Spring Babies

My two most favorite things about Spring are Spring rains,

  which don't come nearly often enough, and Spring babies,

 which can be counted on each and every year:

And this year is no exception:

This time of the year we keep a sharp eye out for each new arrival:

They truly are like little kids the way they run and play and kick up their heels and swish their little fuzzy tails

I love their little wet noses!

Some are shy and peek out from underneath their Mamas:

And others are gregarious and inquisitive and eager to explore:

Although it isn't long before even they run back to their Mamas for a snack:

And they are always looking for their next meal:

 I could spend hours out here watching them:

When the kids were growing up we would end up with a dogie calf almost every year for some reason or another and it was always a fun chore to feed them:

But its always much better when we DON'T have one because Mama does a much better job of raising her baby than we can with milk replacer. Still, those babies loved us and we fell in love with them:

Here are my first 2 dogie calves after we were married,  Rambo and Trixie. Even after they were weaned, we could drive through the pasture and they would come running when they saw us or heard us call their names:

  So today you get lots of pictures of sweet baby calves because that's the view from my window lately:

After all, who can resist a face like this?

Handmade Cards

In this age of technology, it's still a really nice surprise when you receive an actual card or letter in the mail. I don't think that happens a lot these days and I'm the guiltiest one of all. I write to my aunt in Germany, but not nearly as often as I ought to. My Daddy wrote to her every single week because he knew it was important to her even though they talked on the phone every Sunday. They don't make men like him anymore.

So one of the things I am trying to work on this year, is sending notes and cards and letters. I'm not going to promise anything, but surely I can improve on my past history. I have always had good intentions, but failed miserably.

I like shopping for cards and I have a good stack so I am going to work on sending them out. And I love making cards, although I don't have a very good track record of doing that either. I have a huge stash of paper and card making supplies from back when I worked on scrapbooks. Reminder: Get back to that.

And lately I've been pinning card ideas for inspiration. I'm not a fancy card maker. I tend to lean in the direction of clean and simple and I really like using some photos I've taken. Here's one of my favorites:

I've had this stamp forever and its still one of my favorites. I've never seen them since. I stamped inside to add a little detail:

And this is on the back of the envelope. We have a really nice scrapbook store here and one day, probably 8 years ago, I walked in and the owner jumped up and said, "Have I got something special for YOU!" and she pulled out this stamp. Yep. Perfect.

And I used this really silly photo of me and made a card to send to my Aunt for her birthday earlier this month because I knew it would make her laugh...a lot:

I made lots of these baby shower invitations for the arrival of a special little girl:

And the occasional Birthday card:

I made about 10 of  these Christmas Thank You cards for my Mom to send out a few years ago:

And I made these for me to send last year:

And these the year before:

I made my Mom a set of various cards a few years ago for her birthday and she said it was the best thing I ever gave her and she used every single one.

 So I'm thinking she's about due for another set this year - thus a commencement of card making is in the works and the dining room table has been hijacked.

Am I making 100 cards? No, I'm just a messy crafter, but neat and tidy is not what I am after...a happy heart for the sender and receivers of these cards is!

Snowing and Sewing

I know that many of  you are digging out from yet another winter storm and hoping for an early spring, but here in the desert, this is a cause for jubilation.

OK, its just a skiff so perhaps jubilation is a bit strong, but sometimes my fingers take over and I let them. Full tummies make happy birds:

And happy horses:

Still, we always, always, always celebrate moisture of any kind, and I took advantage of temps well below freezing and settled in behind my machine after melting ice for the critters this morning. The water was frozen solid and at 9°, I'm sure this hot water won't take long to freeze either:

I've got leftovers for dinner so that leaves me time to play. Borders have been added to this floral quilt and I'm piecing a backing and taking it in to Jackie for quilting  next week:

The King of the Jungle Baby quilt is ready for quilting as well:

And more blocks are being added to the Granny Square pile:

I don't have a  design wall, but I think I'm going to begin laying these out and start adding the sashing. Progress!

And I made it through the entire month of January without making any fabric purchases and even though I only sewed 2 days in January, a month without bringing any new fabric into this house is a start.

May your day be filled with warm horsey breath and soft, snowy nuzzles from a good friend:

Celebrating Lora

This has been a rough week. Sadly, my dear friend, Lora, passed away unexpectedly on the 24th. Shocked and heartbroken pretty much sums it up. She was so full of life and active and healthy and it just doesn't make a lick of sense. But we've talked about it before and she said that when it was her time to go, she just wanted the good Lord to just take her and he did just that. She was just crouched down in front of the wood stove, starting a fire, and her sweet husband walked in and found her with her chin resting on the top of the wood stove. None of us were ready for her to go, but none of us are ever ready to lose a loved one. She was 3 days shy of her 51st birthday. Remember, she and I and M had just returned from our YeeHaw birthday trip the week before.

Her family put together a wonderful celebration on Tuesday. A dear friend performed the service and another precious friend sang her favorite praise songs. And celebrate we did because Lora deserved to be celebrated and although we weep and mourn, when I think of Lora, I can't help but laugh. After all, M and I did a lot of that when we were all together.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. That pretty much sums up Lora. She fit so much into her day. You've no doubt heard of the type of lady that made Satan say, "Crap. She's up!" when she woke up. M said that was Lora and she was right.

 Lora had a heart for her friends and family and the Lord and we're all going to be ok because we know where she is. I've no doubt that she gave the good Lord a good, long, Lora hug because that what she did when she saw you and you had better have your feet firmly planted because she hugged you with all she had. I will miss those hugs.

I went to work on Monday because Grandma Lillian told me to. At 90, Grandma Lillian has learned a few things about life and at 50, I have learned to listen. Lora would fuss if I didn't get out and celebrate life and I don't like it when Lora fusses at me, although she fussed with love. Lora did everything with love and even though she was one of a kind, I  wish for you all to have a Lora in your life at some point and  time.

She lived life with passion and there was no way I could keep up with her, but that didn't faze her one little bit. She just grabbed a hold of me and  drug me behind her and I could always count on it being an adventure.

Lora had a green thumb for flowers and sunflowers were her favorite so I ordered a huge lot of sunflowers to plant along a fence line and along one side of the chicken coop.  I treasure your friendship and cherish the memories and I'll never look at a pumpkin without thinking of you.

You are loved and missed sweet friend. Thank you for the blessing of being your friend.