County Fair

Our County Fair starts on Thursday, so we are in high gear around the farm. I am a swine 4 H leader and I am racing around trying to help the kids get ready, get myself ready, and keep my home from completely falling apart this week.

Daniel has been great at taking care of his pig "Pebbles" with out any reminders. She is a rambunctious and funny pig, who took great delight in dumping her water out every day, and I don't think Dan will be sad to see her go.

Erin has enjoyed her lambs as usual, but even she is looking forward to not feeding them anymore.

Erin is showing both FFA and 4H this year, she enjoys the showing of animals more than Daniel and is looking to repeat last year's success. While Dan is hoping to go to the destruction derby and a large financial pay out.

I love fair time watching my own kids as well as my 4H kids. My 4 H kids are all great, and so are their parents. We always camp at the fair grounds with most of the members of our club, and all hang out and have dinner together most nights. John even manages to get away from the haying for an evening or two. The next week is packed with pen set up, decorating, stocking the trailer and get it to the fair grounds, shearing, completing record books, rodeos, fair food, showmanship, market classes, breeding classes, barn duty, early mornings, hot afternoons an auction and lots of good times with good friends.

Hope you all got a chance to enjoy the county fair this summer.

Pillow Cases & a Chickadee

Whew! It is HOT here. A good excuse to stay inside and sew! Pam & I wanted some more summery pillow cases, so last time we were together we went to the fabric store and picked our favorites. Pam likes the brighter colors and the retro look, and I went for muted and the garden connection. I love doing these with a contrasting fabric for the ends. I did two cases for Pam and two for me, plus a travel-sized case for me as well. They turned out great. Mom says she wouldn't mind having some more as well... back to the fabric store; love that place.

I caught this cute chickadee resting on my tomato cage in the garden. I love the birds, and have two feeders out. One has niger thistle in it and the gold finches love it. The other has a no-mess mixture, which means the seeds don't sprout in my lawn. We get a good variety of birds to this one, including red-winged blackbirds, brewer's blackbirds, sparrows, chickadees, house finches and doves. We also have ground-feeders... robins, grosbeaks, and the occasional quail. There is something very relaxing about sitting on the patio with an iced tea or coffee, watching and listening to the birds. Once in awhile O'Reilly will half-heartedly give chase to the ones on the ground, but he's only doing it for show.

O'Reilly

O'Reilly is almost 7 months old now. I took him in to get weighed, and he's now 7.9 pounds. I hope he won't get much bigger. I like taking pictures of him, and these turned out so well. He changes and grows so quickly. I have a friend at church who always askes for the latest photos, so that reminds me to take them often. He looks so innocent in this first one... don't believe it!
He loves looking out the dining room window, and this chair is usually there for him to use. Again... he looks innocent, but I seem to remember that I had just told him to stop barking at another dog walking past. After he calmed down, he seemed to be saying "who me?".
While I was spray painting outside, O'Reilly had to be in his pen. He wasn't too happy about that, and wanted out so he could "help" me. The pen is something we got at the very beginning, because our fence wasn't dog-proof. He got into the habit of using it and now when he goes in there it is almost automatic that he will do his business. Makes it much easier to keep the yard clean.
In this last picture he is a pooped puppy! When he gets tired, he just kind of collapses and if it is hot, he doesn't curl up, but lays out on the carpet. Notice that he is still keeping an eye on me and my camera.

New Bag for Me

Here is my newest creation. I love it so much I am keeping it for myself. This bag is made from a vintage curtain panel that I got at my favorite haunt the Goodwill-as-is Store.

I love the vintage turquoise and oranges, and I even like the way that some of it is sun faded. All of the fabric, clothing and linens are sold by the pound, so I figure the fabric for this bag was less than .50. What a steal. I did have to buy some fabric for the lining, but I got it on sale at Joann's for less than 2 dollars. It is a beautiful turquoise and white floral print. I also put a pocket inside the bag.
The second photo is truer to the colors of my fabric ( I can't afford a better camera yet ) and shows a close up of the pin I made to decorate the outside of my bag. I did put a pin back on the flower so it could be removed when I wash the bag. The center of the pin is a vintage button that I do not want subjected to the washing machine. My husband says it id camouflaged, but I believe that it is subtle and very cute.

Magggie May

This is Maggie May. I love her , she is a good horse and she scares me a little. I have had horses since Erin was in the 4th grade (she will be a senior this year). Erin was the rider in the family and she did 4H and High School Equestrian team. She started with a horse named Sally but out grew her. Maggie was supposed to be Erin's new horse when she was a freshman, but Erin and Maggie butt heads, the are a lot alike, headstrong, sure of themselves, convinced that their way is the right way, beautiful and young. Maggie is now my horse, she is not my only horse I also have Maverick, but I will talk about him another day. Maggie has had a few years to grow up since Erin first bought her , and I believe that she has grown into a great horse, but that doesn't mean she doesn't scare me. I came to horses later in life and didn't start riding until I was forty. I have had a few set backs , but believe that Maggie and I will have a great partnership. I have been promising myself for two years that I would ride her, but I have not made it a priority, and let my fear stand in my way. Wednesday I am taking a riding lesson on Maggie, and I am looking forward to it. I believe that doing something that scares me is a good way to stretch myself, and I want horses to be a part of my life and refuse to be cowed. Wish me luck. What do you do that scares you?