August 30, 2007

The Never Ending Day


Ok, the day did end and I am lucky enough to be sitting and enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee and some delicious Blueberry breakfast bars. A few days ago I had one of those days were nothing seemed to go right and it was one thing after another. Just when I thought it might be over something else went wrong. No Joke, towards the end of that hellacious day I opened a cupboard in the laundry room to look for the dog nail clippers and out fell a plastic dog bowl. I reached down to pick it up and on my way back up I whacked my head on the cupboard door I just opened. I stood hovered over the counter with my hands clutching my head feeling the egg slowly forming, trying to figure out what the hell just happened and trying not to cry or pass out.

Normally I am a positive person and can spin any bad situation around to look at some sort of good that might have came out of it. After all that had happened and now this I suddenly felt like Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump when he was facing the hurricane. I too had reached my limit and was shouting “BRING IT ON!” “You Want a Piece of ME!” Of course there was no one there, just me in my own space. My husband made me lie on the couch with some ice on my head all the while giving me a look of concern for my well being. I chose to keep an angry face the rest of the evening and my body flexed and ready for anything else that might happen. Luckily that was the last of it and a new day with a new start and a wonderful new recipe for Blueberry Breakfast bars. You can find the recipe over at My Messy Thrilling Life in one of her July postings.


Garden Update


Cilantro


Basil


Little Pumpkins


Gourd


More gourds. The gourds are turning out to be the most fun to watch. I will definitely plant some next year. I can’t wait to see how many I end up with this year to decorate for the fall and winter holidays.


These four crops had the biggest showing. Every thing else just did not come up or is growing very slowly like these sweet peas. I doubt they will get large enough to flower before the cold weather comes in and kills them off. Just did not get them planted soon enough.


Fabric


I am still itching to make an apron, this time I went to the store specifically looking for fabric to make one. The one on the right is an Amy Butler for Rowan fabric, that I found first and then carried it around the store forever trying to find compatible fabrics that were not too bold but also not plain. The one in the middle is Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics and the one on the Left is Barefoot Roses by Tanya Whelan. I have not decided if I want to do a patchwork apron or something else. I know it will just be a half apron with pockets. I am thinking to use the stripe fabric possibly for a ruffle along the bottom. Now if only I could find the time to get the sewing machine out and play around with it. I am longing for autumn or possibly a few rainy days stuck inside.


Thank You
I just wanted to thank all my readers for stopping by. I also wanted to thank you for all the comments. I cherish each and every one of them. I hope you all are enjoying the end of your summer.

August 22, 2007

Stinky Weasel


If you have seen this guy lurking around my property give him a message from me. Tell him his days are numbered and he best be moving on.


Haley had a little chat with one of these skunks last Friday night when all through out the house not a creature was stirring except for Haley and the skunk. That morning we woke to the horrid smell that reeked through out the entire house. I can only assume Haley thought the skunk was a black and white cat. The score so far is Skunk one/Haley zero. All though I live out in the country and the smell was horrible, I decided against filling my tub full of tomato juice and drowning the dog in it. I called the vet to see if there was a new and improved formula for ridding ones bad dog of skunk smell. They gave me a recipe that consisted of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, & laundry soap. Mix ingredients into a paste then bathe dog with it. Several baths later and one new collar, she does not smell as bad.


Mom comes to visit


My mom came to visit for a few days. She had a great time getting to know the alpacas.


We took her to the county fair while she was here. These two Boer Goats were taken a little nap. How sweet they look.


Here are two that were wide awake and were looking for something to eat and settled with nibbling on Chris’s shorts.


I did not get the breed name of these two sheep. I was real taken with the one on the right with the freckled face and legs. I did a search but there are so many breeds of sheep and I am not sure what these two look like with all their fiber. Plus I needed to stop the search due to my growing interest in all the breeds I had found and the last thing we need at the moment is another type of livestock.


While my mom and I were out shopping and what not we stopped at a new nursery in a near by town. I found this beautiful Hoya house plant. Botanical name is Hoya Carnosa. I have seen the darker foliage almost purplish hoya plant but I don’t remember ever seeing one like this one. Plus I did not know they bloomed.


This is a close up of the cluster of star shaped flowers that grow along its vines.


Well things are getting back to normal. Mom is back in Florida. So play times over and it is back to the grind.

August 10, 2007

Becoming Jane



Today the movie "Becoming Jane" is released into theaters. It is a biographical movie based on the life of Jane Austin. Excuse me a moment while I giggle with JOY! She is the author of one of my all time favorite classics Pride and Prejudice. One unfortunate thing about living out in the middle of nowhere, the movie will not arrive in our town any time soon. This is one I might need to drive a long distance to see. Jane will be played by Anne Hathaway, and her love interest Tom Lefroy will be played by actor James McAvoy. You might remember James from the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe, he played Mr Tumnus.



Cherry Tree Vermin


I walked around the back of the house and headed towards the shed for some hay when I stopped in my tracks and stared at where the cherry tree use to stand. Since there are no beavers in the area we are lead to believe that the Elk ate the cherry tree. I have never seen such a thing before. We had a total of 4 cherry trees that came with the property. I had planned to move all 4 to a new location this fall where they would get more water from an area that the run off overflows. By Fall we will see how many cherry trees are left to actually move.



Chevron Scarf

My scarf is coming along nicely. It should be finished by now but I have found little time to sit and knit. Summer as an adult is a whirlwind of many things to do. Longing for the dog days of summer from my youth with my list of things to do each day play, play, swim, play.


New Book

“The Apron Book” by EllynAnne Geisel. I picked this book up the other day. Often this summer I have been working outside and I have had no pockets in the clothes I am wearing. I have been meaning to make myself an apron to throw on while heading out to work with the alpacas. It would be great to store some things in the apron like treats, or nail clippers etc. So once I spotted this book I snatched it up. It has lots of great inspiration and a few patterns.


Here are two recent fabrics I have acquired. Perhaps I might use one of them in making an apron.


I am in a cleaning frenzy and the dogs are kicked out of the house today. My Mom is flying in from Florida on Monday for a visit. So the house is getting a good scrubbing. The mop is calling me best get back to it.