From a wet and rainy day

This is from Friday...another shot that shows fall is on its way. Notice petals are missing and that the ones left are droopy.

Hoosier Homestead Farm

I have other pictures of this place I have taken through the years, but I don't remember this sign. But in the other pictures there was a sign on the barn that is not there now. So, I think it must have been a version of this sign.
The Hoosier Homestead Award was started in 1976, for farms that have been in the same family for 100 years or over. It is in recognition of what farming has meant to and given to Indiana: economic growth, cultural and social advancements.
The farms must have at least 20 acres or produce at least $1,000 in agricultural products during one year.

A little garage

Yesterday when we went for the short drive, we came home in a round-about way on a road we had never been on before. A big portion of the drive was through wooded areas, and this little garage, as well as the home you don't see, was in a clearing. I just had to have a picture of this garage....just something about it is so appealing to me. Some people can take anything and make it so appealing that you have to take a second look.

Though the wreath with sunflowers on the side is what grabbed my attention, I really love the leaves laying on the wet roof. You can see them a bit better if you enlarge the picture. And I love that old gate leaning against the side. If I was a kid, I would want that place for my house!
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I had Lorelei today...I really meant to get some new photos but instead I entertained her and she entertained me. Her Aunt Rachel was here this morn...she cannot take her eyes off Rachel when she is here. Just stares and stares and smiles if Rachel talks to her. Rachel was busy with something on line...she did try to hold her when she first got here but Lorelei was not wanting anyone but me. And I don't even really think it was that so much as maybe she had a bit of a tummy ache.

Then later, Kay and her little brother and one of her friends came over right before she went home, and she was all eyes and ears watching and listening to them. Their dog also came over, and she thought he was funny.

I think she is getting a bit more hair and she is definitely changing...I really wanted pictures to see if anyone else would see the change. Maybe next week I will get some...

There is no denying it.....

There is no denying that fall is on its way. Who would want to? I love spring, and I love parts of summer, and I still have a childish glee come over me when it starts to snow. But I dearly love fall. I love it when the days are crisp and clear and the clouds floating big and bold in the sky, and the feeling you get of how nice a fire would be.
Or to walk into the kitchen on those days when you have the smell of a pot of soup drifting through the house. Though I admit I like soup any time, any season, it is just a bit more lovely when the days turn cool. In the fall it is a joy to bake something and enjoy the heat it creates having the oven on.
Then there is the actual beauty of the colors changing...I never tire of photos of the autumn leaves. These were taken late this evening...I had to have my ISO set at 1600 to get these. I want to go for another drive in better weather.
It rained a big portion of the day here. Huge puddles were every where for a while. It was almost like pouring water out of a bucket part of the time. It thundered so bad it really shook the house...I unplugged everything for most of the day. I did plug it back in for a few minutes once...but was afraid to leave them plugged in. Even though I have surge protectors, I just didn't want to risk losing anything.

A bit of fancy work

I have heard stuff similar to this called fret work, gingerbread trim, and bargeboard. Not knowing if there are specifics to each, I will leave it to you the reader to decide what to call it. I call it pretty. I never see any of this type of work without thinking what a chore it must be to paint it. And this even more so because it is painted different colors. I almost think I would like it better if it were all one color. And that because the background is basically green. I suppose if if it was all white behind it, I would like it better this way. Either way it is pretty, and was a lot of talent and work to do it.

Delicate and beautiful

I was chasing a viceroy butterfly, which I failed to get close enough to capture when I noticed this grass seed waving in the gentle breeze. I wonder if anyone else will think it has beauty. If you don't, it is probably because I failed to capture it as I saw it.

As for the butterfly, it would not hold still till it landed up on tree trunk about 12 ft from the ground. I did not get a decent capture of it.
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I spent the day with Lorelei and her mom...she changes so much when we don't see her for a few days. She smiles so big when I go in. It is funny, she will go from me to Sarah and look back at me and smile so big, as if to say 'Look who's got me now!'...or if she comes to me from Sarah she will look back at Sarah the same way.

A well kept barn

This is one of the few good pictures from Sunday...it is such a clean and cared for barn. I cannot help but wonder what is done in that barn with all those windows. It looked even better in person than in this picture....I think because I was feeling its size. And don't you just love that little bit of tree in the edge of the photo...on the left side. Sort of like a monster sneaking into the picture. Oh well, I am too lazy this morning to crop it.

Roger just left to go fishing with a buddy...I am not sure what I am doing. I don't have Lorelei. It will be tempting to go see her before the day is over. I forgot to tell that one day last week she took her burp/drool cloth and tried to wipe my mouth--twice. There is no doubt in my mind but that is what she was trying to do.

At a standstill....

This is going to be Lorelei's new quilt. I have worked on it it fits and starts. I don't remember who I have heard use that term, I was thinking my mom, but not real sure. But it sure describes the process for this quilt. It should have been done long ago, but here it is unfinished. I did decide to get serious about it a bit back. I had 8 or 10 squares left to make, got those made. I got the blocks sewn together without mishap...I figured I would get at least one turned wrong.

I have enough fabric in my basement to start a small quilt shop, but did not have anything I wanted to use for the backing of the quilt. So there was a pause to search for fabric for it. I looked at some of my favorite quilt shops on line with no luck. Ended up stopping at Joann Fabrics on the way home from a doctors appointment and found something I liked.

Actually, I chose three fabrics and got the backing sewn together this past weekend, got the batting cut down to size, got everything stretched and it all pin-basted together. Now to decide how to quilt it. I am going to free-motion machine quilt it. At least that is the plans so far. When you free-motion quilt, the feed-dogs are lowered, the pressure on the pressure foot lowered to zero as well as the stitch length is set to zero.

The ball is in your court then, or the quilting in this case. You can stitch forwards, backwards, sideways, any direction you want...everything is controlled by you, the quilter. I am not horrible at it, but I do have a lot room for improvement. It takes lots and lots of practice to get your stitches somewhat even.

I have been thinking and thinking on what design to attempt. The few times I have machine quilted, I have winged it....you can click here to see other quilts I have posted that are machine quilted. Be sure to enlarge the pictures to see the actual quilting. Though maybe I shouldn't suggest it. My favorite I have done so far is the one posted on December 10, 2007.

I would really like to plan this quilting, and have looked and looked at other's photos of quilts trying to get inspiration and nothing really strikes my fancy. So, I may have to just wing-it again and hope for the best.

From a short drive....

To get my mind off things, Roger ask if I wanted to do anything like go for a drive. I needed something to distract me, so first we ran to Walmart to pick up something he needed. We were at the Walmart in Paris, Illinois. Having never driven south on the road where it is located, we decided to see where the road led.
I didn't take many pictures at all...a few over 20. Not at all like I normally would take. And half the ones I took are so blurred it isn't even funny.
But I did manage these captures. The one of the hawk is cropped, and I had to use fill flash to get even this view. Not at all sure how it will look to your eyes.

Look whats growing in my back yard!

I planted gourds, knowing that the vines would take up room, but not remembering how much room! My little garden spot looks like a jungle...and if all the gourds mature I am going to have enough to supply the whole neighborhood. I want some for birdhouses....and I just like to look at them.

Roger is gone to get a final tune-up on the hearing aids he recently got. After that, I think we will head to Terre Haute to pick up a new DVD player/recorder. It is a combo; it will play vhs tapes, also dub tapes to dvds, as well as record tv for me. I don't know if I am making a mistake or not...I think I am going with the brand that is the same as my old one. It was not that old, and for sure not used that much.

But I have looked for forums about problems with it and did not find any with major issues....there is one other that I am going to look at also.
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I got this ready to publish this morn and got sidetracked and forgot to publish it. We picked up a new DVD/video combo and as I speak it is setting doing its thing. It is taking quite a while. We spent the entire afternoon at Sarah's...I am going tomorrow to pick Lorelei up and bring her here if nothing else changes.

Minutes alone...

Below is picture that I scanned in from an old photo the other night. Sort of looks like I feel part of the time...like I am falling apart.
For the first time in ages and ages, I have some time where not another soul is around except for the animals. It feels strange, but good. Roger has gone to visit and old friend of his in Terre Haute; he turned 80 on Monday.

Sarah is home today with Lorelei, and I didn't go down there but have stayed close to the phone. I spent the past two days down there, just to give Sarah a little break. Lorelei keeps us both laughing with the things she does. When it is just me there, Sarah will sit in the living room to nurse her....well, yesterday she would nurse a minute, then roll over and look at me and grin, all the time her leg is kicking. If her leg is kicking, she is a happy child.

She was just pure comedy to watch. Over the weekend, she would do something similar with her dad. She would look at him and do this fake cough to get his attention. I really have not been around very many babies...I had never changed a diaper till I had my own child so you have to keep that in mind when I say stuff about Lorelei. Things like I have never seen another baby jabber the way she jabbers...my kids jabbered, as well as the toddler that I babysat when our girls were toddlers.

It is Lorelei's actual way of jabbering that is so strange....it is from the back of her throat and almost sounds as if it is straining her voice. And she will do it as loud as she can....
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I just talked to Sarah and will probably head over there in a bit. They are having a new fence put in....the guys came yesterday and took down the old one and put in the posts for the new one. They told Jeremy they had to let the posts/concrete sit over night. Yet they did not come back today. So, for right now, they have to take the dogs out on their leashes. Otto definitely will not mind enough to let loose, and she just doesn't feel like yelling at Keesha. Keesha will eventually listen, but she is so hard headed that if she really wants to do something, she will keep pushing for it.

I have a load of clothes in the washer and want to get them put over to the dryer, and another load started before I head that way. And have a couple other things to do here at home. So it does not look like I will get to do any blog visiting tonight.

On top of being over Sarah's a lot, our DVD player/recorder seems to have bitten the dust. I spent time last night trying to decide whether to invest in getting it fixed, or just buying a new one. If I didn't want one that records also, I would just go get a new one. But there are times when I want to watch two things that are on at same time, or else Roger wants one thing and me another. Or if there is something I am afraid I will forget, I will sit it to record.

But the more I read customer reviews of them, the more it seems like they all have problems....so not sure what is best to do!

Waiting...

I do not know what these horses were looking for...actually, I think they were watching someone....but I couldn't see who. To me there is a look of expectation in they way they hold themself. As if they know something good is on its way. This was at a farrier's place...so I would not have thought they were all his, but maybe they were but I just felt like they were eagerly awaiting something.

In my front yard...

Remember I showed you the beginnings of a hornets nest in my back yard here? Well, I quit seeing any activity a while back. I didn't really know what to think...I thought I saw one or two hornets at different times, but never could see any when looking up in the hole.
Two or three weeks ago we were sitting on the front porch with Lorelei, and Roger noticed this out in the crab apple. They are active there....not sure, but thinking about getting rid of it just because of Lorelei. I hate to tear it down...but it is so close to the house that I think we need to do something.

One of my favorite things...

I don't know about anyone else, but I like having mail coming that is something to look forward to. (I know, I shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition but sometimes that is the only way to go.) Below is my recent order from Amazon.
I love maps. I don't know if that is a common thing or not, but I can sit for an hour or two studying maps. Sometimes I just like looking at the names of the towns and trying to find the funniest name. Others, I love looking at all the creeks, lakes, etc. Or following a river to where it begins. And I like following railroads....oh, I am about to forget I like to look for parks and wildlife/recreational areas.

The atlases above show each and every public road in Indiana and Illinois, all the little county roads, etc. I have not had the Illinois one before, but we have wore out one of Indiana. It is falling apart at the seams. So, I needed a new one, and I have been wanting the Illinois one for quite a while, too.

We don't travel as much in Illinois, but I think it is now more a matter of not having time. I think when we get the time we will do more.
The above books were the original intent of my order. A bit back we got the movie Housewife 49 from Netflix to watch. I really enjoyed it, but most times the books are better than the movies so I immediately came and did search for the books. Since the libraries didn't have them, I checked out the bookstores and decided Amazon was the best buy.
And when I am at Amazon or Barnes&Noble, or a library, I almost always look up certain key words: Alaska, Yukon, pioneer, Tennessee, and Appalachia are almost a given. And in doing this, I ran across the above book. And could not resist. It is all B&W photography; some are of people and some are of places/things. In the back of the book, it gives a thumbnail of the picture followed by a story about it derived from oral histories given in conversations and interviews. It promises to be a favorite of mine.

From the road...

This was taken at an Amish greenhouse, taken as we were passing by, somewhere in Parke County. Roger did stop, but I didn't get out of the car. It was such a riot of color that I could not resist it.

A bit of sunshine for you!

Lorelei's mom took these with her cell phone, so not the greatest quality, but the expressions could not be better. You can see how intent she is watching their cat, Diesel. She can't wait to get to him, and our cats. And now Sarah has to really watch her when she is in her high chair because she always reaches for Otto. And being the dog he is, he is happy to oblige her. He is one of those dogs that can wash your face with one lick if you don't watch, so her hands are nothing to him.

Growth of a fairy ring....

This is from several years ago....kids still in high school. So over ten years ago at least.
We had these fairy rings come in our yard three or four years, and I think one year there were two of them.
I don't think I have seen a mushroom this big before or since.
The quality of the photos are not that great, but you still get the general idea.
I don't have time to write more because Miss Bright Eyes is here.
I don't think any of the fairy rings we had formed a complete circle, but there were some that you could see more of the circle than this one.

Nyesville Full Gospel Fellow Ship

The other day we took a short drive....this is taken the same day as the mule in the previous post. And probably no more than 5 or 10 minutes of slow driving apart.
I love seeing little country churches taken care of, and always wonder how they started. Was it started at what once was a small town/village or was it built in central location for the congregation.

Also, did anyone notice the way fellowship is spelled as two separate words in the sign?
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We are off to an appointment in Indy after while....so I may not get to visit everyone till later.

I feel like this old mule....

First of all, I want to thank the ones that responded to my queries about blogging. I really enjoyed reading your answers.
Now, on with the day...I feel like I think this old mule looks to me...tired. When Roger found out that Lorelei was not going to be here today, he suggested a couple errands. And I added a couple more. We spent the biggest part of the day in Terre Haute! Was I ever glad to get home in the afternoon.

We went out to eat breakfast, to the library down there where I had a book overdue. I just returned everything I had and came home with another load of things...audio books, DVDs, and books. We had seen the movie Defiance about the Bielski brothers who were responsible for saving hundreds of Jews during WWII. So I came home with a book about the brothers and have read a couple pages in it and it promises to be very good.

I also came home with an audio book about Charles Shulz and Peanuts...I have listed to a bit of it and I think it will be good as well. Now to just find time to listen to it or read the other. I brought home a load of stuff and know that there is no hope of getting through it all...but at least I have plenty to choose from.

In addition, I went to Joann fabrics where i did not find a single piece of fabric that I wanted, but I did get batting for Lorelei's new quilt. Now to find time to get the backing made and the quilt sandwiched and quilted. But I can dream, can't I?
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I keep forgetting to tell this little tidbit about Lorelei. Sarah told me one day last week that she was fixing supper and had Lorelei in the kitchen with her...in the high chair. Sarah had her back to her and turned around to see her leaning out as far as she could reaching her hand out to Otto for him to lick it all the time with a big smile on her face.

It is for sure in her genes that she is going to love animals....just no way of getting around it. She gets a smile on her face and can't take her eyes off the cats here or Shelby if they are moving.
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I got to thinking about this post I read over a year ago...I had to search to find it. I knew it was at Mrs. Nesbitt's Place, but just couldn't remember how long ago...so I looked some this morn, but didn't have time to find it till this evening. I laugh till I cry, but no one else seems to think it as funny as me. So, I thought I would share it here and see if anyone else thinks it funny, or is it for people who have dogs and have had similar experiences?

A little something to look at.....

Lorelei is not coming today, so have a time to do a post....I was going to do one late last night and got detoured. So here is something to look at if you came for a photograph, but what I really want is some feedback on the following....

What I wanted to talk about is blogging. I have wondered how does everyone else find the blogs they visit regularly? I really don't remember exactly how I came across the blogs that got me started, nor do I remember whose blog was the first. There is a handful of blogs that I know were the first ones that really got me hooked...I liked the content of their blog, and they were so friendly and their personality came through so loud and clear that I still visit them and though I may not visit every day, I do go back and check each post. Every now and then I miss one, but it is a fluke and I generally catch it at some point in time.

Also, what attracts you to a blog? With me, it is sometimes just the photographs....and sometimes it is the writing or both. I suppose if I had to pick just one, that photography would win, yet I love some of the writing. There have been a few posts that I have laughed till I cried...they were so well written I could just see it all. And I wished I had the talent to express myself so well.

Does anyone else ever just sit and click that 'Next Blog" link at the top of most blogs from blogger and do you ever find one you want to continue to visit? Seems like most days I do that, the majority of the blogs I get will be in a foreign language, but yesterday I indulged in doing that for a while. Though a few were in other languages, most that I came across were in English. But I still didn't find a single one that I wanted to add to my bookmarks.

And is there any blog that you have went back and looked at every single post? There are two I have did that with, and there are others I wish I had the time to go back.....and I probably will someday.

Anyway, was just wondering...

Just a bit more salsa...

My older daughter came by this morn...I had done washed jars and was in the process of gathering ripe tomatoes. I did the skinning of the tomatoes...you know where you dip them in boiling water for just a minute then dunk them in cold and the skin comes off real easy. And I cored them and handed them to her to cut into chunks.
She cut them in really big chunks, plus took out some of the juice/seeds in the hopes that it will be a bit more chunky. I think she will be better satisfied with the result. She did take a couple jars of the juicy salsa home with her to share with friends when they are over.
I got five more quarts out of this batch...I cannot even think how many that makes....but I am about to call it quits on the salsa. I think I have close to enough to last us. Though if Rachel likes this, we might make another batch.
And do you see that funnel in the second picture...that is the funnel my mom had. I would love to know how many jars it has been used to fill. I bet most people would be amazed. I know a few people who can, but they don't can in that amount. Other than my sister-in-law and another neighbor down home, I can not think of anyone I personally know that really consistently cans or freezes most of the vegetables and stuff that they need.. I know I sure don't.

I can remember my mom talking about so many people only know how to go to the store and buy cans of goods, little realizing that one of those days I would be one of the people going to the store. But I do know how to can, and if I can't remember I can always ask my sister-in-law. It is a lot of work, but I remember feeling so thankful to look at the rows and rows of jars full of food.

And the other thing I think about in regards to canning...well, in relation to canning and 'going green'. Does anyone besides me ever think about how much less garbage there would be if everyone canned the majority of what they used. The jars are used over and over...I have two or three jars that I bet are at least 40 or 50 years old, maybe older. They are from home, and were old when I was a kid.

The only thing to throw away is the little dome lids that seals the jar....that is less than one end of a metal can of something.

Dragonfly

Last year I could not snag a picture of a dragofly no matter how hard I tried...not even a really blurry one.
This year, I have at last crossed that hurtle. I guess it it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time with camera.

Edgar County Coourthouse

I took this photo a few weeks ago, and kept waiting to show it in hopes I would get back over there and get a better shot, plus more views. I think this is one of the most ornate courthouses I have ever seen. It is located in Paris, Illinois. Enlarge it and see what you think. Oh, be sure and notice the birds!
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Lorelei is actually down for a nap; it probably won't last long but any is better than none. I forgot to tell that day before yesterday I put her in her little rocker-seat while I vacuumed and she went to sleep in it before I got done. She only slept about 20-30 minutes but that gives me a few minutes to relax....or get things done. That was all the napping she did that day.

Busy....

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted anything since Sunday...I really do not know where all the time has gone. I have had Lorelei all week of course, and she does keep me busy of the day. She is so much joy to have around, even if I don't get much else done. I should post her favorite tune...it is Elmo's world...if you hum it, whistle it, or however way you come up with doing it...she is going to look and smile. I catch myself humming it when she isn't here even...and smile just thinking of her.

Yesterday, she had a doctor's appointment for some of her immunizations, and after she left I did sew for quite a while. I have not had time to really do much in that line in a long while. It seems if I get on here, I find too much other stuff I want to check out.

I made 4 quarts and almost 4 pints of salsa tonight...one pint is not quite full. But that will just give me an excuse to sample it in the next few days.

But canning sure takes me back home...mom canned or froze almost everything we ate. She had shelves in the basement...I think they were about 8 feet long...and were about 20 inches deep I would think. I can't remember for sure how many shelves there were, but I think at least 6. If I remember correctly the top shelf didn't always have canned goods on it. I am not real positive of that...maybe one of my brothers will read this and tell me. And I don't think the bottom shelf was ever full...but the other three or four shelves were almost all full of canned goods.

I don't know just when I started actually being much help with the canning, but I always enjoyed it as long as I can remember. And mom sure enjoyed it. She canned green beans, tomatoes and tomato juice, blackberries, peaches, pears, dill pickles and bread and butter pickles, made sauerkraut, and she canned a mixture of stuff that was for making vegetable soup. I am sure I am forgetting something....oh, she always canned hot peppers also. And I am probably still forgetting something but too tired to remember more.

I don't remember how old I was when we got a freezer...it was a chest type freezer and by the end of summer it was crammed full to the brim. Mom maybe canned a little less once we got the freezer, but not much less. She usually could come up with a good meal, without needing anything from the store. She always kept some meat frozen, at least chicken, and could always have plenty to go with it. And would make a blackberry cobbler or fried apple pies, or any number of things if she wanted a dessert.

Paused

Roger spotted the hummingbird moth yesterday. I think that is the first time I have ever seen one not in flight.
And I barely captured these butterflies....they barely paused. Most of the time their wings continued to quiver even when they lit on the flowers.
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They bring back memories of childhood....my nephew, Glen, used to spend the summer with us. And mom had a butterfly bush out at one end/side of the house. We spent lots of happy hours catching butterflies...we sometimes held them captive in a canning jar I think, but eventually let them go.

My nephew would catch bumblebees by easing up to one on a flower with a jar in one hand and a lid in the other. At times he would catch two or three in the same jar. I didn't have the nerve to catch one, let alone two or three. Sometimes when he had a couple in a jar, they would fight with each other. It didn't take a lot to entertain us back then.

Back then there would be all kinds of butterflies...every day of the week it seemed. Monarchs, Tiger swallowtails, Zebra swallowtails, and several little skipper types. I cannot remember all and probably would not know the name if I could remember what they looked like. I just know we sure enjoyed them back then and I think I enjoy seeing them just as much now, only I try to capture them in a different way.

A flower I have never noticed before....

Roger wanted to get out and go for a drive today...so we headed south. We ended up at some more strip pits...some were in the process of being reclaimed. Others were just beautiful. We had our rods with us and actually stopped and threw our line in for a few minutes....Roger caught a real nice bluegill. We didn't stay long, but if I had had a zebco, with bait and bobber, I could have stayed at this one place all day. Except Roger wanted to explore the area.
I am not sure how long we drove around this area, but am sure we only saw a few of the strip pits. We need to actually plan some of the days like this and leave really early...we left around 9:30 this morn, and it is at least an hour's drive down there.

And on top of that, there are the stops we make for me to take pictures. I guess I need to go and not take out my camera till we get there. That would give us more time....

Anyway, I noticed this flower today. I don't know if I have seen it before or not, but I think it is really beautiful.