TheIrishLady

The Chicken Chronicles: SNAKE !! SNAKE !! SNAKE!!

Posted on May 1, 2012May 2, 2012 by TheIrishLady in Sharing

Early morning will find us in the study, half asleep and beginning the day. There was an unusual sound something like a long plea, maybe a chicken or a rare bird. We ran through the house to the back porch where we keep the chickens at night, covered in a make shift quasi rabbit hutch turned chicken coop. There were birds shrieking and flying in and out of the covered part of the porch. I jerked the multi colored quilt off the coop. The girls were huddled around my beautiful white Kitty Wells and she was wrapped with an ugly black rope choking and choking her. I screamed and thought, “Lord, please don’t make me watch this chicken die… I have to get that snake now.” The snake released and started moving out of the coop and into the balled up quilt. I pulled the hutch away from the wall and jerked the quilt off. Thank you, God, for my youngest son who had already ran for the shot gun; but, you can’t shoot that close to the house where there are bricks and concrete and glass. He had presence of mind to get his Daisy BB Gun and start shooting as the snake huddled under the barbeque pit in the corner. My son’s plan was to get it stunned enough to move it out on to the grass with the shovel. The plan worked. He pumped that minion of Satan with as many BBs as he could and then moved him to the grass and blew it’s head off with the shot gun!

Finally, I had relented and stopped bringing the chickens in the mud room at night just this week. They surely would be safe right under the porch by the back door. I couldn’t bare the thought of Kitty Wells or any of her sisters being killed by something so evil. How was that snake ever going to digest a chicken that size? What was the plan? Choke and then move on? I have no idea, just gratitude for my son, for mercy, for silly chickens. Those chickens are coming in the house at night. We are building something with even smaller wire and I am going to pray and pray. Get behind me, Satan!

My pretty girl knows something is up. She’s the white one. Good chickens! Good birds that have been driving me crazy flying under the porches. You told and we were able to save her!

Country Living Fair and Bribery to Get There!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by TheIrishLady in Designing

Shhh! Are we alone? If we are completely alone, I am going to share a secret with you. You ask me all the time, “How do you get your sons to work so hard?” All the furniture hauling, the paint projects, landscaping, cleaning, mowing, gardening, tending chickens and trips to antique fairs and the list goes ….. gets done with the help of my sons because ….. are you ready for the secret ? … you’ll be amazed … it’s kinda simple … it really is…. listen close… I FEED THEM! It’s true, it’s really true; the way to a man’s heart is his stomach. That’s how I got them to go with me to the Country Living Fair. They were so stuffed they needed to walk it off and had no problem strolling the aisles with me. Just don’t ask them if they like pink anything or ‘is this chair better than that chair?’ or ‘what do you think I should get?’ “This”, they sternly warn, “will require me to turn in my man card.” And, they guard that card diligently.

The best “worth the drive” barbeque in our neck of the woods is just south of Austin on Highway 290 in a little town called Elgin. It’s called the Southside Market. The wood is stacked outside. The smoke touches the tendrils of your nostrils immediately after exiting your vehicle and you are summoned by one of the most down home comforting foods the State of Texas has to offer. Simply put, brisket with the sauce on the side. Lemons on the plate are for the tea not the barbeque. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to pose for the picture.

Enough about barbeque. Here’s what I gleaned from the fair:

OLD QUILTS CAN BE RE-PURPOSED with quaint lettering, family photos and framing…

RED CHAIRS WITH AN ORIENTAL FLAIR can go anywhere and still matter in design just like leopard… Pairs of anything old are my weakness because I figure if the two can make it that long they should always be together. I think that about my husband after twenty plus years.

OLD TAPESTRY PLACED ON AN OLD STANDARD BUFFET make for interesting pieces and could be inspiration for any print fabrics…

CLEVER AND PAINTED UTENSILS apparently have more use than bending your elbow and getting your mouth to fly open…

RINGS ARE A BEAUTIFUL THING especially when you take your grandma’s big earrings and make two big rings… To purchase these rings go to Emma Lou Vintage at http://www.etsy.com/shop/emmalouvintage or coming soon to my booth at Hermann’s.

Just a small sampling of what was there. All in all a really enjoyable day with my family.

The Irish Lady Antiquities at Hermann’s Antique Mall

Posted on April 24, 2012 by TheIrishLady in Designing

Have I ever mentioned that I have an antique booth at Hermann’s in downtown Brenham? There is a section of the store to the right that houses antique vendors of all kinds. My booth is way in the back in the old meat market section where you can still see the meat hooks hanging from the tin tile ceiling. The history of Hermann’s is so interesting. You have to come see the place. It’s huge. Well, back to antiquities and such, here is a sampling of what I have crammed in my space.

Keyed Round Front Solid Oak Lighted Curio, Drexel Heritage Chair Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Distressed, White Furniture Company of the Carolinas Accent Table Painted with Annie Sloan. And, many many accessories..

Bright Sunshine Yellow Formica Table from around the late 40’s early 50’s. This one is rare in that it has it’s original leaf and accompanied by four Sears and Roebuck Oak Catalog Chairs from the 30’s painted black with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and distressed. Two tiered black accent table painted in chalk paint. There’s a 1920’s ice bucket and several ice cold beverage pitchers. The lobster platter hails from the paper machiere era and compliments the wooden serving accessories. There are six snack plates with pineapple serving bowls and a few platters. These would be great pool side or porch.

I have tons of linens made by my grandmother that have been embroidered and crocheted. Table cloths, round and square, dish towels, pillow cases and even towels are there. Next to the linens is an old iron bistro table and double shutter in red.

…A better glimpse at the bistro set.

An 1800’s armoire, with dove tail drawers on the left and cedar lined hanging clothes area on the right, still has it’s very own skeleton key. The chairs are cained and painted with white chalk paint.

Come visit The Irish Lady at Hermann’s Antique Mall, Downtown Brenham, Texas.