Spring is upon us...

2008-02-10T10:44:00.000-06:00

Well, for those who live in the north, it may not seem so....it's now only an anticipation of Spring, cause we know it WILL arrive sooner or later! So...I've done my best to pretend...cooked a nice summer meal yesterday..fried chicken, potato salad and cole slaw...did'nt seem to help since it was 10 below 0 last night!! Well, the effort made me feel like Spring is near!

Yesterday I also spent a lot of time getting Easter out...my second best holiday to decorate for...love those bunnies. I've posted some of the rabbits I make, they can all be seen at http://www.the1840stonehousecollection.com/SpringtimeCollectibles.html
I've added some of the pictures here for your to see. Don't you just love these handmade carrots?

I make them in bunches or wee little ones, 1 to 3 inches long for that special bunny in your collection....

As I was getting the bunnies out, got a call from my sister Cyndi...she is my only sibling and my best fan!! Cyndi has an English country home and leaves her bunnies out all year long. She told me yesterday she keeps all of her bunnies in the kitchen...and informed me she has 15..yes...15 shelves to fill with rabbits...from my collection! We live 1500 miles from each other so I don't get to see her often...but she promised to send pictures..will post them when I get them..

This little guy, she says, is still her favorite bunny....

So.... for now it's back to the studio...my favorite place to hang out...and get busy on some bunnies...for guess who!

Have a great day and please add some comments...I'm lonesome here!
Deanie

Where new friends meet and old friends catch up!

2008-02-02T15:41:00.000-06:00

A little about the stone house & Mineral Point...

I live in southwestern Wisconsin on a little farm established around 1840. The stone house is a two story Federalist....and as many old homes here, was built by those talented Cornish stone masons who came here from the old country in the early 1800's. You can catch a glimpse of historical Mineral Point and learn what's happening at http://www.mineralpoint.com/ . 'Point', as the locals call it, is a great place to visit, shop, eat, sight-see and over the years many have choosen to live here, our pace is just a bit slower than city living. That's just what my husband and I did a little over 12 years ago.....came to visit and stayed!

The renovations on this old stone house and out buildings have been ongoing and just when you think, 'when this is finished it will be done' there is another project we decide to jump into.... It's a labor of love and so satifying. We feel as though we are the keepers of history, preserving the past and someday passing it on to the next lucky caretaker.

My husband Jim and I enjoy our country life we share with our two furry kids...Old English Sheepdogs....... Mr. Higgins and Katie-Scarlett.
Life's rough here....time to rest and get ready for more play.....

Our human kids are all grown and have family's of their own, blessing us with seven grandchildren...two boys and five girls. I should say this is the count so far, three of the five boys have not started families yet! Our holiday table just keeps growing..... Here's a few pictures of our 2007 Christmas...

I made Christmas dolls for the two youngest grandchildren...left is Danyella and right is Isabella....

One of my favorite places to decorate is the old plantation desk. I rescued the old 'birdhouse' years ago. Someone had made it as a replica of the house they lived in. I begged for this birdhouse for two years and finally the man gave it to me! Guess I was pitiful enough...LOL I light it inside and a small Santa stands on the front porch... This is the spot I leave some Santas out all year long..giving each their time out of storage..

Chalkware and antique metal chocolate moulds (molds)....

My chalkware and antique metal mould collection is ever growing, I'm always on the hunt for the next beautiful and interesting piece. I love pouring the compound into the old metal moulds and seeing how the true detail of the metal mould is brought out...sometimes after pouring, I see details that would have been missed just by looking at the mould itself. Then, my favorite part is deciding on the colors and design. I usually don't have much of a design in mind until I sit down with a piece...then somehow, it all seems to come together.

My chalkware collection consist of old and new Christmas and Easter pieces from many different artist from all over the world. Each Christmas season I bring all the pieces together, then when the time comes to put away the Christmas decorations...I choose which ones I will leave out for the entire year. I used to think I was nuts, leaving a large collection of Santas out for the year until I found I was not alone in this world of Santa loving...a lot of you out there do the same!

If you are wondering 'what the heck is chalkware?', here's a little information I send with every order shipped....

*Chalkware is a highly collectible 3 dimensional folk art ever present in the market place for over 200 years.
*Each piece is individually hand poured using a special plaster compound, taking up to three weeks to complete one piece.
*Antique chocolate moulds collected from all over the world are used to form these wonderful figures, each a member of my personal and ever growing collection. Many of the antique moulds date back to the mid 1800’s.
*Each work of art is signed, dated and numbered. Some are Limited Editions meaning when the limited number is sold, the design will never be reproduced again.
*The 1840 Stone House chalkware is very detailed all the way around, much like a fine folk art painting hanging on the wall, it tells a story…the more you look at it, the more you see. These chalkware figures are sought after by collectors, appreciated for their fine painted detail as well as the mould design.
*The original mould makers are now history, but their artistic endeavors live on in each and every finished piece of chalkwarefolk art .

RECIPE

I love to cook, so will try to add a family favorite recipe often....enjoy!

White Chicken Chili
12-14 servings

1T. olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 (4 ounce) cans of chopped mild green chilies (hot if you like to sweat!)

2t. ground cumin

1 1/2 dried oregano, crumbled

1/4t. cayenne pepper

3 (16 ounce) cans great northern beans (undrained)

6 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth

4 cups chopped cooked chicken, more of less to taste

3 cups grated monterey jack cheese (about 12 ounces)

About the beans...I don't usually use the canned beans...I use dried Great Norther Beans and soak them overnight, then cook them the next day until tender then use the amounts called for..there abouts. This is really a recipe you can move around in the amounts.

Using the canned bean does make this a quick recipe...about 35 mins. to put together

Mixin' it up......

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat
Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 mins.
Stir in garlic, then chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne, saute 2 mins.
Add undrained beans and stock, bring to boil
Reduce heat, add chicken and cheese to chili and stir until cheese melts
Season to taste with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls.

You can freeze your leftovers! Pour soup into a freezer container or I use a plastic freezer bag. To reheat, thaw in frig overnight or you can put the frozen soup into a heavy pot and slowly heat to thaw. Stir often so it doesn't burn.

Takes bout 35 minutes to prepare!
Great for company, Super Bowls, just a warm night around the fireplace.

Let me know if you try this, how you like it and share your favorite recipes with all of us!

This blog area is something I've wanted to set up on my site for a while, finally, sitting here watching a lovely snowfall I thought I'd sit down and begin. Please come and join me and let me know what your interests are...leave comments and questions you might have...just add your two cents..or three.

I'd love to hear from you! Happy days....waiting on Spring!

Deanie's Stone House Blog

Spring is upon us...

Where new friends meet and old friends catch up!