Friday 5

Friday 5...
1.  Lorelei requested that her mom send me/us this:

This made us both smile...don't you love the moves she has?

2.  I have been to a quilt shop two different days this week.  One in Paris, IL and one in Linton, Indiana  I have been buying more batik fabrics for Daughter's quilt.  I have 51 'blocks' made.  I put blocks in parenthesis because it is not actually square, it is triangle shaped.  Anyway, of those 51 blocks, only 3 or 4 are repeats.  And between the two days this week, I have 28 more fabrics to add to the mix.

 Some of my favorite batiks from the other day's shopping.

3. My nephew sent me this video....have you seen it?


4.  Do you realize that the Kentucky Derby is this weekend?

5.  Is everyone happy that spring has arrived?  I know I am.

 I will be linking to the Around Roanokes Willy Nilly Friday 5 and Random 5 Friday if they are up and running.  

Empty spools

I save empty spools...most of the time.  I started out for no real reason just a few years ago, then thought I would let Lorelei play with them after she was born.  But I didn't do that.  I always have binding left over when I bind a quilt, so had the idea to wrap it around the empty spools and pin the end in place with a straight pin.  It helps keep it in order.  Every now and then I need just a short piece, say for a potholder.  I can look and see what I have already made.
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By the way, I counted the empty spools I had saved, and I had 9 that had held 500 yards of thread, and 9 that had held 300 yds.  Then there are the spools that are shaped like the ones shown here that I don't save at all.

I cannot even think how many of these I have thrown away.  And I have a lot of spools of thread that are almost empty.  Some from quilting and some from making clothing.

I wondered, does every woman keep thread and needles just for repairs?  Do you just keep a couple colors of thread or do you go buy the color as needed?  I cannot imagine not having a sewing machine, but I know a lot of people don't sew at all.  

A girl and her kitty

I just had things to do today...just did not hardly get on the computer at all till tonight...

thought I would try to get back to blogging...

 with some pictures of a girl and her kitty.

A repost from 2008...

I hated to totally skip a day of blogging, so thought I would copy and past an old post...hope you enjoy it....



These pictures were taken at the pioneer village at Spring Mill State Park. I don't know what it is about a fire, but I don't think I know a single person that doesn't like to sit by a fire of any kind. We don't have a fireplace in our home, but I sure wouldn't mind if we did. Everyone else always thinks about the dirt and dust, but I could easily put up with that. I know I am one of the few people my age that can remember their mother cooking on a wood cookstove....

We had linoleum on all the floors...and they were cold of the morning. Mom was the first one up, of course. And I would wake up next--I don't know if it was all the time or just some of it. But I distinctly remember hollering, "Mommy, come and get me." She would come and carry me from the bed to a chair sitting at the end of the cookstove. There I would sit and stick small splinters of wood in through the draft at the end...while she made biscuits and cooked breakfast.

The wood cookstove had a thermometer on the door but it was broken, however my mom could bake biscuits, bread and cakes and pies with no trouble. I recall seeing her open the oven door and sticking her hand in to get a feel for the temperature. And she never used a timer of any sort. (I cannot remember anything without a timer these days.)

Our new house was heated with a coal stove for the first few years...not sure how many. Probably at least 3 or 4. I can remember sticking potatoes in the coals to bake as a snack. I think I was in 3rd or 4th grade when a coal furnace was installed. I am not sure what happened to that stove, but the old wood cookstove sits in the basement of the homeplace. At least it did the last time I checked....that has been a while ago.

I do not know what it is that draws me to the old times...I cannot imagine doing all my mom had to do with as little as she had to do with. But at the same time, I think these days stuff almost owns us...I think there is medium that I have not achieved. I have more than I need but hold on to stuff because I feel like as soon as I get rid of it, I will need it.

But looking at the bottom picture of the fire place--the utensils around it are probably all a lot of women had to cook with. And they made do with it fine. I for one, admire the women that came before.

Like a ray of sunshine

I am trying to get ready to go see our Tootie--thought I would put up one more post on here.  I have posts scheduled over at Time Stand Still, and may even repost some pictures on here but not sure.  I won't have as much time to visit over the next couple of days...but will try to catch up as I can.

It is sunny and bright here today, but rain is supposed to be moving in.  So there will be no outside playing.  Sarah said last night that Lorelei was so excited that we better brace ourselves. 
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I have not been working much on my daughter's quilt.  I need to go shopping for more fabric.  I have got to get more batiks.  I still cannot believe it will take 90 to make a king sized quilt, for sure not the size my daughter wants.  I guess I am going to have to sit down and do some measuring and figure it out for myself. 

There is so much stuff I want to do, but I don't like starting two or three things at once.  I used to always have more than one thing going, but I have a one-tracked mind any more and just do better to focus on one object.

Anyway, will catch up with everyone later....

A phone call...

Last night we had just settled down for some mindless TV...and the phone rang.  We answered....and that little girl above said, "Can you come spend the weekend?"  You could just hear the joy in her voice.  We said, 'Yes, we could come.'

She asked how long would we stay...I asked her how long she wanted us to stay...she says, 'A Month!'  I told her couldn't stay that long...that Papaw is turkey hunting right now.  'Well, can you stay 5 days?' she asked.

Funny how just hearing her voice put a whole new spin on life.

Hanging out

The clothes are hanging out..

at an Amish place in Parke County. 

I think I am one of the last women that hang their clothes out to dry. We will soon be a thing of the past.  I cannot think of any home near here where I see clotheslines being used.  I cannot even think of one that has clotheslines. 

I only hang out clothes in warmer weather.  Oh, I do it a time here and there when it is not too terrible cold.  But I am sure I don't hang out over 5 loads in the winter.  I do hang them up in the house part of the time...in my basement.

Do you or anyone you know hang out clothes on a regular basis?

Isn't it cute....

When we were coming from Mansfield the other day, this beagle was racing along.  He paused and I told Roger to stop.  If he had not been in someone's yard I would have wanted to pet him.

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It has turned cool again.  I think the high today was 55ºF....it was really chilly to be outside.  And breezy.  I have become used to sitting on the porch a few minutes two or three times a day and I really missed that today.
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I made a bell pepper/hamburger dish today.  We always liked stuffed peppers, but I don't really like to eat the pepper.  Or not very much.  So, I started cutting a bell pepper into strips in the bottom of a baking dish.  I fry hamburger and onions together, then drain the grease.  I add the hamburger/onions on top of the bell peppers.  (I used to add a bit of cooked rice and even a bit of cheese, but Roger prefers it just plain hamburger/onions)  You can salt and pepper to taste.

Then I pour tomato juice till it almost covers the hamburger.  Just little bits of it sticks out.  Then bake in a 325º oven for 1½ hours.  We like it with mashed potatoes.  Both my daughters just love it.  And two or three of their friends used to love it, too.  It is just simple and quick...                                          

From Croy Creek Trader's Fair....

Yesterday, we got up and made our way to the Croy Creek Trader's Fair.  We had always heard of it, but for some reason had never made gone.  I did not really go to buy anything...I went to 'see' and maybe take a few photos.  I was hoping to see animals, and I did.  There were quite a few places with chickens.

Here is quite the handsome rooster, probably my favorite.

And here is another pair...I think both are beautiful.
Along the way we saw turkeys...

I don't think I had ever seen a B&W turkey before...

Then there is this fellow....let me tell you about him.

Roger and I were across the way...probably 3 or 4 car lengths from him.  And we were actually looking between cars.  We looked at each other, and we thought and commented about what a fantastic decoy it was.  Fast forward another 25-30 minutes and we are around to where he is located.    He isn't really moving.  But I saw his eyes blink.  I told Roger, "He is real!"  "no, it's not" and I can remember the rest of his reply.  I think it was something about they just do a good job of making them look real.

I said, "His eyes are blinking."  So Roger walks closer till he can see...

No wonder we thought he was a good decoy! 

(Remember you can click to expand the view)

From Enchantment (1948)

The following is an excerpt from the movie, Enchantment (1948).  It had an opening scene set in a city with the focus on a house and the following is part of the opening words:

 

You almost passed me.

No wonder.

We all look a like...

you can only know what makes a house different if you stop.

You must go inside and spend a little time....

See what the mirrors have seen,

Know what the clocks know

Hear what the walls have heard

Listen with your heart

I am more than stone and wood.

Somethings here are the same common to all houses

A doorbell echos in the hall,

footsteps run up and down the stairs,

a piano is played,

windows opened and shut

a tap runs and is silent

A light goes on in a room at night, and then goes off again

But those are the pulse beats, not the heart.

I miss my people 

In me they live

I could not have said it any better.  I heard those first few words as we were flipping through the channels one night.  I did not watch the entire movie...but I did watch for a little bit.  I love those lines:
  
See what the mirrors have seen,
Know what the clocks know,
Hear what the walls have heard
 

Wind farm

First of all, you might want to click on these to get just a hint of how it feels to drive by all these wind turbines.

We pass them every time we go to Willow Slough or Jasper Pulaski.  Every time I take pictures.  Every time I am somewhat disappointed.  I just never quite get the photo I want.  Of course we are driving 60 mph, so probably good that I can get these.  They have all had different filters used to try to bring them to life.

I always try to capture this one that is right beside the road...and love to snap one when a vehicle is right beside it.  The last time we went, it was so foggy, I could not see any of the wind turbines, not even this one that is just across the road.

Awakening...

Another day of rambling around...and during that time, I managed a few photographs.    Everything is waking up.  Dandelions caught my eye...I did not notice the ants till I was looking through my lens.  (Click photo to expand the view.)

We saw several of these Six-spotted Tiger Beetles.  This photo is cropped...

Not sure what this plant/weed is...but it is here every spring.  When you look close, those little flowers are quite beautiful.

We are seeing daffodils almost anywhere we go.  I did get more photos, but feel this is enough for one post.

We did fish a little bit today, but they are letting water out of the Cecil M. Harden Lake, also called Raccoon Lake.  Anyway, we were fishing in Big Raccoon Creek and it was almost full to the brim.  I caught one Largemouth Bass. 

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I was texting with my daughter last night..Lorelei's aunt.  She now has two cats, Delilah and Daphne.  I ask her what they were doing.  She said that Delilah was killing a toy mouse, and that Daphne was taking out her dry catfood, and dropping it one piece at a time, then stalking it, catching it, and eating it.  I almost started giggling out loud when she told me.

It's coming along

I am making some progress....I have not worked on the blocks every day.  It is more like every other day.  I have 6 blocks that I don't have up.  The design wall is not big enough.

I just had to show close ups of some of the beautiful batiks...in case you don't know, batiks don't have a wrong side and a right side.  They are dyed fabrics, not printed. 

I wish I had thought to photogragh the blocks that are not on the wall.

My daughter bought some of the batiks, some came from my fabric stash.

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We are watching The Voice...my favorites from last week has made it till next week.  I know at least one other person watches the show.  That made me wonder do you watch The Voice?

More...

When she is here, she always wants at least one ride of the four-wheeler.  This time she almost did not get one because it stayed cool/cold so long.  In case you cannot tell it, she has her Papaw's hunting coat wrapped around her legs so she can stay warm.

I just cannot resist posting these pics of our Tootie...

She almost always has a smile on her face...

How about some gingerbread?

Gingerbread trim that is?  I love this stuff....I never see it without thinking of the EG Camera Girl. She captures some wonderful trim.  If you follow that link, it will take you to some of her posts featuring this type of trim.

According to one snippet I read, this type of trim did not become widely available till the middle 1800's when the steam powered scroll saw and lathe became established.

I am amazed it started that early in ways.  And I always wonder how often they painted it, and think what a job that would be to get all those little details painted.  I am not sure I would want the job...especially after it was attached to the house. 

However, I sure do love to see it and admire its beauty.

A few more batiks

Yesterday we stopped at the Threads of Time quilt shop in Danville, Illinois....I picked up a few more batik fabrics to add to the Lotus quilt.  I let my daughter choose which ones she wants to add and surprisingly, the two I was sure she would pick are the two she did not choose.
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Roger mowed the yard for the first time today...I hung out two loads of laundry....and sewed in between other small jobs.

I also sat on the front porch and read a few minutes.  It is what I look forward to all winter.  That and having coffee/breakfast out there.  What do you look forward to doing once the winter has gone?  

I always look forward to the return of the red-winged blackbirds and the robins.  Hanging out laundry is high on the list...and then later in the summer it is fresh tomatoes from our garden!

fFrom the past year

This is one from last October...I have had in a draft ever since that week probably.  Just never got around to posting it.  Mushrooms have always captured my attention.  They come in such amazing forms and colors. 

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We had some really strong winds last night...but clear today.  It is the first day without rain in several days.  I think we are supposed to have a couple more clear days, and the rain may move back in on Monday.  Though I am ready for some clear days, rain is better than snow and bitter cold temps. 

We took off for the day today...I did not do one single stitch of sewing.  Hopefully I can get back in the groove tomorrow.

Current project...

I

This is my current quilt project.  The batik fabrics are chosen by my daughter on the west coast...she chose the pattern as well.

I hope I can keep working steadily on it...seems like I always get started on something, then something happens to slow me down.

She chose these fabrics and pattern at Christmas and I just started doing the cutting a week or two ago.  According to the chart in the pattern, I only have half of the pieces cut.

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Today when my granddaughter got home from school she took her boots off and told her mom,  "my feet hurt.  I've been on them all day.  Up and down, up and down." Kindergarten is a hard job, you know!

My funny little person....

Any time I go to take her pic, she is all about crazy faces...

The thing of it is, I don't think she will ever care or be embarrassed by them...

Then there is the sweet, sweet side of her.

She had a two week spring break...I thought we were going to have her the whole two weeks, but instead she did not come till Wednesday of the first week.  I had assumed she was coming at the very beginning and was just assuming the wrong thing.

And she did go and stay with her other grandma for two nights...

We took her home this past weekend...sure was a lonely feeling house the first night or two.  Always seems just so quiet after she has been here.

 Did you notice she has another tooth missing in these last two photos.  If not, click to expand the view and you can clearly see that another is missing.