The Second Annual Birthday Party

What's that all about, you ask?   Whose second annual birthday party?    As it turns out, eight of my quilting buddies have birthdays that loosely fall within 6 weeks of each other, give or take a few days, between May and July.   And my "half-birthday" is June 23rd.   Listen folks, when your birthday is December 23rd as mine is, it kinda gets lost in the shuffle of Christmas celebrations.   So, I decided to celebrate my birthday along with my summer birthday friends.

Well, yesterday was our designated birthday celebration.   Last year was the first time we did this and it was such fun we knew we had to repeat it again this year.....only it was expanded by 3 more friends!   We decided ahead of time on a menu and everyone brought their signature dish to add to the meal.   That sure made it easy for me as we hosted the party here on the farm.  

 We each brought one gift and shuffled the presents around the table and then opened up our present from an unknown giver.  Here's Kathy getting ready to "shuffle" her present to the right.

 It was fun to see what everyone received in their pretty bag or wrapped box.   And of course all the presents were quilt related goodies.

 And you know that we ate really well.   To top off our meal, Linda brought a cake her daughter had baked in our honor, complete with sides iced with a flying geese quilt motif.   Yum, not only was it pretty to look at but it was yummy to boot.

See what I mean?

Cheers, ladies.   We wish you all a happy and healthy year ahead.   Valerie, we missed you and hope to see you at next year's party.

The birthday girls got to take home cookies that Linda's daughter baked especially for us with a beautiful quilt design in icing on each one.   Pretty friends above, Linda and Eileen, waiting patiently for us to cut into the cake.

Then, after the ladies left, Joel and I jumped into the Polaris and rode down to the chicken coop to check in on the newly hatched baby chicks.   We opened the large door to the coop and waited and watched to see if we could catch a glimpse of the newest members of our flock.

The hen in the nest on the left has been sitting on eggs for 21 days now.....the right amount of time for chicks to hatch.   Two days ago 2 baby chicks were "peep-peep-peeping" and walking around her on wobbly legs.   But the hen wouldn't budge off the nest to take care of them until all her other eggs were hatched.   Wouldn't you know it but the hen on the right adopted the chicks and Joel saw her proudly strutting around the coop with the chicks trying to keep up with her.

 The adoptive mama is keeping her chicks nice and warm and safe from enemies(A.K.A. Farmer Joel who tried to see if she was sitting on eggs).    Check out the photo below to see one of the chicks taking a look around from in between mama's wing feathers.

 Isn't that just the cutest thing?   Sigh, we love watching all of God's creation doing it's "thing" without us lifting one little finger.  Isn't new life amazing?

Add two more to our animal count,
Deb

Ready for the 4th

It's hard for me to believe but June is almost gone and the 4th of July is right around the corner.   Before we know it we will be saying goodbye to summer and waiting for the leaves to turn yellow and red.   Oh, come on.   I'm not trying to give summer the bum's rush, really I'm not.  But the older I get the more time seems to speed along.  Haven't you found that to be so, too?

Well, maybe not.  I did find myself getting in the patriotic spirit of things a day ago as I pulled out some red, white and blue fabrics from the shelves in my studio and started playing around with them.  And here is what I made:

 I had just enough of the blue fabric with stars on it to eek out 2 "mug rugs".   Yup, that's the current term for a simple, 'ole drink coaster.  It was kinda fun to sew some up to give my table a little festive lift.  And my computer desk stays a lot drier now since I put the mug rug under my icy cold glass of water.  We will have no drips near the new computer, thank you.

 The mug rug was so much fun that I decided to make a patriotic pillow for out on the rocking chair porch.   The back of the pillow is simply done "envelope style" so the pillow insert can be removed and another cover put on once all the summer patriotic holidays are behind us.   That got me to thinking.......why not make a different pillow cover for the different seasons?    If I use the same pillow insert, then I can simply store the out of season pillow covers flat.....now that will take up a lot less space, right?   And here in our itty bitty farmhouse I am careful to avoid taking up precious storage space for frivolities.

So, now I am working on a fall, winter and spring cover for the same rectangular pillow form.   Geesh!   You'd think I have nothing better to do with my time than to invent new projects.....giggle.   But this was just so much fun and I love that making the pillow and mug rug provided some much needed instant gratification.   Ah, yes, I am so easily entertained.

Hey, give me a break here.   After all the massive projects Joel and I tackled this past 2 months it was fun to create something out of nothing and have an actual finished project in under an hour instead of weeks of working to achieve one goal.   Now you have a view into the life of someone with a short attention span.  Ha!

Now what I really should be doing is working in my garden.   Ah-hem.   Yes, there are a lot of weeds to be pulled and the strawberry bed is overflowing with runners.   But, it's too hot to work outside, isn't it?   And I miss sewing......   But I digress.    What you are looking at here is something to behold.   Just over 2 years ago after arriving on our farm, we planted several thornless varieties of blackberry bushes.   They didn't produce much last year and I was ever hopeful we might get some berries this season.

Well, let me tell you, they have gone crazy this year.   And today Joel and I went into the garden and picked our first berries and ate them on the spot.   Oh, yum!   This is how big some of them are.....I mean, seriously, this thing is gigantic.   It's a whole mouthful!   Tomorrow morning I plan on going out there at first light before the sun gets up off the horizon and starts heating up the day.  

Yup, gonna pick me some berries.
Debbie

A "Fantastic" Farm Day Picnic

No, I'm not gloating.  The name of our quilt guild is The Fan-Tastic's.   And so, when it came time to name the picnic this year I dubbed it a Fantastic Farm Day Picnic.   On Friday we had over 70 women find their way to the farm to come to the annual picnic.   This was the first large outing we hosted here in Tennessee and while it was a bit of work to get ready for the event, Joel and I both really had a blast watching the ladies wander our land and take in the beauty that we get to enjoy every day.

 So, who do we have here, you ask?   Well,  it just so happens that a few days before the picnic I got an email from Karen, my cousin from PA that I haven't seen in over 40 years.   She and her husband, Les, were going to be vacationing at Mammoth Cave in KY and wondered how far away our farm was from Mammoth.   You guessed it, after they left Mammoth they arrived here right in the middle of a crazy busy week.  Not that we cared....I just felt bad that we didn't have a lot of extra time to spend with them.  At least we had overnight to visit and catch up on our lives.

 Then it was back to work.  Here's the crew taking a break for some much needed lunch.   When Lynne and Barb P. approached me about the possibility of having the picnic on our farm, I asked Joel if he would mind and we both easily decided it would be fun.   Then I corralled Barb D. into helping as well.  The day before the picnic Barb P.'s husband, Jerry, pitched in (as well as Lynne's hubby, Jim) and helped to load the 14 tables from the church into our trailer and unload them again here.   Jerry was great at figuring out how to lay out the tables and squeeze 80 women onto the covered portion of the pavilion.   Thanks, guys!

Early Friday morning Lynne, Barb and Barb showed up, ready to put it all together.   It sure helped that we had prepped a great deal before the actual event.   A few days earlier we got together and wrapped the Ball jars that had handles with a strip of burlap and red & white gingham.   Lynne brought cute sewing themed pins to attach to each jar and both the jar and pins were favors for all the women.   Plus, they used the jars to drink from during the picnic.   We hope they liked them as we thought we were quite clever to think of something farm-y as a favor.   giggle......hey, I told you we had fun doing this!

 Here is the pavilion all set up for everyone's arrival.   The one table in the foreground was askew while we waited for the hanging planter to stop dripping water.  Oops!   I had watered the plants earlier and forgot how long they drip.  We put a mug at each place setting with a cute red & white straw in each one.   And there were red & white daisies in large Ball jars as centerpieces on the tables.  I wish I had taken the time to take a few more pics of the different areas we set up but I was kinda running around making sure everything was ready before 9:30 when the first guests arrived.

Off to the right you can see the round table set up just outside the pavilion.   It had a chalkboard welcome sign standing on it with a box that contained napkin wrapped plastic ware.  On the box was a label that read "Shovels, pitchforks and scythes".   Bah-ha-ha-ha!   Come on, you know that was funny.  There was also a metal shepherds' crook hanger....you know, like the kind you hang a plant from.  Instead, I hung a bucket filled with bug spray and sunscreen for the ladies to use.

 Joel directed traffic along with Barb D. and after the ladies parked up and down our lane they began to wander around the farm.   Pretty soon we had a mob in the studio while the girls asked questions about the building.   Yes, I was reminded once again what a lucky girl I am to have such a fabulous space to play in.

 And here we have 2 friends admiring the quilts we had hung on the line.   Just how many different ways can you bring a quilt theme into a farm picnic?   You'd be surprised!

 I snuck away at one point to take a pic of just a portion of the cars parked along our lane.   What a great turnout we had!   All in all we had over 70 women show up.

 Lynne had brought a microphone and equipment to use so the ladies could hear us talk about what we had in store for them during their stay on the farm.   I was surprised when they handed the microphone over to me and asked me to tell about how we came to be on this land and explain what the ladies would be doing after we ate.  And then it was time for the food.....and everyone lined up to begin sampling all the goodies brought by the group.

Here is our president, Stephanie, chatting with Joel while they watched the goings on in the shade of the pavilion.   Joel and I were totally shocked when Stephanie presented us with a gift card with thanks from the guild for hosting the picnic.   That was so unnecessary, but we appreciated it very much.

The week before the picnic I sewed an apron for each of the four of us girls using tea towels that said "Everything is better in a mason jar".   I added some chicken fabric for the lower ruffle, and chicken wire fabric for the waistband.   A little bit of frayed red and white striped fabric became the pocket and ta-da!   Farm-y aprons!  Here is my sweet friend, Barb D. taking a much deserved break to eat some yummy dessert.

And speaking of Barb......chuckle....she took the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and changed it around a bit to read "Joel and Debbie had a farm".   Well, you know what happened next, don't you?   She wrote up the song to include all the animals and their sounds we have on our farm and printed copies of the song and led the girls in singing every single round to the familiar tune.   We really got a chuckle out of hearing 70 plus women singing about our farm animals.   

Here is Barb P. singing along with the others.    What a great day we had!  After the meal the ladies wandered around the farm using the maps of the farm I had printed out the night before the picnic.   It was a treat for Joel and I to watch as small groups of women wandered up to the chicken coop(Nancy Stewart came away with a shirt full of freshly laid eggs.....grinning from ear to ear as she showed them to me), and over to see the Civil War soldier grave, and down to the barn to check on the animals.   

We even had croquet and badminton set up in the front yard.   Although, I am not sure if anyone played out there because it was getting warmer and warmer with each passing hour.  As the party was winding down I spied Nancy and Nance relaxing on the swing that looks out over the pasture and ran over to take a quick pic of them.

All in all, I believe everyone had a good time.   We had lots of ladies tell us they would like to come back and do this all again next year.    Hmmmm, I think we can make that happen.   Thanks, girls, for your kind words of praise and admiration.   We were totally humbled by your accolades.   And a huge thank you to Lynne, Barb and Barb.   The picnic was a success because of all your hard work and "Fantastic" (I just couldn't help myself!) ideas.

Taking a week to unwind now,

Farmer Joel and Farm Chick Debbie

Pavilion Renovation

Seems there is always something on the farm that needs a bit of TLC.   This summer the pavilion moved way up on the list because the quilt guild I belong to had asked if we would host the annual picnic at our farm.   And the best place to seat a large group of women is under the pavilion.   So, let the clean up begin.   And begin it did in earnest 2 weeks ago.

Don't ask me why we waited until 2 weeks ago to do this huge task.    I blame half of it on Joel being a perpetual procrastinator and half of it on being so busy bringing Buttercup into our lives.   At any rate, we dug into the painting and cleaning with gusto.    Especially since we were expecting 80 women to come to the picnic!

One of the first things we had to address was the wear and tear on the paint job of the main structural posts of the pavilion.    We washed both the house and the pavilion with a wonderful "spray on and rinse off" product from Lowe's which removed any green mold on the siding, let everything dry for a day and then we were ready to paint.   A few of the posts had to be scraped to remove the old chipped paint, but for the most part I just spent 3 days painting everything in sight.....

.....including the giant swings and bell post.

In the pavilion there is a wall which has a door leading to a bathroom and another double door which leads into a sort of kitchen area.   For some strange reason the squirrels found that wall enticing.  Even before we moved to the farm the grey squirrels were chewing on the trim boards on the lower portion of the pavilion wall and the bathroom door trim.   How very weird!   And what a mess.   The best solution was to remove the door and all the trim going into the bathroom and start fresh.   And that's what we did.    What a difference it made once the new trim was painted and put up.

But first, let me show you how truly ugly and icky the bathroom was.   Yes, it was bug heaven in there with dead critters lying about and spider webs attached to everything.   We had been storing an extra table in there and I was happy to retrieve it from the buggy spot it was in and give it a good cleaning.   Unfortunately, because there is no heat or A/C in there, mildew had strewn itself all over the walls.   We scrubbed the ceiling and then the walls with a mild bleach solution and the walls came back to life.   Now all they needed was a fresh coat of paint.

 Out came the non-working blinds, utility sink, mirror and shelving.

Looks pretty bad, doesn't it?   Yuk.   I was kinda grossed out by it all but we kept plugging away knowing we were only a day or two away from something a bit cleaner and prettier.

We used our extra oak table as a very convenient work station.   At least having this table to work off of saved our backs from picking tools up off the floor for the week we spent working outside.

All in all I spent 3 days painting trim pieces, over and over so each piece had at least 2 coats of paint on them before we installed them.

We've painted so much of the farm since moving here that I have a pretty hefty stockpile of paint buckets in storage.  The lid of each paint can  is marked with a Sharpie pen in large letters which room or outdoor structure that particular paint belongs to, which makes it so easy when I go in to pick up a can to do touch ups.   We had enough left over paint from doing the outside of the studio breezeway that I could paint this main wall tan to match the other outbuildings.   I even had enough leftover paint to do the entire bathroom and the floor.

Joel came down to the pavilion after I put up these galvanized letters and looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. He asked me what "WOF" meant......duh.....Whispering Oaks Farm!   We both giggled....not so sure the letters will stay up there but for now they're there.

This is the finished product!   The floor is freshly painted with porch paint and I pulled a few rustic items from my stash of decorating goodies up at the house to complete the look of an outside farm-y bathroom.

 I used some burlap and fabric from the sewing room to make cute little cafe curtains and hung a boxwood wreath above it.....just because it brought a touch of life to the room.

 I pulled this table off of our screened in porch and put it to work holding extra toilet paper and a retro fan to aid in air circulation.

 During the winter we found this cabinet and sink on sale at Lowe's and snapped it up knowing we were going to be doing this remodel this summer.   The narrow profile worked perfectly in our small space.

 In case you can't read it very well, the sign above the sink says, "Put on a little lipstick, you'll be fine".   I love it!  Just a little sass from me to those using the facilities.

And so, just in time for the picnic, we finished yet another remodeling project.   Whew!   Chalk that one off our list.
Debbie

Traditional Anniversary Presents

Remember when your first wedding anniversary rolled around?  Yes, way back when.   Anyway, remember wondering what your husband might buy you to celebrate that momentous occasion?    According to Hallmark, the contemporary gift for your first anniversary is clocks.   And china for the second one and on and on it goes.   For the thirtieth it's diamonds.   Ooooooooo......

Well, this is what we bought together to celebrate our 30th anniversary, which is today, June 1st.  

Isn's she adorable?   Her name is Buttercup and she is a mid-mini Jersey cow.   She is 5 months old and we plan to breed her late next summer.   After she has a calf we can milk her and have our own dairy products right here on our farm.   How.   Very.   Exciting.

 This past Saturday we drove to the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky to a beautiful farm owned by a veterinarian.   She breeds these little guys and when we pulled up to her farm there were several dozen small Jersey cows happily munching their way thru a huge pasture.   After some instruction from her farm hand we loaded Buttercup up in our animal trailer and started the 4-1/2 hour drive home.  We were anxious to get home before dark so we would have time to get Buttercup settled in the barn while we still had some daylight to work with.

The alpacas all lined up to see who was taking up residence in "their" side of the barn.   Eventually we will pasture the cow with our girls, but for now we are keeping Buttercup in the barn.  Now you can understand why we have been creating more pasture out in the front of the farm.  We are working toward the goal of doing rotational grazing with our animals.   Um, yea, I'll explain that in another post later.

It only took a moment of coaxing to get her to step out of the trailer and into the barn.   And before we knew it she was eating her dinner and snuggling down on her fresh bed of straw.  Hey, it's hard work for a baby getting trailered for half a day!

I get so tickled every time I go down to the barn to work with her.   She is still not too happy about being led around with a lead, but is getting more used to it every day.  I love working with our animals and this one is no exception.   I wish you could see her long eyelashes up close.   She is just too stinking cute!

And why a mid-mini cow you ask?   I'll explain why.   If we owned 50 acres and had tons of pasture we would probably have a full sized Jersey cow.   But a full sized cow eats a lot of grass, and in winter when there is no grass you have to provide hay.   Hay costs money unless you have tons of acreage to grow your own.   And we don't.   So, a mid-mini eats a lot less pasture, of which we have a finite amount.   A second reason for a smaller cow is milk production.  

Yes, I did take a class on making cheese and plan to do that eventually.   And yes, I have been buying raw milk from a local farmer and making our own butter.    There are so many other foods we plan on making once our cow is producing milk.   But if we had a full sized cow, she might give us upwards of 3-4 gallons of milk a day.  Yikes!    I don't want to make that much cheese.   But our sweet little Buttercup will more than likely only produce 1-1/2 gallons a day.  

Now I know that sounds like a crazy amount of milk, but not when you break it down like this.    It will probably take 2 days worth of milk to make our weeks ration of butter.   And I plan to freeze what we don't use weekly because eventually her milk will dry up and there will be no more butter until we breed her again.   And then there is the cheese I want to make, and the yogurt and let's not forget sour cream and whipped heavy cream that rises to the top of the jar for my cappuccino every morning.   Yes, there are so many ways to use the milk.

And so, we bought ourselves a cow.   For our anniversary.   Doesn't everyone?
Looking forward to the next 30!
Debbie & Joel