Big ETSY excitement!

I came home from a great afternoon of felted soap fun at the Mercer homestead to some real excitement! One of my felted heart photos was featured on an ETSY blog about Valentine's Day!

http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/special-delivery-share-your-love-3268/#comment-61985

I've sold quite a few of these little guys already, and am loving making them. It's so nice to know that I'm sending these little hearts all around our country and the world:) Spreading the love...

Farmer's Rock!

After driving almost two hours to Augusta with no heat in my car (and -10 outside temperatures), I was SO relieved to make it to the Maine Agricultural Trades Show! My head is still spinning from all the information I gathered. There were vendors there from all over the state. I talked with several fiber ladies (one who was spinning right from an Angora rabbit on her lap), an electric fence guru who helped me figure out what would be our best options for fencing our field and chickens, people who gave me lots of options for finding beginning farm loans and grants, and even tried out a scythe for the first time. I was overwhelmed by all the giant equipment squeezed into the civic center and dreamed of owning one of those big tractors or evaporators. There were honey bees, Johnny's seeds, and just about anything else a farmer from Maine would be interested in. I was very inspired to see all the farmers and gardeners there; from old timers to the young and new, everyone coming together to connect, learn, and share the joys and hardships of being a farmer.
I ended my trip to the Trades Show with the Highbush Blueberry School, learning just about everything there is to know about growing these beauties here in Maine. I didn't get any photos of the day, but here's some pictures of our field, covered in snow...just waiting for spring. You can see a row of mulch peeking out of the snow, protecting the first vegetable planted in our field - GARLIC!

Welcome to Cabin Fever...

It is finally here! Christmas is over...new year's as well. The days are slowly getting longer, but that doesn't help with the thought of Spring being so far away. Even on a nice sunny day I'm preferring to sit in a sunny window with my seed catalogs rather than go outside for any length of time. Here's my latest recipe for dealing with cabin fever:

1. Don't have children. They will officially drive you crazy being stuck inside during cold, snowless days.

2. Love wool. Anything. Really. Not only does it keep you warm in a multitude of ways, if you learn to knit, crochet, spin, or needlefelt the lanolin in the wool will keep your hands from drying out and cracking.

3. Dream of going anywhere warm. My favorites are, in this order: North Carolina, Jamaica, New Zealand/Australia, Hawaii, California, Bahamas...

4. Visit friends, join facebook, do anything that makes you feel like you're part of a community - okay, this may only apply to people living out in the boonies.

5. Netflix helps, as does high speed internet.

6. Cook lots of comfort food. My favorites: moose stew, turkey pot pie, brownies, pot roast. Yum.

7. Marry someone who LOVES the cold, dreams of the cold, can't get enough of the cold. If you're lucky they'll drag you out in it enough that you can enjoy yourself, too!