Pear tree lane Farmhouse

~Welcome home~

This blog is dedicated to my dear family who live many miles away, and to you dear ladies , who have a heart for keeping the home fires burning. You, who love and cherish your family, and have a desire to create a home that says "Welcome, you are loved and cared for."

My desire is that when you leave that you will be encouraged and know that you too are loved.

Sue~

~I have no idea what to title this post~

Written by Sue, Tuesday, March 25, 2014             cold with rain, temps. low 40's
Do you ever have days when you work and work and feel as though you didn't accomplish anything, that was me yesterday. After washing dishes I started the laundry, went to the master bedroom closet and saw it was a mess,(I already new it needed cleaning,and organizing).
 so I  started cleaning it, which meant more clothes to wash, before I had finished this job, I found myself in the dining room looking at some bewildered plants, this is as far as I got on organizing the closet.

Off to the sink the plants went for a good soaking, would you believe my Thanksgiving cactus is still blooming, while I was waiting for some of the plants to drain and to finish the others, I noticed.....
Miss Lucy Lou needed to get spruced up for spring, off I went to find her outfit, she has one for every holiday of the year. She thanked me and wished me 'Happy Spring".

 Then it was back to laundry folding and putting away,... phone rings, a dear friend called inviting us to their church supper , that meant quiting everything before it was finished to get dressed, this was the best offer of the day, I find spending time with friends especially if they are experiencing difficult situations and just needing to talk more important.  This country girl loves dinners like this, listening to folks who just saw each other the day before talking as if they had not seen one another in a long while, just brought a smile to me. Yes, that is me stuffing my mouth, I don't usually use both hands to eat, just a slip, it must have been that good old southern cooking. ~smile~
When we got home we remembered the fruit trees needed wrapping,as old man winter was coming back, even this job was incomplete as we ran out of coverings.
Today is Tuesday, I would love to report that the closet is finished, that all of the plants are watered, and that our laundry is washed, dried, folded and put away, but that would not be truthful, I 'm still working on the laundry, closet, and plants, in between chores, I decided to make a chocolate pie , watch an old movie (Adam Has Four Sons) with Mr P. and I am getting bedrooms upstairs ready for company this weekend.
This is the easiest pie to make.
I hope you are having a blessed day,
 Sue

~New found treasures~

Written by Sue, Thursday, March 20, 2014                                  sunny, temps. 60's 


"Welcome Spring"
We had scheduled to work outside Saturday, But Dh had other plans, he wanted us to take the day off and ride through the country. When someone, who lives in the country, wants to take a ride in the country, you can say "They are country folks."~smile~ Midway through our site seeing we came to a little town that had a lot of antique shops, naturally we had to stop.


 When I say small town, I mean a small town, this country girl loves this town, it is one my grandparents shopped in when I was a little girl, this is where they bought, their chicks, seeds and fertilizer in spring., I like the fact that it has not gone the way of so many small towns, you know Wal-mart, etc. I am so glad there is a little Americana left for us to reminisce and enjoy. OH !well!

I had twenty dollars that was burning a hole in my pocket so looking for treasures was what I did on our pit stop. Indeed I  found some treasures, this little girl being one,and  I just couldn't  pass her by, too sweet to leave in that cold shop. I am thinking maybe a African Violet would do well in her basket.
 Here's another, birds are a favorite of mine, love the colors,
 Isn't he the cutest, I think he needs something in his cart, hmmm, maybe some eggs for Easter. Last week my friend Mildred at  Blackberry Lane  showed us a burro she had that was a family heirloom that reminded me of one my grandmother had, low and behold what did I find amongst all those treasures in the Korner Flea Mart

Here are my treasures grouped together , now I must find the perfect place for them, I handed the lady  the twenty dollars and got some change back.~Grin~

I started writing this post  on Monday but was pleasantly interrupted by an invitation to lunch from my mother, needless to say dh and I jumped at the chance to visit with her. While sitting at the table Mother reaches in her purse and out comes this lipstick, with the instruction to "try this". I am thinking "okay, it's St. Patrick's Day and she wants me to wear green lipstick." What a surprise, it came out a beautiful pink, (see my lip print) best of all it stayed on longer than most of my lipsticks, it is made in the good old USA, and it came home with me. ~smile~ How cool is this?
The rest of the week is suppose to be sunny and warm, Guess where I will be?.... Garden here I come.

Enjoy your day,
Sue


Have you ever wondered about ....

Written by Sue, Tuesday March18, 2014       cold, rain, temps. 30's Move over winter, spring is almost here.
~The Many Shades of Purple~
 I have


Only God could have 

Created so many beautiful shades
I hope you enjoyed these few~
am joining Vee's Note card party today, thank you Vee for always hosting such a beautiful party and  for being so gracious.


Blessings,
Sue

~Dreaming~

Written by Sue, Friday March 14, 2014             bright sunny,day, temps. 60's spring can't be to far away!

To get to this point 
 of being the recipient of beautiful flowers, herbs, and garden veggies, there is a lot of preparation to do, but it is so worth the effort.

"Before"
This was my herb garden on Wednesday, just look at that mess, the Rosemary looks weather worn, I almost turned around and went back inside, until I heard Peter Rabbit  laughing at me so I told myself, "I will show him who has the last laugh." Winter played havoc on all our gardens..... So lets get those hands dirty,and see what we can do! I probably would have gone back inside if Mr P. wasn't standing by with his tools. ~Grin~
"after"
There is so much satisfaction when a job is completed! I kept taking photos, It is now ready for planting. Even Peter Rabbit got a scrubbing, I promised him a new coat of paint..soon. The weather co-operated with Mr P and I this week, warming our  hearts and bodies!
As I work in the herb garden  I "dream" of  growing  and gathering fresh herbs, to use and to dry for later use. I also use this time to think,meditate, and pray. How about you? As I said there  has to be some hard work, but the rewards are so worth it.
~Pause~
~Gather the children and grandchildren it's show and tell time~

 Some of the pleasures of gardening are finding friendly little guys like Mr Toad, I just had to stop and play with him, he even talked back to me. Mr P. reminded me of the old wives's tale of warts, no warts will come I promise~ smile!
Mr Toad"s brother was found in the main garden where we planted the ENGLISH peas, he wasn't quite ready to come out.
My first butterfly sighting of the season, surely you must have heard me squealing with delight., I also played with her, she seemed so delighted to have the company.
(Eastern Black Swallowtail)
I was so shocked to see one so early, Dh said she was a newbie, I agreed, so to protect her from the cold night ahead, I took her and placed her among the new plants I had purchased sitting in the garage.

We  planted English peas Tuesday as it was the last day for above ground crops for March, we plant by the phases of the moon.
 Yes, that's moi, sowing the peas, I loved the warm sunshine on my back, it was 80 degrees and I will admit to sweating a bit.... "loved it"
In a few weeks this is what they will look like, see what I mean about dreaming,

While I went in to get us some refreshment, this is how we drink ice tea when working outside, no loss or broken sets of glasses.Besides this is the way country folks drink ice tea.
Dh went to check on the ewes as we have some who are due, guess what he found, a new lamb, this is this ewes first time, she is an excellent mother. Do you see the white sheep in the background?
This one sheep slides through the gate to the horse pasture every day and can't get out by himself, so here I go corralling him to get through the gate,looks like he would soon learn,never a dull moment around here. ~smile~
While I was busy with the wayward lamb, the shepherd was coaxing the mama to the barn, she willing went, you might think this lamb looks weak, not so, the next day he was running around with the other lambs, thinking himself as big as they were. ~smile~
OH! well playtime is over so back to work we go, here is another project we have been working on, and a hard laborious one it was and still is! This is sheep compost we are trying this year, stay tuned.
So I just keep on dreaming....Are you dreaming with me about your garden?


Enjoy your weekend.
Hugs,
Sue

"Happy Days Are Here Again"

Written by Sue, Monday, March 10, 2014        Sunny, very warm, temps. 79

I am not complaining nor comparing today, for the past two days we have had absolutely perfect weather, and I have been taking advantage of the warm sunshine. We ran a few errands today, as I was passing by the garden center at Lowe's I heard  these pitiful voices calling to me, "Pick me, pick me  lady". The herb section was in perfect unison as they pleaded to come home with me. I just couldn't resist.
 This evening I took a walk in the herb garden to find places for my new found friends, and was totally taken aback to see that my parsley had survived our cold, icy, snowy winter. I also noticed that someone had been nibbling on the parsley, could it be
that Peter Rabbit was sleeping on the job or that he just might have let some of his friends slip in . hmmm.
Tomorrow we are promised 80 degrees and then the bottom will fall out but only for a short time, it's almost springtime don't cha know, but I will take any warm weather.

Due to all the inspiration I have been seeing here in blogland, I did do a little spring tweaking just a little.The burlap wrapped tree is a mystery to me as to where I got it. but I am glad it found it's way here.

These little garden ornaments are so cute, I found them while cleaning out the garage a few weeks back, the colors are so vivid, I find it so amazing the things you tuck away and forget about, at least I do.~smile~
The birds I got for a song at Kirkland's last year, I still haven't got this vignette  like I want it, but with the warm weather, it is going to have to do for now.

As spring approaches ever so close,may your days be filled with sunshine, your hearts overflow with love, joy, and peace in the beauty of God's wonderful creations. For He is the "Master Gardener" of our hearts and souls.

Love, 
Sue
John 15:1~"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."

~Say it ain't so~

Written by Sue, Friday, March 7, 2014         cold, wet, windy temps. 40'

What does Sue do on a cold, wet, windy day in March?
She sits by the fire with her best bud, Jack and blogs, I can get lost in blogland, most times I do.

Since she is so homesick for spring she decided to compare the Pear Tree Lane photos of past years either on the same date or near.
This was taken on March 7, 2011, green grass too, hmmm!


This one was taken March11, 2012,.... double hmmm
 This one March 18, 2013,.....triple hmmm
Today, March 7, 2014  quadruple hmmmm!so what's the deal here? Do you see a little pink tint, please say yes!


The pears trees usually let me know of how close spring is, so it looks as though Old Man Winter  will be hanging around for a while.... Boo! Hoo! stay tuned!
Enjoy your afternoon,
Sue

Ecclesiastes 3:1~ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

How an ordinary day turned in to an extraordinary day~

Written by Sue,Wednesday,March 5, 2014        cloudy,  a winter day, temps low 40's

I decided to take some time this morning to catch up on my blogging, my plans were to bake cookies to mail to family members later in the afternoon, per usual, Mom called to see what I was doing this cold, grey, winter day, and to ask me if I could use a silver plated tray she had bought for me. "Why of course I could, thank you very much."
When she found out about my plans for baking cookies she offered to bake them, as we usually do, we go back and forth,.... me "Thank you but you need to rest today," she... "no I would enjoy baking them." I learned a long time ago that there was no way I would win a consultation with my mother! ~smile~

Fast forward a couple of hours, the phone rings, this sweet voice on the other end says, "I have your cookies ready."  my reply " you shouldn't have," so here we go again.

I wonder if she was thinking, Ha! Ha! I win!!

Aren't they beautiful and yummy  we have Swedish sugar cookies, macadamia, and chocolate chips, yummy, What's that you say,... how do I know, hummmm! we tasted them!
and I get to keep the tray, how cool is that!! The photo does not do the tray justice, As I was walking to the car with my treasures in hand, I was feeling so blessed, for many reasons, you see my Mother is not only my Mom, she is my mentor, friend, confidant, a true Proverbs 31 woman!
All are picture perfect, Mother, tray, and cookies. I am blessed beyond words. As we sat in her living room this evening , both dh and I commented on how warm and inviting her home is, there is a peace that just causes one to sit a spell and relish such peace.
One of my favorite songs sung by Perry Como, is titled
 " Love in a Home",
You can tell when you open the door
You can tell if there's love in a home
Every table and chair seems to smile
Do come in, come and stay for a while
You almost feel you've been there once before
By the shine and the glow of the room
And the clock seems to chime, come again anytime
You'll be welcome wherever you roam
You can tell when there's love in a home
And the clock seems to chime, come again anytime
You'll be welcome wherever you roam
You can tell when there's love in a home

 This describes my "Mother's home". I hope one day that someone will visit our home, and will say the same about ours.Along with some candy, jams and jelly's  these cookies will be well on their way to different parts of the country tomorrow.SHHH! it's a surprise
Enjoy your evening,
Sue
Proverbs 31:29~Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all~