A Piece of Primitive, Early Oregon

Yesterday Greg and I went for a country drive, and discovered but minutes from our home, this amazingly well preserved log cabin.

I love this primitive number of a little bench. I could make one of these!

This house was the Stauffer log house that was built in 1867. I realize that is not a genuinely "early" time for our country, but this is the West! And, it is amazingly well preserved by the Aurora Colony preservationists.

I love this view of the out buildings.

Just a nice shot at those fabulous logs. (I much prefer this style of log to the rounded ones.)

Enter the front door.

This is the smoke house.

Here is a shot of the window in the smoke house.

This is the hog house. See the two doors.

The closed hog door.

The opened hog door.

And finally, right in the front door, the pet door!

To learn more about the Stauffer log house, visit this link:

Kind Hearts and a Pinkeep

Worthy Hands

Be worthy, love thy neighbor

Kind hearts are the gardens

Kind thoughts are the seeds

Kind words are blossoms

The fruits are kind deeds.

by

Kindred Spirits

I made this little bag with their beautiful design that of Alice and Sally long ago, and now Alice is the sole proprietor of our beloved Kindred Spirits. I treasure their kind simplicity.

This little necessary of a box with a drawer latches onto a table. The primitive linen pinkeep is so very endearing with it's wee mended spot just for a favorite needle. Thimbles in the drawer, and everything is ready for a quiet sewing session in the front parlor.

I procured this little wonder from Curry's Antiques in beautiful Lancaster, Ohio.

My New Floor Cloth

Last night Gregory and I were privileged to have been invited to a showing of the beautiful, floor-cloths by Gracewood Design at the exquisite Architectural Heritage Center of Portland. And look what I came home with! Oh I love this beautiful design from the Edward Durant house of Newton Center, MA which was built in the year 1780. The exhibit will continue through February 28th, and it is opened Wed. through Sat. from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

We in the Portland area are honored to have Gracewood Designs right here with us, always, for Kenneth and Gwenith moved here from the Bay area, a few years ago, and are here to stay. They originated in New England where Ken's famous mother, Polly Forcier, of MB Historic Decor still lives in beautiful Quechee, Vermont.

Their work is the finest I've seen in floor cloths, for I have seen many and have even made several myself. Pictured in the above photo is my reproduction Voit doll, Abigail, who resides in this our guest bedroom, and atop the old trunk (which is filled with fabrics) is Abigail Adams, a lovely doll made by the incredible historical doll maker, Nina Mason. Hence this room is indeed the Abigail room, and is all the more wonderful for me with my beautiful, historic floor cloth.

To read more about floor cloths, please visit the following link and enjoy a wonderful story written by my husband, Gregory LeFever. ~ Floor Cloths