Saturday on the Farm

Saturdays this time of year are typically very busy. This is our planting season and it takes all of us to make it work. This is what I fixed for lunch. Leftover ham, with bacon, cheese (lots of cheese) inside a bisquick biscuit. I just roll the dough real thin and put the stuff inside. Nobody complains when I make this.

Eating lunch on the side of the road. The wind was howling, so we got out of the dust on the north side of my car. Like I said...nobody complained!
One uses this tractor to work the ground before the other uses the JDeere for planting the wheat. They've been taking turns in different tractors.
I had a Rusty-visitor at my back door. And he wonders why I don't let him in all the time.

The tile-installers woke me up this morning wanting to see if I liked the pattern they put on the shower walls. Looks good to me...just keep going!
And you think the wind blows at your house? This is called "ironing work shirts"!

Just so you know I have quilting still on the brain, this is the panel I bought in Tulsa. It makes into a book. Had never seen it before (like I get out a lot?). It's called "Old Friend Noah had an Ark". It'll make a nice gift down the road.

Seven Thruths MEME

Suze tagged me and since I did this about three months ago, I cheated and just copied what I put on that post--I've also got to get home and take supper to the field--we're planting wheat and DH thinks I need to be helping him instead of sewing.

1~I have always been a farmgirl. Raised on a peanut farm and was raised by a man who didn't think it was necessary to hire anybody to work 'cause he had us girls to do it. I can drive a tractor with farm equipment as well as any type of truck you put me into. I can describe (& understand) irrigation, engines, farm-crops and any type of equipment as well as fertilizer (chemical to organic)!

2~I did not marry a farmer. My husband did! When my boys were little, I stayed at home and did the farm work while he worked in town. Pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys and kids were all part of our little farm which eventually has grown to 1200 acres. My hands have been in places I probably better not say online....I am not afraid to get dirty! Now, I live with a stay-at-home farmer and I work in town.

3~I have a degree in computer/business education and have taught classes. It took me 18 years to get my bachelors degree. The degree helped me get my current job with the federal gov't...yes, it's a division of the agricultural department.

4~I owned a bakery for four long years. Probably not what you expect from a school-teacher/farmgirl, but it was something I wanted to do....and then something I wanted to get out of. I have old-family recipes that I do NOT give out! lol I was raised by a Mom who thought every girl should know how to make a perfect pie-crust as well as cook for a harvest crew.

5~I lost both of my parents and grandparents before I was 40 years old. Life and death is very hard to deal with but I learned that I had 4 people at home that I can count on for anything. I also learned who not to count on. Even close family members can say and do very mean things when there's a death in the family. I have very-close family members whom I never care to speak-to again!

6~I'm tall. I've been 6' tall since I was 13 years old. Kinda hard to deal with during the dating years. DH and I are the same size....having 3, 9lb. boys kinda re-arrange my hips a little though. Those 3 boyz have all out-grown us both. My Dad was 6'10" (Mom was only 5'5").

7~I'm probably considered a loner. I love my quiet times alone and can work real good by myself. I do not like crowds, and probably talk more when there's more people around just to justify to myself that I can survive in a crowd. I live with a man who talks non-stop....so I have very good listening skills! Some people might consider me stand-offish because I have to know ya awhile before I talk a whole lot! But then....after you get to know me, I'll talk yer leg off! I don't belong to any social clubs--except Quilters Guild and I have to make myself go because it's the only other time I'm around people besides work.

I know I'm suppose to tag people, but as #7 says, I'm not going to put anybody on the spot. If you want to participate, go ahead....and tell us more about you too.

Here are the rules for the tag:
Each blogger should list 7 random facts about themselves and list these rules for the tag.
Next tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Leave a comment for each of the tagged on their blogs letting them know they have been tagged and to visit your blog for the rules.

More Choices Made

If you've come to my blog looking to see what I've been sewing on...well, it just isn't happening at my house.....either one of them! I was asked what tile I had picked out so figured I'd show everybody.

Kitchen tile to also be used in laundry room. The smaller one is 12" and the taller one 18".
This shows how close the color is to the color of the dirt outside. Yep..gonna hide real good.

Have you tried to pick out cabinet tops lately? There are literally hundreds to choose from.

Not a real good picture but these are the two choices I'm leaning towards. They're a laminate and are real close to the color of the floor tiles. I have LOTS of countertops to cover and haven't decided if I want to use the same one everywhere.

Decisions, decisions. Oh, I've got to decide on grout color today before 5pm.

Wood-stainer still hasn't showed up. Maybe by this weekend. I'll believe it when I see him coming.

Testing--seeing if this works

Hey! I can write on here! Spending several days with a bunch of teenagers last week I got called MAMA K sooooo many times. Figured it would work for on here too.

Tulsa Fair

It's a 3 1/2 hr drive to Tulsa but a trip we've started doing once a year to attend the second-largest stock show in Oklahoma.

Troy always takes two pigs and usually comes home with at least one ribbon and this year was no exception. Here are a couple of pictures I pulled from the many I took.

I really liked this one because everybody is blurred besides Troy and the judge. Yeah....i meant to do that.haha

This was after showing. Lots of smiles.

I did manage to do some shopping while in Tulsa. There are a couple of nice shops and I visited the Cotton Patch. It's a small shop with lots of stuff packed in to see. Yes...I made a small purchase of a book and some fat quarters.

This is the quilt I saw at the fair that really stood out for me. Have no idea what the pattern is, but it was really pretty in person.

I took a few days off work to make it a long 6-day weekend, so am planning on NOT making plans!

Jumping by---

Does life ever slow down? Maybe if my allergy-meds would work, it would make me at least feel better on this ride.

Remember the bucketbag I showed a couple posts ago? Well, they went into the booster-club's silent auction and brought $35 each. Yes, there were two ---similiar but a little different. I also was asked to make two more for that same price...of which will pay back for the fabric purchased for all sewed.

Also, those of us who always volunteer to do/make for our children involved in too many projects....I made a pan of brownies. Chocolate frosted, nuts..the whole thing. Yep...would you pay $30 for a pan of brownies? Well, one lady did and told me that she'd make sure I got my pan back because she for-sure wouldn't ever use it!

As far as the house-progress. I'm waiting on a wood-stainer. He was suppose to be at my house several weeks ago, but since we weren't quite ready for him he took on another fast-job. That job turned into taking longer than expected, so we're the ones waiting. Stain and then flooring..can you can FINISHED?! Don't ask me when we're moving--Sometime between now and Christmas.

How about a lighting preview? These light fixtures were put on my want-list several months ago for my dining room and kitchen and then low-and-behold Lowe's discontinues them. Oh, the power of Ebay! Some good-soul bought the whole line and they're in the process of being shipped to my Rural Route address as I type! And..did I mention the price was about half of what I would've paid for them if they were purchased 6 months ago? Gotta love a sale.

A Look inside the House

Some weeks there seems to be a lot of progress and other weeks nothing. Here's the latest:




Looking down into the basement. The lights on the left are called "kick-lights". I liked them because I can change the bulbs myself with getting the ladder out. The whole basement is painted "something blue" by Sherwin Williams. I kept singing the Smurf song while we were painting. It's VERY blue...but very pretty. Have I said: The basement is two bedrooms and a livingroom--total area about 26x26 or 676 sq ft.

Standing in the dining area looking towards the walkway on the west side of the kitchen. My pantry door is open and the main part of the kitchen is on the right. The center door goes down into the basement.--Laundry room is on the right side of that door.


Standing in the east side of the kitchen back again towards the pantry over the island which isn't where it's permanent location will be. Pantry has shelves!






My Pantry door. I wanted something different--took me two weeks to find this door. We'll see how long it takes me to break it!

In the livingroom. Doesn't everybody have two saws in their livingroom? The window on the right is over my kitchen sink.




Standing in the other end of the livingroom. The master bedroom is through the hall on the left side and my sewing room is the door on the right.


These two are my sewing room--and closet. I have a south and west window, so there's lots of natural light. The walls are painted a light tan color and the woodwork will be stained this week (HOPEFULLY) .
I was also told I'd have sidewalks, porches and a driveway this week. I've learned to get excited when you see them show up, but not until.

If you haven't noticed, this house is very open. The rooms are large and one flows into another. Had a gal come out over the weekend who wanted to know who designed the house. Yeah...MamaKoch the designer?! All of the contractors have loved working here because of the open feelings to the rooms. They say so many of the new homes today are small choppy rooms. This house doesn't have a LOT of rooms...just usable square feet in each one!

New Quilted Bag

I've been higher than a kite on allergy-meds this weekend, but I knew I had a deadline (okay, I'm a week ahead) for this project.

Every year our FFA group holds a fundraiser where the kids are auctioned off for a day's worth of work. Some of the parents (yeah, you know who we are) volunteer to make handwork or homecooked (fresh cookies) to also be auctioned off.

This is what I came up with this year:

It's called a BucketBag and I got the directions from Andrea at The Welch Quilter.

If you're not from Oklahoma or one of the surrounding states, you make not "get" the fabric. The Orange/Black is symbolic for Oklahoma State University which is the big Agricultural University in our state. ** It's NOT Halloween fabric**

The directions Andrea has posted are easy to follow along. I think the only thing different I did was to shorten the handles. The next one I make may be made with bigger squares and given as a diaper bag.

Since I'm a week ahead of my deadline, I may make another one!

A pretty find....

If you have a minute, go over to Sue's and look at her courthouse steps quilt. I didn't link just the one post because you need to scroll down and look at the previous post of a close-up. It has applique and she's hand quilting it.

Absolutely georgous.

A little quilty!

I got reminded that I haven't posted anything quilty lately. Sorry...I have to dust poor Bernina off anymore before I can even use her.

Here's two things that I have tried to do. These two quilts are string blocks made by members of our local guild--I've sewn them tegether. No, I didn't even make the blocks, but feel lucky to get to set down long enough to sew some blocks!

They both needed pressing before they go to the quilter, but while the wind wasn't blowing and Rusty wasn't around--I snapped a quick picture!

Here is what we've been busy with (besides the new house)--County Fair Time! Grand Champion Barrow. This is the last show before we go to the State Level--which is the first week in October. I'm always inspired at the state fair with the variety of quilts they have too! It'll be a fun trip.

Still here.

It's Wednesday. Only Wednesday? The days are going by fast actually, but this week is full of deadlines and I'm behind.....as usual.

House update: The tile I picked out for the kitchen floor is discontinued, so I picked out another one. Oh wait...they found enough of my tile in a warehouse in Florida if I still want it. But....the wood laminate is discontinued--Pick out another shade. I'm scared to pick out carpet.
The cabinets are all in and the trim carpenter will be here next week. When he's done then the stainer will come. (I call him the Stain-Master)--he's an old friend.
Sinks are picked out, but not for sure yet on cabinet tops. Appliances are in the garage. Bricker will get the front eave done today. Can I breathe?

Quilt update: I have to remind myself that I'm going to have a brand-new sewing room and one day I'll get to sew. Forget it for right now.

Family update: Newly married couple are doing wonderful. My food bill shrunk in about half after the wedding! Troy has another stock-show last weekend and won a 2' tall trophy for showmanship --yes..Mama took pictures, they're still in the camera.

Work update: It's still here and still paying the bills. I was upgraded to a new job title. New position, new responsibilites, new supervisor, travel..LOTS of travel, very little more-pay. It's a good job, so I'm not going to gripe..too much anyway.

Farm update: Can you say QUIT RAINING?! We have gotten over 20" in the past 3 months. A lot of our top-soil is in the ditches next to the road. There's a 40% chance of more rain tomorrow. The weeds are taking over the fields because it's too muddy to get out there and work the soil. DH got his 4-wheel drive tractor stuck in the mud, but luckily could get it out with the neighbor's help. Glad I had to go to work that morning!

Next Monday is a holiday. This Friday is the last day of the pay period and I'm maxed out on over-time. It's use or lose and I think I'm going to USE the extra time and take a Friday off! Four day weekends are the best.

Hope somebody is getting to sew 'cause I'm sure not getting to! I can see a paintbrush in my future tho.

too much of a good thing

Yes, we were hoping for a little wet weather....well, we got it.

We farm between the 9.23" and the 6.5". Yep...more than we needed.

Cindy asked what quilts I entered in the local fair. I entered the Bricks 'n Stones quilt and the Bullseye quilt. I'll just say that the gal taking the entries put the B'nStones quilt in the wrong category (it's their choice not mine) and the judge didn't like the Bullseye. Oh well.....at least I still got to take them home.

Did anybody else get zapped by Gmail? I lost EVERY message I had saved.....EVERY contact I had.....EVERYTHING! I finally got back into it this morning.....SOOOOooooo aggravating!

A break in the heat.

I think it's hot everywhere. This will be the first chance of rain in almost a month. Remember us calling Noah this Spring? A farmer is never happy!



We have a small local fair this weekend. They have a small animal show and of course I had to enter a few quilts. It'll be a nice busy weekend.

Oh...the cabinets have arrived. I've been on the road (a lot) with work the past two weeks, so maybe I can post some pictures later on. No surprises yet and everything has been done that I've asked....so I'm happy so far.

Hay

Every summer we try to put up as much hay as we can to feed during the winter months. This summer we've been blessed with an abundance of hay crops. The grass we're cutting here is called Bluestem. We've already made 400 big round bales of Bermudagrass hay, so our cows will be nice and happy this winter.

I had help taking pictures and they just begged to have their picture made too. DC and Rusty are always in the middle of everything on the farm!

Believe it or not, I got to do some sewing last night! I found my sewing machine and got to work on some string-blocks that my guild members made. Have GOT to get some youth-sized quilts together..soon!

We have a door.

We had a whole five choices on door colors and this one definitely fit our scheme. It's a shade lighter than the trim--so I'm happy.
We also are getting the front pillars bricked.


Cabinets are being built TODAY! I talked to him last night and I'm still working out some details around the cooktop and the island. YEAH!

Wedding-August 4, 2007

Groom's Table--Troy set the whole thing up.

(take before it was finished!)

Brides cake--blue water fountain not yet running in the front.

I love this pictures of the boys. Notice the purdy white socks--and the yawn on Trent's face! Can you tell they're relaxed?

It was a fun and enjoyable wedding. No surprises and lots of people to help us celebrate. The pastor was great and no squabbles with anybody.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, so these are all I have to share until the bride gets back and meets with the photographer.

Start of a new Month

The last post until after the wedding --it's saturday. I'm leaving work early, to go prepare food, decorations and room for company.


I shall return....with a new family member and hopefully some calmer days.


And then we shall be even busier with the house. Life is busy.