Selling at Our Local Farmer's Market !

 We've been selling our home produce and crafts at the local Farmer's Market every week since the end of May. Usually I put up my vendor's booth next to my daughter-in-law's. She sells items she's welded from the horseshoes her husband , a farrier ( and our youngest son) removes from the horses he shoes before putting new shoes on them. The blue pumpkin shown above is one of the items I bought from her to use in my display at the market.

 Ordinarily I set up my booth and sell hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn, wool fiber, and other wool crafts I make. But my husband has created an amazing vegetable garden at our new home and his veggies are growing gang-busters ! We have too many fresh lettuces, summer and zucchini squashes, beets, and cucumbers to consume ourselves.

 We've  been giving them away to family and friends . The chickens, geese, and sheep are enjoying the bounty too.

 I suggested he set up a booth at the Farmer's Market and he did. He sold out of lettuces  ( at least 30 bunches ) both times he's been a vendor at the market, plus most of his beets and squashes have sold too.

 I decided to sit with him in his booth instead of setting up a second booth. I just put a few 'Wee Little Sheep' on the table and kept him company. ( I sold some of my little sheep too.)

The crop of vegetables is still growing abundantly and the kitchen counters are crowded with fresh vegetables, freshly gathered eggs, and jars of home-made pickles too , but more about the pickles later.

My husband has always loved his gardens, especially the vegetable gardens. Our new home has a different growing season than our last home. The summer days are perfect for most crops and it looks like we'll actually get a big crop of tomatoes, pumpkins, and sweet corn too. I will be posting pictures of his vegetable garden in the next post, showing the progression of the plot of land he's turned into our vegetable garden here at Laughing Dove Farm.

" While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night shall not cease." Genesis 8:22 

Santa is My Personal Friend ! ( and WINNER !!! )

Santa and I are close personal friends ( picture of me and Santa taken a few years ago  ) , so when I asked him to draw a name out of his hat to determine the winner of a pair of Wee Little Sheep *  he was very happy to help out. Of course, we waited until midnight Pacific Standard Time of the 20th to draw names as promised and Santa was impatient to get going because he has a busy week ahead. He enjoyed a cup of herbal tea and a few cookies while we waited for midnight and watched some special Christmas shows. But you're not interested in all that , you want to know who won. THE WINNER IS...

 Bee Lady of Hilltop Farm !!!!! *

Bee Lady ,Email your mailing address to me at jkcedarpond@fairpoint.net and I'll send your little sheep to you. Congratulations !

Here is our youngest grandchild, and he's not too sure about this guy in red. Maybe next year when he's another year older he will be a bit happier about seeing Santa. Which reminds me of a cute and true story. A few years ago one of our granddaughters called me and asked to speak to her Poppa ( my husband ) and told me "just in case Poppa really is Santa I want to tell him what I want for Christmas ".

Thank-you to all who commented . I have some of my grandchildren spending the next 2 nights and 3 days with us and Santa may make another visit to our home too. I will be having fun making crafts and baking cookies with them, plus we have a home movie marathon tonight complete with popcorn and snacks. I am looking forward to visiting again this week all my blogging friends who took time to comment and seeing what goes on around your home during the Christmas season. Blessed Christmas to all of you !

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas !

 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. The fall decorations are ready to be put away , slowly I am pulling out the boxes of Christmas decorations. Mostly though , it looks like Christmas because I am making little nativity sheep and my work room is full of the little woolies.

I realize for me this is a tradition. I started making them to sell at local Christmas bazaars and have been making little sheep for about 20 years. The sheep change ever so slightly every year as I fiddle around with them, trying out new things. I am always on the look-out for miniature charms to adorn their necks. I vary wool color and give some spots. I am now playing around with giving some of them horns. My daughter and oldest grandson figured I must have made about 2,000 little sheep over the years. Oh my, that is a lot of time crafting them. Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here .

If you want a chance to win a pair of Wee Little sheep *  I'll enter your name in a drawing every time you leave a comment on my blog .( limited to one comment per post )

" Much we owe to the gentle sheep, who as man's first domesticated animal, bearing on his back potential warmth for the world's comfort.... Wool has been of greater use to us than any other fibre. " from an old book called 'Wool Stitchery' by Osma Gallinger Tod

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ! (And a GIVE-AWAY )

It is the most wonderful time of the year, the month of December when our family celebrates Christmas. Yes, I do mean the whole MONTH ( plus ). Decorating usually begins just after Thanksgiving but our family plays Christmas carols year round. ( Picture above is of me and our daughter's three youngest children.)

I spent the last 9 days with our daughter and her 3 youngest children on a trip of her choosing, her birthday present to herself in celebration of a milestone birthday. I am honored she and my grandchildren wanted me to accompany them on their trip to Disneyland and Universal Studios. This was a gift for me too since she paid my expenses. We drove 20 hours each way ( not including stops for gas and rest-room breaks) to get there and back.

Do you like my mouse ears ? It is hard to see them in the picture because they match the tree ornaments, but my mouse ears light up and the lights blink showing snowflakes. I will be wearing them a lot this month.

I am happy to be home now and getting ready for Christmas festivities. In honor of this month of giving I am offering a give-away. I will be sending a pair of Wee Little Sheep* to the winner. I will enter anyone who leaves a comment on my blog beginning today through the 20th of December when I will draw the name of the winner out of Santa's hat. I will enter your name every time you comment ( limited to one comment per day ).

For our family Christmas is especially dear because our faith, our lives, our very being , rests in the person this holiday season is based on ~ Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour of all mankind who put their trust in Him. ( John 3:16) Yes we know He was probably not born on this day of this month and many Christmas festivities trace their beginnings to pagan roots. Yet my husband and I grew up celebrating Christmas with the knowledge we were celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus. We joyfully celebrated Him with our children and now celebrate with them and theirs. I am eagerly looking forward to this month and sharing good times with family and friends, including you, my blogging friends. Bless you all !

Cozy at Home ~ Stormy Day Crafting

Tuesday tea time in November is usually a quietly busy time . It is raining ferociously outside so I am sipping hot tea as I craft indoors. Listening to the high wind gusts and knowing the huge trees surrounding Cedar Pond  are rooted in very soggy soil and prone to topple over bringing down power lines gives me cause to consider my preparation for power outages , frequent events for us during the fall and winter season.

I have water for drinking , candles, flash-light, battery powered radio, plenty of food, and crafting to keep me busy indoors. Yes, we're ready . The lights have already flickered a few times and finishing this post today is even in question if the power goes out .

I am working on a different type of Wee Little Sheep . I decided after many years of making at least a thousand little sheep I would have some fun changing things a bit and experimenting. I am giving some of them horns , spots, and different facial markings . More like my real flock of Jacob Sheep.

I have been doing a lot of spinning wool too, especially when I watch television with my husband. When I am spinning wool I can justify just sitting around because I am still getting something productive done .

The winds have picked up , I can hear them outside as I work and blog. I am going to make another pot of black tea now and shut down the computer before the power goes out. I hope you're having a cozy tea time indoors and I will catch up with my tea-time friends after the storm passes by, hopefully tonight ! I am so blessed and thankful to be cozy at home while the storms rage by. Please check out the links below as you sip your tea , cozy at home.

 Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage. *

Bernideen ' Tea time Cottage and Garden Blog Party. *

Wee Wonky Sheep

I was having fun last month making my little sheep and decided to play around with making them more like my real Jacob sheep. I love the results and these little rams make me smile. I am not sure if I will make more of these to sell, but I do like having this little pair of rams on my shelf with a few Wee Spotted Sheep I've kept.

Ivy Lea Teacup, Cookies, & Importance of Family Traditons

 I got down all my boxes of teacups and sorted through them looking for the perfect Christmas teacup, and although I have a lot of very beautiful teacups , this teacup is the only one I took out to be MY special Christmas teacup. She is Ivy Lea by Royal Albert. I keep her on the buffet with a little shepherd and some sheep , and her matching creamer & sugar bowl.

 I snatched a few Berry Butternuts* from the stash my husband baked this past weekend. Berry Butternuts are a family Christmas tradition started in my husband's family by his father.

 Berry Butternuts are a family tradition my husband is now carrying on in our family, and he takes this very seriously. We have to use real butter, real vanilla, fresh walnuts, and good raspberry jam. He was in a tizzy one Christmas season when we ran out of raspberry jam. I suggested some of my homemade plum or blackberry jam, but no, HAD to be raspberry jam ! Now I make sure to make a lot of raspberry jam from our own berry bushes. We can't be running out of raspberry jam at this time of the year.

I made a pot of peach tea and covered it with my Christmas tea cozy, marveling at how well the gold-rimmed , ivy intertwined with snowdrops pattern cup and saucer fits in with all our Christmas decorating. I am thinking of snipping a few sprigs of variegated ivy I have growing in a pot on the porch and using them for my Christmas table-setting.

Both my husband & I come from Norwegian American families. Our families shared a few beliefs and attitudes about this time of the year I discovered were not , as I had assumed, common to most families. Our families were very good at being "over the top " in celebrating Christmas without spending a lot of money. I found a book Keeping Christmas ~ Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land by Kathleen Stokker , that is rich with the history & traditions of Norway from pagan to Christian times, and then onto the celebrations the immigrant Norwegians brought to America. Fascinating ! This history explains so much about our families' attitudes &expectations towards the Christmas season we still carry on, without having realized just how much our families' traditions & history affect us even today. Hospitality was always important , especially at this time of the year. 

"A veritable archive of Norwegian American character traits - the vital role of hospitality , equality ,evenhandedness in sharing hosting obligations, resourcefulness ,the ability to make one's own entertainment , a concern for aesthetics, and the attention recorded Christian piety- this custom embodies qualities still valued in Norwegian society." by Kathleen Stokker  Hospitality is always precious, and sharing tea and cookies with friends & family this time of the year and all year round are traditions and customs shared world-wide . Tea-Time Tuesdays have given me a glimpse of hospitality from all over the world through a tea-cup  !

Join these ladies to see how they celebrate all things tea :
Artful Affirmations with Terri *
Bernideen's tea time Blog *
Martha's Favorites *
Rose Chintz Cottage with Sandi *
Antiques & Teacups with Ruth *

The Dangers Of A Wandering Mind

 If I were new to blogging now , I might be inclined to name my blog Thoughts & Tales Of A Wandering Mind or some such title. My mind wanders even more when I am indoors crafting , cooking, cleaning. "Mind: noun~ a beautiful servant or a dangerous master." AU

Last week I began again my seasonal making of little flocks of sheep for nativity scenes. I have my piles of wool, containers of items to adorn the necks of the sheep, ( miniature leaves, bells, hearts, raffia ) paint , and my needle-felting tools.

 When I finally sit down to spend a few hours of crafting my mind says "ahhhhhh , now I can wander". As I am making the sheep my mind wanders over and around the many shades of black & gray wool I have and I think maybe my sheep should be spotted just like my real flock of sheep. So I make a few spotted sheep.

 But hey, my mind wanders over to the bright colors I love and there are lovely bags of turquoise wool I dyed last spring. Maybe I should make polka dotted sheep !

No... I'll make some black sheep, some gray sheep, some brown sheep. Should I make black, brown, and gray ears for those sheep ? I have so many bags of wool from sheep of all different shades. My mind's eye wanders over the little boxes of jewels and seasonal adornments I have for the necks of my sheep, but I also love the sheep unadorned. Should I simply forget the adornment?

Can you see how a simple little wool- crafting can become a real winding road for a wandering mind ? Maybe even lead her to a few dead-ends and detours. And then of course I have to spend time thinking about actually following up on some of the ideas my wandering mind gathered during her meanderings. (not all bad, this can be fun too !!! )

Mostly though, my wandering mind will flit, fly, and even settle on thoughts I have not brought under control. Fearful thoughts, worries, concerns. Often, because I am alone while crafting , there is no one to help me keep these thoughts in check,so I will turn on the t.v. for distraction and watch the news. Big mistake, the thoughts become more fearful , more worrisome, and then if I am not careful the darkness of depression begins creeping in like a low cold fog. "Fear is a slinking cat I find beneath the lilacs of my mind." Sophie Tunnell

I looked up a few quotes and Bible verses to write down and remember  because I know God , my God, does NOT cause fear and worry. He is the God who cares for me and should trials and tribulations be a big part of my life He gives me the ability to be happy and rejoice anyway. "Fear is faith that it won't work out." Sister Mary Tricky

~"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has troubles of its own." Matthew 6:34

~"Fear cannot take what you do not give it." Christopher Coan

~*"Put off timid , fearful, and troubled thinking. Put on love and sound judgment in the power of the Holy Spirit ( Based on II Timothy 17 , I John 4:18 )

~"There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them." Andre Gide

~" Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7

Yes my wandering mind meanders here, there, and everywhere when I let fear take hold, and that happens as I sit crafting at my comfortable dining room table  in my home that has all the modern conveniences and plenty of food. My family thus far is safe and healthy, all truly gifts from God. Yet I know even if none of these things were the case...if we had no home, no food, or family members suffering tragedy, I would have no excuse for the fear and worry. And I am ashamed.

How did this post get from crafting little sheep to fear and worry ? How do I get from crafting to being overcome with fear and worry ? By letting my wandering and meandering mind travel and dwell on them. Scary and dangerous , the wandering mind. Time to re-train her and bring her back from her wayward travels. " We need to brace ourselves up and realize that we are responsible for out thoughts , attitudes, and actions." Pursuit of Holiness

* quoted from Biblical Counseling Foundation book on Self-Confrontation.

Tea & Crafts With the Cats

I poured myself some tea to sip from my Gracie Chintz china cup while adding some finishing touches to a flock of little sheep . I had some help with my crafting.

Yes, after finishing some of the sheep I took them into my sun-room to photograph in natural light so I could post them for sale in my Etsy shop and look, peek-a-boo ! Miss Marple was supervising the whole procedure making sure none of the little sheep strayed from position. She is very good at whacking them around if they do. Sometimes she even helps them get away , to their detriment. Good thing there is a shepherd there to guard them. ( And I don't mean the little porcelain one. )

On the very same day I finished up a few wool needle-felted balls. I had help there too.

Blizzard personally checks each and every wool ball out by batting and rolling it around. If the ball has jingles in it he double and triple checks it , enjoying my game of seeking it out after he is done. You can see Blizzard is sitting next to a blue bin where the wee little sheep are placed for their protection after they are completed. I have learned the hard way NOT to leave the little sheep unattended if the cats are prowling the house.

Just minding her own business ? Hardly, she is supervising the terrarium projects I have going on...

...with some help from Blizzard. I'm not sure if they think the resin mouse in the terrarium is real, but I do know they'd love to sink their paws into the mosses . If you look closely at the window behind Miss Marple you can see the cats have thoroughly decorated the window with little nose prints, the higher row of prints being those of Blizzard. I suspect the terrarium will be thusly dotted soon.

And then there are my weaving projects. I completed 3 rugs last week all with plenty of help from Blizzard. He holds the loom down for me. At 16 plus pounds, he's very good at this.

"Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience." Pam Brown  ~ But that being quoted, you can tell I love having my cats in, out, and round-about me. As I write this Blizzard is holding my husband down in the recliner , stretched full out on my husband's lap. They are taking their evening nap together. "Dogs have their days but cats have 365." Lillian Jackson Braun

I enjoy this teacup, one of a set of 4 rose-chintz patterns from Gracie China. It is not only beautiful, with it's rose patterns, but when I hold it up to the light it is slightly transparent. Also, this is a sturdy teacup , a quality I need when working around my cats who love to check out my dishes but pay them no mind if they decide to have a spat about who gets to sit closest to me. I have had to remember to place my teacups firmly toward the middle of the work table to spare them such disasters. We don't have too many broken dishes from the cats, I am the klutz, but several close calls taught me well.

I would like to mention a blog I love, written by a cat lover who also enjoys her tea time. Deb at  'Just Cats'* writes not only about her cats, but also about the cats she encounters in her cat-sitting business. She also has some very good tips and info regarding cat care, and some common problems people face with their cats & kittens. "The smallest feline is a masterpiece." Leonardo da Vinci

I am linking up once again with these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea time Blog *

Shepherds & Sheep ( Wee Little Ones Too )

 I have been very busy making and shipping Wee Little Sheep *. Often , while making the little sheep I place them around my little shepherd boy. This little flock seemed to be gathered around him as if they love him and my little shepherd seems sad to see them go.

 Now I know neither the little sheep or the little shepherd are living beings, but for some reason this gathering seemed very real and the little flock was packaged and sent off to new homes throughout the U.S. shortly after I snapped the pictures. Sometimes I am surprised by the emotions inanimate objects evoke and this makes me glad I am making more sheep for my shepherd. Hmm... I think I need to get outside with my real flock and my real shepherd.

 Yes, I do have a real shepherd, and her name is Whimsy. She is my German Shepherd puppy, now 5 months old. Yes indeed, I am allowing her to help me with my sheep and after the holidays intend to take her to sheep herding training. I think she is a natural, but since I have never before had a herding dog , what would I know ?

Whimsy follows me into the sheep pens as I feed and tend my sheep. Here she is facing down a more aggressive ewe lamb in my lamb pen. Thus far, Whimsy has behaved herself quite well, and when she gets too excited I call her away from the sheep or command her to "SIT!" and she obeys. She is sleeping by my feet as I write this post. She & I are becoming very good friends and I hope she will be a companion to my husband & I for many years, and a good sheep dog too. ( The reddish blob in the picture is our Vizsla who is more interested in the alfalfa pellets that dropped from the feed bucket )

"Shepherd :to tend as a shepherd; to gather, guard, herd, lead, or drive sheep, as a shepherd. " Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

 

"Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arms He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. " Isaiah 40:11

 

"I am the good shepherd ; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." John 10:14,15