Jelly Belly Man



A number of years ago...probably over 20...our oldest son, Kelsey went to school out in Washington State.  While we were out there visiting him, Wayne found a little candy store and got his first taste of Jelly Bellies.  He's been buying them ever since.  Each Sunday he keeps a plastic baggie in his pocket with some in to hand out to the kids.   That's how he got the nickname...Grandpa Jelly Beans.  This picture is of the jar that Janeen's family gave him for Father's Day.  That should last awhile!  Jolyn                           I won't be posting again until next week as my back has been real crabby.  It's better, but is hard to sit at the computor for very long.

For the Birds

This spring a mother robin decided that the ideal place to make a nest was on the light on our porch right outside the kitchen door.  What a mess.  I can't find the pictures, but believe me...there was enough "nest" material on the step to build another nest.  I've also lost the pictures of the pretty blue eggs...4 of them.  And now they've hatched... ugly , scrawny,  pathetic , always hungry babies!

This is what the mother faces all day long.  She sits on them for a while...but then is off to look for more green worms.  Oh yes, she also house cleans and eats their (excuse the expression) poop.



You can see there is still an egg that hasn't hatched.



We also have a nest of a smaller bird...little smaller than a sparrow that has a nest in the first hanging planter.  Four little mouths to feed.  I bet those mothers welcome bedtime and a chance to rest.    Jolyn

On the Farm Front

For the first time the guys are trying this on the bean fields...rolling them.  To me it looks like they're squashing everything and I guess in a way they are.  Breaks up those hard chunks.  Was interesting to watch.  This is a neighbor doing the custom rolling.  Seems like this should be set to music. 

Wayne said they could do this even when the beans are up to 6" tall.  Interesting.  Wish we could roll the yard as Sammy's sunken hoof marks makes it tricky to walk.   Jolyn

Shopping

Ran over to the Calico Hutch the other day and am always amazed at the number of quilts on display.  The best part is there is a kit for each one. (I should take a picture of their kit room!  now that is amazing!) 



Liked this one for it's simplicity.



I can see a little girl falling in love with this one.

Carolyn has some really neat panels for guy lap quilts.

This one is mine!!  Last year on the Minnesota shop hop, Tracy and I went to all the shops in the SE section.  If you hit them all, you were given a bundle of 20 black and white prints.  Each was a half yard!  So I've been eyeing them since then trying to decide how to use them .  Using Terry Atkinson's book..."Happy Hour", I chose the "Between Friends" pattern.  Simple, but the pattern worked well with the large prints.  I bought the bright pink for the accent AND found the bright pink and white fabric ON SALE for the backing for one of them!  I have enough blocks for 4 quilts!  I'm happy...   Jolyn

Wrong

I was wrong!  And I'm glad.  yesterday I mentioned it would be a few days of drying before they could plant...they planted!!  Conditions are not ideal, but they are in the fields.  Last night we had a shower again, but hope with the strong wind today that they will soon be able to start.  One more good day of planting  left!!!!   

Road with Wayne as he ate his supper and planted.

In person...Grandpa Jelly Beans.  He got that nickname from the grandkids as he always keeps a supply of Jelly Bellys in the cupboard.  

Coming from the south towards our place.  Think I like quilting better than tractor driving.

Aw, here we are together.  I had a corner of the seat and the armrest to sit on and I didn't last more than one round and you know what was numb.  Wayne came home around 11 at night when Shawn took over.    Jolyn

Sunshine Welcome!

All packed up and ready to go home. Notice that Max was sure to get his quilt home with him.

Seems everyone takes something home with them when they leave....but why do I still seem to have so much?!  First of June today and the sun is brightly shining.  This is notable as we've had so much rain.  Our basement at this point has no standing water!  It does have it's own toad population.  The guys need some more drying days to get back to planting, but the forecast is for rain later today.  When we get discouraged, we have to remember the people of N Mpls and Joplin and it makes our problems minimal.  Jolyn

Max's First Quilt

Memorial Day weekend Jill, Isaac, Max, Janeen and Tyler were down.  Isaac entertained us on our keyboard while it was Max's turn to make a quilt.  The last time they were down we had gone to the Calico Hutch and picked out fabric for Max to make the quilt...Snapshots.

He was ready to go first thing Friday morning.  It was my hope that he would get the blocks done in the two days of sewing (and playing...etc.)

As he sewed, he made some interesting comments:  You and Grandpa could be fun.   In my class they don't think a boy can sew.  This is fun and boring.  I can't believe I'm actually making a quilt.  I like how my pieces get bigger and bigger. That's what I was estimating you were going to say.  It's not as big as aw shucks.  Who knew that picking up pins and putting them in a pincushion could be so hard.  I'm actually a shakey person.  I feel proud of myself making a quilt at my age.  I told my friend all about you and what a great quilter you are. (I should have given him money for that statement!)  I like how you're patient. 

After years of teaching kids to make quilts, I've found for the younger ones that if you draw the seamline...they can easily follow it (and less ripping for me).

In order for Max to lay out his blocks, we had to blockade their dog from walking through.

Did I say I hoped he'd get the blocks done in two days...he got the whole quilt top done in one day!!  He really stuck with it!

And here's Max with his quilt and Tyler with the first quilt he made!(quite a few years ago)   Proud of these boys!!  Was a fun weekend and it went too quickly.  But I guess that's always the way when family comes home.    Jolyn