Looky What We Got!

 YAY! We got that good rain on the North end of the ranch a few weeks ago, but not a drop on our south end. Well all of this fell on the south side!

                                                       

It'll be a few days before those roads set up enough that we can get out and check how much rain we had, but I can tell you that we are whooping it up around here!                    

It started to rain just after dinner.

Perfect timing to curl up with a new magazine that came in the mail:

                                                       
My latest finish:

                                                               
and take a nap to the sound of this:


                                          


An hour later we had this:

                                          

There was not a drop in this tank before this and this is at least 3' deep.

This poor little fella wasn't quite sure what had just happened:

My poor chickens really got hammered. The door to their coop faces south and it is always open during the day and the rain hit from the south.

They were a little bedraggled.

There was a whole lots of feather shakin' going on:.

As well as a hen conference that, I assume, discussed what had just taken place:

I had wandered out in my daily footwear which is a pair of hiking boots. I hadn't intended to end up submerged, but I felt badly for the chickens when I saw the state of their coop and didn't bother going back for my irrigation boots:

I had a mess to clean up. This is an icky picture, but just thought you might want to know that it's not all fun and games out here:

And we lost a ton of huge tree limbs. This is just a small portion :

That always makes me so sad. I've got a good day's work cleaning all of this up. However, you can bet I'll be doing it cheerfully!

The wind was nuts and there had to be some sort of rotation in it because these trailers were parked parallel to each other:

     

From this angle, you can see a bit of the drag marks from the cage top trailer:

                                   

Sorry about hounding y'all with another detailed weather report, but this is a pretty big deal in these parts. Between the surprise visit from our boy that the kids pulled off, this amazing rain, and a couple of other things...well I would have to say that the Good Lord has been mighty generous with those blessings, and you can bet that we are mighty thankful!

Oink-A-Doodle-Moo is Ready and Waiting

I haven't been doing any sewing lately, but I have a few quilts to bind and I did manage to get this baby quilt bound while I was visiting my Mom last week:

  Jackie quilted a sweet, simple, little serpentine wave across it that you can see in this photo:

I had so much fun taking pictures when I stopped in Fredricksburg:

Honestly, I think I could spend all day there finding charming places to take pictures of quilts.                      
This is my first pieced border and I was tickled with how it turned out. I think it was just the ticket to frame these cute panels:

I bound it with a blue sketch fabric, and in this shot, you can see a bit of the fabric I used on the back:

                                                  

Loved this truck:

Had I found peaches, I probably would have eaten too many, gotten a tummy ache, and curled up in a shady spot by this truck and taken a nap with this quilt:

                                           

This little quilt measures 43"x 53" and ought to be a good size to grow into. It's just waiting for the little one to be born in a few weeks. Friends we've known for 26 years are expecting their first grandchild...a little boy who needs a little farm quilt. :)

Back on the Dirt Road

Someone please tell me how to keep these days and weeks and months from zipping along so quickly! I thought all of this technology was supposed to SAVE us time. Not happening around here. :)

Last Monday I drove to Texas to spend some time with my Mom and I drove back on Friday. It's always hard to leave my dirt road, but on Monday morning it was wet and drizzly, and that made it extra hard to leave.

Sure did miss that old dirt road when I got to the city:

Traffic is not fun! It rained from one end of the trip all the way to the other.

It's a good 9 hour drive if you don't stop, but I'm a stopper, and the little town of Fredricksburg is worth a stop. This time I went in search of peaches. On Monday, I picked some up to take to my Mom and friends and neighbors and they were SO good. Fredricksburg is known for their peaches, so I figured I would really load up on my way back through and take some to my SIL, who lives in a town I pass through, and my MIL who lives a few hours from us. Well heck, there wasn't a peach to be found. Come to find out they had  had a late freeze and there weren't any Fredricksburg peaches although they thought they would have some in August. Apparently the peaches I picked up on Monday were from a little town just down the road a piece. Then my SIL's husband told me that they grow peaches in Llano, but they had been invaded by grasshoppers, and the grasshoppers have eaten all the peaches, stripped the trees bare, and have left the seeds hanging on the leafless trees. I'm fairly certain that would make me cry.

So I drowned my sorrows in a bit of fabric therapy. :) My Mom has a friend that quilts and she told me about the quilt shop, One Quilt Place (formerly Pocket Full of Posies), in Fredricksburg. How did I not know about this? I drive through here all the time. When I walked in, one of the ladies asked me if I was from NM. Ummm...yes, ma'am. I was kind of curious as to how she knew that, but she laughed and said, "Yes, June called this morning and said you would be stopping in". LOL. What a fun, friendly shop. No pictures because they are actually moving on Friday to a new location and things were in a tizzy, but I did find a few pieces that just needed to come home with me. They had a great selection of reproduction prints and that's exactly what I've been hunting:

I also found this fun western print and I bought 6 yards for a backing:

Love the little coffee grinder, and iron, and wash tub, and water pump, and... oh, heck...I just loved all of it!

I kept thinking of my sweet friend, Donniene, who lived just up the road a piece so I picked up a little extra of the reproduction prints to share. I called her and told her to throw her rotary cutter and mat in the truck and we met up at another little shop that has a nice selection of quilting fabric at incredible prices. Debra carries some new fabric, but most of her inventory are older lines and her prices are hard to beat so 15  - 1/2 yard cuts came home with me, and yes, I have a plan:

                             

I love meeting up with Donniene when I make this trip and the sweet girl even planned a trip to town. She likes to go to town about as much as I do. I look a little road weary, but here we are:

And look what this dear girl brought for me:

Isn't that just the loveliest piece? I was so touched and set it on my dashboard for the rest of the trip. Thank you sweet friend - I will treasure it and think of you when I look at it.

I also think I ought to get some credit for driving over 500 miles with 2 dozen of these and actually making it back without taking even one bite:

I brought a dozen back for the family at our North Camp and a dozen for DH.

So this dirt road girl was EXTREMELY glad to be back home. When I hit the ranch, I rolled down all the winds and my heart was happy. DH is so sweet. He says he does not do well when I am away and by the 3rd day, he begins to sounds  little sad. It's kind of nice to know I am missed. Surely he wasn't just waiting for the donuts! :)

Christmas really DID come in July!!

We were really looking forward to the 4th this year. No big plans, but Caitlin was coming home and that's always a cause for celebration. Gary had just come in from the shop where he was making wheels for his smoker and I had just come in from the garden and sat down with a glass of water. I didn't even hear her pull up, but I heard her walk in and say, "I brought you something."

Oh my goodness! Did she ever!! Look what she brought:

 There are no words. Tears and hugs, yes, but no words.

Those 2 young'uns pulled a fast one on us!! We didn't have a clue. Haven't seen Tyler since he came home in October on his post deployment leave. He had a 96, which means he had 4 days off and he flew from California to Texas where Caitlin picked him up.

How awesome are they?!

We cooked supper over the firepit and set off fireworks which we have had for 3 years. Since it's been so dry, we hadn't used them. This year, the recent rains allowed us to indulge. We weren't even sure if they were still good, but there wasn't a dud in the bunch. Supper under the stars is a favorite around here:

The next morning, Blueberry Muffins were a given. Tyler loves them and can put them away in no time. They could only stay until early Sunday morning...very early Sunday morning. Tyler had a plane to catch in Texas at 10 which meant the kids had to pull out at 4 am.

Can you say 'soak up every second'? I was so excited to have them both home that I had a hard time falling asleep, but once I did, I slept so well. It does a Mama's heart good to know that both of her cubs are sleeping in their rooms. I was half tempted to sit by their beds and watch them sleep like I did when they were babies. :)

They're didn't stay  nearly long enough and I couldn't even begin to fix all their favorite foods, but no one went hungry.

The kids went to town on Friday afternoon for a movie at 5...Despicable Me 2 received 2 thumbs up. LOL Then on Saturday morning we all loaded up and headed to one of our favorite places at 7:30:

                                                             


1

2

 3

4 rounds of skeet apiece

and lots of catching up:

before heading to the mountains for a ranch rodeo and a good visit with Granny and Grandpa:

On  the way home,  we stopped at Dairy Queen. Strawberry Shakes are somewhat of a tradition from when the kids were little:

The boys both shot clean on that 4th round of skeet. 25 out of 25. Caitlin shot a 22 which is awesome...unless your Daddy and brother shoot 25's. LOL This is my favorite picture from the weekend:

Thanks you two! It was the best surprise ever!! Love and miss you already.

Yes, Please!

If there were a way to place an order for weather, I would like a double dose of this please:

July 2, 1:30 PM and it's 83°. Heaven.

     

 We've had rain 3 out of seven days and it's clouding up again.

                             

I've been puttering in the yard and garden and it was all I could do to go inside and cook dinner. 

I've got a couple of quilts to bind so I loaded up and found a place to camp for the afternoon:

I am feeling a little guilty for enjoying this so much:

I even had a visitor:

Sweet Sylvester.


                            

When I am outside, he is by my side:

For an outside barn cat, he is very lovable, and my favorite feline buddy:

Yep, I could get used to this:

                                      

Wonder if I could get hubby to be my cabana boy!