Dear Rain,

When I was small I would sing "Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day"I suppose you were probably interrupting one of my summer fun things like swimming or heading out to some cool event.  As I have aged I have come to love you ever so dearly!

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It really amazes me how Doeville is evolving!  She is taking me on this terrific path of finding and creating products which nurture the soul of any outdoor person but especially the souls of women.  I have been so blessed to travel and cross paths with some amazing women artists!  Doeville has become the "umbrella" to all this talent!  The other wonderful thing is that these women are right here in the United States!  With all the national attention brought to us by major media about buying products "Made in the USA", I am so honored to know not this has been  my goal from the beginning steps of my company in 2006.  When I started, it was a struggle to find ALL products made here and be cost effective.  Our "printed" logo products were printed in Tennessee but the actual products were made in other countries.  This saddened me but I have kept moving forward to find products which are affordable and made in this beautiful country!

I encourage us all to keep moving in this direction and supporting our friends and families.  I hope you will visit my site and meet these women for yourself.

KC Willis, artist from Colorado, has created a beautiful line called "Girls with Guns" collection which we feature in stock.  KC's wall tapestries take the Old West and brings it to the future.  Using fabrics, tea stained lace and recycled objects, she gives us art that makes us smile. Please press "Read More" below to continue the blog.

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As many of you know I hibernated Doeville last winter.  Somehow and some way all of my stars lined up for an opportunity to spend 6 months in Ten Sleep, Wyoming .  I jumped on it with both feet, a camera and my wonderful Doeville journal.  I stayed in the home of an incredible couple, Bob and Gayle, while they went to Idaho to visit and take care of his mother.  Before leaving Florida, My husband and I loaded up my Prairie Schooner (cargo trailer) filled with items to homestead West!  Just exactly what does a girl take West?  Well...my sewing machines, fabrics, computer, furry blankets, flannel pj's, and of course...my Dog Jackson!  As we traveled across country my adventure began to unfold!  The aroma of home filled the air as we passed through my hometown of Chattanooga, TN  .Then we rolled through the green  hills of Kentucky, then the arch in St.Louis, and a super treat was Cabela's headquarters in Sydney, Nebraska .  Several days later we started seeing those absolutely awesome mountains of the West!

As soon as we arrived and got the schooner unpacked... big delicious, beautiful, soft snowflakes fell on my eyelashes!  The PURE silence around us was so amazing tucked in the mountains all around us.  The next day we rose to a soft, powdery snow which laid like a blanket across the landscape.  For me, snow is so authentic and soothing...it is one of my most favorite things!  Jackson and I enjoyed so many days of playing, hiking and learning to snowshoe...thank you precious Jeannie!  Be sure to push "read more" below for more pics.

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This past weekend I was hunting in Georgia and I took lots of hikes in and around the sweet Georgia pines.  When I would enter into the enchanted pines it felt so magical!  The pine straw floor was so full of curious objects.  My wheels were turning wanting to know what had just passed thru before I entered.  At one special place, the sun gleamed down through the needle branches like a spot light shining from up above.  I stopped in my tracks, looked up and said "Thank you for this beautiful place"  Many of you know this very feeling which makes your tummy bubble with delight, it is like no other feeling!

I also went shopping for Christmas decorations in the Enchanted Forest.  It offered great deals on Black Friday!  I found pine cones, big delicious leaves which were still changing colors and of course holly is a must.  My re-purposed nature at my Holiday table!

I hope you will find time to take your family into the woods this Holiday Season!  It is a mall like no other and when you leave you come out a new person!

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I have so much fun when I dive into my t-shirt drawer in my closet!  I must admit, I have 3 drawers dedicated for these soft cotton flashbacks of my past.  My Harley Davidson collection is by far the largest.  Whenever I traveled I documented each trip with a Harley shirt printed with the city and state.  One day soon I want to take them and make a quilt showing all the locations I visited.

My most treasured shirts are from my rafting trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.  During this trip I had a shirt trade with the some of the guides and they signed them with funny sayings.  One of these shirts has built in air conditioning in one sleeve and down one side, but I cannot bring myself to sew it, it would take away the authenticity.

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See press release below from Barbara Baird of Women's Outdoor News.  All the women of WON are such great supporters of Doeville and we are honored to be one of their advertisers!  Happy Trails everyone!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara Baird
Email:Barbara@womensoutdoornews.com

Women’s Outdoor News Launches Newly Designed Website

ROLLA, Mo. – The Women’s Outdoor News (The WON) launches a new look at its website on June 3, losing the former print newspaper WordPress template and choosing a simpler, more visual design. The e-zine, which features 13 women bloggers, focuses on “news, reviews and stories” about women in the outdoors. It offers updates by email or RSS Feeds.
 
Publisher Barbara Baird said, “When we launched The WON three years ago, readers still connected with the newspaper, newswire look. We want to reach a younger generation and this ‘look’ is fresh.” The site will continue to offer honest reviews of gear for women in its Gear Court department, where sometimes items get sentenced to the death penalty. Said Baird, “We never play for pay. If an item does not pass the Gear Court test, and even if it’s an item from our advertiser, we will still fail it and make suggestions as how to improve it for women’s use.”

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Doeville is up and hopping!  I spent time with this darling fur ball at the thermals in Yellowstone National Park a few weeks ago.

I found it so interesting how many of the animals both small and large hung out around these almost 200 degree boiling pots.  This was just one of the many thermals I viewed as I walked on the wooden walkway which meandered in and around the almost angry earth.

The animals must find nutrients here which they need.  If we just watch these incredible creatures, we can learn so much.  They listen to what their bodies need and they go and get it from good ole' Mother Nature.  When I listen to my body, it tells me what I need.  Sometimes I get a craving for oranges or bananas and I feel confident that I may need one of those ingredients to re-charge my body.  I also find that cooler temperatures, higher altitude and drier air help my joints and my mind feel alive.  Being aware like our animal kingdom friends can bring health and happiness.

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Spring is Springing down here in Florida!  Last weekend, I walked out into my yard where I have planted lots of herbs and plants to attract all kinds of wonderful critters and flitters!  My first sign of feeding was my bees on the basil  bush!  What a show!  I just plopped down in the grass and was amazed at these tiny flitters hopping from flower to flower enjoying the yummies.  They had no idea that I was anywhere in sight.  They were intoxicated by the freshness of this simple and small bush.

I also thought about these 2 very natural things which we personally can enjoy the fruits of THEIR labor.  As most of you know, my husband and I love to cook!  There is nothing more incredible than walking out my front door with scissors in hand and snipping the fragrant and delicious basil.  We use it in so many sauces but my favorite it just taking the whole leave and adding it to a tomato (also fresh from our garden) and a slice of mozzarella...don't forget the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  What a treat!

The other element of our bees is the HONEY!  I have not gotten into bee keeping yet, but I have several friends who are making this their hobby!  I feel honored to help them pollenate.  With so many chemicals in our world today, it is a challenge for our bees to find happy places.  Getting and having natural honey is also a delectable treat!  I just made some tasty barbeque sauce using a local honey!

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What a wonderful way to start off 2010!  My "girly" friend Melanie and her husband joined us at our hunting camp this past weekend to enjoy the last weekend of white tail rifle season.  This was a first for my fashionista friend who has never been a cold weather fan.  ( our temperatures were in the teens).  My friend had also never been hunting.  I packed her warm and cozy camo clothing which had a flair of high fashion.  She always dresses and looks adorable!  As they drove into camp, she got out with her darling little grey uggs, matching jeans and a frilly pink scarf wrapped around her neck!  Her makeup was flawless and she carried in gold and leopard bag full of clothes and toiletries.  

Our first hunt would be the next morning bright and early.  We climbed up into my shooting house which I call my tree house and we sat quietly as the cold wind blew in with great force!  All of a sudden, Melanie is waving her finger at me and pointing.  She spotted the first deer of the morning, 3 does and as we were climbing down out of the tree house she spotted a small buck.  I was so proud of her.  I had no doubts my friend would not excel at this sport because of her background and love of sports, she has awesome eye and hand coordination.

My friend had never shot a rifle but she took this opportunity to learn everything she could about hunting.  She was such a sponge, just soaking it all in!

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As hunters we are always thinking about our scent in the woods!  Well I would like to share about scents in the house.  During the last few months, there has been some mighty fantastic smells coming from our kitchen.  There is nothing better than having the smells of turkey, bread, cookies and anything else we might bake up "Stinking up the house".  This is what my Dad calls it!  When I was little, my Mom would put our Thanksgiving Turkey on the night before the big day.  When morning came, the smell would levitate me off my bed, down the steps to the kitchen....mmmm good.  This year my Husband cooked a standing rib roast with a horseradish, garlic, olive oil and rosemary rub.  The roast cooked for almost 3 hours and I wanted to just put a cot by the stove and inhale!  Maybe the spa should try this over burning essential oils.

When I traveled through airports a few years ago, They could have blind folded me, flown me around, dropped me off and said "where are you?".  With one big sniff, I could say Cinnabon, that is Cincinnati airport.  Smells can reach way back in our memory banks and revive an old feeling or place.

There are some smells we might like to avoid but most smells are good.  This may sound crazy but I love the smell of the skunk.  From childhood we are automatically taught that when we smell this smell we reply "PEWWWWW".  It was not until by adulthood that a friend, Tom, told me he liked the smell of the skunk.  I thought about this for a while and determined he was right.   I agreed even more when I moved away from Tennessee to Florida, where I do not get those whiffs much anymore.  When I drive home and get that scent of skunk, I feel at home...silly but true.

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