A blast from the past.....

Showing in the above photo, is John on the Little Red Beauty and I forget who was on Old Blue....John Deere is in front of them....it is a fairly new tractor. The old one gave out just a few years before this photo was taken. The old one was taken to be worked on and the dealer lent us this one to use while they worked on the old one...

Well, it was going to cost so much to fix the old one, they decided to buy this one instead. But first they had to take it back to the shop and put on these small tires. It would not have gone through the orchard in the fall

The Red Beauty is mine...was mine...I have logged many hours and apples and miles on that picker. It has quit on me in more trees than I care to name...I always say I should have had the trees named by the time I left there. I have climbed down the tree more times than I care to count.

There was pruning in the winter, then in the spring sometimes I did thinning by hand. There is a king blossom with other blooms all around it. The king blossom makes an apple first. After those apples from the king blossom are so big, the orchard is sprayed with something to make the other apples fall off. But they don't all fall...and if an apple tree is left with too many apples clustered together, they don't get as big as they would if only an apple or two are left together. So, I ended up going through and pruning by hand.

Also, in the summer is a disease called fireblight...I would make runs through the whole orchard about twice a week cutting out all the fireblight I could find. And before you know it, it is time to start picking apples. The earliest variety we had was the Earliblaze...which is pictured below.

Anyway, I didn't do much today....but in the heat I cannot help but think what I might have been doing were I still working. The above pictures were taken August 10 in 2007....two years after I quit work. That is Earliblaze apples they are picking...so it is possible if I still worked there I would have been picking apples.

Though I sort of miss it, I don't miss the extremes of the weather. The heat of the summer, and the cold of the winter. Yet I would not have missed any of it for anything...it was the ideal job for me.

Fabric decisions....

Mary wondered what kind of fabric I got while in Shipshewana, so I thought I would take pictures to show her everyone else. The top are the Civil War Reproductions, plus the one green on the side is not a Civil War, but was from some time close to that era. Betsy said she like them...I should spread out all I have of those and take a photo or two. Mainly because I have trouble remember which ones I have...but also just to show anyone interested. I am pretty sure I have enough for a full sized quilt.


And the above are my new batiks....they are the ones I really have trouble cutting...I just like to go down and look at them....pet them if you want to know. I am almost to the point where I am going to start some serious cutting with them. Maybe. There is always that fear that I will cut it and then later discover it would have been the perfect fabric for something special.

Anyway, I may have posted the following list sometime way in the past, but I am going to post it again.

Reasons to buy fabric:

1. It insulates the closet where it is kept.

2. It helps keep the economy going. It is our patriotic duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills, and quilt shops.

3. It is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.

4. "Oh, it's not for me! I'm buying it for a friend!"

5. My cat/dog needs a fresh, new pile of fabric to sleep on and roll around on at least once a week.

6. Because it's on sale.

7. Okay, it wasn't on sale, but by the time it was, all the good stuff would be gone.

8. A sudden increase in the boll weevil population might wipe out the cotton crop for the next ten years.

9. I'm participating in a contest--the one who dies with the most fabric wins.

10. It keeps without refrigeration, and you don't have to cook it to enjoy it. Also, you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose, or walk it.

11. I need extra weight in the trunk of my car for traction on snowy, icy roads. This is important, even in Florida and Southern California, as you never know when the weather will change.

12. Because I'm worth it.

13. It's non-fattening.It has been confirmed by registered dietitians that a fat quarter has 100% fewer calories than a hot fudge sundae.

14. I am working on building a complete collection.

15. Like dust, it's good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house, like the ironing board, the laundry hamper, the dining room table....

16. It's a medical test to see if your husband is still alive. If he is, a fabric purchase will make him start fussing about more fabric in the house.

17. When the Big Earthquake comes, all the quilt shops might be swallowed into the ground and never seen again.

18. Because it's there.

19. It's prettier than salt and pepper shakers.

20. It won't break.

21. A strong interest in fabric purchases will leave you no time to spend in the pool hall or out stealing hubcaps.

22. It's much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting, and you can change the look more often.

23. The devil made me do it.

24. Stress from dealing with the Fabric Control Officer (my husband) made me do it.

25. It's the only remotely artistic thing I have ever done.

26. If all else fails, you can use it for cleaning rags.

27. I'm might set up my own fabric shop and I'll need a starter inventory.

28. To keep the bed from falling down--we all know that most quilters store part of their fabric under the bed.

29. To save a beautiful fabric design for posterity. They might stop making it, and it would be lost to the world forever.

30. Neighborhood children might need just the right color for a scavenger hunt.

31. I need something new for show and tell party games.

32. My friend has more variety than I do, and I have to keep up with her.

33. Because I can't live without it.

34. It fights the empty nest syndrome--my youngest child is getting married, so I have another empty room to fill with fabric.

35. Because this fabric just talks to me and calls my name.

36. It comes in whatever size or quantity you want.

37. It's important to invest in cotton futures.

38. I owe myself a reward for that half-pound I lost last month.

39. I have new shelves for fabric storage, and if I don't fill them up, they won't look right.

40. They get angry when you steal it.

41. It will go with some I bought last year.

42. It's so pretty, and I'll use it some day.

43. I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance.

44. Well-known medical fact: prevents washing machine withdrawal symptoms on light laundry days.

45. Keeps the people who make cardboard inserts in bolts of fabric employed, thus supporting the national economy in yet another way.

46. Assists the little birdies with their nests when scraps, threads, and little whispies are allowed to blow in the wind.

47. Opens up new opportunities for curators and quilt show judges to ply their skills.

48. Ophthalmologists recommend quilting to support the sagging eye glasses industry.

49. Without fabric I would have nothing to do with my rotary cutter and my mat and my sewing machine and my iron and my thread and my needles and my quilting books . . . . . (and my time).

50. I'm setting a good example for my children.

51. There's just one more piece I need, and I'll know it when I see it.

52. Buy it now, before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping expeditions.

53. Someone else has cornered the market on hog bellies.

54. It does not promote tooth decay.

55. Nobody told me not to.

56. It's raining (sleeting, snowing, hailing, thundering, sun's too hot?).

57. It's not immoral, illegal, or fattening.

58. It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul, and makes me feel good.

59. Buy it quick, before all the good stuff is gone.

60. Surgeon General says: "Ten yards a day keeps the blues away.

61. Step 32 of Master Plan to drive husband crazy.

62. Everybody else does it.

63. "Oh, what a feeling!"

64. A yard a day is all the quilt shops of America ask.

65. If you don't buy it now, you may never see it again.

66. If I don't buy it, my husband won't have anything to complain about.

67. It was awful! I was trapped in the quilt shop, and the only way out was to buy my way out!

68. Unless my fabric stash is reasonably impressive, people might think my family is destitute, and my children would be embarrassed.

69. A large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.

70. "Because I don't have it yet!"

Fresh from the garden...

I picked the okra today, and this is what I got...while I was at it I picked the bell peppers also.
There was enough okra for a nice mess....I cut it and mixed in the meal and froze it for nice treat this winter. And I had enough from day before yesterday fix a smaller mess...
The bell peppers I cleaned and cut and froze....every year I do that and then we use it in chili, and I made what I call a bell pepper casserole. I prefer fresh bell peppers when I make stir-fry, but if I don't have one, I will even use the frozen in it. To at least get the flavor.
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I have shown this before, but have to show it again.

I have to tell you about this morn....

I got up and checked email, and decided to do a load of laundry and hang it out. Puss Puss was the only cat that stayed inside last night...as I passed by the door, I notice Bubbie wanting in. I went to the front door to see if Cougar and Mama Cat were out front, but neither was out there.

I intended to put the laundry in and come right back up and feed the two cats that were in. both cats came down....Bubbie even got up on the washer right in front of me wanting to be petted. I set him down till I could finish. My sewing table sits right behind my washer and he got up there and put his paws up on my back...and I turned around talking to him and he started to nip me! He really wanted my attention...he doesn't do it hard...nothing like to bring the blood or anything. Just his way of saying, "Hey, Look At Me!"

Well, I did pet him, but instead of coming up, I got busy with something else. I was down there quite a while when I heard Roger up. I came up in a few minutes, and he had fed the two cats that were in. But had not looked for the others...by then they were on the front porch and I let them in.

Anyway, Roger proceeded to tell me that Bubbie had got him up. And the video above is so similar to what he done to Roger. Bubbie got up on Roger and pedal pushed...then he would stand there and just stare Roger in the face. Then maybe he would reach under the cover and get Roger with his paw...then back to pedal-pushing with his paws. Then give him the stare. Or maybe get right in his face till his whiskers tickle Roger. No reaction from Roger....so he nips Roger in the side....and Roger really covered up then. And it was back to the pedal-pushing...then the stare till he finally persuaded Roger to get up.

Anyway, this reminded me of the Simon's cat video above...

The way I told this is not half as funny as it is in real life...Roger has me in tears by the time he finishes a tale.