my friend janice and i visited the farm! yesterday morning.  it was the christmas open house, and i found even more great stuff there, PLUS FUDGE.  could there be a more perfect morning?  i think not.

this time i brought my camera to get better pictures than the day i went with just my phone.

the fabulous chickens who are always happy to see me:

here’s me, but unfortunately the sweet kitty, whose name is SPOT, wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

the horses – are they clydesdales?  they looked like it.

janice under the gazebo.

i love this work area when you first go into the shop – there are so many things hanging from the ceiling, plus all the stuff they’re working on is heaped everywhere.  really cool.

across from this is a big candle display.  they have several different kinds of candles, and these are good ones.

that’s the other huge room, with the table full of goodies. gee, why didn’t i buy that cool joy platter?  BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED ONE MORE CHRISTMAS THING, THAT’S WHY.

the punch, the cinnamon-covered pretzels, the eggnog cake, and THE FUDGE.  the only thing bad about the sugary sweet deliciousness of the fudge is that amy and mom went to the farm later in the day and THE FUDGE WAS ALL GONE.  amy was very disappointed.  maybe if i hadn’t been such a pig and eaten so much fudge in the AM, there would have been some left for my poor little deprived sister.  next year she’ll have to go in the morning, with me.

here’s my friend kynda!  i don’t know why this angle makes us look like midgets.  is it the perspective, or just the camera?  after i was raving about the farm when i went there for the very first time, kynda wrote to me, happy that i liked it – KYNDA WORKS AT THE FARM!!!  kynda is my friend who did the beautiful flowers for my wedding, and she has an amazing garden of her own and makes lovely flower arrangements all the time and blogs about it – the link to her site is over there on the right, “canada garden,” in case you haven’t ever seen it.

the thing is, after she wrote to me, i had a vague memory of reading about her going to “the farm,” and i always wondered what the place was; i assumed it must belong to a relative or something.  i had no idea it was THE FARM.  and it only took me four or five years to finally get there.

kynda also wanted a photo of us, and she whipped out her camera – it’s big with a big fancy lens and i know that must help her take such dazzling photos of her flowers.  i would like a fancy camera with a great lens, but on the other hand, i like to be able to stick my camera in my pocket or purse without it dragging down my shoulder.  kynda, one of the most talented and modest people i know, acted like her camera was no big deal.  super fancy.

kynda again, with a view towards the back of the shop.  it makes me want to hang stuff from the ceiling, which is where i’d have to hang things if i wanted to hang anything else because our walls are beyond filled with stuff.

here are all the lovely hop ladies.  gail, the owner, is the one in the back on the right.

this pottery is tucked into a little open closet, and i should have taken a wider picture so you could see what i mean.

some of the wonderful herbs and spices for sale.

throughout the shop are bunches of dried flowers for sale.  i had a horrible time trying to pick two of them, and i got them home and was excited to put them in a cute vase i have hanging on my wall, and I BROKE THE VASE.  i have been breaking things more and more lately, and i’m lucky that my brother david is good at patching them up.  a couple weeks ago i broke a fancy gold-rimmed plate that kevin got when working for gov. edgar, and david fixed it so it looks almost like new.

more herbs!  even though i bought quite a few the last time i was there, i couldn’t resist buying a couple more.

next to the herbs, one of the many cute little trees.  i wish i’d taken a picture of the tree that janice bought; it had feathery green branches and janice carried it around with her in the shop, adding ornaments to it as she went.  janice, who is normally very safety-conscious, was so excited about the tree and the ornaments that she left her purse sitting somewhere in the shop, and we had to race around trying to find it.  she finally did.  whew.

if you do make it out to the farm in the next couple weeks, you won’t find this beautiful wreath, because i bought it.  i DID NOT NEED ANOTHER WREATH.  dad left three of them here when they moved out, and i gave one to amy and jim, but still had two hanging on the front porch.  but luckily there were THREE nails poking out of the siding for hanging stuff, so this wreath is right outside the door.  i don’t think kevin has even noticed it yet.  if i had room i’d hang it inside so i could look at it all the time.

i already bought a couple of silver candle holders, but i love this whole display.

here’s a panorama of the shop when you first walk in.

when i got home i was inspired to finally start decorating.  i dragged several tubs of decorations into the living room, but then i sat down on the couch for a while and decided i was too tired to do any decorating.  plus, winnie curled up next to me and i petted him, then he put his paw over my hand.  whenever i moved it to type, he would get annoyed and meow at me, so i finally gave in and just sat there with him.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT MOVING YOUR HAND AGAIN! is what he’s saying.

ok then, you can’t go to the farm today because it’s closed.  you could go tuesday, when there won’t be many people because it’s tuesday.  there won’t be any fudge, but it would still be well worth your while.  if you don’t make it out till the 18th, I’LL BE THERE!  not that i need any more christmas decorations whatsoever, but if they’re on sale…

ok then, try to stay warm.  only four months till spring…

mrs. december grace hughes.

p.s. i am putting a link to THE FARM’S BLOG over there on the right, if you want to see it for yourself.