Nanny Goat Primitives

Solitaire Coffee Jars

2010-04-25T20:38:00.004-06:00

I have this thing for Solitaire Coffee Jars. Many reside in my kitchen cupboards and some have found a home in my sewing room. I was at an antique store in Elizabeth, Colorado with my cousin Connie last October when I spotted yet another old Solitaire Coffee Jar. This one now holds my growing collection of wooden thread spools. The jars are a wonderful way to display and organize my rusty jingle bells, old clothespins, rag balls, old cookie cutters and quilting scraps. Sweet cousin Connie understands me in ways my family never will (she suffers from the same sickness).

Solitaire Coffee brand was roasted, ground and packaged at the Morey Mercantile Company located on the corner of 16th Street and Wynkoop in Denver, Colorado. The Morey Mercantile Company was a grocery warehouse and supplier that was started by Chester Stephen Morey in 1884. The company has long since gone out of business but the building is now home to The Tattered Cover (a wonderful bookstore) as well as Dixon’s Downtown Grill.

As I’ve mentioned before, my grandmother saved all sorts of different things, “just in case they could be used someday.” One of the things she always saved was Solitaire Coffee Jars. Grammy Byberg used the jars as canisters and she lined them up on her kitchen counter. They held flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, oatmeal, cornmeal, coffee, tea bags, and one or more were always filled with home made cookies. She always kept a slice of bread in the brown sugar jar. Grammy said it kept the sugar soft (she was right).

Grammy Byberg painted the coffee lids orange. She either loved the color or she found a screaming deal on some orange paint because I remember other items she painted the same color. She loved to paint! She once painted Grampy’s car (with a brush) but that’s another story. Daddy always used to tease her by saying that if any of us stood still long enough, we’d get painted too.

Every 4th of July, Grammy would make an assortment of mouth watering pies. She always made those pretty lattice pastry crusts and she did it with such skill and speed. Her pie crusts were always perfect and she knew from experience just how much flour to toss in her large, yellow Pyrex bowl. My favorites were always cherry and apple but all of her homemade goodies were wonderful. Daddy always used to say that he only liked two of his mother’s pies, hot and cold.

I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving Grammy pulled a kitchen chair for me to stand on in front her stove. I think I was six at the time. She stood beside me and loving taught me how to make her special pan dripping gravy using flour from one of her Solitaire Coffee jars, some water from her tea kettle, and a little sage, salt and pepper.

When my grandparents downsized to an apartment, Grammy brought her Solitaire Coffee Jars with her. How many times did she refill those jars over the years as she baked loaves of bread, cakes, pies and cookies for her family and friends?

When Grampy passed away in 1979, I inherited Grammy’s coffee jars. I use them everyday and they bring me such joy!! The lids are still orange! On the underside of the lid for the oatmeal jar, I found her oatmeal cookie recipe. I’ll have to post that recipe sometime. My family has given me REAL canister sets over the years, but I prefer my Solitaire Coffee Jars. They just don’t understand!

New Web Site Is Now Open

2010-04-20T20:21:00.005-06:00

My new web site is finally open for business! Click on the image below and take a peek! I'll be adding more products in the coming weeks. At the moment, I'm painting our home's interior in anticipation of the new carpet installation early next week. Crazy busy!!

Amy Allen of Amy Bug's Primitive Attic designed the beautiful graphics. Amy's delightful to work with and she's super fast!

The Mystery Child

2010-04-06T18:38:00.002-06:00

In my family tree, there runs a line of romantic, volatile Spanish blood. No one knows where she came from, but the repercussions of her long ago arrival are still felt very strongly by many members of my family.

On a warm fall day in October of 1869 in Wayne County, Missouri, Thomas Medders was tending his horses when he found a beautiful little Spanish girl about four or five years of age. The poor girl was wandering around, lost, in his horse pasture. She couldn’t say where she came from or who her parents were. She only knew her name, Maria Cordoba. No one ever came looking for her, so Thomas and his wife Tabitha Elizabeth, took her in and raised her as one of their own children. They called her Mary Medders. The rest of the family hated her. This hatred sprang from the same foul source that so many southerners found within themselves in pre-civil war times; a hatred which enabled them to suppress anyone with dark skin.

William Henry Reed holding daughter Emily. Mary (Maria) Cordoba Medders Reed holding daughter Cora around 1886.

In February of 1883, Mary married William Henry Reed. William Henry adored her and together, they had four daughters, Emily Cordoba (my great grandmother), Cora Melverda, Clara Ellen and Margaret Henrietta. Poor Mary became ill after the birth of Margaret and suffered miserably for the next ten years. She left this world in July of 1903 at the age of 37. Her beloved William Henry placed a lovely headstone on her grave. He visited her grave until the end of his days.

Their oldest daughter, Emily, was always conscious of her dark hair, dark eyes and dark skin. She was ashamed of her Spanish blood and never ventured outdoors without long sleeves and a wide brimmed hat. Emily never uttered her middle name. Emily never discussed her mother and no one dared to broach the subject.

In the mid to late 1960’s, one of Emily’s daughters, Laura Henrietta (nee Brown) Morrow showed her youngest sister Pauline (my grandmother) and her niece, Dorothy (my mother) the Reed Family Bible that she brought back from Missouri after Emily’s death in 1958. Both my grandmother and mother were saddened to see that someone had long ago scratched Maria Cordoba’s name out of the Family Bible. My grandmother knew in her heart that it was probably Emily who did this callous act. The Reed Family Bible has since disappeared.

In 2004, I traveled to Wayne County, Missouri to meet some of my Reed relatives, relatives that descend from William Henry Reed’s second wife, Eva James Barlow. I learned from an Arkansas cousin that Mary (Maria) was buried in Lowndes Cemetery, in Wayne County. She also told me that many years earlier, someone had removed her headstone. The cemetery is no longer active and the burial records were lost many years ago. If I ever learn where in the Lowndes Cemetery that my dear great-great grandmother is buried, I and many others in the family will place another marker on her grave.

I cannot imagine my great-great grandmother’s pain. Maria Cordoba was abandoned by her own family at the age of four or five. She grew up in a hostile household in a prejudiced community. She was despised by her own daughter and erased from the family after her death. God rest her soul.

New Web Site Under Construction for Nanny Goat Primitives

2010-04-05T22:07:00.004-06:00

Just a quick little blurb . . . I am in the process of setting up a new web site. I hope it will be up and running by next week. Crossing my fingers!

Deanna :)

Morsey The Horsey

2009-04-28T16:57:00.002-06:00

My sisters and I moved our mother a few years ago into an apartment within in a few miles from me. She had lived in the same home, our childhood home, for nearly 30 years. Mom’s MS had progressed to the point where she could no longer safely navigate the stairs. Daddy passed away in that house in December of 1991 from colon cancer. He was 59. I must stress here that this is not a job for sissies! It took a physical and emotional toll on all of us.

The five of us moved into the house on the corner of Pomona Drive and Ammons Way in Arvada, Colorado on March 17, 1973. For the first time in my life (I was 8 at the time) I had my very own bedroom; a very big deal for a third grader!! Dawn was just a kindie! Debbie was attending Arapahoe Community College and was engaged to the handsome David Everett. Mom was young and strong then and Daddy was so handsome, happy and healthy. Grammy Byberg was just as excited as the rest of us! She made all the draperies for the new house!

So many memories resided in that house and you never knew what kind of emotional landmine awaited you each time you peeked inside a box or opened a dresser drawer. I’ve often marveled at the powerful memories attached to a particular smell or an object from long ago. With no warning, you are suddenly transported to another time (and not necessary a happy one) and forced to relive a snapshot of your life. We were often driven to our knees with gut splitting laughter or convulsive bouts of tears within an hour’s time.

The basement in our childhood home took the longest to clean out and it had nothing to do with the dusty, heavy furniture. It’s interesting how the past and present can co-exist in the same dimly lit room. There we found the seat cushions for the outdoor swing sitting on top of the old dresser that belonged to Grammy Byberg. Atop the boxes of Daddy's 78's from the 1950's was the roasting pan Mom used every year at Thanksgiving. The top drawer of a dresser contained photographs of family gatherings from the 1910's through 2002.

I remember moving the Christmas tree stand that Daddy had attached to a square piece of plywood that he had painted with white enamel. As a baby, I was fascinated with the Christmas tree. I would crawl under the tree and made a career of knocking it over. The tree crashing to the floor shook the whole house and scared the daylights out of Daddy. He made the stand that afternoon (and we used the tree stand every Christmas until his death).

Behind the tree stand was Mr. Kenmore, the sewing machine and cabinet that Daddy bought for Mom on her birthday in 1973, just in time for her to start creating Debbie’s wedding dress. Mom made so many of our school clothes on that machine. I can still picture her sitting at Mr. Kenmore and trying to talk to us with a mouthful of straight pins.

When Mom and Dad married, she had an old Morse sewing machine. In the “old house on Newland”, the Morse (my sisters and I nicknamed it Morsey the Horsey because it weighed a ton) lived in my parent’s bedroom. Many a night we would drift off to sleep listening to the hum of that old friend. Mom gave Dawn and me old Morsey when the Mr. Kenmore came to live with us. I remember sewing on Morse the Horse. I made gobs of goodies for Barbie from Mom’s scrap bag but I had to put the power unit on top of a stack of Collier’s Encyclopedias so my foot could reach the pedal. My sisters and I all learned how to sew on Morsey the Horsey.

Mr. Kenmore moved to the basement when I was in college after Daddy bought Mom Miss Bernina for yet another birthday. This was the sewing machine of Mom’s dreams! It had all the bells and whistles she could imagine! She sewed Dawn’s prom dress on Miss Bernina and lots of other beautiful things. In many ways, Miss Bernina comforted Mom’s feeling of emptiness after I married and moved to Lubbock, Texas in much the same way the Mr. Kenmore comforted her after Debbie married and moved away.

Miss Bernina . . . Miss Bernina resided idle and dusty upstairs in my old bedroom that overlooked the now overgrown Japanese garden Daddy used to tend so lovingly. I used to tease Mom that before I had even left the city limits of Arvada (after marrying Rob), she had already moved Miss Bernina into my old bedroom.

MS is a cruel disease. It has robbed my mother’s ability to sew, one of her greatest passions. We moved Miss Bernina to Mom’s new apartment knowing that it would never again hum under the care of my mother’s expert hands. Mom had to let go of so many things when she moved, but she insisted that her old friend, Miss Bernina, be with her in her new place.

The sewing machines we grew up with were like members of the family. So much of our childhood revolved around them. As toddlers, we played at Mom’s feet while the Morsey the Horsey hummed its happy tune. As teenagers, we watched Mom and Miss Bernina create our prom dresses. We watched in amazement as she and Mr. Kenmore created Debbie’s wedding dress. When Dawn married, in 1991, Debbie made Mom’s dress on her own machine because Mom could no longer sew. Life is a circle and in our family, a sewing circle.

I was moving a box of old Christmas decorations in the basement, when I saw my old friend. I dropped to my knees in yet another round of tears as I hugged Morsey the Horsey and yes, he still weighs a ton.

The Drapery Board and the Button Tin

2009-03-11T20:06:00.004-06:00

When my sisters and I were young, we would spend a couple of weeks each summer with my grandparents. It was the highlight of our summer vacation! They lived in a small, two bedroom house in Denver that smelled of lavender and homemade cookies (and Dove soap). Their basement was finished and this was where my grandmother, Louise Flaten Byberg, sewed custom draperies to help make ends meet. She started her day early and was usually hard at work by the time the three of us stumbled out of bed. In the heat of the summer, we would often retreat to the basement where it was cool (in more ways than one).

My grandfather, Roland Byberg, made her a drapery board from an uncut piece of plywood. Grammy covered it with an old blanket and a flat white sheet. She used pretty brass upholstery tacks to secure the fabric to the underside of the drapery board. It sat on two handmade, hinged sawhorses. During Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the drapery board was brought upstairs and placed on top of Grammy’s beautiful dining room table and was elegantly set with her lovely linen tablecloth and pretty china. Her dining room table was too small to seat her children and grandchildren, so she used the drapery board so everyone could sit around the same table during the holidays.

My sisters and I spent many hours underneath that drapery board while Grammy sewed away the afternoon on her old Singer. The luxurious fabric that hung over the drapery board created the imaginary home of our dreams. Grammy often joined us for lunch under the drapery board and taught us the magic of needle and thread. Grammy gave us her drapery scraps and we created our own draperies, doll quilts and linens for our little house. We sat cross-legged, giggled and hand sewed the bits and pieces of fabric from her scrap sack beneath the drapery board not knowing that this was the beginning of a life long passion for the three of us. She also allowed us to use buttons from her button tin to embellish our creations. Her button tin was one of her prized possessions and an object of fascination for the three of us girls.

The tin was black and round. Its lid was embossed with a beautiful rosemaled design in pretty reds, blues, greens, and yellows. Rosemaling (Norwegian rose painting) is a form of decorative flower painting that originated in the low-land areas of eastern Norway around 1750. Most of the decoration is based on scrolls and flowers. It was traditional for Norwegians to rosemale their furniture and homes to add color and beauty. The tin originally belonged to Alma Gresvig, my great grandmother. Alma was born in Norway and she brought the tin with her as a young girl to Menomonie, Wisconsin in 1881. It was filled with her childhood treasures from her homeland.

The tin held a “world of tactile imagination for a little girl allowed to mine its depths”. Many of the buttons were handmade. Some were made from shells, some were hand carved from wood, and others were cut from colored glass. Grammy said some of the buttons belonged to her grandmother, Nellie Andrine Andersdatter Gresvig. She had stories to tell about where many of the buttons came from which inevitably led to stories about her childhood in Wisconsin.

She often said that when clothing could no longer be mended, the buttons were removed and saved and strung on buttonhole thread. Grammy was a frugal woman as was her mother and grandmother. Perhaps this philosophy was born from economic necessity, but to her, the thought of tossing something out that was still useful was wasteful. She saved all sorts of little things “just in case” they were needed some day.

My sisters and I spent hours stringing (and unstringing) buttons together as a way of thanking our grandmother for letting us explore her treasured button tin. We must have sorted those buttons hundreds of different ways, by size, shape and color. We made up our own games using those buttons.

I have my own button tin now as well as Grammy’s. In my tin, there are buttons that I have snipped off clothing destined for the rag bag and buttons I’ve picked up at tag sales and thrift stores. These are the buttons that often end up in the primitive items I create and sell. Something deep inside my heart, however, keeps me from mixing my buttons with Grammy’s. I know that sounds silly, but there’s an emotional connection between that old Norwegian tin and my sweet grandmother. Every now and again, I’ll sit with that old tin on my lap. Each time I sift through them, I am transported back to those summers spent beneath the drapery board with my sisters. During these quiet moments, I feel connected to all of my grandmothers. Each button has a history and I often wonder what sort of garment it once adorned and who wore it.

I have a dear friend who inherited her grandmother’s button tin. She started a wonderful tradition that I would like to share. As each of her children marries, she gives each one their very own button jar. The jar contains a mixture of her grandmother’s buttons as well as some from her own button jar. She includes a story or two that tells her children where some of the buttons came from, who they belonged to and why they were saved. What a wonderful keepsake to pass down to future generations!

When I make primitives for my sisters, I try to incorporate a button or two from Grammy’s tin. For my sisters, it’s like a gift from me and our grandmothers. Somehow, I think they would approve.

Primitive Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day

2009-02-18T20:21:00.004-07:00

The robins are back! Rob and I enjoyed watching a pair of them hopping around on the front lawn this morning. Spring will be here soon!

I found some time over the weekend to make some St. Patrick's Day goodies. I listed this set of Primitive Shamrocks on eBay this week. I've got some other St. Paddy's Day things in the works. The e~pattern for the Shamrocks is available on Pattern Mart.

If you would like to see the listing on eBay, just click on the picture.

Thank you for stopping by!

Deanna :)

Mountain Grind Coffee & Bistro, Winter Park, CO

2009-02-13T17:22:00.010-07:00

Rob and I drove to Winter Park, Colorado on Thursday to meet Susan Volk, the owner of Mountain Grind Coffee & Bistro. Susan is a delightful lady and her bistro is absoulutely charming! Mountain Grind offers not only coffee, tea and expressos but a fantastic selection of homemade soups, sandwiches on her fresh from the oven bread, salads, pies, cakes, pastries, gourmet chocolates, gelatos, a breakfast menu and homemade fudge. Her prices are reasonable and the food is awesome. Rob and I were treated to Susan's homemade chilli and cornbread. We left Winter Park with a pound and a half of her homemade fudge. Oh my is that fudge good!! Diet? What diet?

Susan Volk, owner of Mountain Grind Coffee & Bistro

Scoutmaster, Greg Jameson and his wife Jill, of Boy Scout Troop 469 (in Parker, Colorado) suggested that we organize a fundraiser for the scouts to sell Susan's delicious fudge for Mother's Day. Rob is the Fundraiser Chair for the troop and thought that visiting the Bistro in person would be a perfect opportunity to gather additional promotional materials and to take a few photographs for a brochure.

The place was packed with friendly people when we arrived.

Susan sells a variety of coffee related items in her coffee shop. The cast iron tea kettles are adorable!

Enjoy your coffee in a cozy atmosphere with Big Band music playing softly in the backgroud. Don't forget to take some homemade fudge home with you! We highly recommend Susan's chocolate and walnut but all of her fudge is mouth watering!

Mountain Grind is located foutain side in Cooper Creek Square at 47 Cooper Creek Way, Winter Park, CO 80482; (970)726-0999. They are open for breakfast and lunch year round with limited hours in the spring and fall months. Stop in for a spell before hitting the slopes! Tell Susan the Straley's and the Jameson's sent ya!

A Little Thing Called Genealogy

2009-02-08T18:23:00.014-07:00

It was the first week of December in 1977. I was in the seventh grade and a little bored. (Redundant, I know). So, I decided to venture downstairs to the basement for some quality snooping time. I know what many of you are thinking . . . but you’re wrong. I wasn’t snooping for my Christmas presents. They were already wrapped and under the Christmas tree.

Two old dressers in the basement contained a treasure trove of old letters and photographs. When my grandparents decided to downsize, Daddy became the custodian of all sorts of their things. I loved to look at those old pictures (I still do) of my grandparents when they were courting in the late 1920’s in Superior, Wisconsin. Grammy traveled by train to Denver to marry her sweetheart, Roland Walfrid Byberg. They married in September of 1928 at Central Presbyterian Church on 17th and Sherman in Denver, Colorado. My parents married at this same church in June of 1958 and Rob and I married here in January of 1986. I hope one (or both) of my boys will decide to marry here too.

Central Presbyterian Church

It was on that pivotal December day that I first laid eyes on "It". The “It” was a photograph of my grandmother, Louise Flaten, as a teenager surrounded by several other girls. They were all standing on the stairs in front of a tiny white house. Until that moment, it never occurred to me that Grammy might have brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.

With the photograph in hand, I went upstairs and called my sweet grandmother. I described the photograph to her and she explained that she came from a large family and the other girls pictured were probably her sisters. She promised to tell me all I wanted to know about her family after the Christmas madness was over. At that particular moment, she was up to her elbows in cookie dough and still had to a few gifts to finish making. I told her I loved her and how much I was looking forward to seeing them both on Christmas day. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. That was the last time we ever spoke. She died on Sunday, December 18, 1977 of a brain aneurism. It was she, Louise Flaten Byberg, who taught me the JOY of needle and thread, who taught me the basic stitches of crochet, and it was she who taught me the love of flowers. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. I miss her so.

Grammy’s sister, Vivienne (from Superior), came to her funeral but I was so overwhelmed with grief that I didn’t even think to ask Great Aunt Viv about the photograph. My mom told me that Grammy learned to crochet from a brother who served in World War I. Daddy met some of his mother’s sisters and brothers as a young boy but couldn’t remember all of their names. I wrote down the names he did remember and those names proved to be so very helpful years later.

A future genealogist was born that fateful December day. For my 40th birthday, Rob and the boys purchased a family tree software program and a subscription to Ancesty.com. I’ve been hooked ever since. A few years ago, Rob and I and the boys flew to Minneapolis. (Yup! Camp Snoopy.) We rented a car and drove up to Superior, Wisconsin to visit/meet a few Byberg and Flaten cousins. With that same photograph in my hands, I stood on those same steps in front of that same tiny white house with Richard, my oldest boy. I hope to return soon. The Flaten Family Tree has some holes but I’m determined to fill them all in someday. I think Grammy would approve.

Richard, myself and Dawn Flaten Cich standing on the Flaten Homestead porch in Superior, Wisconsin. Dawn's grandfather, Ole, and my grandmother, Louise, were siblings. I found Dawn on Ancestry.com in 2004!! She lives in Superior and loves genealogy just like me!

Loren Byberg and me standing in front of the Byberg Homestead in Superior, Wisconsin. Loren's father, Holger, and my grandfather, Roland, were brothers. Lars Johan Byberg, my great-grandfather, married Euphrosye Anna Boija in July of 1892 (in Superior) and all their children were born in this house. My parents and I visited family here in 1979 and this is where we stayed. That was the last time I had seen Loren! Loren and Dawn Flaten (above) went to high school together and never made the connection!
The point of my ramblings is simple. If you are super lucky and still have your grandparents, ask them to tell you all about their brothers and sisters, their parents and their aunts and uncles, their first cousins, and their grandparents and possibly great-grandparents. Write it all down! Record dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. Don’t forget to ask about maiden names!!! Ask about the existence of a Family Bible. If one exists, find out who currently has it and have it photocopied. If you have old photographs , ask them to help you identify family members. Share what you learn with everyone in your family.

You may not be interested in genealogy at the moment. Perhaps you will be down the road; perhaps you won’t. In either case, you will NEVER regret learning a little more about where you came from.

Please take my advice. Don’t wait.

Primitive Valentine Conversation Hearts

2009-01-10T15:25:00.006-07:00

I've been in the mood to make primitive Valentine's Day goodies. I have lots of ideas stuffed in my head and I hope that I have time to get to some of them. I was up kinda late last night trying to finish up these Primitive Ticking Valentine Conversation Hearts. I listed them on eBay this morning. If you would like to get to know them a little better, just click on the photograph to visit them.

I finished making these stars this morning and listed them as well. The pattern for the Primitive Stars is on the side bar on the right or simply visit me on Pattern Mart.

I was wondering . . . Does anyone else start their "Spring Cleaning" right after the Christmas tree is put away? One thing leads to the next and I'm standing on top of the kitchen counters wiping down the top shelves. It's insane!!!

Crazy in Colorado!! Deanna :)

Primitive Valentine Heart Make Do's

2009-01-04T01:09:00.008-07:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!

The snow is gently falling outside and it's so pretty! There's about six inches on the front porch. Andy's itching to build a snowman tomorrow morning.

I'm sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee and a quiet house. This evening, I listed two Primitive Valentine Heart Make Do's on eBay so I thought I'd share them with you. If you would like to get to know them a little better, just click on the photograph to visit them on eBay.

I found these neat old rusty bedsprings near an abandoned homestead near our home. My intention was to take a walk in the woods to gather some pine cones and I came home with a bag of springs instead! Cool Beans!

I have old textile spools/bobbins displayed around our home and a few extra ones around to use to create make do's. I think they're just plain cool!

Our Christmas tree is still up. I really don't get a chance to enjoy the tree and all our decorations until AFTER the holidays. Yesterday, I packed away some of the larger items so we have a little more elbow room.

Thanks for stopping by!

Deanna :)

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-20T21:35:00.004-07:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I'm enjoying looking at all the lovely pictures of Christmas tress posted on everyone's blogs this evening. So, I thought I would share a photograph of our Christmas tree.

Each year it takes us longer and longer to decorate our tree but it's something we always look forward to! I would love to find a feather tree to display in the window in the dining room. Maybe next year . . .

I hope everyone is warm and safe.

Merry Christmas to all our family members who will not be around our table next week. God Bless Donald, Sharon, Joy, Leslie, Scott, Travis, Bryce, Justin, Debbie, Rex, Saul, Jill, Tyson and Maria. I love you all so very much!

Deanna :)

Primitive Santa Ornie Trio

2008-12-14T15:35:00.006-07:00

Happy Christmas Everyone! It's frigid today in Denver, (only 2 degrees at last check) so I decided to finish up some Primitive Santas that I started last weekend in the comfort of my cozy craft room! I listed this particular set on eBay this afternoon. Simply click on the photograph to visit this item in the land of eBay!

At some point, I'll put together the pattern to create these on eBay and Pattern Mart.

I finally made the trek to the Post Office to mail our holiday packages! I think everyone in Parker was there that day! I have a few more packages to wrap to tuck under the tree. I enjoy gazing at our beautiful tree in the evening when the house is still and the snow falls quietly outside.

The boys keep wondering about their holiday cookies, so I'll be up to my elbows in flour next week baking all of their favorites! I'll try to post a few recipes next week!

Stay Warm!!
Deanna ;)

Primitive Snowman in Vintage Folger's Coffee Can Lamp

2008-12-05T22:38:00.008-07:00

I wanted to share some of the primitive goodies I listed this evening on eBay! Just click on the photograph and off to eBay land you will go! During the summer months, I look high and low for vintage containers that I can fill with my Christmas handmades.

The flour sifters, coffee cans, and cheese boxers are getting harder and harder to find at yard sales. My cousin Connie who lives in St. Louis has much better luck and she picks them up for me. She's such a sweetie!

Here's what I created with a vintage Folger's Coffee Can. I sell out of these every year at my craft shows!!

I love gingerbread men! I often tuck them in old flour sifters or wooden recipe boxes. The light casts a warm cozy glow in the kitchen at night!

I've made these same candy canes forever! I love to put them in bowls and baskets! They look darling on the tree too!

I've got some Santas in the works. I hope to finish them this weekend.

Happy Holidays!!
Deanna :)

Primitive Snowman Cheese Box Lamp

2008-12-04T13:33:00.007-07:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I know I've neglected my blog. I've been very ill since the end of August and I think (pray) that I'm finally on the road to recovery. I felt well enough to create some Christmas primitives last week.

I just listed this adorable Primitive Snowman Cheese Box Lamp this afternoon on eBay. If you would like more information on this primitive lamp, simply click on the photograph and you'll be magically transported to eBay land.

I also listed a similar Primitive Cheese Box lamp in my my Whispered Secrets of a Primitive Past Shoppe. Just click on the "WSOAPP" link on the right!

We are putting up our Christmas tree today! I can hardly wait to decorate the house! We received an early Christmas present! It's snowing in Denver today!

Deanna :)

Primitive Ole Pumpkin Man Doll

2008-09-12T14:12:00.003-06:00

Every once in a while, I'll get the itch to make a primitive doll. I've had this pumpkin man pattern for quite awhile but thought is was lost forever in the craft dungeon! My craft room can be quite the scary place! LOL!

I listed this Primitive Old Pumpkin Man Doll this afternoon on eBay. If you want to read a little more about this guy, please click on the photograph and off to eBay land you will go.

Primitive Halloween Star Make Do

2008-09-12T14:01:00.002-06:00

I listed this fun Primitive Halloween Star Pinkeep on eBay this afternoon. I found this cool fabric the other day and this is what I came up with. For more details, simply click on the photograph and you'll be whisked off to eBay land!

Primitive Grungy Fall Pumpkin e~Pattern

2008-09-04T07:17:00.009-06:00

Hello Everyone!

The crisp days of Fall are almost upon us. We are enjoying our garden veggies and Andy's giant sunflowers. Our rose garden is exploding with blooms. The blue jays are enjoying their peanuts and soon the hummingbirds will migrate south, but for the moment, I'm enjoying their compmay. Fall is my favorite time of the year!

I wrote two genealogy related articles this month for The Olde Prairie Register. The first article is titled, A Little Thing Called Genealogy. If you are a parent or grandparent, I hope after reading this article you are inspired to record your family history for your children and granchildren. The other ariticle, The Mystery Child tells the story of my maternal great-great grandmother, Maria Cordoba, from Missouri. If you have some time later this week, click on the link below and read some fun articles!

My great-great maternal grandparents: William Henry and Maria Cordoba Medders Reed

I also found some time over the weekend to list a fun, fast and easy e~Pattern for my Primitive Grungy Fall Pumpkin. For more information, just click on the picture you'll be whisked off to Pattern Mart!! The paper (snail mail) version will be available soon on eBay.

Primitive Fall Blessings to You!

Deanna :)

WSOAPP Market Street Shoppes Grand Opening

2008-09-01T22:19:00.010-06:00

I am pleased announce the Grand Opening of Whispered Secrets of a Primitive Past (WSOAPP) Market Street Shoppes on Sunday, September 7th! Click on the banner to check out our 38 artists who will be offering their handmades in this new marketplace!

Wedding Bells in Avon, Colorado

2008-08-30T12:52:00.008-06:00

On August 8, 2008, my nephew, Tyson Richard Curtis Reed married the lovely Maria Theresa Borg in Avon, Colorado. Tyson is my sister's (Debbie's) youngest child.

My baby sister, Dawn Lorraine, rosemaled this beautiful wedding plate for Maria and Tyson. Tyson has Norweign roots on both sides of his family!!

Debbie's Family: Tyson Richard Curtis Reed, Maria Theresa Borg Reed, Rex Randall Reed (Debbie's Hubby), Deborah Lynn Byberg-Reed, Jill Rae Tighe Reed (Saul's wife) and Salyer (Saul) Byberg Reed.

The Cuz Connection: Salyer Byberg Reed, Tyson Richard Curtis Reed, Andrew Warren Straley, Richard Edward Straley.

Any time the Byberg Sisters can get together, it's a great time.

Deborah Lynn Byberg-Reed (Mary Poppins), Deanna Louise Byberg-Straley (Nanny Goat) and Dawn Lorraine Byberg VanDonkelaar (Squirt).

Debbie had to return to Carson City, Nevada the next day but we managed to squeeze in a reunion with our dear Aunt Donna before Debbie had to catch her plane. Debbie had not seen Aunt Donna or our one and only first cousin Bobby in 15 years. He's super tall and we're super short. Can you tell??? What a blast!!

Aunt Donna Jean Grundeman (formerly Byberg) Becker, Deanna Lousie, Deborah Lynn, Dawn Lorraine and Robert Roland Byberg (Bobby Bear).

Parker, Colorado Tornado

2008-08-28T22:14:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday afternoon around 6:00 PM, the clouds over our home in Parker, Colorado became eerily dark and ominous. Although I did not take this particular photograph, this is the tornado we watched as it worked its way across the ground just a mile or two from our home. My chidren and I watched it form and dissipate approximately 15 minutes later from our deck in the backyard. A total of four tornadoes touched down in the area and miraculously, no one was hurt.

Blessings, Deanna

Garage Sale Junkie

2008-06-04T22:12:00.006-06:00

I enjoy this time of year for more reasons than one! Not only do I enjoy playing in the dirt (flower beds are adult sand boxes), I love garage sales! Every once in awhile, I find some wonderful primitives to incorporate into my decorating. Last week, I found a small, old hand shovel that I just stuck in one of my planters (I stole the idea from Carla of Country Road Primitives). I also found a rusty rake. The tines are great to hang smaller goodies from at craft shows! Rob likes to use them in our front yard Halloween display. I can't wait to share those photos!!

Last October, when my cousin Connie was in town, we found both of these items at the SAME sale. The were $15.00 a piece. I called Rob and said, "I'm at a garage sale and I found more rusty stuff, can you drive over here with the Explorer?". I could hear the hesitation in his voice. ROFL!! When he saw these beauties, he was all smiles!!

Most of the time, Rob says, "Deanna, what are you going to do with THAT?" Sometimes, he has no sense of adventure.

Gosh, is it Friday yet! I'm itching to go saling!

Deanna :)

Sharon Straley’s Lemon Strawberry Punch

2008-06-03T10:57:00.006-06:00

This is a delightful and easy punch to serve at your backyard gatherings this summer! It'll be a hit with kids and adults alike!

Ingredients:

3 – 6 ounce cans of frozen lemonade concentrate. (I prefer pink lemonade but this is completely up to you)
1 package of frozen strawberries (thawed) or use fresh strawberries (remove stems and cut in half)
1 liter bottle of chilled ginger ale
Ice cubes

In a large punch bowl, prepare the lemonade concentrate as directed on the package. Add thawed strawberries (or use fresh). Stir.

Just before serving, add the liter of ginger ale and some ice cubes.

Enjoy!!

Deanna :)

Solitaire Coffee Jar Collection

2008-06-02T17:14:00.006-06:00

Hello Everyone!

I know I've neglected my blogging lately. This time of year finds me spending many hours in our yard. I promise to post some pictures of our progress later this week.

I wrote an article for The Olde Prairie Register last evening about my Solitaire Coffee Jar Collection. The Solitaire Coffee brand was roasted, ground and packaged at the Morey Mercantile Company in downtown Denver between 1896 and 1956. I love to keep my craft odds and ends in these jars! What a great way to show off your collection AND be organized.

The June/July issue will be out on June 3rd and will be filled with lots of summer time fun. If you have some time later this week, click on the link below and read some fun articles!

I also found some time over the weekend to list a few Americana items on eBay. I hope you enjoy them!! For more information, just click on either picture you'll be whisked off to eBay land!!

At some point, I'll be offering a pattern for my Patchwork Stars. I love create primitives from my quilting scrap stash. Oh, and I keep my quilting scraps in a couple of those Solitaire Coffee Jars. The jars look so purdy with those scraps in them!!

Deanna :)

100th Post Give Away!!!

2008-05-21T18:07:00.002-06:00

Please visit "Scaredy Katerpillars No More" under Primitive Friends and Finds (on the right) to enter Kat's 100th Post Give Away Contest. All that's required of you is leave a comment on her blog and you will have a chance to win two really nice prizes! That all there is to it! Easy peasy! Hurry! The contest ends on May 24th!!

Deanna :)

Richard's Family Life Merit Badge Project

2008-05-15T17:00:00.008-06:00

The Straley family has been busy working in the our yard the past few weeks DESPITE the snow last week!! Would someone tell Olde Man Winter that it's May?!! Enough already! Geesh!

Richard, our oldest boy, is working on his Family Life merit badge for Boys Scouts (Troop 469 in Parker, Colorado). He decided to plan out and plant our flower bed in the front yard. Thank goodness he waited a week!

Yesterday, he finally got the chance to plant his plan into action (with a little advice from his Dad of course). He did a fantastic job!

The yard and flowers are my sanity every summer! I enjoy sipping my first cup of coffee out on the back deck watching the humming birds and waiting for the bumble bees to wake up! We have lots of outdoor projects planned this year so I'll be posting more photos as we progress. Now where is that tube of Ben-Gay??? Maybe Richard has it!

Wishing everyone a Happy Spring!!

Deanna :)

More Primitive Americana e Patterns!!

2008-04-29T17:00:00.007-06:00

Hello Everyone!

I've been super busy this week working in the yard and around the house! I wrote another article for The Olde Prairie Register that will out on May 1st entitled, Morsey the Horsey, Mr. Kenmore and Miss Bernina. If you have some time later this week, click on the link below and read some fun articles!

I also found some time this week to list a couple of new Primitive Americana e Patterns!

They are currently listed as electronic patterns on my website, Pattern Mart and Etsy. The paper version is available on eBay.

I hope everyone is enjoying some spring weather. Winter is not ready to leave Colorado quite yet!!

Deanna :)

Primitive Americana Star MakeDo

2008-04-18T07:43:00.005-06:00
I enjoy creating Americana primitives all year round! I spent some quality time in my sewing room this week rummaging through some of my patriotic fabric and this is the finished product.

I decided to make a pattern for this Star MakeDo. It's currently listed as an electronic pattern on Pattern Mart and Etsy. The paper version is available on eBay.

So much fabric, so little time.

Deanna :)

Interview on Prim Sisters Talk Radio

2008-04-14T14:52:00.012-06:00
Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Brenda Addison of Hattie's Workshop interviewed me a while back for their Featured Artist segment on Prim Sisters Talk Radio. My interview airs this week! If you're interested, just click on the link below to listen to show number 28.

Pictures of Our Home

2008-04-10T20:26:00.017-06:00
I love garage sales! When we lived in Texas, my girlfriend and I would carefully plan our route from the newspaper ads. If the ad mentioned "antiques" or "quilts" we would arrive early. We would sit in the car and wait patiently for the garage door to open. I thought I would share some pictures of some of the things we've found over the years.

We've had this hutch since 1988.

And the matching china cabinet. For our wedding gift, my mother-in-law purchased and handpainted our china. It's simply gorgeous!

One of my favorite pieces is my secretary desk. I enjoy sitting here in the early morning hours with a cup of coffee and a puzzle book. I pay the bills here too (groan)!

Next to the desk is a ladder rack that I use to display a few of my quilts. All of the them were purchased at garage sales and are completely done by hand. I rotate the quilts with the seasons! I enjoy snuggling under one of these gems with a good book every now and then.

I purchased the farm table at a craft show a few years ago. People either love it or hate it! LOL!!

I made the sampler on the table as well as the bee/hive cross stitch in the mirror frame and the sampler hanging on the right in olive green frame. I enjoy working on my samplers in the evening after the boys go to bed. It soothes my soul!

When we downsized my mother's home a few years ago, she decided it was time to give me the rocking chair she used to rock me in when I was a baby. It creaks and everything! I'm looking forward to rocking my grandbabies in it someday!

I had to have this shaker peg shelf! I love decorating it with the seasons!

My cousin from Missouri visits every October and she's a garage sale freak too! When she's in town, we get into all sorts of trouble! I can't wait!!

Welcome to Nanny Goat's Blog

2008-04-09T00:19:00.007-06:00
Hello and Welcome!

My name is Deanna. “Nanny Goat” is a treasured childhood nickname given to me by my older sister Debbie (we call her Mary Poppins). When I was wee, I'm told that I ate LOTS of paper and often butted my head into people, dogs, walls, anything. Hmmm . . . maybe that's what's wrong with me?? LOL My younger sister's name is Dawn (Debbie nicknamed her Squirt).

The Byberg Sisters from Left to Right: Dawn Lorraine (Squirt), Deborah Lynn (Mary Poppins) and Deanna Louise (Nanny Goat). My best friends. We never met a quilt store we didn't like!

I am married to Robert, my best friend, and we have two wonderful boys. We live in the beautiful state of Colorado where Rob and I were both raised. Rob and I met in English 102 at Metropolitan State College here in Denver. He was an aviation major and I was an accounting major.

I am often asked who the pretty lady is in my logo. Her name was Louise Flaten Byberg, and she was my paternal grandmother.

I am lucky! I found my passion early in life and I turned that passion into a business. I am able to work at home doing what I love AND stay at home with my children. I am truly blessed.

I have always loved anything old. As a young girl, I collected antique kitchen goodies for my hope chest. I still have many of these treasures! My passion for primitives grew out of this love of antiques. During the early years of our marriage, we simply could not afford authentic antiques, so I started making my own. Soon friends and family were asking me to create "old" things for their homes. With the support of my dear husband, I now make “old” things full time!

My sisters and I were encouraged as children to keep our hands busy and our mouths shut! We all learned to knit, crochet, cross stitch and sew at an early age by watching our grandmother.
To help make ends meet, Grammy Byberg made custom draperies. My sisters and I spent many hours underneath her drapery board while she sewed away the afternoon on her old Singer. The luxurious fabric hung over the drapery board and created the imaginary home of our dreams. Grammy often joined us for lunch under the drapery board and taught us the magic of needle and thread. Grammy gave us her drapery scraps and we created our own draperies, doll quilts and linens for our little house. We sat cross-legged, giggled and hand sewed the bits and pieces of fabric from her scrap sack not knowing that this was the beginning of a life long passion for the three of us.

When I’m not creating primitives, I enjoy quilting, cross stitch (primitive samplers of course), knitting and crocheting. I also enjoy “climbing” our family tree! Rob and I have traveled all over the country to meet many of our wonderful cousins.

Thanks for stopping by!