Farmgirl Follies

Howling at the new moon

Posted by Farmgirl on November 21, 2009  |  7 Comments

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” ~ Mae West

One of my favorite things to do is spend time with like-minded women who enjoy basking in silliness even though some think them ridiculous. Are we old enough to know better? Sure. Do we run the risk of appearing off our rockers? Possibly. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

On Thursday I boarded the Chateau, above, dressed in a green Kiss Me, I’m Irish T-shirt and a fake alpaca-fur cape. My hair was in its natural state of reddish, curly disarray. My fingernails were painted black. No, it’s not my typical attire. I was in character, you see … Victoria the vampire.

An aunt, various cousins, friends and my sister headed to Tinseltown for the midnight showing of New Moon. We arrived about 7:30 p.m. Enjoyed red velvet cupcakes with frosted fangs. Enjoyed a few cocktails and dished about our favorite characters from the movie. Admired the movie posters taped inside the camper.

We laughed until we cried. We cried until we laughed. It was very emotional.

First, let me just say that the movie was awesome. Fabulous, actually. But that’s  not what this post is about. I want to point out how important it is to NOT take yourself too seriously. As it turned out, the others in my party did not wear their costumes. So what? I made a teenage girl in the long, long line shriek, “LOOK! She’s Victoria!” And really, that’s all I needed to confirm and justify my own stupidity. Everyone should be so lucky.

Women and girls stood outside the RV taking photos of our banners.  A local restaurant delivered pizza to our party in the parking lot. It was wonderful.

Hundreds, possibly thousands of women and girls, united by a zest for life. A willingness to be just a little addicted to romantic stories of fictional vampires and werewolves. Even a midnight movie and a 45-minute drive home in the dark at 3 a.m. could not quell my satisfaction and sense of joy. Every once in awhile it’s good to step outside your typical routine and do something that’s purely playful and ok, childlike.

Life is too short. You know the familiar phrase: Live well, laugh often, love much.

And to that I would add, wholeheartedly and with great fervor.

Dippety-do, kid finds and my Twilight addiction

Posted by Farmgirl on March 11, 2009  |  2 Comments

I created this space to showcase recent finds for my antiques and primitives shop. Things like pie cupboards, crocks, vintage quilts and wooden buckets. And I plan to use it for those things … I do, I will—I promise … but today we’re taking a break from the rustic things in my life to spotlight new curiosities. Like this one, for instance.

It’s a Dippety-Do glass jar, filled with icky creek water. My daughter found it submerged in the mud along the bank. She was sooo excited. “How old do you think it is, Mommy?” Hmm. I guessed … 20-25 years maybe. Her reply: “Wow! It’s a real antique.”

Hey, little whippersnapper. Watch it.

But on to other things … like these delightful books my mother-in-law discovered. What could be better than kid-friendly baking recipes and spectacular craft projects for kids—things I’d never think of but can’t wait to try. The bottom book, Crafty U, was written by a certain talk show hostess. I may not agree with her stance on many things—including gun control, but I do appreciate her creative approach to life with kids.

And then there’s the last item. I couldn’t resist sharing these babies. If you don’t have a clue what these are, then I urge you to head to your nearest bookstore, supercenter or Amazon and purchase Stephenie Meyer’s book, Twilight.

Ok, yes, there are vampires in the books; but Twilight is not a book about vampires. It’s a love story. A sweet, innocent and powerful book about love and acceptance. I promise, you will love it and want to read the rest of the series. You will catch Twilighter syndrome …

You will read the books again. Maybe purchase a T-shirt. Perhaps slap an “I drive like a Cullen” sticker on your automobile. The words “sparkle” and “dazzle” will make you grin. Edward screensavers will adorn your computer. You might hang a movie poster in your living room that so completely matches your rustic decor. And maybe, just maybe, you will purchase the Twilight-themed candy hearts on ebay because they’re not available in your neck of the woods. Why? Because you want to hand your sweetie a piece of candy that says Bite Me!

If you haven’t heard of Twilight, you probably don’t understand how romantic “Bite me!” really is. Trust me.

But I digress. Sorry, I got a little carried away. Hmmm. Ah, yes. Finds of the day. These are mine. It’s not always reclaimed wood and century-old pottery. Sometimes it’s all about kids and the fact that inside, mommies are little girls too!