and cry with us . . . and love us anyway!  What treasures MY FRIENDS ARE!!!!  How blessed I am! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

YOU'RE SWEET . . . VALENTINE!

Yes, Valentine's Day is just about here.  Typically a day to think of romance and sweethearts which is very necessary, but it's also a day to think of those we LOVE!  Family and friends are very important in our lives and today I'd like to say a special THANK YOU to my FAMILY!!!  HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to my FAMILY!!

WALK in WINTER WONDERLAND

 We had spring earlier this week, no snow on the ground and mud drying up.  But it has been snowing for most of the last two days.  I put on my snowshoes and went trekking out in the snow with my doggie friend, Bramble!

We have more than eight inches but less than a foot . . so far.  I'm just happy it's piling it up in "my mountains" for our summer water supply.

Bramble and I had a fun time out today and she loves it when I make snowballs to throw for her to catch!

a PINCUSHION for a PINCUSHION

 Unique, handmade pincushions are always fun to have and it's nice to get a new one now and then.  So, I recently participated in a Pincushion swap with a farmgirl friend.  The little ceramic basket with roses and different colored pins is the one I made for Laurie.
The pincushion that rather resembles a pink spring garden hat is the one she made for me.  She included a box of pins with flower shaped yellow heads and a spool of thread.  A fun, creative swap!  Thank you, Laurie!

WINDOW to my FLOWERS

 This is an ATC I made for a swap in a group I participate in.  The theme was anything that we could incorporate into a window or a door.  I chose this tri-fold style with window cutouts, using a photograph I took of one of my rock gardens with phlox and Russian sage.

The little knobs on the window are pink jewel-look rounds. 
ATCs are such fun to make, and addicting too!  Don't forget they are only 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.