Mouse in the House

As quick as the blink of an eye
something seemed to fly by!
Eek!!
There's a mouse in the house!
I must set a trap!
And for sheer ease
I'll bait it with cheese;
but now I'm wondering,
which will he like better,
Velveeta or sharp cheddar?

So I put a small bit
on the paddle's tip
and set the spring in place.
Mouse has waited all day
to come out and play,
and when the lights go out
he runs round about,
right past the trap by the wall.

He passed the cheese.
He wants a treat;
something gooey, soft and sweet.
He didn't think I'd hear him
as he wriggled and chewed inside the sack.
But he didn't know I had quite a knack
for listening for little mouse smacks.

I grabbed the sack by its top
and he jumped and he jumped to no avail;
he couldn't escape from this cat food bag jail.
I'll take him to the barn where there are cats.
No more mouse in the house, and that will be that!

                                                                  Charlotte

Summer ~ 2015

In spite of a slow start, due to so much rain, we've had a busy and productive summer, and it goes on.

This has been the view from the back window of my office tractor several days this summer.  I've raked over 1000 bales of hay;  we still have two fields left to cut but will wait until these big chickens are gone.  There's always a worry to leave them on hot days when we go to the field, although we have a monitor that calls when the temperature rises, and a generator if the electricity goes off; we aren't too far away either.

All our hay is hauled, except 175 bales, and insured.  I hate to "put all our eggs in one basket", as the saying goes,  in  case of fire.  Should something happen to the hay, insurance money would help, IF we could find more to buy.

Two days were spent gathering in calves to send to market.  I like to work with the cattle; get right in there with them, and let the adrenalin flow.  

The garden was successful for the most part and I froze good things for next winter; now I will plant turnip green seeds and hope for one more thing to freeze.  We're going to miss the fresh tomatoes.

Not every day was spent in the field so I have worked in the sewing room too.  The flying geese quilt has been up for most of the summer, and the last border is now visible after working on it a few hours in the afternoons.  My left hand has a tremor that shakes the whole frame some days, thread just will not go in the eye of the needle some days, leaving me to wonder how much longer will I be able to do a reasonably good job on my quilts.  I don't need the quilts, but it brings me so much happiness to make them.

Isabelle needs new school clothes; I'll show you some of the ones I've made soon.

Summer sun is slower coming up over the tops of the pine trees now, and the chores must be finished not long after 8:00 p.m.  Mornings feel cooler but give way to hot afternoons, so we know the fall season will be here soon.

Have you had a good summer?

Charlotte

Two weeks ago, our older grandson got married.  This was the place they chose for the wedding,

on top of a bluff!  

The trail going down to the spot they had picked, was so steep that a man stretched a big heavy rope from tree to tree for us to cling to on the way down.

Guests were seated on square bales of hay.

Informal ~ but very nice.

An extension of the bluff.  I would have felt much more secure if I could have worn my lace-up shoes and jeans.  The heights really bothered the farmer; he kept holding on to me.  I guess he was afraid I'd fall on the rocks.  Or, was he thinking, "If I fall off, I'm taking her with me!"

Charlotte

A Repost: Standing the Test of Time

Forty four years ago we moved onto our own land, ten acres, with plans to build a new house. The Farmer was just finishing work on his doctorate at the university, and after feeling more or less as a stranger in the big city, I felt happy to be in the country again. We rented a trailer to live in while the house was being built, and had it put in the shade of this mulberry tree.

The month was May, and the berries were at their peak of ripeness, falling and covering the ground underneath. We set up a swing set for our three little girls who now could run and play without the confinement of a fenced back yard, and their beautiful childish voices echoed across the land as they sang "Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so." And every night their little feet and the seats of their panties were stained purple from the mulberries.

I have no way of knowing how long the tree had been here before we bought the land, but it's weathered many storms; perhaps the three trunks give support to one another. It is just outside the yard fence and the cattle take shade underneath its branches in the summer, wearing away the dirt from the roots on that side of the fence.

The dead limbs are signs that the old tree is under stress; most of the time, before I mow the yard, there are several sticks to pick up.

But the roots inside the fence must be providing moisture for the tree, because once again, the limbs are full of green berries, and when they get ripe there will be a mass feeding for the birds, raccoons and terrapins, not to mention the flies who come to drink in the intoxication of the souring berries.

I guess old-timers used the berries for making jelly, but I don't particularly like the taste of them.

I wonder how long a mulberry tree can stand the test of time. Do you like mulberries or do you have a tree on your property?

Charlotte

[This was originally posted in 2012; watch for an update tomorrow]

Current Project

A blogging friend asked me to show the current project I have going.  I found this pattern in the April, l999 (issue 37) American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  Since it's a paper pieced project and uses lots of tiny scraps, I jumped right in on it.  That was a couple of years ago, and this winter and spring I picked it back up and plan to finish the piecing at least.  The name, Scrap Apple, comes from the fact that it's the Pineapple block made from scraps.

This was with the picture: "Quiltmaker Betty Lenz pulled scraps from her stash to make the 120 foundation pieced Pineapple blocks for the center of this quilt.  She also used scraps to applique flowers on a solid black background for a stunning finish."

The blocks are six inches, finished, and I have put a dime on the pattern to show how small the pieces are.

I have pieced 88 of the 120 needed, so I'm getting there.  I try to piece at least one block each afternoon.  I love doing this, picking and sorting through the little colorful scraps and seeing the finished blocks made from pieces so small that most would be thrown away.  I think it will be a pretty quilt.  "Waste not, want not."

A follow-up to the previous post:

Easter Sunday came on my birthday this year and so the girls brought supper that evening.  One daughter brought a bag of 50 gladiolus bulbs to give half of them to me.  Ah-ha!  A perfect chance to "pass off" the little doll head!  While she was busy with something else, I offered to open the package, then let her count out the bulbs.  When I opened the bag, I slipped the doll inside with the bulbs; he's almost the same color and size.  She put her hand inside the bag, and said, "I think this one must be ..." (rotten) and lifted out Shelby.  We all had a big laugh!  Isn't laughter supposed to be the best medicine anyway?

Have a good 'un!

Charlotte

A Splendid Gift . . .

came in the mail today.  Sherri (www.littlecabincreations.blogspot.com) read my post about Isabelle and my intentions to sew for her.  She left a comment that she had two new patterns she would like for me to have if I wanted them.  Of course I said YES!  The patterns have a good selection of styles to choose from and I'm thinking the first thing I will make is a pair of springtime pajamas.  Now I need to put away the quilt block sewing and sew for Isabelle.

I think you would enjoy a visit to Sherri's blog; she makes sweet, sweet cloth dolls and beautiful clothes for them, all by hand I believe.

Thank you, Sherri ~ aren't blogging friends nice!

Charlotte

Isabelle

I want you to meet Isabelle, my American Girl doll ~

This is how she came to live with me:  Our children and grandchildren were all here at Christmas for lunch.  When we had finished eating, they put gifts on the table for the Farmer and me.  One gift was a rather long box, and thinking it was for the both of us, I told him to open it, but the girls said, "No, this one is for you!"  I took the first wrapping off, and there was another layer of Christmas paper; "So it's one of those gifts!" I thought.  But under this layer was a box which I immediately recognized and I was so excited and exclaimed, "I know what it is!  It's an American Girl doll!'  They had pooled their money and bought her for me.  I love these kids!

The papers that came with her say she's a dancer, but living on the farm with me will make her a country girl.  She'll be dressed in print cotton dresses, trimmed with buttons and rickrack (I never learned to attach lace very well), flannel nightclothes, plaid and denim play clothes;

 she'll sleep in a homemade bed with homemade sheets and pillowcase, and patchwork quilts.

I really like her, and I've wanted a doll this size to sew for; now I have plans for all kinds of things.  Ahh ~ how much she would have been loved 64 years ago ~ smile~

Charlotte

Remember these blocks?

These, with many more blocks, are what they have become:

a big, colorful quilt top.  The scrap pile seems no smaller ~ sigh ~  Most points matched up perfectly which made me happy.  What do you think about using black in a quilt?  I think it makes the colors pop!  Now on to another project....

Charlotte

Drab

seems to be the perfect descriptive word for the month of February and the beginning of March.  Can't even see the mountains (this is just a hill) and I think I've only seen the moon two times since the new moon.  We've had a little snow, enough to make the ground a sloppy mess to trek through while doing the feeding.  But, we've lived with it, knowing full well that it won't be long until we're wishing for rain and cool summer breezes.  "Que sera, sera!"

The Farmer had asked for extra time out before getting chickens again, to give his leg time to recover.  (By the way, it's o.k. now.)  I think "they" gave us two or three extra days, just long enough to make me want to retire, so yesterday we filled the houses again.  (You're saying, "Oh no! not another picture of chickens!")

There were twins this week; what a cold, cold time for babies.  I don't see how people can raise cattle in the northern states where it is so much colder.  We have them in the barn with their mother.  (Terrible picture of them :(; too dark inside the barn)

This morning the Farmer sent off a load of hay that was purchased last summer but only now being picked up; sometimes we wonder if we should have kept it since this winter more hay has been needed.  This load went up the mountain in all this fog.

So, there you have it: my life these days.  There have been some quilting projects tucked into a few hours most days that I want to tell you about; a wonderful Christmas surprise gift and a fun tradition my girls and I have going; some crochet work ~ just give me a few days to catch up.  Writing a blog post takes up so much time because I sit and wait and wait for the pictures to load. 

Until next time, be happy!

Charlotte

Winter Pastime

You all know how much I love to work jigsaw puzzles.  It's just a natural thing for me to do after the stress of December, the dreary sunless days, and long nights between supper and bedtime.  The Farmer gave me two puzzles this year for Christmas gifts.

I worked the most difficult one first, 1000 pieces, QUILT MONTAGE.  I don't have time from farm chores, etc. to sit and work full time, so it took me about a week and a half to finish this one.  When I started it I wasn't sure it was workable, but by taking it one section at a time it was.

The second one, 500 pieces, FARM LIFE, was much easier to work because the pieces were larger, and well, not as "busy" as the first one. And, by the way, a window screen is a perfect thing to put the pieces together on; it holds everything in place and keeps pieces from falling onto the floor.

So now my desire to work a puzzle for the winter has been satisfied and I'll take up the crochet hook, needle and embroidery thread and make something to show for my time.

Mary, at www.visitswithmary.blogspot.com, posted a fantastic poem about puzzles today; check it out!

Charlotte

Flying Geese Quilt Top

I believe this year is following in the footsteps of last year, for here it is the middle of January already!  How can we slow it down?  And how we wish for some days with sunshine after a month of dreary, damp weather.  Do we never stop complaining about the weather?

I feel like I've made good use of my time so far; remember the flying geese blocks I was piecing, hoping to use up some scraps?  The top is finished ~

and as soon as I feel like working with a big lining fabric I'll put it on the frames to quilt, after I've checked to make sure all the papers are removed; sure don't want any surprises when I'm quilting! It turned out to be a BIG top.  During really cold days my sewing room is too cool to work in comfortably, so I have other projects to work on (another post :)  Remember those triangles left over from these blocks that I just couldn't throw away?  Here they are, paired up with white triangles, trimmed to size and boxed up, waiting for another time.

Waste not, want not~

Charlotte