Prairie Island...

happy monday my dear girls!!

we have been swimming in rain this wonderful day...

sigh...there is nothing better than the smell of dry, prairie soil soaking in that wonderful moisture...*bliss*...

this past weekend i happened to stop by the thrift store...

and what should my junking eye land upon..

a wonderful antique drafting table...

in prairie green...

can you believe i almost passed on this beauty?!?...

i wasn't sure about bringing her home until i realized she had been marked down 50%...

i know...i shop the sales at the thrift store?!!??...

the husband should be proud right?!?

she is quite heavy duty and should hold up well here on the prairie...

she might be replaced in the near future by #4...

whom i just can't quit thinking about...

but for right now she has settled in quite nicely here...

{*thank you* to joy @ savvy city farmer for making faded prairie her featured blog for the month of august! go on over and say hello...she is truly amazing and such a kindred spirit!!}

Electrical Tire...

the other morning the husband told me there was something i just needed to see..

walking out into the farmyard i noticed the horsetrailer had a flat...

being the observant, helpful wife that i am...

i pointed it out to him and suggested that he might want to start fixing that before he loaded up and went herding cattle...{this prairie girl learned very fast when to pass those kind of jobs on... ;0)}

laughing he said it had already been fixed...

what?!?...

why in the world is it still flat i questioned...

the husband just pointed and my question was soon answered...

our old soul son just couldn't figure out why it wouldn't pump up...

maybe he would have had better luck with duct tape!?! ;0)

hope your weekend was fabulous...

it looks as if we are going fishing again...

sigh..

any good book suggestions?!? i'm in between...

could be a long evening...

Cotton Bloom...

*warning* LONG ol' post here... :0)

things are finally getting back to normal...

i decided we needed new flooring in our bedroom and kitchen if you recall...

yes, i decided this a week before the fourth of july....

yes, i decided this right in the middle of hay season...

yes, when i decide it is all i can think about...

yes, i become obsessed...

but really i think i had a good reason for wanting a change...

this is a before shot of our bedroom flooring...

i know it needed a vacuum job...

but i'm still going with the story that vacuum cleaners have yet to reach us here on the prairie...you know there are some advantages to living in the middle of nowhere... ;0)

and i do know i need a bedskirt...it has been on my sewing list for years now...one day right?!?

anyways...red carpet all the rage awhile ago...

not so much now...

so we ripped it out...

and discovered...

*bliss*...

gorgeous pine flooring first installed in 1890...

now i know i probably shouldn't have but i did...

paint them...

cotton bloom...

*sigh*

now that our bedroom was complete we must move onto the kitchen...

now truth be told i hated our kitchen flooring...

i just had to have pergo years ago...

and i'm sorry but it was SO not a good floor to have in our house...

my kids were constantly slipping and sliding around and it was just...ugh...

once i saw what lori's friend did here...i just had to try..

so off to home depot we went...

we bought the cheapest plywood...

lauan is 11.00 for a 4 by 8 foot sheet...and it's waterproof...

we then cut the sheets into a little less than 8" strips..

and started liquid nailing down...

primed and painted the same warm white Cotton Bloom...

the end result...

beautiful farmhouse wide plank flooring...

all for around $50.00...

can't beat the price right?!?..

now for my prairie girl pros and cons...

*love* the feel of the floor, way better than pergo...

*super* easy to install...

~shows every boot and muddy footprint the wild prairie kids can track through it...but cleans up very easily...

~probably wouldn't put a small space between each board again...i'm sure you'd still get the definition between each plank without it...

~would i put this in a house that i planned on spending the rest of my life...hhhmmm...not so sure...

oh wait i just did...it has prompted some new ideas...big ideas...for our little prairie home...

will it be staying...probably not...

this prairie girl's heart still belongs to reclaimed barnwood flooring...

so what do you think?

~*prairie girl did a good thing...

~*prairie girl should be shot for painting over original pine flooring...

~*prairie girl should maybe try her ideas on something else namely the chicken coop or dog house where they won't be noticed...

~*prairie girl should just...well do something SO different...

{oh, i did a little shopping at the farm store today...a little something some of you farm girls might just like...and no it's not a wheelbarrow...giveaway coming soon so choose your options wisely ;0) }

Farm Routine...

really....

could things get any more hectic?!?...

oh...by the way...

have not decided on what kitchen island to get yet...

*thank you* for all the great input...

i'm really leaning towards #4 oh but #2 will definitely be coming along if i decide to order them...

she insists on coming to live on the prairie...

we've been up to our eyeballs in hay...

this was our routine the other day...

* 5:00 a.m. sprinkler changing

* 7:00 a.m. feeding chickens, doggie calves

* 7:30 a.m. grabbing cold pizza on the way out the door

* 7:45 a.m. saddling horses {husband and boys...girls are left behind once again...sigh...

* 9:00 a.m. clancey and i are out the door to run errands on our way to the shop...

* 10:30-6:00 sell farm finds in the shop...wishing i would have held on to some...

* 6:30 p.m. more sprinklers to change

* 8:00 p.m. feeding chickens, unsaddling horses, feeding doggie calves again {anyone want 5 doggie calves that you have to feed morning and night on a gigantic bottle?!?! they are super fun and in no way more work that a baby?!?! hello...anyone?!?} oh and we must not forget horses and dogs...

* 9:30 p.m. prairie girl looking in the fridge to see if there is anymore cold, day old pizza she can feed to the kids...nope all gone guess it's going to be cold cereal instead...

* 10:30 p.m. kids looking a little grungy...better schedule baths a week from today or maybe a trip to the pool?!?...

* 10:45 p.m. kids finally in bed minus pajamas...wonder when a laundry day will come up?!?!...

* 11:00 p.m. missed the news, guess i'll curl up with a good book {girl who kicked the hornet's nest..Must Read girls!!}

* 2:30 a.m. finish book and crawl into bed...

* 2:30 a.m. kick husband out of bed to go and bale hay...

* 5:00 a.m. start all over again...

boy i'll be glad when it gets dark at 5:00 and we have to sit and stare at each other's eyeballs for entertainment on a cold winters evening ;0)

anyways...

i was finally able to update the shop a little bit...

going junking again this week so hopefully more goods to come..

*adore* these baskets

metal milk crate *bliss*

there is just something about wyoming...

heck anything with a cowboy right?! ;0)

hope you all had a fabulous weekend...

really let me know if you want some calves shipped your way...i'll even throw in the bottles and milk replacer for free! ;0)

prairie hugs,

Industrial Kitchen....

happy monday girls!!

i hope your weekend went well...

we went camping and fishing...{pictures soon...}...

did i mention i'm not much of a camper...

or fisher...

i used to enjoy it...but now i just think of the laundry i'll have to do after such a trip...

ugh...

oh well the kids had a good time and at least i had a good book!...

anyways...

how about we talk about something a little more exciting shall we..

farmhouse decor...

i've been on the hunt for a kitchen island for awhile...

something that is not your typical kitchen island...

i've really wanted an old factory cart turned island...

no such luck yet...i think i may just settle for one of these...

what do you girls think...

1.2.3.or 4.?!?

{okay really 1.3. and 4....2 really can't be a kitchen island since it is only 28 inches tall...but sigh...i really have a soft spot for it...}

hhhmmm...

wish i could take all four....

i'm sure i could find a place somewhere for them ;0)

you know the husband is busy baling up hay...maybe i could sell a load or two...

it would go to a good cause would it not?!? ;0)

{a sweet, sweet girl purchase some of my prairie lace...stop over and she what she did with it...*LoVe* it...*thank you* tara!}

{recently marked down most goods in the shop...join me for my summer on the prairie sale}

Prairie Lawnmower...

one of my dreams is to have a beautiful yard..

one with flowers in bloom all summer long...

one with green, lush lawn...

so this year i made a vow to tackle our yard...

my old soul son was put in charge of mowing the lawn...

which he was suppose to be doing this morning...

when i didn't hear the rumble of our ancient lawnmower, i stepped outside...

to this...

may i present our new prairie lawnmower...

she's quiet, she fertilizes as she goes, and she doesn't consume $3.00 a gallon gas...

someone help me...

i do believe i've given up...

Obsession No. 2...or is it 4...

not only does this prairie girl have an obsession with cows...

but there is also something about chippy, paint splashed, rusted oh so beautiful patina metal stools that makes her prairie heart pitter patter...

this is my little collection that i've started...

i just can't get enough...even if i'm not exactly sure where to put them...

by the way...{have i asked this before?!?}how many obsessions can one girl have before it starts to become a problem...

i asked the husband this and his reply...

eyeball roll...

sigh...

{a little sneek peek of the new flooring...what do you think?}

sigh...

hello girls...

did you all have a fantabulous weekend??

i can't believe the fourth has come and gone...

i can't believe i've missed june?!!?

at least the russian olives are still bringing joy to the prairie...

unless you are one that think they are an "obnoxious" weed...

but that is another story...

anyways...

the weekend went well..

busy...

but well...

i thought i would share some photos of the shop before the fourth of july shoppers arrived...

*love* my "new" nester...

this thing needs to come home with me...

hhhmmm....where oh where to put it?!?!..

waiting on some trouble lights to hang from my springs...

another item i want to come home with me ;0)...

my red, white and blue display...

i kept it small this year...

my prairie green, lilac purple and grey display...

it's not looking quite so put together now...i think everyone *loved* the colors...

do you see that lovely laundry tub above...

sigh...it still had the label..."laundry queen" on it...

i let it go...sigh...for cheap...sigh...

you now that feeling...of wanting something back...

ugh...kicking myself...

not that i'm a laundry queen...far from it...

but still the husband might have been fooled ;0)

that is until he couldn't find any clean socks here on the prairie...