Monthly Archives: September 2015

Fabric Love

I love fabric.  The feel of it.  The different textures.  Sewing on it.  Ironing it.  I love everything about fabric.  I especially love when I order fabric and it arrives in a brown box just waiting to be opened like a Christmas present.  I got some fabric in the mail the other day.

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Yummy colors.

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Beautiful colors.

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I played with the fabric, putting it into a pretty bowl a friend had given me.  The fabrics coordinated with the bowl almost like it was planned.

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Folded and unfolded and folded again.  Such a simple pleasure.  You fabric fanatics know exactly what I am talking about.  Those who don’t, think I’m nuts.

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Launder the fabric and let it set on the ironing board for a few days so I can look at it.  Looking forward to ironing it.   Haven’t a clue what I will make with it yet, except for one yard of it, but that’s the fun of it.

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I’m leaning toward pastels and lighter colors lately.

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Vintage looking fabrics.

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I have plans for this cute little crab fabric.

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I always love fabric with words upon it.

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Remember when I did this to the ceiling of my shop?

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I painted over a hundred 2 by 2 boards to be nailed onto the ceiling.

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I have been painting barn quilts to put on the front of our house.  This is one of them.

Did you watch the lunar eclipse this week?  It was amazing.  It was also the blood moon.  We got some good pictures of it as it was happening.

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Amazing and almost spiritual in its beauty and wonder.

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Who could see this and say there is no God?   I stand amazed.

And God made two great lights.; the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from darkness: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:16-18.  It is good.  Bye.

Oh! Molly!

If you have been reading my blog, you know I have a Boxer-Lab mix puppy who has about been the death of David and me.   You have read how she tore a large hole in the side of the house almost getting into the house. You have read about the time she dug up pipes to our pool and I saw my husband getting as mad as I have ever seen him in our forty-seven years of marriage.  You have read how she chews wood and brings up whole logs onto our deck to gnaw upon.

This week Molly and Belle broke out of the yard(I left the gate unlatched) and went on a crime spree through our neighborhood, going onto our busy street picking up every dead animal they could find and dragging them into our yard.  They brought in a rabbit skeleton, a squirrel tail(I don’t know what happened to the rest of the squirrel) and last, but not least, a complete skunk body, odor and all.

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I don’t know how they kept from getting hit by a car and I have no idea how long they were free, but they sure had a good time.  The dead skunk lay in our drive for two days until David scooped it up and threw it across the road.

Several weeks ago, Molly killed a lizard and chased me all over the yard wanting me to play with her.  She topped herself last night.  David usually puts the dogs in their pen at night in case it rains because that is where their doghouses are and they are too stubborn to go into their pen by themselves.  He came back into the house and said Molly would not go back into the pen and he could not get what she was carrying  away from her.  “What is it, a rabbit?” I asked.  “Nope,” replied David.  “A bird?”  “NO”  “A possum?”  “No.”  “It wasn’t one of my chickens?” “No.”

Just then Molly came running up to the back door and in her mouth hanging from both sides of her mouth was a  big snake.  Needless to say, I did not go outside to check it out.  Today I did not go out the back door because I was afraid Molly would come running with her new “toy” wanting me to play.  I used the front door all day to get to my shop.  I looked out my shop window and saw the snake laying in the yard.  When David came home, he took the snake and threw it away where Molly could not get it, I hope.

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Sure, she looks innocent.   Bye.

 

Jack and the Beanstalk My Way

Once upon a time in a land that is no more, but lived for many years in the Black Forest of Germany there lived a boy named Jack.  He lived with his mother and father in a little cottage in the forest.

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His mother and father loved each other very much and all was happy for several years.  Then Jack’s father passed away leaving  Jack and his mother penniless because he had not invested his money wisely in mutual funds.

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All Jack and his mother had left was one tiny cow who had gone dry and gave no milk.  So Jack’s mother told Jack to go into the village and sell the cow to get money to buy some food.  Jack was all excited about getting out of the house and going into town even if he didn’t have any money to spend.  He and the cow walked down the dusty road toward the village and along the way Jack met a strange little man.

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A little man with soulful eyes and a big, wet nose who carried with him a sack of beans.

“Would you like to buy these beans?” asked the little man.  He held them in front of Jack’s eyes.  “They are magic beans,” said the man.  Jack, not being the brightest bulb in the chandelier, thought this was a pretty good deal so he agreed to buy the beans with the cow.

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A full sack of beans.  “What a deal!” Jack thought to himself.  “I wonder what is magic about them?  I forgot to ask.”  He turned to look and the strange little man and Jack’s cow had disappeared.  “Oh, well,” said Jack and he turned to go back home.

Once home Jack ran to his mother to show her the magic beans.  Needless to say, she was not happy.  Nor was she too bright either as she threw the beans out the window instead of making a good bean soup that would have staved off starvation for a while.  “We may as well go to bed,” said Jack’s mother.  “We will have to think of something tomorrow.”

So Jack and his mother went to bed.  While they slept, the magic beans began to grow.  They grew higher and higher until their tops reached clear into the sky and beyond.

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Jack awoke the next morning and went outside and to his amazement saw a giant beanstalk growing in the yard.  Without further ado, Jack began to climb the beanstalk.

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Up and up he went, into the clouds and beyond.  After climbing for hours, he came upon a magical land in the clouds and there stood a giant castle.  Jack ran up to the castle door and knocked, but no one answered, so he slowly opened the door and peeked inside.  There he saw a table groaning with all kinds of good food to eat.  He climbed the leg post, onto the table and began to feast upon the delicious food.

Suddenly, Jack heard the castle door bang open and a loud voice yell, “Fee, Fi, Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.  Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.”

Now Jack, not being an Englishman, but a German from the Black Forest did not fear the giant even though he was very scary looking.

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The fact he had no clothes on was a little disconcerting, but Jack rolled with the flow and decided to make friends.  Before he spoke the giant called for his chickens.

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He had several chickens who he had named.  Dorcas, Beatrice, Penninah, Jemima, Freedom and Phoebe.  They all laid golden eggs.  Every last one of them.  Sadly, the giant could not eat their eggs, but he could afford to buy lots of eggs at the grocer.  He began to sing to his chickens and they clucked back to him.

Jack suddenly popped out from behind a salt shaker and said “How do you do,” to the giant. Well, that giant almost fell out of his chair, but soon Jack realized the giant was not friendly and would, indeed, grind his bones, if he didn’t get out of there.

So Jack grabbed one of the chickens thinking at least he and his mother could eat it, and ran for the beanstalk.

Jack heard the giant running after him so he climbed down as fast as he could as he heard above him the crashing of branches as the giant slid after him.

Once down on the ground Jack ran for an ax and chopped the beanstalk down.  Down, down fell the giant and with a huge crash landed on the ground.  Jack stood over him, thinking the giant was dead.  But he was only gravely injured, so Jack and his mother bandaged him up and cared for him until he became well. In the meantime, they all became good friends.  With the one chicken and her golden eggs, Jack was able to buy his mother a castle, beautiful clothes and all the food she could want.  As for him and the giant, whose name was Fred, they became close friends and built a cozy cabin in the woods where they raised a herd of milk cows and raised beans. None of which ever grew as high as that first beanstalk.

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The End. Bye.

 

Boys, Bibles and Backwoods

The days have been busy and yet enjoyable.  Enough happening to keep from getting bored and not too much that I feel overwhelmed.  I have learned to say no to many things.  I know that I can do one or two things well at a time, but if things start piling up, I get stressed out.  Right now everything is going in a steady, easy flow and I am enjoying the days.

I had the grandboys for a weekend.  It was a fun weekend of playing, swimming, eating out and just being together.

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We went to Rural King and let the boys pick out some toys.  One picked a bag full of army soldiers and tanks.  The other picked a bag of Revolutionary war soldiers and their horses and cannons.

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Armies were set up on the living room floor.  Revolutionaries against modern military.

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Battles ensued.

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Strategizing where to put the soldiers and tanks and cannons.  I had to watch where I was walking with bare feet as those little soldiers were sharp when you stepped on them.  Ouch!

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Guess who I was watching as they played?  Pioneer Woman.  The boys seemed interested too.

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Especially when Ree’s sons were on the screen.

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I relaxed in my new pajamas I bought from Sam’s club.  They are really soft and comfortable.

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Time was spent climbing trees and picking crabapples to make “stew.”  I cooked the crabapples for them and after they cooled we put them under the bird feeders.  Something ate them.  We don’t know what.

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I spent a lot of time last week doing this.  We have been going through a dry spell.  Nothing like California is going through, but everything needed watering.

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My zinnia bed alongside the house is so pretty.  The butterflies and hummingbirds love the flowers.  Next year I plan to double its size.  Less grass to mow that way.

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Next to peonies, zinnias are my favorite flower.   So easy to grow and so many different colors.  Plus, you can collect their seeds and grow them again next year.

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We went off to the woods again.

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The for sale sign…..

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Was taken down.  We may have to put up a no trespassing sign as someone has cut down some trees in the past in this woods and we definitely do not want that happening.

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We walked down to the creek which is quite a steep walk and I saw this toadstool.

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It was huge and stood all alone in the woods.

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Once you are back in the woods, it is so quiet, you cannot hear anything but the birds in the trees.  We got down to the creek and as it was almost dry, we walked along it.  Lots of flagstones, perfect for paths and fireplaces, lay in the creek bed.  We may have to bring some up the hill one day.

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We had some excitement on our road.  A pedestrian was hit by a car and there were police cars all over and the lifeline helicopter came to pick up the person.

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A police car was across the road right by our house.  David was talking to the policeman about what had happened.  We never heard how that pedestrian turned out.  Hope he or she was all right.

Finally, I had a Beth Moore simulcast Bible Study at my house Saturday.  Several ladies joined me to watch.

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Such a great group of ladies and we enjoyed fun, fellowship, good food and Bible study.  It lasted all day and we laughed and talked and just enjoyed being together.

I am mentoring a senior girl for her senior class project.  She wanted to make quilts for the Riley Children’s hospital in Indianapolis.  We are busy making quilts to cover the baby incubators.  Then the parents can take a quilt home for their baby.  I will show you the quilts and write about the senior girl later.

Hope your days are equal part busy and restful.  Bye.

 

 

 

September or Fall’s a Comin’

It’s here, whether we want it or not. Fall.  You know, that glorious season right before the bitter winds of winter?   The season of beautiful foliage on the trees as they make their last hurrah before they loose all their leaves.    The season of trips to the orchards for crispy apples, trudging through pumpkin fields to pick out that perfect pumpkin, taking drives down country roads to see all the beauty of the season.

In the past September was, for me, the time for the start of a new school year.  Going shopping for new shoes and clothes.  It meant the smell of new crayons, getting new yellow tablets, and new  school books.  I have always loved the smell of books.  Somehow you don’t get the same smell from a Kindle.  It was meeting the new teacher, getting your seat assigned, and hoping your best friend was still there for you as you had not seen her all Summer. It was seeing the big yellow school bus coming down the road and wondering if the driver would be nice or grumpy.

September meant that Summer was officially over and it was time to get out jackets and sweaters and knee high socks.  No more shorts and sleeveless tops.  Early evenings and homework before bed.  No more hide and go seek games in the yard.

On the farm September meant harvesting.  The corn was ripe, ready for picking and I would ride in the wagon behind the corn picker as it threw the corn cobs out into the wagon. Oats combined and shoveled into the oats house so the animals would have something to eat during the long winter.  The Spring calves were almost grown and would be the new milk cows.   Time for butchering a hog or a cow for meat for the table.

September meant  my mother gathering in the last of the vegetables from the garden and canning  or freezing all she could for our family to eat.  Winter was coming and we must be ready.

Some people are sad when September comes.  Songs are sung about September.  September is both a beginning and an ending.  But September will come no matter how much you want one last day at the beach, one last ride at the amusement park, one last lazy day to dream.  It will come and stay for only a moment like all the other months as the year rapidly draws to a close.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas come one after the other before you know it. September has the last holiday of the Summer, Labor Day.  This weekend we will have our grandsons staying with us so it won’t exactly be a holiday, but we will plan some fun things for them.  It reminds me how quickly the boys are growing and how we must grab the little snatches of time we have with them.  They have been in school for a couple of weeks already. No child should have to start school before Labor Day in my opinion.

September means a lot of things to me and as I grow older it means different things. I watch as others send their children off to school and feel nostalgic for those days, yet glad I don’t have to take part any longer.  It means time for a new haircut, a new exercise routine, more books to read, less lawn mowing, closing the pool, getting the house ready for winter.   It means more sewing and quilting and antiquing and being able to take a vacation during the school year.  Yes, September is a month of change and I am glad of it.

I saw a bright red Maple leaf on my porch yesterday.  Yes, Fall’s a comin’.   Bye.