A Treatise on Kindness...

Alright, everyone....

I had planned to post about Missouri--and I will catch up--but even during this hectic but wonderful time heading up to Halloween, I wanted to stop a moment and tell you a few stories of kindness.

I'm not the luckiest person in the world. I've never had the job that would make my parents proud or that would keep me secure. I've never been the prettiest, skinniest, most popular. I've often taken the path less traveled to find much of it coming to a dead end. I've been downright hard to deal with at times, even unloveable. Despite this, though, people have bothered to care, to bless me with little tokens of love in one form or another. Friendship, small gifts, a hello...well, you know what I mean.

I wanted to share a little (more) of this today....

Several weeks ago, I hosted a bee workshop. The attendance was low--a group from PA, with children showed up. The owner was a highly sustainable farmer who grew mushrooms. At the end of the discussion, this is what I was gifted with....

Mushrooms....

And more mushrooms...

So many, in fact (those fuzzy guys are mushrooms called pom-poms, by the way)...

That we barely could fit them into the fridge!!

Trust me, you're looking at HALF of what was given to us!

And they were EXCELLENT! So, if you are interested in some amazing mushroom products, PLEASE stop by Phillips Mushroom Farms website! Great people and great product!

The second act of kindness is a little different. I have a friend, fellow farmer and farm writer Tina Michelle who has the fabulous online Small Town Living...she is funny, very kind, the kind of person who radiates and loveliness....

From her, I learned of a family with three wee girls whose mother was having surgery, and that they might not have Halloween festivities (though I was sure that was the least of their problems)...and would anyone be so kind to send the family Halloween things?

Who could say no to this? So, off went three wee packages of goodies in a box, to three wee girls, a little earlier this week.

I had an acquaintance earlier this week who, when I told her the story said: "well, you don't have much money, why are you sending gifts to people you don't know?"

The way I look at it is this: we all are given opportunities to show kindness. WE are the gifts, and we are all gifts to each other, potential friends to be made--friends in waiting--and not strangers. Yes, it's sappy. Perhaps unrealistic, even. But I won't apologize. The idea of three little happy girls makes me happy. And sometimes, it's as simple as that.

Happy Halloween everyone!
What are everyone's Halloween plans! We plan a full day of fun and festivities Friday and Saturday! More on that, soon...

Hello From Kansas!

Hello There!

Well, if you read my last post, you would know that I am deep in the Heart of America right now, on a farm journey of sorts! Today is my last day here, so a little bit of news!

First, these two are finally in my Etsy store!


So hop on over there as they are for adoption at a VERY reasonable price!

Next--a few pictures from my stay in this amazingly beautiful place, the Moore's Farm in Kansas.

It's funny, because most New Yorkers and metro dwellers tend to think they are the center of the Universe, and that places like Kansas are "the Middle Of Nowhere." I'll let you in on a secret--as you can see by just a few of my pictures of this unbelievable loveliness: sometimes you can really be in the middle of Everywhere, and Everything, even in the middle of nowhere...







More of this story--and an announcement--soon!

Somebody Pinch Me!

Greetings Lovelies!

I'm sorry, once again, for my small absence--as usual, I am off and running with various projects. And, with continued gratefulness, I can say they are both keeping me busy, and seem to be prospering....

In other words, MORE good news is afoot!

Firstly, I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my little blog for the Halloween Party, and thank you to all the new readers of this blog! Thanks for joining up to read my ramblings!

NEXT--the beekeeping has finally gotten me into the New York Daily News! (You all do know I wrangle animals and run into the wild when I'm not dreaming over here, right? If not, check out my beekeeping adventures HERE)

Here is the link to the article (ignore the silly picture, they kept asking me to smile WIDER. Doh!)

AND--as I write this, I am a few hours away from jumping on a plane and going to MISSOURI to check out a possible farm job! 400 acres of farm fun! Woohoooo!

I'll post more when I get back on Sunday! That and the crazy tales of too many mushrooms (trust me, it's quite a story!

AND IF THAT WEREN'T ENOUGH -- in the midst of all of this running around, I have managed to finish these creepy and cute Halloween Dolls/Ornaments!

click to enlarge pics

Spooky Kitten and her magical, glittery pumpkin friend

(front)

(back)

Spooky Kitten is roughly 7" tall and made of muslin that has been painted, sanded, and entirely hand painted and detailed. She has a cute seude and lace ruffled trim skirt and a wee button in the back that you can attach string for hanging. Spooktacular Low Sale Price: $13.99

"One Eyed Jack"

(front)

(back)

One Eyed Jack
Is quite a guy
Who excels at Spying with his little Eye
And be sure that what he says is true
When he mentions that he has his eye on you.
But if you make fun of his pink doll, he surely will be hurt,
And next thing you know, he'll have you for dessert!

One Eyed Jack is 5" inches tall and painted, sanded, and then handpainted and detailed. He has a button on his collar and button in the back for hanging.
Spooktacular low sale price: $13.99

Shipping for each is just $2.00 first class mail...

I will list these guys on Etsy tomorrow since, as I've said, I've got a plane to catch--so this is an opportune time for one of my readers to snatch up these little guys for a slightly lower price, before I list them there.

You can also see more cute characters and get your last minute spooky fix by visiting my Etsy Shop HERE ...

Actually, I'd LOVE it if SOMEBODY would adopt ONE of these guys! It's getting rather crowded at the Magical Creature Orphanage!

More news SOON!

A Halloween Soiree!

And now, Lovelies, it's time to join a magical party, as part of the beautiful vision of Vanessa, of
A Fanciful Twist....

Gather round, dear dreamers, while I tell you a story from "Ye Olde Book of Halloween"....

Once upon a time, there existed an enchanted world called Wild At Heart, where Halloween was celebrated every day!

Where the world was:

*Halloween is based on ancient pagan beliefs that this time allows for the dead to walk amongst the living. Costumes were worn by the living to fool the dead and escape any harm that might befall them

...and lit by creepy candle-light!

The first jack-o-lanterns were actually carved turnips with a candle placed into their hollows--a makeshift torch, of sorts...

Where ghostly pot holders gave the kitchen a fright!

Kitchen witchery is the act of using magic in the kitchenplace, whilst preparing food. Many determinants of this included the time and day you made the food, how you handled your utensils, and even which direction you were stirring your food while cooking!

And old pumpkins hung out with little crows...

In Native American mythology, the crow is seen as a clever trickster...

And other crows flew about to only-heaven-knows!

Meanwhile, in parts of Europe and the Middle East, the crow was seen as a harbinger of death, or the intermediary between the living and dead...

And little Halloween devil-bears wove spells, warm and fuzzy!

The art of spell-casting was mostly done by witches--however, this tradition of divination passed on and was used heavily during the Victorian era..seances, using ordinary objects (mirror, etc) to answer unknown questions (especially about love) parlor games, and general superstition harkened back to pagan times.

And little owls hang out with their buddies...

Owls were seen by many as intelligent..possibly for their ability to locate prey by dark, and because of their huge, curious eyes. To hear an owl's cry meant someone close to you would die, according to some superstitions.

But beware of spooky cats, that's the thing!

Cats were thought to be shape-shifting witches; thousands of them were burned, tortured, or hanged in Medieval Ireland, England, and Scotland. Conversely, ancient Egyptians revered them as Gods and embalmed them in several areas of Egypt.

And make sure you greet Wild At Heart's Halloween Owl King!

Oldegarde was Wild At Heart's first ever art doll!

...and..ahem...Queen!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Adopt A Magical Creature Today!

Whew! Have you ever tried to get anything done, only to find that it's taking you so very long to get to it?

Yesterday was sort of a wash for me, as far as getting dolls done --but I'm not complaining--I was interviewed TWICE yesterday, one for the New York Daily News (wooohooo) and one for a nationally known magazine (which I must keep top secret for now, but more on that later...double wooohoooo)!!!

So, I'm just NOW getting around to the lovely dolls I was mentioning in my last post! So please go to my ETSY STORE, HERE, if you are interested in any of these lovelies---and, of course, feel free to email me if you'd like more pics and info on them!

The Little Owl Sweethearts--finally finished!

The Spooky Bros!

...without their SPOOKY sign!

More devils! This time...a Devil Fish!

So to balance it out, of course you'll need an AngelFish..


Catfish and her Kittenfish...

AND MANY MORE! So hop on over there and adopt a Magical Creature TODAY!

By the way, I STILL have about 6 more of these little guys to upload onto Etsy, including a few Halloween crows--so crossing my fingers--they should be on later tonight!

All Hail October!

Ahhh, it's finally here! If you're like me, there is something grand about the coming of October. There is a silent signal that quietly whispers: "Fall is finally here."

You'll know that it's officially okay to kick big heaps of colorful leaves as you walk outside, break out the apple cider and hot cocoa, worship all things pumpkin and pumpkin colored, and eat a few naughty, sugary things to celebrate the season (my particular favorite combines those last two sentiments: I like pumpkin ice cream!).....

Of course, if you're like me, you'll jump headlong into Halloween; in fact, in some ways I celebrate October all year long. Some of my Halloween Decor NEVER goes away (as you might remember in THIS post).

My kitchen holds the showcase piece of Halloween. Here is my "Ye Olde Book of Halloween."

click images to enlarge

Notice that I have a little wand from a Renaissance Faire in days gone by and a magical star, just for ambiance .....

This really is a refurbished art book that holds every last bit of Halloween knowledge that I have collected over the years. Call it a big scrapbook of Halloween history, lore, recipes, and other secret magic. Plus some cute drawings, pictures, scrapbook bits, and other renderings. Consider it a modern day charm book for the big Fall Holiday!

Don't believe me? Here is the opening to my "Halloween Recipes" Nifty, eh?

And here is another divider page in the recipe section: a mishmash of stickers and homemade cut-outs to make a cute scene.....

But the rest of the book is a secret.....shhhhhh.....

In the meantime, this cutely spooky duo is on hand to help me pull out hot dishes from the oven.

Or, rather, they sit there on the wall eying me while I use the "functional" potholders to do the work. Obviously, they are too sweet to warrant getting stained. So they wait to see what I have cooking.

What do I have cooking, by the way? Not food---most of what's new comes from the sewing room!
Here are two of the little devils now....

Ummm...yes, I meant devils literally....

Just who are these guys? Find out tomorrow!!