Kitchen is clean

I know this is not a big deal to most of you but it is a really BIG deal to me.  I have had so much trouble with mice and my cabinets were a mess.  I took everything out of all the cabinets, scrubbed them, washed everything that was inside and put it all back in organized.  All my cabinets are clean and organized.  All my counter tops are clear and the kitchen table is clean.  I pulled out the stove and cleaned behind it and plugged all holes in the kitchen that I could find.  I swept and scrubbed the floor also.  It looks so nice.  I have not had any mice for 3 weeks and the kitchen is still clean.  I am actually proud of myself. 

Today I began organizing recipes.  I put each of my favorite recipes that I actually cook with on my Evernote app.  I can access it through the desktop, laptop, and the cell phone.  I will have them with me all the time.  I have cleaned out a lot of the paper recipes that have been torn out of magazines that I have never made and doubt I will ever make.  I still have a lot of papers but most of them are organized into file folders by category.  I have all those along with the cookbooks in the side cupboard that Allen built in the kitchen.  It is all contained in one area and can not be seen normally. 

Over the weekend, my brother, Kevin, helped Dad to put a heat/ac register in my kitchen.  I have not had a vent in the kitchen since we put in the new furnace and central air conditioner 5 years ago.  They put it in front of the dishwasher and it looks good.  I am excited to have the air (especially a/c in the summer) in the kitchen. The wood stove has always kept the kitchen plenty warm but it is still hot in there in the summer.  Not any more.  Kevin told me he swept the kitchen floor for me to clean up the mess they made during the project.  Thank you.  Then he tells me there is a lot of mouse poop under the dishwasher but he could not find a shop vac to clean it up.  I do not have a shop vac so one of these days I will need to get the one out of the shop and do some more cleaning. 

Here are some pics of the before and after in my "new" kitchen.  I just could not show you the very gross inside the lower cabinets.  The mouse tracks and holes were just too disgusting and embarrassing to share.

                                              Before                                                         After

            

     

     

 Three-four weeks after getting the kitchen from this before to this after, I am pleased to announce that it still looks this good!!

Rose

Kitchen counters

As a way to get my house decluttered and cleaned I have started following this Facebook group and trying to work along. I have tried to follow Flylady.com but have not stuck with it very well. If you know me, you know that my kitchen counters and table are always cluttered.  I do not do a lot in the kitchen.  I hope that when I get this done that I will keep up with it and maybe even cook a little more.  This first week focus is the kitchen counters.  I will post a few pictures as I complete tasks.  This is my accountability.

 

Kitchen East Counter (Before) This looks normal for my kitchen.

 

Kitchen East Counter (After) Have you ever seen this counter top this clean?

West side of kitchen (Before) My kitchen is such a mess.

West Kitchen Counter (After) This is good for me.

 What do you think?  Sure I still have the table and floors to work on but next week when we do the cabinets, I am ahead of the game on the west side of the kitchen. 

2015 Goals

I am setting up 2015 goals which is based on projects I did not get done during 2014 and the regular household and spiritual goals for each year. 

 --Unfinished Quilting & Sewing Projects--
1.  Quilt Off-Set Blocks quilt
2.  Quilt Storm at Sea quilt
3.  Quilt Garden quilt
4.  Quilt Garden quilt wall hanging
5.  Finish Hand Quilting Embroidered Baskets wall hanging
6. Quilt Embroidered Flowers Quilt

 --New Quilting and Sewing Projects--
1.  Island Sunset Paper Pieced Quilt
2.  Camping Appliqué wall hanging
3.  Harvest Moon wall hanging


  --Household--
1.  Clean and organize storage in basement
2.  Clean and organize bedroom & closet 
3.  Clean and organize laundry room
4.  Clean and organize mud room
5.  Clean and organize kitchen cabinets 
6.  Clean and organize sewing room/office
7.  Clean bathtub
8.  Install shower surround
8.  Seal bathroom window
9.  Vacuum or wash curtains
10.  Wash windows inside and outside


  --Spiritual--
1.  Read scriptures daily (Note: I have not missed a day in 2 years now)
2.  Pray daily
3.  Attend church services and meetings weekly
4.  Attend temple 2 times (if not more) 
5.  Journal in a jar topics
6.  Work of family history
7.  Family search indexing
8.  Read monthly Ensign magazine

--Physical--
1. Exercise 2 days a week
2. Drink more water
3. Drink less pop
4. Cut sugar intake
5. Lose 15 pounds
6. Cut down medications

Once again I do not expect to accomplish every goal but do want to work on each one.  I want to be a better person, do more, waste less time. 

2015 will be a great year.  I am looking forward to it.

Rose

2014 Household and Spiritual Goal Review

The year is finished and I want to review my progress on the goals I set at the first of the year.  I had set daily routines and have followed them some but not completely.  I do it for a while but then something comes up and I get busy with other things and let it all go.  Below are the goals I set and are ready for review.

Goals:
  --Household--
1.  Clean and organize storage in basement
2.  Clean and organize bedroom & closet  (Bedroom Done)
3.  Clean and organize laundry room (Done)
4.  Clean and organize mud room
5.  Clean and organize kitchen cabinets  (Done)
6.  Clean and organize sewing room/office
7.  Clean and caulk bathtub  (Note 10-14-14: Shower surround is cracking and the entire thing needs replaced)
8.  Seal bathroom window
9.  Vacuum or wash curtains (Done)
10.  Wash windows inside and outside
11.  Install rain gutter down spouts (Done)

 --Spiritual--
1.  Read scriptures daily (Note: I have not missed a day in 2 years now)
2.  Pray daily
3.  Old Testament Seminary Study
4.  Attend church services and meetings weekly
5.  Attend temple 2 times (if not more)  (Done-attended 3 times)
6.  Journal in a jar topics
7.  Work of family history
8.  Family search indexing

Review:
--Household--  Done
1.  Clean and organize bedroom & closet  (Bedroom Done)
2.  Clean and organize laundry room (Done)
3.  Clean and organize kitchen cabinets  (Done)
4.  Vacuum or wash curtains (Done)
5.  Install rain gutter down spouts (Done)
These projects I did work on but did not get done.
1.  Clean and organize storage in basement
2.  Clean and organize mud room
3.  Clean and organize sewing room/office
 4.  Clean and caulk bathtub  (Note 10-14-14: Shower surround is cracking and the entire thing needs replaced)
 5.  Seal bathroom window
6.  Wash windows inside and outside

 --Spiritual--Done
1.  Read scriptures daily (Note: I have not missed a day in 2 years now)
2.  Attend church services and meetings weekly
3.  Attend temple 2 times (if not more)  (Done-attended 3 times)

I needed to work on these a little more.
1.  Pray daily
2. Old Testament Seminary Study
3.  Journal in a jar topics
4.  Work of family history
5.  Family search indexing
I do pray every day but my prayers are a lot of little prayer snippets and not as much as formal, on my knees prayer.  I got side tracked early so quit working on the OT Seminary study.  I did pick a few topics and write about them but not as much as I would have liked to.  I feel so overwhelmed every time I get out family history to work on it.  I did sign up for Ancestry.com and have Root Magic program but have not gotten past the anxiety.  I did not even try to do any Family Search indexing. 

I never expected to get everything done but to at least have a listing and guideline for the year.  I feel good about all I did accomplish.

I will now need to set new goals for 2015. 

Rose

White Out

Last evening we had a little snow and a lot of wind.  Results: White-Out.  Mom & Dad took my Cadillac to church because a pack rat ate through wires on their van.  It started snowing while they were in church. As they were ready to come home Mom called me to let me know it was bad out and they were on their way home.  Surprisingly Dad actually had the cell phone with him and very grateful he did.  15 minutes later I got another call from Mom saying they were in trouble.  I thought they were probably in the last mile, could see my yard light and was giving me a hard time.  I was wrong! They ran into a white-out blowing across the road and could not see anything.  It felt that they were going off the road on the north and as Dad over corrected and  ended up in the south ditch.  He could not drive forward nor backwards. 

Dad thought it was too bad for anyone to come get them so he said they could just stay in the car till it quit during the night.  I threw a fit and he agreed to at least call Derrick to see what he thought.  In no time I saw Derrick on the Ranger going to the shop and he instantly came flying through the ditch and down the road in his 4 wheel drive pickup.  He picked them up and got them home in short order.  Dad said he had to push snow away with the door to get out and there were drifts on the Wachendorfer hill but Derrick was able to bust through.  Dan and Delores called Mom & Dad to check on them.  They had gone off the road twice on their way home and got concerned about my parents.  Thank you for checking on them. 

The snow was to quit around midnight but the wind was not to let up till later in the morning.  The forecast was for -4 degrees.  At this time I decided it was a wise choice to stay home from church this morning.  Nobody should be out on the road in these sub zero temperatures and even colder wind chills.  At 6:30 Sharla texted me that she was not going to church either because of the roads. 

Thank you, Derrick, for being home and able to help Mom & Dad (G-ma & G-pa).  I do not think I could have gotten my Dodge Journey through to get them.  Calling Judy and Steve would have been the next option to get them to safety. 

Today, in the sunlight, Judy took this picture of my car in the ditch.  It was not me that put it there!  So grateful Mom & Dad are safe, home and warm.

I have always said that if I have to put a car in the ditch and have it towed out I'd rather it be the Cad instead of the Dodge.  Once the road crews clear the road, we will get the car pulled out and back home.  Winter in Kansas.

Rose

2014 Goal evaluation for quilting anad sewing

As the year comes to a close in a week, it is time to evaluate some of the goals I set at the first of the year.  Right now I am only going to evaluate the quilting and sewing projects.
Here is a reminder of the goals I set. 

--Unfinished Quilting & Sewing Projects--
1.  Quilt Off-Set Blocks quilt
2.  Frame Welcome Embroidery piece (Done)
3.  Finish tiny wall hangings (Done)
4.  Quilt Storm at Sea quilt
5.  Quilt Double Irish Chain quilt (Done)
6.  Quilt Garden quilt
7.  Quilt Garden quilt wall hanging
8.  Finish Embroidered Baskets wall hanging
9.  Finish Embroidered Baby Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilt (Done)

--New Quilting and Sewing Projects--
1.  Embroidered Flowers Quilt
2.  Island Sunset Paper Pieced Quilt
3.  Camping Appliqué wall hanging
4.  Harvest Moon wall hanging

Here is the evaluation of what I did get done during the year.

--Unfinished Quilting & Sewing Projects--COMPLETED
1. Framed Welcome Embroidery piece
2. Quilted Spring Mini wall hangings
3. Quilted Double Irish Chain quilt
4. Pieced and quilted Embroidered Baby Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilt

--Unfinished Quilting & Sewing Projects--IN PROCESS
1. Pieced Embroidered Baskets wall hanging and being hand quilted

--New Quilting and Sewing Projects--NEW
I did not work on any of the new quilt projects this year but I did several new projects that came up during the year.
1. Noah's Ark baby quilt
2. Baby Broeckelman's baby shower quilt
3. Crochet edged baby receiving blanket
4. Macie's dress
5. Take Away The Blues! comfort quilt
6. Flora's Doll quilt

Other projects I worked on:
1. Helped Karen make a quilt top for Kinsley's big bed.
2. Helped the Altar Society quilt and bind their quilt for Mardi Gras next spring.
3. Designed king size Double Irish Chain quilt for Mom.
4. Helped Mom on borders for embroidered postage stamp borders quilt.
5. Helped Karen with applique on her North Dakota quilt.
6. Quilted baby quilt Judy made for another teacher at school.

OK, so I did not get everything done that I had listed but I really did do a lot.  10 finished projects, 1 project in progress and 6 projects I helped others with.  I am also crocheting on another baby receiving blanket. That is more than I ever really thought I would get done. Nice year for quilting and sewing projects.

Now to set new goals for the new year.  I look forward to see what comes about.

Rose

A new Christmas story

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring except for the mouse.
He was so brave that he ran around and played.
He was eager to come out in the light.

Sticky traps are around the baseboards
but he wants to run in the middle of the rooms.
I could not catch him no matter how hard I tried.
I went to bed in hopes that the traps would be filled.

On Christmas morning I checked the traps
Unfortunately they were empty.
I am so frustrated
What do I need to do to catch this critter?

I heard a rattling in the kitchen
To find he was chewing on a piece of dry bread.
He disappeared between the cabinet and the stove
Not to be seen the rest of the day.

I see his 'tracks' on the counter tops in the kitchen
I see his 'tracks' in the bathroom cabinets
I watch him run around the living room
I watch him run around the sewing room

It is now Christmas night
The mouse again is running around
He does not want to stay to the baseboards
Were the sticky traps are waiting for him.

Poison has been set out for weeks
Some have eaten and some have died
Then the smell begins
And the searching takes place.

Lately the mice ignore the poison
Lately the mice ignore the traps
Any holes are filled with steel wool and expanding foam.
I do not know where they are coming from.

I caught 3 mice and 1 gopher already this week.
I have lost count of all I have caught this summer and fall.
I am so tired of rewashing dishes and towels
I am so tired of always having a mess.

When I get ready for bed tonight
I am setting every snap trap I have
In hopes that the mouse will partake
And the trap will snap.

Plug any more holes
Catch all I can
Clean the whole house
Goodbye, little mouse.


Yes I know I am terrible at poetry or anything like that.  Forgive all my errors in form and format but enjoy the story behind it all.

I have had a nice and quiet Christmas day which falls between a couple of busy weeks.  I will get to see most of my family during this time. 

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, our Savior, I remember the reason he came to earth.  I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life.  My prayer for you is a life filled with love and joy that comes from Heaven above.

Merry Christmas all.

Rose

Take Away the Blues!

At the first of the year I set a lot of goals especially with quilts to make and finish.  This one is an additional quilt that I had no idea at that time that I would do.

My good friend, Roni, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  She seems to be so strong.  She will have a mastectomy this week.  My heart hurts so much and I do not know how to express it.  So I do what I know how to do.  I offer help but she has no idea yet what kind of help, if any, she may need.  I turn to what I am best at doing, I make a quilt.  I sat down with the graph paper on the computer and began to design.  I had fun designing the block then the quilt layout.  I thought about using pink an burgundy colors to represent the breast cancer support but I decided that blue would be better.  I used 24 different blue fabrics--thus part of the name.  As a comfort quilt comes the rest of the idea of the name for the quilt.  Roni and I have known each other and been friends for 26 years.  I could not come up with a quilt layout with 26 blocks or I would have done that.  I used black flannel for the quilt back so that it will be soft and warm as well. With every thought and plan in the design, with every stitch made to piece together and quilt the quilt, I have put in all my thoughts and love and hugs and good wishes and prayers for her. 

 

Love you, Roni. I am so grateful to have you as my dear friend.

 

Rose



December Mud

It has been so very dry. There is powder dust everywhere instead of dirt.  Today we gratefully got rain.  Thunder, lightening and pouring rain.  I stood at the church door and watched; water was running down the gutters and across the parking lot towards the field.  As I was driving back to the farm after church, I drove through off and on heavy rain and there was water standing in the fields and ditches.  At Rexford I called home to ask how muddy it was and to notify Dad that I was on my way in case I got stuck and needed to be picked up.  Dad said they hardly had enough moisture to get the sidewalk damp.  Funny, I was driving in rain.  Ok, I'll head down the dirt (mud) road. 

As I turned to the county road, it looked muddy to me.  Oh, boy, was it muddy!  You can see that I was not exactly going straight down the road.

I do not like driving mud roads but I can do it.  I take it slow and slide all over the road but seem to stay out of the ditch.  There were times that my steering wheel was upside down or turned 3/4 around.  At one time I did not know which way was straight and had to just let go to allow it to return to normal. My Dodge Journey has the stability traction control feature that shuts down the engine when it senses the tires slipping.  I was basically sitting in the middle of the road and going nowhere.  I pressed the over ride button to shut it off and to let the car skid some.  I saw the anti-skid light come on once even after turning it off.  I made it home and did not get stuck. Yea Rose!!

I went down to Mom & Dad's and it really poured rain for a while.  I showed Dad the pictures I took as I was driving.  I think I was going slow enough and only need one hand to 'loosy goosy' steer the car that I was safe enough to take the pictures. 

I had .80 inch of rain in my rain gauge and it was leaning sideways so that most likely is not accurate but at least I have proof it rained a lot (just in case driving in it did not let me know).  I think Dad must have been sleeping in his chair and not realizing how  much it had really rained.  Snow is to come tonight.

Rose

Last days of fall

Autumn (fall) is my favorite season and time of year.  I love the warm days with cool nights and the beautiful colors the trees turn. Today is the last day of the beautiful fall weather that we have been enjoying.  This is the 8th fall that I have been living on the farm and this is the most beautiful I've seen for the longest time.  One year the trees were really pretty for a few days then a severe freeze and wind took care of that overnight. Other years the trees just seem to drop all leaves without any changes first. The trees have been beautiful and the weather gorgeous for 2 months.  That will all end after tonight.  Winter temperatures will hit and it will not get above freezing for high temps for a few days.  There is a small chance of snow in three days.   Here are a few pictures of what I love.

Ash trees are the first to change in the fall.

I love the color and shape of this tree.

Cottonwood tree is the last to loose leaves.

Last hay bales of the year.

 

Bushes and trees west of my house.

 Poor mum was transplanted this summer and did actually survive and bloom. Must be hardy.

I did not take this picture but it shows the beauty of autumn in Kansas.

 

Even though the weather is warm yet today, the wind has picked up giving us a warning of what is to come tomorrow.  I am watering my flower beds and yard one last time today then will disconnect my hoses and put them away for the winter.  Spring I hope you come fast.

 

Rose

 

Garden Robber

Dana plants a garden at the edge of the field just east of my house.  When school starts she seems to end any garden work.  Last year there were a lot of peppers on her plants in October when a frost was expected.  I talked to Derrick and asked if they were planning to pick before freezing or if they wanted me to do it.  He told me Dana was going to pick them.  I left it alone.  It froze and she had not picked the garden before hand.  It was a very hard freeze.  I was very upset that all was lost when it did not have to be.

This year seemed to be the same.  Since mid August I could not tell that Dana did anything with the garden.  During September, I watched the plants and their production.  When the first frost was forecast, I checked the garden again.  Nothing had been picked so I went out late in the afternoon and picked the 6 quart kettle full of peppers. 

I sorted the peppers by type and put in bags and into the freezer.  This will be wonderful during the winter or to make salsa later.  That night we did have a mild freeze.  Mom's garden in front of her house had damage.  I could not tell that Dana's garden was hurt, though.  Maybe I should not have picked and left them there to see if she would pick them later.  Last week we had another forecast for a freeze.  I checked the garden and there were more peppers and a few tomatoes also there.  I picked again.  This is what I got this time.

There was probably another 6 quarts of fresh veggies but I put them in other types of containers.  They are also going in the freezer.  Once again Mom's garden was hurt more but Dana's was not.  The freezes have been very mild so far this fall. 

 

I kept the twins last night.  Layne saw these sitting on my table and asked where I got them.  I told him I stole them from his mama's garden.  That did not concern him.  He just wanted to eat some of the little tomatoes.  So maybe I can count telling Layne I picked their garden and his reaction to that as a confession and forgiveness.  You think?  Well, if not, this is my confession.  I do not like to raise a garden but I love to can, freeze and dehydrate its produce.  I am the Garden Robber.

 

Rose

My Baby's Back

A week ago, my cow, Molly, had a baby.  The next day Dad & I went out to tag it. Dad found it tucked in the grass in the pasture.  I totally missed it till he pointed it out to me.  Can you see it there? 

As I said in a previous post, we spooked the little thing and it ran-through the electric fence, into the heat field and we could not find it.  That evening Molly  (the mother) was pacing along the fence where the baby went through and crying for her baby.  I really hoped that the babe would return to it's mama for milk.

The next morning when Dad was out checking cattle and saw Molly with her calf nursing.  I was so excited that the baby was back.  It looks like Molly will be a good mother after all.

 

 

I went out with Dad again to try to tag the little critter.  Molly kept herself between us and her baby.  We will have to wait till they are both in for water to catch them and run them through the shoot to tag it.  Dad thinks it is a girl but we could not get close enough to tell for sure.  Either way I have a grandbaby calf.

 

My baby is back.

 

Rose



 

Temple Garments

I was raised in a strong Catholic home. Thank you, Mom & Dad, for raising your family with a strong faith in God.  I have taken additional classes as an adult to better understand my Catholic faith.  I took a trip to Israel and to Rome to visit religious historical sites.  I am now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Do not get me wrong here.  I have not rejected the faith that I grew up with but have taken that faith and knowledge and expanded upon it.  I now have a better understanding where before I had a lot of unanswered questions.  I do not know it all nor have all questions answered and do not expect to while living upon the earth.  This is the first time I have spoken so boldly outside the church about my faith.  It is a little scary to put myself out there for fear of rejection.  I think we all feel the disapproval from others at times but that can be another entire post topic.

When I began investigating and attending the LDS Church, my family was not too happy (that's the understatement of the century!)  Mom said a lot of negative things before storming out of my house, my sister-in-law did not want me to spend time with her children, others just thought I was crazy (but that was nothing new).  I did not share this part of my life with my family.  We just did not talk about it at all.  I knew I could not explain in a way they would understand and that I needed to live my life as an example of my faith before them.  They have come to see that I am not evil or possessed, I do not put them down for their beliefs nor am I 'preachy' about my faith.  I hope they know that my family is so very important to me and that I love them all more than words can express and would do anything within my power to help them.  I also love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and am grateful for the plan of salvation and the atoning sacrifice Christ made for my sins and the sins of all mankind. 

The last time I was in Wichita at Karen's she said that one day at school some of the teachers were talking about "Mormon magical underwear'.  She stood up for the LDS faith by saying to these ladies that her sister (me) is 'Mormon' and that their garments are for modesty and an expression of their faith.  Well, she was right to a point and that was a good enough explanation for these teachers at that time. When she was telling me this, my heart swelled with appreciation and awe that she would do this in defence of the LDS faith when she is not a member of the church but that I am. 

Ever since that day I have wanted to post about this topic.  I talked with my home teachers about this asking what would be appropriate and not appropriate to say.  There are so many types of religious clothing in many different religions that display faith in God.  Are these made fun of as much as the LDS temple garments?  I do not know. 

The other day I found this article and video which explained the topic of temple garments much better than I could ever have done.  Since it is put out by the church I know that I am not saying anything that I should not.  Maybe this will help others to have a little better acceptance of what they do not know or understand.  There is nothing to fear. 

Sunbonnet Sue Babies Quilt

A few years ago Karen and I were at the Newton outlet stores at the Charlotte's Quilt Shop.  She bought an embroidery pattern pre-printed on fabric of Sunbonnet Sue Babies.  The fabric was pretty cheesy so she made copies on the copy machine at school and used that to trace onto fabric she wanted to embroidery them on.  She bought all the threads in the colors according to the pattern directions.  I loved the pattern also so we decided to share it.  When she was done, she gave me the pattern copies and all her threads.  She said there was no point in me buying all the colors when you only use a little of most of them.  As I embroidered the babies, I would purchase any thread colors that I ran out of.  When done the pattern and threads were returned to Karen.

I worked on the babies all winter a couple years ago.  I like doing hand work when I watch TV or just sit around and wait .  These could be put in a zip lock bag and tucked in my purse and go anywhere with me.  They were so cute an really easy stitches to do.  When I got them all embroidered, I put the set away to finish later.  Someone needs to have a baby girl as their first baby now.

At the first of the year I added this quilt to my list to finish this year.  Even if nobody is having a baby girl, I can finish the quilt and have it ready for when the right baby comes along.  I have told all my nieces and nephews that when they have their first baby I will make them an applique quilt for their nursery.  If they have 8 babies I do not plan to do 8 quilts!  I try to make the quilt special to go with the nursery theme or a theme that means something special to the family.  Some quilts have been made from purchased or free online patterns but others have been my own creation. 

In June, Emily, Karen's daughter, announced that she was having a baby in December.  A few weeks later she found out she was having a baby girl.  Oh, goody! I can make the embroidered Sunbonnet Sue Babies quilt for her.  How fitting it seems to me.  Emily is into retro things, natural things, artistic things, and besides that I got the pattern from her mother.  She saw some embroidered blocks that Mom got in some stuff and fell in love with them.  Mom made them into a quilt for her.  She loved it.  She said her nursery is painted teal and she promised Ryan that she would not go all pink girly in her décor.  I think she will like this embroidered baby quilt.

 

Sorry the picture of the embroidery work and the quilt itself is not very clear.  I'll try again to take pictures of it and if I can get a better one, I will replace this later.

 

I wanted to add a little pop at the border of the quilt but everything seemed to be too much.  I found a tutorial for "Susie's Magic Binding" and thought I'd give it a try.  It added just what I needed and turned out great.  The tutorial was so easy to follow.  Look at the results.



On the bottom picture you can even see some of the machine quilting I did. 

 

Emily's baby shower is not until November 1 so don't spill the beans.  Can we keep this a secret from her?  You are getting a sneak peak.

 

Rose

PS: Look what I made from the scraps.  Baby Flora will have a doll quilt that goes with her baby quilt. (Dec 14, 2014)



I am a grandma (of sorts)

Monday morning Dad called to tell my that my cow, Molly, had her calf.  I was beginning to think she never would even though Dad thought she might.  If no calf this year, she was going to the sale barn.  She was just saved.

Yesterday morning Dad & I went out to find the baby and tag it so we know which one is mine instead of being one of his or one of Derrick & Dana's.  We found Molly but her calf was not with her.  I was concerned if she was taking care of her baby since we lost her calf last year. 

Last year we moved cattle to the north pasture and there was a tiny little calf struggling to keep up and was trailing (what looked to me to be) a first calf heifer.  When we got to the pasture the little thing laid down in the grass and panted and panted but no mother came for it at that time.  I wanted to pick it up and take it home to make sure it got something to drink and then bring it back when a mother was looking for her baby.  Dad said to leave it alone because the mother would come looking for it.  The next day he said the baby was in the same area and he did not see a mother with it but believed that it was being taken care of even though he did not see it being done.  I still wanted to bring it home to take care it the little thing.  Dad said he'd keep a watch on it.  The next day it was not in the spot or area it had been for the prior two days so he felt it was with its mother even though he did not spot it but there were a lot of cow/calf pairs in a small pasture intended to only be there for a very short time.  The following day he found the calf in the draw bottom, dead.  My baby died.  If only I had been more insistent about bringing it home to care for it.

Well, back to this year's new baby story...We found Molly but the calf was not with her.  Dad has the cattle spoiled by bring them corn every day that all the cows come right up to the Ranger looking for corn and will take it right out of his hands.  We got corn and gave some to Molly.  She stood still and Dad checked to see if she had been nursed on and if she was giving milk.  He said all was good there.  We went driving around the pasture looking for the baby.  We finally found it when we almost ran over it tucked in the tall grass in a terrace channel.  Here is what we found.  No wonder it was hard to find.

 

 

We stopped and the calf just laid there where it's mother placed it.  I got tags ready for it and the castrating band ready in case it is a bull.  The baby never moved the whole time I was doing this and Dad and I were talking.  We decided we may be able to walk up on it since it was so calm there.  That would be better than trying to chase it with the Ranger and hook it's leg to catch it especially since Molly was not there with her baby.  I was standing at the back of the Ranger and Dad began to slowly walk towards the baby.  All of a sudden it shot up and took off on a run away from us.  That away was to run south.  As it came to the fence it stopped a bit and paced the fence line before going through it into the wheat field.  After running a ways into the field it stopped running and turned to look at us.  We were on the Ranger but not moving.  It turned around and began to run again.  No point chasing it as it will only run further away.  We drove to the fence then through the pasture along the fence line looking for the baby.  We did not see it.  Dad hoped it laid down in a terrace in the wheat field and that it would return to where the mother laid it.  We scanned the hay field and wheat field but could not see it there either.  We decided to check on it later.

 

Late afternoon Dad went out again and found Molly pacing the fence line in the area the calf ran through and she was bawling for her baby.  Hopefully the baby will be close enough that it will hear its mother calling it and be hungry enough to come looking for her.  I had to come to school to sub this morning and Dad had gone out early to rake hay so had not checked cattle before I left.  I hope the baby is back with its mother. 

 

I hope not to lose this baby like I did the one last year.  Dad felt so bad for not letting me bring the calf home last year and he believed it to be Molly's calf that he gave me one of his calves to replace the one he caused me to lose.  He did not need to do that but it was very kind of him.  I'm afraid that if we do not find this baby, he will feel really bad again.  After it ran, he said he knew better than to approach it from the north because it naturally would run in the opposite direction which would be away from home.  He thinks if we would have been on the south side of it and it ran it would have run towards home and maybe not get lost.  Also we would have been coming from the back of the critter instead of from the front.  When we came across it and stopped, we just happened to be in front of it. 

 

As much as I love working with the cattle and especially with the baby calves, maybe I am not meant to have any of my own.