Just a little charming barn ornament....

Lorelei's mom saw this ornament and got it for me because she knows how much I love barns...

I have been so preoccupied with other stuff....I have not looked at blogs, not sure if I will get a chance to before Christmas. I am hoping I have time tomorrow night. But in case I don't, I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas.
I also wanted to show a picture of the Christmas tree that I took without the flash...you can still see the Christmas tree skirt. That is how Bubbie keeps it. I straighten it and he manages to almost wad it up into a wad. I straighten it out, and he messes with it again. I have decided to let him have his way. I almost put out presents, but have been so glad I didn't.

I do not know what is going on with the cats...Bubbie wanted out Saturday sometime around dark. He was gone for around 24 hours....he is never gone. For sure not like that. He will go next door, and every now and then he crosses the street...but he is never gone for long. Not like his brother who was responsible for a lot of gray hairs. I really thought something has happened to him. He had a 'garage' smell when he came in...oh, not strong...I had to get down with my face in his fur to smell it....but feel sure he was locked in a neighbor's garage. Just don't know which one.

Before that he was picking on the other cats, almost tore the tree down. He was even playing with one of the cat toys by himself, and usually the only time he plays with one is when we have it tied on the end of a fishing line and swing it around for him.

Then the Puss Puss has just been into every single thing...and she cries...I honestly think she wants to be a mommy. I don't know if it is possible for her to have that longing since is spayed, but she will get stuff and carry it around and cry part of the time. And she has done that lately, but she has also just gotten into everything. No matter what I am doing, she is there sticking her head in to see if she is missing anything. I sure know where the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' came from.
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All this time away from blogging and I have not been doing much. I have spent hours and hours yesterday evening and this evening/night looking for a pattern. I feel like i am always looking for something.

And I was looking through a lot of my fabric....and I found a baby quilt top that I totally forgot about making. And it has not been that long ago at all that I made it. If I had not run across it I would never have remembered it. I will have to take a picture of it next week if I can remember.

Roger has made another knife...I will be showing it sometime in the near future. It is one of the best looking so far.

I need to get to bed...oldest daughter and I plan to make cookies tomorrow...just what I need. Something I can't resist. I think we are just making three or four kinds. Anyway, I need to get to bed till I can get some sleep...
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Lorelei is wanting everything pink for Christmas. We do not know where she came up with that....she wants a pink princess outfit, a pink Barbie, a pink car, and I don't remember what all else she wants. And they were out shopping the other day and Sarah found some pink wrapping paper with princess and she got it and Lorelei was so excited....Oh, mom, you are the greatest...I love you!

Lean on me.....

,This post is entirely due to Sarah sending me stuff to post....just thought they might tickle your funny bone.






Now, weren't those short but sweet! Don't you just love that face in the one...I know you know which one I am talking about.

On the way....

We went to the strip pits one day last week, and right before we got to the area, we pass this field...first I spotted this small deer...took a couple photos...and said out loud, 'now where is your mama?'
Just a few feet farther on, Roger said, 'there she is.' We were gone at least an hour and a half or two and came back through there, and they were bedded down at the edge of the field. There is a house that sits at one end of the field...I don't know if it is 100 yards away even....
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I got my living room windows washed today...actually I did the one the tree sits in front of before I put the tree up. However, I am in a pickle now. The drapes I use, I washed...they are the type that has the rubbery white coating on the back...I cannot think of the word for that for the life of me. Now, I have washed these drapes numerous times...and they are old. But the ones in here in the dining room look good as new. Two pair in the living room look basically new.

Not the other set. When I went to take it out of the washer...it was stuck to itself. I don't know how to explain it other than that. And when I pulled it apart it pulled the back coating off. Just the one pair. I have no idea why. So, now I need to go find something new. And have I told you how long I have been looking. I even thought one time, well, I will just spend whatever it takes and get what I want. I couldn't find anything I actually liked.

So, I have put them back up for now, till no one can see in. But thinking about heading out here in a few minutes to see what I can see.

Our wild child....

Edited to add: Sandra first suggested for me to try Firefox, which is normally what I do at the first sign of trouble. It is all I use on my normal laptop. I took the time to download and install it and the problems seem to be solved. I guess we will find out for sure if this update will post from it.
As you may guess by these pics, we went to Indy for a couple days to see everyone....our granddaughter was especially charming. Her headdress is her own doing....and she was real proud of it.
She loves to play pretend...sometimes she will play and play by herself...she will have the characters just chattering away to each other.
Other times she wants one of us to pretend with her. I have to admit, I do not have near the imagination that she does.
This is her little smile she gives every time we tell her to smile.

She ran to get her Barbie to show us some time after we got there...it is a Princess Barbie. She told me the crown was broken. Jeremy told her to tell me who broke it....she looked at me and told me, "Papaw broke it." As serious as she could be...and he said no I didn't and she argued and argued with him that he broke it and it was the first time he had seen it.

Then, another time she was climbing in my lap, and I did not even touch her...she looked at me and told me "You hurt me." There were several other incidents of her saying things like that....so, I think her imagination is working over time.

Oh, and she wants everything pink for Christmas...she wants a pink princess dress and pink shoes, and pink doll house, and I forget what all she wants, but it is a long list and everything has pink for the color. She was first talking to me on the phone the night before we went...Sarah told her to tell me everything she wanted...so she started with pink car, pink princess, etc...and each time she said pink she changed her voice to this high sort of screaky voice.

I am here to tell you, I have not laughed so much in so short of a time as the past couple of days. She is like her mom was in that the more you laugh at her, the more she will try to make you laugh.
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Computer question now to any of you that might have a clue.

I have a little netbook that I keep downstairs with my sewing, and it also goes with me to Sarah's now. Does anyone have any idea why I cannot post to my blogs on it. And more than half the time I cannot post a comment to blogs from Blogger...I can post okay to wordpress or typepad blogs...just most of the time not to Blogger blogs. I think I can occasionally but it is so rare that I even wonder if I ever have...maybe I just thought it posted and click out of the window before realizing it didn't post.

And when I try to do a post on it, I can usually save it...I just cannot publish from it....this is just so weird. I thought the first time it happened that it was just instance of blogger being messed up, but now I think there is something about my computer to change, but I cannot think what. Especially with being able to access it, but just not actually post.

Feed them and they will come

I saw this single goldfinch day before yesterday and managed this capture....
also, the red-bellied woodpecker was here for a few seconds. He does not hang around long enough for me to take very many pics.
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Shopping is nearer done than it was...got just a bit more done yesterday. However, I am not doing anything on my quilt or anything else. I need to get refocused in that direction but having a hard time settling down to anything at all. I also need to sit down and make a grocery list...or start it...for what I will need for the Christmas dinner. It will be at Sarah's, but still we try to talk on the phone and make our list. We both do the cooking...

She and Lo both have colds right now...so hoping they get over them soon. She put Lorelei to bed the other night, and had no more than got back to the living room when Lo started yelling, "Mommy, I need my Barbie! Mommy, I forgot Barbie...Mommy, I cannot sleep without Barbie!" Over and over...it did not take Sarah ten seconds to find Barbie and take it to her, but she said she bet Lorelei yelled that 15 times.

Lorelei calls me once or twice and week and just talks and talks...and tries to show me stuff on the phone....I just cannot believe how fast she is growing up.

An added highlight to the day

Just got an email from my sister-in-law...they had taken Jackson, their grandson...(my great nephew) to a live nativity scene. It was like they were walking through a crowded street of Bethlehem.

Then they got to the part where there was Joseph and Mary with a donkey. When they got to them Jackson said, "Ride 'em, Cowboy!"

Color from my world...

This is not from tonight. It is from another night we ran through the strip pits...but not a night I have shown. Who cares either way...there is very seldom a night that isn't beautiful out there....if I will just have the patience to wait for it to come.
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So, we went Christmas shopping...got the majority of the rest of it done. I done had Lorelei's done as well as her daddy's, but that was all. Now the major portion of my shopping is done, and this is one tired gal.

It is strange...I do have trouble knowing what to get for people, but still, I enjoy Christmas shopping. The mall was not crowded today, and everyone I ran into or almost ran into, or who almost ran into me...we were all on our best behavior and smiled, apologized, and went on. That is easier to do when it is not crowded. Though, most times now, I make up my mind before I leave that that is how I am going to act.

It seems to me, even if you treat an old grouch the way you want to be treated, that they will respond in kind.

Now mind you I am not bragging....not by any means. I still have to fight frustration when I get behind two people that manage to take up what is room for four-six people to walk. People that are walking so slow but are weaving so bad you are afraid to try to pass....then you realize they are moving so slow that if you time it right you can zoom on through.

You just know they are wondering along, thinking about who all they have left to buy for, and trying to make up their mind what to get. At least that is what I am doing, when I am the one in a totally different world.

Visitors....

These photos all enlarge, and there are a couple more photos over on Time Stand Still of these sparrows in the brush...also, all of these do enlarge.

I had been meaning to photograph them for a while...and this evening I was sitting here with Bubbie in my lap. He was snoozing...I glanced out there to see the evening light hitting the sparrows and though what a perfect time to shoot them. But I didn't want to make The Bubbie get up, but Roger came in and it startled him so he jumped up on his own. By the time I got out there a cloud or two was passing through and I missed some of the best light. But at least I got some.
The nuthatch flitted in and out so quick it was hard to get a photo of it at all...not sure if it is only one or if there are more than on.

The tufted titmouse was slower showing up than the other birds...but eventually there were two or three of them at the feeder...

I don't know if the cardinal had been there earlier and i missed him, or if this was taken on his first visit...he did not stay long.

I sit at my computer and cannot do anything on it because I am so preoccupied with the birds. The minute I put my camera down, the red-bellied woodpecker came but he flew with my slightest move. Also a blue jay flitted in and out of the view a couple times.
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I passed the 10,000 photo mark on one of my cameras today...it started over with Image 0001....I think my other DSLR has over 9,000 photos on it. Can you image what that would have cost to take all those in film and had them developed? That alone would be crippling to the budget, let alone if you have photos printed of any of them.

Where does time go?

I warn you ahead of time...don't bother with enlarging this photo. It is no better enlarged than it is the size you see it. But there is something about it that I like anyway....

There was no way to get away from the sun being right in front of me when I took it...
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The days come and go so quickly now...just like John Denver says in Poems, Prayers, and Promises. See, I told you that song always goes round in my head in the fall. But that is beside the point.

I did manage to wash a couple windows today...we have the kind that flip in but with my shoulder I have not been able to do it. I was just going to use a ladder today, but decided to give it the old college try just one more time. With the advantage of standing on a step stool, I was able to get them flipped in and washed, got the curtains/drapes washed and put back up. Now I should be able to photograph a few birds.

I did put out some birdseed for the first time in quite a while...a red- bellied woodpecker was out there in less than 10 minutes. I expected the house sparrows, but was amazed when I looked out and saw him hanging upside down. I hope that he is a sign of good things to come.

I have did a couple other loads of laundry, and have made a few more little 4-patches. I am getting ready to sit here and count how many I have if I can wrap my mind around it. I am in the mood to get it done and move on to something else. Not sure what I am going to do with it, but I am in hopes of making the top and quilting it.

I have been sitting here looking at songs from our youth...and finally came across youtube version of Whippoorwill by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. There are at least half dozen songs by them that I absolutely love, but this one is probably my favorite...someone did a slide show to the song, and it is worth watching. So I will say good-night and embed the song here.

Warm or not warm?

The day I took this picture was not as cold as it is today, but I wonder do the feel the cold. Their fleece is such a mess, I really wonder how it feels. I assume it is warm...but, oh, do I bet it is smelly when sheared.

It has rained the whole day long. Cold rain. Not one ray of sunshine. However, they were predicting a wintry mix tonight and tomorrow and for now, that has been dropped. If we get sunshine, I will dance for joy....at least in my mind.

I have not done much today...Roger had to run to Walmart so I ran with him and picked up a couple things...one of which was a sketchbook. I cannot draw a straight line without a ruler, but I still wanted one to jot down ideas I have. The only thing is, I need one that I keep near my chair, one near my desk, and one down in the basement.

I also ran to the library to get some 'how to' books...that was all I got. I do not need any other books to read. I have enough on my kindle to last me a year. Instead of the old saying of 'she who dies with the most fabric wins' now it will be 'he who dies with most books on his kindle wins.'

Country critters....

Remember I went to the strip pits the other evening and saw 10-12 deer? Well, the next evening, Roger and I were coming home from the super Walmart in Paris, and decided to swing through there. It was really getting late...just almost dark. We saw a couple of the owls right away...both not even close to being within distance for the camera. We eased on along, not seeing anything for a bit...then we started seeing deer.

By the time we had passed all the way through, I am sure we saw probably 25 deer, at least. The last place we saw them was just as we left the place. I could determine some were bucks, but couldn't determine the size of their racks due to it being so late and almost dark and they happened to blend in with the background so well.

I could see this fellow, though...but it was still too late for my camera to get a good capture...this was totally black till I hit the button 'auto levels' in photoshop elements. With that being said, I hope he shows on your computer.
These two country cats we saw while on a drive the other day...the black one ran across the road in front of us...he kept watching the one below.
Soon, we were stopped to photograph a barn...and in front of that barn was a pasture.
This horse was one of I don't know how many....I am not saying there was a lot...just saying all I saw at first was him and another one, but as we went on I saw at least a couple more. I think they are all much loved horses, cause they kept nickering to me...and this one started up the hill two or three times, convinced that I had something for him. How I wish I had...
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I spent over three hours in the basement yesterday...doing laundry while I messed with my sewing. I did some more cutting and sewing....so much fun. It makes things feel back to normal for me. I want to go down in a bit and see what else I can do....

I have been cleaning off a desk...does anyone else have clutter control problems? I sure do. Seems like I have so much stuff I want to keep, or maybe just afraid I will need it.

Then there is the problem of books...even though I have went through my books till I just have just kept my very favorites, I still have plenty. I keep debating on whether I want to buy new books for my kindle or buy kindle editions of my favorites...I did buy the kindle edition of Giants in the Earth by Rolvaag. When Roger and I got married, he had an old copy of it...I finally got around to reading it and it is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it every few years.

I look at it as I can buy stuff I am not sure I will like, or I can buy old favorites that I know I will enjoy reading again.

Time for catching up...

So, I have not been in a blogging mood here of late...just had things on my mind and things I wanted to do....and reading. Not sure if the kindle was a wise gift or not. I just want to read and read and read.

Then, I really got thrown off track last weekend...Sunday night to be exact. And I have debated on whether to tell this or to keep silent...but wanted to explain part of my absentness this week.

I discovered a lump....yeah, one of those. Quite by accident. Sunday night, after Roger had gone to bed. The lump was on the same side I had a stereotactic biopsy in 2007. Which was negative for cancer, I might as well add.

Well, we were heading to a hand to-shoulder doctor Monday morn for a knot that Roger had on the underside of his wrist...right where his hand joins to the wrist. So, I did not say anything to him...just went on with him...it was just a ganglion cyst and the doctor drained it right there in the office, and we were on our way. We did a couple stops, and came home, and I called to get a mammogram. Got it set up for Thursday....still didn't tell Roger. Stuff like that just really worries him...

Then Tuesday morn, they call me about the mammogram...since I had had the biopsy, I had to see the doctor and get orders for a diagnostic mammogram. So, I called the doctor's office and got in Wednesday....I did tell Roger what was going on then. The nurse practitioner didn't really read me the riot act like I was afraid of...not when she remembered all that had been going on in the past year or two.

They were able to reschedule me for the mammogram on Thursday, just an hour later than I had originally been scheduled...and scheduled an ultrasound at the same time. They are over and done with...it is only cysts...the one I found is about the size of a quarter and there are at least a couple more about the size of a pea.

I don't think I will let anything slow me down from getting those mammograms now...I felt so dumb that I had put it off for so long. It could have turned out so different. I want to encourage all women to schedule their own mammogram. And to follow through with whatever the doctor tells them.

I am heading down to the basement to sew a little bit and try to get back to feeling normal...will probably try to catch up with everyone later tonight.

Strip pit report....

I haven't been going to the strip pits as much as normal, and when I have, there hasn't been much to report. Most times I have been lucky to see anything at all. I think it has been due to the time I am out there...I have either hit it too early or too near dark. Last night was different.
I had barely got to the first pond that is right near the entrance, when on in the distance I saw a Northern Harrier...I raced down to try to catch it. Then there were what I took to be three of them....they had moved on farther from the road and where swooping and circling...and just moving all the time. It did cross my mind that one was definitely darker than the others, and bigger...but I didn't give it a thought that the two smaller ones were owls till I downloaded the photos. You will probably have to enlarge this to even see the birds.

The birds drifted even farther away--I headed on down the road, but no more than started, till I noticed the two deer above....they were too far away to get a good shot, and started retreating soon as I headed their way. I passed a small pond that had swans on it, but they were too far away to get a good shot... I went on to the biggest pond near the road....water covered the road there and was a little deeper than I wanted to venture across, though I really think it would have been fine. It isn't like it is flowing....it just gets up and stands in the road.

I turned around, and headed back from the direction I came...when I got back to where I first saw the Northern Harrier and the other two birds, there were the owls! The short-eared owls--there was four right there, they swoop and fly low to the ground while they hunt. Now two of these did light on the ground...not like they were catching something, but they just set and looked all around...

I saw four right there, and then two more on down the way....so they are back in full force. I did go back to the entrance, turned around and drove back to where the water was across the road in hopes of seeing one sitting on a fence post, but no such luck. I did see more deer however....though I lost count. Oh, it was not 20 or 30, or any number like that...but thinking along the lines of 10-12...

There was actually a 3rd deer with these, but didn't get a good picture that showed it because it blended in so well with the background. And I think these are the two that are in the other photo above of deer...they are in the same place where I saw them.

There were also a few geese, and then there was flocks of some other type of duck...with as small as they were, they were too far away to get a decent picture of...there were about 3 different flocks in the air...each one probably having at least 100...and a few little groups of 6 or 8 or 10 'ducks.'

It was sure good to see some wildlife once again...

Don't it warm your heart

No matter how many times I come in and see one of the cats under the Christmas tree, it is an ahhhh moment for me. I took the one above and Roger took the one below.
They all lay under it a little bit here and there, but Bubbie does probably spend the most time.

Bright-eyes

Just a photo or two to brighten your day.....can you look at that smiling face above without getting a smile on your face?
She is to the point that she will let me take a photo or two, then she wants to come see what I have taken. And the day I took these, she wanted to take some of her own. I did not let her, but it won't be long until I start letting her with some supervision.

She is makes life so much more interesting...she just called me a few minutes ago just chatting away. She wanted us to come over or her to come here.

Then her mom got on the phone talking to me...and she had to think. She knew there was something else she wanted to tell me. Something that Lorelei had done. Finally she thought of it:

They have a friend visiting them...he had been gone. Well, Sarah was doing laundry--she was sitting in the living room folding a basket when he came in. Well, there is this step down into that room, so he just sat down there talking to her and Jeremy.

Well, Sarah had a sports bra laying in the bottom of the basket...Lorelei ran and grabbed it and put it on, then turned around to their friend and called him by name, and said "don't touch my boobies!" Told him that a couple times...which of course it set Sarah off to laughing and she just totally stunned her dad. They have no idea where she got that...

Just thinking

This song fits into my thinking right now...holiday are always a time for remembering for me.  And this song always goes through my head at these times.

Not mine!

We decided to clean our living room carpet today, and when we got done we ran up to Rockville to get a bit of dinner. After eating, we took a little rambling drive through some of the Amish farms. I saw several homes with the laundry flapping in the weather...and it made me glad to have my basement and my dryer. It was misting most of the time we were out, and I wonder how these will ever get dry.

Speaking of laundry, I probably need to go do a load or two of my own. And I have not touched my sewing today, so will either sew or cut some squares. It is amazing how much can be done with just a few minutes here and there. While talking to my brother last night, I cut quite a few squares...I cannot hear to talk on the phone while sewing, so cutting is all I can do.

I may not be blogging much the next few days...have seriously been considering taking a long blog break just to try to concentrate on other things. So, if I don't, don't worry, there is nothing wrong...just wanting to do other things.

Etc.

Tip:  The other day a friend wrote me that she was having trouble viewing the image of the scanned plover story.   So I told her to right click on the image, and then click to view in a new tab or view in a new window. She then made the comment in my comments about it working, and from the result I saw that that was a new tip for some.

But, this not only works with pictures in blogger, if you are shopping on line, reading an article with a link somewhere else, and get tired of going back and forth between windows and having to wait for one to reload, you can always right click on any link, and click to view in another tab or another window.  If you have a slower internet connection, or a page has a lot of images to reload when you go back to it, this can really save time.
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Since I keep talking about the 4-patches I have been making, I went down and took a few pictures..and yes you can right click and chose to view in a new window or tab if you want to see the full sized image.

I think I have made 112 of them so far....they are 4 inch unfinished.  I was making them to be 4½ inches, but was trying out a new pressure foot on my machine.

And though it is really operator error, enough of them were just a couple or three threads under the 4½ inches till I cut them all down to just 4 inches square..

I have been playing and playing with my computer program, called Electric Quilt 6, or commonly called EQ.  It allows me to play with quilts before I ever even touch fabric.  But I am more apt to go down and start making a bunch of quilt blocks, then come up to play with the quilt program to decide how I want to arrange them.

I started out using scraps of fabric left over from other projects, but have also been adding a few others.  I started out cutting 2½ inch squares from the scraps...I cut and cut and cut.  For each 4-patch it takes four of the little squares, and that makes over 400 I have cut just for the finished 4-patches.

This is some that I still have to sew together.  And who knows, I may end up cutting out more s2½ in. squares...
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It is rainy and dark and dreary here....just the perfect day to go down and sew.  The cats are all quiet, but you can bet money that Bubbie had me up before daylight.  I wish you could feel just how heavy he feels when he walks on me in the wee hours of the morn...it actually hurts enough till I am sort of amazed that I am not bruised.

We went down to little Nashville today...just to be out and about.....we saw lots of pretty things, but I only bought a few little items...nothing to show on here.

I really wanted to look at some things in this shop, and we did go inside, but she had Elvis singing Christmas music and it was just blaring.  I just was not in the mood for that so we turned around and left.  If it was a big place, I could have understood it, but it wasn't.
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The other night I was actually talking to Sarah on the phone...and some to Lorelei, too.  Mostly though, I could here her in the background.  She was just busy...and having a good time.  Sarah told her. 'You're full of bologna!'  Lorelei said, 'No, I not!'  Keep in mind I am hearing all this...

Sarah asked, 'well, what are you full of?'  She says, 'Macaroni!'  Of course, Sarah and I lost it then...it is good thing neither of us were drinking any sort of liquid.

For your reading pleasure.....

I have always wondered how legal it is to publish this...but it is old, and it still has the guy's name that wrote it...it is hilarious.  You will have to enlarge it all the way to be able to read it.  I think it is well worth it.  It was in our little paper years ago and I cut it out.

My Life As A Turkey....

I saw the preview for My Life as a Turkey just the other night....so made sure to record it....I did not want to miss it.  I suggest you click on that link, in addition to watching the video below.



If you will click on the link in the first sentence, you will see and maybe feel what drew me in.  It made me want to laugh out loud, but also I had to see it.  I didn't know if it would be as good as it sounded, or be something that I would feel a waste of time.

Well, I am here to say that it was not a waste of time...it was very well done, fun to watch as well as interesting.  I would not have minded if it were longer, but I suppose there is only so much to show.  If you get the chance, I would encourage you to watch it.

Originally posted

I feel like I am breaking some unwritten rule if I don't post a photo each post...it is totally unrelated to the real post.

I was trying to visit a few blogs this morn, and ran into A Funny Deer Tale...I thought it was hilarious.  It remind me of the following post that I did in August of 2008.  Everyone that hears this story and knows Roger, gets a good laugh from it.  We even bring it up when it is just the two of us, and still laugh about it.  so surely between the link above and this one of mine, you will have a smile on your face.
So here goes...and keep in mind that it is my husband that it happens to...it was originally called

A Hunting Story...

Abraham Lincoln of the Brookville Daily Photo wrote a story about one of his hunting excursions. Being the wife of a hunter and sister to hunters before that, I could identify with a lot he said. About 5:00 being the witching hour for hunters, or for my husband when he is meeting fellow hunters it is sometimes even earlier. Also, unlike rotten apples to disguise the human smell, hunters now have doe urine. I wouldn't want to mistake that for my perfume, now would I, but that is beside the point.

This is a story of one of my husband's hunting trips. A few years ago he decided to hunt out on property near the orchard where I worked. It actually belonged to the brother of my boss. A day or two before the planned hunting trip, he and his buddy went out to decide where they were going to put their tree stands, and in so doing had to hack out a path through some of the undergrowth.

On the morning of the hunt, they met here before going out there...it is at the most 10 minutes from here. They get out of the truck out there and the farm cat greets them. It is young, not even a year old. Roger pets it just a second and he and his buddy proceed down the path...they get to the 'y' in the path and his buddy goes one way while he goes they other. The cat follows my husband.

He is hunting with bow and arrows, and hunting from a climbing tree stand. So he gets to the tree he has chosen to use, and gets his tree stand situated on it and climbs up the tree. I am not familiar enough with the process to paint a good picture, but it is a tree stand that he does the physical climbing with. It has two parts....one part is the actual seat and the other is the part he stands on....THIS is a video from you tube and does show how his works.

When climbing up to a tree stand, he always ties his bow to a long rope and once he gets up as high as he is going to go, he pulls the bow up with the rope. He gets up and gets situated...he hears this meow. It is still practically dark, so he kind of looks but doesn't see anything. He sits back, and he hears it again! And he can hear it so plain...he does not have the best of hearing. So he gets his flashlight out and bends way over the tree stand while shining it all around and still doesn't see anything.

He sits back again and hears it again! And he felt something on his legs...he looks down at his feet and there sits the kitty! It had sat by his feet as he climbed up the tree. It proceeded to climb up into his arms, purring all the while, and doing the rubbing thing that cats do when they are happy to see you. He held it out at arm's length and dropped it!

Did it run for home you might ask. The answer would be no. It played around the bottom of the tree my husband was in, chasing leaves or anything else that caught it's imagination. After a while of playing, it climbed out onto a dead log and went to sleep!

This is an honest tale; I don't have the imagination to make something like this up. And this is only the tip of the iceberg--things like this continually happen to my husband, my older daughter, and my husband's cousin.

Ready to walk down the runway...

I got this in my email yesterday...she is so much like me in that she loves purses and shoes.  Or I used to...yet I was never one to have a lot of either.  However...I think Lorelei will want them all...I have never seen a kid her age love shoes as much as she does.

And Lorelei kept wanting Sarah to put up the Christmas tree and the 'decowations'...
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I am continuing to make 4-patches a few at a time.  I still am undecided about what I am going to make with them.  I am thinking I will play with ELectric Quilt and experiment with different layouts, etc.

It has been windy but warm here today...we did have a crash or two of thunder...but other than that all we got was some rain.

Our handsome Bubbie....

First let me say that all photos were taken by Roger....

Every night, at some point in time, here comes Bubbie to get in my lap.  Roger got tickled the other day cause I was in the recliner asleep, and Bubbie was stretched out on me asleep.

He can get in some awful uncomfortable looking positions and just snooze away.  This evening, however, he just looked relaxed...

don't you just think he looks almost like he is smiling?  He for sure rules the roost around here....if we don't pay enough attention to him, he doesn't hesitate to let us know.

I will tell you this...I think the money we spent for fixing his broken leg was money well spent...but then, kindness never hurts whether to a human being or to an animal.

And I do know that my care for him during that time made a bond between us that will last a lifetime....we have so many names for him.  We call him  the court jester, I call him Khan, also think Harley would have been a name for him....as well as Bocephus...so at one time or another he does get called all of those and more, too, just can't recall off the top of my head...but mostly we just call him 'Our Bubbie.'

For Jackson

I have been waiting to show you the project I just finished a few days ago...I was sending it to my little nephew Jackson and wanted to wait till he got it before I posted it.

I did not have plans to make this...in fact I had plans for something entirely different. But in going through my fabric shelves, I ran across the animal flannels. I had made Roger a rag quilt with them...which is another story entirely.

The minute I saw the fabric, I knew I had to do something with it for Jackson. He will be two years old next month, and gets so excited by anything to do with hunting, going 4-wheeling, and Santa Claus. I just had to throw the part in about Santa Claus. But it is the truth....he L-O-V-E-S Santa.

I knew it would be the frayed edge style, or rag quilt. I first cut bunches of squares, paired them together with no batting between, and sewed them together. A BIG bunch of them together. I did not like that...thus I ended up sitting ripping out a LOT of stitching.

I also decided sometime during all of it, that I didn't have near enough fabric...even for a toddler's quilt. So, I ended up buying about three more yards of fabric. I proceeded to cut it all up in 6½ inch squares. As I cut I made the decisions of which fabrics I wanted to go to the back and which to the front. after cutting the fabric, I cut batting in a smaller size...then paired a fabric for the front with a fabric for the back, sandwiched the batting in between, and sewed an 'x' across it. I did them all at once.

I sat and counted how many squares of each fabric I had...then set with graph paper and decided how to arrange the blocks. Then the stitching the blocks together began....contrary to most sewing, the seams are supposed to be on the front with the rag quilts. The first row of blocks I sew.ed, I sewed just the opposite of that...actually I sewed it twice. Cause each of the seams from this point on are sewn double...for strength.

After a couple evenings of concentrated sewing, the above is the result. This is after it is washed and dried. It is all soft and snugly. And below is the back of the quilt...

It finished about 44 x 55 inches....so hoping Jackson will get use from it. I really think he will like all the animals. He has done been 'shooting' deer....when he was in the stores earlier last month I think it was, and he saw Santa's reindeer, he would 'shoot that', this after going through the store yelling HO! ho! ho! and hollering for Santa throughout the store. Then at Cracker Barrel where they have a deer head mounted, he 'shot that,' too.

I finished it Tuesday I think it was, washed it twice with color catchers, and to fray the edges, dried it, and put it in the mail Wednesday....