catsnmore on the farm

Aprons

Like I told you... I have been excitedly sewing again.  I am so happy. :)
I decided the other night to make myself a new apron.  I like the smock type of aprons so I went for that.  This one is modified a bit from my original purple smock that I love.  This fabric was my Grandmothers/Nannie Red's.  I only had a smallish remnant and sadly the smock is a bit too short for me.  I am considering what I want to do with it now... try and sell it in my Etsy or possibly wait and see if I can refashion it to make it work somehow.
I LOVE  how it turned out... the colors are wonderful and vibrant and I adore the fabrics.
I finished the edges with bias tape and made 2 pockets on the front... perfect for clothes pins on wash day or running out to the garden to pick a few peppers. The rick rack was a tribute to a dear friend of mine and I just love it. :)
I hope to find the time to get back in the sewing room again soon... to make one equally as cute that I can wear. I LOVE my aprons, I love wearing them... I actually do wear them.  Putting one on helps me feel ready to get to work. :)
Here is a little something a friend sent me about aprons, I was reminded of it when I saw it on a message board that I frequent...

Grandma's Apron

Call 911

Not something any of us wants to have to do!  On New Years eve about 9:30 or so, I was working in the kitchen frosting some cinnamon rolls and finishing up some dishes, getting ready for the dinner at Mom's the next morning.  I happened to look out the west door and noticed the birdbath that stands at the end of the sidewalk was glowing.......what in the world is that??  I stepped out onto the deck and saw big smoke.  I hollared at hubby that the garage was on fire which is where it looked like it was coming from.  Actually it was our grainary and 10 big bales of hay next to it!  While waiting for the fire trucks to get here we got the hoses out and hooked up and started to spray it down a little.  Let me tell you my heart was racing!

Fire departments came from 3 towns and there were 9 trucks here!  Quite an exciting New Years Eve celebration we had here.  There is an open shed just a few feet from the burning hay bales that also contained hay, small bales.  They were able to keep it contained so that did not catch on fire, we are so thankful for that! 

Our garage is not far, and the siding is melted on it and the shingles have damage.  A small chicken house on another side had the siding melted as well.

So..........we have a tremendous amount of things to be thankful for in this ordeal!  If we had been gone, or in bed, or I had not looked out the door when I did.........it would have only been a few more minutes until I believe both of those buildings would have gone up and then the house is just on the other side of the garage, it would have been next along with 2 other chicken houses, and the shed containing the small hay bales too.  We could have so easily lost everything except 1 barn and 1 chicken house that are on opposite sides of the farmyard.

God's timing is always perfect!  We have no idea why he allowed this to happen, but his timing is perfect and we are giving thanks that more was not lost and no animals were hurt.

We did lose all of the feed for all of the animals, the 10 big bales of hay, feed barrels and buckets, some feed tubs, chicken feeders and waterers, the scales I weigh baby goats and feed with, catch nets, chicken leg catcher, dog chain, 3 pet carriers, fan, shop vac, some tools, cooler, electric roaster, some storage tubs..........I am sure a few other things.  I was worried about Snowball the cat that liked to sleep on a pillow in there, but the next morning he came to greet me!

Other than the shock of that night, the worst part has been keeping an eye on the hay burning.  It finally burned down enough by last night, that we could relax and go to bed without too much worry.   There was a danger of it flaring up enough to start something going again and we had to continually check on it and hose it down when we didn't feel comfortable.  The night time hours have proved to have me feeling unsettled and anxious...........it is all in God's hands, but I know human nature brings these feelings when something like this has happened.  If you would, please offer a little prayer for me to feel peace and safety, thank you!

The house a mile away that burned 3 days before was determined to be arson, however ours is listed as undetermined as far as I know now.  The hay and all the water made it difficult to tell exactly what had caused it.  It is hard not to think it may have been set as well.  Which is hard to think about too.  We have dogs and yard lights and we were home when it happened?? 

Back to being thankful!  Our friends and neighbors have been so generous and thoughtful to us. One has promised to  replace the hay we lost, another brought over a bale the next day, the man who's house burned brought up 2 bales!  Hubby went and had the folks open up the elevator so he could get a few bags of feed on New Years day.  Then today he went and picked up a mix of goat feed and to our total surprise they said it is paid for!  Wow!  A good friend from a nearby town had called and told them she would pay for the entire feed mix for our goats.  The same man who is replacing the hay is bringing his skid loader over to help clean up the mess after the insurance adjuster has been here.  Others have offered to help and come by to see if there is anything they could do.  Folks in rural America are still kind and caring people and we are blessed to live here!  Thank you to everyone who has helped in our time of need.

I had put off bloging since this happened, but am glad I finally sat down and put it on paper, or I guess on computer...........

Country Blessings,

Marilyn~at Heritage Hill Homestead

Back to normal?

  What is normal, really? I don't think things were ever normal per say. LOL But we are back to our regular scheduled program.  Grinding is over and my husband is back working his regular 6 to 5 hours instead of the afternoon hours that he had for the past four months. And school will be up and running  tomorrow morning.

   We would have started back with school this morning but I had a doctors appointment with my GYN.  I have a love hate relationship with this man. Love the person that he is, but hate what he does, if you know what I mean. The most embarrasing day of the year for me, the wellness visit.  Yuck! And it probably wouldn't be that bad if it would end after only the one visit, but each year there is a problem that needs futher attention. And this year is no different. I have been having pains in my lower stomach and lower back area so he wants a vag. ultrasound. I had them schedule the mammogram and the ultrasound on the same morning of Jan. 29th.  He wanted to do a MRI but me and those tiny sausage like machines don't get along. Last time I was stuffed into one I paniced and had to be removed after only about 30 seconds. So I nixed that idea right away. The ultrasound was option B. I'm not going to know anything for at least another six weeks so I'm not going to stress or worry about it. God is in control, so no need for worries.

   Also ran to the DMV today after the doctor's appointment to drop off a license plate of a car that I just sold and to get my 15 year old an ID. He is way big for his age and no one believes him when he says that he is only 15. He turns 16 this next Monday on the 12th and now has to buy hunting and fishing licenses,  so he will need this  ID to do that. Well nothing got done at the DMV because as soon as we opened the door I saw that the place was packed to the roof. What is it about DMVs?  I told him we would return  early in the morning  and try to beat the rush. He was a little disappointed but understood. He is such a good kid.

   I took my current issue of Mother Earth News with me to the doctor's office today and read a few aticles on gardening. I am so ready for a spring garden, heck I'm just ready for spring, period. I'm done with the cold and all the brown deadness everywhere. Bring on the color and the flowers!

For those dying to know...

Hello all...

Well we are getting ready for my hospital visit. I go tomorrow to the doctor and then to the hospital to get all the pre reg stuff done at the hospital. I am not looking forward to this not at all....

I will be there in the hospital for two days at least. I have to be at the hospital on Wednesday at 7am. The children will stay with friends from church. The girls will come home daily to take care of things here and keep the house all together.

I have to admit i have been over every emotion I think  there is. I have been ok lets get this done, to oh god why me, to I still want more children God.. Now i am just at the point of I am tired of being cut on.. Like i said i am and have every emotion one can have.

It is raining here again. Oh boy I know that i should be thankful for the rain but dear God enough is enough. I am having enough problems with my emotions and then you add rain into the mix and Lord that is just to much.

The children are taking all of this better than me. Oh course they are teens and seem to take things better on the outside than us adults. Then again after the year we have had last year i am almost sure they are just used to it.. You would think i would be yet i am not.. Go figure....

I am planning on being out of the hospital by friday if everything works out ok.

I am now on a liquid diet. OH the joy.... Just what someone wants jello for a day....So much fun.. hee hee... Oh well could be worse I could have to eat brussle spouts all day long.. :-)

I will try to update you as i can.Or i should say i will have my oldest update you as she can.

have a blessed day all

glenda

Crochet, cooking w/ my boy, wheat ... pics :)

Okay, so I'm tired of talking about the Baby That Isn't Here Yet. So .... here we go.

Here are my crochetted baby blankets. If I'm not spelling crochet right, that's because I'm a baby, baby beginner.

I had the boys run over and sit on the blanket(s) and smile for the camera.

Now, both of these are my own design. The pink one is SUPER simple. $7 worth of pink yarn from Walmart, and I went a row of single, half double, double, triple. One after the other, from one end to the next. Can you see the ribs? That's the double with me picking up a different loop. I did that by accident, decided it was cool and there I was. It went really fast. Without working on it every day, I finished in less than 2 weeks, I think? And I have maybe half my yarn left over!

The blue blanket is super soft and too stretchy. It's the one I made BEFORE learning I need to go down several hook sizes from recommended. See those neat, cute box-gaps? I skipped a stitch for those. I think that whole entire blanket is doubles and triples.

I'm not sure what I'm doing next, but I really like crochet.

Okay, does this make your teeth hurt?

I let Samuel put on the sprinkles. It was tough. If J hadn't encouraged me to let him make such a dreadful mess, I probably would have taken over and declared him too young. As it was, it isn't quite as bad as it looks. Really. We both ended up having a blast, once I relaxed and let the sprinkles fly. I'm glad Daddy was home to encourage me to do the right thing!!! They really are a cheap way to be together in the kitchen!

Here is a current picture of my baker's rack.

Notice anything missing? You know what those three, big canisters are?

From left to right, soft white wheat, white wheat, and red wheat.

We don't have "flour" at our house anymore. Just wheat. And a mill. And stronger arms and healthier digestive tracts and . . . . it's so cool. One of these days, that yellow canister will be full of whole yellow corn waiting to be ground .... and my life will be complete.

I'm so kidding about the complete part. Hahaha!

You can do so much with these three types of wheat. When you eat a French Breakfast Puff soaked in butter and cinnamon sugar . . . you can rest in the fact that at least it's whole wheat and you're getting tons more fiber than you normally would. Plus 10% less calories. Isn't that freaky cool?

My whole-wheat pancake recipe? Doesn't even call for sugar. And I've had no complaints. Can you beat that????

~Ashley~

Thankful

Its Monday morning and time for things to get back to some kind of routine here after the holidays.  It's been a nice break and we have all enjoyed it.  Its cold here this morning and they are saying we could have some ice coming our way today.  What happened to snow?  Seems like it is always freezing rain and sleet lately.  I would like to see one pretty snow before winter gives way to spring.

We had baby rabbits born this weekend--things are getting a bit crowded in there right now--tis the season-lol.  The goat kids should be arriving next month--hopefully the new barn will be ready just in time!  It looks to be an exciting spring full of new arrivals.  The pigs are bred now and should be birthing at the end of April.  That's real exciting for me as I have never seen new baby pigs.  I have spent the weekend reflecting on everything that we have done in the last few years and I am totally amazed at how much we have learned and grown.  There is really something to be said for starting from scratch.  Take this current barn we are building...only a few years ago it would have been a huge project that would have seemed almost impossible to do--and now it is something that we all enjoy and is actually fun.  Oh how things have changed in our lives--and all for the good.  I am so thankful to God for all his Mercy and Kindness.  Enjoy your day friends-each and every one is a gift.  Blessings>faithfarm

The Sewing Bug...

I have been bit by the sewing bug again, finally.  I haven't been in my sewing room since the craft festival.  I have thought about it, only to say, "No way".  I don't know, it must have been all those nights of being in there until 3 am that helped me to shun my  love of sewing for all this time. 
So I had been thinking of making my children some colored pencil rolls.  I thought they would be a nice thing to have to take along to church, on field trips, to have on hand when they want to sketch something... I also thought I would make them a bag to hold their pencil roll, their Bible, and a sketch pad... I still have to make those. :)
So Saturday afternoon, I seized my opportunity to go into my sewing nook.
And here is the outcome.
The one above is Cameo's.  She loves the fabric.  I made 14 slots in hers... 12 is because colored pencils come in a 12 pack at the dollar store and then I wanted her to have a place for a pen and a pencil.
It was a strange thing when I went to the sewing nook to pick out the fabric... I pulled most of the fabric off the shelf, sorted, folded some neatly and came to realize that the deer/elk fabric was the only boyish fabric that I own! NO JOKE! How sad is that! I know that there is some really cute boyish fabric around but I own only the half a yard or so I used to make these roll ups.  So I had to make two different colored ties for Eli and Abrams so they could tell them apart.
I ended up making myself an apron after I finished the pencil rolls and I will show you pictures of that later on. 
And if that didn't tickle me enough, I taught myself how to knit a little.  Oh, am I awkward and silly looking right now... but I figure in time it will become easy to me.  I know how to cast on, and how to do the knit stitch. I am so tickled.  I have been practicing over and over and am so slow. haha. Next I will learn the purl and hopefully try and make something... hooray! :)
Have a great week friends.
My Cup Runneth Over...

Prayer request

Spiced Tea