Here's one very proud young man, our grandson, Bryce. And almost as proud, but not in the picture---his Dad. Saturday, late afternoon, Bryce shot this 12 point buck with a muzzle-loader. Corn fed off his Dad's fields! Will make for some good eating! I think know his Grandpa was also pretty proud!
I can remember as a kid going hunting with my Dad. One time only as I sat in the back seat of the car and cried when he shot a rabbit.
I have shot a HUGE ground hog who threatened to eat or kidnap my kids. Did I mention he was HUGE!! It actually waited for me to drive two miles to find Wayne, so I could be refreshed on how to shoot the gun, drive home, and then shoot him. Made me wonder if he was sick (or already dead). We had another one of the critters around here a couple of summers ago, but he wouldn't wait for me to go find Wayne (needed another lesson on how to shot the gun)--- so he got away.
Jolyn
After Janeen and Marque and Vivvi left Friday evening, Morgan claimed the davenport by the fire and stayed with us. She kept me busy and we had lots of fun. We each needed to make some cards.
We made three batches of Christmas goodies. (Never mind that I had to make 2 trips to town within an hour to get supplies.)
Morgan made Shawn's favorite, the caramel covered marshmallows rolled in rice krispies! We did our share of sampling--gotta be sure they're fit for human consumption. (and one is never enough!) Morgan is "hiding" them in the garage refrigerator. Don't tell the guys!!
Here's our card factory..notice our neat table!! You can't be creative and be neat!!
Morgan's cards...
My cards...
On our first trip to town, we stopped to check out the Blue Earth choir. Gov. Ventura used to make his appearance, but didn't see him this year. Maybe he can't sing??? But then, neither can I!!!
Jolyn
The disciples missed something in the children that Jesus saw...how precious they are! Instead of sending them away..He reached out and touched them.
First our 5 children...then our 11 grandchildren...and now our little great-granddaughter...Princess Vivvi. What precious gifts!
Friday she came to visit with her Grandpa Marque, Grandma Janeen (you don't know how hard it is to think that our daughter is a "Grandma"), and Auntie Morgan. For some reason...she becomes the center of attention
There is such joy over each little thing she does to entertain us. Her toys were ok, but the Christmas decorations and table bowls were just as much fun.
The most fun was pushing Great-Grandma's step stool around the kitchen.
No visit to the farm is complete without meeting the animals. Her first reaction was of wonder.
Her second reaction was a trembling bottom lip.
And even tho the little piggy made not a sound, Princess Vivvi needed the security of Grandma's arms to vent her fears, guess she needs to be a little older before we introduce her to the horse! (And he won't be wrapped in a blanket and brought in the house!)
Jolyn
I laid my camera out yesterday intending to get lots of pictures. As everyone left...there it laid. So, these are from Wednesday - preparation day.
I had precooked my squash and measured off what I needed for a delicious casserole and then took the rest and used my vacuum sealer to package and freeze.
What I like about it is that it takes the air out so you don't get so much freezer burn. Like to freeze leftover ham this way too.
Here's the traditional pumpkin pie (there were 3) and Wayne's favorite...pecan pie. (Wish there weren't any leftovers.)
Our guests for the Thanksgiving meal were Shawn and Suzanne and 3 boys, and Wayne's 2 brothers and sister and their spouses. Was fun to get together. Seems as our own families get bigger, it's harder for us to get together. The weather on Wednesday made me wonder if we would be "forced" to eat all the pies ourselves, but Thursday was cold, but nice. We have so much to be thankful for!
And this is what didn't turn out --rye buns. I can not make decent buns. I even went to my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook for directions on baking them. Most of these were burnt on the bottoms and not quite done in the centers. Guess I need to practice. (or stick to what I know best - bread baking)
Jolyn
I am a great starter! I love to start new projects! But when the final step is hand quilting or framing... here they sit. Guess I need to find a "finisher". These are just some of the things left to complete...so close...but just not quite done! The top one is so old that I don't know if I have any of the fabrics left for binding.
This was in this condition last Christmas! "There's always more time right after the holidays and I'll finish it then." Famous last words!
I even have the frame for this one --course it needs to be painted first.
Love doing these wool projects . But I need to learn to buy the frame first so that I cut the background big enough. Think I'll have to add some fabric to make it fit - if I can find a frame the right size!
Jolyn
(this doesn't lean this bad in person)
Last week I was in both Albert Lea and Blue Earth. Albert Lea had very little snow but these top two pictures are the way it looked in Blue Earth (more like White Earth now). A few miles can make a lot of difference on snow and rain fall. (and believe me --farmers keep tabs on that).
Looking east from our front door. Not as much snow, but still covering the fields. We also had 3 semis sitting in our yard. They were part of the manure hauling crew, waiting for just the right field conditions so that they could get back at it. Shawn and one of the semis hauled until 2 am Sunday morning. Hopefully another day or so and it will be all wrapped up!
(me?? I stay in where it's warm and quilt!)
Jolyn
Ready or not our church is sponsoring a Country Christmas Tour of Homes and ours is one of them. The date is set for the first Saturday in December from 9am-12 noon. At each home we'll give a little homemade gift and a cookie. These pictures show the last gift! I'm done with that phase!!
This is probably the best hot cocoa mix I've tasted and I just have to pass the recipe on to you.
Hot Cocoa Mix
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups powdered milk
1 cup powdered creamer
1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding
Use 1/4 cup mix to 1 cup hot water
This picture escaped when I was uploading (or downloading) yesterday. This is Linda (and that is the correct name) showing her beautiful little wool applique flowers. I have the kit....not done....
Corrections from yesterday -- that is Barb (I knew her name started with "S") and baby Max (like my youngest grandson). I guess I should stick to no names, as I'll probably even get my grandkid's names mixed up. You know how Grandmas are.
Jolyn
Blue Earth Valley Quilters meeting is always highlighted by show and tell. We have beginners to advanced sewers and it always makes for an interesting time. Dorthy and Arlene are holding up Arlene's quilt. Arlene was one of my first partners in the Quilt Company, a quilt shop we owned in Blue Earth.
Oh boy, names are escaping me---but "she" did make a table runner using a panel. After I post this my brain will wake up and I'll remember her name. (Sue??)
Jude tried a snowflake runner. She also shared of her trip to Houston to Quilt Festival.
Corrine showing a placemat. I also took a picture of her larger wall hanging, but it was too blurry. It was mainly a cheater quilt, but one of the most striking I've seen. You'll just have to take my word for it.
One of the favorite show and tells -- little Noah. Linda had the honors of cuddling him this meeting. (He isn't the only male who comes to our meeting, but he is the youngest!)
Lorraine with her latest creation.
Tracy is really into wool and this was one she showed. Now I've caught the bug and will have to make an "emergency" run to Calico Hutch to pick up some more wool! I took a lot more pictures that night, but the rest were too blurry to use. Anyone in the Blue Earth area is invited to our meetings. We usually have a demo on some aspect of quilting . We also put on the Quilters and Woodcarvers Expo each August and exhibit over 100 quilts.
Jolyn
The third Monday night of the month (except December and July) the Blue Earth Valley Quilters meet at the Blue Earth High School. We have a great group and show and tell is always a high light. We have two rules -- no food and the meetings last only one hour. These are some show and tell that Jacque brought that one of her clients had made. Jacque did the long arm quilting on them. They are all civil war reproduction fabrics and are quilts that Country Threads of Garner, Iowa designed. One of the things that Jacque shared was that small blocks and lots of them make a quilt more interesting rather than larger blocks and less of them. It's very true in these samples. Makes me want to whip out my rotary cutter and get going!
Two very simple blocks were used to make this one.
That is a LOT of triangles!! But it makes this quilt stunning! Country Threads offered these as a monthly deal. You got the pattern and a number of fat eights and you added from your "resource center" to complete it. Resource center???--- your stash - you know- all that fabric you've hidden either in plain sight or under the bed, in the closet, or I've even heard --in the trunk of the car!
Jolyn
Just a few more pictures from the retreat that I wanted to post. Carolyn always has a "surprise" sale on Saturday night that causes even the most sane women to dress up in their pajamas to get a free gift! Tracy always remembers to bring decent pj's. Not me - and believe me - nobody got to borrow my camera. Don't believe any stories about "this woman" who changed into her nightie in the parking lot as cars drove by. (There were no cars driving by!)
This is the very happy gal who won a new Bernina. She had stopped jumping up and down by then so I could get her picture!
Confession time -- we don't spend the whole time sewing. But the gambling is confined to "fat quarters'. In quilt language, it's a half yard cut in half to make pieces 18"x20". That's what you see rolled up on the table. One year I "almost" won. Guess I should have read the rules first!
This is what happens when you announce --super sale!
It's been called (actually e-mailed to my attention) that there are actually some people out there who read my blog!!! But it is also very hard to comment. As I don't know as much as a 5th grader about computers, I don't know what to do to help you. So, if you have "nice" comments, you can e-mail me at wajmo@bevcomm.net. If your comments aren't nice, you can not e-mail me!
Jolyn
Once upon a time, I wore these dresses now worn by our youngest granddaughter, Morgan. The top one Wayne bought me. It was a stinker to iron! No perma-press back then! We would sprinkle the item with water and wrap it up and let it set. (not too long---if it got to be too long, we put it in the freezer--again strange things in the freezer!) It was hard to iron because each of those bows is a thick layer of fabric. Once upon a time I was this little! Morgan's choice of shoes is different from what mine was, but hers look much more comfortable than what I painfully wore.
In this picture Morgan is wearing my only formal. I wore it to both our Jr. and Sr. proms. (something unheard of --but I loved that dress!) Wayne was a little younger then. We were high school sweethearts and he's been a keeper for 49 years, 11 months and whose counting the days?? ( He did wear different clothes to the prom.)
Jolyn
Last Wednesday was still our beautiful fall weather - in the 60's, but Saturday turned into a snow storm. Heavy wet stuff that made driving on gravel roads tricky! Today the sun is shining and I hope melting some of this! It's beautiful to look at, but we are spoiled and not ready for winter!
On the farm front, this is what's going on -pumping hog pits and spreading manure. This is the first time we've hired it done. They have 4 semis that haul from the barns to the field and will make quicker work of all that's left to do.
This is the holding tank that the semis dump into and then the taragator pumps it out of this and injects it into the ground. (You can bet I got that wrong and you'll probably see a correction in the next blog---I do know it's not an alligator!)
Old faithful, Jocker, waiting for a tractor ride. Reminds me of the springer spaniel that Shawn had at Taylor's age. Buddy loved to go hunting and when he would see Shawn come out with a gun, he would hop in the old pickup and be ready to go.
Kind of like us quilters when somebody mentions --quilt shop!!
Jolyn
