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Abe Lincoln

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich...strengthen the weak by weakening the strong...bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift...lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down...build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence...help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Dirtroad Team - Green house Glasswork's and Hake Designs

Welcome friends!  We are coming to the end of another month.  The time is flying by fast.  I have two more amazing shops from the Dirtroad Team for you to visit today.  The first is Natasha from Greenhouse Glassworks.  Living in Colorado her studio is attached to a greenhouse.  Beside wonderful natural light the greenhouse keeps her in tomatoes and herbs all winter.  Natasha is a stain glass artists, plus works with fused glass.  You will find plates, necklaces, and candle holders.  Plus she has a wonderful line of paper tags.



The next shop is from a group of artist living in Texas. This shop called Hake Design is filled with jewelry, jewelry boxes, glass ware, and handmade picture frames. This is shop is still new to Etsy so stop by and show some love.



Monday, June 27, 2011

New Baskets

Friday, June 24, 2011

Frugal Friday Link Party

Below is how to make Pancake Mix.  Very easy and saves a lot of money.

Pancake Mix

12 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups milk powder
2 tablespoons salt
3/4 cup baking powder

Mix together well all of the above ingredients and store the mixture in a tightly sealed container.

To Make Pancakes

To make pancakes combine the following ingredients.

1 1/2 cups of the pancake mix
1 egg, beaten
1 cup water
2 tablespoons salad oil


Mix together and cook on a hot griddle, serve with butter and homemade syrup.  

Follow this link and have some fun saving money and get some wonderful ideas to use.

Farmington Farm Market




Tomorrow will be a good day at the Farmington Farm Market.  Chef Thung Huynh will be sharing recipes.  The Little Sprouts Corner is back and will be making bubble wands.  Chris McCall will be performing.  She is singer song writer who will be playing original songs.  She has played at the market before and is a delight to listen to!  Paula Kraus will be teaching herbs, growing and using.  Strawberries are in season, and you will also find fresh milk, meat, eggs, lettuce, tomatoes, fresh baked bread, pies and other goodies.  Something for everyone to enjoy. Plus amazing works of art.  The market is open from 9 till 2 in the afternoon.  Local across from Starbucks on Grand River in Downtown Farmington, MI  See you tomorrow for a fun filled day!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Dirtroad Team - Fine Old Things and First Fruits

Welcome friends.  Summer is here and I hope everyone is safe from the crazy weather.  Please take a moment to visit two more amazing shops from the Dirtroad Team.  Karen is the owner of Fine Old Things, and vintage is her first love.  Then the hunt and challenge of find the great piece for her shop.  Karen has 7 pages filled with great finds for a gift or your home.  Below is a link to her shop and some of my favorites.


My mother had one of these!

Vintage Pilot Desk Stapler, Model 402


Antique Child's Electric Iron, Samson-United Co, 60 plus Years Old

Vintage Hand Tool, Wood Working Plane, Handcrafted

The next shop is First Fruits, owned by Bonnie.  Bonnie is a farmer's wife and mother to three children.  She lives on 20 acres in Northern Michigan and she loves to cook, bake and garden.  Her shop is filled with cookies, jams, jellies, and fruit butter.  Plus her famous marshmellows.  I can tell you they are heaven sent.  If you can not visit Bonnie at one of the farm markets, then her Etsy shop is the next best thing.  Warning this will make your hungry!!!!!  The link to her shop is below with some of the wonderful food she has to offer.


Pick any 8 jars of Jam, Jelly and Fruit Butter. Fill your table with summer goodness.


Homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 doz


Handmade Peanut Butter Flavored Marshmallows 1 doz

Remember you can type "drat dirtroad team" into the search bar on Etsy for more wonderful shop, with artist living in a small town.   Enjoy your visit.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I said "I do" 36 years ago


Yes 36 years ago I said I do, and I would do it again.  Boy was I thin!  I made my dess out of eyelet fabric, all cotton. On our wedding day the temps where in the 90 with a full Catholic mass.  My dress was nice and cool.  The pearls that I'm wearing belonged to my Grandmother Addison.  Later on we had everyone over at my mom and dads for good food, fun and a lot of laughs. So many that enjoyed our day are gone from earth but not in our hearts.  I think we might make it to 50!  Then we can have another party! 

Friday, June 17, 2011

Living on a Dime - Blog Party on Friday - Saving Water in your garden

Put down a couple of layers of newspaper, then add grass clipping on top of the newspapers.  The newspaper act as a weed blocker, and the grass clipping will break down adding organic matter back into the soil.  This system also keeps the moisture in the soil, saving time and money on watering.  Do not use the color ads, just the black and white printed pages.  At the end of the gardening season just work the whole thing back into your garden with a rototiller.  You can also add the fall leaves, and clean up in the spring.  Have fun and enjoy your garden more with less work!  Here is the link for more great ideas: http://www.livingonadime.com/frugal-friday-link-party/#more-21300

Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market


I will be at the Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market tomorrow.  Located in Riley Park, across from Starbucks, in downtown Farmington, MI.  Beside finding great food, including bread, fruit, vegetables, art work, you will have music by Dan Goree, and the chef from the Leather Bottle will be doing a cooking demo.  Our balloon man is back this Saturday along with The Little Sprouts area, doing a craft project.  Bring the kids they can do a craft project while you shop.  This is the best one stop shopping area around.  Looking forward to see you on Saturday. Open from 9 till 2 in the afternoon.  

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dirtroad Team - From Victory Road








Welcome friends, we are in the middle of the month with summer starting next week.  Time is going fast!  I have found two more great shops for you to visit from the Dirtroad Team.  The first shop is From Victory Road.  Living in a 100 year hold farmhouse in rural Kansas, this couple gets their creative journey through faith and life.  You will find lamps made from recycle items, note cards, paintings, and art supplies.  Amazing mix of talent and art, something for everyone. Here is link to this shop and a few of my favorites!
A woman of many words notecard set

A Promise to Keep handmade journal from repurposed vintage book

one inch map circles


The next shop from the Dirtroad Team is EcoCessory.  Krystine makes wonderful scarves, headband, and hair clips all from organic cotton, soy and bamboo.  After finding out one of her children was allergic to petroleum, and that items marked all natural may still contain some petroleum by products, she was off looking for materials that would not bother in child.  She has done a great job of find yarns that are soft, silky and long lasting.  This may be June but one of her amazing scarves would add to your fall or winter wardrobe.  Maybe you have someone special on your holiday list that could use a new hair clip or scarf.    Here is the link to her shop and some of my favorites:

EcoCessory Soft and Cuddly Cotton Cowl - Spring Green


EcoCessory Organic Cotton Ruffled Scarf - Ecru


Eco Friendly Organic Cotton and Bamboo Headband - Medium - Free Shipping to USA


Enjoy your visit with these two amazing shops.  Type drat dirtroadteam into the search bar on Etsy for more amazing shops from artist living in small towns!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Happy Birthday US Army and National Flag Day


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Happy Birthday to the US Army, you are 236 years old. First adopted by Congress on June 14, 1775, to form "The Continental Army". You have won our freedom and have keep us free and safe. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you to my three kids that have or are serving in the US Army. I'm very proud of you and what you have done.

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June 14 is also flag day. First start in a Wisconsin public school class room, the teacher wanted his students to remember the day the US adopted the first flag by Bess Ross. New York states was the first states to honor 6-14 has flag day. President Wilson signed a proclamation on May 30, 1916 making 6-14 Flag Day. President Truman sign a Act of Congress making June 14 National Flag Day. Great day to be an American. Fly your flag and pray for our military.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Collection from Artfire

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Dirtroad Team - Dixiedreams and Donnalda

Welcome friends, are you enjoying some very hot weather!  Grab something cool to drink and come and  visit with the two shops I'm featuring today from the Dirtroad Team.  The first shop is Dixiedreams. Robin living in Kodiak Alaska, has all of Alaska wild live to photograph.  Robin spends a lot of time looking for bears, eagles and more to take pictures of.  Her patience has paid off with her wonderful photos.  Beside the wild life, she has wonderful military, and flowers all from Alaska.  If you always wanted to vacation in Alaska and can not find the time, here is a mini vacation for you all in this shop.  Robin and her husband are both retired from the Army and enjoy living on the island of Kodiak.




The next shop is Donnalda.  Donna lives in the dessert of California, far cry from Robin living in Alaska.  Donna uses her life experiences in her art work.  Retired now but she has done a lot of interesting jobs in her life and they are reflected in her art.  You will find handmade journals, booklets, card and wonderful letters to download for your art projects.  Add some charm to your scrap booking with her letters.   Both shops like the others on the Dirtroad team are in small towns and cover a wide range of art.  Enjoy your visit with both shops and remember to type in "drat dirtroadteam" into the search bar on Etsy for more amazing shops.


Monday, June 6, 2011

D Day



June 6, 1944 was D-Day.  Please stop for a minute and say a prayer for those who lost their life that day for our freedom.  They say any prayer for those who made it home and continue to build this great country.  Their are only a few WWII vets left, and we need to give them all the thanks we can for our freedom.  We owe a lot to our veterans for keeping us safe!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Old Farmhouse Flag Day Challenge

Stop over at The Old Farmhouse Flag Day Challenge and vote for your favorite item. We have been busy making flag theme items for this great challenge. You can vote till June 11, 2011, so lets have some fun!




Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Dirtroad Team - Four Winds Farm & Design by Baerrels

Welcome friends!  Summer is here at last!!!!  Please stop by and welcome Four Winds Farm to the Dirt Road Team.  Jan is our newest member to join us.  Living in Main and raising sheep, she turns her wool into wool felted animals.  Jan's animals are life like, from cows to dogs.  You will also fine a wool wash cloth that has a bar of soap in it and a wool knit Christmas stocking.  The wool she uses has no dye added, just the natural color of the wool.  We are so happy that she has joined us!






The next shop is Designs by Baerrels. This shop is a family that can work together. They work in wood, glass, paint, photography, metal, clay and more. You will find their items on Etsy or at the Cherokee National Forest show room. Their Etsy shop holds photo's, pocket mirrors, hair forks, puzzle boxes, treenware and much much more. Baerrels have been blessed by working at their art for forty years, and here is to forty more wonderful years.