Porch Update

Yesterday Cliff decided we should stain the new porch floor. Notice I said we. Well, I was tired and just got home from going on my first real trail ride since last fall, but, I am a team player so I agreed. He did the majority of the work, but, I helped!!

Here he is taping around the bottom.

I supervised while he taped. Then we started brushing and rolling on the stain.

I think it turned out very well.

Remember back in January we had the whole porch rebuilt.

We have new screening, flooring and columns. The perfect spot to sit a spell!

Here is the trunk I painted and stenciled for the porch.

I know you've been waiting with breath that is bated to hear how the pillow business is going :)

Well in total I have sold 8! I also have added Engagement/Wedding pillows to my store.

They can be customized to say whatever is desired. They make a great gift and can also have a gift card attached as well.

That's what happening here at the Farmhouse.

Thanks for stopping by.

Random Revelations

Thank you for letting me vent in my last post. Things are on an upswing now that we have sun and much warmer temps! Spring is in the air and definitely puts me in a better mood. I am happy to report that my pillow business is going gang gangbusters! Two whole pillows have been ordered. I know - it is VERY exciting. At this rate Cliff can retire when he is 150! I took the rest of the pillows down to Maryland Saddlery today. Believe it or not the lovely saleswoman asked me to make her a burlap pillow for her porch. 

I just ran over to Whole Foods to buy some salmon for dinner. When I came out of the store I was shocked when I saw my parking job. I was basically parked sideways in a head in spot. I had to shake my head at myself. I had a revelation : I am a bad driver. I think. Well, I know. A few weeks ago as I was pulling into yet another parking spot I hit the car next to me. I couldn't believe it. I basically transferred paint from my car on to her car. No dents, but, damage none the less. At first I blamed my car (stupid, I know), I got a new car in the fall and it is definitely a bit bigger than my previous Jeep. I now have come to grips with the fact that I am just not a good driver. This is disheartening since I have been driving for 40 years. I should be good at this by now. I don't know what to do with this revelation. Do I take driving lessons? Get a chauffeur? Maybe I will try harder to be a better driver. Does any of this have to do with The Farmhouse? Well - no, but sometimes I need a little "me" time. And what I have learned from this me time is that driving and selling pillows are not my strong suit.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Winter of My Discontent

I am not in a good mood. Let me start with that. We have no cable or internet. It is raining ice and the weatherman says 6-9 inches of snow are coming. Great, really great. I know I am lucky, at least we have power! Cliff hooked up a hot spot with my phone which is allowing me to write this post. I need to bitch about a few things. So sit back - here it comes.

So, there is this thing called Facebook. You may have heard of it. It's all the rage these days. While I do not have my own FB page, my beloved does, and I have been known to lurk around on his page. I also read several FB groups about horses and dogs and even crafts. The thing that gets me about FB is that it is so easy to use - click this if you "like " something, send birthday wishes without ever having to go to the trouble of actually buying a card, you get the idea. With FB it's easy to be a good friend, neighbor or even consumer. This is my story and I am here to tell you FB is NOT your friend. It's too easy. Sunday night I was looking through my photos on my iPad and decided to post my Fox Hunter pillows photo on one of my FB groups , Fox Hunters on FB. I posted the picture and wrote, "What do you think of these?" Well holy smokes within 12 hours I had almost 300 "likes" and 50 comments! Several of the comments stated that they loved the pillows and would like to buy them. Huh? Really? Ever the entrepreneur, I decided to open an ETSY shop. Everyone always says I should sell these pillows and here on FB folks actually said they would pay for them- RIGHT? I listed the pillows on ETSY, gave my shop a name-ValleyPillows - and went to bed dreaming of all of the orders that would be pouring in. Daylight comes and I jump out of bed (well - crawl,I'm stiff in the morning) and run (walk fast) to the computer, log into my ETSY shop to see how many orders I have. That would be ZERO! Hey FB people you said you wanted them and here they are!! Why would you say one thing and do another? Because it's too easy, that's why. It's so easy to click this or like that, but there is a disconnect between the keyboard and real life. This makes me sad. I may take a long break from Face Book. Thanks for letting me rant. On another note I have made some beautiful pillows and I am planning on taking them to the local equestrian consignment shop if I don't get any orders.

Thanks for stopping by.