Danger Will Robinson!!

Oh my.....I bet some of you are too young to remember that quote, and others haven't heard it in a long while, but it's been running through my mind ever since having a mishap w/ this Antique Iron Corn Cob Dryer yesterday.

I love my primitves, but I'll tell ya, I'm not lookin at this piece w/ nearly as much admiration as I once did! In fact, I'm downright scared of it now!

With October soon approaching, I've been doing a bit of Fall decorating, and was eager to get my corn cobs onto this primitive cob dryer for a nice colorful Autumn display.

The dryer is made of heavy iron, and is a bit rusty, but in overall great sturdy shape. The ends of the prongs are sharp like an arrow in order for a fresh ear of corn to positioned on each one and hung to dry. You do have to work at it though, and getting those suckers on there isn't an easy task, especially when your corn is Indian Corn, and already dried, as mine was.

I got a few ears in place, when I was working w/ that one there pictured below. I was pushing and screwing and really working hard to get this one on, and it was particularly difficult, and I wasn't making much headway when all of a sudden, a piece of the cob broke off, and the tip of the sharp metal (and rusty) prong plunged right into the palm of my hand!




At first I felt nothing, then all of a sudden BURN like fire! It is a pretty nasty puncture wound. I realized a bit later that I couldn't recall when I had my last Tetanus shot, so off to the clinic I went.

Needless to say, there it sets, half empty, still needing some cobs added to it, but I'm not feeling the need to today. I'm gonna take a big step back, and give it a couple of days for me to get over the fear......lol! I think I'll get out the trusty drill and pre-drill the holes in those cobs!

The good news? It's my right hand, and I'm a lefty!

Anyway.....if you've one of these neat prim contraptions.....


PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is my baby girls 29th birthday! She's in Vegas havin the time of her life, but will be flying back home tonight. We celebrated her special day last Friday by going out to dinner at her fav Mexican restaurant, then it was back home for Cake.....homemade Tres Leche, at her request.

I just love this candid shot of her and Zoey blowin out the candle!

Her birthday has me reflecting back to the day she was born. Like sooo many of us think to ourselves...."if only I knew then what I know now"...oh my, that is ringing oh so true. I was only 19 years old, and my whole life was ahead of me. I was soooo naive!

Anyway....the day she was born, was a beautiful warm and sunny day, much like today here in Michigan. I had gone to the Docs, and my due date was the 20th. She said if I didn't go into labor by then, she was going to induce labor, as she was going out of town. Well....no need for that!

After leaving her office, I went to the Laundermat, and as I was folding clothes, I started having "cramps", no biggie, I thought. I went home, hub was gone, and all of a sudden, little squirts of water.....(no water breaking), just little occasional "squirts", so never having a baby before, I still didn't realize I was in LABOR!!!! I was speaking w/ my cousin on the phone, and she could hear in my voice when the occasional "cramp" would come, and she said "YOU ARE IN LABOR GIRL!". I was reluctant to believe her, b/c there was no massive flood, and no terrible labor pains, but I finally said, OK....maybe I am. Hub came home, I told him, "I think I'm in labor"...and he said "Nah, I don't think you are", and he would know, right??? After pleading my case, and convincing him we should go to the hospital, he finally said OK, but the whole way there he refused to believe I was in Labor. We got to the hospital, and even they were sceptical. I rememebr the nurse saying "Ok honey, we'll check ya, but usually your water breaks when you're in labor, but we'll check ya anyway to be sure". HUH!!!! To their surprise, I WAS in Labor!

Needless to say, that insensitive man is now my ex, and my current man would never doubt my word or judgement at such a crucial time.

Happy Birthday Shannon :)

Coming Soon.....

to an 'Eye Candy' Store near you!

Yep, TDIPT Mercantile will be updating tonight between 9 and 10 ET as always. We've got some of the tastiest eye candy you'll find anywhere, so be sure to come visit us.....and soon, b/c the treats don't last long!

Here's a peek at my offering

Random acts of kindness......

and friends

They do belong in the same sentence, don't they?

Last week, I was the "victim" of such a thoughtful act from a friend, a fellow TDIPT sister.

This is not the first time I've fallen victim to such a display of thoughtfulness, (another friend recently was so generous as to send a Petsmart gift cert to help any animals in my area, another sent a piece of her own original artwork, which I treasure, another sent golf hats for my two guys, and there are more...) but certainly this one came out of nowhere and hit me like a tone of bricks! I was blind sided, in a sense.
Many of you know we are in the midst of a swap in our ebay group, so when I received a box last Friday, I thought it must be my swap box. WRONG.....nope it was not, and as soon as I opened it, the note right on top said..."Patty, this is not your swap box"..hehe! It was from my friend Julie of 7 crows hollow , she had heard I sprained my ankle the week before, and as her note would say, she felt I needed some Chocolate!
Inside the box was a little crock filled w/ some of her scrumptious homemade roca candy (sorry, it's g-o-n-e, so no picture). Some of you TDIPTers have been fortunate enough to have tried it, so you know just how special it is! My whole family loves it, and she sent such a generous amount, I was even able to share it w/ my sister who loves it too. Along w/ that was some flavored coffee, tea, and hot cocoa mix!

Because we were in the middle of the swap, I didn't want to post about it then, but now that I've received my wonderful swap, and given the much warranted kudos, I feel it's only right to give a proper thank you to my friend, for her extreme thoughtfulness.
Julie is a dear, and a very kind hearted soul.

Thank you friend, your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

That's my Story......

and you best believe, I'm stickin to it!!!

There aint no swap like a TDIPT swap!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again and again and again!
I am so blessed to be part of such a warm and friendly group of talented artists! I have never ever seen such generous giving as what I see in our group during swap time. Each and every swap box that is sent out is so very special, and you can really see that each member puts their all into their gift to their partner.

We're in the midst of our Autumn Swap, and it's a secret swap too, so we don't know who is sending to us. I about fell over when I saw this gigantic box that was delivered by the friendly man in the Big Brown truck, AKA UPS!! When I opened it, I couldn't believe my eyes! I love cupboards....all shapes and sizes, but they must be prim! So of course when I saw this beautiful red farmhouse cupboard, it was love at first sight!

It was from none other than the very very talented Jenn of
The Prairie House Primitives!

Not only is she one of the very sweetest gals ever, she's a girl after my own heart b/c she's an animal fanatic, and I like to call her Ellie Mae Clampett, b/c she has so many critters on her ranch! She and her husband, make some of the finest early style prim cupboards you're gonna find anywhere, and they're made from old barnwood, and painted perfectly prim!

As if the wonderful red cupboard wasn't enough, she sent along dog biskies for my 3 girls, and some room spray, goatsmilk soap, and of course...Chocolate!

I couldn't be more pleased, and I can't wait to get it hung in it's permanent spot!

If you're in the market for some fantastic prim furniture, be sure to visit Jenn's website, she has all kinds of goodies for your prim home, and her prices are extremely reasonable! Hop on over to her blog too. You'll love reading about her life on the prairie!

Thanks again dear Jenn!

The Auction has begun!

The Miracles for Mallorey Charity auction has begun, and is off to good start, but we need more bidders...please!

There are some very lovely handmade pieces that were generously donated for this cause, so if you've not visited, please do.

Here is a peek at my simple offering, but you'll have to head over to the site to see the rest of the goodies!

Thanks for your generosity!

It's almost Auction time

I'm so honored to be among the fabulous and generous array of artists who are taking part in "Miracles For Mallory silent auction" , and it's almost time for the auction to begin, so get ready! I've copied and pasted below, some imformation as posted on Shays blog regarding the silent auction that will begin on the 7th of September.



Where will bidding take place?

Bidding will be at Miracles for Mallory, our official website. Click on the bid section of our website to see all the handmade items these talented women have so graciously donated.

When will bidding start & end?

Bidding will start September 7th at 12am and will continue through September 14th midnight.

How will bidding work?

Bidding will be done by email. Click on the "bid" button to email in a bid on that product.WE WILL TRACK ALL BIDS BY ITEM NUMBER.Please include the item number in your subject line when emailing.

This is a silent auction and bidding will remain anonymous, those whom bid will know if they are the highest bidder with a confirmation of bid email from us.

How will shipping work?
We will calculate shipping upon the end of auction and then send out an invoice. If you would like a shipping quote, I can contact the artist or crafter themselves to quote shipping. We have left that up to the artist themselves, some items might be heavy or require special care, please ask upon bidding if you have a shipping question.
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~*~ I will be offering complimentary shipping on my donation ~*~

Today is the day to enjoy the Fruits of your Labor! I'm going to, and no sewing for me!

Hub has the day off, and is still sleeping, and it's so nice to see, as normal Mondays call for him to up and at em by 5:00 AM!

We are having family over, it's a beautiful hot summer day, and a good one for a BBQ and swimming. I won't be doing a whole lotta anything, as I sprained my ankle the other day, so, I'll perch myself somewhere and enjoy the company.

Steve and Stevie bought the Rock Band game......hehe, I wish you all could be flies on the wall. My son can really play the drums and guitar, but he hasn't grabbed the mic as of yet, but hub...he's a different story! He hogs the mic, and he is really good, but I think he takes it a bit too serious sometimes, and that's where the fun begins!

We are gonna host a Rock concert today when company is here, and my daughter, her bf and Zoey, love to sing, so it should be FUN!

Anyway......I hope everyone has a safe holiday, and thank you to our troops and their families for sacrificing, so that we can enjoy our holidays and our freedom!