Grandpa's boys

Grandpa (AKA the Blacksmith) takes great pride in making and buying things for his boys. 

In August of 2008 he made Brady his own frog gig. Hard to believe he was 7 years old in this photo.

Just a few weeks ago he made Brady his own axe. 

Here is Alex in 2008 with his own frog gig. He was 4 at the time. 

Now at almost 9 he was the first to ask for his own axe. He was specific in that he asked for a bearded axe. 

Baby Connor at 7 weeks is just too small for either a gig or an axe, so Grandpa found him this onesie at the gun show last week!

I am sure there will be a lot more things made for the boys as they get older.

I got some thing(s) new!

Friends!

I love them!

Today I got nice surprise package all the way from Australia. Cathy and I met on line years ago on a quilt forum. We exchange gifts every year. Hers comes around Christmas. A few years ago I switched from Christmas to July, for her birthday month. 

She always remembers my grand kids. This year was no exception. She has sent me many beautiful Australian fabrics featuring their plants and birds. This year she included a hand made quilted bag she made. Did you notice the fat quarters? That is what we Americans call them. They call them fat flats. 

Last week we met up with our friends Margie and Phil. On a previous evening, Phil and I had been chatting on Facebook.  He had butchered a beef that day. I mentioned to him, now they would have some really good soup bones. He couldn't believe that they were no longer available for purchase in grocery stores. They were so kind to share their freshly butchered beef with us. 

On the same day that we visited with Margie and Phil, we were also with our friend Mara. She gave me a goody bag of awesome embroidery threads for my machine. From the little I've used my new machine so far, I have learned that the thread makes all the difference in the world!



And then there's my bestest friend forever, my hubby of almost 43 years.

Today he bought a Hemi for me! It is a 2013 Ram 1500 series. It has been voted "truck of the year" by Motor Trend. 

It was kind of sad to say good bye to my chili pepper red Jeep. It's been such a friend to me for 13 years, never an ounce of trouble. 

My new friend Ted, the truck salesman, was real proud of his thank you gift. Libby made these for him, which we believe was his wife. He talked about her like she was half of his sales team. There is a Hersey bar under that fancy wrap. 

So I am very blessed to have all these friends in my life. 

Life is good!

A trip to visit the little guy.

Last weekend, the blacksmith and I made a fast trip to Oklahoma. The 6 plus hour drive seemed shorter, knowing that we would soon be holding this little guy.

Grandpa does seem to get more than his share of holding though!

I took my sewing machine along  to make this self binding quilt. Watch the video and then go make one. It takes 7/8 and 1 1/8 yard of coordinated flannel. Thanks Margie for sharing this video with me. 

Video courtesy of Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Here is C man on his new soft blanket.

He wasn't so fond of his bath. The next day this grandma bought him the old fashioned kind of baby bath tub. Only now days they are new-fangled.  They have a drain plug in the bottom. No more spills carrying the baby tub to pour it out.

Grandpa went to the Oklahoma City gun show both of the days that we were there. On the second day he brought C man home his first camouflage outfit!

I spent a lot of time doing this! 

Please say a prayer for the family as Mom returns to work tomorrow. Separation will be hard on them both. 

A PINK quilt for baby Claire

 The waiting family.

Grandma Darlene (the blacksmith's sister) has been looking forward to meeting her first grand daughter after four grandsons. 

Today baby Claire made her arrival right on time. She arrived at 7:53 AM weighing in at 6 lbs 15 ounces. 

I had been asked to make a PINK quilt. Here is what I came up with. It measures 44 inches by 58 inches and is machine quilted and machine appliqued. 

I think it will look great with her red hair!

Congratulations Cole, Leah, and big brother Grant!

Signed 
your great-aunt Patti

Its not your mother's Wal-Mart . . .

We took off Wednesday for the country. This is where life is just a little  simpler. 

Horses are in every field and buggies are near by. The roads are gravel. Life is different from what we are used to. 

Groceries are more in bulk. Yes we did buy 2 gallons of soy sauce. A gallon was $7.20 and a half gallon was 44 cents less!?!?! We bought pot pie dumplings for the first time. (I've already pinned a Mennonite recipe!) We found the old fashioned red jar rubbers, 2 boxes for us. Whole pearl barley that tonight was made into beef-barley soup. Beans (yes we bought a big bag of pinto beans) that will be canned. Two gallons of Birch beer just happened to fall into the cart too. It is so good over vanilla ice cream. 

The one thing we laughed at was the 3 pound box of tortilla chips at a Mennonite store. A huge box for $8.99.  They are delicious chips,  very thin and crispy, with a touch of sea salt.

Our purchase also included gummy bears (how did they get in the cart with a 3 year old little girl pushing it?), dried butter beans, beef powder soup base, Dixie pork sausage seasoning, popcorn, and steel cut oats. 

We did not buy the coconut oil. But gosh darn is it at a good price.  The next time the blacksmith makes soap, we will buy it there. Beats the $8 a quart at Wal-Mart. 

We tried 2 Mennonite restaurants, both were closed on a Wednesday. We found a family restaurant in the next town. The aforementioned 3 year old girl enjoyed her spaghetti, applesauce, and garlic toast. Grandpa fashioned the stylish bib for her. 

I leave you with a beautiful baby picture. He is growing so fast. He's a month old and already holding that head up. Tomorrow he gets to meet his uncle Jeremy, aunt Lori and 3 cousins for the first time!  I can't wait for pictures of all 4 of our grands together!

Life is good!

The things I do for my co-workers

Most of you know that I work part time for an electric cooperative. This means all of my co-workers,  except one, are men. I am old enough to be the  mother of all but two of them. Over the years, I have been asked to do a lot of different tasks for them.

I've sewed pillows, hemmed curtains, put sports patches on their children's letter jackets, mended a lot of jeans, shortened nylon belts, made baby quilts, and even fixed their gloves, as seen it this post. 

This is however my latest request. You all know what it is, right?  (No guessing from you Tammy of Flat Creek Farm!!)  Surely the names on them will give it away.  OK, they are chicken saddles. You've seen it all now. 

It gave me a good chance to try out my embroidery machine. (I know now, I need some lessons).

I hope their hens are now safe from those mean old roosters. 

This is what the blacksmith has been busy making. Hawks for the grandsons. The bottom one is a bearded hawk. 

What have you been up to? 

Life is good!

Signs of Winter

Frost flowers!

Free popsicles!

Life is good!

What's old is new again

Back in May I bought this chifferobe from a find on craigslist. After a clean up of all the cat hair, we could have used it, the way it was. However the blacksmith just wasn't pleased with the orange color the varnish had taken on and the poorly done refinish job. 

So week before last, he stripped it to bare wood. He then stained it and sealed the wood. 

It now matches the other furniture in our bedroom, which is also made of quartersawn oak. We  have 3 wardrobes in our bedroom. His next project , is a hand made sewing table with forged legs. I can hardly wait for that! Yes, it will go in our bedroom too. Thank goodness we have a very large room.

My mom celebrated her 89th birthday on Sunday! 

Me, mom and my sister!

The look on mom's face was priceless when she saw her two great grandsons walk in. They both serve in the military. One is a Navy seal, the other a Marine. She had not seen them since last Christmas. 

Here is mom with my sister and her son on the top row. The two military boys on the bottom! It was a great birthday! (Yes, some of these photos might have been stolen from my sister's facebook page!  Thanks Lona)

I hope you all have a happy, healthy 2013!