Shery, Yes, the re-do is an on-going, eternal (so it feels) project. We laid a "tile" (read that peel and stick) floor in the kitchen. Looks great. After reading comments left by other sisters last blog, I realize one of us needs to write a book about transforming trailers. Hmmm! Since we got snow here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire last night, I too am ever so ready for Spring. I saw my Daffodils were attempting to stick there little noses out of the dirt and I begged them to wait! sigh. Life is good, none the less. enjoy!

What a great blog today! I absolutely love the baby shoe pincushions! Oh my, I can’t wait to see the other versions!
Your new quilts are lovely – plain and simple! You find great things and have wonderful taste. I thoroughly enjoyed everything you talked about today. I, too, cannot wait to finally see some color. Spring, in Pennsylvania, is right around the corner, I think. This morning I saw our neighbors daffodils and they are blooming! Yippie!

Oh Shery,
I too find my self gravitating to warm sunny spots (like your hens do, lol!) and to bold colors,,, I am sooo over ‘white’ everywhere I look or go! Not to mention Cold!
I grow violets in my home because they bloom for me even in the dead of Winter…. I bring in potted geraniums & azaleas for the Winter, and mine have been blooming for the past 3 weeks! :>)
Hang in there, have fun & keep us informed as to the goings on at the Jespersen Ranchero ( & your wee trailer too!).
>^..^<

I too have been on the hunt for some pansies to sit on the windowsill and just smile! I guess we’ll have to wait a few more weeks 🙁

Hi Sheri, What a great find you got with your quilts, they are really pretty! Are you going to hang them for decoration? Your babyshoe pinkeeps are adorable, you are sooo talented with your sewing!! You have a great eye for color and fabrics and putting things together!! I love the picture of your Ribbon, she is beautiful!! My golden boy isn’t very golden right now, he has been enjoying rolling in the mud!! The swan is very pretty, so glad that you were able to find just what you had been wanting. Well worth the wait. Sounds like your remodeling is coming along nicely, love that you chose barn red for your porch. That is one of my favorite colors too. Well, the crocus & hyacinths are blooming here in KS and my daffodils are up and getting nice big buds on them. With the warmer temps, hopefully they will bloom this next week. Yay! I am decorated for St Patty’s Day, all in Kelly Green – love that rich green color. I do have something on my bucket list that has been there for a long time and that is to have a few chickens….hopefuly someday. 🙂 Happy Spring to you Shery

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Jan,  Thank you so much for the friendly feedback :o) Yes, the red patchwork quilt is hanging my hallway where the sun cannot reach it. I’m shamrock green with envy that your spring flowers are springing. Everything here is still fast asleep with no real thaw yet. I’ll help you hold onto your dream having some hens and fresh eggs to gather. I do love them so.   shery

I so enjoy your posts. Your ideas inspire me and I just love your down to earth attitude. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us each month.

Wow! What great ideas. It sounds like you’ll nearly be building from scratch! It’s always fun to see house all those ideas coalesce into reality. You must post pictures of your progress!

Nancy
http://www.liveasavorylife.com

Oh wow Shery, I love the pics you have pinned! I could live in any of those rooms! Especially love the top two kitchen pics. When we bought this property a few years ago I would not have picked this house at all. Hubs wanted this 10 acres all woods surrounding some really nice lawns and a couple of ponds also. But the house is a Modular. Brought in three pieces and set upon a basement. The previous owners tastes were not anything like ours. The cabinets and fixtures are low end and I have slowly been trying to make it ours. Some painting of cabinets in a bath and some in the kitchen. It is a lot of work but you will be so happy when you have made it over. The front of our house just has a deck like step up to the front door, I so want a porch…one day. Hubs is like your man, he wants to do it all himself so it goes slow. I think I need to let him have his pole barn first though because he built my hen house for me first. This past week he pulled up carpet squares from my work area "studio" in the the basement and has laid black and white stick down tiles. It has brightened my area up so much. I have been painting an old dresser to store some fabrics in and the man has also taken an old upright gun cabinet and added shelves that I am going to paint to store fat 1/4’s in. He built himself some beautiful new wall cabinets for his hunting rifles last year. I keep forgetting to share them on my blog. He is a self taught wood worker and does it for a hobby. Now plumbing, I do wish we would hire someone. My kitchen sink has had a leak every six months since we move in four years ago….. Looking forward to all your reveals as they get finished!

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Hi Brenda, Ya know one thing I learned when writing the furntiure refinishing article about Norma Ploog (in the current issue of MaryJanesFarm) is that making do for the common man was the norm <with furntiure>. A lot of coveted antiques today are piece-meal examples. I have one. Buying lumber was a luxury, so often a discarded piece was recycled piece by piece. Your gun cabinet turned into a quilters fabric shelf fits right into that idea. Norma is refinishing a really ratty old shelf – tall, shallow – just right for folded fabric too. It is structurally ok, but needs paint and she’s going to add a beadboard door to it. Your checkerboard floor sounds really cheery. My mama’s kitchen floor is similar – red and cream. Thanks for stopping by!  shery

WOW!! I am so impressed. WE bought an old log (hand hewn) cabin 5 years ago. I have lived in it about 8 months total straight, other times it was visiting since I travel when I work. I loved your ideas. I have a terrible time trying to find soemthing that would work with the log walls. At first I thought it would be great but everywhere I look there is wood and logs. Being hand hewn there is nothing flat or level. This has inspired me to "try again". Now where do I start. I am finally getting a garden space (you would think with 200 acres I would at least have that. It has been cleared as of yesterday and they removed the old double decker outhouse that was someones idea of a joke. My husband sealed it off so no one would get on it and fall and that was as far as it got. (He travels also for work) I am finding that I can do just about anything (well almost). All I can say is THANK YOU… Keep us posted…

Oooooo, a log home. Now there is a dream. I do know from others I’ve met over the years that log wall interiors are a challenge in ways unique to log surfaces. I bet you’ll get it all figured out. A little encouragement goes a long way…and thank you for that. You hang in there too…it’ll be so worth it in the end. Thats what I keep looking at.   Shery

Shery, as I read your blog, it occurred to me; ‘have you and Lynn ever thought about buying an old house somewhere and moving it to your place?’ It would be alot of work, but it might be more of what you want?! Home prices are good now, so maybe it could be profitable?

Hi Terry,  Yes, we’d considered it, but we decided that it was more of a task than either of us were up for. Moving such a structure is a monumental undertaking and in our location, such a house would have to be moved from quite a distance. So, we just decided to ‘make do’ with what we have :o)   Shery

Oh do I know what you mean. My house was built in 1875 and I love it, but it is my work in progress. I love pinterest too! I think Home is Home and I love making it warm and cozy! Love your blog!

Dear Claudia,  WOW…1875 IS an old house. I bet it has so much character and charm. That is what I miss and hope to recreate in some fashion.  Shery

Oooooh, ooooh, oooh. I told you we were sisters. I, too, live in a trailer after recently losing my condo to foreclosure. But, like you, I have decided that this sweet little place can be the farmgirl home I have always wanted. I want to put in a footed vintage tub in my bathroom and am working on putting lots of beadboard in the kitchen. I actually have that cute flowered bread box and almost bought the red phone at the antiques mall yesterday. And the tile backsplash, yep, doin’ that too.
Love your posts

Sheri: Your house trailer sounds like the size of our house. We have lived here 48 years. We have it mostly as we want it but the thing that happened is the wonderful decor began to fill the house to overflowing. I have rid myself of many things and kept the best. I like it here. We have a pantry. We have no basement but the pantry is where it’s fun to decorate. My kitchen is white. This way, whatever colors you want will show up and be accents. My next project is to build a barn in my garden area. Not much room here either but I am determined. Good luck with your project. I know what it is like to live in a space while remodeling. The first project my husband tried I had plaster on the counter and in every crevice of the house. Of course he never covered up any where! Bonnie

Hi Bonnie! The barn-shed for your garden sounds great. I see on off in the distance here too, but with everthing else going on it is for sure a’ways off :o)  Thanks for writing.  shery

Shery,

Rancher, electrician, they’re both the same. " NEVER hire anyone to do something when I can do that." The problem with that is the hired someone has a crew, we only have a crew of one or 2. So the list grows. Oh well, when it’s done it will be perfect! Plus the cheaper cost gives you more money to go farther down the list. Lower costs/more patience.

Your ideas and plans are wonderful, please keep us posted with more pictures. I love seeing your progress.

_____

Hi June! Thanks so much for the shot of encouragement!! You’re right too. When ‘admiration day’ comes (the day when you stand back and enjoy the end result), it will be great…..if we ever get there :o)))))    Shery

Sheri
You and I have a lot in common! We moved from a beautiful 5000 square foot Victorian home in another state to a small 3 bedroom modular home back in Colorado. We too thought of building a “dream home”, but are not sure we want to stay in this part of Colorado. So, every day I try to decide if we should improve this home or even bother because we may move. However, I find it depressing sometimes as it is a sad little house to me. We have put up a huge beautiful new barn and a huge hay barn, plus shelters for the horses, cattle and bucking bulls we raise. We built a beautiful heated chicken house I wouldn’t mind living in! LOL. I often say our critters live better than us!

We have had to store all are beautiful antiques including furniture in a storage which to me is like throwing money away every month.

I have always felt home is where you hang your hat, but I have never seemed to warm to this house, maybe because I have always thought of it as “temporary”. Good luck in your project. You are a creative person. I can ride, rope, shoot a gun better than most men, but the creative gene past me by. I can’t cook, sew, darn or do any of the artsy projects you and your friends do. I admire your talents. I am a pretty good oil painter of county scenes though.

Treese/Colorado Cowgirl
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Dear Treese,  You’re absolutely right about the temporary notion. I’ve been living in this house for many years without having married it. I finally decided to make this space MINE and make it look that way. I wish I could blink and make it done!

If you get to where you can smoke a peacepipe with your home, I bet some sprucing up and all those lovely antiques would finally make your home your own. I think some of us girls are funny that way. Female animals are VERY fussy as to where they finally decide to make their ‘nest’ :o)

I would love to see your paintings. Hey, I’m only good at a fractional spec of all there is to do on this planet. We can’t do it all and I don’t rope either. I can dally to help Lynn with a sick cow or calf, but I just never friendly’d up to a rope.   Shery

I love all the things you have incorporated on this project. The colors are wonderful! Great job! My husband and I are just about to embark on a journey of building our new house called an earthship, out of old and recycled material. I love using Pinerest too as a sounding board to add just the right things to my taste and recreating it. Thanks for sharing!

Hi I too buy things and wait for the item to show me where it wants to live. People are like that too. We get our homes but we have to live in them sometimes for years before they show us what they want to look like. Our home use to belong to my parents. We bought it 8 yrs ago. It has taken me that long to feel like it’s my home to change.My mom lives next door and doesn’t like some of the new decorating ideas that are out there. So I hesitated changing anything. Now like you said things need work and attention. I’m going my way!. I have always loved the look of painted stairs, I’ve got them now. The old carpet became dangerous. Now I have nice paint and cushy step pads. Sweet and cheap. Gotta love carpet remenants. My mom did help me make new curtains for the dining area and valence for my bay window in the kitchen. We too have a long list and my husband won’t hire it done. There are days I wish it was all done, but I guess that’s how life works. You have to have a list to function. Enjoy your list, I’ll enjoy mine and we’ll both get beautiful time together with our husbands, sawdust, paint, sore muscles, etc..

Looks awesome. I am currently living in a mobile home,also, with another large one just feet away. Torn about setting up the second one, needs a lot of work, but may be moving in three or four years. Wondering about the grant for the greenhouse. Could you give me some info on that since I live in the beautiful state of Wyoming also? Straight across, a bit more than half way to the other side. : )even if I couldn’t have it here, my parents have 10 acres on the other side of Basin where it could be set up. Thanks much. Another Sherri.

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Hi Shery,  Go to your County Extension office and they can give you the specs. I don’t know that much about it yet, but the structure is a frame with a ‘tarp’ over it. I may opt out if it doesn’t look wind worthy. As you know, we get REAL wind in this state.  shery

Hey Shery,
In 2010 I painted my kitchen cabinets cherry red on the bottom, and left the top white (they were all white). Most everyone thought I was crazy then! At age 55, I thought, why not??? Since then I have enjoyed my kitchen so much!! It is so bright and cheer-y. My house was built in 1973, a tri-level, look-alike to many in the neighborhood. But now, my neighbors, friends, and family are always looking to see what is "new" and interesting. I have found that the colors and style that usually catches your eye are what you should use. I was surprised at how it all came together. I have had so much fun with my home, even while I’m waiting for my "dream" home. I have a sign on my cabinet that says "Home is where your story begins." That is so true!!

Hi, Shery…
I am going to retire to a 30-year old modular (it’s paid for!) and have been contemplating many re-decorating tasks. I like the look of an "old" house too. Many times I have longed to be able to find a decorating book or magazine that would address the needs of those of us living in mobile homes…but to no avail. If anyone else has seen one, let me know. I am not "handy" or especially creative, so I usually have to see someone else’s ideas before making them my own. Sooo, when you are done with this project, how about publishing a picture diary of your journey? (Don’t forget to include how to paint mobile home paneling!)

And by the way, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your blog. You are the bright spot in LOTS of my days!!

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Hi Lilli! You made MY day Lilli…with your kind words of affirmation.

I’ve seen a couple articles in magazines about mobole home make-overs – interiors. Only two. You’re right, there is precious little out there that would offer good tutoring on the subject of specific helps. Mobiles homes do pose challenges not seen in stick-built home…well, in the general sense. And, furthermore, there are a lot of people who live in them. A LOT. One could argue that what works in the way of ‘re-do’ in a ‘real’ house applies in a mobile. Well, anyone who says that hasn’t lived in one. Granted, some of it is true, but I know that so much of my discouragement happens when I stand back and look at something nice that I’ve done and the ‘it’ looks nice but ‘it’ is in a ‘trailer house’ room and looks it. Many folks don’t care. For those of us that do, the challenge makes us wrinkle our nose often. In my worst mood, I once said to my husband, "Dressing up a trailer is like polishing a terd". ;o) I was so aggravated with the cheap walls and FAUX wood trim…emphasis on cheap…as in crap. There, I said it. But, I’ve since combed the hair down on my neck and have simply committed myself to making changes that will make me smile. I will take photos and share of them, of course! Thank you for the vote of confidence.   Shery

Love your hearts. Feel so bad for your little terrier. Cut n Heal works wonders for healing wounds like this. A vet used it on one of my horses years ago that had a wide open gash in her chest when she went through a wire fence. In a couple days you couldn’t even hardly tell. I love your blog, makes me dream of younger years.

Hi Shery, Love your herd of hearts, beautiful!! You are a very talented lady.
Oh, your poor doggie!! What a terrible thing to happen, especially to an older pooch. So glad to hear that she is healing and getting along OK. My corgi is my constant companion. I know that love you are talking about.
Congratulations on your new horse, Apple (love the name). Can’t wait to see pictures. Like you I have a love of horses in my blood and heart. My Dad told me that soon after I had learned to walk, I went right up to the horses at a place called Joyland, wasn’t afraid at all, and wanted to ride them over and over. After almost 40 years, I now have two horses! Yeah!! 🙂

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Yep, Jan…I know your ‘affliction’ well and we don’t want the cure !! :o)

shery

Shery,
Again this was a wonderful post. I always look forward to them. BTW thanks for the songs and poems.
Happy Valentines Day to You!!

Your writing validates the lifestyle of so many of us, thank you. I’m going to go look at my scraps and hang a homemade heart on all the horses stalls. I sure hope that good little terrier heals up. Older dogs are so wise and kind; they are to be cherished.

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Dear Liz, What a thoughtful response…….thank you so very much.

shery

I am so happy your dog is doing OK! I love your posts and always pick them from all the sisters to read first and all of it!

Smiles, Cyndi

Shery, Thanks once again for being such a gift! Your writing is amazing and always touches my heart. I am so glad to know little Dotty is ok- Vetericyn is an amazing product and she will be healed in no time!
A few years back our Jack Russell (Buzz) took an very unusual trip to the neighbors and found their Doberman very unhappy at his presence. Buzz had never, in 14 years, left home, and how he got back is a mystery- his front end and back end were only attached by his spinal cord. 600 stitches and one very talented vet later, he was back in one piece and lived another two years to a ripe old 16. SO I am sure Dotty will be fine! I know how heart wrenching an experience like that is, and how worrisome. Love is a wonderful thing! I love your herd of hearts and plan to try a few myself- thanks for the inspiration! Happy Valentines Day!

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HoleyMoley, 600 stitches on a little dog?! Sounds like he was held together by thread. WOW.  Jack Russells are as tough as Blue Heelers.  shery

I love all the projects in maryJane’s Cluck. It helps fill the void in between the issues I receive in the mail 🙂 🙂 🙂 The heart project is really cute. You can make them all so different, and they’ll all turn out lovely 🙂 🙂 I’m farmgirl sisterhood member #2176 🙂 🙂

Oh, that Jack Johnson song is really sweet 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

Thank you SO much for this writting – it is exactly what I need. I was diagnosed with breast cancer & getting ready for treatments; trying to get out of myself & use the experience as a tool to be more giving; recently started making cards to send for those ‘in need’. Your blog is quite an inspiration! love ya girl, jonna from tn.

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Oh Jonna, you have some challenges ahead. I pray that when you’re on the other side of all of it that you’ll have accumulated many POSitive experiences via caring hearts like your own. Best wishes to you for complete healing and all the strength necessary for the journey ahead. Thank YOU for writing.  shery

Hi Shery. I have read your blog for some time now and today I thank you for such wonderful, loving, and comforting words. Yesterday, my family laid my dearly loved father-in-law to rest and ushered him into the heavenlies. It was most difficult for me to watch my five twenty-something grown children grieve their beloved "Pa.." Today is the first day in the past six weeks since his sudden stroke that I have taken to sit and reflect. Thanks again from one farmgirl to another.

Dear Terri, My condolences to your family. I know it is a comfort that a loved one suffers no more and resides now in a wonderful place, but they do leave a gaping hole. That is real love. Other lost things leave no hole. Your kids are lucky to have had someone who left them with such a hole and a lot of memories of their Grandpa to fill it :o)  I think that is their last gift to us. Love to you.  Shery

I remember Ice Skating on the ranch in Wyoming, my big sisters leaving me behind as they skated on Rock Creek all the way to the bridge, and of course I was usually the one who fell through the thin ice!

Hahahahah! Love your dad’s saying! I’ve never been good on roller skates, ice skates or skies. But, this post reminded me of the fresh air of the Sierra during our cross country skiing days! Now, that was fun and definitely created some giggling! I did used to fall quite a bit, but at least I wasn’t going too fast when I did it! Great images and I love the one of Ribbon wearing skates.. Perhaps it’s time for a long walk in the winter air!

Thanks for another ( gem ) Shery!
Stay warm!
love and hugs,
your beach blogging sister- friend!

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Thanks Deb :o)  I hafta tell you though that the horse in that photoshop pic isn’t mine. I found it on the http://www.&nbsp; ~ shery j

What wonderful memories this evoked! As I young person, I remember ‘living’ outdoors in the winter; skating, sledding, snowmobiling….anything just to be outside in the snow and cold!

My uncle had a pond that became the neighborhood gathering spot for kids and adults (summer and winter). Many a game of ice hockey was played there as well as just plain zooming around like crazy people on the ice just for the fun of it!

My uncle had built a cabin adjacent to the pond, complete with a big pot-belly, wood-burning stove. If we weren’t outside on the ice, we were inside warming our fingers and toes, guzzling hot chocolate, hot cider and every sweet treat imaginable from my Grandma who was a wonderful cook and loved feeding us!

Thanks for allowing me a few moments to ‘be’ in that place again. Like you, I ‘observe’ more than I ‘do’ lately, but I still enjoy!

Oh, how I miss those days….

OH, I love to watch people ice skate. I’ve tried it myself and it’s always ended in failure…so far…but I still love it 😉 🙂 It’s fun to watch people glide on the ice. It’s like they’re flying and for a moment you aren’t bound by gravity 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

I grew up on a ranch in Colorado. We did a lot of snow skiing and roller skating, but no ice skating. I went to Harvard for my education. Boy, did I learn to ice skate! There are ice-rinks everywhere. I crashed and burned too many times to count, but finally got the hang of it.

I am back on our cattle ranch in Colorado after many years of being away; and once again no ice skating rinks anywhere near where I live. I do miss the fun I had with my friends.

We have had very little snow this year so far and a growing fear we are headed for another drought just like last year.
Treese

Great post Shery! Fun, inspirational pictures too!! I love ice skating and I am not the most active of adults. I really miss it this year. Our winter has been so mild in Maine that lakes and ponds haven’t frozen over enough yet. Just last week the state had to cancel it’s biggest ice fishing competition for safety reasons. Granted there are still ice rinks open, but if I’m going to make the effort I prefer to be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. Here’s hoping it’s cold enough some where for people to enjoy the sport the way it was meant to be.

Oh Shery,,, you made me giggle this morning, reading your blog… and never were truer words spoken… especially "Menopause poaches your Brain"! OMG! now I know what happened to mine! Thanx for that clarification!
Oh & I uber luv the cute ‘trailer pot holder’…
Happy Trailes to you & yours!

Loved this piece! The word moxxiest really made me giggle, so my moxxiest thoughts are coming your way! Lois

I don’t think I’ve left a comment to you before, but I have been enjoying all your articles and photography.
I can’t believe you live in a mobile home! From your pictures, I don’t know how it all would fit!!
Possible solution for transforming your workroom-Michele??
A discovery- frame and sell your photography??
Love your blog!!
Linda

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Linda,  How nice of you to take the time and leave kind words :o) thankyouthankyou. Ya, know I’ve thought about selling photo, but *I* don’t buy photos or decorate with them. So, its kinda hard to imagine other folks being that impressed with my pics when I haven’t even had very many of them developed…much less framed. ‘And thats the truth’ said Edith Ann. I really do appreciate the encouragement though. That means more to me than anything.  shery

Hi Shery, Another wonderful post! I love this topic because I have been in the process of discovering myself for the past year and a half. In the past I was so busy with children, family and work that I kind of lost myself. This happen to anybody else? So now in my 60’s, me, myself and I are getting reaquainted. 🙂
Hugs,
Jan

This article was so funny. And it encouraged me to write about the discovery I made this year about myself. I had always considered my sisters (6 of them!) as the "organizers" of big events. However, I wanted to do something that was considered unheard of and unusual. What a way to find out that you really like this sort of thing! My great-nephew (and he really is!!!) was diagnosed at 2 yrs old with T-cell Lymphoma. Now he is 4 yrs old and finished chemotherapy. He is in remission!! The idea occurred to me that we needed to celebrate in a BIG way. We weren’t having a funeral…we were given life! Well, my "junk", as some have called it, came in handy at this event. We did a "farmstyle" Celebration of Life, inviting 50-60 people who had been a part of his healing and recovery. William craved farm fresh eggs while he was taking those awful steroids. There is no telling how many he ate. So this got me to thinking about how to celebrate. We live in the city, but I thought, we can have a farm celebration! Mary Jane has taught me that much! So-o-o, I pulled out all my "junk" and all the stops! We had dancing (hokey pokey, limbo, some modern stuff :o), country (natural and organic) cooking, apple-bobbing, sack races, and decorated my very small backyard like a farm! It was described by my nephew as "the perfect party." I had the best time! I never dreamed that I would do something like this! But we are so thankful! He is so full of life and has really taught us. Mary Jane has a saying in her book, "while we try to teach our children all about life, they teach us what life is all about." Amen, amen.

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And, amen that your family’s dear little boy is healthy. He’ll remember that party all the days of his life.  shery

A good post as always. Love your thoughts and that you share them. Your hens look happy. I hope they are providing you with a lot of eggs. And Pinterest, Oh how I love it. Hope to find your boards and see what we have in common!

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Brenda, my hens are on winter rest. I did get one egg the other day tho. I don’t have a light on for them. But, its ok. They’ll go back to work in the spring. Fortunately, our local grocer offers organic eggs from folks around here. Eating ‘production’ eggs after having the real thing is just not something I can do anymore. I’d rather go without.   shery

Your pictures are wonderful, you have no idea how much I enjoy them. I have downloaded a few onto my "work" laptop to take along with me "on the road", particularly anything red and anything with a horse (I miss my horse…)I love your photography. Thanks for a beautiful, inspirational blog. I read it faithfully.

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Ohhh, Colleen. You made my day. Thank you.  shery

Hello Shery,
I love your stories and your photos that tell stories. When I open my email and see a MaryJaneFarm email and see that it is from you… well I get another cup of coffee and settle in for a treat. It is like a visit from an old friend. Actually, you remind me of a long ago friend from West TX whose name is Sher (she is a hoot)! I have two chickens (one is going into the molting stage… poor baby), but they are still laying their one egg a day.
Keep up the good work lady … we appreciate you, and your fans will continue to look forward to your great stories…and stay warm Shery,
Your fan from the Tennessee Smoky Mountains,
Marcie

Dear Sister Shery,
Happy New and Old Year! It does my heart good to know your 2011 was a happy one. We all know life has it’s ups and downs and that’s just the way it is. So, to relish in the years with more happy than sad is a must! You did just that here today. I would say you had a beautiful year, one of quiet reflection, many blessings and a heap of faith to go with it. New ( like/love ) is a blessing in every family! Congrats to Beth and her new man! Our highlights this year were good health all around. My hubby’s SAD, wasn’t so bad, both or our mothers were healthy, our children continue to grown and surprise us with their interests and talents. We too brought home some early spring life in our latest flock of young cottage hens. One might not think this is a blessing, but my husband was let go just before Christmas…No worries here though! We were preparing for such a time and are very excited about what HE has in store for us. It was time for a change and we are ready! 🙂
One of my biggest highlights of 2011 is sharing the farmgirl blogging lime light with you and our other sisters and getting to know our readers better!

God Bless you Shery. See you in 2012!!!
Hugs from your beach/farmgirl sister…
Deb

Happy New Year dear Shery. This was the best year in awhile for me, for various reasons. One being reconnecting with you, moving close to Grandkids and family, and priming the pump for the creative juices to begin flowing once again. Despite the 2 1/2 yrs of joblessness, we are SO BLESSED! Love, Terry

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Oh Terry, I know it is has been a tuff pull for ya’all. I hope 2012 is a reap year for you … in which case, the blessings should be a mile high for you. xo, shery

Thank you Dear Sister Shery for the wonderful look back. Your every word brought a thought of my year to mind and yes I too was well blessed. I’m going to try do some picture taking of life this next year to help me remember at the end just how wonderful it was – yes I am looking forward to another blest year and all you Sisterhood bloggers help make it a time to live for. Happy New Year to you and yours – congratulations to your sis and her mate.
God Bless,

Wow, Shery! Such a perfect end to a wonderful year..Now I know where you and your sister get you beautiful genes, as your folks are both so attractive! Yes, you are blessed to still have both of them and I know that you appreciate their presence…Your sister and her honey just GLOW with happiness…
Happy new year to all!

Well, as most of you, there have been good and bad. I still work in a stressful job (law enforcement) but I have a job! I need a new roof on my 113 year house, but I still have a roof over my head! My hog population exploded, got four little calves, my chickens and doves are happily producing and the garden was doubled this year. I am presently sitting at my desk looking out over the plains and into the Sierra Nevada Mtns. at Yosemite Natl. Park….sigh….life is okay even with the negatives. My grown children experienced very positive job changes this year after a couple of really rough years and my granddaughters are thriving. I am finding it hard to remember the lows of this past year as those I love are well and thriving. So! A roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on my table…all is well with the universe. Y’all have a blessed new year. I can truly say it has been a blessing and inspiration for me to read this blog. Thanks!

How could I forget? Mom and Dad look GREAT!!

I loved your pictures! I live out here in the flinthills and plains of Kansas.
You look alot like your mother. Two cute gals.
Now what I really want to know is what was in Beth’s celluloid box? It sounded like it was full already! I love the idea.
Read you and all the gals each time.

Or should I say read and look? Great photographer, too!

Happy New Year!

Linda

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Hi Linda…and thank you – thank you.

I made my sister a necklace and bracelet set.   shery

Happy New Year Shery
As I sit here reading this month’s blog, it’s early morning and I’m looking out the window at a nearly full moon. It promises to be another beautiful Colorado day.
I want to thank you for sharing your Jeweled Chutney receipt with us. My 10-year-old niece, Brianna, and I made it to give as Christmas gifts and was it ever a hit! We did however change the name to Lisa and Brianna’s Jeweled Chutney. She made labels (in her own sweet handwriting) and tied them on with raffia. It was wonderful bonding in the kitchen with my sweet girl.
Love, love, love the blog.
Stay warm in Wyoming and thanks for all you do.
Lisa

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Please tell Brianna that I’m so tickled that HER batch of chutney was so well received :o) Making gifts as children is a golden life-long lesson. Thank you for the kind words.   shery 

Shery,
I’m a 23 year old farmgirl-at-heart in Wisconsin and I love following your blog. This is by far the best blog post about Christmas I have ever read. It made me tear up, smile, and it rejuvenated me. Thank you for spreading Jesus’ message in such a beautiful way! I love all of your Christmas decorations… you are so talented. Also, White Christmas is one of my favorites as well… I just watched it several days ago. And yes, cried when Bing sang to the soldiers. Have a Merry Christmas!

Shery, thank you for sharing your beautiful stories with us. Like you I love all the old Christmas movies (White Christmas; It’s a Wonderful Life; Miracle on 34th Street; Holiday Inn) and must watch them every year. And I listen to my Christmas CDs from Thanksgiving on. Thank you for being willing to remind us of the real reason for Christmas. I’m so tired of the politically correct "Happy Holidays". It is Christmas!
The pictures are beautiful, Emmy Lou looks delightful, and I wish I could spend a day with you.
Have a wonderful, beautiful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

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I’ve never seen ‘Holiday Inn’…I’ll have to check into it! Thank you for the kind words :o)  Be Ye Merry!

Your blogs are always beautiful and well done. This one was especially so– thank you for this lovely christmas gift.

Shery, I have never heard this story before of the Christmas Rose and so glad I can now pass it on to others, and I was born back in the 40’s. Thank you for it and those Christmas lights in EmmyLou are just fantastic.

Merry Christmas!!

Thank you Shery, for another of your ‘best ever’ blogs. You made me tear up, with happy tears, smile and helped me remember my Christmas’s of long ago and of the ones not so far gone. Memories — aren’t they the best — they are what we give to ourselves after having lived in the moment. I have the English 12 days of Christmas figures and LOVED seeing the Partridge – oh what a wonderful experience you had. And the Rose – your Christmas dishes are so very special. And Emmy Lou what a wonderful happening she is. Have your self a Merry little Christmas and a wonderful New year. God Bless

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Thank you, Joan. The dishes aren’t mine…but they fit into the rose Christmas theme :o) I believe they’re a Royal Albert pattern … and very expen$ive!

Merry Christmas to you and your family and all your farmgirl friends! I enjoy your blogs and your photos, you are a very good photographer and when I read your blogs its feels like I’m there to! I enjoyed the story about the Legend of the Christmas Rose. It was my first time hearing.

Sheri, When I was growing up, a lone solitary Hungarian Partridge found its way to our house out in the middle of practically nowhere. Every day for an entire season it would appear and come within yards of our house, looking in the sliding back doors. It was such a friendly little creature, totally curious and wanting to make friends! At the end of the year he vanished, never to be heard from again, but over the many intervening years I have thought of him often. Thanks for another wonderful post, and for reminding me once again of my long lost feathered friend!

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Thanks for stopping by Sister Cathi :o)  I haven’t checked into it yet, but I’d like to raise some partridges if the eggs/chicks are available…ya know, like some other game birds. I’m smitten. Lots of merry to you & yours in my 2nd favorite state. Theres gotta be a corner of Heaven that Vermont was modeled after ;o)  shery j

Shery, A blessed and Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thank you for making my afternoon perk up a bit with Christmas spirit. What a great reminder to us all that we are about to celebrate a birthday of epic size. EmmyLou (also my fav) looks wonder-full! thanks for sharing her with us. cora jo

Hi there!I am new to your website!I found it through Sugarpiefarmhouse!Love to read your beautiful message!I too am a farmgirl at heart and will be living the dream on my 26 acres in Idaho!The farmhouse will be built this coming year!A very long time in the making!!!Lots of planning and hard work!Thanks for all the inspirational words of goodness and love. God Bless,Cindy

Happy Holidays Shery! It’s safe to say you are in a very festive mood by the sound of things here! Looks like it too!
Emmylou looks adorable all dolled up in her Christmas Garb! I’m on my way over!!! Thanks for all the wonderful info on Tartan too! My curiosity hadn’t led me there but I’m glad yours did. We love our holiday music around here! It’s tradition to start listening right after Thanksgiving. Plus, this year our daughter has been working on another composition and it’s a Christmas tune! Her first! We’ve had a house full of music already! Love your gift wrap idea. I like brown paper too. One year I did brown paper with red and green raffia and pinecones.

Bum bump and have fun at your " farmgirl " gathering…
love,
Deb
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We might pass each other about Iowa since I’m headed your way for a taste of Christmasy salt air ;o)

Isn’t it wonderful how our ‘trailers’ speak to us…. and tell us their personality….
I had posted the other day about how I came about nameing my ’59 Aljo….. it all started with a Junkshop find…and the rest is "Herstory" as we say! lol!
I absolutly love EmmyLou’s Tartan theme! With so many colors, reds,greens, blues, yellows, browns,,, you can change her "outfits" according to the seasons if you so desire…. and now I have even seen Pendleton Woolin Mills put out Spring (pinks/lt.greens, etc.) colors of plaids… I mean Tartans. Check out their catalog for some cute sewing/deco ideas… old wool blankets/throws make great deco pillows.
And don’t toss away those old westerny blingy t-shirts,,, they too make great deco pillos.
Happy Trails…….
>^..^<

Love your Emmylou! But my husband wants to know how in the world you get any people inside?

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People? :o)  Well, there is room…for a couple farmgirls on the fly!  shery

I never tire of reading your words and descriptions of the ‘simple’ things of life and your pictures always add so much! It transports me to a most wonderful place every time, no matter the subject. Love it all! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sheri! Hope you have a peaceful, joy-filled Christmas season! Enjoy every moment!

Ruth

P.S. Your side-note about John and his misguided attempt at apparel for the portly gave me a great laugh, too!! HA! Indeed!

I too have a tartan passion. Clan kilts are very expensive. I was delighted to find a pre-owned kilt on my clan’s web site. It was a very large kilt so I sized it down and was able to make a matching kilt for my scottish terrier. Hamish Macbeth and I attend the Door County Scottie Rally every May and volunteer at The Midwest Pet Expo. We help raise funds for puppy mill education, rescue and canine health research. Not only does Hamish wear a Grant Clan kilt but he wears dog sized bagpipes ( with prerecorded bagpipe music) He favors the Red Hot Chili Pipers cd! Slainte!!!

hi Shery, I am so jelous of the camper,I have wanted one for years.You have decorated her wonderfully,Stay warm this winter.Intresting about the plaids,my dads family is from Scotland originally,so,I will have to look that up.Moma sewed me several little plaid church dresses as a child,with smocking,I always loved.Stay warm this winter!Merry Xmas!Carol Branum

I am so ENVIOUS of your new trailer! She still looks so pristine and wonderful, she must’ve been cared for with love…I had a thought of having one parked out back for my craft room. I have so much stuff here in the house that I need another room! Trouble is, usually I only have time to do my crafting in the winter and it is also cold here in Washington state.
I made my first chutney last summer with a recipe that I got from Deb! It was tasty!! When you speak of processing for 10 minutes, do you use a pressure canner or do you do a water bath? YUMMMMMOOO. As for your beautiful sheep, where did you get the heads?
Thanks so much for your warm and wonderful blog!
Jan

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Hi Jan :o),  I just use the water-bath method (my grandma’s old one). In answer to your question about the sheep heads…we used the store-bought ‘sculpey’ kind of clay that you mold by hand and then bake. None of us had ever played with clay before. We made the body and heads out of clay. –My trailer is not perfect, after all it is 52 years old. However, it IS in very good shape. There have been a few leaks over the year, but they were fixed and there have been no new ones. I knew that in owning an old trailer that I would have to be mindful of careful maintenance. With a new one, not so much. The trade off is that my old girl is getting cuter by the minute. I spent the better part of yesterday puttering in it. I love it and she’ll be a dandy guest cabin too. Thank you for the kind words.  Shery

Shery, you never cease to amaze me how you touch my soul!! If I didn’t know better I’d think we are one n the same – the only difference is you get to do what I only still dream of – SO thank YOU for sharing, showing, so eloquently. Can hardly wait to see, hear more from you, especially about the ‘new’ everything ‘cabin’. I wish you and all the Farm Girls a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Joan,  You and all the other commenting farmgirls touch MY soul. You say the nicest things, kind things, affirming things, soulfood things. Please know that this little job-o-mine as a farmgirl blogger has been one of the best things to happen to me. Turning 50 was a tough one for me. I spent too much time looking back. Menopause, injuring my knee (then surgery), feeling older in earnest kinda dampened my spirits and creative spirit. My friend, Lisa, intro’d me to MaryJanesFarm magazine and on that very day, I felt a spark within. A few months later when I landed a job with MJF, that really helped me turn the corner. Please know that every one of you sweet farmgirls who have taken the time to leave comments, well, you changed my life, really. You are the ‘fire in my belly’. MaryJane is my mid-life role model and I will be forever in debt to Lisa for opening a window and letting fresh air back in my life.   Shery

I loved reading about your new "cabin"!! What a darling idea!!
We have sold our home in the suburbs and heading (in December) to 47 acres in the country! So excited I can hardly stand it! Can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store and nearly beside myself to once again have Christmas in the country!

Shery, As usual after reading your post I’m sitting here in awe with a big ole’ grin on my face, shaking my head in amazement at you and your talent for making a farmgirls heart go pitter patter every darned time you put the pen to paper and point that camera of yours!THANK YOU! I am just over the moon for you about your new " play house " and I can hardly wait to see how you purty her up! I’m with ya on the latest issue of MJF. I can’t get enough of it ( but that’s normal for every issue isn’t it? ) And, I loved seeing your images and reading about Michelle’s’ collections and seeing the photos of your farmgirl pals..The fun and friendship you share shines through in your images!
Can I just give you all a virtual hug right here?!

I love everything about Thanksgiving and what it stands for…with lots of GRAVY ON TOP FOR ME TOO PLEASE!

Shery, thank you for all you share in this space (and in MJF) throughout the year. " YOU ARE THE STUFF OF DREAMS " I have Mary Jane to thank for that quote, and if fits you to a T!

May your gravy boat over flow-eth with more blessings than you can count!

Love AND A BIG HUG!
your beachy farmgirl sista!

Deb
PS… I’ll be looking for YOUR reply RIGHT HERE! Ha!

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Right back atchya, sista!!!!!!!  You’re the berries … and full of beans too ;o) Your blog is way better than ‘Calgon, Take Me Away.’ SOMEday you’re gonna see me on your doorstep begging for tour of your cottage and surroundings. Now that I know someone in such a place, I have the HUNGER fer real. Oh, maybe I should wait for an invite. Until then, here’z a cyber (((((hug))))))   Shery 

Wow, Love your new little camper. Great ideas for decorating, thanks. We have camped in Wyoming every year for over 40 years plus lived in the Big Horn Basin for awhile. This year we have a new to us used camper and all the new features make us need to conserve on the battery since we "dry camp". Well we used candles in the evening inside but since they do not give off enough light making it hard to play cards I just came up with another idea after seeing your pictures. The Christmas solar light strings might work well inside also as lighting. I can put the solar panel in the window and have lights at night without attacting so many bugs on the windows and still be able to play cards. Since we are now empty nesters this will also be romatic. Just wanted to pass on this idea for inside lighting.

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Margaret,  Solar light strings???!!! COOL, will have to check them out. Google search, hmmm?  Yep,  one of the trips I want to take next summer will be to the Big Horns. It is a 3 hour drive for us. The rest would be easy little one day or overnight trips in the surrounding Black Hills area…lots of options all around us and anywhere from 45 minutes to a little over a hour away. No more thinking that ‘someday I’ll get back into camp mode’.   Shery

OH Shery,,,, I am doing the ‘Happy Dance’ for you!
and your new~old glamp~trailer! Now you are one of us !lol!
Oh the things, the fun, the creativity…. you’ll be busy!
There is a vintage ‘yellow/brown’ scotch-plaid set of picinic ware,,,thermos, metal basket etc… several of my gal pals have pieces from that collection, the brand name escapes me tho.
How cool, and if you go to facebook, check out Juli Thorson’s ‘Girl Camp’ (& she has a camping blog)as well as the SOTF sites.
I will try to put together a list of trailer sites that might be of interest to you to give you ideas of what other gals have done w/their vintage trailers.
Irene Rawling’s book "Sisters on the Fly" is great…. and brag moment…Juli & I and some of our gal-pals from our annual FarmChick camp out are in it.
Again, so happy for you…. now, "Happy Trails to you".
hugz
gracie

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Thanks Gracie!!! Oh goody, more sites to pour over. You’re in SOTF??? What page??? Thus far, I have two (lg & sml) red plaid Thermos bottles and a matching plaid cooler. A matching 4 gallon ice chest is soon to arrive. ACK, accessorizing ‘her’ is gonna cost more than the trailer ;o)  But, I’m used to that…having horses is the same deal. Buying the horse is the least expensive part of the whole equation!  Ok, back to goodies…I’ve got half a dozen vintage tableclothes, a wooden ironing board (for buffet set-up), red-handled sliverware etc etc. I’m a woman obsessed!!!!!! I remember well when dad brought home a LOG playhouse when I was a wee lassie. Same deal, I spent hours ‘nesting’. Mom saved many canned goods cans for our pretend pantry. I tried many times to sleep in it at night … buuuut, being afraid of the dark always made me chicken out. Ya know, preserving the ‘child at heart’ within is so important. Making our own fun is something we should never outgrow. Being a’scared of the dark, well, I ain’t afraid of no haints now.    Shery

I have been wanting to join your blog for awhile, and the awesome camper prompted me….can you believe the stove is yellow and white…how precious is that. I am a rancher type person in Texas…my husband and I manage a Quarter Horse Ranch in central Texas, 5300 acres of paradise (if it rains) love your blog, thank God for Mary Jane….(also my mom’s name) Would love to find a camper like yours…some day.

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Oh Amy, thank you for the kind compliment (following this blog). Glad to have you. Or, as my Arkansas grandma use to say, "I’m just suh proud to have you’ns." A ranch in a MUCH warmer climate sounds perfect right about now. I agree, isn’t that cutest little stove?…and the fridgey-icebox matches it. I gotta come up wit a name for ‘her’. Hmmmm.   Shery

My husband just bought me a 1963 Lil’ Ceasar canned ham trailer this summer for our 34th anniversary. I love her!!!! Her name is "Alice" and we pull her with a white Dodge Ram named "Bud". I have two decorative themes. One that is retro for when my kids borrow her…It is kind of Dick and Jane…for the grandsons…and since I have decorated using fabrics which I put up with pressure rods and velcro I can take that down and put up my "glamping" decor which is brown and tourquoise silks and chandeliers…such fun…my husband is a good sport. Since he is 6’2" he does have to stoop over a bit when he is in it..thank you so much for sharing your life with us…I feel a real kindredness with you…I wish you many, many blessings and much joy…diane

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Oh Diane, do you have a blog where curious folks like me could see photos of your darlin little Alice??  She sounds so cute. One thing I am going to have done in my trailer: reupholster the seat cushions…from turquoise to cherry RED.   Shery

Oh Shery,,, you are so smitten! lol!
Now you have trailer love, soon it will be trailer lust! Everytime you see a vintage trailer you will want to see the inside,you’ll want that pillow, this light etc,,you’ll scan for more deco ideas…..it can be addicting! lol! and yes, the cost of the trailer is the cheapest part of being the owner of a vintage trailer.
I have my SOTF book in my Scotty which is parked in the barn across the road for the Winter, so I don’t remember what page I am on, but, it is in the lower bottom right corner, I am pointing to the flag I have above my trailer. I co-host the SOTF Farm Chicks camp out in Spokane and there is a group shot of us as well…again, can’t remember what page. If I recall, that was the year that MaryJane camped with us and then joined up with SOTF.
I currently have 3 trailers, ’59 Aljo in full tear down restoration, a ’63 Serro Scotty and a ’64 FleetCraft… and I am always on the look for another one….. see, I told ya, it’s addiciting!
Now go have fun, & remember,,, ‘spray paint is your friend!’…lol!
hugz
gracie

Hi there! We are headed from Pennsylvania to Wyoming this winter. My husband leaves in two weeks while I close up shop here.

We’ve sold the farm animals and are planning to rent for a year or so while we look for our perfect Wyoming Ranch. It is so exciting, I can’t believe it is real!

I’ve enjoyed your post immensely, and look forward to more ‘real life experience’ of ranch life in Wyoming soon.

Best wishes and a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Rejena

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Rejena,  Happy hunting! Welcome to the Cowboy State! Some folks stuck in PC mania oddly and happily wrinkle their nose at ‘cowboys’ (and our state) …and direct the cowboy label as an insult. Those of us who understand the real meaning of the label wear it proudly. I hope you find just the right spot here in God’s country. Yippee-Ki-Yi-Ay.   Shery

Love your trailer! My sister and I have seen some Sisters on the Fly at the annual Country Living fair in Columbus, Ohio and each trailer is unique but very farmgirl chic. Can’t wait to see pictures of yours when it is fully decorated. As always, your photos are stunning. Also, about your recipe – yum but I am assuming it is 10 minutes in a water bath? Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you, Ann.  Yep, 10 minutes will do it. Shery

Oh Shery how wonderful. I have a board on my pinterest account that I have pinned all the wonderful vintage campers I have came across. I drool over that board. Now your camper has been pinned. Love it. How much fun you are going to have. I dream of parking mine in some of the Michigan campgrounds and dragging my grands along for the ride. And when no grands are available I want to drag my sewing machine and just set and sew to my hearts content, away from all the things at home that seem to say do this first. I might even invite the hubs along once in a while. Dreaming…..My favorite part of the meal would be mashed potatoes and dressing side by side covered with gravy. And a warm piece of apple pie with ice cream at the end. I could skip everything else and have turkey sandwiches later and be very content. Your little lambs are precious.

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING…thank you so much for sharing your fabulous photos and the wonderful sayings!!!

Mom looks just as beautiful as i remember!

Thanks so very much for sharing your photos and wonderful sayings with us Sherry! I ALWAYS love to see your photographs in every blog post you do!

You have a beautiful life with your ranch and horses, girlfriends are the icing on your cake and sharing with us is magical for us!

You always have a follower in me and thanks for sharing with permission your photos and sayings added.

I are adore them all! The china plate and needlework with frame are fascinating. I may add them to my blog side if you do not mind. But, all are fabulous!

Smiles, Cyndi

Cultivating Mirth…Thank you for sharing your Peace with me.

Hi Shery!
Love the photo with Grandma Moses quote and the picket fence lovely. Well I love them all but those are my favs. Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures. I know it must have taken quite a while to pick out just the right ones to put words to. So thank you for your time also.

As always, Thank you for bringing light to our eyes.
hugz
>^..^<

Just beautiful Shery! You remind me to live in the moment! I always save your blog post for a quiet time with a hot cup of coffee – yours is always thought provoking and motivating! My camera is going out with me today – we are starting the halter breaking process with two of our heifers. Thank you for reminding me of the beauty everywhere!

Oh Shery… once again… you are amazing and such an inspiration…

beautiful and relaxing just what I needed at the end of this busy day. thank you I always enjoying reading what you write or show us.

Beautiful pictures and meaningful words….you’ve inspired me to embrace all the beauty around me in ways I’ve never thought could be possible…..thank you. Mel

Such beautiful photographs and sentiments…Thank you,

I am brand new to "Mary Janes Farm Girls" but must say what I have seen I have enjoyed. I live in northern BC Canada and enjoy living in ranch land country like you. I am not allowed to ride anymore because of a car accident and a broken neck etc. I did so enjoy your photos and sayings. I do enjoy taking pictures of animals, and God’s great out doors. My newest pleasure are our two grandchildren four and almost six. Please keep up the great blog.