Country Register Cover- yay!

I made this little guy while messing around in the studio this week, I've also been trying to finish up the million projects I have going right now. I am still trying to focus and stop allowing myself to be so distracted, but still having trouble... Still trying to get used to not having my oldest here with me every day; the fact that her phone calls from college get fewer and fewer tell me that she is settling in and adjusting- I just wonder when I will be able to do the same here at home!


So here is a little bit of good news- one of my designs is featured on the current issue of the New Jersey/Delaware Country Register! I have worked with the publisher, Merle Taylor, in the past, such a nice man. So anyway, there is a little write up in there about me, and the design on the cover is my "Happy Harvest" wall hanging and pillow pattern, which is available on my website. The Country Register features charming local shops, recipes, and articles, so if you happen to be in a gift or quilt shop in NJ or Delaware, make sure you pick up a copy! (The Country Register is also available across the U.S.)


Let's also remember to pray for the folks down south, Hurricane Gustav is roaring in, and so many have still not even recovered from Katrina, 3 whole years ago. I think I mentioned before that my husband and I were living in St. Croix when Hugo came through, and it was a terrifying experience (I still can't sleep on very windy nights.) It's so easy to get caught up in our own lives and not consider what others might be going through, but prayer is mighty and powerful and something we all can do.

Trip to Lancaster

My youngest daughter and I made a trip to Lancaster PA for a girls' day out. Our "excuse" for going was to find fabric to make curtains for Sam's dorm room. We were happy to find this, it's brown so it's neutral and will match Sam's and her room mate's stuff, but still kind of funky and contemporary. It's from the Pumpkins Gone Wild! Collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda. We emailed her the pictures and she loved it, so I will be making the curtains this week.

On the way up to Lancaster (about 1 1/4 hrs for us), we took some backroads, saw some beautiful scenery and got some nice photos. (The GPS and I have a real love/hate relationship, luckily yesterday we liked each other.)

Miniature pony allowed me to take some pictures....

Mama and 2 calves...

Wouldn't you love to live here...

So peaceful and quiet....

For some reason, I have always been in love with old rusty red pickup trucks (please don't tell my husband....)

Growing Pains

I haven't written anything in awhile because, well, frankly, I really didn't feel like it. Things have been pretty emotional around here. We dropped Sam, our oldest, off at college on Saturday. She has a great dorm room and nice room mate. We know that she will do fine and have a wonderful time. But, there is of course, an adjustment to be made, and there have been tears on both sides. I cried for the first 2 days, and last night she called us in tears, feeling kind of lonely. I'm sure there are plenty of those calls being made this week, from campuses in every corner of the country. But she is such a great kid, so vibrant and alive, I have assured her that once she settles in and meets more people, she will have plenty of friends. And I mean it- I should know, because she is one of my very best friends....... (sigh, tears). I am glad that she feels she can call home when she is feeling down, I am excited for her on this new journey and hope I can encourage and comfort her (as only a mom can do). I look forward to the day when technology will allow us to give a real *hug* over the phone.

I think one of the reasons that I so dreaded her going away and miss her so much now is that she is so awesome that I honestly don't want to share her with the world- I want to keep her all to myself! But that wouldn't be fair to the world- she is such a light and has so much to give.

So now I guess I should stop going on and on....

So anyway, I got a couple of new books for my birthday a week or so ago that I know you will all enjoy. In fact, one was printed in 2005, and I just can't believe that I am just now discovering this "new" author- in fact, she has several books out now, a magazine, a store, a food company, is an environmental enthusiast and activist, and most importantly, she is a Farmgirl Extraordinaire (well, she calls herself a farmgirl, I added in the Extraordinaire part, you'll see why). Her name is MaryJane Butters, maybe many (or most) of you have already heard of her. She seems to be part Superwoman, part Caroline Ingalls, maybe a little Susan B. Anthony with a pinch of Opray Winfrey. And by the way- that is her on the cover- so in addition to everything else, she's pretty, too- so not fair! I got her first book, MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook (subtitled - for the farmgirl in all of us), along with another, MaryJane's Outpost (subtitle - unleashing your inner wild). The first is about 400 pages long, and get this- she did most of the photography herself! So, I am pretty sure that this lady just never sleeps. Whenever I find myself plopped in front of the TV or just hangin' out doin' nothin', I tell my husband, "I bet MaryJane never just sits around on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon!" And actually, I did read that she doesn't watch TV, so that tells ya somethin'. (For some reason, I had an urge to drop my g's, I'm not sure if this makes me more of a farmgirl or not). Talkin' about this makes me want to go shovel some manure and make some excellent biscuits (maybe not in that order...)

Lana's Giveaway

Hey everybody, head on over to lovely Lana's blog Honeysuckle Lane, she is doing a giveaway, and I'm sure it will be wonderful! Visiting her blog is always a treat, she is such a talented artist and has so many beautiful photos....

My 13 year old daughter made me this cake for my birthday on Saturday. She spent all day Friday on it, made the fondant herself and decorated it beautifully. It was delicious. The family was so kind as not to put all 42 candles on it...

Broken Heart

This week I am making leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. Trying to get a head start on the pins I need to make for some shows coming up in the spring. Don't be impressed by my seemingly incredible time management skills- really it's just that I am having a hard time focusing and being creative lately, and so I figure I might as well just do some mindless hand sewing and at least get something done. I feel so darned unproductive lately.

My daughter leaves for college on the 23rd. I am trying my best to just not think about it, I have pretty successfully just pushed it out of my mind. Denial is a beautiful thing, folks. I think I will probably wait to have my mental breakdown after she leaves, so she doesn't have to see it. Adjusting to being away from home for the first time is enough for her, I don't want her to worry about me. Does anyone have any advice for me, because honestly, I feel like my world is about to fall apart, and there's nothing I can do about it. I am happy for her, I know she is ready to fly. I know that I've done my job in raising her well, and now the next part of my job is letting her go. I am trying to focus on the positive, that it means more time for me to spend with my younger daughter (who I am sure has sometimes felt she was in her older sister's shadow), and there will be more time to devote to my work. But it's still so, so hard.

Last week, I met up with the mom of one of my daughter's childhood friends, we hadn't seen each other for years. Her daughter left for college today. She said she felt she had been mourning this day for the last 2 years. Yes, she understands it, and I don't feel so alone in my sadness. And yet, loneliness is something I fear a lot. I worry more about me than my daughter. I know she'll be fine. Me, I'm not so sure about....

Nature's Beauty: The Whisper of God

Let us be silent, that we might hear the whisper of God. Emerson

A few more photos from the garden.... It is such a feast for the eyes at this time of year, sometimes the beauty almost overwhelms me.... I often pray as I walk in the morning, but seeing the sun come up over fields of soybean and rye, and hearing the birds sing their song, and smelling the cool fresh moist air... sometimes all I can say is "thank you".... It is the simplest prayer... and often all that needs to be said...

Crape Myrtle nearing the end of its bloom...

One small branch on the dogwood is showing color; probably due to an injury to the tree, since it's much too early for autumn color, but it is brilliant, just the same. Even the ruffled edge of a leaf, caused by the nibbling of a bug, is captivating....

Be still, and know that I am God,

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

What's Going on in the Garden

Here's a look at what's going on around the garden and yard here. I actually didn't plant that much, the morning glories, pumpkins, gourds, and many of our tomatoes are all coming up from seeds dropped in gardens and beds and compost pile last year.

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on butterfly bush.

We have so much pokeweed, or as it's sometimes called Joe Pye or inkberry, coming up around the yard, I once seriously considered naming our place "Pokeweed Farm". There it is, springing up around the old bathtub.

Mexican Sage and 4 O'clocks taking over in front of the barn.

Stormy Sunday

Sunday morning, the light was really neat so I took a bunch of pictures around the yard and garden, figuring I'd post them on Sunday afternoon. Above are some morning glories I shot, before all of the mayhem started...

Some really serious storms started up around 10:30 am, and continued off and on all day. The ground was covered with hail which made it look like it was snowing in August- weird. Our power went out at 2:30 in the afternoon, came back on at 10 pm, and then went out again at 12:30 in the morning. When I called the electric company at about 8 am Monday morning (for about the 8th time- yes I'm one of those people, but hey the squeaky wheel gets the grease- sometimes), they told me that the electric would be back on at 11:00 am.......... TUESDAY. Let me just add that all of my neighbors on my street had their power back on at 4:30 Sunday afternoon, we are the only ones on a separate line, so as I sat in the dark, I saw all of my neighbors with just about every possible indoor and outdoor light on, just sucking up all the electric they could, they were probably watching TV and surfing the web and making margaritas in their blenders.... but I'm not bitter....... However, I digress.... So Monday morning after learning that I had another 27 hours to go without power, I packed up everything I could from my fridge and freezer, took it to store at my in-laws, and did what any self-reliant, independent pioneer woman would do, and went to the mall.

I got back home at about 3 and saw an electric truck driving down the street. Unable to flag him down from my yard (I'm sure I looked like an idiot) I jumped in my car and tracked him down. Long story short, we managed to get power back at 3:30 on Monday, only 25 hours after it first went out. I'm so glad I didn't have to wait until today.... One time a few years ago we were out for 4 days.

So anywayyyyyyyyy........ Later this week I'll post the pretty pictures that I had intended on posting on Sunday. Here is a kind of photo-chronicle of that day.

Ominous skies before it all began, as viewed from our back yard.

In between storms, we spotted 2 hawks in the backyard.

A double rainbow after it was all over.

Hope for the Midwest

Hubby is coming home today, he left last Sunday. He has been away to Iowa, helping flood victims clean out their ruined homes since last spring's devastating floods. In the past couple of years, he has also made 2 trips down to New Orleans to help the hurricaine victims there. Unless you have lived through this kind of disaster, you really can't understand the shock and depression that victims suffer. My husband and I were living in St. Croix, USVI in 1989 when Hurricaine Hugo came through. While our house suffered little damage because it happened to be sheltered by a small hill, our neighbors directly across the street and behind us were left with nothing but a concrete slab where their homes used to be. Pictures cannot describe the devastation in these areas, it is something that has to be seen to be believed.

The organization that organizes these trips is Samaritan's Purse. This video shows the work that they do, and how much is still left to do. It really chokes me up, because the recipients are so grateful, most of them never expect this kind of help and kindness, it is literally an answer to prayer for them. This is Faith in Action, showing the love of Christ by loving our neighbors. Please pray for the flood victims and the volunteers and organizations striving to help. You can contact Samaritan's Purse to volunteer, make a donation, and see the kind of work they do all over the world.




On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:25-37