Is this July or May ???

I'm already tired of summer and it's not even officially here yet!  Yikes!  

Here's what I've been about recently...

Recently finished four pieces of punch needle work and used fabric glue to quickly attach three of them to these little zippered canvas bags.  I think they'll make nice gifts.

Went to Betty M.'s home in Huntingburg recently and several of us from the HHRHG made these quillie trees, Betty giving the instruction.  Such fun!  The hardest part was making the quillies themselves.  There were about 10 of us plus some who just came to visit.  Betty's home is lavishly decorated and her wool room is to die for!  I hate to hear that she will be moving from Indiana soon!  Betty, I'll miss you for sure.  My tree was finished at home but I still need a bird or something for a 'topper'.  When they were all lined up for a photo I was ashamed to be the only one not finished but I TALKED too much -- who's surprised ...  For pictures of everyone's tree, look at our Guild's blog at: hoosierhills.blogspot.com

At Project Kindness we finally finished our walker pockets for veterans.  Here's the ones for the Navy guys.  (My guy was an AF guy and we did some for that branch, too!)  We took some to Linton Nursing Home and some to Autumn Trace, also in Linton.  Decided that the women at the Linton NH needed some, too, so that's our next project, along with more meal-time cover-ups.

Here's one of three carpenter bee traps Wendell made this spring.  He's trapped a lot of them so far.  That means just a few less holes they can drill in our decks and outside stairways!  Very simple to make fix. 

Here's my new chicken and chicks!  Aren't they cute?  Got these in Ft. Davis this winter and just moved them outside last week so maybe they can take care of some of the millions of bugs around here!  LOL!   Very cute!

I saw this sign at a flea market and just like liked it ... in case you can't make it out, the line in yellow says "$3.00 to fly, $70.00 to land"  Love it!

Now, I'll close with a story about something that happened here this a.m.  ... The day started early for us and several other people.  Before 10:00 all of this happened here or within sight and sound: I went out and worked in the side yard on the flower beds, county highway dept. man meets W. below our house on the road to talk about some work that needs to be done on a culvert on the lower driveway, lawn service comes to mow the property back the lane below us, farmer John discs his field on the west side of the association driveway, farmer south across the road begins to plant, neighbor kid rides his 4-wheeler around their pond & field, neighbor George does a little mowing.  

Now I'm beginning with that description of activities to explain why the next thing to happen was so extraordinary.  After I was finished in the yard I went to the porch to sit a spell and W. joined me there, walking up from his truck which he'd just parked out by his garage (after talking to the highway dept. guy).  I had just seen a doe in the yard and she ran back into the woods when she saw him come up to the front of the house.  As we were sitting there she came back out a couple more time, acting 'funny'.  Then I said, "Look!  There's a fawn!"  Well, it was a just-born fawn.  Literally, just born.  Doe was still bloody about the tail and back legs, and the fawn could hardly walk and was just wobbling all over the place.  She was trying to get him/her SOMEWHERE where there was nothing going on!  I felt so sorry for her.  We watched quietly for about half an hour until she finally coaxed it north across our driveway into the next lot (even though George was still out -- and he has a dog).  That poor fawn bleated continually like a little lamb!  I had never heard that before and I've seen lots of fawns but never one just-born.  I was so worried about it.  It could barely walk.  And the poor mother ran here and there in a panic and must have not been feeling 100% herself!  Wendell said, 'aren't you going to try to take some pictures?' but I wanted to respect her privacy.  Is that silly?

Well, just another day in the country I guess.  See what you're missing!?   Come sit with me on the porch some time.  God is good.

100 days into this year already!

I couldn't believe it last week when I opened my daily devotion and it said "Day 100".  And now we're beyond that ...  So much has happened just since we got home.  This year is flying by!

I'm plowing along on trying to get my meds adjusted, and doing okay -- TODAY.  That's how it goes; one day good next day not so much.  But today I feel wonderful!  So I got a lot done.  Not typical for me for a Monday.  I did the sheet 'thing'; wash, dry, fold, change.  Cleaned all the floors: bathrooms, kitchen, all the rest, too, either dry mopping the hard floors or vacuuming the carpet!  Shook rugs until my arms ached.  And then to top it off I cleaned the inside of my car.  Wendell had washed it for me on Saturday so I thought the least I could do was vacuum and clean the windows, etc.  I even ArmorAll-ed the dash & trim inside.  So it looks too good right now to go anywhere on our old country roads!  LOL!  I'll eventually have to drive it I guess but for now I'll just look at it occasionally on my way to Wendell's truck to take off.

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner and it was pretty good.  I thought I deserved some fried food after doing all of that!  LOL!  I may even have dessert later!?

Okay.  Let's see what I have in my photo file ...

Oh, yes, I promised a picture of that needle punch I did for top panel of the washboard I found in TX.

It looks better 'in person'; I did such a good job of matching the background thread to the wood that it sort of dies there, doesn't it?  The needle punch is a duplication of the design that was on that area of the washboard.  It was fun!

We went to a swap meet in Elnora on the 6th and I saw this really neat booth in the barn; talked to the artist for some time and she's really a woman after my own heart.  Most of her things were made with bicycle parts.  Here's a couple pictures of her booth.  She used an old VW bus as the 'booth' itself!  Cool!

This pendant light is made from an old multi-speed bicycle sprocket (you know, what the chain goes around?)!

Another thing of hers I really liked was this helmet/light.  She said she found this green hardhat along the roadside, added some wrenches for 'feet' and made it into a night light.  Love it!

At another booth was this bear trap!  Yikes!  I've never seen a trap this big before!

Our Project Kindness sewing project is plugging along; this month Jane & I got lots done, really, along with lots of visiting and catching up.  We finished about 8 bib/aprons for Glenburn so we have about 15 more ready to deliver to those folks (to go with 18 we already took to them earlier).  Then we started on walker pockets for military veterans.  We completed three each for the Marines and Army.  Here's a picture ... we have at least a dozen more to make then we'll figure out how to distribute them locally.  If you know of a vet who needs a walker pocket let me know!

Marines at top with desert sand camo and Army in foreground.

Recently we took a day trip to Oblong (IL) and had fun (even tho it was raining off and on).  We stopped in Hutsonville for lunch -- yummy.  Then on to Palestine to check out the trading post there where I found a wonderful plant stand, and an antique jar opener to put on the garden shed.  Wendell got to visit with the owner, a guy he knows from the antique tractor association.  Then we went on west through Robinson and into Oblong on IL 33.  There are two really nice antique stores there in Oblong.  One right downtown on the southwest corner of the main intersection in an old bank building (safe included).  Then we went out to the west side, across from the school, and checked out the new shop called (originally) The Shop.  It was pretty nice, too.  Big and sort of packed so you can't have a big purse dangling or you might knock something off ...  But there I found an old seed bag that I brought home and made into a pillow that I'll use on the screened porch this summer.  
Leaving Oblong, we took a county road south right from the main intersection and went straight south; ended up at U.S. 50 and took it east through Lawrenceville and back into Indiana.  Wendell got to make a stop at Rural King in Vincennes; so it was a good day for both of us after all.  LOL!

Bayless Seeds was in business when I was growing up around Bluffton!  I couldn't believe that I found this bag in Oblong, Illinois!  Of course I had to cut the bag down to make it but I don't care ... it's special to me; I love this little pillow!  (Don't worry ... I washed it first!)

One more thing then I'll close ... I've found a new interest!  I'm making paper beads!  I've watched so many YouTube videos on this that I want to do more and more!  Yes ... paper beads.  I love it.  You have everything right now I'll bet ya!  All you need to begin (to see if you enjoy it) is an old magazine, ruler, pen, scissors, toothpicks and a glue stick.  Watch a video and try it!  See what I've been doing?!

You start with pieces of magazine cut in long, pointy strips ...

And you end up with these cute little beads!  All I have to do now is spray them with an acrylic finish coat to protect them and string them!  Yeah!  BTW, I've made TONS more since I took this picture .........  It's the ultimate recycling project.

Well, I think that's enough for now.  Don't want to put you to sleep.  Let's pray that tomorrow I'm feeling just as good as I am today.  And that I get even half as much done.  And remember, God is good.  All the time.