AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter Giveaway!!!!!

If you like to sew and quilt like I do, you need to go check out  Karen's blog "Sew Many Ways" and sign yourself up also to have a chance to win.  Be sure to sign up for the give away on her Saturday Aug. 14 blog.  ((click on her blog name above to get to her blog))

This handy dandy cutter will sure save some time - especially if I'd win!  You'll get precisely cut die cuts every time.  I don't do some types of quilts now because I don't like to cut smaller pieces.  With an AccuQuilt Cutter, I could have so many done quickly -won't that be nice.

Karen at Sew Many Ways will be doing some tutorials for us on this new AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter, so

keep checking out her blog.  Her tutorials are fantastic!

Wednesday Drive

As a kid we used to call these "hot dogs" on a stick!  Cattails grow in our area in ditches that have water.  Years ago the indians and early settlers ate the greens after peeling the top layer and also used the plant for medicinal purposes.  Not me - I just like to watch the tall grasses blow in the breeze. 

Soon these cattails will become white with the brown turning into white fluffy seeds. 

Took a drive through the woods, and it was pretty and quiet.  The different shades of green call to me. 

If the bugs weren't so bad, I'd have gone for a good walk.

Then I drove out of the woods to farm land.  Soon this stubble of straw will be plowed into the ground.  I love the color.  I think it would be awesome to fly over our area during this harvest time. 

Corn Husker Help!

This was another busy weekend with about  9 dozen ears of corn delivered early on Sunday evening.  Barry was still here from Oklahoma (guy in grey) and we had plans on going to a nearby casino on Monday.  I had kind of forgotten about corn coming, so I had help with all of us husking the corn and then moving inside and the guys shaved the corn off and I  did the rest.  The recipe I use is:  9 cups of corn, 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup sugar and it said 1 tsp of salt, and I misread it and put in 1 Tbsp of salt on most of the batches I did.  It still tasted good.  Then you bring it to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Then I put 3 cups into quart freezer bags.  I also put a butter slice into the bag before putting into the freezer.  We were done by 10 pm and after the guys went to bed, I scrubbed the kitchen floor.  Twas a little sticky!  I was so lucky to have help, or it would have taken me all night!

Yum - looks good!

Monday morning then we went to the casino.  I came home about $68.00 richer and Barry had won about $150.00.  His mom lost and so  did Phyllis.  It's been a long time since I'd been to a casino, so I enjoyed it.  The only thing was that the club card didn't work and I had to get back in line twice to get new ones.  Don't know what was wrong with it.  It just delayed me in giving away money, as I had to stand in line at least a half hour each time!

We also had birthday pie for hubby on Saturday afternoon.  His brothers and sisters were here for the all class reunion and also his cousin from Omaha, so we had another little party in our new garage!  I won't tell how old Steve is, but he's 3 years older than me!

Birthday boy had the red & black cap on.

Barry is a classmate, and came for the class reunion also.  We had our 45th reunion and had our class of  '65 doings on Friday evening and Saturday evening, and then joined the all class gathering later each evening.   Saturday night was the sit down meal planned, and Steve and I and Barry missed it because the guys were bailing straw and wanting to get it all done and in the barn before the forecasted rain came; so we missed the meal and the group picture!  Oh well - not a big deal.  We stopped at a local hamburger joint to eat before going in.  The all class gathering was at the Legion and the music was so loud you could hardly visit.  There were tornado warnings just after dark, so the croud thinned out a lot real early.  But of course we stayed til the band quit and the bar closed! 

Our class has many successful people and I bought a book at the reunion that a classmate wrote.  He was selling them from his car and I wondered what everyone thought when a whole bunch of us followed him out to his parked truck, stood around exchanging money and a package/book.  He is a retired Minneapolis policeman, and this book is a murder/mystery about agent Jack Andresen, a character based on himself.   I'm a 1/4 into the book and it's very good.  The name of it is "Painted Faces" by Paul Heeren and published by Bascom Hill Books. Paul is already working on another book. 

Having a Rooster Party with Barb

Barb at Barb's Good Life is hosting a Rooster Party with everyone posting pictures of their Rooster collections, however many you many have.   I have several, and my kitchen is full of them.  I also have a youth chair that has chicken hens and eggs painted all over it, and I also bought our granddaughter Renee a Rooster painted high chair and mailed it to them in Louisiana.  She uses it all the time, so there are pictures of her also.

This was after they got it, and the foot rest is not attached yet.  Our granddaughter tried to pick up the fried eggs when they first started using the chair!

Renee messy face from 1st Birthday Cake and sitting in her Rooster High Chair!

There is also a picture of Renee when she was 10 months old  giving us a wave on my sidebar.

The painted youth chair, and wool hooked rug chair pads for the kitchen chairs.  Each chair is a different rooster.  I've had them for years, and they just don't wear out!

Big guy on top of the frig.

Wall border above the kitchen counter has roosters and a quilt theme.  A unique nesting rooster that I never have seen another like it.  I collect nesting hens too, so was thrilled to find this rooster several years ago.

Newest addition that was found at an antique store.  Just had to have it!

Kitchen window with plates and a canvas painted rooster on the wall.  I made the valance to match the border on the wall between the counter and cabinets.

I have quite a few more Roosters and Chickens in salt and pepper sets; some we use, and the rest are sitting on top of the bread box.  Also have rooster picture frames, and even a big rooster planter outside.

So after posting these pictures, I'm on my way to check out other bloggers that are posting their collection

Have a great time, and I'm glad you stopped to visit me.  I love comments.  After leaving me a comment, click on "Barbs Good Life at Bella Vista" to check out the many others that are posting tonight and the 6th!  Thanks, Jo

A try at a New Crop

Hubby planted field peas this year to substitute for soy meal when he will be grinding feed this winter.  He has friends that use peas in with their hog feed and it works out for them, so he thought he'd give it a try.   Steve planted only about 20 acres so don't know how long it'll last for the few pigs we have, but he sure has had fun planning, planting and now son in law cut them tonight.  There sure are a lot of weeds in the field tho, so they'll have to dry up before combining the peas.  I had meant to take a picture of the pea plant earlier when they were blooming, but didn't get that done.  We sure did have the neighbors baffled and guessing what was planted.  No one else around here plants peas. 

The pea pods are very dry, and just touching them, they open and the peas fall out.  So after the weeds dry up, combining should go great - if the deer don't eat them all!

Leah rode Ace over to check out the field too.  It was such a nice evening for a ride.

You can see all the weeds that are green!  With all this good rain we've had this summer everything grew!  Now we wait a day or two for the weeds to dry up.

View of our windmill from the field. 

Then after I got back in the yard, our friend backed in with this combine.  Tomorrow (Thursday) he will be combining the oats and barley. 

End of a busy day, and this was pre-sunset.  Very pretty.

Consignment Auction!

We need to clear out stuff again for another rummage sale and I'm sure some of the stuff we have would be worth a lot more than some of the junk I saw yesterday at the monthly consignment auction near us.  I always get the itch that morning to go there and check everything out to see if there is something I absolutely will need.  Not so yesterday.  I walked around for about 45 minutes, took some pictures for you all to see, and visited with a few neighbors.  It makes me feel good about how our place looks.  Sometimes I've thought we have too much junk around, but not so anymore.  There were pallets filled with "stuff", old "stuff", and junk.  There were some man tools, and what must have been a close out of a business or two, but nothing that I couldn't live without.    

This wagon had boxes with candy in them.  This is almost the end of it.  They were stacked several boxes high.  I wonder why that was there.  Wonder what the expiration date was on them.  I wonder if some of it melted before it got sold?!?!?  I didn't stand there long enough to hear what they were going for.

A vendor brough some of these kids battery operated 4 wheelers to sell.  There had a bunch at the sale in July too.  Only bad thing - no battery; so if you don't have access to getting one that fits, your good deal isn't such a good deal!

The hand push garden plow and old trike caught my eye.  Thought about sticking around to bid on either one of them, but when I walked by later I got really mad.  Someone had monkeyed around with the trike and broke off the handle bars. Looks like it just snapped off.  It just irks me when people don't leave things alone.  But that's the chance you take when you sell at an auction like this one.

Couldn't get this rotated, but a great find if one is interested in comic books.  I called Far Guy, as I know he has some interest in them.  Don't know if he made it there to check them out.

The cut glass pitcher was cracked, but the carnival glass bowl and lid were in good condition.  Wonder what amount of money they got for that.

Oh I would really love to have this.  There were a row of cars that were going to be sold.  Have always thought I'd look cute driving around town in a little yellow bug!  Won't happen unless I get divorced and find myself a rich man!  ha! Quite a few lawn mowers, a pontoon and a couple of tractors and boats, motors on trailers.  There were two so called sale rings going on outside and also one inside.  That is where really good collectibles and furniture are sold.  It was so hot and muggy and indoors wasn't much better.  Here are a couple of pictures that interested me inside.

There was another big Long Horn Cow head next to this one.  The sellers number tag was stuck on it's nose.   How would you like to have that looking at you from your wall?  Not me.  I think they're a beatiful animal, but wouldn't like them on my wall.  I'm sure someone paid a big amount to have it preserved.

 

After checking out the auction I came home and spent the rest of the day working on the livestock youth auction paperwork from Saturday.Was busy with that until 8 pm last night.  Took today off from that and worked today on making bean bags for the bean bag game that brother in law Don makes and sells.  A wonderful start to the week.

Round Robin and Youth Auction

Amanda's pig thought he was at the races!  Got into the show ring, and ran willy-nilly!  

Then after the timer went off, Amanda moved to the next station and had to show and set up the lamb.  Throughout her livestock showing years, she hasn't showed sheep or cattle, so this round robin contest of showing the different animals has been the few times she has shown them.  Kids that have and show all the animals have a better chance of winning the round robbin showing contest.

Then rotated to show and set up the dairy steer. 

Ending with the beef steer.  After you show the animal and set them up, the judge for each animal asks you questions that relate to that breed of animal.  So you need to be knowledgeable about each animal too.

Amanda didn't win the over all round robin contest, but did have fun doing it. 

This year, all girls showed in the contest!  The girl in white that started out with the dairy steer won the contest this year.  This is the last year for three of the girls.  How time flies!  Seems like just yesterday when they were all so little out in that big show ring!

After the showmanship contest, was the youth auction.  Our fair has had a premium youth livestock auction for years.  One way for area businesses to help support the kids and their projects, and for the kids to have some money to put towards their next year project.

Here is a picture of one little girl that had her 3 fryer rabbits all in her apron!  So cute.  I help clerk so I'm not able to get pictures during the auction, but did grab it quick for this one!

The ringman couldn't get over how cute she and her bunnies were!  She got $200 for those bunnies!

Leah and Kelly taking in some payments as the auction ended.  Now I do the rest of the billing to the other bidders that didn't pay yesterday, and after all payments are in and cleared, I get the reports and info to the treasurer so he can make check out to the kids.   Then we're done for another year.  So now I better get busy on some of that paper work!  It'll take me a couple of days to get the billing letters and thank you letters all out.  Need to compile all the info into reports for all the members of the livestock auction committee too.  Have a great Sunday.  Weather is nice here and I also need to mow the yard again and Steve will be out cutting the barley and wheat, and needs to get another cutting of hay done too.  A busy week ahead of us.  Next weekend is my 45th class reunion and all school reunion.  We'll be having company stay here from Oklahoma, so much won't get done again next weekend!