Tree Is Down

Yesterday I took the Christmas tree down as it was completely dead. My hubby forgot to slice the bottom off before placing in the stand. Anyway packed away everything Christmas and got everything back where it belonged.
Does'nt take near as long to put the stuff away as when I had small kids at home and people to entertain. I did however go out the day after Christmas and pick up a fake tree for next year and there after along with some other Christmas stuff. Not quite the sales I would have thought out there so did'nt get much.
Now I sit and begin planning for snowmobile weather and family for the New Year is coming. I really need to start walking and walk off all the sweets I've tucked away the last few weeks. It amazes me now how I don't gain pounds but spread out like the dough boy. Guess that's what happens with age.
I look forward to spending some time with my granddaughter this week before she goes back up north to school. She will also be coloring my hair as I am not able to handle this much grey yet. Oh well, to each their own, right?
Happy New Year everyone!

Gifts For Giving

All of us chicks gathered today at MaryGail's house, which was so beautifully decorated in Christmas, for the wrapping of the gifts for our chosen family. There was a lay out of various cookies and treats for everyone to nibble while we visited and met another new member, Andrea, who joined us today. After a brief meeting and small talk, we all got down to business at hand. There were so many gifts to get wrapped with everyone stepping up to the plate and doing a wonderful job in making this a special day for the family.

We got everything boxed and ready to go to the Salvation Army tomorrow morning so it can be delivered to the family. I am so proud of everyone of us for doing an outstanding job. We really hope to be able to do this again next year.

Now we can step back, breathe, and enjoy our homes with family and friends and just take the time to relax and unwind from our last month of planning and doing.

Wishing everyone a very warm and Merry Christmas.

Sneaky But Sweet

After the delivery of the tree I went and picked up my daughter, Faith, and told her I was taking her to lunch for her birthday at Antonios, an Italian restaurant she loves. We get there and I begin taking presents and a cake from the trunk. Yes by now she is embarrassed and surprised. We go inside and there sits Cheryl and within moments all of the other girls show up. I totally surprised her which is not easy for me to do.

We had a wonderful lunch of spagetti and meatballs, salad and bread and topped it off with a delicious chocolate cake. She opened gifts and we all sang Happy Birthday.

I say your never too old to have a good surprise birthday party with family and good friends.

It just helps remind me I'm getting old. Love to my baby girl. You'll always be my angel.

Christmas Joy To Giving

It was so nice to see how excited the people who work at the Salvation Arm got when we delivered our tree and ornaments to our chosen family. It makes me want to do so much more and I feel so blessed to have found other women who have just as big of hearts with small pockets as so many of us do. It is truly amazing what can be done when you have others who can help. We will wrap our purchased gifts for the family on Sunday and deliver them along with the Christmas dinner on Monday to the Salvation Army.

Once we have completed our task we will take a break to enjoy our own families and celebrate Christmas and the New Year. Then we hope to pick a day all of us gals can get together for foot manicures, hand wax and massage and plenty of chick flicks and chit chat. Until then wishing you all a Merry Christmas and bless each day we have with friends and family.

Decorated Christmas tree

While waiting on my new stove I decided I really needed to clean house so amist all of the cleaning and moving stuff around and packing stuff away, I decided I might as well unload the containers of Xmas things I've had sitting on the kitchen floor for three days. It always takes me several hours to do the tree and other decor but love when its finished. Each year I put up less as there is no one but myself and my husband who ever see it. I use to have the most elaborate of Christmas's with every room in the house decorated and so many lights and animated characters around, it would take a week to put it up and to take it all down. So I really should'nt complain about a few hours of my time to enjoy the lights and decorations of Christmas today. I guess I just miss sharing it all with family and friends.

Farmgirl Sisterhood

I have to say that I am blessed to have met the ladies who have joined our Kfalls Chapter of farmgirls. They have big hearts and open arms. Everyone stepped up to the challenge of making chemo caps for the Klamath Falls Cancer Treatment Center here in town. We gathered up our coins and purchased material and yarn.

Those that could sew did so, and some were crocheted. They turned out so nice and were delivered today to the center. Thank you all for helping out where you could and sacrificing your time to do so. This was a true meaning of sisterhood.

Thanksgiving Blessings

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my husband, myself and his oldest son will be going out to dinner. I would have made dinner at home but not only do I have oven problems right now, I would'nt feel good about not having all my family and friends around.

As some of you know, I have been making chemo caps to deliver this coming weekend with the other farmgirls in our chapter who have also made caps, to the Cancer Center in Kfalls.
This month is really an eye opener for me as, Julie, our new member needs "farmgirl hugs" big time. She is not well herself and can no longer work, and is about to lose her home as she is doing everything she can to raise money for her daughter, Georganne, who is only 28 years old, and going through chemo for stage three breast cancer. I have been very busy making items she can sell at a bizarre in December and will continue to put the word out there for anyone who can help this family.

We (Charming Chicks) have also chosen a family for Christmas to donate a tree, presents and dinner fixings. I have been busy shopping for them as well.

Now this morning I receive a call that my sis-in-law is hospitalized for bleeding and doctors don't know where its coming from. So she is going through many tests right now. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over three years ago, so knows all too well about the chemo treatments and having to go to doctors all the time.

I just want to send out big hugs and prayers for these women and say that I am so thankful to be able to do what I can and wish it could be so much more.

Please send blessings and prayers to these families in their time of need. I hope everyone enjoys their families this Thanksgiving and cherish each moment you have with them.

Surprise Birthday

Went to Charming Chick meeting at Cheryl's house and was suprised with birthday goodies. What a great lunch and nice gifts I received. After the lunch I went to Ford and bought a Ford Flex. I had not planned on turning in my Buick but this was just, if not more comfortable as my Buick, plus I get 28 mpg versus the 18 in the Buick. A good day it was. I'm now a Senior and get my senior discounts. yahoo

Girls Night Out

Last night Faith and I went to the Ross Ragland Theatre and saw a group called Hotel California doing a Salute to the Eagles. If you ever get a chance to see them, you should. They were so good. They sing just like the Eagles, sound like them and play some fabulous guitar. It did'nt hurt that they were nice to look at either.
As I sat there looking around at all the people in the place, I realized that I'm older and still loving rock and roll. So many were dressed to the tee and some were ready to boogie to the music. After their final song, we had to get them back on stage for more. Out they came and got a lot of us out of our chairs and dancing to the music.
After nearly three hours of loud music, my ears a bit numb, I had to drive home wishing the night could continue. But then again, the minute my head hit the pillow, this old gal was out.
I have to say, it brought back many good memories of having live music in my home while my kids were growing up and many friends and family to share it with. I need to put more of this music back into my life as it keeps me feeling young at heart.

Buckaroo

This big buck was greeting me this morning when I was going out to let the chickens out of their coop and feed them. He did have about five ladies with him too. They have been coming around a lot this past week and seem to be eating anything I still have in the yard thats edible.

We've been getting rain and cold nights but they are hanging around until there is nothing left here to eat, I suppose.

Put A Log On Please

Onyx decided if Papa could sit in the only place where there was some good heat, she'd just have to join him. This little stinker can certainly tell you when she wants something and she's letting papa know its time to put another log on the fire.

She's got him trained real well. Then again he's got her doing roll overs for a treat. If she does'nt get what she wants she can get quite verbal. She sounds like the Star Track creature, that big frog thing that looks like a blob of poop. Anyway, she's cute when she talks to you.

Southern Pecan Bars

I got this recipe from a 'sister' farmgirl and she was right to say these are yummy! I've never made anything like this before and it was really easy to do. So for those of you who don't go on the MaryJane site, I will give you the recipe so you can try them yourself. You won't be dissapointed.

Best-ever Southern Pecan Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

2 cups all purpose flour

4 large eggs, beaten

1-1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In large bowl beat butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add flour mixing well to combine. Press into the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. (I lined the bottom with parchment paper). Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until crust is lightly golden.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until topping is set. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars. Makes about 2 dozen bars.

Enjoy!

Beeswax candlemaking

Yesterday my daughter and granddaughter and myself went to EcoMart to learn how to make beeswax candles and lip balm. It was so interesting and a lot of fun to learn how to make these. My daughter and I decided we are going to make some more lip balm for gifts or for sale, so we purchased what we need to make up a pretty good batch of them. The balm is such a nice smooth refreshing feel on the lips and the peppermint is a tingly feel. Very easy to apply and pretty pink. I think this could be something we could do when we all need to have a new supply of lip balm. The candles were also easy to make and I love how they all turned out. It took some patience but very simple procedures.

Now I'm waiting for whatever their next class will be. I would love to learn how to make my own massage oils. There are so many wonderful oils on the market, one could go nuts. I'm even thinking of trying my own homemade soaps but I have so many I have purchased that I really need to use them up first.

Farmgirl Meeting Fun

What a great time we had chatting and eating and making laundry soap. April even showed a couple of the girls how to crochet as some of us will be making chemo caps to give to the cancer center here in Klamath Falls.

We only had two Artisan breads to taste as the other girls forgot to bring them or said they did'nt turn out well. We will wait to taste theirs another time. I made chili beans and cornbread for lunch today. We had wine and coffee to drink and for dessert we had Banana -cream cheesecake from a recipe in my Kraft book. For those of you who enjoyed the dessert, the recipe follows:

Banana-cream cheesecake

1 pkg white cake mix, divided

4 eggs, divided

3Tbsp. oil

2/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided

2 bananas, sliced

2 pkg. (8 oz each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups thawed Cool whip Whipped topping

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Reserve 1 cup dry cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix with 1 egg, oil and 1/3 cup sugar with mixer. (Mixture will be crumbly.) Press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of greased 13X9 inch baking pan; top with bananas.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer. Add reserved cake mix, remaining eggs and lemon juice; beat1 min. Blend in milk. (Batter will be thin.) Pour into crust.

Bake 45-50 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with whipped topping. Refrigerate leftovers.

San Francisco Style French Bread

It was time to bake my Artisan bread from my sourdough starter so I decided to try this recipe I found on the Mary Janes forum for bread making. It was posted by Ronna and it just sounded so good I had to give it a try. The last loaves I made were last winter and they turned out pretty ugly and way to sour in my opinion. I'll be tasteing this one on Friday when the other farmgirls come out for lunch. It really looks pretty and the smell is wonderful. You can't beat the smell of homemade bread.

Hope it tastes as nice as it looks. If this one turns out okay it will keep me going on baking some more and keeping my 'mother' going. This time 'mother' actually bubbled and smelled ucky.

My New Old Sink

After all day of really cleaning and wiping everything down in the kitchen, as it was covered in grease and dust, lo and behold I got to do it all over again. I was'nt thinking when my husband came home and proceded to install my new sink. First off he had to cut the countertop several times to make it fit as it was a bit bigger. Guess what? Yep, sawdust on everything, in everything and spread everywhere. Oh, I forgot to mention, he first had to chip away on the old sink, I think he put it down with liquid nails, and all the chipped porcelan pieces flew everywhere you could not even imagine. All in all it took him about 5 hours to complete the job. I vaccumed a little and left the rest for the next morning.

Boy I do love my new sink. Pray tell this is my last kitchen sink I want. Now I'm hoping for a new tub and shower. Guess I won't push that too fast. I can't even imagine what that project will look like.

Fall Cleaning

Well I've got the bug for cleaning house. Kinda like spring cleaning only its fall. I have scoured my kitchen top to bottom. Cleaning all the knick knacks, shelves and windows. While working on that I've also put up nine pints of apple butter, again, and five quarts of apples for pie filling for the freezer and I still have apples. I'm thinking a fresh pie would be nice.

I then proceded to go out and clean out my fish pond so they could breathe a little easier. That ought to get them through the winter before it will have to be cleaned again.

I have planned my menu for this Friday when members of Charming Chicks come for lunch and learn how to make laundry soap. I also made up cards with the recipe on them. It sounds like there will be around eight ladies coming. That should be a good cackling party.

Now its off to figure what to have for tonights dinner and watch my husband and daughter put in my new sink. Can't wait for that one.

Bread Making

With the weather turned off cold its time to bake bread again. Couple days ago I made two small loaves of pumpkin bread and a banana nut bread. I also made applesauce for the first time ever from apples off my tree. We'll see how that turned out one day.

Today we had a Chicks meeting at Cheryl's house where she made us a delicious lunch and showed how to make MaryJanes Artisan bread starter to those who had never made it before. Next week we all get to try each others bread to see how they turn out. That should be interesting as mine have not been very good in the past. It's something I need plenty of practice with.

Here It Is

I finally tried my hand at crochet. Bought a self teaching book and tried a few different things. It took me awhile to get the hang of it but after starting over numerous times, I think I got it. Although there are many things I'd need someone to teach me that I'm not sure exactly how to do it. I would love to learn some really cute designs, but simple ones. I must say that crochet is for someone with very strong wrists, not something I have any longer. It is a nice way to pass the time on a gloomy day and catch up on all the DVR shows I taped. Plus it gave me time to sit in the rocking chair and relax which is not something I do very often .

The Bug Is Here

And that bug is what we all call the flu bug. So many I know have already been hit with it and now I've been laid up for four days with it so have not been able to get out and enjoy our fall weather. We've had rain now for a couple of days and it always smells so nice out here when it does. I use to love running in the rain when I was a kid. After getting soaked and having a blast doing so, I would then go in and take a nice warm shower. I have since then always looked forward to a good rain. Living up here in the high desert it does'nt come around all that often so when it does I try to enjoy what I can. I must say having to have a fire in the wood stove has also added to the wonderful smells of the outdoors rain and all.
Last Saturday I went to the farmers market to pass out some flyers hoping to recruit some farmgirls into our Chapter. I met one lady who makes her own dog biscuits and one who crochets and knits. I would like to try my hand at crocheting again as it has been many years since I first tried my hand at it and made a coverlet for my moms bed.
With winter coming soon it will be time to start planning lots of indoor activites and I hope to meet some other farmgirls with different interests so that I could learn from them. I have even thought of taking a yoga class as it is something I've always wanted to do.
So now its time for a hot cup of tea and a little more rest to get over this bug. Then I hope to get out there and do some more recruiting. In the meantime, hope everyone stays warm, stays healthy and enjoys their fall.

Saying Goodbye

It is really hard to say goodbye to those you love when you know it will be awhile before you can get back to see them. I just returned from Idaho from seeing my son and my mother and brothers and sisters. We only had a week there as the weather was changing toward snow back here. We spent what time we could talking, shopping and eating too much. Saw many of the neices and nephews and their families as well.
My son is doing very well and looks real good. We shopped, he took me to lunch and we talked about many things. He's already letting me know what he wants for Christmas.
Even though it's hard to leave them, it is good to be home. All of my animals miss me when I'm gone and there is so much to do around here to get ready for winter. Just the day after coming home I was hauling wood for the fireplace, putting up all my garden decor, readying the coop for the winter chill and looking for the gloves and hats to bring inside. By the next day, it was snowing the better part of the day and the following was a snow rain mix.
Well I guess I now have to say goodbye summer, hello fall. My compost bin is nearly full from all the garden scraps and the leaves have fallen from many trees. The deer are eating anything left that is green and the hens are laying fewer eggs. I've put up all my garden equipment and hubby has winterized all the motored ones. Time to put on my thinking cap and start planning crafts to make for the cold winter days ahead. I've already started pulling out the soup recipes and the crock pot, now if I could only learn to cook.

Vacation time

We just came back from a great time over on the coast in Reedsport Oregon. We stayed at the Discovery Point where all the sand dunes are. This is a pic of the ocean across from our camp site. The weather was perfect and the fun of riding quads all over the dunes and up and down the beach was awesome. Had a few bumps to go over but had a blast. I did run out of gas at one point, hubby forgot to fill me up, but siphoned from his quad into mine and finally found our way back to where we parked. After three hours of that it was back to camp and a nice cold drink.

On one day we went to yard sales and antique stores where we always manage to find something. I found another book on how to save seeds. We also had to put some of our money into the local motocross stores as well. We managed to eat very well and had plenty of the spirits to go along with it.

I once again tried my hand at fishing, but as usual never got a bite. Which is really okay considering the size of some of those suckers being caught out of the ocean. I would probably end up letting the fish have my bait and pole to go along with it.

Did see our friendly clan of seals. At one point we had five within the little cove area where we stayed. Watched them play with a fish they caught and the birds trying to take it away. Then we saw the local hawks just dropping down into the water, catching a fish, and do you know they even adjust the darn thing to fly under them lenghwise. It's quite a site to see. Sometimes they loose it but most times they fly right up into the trees over our campsite and munch down.

After a perfect week of relaxation and catching up with family and friends, it was back on the road to home where it then takes two days to unload the motorhome, clean it all up, do all the laundry and put everything back in its place. Then I'm ready to finally relax and breathe for a short minute, then off to check the mail, pay the bills, pick up the house, check on all my animals, get the garden ready for winter sleep. I could go on and on but you all get the picture.
And now I still have one more vacation to Star, Idaho and then I'll be settling in for the winter after that.
So it's time to go and pack for Idaho and will post again when I get back home.

Fishing Day

Me and my daughter and sister in law went out to Fish Lake yesterday and it was beautiful there. Spent the better part of the day on the lake enjoying fishing, eating, reading and just relaxing. The weather was perfect, low 70's and it was so peaceful. A much needed restful day for me as I have been busy sanding and staining our back door and an antique table I had picked up a while back.

I managed to catch two small fish, which I thru back in. My daughter caught one small that she released. Nothing to take home for dinner but what a great time we all had.

Battle at Moore Park

My husband and I went to see the Civil War reenactments at the park last weekend. He wanted to know if I got any pics of when the big cannon went off. I said sure, of the sky or ground. That thing was so loud, and you could just feel the burst of it against you. Wow! I did manage to get a few pics of gun fire. I just love when people dress in costume and live the era. It is such a great history lesson to all. What I did learn from this one was, in order to be accepted as a soldier, you had to have two good front teeth, in order to open the gun powder cap, and you had to have a trigger finger. That was the only thing for their physical exam.

Yard Sale Busy

I've been busy these past few days getting ready for a yard sale here at the house. There is just so much stuff we have collected. Once you live in a small home you find yourself putting winter clothes and things away into containers and you forget what you own when you go to needing it. So what's a person to do, but go and buy more. Anyway, we have so many items that I only hope most of them sell so I won't have to hall too much into town. I know the homeless shelter is always glad to take things, I'm just not looking forward to having to load too much up.

I was looking through my email this morning and found this cute pic of this cat. He looks just like my Taz kitty, so I wanted to post it here. I have'nt learned how to put different things on my blog like I see so many have. There are really cute things on some I have looked at, but I don't know where to get them or how to place them on here. Guess I better call in the expert, my granddaughter. I think kids nowadays were born to gadget and computer knowledge. Thing is, so many don't even know where paper comes from. Times have changed. Guess that means I'm really getting old.

You Must Be A Farmgirl If.............

the first thing you find when you wake up in the morning is that you've trapped a skunk in your cage meant for the stray cat someone had dumped off. Yep, I did, and I had to some how get a cover over the cage without being sprayed and then attach a rope to it to haul it up onto a trailer hooked up to my quad. Then, still in pj's, I start hauling it down the road, gagging and spitting as I go, to as far away as I dare, looking like I did and all. Finally get to a location where I then have to turn the cage around, open the door and pray it leaves. After a few moments of encouragement ( ha), it finally takes the leap and runs off into the bushes. As I start to leave, I look back and see the darn thing coming back in the direction of me. So boogie on home I went quickly to shed myself of all my clothing and hop into a nice hot soaking bath. Then I had my cup of tea.

Charity starts at home

Today I went and did the co op garden and harvested veggies for about an hour then did all the weeding which took a little over an hour. This is one tuckered woman.

The bush beans are going nuts. With all the produce ripe, I must have collected 45 pounds of beans, squash, onion, chard, peppers and tomatoe. I was just overwhelmed by how much there was to harvest and way too tired to take it all home to freeze, so instead I gave it all away. Boy do those men at hubby's work love to see me coming on garden day. I'm just truely grateful that someone appreciates all the work I have put into this garden. I know most of these guys have large families to feed, so it all went to a good cause.

Next harvest I will probably start making some salsa so long as all those tomatoes start to ripen.
For now its time to finish cleaning house and getting things ready for a yard sale.

Birthday Wishes

Today was my granddaughters 18th birthday. Oh, how fast the times go by. I still want her to be my baby girl and teach her so much more, but its now time for her to spread her wings and find herself in ways she never even imagined. She's learning how to drive, gonna be moving away from home in late Sept., starting her journey by taking courses on hairstyling and then on to bigger adventures wherever life leads her.

My wish for her is to always find happiness in everything she does. Kylie, be strong and never give up on your dreams, even if they change, go with it until you find where your heart tells you you belong. Trust in yourself to make the right decisions and know we all make mistakes, but learn from them. Know that no matter what you do or where you are, you will always have your family by your side. Even if your decisions are'nt what we would choose for you, just do the best you can to be the person you really want to be. You have a good head on your shoulders and a kind, loving heart. You will do great at anything you set your mind to doing.

But, most of all, remember Gramma loves you, Peaches. Happy Birthday, baby.

Evening Sky

We had weather like we were to get a big storm but it blew over and this is the sunset it left us with the other evening. It is so beautiful. I just love when I can step out on my deck and see this for all its glory. This is what makes me smile and feel blessed to be living where I am today. Just being out in the country and not having the city lights block out the stars and everything God has given us .

Canning Jams

My dear sweet husband saw I had purchased canning jars to make jams, so he brought me home some peaches and strawberries. Last night I made some peach jam and today I made the strawberry jam. He says I look like susie home maker doing the things women are suppose to do. ha! He knows I did this because I love my jams. lol

Boy, I know its been well over 20 years since I've done any canning and my back today is telling me so. I only hope they all turn out well as the fruit sure smells good.

Triplets

This morning when I went out and fed the chickens, I started up the hill to feed the dogs and right at my watering bucket was three fawns and mama nearby feeding. She has been coming around the yard the last few weeks, but I had only seen two of her fawns on the property next door. By the time I ran back in to get my camera they were heading out. They are sure cute when they are small but can do some good damage to my bushes. None the less, I love looking at the little babies.

More pics of Co-op Garden

The soil out here is so nice. Makes me want to keep planting.

This is where all the lettuce and onions and beets were. Then here is a pic of our bush beans, squash and corn. And the two hills of pumpkin which want to take over the garden. This has truely been a good experiment for me. Used only organic and heirloom plants and seeds. There are no bugs on anything. The only bugs I find on the plants are ladybugs, good bugs, sent from heaven.

Harvest time

Went to the co op this am and did my usual weeding. The tomatoes are looking good, but not ripe for picking yet. Hot peppers are starting along. And the pumpking patch is going nuts. Had to harvest the walla walla onions, green onion, chard and bush beans today. I did plant my bush beans too close to the squash. It was a bit tight to get into them for picking. Good thing I'm taking lots of pics so I'll plan better next year. All in all, it took me about an hour and a half to get it back into shape. The corn has got to be over 5 ft tall now. I blanched and froze what chard I picked today, put the onions up and fixing the rest.

Tonights dinner is an ol' okey meal my first husband's gramma use to fix. Fresh picked green beans, new potatoes and bacon cooked altogether in one pot. Yummy..... By the way, I married another okey boy this time around to.

Plans changed

This week my granddaughter and I were gonna do some camping by the lake but she was not able to do that after all. So instead I made a list of all the things I need to get done around the house. To start, I finished my compost bin and have started on my garden gate. Tomorrow I will finish the gate post with cement and attach the gate, then its off to make a new area inside my coop for my banties and their babies. The temporary one is a bit hard to manuver in to keep it tidy. After that I have a lot of outdoor furniture to put a good coating of urethane on. I must say, I will definetly need to do some more fishing after all of this. Here is a pic of the gate, it took me 4 hours to build, and here is one of my compost bin in which I used pallets and attached them with L brackets.

New Baby Indy

This is my first time ever where one of my hens hatched a baby. I called her (hope) Indy for Independence Day since that's the weekend she came about. She is so cute and her mama is really good and very protective. I hope to have more baby bantees in the future.

My First Barter on the Palouse

I had never bartered before and this was such a great deal. Our first stop on the Palouse was at the Freeman Store where I was able to swap my Singer treadle machine for this beautiful hand stitched quilt, embroidered pillow shams and this quaint little ladder. I think I did awesome. What do you think?

Here's a pic of me and the two sisters who bartered with me. They have such a nice little place. Girls, I'll hope to be seeing you next year.

Finished touches

Today I pretty much finished the trailer. Had a little painting and cleaning to do. Just need to clean out the ice box, mop floor and put all my dishes and things back inside. Have a new faucet pump on order but everything else is up and working great. Now to start planning my first get away for a girls weekend. Ooops, the BBB is first, then my second getaway to plan. So here are my pics of what I have accomplished.

Gone Fishing

Yesterday was a day of relaxing. Cheryl, her husband Clay and I went out to Fish Lake and spent the morning bringing in a few nice Rainbow trout. We had a wonderful time even though the weather was on the cool side and it did come in choppy water and some rain. We must do that more often as I really enjoy being out on the lake with all the beautiful scenery around. And it is always nice to catch a fish or to for dinner, which by the way turned out really good. Thanks Cheryl for the recipe.

Let it rain

I so love waking up to the wonderful smell of fresh air and pine and sage brush. I rode my quad to the mailbox this morning at 7:30 and it was so refreshing. Looks like we will have more rain for next couple of days. The fishing ought to be real good.

Here's the view out in my garden and, as you can see it needs a lot of work still. I think I'm seriously gonna have to consider raised beds. After all this rain we had rivers going right down the driveway and pathway. No wonder my garden soil never seems to improve enough. It all gets washed away when we have such tremendous storms as of lately. Really must start building up where the soil will be better protected. Hopefully the wild flowers will pop up everywhere though. Looks like today I will be doing inside cleaning, yuk. I even have the fireplace going as it is on the chilly side in here this morning.

Aprons in Public

The Klamath Falls Charming Chicks wore aprons in public! Had our monthly lunch again today at the Nibbley's Cafe and had our waitress take pics of us in our aprons. We discussed all the upcoming crafts we would like to do and progress on our co-op garden. Had a good visit with everyone. And yes the chickens are upside down on the aprons as I must have been cross-eyed the day I cut them out. This is what happens when you have'nt sewn in quite awhile.

Trailer Progress

Hubby and I have been getting little things done on my trailer. Everything is in working order and lubed and tightened down. I had him take out the bunk bed as I won't be crawling up there and we put a shelf across where I can place baskets of necessary items. I've finished all the interior paint and am in the process of making curtains all around. Will have the cushions reupholstered as foam has gotten ridiculously expensive.

Went yard sales today and found some things I can use in the trailer. Won't be much longer where I can take it out on the road. Just need a few more girlie touches, don't you think?

Busy in Gardens

Planted a lot more plants in the co op garden today. I can't believe how everything is already coming up in just one week. This guy's got some awesome soil. I definetely need to keep working on amending mine. My things are puny and they have been in the ground going on three weeks!

We had a nice Memorial weekend on the lake all day. Only caught one little fish but it was real nice to be out on the water. My little boat did real good after sitting all winter. I've been really busy on the glamper. Putting in new cushions, painting and replacing some worn out pieces. It's coming along pretty well.

Now it's back to weeding my own garden and keeping things watered so they can continue to grow.

Met Rogue River Farmgirls

Cheryl, Faith and myself went to Gold Hill on Sunday to have lunch, walk around an antique fair, and meet the RR farmgirls. We really had a great time talking and getting to know each others. They are planning to have a float in the Rooster Parade at the end of June which they would like us to join them. I think we will have a lot of fun. Very nice gals who have very busy lives. Of course we had to stop at a few yard and estate sales on our way and we each brought home more goodies. It was a wonderful day, warm, high 90's and Cheryl had her convertable so we all got to let our wild side out for a little while.

Trailer Pics

This is how it looked when I brought it home. Have taken all the seat covers out and the curtains out. Just been busy cleaning everything and have started painting the inside of the closet and the inside of the cubboards. Will post more pics as I finish a bit more inside.