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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 05 2006 : 6:35:16 PM
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oh gurlz .. i just had to share this fun newsletter that a friend of mine writes about once a month ... it is about her grande adventure to kentucky and tennessee (she is from Michigan) ... and travelled to a 'primitive show' that she participated in ... in tennessee). she has such a great sense of humor .. and i was tickled pink that she took the time to stop in my precious town of greensburg of which i often write .. and to visit cabin creek farm. the girls were going to come spend a couple days with me ... but the 'stork' came a-calling .. so we had to head to ohio ... i told her the key was under the welcoming rug on the front porch and to come on in and spend as many nights as they needed even if we weren't home. hank did get back before their arrival .. and i had indeed warned them that they might see him running 'near-nekked' as he came up outta' the woods .. and would surely catch a glimpse of him in his birthday suit taking a shower on our outdoor shower deck .. and hoped they weren't 'faint of heart'. i think it is with some trepidation that they drove up to the crest of the hill land looked down into the little valley where cabin creek farm sits. luckily, the man did indeed have on his shoes and running shorts when they arrived!
sounds like they had a grande time .. and i had planned on attending that same tennessee show with a few friends .. but headed for toledo instead.
honey hunk came up to toledo on omnday and we're heading home tomorrow .. sounds like it might just be for a couple days though ... wednesday and frank reeeeeely want me to stay on for another week. but i think i need to go home for a couple nights 'sleep' from sundown to sunup! and to snuggle with honey hunk! AND .. i thought it would be a good thing to let the kids try to 'wing it' without their 'au paire' for a few days to see how it goes.
HA! i told hank i would come back next week if they deseprately needed me .. AND .. i even offered to leave the CREDIT CARD at home!!! (i still haven't worked up the nerve to give him ALL of the credit card slips i have managed to rack up while here! He did tell me though, that he knows helping our children is my first joy in life .. and that is just fine with him .. because he knows how happy it makes me. LORDY! i sure have a 'keeper'!!!! I DO know how blessed i am!!
well, anyhoo ... here's High Button Shoe's fun newsletter .. it's kinda' long ... but i sure hope you enjoy it .. and DO go visit her web-site .. i just LOVE it! xo, frannie
p.s. let her know if YOU would like to be on her newsletter list that she sends via e-mail.
(be sure to tell her Frannie sent you!) xoxo
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Subject: HighButtonShoe newsletter 10/5/06
From: "Ron and Pat Byers" <byers@highbuttonshoe.net> Add
..yes, I know. You have been pondering on where your newsletter is, and what I am doing besides writing your letter! I have decided that in addition to the week of madness before you take a week's vacation, it takes another week AFTER you get home to recover. Add fall chores to that, and I am behind. But then you know already that I am often 'behind', so nothing new there.
So, you knew Beulah and me took off for Kentucky and Tennessee on Sept 19th to do Ruth Rochelle's show at Primitive Homeplace on the 23rd. We had been looking forward to this trip all summer. I told you in my last letter that my life during these times runs totally off lists. Lists made when I have some clarity of mind. I checked off all the things on the list the morning I was leaving, fully convinced the truck was packed with all the essentials needed for the show.
We barely had any room left in the truck. Just about enough room for Beu to sit in her seat and of course, had the bags of red licorice prominent between us for snacks and the ever present coffee mugs. I had stopped off in LeRoy about 4 miles south of here to send a box of sweet annie that I had cut the day before to RhettaMae. Having put it in the truck front seat the night before, where Beu was planning on sitting, it was the only place left in the truck to put anything. The morning was cool and rainy, so when I got to Beu's, she immediately turned on the heat. Which apparently warmed up what ever tiny little green bugs must have been IN the sweet annie box, and were now swarming around us in the truck. Beu begins attacking them with my reserve of napkins in the console. Splat, splat. Several napkins, 68 miles further, splat marks all over the inside windows, AND her jeans now covered with little green innards, we apparently were done with the bugs. We smiled and laughed thinking, ok, what a start to our trip. Little did we know!
But you know, red licorice is the cure all for everything!
We drove to Greensburg Kentucky to see Frannie Meshorer and Cabin Creek Farm. Of course, Frannie had run off days before to see the birth of that precious granddaughter, so she wasn't there. And we knew that prior to getting there. We went to Glovers Station of which she speaks often, and met up with Miss Kledith who is the MOST delightful woman, and has that southern accent I so favor. We toured around the antique store, and bought a few things ( I was NOT supposed to buy anything according to Ron...but then you know I rarely pay any attention to him!), we could have bought more but as I mentioned the truck was tight already and Beu didn't favor starting out so early with having to ride with stuff sitting on her lap, AND we had to be able to find the red licorice. A woman Nan opened up the oldest court house in Green County and we were able to see that. What an equally delightful woman (and she had the most beautiful hair, I would die for..) We ate lunch at Lucy Tuckers. And then proceeded out to Frannie's, because she told me where the key was and to come anyway. Perhaps Hank would be back from Ohio. We drove over the hill and looked down on the most spectacular homestead of red buildings and fences. After catching our breath at the beauty of the place, which I had seen in pictures but the real thing is ever so much better !!! we got out and could hear a lawn mower off behind the buildings. I walked around one building and met Hank, a very impressive specimen of man. In just shorts and tennis shoes, and sweating from his labors of hand pushing the mower in that heat around the trees, he was the second beauty of the place! He needed to keep mowing and after chatting for a while, invited us to just go in and look at their house. Oh my! Oh my!!!!!!!!! Not wanting to disturb anything of course, we walked around, whispering to each other and drooling and totally amazed at the house, and Frannie's many collections. The house is inviting and definitely lived in, not museum like, and our searching eyes continued to find things that simply amazed us. For one thing, perhaps a southern thing, I don't know.... when you opened an outside door to go inside, you were promptly met with another door to open. Not like our screen doors and the regular door, she has two regular doors for one door opening. I loved that. We took a picture of one door in her great room. You know me and old doors. Finally after not being able to take in one more sight, we found Hank and made our farewells and thanked him for the house tour.
We saw tobacco drying in barns and cotton ready to harvest in the fields. I have never seen this before and was most impressed. I wanted so badly to stop along the road at a couple of barns that were close to the road to take some pictures, but realized we would be trespassing on private property, so didn't. But in hindsight, I wish we would have chanced it and got those pictures.
We then headed to Nashville and across to Bradford. For-going the big roads, we took a two lane and went thru the countryside. What a lovely drive. Got into Bradford on Thursday afternoon. And realized we didn't have a clue where the shop and show were. Calling Ruth, we still managed to not understand directions and she called us after a bit, wondering if we were lost? and finally came and got us!! How so much spunk, passion, sweetness, and go-get could be packed into such a tiny little gorgeous lady is beyond me! She gave us the tour of her house. A new saltbox that is like stepping back 150 years ago in time. She has a very impressive collection of true old primitives, cupboards, rope beds, and a keen sense of decorating purpose. Unlike Frannies house in every way, but equally as breath taking, we were mesmerized. We were shown where our tent booth would be in the massive hayfield off the sheep pen. I didn't realize Tennessee had red clay as does Georgia. Learn something new all the time. Later would REALLY realize the clay was red. As we were one day early for set up, but we were there, we were allowed to begin the set up of the tent and unloading of the truck. Trucks are packed in the best method to get it all in (well, when Ronnie packs it is, I don't seem to have that ability..) but that packing is not usually the best for the unpacking and set up. Usually what you need like the tent and tables etc are the last to come out. So there we were. In the middle of the field, with the truck emptied and stuff piled everywhere and prepare to put up the tent. The tent bag does NOT have everything in it! So after feeling a mild sensation of diarrhea coming on, we find Jimmy (husband to Ruth) and inquire about a Wal-Mart, hoping there might be one within a 50 mile radius and HOPING they are still stocking tents. Much to our delight we learn there is one in Milan, only 8 miles whatever direction that was from us, and where we had a room booked at a motel for the next two nights. So off to Milan we head and find the Wal-Mart way on the other side of town. It has tents. So with the level headedness of Beulah, a quality she inherited from her father NOT me, we buy a tent, the kind that has the frame and you walk out with it and it opens up. No sides. I have two big blue tarps with me (for inclement weather... !!!!!!!!!!!!) to cover our things incase of need. We buy several packages of tie downs. I can do tie downs, knots are NOT my specialty. My knots always end up looking like a ball of twine wrapped up for 30 minutes. Again, Beu has the smarts! So back to the set up, we go. Got the tent figured out and up. We decide to keep it down without putting up the extra height as the wind has picked up significantly and leave all the stuff we would be putting outside the tent for the show under the downed tent and cover it with the two tarps, with heavy furniture holding the tarp edges down. It is 91 degrees.
We go find the motel, which the windows don't open (my claustrophia, you will remember...) and get something to eat, and settle in for the night. A siren is going off, not the moving kind like we hear here reporting an ambulance, police or fire truck. It takes a few moments to realize it is the TORNADO sirens. I have never heard one. Others of the motel are out listening too. Then the TV reports of the 36 tornadoes that are touching down and in towns and counties we are not familiar with. We only know about Milan and Bradford. We don't know what county we are in! Beu goes out to the truck to get the trusted atlas and we find out where we are, tornado wise. Eventually as my anxiety pills kick in (tornado, room with no open windows, etc) I sleep. We get up early (still on Michigan time) and before we can even leave the motel to get breakfast, a pounding rain hits us. After a while, we figure we won't melt and will just head over to a McDonald's for breakfast. Raining too hard to even get out of the truck, we get take out and eat in a parking lot that is now flooding. So we decide to head back out to Wal-Mart because maybe we better get more tarps, more tie downs and DEFINITELY MORE licorice. And we also bought a big bag of tootsie rolls (400 count) and in a moment of clarity that you look back on and wonder why you thought of that, bought 2 extra duty long to your feet with a hood rain gear. And head back to the hay field to see if our tent might still be standing or long gone. It was there. And surprisingly they hadn't gotten that horrific rain we got just 8 miles away, but merely a rain. So things aren't too wet. We put the tent back up, and start putting out two new bought tarps on the sides that we think the wind may come from judging from what we could decipher. The wind continues. We think maybe we better have 2 more tarps because the wind is pretty strong. Back to Wal-Mart. Licorice supply is ok, but we are munching tootsie rolls by the handful! Having bought the midget ones by mistake, it takes longer to get that drated paper off to eat them! So we buy one long tarp rather than 2 smaller ones, thinking it will go around the tent corner and be less apt to let wind and rain thru. That is a logical thought. In reality, it didn't quite fit. Why a 20' tarp won't go around a 10' square tent is beyond me. But then I am the one who can't tie knots. Beu, again with her dad's intelligence figures something out while I stand gulping down tootsie rolls. We are done. The tent is up and everything is inside and all encased with tarps and my original tarps on covering the stuff inside.. just in case. We go back to the motel. Weather forecast for Saturday is NOT promising. But here in the north they are usually wrong, so we hope for the same in the south. NOT. We get to the show, and walk around briefly looking at some of the most amazing primitive booths I have even seen. This is ONE great show! But remember, I am not supposed to buy! I am supposed to sell. Even so, I did manage to make a few purchases. About 1PM with the looks of threatening weather descending on us, the booth next to us, is tarping up all her stuff. I ask why. She says somebody just called and said a storm was about 1/2 hour out and coming our way. It got there in 5 minutes! Drenching rain! Preceded by winds so strong, Beu, me and 2 kind souls who took refuge in our tent, were holding down the tent poles! Trying to keep our furniture, quilts, cards, samplers etc dry, (a futile attempt at best) we began pushing things into the truck to break down the booth. Having bought new shoes for the occasion, I opted for barefoot rather than ruin them in that red clay which is now ankle deep literally, where we were loading the truck. Our heavy rain gear barely kept us dry. We, fully loaded, but not in a Ron fashion, only loaded, started driving toward Nashville. 3 hours of heavy heavy rain. When we were 21 miles out, the rain was so bad, we stopped for the night at a very posh motel. My wet hair hung in ratty ringlets down my back after taking off my baseball cap that did nothing but keep the rain out of my eyes. I have no idea where my makeup was. My tan had been pelted by the rain so hard I think that all slipped down to my very red clay ankles and bare feet. Absolutely not going to put on my new shoes, over my red mud feet, I washed them off as best as I could in the rain puddles in the parking lot and walked in barefooted to the lobby to inquire about a room. I had on my jean capris. I should have realized that if my feet were that red and muddy, perhaps my legs were too. I didn't realize that. So there I stand, barefooted, mud, still wet, with people very well dressed in the sitting rooms looking at me. Perhaps the clerk couldn't see my red muddy bare feet as they rented me a room. Back out to the truck, get out luggage which is drenched wet, and I walk barefooted up to our room. We are hungry, Sirens are blaring on this very busy road, so Beu doesn't want to chance crossing the road for food. She walks in the pouring rain to a gas station on our side of the road, and comes back with the tuna sandwiches you can buy in a plastic container and milk. Which we proceed to eat, accompanied by several handfuls of tootsie rolls.
We get up the next morning, and drive into Nashville to hit 65 north. ONLY to find the road has a detour! Coming out of a curve we have perhaps 5 seconds to realize which road to take. Beu, the navigator with broken glasses, says take the left, and I do, NO, right, too late, I am already left. It took me about one second to realize that if I don't take that right road, we will NEVER find our way back here.. so I do the logical thing, probably illegal, but logical at the time, and simply run across the medium (no curbs, just grass with huge water puddles) and voila, we are on the right road. Why I didn't bury that very loaded truck in that grass is beyond me, but angels do watch over idiots, you know. It is Sunday morning and we are headed back to Michigan with a truck load of wet stuff. We drive 13 hours straight to get home. My butt is numb. We unload the truck on Monday and put things everywhere in the pole barn to dry.
So that is our trip! We didn't sell much. It was frustrating at times. BUT it was a wonderful trip. The houses, the shops, the people, THAT SHOW which I would highly recommend to everyone. Meeting Ginny and Melanie who are on my mailing list. Spending time with Beu, which is always fun. Meeting Hank! And red licorice and tootsie rolls. Who could ask for more??
I am now busy working in garages and going thru boxes. Fall is definitely here. And a reminder of the little time we have to get the fall chores done.
While I didn't notify you of it, ranting raven came out on the first. I barely remember the 1st! We can be found at www.rantingraven.com/Exhibit95.php
We are redoing the website to update the look. Please check it out! www.highbuttonshoe.net
AND we have more drieds in the gourd garlands and squash garlands. We have the fall grass for your bowls and baskets to accent your fall decorating. We have the linen flax, that looks great sitting in an old wood bowl. Check out the drieds at www.highbuttonshoe.net/drieds.htm I have a limited amount of the dried corn, that looks so great sitting around. And we have the sugar cones in the bags, along with the wax corn in the dried corn husks. All of these items will carry you well through the fall and many of them I leave out year round. Not just a seasonal item!
We will be making more changes in the website. We have taken the shop tour off, as it is no longer a shop and is preparing to be a homestead again. I will occasionally be showing pictures of the work we are doing. (We being Ron, of course..) Let us know what you think of the new look.
Thanks for asking to be a part of our farm!
If you decide to unsubscribe from the newsletter, just reply with unsubscribe!
in fond regard,
Tilda, with tootsie rolls merely applied to my hips now,
no fingernails left
and still trying to get the soap out of my hair, as I forgot my shampoo, could not get the stupid hotel shampoo packet open (even with my teeth) so was forced to use the hotel bar soap to wash my hair with.... (nasty.... don't do that!) that was just before the drenching rain on it. must take weeks to get that stuff out. ...just nasty.
leaving you with an attachment of a sunrise 2 mornings ago that Steve took. scroll to the bottom of this letter to see it or click on the attachment. It is beautiful!
www.highbuttonshoe.net
www.crowsoup.com/Market586.php
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
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High Button Shoe
