A Whole Month of Halloween Fun!

Rain, rain and more rain did not keep Kelly and I from antique shopping all day Saturday. We were in search of fun, festive, spooky goods to decorate our homes. Our search revealed some incredible finds, but the old marble-eyed, black tin cats are definitely my favorite. The shop owner was holding them behind the counter until Halloween. But, I was absolutely determined to take them home and start enjoying them immediately which is exactly what I did. They are displayed in the windows as a backdrop for the festive decor. The sun shines with such an eerie sparkle through their marble eyes. As usual, Lil wants to be part of the fun, so she made an appearance while I was snapping pics of the black cat lanterns!

The Mermaid

My good friend and very, very talented artist, Kim Skeen, gave me a wonderful idea on how to finish my Mermaid which I started many weeks ago. I wanted to add sequins to her tail, but I could not decide on the best technique. I was at Kim's house and she had some antique sequin pinned fruit she gave me since she knows how much I love antiques. When I saw them, I immediately knew it was the final inspiration I needed to complete my Mermaid doll!

The Mermaid Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Who would be A mermaid fair, Singing alone, Combing her hair Under the sea, In a golden curl With a comb of pearl, On a throne?
I would be a mermaid fair; I would sing to myself the whole of the day; With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair; And still as I comb'd I would sing and say, 'Who is it loves me? who loves not me?' I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall Low adown, low adown, From under my starry sea-bud crown Low adown and around, And I should look like a fountain of gold Springing alone With a shrill inner sound Over the throne In the midst of the hall; Till that great sea-snake under the sea From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps Would slowly trail himself sevenfold Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate With his large calm eyes for the love of me. And all the mermen under the sea Would feel their immortality Die in their hearts for the love of me.
But at night I would wander away, away, I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks, And lightly vault from the throne and play With the mermen in and out of the rocks; We would run to and fro, and hide and seek, On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells, Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea. But if any came near I would call and shriek, And adown the steep like a wave I would leap From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells; For I would not be kiss'd by all who would list Of the bold merry mermen under the sea. They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me, In the purple twilights under the sea; But the king of them all would carry me, Woo me, and win me, and marry me, In the branching jaspers under the sea. Then all the dry-pied things that be In the hueless mosses under the sea Would curl round my silver feet silently, All looking up for the love of me. And if I should carol aloud, from aloft All things that are forked, and horned, and soft Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea, All looking down for the love of me.

Hannah and Humphrey have a new home & friend, Phoebe!

I was the lucky winner on eBay of Tonya Renee's (Back Porch Pickins) first fully detailed dollie for Halloween, Hannah and her friend, Humphrey. I also ordered a little white pumpkin doll from Kaf at Olde Cape Primitives. They all seem to be getting along nicely and are looking forward to seeing their new friend, Newcomb Hollow!

Lil gets upset if she doesn't make my blog post, so she gave me her ususal pose in my bent willow apple basket!

We just got back from a great Virginia Highlands Antique Festival weekend in Abingdon, VA with some very good friends, Shawn and Kelly. I will post a few pictures of our recent finds in the coming days!

Stars & Stripes....striped cat anyway!

Memorial Day to July 4th is all red, white and blue around our home! You will probably recognize some of the original art I have collected, so I want to give the artists some recognition. Gritty Jane painted the patriotic angels. You can always recognize her work by her spiritual style! The primitive dolls and eagle are by Starla Myers at Briar Rabbit Primitives. The decorated boxes and painted trinkets are made by me, Kristin Lily!

A Hare Raising Experience...

Two weeks ago our cat, Molly, blessed us with this sweet little rabbit. Once we released him from her clinched jaws, he lay limp in the grass. We thought his hind legs were paralyzed as he lay there starring at us with those big brown eyes. We immediately treated his wounds (bites, scratches and one deep puncture). Next, we rounded up one of our many cat carriers to serve as his recovery room. The next day, we took him to visit our vet who gave us an antibiotic and wished us luck. He said wild rabbits get infected easily and do not adjust well to captivity. But, we were hopeful. I picked purple clover and fresh strawberries for him twice a day. Oh my, what a big eater...big eater! I started worrying I might be overfeeding him, but I figured two square meals a day would help speed his recovery. With each passing day, his wounds improved until the day finally arrived. Today was the day for him to see the world again. We kept all the cats inside for the entire day to make sure he had plenty of time to get acclimated. We released him at a neighboring farm. Hopefully, we will not see him again anytime soon. But, we will continue to enjoy the pictures since we got extremely attached to him.

Memorial Day ~ In Flanders Fields

Poem ~ In Flanders Fields:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie?In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Strawberry Pickin' with my friend, Nanci!

My good friend, Nanci, scheduled a trip for us to go on a farm tour. We took a bus with 20 or so others to visit two farms, River Ridge Farm and Strawberry Knob. At Strawberry Knob, we picked strawberries for almost 2 hours. I cannot wait to try the strawberry jam I made...yummy!