MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

We are having a mild winter so far. They called for snow flurries this morning , but they never came. A little snow for Christmas would be nice. My kind of snow is the kind that lays on the grass , but not the road !  I HATE to drive in the snow, makes me very nervous. 

My house is all decorated for Christmas. I have my 3 trees up and they are decorated with all my special ornaments . The 9' tree in the living room has all our old ornaments from the kids , ones family have given to us over the years and I always put on the ornaments  of the 5 grandkids on that tree . I have special frames for their pictures. I put a new picture  in each Christmas.The 7 1/2' tree in the dining room is my Primitive Tree. It has all my primitive ornaments from over the years I have collected or received as a gift. The last thing I do still have to put under the tree in the living room is the Nativity set. The old barn I use is one my husband's uncle made for us . It was made from wood that was from an old shed here on the farm . I LOVE it !

We are having our Christmas meal here on the farm. We will have it the Sunday before Christmas. Some of the family don't get many days off for  the holidays . So that is about the only day that suits most everybody. We will have a big meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, filling, baked corn, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top,gravy,pickled eggs, deviled eggs, pies and dirt cake. We LOVE dirt cake !  I told my daughter maybe she should double the recipe this year ! We have a tradition of giving joke presents to everyone at Christmas. It was started by my mother -in-law years ago . And I have continued her tradition. I write down in a little notebook the things each person did to screw up. Like the one year my brother backed his car into the garage door, things like that . But for some reason this year I didn't write stuff down. So no joke presents this year ! My daughter said instead this year we should go around the table  and say one thing we are thankful for. I thought that was a great idea. So we will do that this year. 

Hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Grandson's Decorating

Our grandson decided to help me decorate the tree in the dining room. His help was  in putting his toy tractor under the tree.Thought this was so cute !

Katey Sagal & The Forest Rangers - To Sir With Love (SOA S05E13)

Christmas

It is hard to believe it will soon be Christmas  ! This was our first full year without the dairy cows . We still have a few heifers , some larger calves and five small calves. So there is still barn work to be done.  My husband has adjusted to working full time for the township. He doesn't look too good right now ( I will put a pic of his f ace on here ) . Last weekend he fell down out outside cellar steps.  He was carrying a log of wood and lost his footing and fell down 5 stone steps onto the concrete and dirt floor. The log he was carrying hit his face when he fell. We took him to the ER and they did X rays . Luckily nothing was broken. He just has some black and blue marks. Also a doozy of a black eye and scraped up face. This happened Saturday night and he was back hunting on Monday .I have been busy with my crafts for the holidays. I had our Craft Open House in November. It was our 20th Year ! It went very well. We also did a Craft Show at the Eagle Valley Personal Care Home in Milesburg and had a very good turn out. Now I am busy trying to get my shopping all done.
I think we have adjusted to our life without the dairy cows . People still ask us if we miss it. Most times we say no. We don't miss the stress of worrying about paying bills and how are we going to fill the tractors with gas.We still have lots of farmer friends and many have bought heifers, corn and hay from us.My husband always gives them a break on the price they pay. He tells them he knows what they are going through. Especially if the milk prices are down. A lot of  people would not do that. They wouldn't care a bit whether the farmer could afford the prices or not. But that is just the kind of person my husband is. He is a caring person and always tries to help other people . 

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas ! 

Tracy Lawrence - Easy As Our Blessings

Love this song !!!

Dad

It will soon be a year since my Dad has his stroke over at Centre County Grange Fair. There have been so many changes in his life and in ours. It is so sad to see how he can't do so many things he used to do. He would spend hours on the computer and could figure difficult things out in minutes. Now he can no longer even figure out how to get on the computer.He used to go to the basement and work on his jewelry . He made beautiful pins, earrings and necklaces with his gems and rocks. He tumbled stones and has beautiful slabs of rock.Now he can't get his left hand to work right . He can't do the fine work to fashion a wire wrapped gem or fit the small beads on the wires for a pair of earrings. ( The loss of his left hand is worse because years ago , when they lived in Florida ,he cut his hand with a table saw. His hand was terribly cut and required months and months of surgery and therapy. It was unbelievable how they were able to sew his hand back together . So he never regained full use of his left hand even after all the therapy . It was already weak and the stroke made it worse. )So in about a month he will be selling all his many, many gems, rocks and equipment. It has made us so sad for his sake that he can no longer do something he loved. He has collected so many rocks from so many places.He always loved showing people the many rocks he has . He could tell you where they all came from and what they were called. My Dad was a very, very smart man . He was in the cable industry for years and years . He could tell you anything you wanted to know about cable . Now, he can't even figure out how to work the remote for the TV. He can't push the right buttons . Now , since the stroke , his brain does not work the way it used to. If you sit and talk to him , you would never know there is anything wrong with him. But when he has to use his brain , it just isn't there anymore. He tries to put a large pot inside a small pot. He has trouble with dressing himself.It breaks our hearts to see this man, who was almost a genius , now at a 2 year old level of thinking. A stroke is a terrible thing to happen to a person. The person they were is lost . But we are lucky that he knows who we all are and can still function to a point.But it is very hard on Mom to deal with her husband being like a 2 year old sometimes. Dad always did a lot for Mom. He can no longer drive. Which is hard for Mom . She has to drive all the time. We try and drive them places to give her a break now and then. He can't be left alone for very long. So friends or family stay with Dad to give Mom a break. Our Dad was never an affectionate person. He never showed you he cared. The stroke has made him very emotional. He gives us hugs now. And he cries very easily now. Other people have told us that happens when someone has a stroke. Dad's life and ours have been changed in many ways. But we all do the best we can and keep going .

Milk Prices Low Again !

My husband was talking to our Amish neighbor yesterday. He is getting only $14.25 a hundredweight for his milk. He told Jim they can't even afford to go to the grocery store and get groceries. It makes me so mad to know dairy farmers STILL are not getting a decent price for their milk. All the work a farmer does , the endless hours of chores and fieldwork seem even harder to deal with when you are not getting paid a decent price for the milk you produce.
As many of you know , we sold our dairy cows last May after 39 years of dairy farming. It was a sad time for us. But I remember all the many , many times of constant stress and fear of how will we pay our bills ?? How will we pay to have our gas tank filled for our tractors so we can do field work ? When there wasn't even enough money to pay for feed for our cows. It makes me sad to think of the many farmers struggling with low milk prices and wondering .... are we going to be able to hang onto our farm and land ? The politicians just say they will investigate , they will hold hearings. Those hearings will really help me hang onto my farm and land ! While you all discuss everything and decide what to do , more and more farmers are losing their farms . The costs of running a farm are rising and the farmer is getting less. I wish I had the answer to the situation many farmers are facing right now. Some people say the farmer should stop whining . Well I say to them, we are not whining !!!!! We just want a fair price for our milk and to know all the hard work we do is worth something !

Ricketts Glen Walk

We took a day while my niece was here from Florida and drove to Ricketts Glen State Park to walk along the falls . My niece , her friend , Mom, Dad, my one daughter and 2 of the grandaughters all went. At the start of the trail it says....Dangerous Trails and can be very slippery. At 2 pm we start . Only my niece, her friend , my daughter and the grandaughters started down the steep trail. Dad did go a short ways , but then turned around and went back to sit with Mom. There are 22 falls along the trails. they range from 11' to 94' . My niece and her friend only went part way and had to leave. They had to leave in time to get to the Allentown airport for their flight home. So the grandaughters and my daughter and I kept going on the trail.( That was our mistake ... we should have turned back too ! ) But , we kept on going. Lots of dirt paths , then stone steps , some that were 2' high to step down to the next one. My daughter had to help me numerous times. We see lots of beautiful falls and huge, huge rocks. The trail kept going down and down and I keep thinking on the way back it is going to be UP and UP ! Not good ! We reach a point where the trail splits and we rest awhile. Up we go now , more paths and more 2' rock steps ! More falls on the way back up. By now it is about 5 or 530. Soon we see a sign that points this way towards the parking lot. So , of course we think oh good we are close !! NOT !! We keep going up and it is really steep . We go awhile and there is a huge rock. Good place to sit and rest . Thank God, we sit and let our heartbeat get back to normal and we can breathe ! On we go . More steep trails , more 2' steps and more falls. By now I could care less if I ever see another falls again !!!!! Rest , Breathe , Climb , Pant , Rest , Breathe , Climb , Pant and on and on ! My daughter and I sit there gasping for air and start laughing and laughing . We say to each other I think I am having a heart attack ! On we go...Finally see a sign that says.03 miles to the parking lot.YESSSSS ~ almost there !! Do you know how long it takes to walk .03 miles ??? a long time !! Next sign says .01 miles to the parking lot. We tell the 8 and 9 year old girls to run and tell Grammy and Papee we are coming and are ok ( alright, we ARE not ok , but we are still alive !! ) And of course they go running off , full of energy still. About 6pm or so my daughter and I stagger into the parking lot and collapse by Mom and Dad . The next time family visits and wants to walk the trails at Ricketts Glen I will pass !!!!!!!!!!!

Hyner View

My niece was recently up for a visit from Florida. We decided to take a picnic and go up to Hyner View near Renovo , PA. I had 3 of the grandkids with me in my car. My niece , her friend and Mom and Dad went in another car. It took about 2 hours to drive there . We had our picnic of sandwiches, chips and cookies. Then all walked over to the View. Absolutely breathtaking ! I think even the grandkids thought it was great !

My Goodies at Musser Farm Market

I was at Musser Farm Market in Bellefonte, PA today. Thought I would share some pics of my goodies I have there . My Mom and I have a stand there and we are side by side, which works out really well. She does purses, pillows, signs , pot holders, table runners, tree skirts and more ! I also took up some prim items I had here at home. I took up a HUGE old, primitive box that could be used on your porch or deck as a table. It is that big ! Also took some old candle boxes , a barnwood tote and shelf. There are also two hand made Amish buckets. Inside I have primitive candle holders, tarts , grubby candle sticks, grubby doilys, a prim distressed wood shelf, a primitive bee skep with a berry ring , an Americana bucket and lots and lots more ! If you are in the central PA area , stop in at Musser Farm Market and check out my booth !

A Year Since We Sold The Cows

Well , it has been a year since we sold the dairy cows. Our life has changed a lot. My husband is a Township Supervisor and now works full time for them. He has adjusted to his job, I think. He says he doesn't miss the cows anymore. We both did at first. But we do not miss all the headaches , heartaches and stress of dairy farming. Being a dairy farmer is also very  hard on your body. His knees don't hurt like they used to from bending up and down to milk.His back is better also. The other week he has a really bad cough and I ended up taking him to the ER  at 3 in the afternoon. A lady we know (  who are dairy farmers ) works at the ER . She saw us and came into my husband 's room and talked to us. My husband told her if we still had the dairy cows he would not be up here , we would have to be at the barn milking and feeding. He would just have had to suffer through the cough and illness. We don't have to worry about what we will do , if the bottom falls out of the milk price that farmers receive.I really hoped by now milk prices would be better for a dairy farmer. But that isn't the case. I think our one friend told us he is getting $ 16.??  a hundredweight. I sure hope the price does not keep falling for all the farmers! We still crop farm and my husband has been busy planting corn. We have been selling hay and corn to neighbors. We just sent out 4 bred heifers on Friday. They were hauled over to the same sale barn where we sold our cows last year , in Centre Hall. We decided to go over and see how much they brought. And as I sat there I thought , how funny  , here we are right where we were a year ago.But a year ago our feelings were much different sitting there  . Feeling a sadness watching our cows all being loaded on the trailer to be taken to the sale barn .  Feelings of sadness seeing our cows brought in and sold. Knowing when we went home the barn would be empty . That the next morning there would be no cows to milk. But this year it was different. We had started a different life. One that has made my husband less stressed. One that if we want to go away for a day , we can. One that if we need to go the ER at 3 in the afternoon , we can. We have adjusted to our new life, I think !

Spring has Left !!

Well , I  think spring has left us ! We had such great , sunny  and warm weather . And now it is windy , cool and some nights pretty dang cold . We still have a coal and wood fire in our furnace. This time of the year our old farmhouse gets pretty chilly without a fire going. Hopefully soon it will warm up enough to let the fire go out. My husband got home from work at the Township yesterday and we went down to the brush and cut and loaded a big load of wood . We unloaded it by the cellar door. We also stacked some down in the cellar . It should keep us going with the coal for awhile. We had a Wonderful Easter . We all went to my Mom and Dads and ate way too much. The older two grandsons helped me hide the Easter eggs for the other three. Sure didn' t take them long to find them all. Then it was dessert time.The weather stayed nice long enough for us to sit on the deck and enjoy the sun. But by later afternoon it started to cloud up an got chilly.It was so nice for us all to be together and enjoy the day !

New Truck

After 20 years of driving our rusty old dump truck , my husband finally got a new truck. Well, not new , but new to him. It is a Dodge 2002 king cab. It only had 60,000 miles on it. An old guy owned it and bought it brand new  . Our daughter's fiancee was working at the car dealership and saw this truck. He told us about it and we went right up to see it. It is in beautiful condition. It looks like new , inside and outside. I am so glad my husband was able to get this truck. He deserves it after all these years.

New Crafts

I have been making up a bunch of new goodies on all my sites . I have new Barnwood Boxes  with Grubby Votives , Fixins  and Berry Rings. New Baskets with Berries . New Grubby Fixins  , Hand Painted Signs . My newest idea is a Primitive Bee Skep with a Berry Ring. Perfect for Spring or Summer  Hope you check out all my sites !! 

http://www.ezshoppes.com/shoppe/?sid=TheFarmLadysCupboard
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/farmlady
http://thefarmladyscupboard.etsy.com
http://www.farmelady.webstore.com

ebay seller id: the*farm*ladys*cupboard

Beautiful Words

I had to share these words from my one brother Ken , who lives in Florida. His daughter was up for a visit for a few days to see her Grammy and Papee . ( many of you know my Dad had a stroke this past summer and has had a rough time and it has been very hard on my Mom also ) . Kareen took this picture of them and posted it on facebook. My brother had these words to say about them.
" You are looking at the most honorable man I have ever met in my life , who has never done anything but respect everyone he has ever met and treated them accordingly and the most caring woman I have ever met who would give you the shirt off her back , if it would make you feel better . I have been truly blessed . Love You Mom and Dad , wish I was able to help you out more ." I thought those were the most beautiful words you could say about your parents. And I know all 4 of us kids feel the same way about them.

A Sad Day for Friends

I recently got an email from some farm friends. They are selling their dairy cows after struggling to recover from the low milk prices of 2009. It is such a sad time for them . My heart just breaks to think of them having to sell their girls. I know exactly how they will feel. We sold our dairy cows on Friday, May 13th , 2011. They will be selling their cows on Friday , January 13, 2012 . She said they could maybe have continued to " rob Peter to pay Paul " . But the stress was getting to them both. I know so well that awful stress you have ,worrying how are you going to buy feed , gas, seed, fertilizer and on and on. It wears on you year after year . It still is a very hard time for many farmers and I see no end to the stress and worry for so many of them . She said she doesn't think she can bear to be there when the cows are loaded. That feeling of seeing your barn family being loaded up on a trailer and being taken away , it is awful and so absolutely heart breaking . There are many , many tears and as hard as it is to see them being loaded....that is nothing to when you go out to the barn the next day and it is empty and quiet. There are no cows in the stalls , the milk pump no longer is running and there are no milkers to carry into the barn . Like us, she knows it probably is the best thing to do for them . But it is still so very hard to see them go. Janice, you will be in my thought and prayers tomorrow . I wish I lived closer so I could come be there for you and give you a hug . And tell you it will be ok , things will work out . Good luck to you and Todd !!!

back to work

My husband actually had a PAID ( !!!!! ) vacation since before Christmas . But tomorrow he will be going back to work at the Township . Maybe he will have to plow some snow. They are calling for some snow , but not a lot. The western part of PA is getting a lot more. Up near Erie they could get 12 " !! I am so glad after years and years of milking cows every day, twice a day that he can have days off and is actually getting paid for it !! Never before in our life did that ever happen . When you have cows the work does not stop for the holidays . The animals still needed fed and milked and taken care of. But we did not have the milking this year, but did have to feed the heifers and calves .... oh, and the cats ! LOL ! This was our first Christmas without the dairy cows. It was different and in some ways nice not to have to rush in from the barn like we used to. I can remember when our girls were small and we would be at the barn for hours. I started making a big stocking for them and I would leave it outside their doors. They would get up and open the presents in the stocking til we got in from doing the barn work. They still remember that . We had very nice Christmas and hope you all did too !!