This Week...

I'm a huge fan of Dana's over at Old Red Barn and she has come up with an idea that I love. She said that often she doesn't have time to write out posts of things she wants to share so she is implementing a weekly bullet list. I can completely relate so I'm joining in on 'This Week'. I hope to post on Sundays, but that is subject to change. :) Thanks Dana!

*I have lots of fabric to cut up and I don't want to cut any of it.

                                   

  *Finally found a bit of time to work on the Fishy Baby Quilt:

                                    

*Wednesday ( or was it Thursday? ) was town day and that makes me grumpy. :)

* Our college girl came home for a few days. Yay!

*Every time the kids come home, they find a treat hiding among the pillows on their beds.

*It's a tradition.

*DH is working on a new project. What's he building?

*Time will tell. :)

*Finished up this project:

*Discovered a new favorite treat:

* This stuff is out of this world good. It's incredibly rich and all you need is one spoonful to satisfy a chocolate craving.

*Praying for rain:

                         

* Ranch Rodeo this weekend, but we only went in on Friday night. Spent lots of years hauling to ranch rodeos to participate. Spectating is not as much fun.

                                    

*DH and our girl went to town on Saturday morning for the ranch horse show.

*I stayed home and cooked up 24 buckaroo bundles .

                            

* 24 hours later there were none left.

*Our drinking glasses are mason jars. Just discovered these plastic insulated ones that we love:

*UFC fights on Saturday night! Yes, we are huge fans! Great card last night!

                                                    

Hitting the Fabric Jackpot

On Monday I went to Lubbock with my in-laws. My FIL had a doctor's appointment and I went along to help drive. It's a 5 hr trip one way for them. My MIL and I had an ulterior motive too. The quilt shop in Lubbock was closing down. I was there in May with Marquita and Lora and we were told the sad news. The owner is retiring and they were beginning to liquidate in June. So we just had to stick our noses inside. I should have taken pictures, but I was a little overwhelmed. Everything was 75% off, and the place was packed. It was comical to watch, but it didn't take long for us to join the insanity. I was looking for a backing, but didn't have any luck, but let's just say I did not go home empty handed. However, I did leave with only one sack. And I didn't even fill it up.  My desire to round out my stash of 'kind of' reproduction prints has been achieved. That doesn't look like 22 yds of fabric, does it?

This store had lots of Thimbleberry kinds of fabrics. Perfect for adding to my Granny Square blocks and a few other projects that are waiting in the wings.

I have some odds and ends thrown in, but I just could not get over that price. Apparently I wasn't the only one. One lady had 5 kitchen sized trash bags stacked up with cut fabric stuffed inside and they were still cutting. And another lady spent $600, but said she had $1000 to spend so she went back for $400 more. That's a lot of fabric at $2.72 / yd. Surely she was buying for an organization that made quilts for donation. What a great deal.

I felt for those poor ladies cutting. How many pairs of scissors do you think they wore out? :) My hands wouldn't even work the next day if I cut all day like that. They said they had donuts to keep them going. LOL

It was insane. One gentleman came in and sat patiently, waiting on his wife. I wonder what was going through his mind as he surveyed the onslaught.

As for me, I see lots of cutting in my future.


                       

There are scrap quilts on the agenda. Well, as soon as I am released from cocklebur duty. :)

Waging War on Cockleburs

My weapon of choice:

My target:

                                     

Cockleburs. Lots and lots of cockleburs. Our mornings are spent traipsing through the pastures in search of this evil plant.
And we are thankful.
Thankful because the fact that we have cockleburs to spray means that we have had rain. The last time there were cockleburs to spray was 2010. They are an invasive, toxic weed, and the burs are a bear to remove when they get caught in tails and manes:

                                

I'm slower than DH in covering the country because if you recall, I am deathly afraid of snakes and when you're picking your way through waist-high brush and weeds and mesquite, its impossible to see the ground. So I have to multitask:
Scan the terrain for cockleburs.
Spray said cocklebur.
Keep an eye on DH so that we can cover the pasture efficiently.
Fight the mesquite.
Pray with every step that I don't cross paths with a snake.

DH knows this country like the back of his hand. He knows exactly where these grow. They tend to grow around dirt tanks and in low areas, as well along the spillways where the water carries the seeds. I have to pay attention because I tend to see one and then another and before I know it, I look up and DH has disappeared.

                                                       

On this particular morning, we spent 5 hours walking and spraying and thankfully the good Lord kept all snakes out from under my feet. DH just may find his sidekick running to the truck if she ever steps on one.

These bottles get awfully heavy. They hold 3 gallons of a version of 2,4 D, Grazon, a broad-leaf herbicide, and after carrying one for 5 hours, your arms are going to get quite a workout.

But it's hard to beat spending a gorgeous, cool morning working alongside DH and combing the pastures.

                            

The desert wildflowers were in full bloom.


                                                    

We've just had 2-4" of rain on the ranch this summer and it always amazes me how pretty this country gets with just a little bit of rain.

And it's always a treat to be greeted with a double rainbow when you finally turn the truck towards home:

                             

I am also very thankful for a crockpot full of a delicious roast dinner when we return home because the thought of fixing dinner after  spraying cockleburs all morning was not very appealing. I told DH I was going to call this my cocklebur dinner. My crockpot's getting quite a workout.

And the war continues...

Granny's Glass Blocks

Last week we took a day trip to my in-laws' to help them install a shower:

   When I was not needed, I offered to help my MIL with odds and ends. They have a 2nd story that is a finished attic. All the grand kids used to sleep up there when we used to have big family Christmases. The stairs are hard for my MIL to maneuver now so I offered to haul things up and down. Some of the boxes held these glass blocks that she makes and sold at a few craft fairs. I have this one on our piano:

                                       

I don't think there will be any more craft fairs so I thought I would post some of the different ones she had here and see if anyone was interested.

                                                                           Cutter:

She is asking $35 plus shipping. I don't know what shipping will be, but if anyone is interested, I'll figure it out.

                                                                            Calf Roper:

       

                                                                                Barrel Racer:

                                 

                                                                            Bare Back:

         

                                                                        Bull Rider:
                                 

       

                                                                       Saddle Bronc:

                               

                                                                       Sweethearts:

                               

Think Christmas! :)