Friend's Work Day Sabbathday Lake Maine Shaker Village

Donna and Sheila went to Sabbathday Lake, Maine to The Shaker Village for Friend's Work Day. The Friends of the Shakers gather together each Spring and Fall to help the Shakers prepare for the coming season. Tasks at hand were sorting herbs in the herb room, planting spring bulbs along the Shaker Cemetery stone wall, picking pears and pumpkins, cleaning floors and windows and general tidying up and buttoning down! Sheila chose to strip summer savory and pluck bright orange calendula petals,(to be made into tea and potpourri), while others ground basil. The herb room smelled delicious enough to eat. Donna planted over 500 tulip bulbs, that will remain lovely secrets under the snow until early Spring!!
We visited the sheep that we had not seen since Summertime, and they had grown. Surprise and Oh No were the spring lambs born in April. The Shakers were given three Icelandic sheep this year from a farmer who no longer wanted them. One of the sheep, who was not thought to be pregnant went into labor. When the lamb was born the Shakers named her Surprise! Then the next day the other sheep went into labor. When they told Sister Frances she cried out, "Oh No!" And so she received her name. Oh no loves people and spent most of the Summer escaping from her pen to follow Brother Arnold and visitors to the Village. The lot of Icelandic sheep broke out of their pen(Surprise and Oh No included) and ate their way through the herb garden! They smelled lovely, like a pantry where somenone has just opened herb tins to prepare a feast! They also gorged themselves in the apple orchard on apples the October winds had brought down to sheep level!! Of course when the theivery had been discovered everyone shouted Oh NO, who looked as innocent as only a lamb can, tilted her head and appeared to query, "Who me? Well don't forget to shout out Surprise!

Lovely Autumn

After the nor'ester blew through yesterday with high winds and a cold driving rain, we emerged today ready to seek out not only the perfect pumpkin but the perfect pumpkin muffin!(and of course a mug of mulled cider to warm us!) Our peke-a-poo Hawthorne has been helping us pick pumpkins for years now.(He turned 19 on October 10 and was feted with a new chew toy in the shape of a duckling and a mound of hamburger with a candle tucked in). We love Sunday afternoons in autumn in New England. They were just made for leaf peeping and long walks with our darling dog! When we returned home, Hawthorne decided to curl up in front of Raphael's Madonna, who appears to be holding him in her gentle gaze.(We won the painting in our Church raffle and had just brought it home when Hawth decided to nestle in front of her!

The Early Bird Catches the Antique

We look forward to Columbus Day weekend for many reasons...viewing the beautiful New England fall foliage; going apple picking...celebrating our darling dog Hawthorne's birthday...and we especially love going to the old Bromfield School's annual flea market tailgate! With over 170 dealers, we are always able to find kindred spirits who love antique. We arose early and paid extra admission so we could be early buyers! Armed with our cups of coffee, canvas totes and sense of adventure, we scoured the field for one of a kind treasures! We found wonderful shabby antique paisley shawls for projects and pillows; a vintage housecoat with the tags still on it; a beatiful antique painting on velvet in a gold frame; old tintypes; darling, early doll dresses and a doll's wig; a stunning 1950's prom dress; vintage 1940's hats, antique children's clothing and old petticoats from a Pennsylvania farmhouse and so much more. One of our favorite finds is a vintage sign from a greehouse that says "Combination Pots!" It would be adorable in a kitchen!! We'll be listing items on eBay and putting some items in our shop.
We'll post photographs of some of our finds soon!

There are always unique, colorful booths...


And interesting items to photograph...

And great food booths too...and oh the view!

Textile Show & Tell

Over the last few weeks, we have found the loveliest vintage clothes and textiles. One of our fav pieces is the 1840's tailcoat with the fancy green striped silk sleeves and quilted interior. Can't you just imagine the gent who wore this? We also found a great lot of 1930's Depression era dresses and feed sack quilts and toppers full of old darns and repairs that whisper stories about a farm wife's frugality and household economy. Don't you just adore the demure cotton frock with the pale pink shoulder straps and rose corsage? We think it would make the sweetest prom dress. We styled the 1930's gown with an Anthropologie deep red flower garland necklace. The white gown has such a beautiful fluid movement. We can picture Ginger Rogers, exuding Hollywood glam from every perfect pore, her hand extended toward Fred Astaire, her feet gliding across the dance floor. We'll be photographing more great finds for another Show And Tell... of