"Brrrrrrr" is coming !

I've battened down the hatches around here for winter.  At least my part of the hatches.  Think I'm done in the yard.  Finished the big lily transplant project!  TA-DA!  Wendell made a bottle tree for me at the corner of the old garden (which is no more).  And I saved one row as sort of a lily flower bed.  Dug and divided and dug and divided some more (lilies) and hopefully next summer they'll be lookin' good.  I know I like the bottle tree part of this new "bed" at least. 

Wendell carved the best jack-o-lantern this year ... had to share.  I trust everyone enjoyed a spooky Halloween.  I had one friend tell me that even though it was cold and rainy, they had over 180 kids at their door!  Wow!

Boooo!

Had some ladies of the church over for lunch recently and here's the lovely flowers they brought.  Just had to share with you.  We had such a good day!  I made wild rice soup and we had wrap sandwiches.  And my chocolate mint cake for dessert.  We planned the fall harvest dinner and talked about future plans for the "kitchen committee".  It happened to be a great day, weather wise, and it was nice to be able to look out at the beautiful leaves in sunshine as we were eating!  [Now it is just gloomy and rainy again.  I understand why some people get depressed in the fall ...]

It's really been a pretty quiet time around here for both of us lately.  We're getting ready for winter.  I spent one day just putting yard decor in the garden shed, emptying my potting bench, etc.  (Of course I had to sweep and clean out the shed before I could do that ... sigh!).  We put up the bird feeder and I guess we need to clean up the bird bath soon and turn it upside down.  Inside I've had time to hook on the Guild's raffle rug and weave another rug on the loom.  Also getting lots of pieces cut and prepared to take with me this winter to Texas; I'm going to take the Featherweight and try to finish a quilt top.  Working on a penny rug style tabletop mat, too. 

Couple weeks ago we went to Ferdinand to a corn shredding and here's some pictures from that day.  It was moved from a field on the outskirts of town into town (because of the wet ground) but it still was an interesting event.  While we were in town we visited an antique mall, and I took a quick run through the gift shop at the monastery.  I love southern Indiana in the fall!  Just the drive was worth the trip.  Here's some pix from the Ferdinand corn shredding ...

The steam engine in action!  They're just starting to throw bundles of wheat into the thrasher.  (Wagon of firewood in the foreground.)

Corn shocker.

Wendell's watching the corn sheller operated by one horse power.

The fellow obscured by the steam had this small sorghum operation going.  The squeezer is on the right; ran by a tractor with the belt.  That's the cane on the ground in front.  He's cooking the juice squeezed from the cane in the shallow pan.  His firewood for the cooker is behind him (and the photographer).  Then his wife was selling the finished product in the tent at left.  He had quite an audience.

Thrashing the wheat.

This is a belt-driven rock crusher.  Wendell said he'd never seen one in action before.

I just loved all the wheels on this shredder.  There's just something beautiful about it.

Well, that's my life recently.  Have a blessed November.   And remember, God is good.  All the time.

Just another day ...

My quote for the day is a good one for me today.

So what's up in my life?  Been pretty busy.  Time to clean up in the yard so I spent three days last week and painted the garden shed.  It really needed it!  Actually a second coat was probably called for but I couldn't see doing that for another three days ... LOL!

Here's the shed after painting ... wish it were sunny & nice like this today.

Also am working off and on on a project of moving all of the day lilies from their various beds into one new one.  It would go quicker if it would stop raining.  I think they'll look better this way and most of them were way over-grown anyway.  I divided and tossed and just went crazy out there.  Still have a long way to go though ...

Finished a new hooked rug.  It's a Maggie Bonanomi design; I'm really taken with her designs just now.  Here's a picture and a close up.  I especially like the wavy border.  Now -- what next???

I've been dyeing wool also. Trying the Primitive Spirits' (Karen Kahle) Little Dusty Dye Book formulas.  This is where she uses only three colors of dye and gets all of these soft, dusty colors?  Anyway, I've dyed a dusty gold and a pale dusty rose-tan.  I really like both of them.  But this week I need to dye some reds and blues.  (So back to the basics!)  Here's a pix of the dusty rose-tan wool I dyed:

We took a day "off" last Thursday so we could both relax. (It seems like if we're here we work, especially Wendell, and he really needs some down time.) So we went back to Prairie Acres and had some forbidden chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes/gravy with (not so forbidden) tomato salad and fresh green beans.  I need to try making that tomato salad myself: it was just chopped fresh tomato, cucumber, onion, and colored bell peppers, all marinated in Italian dressing.  Very simple and yet very yummy.  They had JUST brought in a wagon load of pumpkins and just had to take a picture of them (below)!  Now, I'm one of those people who love autumn but I can understand those who dread it because things are ending and winter is coming on ... I get it.  But how can you not love pumpkins and Indian corn and colorful leaves!?

 

Well, I'll close with a few pictures I took at the Osage Farm Antiques Show near Charleston IL.  We went there on the 4th.  I'd never been and heard several of my friends talking about it, so had to see for myself what it was all about.  Just tons of beautiful primitive objects.  It was a wonderful day.  Lovely day weather-wise, too, and we had a beautiful drive through the country, too.  I was plum tuckered out and my eyes were tired when I got home!  (so much to see, so little time ... tell me about it ... it's a milestone birthday for me today ... ARGH!!!)  But it's my life.

Here's those pix ...

Well, first thing I did was head for the log cabin.  It was full of antiques, dried flowers, etc. The place was pretty crowded but I managed to shuffle through and oh and ah as I went ...

Here's what you first see when you arrive at the barn.  It was full of vendor booths with wonderful primitive antiques.  In the front portion you see here, there were artists set up with things such as pottery and jewelry.

This hooked rug was the very first thing that really caught my eye.  The little covered wagon was great, too!  I saw several old hooked rugs that day but none in very good shape ...

This wonderful blue table was sitting on the porch of the log cabin.  And there were LOTS of woven rag rugs.

Beautiful carved loon.  I saw loads of bittersweet and wondered where in the world people find it anymore.  We used to have it on our road but the power company sprayed a few years back and it's all gone ...

This old toy wood horse was great.  And it was very $$$$ !

We enjoyed the musicians who were set up just outside the back door of the barn.  While we were there they played and sang several songs from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?  Nice touch was the old truck just back of them that they supposedly arrived in (the instrument cases were in the bed) ...

Well, I'll end with this picture -- what an amazing old quilt!  Loverly!  What a day!