Almost October

I told you the other day that I bought a rug at the rug show. I didn't take it out of the package until yesterday.
I don't really pay much attention when it comes to dimension. Kind of like in my mind, I just use as a guide line. Like the time I bought a tarp and the tarp was so big it covered out back yard twice. We didn't have to buy tarp for a long time.  I thought the rug was a little high as I don't buy that many rugs already drawn on the backing. Yesterday when I opened it up I was shocked.  Here is how big it is so you can see it.

You can't really tell how big it is until I put the current rug I am working on with it. And I thought the one I am working on is a nice size rug.

It is going to take a long time to do the above rug. I have a quilt on my wall and this rug is about the same size. I wish I could get this one finished by Thanksgiving but I don't think I will be able to but as I said before my rugs keep getting bigger and bigger it is true. I do love the patten though.

I thought I would show you the pattern I want to do after these. I was so glad to see this rug in person. I have wanted to hook it since I saw it.

It is a big rug too and if I could have found this pattern I would have bought it. I always loved the stories of Beatrix Potter so I can see a story here of a Mama bunny, selling flowers to feed her bunnies back in the burrow under the oak tree.

I am so glad that tomorrow is October. I feel like saying Whew summer is over and I am so glad to see it go. I am ready for fires in the stove and stitching  and reading by the fire. I am ready to make soups and stews and pumpkin pies. I am ready to listen to the wind blowing around the house and the smell of rain on the air. In October the nights have a chill like that first bite of a fall apple. I love the smell of the leaves as they fall as I walk on the colored carpet under my feet. All good things happen in October. My husbands birthday and I first became a Mommy in October. I love October because it is such a bright blue month.

It is still of course, Monday, so enough of dreaming and more of work for today.

I hope your day is filled with lovely things,
~Kim~

Visting Other Places

I was gone this weekend. I haven't been gone out of town in so long. One thing I will tell you was there is just nothing on this green earth as bad as the freeways in L.A. On Fridays. In the late afternoon. Other than that it was nice and beautiful and the weather was perfect and the sky so blue. We went to Long Beach so I could go to a hooked rug show. It was the ATHA 2013 which stands for Association of  Traditional Hooking Artists.

I really felt like I had died and gone to heaven. It was like standing on hallowed ground for me to see things in person I have only looked at pictures of.  The rugs I saw are even more beautiful in person. It was like going to an art exhibit.

 

There is no way I can even get the detail that is in these rugs nor the beauty of the colors or the perfect loops. I don't know how anyone could ever put them on the floor.

 

Kris Miller was there and I went so I could buy rug patterns from her. I could have bought ten. I kick myself now because I didn't buy this rug so I could hook it but I just thought I couldn't do it justice. The wool to buy was fantastic. I didn't buy any though. I don't know if I am greedy or what but I like to dye my own wool and I buy my wool by the yard and to buy it in bits and pieces well I will just say I have become a bit spoiled.
I did buy backing from the man who owns The Dorr Mill Store. He was very nice. I also got to use an  Bee Line Townsend Cutter. All I can say is WOW!! What an amazing cutter. 

 

I bought this one instead. Just the patterns. Not the rug.

 

This is one of Ron's favorites. Can you see how our tastes are so different? This one was stunning in person.

 

This one was a work of art too. I was gasping at each one as I would walk by and I just couldn't believe the beautiful work in each one. I have so much to learn.

 

We walked down to the harbor and I loved this sail boat sitting there they were getting ready to take it out. It was so perfect to be out on the water and I love watching all of the people sailing out to watch the sun set.

 

I liked this one just because it was so filled with character. I thought it would be fun to go fishing on.

 

This was outside our hotel window. It is the aquarium. We didn't have time to go visit. I kept thinking it would be nice to go back when we have more time.

On our way home we stopped by a Bonsai nursery grower so Ron could pick up some rare trees that he has been looking for to add to his collection. It was very interesting to talk to the owner and to listen to her explain so many things about grafting and raising trees. I didn't take pictures of that because I was listening to her go on about trees like I have just gone on and on about rugs.
It was very nice to get away for a bit. But it is so nice to get back home.

~Kim~

A Good Day

 

The week is passing by in a blur. Today we have a cold front passing by. The sky is filled with lovely clouds and the breeze is causing the trees to sway and dance in the early morning light. For the most September has been a lovely month.

 

My daughter in Arizona went to the doctor yesterday and had her ultra sound and it is a girl. I felt last night as I was crawling in bed that I am a very blessed woman. Our grand children count is five boys and three girls. I am very, very thankful for each one of them and just amazed at how God continues to bless us with each new life.

 

The kids and I have been talking about how hard last year was at this time, how all of us were going through at the time the hardest trials of our lives. How we were being challenged in ways we never dreamed possible.
Each one of them have looked back and all of them keep remarking of how grateful they are to be here. I of course have over thought the issue like always.

 

My thoughts are of course that no matter how dark the days, how long the nights. How the heavens seem shut up and all around me seems to be sinking sand. When I don't understand and I can't hear God, it isn't because God has changed but my vision is such that I want my way more than I want His perfect plan. When I finally give up and quit and just wait. Then I see what I thought were going to be the worst thing in the world, becomes transformed into a glorious gift of beauty.

 

I am thankful today, for what I couldn't see from my viewpoint last year at this time. I had no idea that God would take the breadcrumbs I offered to Him, and that He would change them into a feast. Nor would I change anything. Each day, I see how He has transformed the trials into gifts. Someday I will learn to trust even when I can't understand.

Have a lovely Wednesday,
~Kim~

New Coop Pictures

I hope you had a lovely weekend. For the first day of fall this weekend, it was beautiful and cool and I don't remember many years when it felt like the first day of Autumn on the right day. I think this coop is going to be too nice for chickens. It is turning out better and better if I say so myself.

By Saturday afternoon all four walls were up.

As my son called it the skeleton house. It just has its bones showing. I was pretty excited about this much of it being built.

I didn't think I would be so excited about this part but this will be where the nest boxes will be and it will have a little door on it so I won't have to go in the coop to collect eggs, I can just lift the door and reach in and get the eggs from here.

This will be for the nice big window. One of the windows he took out of the playhouse will fit right here. So they will have lots of ventilation and light.

I know you can't really tell but it has this really nice big doorway. I think it will be so much easier to keep clean.

Yesterday afternoon, he said he was just going to go work out in his shed. I really didn't want him too, I wanted him to rest. I was busy in the house and he came in a bit later and told me that he had got the roof tresses up. He had nabbed one of the boys and they had put these up and I couldn't even complain about him working. It was done and then he stopped.

I just love the view of it from this angle. How neat and orderly, and everything is just perfect. Can you see all of those wonderful clouds in the sky? It made the day just lovely. We go so long sometimes without clouds and then when we have a day with them like yesterday, we stand outside and watch them.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I thought of this as my keyhole to the world. Every thing was beautiful and clean and such perfect puffy cloud day.

Now that it is Monday, things will have to wait. It is okay for me though. I am still trying to figure out what color to paint it. Right now I am leaning to a white house with turquoise trim. I will have to see, I know the chickens won't care.

I hope you have a lovely week. Thank you for stopping by,

~Kim~

Building The New Coop

 

The new chicken coop is underway. Yesterday was about getting the wood bought and the plans getting the final once over. We had a warm day yesterday so the men didn't start assembling until after dinner. Ron had worked earlier in the day drilling holes so all the boys had to do was use the Makita to screw in the screws and then as twilight was coming on and the first stars were starting to twinkle they moved the floor to it's new home.

I think I might end up spending my days out here once my chickens are moved in and they have a new place to call home. As I stood out there this morning, the sky is filled with golden light and the sound of the wind in the cottonwoods and the sound of the surf in the tops of the redwoods. It will be a very pretty place to be.

 

Here is a different shot of how big the floor is and It will be so nice. Just so you know I feel so guilty about Ron working on this for me. The boys helping their Dad for me is really, really hard. I don't mind at all how much stuff Ron does when he builds things for himself but this is almost more than I can bear. He came in so tired last night and I know how tired next week he will be when he goes to his day job after this weekend. It makes me almost wish I got rid of chickens. He is so happy to have an outside project and he keeps telling me it is okay and how much fun he is having with a project. I am making him two apple pies today.

 He wants to get the walls up today. I imagine he will, he is pretty good about keeping goals. The only thing that will impede his progress will be if the promised dust storm comes our way. Right now though, it is beautiful and smells like camping. I love camping so It will be a beautiful day.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday. Gladys Tabor said that September is a melancholy month. I tend to agree. I will leave you with one of her lovely quotes.

 "“Indian summer comes gently, folds over the hills and valleys as softly as the fall of a leaf on a windless day. It is always unexpected. After a sharp cold spell, we wake one morning and look out and the very air is golden. The sky has a delicate dreamy color, and the yet unfallen leaves on the bravest trees have a secure look, as if they would never, never fall." 

 

Odds and Ends

It was down to 60 this morning. The doors and windows are already opened. The breeze and the sound of the meadowlarks fill me with such joy. The light in the garden draws me and I just love walking out and listening to the chatter in the cottonwoods. Cottonwoods are very chatty trees.

I have been scattered brained this week, but did manage to get some things made. Last February I found and bought that fabric with crows and french writing on it. Then all I could think of was making pumpkins out of it. So yesterday I did.

 

 I always save my stems from my old pumpkins and with the wedding, I remember, just gathering them up and throwing them away. This was the only one that made it through the cleaning rampage. Now I will have to cut limbs off of trees for stems. I could just kick myself.

 

This is the rug I am working on, I did this rug when I first started hooking and I decided to do it again. I just love the pumpkins in this design. Not to mention it is a excuse to dye more wool.

 

I am going to need Khaki for the back ground of my pumpkins. I thought it turned out just fine with the little bit of mottled in it. I love dying wool so much. It is almost like magic to get all of those different colors out of the dye pot.

 

 I am so thankful for the cooler weather. I walked by the woodpile yesterday and there are some wonderful bits of wood waiting to be projects. I even felt a bit creative. It has been so long.
I hope you have a wonderful Thursday.
~Kim~

Yay For Wednesdays!

I love Wednesdays! I don't really do anything different on Wednesday, it is pretty much the same as Monday and Tuesday, but it is nice. This one is special because of the wonderful ocean breeze that is just flowing in and making life perfect. It started about 9:30 yesterday and I just had to go outside and walk around and breathe. Today it is even cooler. I had to go do some errands, just so you know it isn't just me but every where I looked people were smiling looking up at the sky and I drove behind a couple of cars that had windows down with arms sticking out, hand that kept playing in the air. When you have had heat as long as we have, you will understand. This is bliss.

 

One of my favorite animals in the whole world behind chickens and dogs are cats. Horses used to be first but then I grew up and had kids and always with horses is that feeling of they can hurt me if I am not paying attention. Being home with the cats has made me pay attention to them again. They do reason.

 

One day I was sitting in my chair sewing. Since it was counted cross stitch and I didn't want to loose my place when Socks came in and meowed her sweet little high pitched meow to be let out, I ignored her. She has this chatty way about her but she is always polite and has the sweetest little voice. I always think if she was a person she might look like Barbie.

 

We also have a stripey kitty name Linx. If she was a person she would be a chain smoking, whiskey drinking, loud brawler. She must have some Siamese in her because she has this loud, obnoxious voice. When she wants to be let outside, everyone jumps up to let her out just so you don't have to hear her.

Socks was sitting on the desk, in her little patient way with her paws curled in like a monk in an abbey waiting for me to hurry up. In swaggers Linx, clumping along as usual in her loud manner, meowing her whiskey tenor voice, and I of course laid my stitching down, jumped up and let Linx out.  Socks who is sitting there has a bit of a attitude when she goes out next. I noticed it but didn't think much of it.

 

Later that afternoon, I am hooking a rug by this time and Socks comes in she sits on the floor, in front of my chair, and begins to meow so loud and so rudely at the top of her voice. I looked up at her and because I have never  heard her use that tone or that volume, I say, " Oh No Way Socks!!" I stood up and let her out. Now when she walks in I have noticed she is loud every single time. No more polite kitty.
I remember hearing some scientist when I was a kid talk about how animals didn't reason, but then I have noticed so many times where animals reason and they think and they figure things out. Even as dumb as my chickens are, even they can figure out things too.

Thank you for stopping by today,
~Kim~

Just Photos Today

Learning to use Picassa 3 has been so much fun to me. I feel like even with my little 5.0 Cannon point and shoot camera, now I can make my pictures a little more appealing. I have been going through my photos and finding photos that I never shared since I was blogging just because I couldn't get them like I wanted. I thought today I would share some of my favorites.

This picture of the buzzard on the light pole happened in January 1st 2009 There were five or six and they were standing like sentinels  on all of the light poles surrounding our house. I was so afraid of them flying away and I have never seen anything like it. I walked so slowly and took pictures each step. Then a stupid and I mean stupid camera man from the local T.V. Station ran up with all of his equipment banging and rattling and  scared all of them away. He never even said sorry just like it was his right, he even came in my yard.
After the camera man left the buzzards flew back to the trees in my sister-in-laws garden and did this same pose in the top of her trees. The branches in her trees were filled with buzzards the rest of the day as they took turns storing up heat in their wings.

I felt in such awe to have been given such a gift that morning. To see these great birds doing this as the sun rose. It had been raining and there was a break from the storm, so as the sun hit them they would raise their arms to the early morning light. It was quite breath taking and I thought full of magic. I felt as if I were taking pictures of something I shouldn't it seemed like a very private moment.

This was when I was dreaming of a telephoto lens. When the flock flew in and each landed on a telephone pole they sat like this and watched, I suppose to make sure it was safe.

I had to buy some pumpkins the other day. I took all of this for granted and I kick myself over and over.
One nice thing about growing your own pumpkins is getting to make the stems what ever size I want. You can bet next year there will be pumpkins around here.

I am so glad I took all of the pictures of them when I did.

 There is a hummingbird that lives in a tree by my garden. One thing about hummingbirds they are fearless. When I go out in the morning to water, it flies and gets so close to me as it puts it's beak in the morning glories. It always stays about three feet from me. It flits and talks and then when I go sit down to watch it. It will fly to a tree with a limb and watch me. For as long as I sit. Have you ever noticed that hummingbirds have favorite perches on trees? When they have a favorite branch it won't have a single leaf on it. If one grows they will snip it off and drop it. I have only caught one doing that  once.

The blue jay that lives on the other side of the garden in the cottonwood  isn't quite so brave, but he is bold. He will fly down to eat sunflower seeds but always gets his beak full and flies off to eat them in peace. The finches though, are like scared little school girls. They chatter and warn and flit and are so uncomfortable they are what finally make me leave. I know they are hungry but they can't settle down enough eat. I will turn off the water and go back into the house as I can almost hear the chatter of, " Now she is gone, now we can eat all is safe."

I have found in taking pictures it is  medium that gives me such joy in seeing the world around me. Things I never noticed are drawn into focus and as I look at each picture I take I am aware of beauty I never noticed before. Someday I will get a camera with a great lens, but as of yet I don't because I am still learning to use a camera and this is my speed. Not to mention I think it is more important to take pictures with your heart.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

~Kim~

A Beautiful Morning

It is a beautiful morning today. I could hear the sound of a California quail this morning. It must be a few fields over but to hear the sound as the sun comes up over the mountains makes me so happy. We have a bit of a cool down coming and I am so thankful. After a very short winter and no rain to speak of this year, it feels like we have had eight months of summer. Our trees think we have.

 

This weekend, I rearranged again. the bright idea I got to have a studio upstairs just never materialized. After I moved my things upstairs it just stayed up there. I would go upstairs if I need something but every thing else that I use is down stairs. I told the boys they could just turn it into a bachelor pad which they did.

 

They moved the T.V. out there and used this bench I have that someday I will take back. Ron's Grandpa made it and it is so cool, but the boys count it as theirs.
Then they moved  the couch that they won't let me get rid of,  back out there.

 

When I was taking some loads to Goodwill I was going to take the couch, my son Elliot, put it in his bedroom because he read my thoughts. I took all of my sewing things down stairs so they moved in all of
their games.

 

They reorganized and rearranged, they vacuumed and cleaned. It looks very nice and even though it isn't the way I would do things, it made me happy to see how happy they were.

While they were doing that I took a desk we have in our closet and cleaned it out and put all of my things in one place.

 

I now have all of my pattern books in one place, I even separated them into quilting, hooking and counted cross stitch categories. I got out that old CD player that was in the desk and Ron hooked it up, still in the CD changer was CD's that my daughter had made for me before she got married 7 years ago. It was like going back in time. It also has a working cassette tape player. One of the things I love listening to is old radio shows you know the kind with the old ads from the 40s, the only problem is we just listen now to IPods.
I have missed my old Sherlock Holmes and things like that. Now I can listen again. I can't do counted cross stitch with the T.V. on but I do listen to things so this will be nice.

 

All my thread and other patterns are all together now and I have paint and stamps in the drawers. I also have my tracing paper together with my other things so I won't have to go look for it.

 

Now every thing is with my sewing machine and all together. I even have my iron and ironing board in the same room as well as my cutting mat and rulers. It makes more sense to at least have all of it together again, and I just wouldn't sew upstairs. The light is better down here.

I feel like I am finally home. It has taken 12 years of arranging but for the first time it is in one place. For awhile anyway.

Have a wonderful day,
~Kim~