Friday, July 29, 2011

Downs and Ups .. Ups and Downs ..

Life is full of them ....

That is Ups and Downs...

This summer has been boasting ups and downs here at Sweet Magnolias Farm... and I am finally feeling up to sharing a little about them with my sweet followers here in blogland ..

First of all one of my Ups this week ...... I was (1) of many talented artisans featured in the new August Issue of Somerset Home. My Farmhouse Dreams Lamp was accepted and featured for this issue ...and I am so thrilled to see it in print. Once again the Gals at Stampington have outdone themselves ..and I'm honored to be part of this magazine.

There are page fulls of inspiration in this issue ...so if you haven't got one be sure to go grab yours before they are gone from the shelves ..I know barnes and noble carries them as well as Joanns .. and of course you can order them directly from stampington.

This year we have been featured in 3 different stampington magazines ..and I cannot tell you how exciting it has been to share the work of our hands ( that is Gods work) with strangers and friends near and far away. Through it we have gained new friends which has been such an amazing blessing. And a Great "Upside" to our year ...






Since our last show in June .. alot has happened .. We have been re-working our home and putting it in order.

Approx. 5 years ago we moved into our home (a rental) which was supposed to be temporary.. our estimate was a year. Well long story short .. we had some unforseen medical issues arise in the family that stretched a long span and that kept us grounded here. With the quickness that these medical issues arose after moving in .. well we never really got our house turned into much of a home and the work side of the home was given an attempt of organization ..but never the full treatment ..so after several years of a slightly but not very organized life .. we decided it was time to get organized. We started on what we refer to as our work room ..which is where all the creative supplies are kept ..and there's alot of them !!! We spent a little over 2 weeks tearing every last item from that room rather it be in a drawer a box or whatever and casting out the yardsale or trash items and beginning with a new palette to begin organizing ... and little by little day by day each item was sorted into categories and a specific drawer or box was assigned to said item. What started out as we'll have this done in a week turned into alot of we'll have it done tomorrow's ..LOL !!!

Well it is now complete and it's actually quite freeing to walk in that room and know what drawer holds what item and the ability to actually be able to put it back where it came from.

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After that long arduous job ..we rested a week ..well sort of ..there's always some kind of work to do ...and that led to Washing our 2 sweet Doggies one afternoon. Scout our sweet 16 yr. old golden Retriever and Maggie our 14 yr old Golden Retriever.

While I was washing My sweet Maggie ..I decided to check how her teeth were looking as this last year she had been losing quite a few teeth which we contributed to her age. Upon checking her teeth I noticed there was a large tumor growing inside her mouth in the top of her gums in front and wrapping around several of her front top teeth. Let's say it was large enough that my concern grew immediately and I called the Vet instantly. I took her the following day for her checkup ...and they said she needed surgery to remove it and it was possible it was cancerous. We opted not to have the tumor tissue checked upon the reasoning that she was 14 yrs of age and if it was cancerous that there wouldn't be alot that could be done for her. A week later she had her surgery and all was good ....or at least we thought so! As I gaver her, her medicine and mouth wash the days following her surgery ..I noticed about the 5th day after the Tumor was returning and at a rapid rate. Again we headed back to the Vet ..where they informed me she had cancer and I might have 2 to 4 months left with her...




(My Sweet Maggie)

3 weeks ago today ..we began Maggie on her medication and a good healthy cancer diet for dogs ..and she's still doing well as of today. She had a few bad days when I thought it was time ...but the following days she rebounded. She's still eating ..still wagging her tail ..but the effects of cancer are showing as she has had a fair amount of muscle loss. It's been the one big down for us this summer. I've cried and cried some days and other's I'm just fine. I have been so blessed to have my Maggie for 14 years. She's been my undying companion day and night all these years .. she is the love of my life...she has been my child. The days and weeks ahead are sure to test my emotions but I know Gods Grace is upon me and that through this heartache each day I am learning compassion to a greater length and depth than I have ever known it before.

Sincer her diagnosis .. we have continued work here at our home .. re-organizing, cleaning and desiging our back yard and patio .. and this week we started on the downstairs work area of our home.

It definitely hasn't been a dull summer in the least ..every day has been chock full of work, or caring for our Maggie.

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On another note ... I had promised many of our Marketplace Customers in June we would have our Farmhouse Flour Sack Towels available in our Etsy shop within a few weeks after the show ..and with all that has taken place ..I wasn't able to get them made available until just a few weeks ago. So far they have been a great success ..we have sold a bundle of them and Below is a peek at the designs we have available in the shop right now. We also will have 5 new designs that we will be offering very soon . My hope is within the next few weeks.

Sweet Magnolias Farm Originals
Farmhouse Flour Sack Towels
































Click HERE ..to visit our Etsy shop


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And Last of all ...we'll be starting on lots of new offerings for the upcoming "Vintage Marketplace at the Oaks" on September 9th and 10th . Be sure to mark your calenders and come out and see us, We are so looking forward to seeing all of our friends, clients and meeting new faces and friends !!!



In the meantime ..we'll be working and enjoying each and every day that passes with our sweet Magpie !


And We wish you all a Beautiful Summer full of Sunshine Dreams and Lazy Daze !


Farmhouse Blessings to All !!!



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Friday, July 22, 2011

Brighten The Corner Where You Are ...

Well It's been well near or over 6 weeks since I last posted ..and although the old addage goes .."How Time Flies" ..that doesn't actually apply for me.

Time has not flown .. but just moved through it's normal every day routine .. I desperately needed a blog break ..and time to put life and home in order.

We can become so involved in the fun areas of our life ..such as blogging and reading blogs and many other outlets ..that then time does fly ... and every day life quickly gets forgotten a little bit each day ..until you realize you need to do some catching up in every day home life.

I'll share more about what Abbey and I have been doing this past 6 weeks in another post ..but for today I want to share a Beautiful and Inspiring Poem with you ..Please take the time to read it ..it won't take you but maybe 30 or 45 second of your time ..and I'm sure like me it too will speak to your heart in a big way ..





Brighten The Corner Where You Are ... By: Helen Steiner Rice ..

We cannot all be famous Or be listed in "Who's Who,"But every person, great or small,Has important work to do.


For seldom do we realizeThe importance of small deeds, Or to what degree of greatness Unnoticed kindness leads.


For it's not the big celebrity In a world of fame and praise,But it's doing unpretentiously In an undistinguished way.


The work that God assigned to us, Unimportant as it seems, That makes our task outstanding, And brings reality to dreams.


So do not sit and idly wish For wider, new dimensions where you can put into practice,Your many good intentions.


But at the spot God placed you Begin at once to do, Little things to brighten up The lives surrounding you.


If everybody brightened up The spot where their standing, By being more considerate, And a little less demanding.


This dark old world would very soon Eclipse the evening star,If everybody brightened upThe corner where they are!



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