Wednesday, October 30, 2013

When FARM is a 4-letter word...

I attended a lovely Gala last night to commemorate 50 successful and innovative years
of business for the company that employs me.
Other than the beautifully lighted room full of the ambiance of candles and the decadently prepared food and intoxicating wine, I think my favorite part of the evening was connecting with dear friends and colleagues of mine from the past 10 years.  

It was truly magical to see them all again.  Yes, so very magically magical.

And magically, they all had the same question for me,
"So! How's the farm going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(Notice, It wasn't really a question, but rather asked as more of an exclamation that you reserve for inquiring about some of the more fabulous things on earth.)

I tried to deliver the message to their shinning faces that they wanted to hear, with my best customer service skills I had, and only hoped I didn't reveal my inner most secret thought, that at times,

"f  a  r  m" ,
is a 4-letter word!

I didn't have the heart to tell them;

,,,that "Take That F@#ker!" are the first words out of my mouth more than I would ever admit.

...that snakes don't always stay outside but will scare you into an incurable state of post traumatic stress where you'll never go to the bathroom again in the middle of the night without a flashlight and a prayer.

...that pruning blackberries leaves your arms looking like the victim of a violent slasher movie, cut into hundreds of bloody little pieces.

...that picking gallons of blueberries a day gives the same painful carpal thumb effect that too much texting does to teenagers.

...that weeds won't pull themselves when they spread and smother the life out of the 60' of vegetables you planted, composted, mulched and sprinkled holy fish water over.

...that your eyeballs burn like h*ll when the farmer across the road plows his field, blowing a fine fog of dust all over everything, causing your washcloth to resemble the face of Jesus...in dirt.

...that "organic"means working your @ss off only to have your beautifully vine ripened tomatoes eaten by some alien-like, leaf-footed devil beetle bug from "Men in Black".

And,

...that wood rots, bees sting and you can't fool that b*tch, Mother Nature.

No...

I didn't have the heart to tell them,
...all of them with their happy faces full of hope and everything good.

So, I told them the same thing I keep having to tell myself, from time to time,

...that, "It's fabulous and I couldn't be happier!"




Sunday, October 6, 2013

When all you have is a measley dime...

Ever wonder about the saying "Decorating on a dime"?
Who came up with that?
We all know what it means and it can't be taken literally.
(10 cents isn't much to work with.)

Nevertheless, it is nice to know that many people are doing it and that high priced
furnishings are not necessarily the way to go, unless money is no object.

I remember my mom recounting a very hard time when all she had was a quarter
to feed five kids.
I think it bought a loaf of bread back then.
Hard to imagine.

 Thrifty.     Repurposed.     Reused.    

No wonder these words have been part of my whole life.  
And still are.

The Shabby Chic style embraces the art of decorating on a budget.
True, you can travel the French countryside and buy authentic French antiques,
but your dime isn't going to get you very far.
Or, you can subscribe to French blogs, take in all the eye candy in their beautiful
snapshots of gorgeously arranged antiques and imitate the look yourself.

Today, I did just that!

Through "Decor Steals" I bought an authentic metal olive basket.  I have been admiring them in the blogs I connect with and longed dearly for one.  Mine was a "steal" for only $51.00
I considered it a necessary reward for all the hard work I put in this year at the farmer's markets.

Check it out for yourself...
http://www.decorsteals.com

I don't know what I'll do with it quite yet.
I'm sure it will fit with my French theme.
I may even plant an olive tree and put it to its intended use.

That ol' metal basket made my day!