Baking Season

I have the most wonderful bread customers! And they love bread! As you've most likely noticed, I bake a lot of Finnish Cardamom Bread at this time of the year. I've done several sales again this month, and I have to say, people are still eating bread. And marionberry coffee cake! Thank you if you are one of my bread lovers!
I am trying something new the next few weeks. I signed up to sell in Astoria at the Winter Market. I've ALWAYS thought it would be so fun to do the Sunday Markets, but they are,..well...on Sunday. That's pretty much church and family day for us, so I haven't done it.
This winter, they are having an indoor market, though, and it's on Saturdays and Sundays, you can sell on either or both days, so, I thought I'd give it a try. I know there are plenty of Finns down there haha.  So anyway, if you're in Astoria, stop by the Market at 14th and Duane, and say hi!
I'll be there the Saturdays of  Nov. 26th, Dec 3rd, and Dec. 10th. AND my daughter will have her cute little kids' clothing, too! Fun, fun, fun! She's made some of the most darling things with a vintage flair.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, being thankful for what you have, and for Who loves you! ~Karen

A Busy November

It's that time of year again, and gosh it came fast! I've been busy trying to get all the things done that I wait for the last minute to do, which only adds extra stress to my day. As a lot of you know, I am a Finnish Cardamom bread baker. Well, I bake lots of stuff, but this is what people usually know me for in the baking department. I've baked and sold this bread for...older than my own age lol.  OK, a little less than half my age! Wow, that makes me feel old!
I will be baking all of Thursday for a sale on Friday, then coming home and baking most of the night for the next day! But I love it.  By the way, I will have the marionberry coffeecakes, too. I get in trouble if I don't bring those~!
My daughter, Kristin and I both love to bake, AND do vintage sales, and some handmade creations besides. These sales this winter can't involve vintage, (unless we sneak them in a props!) but we'll be having a very full menu on our plates as it is. If you get down to the Longview, WA area, stop by and see us. If you need directions, just send me an email.
I'm not "positive", but I believe we'll be in Astoria, OR after Thanksgiving, doing their Winter Market. I've talked to the lady, and sent in my registration, but I still need to confirm it, so I'll post on that later.
It's always fun when we're at a sale and someone says, "I read your blog". The first time it happened, it kind of embarrassed me, because I knew NOTHING about them, and they knew what an airhead I AM lol. Anyway, don't be shy, say hi! ~ Karen

Searching For Blue

There is some blue there!

The older I get, the more sunshine I need! Or light. Or fresh air.  Here in Oregon, the weather is pretty moderate. Where I live, there is no real extreme temperature; if we happen to get weather down to the teens, it's not often, if we have highs above 90, that doesn't happen real often either. Yes, we do get rain. I was surprised to find that there are a lot of places that actually get more rain than us, because that's the comment people often make about Oregon.
Oregonians don't use umbrellas either. Well, some do, but not most. Our fall scenery is gorgeous. I see pictures of the eastern part of our country, and they remind me of what we get; lots of reds and oranges. Oregon is all about trees, you know.
Well, I've decided that I need to start taking more Vitamin D. I need to get outside more this winter, even if it means to the greenhouse. I need to appreciate every break from the rain that we get. I confess, although I'm a native to Oregon, (even native to my neighborhood), I haven't in the last few years appreciated the rain. I go through the day reminding myself that the rain is what makes our state so beautiful. It gets tough, but I'm determined.
As I was driving in my car the other day, we had one of those really cloudy, dark skies, and wayyyyyyy in the distance I could see a piece of blue sky. It was a brilliant blue, with sunshine in it. I decided that even when it's cloudy, whether it's the day, or if it's life, I need to look for that little piece of blue. If I can't see it, I need to keep watching, because it always does show up again. And when it does, I need to be ready for it! Expecting it!
I have a friend who has some serious health issues. She has had brain cancer; had that removed, and they put a shunt in her head. I don't understand it all. She had some kind of cancer in her thyroid, had that treated. She had all this while taking care of her inlaws! A year ago, she found out she has a new tumor in her brain, although it's not cancerous "yet", they said it was too dangerous to operate on. But it will grow. She'd been really sick, tried some new type of drug, thought she was doing better, losing weight, which her doctor told her the medicine would cause. THEN shel started having symptoms that she assumed were pre-menopause. She had a check up and the Dr.'s office called to tell her that she has uterine cancer! Then, with all those tests, the new doctor saw the brain tumor, and said, "It has to come out!". So, she is facing the unknown. My heart just hurts for her. But you know what? She is trusting God to heal her. She is fighting. She is LIVING! She's been painting her kitchen! She's NOT sitting and crying, although she's had her moments. In other words, she is "searching for the blue", looking past the clouds. My little stuff is just that...small.
I want to enjoy every single day. I want to accomplish something every single day. I want to build stronger and stronger relationships with my kids and husband every single day. I want to be the friend that I should be to my friend(s). I want to thank God for how rich I am. Nope, not rich in dollars, but rich in life.  Our experiences, our relationships, the things we see, belong to us. A rich land owner might actually be paying for the land around me, because he owns it, but the view is MINE! When we look out at that ocean sunset, and later our minds recall it, that ocean sunset is OURS! For free! Because it is something God gave us!

Sunset from my home.

View from my mom's yard.

Watch for the blue.  ~Karen

Harvesting Thankfulness

Friends visit under the gazebo

Kids love the hammock!

My boys learned to run a backhoe!

Randy lifted the kids into the tree to pick cherries.

People everywhere! We love it!

This is the time of year when, if you are a gardener or a home-canner, you're finishing up madly to get a harvest in before the season is gone. If you aren't gathering your own veggies and fruits, then someone else, like a grocery store supplier, will do it for you, then you'll pay them to do the work for you. However it goes, the harvest comes at this time of year.

My daughter Kristin was smart, she brought beans to snap & got help!

It seems to me, that fall is extra-dramatic in it's season. The colors, the smells, the way it all of a sudden gets dark quicker (I've been trying not to notice that one so much). It just seems that, of all the seasons, fall seems like a fast-moving vehicle taking us to winter.
It is so fitting that, along with a harvest, comes a giving of thanks. Why not, we have the bounty of everything that's grown all year. It feels a little like pay day, and it is so natural to just give thanks. To be thankful.  God has provided.
This year has been a very "different" one. My husband, who is a general contractor and builds custom homes, has been around a lot! In our area, there isn't a lot of new building going on. We've used the time he's had off to get some things done around home. Now he seems to be getting busier, and thankfully, the work is just about done. I have to say, I'm amazed at how much we DID get done around here, from finishing the gazebo he started last year, to putting on a new roof, installing new flooring in the kitchen and living room, even remodeling my daughter's bedroom. Oh yeah, we were even able to get my grandkids' "fort" started. Fort? My husband got a little carried away, they actually are getting a building the size of a small cottage, that Grandma (me) would love to have! I don't know what I'd do with tower they added to it, but I'd think of something. I always said it would be nice to have my husband retire, but I have to say, it's pretty hard to keep on a routine. I was pretty glad for him to be back to work so that I could get a schedule back in time to start homeschool this fall.
Hope your fall is bursting with thankfulness!

PS Photos are from the old fashioned ice cream social we had with friends (except we didn't make it homemade) this summer. See, we found plenty of time to play! 

Joy in All This Business of Life

Seriously, I've never neglected my blog this long! It's my son's fault. It's also his fault the months have literally flown by!

On Valentine's Day, my son called and asked me, "Do you think it's weird if I don't get Janae jewelry for Valentine's Day? I'm planning on buying her a major piece of jewelry." My word were, "Of course not! She doesn't seem materialistic anyway, I think she'd just love your devotion." ----"WHAT MAJOR PIECE OF JEWELRY?!!  Is this my son I'm talking to? So, he AND his 7 year old son proposed to her about a month later! Actually, my grandson spilled it and said, "Will you marry us?" before Steven could slow him down!
So, that was March, and then we had to scramble. He gave her NO time to plan a July wedding. Then he decided that he'd love to get married in my mom's yard, like his sister did. THEN he decided that we could have the rehearsal dinner in MY yard! So, for literally months, we've been working around here, getting ready for the wedding.  My mom lives a few acres over, and her view looks down the river on a clear day. Beautiful setting. The rehearsal went well, then came the dinner. It started to drizzle. 60 people in my yard! My grandson built a fire in the outdoor fireplace, we had the gazebo (which my husband had been working on for months), we had a canvas gazebo, and my porch is large, so we still managed to actually have a wonderful time.  Next day, Wedding Day, it rained like I've never seen it rain in Oregon on a summer day. Everyone was in a good mood, but it was a little stressful. On with the wedding, right? After the photos with the photographer it started to let up, and right at 5 pm, the sky broke open to a beautiful evening! The wedding turned out gorgeous. All those chairs I thought would be empty were full. The groom kissed his bride, and the balloons rose behind them. We danced 'til late into the beautiful night.
Funny thing was, the next morning, it poured down rain again! But we were so thankful that we had such a beautiful wedding.
Right after that, we barely got everything cleaned up and put away, and our church had their week long family camp! We're now recuperating from that and soon will have to start homeschool and canning and finishing up the garden! So, that's where I've been!

My grandson-fell asleep right before the wedding!

I haven't even managed to get to to many yard sales or estate sales YET this year, but when we go on our camping trip I'm making up for it. It's an understanding that I at least get to go one morning! We've all worked so hard, it's TIME for a break before school starts.

It's raining outside, but it's summer in my heart!

After getting my mail today, I was pleasantly surprised to receive my Matthew Mead Summer magazine! If you have not ordered yours, you just MUST! I sifted through it really quickly (forgot to look for that golden ticket saying I won a prize, so I'll have to check again), and wished I could sit down and just drool over what I saw from my first peek. It is another amazing edition. I loved "Holidays", and I don't want to say this is better, because the holidays have their place of importance, and a whole different decorating, wintery theme. But "Summer!", now this is wonderful. He hit right on my favorite season.
The ideas in this magazine (is a magazine this thick and nice and beautiful called a magazine?) are so fun. The color is amazing, the photography spectacular. We are having my son's wedding rehearsal dinner at our place, and I saw some fun things to do for our party. I admit, I was thinking more of "what's on the menu" than, "how will we decorate", but now I'm thinking we're going to have to do some of those little special desserts, and wonderful display ideas. So believe me, you WANT this magazine!
What else has been happening? We're wrapping our end of the school year, getting ready for the gardening season. We'll soon get the pool running in case summer decides to come. And since I'm an optimist, I'll be ready for those warm breezes, kids playing, and lazy type days to enjoy.
But before I get too laid back, I need to get to my stockpile of fun vintage stuff, sort through it, tag it, and get it ready for....A Vintage Gathering's June 25th Sale! They are hosting several this year, but with so much going on....we just couldn't do it all. We are excitely anticipating seeing these wonderful ladies and all their wonderful goodies. It amazes me how many awesome treasures they find, and their sales are always such friendly occasions. They have a neat bond between them, and they've graciously adopted us into their "family" for special occasions. But to all our "Vintage Gathering" friends, we're hoping to get to your sales even in we aren't under our own tent! It's just too much fun. If you haven't been to one of their sales, click on the following schedule, and it will link to their blog with all the info you need. Happy Shopping! And may all our spring and summer days be sunny and bright with laughter!

Show and Tell

It's been awhile, and I've been going every whichway, trying to work with the weather, either doing indoor or outdoor projects. I really dislike needing to be indoors on a sunny day, so I'm trying to make good use of the rainy ones. Like yesterday, my oldest daughter & grandkids came over and helped me and my youngest ones rip out all the carpet in the living and hallway. My husband was...surprised, maybe a little overwhelmed because he's still working on the kitchen flooring. But it was raining!
And since it is also raining today, but I hear it's supposed to turn sunny SOON, I've been trying to work on my Etsy shop, which has been slightly neglected lately. Not to mention, getting my "studio" cleaned up! It's where all my Etsy finds get put, (well, a LOT of them haha).
We don't have regularly scheduled broadcasting in our house, and haven't for most of my adult life. We do have videos, but, as you can imagine, we're gladly behind in all the programs out there, unless someone tells us about something they think we might like. Well, we did finally get netflix. And enjoy it, (we've gone through ALL the Andy Griffiths, Gomers, (except I had never noticed how much yelling went on through that whole series!). My daughter told us to watch "Hoarders." Wow! That's interesting! What's more interesting is that my teenage daughter started hauling out boxes of stuff to take to our church rummage sale! Made me want to get in my studio and clean. Made my husband mad because we teased him about hoarding books lol. I never thought he had a "real" problem, but he did get a little defensive lol.  Me? No, I don't have a problem, hehe. Actually, I've been decluttering a lot of my own personal stuff, going through a lot of my things I'm tired of cleaning. I've been known, like now, to own a huge set of dishes I received from someone dear, and kept for years and years, not wanting to tell her they weren't my style, not wanting to hurt her feelings! Well, I must be getting old, because now I want to keep only what I really love and use.
In my studio, I came across some things I'd found recently. Cool things for the right person! Like this chain purse. It is just adorable, found it at an estate sale. I'm NOT in a hurry to wish for fall at ALL, and I'll probably get them into my Etsy shop wayyyy before then, like soon, but I was surprised to find a bag full of these vintage Halloween decorations. If I liked/celebrated Halloween, I'd keep them, but I don't and I'm not. Did think they were rather notstalgic looking, like something Martha would have in her magazine under collections.
So, that's what I've been up to! Remodel projects, gardening, greenhouse, tons of yard work, homeschooling, and yes, even some Etsy!