This Could Be Interesting....

Back in June, my dog accidentally ripped a quarter-sized hole in the middle of our comforter with her toenail.  At least that's the story I'm going with.  It's possible teeth were involved but I refuse to believe that of her.  Anyway, I wasn't too heart-broken as the comforter was beautiful, but not sturdy enough to be dog friendly.  I had been casually mentioning to my husband that the bedding should be replaced.  After some online shopping and some real shopping (I like to see things in person) I bought this set on sale from Pottery Barn.

It was definitely a splurge.  I'm not a frequent Pottery Barn shopper.  In fact, I try to replicate their ideas as much as possible.  I brought the bedding home and put it on our bed, happy in the knowledge that it could be tossed in the washer if Abby gets it dirty, unlike our previous dry clean only set.  My husband was indulgent as new master bedroom bedding wasn't exactly in the budget, and agreed when I assured him that the curtains and paint color would do for now.  I didn't exactly lie, because I did think that would be the case when I told him that...I just changed my mind quickly.  I found the blue I want to paint the walls in one of my Pottery Barn paint sample books a couple weeks ago, and my pal Ashley picked me up curtains I'd wanted but resisted buying at Ikea.  The redecoration is moving forward as soon as I get a free weekend to paint.

The curtains raise a whole new issue.  If you've not experienced Ikea, you should!  The nearest one is a tick over 2 hours away but I make the trip 3-4 times a year.  I'm a sucker for cheap Swedish furniture I guess.  One of the disadvantages is that it's cheap Swedish furniture.  There's lots of assembly, and my curtains are not hemmed.  I decided rather than ask my mother-in-law to hem them for me, I'd borrow a sewing machine and do it myself.  My sewing experience is limited, and it's been on an old Singer machine my grandma gave me that's got to be older than I am.  I'm a little overwhelmed by this computerized machine that's sitting in the guest room waiting for me to bust it out.  This could be interesting....  Wish me luck.  I'll let you know how the curtains turn out.  Luckily they're pretty inexpensive if I screw them up.

 

Blessings

I love summer break. I'm just finishing week 2. While its been busy busy, life has been full of blessings. First of all, my baby sister graduated high school a couple weeks ago. She's sort of following in big sis's footsteps. She's going to Purdue for elementary education. I'm so proud of her!!  This photo is me and my two sisters.

I'm also babysitting my niece some this summer. She's 18 months old and full of personality. Every day I'm with her she makes me laugh. Nick and I got to introduce her to the cows a few weeks ago.  We had a blast introducing her to Ladybug, and had so much fun seeing her reaction to the cows up close and personal.  She loved them, and the Big Wheels Gator, and the tractor! I absolutely love being an aunt!

Since I'm home all the time I've been able to help out my Grandma run errands and clean house. She's been so great to us, and it's nice to be able to help her now too. I was reminded this week of a time I was making pie when I was younger. Admittedly I wasn't much of a cook for the first 25 years of my life. Grandma came in and saw me making pie crust. She asked if my sister had helped me. I was insulted at the time but now it makes me laugh. I'm thankful for fun memories.

My mother in law was the feature quilter at a local show this weekend. It was awesome getting to help her set up and see all her gorgeous work. I types some information for her display and learned a lot in the process. When we took the display down today she sent my favorite quilt home with me. It's extra special for me because I helped her lay it out. She has knee surgery so I spread the blocks out on the living room floor and figured our the best layout. Right now the quilt is spread on the guest bed until I can con my dad into making me a quilt rack for this one and the other two she's made us.

Speaking of, Dad finished my pie safe refinishing. It's awesome!!  I don't have two cabinets side-by-side in my dining room...well I did for a couple of weeks, but not anymore.  Emptying the hutch, moving it, and then re-loading it was the first project I tackled when school ended.  The hutch got relocated to the living room, and the pie safe is in the dining room.  Nick still won't admit that it was a good investment, but he's not complaining about not having to go to the office for my crock pot every time I need it anymore, so I think it's been accepted.

Random Thoughts of a Saturday Morning

It's Saturday, and it's icy outside.  Not so icy that it's debilitating but definitely icy enough that I sweet-talked my husband into going out and putting another ear of corn on the squirrel feeder rather than doing it myself.  The poor little squirrel was nosing around an empty feeder...I couldn't take it.  It's icy enough that I don't really feel the need to get out and go to the store until later this afternoon when it thaws.  And it's icy enough that since there are no cows in active labor we're not going to the farm today.  That leaves free time.  I don't even remember what it's like to have free time!!

I've gotten laundry going, and I'll vaccum as soon as I throw the tennis ball down the hallway as many times at it takes to wear Abby out so I can pick up her toys (yes, we are talking about the dog and yes she has that many toys).  I could do homework but with 2 weeks of class left I'm over my Masters program and don't feel the need to be a good student and manage my time well.  What a great example that is for my high school'ers. 

I was working on my grocery list and thinking of all the things that sounded good.  Most of those things involved fresh vegetables that I would usually go get at the local Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, or from my Mom's garden, or even the orchard on the way to the nearest Meijer.  Then I thought of my poor little flowers that are so confused and starting to peek through the mulch at the front of the house.  It's still not time for them, but seeing them makes me wish it were.  Although if this weather southern Indiana is having this January tricks my Hyacinths then kills them, I'm going to be ticked.

Maybe they'll have pots of Hyacinths at Meijer to hold me over until spring....

Time Flies

Wow, has it been a long time since I've posted anything. My life is so interesting I'm sure you've all been on pins and needles wondering what has happened (note the sarcasm).  Since I shared with you my fantastic pie-safe find, I can report that it's still sitting in the barn workshop belonging to my dad.  Slight progress has been made...enough for me to get a teaser of what it will look liked stained, and I'm REALLY anxious for it to be done now.

Nick and I hosted Thanksgiving for my Dad's side of the family on Thanksgiving, and then for Nick's immediate family 2 days later, which was a ton of work, but well worth it.  Then Nick's Mom had colon surgery the Monday after.  So I spent our 2nd wedding anniversary in the hospital keeping my father-in-law company.  She had some kidney complications, which led to a brief ICU stay, and she was home by the following Tuesday evening.  The problem was she took a ride home on the crazy train and was back in the hospital on Sunday morning after Nick and his brother put their feet down and took her back.  So after another week she was finally on the mend and is doing well now, but the first 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are literally a blur of hospital trips and going back and forth to the farm to take care of the cattle.

We did manage to squeeze in a photo shoot for our holiday picture, after only rescheduling once....

Christmas break has been slightly less busy and much more enjoyable.  Now we're moving into calving time on the farm, which is my absolute favorite time on the farm.  One of our show girls has calved, and I'm totally in love with the little squirt already.  She's rotten and has a ton of personality...just my type of cow.  My other two pets managed to escape yesterday and were VERY proud of themselves.

And finally, I will be finished with my Masters work in 1 month.  I'm hoping I can fight through the senioritis long enough to get through this final class.  Wish me luck!!

Blessings to you all at the start of this new year!

New Project!!!

This is the pie safe I bought at an auction today...

It's a little rougher than the photo shows, but I think it will be fabulous when it's restored.  It's painted right now, but I think it's maple underneath.  Right now it's in my Dad's workshop at my parents house because my hubs has our garage filled with his woodworking stuff, so there's not room for it, and he doesn't have time to work on it.  My dad will...after Mom's new bathroom vanity is done.  It needs some slight repair work, and the paint has to go.  It might have to be repainted if the wood can't be refinished, but it won't be a creamy orange color if it does.  Plus, the tin insets in the doors are awesome and need the paint cleaned off.  Plus it's a great practice piece for refinishing my dining room table! 

Wordless Wednesday: Scenes from Shaker Village

And a shot or two of the fireworks that were on rain delay from July 4th.

What Do Cows Do On Saturdays?

 They go hang out in the woods...

 They lie around....

 They say hello to their people friends...

 They pretend they are giraffes and eat leaves....

 They walk the wrong way....

 They show off their backsides....

 They play hide-and-seek...

 They think about eating paper....

 Then they try to eat paper....

 They strike a pose... (some of you might recognize Maya from our Christmas Card picture a couple years ago.  If not, I posted it below.  Maya's the one with the fake antlers on her head.  She likes to think she's famous)

And Laila stands around and requests back scratches...

It's not easy being a cow!