Finally!

I'm all caught up on July Bee Blocks!!! WOO HOO!!! I just need one address and I'll be shipping the last on out today... IF I get the needed address before the mail goes. So we'll see..

I'm making slow but steady progress on my Hexagon Quilt Along quilt... I just did the same block over and over again... I think there were 6 or 7 different styles, but I didn't want to do that SO I just did my on thang... pics to come...

Blocks for Lissa

Yesterday I was bobbing around blogland, catching up and I came across THIS post. And so I signed up and quickly whipped up 3 patched blocks. I still need to do a signature block... I'm hoping to get this done tonight.

You can read Lissa's story HERE. All I can say is behold the power of prayer!

Spliting...

And so I've decided to split up my postings. I'm going to keep all things hobby-wise here and all things farming and life HERE. And so on that note... Happy Stitching, tilling, shooting (camera wise), etc, etc, etc...

Sunday Stills

"Sunrise Clouds"

Yes it was a rare event that I was up before the sun...

"Hazy Day"

For more Sunday Stills go HERE.

Where has the week gone?

It seems as though this week has just flown by in a series of slow days, YES I know that really makes no sense but then that's just me.

I don't remember Wednesday, Thursdays are always a blur, Friday mom and I went and picked up the blueberries we had ordered. OHHH so good! Two quilt shops had gone out of business. What a shame... and yesterday I went to Springfield and will be going back today to Lowes. We had a water hydrant give up the ghost and it needs to be fixed ASAP. So much for a relaxing day...

Chief & Hot-rod

Yesterday the vacuum pump that enables us to milk the moos, gave up the ghost, or so we thought. Thankfully we had gotten through morning milking. Be thankful for small and big things... pray over and about EVERYTHING!

So in true fashion I call R. who will from now on just be called Chief. When the pulleys wouldn't hardly move or not at all it's a BAD thing. I asked Chief... how bad is bad, knowing full well how BAD was bad... a $1000.00 bad? He laughed, I groaned.. more like $5000.00 he said. I was about in tears... by the end of the day I was...

We didn't have $5000.00 if it was totally shot. NO way to get it either. So I tried everything he told me to do... nope nothing... I finally called him and said... We can't get ahold of G. to see if he'll sell us his, and we don't have the $5000.00. Now what? and he told me, well you are in a pickle? (ya think so?) But I'll come...  Thank you I said... He got here with his helper... Hot-rod... And so began the taking apart of the pump... Well there it is, the little spinning thing (my terms) is spun out, and the vanes are shot... and then it was no it's just the vanes are shot. and he pulled pieces and a crumbled vanes out... OK this is good I thought if it's just the vanes maybe just maybe we'll be OK.

Long story short (I've got to get oil ASAP) It was just the vanes, it hadn't spun out, and as Chief told me more than once... do you KNOW close you came? do you KNOW how big of a bullet you dodged? Yes I do and it was God... You see when this brand of vacuum pump goes, it's gone.

God is good, faithful and never late... some days though... like yesterday we have meltdowns... nothing seems to go right, people ask hurtful questions, and you wonder what is the point of it all? Why do we keep going when nothing seems to work right or do right? I don't know...

But then some good things happen like the vacuum pump only costing $600.00, a friend giving us some peaches (18 qts. ready for winter) and little heifer calves.

Canning Corn

I did manage to get some early morning stitching done... woo hoo  for  ME!

The rest of the day went something like:

Feed goats
wash milk buckets
Warm 2 bottles for calves
Milk goats
Water goats and bovines, forget about water and let it run and run and run... oops
Feed new babies... a prayer was said on one of them... something to the effect... God PLEASE help her to not be so blasted STUPID, STUBBORN, and KICKY! Help her to eat before I lose my patience and my good humor.
Feed other babies.
Breakfast
Help shuck corn, cut corn, and we are now to the canning stage... it's HOT Y'ALL!

Now for evening chores... sigh... I might just melt...

Hexie giveaway in Blogland...

OK so there is a giveaway going on in the quilting blog sphere. You can go HERE  to check it out. Three chances to win one of five possible prizes!

Sunday Stills - Summer

 "Home Grown"

 "Toes in the Water"

 "Toes in the Sand"

 "Toes in the Grass"

"Swinging Toes"

And these are a few of my FAVORITE things... For more Sunday Stills or to join in go HERE.

Dreams

Rather nightmares... I never have them... dreams yeah sure, not nightmares. I've been awake since before 5 when one woke me up. Heart pounding, almost hyperventilating, and jumping when the dog touched me. Pour Wally got kicked, not hard but just out of a scared reaction.

Every time I would close my eyes I would relive the nightmare. And now I'm so tired from keeping myself awake that I'm almost in tears. To top it off it's already a sauna out and was back at 5:27 AM when Ranger just HAD to go out.

Yesterday though I did get a little sewing done. My first ever applique, by hand... {patting self on back} :)

Picture Post...

 "Baby Blue in Black & White"

From Judy Martins book The Block Book... I ADORE Judy Martin!

 My own creation... It's just odd enough to be normal for me... :)

 WIP Double Wedding Ring in Batiks

Someday it will be finished...

 Up close of the DWR WIP

 "Prairie Star Basket"

Another fine block brought to you by Judy Martins wonderful book...

 All of the blocks for Cindy's quilt playing together before being shipped on their merry way.

And last but not least... my Modern Siggie Swap round 2 blocks...

Good news on the horizon for round one... they should be hitting mail box's in a town near me :) sometime next week... woo hoo!!!!!

PS. Just thought all should know that there is a fluffy and fat dog snoring at my feet... :) Ranger must have at a LONG night...

An early 19th century diamond single stone ring

An early 19th century diamond single stone ring



I have found that Christie's can be a source of cheap entertainment and wishful thinking. Take this ring... now I'm not a jewelry type person, but this little antique beauty... yup I'd wear that... maybe not out to the goat/calf/milk barn... :)

It's been

Raining!!! It's been so nice to get at least some rain. The creek isn't running, but at least there are some pools now. More chances today and thankfully extending into next week. WOO HOO!!!!

Not much is really going on around here. At least that I want to put on public viewing... it's been a hard week, but we made it through day by day by the grace of God. And so another day is in the making. I'm already tired and would much rather head back to bed than into the goat and calf yonder.

At some point we need to find someone or someone needs to help me fix the water gate that is out. Fighting and separating the dry cows, heifers and milk cows daily is getting really old REALLY fast. Jerseys seem to get bored and need something to do if they aren't sleeping or grazing... you know I bet there is someone out there doing a study on what is best to do for increased happiness of moo's in their spare time. Yes I'm being sarcastic... but some of the things than money gets spent on is NUTS! A study to see how much energy it takes for a cow to shed in the springtime... FYI... alot... so much in fact that their butterfat test will drop. I know I'm not very bright, but I think it has more to do with them eating lush grass and having an increase in milk production. Oh well...

On the sewing front, not much happening... I did get some fabric though... :) great plans for the weekend! Pictures to come...

Blast from the past...

This was one of my favorite songs when I was a bity child... and I still love it to this day! :)

Hopefully my nerves will settle soon and I pray I don't say the wrong thing or things this morning...

$3.95 + tax...

Any more $3.95 doesn't go very far... but today I got my moneys worth and so much more. Mom and I stopped at a flea market in town... it's been a very hard past few days for us and I'll leave it at that. Anyway... we stopped there on the way to the Library and our Aunts house...

I found a The Far Side book for $3.95... we needed a laugh or three I thought, something to just chase away the jiggling insides, mind going places, etc... For that small sum I go more than just the $3.95 and tax... I heard a laugh from someone I love and a smile, something that has been gone for so long it seems. Which in my book is worth so much more...

Someday things will not be so stressful and hard... this I keep telling myself. The only thing that is keeping me on this side of sanity is sewing and all the Quilt Bees I'm in... for a brief moment in the day I lose myself in the creativity of others and myself when I steal a few moments to just cut strips into various sizes and shapes...

Giveaway in blogland...

Well you know it's not me doing a giveaway... :) maybe someday... Anyway... there is a giveaway going on at jaybird quilts... You can have up to 5 chances to win! Don't you just love to win things... I know I do... it happens once in a blue moon but it's awfully fun to try!

It's Independence Day!

Last night after chores I came in intending to quick take a shower and sew. Well it didn't go that way... I needed to cut out some stuff for blocks before I could sew... SO I took my scraps of black and white, settled down in front of the the tv, found the remote and turned it on. Some how I managed to find a movie I have enjoyed before... and it got me to thinking.

The movie was John Adams btw on HBO. I made me think of the men and women who actually fought for this country to be born, the people who take advantage of what the sacrifice was, how we have lost so much, and in turn made me wonder what John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and all the others would think of what this country has become. Government has become a game to a lot of people. This country has long lost it's being of the people and for the people. IMHO...

Oh well... that's just my thought for the day...

Have a great day where ever you are!!!!!!!

dry...

I really don't ever remember it being so dry in these parts so early. Thankfully there might be some chances for rain over the weekend. Maybe we'll get enough that the creeks will have some fresh pools... or even be running again!

We had some excitement here yesterday. A Blimp flew over!!! This is the second time in a few years this has happened...

And I've just thrown this one in because I like it! :) I bought 3 shades of Bougainvillea I believe this is the Peach? Pink? Maybe it's supposed to be Orange... I don't know or remember which is par for the coarse these days.  

It's been...

An odd little week... it's seems that it just drags on and ON. Thankfully it's Thursday... tomorrows Friday, amazing how Friday always comes after Thursday isn't it?! :) And then a LONG weekend.

Maybe I'll get some sewing done. :) MAYBE I'll whip up a quick 4th something or other... I've got the fabric for it that's for sure. Every year I have good intentions of making something that's Red, White, and Blue... so far the fabric is sitting in tubs just waiting to be cut up and used.

So it's a busy day ahead. I didn't make it to the post office yesterday so it's a MUST to get there today.