Autumn Blessings

  I know many of you love this beautiful time of year as much as I do,
and although it has been a busy time for us here at Cedar Home, we have taken time to enjoy the joys of Autumn too.
  Since our Fall Open house last month, Lyle and I have transplanted 68 more white pine trees from the lot in Two Rivers.  They are only about 3 feet tall and we planted all of them in front between the house and the road.
   We have filled our wood shed.  It holds about four and one half cords of wood, and this is the wood we will use to heat Cedar Home this winter.  The wood shed is a blessing because it keeps the wood we burn dry all winter long.  (Really can't see anything good about a smokey fire)  LOL
   Those poor prairie women, cooking over a smoking fire because their chimneys did not draft properly.  I can not even imagine what that was like for them.
 We have been cutting low branches off the box elder trees in the back yard and and having awesome bonfires in the early evenings.

This to me is what Autumn is all about, the beautiful colors, bonfires, and taking walks through fallen leaves.  Actually for me it is more like finding piles of leaves and plunging through them.  LOL  Guess I will never be a real grown up.   Here are some pictures we have taken from Cedar Home.

The trees are even more colorful now than when these pictures were taken.

        We left late one morning and just took are ride up to Egg Harbor and Fish Creek and I was able to take some nice pictures and we both just needed to relax a bit.  It was such a beautiful day and I so enjoy doing these things with Hubby.

 

 

I home you have enjoyed traveling this country road with me as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. 
    I will be seeing some of you at our Holiday Open House this November, and I know it will be like a gathering of old friends again just like our Fall Open House was.  I can not thank you enough for loving Cedar Home as much as I do, and for allowing me to continue doing what I so love to do.
Stay well and happy until I see you again.
Hugs Carol



                                       
                          

Hi Everyone

I cannot believe the last time I posted was in June. I am hanging my head in shame, and really don't know where the summer has gone.
There have been a lot on things changing here--Colin and Katherine have purchased a home in Two Rivers which means I will not be putting up my little building but instead doing things as we did in the past in Two Rivers. Lyle is more comfortable with this idea instead of trying to heat and cool a little out building and I am getting used to the idea although I did love the design (thank you Connie).
     I have actually succeded in growing Indian Corn this year and gourds and have been busy the last week or so in decorating the front porch.  Gosh!  Lyle and I spend a lot of time out there.  LOL  Maybe that is where the summer has gone.
Anyway I have taken a few pics of what we have done to decorate that porch.

You all remember this guy,  well now we are making him and he will sell for $65 which is a wonderful price co
nsidering what I had to charge for him when I was ordering him in from the east coast.

The neighbor next door gave me to bales of bedding that they use for their horses.  Hey the cut down 3 of our acres and use it for their horses feed and some for bedding.  They use this old Hay Rake and it is just so much fun watching this done with old equipment. 

And there went some more of the summer.  LOL  The Hay Rake is owned by a neighbor down the road a little bit from us and they were nice enough to give us the corn stalks for the front porch.  We are getting to know the neighbors out here and everyone is willing to help each other out.  Today Lyle was over at the Lake helping the new people move there trailer a few feet as they had no trailer hitch and couldn't move it themselves.  It is a nice way to live.

Here is my old rusting milk can that I just added sticks and berries and a few pieces of corn stalks to.  A little bit messy but pretty too, anyway you all know I can't do that formal look.

I love this wonderful large bird feeder.  We have it out in the front garden and have seen so many new birds come to it this year.  And wasn't it nice of those birds to plant the sunflower seeds so perfectly to accent the feeder?
    Well I wanted to give you a sneak peek as to what has been happening around my prim home and hope to see you all this coming weekend.  The response to the email and post cards has been wonderful so I am hoping to see many of you.
Stay well and Happy
Hugs
Carol

 

Another first for me!  Lyle and I had the boys (Petie and Simon) out for a walk yesterday and by the side of the road we stumbled across this turtle.

She was in the process of laying her eggs and when we saw her she already had laid 3 eggs in this nest (I guess that's what you call it).   She digs a hole lays the eggs and then covers it up again.  When the eggs hatch the babies will dig their way out and then they are on their own.  I was surprised that the eggs were the size of Robins eggs.  In my whole life I had never seen this before and I admit I was pretty excited.  Okay!  So I am impressed with little things.  But you can read about this or see it on TV, but to actually see it in nature is something special that I will always treasure.
     Well stay happy and I am sending Hugs until my next nature episode. LOL

                                       

      Look what my wonderful UPS man delivered today.  Yes!  My vintage candles are back at Cedar Home.  You all remember how awesome these candles were in the past and believe me they have not changed at all.  I have two of the olde favorites:  Lemon Custard and Homestead plus a new scent Pomegranate & Apple.  Any of these three will make our homes smell heavenly all summer and fall and they are just so beautiful.

   I have the Pomegranate & Apple Candle sitting next to me on the  table as I write this and the scent is just incredible. 

     I will be ordering next week again and that order will be for Plums and Cranberry & Evergreen so that I am all set for Christmas(don't like thinking that word right now) and the winter season.  
    Now I know how some of you really loved this line of candles and I am sure you would want to smell them yourselves.   Sooooo!  The very best I can offer right now would be:
Starting with the end of June and each month there after I will post dates for the coming month (in this case July).  From those dates you could call or email me for a evening you would like to visit, between 6:00 and 8:00 P.M.  I know this is very hard however it is the way I have to do this for now.
Hugs,
Carol
                          

Happy May 1st Everyone
     It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day today and it is sooooooo welcome.
    I know is seems like forever since I last posted (and it has been) LOL
I have been working on my website little by little I will be selling on this website when I have it set up and if you see something you like there you could call me and come out to see the item.  I am hoping to have this up and running by fall.  As to my home based store, it looks like I may be able to have a Christmas open house in November.  I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one.  By mid June I will know more about the timing on this.

    We have been out taking walks close to home and rides in the country side getting some pictures.  This is a view of Harpts Lake taken from North Lake Road just around the corner from us.  It is a pretty little lake and I do so enjoy walking down here with Lyle and the boys. 
     Spring is such a renewal of nature.  Seeing all the different colors of green, may flowers growing in the woods, the beautiful blue of the lake with the surrounding trees reflected on its surface.  It just seems to make your heart swell with the beauty of it all.

     Love this old looking bridge crossing.  It is part of the Devils Rivers recreational walkway.  A little way from here is the old railroad trestle which is now covered but you can still walk through it. 
 Do any of you remember the old Maribel Caves Hotel.  I was surprised to learn that there was a railroad stop (station)in Maribel to accomodate travelers coming from Milwaukee and Chicago, whose destination was the Maribel Caves Hotel.  I sure would love to see the historical society restore this wonderful old building.

                     It is completely gutted now, but how can anyone resist the awesome setting and the character of the old building.

On a lighter note this is the type of thing that causes a traffid backup out here.  I actually had to get out of the Escape and shoo him off the road.

Well enjoy this beautiful day, I am headed out to do some weeding in my flower garden.  Stay in touch cedarhome@tm.net, am I wish all of you all of Gods blessings.

                                        
            

Wisconsin Weather

We know that our winter is almost over in Wisconsin when we flip the page of the calander and see it is finally March.  Each day we arise during this month and may see a total change outside our windows.  All of our snow was gone at the end of February but this surprise we were greated with on the morning of March 2nd.

Yes I know it was wet heavy snow and made the streets sloppy but today March 7th it is 60 degrees outside.  Just about all the snow is gone again and those flowers that were peeking their heads out of the ground have survived.

In another month the early flowers will be blooming and we will all know that winter is months away again.  I hope you will all enjoy this beautiful day, know that I am thinking about you and catch the hug I am sending.

Hugs

Carol

                     

This Valentine and poem is sent along with a very very big hug.



A Friend is like a Valentine,
Heartwarming, full of pleasure,
Expressing good feelings,
And memories to treasure.
You my special Valentines,
Have brought happiness to stay,
The thought of each and everyone of you,
Brightens all my days.



Can you believe it is almost the end of January?

How is it possible that in just a couple of weeks it will be 2 months since you were here for our open house and this coming Saturday we will have been living in our new home one whole year already.  Could it be that we all become so focused on the things we need to take care of each day that we don't even realize that weeks are passing?
  I know this has been a really mild winter for Wisconsin but Lyle was just reading a article, Woodland Dunes submitted to the paper, that the Larkspurs are here already and the Robins should be back in our area in 5 weeks.  That means Spring won't be far behind.
     I have been busy getting the paper work in place ( the legal stuff-permits-bank, and contacting some of my past vendors) to start a little gift shop again, and so far it is going fairly well.  I will keep you posted on how everything is progressing.  
Wanted to show you where I sit when I come to visit with you.  Yes my modern looking computer is hidding under that olde time napkin. LOL

Gosh! Who ordered this weather?

Okay!  Minus 17 degrees as a wind chill for a couple of days followed by today being dismal-foggy-rainy-windy-is a bit much for me, so I'm going to keep my face buried in a spring flower catalog until the temps get back into the 30s.
 I have been using these cold days to be domestic-
Starting up the wood burning stove:  Yes!  I do get up and do that! Actually I take turns with Hubby.
It is chilly in the morning before we start our wood burning stove- but I do get nice and toasty as soon as we have it started.   

  Used those really cold days to bake crescent dinner rolls and I am able to raise the  dough right on the top piece of soap stone in my big redware bowl. Love doing things the old time way.  Made a big pot of chicken soup to go with the rolls.  There is nothing quite a good as a big pot of soup on horrible cold days.

And then the creative monster took hold of me and forced me to try using my quilt crane that is mounted next to the wood burner to dry orange peelings and form them into wreaths and also slit and dry oranges.  The wreaths have turned out fine and the whole oranges are still drying.

Well I will say good bye for today and hope you are all snug in your homes this evening. 
Hugs
Carol                                     










  

 We did have a chance to take Petey and Simon out for a short walk during that cold snap, but we could only be out a little while before their paws started to freeze up.
You guessed it-there we are out in the freezing cold and I stop to take off my mittens to warm up their paws.  I'm thinking that the cars that went passed thought I had lost it.  Oh well isn't the first time and probably won't be the last.

Beating the January Blues!

I think perhaps I carried some of the (Carol child) into adulthood, as I still so love everything about Christmas.
The scent of evergreens-candles-baking
Decorating the house from top to bottom,
The loving warmth of friends and family
The quiet beauty of a snowfall, and how it clings to tree branches is a wonder in itself.
All these gifts that God has given to us to see and enjoy become so much more clear at Christmas time.
   So when January rolls around and I know it is time to start putting away some of the decorations it is a sad time for me.  Granted my waistline is very happy that Thanksgiving and Christmas are over, LOL, but it's still a sad time. 
    I know a lot of you have thought I was crazy in the past, (because I love snow) and you are probably right.  However the beauty of snow is one of the things that help me beat cabin fever until Spring.  A new snow fall makes the world look clean again, and it lights up the whole landscape in the moonlight.
Take time to really see how it outlines all the branches on a bush or the tree branches which are so barren of leaves at this time of year.
  I know in the cities and towns snow isn't all that beautiful, but think how the snow feels-  it falls to the ground to try to make everything pristine and  beautiful - and here come the people with their cars to make it dirty again. Aaaaargh!
 Now seriously if you can take the time to walk the trails in a State Park and just enjoy the peaceful beauty around you it really does chase away the cabin fever. 
   I did say last time I posted that I would show you what the house looks like when it isn't decorated for Christmas.  So here are a few picutres!




This was taken last summer and is the Kitchen part of the greatroom.



This is the livingroom side of the greatroom



Here I am up in the loft bedroom, this is the walkway which leads to the stairway to the Kitchen.

This is the loft bedroom.  I do love how this area turned out with the furniture we made ourselves.  As you can see it was a beautiful windy day-I had the window open and the wind was blowing the curtain.



This is another area of the loft bedroom



This is our little loft bathroom.

I will post a couple more in the next few days and also let you know what I have been doing since Christmas.