When the Phone Rings

Most mornings begin rather quietly around here. Up before the sun and in the kitchen before my vision clears. Ah! The rich smell of coffee wafts through the air as I measure the proper amount for the morning jolt. Funny thing is...I can't drink the stuff. Love the aroma, but it tastes awful.

I make it for DH.

 Because I love him.

Because its the little things.

This week we're working cattle. We'll have our big Spring Works in May, but once in a while we have a week or two of smaller cow works. So I don't have a big crew. Only 6, but 6 or 12, doesn't matter - cooking is still what I do. So I plan the morning and take the rolls from their hiding place. Around here, rolls must sometimes be hidden or they simply disappear into thin air someone's tummy and although I love making homemade bread, I don't love it everyday so I made a double batch the day before.

Brrrinnng. Brrrinnng. I reach for my cell phone. No new fangled music for my ringtone although I once had "Amarillo By Morning". I love the tinny ring of an old fashioned telephone...on my cell phone. I love my technology, but long for back in the day when times were simpler. A contradiction. Yep. that'd be me.

"Hello?"

It's DH.

"What are you doing?"

Oh. Oh. I'm familiar with that question and immediately begin to scurry about. Turn off the stove. The oven. The Iron. I don't know what's coming, but I know what's coming.

DH might be bringing in a newborn calf that lost it's Mama... or need me to run into town for parts... or need me to help him pull a well...or to come help him doctor a horse...or work the gate while he sorts cattle...or to haul a rig over to the other side of the ranch...or to...

And, no, I'm not complaining. I love helping him although I often feel badly that he's stuck with me for help. It pays to be a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kinda gal when you're a ranch wife and after 24 years, I've done a lot of flying.

"I'm cooking dinner."

"I need you to hook up to a trailer. Bring me the medicine chest

and a bottle of Banamine.

Grandpa's horse is colicking."

"Where are you?"

"Head to the shop and go east to El Tank. Take that road to the south. You'll see us down here a ways".

So I scurry around a bit more, load up, hook up,

 and drive out. Takes me about 30 minutes to bounce over the roads.

Truth be told, I love it when I get called away from the kitchen, although I don't love the reasons for it and when I get back, it's crunch time in order to make up for the lost time.

 Grandpa's horse was sure enough feeling puny. Poor guy's knees were buckling everytime he even attempted to take a step and he was trying his darnedest to plop down. DH gave him the magic shot and about 30 minutes later, he looked quite relieved and then disappointed when Grandpa loaded him in the trailer. He was itching to finish the job, but we weren't taking any chances. Thank goodness that's all it took. No pictures of the poor old pony. I had strict instructions to not leave my seat behind the wheel. Shoot. That limited my photo opportunity severely, but I snuck in what I could. Lots of dust and dirt. It's been a rough winter around here. After a banner year of record moisture last year, we're high and dry now. No moisture since September and good old Farmer's Almanac says not to hold our breath if we're waiting on rain. We spend lots of time praying.

Never get tired of aiming my camera in this direction:



 Sure do wish that dust would settle:



DH stopped to tie up the fence in order to let some little ragga-muffin calves who had escaped, cross back:




In his element:



DS holding the herd:



They went that-a-way




Sure do wish those fluffy, white clouds would dump some rain:


Had to wait around a bit and let the crew get down the road a piece before we headed to the house.




 A rouge calf broke from the herd and Bryce went after him. Grandpa told me to back the trailer down around the bend.

Um. No. Backing trailers is something I have been unable to master. Well, let me clarify that. I can back them as long as the road is straight and the gate is wide. It might not be pretty, but I can get the job done.

 Grandpa got that twinkle in his eye and we both chuckled. Sure glad the rest of the crew's attention was diverted. When I initially drove up, Dave looked surprised and asked whether I had hooked up the trailer. He received a loving, yet withering look in reply.

Two hours have passed since the phone call. Doesn't leave me much time to round up dinner. Sure am glad the good Lord takes charge around here. He knew that double batch of biscuits was gonna come in handy and he's gonna send that rain any day now.

I Can't See Texas From Here

Feeling nostalgic today. Missing Texas. Can you miss a State? Yes, if it's Texas. I wasn't born a Texan, but I was born to BE a Texan. LOL. Maroon Aggie blood courses through my veins. Whoop!

Don't get me wrong. We have made a wonderful life here in New Mexico although truth be told, I'm hoping our state residency is only temporary. When we moved here, I desperately wanted to redraw the state lines.

Why the sudden homesickness? While browsing through my Google Reader today I stumbled upon this quilt:  Prarie Points of Interest . It's fabulous and the story behind it made me weepy for Texas. We never lived in the Texas Panhandle, but my childhood is firmly rooted in the hill country along the Blano River and our children were raised in the Davis Mountains where my heart still resides.

And it's spring. You haven't experienced spring until you've experienced it in Texas. My Mom called the other day and gushed about the Bluebonnets. And I cried.

Our daughter is headed off to college in the fall. In August she'll be "Gone to Texas" and I'm envious.

I've contemplated making a quilt to symbolize my love of Texas. I've seen a few, but none have spoken to me. A while back I bought a couple of Jelly Rolls of an older Moda line called Hill Country Spring, but I haven't had the heart to unroll it yet. I'm waiting for just the right project to come along and I'm thinking that my next Trip to Texas will require a trip to the quilt shop that still carries some of that yardage so I can snap it all up.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a little bit of Texas gold (sniff, sniff):
I Can't See Texas From Here

Just One Star

This passion for quilting has left me asking 'how can I help'? I want to become more involved in community service and I've been praying for ways to do that. I want God to use this passion for His purpose and I'm beginning to see those doors of opportunity swing open.

This morning, while I was catching up with blog buddies, I found this post from Debi and I jumped at the chance to get my feet wet. Thanks Debi! I've been thinking about joining in with this organization for some time, even before our son decided to join the Marines, and this is a way I can be involved.

Just One Star






This is a challenge from Moda called Just One Star can comfort a soldier. "The Moda challenge is to piece, quilt and bind 100 quilts in 100 days using the Flag of Valor pattern by Minick and Simpson." Moda needs 1800 star blocks to reach this goal. The deadline for star blocks is May 1, 2011 so that they can meet their quilt deadline by Flag Day, June 14, 2011. You send completed blocks to Moda at the address in the link.

There is a tutorial/pattern for stars here. I hope you'll consider joining in! If you are close to me and don't want to mail them, I will gather them and send them off. Thanks so much!

Blooming Pinwheel Quilt

Another finished quilt! Wahoo! Actually, it's not about finishing them, it's about the journey. I love thinking about the recipient as I'm piecing the blocks. The recipient of this quilt is still waiting to make her entry into the world, but I visited with her Mama the other day for a bit and they are over joyed. Its refreshing to hear someone who is actually enjoying every minute of this miraculous journey. She and her DH are so excited and eagerly gathering little, pink, girly things.

I haven't had much cause to quilt with girly fabrics so I went on a hunt for something special. I didn't have a clue as to what that was, but on a hunt I went. And I searched a long time for just the right fabric to jump out at me. When I found this "Quite Contrary" fabric, I knew I had to have it. Didn't have a clue as to what I wanted to do with it though so I bought some companion pieces that never found their way into the quilt. So the hunt continued and I finally rounded up a few that had potential. Still didn't know where this little quilt was headed. Somehow I decided to try a pinwheel after I saw this great tutorial here...and I was hooked. It measured 42x32. I wanted to make it a bit bigger, but the addition of another column offset the 4 pinwheels on each corner and it bugged me. So a smaller, more balanced quilt was born.

I'm making myself add a  label. I should have done that before it was quilted. Why is that so hard for me to do?

Karen, over at Sew Many Ways is having a Sew Darn Crafty Linking Party and I thought I would join in the fun. It's a fun way to discover new bloggy friends and ideas. Lots of amazingly talented people out there!

Now that the last stitch has been sewn, I am completely head over heels in love with it. I prayed for this child as I stitched. That she may have a life filled with love and laughter, good health and joy, and most importantly may the love and grace of Christ fill her heart and guide her days.