sunny morning farm

Wait for the bell and come out a fighting.......ding ding ding....

2012-02-17T16:35:00.002-05:00

So, you can see we did not get a good result from our testing.

Leslie got the call yesterday that she has breast cancer............ any idea how hard those words are to hear over the phone while you are at work? Any idea how hard they are as a mother to hear your crying daughter spout them out thru her tears over cell phones when you are in opposite counties? Pretty darned hard to stomach I can say! I couldn't wait to get my hands on her and my arms around her!

I have cried and cried and cried and cried and still cry over and over....if a cloud comes over or the wind blows a certain way, I cry. I cried my self to sleep last night and the second my eyes caught the light of day I cried like a baby!

Cried for hours and then called Leslie and she sounded so cheerful on the other end of the line and I decided that I had better just suck it up and deal!

And fight!

We have decided that we are going fight like a bunch of crazy banshee women!!

Cancer ain't gonna know what hit it when we all come rolling into the ring!

Leslie is a mere 30 years old, a wife of 12 years to Travis, Mother to Colton 11 and Emma 8 and she is my daughter! Danny's daughter, Robin's sister and Morgan's Aunt. Morgan adores/worships Leslie to no end.....she used to call her in one continuous syllable Auntlesliemyauntmyfriend..........for many many many years that was her name!

Leslie has so many family and friends supporting her and she has such a strong faith in the Lord. She is otherwise very healthy and is determined to fight hard, with all us girlz and guys by her side.

There is a lot that we do not know until further testing is completed about her path of treatment but we do know for a fact that she will be hit really hard with chemo due to the type/size and her age. We saw the surgeon today but he has to wait for several more tests to come in to discuss a plan.

There are prayer warriors ALL over the world already......that's what happens when you have a BIG mouth like me and her sister..........and now that you guys in blogland know about it you can raise her up in prayer too!! I beg of you!! Please help us in this fight!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

Prayers, Please!

2012-02-12T10:45:00.003-05:00

My beautiful daughter, Leslie, is in need of prayers at this time. She has found a mass in her breast a few weeks ago. She went to the gyn and she ordered a mammogram and ultrasound, which was done on Thursday but the Radiologist who did the ultrasound (yes the Dr did it herself) was unable to differientiate between a bening or malignant process so she has to go back on Tuesday for a biopsy.

Leslie is only 30 years old and has no family history of breast cancer, which is in her favor, but we still need a lot of prayers for her! THANKS!!

On Machine Quilting, Old Red Barns, Old Houses and Sunrises

2012-01-27T04:54:00.009-05:00

Yep, that was a mouthful and a handful of work!

Remember my machine quilting table for my frames that Danny made me? They ended up in my bedroom as a storage rack for clothes and junk for a long time now?

Well the reason behind that was we had a glitch in them and all we ever did about that glitch was to discuss that one of these days we would do something about that glitch.

Last Sunday was that day!

I just had an epiphany of sorts and decided that I knew exactly what would work on that glitch and that I was way past ready to have these frames up and running and OUT of my bedroom.

So off we trek to Lowes and spend $8 on the glitch parts and then just simply move them........simple? ha! Simple in the fact that we just dropped everything that was on them and moved them!

I moved them to another temporary home in the side of my hair studio........ I know you are thinking that I am crazy but it works for now. Climate controlled and the lighting is superb!

Cramped yes, but right now is a really slow season for the business and I went for it and carved out an area and this building seems to have been built to be a quilting studio! LOL It's been everything, a greenhouse, a hot tub room, a hair salon and now a quilting studio! That's what you call getting your money's worth!!

This Fence Rail Quilt was started way back when he first built the tables so I could have a quilt ready in a flash to practice quilting with my new Juki and the frames at the same time.

Now after all this time, I have become really acquainted with the Juki TL98Q and love her! So when I put her in the frames this time I was very comfortable and I quilted this quilt in no time flat. I was so proud! I now have all the parts to the Juki HZL600 and she is wonderful too!

I have started a king size modern strip quilt in polka dots....giggle giggle... for my bed and the machine is awesome. I have another quilt in the frames now which is a made up pattern that I threw together one day and it turned out a bit wonky but not wonky on purpose.....get my drift? So I am practicing with a new pantograph on it and it's going quite well so far, seems there are some booboo's that you can quilt out!

I also have several quilts on their way here to "quilt for hire"!!!!!!!!!!!

That's always been my goal but it's been a glitch part away for a long time!

I have been spending a lot of time shooting the beautiful sunrises.

Yesterday morning instead of running outside in my PJ's to catch it, I got some clothes on and ran down the road about a mile and parked in front of this old farm..............well, the sunrise was pretty but the farm was prettier! This is owned by Danny's boss. I LOVE IT!

A bit of playing around with the editing!

With my macro lens.

heart

Have I ever told you that I love red barns?

Well I do!

This is the sunrise that got me started on my chase.......1/4/2012

Totally unedited!

This one made it to our local TV news channel for their evening weather!

I didn't know it but one of my neighbor/hair clients told me.

He works on this farm that is thru that gate and he said he knew where this was taken immediately!

1/14/2012

A Saturday morning and Danny was leaving to go cut firewood. As he left i was standing in the road in my PJ's and it was 14 degrees or so, as I started to shoot I noticed an orange line coming up horizontally and then in a few moments a vertical orange line crossing it. It kept getting bigger and bigger and I kept shooting............you should see all my pics in the timeline..........and suddenly there was a gorgeous orange cross in the sky overlooking my little town, my little farm and me!! Danny tried to call back to tell me to shoot it if I hadn't seen it. Morgan thought I edited it in my pics.........Oh no, there's only one person who could do that and we all know who HE is!

I felt so blessed and privileged to be able be standing here that beautiful morning!

1/25/2012

Yet another one made it on the evening news!

Of course I posted them on their Facebook page but they picked mine twice!!!!!!

This was yesterday, beautiful but not as breathtaking as the previous days!

Go Baby, Go Baby, Go Baby.......is gonna be mine!!

2012-01-17T20:00:00.002-05:00

Yay for me! I am getting this baby for free!

uh huh! I am!

Remember when I purchased my new Juki and when it came from the factory NONE of the parts were in the box?

Well the super duper wonderful folks at sewingmachinesplus.com have been so wonderful trying to get me all my parts, however there has been a glitch somewhere along the lines and there is still one part that has not come in, the knee lifter. We can't exactly figure out why it is not wanting to hop in that truck and run on out here but it hasn't yet. Maybe it will decide to take that hike tomorrow? Not holding my breathe for it.

However, when I purchased the machine it came as a bundle with a $50 gift certificate.

Then after I had to call back and tell them that I had an almost useless machine without it's parts.....they decided that I should recieve another $50 gift certificate for all my troubles and for being so nice to work with.

Then they just happen to have the Accuquilt Go Baby Cutter on sale for $98 and walla it's coming to me!!

I can't wait!

I am going to get the tumbler die and the apple core die to make a tumbler quilt and an applecore quilt.

All in all I guess it was worth not having all the parts in that box to begin with......even though I almost had a heart attack when I found out I couldn't use it!

How to make a man growl with pleasure, frugally.....

2012-01-17T12:09:00.006-05:00

With the rising cost of meats around my neck of the woods, if you are not the president you can't afford beef, so I have decided to pull out my old tricks for turning a cheap cut of beef into a delicious smack yo mama meal for the hubs.

Way back we used to always raise a beef for the freezer.

Then somewhere along the line a Dr told Danny that his cholesterol was too high and he listened to her and decided that we didn't need a freezer full of beef any longer, or pig......BOO HOO!

Back when we had the whole beef we had all the nice tender scrumptious cuts and the less desirable cuts such as round steak.

Less desirable depending on how it was prepared, that is.

Just so happens I married into a family of FABULOUS cooks that knew all about how to pound a steak and slather it with some great sauce or gravy and slap it in either a pressure cooker or a slow cooker, depending on how limited for time,
and the outcome was an AWESOME dish that would please anyone!

To Danny these meals weren't any less valuable than the perfectly grilled T-bone!

To this day it is a fantasy of his, I know how he thinks and what he dreams about at work all day, to come home to a nice slow cooker full of Swiss Steak!

So around 5:30 PM today, give or take a few minutes either way, you may just hear a rumbling, growling, moaning, squalling, down right scary sound. You will think it's a noreaster moving thru or maybe even a winter tornado but have no fear, it's only Danny meeting head on with his fantasy! For the record, he also acts this way with my meatloaf, but so does Morgan, what can I say? I aim to please!

I have to admit my ways of making said Swiss Steak has changed over the years.

I now have one of those new fangled crock pots that cooks almost as fast as a pressure cooker and with me in the kitchen it has to be watched so I won't burn my meal. I already told you I can't afford beef! I also have really come to love cooking with Chicken broth and keep a box open in the fridge, or have my own homemade stock/broth in the freezer at any given time. I have stumbled upon Tomato Paste in a tube, probably Giada that taught me that one. This stuff is handier than sliced bread! Try it if you haven't! The possibilities are limitless!

Now to the wine......... I always love to cook with wine but since I am not a connoisseur of wine I usually don't even go down that aisle in the grocery store. I had Swiss Steak on my mind tho so I purposely made that trek on my last market day.

Actually........I just needed an excuse to use my gorgeous wine bottle stopper that I picked up somewhere at some cool wine bottle stopper store and haven't gotten around to using it yet.

Teehee! Cute, No?

LOVE!

My local convienence store has a great meat department in it and get this...... The name of the store used to be "Moran's Meat and Grocery"....or something like that. We moved to this town right around the same time the store was undergoing a remodel that included a new name. Yes the owner is some distant kin to Danny.
They have these nice little pre made/ semi-affordable hamburger patties that we grab on occasion for that quick pan fried burger. That was last nights supper. There was one left over for me to have for lunch today and you all know how well a cooked hamburger patty warms up, right? Can you say shoe leather?
However, I had just whipped up this awesome Swiss Steak concoction, I have to add spices until it is just so, and the sauce was out of this world. I decided on a whim to heat my burger patty up in a small skillet with a tad of this sauce to steam it in hopes of keeping the burger moist and flavorful. Well bless my heart, it turned into the best idea I have had today!

Danny and I have also recently made another discovery, seems we have decided that we like our hamburgers on white toast. Forget the hamburger buns! It's toast all the way for us!
My friends this was one delicious burger, patty steamed to perfection with a flavorful tomatoish sauce with onions, green peppers and garlic all in the sauce, mayo and dill pickles!
Mama was moaning and a groaning at lunch time and Daddy will be doing the same at suppertime! Watch out it might be scary!

Beef ~ It's what's for dinner!

Story update....

2012-01-09T10:35:00.003-05:00

WOW! All I can really say is WOW!! In my last post I gave you a new blog where you can go and read a story that I started to write. I started this out to be a test of my writing skills and see if I could get any feedback that would make me feel that I did have enough talent to write something that others would want to read. Well Bless my little britches, I can't believe the feedback that I have recieved from the first 3 chapters only of my story! (I have 4 completed at this time)

I recieved numerous emails, Facebook messages and phone calls telling me that I better get that story off of my blog, away from public access and not take a chance in someone else stealing my story! What? Me a writer? I am so overwhelmed! These comments came from all sorts of people leading all sorts of different lives, too. Not just my friends and family trying to pat me on the back with encouragement, these comments were genuine. Some folks sorta jumped thru hoops to get in touch with me in person to tell me how they felt about my writing, saying they could not express to me their true feelings online or in a text. Now that's flattering!

As I mentioned this story was started ad lib and I had no idea how long it would be and was not even sure what to call it, short story, novella, or a novel. Of course my goal was to someday write a novel and I have had several characters in mind for my first book. These characters were totally made up on a whim but it appears that people are so interested in these characters already that I need to finish out this story in book form and see where this leads.

This is certainly something that I have always wanted to do but was unsure if I could ever pull it off. Thanks to all the great encouragement of my friends, family and acquaintances I am now ready to make this a full time career. I have now blocked the other blog from public access but I will continue to keep you all updated as to how the book is going here at Sunny Morning Farm, along with all my usual shenanigans. Thanks for being here with me thru thick and thin. I think the next few miles are going to be pretty rocky before we reach our destination!

Trying something new here.....

2012-01-02T12:03:00.002-05:00

....and just how many times have you heard that one out of my lips?

Yep, I have done it again and you can read all about it over here.

After you read all about what's going on, you can follow me along starting here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunny Morning Farm Family Photoshoot

2011-12-14T09:08:00.007-05:00

Thanksgiving Day we had a planned photshoot here on the farm.

Here are almost all of the pics cause they are way too funny not to share!

Look closely at all of them and see if you can see the common factor in all of them!

Leslie and her beautiful family

Morgan and Jonathan

lovebirds

Yep, Granny has her eyes closed.

Me and my girls!

Lillie is telling Morgan to smile!

blahahaha, not sure what I was doing!

Emma is such a ham!

Now how did this one get in here?

What? Do you guys, not try to hold spoons on your nose at Thanksgiving Dinner?

Some of us are better than others!

Takes a special nose, I guess!

She's so talented!

Robin's beautiful family!

LOL

A questionable gang here!

Lillie says, "wait where's that dog?"

Emma was always ready no matter where the camera was!

Not sure why Leslie was strutting like this......LOL

Really not sure who took this one and why I uploaded it

to blogger but I was not taking all the rest of them out.

So you did get them all!
Hope you enjoyed the Moran Family Photos!

How quickly one little blogger is forgotten about

2011-12-14T00:41:00.002-05:00

I'm having my own little pity party here all by myself tonight.

Well actually it's morning by now.

I am pouting about how I have lost friends

over the past year.

Blogging friends that were so close to me and held such a special place in my heart.

Friends that I felt as if I could show up on their doorstep every morning and go right inside their homes and have a nice hot cup of coffee with them had we lived closer together.

Oh, that's right, I did go into their homes every morning with my cup of coffee!

Friends that I planned to visit one day before I died and have that cup of coffee in real time.

My crazy job took me away from blogland for almost a year and then blogger itself has kept me from being able to post a comment on a lot of my fellow bloggers posts on their blogs and apparently an absence does not make the heart grow fonder.

It makes you all but forgotten!

:-(

It breaks my heart to go to these blog sites that were my favorites and see that I am not even on their favorite blog lists any longer!

I keep my favorite blogs on my blog lists for ever and ever in hopes that they may decide to post again one day!

I know this sounds very very whiny but my feelings are very hurt at this time!

Maybe I will just have to get a whole new set of bloggy friends and try this again?

Maybe I just need a nap cause it's been a very long hard day?

Maybe I am being petty but a blog is supposed to be where you write

your thoughts and ideas down in black and white, right?

So, to my 2 blog friends that have stuck by me thru thick and thin, I salute you and wish you well!

You know who you are!

The picture above is for you!

I happened to gaze out my dining room door this morning and spotted this little fiasco........ ALL five of my banties were up in my washing machine!!

Blahahaha!!!

So here on the farm, Tuesday is now the official washday!

My visit to Connemara Farm

2011-12-12T06:53:00.010-05:00

Danny and I took a great little day trip yesterday to Flat Rock, NC to visit Connemara Farm, the farm that was owned by the late Carl Sandburg and has been donated to the National Historical Society. The goats are still being raised on the farm but they are no longer milking. The goats that are there are direct descendents of Lillian Sandburgs original herd. After Carl died, she sold the last 24 goats, then she turned around and donated the home. With her help they went and bought back her original herd! You can read more about her goat dairy here.

If you remember from my previous years blogging that I owned a buck named Durango who was from the Connemara bloodlines. I purchased him from a nice farm just a few miles down the road from Connemara. We have been searching for a herd sire locally and had no luck with that search so on Saturday I decided to give these same great folks a call and inquire as to whether they may for some slim chance have a buck for sale or know of one around their area. We were so happy with Durango and knew that they would never steer us wrong. So imagine my surprise when she said "As a matter of fact we do have a nice young Connemara buck for sale!" GIGGLES GIGGLES!!!!
So off we tread as fast as that Chevy pickup would get us there to snag him up! Afterall I wanted another one of Mrs. Sandburgs' Champion Goats!
Click on the picture to enlarge.

We got there early enough to take in a quickie tour of Connemara and their goat dairy before our appt with the Burton's. We had to walk up a huge hill to get to the farm and house. It was way so worth it when we got there! This is being used like a garage now but I am imagining this was the Sandburgs tractor shed at one time.

LOVE the red corn crib! I want one!

The goat barn was awesome!

They had a couple chickens pecking around outside but I could never get a good picture.
I also have a tub like this that we decided we need as a watering trough for my goats too!

That prize winning goat is kin to my goats!

The buck lot.

Fabulous milking parlor.....I also want!

I have one of Durango's daughters here but she did not get these spots. A friend of ours used Durango and they have a daughter of his which looks just like this one!

Mrs. Sandburg raised the 3 breeds shown above and had as many as 200 milking at one time.

The goat in the forground is a half sister of the buck I bought yesterday. She is on loan back to the farm at this time. The Burton's work very closely with the farm and they switch around as necessary.

The Toggenburgs all lounging around enjoying the warm sun......it was COLD in the

Pisgah National Forest!

Not sure what this building was but it was beautiful.

Danny has already said that we WILL go back for another visit to the farm when we can stay longer and take in a guided tour.

Check out this building above the garden.

OMG!! It's a greenhouse/ cheese room!

We both really liked this one. You know how we just love outbuildings too!

White outbuildings are the bestest!!

The basement cheese room.

There are so many little white houses/ outbuildings. This just made me break out in goosebumps all over. Look at that bamboo! I have bamboo here and this trip made me grow to love it even more!

Love this village like setting with the gravel pathways up to the main house. I even have some white picket fencing just like this!

Thru the pathway above up to the side of the house.

Side view of the front porch.

The home sits high on a hill and overlooks a gorgeous pond!

The main house!

Lots and lots of ivy!

Lots and lots of trails.

That's enough show and tell for now! I have to get out there and play goat farmer now!

I will be back with some pics of my newest boy, Sawyer Brown!
Hope you enjoyed your tour!

Christmas Parade and Snow Princess Morgan

2011-12-01T19:04:00.006-05:00

Well here we are waiting for the Christmas parade to come around the town of Floyd, Va. Not sure if you remember but I have a friend who is a professional photographer and she was there and got this shot of Robin, Lillie and I. Danny said this was by far my picture that I have ever had taken! A bit wind blown but it's still pretty good! I told her to make me look like Sandra Bullock but she's not quite that good!
We were waiting for the Princess!
Chelsa also took this picture from her side of the street!

Trying to get her earrings in.

That must have hurt!

The dress I made :-)))))

We were so proud of her!

She is a junior in high school and was the Snow Princess but she was in the back car.

Everyone thought she was the Queen!

She was the only one in white and in the rear car. She said she heard all the way around town "and here's the Queen!"

Click to enlarge any of these pictures so you can see her expression!

I didn't upload the picture of the girls in the front car, sorry!

Snow Princess Dress

2011-11-27T09:57:00.002-05:00

Well blogger will not let me upload pictures this morning but it better be a different story by this evening. My grandaughter Morgan has been elected, at her high school, to be the Snow Princess for the Christmas parade today!! She is wearing a long white one shoulder satin tailor made ball gown embellished with alcenon lace. Her delicate little shoulders will be draped with a white satin shawl also tailor made.

hahahaha....... sounds beautiful doesn't it? Well you see she is a itty bitty size 2 and it is November, therefor there are NO long white size 2 dresses in southwest Virginia! Of course I was chomping at the bit to make her gown but we gave it our best shot in 2 states, here and Ga., with no luck. We also only had one week to find this dress. So back to the drawing board. I mean what better way to try out a new sewing machine than to sew slippery satin and lace? It sewed beautifully!

So I will try to be back later this evening with the dress pics, parade pics and pics of her riding in a convertible doing her Miss America wave, wearing a Becky Moran original!

Not into playing games...

2011-11-13T17:40:00.002-05:00

There will be no Billy, like I had said this morning. We found Billy and his friend Snowy on Craigslist and we went and looked at them yesterday and liked them. The girl was asking $175 for the pair. I never tried to haggle her on the price or anything. She wanted us to pick them up between 10 and 10:30 this morning. No problem. We went to bed early last night........riding horses is really tiring. Woke up this morning to find a text from her that we needed to come in the evening because the children that helped her bottle feed him needed to say their goodbyes. I texted her back asking what time to come. No reply ALL day!

Danny was getting rather antsy and wanted to go get them home into their new digs. So I texted her again at 3:12 pm and said we are on our way. She replied we aren't there but will be back at 5PM. I said OK we will be there at 5PM. Since we are an hour away and had to stop at the ATM to get cash, we left our house at 4PM. 16 minutes down the road I recieve a text from her that reads.......... something like this...... "My neighbor really wants Billy and offered me $220 for him but you and your husband are very nice people and I want to do whats right with you. Would you be willing to give me $200 for the pair?"

What? Seriously?

I said "No just sell him to the neighbor."

Someone has a lot to learn about the Golden Rule!

Back on a buck hunt again!

Billie and Billy

2011-11-13T06:07:00.005-05:00

Here is an older picture of the horse that I rode yesterday, Billie.

(She is the mare shown here.)

Of course we got NO pictures of me on horseback.....urgh!

After our ride we had to go down the rode and try out a couple new goats that I found on none other than Craigslist. A 5 month old registered (very spotted) Nubian Buck, named Billy!
Ironic?
Billy comes with a yearling Alpine doe thrown in as a companion.
She is white and her name is Snowy.
Billy comes from the same stock and same farm as my first Nubian, Saphira. He is rather small right now at 5 months old but he really knows his way around a doe already!
We go to pick them up this morning and I can't wait to get some new babies on the ground!

Terri, I did it!

2011-11-12T19:34:00.002-05:00

I rode a horse today! A real live Tennessee Walking Horse! The best part.....I didn't fall off and I didn't get scared! Of course I didn't ride very far, either! I had a good short ride and thought I should quit while I was ahead. Nothing like facing your fears head on. I haven't rode for about 25 years because of a very traumatic fall, so I was very proud of myself. Now I have the FEVER!

Once again.....

2011-11-09T20:19:00.002-05:00

....here I am with another question about blogger. How/why are all of the links coming up at the bottom of all of my posts? I have some posts that have a zillion links to them. Did you guys actually link to them or is blogger playing with my head?

I'm back!

2011-11-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

I was having a senior moment when I decided that I needed a new blog and it didn't work out like I thought it would. So I am back and please don't ever let me get another wild hair up my butt and do something so foolish again! I am back if you will have me that is! Please and Thank You!

I'm moving on....

2011-09-21T13:01:00.002-04:00

Funny how things have led me to this.

Circumstances, laziness, technology, lack of motivation,

depression (did I really say that? I've never been depressed in my whole life)

illness,

etc etc etc......

Now let me explain where I am going.

I am moving my blog....well starting a new one...

and you can find me here at Only The Hem Of My Apron!

Seems since I have quit work fulltime that I have been in a terrible tailspin, it has been a roller coaster ride from you know where!

I have been sick with shingles again, not as bad as last year, but close. I think that has played the number one part in my lack of motivation and depression (strictly clinically related due to fatigue) and laziness (which I would love to blame on the illness too).

Circumstances...well that one is a combo of all of the above.

Technology......my oh my....... that's a biggy.

I seem to have started devoting WAY too much of my time to being nosy and worried about what other people are doing on Facebook.

Not so much what they are doing but what they think of what I am doing....I think that's what I think I think......I don't know anymore what to think for myself!

The shingles have put me in a brain fog that was for a couple weeks so incredibly scary that I was googling Alzheimers and dementia, and was very convinced that I had early onset!

I have already come to the conclusion that I was in brain overload from TMI about other people and their response to my posts. Afterall it's none of my business what other's think about me!

After I got on facebook again this morning and the entire setup has changed, it was like a big ole reality slap in my face!

What I read in between the lines of all of the many many complaints about the changes was that it was time for me to get back to the "basics of life".....(aahhh remember that good ole Waylon Jennings song).

My new blog is designed to bring me back around to being creative, being simple, being pure, being sustainable, being thrifty, being energetic, being accountable for my time management, being crafty and just plain ole being me.

I do not need to worry about whether such and such has the friday night football scores, unless it's Coltons team playing. I don't need to know about who is at a wine tasting and I sure as heck do not need to know when a certain friend ran out of toilet paper in his bathroom.......yep important stuff that I learn on facebook has probably been to blame for my brain fog all along!

So come with me and my apron on my new journey........ cause only the hem of my apron knows for sure.....

Dream a little dream......

2011-09-16T20:19:00.002-04:00

Next week at this time I will be right there in that lounge chair....no not that one silly, that one! The one on the end!

You know how nosy I am and if I am on the end I can see everyone that pulls into the parking lot, walks to the beach or plays in the game room!

How do I know this?

Cause I've been there before in that exact lounge chair, that exact hotel and that exact pool. Beside that exact beach in that exact state!

Where is that might you ask?

TYBEE ISLAND, GA!!!!!

Yes, ma'am we leave on Thursday morning and have about an 8 hr drive to reach the beautiful island of Tybee.

Tybee is Savannah's beach and it's where the movie The Last Song with Miley Cyrus was filmed.

We went there 5 years ago for our 30th anniversary,

so that means this is our 35th year of total wedded bliss!

Now who wouldn't say that when they are being swept away to a warm sandy island?

Of course it's been bliss all the way baby!

We stayed in this Hotel, The Desoto Beach Hotel when we were there before and it was fabulous. Nothing over the top but just perfect and from our beach we can watch the ships/barges coming to and from the Savannah River
We both love that!

Big ole cargo barges that are not very pretty to look at up close look so darned good from a distance as they rise upon the horizon as if out of thin air and get bigger and bigger as they approach the island. Awesome in my book!

I also have to say that our view is the very best God has made for watching the sunrise and sunsets! Breathtaking!

Definately my vacation of choice!

But...... it was his idea this year!

I had quit bugging him about going and when he got in the doghouse one day he decided that we should go back to Tybee!

Sucker, I am!

She is living my dream........

2011-09-13T07:12:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time............. a few years back..........

Ok, I'll start over here. In my 12 years as a nurse I have had several jobs but only one REAL job and that was working for a general surgeon in his office. I have to say it was 5 of the best years of my life! I loved working there. He was/is such a fine surgeon and I was so proud of him. He was soooooooooooo good to me and my family!!! I never thought there would come a time that I would even consider leaving that office until his retirement. However, that time came and it was time to move on, for reasons that were very much out of my control :-(

BUT........ he also has a great family, I was really good friends with his wife who I worked with at the hospital before taking that position in his office, and he has three GORGEOUS children! The middle child, Sarah, is now living in Italy!!! OMG!! I am soooooo jealous of her! Just kidding, I am so happy for her getting to actually live out my dream! She is also getting married in 2 weeks! In Italy! You can find her and her delishiousa blog here. I think you will enjoy!

My Shabby Country Cottage Chic Hair Studio Makeover Reveal, well sorta....

2011-08-31T05:53:00.013-04:00

been working really hard for several weeks trying to transform this space into a functional hair salon so we do not have to build on a complete room this size....
all the hard work has paid off......

I love it!

here it was before.....nice as a hottub room and a make shift nail room but I needed more room to be able to move around my hydraulic chair as I am creating a masterpiece on each of my clients! so the hottub is now on the patio and several, I mean SEVERAL gallons of white paint later........

I now have that room......

lots more little things to do such as curtains, baseboards and painting some trimwork.....oh and moving the shampoo bowl over from the old building.......

say cheese....

I am on the lookout for more shabby furniture to use for storage and another vanity to go with my extra hydraulic chair that is in storage......yep, I will have a "two seater" again just like Floyd always dreamed of having on The Andy Griffith Show!!!

the china cabinet is perfect storage for my Mary Kay products.....

I hesitated to paint the concrete floors white.......hahaha well a little.....but I am glad that I did now! It is so bright in there that I have to wear my shades to cut hair!

and this is what a white floor in a hair salon looks like when there's hair on the floor........LOL

Hope you enjoyed my little tour.

I will keep you updated on the progress as it happens.

Gotta get to work now and make some money for my upcoming anniversary beach trip to

Tybee Island, Ga in three weeks!!! Woot woot!!

35 years of wedded bliss!!

I am finally a Biker Chick....

2011-08-12T07:39:00.004-04:00

A vintage Vespa style pink scooter!

Could ya tell it was pink?

Cupcake icing pink!

Go Leslie, Go!

I have wanted one of these FOREVER!!!
Don't know how I talked him into letting me get this one, though?!?!
I did have to buy it all by myself but that makes it more fun.
I found her...(I call her "Mary" cause she is Mary Kay pink and she is my version of the iconic Mary Kay pink cadillac).....on Craigslist in North Carolina. We went and looked at her on Saturday and of course I fell in love with her. Danny told me that if i wanted her I had to come up with the money on my own and that it wasn't coming out of the bank.......hahaha the jokes on him, he knows not to challenge me......I bought her home on Thursday.
Seems I had several pieces of really nice jewelry lying around collecting dust that other folks wanted, Thanks to ebay!!
Yes!! She's ALL mine!
Now if I wreck her
she is still ALL mine!
However Danny has came the closest to doing just that when he barely missed our mailbox....teehee that was a Kodak moment but I missed it on film.

Colton and Emma love her,
Colton wishes she was a he and not so darned pink.
Emma loves her and wishes she was pinker!
When Danny rode her he refused to wear the pink helmet......blahahaha didn't mind the pink scooter tho!!
A friend saw me on the rode the day I hauled her home and he thought I had a pink Harley Davidson on my truck.
What?
I can barely handle a scooter.
I am getting better, I have 7 miles on her now, that's 7 miles around and around and around my house.
Nah, I have been on the dirt road in front of my house, back and forth, can't go too far cause there is a hill either way and I don't do hills, bumps, curves, sudden stops, deer, bear, dogs, other vehicles or pavement yet.

The plans to have a scooter with a basket to hop on and make a quick run to the market to pick up some fresh produce for dinner is sorta out of the question since I am so far out in the boonies. However a nice peaceful Saturday evening stroll along those back roads in the boonies may be just what the Dr ordered!
Practice makes perfect, I think I will try one of those hills today!
I have no problem with Mary pulling me up the hill cause she has PLENTY of pep, it's just going back down the other side..........

I LOVE HER!!!!!!!

A change is coming.....

2011-07-16T12:17:00.007-04:00

i have to talk fast so here goes......i am now a new me ...i know you are saying to yourself that you have heard all of this before but haha the jokes on you this time and i will prove it to you.... i am on the pursuit of happiness and i am well into finding it here at home, in my new business, in my garden, in my sewing room, on canvas, by the fish pond, in my new career as a mary kay consultant, as the person who i want to be!!!

i have posted a zillion pics for you to enjoy or skip over what ever you chose to do but they are what keeps me going and what has been keeping me hopping for several weeks now. this is only the begining of the pile so get ready for me to get back on a blogging schedule soon ;-) I will be back because this blog is a very important part of my life and becky wants to be happy....right?

the grandkids spent 4 days with us a couple weeks ago when danny was on vacation and we got so much done.
Emma as it turns out is quite the gardener and i will post those pics soon. colton is now a brick mason.......

weeds b gone just like magic........

danny is the number one veggie gardener this year and it is looking quite fabulous despite the late late season due to cold rainy weather......no weeds here either

nice straight rows martha stewart style

lots of changes here with splitting and moving overgrown and over shadowed plants. leslie and travis put in a huge perrineal bed and some hardscaping the same week as travis was on vacation too......i had the little helpers for four days tho....hahaha sorry mom, so i did share a few plants with her and there are more to be sent her way

mulch hauled by the backhoe buckets....better than by wheelbarrow, right?

still more to be placed

colton and emma helped me build this brick pathway thru the garden. this is the path that we used for several years to walk to the mailbox, we moved the mailbox and had let the path grow over but it was really missed......just like nature intended there to be an opening of passage thru there. i am so happy with this, they did such a great job. i bought them 5 movies, let them have gallons of icy slusshy diet coke (their new fav and it was 90+ degrees everyday) swims in the pond and hottub breaks, and i fed them good too including weinie roasts at night and smores. they didn't want to go home....now i am afraid they won't come back.

my lilly is beautiful this season even though it is almost suffocated with other plants

painted the facade only on the hottub room for now....will finish it this fall. looks so much better don't ya think?

still a work in progress. the red rose is the "Love" rose that i planted last summer and she loves it here. she can put out the blooms over and over.....wish i had a whole garden of them..humm?

view from the hair studio

propagating boxwoods for more hedge

THE NEW GOAT DAIRY BARN!!!

the view from the porch of the hair studio

from the hair studio....this massive butterfly bush is a massive thorn in danny's side but he said i can let it bloom and then hack it back to a controllable size......:-(

now......miss robin is the hydrangea queen in atlanta, being the president of the garden club and all, and she has instilled the hydrangea fever on me big time. i am such a pushover. i have planted a Penny Mac on either side of the washer and a Mini Penny in front of the barn. i also have a Lady In Red in the front garden and 2 more to get planted as soon as the rain stops today. i can't wait for them to bloom!!!

my $1 goodwill chair that i re-rescued from the woodstove this winter.....omg i have to watch him like a hawk....

yesterday i aired my quilts on the back deck and then i dragged all my stuff out there and started quilting the old consigment store crazy quilt top that you see in my header pic and my previous post......now that was very therapeutic!! just what my soul needed, a 70 degree overcast day, quilting while the birds sang and overlooking the veggie garden......i love my new life!

i also needed a new sewing room...hahaha i have sewing in every room of the house and now i am using the deck?

i love my potting porch too.

i will be back with more soon.

there are several new sewing/quilting projects that are completed that i think are blog worthy.

have a great day friends.

Just this....

2011-07-15T17:32:00.000-04:00

that's all.

Out here in the country....

2011-06-21T21:50:00.005-04:00

it's been crazy busy!

Stylin on the stylin studio.
What ya think about that blue sky?
I love it.

I have been getting some new clients by word of mouth!!

WOOTWOOT!!

Maybe I will soon have time to get some real advertising done ;-)

Take note of the sign.

It says "weeder wanted".

Let me tell you, a weeder is wanted here!

My flowers have been consumed by weeds this season.

Not enough time in the day to get all the chores finished.

My job away from home is now over and I am on to better things and I am very excited to do so.

Robin and Morgan were here last week.

Can you believe Morgan has her drivers permit?

Man I am getting old!

Little Sister Lillie was here too!

They get the hand above the head while sleeping thing from their Papa Danny!

Miss blue eyes!

She is the sweetest baby ever!!!

We did some cherry picking a couple weeks ago with friends!

The kids had a blast.

Emma at Lovers Leap Mountain Overlook.

My Prince Charming!

Colton and Emma and the beautiful view!

I am back now and I am ready to conquer the world!

My head is chock full of new ideas and inspirations.

I will be busy as a bee trying to get those ideas to fruition, so bear with me.

I will keep you posted.....

Fabric and paintbrushes lead to....

2011-06-07T09:50:00.006-04:00

Working my fingers to the bones, painting and decorating, in the cool morning breeze or late afternoon shade.

I had a brilliant idea to make some outdoor curtains to help shield the unwanted sun at certain times of the day. What sort of relaxation can you get if the porch is not climate controlled?
I used a set of king size sheets and they are just perfect for what I needed.
Not sure why I haven't done this a long time ago.
I can't wait til late evening, swinging in the porch swing with a citronella candle burning to keep the mosquitos away....

The ceiling over the porch is going to be painted a sky blue for obvious reasons. Do I need to explain to you? I had to explain it to Danny back last fall when we got started painting all the white. He remembered all this time later! HA!! Funny since he couldn't understand at the time, again he thought me super crazy!

Love this view, but it will be better when the painting is all finished.
Wait til you see my tree porch swing!
If Terri can have the most beautiful chicken coop with a porch, I can have the coolest hair studio with a porch!

I think I would be content to wait in line for a haircut in a nice peaceful garden with the sound of the songbirds and moving water, would you?

BTW, songbirds LOVE country music, it makes them sing louder and louder!!

I am getting rather upset here....

2011-06-07T04:28:00.002-04:00

I have been having trouble being able to post comments on all my best blog friends posts for many months now. I have been planning to take time to sit down and try to figure out what is wrong but haven't had the time as of yet. I am able, on occasion to accidently have a comment actually post for me and then I will try on the next post of the same persons blog and nada, it ain't happening! URGH!!!

I know all my besties out there think I have been ignoring them for all this time but I haven't been. I will get this fixed some how some way! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Now this is what I was talking about.....

2011-05-31T17:56:00.005-04:00

......those things that make me happy!

Here is my newly upcycled potting shelf for my potting shed, OOPS,

potting porch. It is an old entertainment center that I saw the potential for some greater use one day. Danny however did not see any potential in the piece and thought I had lost my cotton-picking mind over this one! LOL

It came with the mobile home, The Fairy's Rest.

I found a great used TV and TV stand on Craigslist and did not need this one so I kept it.

I am glad I did!

Robin bought me these darling bird drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby in Atlanta and brought them to me for Mothers Day! Cool kid, huh?

I saw them when we were there visiting Lillie but they were very pricey so I left them, reluctantly. But in a couple weeks they showed up at my doorstep!

The water spigot hooks HAD to come home with me.

I LOVE IT!

This will be put to good use along with my Pouting Pany's Potting Bench/Table from last year.

I will paint it green to match the shelf and call it all a potting porch!

Storage on the back side for all my garden tools. Well the small ones anyway, need to figure out what to do with the big shovels and such....hmmm??

I love this picture!

{smile}

I had to play around with Picasa and I like this one too!

So this is what I was talking about in my last post when i mentioned doing what I like to do....did I say when I like to do it too?

I have officially quit my fulltime job as of last Friday, however, I must have had a senior moment when they asked if I could fill in one day a week til they could get someone hired and trained for my position, and I said "Yes, I will be more than happy to work every Wednesday for four weeks!" What was I smoking that day?

It's Ok though!

I can do anything for eight hours a week, right?

I have had such a great time in the past 4 days and have accomplished so much that I do not want to mess up my streak by going to work tomorrow!! URGH!!!

I think I can.....I think I can....I think I can......

New...

2011-05-07T06:58:00.003-04:00

New ideas, new decor, new career, new friends

and a renewed sense of self worth!

I have finally made the decision to give up nursing for real.

That really wasn't a hard decision, actually!

Yes, nursing has it's moments but the field has really changed
in the past 12 years that I have been practicing.

Nurses are nothing but paper pushers (even in this day of computerized medical records, trust me it's easier to write down a quick statement/note on paper)

and we are also the complaint department.

Having spent this whole year in a cardiology office, I couldn't begin to tell you how many phone calls that I have recieved. When I checked my voice mail in between patients, as I am the only nurse, I would have as many as 16 voicemails! OMG!!!

Any way I looked at it there was NOT enough of me to go around.

My stress level was/is at it's highest in my whole life!

So I decided that I had to take care of me!

Hence the decision to use my resources and fall back on my first career/degree which is cosmetology. Of course I have been up and running in my little salon in my yard for a couple years now working very part time at it.

However I have owned much bigger salons in the "city" in the years past but I am ready to settle down here on the farm and plow away at making friends, family and new clients beautiful with each service that I can drag them in here for!! LOL

I know that I have posted my salon name in the past as "Another Wild Hair" but I did not do enough research on that name and I have decided on my new name for my new salon to be

"Hair In The Country"

I think it fits perfectly since the location couldn't get much further off the beaten path!

Hey don't judge, we farmgirls like it that way, right?

I offer hairstyling while specializing in coloring. I guess that's the artist in me!

I am also offering Facial Waxing and Natural Nail Care....

think Tea Tree Oil Nail Soak and a Lavender Mint Manicure.......

Sound Yummy???

I think so and would like one of those myself. Maybe I could talk my girls into treating me as a client in my salon! I am sure they will partake in my services!!

I think I will top it off with a Hot Paraffin Wax Hand Dip in Grape Seed Oil Wax!!

Ooh Laaaaa Laaaaa!!

Would you take a drive to the country for this type of service?

Would you "stay" in the country instead of driving into the city for those services?

Gasoline is only $4 a gallon my friends!

I guess we will find out on or after June 1st!

That is the day scheduled for opening day.

Wow I have a lot of work to do before then.

Oh I also have to work out my 30 day notice at work, three more weeks to go and then I am my own boss again. I can set my own hours and work at my own pace.

All that right here on my farm, just exactly where I need to be!!!

Here's to a new me!!

Some have spots, some have not!

2011-05-01T10:17:00.003-04:00

My new baby goat Karo has lots of spots!
Even tho it took Danny a while to see them!
Maybe he should wear his glasses?
She is my first of the season, single birth to Belle who is my BEST!
I really have high hopes for this young lady.

She is the sweetest and friendliest baby ever born here on my farm.
I think she thinks that I am her mother the way she wants to cuddle with me!
She is still being raised by her mother and I am getting almost a gallon of milk a day from Belle on top of the baby!
I couldn't be happier unless I had 10 like her mother!

Then there is my other baby Lillie!
Need I say more?
Do you see that precious little mouth and chin?
Well that's our kissy spot!

She likes me too!
She was here for a few days Easter weekend.
She is coming back tomorrow for a whole week with Granny Becky kissing her chin!
I could just lick her!
Nuf said!

White Country Farmhouse

2011-04-08T15:40:00.005-04:00

Almost finished!!

I have it sitting in my foyer so it can be seen from the road, but I just love the front of the house and want to stare at it all day myself.

Guess I'll have to ride up and down the road several times a day so I can see it myself!!

NOT!!

We still have to put the roof over the porch.

I love love love the porch too!

A garden bench, croquet set, galvanized tub, rubber garden/barn boots and garden tools.

Just like my real front porch!

I crocheted the rug for the doorway, I have to be able to wipe my muddy boots, right? Love this veiw!

Be still my heart!

Always loved these sinks!

How do you like the pastry tray?

Walnut bedroom suite, the bed looks just like mine that Danny made for me for our first Christmas!

Still waiting for the other pieces Danny!

I have decided that I will have to paint the ceilings in all the rooms!

Isn't one house enough to have to paint? Or Two? (home and The Fairy's Rest)

I love being able to sit and admire the dollhouse and see my plum tree in bloom!!

Spring has finally sprung here!!

Is it wrong for a grown woman like me to dream of owning a big white country farmhouse?

To play with a big white country farmhouse dollhouse?

Nah!!

Meet Miss Lillie Suzanne Fonville, A Georgia Peach

2011-03-17T06:54:00.005-04:00

3/16/11 at 9:54 AM
7 lbs 2.2 oz, 18 1/2 inches long
A true Georgia Peach

Mom and baby are perfect!!!

I can't wait to meet her in person next week!

(I'm in Va and they are in Ga)

Short and sweet...

2011-03-14T22:00:00.003-04:00

No time for an explanation, but it's my compost tumbler that I have been begging for for 10 years!! Yay me!!

I'm a good pouter.......

2011-03-12T18:06:00.004-05:00

Actually I wrote the book on pouting, but he knows how to stop me from pouting, most of the time that is, by buying me something new! Such as a new Mantis tiller!! Wootwootwoot!!!

Now if he will just clean up that garden and get it all tilled for me I might feel better too.

You see I am pouting because I did not get to join in on my friends meeting each other in Missouri yesterday!

Terri and Brenda were not supossed to get together without thecannedquilter and I!

Pout, pout, pout!!!

My lip is really hung low enough to step on right now.

That's what my dad used to say when I was pouting and it would make me so much more pouty!

No REALLY I am so happy for them!

Seriously, happy for them!

Now if you don't believe me......

hahaha

I just wish my stupid job hadn't got in the way of making a trip west to meet these great ladies too. There will be other trips, especially when we talk Terri into moving south!

Now to prove to you all that I am not ALL bad......

I have decided to get on the "Dress A Girl Around The World" train
and make some dresses to send to special little girls who may not otherwise have a pretty dress!

I surely have a stash of fabric that can be put to good use now.

These are pillowcase style dresses that are super easy to make and satisfy my cravings for a "quick sew project"......I have those cravings daily ya know?

Robin planted this little idea in my brain.

Go on over and look at her 3 beautiful dresses that she made in the past day or so.....getting ready to burst open with this new grandchild of mine too! Tuesday!! heheheehe

I didn't use a pattern, I just guesstimated and I think it's perfect for a girl about a size 7 or 8.

I used bias tape for the trim and ties.....easy peasy!

I plan to make several more.

Wanna join me?

I promise I will stop pouting......some day....one day............maybe!

I am not a horrible person, no matter how much you think I am!

Na Na Na Nah Nah!!

2011-03-11T17:45:00.003-05:00

I bet you've always wanted one too!

We have finally took the time to work on this dollhouse that has been started for what 2 years or so? I am loving it more than I thought I would too!!
Like the walnut stained door?

How about my vintage farmhouse kitchen sink?

I even have a to scale dollhouse for my dollhouse!!

This is so the dollies can play dollhouse too.

I will let the dollies decorate this one all by themselves!

Emma is getting pretty excited about getting this thing finished before she goes off to college.

Go check out Amy's dollhouse over at duringquiettime.blogspot.com.

This is the link to her kitchen but the rest of the dollhouse is in previous posts.

SOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUTE!!

The girls at work said I needed to have a dollhouse play party and invite all the women I work with. Now how fun would that be? No kids, just adults! LOL!!

Sorry Emma and Lillie you will have to wait your turn!

"Lillie" is my 4th grandchild who is coming next week.

They are going to induce labor on Tuesday if she holds out that long!

I can't wait to meet her!!

Ever have one of those days?

2011-03-07T20:34:00.002-05:00

Where every thing you did went wrong?

Where everyone you came in contact with made you mad?

Where you felt you were doing a senseless job?

Where no matter how much you do for some people it goes un-noticed by that person?

Where you wonder if you really need the money bad enough to continue doing that senseless job?

Where you ponder at why you took that job in the first place?

Where you try your best to figure out when and how you can get out of that job?

Where you know that you do not want to give up such a great job?

Where you have grown to HATE Mondays and all they bring with them?
Where you question your skills at what you do?

URGH!!!!!!!

I have had one of those days today as well as last Monday!

It really has nothing to do with me and my nursing skills.

Nothing to do with the office dynamics as I have a great raport with the Dr and the office assistant. I also have a great relationship with most all of our patients.

I always go above and beyond to care for them as I always have in my nursing career.

However, there just seems to be a few people who can just crawl under my skin and sit there and bite me and chew and gnaw for hours on end!

The kinda biting, gnawing that you just can't shake off or leave at the office no matter how much you try to!

I wish I could say more about the situation but my hands are tied and my lips are sealed!

I just want you to know that it is giving me uneccesary chest pain tho!!

SO...I just dream of better days to come. Garden time. I dream of playing in the dirt.

I dream of the peacefulness and the way the time just floats on by as if to stand still.

The warm sun soothing my sore muscles............

Yes I am going off to my happy place now..............

2001-2011.....

2011-02-26T22:21:00.004-05:00

That's the time frame for our home remodel.

A whole decade!

It just hit me tonight that we are all but finished on the structural remodel of this place.

Now the only thing left to do is to finish the painting inside!!

Such as the kitchen cabinets.

I sure do like them!

He does too!

It was like pulling his teeth to get him to agree to doing anything inside the house.

He wore himself out on the exterior I guess, Thank goodness we didn't have a lot of inside work to do.

Still a ton of cabinets to finish, the stairwell
laundry room and big bathroom will get a new coat of paint.

The bar sink in the kitchen needs to be hooked up....he told me today that he "thought" about that the other day and that I should give him credit for that one!!

We need a new storm door for our bedroom door that leads out on the deck and a couple light fixtures need to be replaced......

Then we will be FINISHED!!!!!

This has been a long 10 years too!

No wonder my hair is so grey and his is falling out!!

I think I will plan a big "Thank Goodness The Remodel Is Over Party" for around May 1st, the day we moved in in 2001!

Thank You Lord for letting us live thru this one without killing each other!

Now we have a barn to build.........OH NO!

The pain....

2011-02-20T05:46:00.002-05:00

The pain that is in my heart right now is overwhelming. I hurt so badly for my friend Terri as she suffers the loss of her son Trent. If you read my last post you will see that I did not know of his passing til a couple hours ago. I was unable to sleep due to a heavy heart and now I know why it was a heaviness there. My sister Terri needed me. I found out about this on facebook.

I never knew that you could find a new "family" thru cyber space but I did and I am not sure that I could hurt anymore had I just lost my own 12 year old son or grandson. Please pray for Terri and her family.

This is where I have been....

2011-02-19T21:56:00.006-05:00

Besides working fulltime in the Dr's office, which is about 40 hours more a week than what I want to do. I have been trying to get a few things accomplished around the house.

Such as a makeover for my kitchen!

I finally convinced Danny to let me paint the cabinets white!

He even hung my new light that I have had for a long time.

I had an oak board that stretched out between the upper cabinets over the window, a valance I think they are called. I wanted that board removed for almost 10 years now, so it would no longer block the light. It took him about 12 seconds to get it down!

Now you can even see the new light and it really opens up the space!

I still have several more to paint but we are getting there.

We have also been sick, Danny with the flu, I with a stomach bug and then a sinus infection that has been going on for over 2 weeks.

I think we have done pretty good for ourselves.

What you think?

Better before or after?

We have also been getting in lots of coon hound puppy loving!
See they are already treeing!

Little Willie will not be going to Wisconsin afterall
BoooooooHoooooooo!!
Actually Terri asked us to find him another home because her son is not enjoying the training of a coon dog pup. You have to be 100% into that or there is no need in trying.....from what I've heard anyway. Danny and Colton are 150% into coon hunting!
Of course we had a waiting list a mile long for these pups, so there was no trouble finding him a home. Danny says he thinks he is the smartest of the litter, definately the most unusual coloring for a red tick! Most folks think he's a lemon beagle!

So with the gas prices over $3 a gallon now it would have been a very costly trip to deliver Willie to Trent, a 1200 mile trip one way in the gas guzzling truck, but it would have been worth it to get to see Terri, her family and her farm! Maybe some other time.
Danny has promised me a beach trip instead!

hahahaha this one is so funny!!

So that's what I've doing!

Whew!!

He won.....

2011-02-03T21:14:00.003-05:00

.......after all these years of being married to a hunter/gun lover, he has finally won me over!

(I look just like this lady when I am shooting too)

teehee

You can still be feminine and shoot guns can't you?

I mean all the gun companies are making pink guns now!
Actually I have always loved to shoot but Danny didn't want me to "Waste" all his ammo target practicing. I had no desire to hunt and kill any animals.....well
maybe a possum in the chicken coop or a crow in my corn.
My dad has always had guns around and he used to throw up beer cans for me to shoot as a small child and I hit them every time!
I am still a pretty good shot, not bragging but I shot a penny with his 22 rifle the other day and one certain grandaughter with good eyes kept missing it and gave up! She should be the marksman with all her practice over the years!

Anyway, I just purchased my very first bonified shotgun today!!!
hehehehe
I got a Remington 870 20 Gauge pump !!!!
I mean I purchased it myself, passed the rigorous registration and all!!
We are going to start shooting clays with some friends and of course we will have a few grandkids doing that with us too!!

Danny is happy with my new enthusiasm, we seem to have more to talk about now since I am just like one of the guys! However, Leslie made the comment that her daddy will give up hunting now that I have horned in on his hobby!!
That's OK he can have that coonhunting!
That's not for me!
Maybe a climate controlled shooting range will be more my cup of tea!!!

I have already put in my order for a Henry Golden Boy 22 rifle of my very own too!!!
Pretty good Valentines Day gift, huh??

No words can describe......

2011-01-27T21:10:00.003-05:00

(Wisconsin Willie 22 days old)

(Virginia Ann)

{{{{{SMILE}}}}}

I knew I could teach her......

2011-01-16T10:54:00.003-05:00

how to color my hair!

Leslie, that is, as many hours as she has spent in my hair studio for the past 22 years she should know how!

She was one of my guinea pigs for many years before I started cosmetology school and during.

I also have to say that she was one of my guinea pigs for new tricks and techniques that I have tried since I became licensed too!

I worked as an educater for Paul Mitchell Systems for

a while and had to try out new tricks all the time!

Leslie also worked as my shampoo girl for many summers as a teenager.

Of course she always liked getting her hair cuts and color done for free and I always had the really cool nail polishes and equipment to keep hers looking perfect ALL THE TIME!!

Leslie, when is the last time you polished your nails? I know you caught a great husband with those beautiful nails!! I bet he would like to see them now too! LOL

Yep, both of my poor girls felt the brunt of my calling many times,

however, they will only trust me to do their hair now!

Robin has only had another person in her hair once and that was her mother-in-law who put her a perm in just as something to do on a whim while I was busy.

Danny took Leslie to his bosses wife once for both of them to have haircuts when his father passed away and I was way to busy to get to them.

Robin travels from Atlanta for haircuts!

She's my most dedicated/loyal client!

She cried when she thought someone else was going to have to cut her hair one time!

Teehee....yep they are spoiled!

They both would cut my hair for me if they knew how and both have put on all over color for me.

Robin and Danny have over the years pulled my hair thru a cap.......OMG PAINFUL TOO!!!
Ever had your hair pulled thru a frosting cap?

That's why some great hairdresser invented the foiling technique!

Easy peasy on the client!

However when you have a natural very dark brown brunette as I am, that is before mother nature took over and tried her hand at

natural highlights and that DID NOT work,
it is very hard to lift that color above anything but red.

It is a lot easier for an ametuer hairdresser to control the color if it is

seperated from the rest of the hair by a plastic cap.

Hence the reason I endured many hours of pain last evening after talking Leslie into pulling it thru a cap for me.

I am on a mission to look younger and when you get older you are supposed to lighten your hair, as mother nature does your hair and brows and lashes.

Lifts many years off your age to go lighter as your lashes and brows fade.

You all know those older ladies that go jet black because they think that has restored their youthful appearance. Most of these women were not that dark as a child!

It only makes them look a whole lot older especially when they have to pencil in their brows with a black sharpie!!

Do you know someone like that?

Well as you can see all these pictures were turned to black and white because I

was in

"Blonde Shock"
last night when I took them and this seemed to lessen the blow!

Danny says that I am crazy and he loves me as a blonde this time.

It's been about 5 years since I had it this color and he never really cared for it before.

However he has watched a couple movies lately with Catherine Heigle sp? and he loves her!!

Hmmm???? Let me think about this one?

I see Phyllis Diller when I look in the mirror, not Catherine!

I hope you enjoyed your little session from Hair Color 101!!

and then there were four....

2011-01-14T16:45:00.002-05:00

Little Ginny Ann with her head all smooshed by her brother!

Wisconsin Willie on the left!

They are so dag gone cute!!

My kinda day....

2011-01-12T09:42:00.004-05:00

It's my day off today, only because my Dr is out of town, and then again on Friday I will be off too! I have nothing else to do but sit and take in all the sights around this farm that I miss all those other work days.

Such as this really nice breathe of Spring that my Amaryllis has given me.
It's snowing outside, of course, and this is such a welcome sight inside!
Makes me feel all tropical!!
teehee

I get to sit and watch all my HUNDREDS of birds at my feeders.

I get to watch them drink warm water from their new heated dish.

This is a heated dog waterer but I thought it would be perfect for the birds too.

I think I will need to get out there and place a big rock in the middle of it incase one was to fall in maybe they could scurry to the top of the rock to escape.

Click to enlarge these pictures and you will see only a fraction of the birds that are out there at any given time. Funny how they know when I have the camera on them and they fly.

I have so many American Goldfinches that I fear for my life when I walk outside!

I have a friend who is pertrified of birds and she says "They will peck your eyes out!"

With this many out there I am thinking of her often!

I guess I had better be careful what I ask into my yard!

I finished all the laundry and did a lot of cleaning last night so I could have this "ME" day today!

Pretty smart huh?

This morning while doing my birdwatching with a nice hot cup of Hazelnut coffee in my hand...

I spotted this little girls mate!

The picture above, albeit a horrible picture, is of my female Red Bellied Woodpecker that came here last week.

Then this morning I spotted her mate. A beautiful male!

He likes Danny's newest platform feeder too!

I watched him for a long time with my binoculars so I do know that he is a he!

I am researching a new zoom lens for my camera so I can get some good close-ups of my birds.

I have only had this camera for one year, don't you think it's time I learned how to use it?

I have a book coming today....Nikon D3000 for Dummies.....and yes I am a dummy so I hope it will help me out!

See this is my kinda day!

Birdwatching in my PJ's,

Nice cups of coffee in my clean house,

Learning how to use my camera

and

anything else that I want to do!!!

It's all about me today!

I think I might make a cake today!

Blessings,

Becky

I miss blogging so bad......

2011-01-11T20:39:00.005-05:00

and I am going thru withdrawals again.

Could be my new self diagnosis of SAD

along with my ADD, either way it is sad to have me in this frame of mind.

I really think there is something to that SAD,

seasonal affective disorder stuff.

I am not handling this nasty snowy winter very well at all.

I can't remember when we had just one single cold but not bitterly cold

and dry day where there was no snow on the ground.

We have not had a winter like last year where we kept 30+ inches of snow on the ground for ever but it has been just enough to drive ya crazy!

So I thought if I sat down and posted some pictures from my very boring life I would feel better!

The puppies are here!!

Horrible blurry picture but they are here and cute as can be!
Virginia Ann in front
Wisconsin Willie at the back!!

Wisconsin Willie has such a sweet nose!

They will be so fun when they get their eyes open!

They are 7 days old today so it won't be long now!

Here are some pictures that I took for some friends.

Danny built this pond this fall and I LOVE this farm and had to get some pictures of it.

That was a lot of playing around with Picasa!

It was a cloudy dreary day so I had to spice them up a bit.

Here is our pond between snows.

If you enlarge it you can see what looks like a mans footprints all the way across the pond.

I think it must have been Bigfoot!

More playing around with Picnic this time.

Danny built me this platform feeder so that I could lure the woodpeckers, blue jays and cardinals in.

Ahh ha it worked!

I have had a woodpecker around everyday since he built this about 8 days ago.

I really miss my bird watching each day because of that stupid old job!!

If only I had been born rich instead of beautiful!

hahahaha!!!

Updated~ I forgot to metion that there is one thing that I like about winter and snow.....

you can see it here in my friends blog post.

The true beauty of a snowflake!

God's handiwork at it's best!

Enjoy!!

2011 is going to be a good one!

2011-01-01T06:09:00.005-05:00

Meet Little Anne.

She is the very friendly coon hound that brings my husband and grandson many hours of enjoyment.

She is always waiting with a great big handshake.

She will not touch her food until you shake her hand!

These pictures do not do her justice.

Little Anne is a big ole brute of a dog.

She is like a small horse!

Stout enough to pull Danny down if she wishes.

And....... she is expecting puppies in roughly 5 more days!!

Terri get ready, here I come!

Of course the weather has to be nice so we can go outside and milk goats, feed chickens and ride horses.

Share a cup of coffee while walking around the farm in the early morning.

Etc Etc Etc.......

{{{smile}}}

We will keep you posted on the pups.

Then we will start making plans for the delivery to Wisconsin!

I can't wait!

I have two big road trips coming up this spring,

I will be going to Georgia to meet Lillie, my newest grandaughter, who's coming in March.

Then I will be going to Wisconsin to meet my blogging friend in May/June ish!

My bags are already packed! LOL

To all my friends and family out there in blog land,

I am sending out prayers for you to have a

blessed and prosporous new year!

Happy 2011!!

Beans, Beans......

2010-12-30T11:02:00.005-05:00

Good for your heart.....

Hahaha!!!
As you all know by now, I am married to a bean lover.
Actually I am a beanaholic too!
My obsession goes in spurts tho.
Right now after eating like an old sow hog for the past several weeks, I am craving healthy foods.
I am craving a healthier lifestyle all around, this could be coming from my new position as a Cardiology nurse!!!
I guess I had better practice what I preach huh?
So today I have a pot of
15 bean soup on simmering with a small hambone left over from the Honey Ham that Robin brought from the Honey Ham store! OMG!!!
Talk about a good ham, if you have not had the privilage you should!
Luxury hams at their best!
I am sure this will be a yummy pot of bean soup too!
Sure is smelling good!

Now this is Danny's Christmas gift from me.
Yes I do think about him when I am Christmas shopping......
This was the gift that we teased him that he would never guess, not even after opening it!!
We were right!

I found this at Red Hill General Store and thought it would be so appropriate for a bean lover like Danny!
I have to say that their prices were so much better than at Amazon.
They also had the 3 tiered Tiffin Set just like this one for a fraction of the cost.
I may have to go back and get this one too!

Isn't it cute?
So Laura Ingallsish!
He loves it!
Didn't take him too long to figure out what it was!

We are going to get him a little one burner propane stove so that he can carry some beans, soup or chili, etc etc etc and heat it up out in the woods at work for lunch!
Here I go getting the Wife Of The Year Award yet again!
Sorry gals!!

I have been researching bean recipes online and there are so many websites devoted to the almighty bean! Toot Toot!
Robin has a very close friend and neighbor who has published this cook book all about beans too.
It's called Stretching the Bean!
I will be getting one of these soon.

Now I just have to share a funny story about beans with you......I may have shared this in the past but please forgive me if I have cause I have a poor memory any more.
Now my brother still says that I can remember things that happened before he was born and he is two years older than me!!
I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday
But I can remember this from when I was four years old as if it was yesterday......

I was staying with my Grandma Goldie, and she had taught me this little bean slogan.........
We were in her dark basement when she heard a knock on her front door upstairs.
She ran upstairs to see who was knocking.
I slowly meandered around in the basement and I knew that there was a gentleman upstairs, an insurance salesman.
I decided to come up the stairs.......
I started at the bottom in a chant that matched my every stomp of my feet on each step as I climbed each step stomping very loudly and shouting even louder.........
Beans.....
Beans.....
Good for your heart.....
The more you eat.......
The more you........
My Grandma slung that door open so fast it would make your head spin as I made it to the last step. She slapped her big ole hand across my little mouth and muffled my very last word so as to assure that the insurance salesman did not hear me shout
"Fart"
and when she released her grip on my mouth I shouted the rest of my little song.......
"Want"

I had no intentions of saying a dirty word such as fart.
Now my brother on the other hand always said that and I knew better, why I was a little lady!!
Grandma and the insurance salesman had to sit down to keep from rolling in the floor laughing at me!!!!
LOLOLOL!!!!
I got her good!!

Cabin Fever......

2010-12-27T18:31:00.004-05:00

Unlike this beautiful American Goldfish....haha inside joke here....

I don't tolerate the snow and cold very well.

I know you guys think I do cause I am always wanting to be a homebody and do inside things such as sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, decorating, painting, crafting, etc etc etc.....but when I HAVE to stay in I do not handle it very well.

It has been soooo nasty here for the past several days. Yes we had a white Christmas, but Bah Humbug on that one!!

I did have a good Christmas and I hope the children did too.

Here you see Emma with her new American Girl doll that I bought her.

Don't they look alike??

Now I have to make her some clothes for her doll, maybe some matchy matchy ones for them both!

Colton only asked for money this year so that he could buy him a really good coon hunting light
he asked everyone for money and he ended up with over $336!

He shouldn't have any trouble seeing his way around the woods now!

Morgan is now 16 and she didn't really ask for anything other than chapstick and hair products!

She got a huge box of make-up and all sorts of other girly girl personals, a foot bath, a jewelry box and hair products! She was happy!

The best gifts...well it was a hit with the kids anyway.....were fleece throws with their names embroidered on them!

I found some really nice throws at Dollar General for $12 and used the new embroidery machine to put their names on them and they were a HUGE hit!!

Colton told his mom that was the best gift that he got this year!!

WOOT WOOT!!! I was just wanting to try out the machine but I guess it was a good item to practice on, Leslie even wants one now!!

I bought myself this feeder for Christmas.....I bought all my own presents this year cause he doesn't do things like that....urgh, why is it so hard to walk into a store and say to yourself.."My wife might like this!" or "This would be something she could use!"

anywhooooo

I have had the best time birdwatching in this storm.

I have had about 35 goldfinches at one time and up to 8 purple finch males.

Many many other birds too.

It really does my heart good to be able to see these from my windows.

So I have done enough whining about the weather, a husband who doesn't love me enough to shop for me and anything else that I can gripe about.
Now I am going to turn over a new leaf.
Another new leaf!
Since I will be starting to work full time next week with my new job, I plan to put that money to some good use.
I am going to hire some things done around my house.
I have been making lists and drawing out the plans.
I will start with getting "the boys".....(the men who put our roof and vinyl siding on a few years ago, and they are needing work in this tough economy)
.......to build the steps back up into the apartment over the garage that Danny tore down 9 years ago, so that I can store things up there out of my way such as Christmas decorations. This room will eventually become a sewing/quilting studio.
They will then close my side porch in and extend my great room for some much needed space.
After that I will hire them to build my glass conservatory on the side of my home.
I have always wanted one and I will have to hire it done myself in order to get it!!
Oh well!

Maybe while Virgil and Paul are building these things, Danny can get to work on my barn?
I also have great big plans for the inside of the house.
You know how I like white, right?
Well I do love my white floors, even though I can't get people to not wear their shoes over them, and I have found that I can clean them easily with a steam mop.
I love the white so much that I will and I say I WILL paint my kitchen cabinets white!!
Watch me!!
Danny doesn't want them white but he did not want the ones at The Fairy's Rest to be painted white either. After I painted them white he loved them!!
Have you heard the old saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't no body happy!"?
Okay then!! Nuff said?
When he starts being of concern about anything that goes on inside of this house other than a full plate of food and where the TV remote is, I will listen to his wishes, until then my paint brush handle will be warm!
I started today with the bathroom cabinet...it's all white and purty and he hasn't even noticed it yet!!!!
Go figure!!
So each evening after work I will do a dab of painting as stress relief and therapy for my SAD! That's another self diagnoses!!
Then before you know it I will have a lot of painting finished and be all the happier person!
I hope!
Wish me luck on that one!!

A little o' this and a little o' that....

2010-12-22T19:15:00.003-05:00

I have been doing a little whining about the snow.....

a little whining about the cold weather.....

(well, a lot of whining but who's keeping tally?)

a little bird watching.....

Wish it could be a lot but the bringing home the bacon gets in the way....

I am loving all the colorful birds that are at my feeders now...
Never saw a purple finch til this year.
I was pulling into the driveway one day and spotted one in my feeder and I almost ran over the garage while staring in total amazement!!!
Do you think Danny would understand?
I was driving his truck!!!

I don't think this little fella likes the snow and ice any better than I do!!

He looks as if he is puffed up pouting just like me when I have to get out and brave the elements to go to work......slipping and sliding on our skating rink slick driveway to the truck....fell one morning, no injuries except to my pride......I have to put the truck in four wheel drive and still can barely get out of my driveway and up my hill on the main road......

did I mention the cold?

It has been so cold that we had a "heat wave" today with temps around 30 degrees!!!!!!

We lost our 2 baby goats last week, apparently from freezing to death.

I don't even like to think about how horrible that was.

The temp was around zero for many days and wind gusts between 40 and 55 miles per hour.

The poor little babies just couldn't cut it.

I am this close to hanging up my goat farming license.

I know that it is not meant for me to have a spotted goat.

Just sayin.....

and that's all I have to say about that.

I have been gardening indoors!

My first attempt at forcing paperwhites.

This is what they looked like at 2 weeks after planting the bulbs.

Danny and Colton say that they are very pretty onions!

They are very very fragrant and it's a fragrance that I could really do without due to my many allergies but so far I am OK.

They are really really good for my soul!

I think I will try these again next year!

Still trying to get ready for HoHoHo to appear.

I have wrapped zero gifts as of yet.

I will do that tomorrow morning and make sure the list is all checked off, if not I will make a run for it to finish up. Then I will just sit back and let the fun begin.

Robin and Eric will be here for a couple days, coming in tomorrow before the next big winter storm that they are calling for on Christmas Eve and Day!!! URGH!!!!!

I hate winter............

Had an all day Christmas party at work today....well not all day but it was festive all day. Patients bringing in goodies to eat all week, Dr's gifting us for all our hard work!!! I made off really good too! Even got to do some at work shopping today.....we have a really great gift shop in the hospital and they had 50% off all their Christmas merchandise. We all took turns going down and the average loot was 3 bags each....of course I came back with 3 bags too!!

Makes for a really fun day!!

I have my house really clean cause I cleaned it ALL weekend last weekend and have kept it pretty clean this week.

One major thing crossed off that list.

Wrapping gifts, cooking and a couple embroidery projects to be completed for gifts and that's it for this old woman!!

I am going to sit back and rest and enjoy my last 2 weeks at my part time job...........cause I just got a new job that's full time!

What the heck am I thinking about these days?

It's a true brain freeze!

I just obtained a fulltime position as the Cardiology nurse in our office!!

I am excited about this....even though I don't really want to work.....the Dr is the nicest man any one has ever met!!! His patients are wonderful and the job is easy!

Wish me luck!

So that's another chapter in my little world!

I wish all of you a

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

One winter day......

2010-12-16T12:53:00.003-05:00

When it is snowing, sleeting and freezing raindrops.......
and all is frozen over...... and you can't make it to work......

you sleep.......

or you get creative and make things!

Or you let your creativity come from within your embroidery machine......in other words someone elses creativity put to use....

and what a fine job they did!!!

Yep, we, along the rest of the Universe, according to our local weatherman, are under a wintry mix today and the world is all but standing still for us. I was off today anyways (Thank Goodness) but Danny was supposed to drive the tractor and trailer today with a load of something (maybe lumber??) and he thought he wasn't ready to be stranded away from home in this frigid weather. So while he sleeps I play!

fyi~ I love my new machine!!

It is so easy to use, I just took right off on it.

Could be that it is the same machine set up as my Baby Lock which makes threading it a breeze.

Could be that Danny already had it warmed up for me when I got home last night from work. He had took it out of the box and had it set up on the table.

He said "If you were just a little bit longer, I would have been sewing on it!"

hahahahaha

Now I think I will download some embroidery patterns from the internet?

Or take a nap??

Stay warm and safe!!

Just call BR-549......

2010-12-12T12:51:00.004-05:00

.......and I will fix you right up! That is if you are in the market for a sewing machine or serger or if you are selling one of those items. Cause girls it seems that I have "trader" in my blood. I feel just like Junior Samples from Hee Haw! I know that most of you guys who read my blog are old enough to remember Hee Haw, right?

Yep ole Jr here has been wheelin and a dealin and has purged 4 sewing machines in the past couple months and gained ..........ssshhhhhhhh...two new ones!! My new Juki TL98Q....

themachinethatIloveandwouldn'ttakeafarmingeorgiaforquiltingandallaroundsewingmachine.

My latest deal has come down this weekend. I decided on Thursday to bite the bullet and list my Baby Lock Quilters Choice on ebay........remember the trip across the state last year to pick her up? Yeah me too. I did love her but I also didn't need her anymore and was really really jealous of my daughter Robin and her incredible Bernina embroidery machine and knew that I couldn't live much longer without a similar machine! So I listed my baby on Thursday and some nice seamstress from Hawaii needed her and purchased her on Saturday!! Well what do you know? I made exactly enough on my baby to buy me a new baby! Actually a new Brother!! (Not that I really wanted another brother cause the one that I already have has never liked me......my real life brother that is!) But I found this Brother PE770 Embroidery only machine and it's now on it's way to my house!! Yay I traded for myself a wonderful Christmas present that I didn't really even have to cough up any money for!! (I purchased my machine from QVC.com, it was cheaper there but hsn.com has the video for it)

The Elna Serger and two other Kenmores were sold in my etsy shop. I think I like trading sewing machines almost as much as collecting them! Maybe that's the indecisiveness of me being a Gemini coming thru? Hey at least it's not car trading. I used to LOVE the smell of a new car but I think I finally grew out of that one. Not that I wouldn't like a newer pick-up to pull our boat with but I don't think I have enough sewing machines sitting around to pay for that one right now. Even though I did make that great trade a couple years ago via Craigslist to basically trade one boat and one camper for a much larger and 14 years newer boat!!!!! I think I'll stick to trading sewing machines for now!

Now will someone please find me some time to play with all these new toys?????? PLEASE!!!! I beg of you! I will get my embroidery machine this week and maybe be able to come up with enough time to learn how to thread it before Christmas! I also have a "Black Friday on Saturday" sale item, a new Cricut to play with someday! I saved $140 on it and just "had" to have it too!! Got it for $59!! Now if I could trade something else around to get the money for an Accuquilt-Go Cutter????? Hmmmm.....maybe a coondog?? Imagine all the toys I could purchase if I could sell Little Ann??

So this leaves me with the Juki for quilting, in or out of the frames, and regular sewing if I wish. The Bernina for regular sewing, and yet one more Kenmore that has all the bells and whistles, more bells and whistles than my Bernina, that also sews like a dream. My Singer serger. And now my embroidery machine. I think I have all my needs covered pretty well. What do you think? Maybe sell the Bernina too?? hmmmmm?????

I think I will get off of here and go slap together a charm pack or something quick since I have the sewing fever really bad today and it is a nasty wintery mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain coming down outside right now. Maybe I can talk Danny into a cooking a pot of pinto beans and cornbread while I sew??????? I should be cleaning my sewing room back up cause it does not look like this right now!

I'll be back soon with pictures of all my new projects!!

Stay warm my friends!!

Well my dear cousin, this post is for you!

2010-12-04T18:59:00.004-05:00

My dear sweet cousin Martha lives on the other end of the state of Virginia from me and she is a faithful reader of my blog. She must really lead a boring life!! Just kidding, she has a brand new grandson and her life won't be boring for many years!

She is also my facebook friend and left me the sweetest comment yesterday about how she really has missed my blog posts and what was I up to that I didn't have time to post any more. She also said that when she came to my blog each day it was like looking at a good magazine!!! OMG!!! I felt so honored! LOL!

So Martha, I have spent 2 days now knocking down the cobwebs and trying to assemble what one might see as a Christmasy home!

Just for you ;-)

We are sitting under our first snowfall of the year......and albeit beautiful and inspiring to help me get in the Christmas spirit.....I hope it's the last snowfall of the year!!

I had enough snow last year to do me for the rest of my life!

I did get a great amount of enjoyement from watching the feeding frenzy at my bird feeders tho!

I wish this picture could warm my heart but it doesn't.....

This one sorta warms my heart!
If the picture really captured the beauty of the lit tree I would be much happier.
I tried many settings on my fancy smancy camera but it still never looked like it does in person.
In this picture the tree skirt appears to majorly clash with the rest of the tree, but in person it's not to bad a match.

My nativity set that my mom bought me about 20 years ago.

My vintage Santa salt and peppers in front of a pot of Amaryllis. I have paper whites started too. I have to garden year round or I will go crazy!

Oh yeah......I must mention here that my dearest husband has agreed to build me a glass conservatory on the side of my house!!!!

I have begged for one of those for ever!

Of course I had the detached wood and glass greenhouse that was very very cold and very expensive to heat, that is now a hot tub room. The new one can be heated by our outdoor wood furnace!! Yay!!!! I can't wait!

You guys know how much I like to camp and I could not resist this to add to my Christmas Village!!! Too stinking cute!!!

So other than healing physically (shingles mostly gone)but losing it mentally (my job), I have been working almost full time hours for a couple weeks and will for a few more. I am not enjoying my job as much as I once was, maybe the holidays, maybe the winter weather, maybe the job itself, maybe just a mood that I am in????? Who knows?? I am just not feeling the love!

I am back to soul searching again and I have to decide what is right for me. Until then I am enjoying the extra money, but money isn't everything!

I am hoping the snow melts tomorrow so I will be in a better mood!

Danny even bought me the sweetest pair of cowgirlish cowboy boots yesterday and I don't even want to get out in the snow with them on. We bought each other boots for Christmas!! I have been wanting these for quite a while and I saw them, pulled out my size and slipped them on and they felt like they were made for me! I wore them home from the store all giddy just like a little child!!!! When I got home I realized that I had the tags hanging off the side!!! hahahaha

Now I just don't want to get them dirty!!!

Click here to see my new farmgirl boots!!

Hope you guys are having a great time in the snow, if you have it at your home, and that you are enjoying your holiday decorating!!

Talk soon!!

Funny Farm stories......

2010-11-12T09:53:00.005-05:00

Remember my baby banties that were hatched out here on the farm?
Well they are purebred Black Rosecomb Bantams.

Mom and Dad are the dark black ones with the greenish tent on their feathers but for some super strange reason a few of the babies ended up with brown feathers on them.

Now how in the world did that happen?

The Mom and Dad were together in seclusion for ever, he was my only rooster on the place and she was the only banty hen that I had at the time therefor the only banty eggs were definitely hers. It had to be something familial that brought out the brown/red feathers in these. I have to say that I really like them though. A little bonus color!

However I have way too many banties now.

7 roosters and 3 hens.

Meet George and Martha!

These are my latest banties that
my dad's banty hen hatched out a little while after mine were hatched here.

This was his first year for having any raise themselves too.

Make that count ~ 8 roosters and 4 hens.

This is a horrible picture of my Buckeye rooster.

These Buckeyes are just amazing to have around.

Can I stress BIG chickens, no I mean HUGE chickens?

Gianormous chickens!

They are so friendly and have such funny demeanor's though!

But don't all my animals have funny ways?

Only one rooster and the rest hens.

I think 11 hens....hard to count them due to the overcrowded status of my henhouse!

These babies take up a lot of room.

Buckeye hen.

She stands almost 3 feet tall with her neck stretched out like that.

Look at those drumsticks!

And that cleavage???

My oh my what a good pot of dumplings they would make!

They are beautiful. Such a fiery dark red.

This big girl is "Old Crooked Beak"...how original?
She has a crooked beak but she is the same size as the rest of the flock so I would say she is able to consume her ration just as well as the rest of them!
It is such a beautiful Fall day out there today and I could not bear one more day with them cooped up. They were out everyday for a while after the garden was spent and they were so happy foraging around the yard and garden but then they found Danny's collard greens and decided that they liked them too.........hence why they were penned back up!
I talked him into allowing them to be out today!!
Woot woot woot they are happy today!!
It was so enjoyable to open that door to their run this morning and set them free! Like the last day of school for the summer!!
The buckeyes are the very funniest at that time....they do this barely above the ground levitation that is so comical. They look like like a big red buzzard that has swooped down onto some roadkill right in front of your car and they hoover there for a bit until you think you are going to run into them. LOL I was really glad that I could make these babies so happy that they would levitate for me this morning!
They are 5 months old now and should start laying most any day now, I have to make sure that they are happy so I can get my egg basket full!!

While wandering around outside this morning, I found this bucket with a rose in it that needed to be planted about a month ago.
I propagated this one myself from a clipping of my beautiful Autumn Dream, apricot colored climber! My first propagation of roses ever!!
Pat on my own back!
I think I will name this one "Becky" because I started her from a clipping on my birthday,
June 10th!!
As you can see the other 3 didn't quite make it. I am pretty sure that it was the heat of the summer that did them in. I had them all in the shade but it was still so hot that they cooked. Now I am afraid that it will be too late to plant this one and expect it to survive. Maybe I will call our local greenhouse and ask their opinion.
Danny loves this rose and said that he will build me a new pergola if I had those roses on either end of it. I guess if this one dies I can try to propagate them again next year. Since I do know how it's done now!
Any advise on November 12th Zone 6A rose planting?

~

And the winners are.........

2010-11-11T09:05:00.004-05:00

You know that there is something great going on down on this farm when I use this ever so cute picture as my post header, right?

Yes the time has come......after my daughter gave me a weeks worth of speeches about how I have broken every rule in blog etiquette, how I should have no followers after my shenanigans, I should have no bloggy friends.........I am wiping tears right now......I am hoping that I will at least have 2 friends after all this delay and breaking of rules.

The 2 winners may still be my friends, we'll have to see!

But first.....

I have to tell you a bit more about what's been going on with me.....

this is another delay tactic..teehee

I feel that I have almost whipped the nasty old shingle virus.

I was totally pain free for the past 3 days and then I was awakened by the pain this morning.

Insert really really bad curse words here.......I am now off of work for 4 days, I thought they were going to be painfree-not sick with the flu-have a ton of energy to get the things done that I need to and the things done that I want to that are bottled up in my head kinda days!!

So far the pain seems to be subsiding and there for I am on the right track!

Woot woot!

I was lucky enough, even though I was lectured at each day about my blog neglect, to have my daughter in from Atlanta for a few days. We all had to go to work or school and leave her here by herself (See I even neglect my company, I am a bad person)

So she got really really bored or felt really sorry for me, or was really afraid that my house would be condemned by the health department, and she cleaned my house, did all my laundry and cooked two really great meals for us! She even took my truck and went to the feed store for me!! She also went to another county and did my banking!!!

Talk about an angel appearing in your life when you are at just about your lowest point!

THANK YOU ROBIN!!

We both really appreciate all that you did for us!!!!

Since my beautiful and very pregnant..hehehe...daughter did all my work that was bottle necked, I can actually get back to my blog friends now.

I finally drew two names out of a hat this morning!!

Drum rolllllllll...........

The winner of the Quilted French General Table Runner is....

Terri from Our Crazy Farm!!

The winner of the second prize that I added in so you guys could all feel the love that I really do have for all of you, that I have not mentioned what it would be as of yet is........

WandaM

Most of you don't know WandaM but Wanda is really my sister-in-law. I can only wish that each and everyone of you guys out there in blog land have a "Wanda" in your life! I could never say enough good about this lady!! She is truly one in a million! She is married to my brother...for that she deserves a big award ;-))) She will do anything for anyone at anytime no matter what! Period! I Thank God for her daily! My girls are so very fortunate to have her in their lives too!

We all love Wanda! Now after drawing her name, I am afraid that my measly little second prize will not be sufficient!!

I will finish up the loose ends on her gift today and get some pictures up then.

I am so happy to be able to gift these two incredibly lovely ladies who are so special to me!! Terri is very very special in her own way. I really wish we lived closer and could visit each others farms, have coffee, share meals cooked straight from our farms in our really cool farmhouse kitchens, have sewing/quilting visits, go to church together and so on and so forth......

I have another surprise under my hat......

I AM GOING TO VISIT TERRI!!!

Yes, Terri in Wisconsin!!

My wonderful hubby's idea this time too!

I've played around with the idea for almost two years now. She has shown me pics of her great little pump house guest cottage that she was preparing for me. I just seemed to never be able to find the time to get away from this farm for a trip that far away and could only dream about it.

Then one day a couple weeks ago my dearest coon hunting husband said he was going to raise some pups out of his special coon dog and that we would just load up a puppy and take it up to Wisconsin to Terri's boys!! What a great man I have, right!! I cried and cried!

This little trip will be sometime in the late Spring when all the snow has melted cause I am not a big fan of winter and minus twelve degree weather!! The deed has been done and we are expecting pups in a few short months but we won't be traveling til fair weather is here!

"Trent, I promise we will take good care of your pup and get him to you before he is grown! I can't wait that long to meet your mother in person either!"

So after drawing the names of these two very very special ladies in my life, I can say.....

IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT DAY!!

Thanks so much for all your entries, for your patience with me and for always being here for me when I need a little laughter or inspiration or motivation or a shoulder to cry on. You guys are the best!!!

I will get these items in the mail asap and on their way. Hey it just hit me, I will be able to see the table runner on Terri's table in person when we visit her and I will be able to see Wanda's item in use at Christmas!! Yay! I hope these girls are as excited as I am!

Now I am off to finish this project and get back to my decorating of my living room....well my whole house is actually going to get a transformation, one room at a time. This is going to be a great holiday season. I have wanted the painted floors to match for 9 1/2 years now. I finally feel as if I can decorate for Christmas like I have always wanted to do!

{{{SMILE}}}

Get ready there will be lots of pictures to come!

Another dose of "Man plans, God laughs"......

2010-11-03T20:40:00.002-04:00

so here we go again.......Whilst in the midst of trying to recover from my extreme shingles, I was trying to get up the energy to paint, I/we mostly he, did get the paint slapped on those floors as you saw in the previous post. However the decorating came to a screech and halt when I came down with another bug......THE FLU!!!! Well that is my self diagnosis. It has knocked me to my butt since Monday night. I attempted to work yesterday but was sent home cause the fellow co-workers didn't want to catch it.....funny how another employee had it a few weeks ago and worked??????

So the decorating has stopped since Sunday. I did get several little things done on Sunday that I will show later, when I feel as if I can hold that big old camera without dropping it! My window shades came yesterday. Remember that I told you that Danny would be just jumping for joy when he was able to hang them for me? Ha, the joke was on me cause he really didn't mind. He hung the ones in the living room and foyer tonight. I really think I will like them, when I can actually see them thru clear eyes!! One of the front window shades did not come in but I called about it and it is "in route" so it should be here tomorrow.

I am really loving the white floors, I just wish I could enjoy them properly! At least I get to see them between naps on the couch! Please pray for my healing so I can keep this job. It's starting off pretty rocky so far, we will just have to see how this pans out!

My dream is coming true.....

2010-10-30T23:55:00.003-04:00

this is just a sneak preview!

I have a lot of staging to do and I'll be back!

I APPOLOGIZE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

2010-10-24T21:39:00.004-04:00

I do I do!

I do appologize for not drawing a winner out of a hat as of yet for the table runner.

I told you it would have been drawn yesterday but I need to explain a few thousand things that have been going on in my life for a few days now, then maybe you will all understand the delay.

I hope so anyway.

That's OK if you don't, because you guys are the ones who have a chance on winning something, not me!

teheeeeee

I think I will just drag this out for a couple more days and leave you all in suspense!!!

I think I will explain first........

Do you guys remember my best lain plans that were to come down this weekend around my home? You know it involved white paint and a huge sander?

Well...........the goods are down.....there is white all over my house right now. There is also a chaotic disaster in the rest of my house. I have an entire kitchen in my living room right now. Well not all of it is in there cause all of my pots and small appliances are in my bedroom. To say that it is a chaotic mess is putting it mildly! Very mildly!

I still have a dab of painting to do tomorrow, if all goes well and hopefully the puzzle will be back together by bedtime tomorrow night.

On top of all of this chaos.....drum roll please.........

my STUPID SHINGLES started rearing their ugly heads with a vengence last night.

I had gotten soooo much better but then the fatigue hit me Friday afternoon and I still moved appliances and watched as he sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded some more, then I crashed, out like a light. He made me get up early on Saturday to start painting thru the pain and I did so reluctantly. Of course I did not feel like packing our bags to go to The Fairy's Rest between coats of paint as we had planned, so we had to paint the floor leaving a path to the restroom, hence the need to finish a strip of paint tomorrow. I did not have it in me today to paint at all.

I did get a tad of dust cleaned from all the tiny surfaces in the kitchen.....there is still enough in the rest of the house to strangle a herd of cattle.

I can surely bet money that it will still be there when I feel better and can get around to cleaning it all up too!

Oh yeah and we were much later getting started on the sanding because I was asked to work Friday and I did. However, they did give me tomorrow off! I am so glad of that too!!

My kitchen floor is looking really good though!!!

We are not 100% sure that we are in love with the paint as of yet but we feel that for the most part it is way better than the last choice.

The problem is that it only has a satin finish and we both decided that we would rather have a high gloss or semi gloss finish. The floor paint that we used is supposed to be very durable so we have decided that we will need to wax it. I know, way too much work but I feel that is the only way we will achieve success with our painted floors.

I just won a used floor polisher for $40 on ebay and I am sure it will get some use on these floors. I have not waxed and buffed a floor for about 28 years!! That should really be a treat!

I will post some pictures of the new white floors as soon as the mess is sorta put back together!

Now do you understand why I have not had it in me to write down all the names and put them in a hat or a bowl or anywhere else and ask my dear husband to draw one out?

I will not make any promises as to which day I will anounce the winner but I will try to do it asap!! I wouldn't want to wait either, you all know that I am very impatient!!

Once again, I am sorry for the delay! To make it up to you guys

I am going to up the prize to include a 1st place which is the table runner and a 2nd place which will be a surprise and will be announced on the day that I draw!

Hang on, I'll be back soon!!

Putting up pumpkins and giveaway reminder......

2010-10-20T12:13:00.003-04:00

(photo borrowed from Flickr)

Now I know that all you guys really thought I had this really great display going on out on my front porch but it's not mine. Mine looks way better!! NOT!!

My husband has some sorta phobia about me buying pumpkins for display purposes.

Says that there is no reason to buy a pumpkin that is not going to be carved into a jackolantern
or not to be cooked.

Says something about the fact that they will just sit there and rot away to a slimy mess and then we..ahem..he has to clean them up in the winter time and he is not happy with that task.

For the record I have never asked him to clean one of those shriveled little pumpkin faces up in the winter!!

Funny how I have had this conversation with other women and they all say the same thing about their husbands fussing about the same thing!!! Hahaha It's a girl thing I guess!

However he has won this fight.....you know I have to pick my battles with him and he has to win every now and again!! ;-)))

So I have resorted to cooking all my pumpkins that come onto this farm.

I reluctantly made my way to the grocery store yesterday, due to almost starvation, and stopped by the little road side produce stand between here and there. Instead of picking out one of those beautiful round orange globes that everyone else was sizing up and comparing, I went over to the ugly pumpkin bin.

The ugly, but oh so beautiful in my book, pie pumpkin bin!!

YUMMO!!

I bought 2 of those beautiful light orangey colored, far from round beauties just like the one shown above, behind the warty one and kissing the neck of the white one!!

While watching the Major League Baseball playoffs last night I roasted them in the oven, let them cool and scooped out all that flesh. I also had another small "pie pumpkin" that a neighbor gave me. I ended up with a huge bowl of yellow goodness.

Can't you just smell all the pumpkin cakes and pies and cookies and and and....

I had major plans last evening of making a small batch of Pumpkin Butter and canning it until I got on here and read this post

that is on Food In Jars blog about why Pumpkin Butter can't be canned any longer.

Now why doesn't our government just stop bursting my little bubbles???

I guess I will just stick all this pumpkin in the freezer like I usually do and enjoy it for a couple years just like I did the last batch. I froze a huge pumpkin in 2008 and just enjoyed a Pumpkin Cake the other day and it was wonderfullllll. I am not a huge fan of Pumpkin Butter anyway but I was craving it. As I am craving any fall food right now!

The Roasted Acorn Squash was wonderful that we had last night for our dessert during the game but it just left me wanting something more!!!

I am thinking a Pumpkin Pie today with homemade pie crust. I struggled for my whole life with pie crusts but I am getting better with them. I am sure that I will never top Leslie's Apple Pie that Danny was lucky enough to enjoy a couple days ago and he hasn't stopped talking about since. I will see how my pumpkin pie compares to hers in his book!!

She is an awesome cook especially desserts!

She learned how to cook from me!!!

hahaha

I am a little uneasy right now.............I have been suffering with ups and downs from this crazy crazy bout of shingles!! Talk about a roller coaster ride......I feel good, I feel bad, bad, good, bad, bad, good, good, go to the grocery store BAM before I get out of car feel bad and worse and then so good that I am so pumped and can't go to sleep til 3AM, then I don't want to get up and then I have a head ache due to my circadian rhythm being out a whack, feel bad again!

I CAN'T STAND THIS!!!!

I have to go back to work tomorrow too.

I will not take any meds tomorrow while I have to work!

I will not I will not, No Mam Mrs Dr Woman I will not take those crazy mess with your mind meds and go to work trying to take care of people!

I will start back on them tomorrow evening after work and finish my course but not during the day!! OK!!!

Now I have to get up and get something done....even though it is raining outside and I just want to go back to bed........ I can't do that cause I have to get some sleep tonight.

haha The sun just popped out oh so bright!! Thank You Lord! Maybe this will be a good day anyway!

DON"T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!

Tell your friends about it on your blog and I will give you 2 chances to win!!

Please leave me a comment saying that you posted about my giveaway on your blog so I won't miss you! The drawing will be this weekend when I can get the Birthday Boy settled down enough to draw a name from a hat!!

ps. why does my blog post bunch together like one big paragraph? I ain't got much learnin's but I got enough to know how ta compose a blog post divided in paragraphs! I have them seperated by several spaces and when I post them they will either be bunched into one or have several inches of space between them. HELP!!

Right on schedule....

2010-10-19T08:35:00.002-04:00

I am seriously going to get this painting project finished in a couple weekends time!

(kitchen and living room floors)

I spent a lot of time online yesterday researching white painted wood floors and a large percentage of the folks, who would tell you how they got their great look, used this paint.

I have to say that I have never used Benjamin Moore paints and I found out why yesterday also. There are no dealers close by. Well I found a decorating specialty store that carries BM paints in Blacksburg that wasn't too far away.

They were super nice too!

They have already ordered my paints for me that will be in today.

I also put my order in at the rental company for a drum floor sander and an edger.

I sure hope Danny has fun with those two pieces of equipment!!!!!

The paint specialist told me that was the right choice for my project and that I do not need to put poly over this paint!! Those folks online did not either!

This paint dries in eight hours and that will speed up the process for us too!

I will pick up the sanders on Friday afternoon and let the fun begin when he gets home!!

Now......heres a little glitch in the plans......last night he got a phone call from a guy that he does some excavating work for every now and again. He said he has a nice job that is right over the hill from us and Danny can not refuse a job in this economy!!!

So we will try to get the sanding done on Friday and maybe we can get the first coat on before bedtime. Then the next morning I will get the second coat on and then leave for the day while he is working. There is another little problem with this.......this room is in between my bedroom and both bathrooms! There will be no midnight bathroom breaks with a wet floor!!

That could be a disaster!!

I had a really good morning yesterday

(the afternoon I crashed and barely remember much of it :-)

I made a lot of plans for other little decorating things
around these 2 rooms.

I ordered roller shades for ALL my windows last night.

Well 11 of them!

I decided against shades for the kitchen window and my bedroom windows.

both of these rooms are on the back of the house and I really don't need them there anyway.

I am so sure that Danny will just turn double flips in the air when these shades arrive and he has to hang them for me!!!!!!! I can just hear him now, all that excitement will be really hard for him to contain!!!

My house has super huge windows and they are so hard to cover with any window treatments. I have been thru all the choices except roller shades and I have not been happy with anything as of yet. I need privacy at times and I need sun shade at times and other times I just want the windows to be wide open and let in all the light that they can so I have to go with roller shades. The problem has been that for a custom made (all the windows are their own size made to fit the remodel) roller shade big enough for these windows they are way tooooooo costly.

I found them last week at jcpenny.com on sale for really cheap. I had a lot of planning and measuring to do and I was afraid that by the time I got around to ordering them they would be sold out or the sale would be off. I was wrong they had all 11 of them in stock, even my cockeyed sizes and they are to be shipped out today!

Please don't tell Danny, I really want it to be a surprise!!

I got nice roller shades for 11 windows for just over $200

but I saved almost $300 with the sale!!

I hope I like them as good as the 94 people who gave them great reviews!

Now I hope to get started on the valances out of a nice red and biege toile fabric that has been sitting there patiently waiting for me for a few months.

You all know how much I like toile fabric!

I am on a mission...

2010-10-18T09:14:00.003-04:00

Hahaha I know, I know, I know you have all heard that little song and dance before, but this time, the Good Lord willing, I will achieve my goal! If he keeps me healthy, I know I am in recuperation from a disease and on a lot of medications at the moment but this too shall pass and I am thinking clearly now. OK? Ok!

Are you guys aware that it is only 68 more days til Christmas Day? Holy Mint Green Vespas!!

(I have always wanted a mint green vespa and that's exactly what I would look like on one too)

How did that happen? What have I been doing for the past however many days, don't make me count them because I will be depressed and go back to bed or go eat some gooey sweet concoction and get more depressed. Seems like they move Christmas up every year, closer and closer they are coming, at least at my house they are. Grant you I do love Christmas but I am never ready for it. I was barely ready for it for the past two years when I was a stay at home wife, let alone when I am a bacon-bringer-in! So I have got to get ready for this one, this one is special because it is the only one I will have at this age and at this stage of life, so it's got to be a big one! hahaha

My goal is to make all three of my grandkids a quilt for Christmas this year. OMG did I just put that in writing? For everyone to see? Did I really? Oh Lord please help me, I am hallucinating!

That is only part of the equation........... are you sitting down? Well sit down or you will be falling in the floor laughing you patooty off at me with this one now.......

Do you remember my white painted floors? Do you remember that I painted ALL of that myself? Do you remember that I did it in the dead of winter with 30+ inches of snow on the ground....Oh Dear Lord please no 30+ inches of snow this year, Please! Do you remember that I used a $46ish a gallon sealer for high traffic areas on my new white painted floor? Wellllllll........ Crapola, that was a HUGE MISTAKE!!! We LOVE the white floors! But the protective coating was a disaster. I can't even describe how wrong that was. The floor is showing every roller mark from the sealer, kinda yellowish brown color that is NOT dirt, let me clarify that my floors are filthy most of the time but even after some serious elbow grease they will never look good. This just breaks my heart too. I worked SOOOO hard on these floors too. :-{ They are so bad and they keep getting worse with time, can't explain that one either. Danny even mentioned how he hates it now and really questioned what I used.......blahahahaha .........Like he even knows the difference in flat and semi-gloss paint or a roller and a brush??? hahaha he hates to paint but he doesn't mind watching me! He said "We have got to do something about these floors!" Now girls they have got to be pretty bad if notices them. Trust me. He never notices anything that I do around here, what I wear or anything! OK?

So after a long lengthy discussion and an extremely pitiful begging spell from me for new hardwood, preferably cherry floors, "WE" decided to repaint them white! OMG!!!! Here I go again. Only this time he will be right by my side! Roller in hand too! We are planning to sand the surface down and repaint them and then cover it with regular polyurethane like I did my living room floors almost 8 years ago. They have held up very well but are now starting to show a lot of wear and we will paint them white too!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!

This painting....if all goes well with my little shingle episode...will begin on Friday and we will get the paint down and then put a coat of poly on and go stay at the Fairy's Rest for the night so as not to be in the fumes and risk having to walk on them. We will then drive back in the morning and slap another coat on them, leave for the day and back for another that night etc etcetcetc....til they are finished!! Sounds like a plan doesn't it???

Well this means that I will have to have new curtains for the living room and dining room, new throw pillows, a new table runner and maybe some chair pads for the dining room and and and.....

What am I doing on here wasting my time away???? I can at least make curtains and table runners and pillows this week while I am convalescing, right? Then I will take quilt materials to the Fairy's rest with me this weekend and while he is spending his birthday weekend hunting with Jesse, I can make quilt tops for the kids. No sweat!!!! Wish me luck again!!!

(the discoloring of the floors is not the typical yellowing that poly urethane will do either, it is just Yucky. That's the only way to describe it!)

Fall in SW Va

2010-10-17T20:38:00.006-04:00

I let my wonderful husband talk me out of sitting around the house again today throwing my own little pitty parties and go with him to my parents house to pick up the wood splitter. My dad and Danny co-own the splitter and my dad used it for all his firewood back in the summer when it was so burning hot outside but Danny likes to use it when it is cool enough not to die with a heat stroke. I thought fast and grabbed my camera, I had a major pity party yesterday because I just knew that I would miss the changing leaves due to my illness that I no longer want to talk about ;-)

We had to stop at our local store for gas and I got this one of the church across the road.
We left my parents house and took the Blueridge Parkway home.
We are so fortunate to have this beautiful road that winds thru our county on the way thru the Blueridge Mountains!
We are also very fortunate to have the changing of the leaves that we get to witness every year.
Of course this is no Vermont, Robin!
Robin and Eric are in Vermont and Montreal Canada for the week. I have already received texts and facebook messages that she wants to move up there because of the beauty. I guess she will have better pictures than I do but I beat her to it anyway!
This is one of the overlooks on the parkway, the only one he would stop for.
Most of my pictures are from a moving truck and thru the windshield.
This overlooks Patrick County, home of The Fairy's Rest.
Behind us is the direction of our home.

People were stopped all along the side of the road for picnics today.
We used to do that every year but I guess we are too old for that anymore????
I love where these guys decided to stop along side the hay bales.
I am sure they had some good photos too!

I love this time of the year on the parkway.

This Buffalo Mountain. You can see it from almost anywhere in our county!

I plan to hike it one day.

The leaves have turned really pretty colors West of the Blueridge Parkway, which is shown in this picture and this is my side of the parkway too.

I also have a beautiful drive to work each day too.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

I have no idea who lives in this house but it was such a beautiful place that I just couldn't help myself. I could so live here. Couldn't you just see my Nubians out there on the hillside? That's my tractor up there. Fishing in that pond? The house looks all country and cozy.

Ahhhhhh a girl can dream now can't she?

The worst part of this dreaming is that Danny and I looked at the property across the road and almost bought it before we bought our place. That land was so flat, ours is so steep. It had a creek running right thru the middle of it, ours does have a spring. It had a PERFECT pondsite, our pond was barely able to be a pond. It had a riding ring, ours doesn't have a flat area big enough for a riding ring. It had a huge barn, ours...well you all know that story. It was 6 acres of flat pasture, ours 2 3/4 acres of steep billy goat pasture.

Now think about that for a while country gals..............

This is overlooking The Fairy's Rest!!

Can you see it?

My winter painting project?

Maybe!

Now this is the view from my front yard!

You do have to walk across the road to see it because of the neighbors fence line being overgrown with bushes. It is lovely over there!
See the Buffalo Mountain?

This is the opposite side of it, from the previos pictures.

My Buckeyes were really enjoying the beautiful fall day too!

I came home with another pair of banties from my dads today.

They are tiny little gray speckled beauties right now but who knows what they will look like when they are grown.

It was really nice to get out today and have a low key ride around the mountains and take in all the beauty that surrounds us.

Hope you enjoyed your little tour thru my county!

I have seen it all now.....

2010-10-16T11:57:00.002-04:00

I just stumbled over a great new blog that is too cool to not share with all my blogging friends! This is so way beyond cool. This lady is going places with all her talent!! I have a new grandaughter on the way and I sure hope her mother can build up an imagination and capture her daughters dreams on film. Go on over here and see what I am talking about. WOW!!!!!

Enjoy!!

I am doing OK today, so far, I do have a lot of new breakout but I was expecting more so it was a treat not to be any worse yet. Thank You Lord for inventing the Lidicaine Patch!! I had such a nice and peaceful rest last night!!

Well bless my little heart......

2010-10-15T18:41:00.002-04:00

I have to bless it myself cause no one else will.....teh hee. I have had a terrible week since Sunday morning. Got up and had this burning raw extremely odd skin deep pain on my right upper abdomen. I MEAN EXTREME PAIN...as if someone took a dull razor blade and scraped all my hide off. It went around under my arm to my center back. Are you following me here? All you medical folks out there are probably right on the same page as I was on Sunday, doing the self diagnosis of "Shingles", right?

Well being a nurse in an office I knew I was covered by Dr's and other nurses who could confirm my suspicions. However the typical shingles rash with the watery papules were not there. I took mega doses of over the counter analgesics with very little relief from the pain. Worked Monday and Tuesday as scheduled but the pain was horrible. Still no rash. So onto the world wide web for some research. What do ya know.....the biggest reason for "skin pain" is sarcoidosis! Oh no! I did not need another terrible symptom of sarcoidosis. The inability to breathe is enough isn't it?

I already had an appointment with a new family Dr scheduled for Wednesday so surely I could wait til then to discuss this pain. With shingles most all the time it is only on one side of your body. Tuesday evening the pain was going down my left side. So of course this was sarcoidosis.
I told the new Dr about what was going on and she agreed with that diagnosis, and it would just be something else to live with.

Then 2 days later.......I woke up this morning with the shingles rash that followed the same pathway as the extreme pain did!!!! Great!! Well actually this is a good thing cause
shingles will be treated and leave,eventually, I hope!!! If it was sarcoidosis I would always have problems with the pain. I don't think I could stand very many weeks like this one. I have a slew of medications to take and a nice 6 day break from work since this is contagious. I can not use my arms enough to quilt with my new quilting apparatus but I can sure get some piecing done while I am recouping!!!

So that's what's going on in my world. What's going on in yours? I will have time to do some way overdue blogging too!!! God Bless you all!!

My Quilting Frame......

2010-10-06T21:06:00.004-04:00

Here it is!! Yay!!

He is finished with constructing it but we now have to get it into the house.

They are 12' long and are built in 2 pieces...pretty smart huh?

At least we can move them in sections.

How about that great storage shelf he added underneath??

They are soooo loooooonnnngggggggg!

The tracks are one continuous board so as not to have any bumps while moving the machine along the tracks. They will be screwed in place once we set everything up exactly where I want it.

We used most of the Handi Quilter frame that I already had.

These end pieces will be adjustable with some bolts with wing nuts.

I will be able to quilt up to a king size quilt on them.

All I have to do is sand them down really good and then get them put up tomorrow evening.

I can't wait to actually use them!!

He did such a good job!!!!

Jelly Roll quilt....

2010-10-04T11:51:00.002-04:00

I have to get ready for my new frames!

Danny is doing such a great job on them, he is really into this project for some reason?!?!

Is it to get me quilting and let him hunt as much as he wants to????
Yep! That will work Honey!

Of course I already have a stash of pieced tops awaiting quilting but I just couldn't help myself and start another one today. I got this idea from Natalie, The Hideaway Girl....if you haven't been to her blog you should go. She has the most amazing pictures EVER!! I told Danny I was going out to the west coast soon!! He laughed at me, again!

I am using a Batik Jelly Roll that I got at Joanne fabrics for a steal last year. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it til I saw hers and this fabric is perfect. You use a 2 1/2" Jelly roll strip and alternate rows with a 1 1/2" solid, I am using an off white cotton. You just go around and around with a long strip of pieces sewn together end to end. Easy Peasy!

Now I have a dilemma....again........ I need another sewing machine!

I am so dagum in love with this Juki that I don't want to give it up and put it in the frames to quilt with it. I know it will be wonderful for the frames but I love piecing on it. I don't know what I like the best about it either....probably the heavy duty-ness.........or
the thread cutter? Or the throat space? Not sure but I think it is a dream package for a quilter/piecer.

Do you think if I sell a couple more machines that he will let me buy another one?

After all I do work hard for my money!

My closet!!

2010-10-03T15:31:00.006-04:00

Well gals here it is!

I know that all of you were just dying to see my closet!! hahaha

I have to say that blogging about something that you are getting ready to do helps hold you accountable to actually get it done!

Everything is so clean and organized in there right now.

I know it looks like chaos to you but you have to remember that I only have 2 closets in my whole house, this walk-in and one more smallllllllll bedroom closet that is actually in our office. The one in the office shares space with the heatpump cold air return so it's only a half closet.

This red chest holds my sheets and pillowcases. The mirror has been in the garage until I got the closet ready for it. I will be painting all the furniture white soon.

It will be really nice to finally have a full length mirror in my house!

(It is a LOT bigger than the picture makes it look)

Maybe I will look better when I leave home now?!?!?!

I did not get a really good picture of the closet from the bedroom because I would be showing in the mirror and you did NOT want to see me today! Me in sweats is not a pretty sight!!!!

These wire shelves work pretty good to hold accessories such as scarves and belts.

Look at all my jeans....I didn't know I had so many pair til I organized a little.

Can a girl ever really have too many handbags?
Of course not. I purged a few just in case!

This is my DRESSY corner of the closet, (other than Danny's robe that he wears out to the hot tub) you can tell that I don't get dressed up very much by the small amount of clothes there! The sweater organizer hanging here houses some sweaters and the rest are our swimsuits.

(jewelry, my socks are now in the hatbox, clever huh?)

Danny's clothes are in the dresser and about 6" of a closet rod is all I can share with him!

Not really, he has his suits stored in the office closet to keep them dust free. I did not want a door on this closet because most closet doors are either left open anyway or the closet is so messy that you don't want anyone to see in there and keep stuffing it full of more stuff.

I felt that this way I would keep it cleaner if anyone could see in there. Hahaha that didn't really work! Well the bedroom actually is messier than my closet!

After cleaning this I have some new found space for more shoes!!

Of course I have purged about 87 pair today!

I have a truck load of stuff for the Goodwill.

I can even add to my Dansko collection now!

Do you think he would notice a few more boxes?

Nah!

I still have a lot more to do such as cleaning out my dresser in the bedroom and purging more from there. I will move the bedroom around a little to fit the quilting frames in there. I guess I will go ahead and make a silk curtain for my closet door to keep some of the dust from the quilting....(from the batting)...from settling on my clothes.

After all every Princess should have a silk drape as her closet door! Right?

Whew.... I am tired now!!

I am inspired........

2010-10-02T21:02:00.004-04:00

With this new job of mine, that I really really love, I am making so much money that I can't even figure out where to spend it all!!

Hahaha

That's a little white lie, I have it spent in so many different places that it would make your head spin if I told you ALL of my ideas!!

A chunk of my very first paycheck went to Lowes for the supplies for my dearest spouse to build me a new table/frames for my new quilting machine!!!! Woot Woot!!

We both sat down with my Handi Quilter, Youtube videos and my king size mattress and designed the perfect table to accommodate a king size quilt!!

The only problem is.....where in the world could I put a 12 foot long quilting frame??

I really begged for a new room but he laughed at me, he also laughed a while back when I told him they were going in my bedroom!

Well guess what girls, they are going in my bedroom after all.

It is the biggest room in the house besides the living room and he really frowned upon a quilting frame being between him and his TV!!

So as he is working on the frames, I am cleaning and rearranging the bedroom making room for them. This all led to cleaning and organizing my walk-in-closet too.

I never got around to showing you all my closet because it has been sorta topsy turvy for a while.

My bedroom was an addition that we added on about 3 years ago and turned one old bedroom into a walk-in and a small hallway. This is my very first ever real closet in my entire life!!!!

When I moved in there I told Danny that I felt like a Princess!!

I had/have room for furniture in there!!

I have a dresser for Danny's clothes and I had a dresser vanity in there for my jewelry and such with a nice mirror on it but I moved it into the hair studio. I have been sorta on the look out for another highboy type dresser but haven't found the right one yet........but I now have a steady paycheck, hmmmm??? LOL!

I will post pics as soon as I get the closet finished, I am purging and revamping it trying to get the excitement back that I had 3 years ago when I first moved in it!!!

This teensy tiny little picture was borrowed from Flickr and depicts what I really want my closet to look like! (maybe you can click to enlarge)

I have the white walls and cherry wood floors. I need to paint the furniture white and get me a cool chair in there and some stars on the wall and I will have it!! hahaha almost!

I dream of having my closet stuffed with Anthropologie clothes such as this sweater, in a size 6, that fits!

Lots and lots and lots of cool shoes such as these sassy black numbers from Anthro too!

They are only $460 or something like that!

Maybe some Frye boots?

Some more Danskos to add to my collection that I already have?

How about a chest full of Sabika Jewelry?

All the other nurses at work are now adorned daily with this jewelry that matches every scrub that they own. I am way behind them and I have a lot of catching up to do......well there are a few ideas of how to spend my paychecks right? As if I needed any help!!!!

Back to the purging and dusting!

Don't forget about my giveaway!!

I am having a "GIVEAWAY" ..............This week in history.........pay really close attention........

2010-09-23T12:53:00.004-04:00

My little Snuggle Bug (LOLOLOL) and I will be married 34 years on Saturday.

9/25/1976

(look at his long skinny fingers!)

This was my Grandpa and Grandma Wray...(I don't remember them {I hope this was long before my time} but that must be where my gardening, flower loving genes came from! At least I didn't get their nose!)

I wonder how long they were married?

I wonder if my marriage will last that long?

Maybe if I can stay out of the fabric stores and stay out of "time out" it will last a long time!!!

I threw this one in for fun!

Grandma Goldie, Mama, Me and Robin. Not sure what was up with Robin's shoes, I do not remember them!! UGLY!!

Look at my really long and skinny fingers!

This is the cute little fellow that I married!

Always an animal lover!

Now look again at those long skinny fingers and those long but very skinny legs!!
How about those T-straps???
Love me some T-straps to this day!!
I would wear them every day if they made my legs look like that again!
~

I always get emotional during the week before my wedding anniversary.
Way back in 1976, on the week before my wedding day, I would walk from my house to Danny's every morning to help him and his family make molasses. Of course I just walked out there to be with him and to eat his Mother's GREAT country cooking!!!
The weather was beautiful that week, there was a nice chill in the air and it was really misty each morning. As I walked through the hayfield to his house, I was thinking that
"I Was The Happiest Girl in The Whole USA!!!"

As I have been traveling to work this week, I have noticed that the early mornings have been sorta misty just as they were 34 years ago. Almost brings tears to my eyes when that happy feeling comes back to me. I just knew way back that it would be the most awesome thing in the world to be "Mrs. Danny Moran!!!!!!!!!!!

It is pretty awesome.....most of the time!!!!!
Of course I was only 14 at the time, what did I know??

Now.........
like I said.....PAY ATTENTION......
I have never done a give away on here and it is LONG over due.
I am so sorry for being such a slacker in that department too.
I hope that somehow I could make it up to you though.
In honor of my anniversary....(well can you think of a better reason??) I will host a giveaway!!

I have never been a fan of those giveaways that give you all those rules about if you do this and do that then you will be entered....yada yada yada........HOWEVER.....I have something in the works and I regret that I have no choice but to ask you to do a little legwork here.
I can't tell you as of yet what that is all about but ALL you have to do to win is become a follower and leave me a comment telling me how much you would like to be entered in this drawing!
See Easy Peasy, right???
A drawing for what, you are asking??
You will be entered in the drawing for a table runner just like the one above!
(only it will be completely finished, lol)
A Moda French General ~ Lumiere de Noel Table Runner hand made and quilted by me.

RULES:
1. The deadline for entries will be October 23rd, which just happens to be my prince Charming's Birthday!
2. Become a follower of my blog. If you are not a follower you can not be entered into the drawing.
3. Leave me a comment on this post. Anonymous comments are not allowed. If you can read this blog you can get you a Goggle Account set up painlessly and securely that will allow you to follow me and leave comments with out having a blog yourself.
4. You will only be entered once for the drawing even though you are a follower and leave a comment too. Once per person but you have to do both.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I LOOOOOVVVVEEEEE IT!!

2010-09-21T18:02:00.003-04:00

My job that is!! So far it is everything I wanted and even more!!

The Dr's are fabulous, the staff is superb, the manager is awesome, the work is old hat due to my many years in a surgery office and the office is beautiful and laid out perfectly! The equipment is new. The computer medical records is easy peasy!! I am loving it so far!! Tomorrow I will play a cardiology nurse for the day!!! That brings back memories too, from my days in CCU and a cardiac surgery step down unit.!! My first job with this company was 13 years ago and I was hired by a guy named Tom and as it turns out he is my boss again!!! I loved working for him!!! So that was an extra special bonus too! I saw him yesterday and I could have squeezed him into!!

The biggest extra special bonus is the attitudes of the girls that I work with.......OMG!!! Talk about positive people, I have never been around a bunch of nurses and ancillary staff that are so positive. The nurses all have gray in their hair...woot woot they are all my ageish and the front office staff are a little bit younger but so personable and funny. Sooooo nice to the patients and coworkers. I wasn't used to that in an office setting, we usually had some great people and some that you just cringed to see them scheduled to work!!! I think the staff in this office should train all the other offices around!!! There is teamwork here like I have never witnessed anywhere!!

Now the parts of my job that are not so desirable.........
1. My schedule was changed on the first day, seems that my manager was wrong about Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, don't know for sure what it will be now????? Still only 3 days a week tho.
2. I have to park a zillion miles away and I have bad knees, at least we have elevators!! The old knees really hurt me yesterday, not so bad today.
3. I have to leave home. I am doing OK with that because I am looking forward to working with this great group!

All and all I could not have asked for a better job!!! Yes Terri, I am sorta liking the idea that I can get dressed up and go out and talk to grown-ups all day!!! Oh and did I mention that I love surgery and cardiology patients???? YES!!!! So I pray that this positive attitude continues! I have a lot of fabric to buy!! ;-)))

Moda Lumiere de Noel by French General Table Runner

2010-09-15T07:11:00.005-04:00

Now that was a mouthful and don't make me type that name out again!

I do love me some French General fabrics though! If I were rich

I would buy them, every thing they design and manufacture!

They are my Anthropology!

I made this runner Saturday from a pattern that Robin gave me for table runners to be made out of charm packs. It's called Triangulations.

It was very easy to make and I thought the above said fabric was going to be just perfect for this pattern but I wish I had used fabric with more distinct darks and lights.

I think the design would have been more prominent.
It's still just perfect for me and my dining room table!

Of course it was quilted on this!!

Yep, it came at 6:15 or so yesterday. I thought I would have a stroke waiting on that brown truck too. I got her in and all put together, played/fingered with/drooled over the accessories and then went to wind the first bobbin......OMG this machine is soooooo fast! I about fell out of my chair, scared me to death! Have you guys ever worked in a sewing factory? Well I have and those industrial machines are so fast that it takes a lot of getting used to. I was afraid that this was going to be way tooooooooo much power for me!

However when I finished the bobbin and got my sleeves rolled up and my courage built up, I stuck my tongue out the side of my mouth for concentration, I kept my hands way away from that needle and began to push down ever so slightly on the foot controller and she started off nice and slow! Whew!!! I can control the power of this machine with my foot after all!

It is a dream to sew on! Sews beautifully! I can't even describe the difference between this one and my other machines for quilting. Of course it only has a straight stitch but I have the other machines for the decorative stitches. This baby will be my Quilting Princess!

I AM SO HAPPY WITH THIS DECISION!!

Now I have to practice keeping my foot off the thread cutter button on the foot controller!

I hit it a couple times and cut my thread when I wasn't ready to stop, while quilting the table runner. That'll come with time! That's one feature that I loved about industrial sewing machines.

See "Becky leves here Juki!"

I am not very good at free hand cursive yet!!

I am out the door again today in class but when I get back I will try to post the pictures from the professional photographer who stayed at The Fairy's Rest over the weekend!

They are awesome and made me cry when I saw them.

She posted them on Facebook yesterday and they were quite the hit!!

In about a 3 hour period I had almost 400 hits on my website!!

woowoowooo!!