Best blog ever!

Perfect! I really miss the great Mexican food we got in Tucson, so this is on my list!

Hi Dori!
This post sure made me hungry for authentic Mexican food. We do have a couple of good mexi restaurants here, but they are few and far between. What a fun week you had with your mama…I’m glad you got some time together in her kitchen! She’s a cutie. The recipe seems pretty simple and looks delicious. I just may give it a try on a cold New England day this winter.
Farmgirl Hugs,
Deb

Thank you so much for taking us step by step how to make the red sauce and great meal.
I never knew how the red sauce was made so used Las Palmas sauce. Can this be used for the tamale sauce?
Thank you. Patty

Oh double YUMMMMMM!!! Haven’t had breakfast and this is totally my kind of eats, well it is this morning. I love foods from all over the world and living in Colorado, so close to New Mexico, well lots of good Mexican food here but now I can make it myself. Loved seeing your Mother. God bless.

Oh gosh, wow, looks so yummy. I might try these this looonnnggg cold winter. Thanks.

Best blog ever!

Perfect! I really miss the great Mexican food we got in Tucson, so this is on my list!

Hi Dori!
This post sure made me hungry for authentic Mexican food. We do have a couple of good mexi restaurants here, but they are few and far between. What a fun week you had with your mama…I’m glad you got some time together in her kitchen! She’s a cutie. The recipe seems pretty simple and looks delicious. I just may give it a try on a cold New England day this winter.
Farmgirl Hugs,
Deb

Thank you so much for taking us step by step how to make the red sauce and great meal.
I never knew how the red sauce was made so used Las Palmas sauce. Can this be used for the tamale sauce?
Thank you. Patty

Oh double YUMMMMMM!!! Haven’t had breakfast and this is totally my kind of eats, well it is this morning. I love foods from all over the world and living in Colorado, so close to New Mexico, well lots of good Mexican food here but now I can make it myself. Loved seeing your Mother. God bless.

Oh gosh, wow, looks so yummy. I might try these this looonnnggg cold winter. Thanks.

this is so special & so sweet….really wish i could be a regular customer at your little stand with the amazingly beautiful flowers!!

Your flowers are truly beautiful! How blessed you are to be able to do what you love with people you love and share with others! Thank you.

Carol

Well, you finally found ALL the right words. Thank you for filling my heart this morning. Joe Barron, former owner of the historic 4-story flour mill that I now steward, had an honor system “store” for his flour. His sign (that I still have) said, “If no one here, help yourself.”

I wish I lived closer too!(I live in NJ) Flowers just make me happy (yours are beautiful!). Thank you for sharing your life with us, you and your family are an inspiration!

Thanks so much for sharing. It has always been a dream of mine to sell flowers just like this. Your post has motivated me so much. Such a sweet article!

Dori – your flower arrangements are beautiful. I don’t recognize the spiky hot pink/magenta flowers. What are they? Wonder if they’d grow in our climate. Thanks, N

Happy Greetings, Dori!
I like to sew also, so this post is especially enjoyable! I love, love, love the tour of your room and the project you did too. For me there is nothing so special than to have my own special space. Bravo! I now have an extra machine for my granddaughter too. Fun!

That extra edition magazine is one I’m looking forward to.

Thank you!
Joan
FG 6465

Cute post. Definitely can agree with finding new purpose for the things we own. I just love getting outta the box for purpose!
Jena

I love DIY projects. Or better yet DIH projects! I know that Home Depot offered classes for children, but I didn’t know about the adult classes. They sound like so much fun. I will have to sign up for one sometime and drag my mom along. Your new shelf turned out way nice. Repurposing what you have is always the best. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Thank you for the magazine giveaway. I can’t wait to check it out.

Dori, I love what you’ve done with your (old/new) shelf unit. It looks fabulous.
I love dih ing. I’ve got a beautiful detailed did cabinet that a client was throwing out. We rescued it, painted it a beautiful white, and changed out the top on it from an ugly marble one to a beautiful high gloss hardwood timber one and it just looks amazing. I’ve done a desk/dresser that I found at a thrift store for $25, with brass handles which I polished right up and it looks so beautiful. I use it every day. I love repurposing things, making old things workable and beautiful again. The process is just as wonderful as enjoying the end result and knowing I’ve done it, is the best feeling. I’m always looking for inspiration too from others projects too. Well done. Love the wooden barrel too. I can just imagine that at your place.
Blessings to you
Denise
Australia

Your shelf turned out beautiful! I would love to win a copy of the magazine. 🙂

I love your website and your projects, especially the quilted ones…

Would love to have a copy. But the shipping to my address is almost twice what you’re selling the magazine. I’ll take my chances on winning and if I don’t, I’ll buy the newstand copy.

I would love to win a copy! You storage makeover is beautiful!

I love to see old things”repurposed”, as they are usually better built and have character that is so lacking these days. Good work, now you have something you can be proud of for many reasons! Thanks for the heads up on the Home Depot projects, too.

I too love to DIY or the newest version for us gals, DIH. That fits me so much better. I’m always figuring out how to take an object and make it better or just reuse and recycle. Very creative and love the transformation of your rolling shelve.

Dori,
I just love your blogs and I love that you include so many pics. Thanks for always brightening my day.

Dori,
I just have been reading your facebook post about the rolling book case. I too love old pieces of furniture that I have been given from time to time. I also especially love your little mini quilts. They are perfect above your table. I look forward to doing some mini quilts also. I would love one of the new books. I have her other ones and each time a new one comes out I just sit and read…… Can’t help myself I am addicted to all Mary Janes books and magazines.

I love the idea of rescuing something that is a family hand me down! I think of the awesome pieces my dad or my gramps or father in law had made, and the ways they could have been altered if need be.

You reminded me of something I did a lo-ong time ago. We were given a Magnavox TV but the TV didn’t work and I hated to throw away a perfectly good but too deep mahogany cabinet. So I cut it almost in half (parallel to the front) so I had a back and a front. I set the back part (no doors) on top of the front half that has the doors. I put a couple of shelves in the top part and used brown shoe polish on the edges of the shelves and the cut parts for a perfect match of the colors. I also put one shelf in the bottom part. With a piece of plywood over the whole back it is sturdy and solid. My husband thought I was crazy when I suggested it but it has been a nice looking, useful, step-back cupboard for about 40 years!

Thank you for the sweet story and inspiration! I’ll be checking out craft days at Home Depot, too. 🙂

So encouraging to see your project finished and I love the smaller quilts on the wall…all inspiring! And…winning the special edition would be as well! Thanks!

Your fence, looks really fantastic, Dori. Really suits your house. Phew, that is one heavy, hard and hot job. But I’m thinking there’s nothing quite like the feeling of looking out at it now,and going, yay, we did that, doesn’t it look great! I love keeping busy too and a farm would be lovely but not just yet. Love keeping up with what you’re doing. Take care and many blessings to you and yours from Australia.

I love how y’all came up with a perfect solution for holding those boards in place – brilliant! Everything is looking great.

Wow, what a farm chore! Looks great. Giving you a Farmgirl Sisterhood Ye Haw…

It looks beautiful! Can’t wait to see it! I know it was a lot of hard, hot work. And do NOT ask my kids about painting fences black. They will not give you any encouragement . Just wear old clothes! But it will all be worth it in the end!

Oh Dori, thank you so much for your wonderful post!!! Brings back great memories when I was on the farm. ‘Busy’ is nourishing and then to throw in some relaxing fun, well it just doesn’t get any better than that. Your fence looks superb and painted black will make it stand out and enhance your entire property. It will be so much work to do but so rewarding. The two of you make great work-mates. God bless. P.S. give that beautiful TN. ground a hug for me, so miss it.

Wow your fence looks fantastic! You guys did such an amazing job! I bet it was a lot of hard work and you are so proud to see it accomplished! My husband has built many fences in his life and he says its some hard work. Glad I haven’t had to build one yet! Good luck with the painting in the future!

You and your husband know how to work smarter not harder!! Looks great!

Wow…what a project! It looks wonderful! Wish I had that around our farm…congrats on a job well done and thanks for sharing!

The fence is wonderful! I have plenty of projects, but my husband never seems to get to any of them. I have asked for weeks for the guns to be taken from the dining room, but they are still there.

I really enjoy the pictures of your beautiful home and the people who live there. I always think…what a neat person you are. Busy hands, kind and loving. Your grandchildren must adore you. Jann

Lovely post, Dori. There is a lot of awful things happening, but we do need to concentrate on our blessings. Love your photos too. You have a beautiful home and I love nothing more than working up a sweat on a project and looking at it when it’s finished with satisfaction And delight. It it one of life’s joys for sure. Happy summer days to you and winter to me here in Australia. Take care and blessings to you and yours.
Denise

I love the photos you have here. Your home looks like it has a spectacular view and please continue to focus on the good things.

I couldn’t agree with you more! I am not a fan of dwelling on the negative. I like to think that I am a fairly positive person. Life is to short to be negative and not enjoy the beauty that is all around. I actually found loads of happiness last night as I was out picking veggies from my garden for dinner. It’s the first time I have grown a garden so the excitement is amplified! At the same time it makes me grateful for all the blessings I have and all the positive in my life. Thank you for the reminder of the importance of happiness and the small things that create it!

Your post just makes me smile. I would love more on the sewing too…it looks like such a fun project, and you know I have the perfect Littles to do it with!

Beautiful blog!

I just feel like we’ve had a nice visit. I just LOVE your posts. I love working in the garden in summer and my flowers. I don’t love the heat of summer here in the south, but do love the fresh, home-grown veggies and flowers blooming

Love your post. I agree with you. I’m caring for my mom, loving every minute of it. I’m tired but it’s a good tired and I wouldn’t want to be doing any thing else.
We have so many blessings around us so continue to take the time to smell the roses.

Inspiring to say the least, Dori. Thanks for this blog. I always read every comment, every blog, and it feels good to belong to this. I think we all could use uplifting stories that keep us happy, inspired, and looking for the good things in life and being thankful for all our blessings in the small and big things we encounter every day. Inspired by your building your own home – we are trying to fix ours up – smoke damaged throughout – lots of work here. Got a rash from tearing out carpet. Itchy and painful all in one. But so glad to get rid of it. Hope to move in by October this year. Need prayers if anyone is willing. Thanks for your blog.

Thank you for reminding me of that. It’s wonderful advice. Have a great week.

Thank you Dori, love n peace and all that God will bring.

What a lovely post, Dori! It’s so great to see the amazing abundance of food and beauty you are getting from your farm. Your tomatoes are weeks ahead of ours up here ;)–but we, too, have had a bumper crop of cukes!

Your hand pies looks scrumptious! Thanks for a bit of Farmgirl eye candy amongst the maelstrom of current events, we all need it.

Best to you and yours,
Alex

What a beautiful blog post. I’ve followed you for quite a while…loved watching your house become a home. My youngest daughters name is Jillian! She loves to cross stitch…just like me 🙂
I see a “I choose to be happy” quilt sampler in your future!
My mouth is watering thinking of your pickles!
Take care,
Debbie

Aren’t porches the best part of country homes? Your porches are awesome! Our western Montana home has huge porches facing east and west with a window wall on west with mountain view and French doors on east but I still have to spend a few moments (at least!) of every day hanging out on one or both of our porches! We also have minimal furniture, and like you a porch swing was an absolute! Enjoy

Thank you for the tour of your beautiful porches! At the moment our house has a very small front porch and an alright sized back porch. There is only room to lounge on the back porch but we avoid it most days due to the super hot sun and absolutely no shade. We talk about building a house in the future and I know a large porch is in my dream house. I want one where I can relax and watch the sun set in a rocking chair. I also want to make sure it has plenty of shade. We will see what happens! Thanks for the tip about heavy furniture. I would much rather not chase around furniture when a storm comes through! Enjoy your porching weather!

Oh ! So enjoyed the tour of your farmhouse porches. One thing I wondered about was not seeing any cats. I also live on a farm and find it so hard to keep it clean and tidy. Between the muddy boots and fly stains, I find it hard to keep up. Of course we use fly spray…but kitties are always on my chairs and table. Love some of your other ideas..like oil cloth on the picnic table top. But life on the farm is forever changing…mainly because of the weather. So thanks for the tour and great ideas…u have a beautiful place to call home.

Love your porches… To the best Grammy ever!

Got a question for you Dori. According to my theory (and a few things I’ve studied), I wonder if you have mosquitoes up there? Probably not, right?…I’m so curious.

Dori, you are blessed to be able to enjoy your home and “porches” at a younger age. They are truly beautiful. You are both are very talented!!

Aren’t porches the best part of country homes? Your porches are awesome! Our western Montana home has huge porches facing east and west with a window wall on west with mountain view and French doors on east but I still have to spend a few moments (at least!) of every day hanging out on one or both of our porches! We also have minimal furniture, and like you a porch swing was an absolute! Enjoy

Thank you for the tour of your beautiful porches! At the moment our house has a very small front porch and an alright sized back porch. There is only room to lounge on the back porch but we avoid it most days due to the super hot sun and absolutely no shade. We talk about building a house in the future and I know a large porch is in my dream house. I want one where I can relax and watch the sun set in a rocking chair. I also want to make sure it has plenty of shade. We will see what happens! Thanks for the tip about heavy furniture. I would much rather not chase around furniture when a storm comes through! Enjoy your porching weather!

Oh ! So enjoyed the tour of your farmhouse porches. One thing I wondered about was not seeing any cats. I also live on a farm and find it so hard to keep it clean and tidy. Between the muddy boots and fly stains, I find it hard to keep up. Of course we use fly spray…but kitties are always on my chairs and table. Love some of your other ideas..like oil cloth on the picnic table top. But life on the farm is forever changing…mainly because of the weather. So thanks for the tour and great ideas…u have a beautiful place to call home.

Love your porches… To the best Grammy ever!

Got a question for you Dori. According to my theory (and a few things I’ve studied), I wonder if you have mosquitoes up there? Probably not, right?…I’m so curious.

Dori, you are blessed to be able to enjoy your home and “porches” at a younger age. They are truly beautiful. You are both are very talented!!

Aw, Dori, love seeing these snapshots of your life on your farm…they tell a perfect story without words 🙂

Your pictures are fascinating and definitely tell a story without words! I would love to relax on the bed on the porch. It sounds so peaceful and calming. It’s calling my name! I would have to say my favorite picture is the one of the bird nest with eggs inside your husband’s boot. That is a crazy place for a nest but I would enjoy being able to look in and see how they are doing. Hopefully your husband was okay with sharing and had another pair to wear! Also, the picture of your puppy just melts my heart and your granddaughters are just simply adorable.

Congratulations to Judy on winning the potholder!

Oh Dori….Sometimes words are not needed to share the joy and happiness of a life well lived. To be thankful for the abundance in our lives are cherished with a grateful heart and passed along to those who need encouragement during times of struggle when there seems to be no hope. You are a blessing, to not only me, but many others who find the simply things in life the most rewarding. Your beautiful photos have said it all 🙂

Thank you for sharing so much of your life. The reminder about giving Thanks really struck home this morning! )

Oh yeah!!! a wonderful posting!!! I so miss seeing these times on the farm so you sharing is a real joy. I must remember to do the Give Thanks banner for my front porch and you have given me another idea to use some of my MANY antique buttons – Grandma’s button box, I will try to make up a bunch for my cousins – a memory and a fun item too. Thanks again for you. God bless.

Pictures are worth a thousand words! What a beautiful life you portray in your photos and captions. Thank you for sharing.

The photos are wonderful. My favorite is Belle, she reminds me of the best dog I ever had. Her name was Patches and she was always at my side. I am so glad you and your family have this opportunity to enjoy the country life. I now live in a city (Memphis) and miss the country so much. Have a wonderful summer.

Pictures say a thousand words, and yours are beautiful! Your farm and family give you joy and that is expressed in your pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Jillian’s story is my favorite. I will never forget my own grandmother sharing her talents with me. Today, as I pick up a needle or rug hook, I think of her and am grateful for the gift of creativity which she shared so freely with me.

Oh my this post just thrilled me! So many bonified quilters, real quilters! I loved Jaime’s comments, LOVED Jillian’s comments and her quilt, and fell in love with you and your Momma’s picture!

I just love all the pictures and descriptions of why people love to quilt. The fabric is what draws me in. My favorite quilt was done by my best friend who died of cancer several years ago. I draw inspiration from her talent and vision.

Dori, this is a fabulous post. I love seeing everyone’s pictures and reading their stories. Every single one of these quilts are absolutely beautiful, but if I have to pick one I would say Jamie’s purple quilt. I love the colors and design on the fabric. It reminds me of a purple quilt my grandma made me. This really encourages me to make my own quilt some day.

I don’t know which story I like the best either. I love the picture of Lisa tho!! I have inherited some old parts of quilts from my grandmother also. They are very imperfect but I have learned just to love them in all their imperfection because they are from her. I am making one of them into a wall hanging now.

I absolutely LOVED all of your winter quilts. Such an inspiration! But Jillian’s quilt and memory was my favorite! Makes me want to make time this summer to sew some up with our girls. 🙂

Dori, I enjoyed this blog post. I have been quilting for over 25 years. It is just a part of who I am. I loved Jaime’s comments. All of the ladies made beautiful quilts. After reading Maxine’s post it makes me want to pull out the partial finished quilt that I have that belonged to my husband’s mother. It is a Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern. I’ve only hand quilted one large quilt. Maybe this is be my next winter’s project – finish the top and hand quilt. Thanks for your blog.

Loved all the quilts, I enjoy seeing what others do with fabric. There are no quilters in my family other than me, so for me the creative process is most important. I connect with Lisa the most. Thanks for posting the pictures.

All of these stories were near. I have & use my grandmothers quilts and look at the fabrics and wonder if it was a dress she wore or a shirt my grandfather wore. I’ve never made a quilt but I remember watching my mom & grandmother make one. I want to make one someday. I liked Kathleen’s story of how a friend helped her after a surgery. What a nice gift to get someone started as they recover and also maybe help take their mind off of recovery. I also liked the colors of her quilt. Very pretty!

You so inspire me! Thank you! Love all quilts! It is like covering family and friends with love So many beautiful unique ones to choose from- just can’t decide. Have a happy blessed day1

I Love quilts and make a lot of quilts too, so I love quilt stories too.

Wanda’s story touched my heart! I have 2 very dear friends whom I have known for nearly 32 years. I have been working 2-3 jobs for the last few years and have been able to do any kind of craft. I have dabbled in quilting in the past, but never finished a quilt. My grandmother was an avid quilter and made some beautiful quilts from only scraps. She would gasp at actually buying material to make one! I think I am going to try to make a quilt for my friends similar to Wanda’s.
Thanks for the inspiration.

Totally enjoyed this posting and all these wonderful pictures! I bet it was a treat for you when it all came together?…Thanks so much for all your work!
Keep me in mind for your quilted drawing please.

I connected with Luanne’s post the most. I often think about the women in the 17 and 1800s who stitched, cut, pressed, quilted etc. without electricity, a sewing machine (sometimes) fabric stores, cutting mats and rotary cutters, myriads of thread choices and I am in awe of them. What a labor of necessity yes but also love. So I am very much attracted to the old classic patterns and reproduction fabric. Quilting is timeless.

I feel so bad I didnt get to make one as I had accepted the challenge then we decided we were going to move so my entire house is packed up, but now we are not moving yet, so I will have to get out my sewing machine and dig around my tubs and boxes for material and make me a quilt. I loved every story especially the one the lady made of her three friends, and my favorite was the pic of you and your mom at the end, it brought a big smile to my face when I saw yall’s smiles. Hope I win some potholders, maybe then I will be inspired to at least try my hand at those. Be BLessed and thanks for sharing all of the beautiful quits and stories. Neta

The last photo of you and your mother brought tears to my eyes. My mother made many of those same blocks. I have one quilt top she made with them. Several years ago my mother and I spent time just like that embroidering quilt blocks. A memory I cherish now. Thanks for sharing.

I loved all the quilting stories. My Great Grandmother quilted all winter long beside the little ‘olé pot-belly stove. I’d sit there reading some book or other watching her knarled fingers pushing that needle in and out, in and out. I hated it when she disappeared into the bedroom to spread it out on her spare bed to do the batting and backing. I wanted to see what she was doing. I didn’t want to miss anything.* giggle* That sweet lady made so many quilts to warm my sister and I, relatives, neighbors and friends. All were done my hand in the “scrappy” style. They were so colorful and thick. I still have a couple of her quilts. Everybody who got one of Grams quilts really got a treasure to keep, a memory of a hard-working lady who gave so much of herself to others for their comfort and happiness. I have a bit of an itch to try to quilt too. I just need to start and to not be afraid. I think I’ll start something small. It’s in my blood right? *giggle* BTW, I love that picture of your and your sweet momma! That IS a keeper.

I think Jillian story is my favorite. Doing this with her grandma is a memory I’m sure she will never forget. For either of you. And she has something to show for it. Building such precious memories.

I loved all of the stories, but I think that Maxine’s story really touched me the most. Finding the quilt tops from her grandmother and finally finishing them is something that I will never experience. My grandmother did quilt a little, but she mainly done crochet and knit work along with many other crafts. She was very talented and I never really took up any of the crafts from her. Now that I am older, I wish I would have.

Bonnie’s quilt was my favorite. I love anything to do with history. Thank you for all the photos and stories of the various quilts.
Joan

The quilts you do are very beautiful and inspiring. Keep up the good work.

I can relate to Maxine’s more because I have quilt top that was pieced by my grandma… I think…lol. It could have been by my mother. Neither one of them were quilters that I know of, but this top showed up at my grandma’s house somehow. I had to find fabrics that blended and colors that matched to make it large enough, and that took me forever. I will start hand quilting it soon for my grand daughter. My own daughter will be helping me quilt it… That is truly a multi-generation project. I love the picture of you and yr mother too. That is a wonderful memory!

Loved all the stories. I have been a quilter for 30 years plus and can relate to each story, collectively they have inspired me to find and finish a pile of blocks my mom started about 20 years ago. I know I still have tucked away in my stash, and I know I can finish it and then give it to her in time for her 84th birthday. Thanks to you all for the inspiration.