Poles IN holes!

Thursday had the guys here working in ugly downpours of rain and gusting winds. The rain & wind were so loud that I didn’t hear them out working on the site until they were about 3/4 of the way done with setting the poles. It must have been miserable.

You can see the lake of water around the poles. Ugh. I sensibly waited to go fill the hay feeders until the rains had lightened up to merely a drizzle. All of the rain means that the water troughs stay pretty full on their own!

Did you see that they brought their own Honey Bucket? It is barely visible behind the poles. Better than tracking mud into the house, or hoping a passing car won’t see you now that most of the leaves are off of the trees! It’s the little things.

Let’s see what Friday brings. I hope the concrete sets well enough in this weather.

Holes & Poles

Tuesday came with some drier & calmer weather in the early afternoon. We found this tree down in the upper pasture that morning. We removed several other trees this last summer for this exact reason. They were dead and we were afraid that they would come down on the new barn. Better safe than sorry. We just hadn’t gotten to this one yet. The goats found this tree to be particularly tasty and ate all the bark off and killed the poor thing. We wrap the trees we want to save in either chain link or chicken wire layers. We do have to re-adjust the wrappings every so often, but it keeps the trees alive.

This is the glamorous 4 foot hole that the county inspector came to check out on Tuesday. He was here and gone in the amount of time it took me to run to the pre-school and back. 15 to 20 minutes tops. You would think they could coordinate that so some work could get done on that day, but I guess not. I did call to let the builder know we had approval on the holes.

Wednesday morning dawned with actual sun shining for the first time in about a week. Mike from Chinook Lumber was knocking on my door at about 8AM or so to figure out where he was supposed to deliver the wood and roof trusses. I explained to him which gate he needed to go through and then met him outside with the camera.

He had one of those snazzy little forklift things attached to the back of the truck for unloading the supplies. The wheels of that thing move in all directions. I can only imagine the skill it takes to maneuver one of those around. He unloaded the truck with amazing agility and precision. Now I have support poles, roof trusses, and framing lumber. Oh my!

While he was unloading the truck the little miss and I chucked rocks into the holes from on top of the retaining wall.

She had to go down the stairs that Daddy built and check out where the rocks went, and why they made such a funny sound when the went in the hole. To her delight, there was about 2 feet of water in some of the holes. The splash and plunking sound were a real thrill. No, she was not allowed to play near them unsupervised, and was strictly forbidden to go near them without Mommy or Daddy holding her hand. But, it was a hole of unusual size and had to be checked out.

The goats are eagerly awaiting their new digs as this set is rapidly getting too small for the number we have in the pen with the onset of the rainy season.

Now, since it was mostly sunny with only a few banks of clouds rolling over and only a light sprinkle. This day would have been my choice for setting poles in concrete. I would think most of this work could have been achieved in dryness and been completed fairly quickly. Alack and alas, I must think differently than the construction crew. I saw neither hide nor hair of them on Wednesday. I did not receive a call or a reply to my e-mail explaining their absence. We shall see what Thursday brings. I had been informed that I should have a barn within a week from the time they stared construction to the time it was finished. I seriously doubt that will be the case.

Phase two

Phase two of the barn raising has finally commenced. We were notified last week that the permits had finally been signed off, and that construction would begin on Monday.

Monday at 6:45 the rental company delivered the bobcat with the auger to our neighbor’s house. Now, our neighbor is a really sweet guy, but he is a fireman and often gets the late shift. I am sure he did not want that kind of wake-up call. My dear husband went out to straighten up the confusion. The delivery guy got kind of grumpy and pretty much tore up Tim’s driveway with the bobcat tracks. The builder went back and fixed it a little later. (Thanks !)

The building crew arrived at about 8 or so. They laid out stakes and rebar, marked where the holes were to go for the poles and then fired up the bobcat. The auger on the end is pretty much a dirt drill. They have to go 4 feet down into native soil for the footings.

It went pretty well. They only hit one big rock that had to be dug out by hand. Look at this rock wall that my husband built. All of those rocks came from here. As I pointed out to the guys, we didn’t buy any of those, so who knows what you will find down there.

After the digging of holes they were pretty much done for the day. Until they get the county guy to come out, look in the hole and say,”Yep. That’s a 4′ hole in native soil.” They can’t do much more.

It was explained to me that Tuesday was the day the county inspector would come to make sure the holes were “legal”. I was also told that the lumber was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. They guys would be back on Wednesday to set the poles and pour the concrete footings.

One side note. The weather here has been horrible. If it isn’t raining, it is blowing upwards of 40 MPH. Sometimes it is both. When asked if the weather would be a factor in getting this job done, I was told “No. The weather doesn’t make a difference to these guys.” We will see.

Block #17 – A Rambler for Kendall

This is block # 17 on my list of blocks for the Around the World Quilting Bee.

(This photo is sideways.)

Kendall’s fabric choices are very Autumn and Fall friendly. I had fun picking some for her block. The chocolate paisley was just yummy. I liked how it had some gold ink printed over parts of the design. Apparently I have a fondness for the slight sparkle that it adds. I see that I have had some of it in most of blocks lately. This is not the glitter stuff, just plain gold metallic ink.

I chose a variation on the Toad in a Puddle block called Rambler. It was a first time for me making the flying geese elements of this block. They can be a bit tricky to piece and then match up with other segments. All in all this was a fun block to create.

Some time away

It has been busy around here.

We have managed to have a little get away with some of my husband’s side of the family. We went to Sun River, OR for a long weekend. Apparently, we didn’t take too many photos while we were there. I am guessing that was because we were either eating or laughing. This is too bad, because it would have been great to have some shots of Miss Em playing video games with her Uncle Bruce; Grandpa Max & Uncle Skip playing pool with Cody; Grandma Phyllis, Aunt Pam, Em & I playing Banangrams; or Grandma & I playing ping-pong. Again, these activities usually ended up in heaps of laughter. OK, so pretty much everything did. We couldn’t even cook dinner without hysterics, well, at least Bruce and I had trouble cooking supper without fits of laughter. I do believe that they won’t allow us to cook together anymore. The food tasted fine, but they were worried that we might need oxygen.

The Pines at Sun River was a pretty resort. It was either clear or slightly over cast for most of the days. We did get some snow in the evenings/nights, and it did snow on our last day there. It would have been just perfect if we could have figured out how to get the heat upstairs to the bedrooms. We tried cranking up the heat, but that just pretty much sweltered out the kitchen, living, & dining rooms.

We have to thank Columbia Sportswear for their moving musical contribution to our stay. Apparently they rent out the parking lot directly behind our unit to Columbia twice a year. They do an Employee appreciation/training thing or something. Starting at about 7:30 PM or so it sounded like the tribes were sending drum signals to the next county. Really, it was vibrating the unit and making the glasses rattle. (See our previous posts on the Great Wall of Lakebay to find out how I know about this.) They seem to cut it off at about 10PM Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday however was a very different story. They ran the music until 11:45. I know we were not he only ones with young kids, and I imagine that there were others who complained too. I am waiting for a reply from Gert Boyle and Columbia Sportswear. I doubt that I’ll ever hear anything, but at least they should know how disappointed their customers are in their behavior.

All in all we had a good time though. We look forward to spending some time with them again in December.

Sadie’s Choice or #16 & #16a

I just finished up my ATWQB block for Summer Sadie. Actually there are two of them. I am sure that is unfair somehow, but I couldn’t decide, so she will have to.

This the first block. I had been picking up bits of fabric that I thought would go with her quilt and her personality. Then I actually got her quilt in my hands and decided that it might be a bit out of place. It makes a big difference to see the quilt in person, as sometimes the camera just doesn’t get the colors right.

So, I went in search of some more vintage feel fabrics with the big cabbage roses on it. Apparently they are not as popular as I thought they were. I could only find them in this blue fabric, unless I wanted to sew it up in drapery fabric. So, I went with it, and found some complementary fabrics that created this.

I only had to tear out a few seams because I sewed things in backwards. I think I have a system for the more complicated blocks now.We’ll see if that helps in the future construction. It is less important if things don’t need to be oriented in a certain way, but I tend to want my roses growing up, and things like that. I know, I am odd that way.

In any case, this is what her quilt looks like now, and it will leave for its next stop in tomorrow’s mail. Wheeee! I am on to Kendall’s quilt block next. I hope to have some news on the others soon. After Kendall’s block, I will have made 12 of the 24 blocks. Apparently there are about 8 or 9 coming down the pike all at once. Yikes! I do have some plans for a couple of them, so that will help speed things along!

Trick or Treat Farm Style

We live in the tullie berries and we like it that way. It does present some interesting social situations though. As kids, my husband and I both had great neighborhoods to go candy hustling in on Halloween. It doesn’t work that way out here. You can’t really see most of your neighbors’ homes and we are OK with that. Not that we are unfriendly, that is certainly NOT the case. But an outing to trick or treat would involve the car, barn boots, a really good map, and even then we might get met by some big dogs or a dude with a shotgun.

So, this year since the little miss decided that she did not want to wear the pretty princess dress, we did this.

I don’t think the goats actually said “trick or treat”, but each one of them got a tasty carrot including the yummy green tops. I am sure there are doctors and dentists out there just thrilled to see fresh, home grown carrots being handed out for Halloween goodies. I doubt it will become a national trend, since it was the goats that were eating them, and not the child.

She had fun in any case. So, sorry to the grandparents wanting a cute & precious Halloween photo. Your grand kid dressed up as a farmer, played in the sand pile, and fed carrots to the livestock for Halloween. I must be a rotten parent.

Oh, Cherry Limeade, how I love thee!

For those of you who live in the southern part of the U.S. this won’t mean much to you. Well, unless you think about going without one for years at a time.

The Sonic Drive-ins have been around in the Oklahoma & Texas areas for as long as I can remember.  My aunt Shelly turned me on to Cherry Limeades many years ago. Since my dad’s side of the family lives in OK and I live in WA, that meant I could only get these little sips of heaven when I visited them.

Contained inside this unassuming styrofoam cup is one of the most delightful and refreshing beverages known to man. The Cherry Limeade. I think it is a combination of freshly squeezed limes, lemon-lime soda, and maraschino cherry syrup served over that funny pelleted ice, and garnished with some of the squeezed limes and a cherry. I don’t know the exact formula, and don’t really care.

All I know is that Sonic has finally opened up a couple of franchises here in Washington State. The first one had horrendous lines of people waiting to get in. Seriously, people waited for hours to get in and tied up traffic for miles.  I was NOT one of those crazy people.

The latest one to open up is on my way to our monthly WASART board meeting. Whoo Hoo! It only took me about 10 minutes to get through the drive through line, and probably less if I had pulled into a stall. I will be leaving a bit early for the meetings now, just so I can pick up one of these little gems on my way!

According to the guy at the window, I was not the only one who has been jonesing for one of these babies. To my family in OK, don’t worry, I will still come and visit, but now my first stop will be your place instead of the first Sonic I can find!

P.S. I didn’t drink both of them, I brought the other one home for my sweet hubby who watched the little princess while I was at my meeting. FYI don’t let the pre-schooler have some before you want her to go to bed. Bad idea Mom, bad idea. Someday I will learn.

The rest of the Quilts for Kids tops

I finally finished up the tops for the Missouri Start Quilt Company’s Quilts for Kids drive. We had been feeling a bit under the weather around here and I didn’t get them off in the mail as soon as I would have liked, but they are now on their way.

This is the top I made from the extra set of disappearing 9-patch blocks that I got back from Aunt PittyPat’s swap. It is very red, and I am sure some cowboy or cowgirl will love it!

I had this Churn Dash top designed before I made the two smaller tops from the earlier post. It was only supposed to be 9 blocks, but I found afterward that I had actually cut 12 center blocks of bug fabric. Then I discovered that I had enough orange fabric for the block with the exception one corner triangle. Great! I was finally able to find another fat quarter of it, so I could finish the block.

This top is made with big blocks of novelty train fabric and the beige is actually polished cotton from the early 90’s! Who knew that once you washed the hideously shiny stuff that it actually looks halfway decent. There is a low luster, but none of the shine. Thank goodness, cause I have more to use up!

I was able to find decent backings for all of the quilts. The train top will be backed with a denim blue flannel or “outing” as Grandma calls it.

For those of you who have never tried this, it makes a perfect batting too. It is a great weight with the flannel sandwiched between the top and bottom layer of cotton. It doesn’t shift or bunch up after many washings either. Another handy tip from the sewers in my family! Thanks Gram!

Now on to the other things on my “To Do” list! I have two more blocks to work on for the ATWQB too. Yipee!

A new ATWQB block!

I am finally starting to see some more blocks from the Around the World Quilting Bee. Yipee! If you have read some of my other posts you know I am not a math wizard, but I can count. According to my “Loop Order” list, this should be block #12, even though it is the 8th block I have received. How do I number them now? I am leaning towards keeping them numbered in the proper loop order for my own records, since that is how they will be recorded in the individual quilts. So, without further ado, here it is…

Block #12! 

This block is called Sweet Sixteen. I went with it because most of her blocks that weren’t log cabin variations, are stars.

I was also deficient in the red gingham fabric division, so I used the red and off-white fabrics to mimic the gingham pattern idea. This floral I have had since the late 1980’s. I have used two different white on off-white fabrics for this block. The inner triangles are slightly darker, (more of a “natural” on the thread color chart) than the outer off-white. The light didn’t help that show up in the photo though. The red is a multi-tonal, cranberry red with small swirls in gold ink. I have only been able to find it as fat quarters, or I would have made a quilt with it. I love how rich it looks.

I like this pattern so much that I think I will use it to make a table runner for Christmas. (Maybe not this Christmas though!)

I have two more ATWQB quilts in the sewing room to work on in the next few weeks. I wanted to get at least one out and on it’s way towards the other ladies who are waiting as impatiently as I was!