From across the state line

The other night when I went out to the strip pits, by the time I left the cemetery the sun was starting its descent.  I hurried on down the road...wanting to get to one of my favorite subjects over there in Illinois...by that I mean this house below.

 I always think of it as the Little House on the Prairie.  I have seen it in all types of weather, at all times of the day and it always appeals to me.  I would love to know the history of the place.

That evening, on the other side of the road...farmers were busy.  I have no idea how big some of the fields are over there but they are huge. 

You may not see it but there is a combine in the photo above.... it is to the right of the sun, almost but not quite in the center of the photo...I will try to post a different photo of it at another time.

Today has been dark and dreary part of the day, and a real chill in the air.  I really feel like we are seeing the last days of autumn.  We were out today and saw geese on the wing.  I suppose they are ready to start their migration.  I am thinking if we want to see the sandhill cranes that we should be heading up north before many more days are over.
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I am still working on my sewing project....in the final stages of it now.  I will have to admit I had to do some more ripping out of stitches...and this time I did mind cause they were a mistake.  Funny, if it is a design decision, I don't get upset with myself, but when it is a dumb mistake...I grumble all the time I am taking them out.

That is about it from my corner of the world.  I am going to sew a bit more, then going to try to catch up on all the blogs I follow...so see you later I hope.

From the road

As some may have noticed, I have been sort of absent from blogging...I did do the one post last night but the others at Time Stand Still were ones I had scheduled.  We had went to see the kids Saturday and did not get home till late yesterday evening...we pass the barn above when we go to see them.  The road it is on is a busy road, and no room at all to pull off to the side.  I have tried to capture it before, but always something drastically wrong with the photo.

We still have not figured out what goes wrong with Sarah's computer when we visit blogs...so I am not able to visit any at all, at least not blogger blogs.  But I need to get to my dashboard to get to my list of blogs.  Besides that, we are there to see them...and just grab a minute here and there for email.

Lorelei is changing in ways that are hard to describe....she has a big imagination.  For a while she played the big bad wolf all the time.  Saturday when we got there, it was not but a few minutes till she was pretending to be an elephant.  Sunday, she was a dog.  Or she gets her animals or dolls and carries on conversations between them...or wants one of us to pick up one and pretend with her.  Just constantly in action.

She also likes yanking our chain...she will go along and be working a puzzle fine...then she will look at us and purposely put a piece in wrong sometimes...or pretend she is going to.  She will look at us and say, 'does it go here?'   You can just tell she is wanting to get a reaction out of us.

There is just something about her little voice when she says 'come on mamaw.'  I think she could about talk me into anything then.  Up in the morn Sunday, she wanted to go to our room.  She would cover her baby up, then cover herself up...then want me to get her piggies.  And the giggles are just so contagious.  Sometime during all of it, her daddy got home from work and got his shower...and started playing with her. 

It is impossible to describe....she was following him and imitating all he done...if he took big steps, she took big steps.  If he took itty-bitty steps--she took itty bitty steps...if he marched, she marched....and if he ran from her or chased her, she screamed with laughter.  He is such a good daddy to her...he can be playful and have fun but he is a dad when he needs to be. 
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I have been trying to catch up around here today and we had company for a while.  Just one of Roger's buddies but we had not seen him for a while so sat and visited.  Other than that hung a couple loads of clothes on the line, mopped and vacuumed...just the everyday chores.  I was so glad to be able to hang clothes out again...it had been so rainy last week when laundry need to be done.

I have not touched sewing yet...I have headed down there two or three times and got detoured...so hoping to go down and at least touch some fabric in a few minutes.  I feel so much better mentally when I sew a little each day...

At last.....

First, be prepared for a strange sort of post....and no it isn't a Halloween one.
For a while now, I have been wanting to figure out where I want to be laid to rest...when I die. I have considered two or three options other than this. And both of them are still possibilities. But I went out to the strip pits this evening, and was leaving them by this one road I have only been on one time...and that was coming home from the opposite direction I was going tonight.

So tonight, nothing at all was moving out at the area, so I thought I would head over into Illinois to see what I could see. I had not more than started down the road and there was a sign for the Shirley Cemetery. It almost looked like a long private drive, but down it I went and found this little cemetery.

I have been telling Roger for a year now, at least, that out there at the strip pits is the only place I really want my bones to lay. His cousin has property out there, that actually has a little cemetery on it...but they are old and just maybe a dozen or so graves there. I did not want to ask him for such a big favor.
These are some views...you just feel like you are away from everything.
It was not deep woods by any means, but it was pleasant.
This big old maple tree was out near the entrance of the actual cemetery...not at the beginning of the lane. I wish i had taken a shot looking down that lane...you would see why it looks so inviting.
And there was this little chipmunk chirping because I was there.....

I do not know who to get in touch with to find out who runs it, but I really want to find out if there are burial plots left! It would be a weight off my mind to have that settled.

Now some might think I am nuts to be worrying about this now, but it would be so nice to have it settled. It sounds crazy, but I am just thrilled to have found this place.