Carole’s Country Store Blog

I can’t believe it, physician but this month it will be three years since my first post in April of 2007. Remember those baby rabbits in my herb garden?
I have so much appreciated everyone that follows my blog, cheap and those that take the time to leave such nice comments. For my anniversary, no rx I am giving away a copy of my DVD, “Early America”. I will have a family member pick an email at random. Send your email to caroleholt@comcast.net, with DVD in the subject. Include your full name and mailing address. I’ll announce the winner this week on my blog.

Spring has finally arrived, and I was looking through my loose leaf notebooks, the ones I have filled with favorite pictures and ideas from magazines. I came across some ideas for growing Spring bulbs indoors.

If you have any old glass bottles, or canning jars, why not use them to sprout your Spring bulbs indoors, kind of like what we do around Christmas time. Maybe use an early enameled pot, just use your imagination. Once in a while, I save a jar, just because I like the glass or the shape of the jar. If you have done that too, why not tie string or wire around the mouth of the jar. Suspend it from the ceiling in front of your kitchen window, and fill it with flowers or just float one on top of the water. Have fun with it. I’m going to to put a couple of bulbs in some early cream bottles. Maybe fill some early jelly jars too with Spring flowers. Look out daffodils, here i come! Isn’t Spring wonderful!!

Happy Day!
Carole

For the past couple of days, sickness my neighborhood has been filled with the sound of chainsaws. It’s time to clean up the yard, cialis sale get rid of the branches and debris caused by the heavy snow and ice. Spring is officially almost here. I feel like I have so much to do, seek inside and outside. Oh, those dirty windows, and so many of them! Why do I get that urgent feeling, like everything has to get done in one day. That’s got to stop, and I need to take a breath, but it’s almost 10 o’clock, and I have not even had my breakfast yet. I have been working on my website all morning, as usual. I need to get dressed and get some chores done. I want to visit my mother today, too. Now that the weather is warming up, I know she would love to get out.
This wonderful early looking doll will be for sale very soon.

She’s wonderful, all early fabrics and a nice large size, almost 21 inches. Better go. Take care everyone and be sure to have a-
Happy day
Carole

This morning I want to welcome Sharon Ascherl to my American Artisan store. Sharon grew up and still lives near one of America’s most treasured waterways, buy cialis the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Her grandfather was farmer, stuff a jack of all trades, nurse and a Chesapeake Bay oysterman.

Sharon’s paintings tell the story of simpler times. Daily chores, family, church, community the rich tapestry of everyday life. Sharon is listed in the Early American Life magazine’s directory. Her Maryland Crabfest painting was chosen for the AARP calendar. She was recognized as emerging artist of 2009 at Garden Artfest in Maryland.

Sharon also uses her talents to paint beautiful brides boxes. Brides boxes were popular in America and Germany from 1750-1850. Brides boxes we made of wood and decorated by the “schachtelmaler”, or box painter. These boxes were given as a wedding gift or a “love” gift given to the bride, from the groom and were used to hold smaller items from the brides trousseau, such as linens, lace and ribbons were kept in these boxes.

Each one of Sharon’s boxes are beautifully handpainted, and antiqued to give it an aged look. There is a saying written on this box in German, which reads “your heart and my heart are as one heart”, and many of her boxes are given as a unique wedding gift and keepsake for a young married couple. Sharon will also be offering soon, boxes painted with early designs and heavily antiqued and aged for those that prefer a more early look, so be sure to check back for those in the near future.

Welcome, Sharon, I am honored to have you as one of the talented American artisans in my store!

HAPPY DAY
Carole

I have had a few emails from my readers telling me they are having difficulty finding this magazine, capsule so I wrote to the assistant editor and this is what she told me-

Actually, I do have an important reply to this, and I’d appreciate it if you could pass this along to your friends.
Because Early Homes is only a twice-a-year special edition, it is not listed in the bookstores’ computer systems under it’s own title. It shares a bi-pad (UPS code) with another of our publications, so it will not appear in the databases of Barnes & Noble or Borders as “Early Homes” if you call and have them look it up in their computers.
But it will be there on the shelves! I have a newsstand “on-sale” date of Tuesday, March 16th, and because it’s a special edition, stores usually only get one shipment, which they will display till it’s sold out.
Hope this information helps!

I hope it helps too.
Carole

On Saturday I met Susan, medicine the artisan that makes all those wonderful painted boxes and silhouettes in my American Artisan Store. I needed to pick up an order of things that she sold, rx and at the same time visit my brother and do a little antiquing while I was in the area. Route 23 in Morgantown, PA., has some of the most beautiful farm scenery ever, and no matter how many times I see it, I can never resist taking pictures.

I know many of my readers and bloggers live on farms, but I live in the suburbs, and very close the to city, so you might call me a city slicker. When I go antiquing in the country, seeing the farms is always something I never tire of, and for those of you that are like me, I wanted to share these photos with you.

I passed this old house along the way and thought how beautiful it would be if someone had the time and the money to restore it. Maybe they will. The mailbox looks new, so who knows, maybe someone lives there now and they are planning to start restoration soon. I’ll be passing it another time and I’ll let you see it if they do. I have more to share with you, but this morning I am meeting a friend so I better get ready. We are going to Maryland today. I’ll have my camera, and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
HAPPY DAY EVERYONE!
Carole

Hi everyone. It’s freezing here in Wilmington, ambulance Delaware, and there are tons of snow still on the ground. I do not want to go outside! I’m a big chicken when it comes to being out in the cold, so walking outside this winter was not an option. Speaking of being a chicken, I made THE most delicious chicken pot pie for dinner last night. I made it once before and it’s the best ever. I got the recipe from Ina Garten, so how can you miss! Love her recipes. If you make it, be sure to use her recipe for the crust. That really makes it! You can use store bought, but her recipe is wonderful and easy, especially if you have a food processor. I do not use heavy cream, and I tried using less butter, but honestly, the butter adds a wonderful flavor, so use what the recipe call for. Substitute half and half for the heavy cream if you want to eliminate some of the calories and fat.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that there is an article showing my home and murals in Early Homes magazine. I wasn’t that big on having my home in a magazine, but I sent them photos about 5 years ago, just photos of murals. I did that because I thought it would be a good way to promote my mural business. Then, out of the blue, I got an email few months ago saying they would like to do an article in the spring issue. I was surprised to hear from them, and thought it would be an opportunity to draw attention to my website. It’s the Spring issue. This is not the issue, I just wanted to show you what the magazine looks like if you are not familiar with it. Since Early Homes is a twice-a-year special edition, there is no subscription. It’s is newsstand only, and should be available within a week. You can also order it by calling the Home Buyer Bookstore directly at (800) 850-7279. I have always loved this magazine, and if you love early things like I do, you will love it too.
You should be able to find it in Barnes and Nobles and Borders too. They are also using one of my photos somewhere else in the issue. It might be on the index page, I’m not sure yet. I don’t even know what photo it is. I want to be surprised!
Well, back to work.
HAPPY DAY
Carole