New to me

This is a new iris in my yard...I don't know the official color name...but we totally love it. It is the only color blooming but we don't have long to wait. They are all loaded with blooms.

I don't know about where you are at, but here on the western edge of Indiana the wind has not stopped for two days. If you had a hang-glider, you wouldn't need to jump from anything. The wind would just take you away...maybe not to where you want to go but you would be gone. Roger said the weatherman said we had had gusts up to 35 mph, but I would bet money they are wrong. At least for where I am at.

I have been having a hard time deciding on what I want to blog about...just in a mood. However, I have seen Lorelei two days this week...she was wonderful both days. I went and stayed with her Tuesday, as previously mentioned. Then she and her mommy came up here yesterday while someone came and viewed their house. Her husband has spent the past couple of weeks in training at his new place of employment and starts his regular shift next week. It is over an hour drive one way to work, so hopefully their house will sell and they can find one over there soon.

Today is my other daughter's last day of work here...she has leave she has to take next week. We will be moving her stuff here to store in our garage...she will actually spend a couple nights here before heading to Georgia. This is sure happening faster than I expected...I thought she would still be here come this fall...boy, did I get a surprise. With all the traveling she will be doing, we got her a GPS...she will be up this weekend to get it.

For now, I am going to get off and post this...hopefully I will eventually get back to blogging on a regular basis.

Look at this face!!!

Would you believe she has a cold and still keeps a face like this?
At least most of the time...when she tries to take a nap, she can wake up a little bit upset because she is so stuffy she can't breath.
The rest of the time, she keeps a good attitude.
Roger also has a cold...he did not go with me today. It was just the toot and I. She is one happy, busy little girl. She can really stay occupied with things....she can play by herself and be happy. But she loves interaction...and she is beginning to know she is supposed to smile for the camera!
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When I finally got settled down tonight to sit, we started to watch the movie, Blind Side. We knew we wanted to see when it first started being advertised. Let me tell you, it is one of the very best movies ever! At least in my opinion. And to realize it is all true. It is one of those movies that I would not mind owning..one of those that I will watch any time I see it on.

An explanation.....

A bit back I mentioned popcorn bloom...I had meant to link back to a post with the photos below but forgot to. Then I wanted to find the rest of the photos and rescan them with the scanner I have now...it would do a better job. But guess what?--I could not find them.
Anyway, these first two photos were taken by Roger....at the orchard I used to work at. I had broken my leg that year, and had a walking cast on it still when these were taken. It had rained and everything was just saturated, so Roger took the photos for us. You have to enlarge these to even get an inkling of what it was like.
And compare the photos above with one below that I took 3 or 4 years ago...notice in the one above there is not one bud that is not open, but in the one below, some clusters are all bloomed while other clusters of blooms have not even begun.

My boss' wife, or as we always said, the one that wrote my checks, explained to me that it was called popcorn bloom when all the blossoms bloomed at once and all the trees bloomed at the same time...a rare occurrence. And I must say that I started work there in the fall of 1987, and the time above has been the one and only time it happened to this date.
I wanted to get out there this spring to take more photos, but I am probably too late now. I talked to my partner in crime out there and they were blooming there a couple weeks ago. I also wanted to get up to the big orchard up north, and haven't had the chance to go back. I think this is one of the first years I haven't seen them both during part of the bloom...and last year is the first year that has went by that I haven't been out to 'our' orchard in the fall during harvest.

I must say there is only one or two things more fun to do that pick apples...just something about looking and seeing what all has been accomplished during the day. And fun being out in the sun and even rain, though not fun when it is so muddy you have to worry about getting your picker stuck, or when it is hard to get the tractor to pull the load up a slick, clay hill.

When I first started there, we used to pick into crates and load them on the wagon. During the last few years, we started picking into milk crates, pouring them into a big bin that held approx 10-12 bushels. There were 3 or 4 of those bins on a mud boat....the mud boat would just dig into the mud and not slide over the ground as easily as it did when it was dry.

That mud boat was about like having a tractor and trailer sometimes...to have that thing trailing behind always took a little bit of thinking when wanting to turn around and head back to the barn with a load. There were always a tree missing here or one there, but you had to take into consideration were the apples still on the tree you were swinging through...or even if you just went to the end of the row it took some thought in a couple places.

I sometimes wonder if I will ever forget where things are out there...the different varieties of trees. And the odd trees planted here and there....I was always supposed to map out where everything was for the other girls...just never got it accomplished.

I also always mean to go and pick a day or two in the fall but never do...I am afraid I would either be disappointed, or else I would not be satisfied with just a day!

Neat and tidy

I like how everything about this barn is neat and tidy...if you click and enlarge, you can see the shovel hanging inside. It gives the feeling that everything is ship shape, and nothing out of place.
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Rainy here today...about half the day. We did make it to the greenhouse and got tomato plants, as well as some bell peppers. But the garden is too wet to get in right now to plant. I am ready for tomatoes from the garden...I can't wait to have one to bring in, peel back a little bit of the peeling back, sprinkle with salt and eat till the juice runs down my chin and arm. That requires sitting out on the step, but that is okay. Fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite things in life!

Empty right now....

This is at the orchard up north....when we passed through there the way the tree loomed over it caught my eye.
Then I isolated the outhouse with the tree, and it seemed even more massive. Or maybe it is just that the outhouse seems so insignificant. Notice how the tree, outhouse, and light pole all lean one way while the house and the young trees in the background don't lean at all. If I remember correctly the trees are staked so they can't lean.
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I remember our grade school had an outhouse for boys on one corner of the school ground and the girls was on the other corner. I always remembered the teachers waited till recess was over before they went to the bathroom, and to the best of my memories, that happened very few times. Can you imagine walking down a dirt path in dress shoes and dress clothes? I think the two that lived there close by would sometimes run home.

My brother and I were talking about our teachers, and wondering if getting assigned to our school was looked forward to or if it was almost a disgrace, or some sort of punishment. At least two of the teachers lived within a mile or two of school, so it might have really been an appealing position for them. Also, even with each teacher teaching two grades, our classes were small...very small. I think, with the exception maybe of a time or two when a student came and left, our class always had the same 10 students in it. I should have ask my other friends before writing this, maybe I am forgetting someone.

In our 7th & 8th grade, we had the principal as our teacher. I never felt like he enjoyed us at all. And I really don't think he had a clue about what went on in class. When we had to read out loud, some of the boys in the grade above us would reach over and cover the page of one of my friends till she could not see what she was reading. He would tell her such words as 'the' and 'this' or 'her' and 'him'....and never look up. And this for an A student! Everyone in class could read those words....not once did he look up to see what was going on.

We had a basketball court, but could only take one basketball out. Or one softball, or one volleyball. But there was a big metal locker that was full of basketballs, footballs, and I don't know what else. The principal would not let us have a football...I think my friend and I ask for one one time. His reply was no touch ball.

Yet we used the volleyball in what we called 'keep-away,' and sometimes the whole gang of us would end up in a big pile fighting for the ball. We could not have played any rougher if we had had a football.

We played all games unsupervised...yet very seldom was there an argument. And I don't ever remember there being a serious argument. We might fuss a bit over whether someone was out or safe, but went on and played. When we were young, my best friend and I played ball with the older boys. We had to get permission from that same principal mentioned above...his words were 'no crying.'

We had times when we played jump rope, red rover, tag, Mother may I, hide and seek, etc...or swung on the swings. When they were up...I think part of the time they were taken down for some reason. We would swing in those swings just as high as we could and bale out...I don't know how we didn't end up crippled as much as we jumped out of those swings. But as far as I know, it never hurt any of us.

These are just a few of my thoughts when I see an outhouse...who would ever think that an old outhouse could evoke such memories?

Roger has been busy

Click on any of these....they should enlarge.
Roger is trying to make all his buddies a knife...I cannot count how many he has made so far...probably this makes a dozen in the past two or three years.
I really, really like the feel of this one and I love the handle...it is micarta, an industrial laminate. When you look close at the handle you can see the weave of the fabric, but it is so silky smooth to the touch.
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My niece is coming down for a couple days so I may not get much blogging done. We plan to go to a little quilt show over in Arthur, Illinois tomorrow if nothing happens. Other than that we don't have any big plans. Just to sit and visit a little bit.

Not so pink.....

I posted a picture of my dogwood here....when the blossoms had only been open two or three days. Can you believe this is the same dogwood? It is, but I have no way of proving it to you. I really thought this year it was going to stay pink, but as you can see all that is left is just a hint of color.

I had ran to the library today, got home and after a bit checked my email...found that Vicki from The Middle Sister blog had left this Beautiful Blogger award for Miss Lorelei. She may not realize it but she made my day. As Lorelei often does.

Our family is going through transitions...Lorelei will probably be moving in the near future. Not too far away, but not so easy to just drop by. We celebrated her mom's birthday yesterday by having a cookout. It was sort of bittersweet, knowing it

And our other daughter is taking a new job...she will go to training for four months starting next month, then be moving to the Los Angeles area. Kind of hard to describe what that feels like; I am happy because it is what she wants to do. Yet I dread her being so far away.

Anyway, this award just sort of brightened the day for me...made me think about Lorelei and the joy she is. I am really hating that her auntie will be moving so far away from her, but maybe in two or three years she can transfer back closer to home, cause Lorelei sure loves her.

I was supposed to help Lorelei decide who is going to be the recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award and was having a hard time deciding. Then I thought, now if I were Lorelei, who would I give the award to? And then it was sort of easy...I am giving it to Scout, the Bernese Mountain Dog. As much as she loves dogs and cats, it such an obvious choice...and just looking in his eyes, I bet he would love her.

Progress has begun

We first ran across this house last year--I posted about it the first time here...and I did a second post that included a photo of it here. Well, as you can see in the above photo...work has started on it. I bet it is sort of slow going. I hope I get to see the finished product someday. At least we know how to find it to check on it every now and then.
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Lindy over at Mike and D's Life in the Hoosier State and Beyond tagged me to participate in this photo tag thing...she tagged me at my Time Stand Still blog, but I am doing it here. I try to keep my posts short and let the photo speak for itself.

Anyway, the rules are this:

1. Open your first photo folder and select the 10th photo.
2. Publish it and tell the details or story of the photo.
3. Link back to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag 5 friends and inform them.

With the times I have had to wipe out my computer, and reinstall my photos, then got a new computer and put my photos on there, they are so messed up in what order they are...I decided to go with the tenth photo taken with my first digital camera, my Canon Rebel. And the above photo is the result.

This is a coffee table my husband made our older daughter when she first moved out...she bought the slate tile and decided on how she wanted it laid out. My husband's friend gave him the oak wood....and this is the result. He also made her a simple little end table.

I am supposed to tag people to play along, but I know a lot of my blog buddies have done this, so am just going to invite anyone that wants to join the fun.

Too tired to do anything that requires thinking....

I am too tired to make a decision about a photograph to publish, so will do Lorelei videos. While we are at it, lets do a couple. Be sure and have your sound on...in the second one, she does not know what to shake first.

Now to the reason I am tired...our older daughter came up today and we went mushroom hunting. We were in the woods at least a couple or three hours, and in that entire time only two were found. And our daughter found them.

After we came home, she went home and I rested a little bit. And then the fun began! We had the furnace put in yesterday, and I must say we are both so relieved to have that done. The guys worked hard all day long to get it done. They did take a break for lunch, but that was it. They were here by 9:00 and was at least 4:30 when they left.

I had had to move some of my sewing stuff in order for them to be able to work...only another quilter could comprehend just what I mean by sewing stuff. Last night I did go down there but just could not face getting things back in order, but I knew I had to get busy this evening. I have been busy off and on all evening and night...and had Roger down there part of the time cause I needed muscle power.

A bit back I let Sarah have one of my sewing machines....but of course she didn't want the big old desk I had for it. At least I don't think she did. So, I wanted to rearrange things...and I did. We are both dragging now. My desks are the big heavy, full sized office desks and it is all both Roger and I together can do to move them.

Anyway, I am so glad to have it done...I still have some 'stuff' to rearrange, but that is not like lifting and tugging and pulling. Oh, and hunting...did I mention hunting? I can lose more stuff than any person I know...and I spent a good half hour looking for this piece of thin plywood that my sewing machine has to set on to be the right height. Roger finally went out to the garage to cut another one...about the time he got done I found it. So now I have two. But that is okay. If I had the nerve I would go back down and finish putting stuff away, but too tired.

That's all for tonight....going to go post a photo on my other blog and maybe watch a little TV....

The last of my Attica houses....

This one may not be quite as unique as the others...but look at the trim! And click and enlarge and look at the window treatment of the door and the door on the second floor.
I know it is kind of hard to see with the reflections, but you can still feel the care that is taken with this house.

I still want to go back and take some more photos...we got up there later than we should have with me taking the detour to go by the big orchard up that way. I still would like to go back to it again....I would love to see it in full bloom just one time in my life. Normally the different varieties bloom a few days apart.

In the 19 seasons I worked at the local orchard, popcorn bloom only happened one time. So it is a very rare occurrence.

More houses from Attica

This is a turning the corner shot...I was pleasantly surprised with it being as good as it is.
We did go on down the block and stopped and I walked back and took these photos...
After taking a few of the house below. I think it looks like something from the North Pole with those steep, steep roofs.
Look at that trim, and if you don't enlarge any of them, enlarge this one and look at the door, I don't know if that was an old style of door or if it is one that has been made by a craftsman. I suggest enlarging all of them to see better, though.
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Today has been one of those days around here. We have been talking about having a new furnace put in here...so Roger called today. The guy came out and they are coming back tomorrow to put it in. They should be able to do it in one day. We both feel relief at having made the decision.

The guy from the heating/air conditioning place had no more than got gone when I noticed that our phone was not working. I got busy and called the phone company, and they told me it should be repaired by 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. Again we were pleasantly surprised...it was fixed within an hour or two.

Tonight I have spent most of the evening working on finding all the pictures of Roger's knives...and making resized copies and putting them in a folder all their own.

I still need to go down and get my quilt folded and put away till nothing happens to it tomorrow...I went down earlier to do it, but started quilting on it again. I have hardly touched it since the day I started quilting it, but did feel like I was getting 'in the zone' this afternoon.

Yesterday and today

Yesterday we saw some beautiful homes...this one looks like it came from a fairytale almost...I will post another view or two on my other blog, Time Stand Still here shortly.

But first, a few snapshots of the Lorelei today...
in the above view our neighbor was walking over from across the street. She has met him two or three times...he is a big guy with a booming voice and she has been shy of him before, but today she had a big smile on her face. She didn't offer to go to him or anything, but he didn't keep her from doing what she wanted.
I thought you might want to see how totally absorbed she can be with sticks.
Her dad was talking to her and getting all these grins out of her...it was hard to limit the photos to just five.
Even in the photo below, she still has a small piece of stick in her hands.
Can't you just see the gleam in her eyes!

Spring has sprung

Yesterday was just a gorgeous, beautiful day...one that just called for a drive.We went back north again, to Williamsport, a little town we always drove through on the way to Purdue. Williamsport is the county seat of Warren County, and this is a drive by shot of the courthouse.
We also drove on north to Attica, where these flowering trees were taken. I told Roger I would like to go and park and just walk the neighborhoods and take pictures.
In the coming week I hope to show some of the house shots I took. But for right now the toot toot is here, so I am going to go play with her.

Does this look familiar to anyone out there???

This is one of the first knives my husband ever made...way back in 1978-79.
It belongs to someone else, but needed a face lift. It has only taken him a couple years to get to it. I wonder if it will take two more years to get it back to its home.

Things that bloom in the spring

I don't know why I have not been taking any photos of flowers...I did take some of the daffodils below the other day. They are now done blooming, though others I have are still going strong.
I noticed yesterday that the bluebells and toad shade had started...I took some of each but the toad shade did not turn out too good. The bluebells, as well as the toad shade, we got at this place where my husband hunts. My kids planted them for me. I did have ginseng, may apples and jack-in-the-pulpit but a few years ago we extended our porch and it covered them up. So I need to get more.
I just love some of the plants that comes from the woods...

?????

We saw this up near Covington...does anyone know what it is??? I am assuming it is from some kind of insect. There were lots of young oaks and lots of limbs had these whatever they are things on them. I have no idea what to call it. I was hoping someone on here knows.
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We were supposed to have horrible storms today, with a chance of 1 inch hail. The day is almost done and haven't had anything but a little rain and a hit or two of lightning. I am not complaining at all.

I have been checking craigslist every day for a tiller and this morn before I unplugged the computers, I thought I would give a quick look! There was a rear tine one listed, in Terre Haute, and now that baby is in our garage waiting for the ground to dry. I am glad to have found one...it started so easy that I have no fear of starting it myself if the need ever arises.

We had the Little Busy Body (link to cute little video) yesterday all day in case you wondered why I have not been around much. It is about impossible to get a photo of her because she keeps me so busy otherwise. She wants outside constantly...while out in the yard itself, she just walks around. Let her feet touch the sidewalk, and she thinks she has to run...and she thinks I should let her run with a stick in one hand and a rock in the other.

I am seriously thinking about picking her up a small box of rocks to have in the house...I have considered sticks too, but may not do them. And I may regret doing rocks...

Neal and I were talking about how we each think our child/grandchild is extra smart. And it is true...but you can see the wheels turning in her head. Her car seat sets in the house, and she will work and work trying to buckle the buckles, and sometimes succeeds. And she has made the connection between the light switch and lights coming on. She figured out the faucet in her bathtub long before she was one, though she couldn't actually work it. She tried though.

Waiting on me...

I got busy Saturday afternoon and got the backing for this made, got everything stretched/spread out and t-pinned to the carpet, then got the quilt sandwich pin-basted. It is took all afternoon to do, I am still a bit stiff and sore from it, but it is waiting for machine quilting soon as I get some uninterrupted time. This is the 6-inch blocks I sewed together just a month or two ago...maybe even three months. It was something to do that didn't require thinking or planning. Sometimes I just want to sew, but don't know what, so I will do something like this. In fact, that is kind of how this quilt started out. Just wanted to sew...didn't know what...and was too tired at the end of a day to think much.

Oh, and here is a little Lorelei video...I was going to post it last night, but storms kept rolling through, so I unplugged everything and just left it unplugged till this morn.

Hi

We have been shopping for a new tiller...cannot make up our mind what to get...don't want to spend a small fortune...it is more important to have $700 to spend on a broke kitty leg as we did Christmas time of 2008...everyone knows that a cat is a warm sleeping companion, a good alarm clock, a heating pad....besides being a major entertainer of Lorelei.

In all seriousness, we have such a small garden spot...yet we are getting older; if Roger weren't here, I am not sure I could deal with a front tine tiller by myself. I have did it in the past a time or two, but it wasn't fun back then. I really don't think the Mantis tines would last--the tines were not very heavy at all. So we will do some more thinking. Maybe we will run into a good used tiller. We really don't have to have one....

In the meantime, I will show you these turtles we saw last weekend.
When I first started visiting Mary's Faith, Fabric, and Photos, she had posted a lot of turtle pictures...gee, that must have been about 2 years ago. I would sit and try to count all the turtles, just for the fun.
I have not had the opportunity to take any myself till I spotted these on our ride back home last weekend...
but still, not near equal to the number of turtles in some of Mary's posts.

The Golden Girls....

A lot of people know that I like to stay up late to watch The Golden Girls...I usually only have to watch 30 seconds or less to know what the episode is about. I have seen them that many times. But lately I have seen the show that should have this scene in it twice, and it has been cut out both times. To make room for more commercials I am sure. I don't care when I see it, it still makes me laugh. It is probably my favorite scene of all the shows, so I decided to share it with you...though in all honesty I may have shown it before.
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Roger mowed the yard today....it really did need it. He was not doing it just to have something to do. It was actually so hot, he was glad when he was done. I never did check our thermometer but Weatherbug said it was 84º at one time. That is kind of hot for April 1. Not that I am complaining...no indeed.

We sat outside and had coffee this morn...Roger had a bacon&lettuce sandwich and I had coffee with a side of bacon. I am not kidding. Bacon and coffee are the best combination ever. Toast ruins the effect. Try it sometime. Roger has tried it but doesn't taste the same thing I taste. Or else he would not have another bacon and lettuce sandwich...at least not until we have tomatoes fresh from our own garden to go with it. I will probably choose that when it is available, but until then, it is bacon only and coffee.

Sarah called this evening...to let us know that her husband did get a new job offer. His job he is at now will be ending shortly. It is about an hour away...so they may end up moving. Even though that is not as easy as now to go see them, it is not that horrible either. Much better than if they had to move to Utah or Washington State.