thanks for the memories

Thursday, June 7, 2012

A rare day

One would think that with three of my children out of the house, one about to leave shortly, and the other two off working most days, that a day alone would be the norm rather than the exception.  But it is still a rare thing for Layn and I to have the house to ourselves for a whole day.  Today, though, with the vehicular situation being what it is, Matthew left for work early to catch a ride with Melissa and MK got dropped off early for the same reason.
Since we have an appointment this afternoon that requires us to stay clean today and it is very muddy out there, Layn is forced to stay inside today.  He doesn't seem to mind though.  We went for a long walk earlier and discovered that it is getting rather muggy out so it isn't such a bad thing to stay in the nice cool house.  He is presently sitting in the living room playing with his trains and listening to his DVD about construction equipment.  Now I don't ordinarily babysit kids with the TV but once in awhile it doesn't hurt to turn on something that is educational.  Layn is one of those kids who can take it or leave it but he loves that DVD.  It has all kinds of man-sized equipment on it which appeals to little guys like him.

Grandma has laundry going and her school work done so I am off to clean the downstairs today.  Yesterday the upstairs got all the attention as well as mowing all the lawns before it rained.  Tomorrow I think I will take a break and do some sewing.  I think I will even try to get a strawberry rhubarb pie made to surprise Ian and Doug.
Such is a day in the life.

Amber waves of grain?

This field of green is one that we rented out to another farmer after our barn fire.  Last fall he planted it in a type of wheat called Triticale. Last Sunday Doug, Matthew and I took a walk out there and the whole field is headed out (which is farmer speak for "it has its seed heads on top").
From the roadway that we were walking in you get the idea that it is one very large flat field.  But those of us who have mowed, raked, and baled hay on that field for many years know differently.

The fields on this farm are rolling fields.  In some places though it looks flat, it is possible to lose a tractor, baler and wagon in the dips and hollows that are created by the contours of this land that we live on.

Matthew is a fairly tall guy, but as he walked away from us he appeared to get shorter and shorter not because the wheat is that tall but because the ground rolls so much.

Any attempt on our part to lose him in that vast field is only imagined.  Matthew knows every square inch of this farm and can find his way home without aid of a GPS or his mommy and daddy. 

She's at it again!

A couple of years ago  I had MK paint the shed and spruce it up a bit.  Jason had kindly fixed the roof for me so that the things inside didn't get all wet when it rained.  During her painting exodus MK decided that the side of the shed just needed that something extra and asked if she might paint a picture on the side.
Silly me, I was picturing a Rembrandt quality landscape. Or maybe a reproduction of the Mona Lisa.  What I got was Wilson from the movie Cast Away.


This week MK decided that the side of the garage was too white and blank and need some sort of embellishment. I gave her permission to paint on it with no expectations whatsoever. You never know what Mary-Kate's imagination is going to come up with. It is always better to just wait and see.

I was grateful that it was an American flag that she decide on rather than, say a portrait of her brothers.


I don't know what blank surface will catch her eye next but perhaps I will get my Mona Lisa or landscape.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Hey, kid, that's my desk!

Yesterday I came downstairs and found that Layn had pushed my chair aside (he's not allowed to climb up onto it) pulled his up to my desk and was sitting there looking at the computer screen.  I think this little dude is getting a bit too big for his britches.

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Simple Womans Daybook 4 June 2012

Outside my window....it is dark and gloomy.  The road is wet and shiny as if it may have rained in the night.  There is a lowering sky out over the hay fields telling me that there may be more rain in our near future before it clears up.  That's ok though since today is the first day of my new semester and I need to spend it inside acquainting myself with my new classes.
I am thinking...about longevity.  Today is my 29th wedding anniversary.  There are those who choose to dwell on individual moments in their lives, the unpleasant ones, and those moments are the ones that make it seem as if time is crawling along.  There are others who choose to dwell on the picture as a whole, the moments that make up the entire picture, those are the people who will tell you that the time flashed by in too short an interval.  That is how this time with my beloved has seemed to me.  I would be a fool and a liar if I denied the moments that were unpleasant.  By the same token I would be even more of a fool to live my life in those moments.
I am thankful for...the son who provided the lovely afternoon that my husband and I spent out yesterday.
From the kitchen...all kinds of possibilities await those who wish to apply themselves to the adventure of feeding this brood.  Any takers?
I am wearing....sweatpants and a hoodie.  It is still a bit nippy in the mornings around here.
I am creating...memories, sweet memories.
I am going....to stay home for the bulk of the day.  If I am a good girl and get all my work done today I hope to go to a presentation about the resident ghost at one of the historical houses in Utica this evening. 
I am reading....Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I am hoping...for answers to prayers and for the grace to accept the answers that I get.
I am hearing...the new CD that Doug bought me yesterday, the dog coming down for her breakfast, birds singing in the rafters outside my window, and the breeze sighing in the branches outside.
Around the house...it is a disaster area! 
One of my favorite things....the silliness of my son and daughter when the two of them get together.  I wish I had the capability to upload the video that I made of the two of them on the trampoline yesterday.
A few plans for the rest of the week....school, family, living my life and making sure that The Lord knows that I appreciate all that he has given to me.
Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...(I couldn't restrict myself to just one today)
MK was having a "discussion" with her father.  Matthew cannot take these things seriously.

My presence doesn't help either but, oh well.

With that face around and a camera in hand who would resist.

Even when he is in need of a shave and haircut he is awfully handsome.

The silliness did end up breaking up the "discussion" and result in getting the trampoline moved.

I don't know if my constant photography will make him glad he is leaving in August or not.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

A typical Saturday

Typically on a Saturday work is done around the farm.  Ian likes to be around so that he can spend some time with Layn.  Also there is always some area that needs to be cleaned up or something that is wanting maintenance or in downright need of fixing. 
This morning since there was a light rain falling, Layn ended up being inside with me so the men were able to get a lot more done.  The first thing that they attacked was the accumulation of junk along the side of the barn on the hill where we store our machinery.  Another ongoing task that has to be kept up to date is mowing.  Grass grows (fancy that) and along with tall grass comes increased allergies for those of us who are weak enough to succomb.  The bright side of having to clean up the mess is the fact that the price for scrap is up so Ian likes to be able to load the truck up druring the week and take it to the scrap dealer on Friday.  (There is always accumulated scrap iron on a farm)

Since it was too wet to mow lawns Matthew was home to get in on the act.  Another pair of hands is always welcome when cleaning up messes.  See how excited Matthew looks about the prospect of digging in mud and loading up rotting lumber!

This may look like a game of tug-o-war but it is not. They unearthed a length of plastic pipe.  The funny thing about this was Ian sending Matthew down to the shop to get a ratchet strap so that they could use the tractor and dump wagon to pull this pipe out of the mud and weeds. By the time that he got back up the hill my husband had it unearthed and he and Ian were able to pull it out by hand.  Guess with dad's muscles around there is no need for tractors and ratchet straps.

Once they got all the debris out they were able to mow down the grass.  Now it is starting to look pretty good over there. 
Along with all of that cleaning up they managed to mow under all the fences so that there is plenty of juice on the wire for a couple of weeks.  I would say that is a good day's work.

The 'Ahem!' amusing side of life.

Have I mentioned that I am married to the most wonderful man in the world? No, than I should do that right now.  I am married to the most wonderful man in the world.  He is beyond patient!!!! Actually I think the word forbearance is much more descriptive when it comes to the way that he puts up with his wife's vagaries. 


Take today for instance, really anyone who wants today can have it, the whole kit and kaboodle!  It is Saturday which means that it is a working day for me.  Working means that my sewing machine and I are very intimately attached for the greater part of the day.  Recently Matthew bought me a new computer (another of the wonderful men in my life but that is a whole 'nuther blog post) which I need to earn megabucks to pay back.  I also got a new camera which has to be paid for and my wonderful sister-in-law sent me a sewing machine to replace the one that broke.  All of this means that I have mongoproduction weighing on my shoulders in order to pay some serious bills. 

The obligation bothers me because I don't like to owe, money that is.  But the looming task of having to produce enough to earn the money doesn't bother me at all.  I'm up for it, I'm awsome enough! Just ask my kids.  That was until I hit a major snag today.  Was anyone else out there, beside myself, under the impression, under the illusion that when something is AUTOMATIC it means it does it by itself?  Silly me!!! I found out today that it is just not true.  I was working on this lovely little outfit and came to the part where I had to make the buttonholes. 
My whole family knows that I have one machine that is dedicated to embroidery and buttonholes only.  How extravagant you exclaim!! A sewing machine only for embroidery and buttonholes, the woman must be rich or something.  Not rich, just a failure at buttonholes and absolutely unable to set a zipper in to anything.  Several years ago this machine was on sale at WalMart for a song. So I sang and brought it home and there you have it. 

Back to today.  I set it up, slipped the dress under the foot and pushed the little button and walked away.  When I came back there was supposed to be a buttonhole neat as you please where there was none before.  Not so my blogging friends, not so.  When I came back there was a snarl of thread and some bad words in my brain.  Whatever happened to the AUTOMATIC part of the automatic buttonholer?  It had always worked perfectly in the past. 

After much hemming and hawing and ripping and tearing, I went for a walk, came back and discovered what went wrong.  I went wrong!!!!  Can you believe it?  No, neither can I.  I had forgotten to pull down the lever that tells the machine to make AUTOMATIC buttonholes!  Silly me.  It is amazing what a short walk and the smell of cow manure can do for your outlook on life.  I sat down made the buttonholes without a hitch and finished the darn set without an other problem.

The moral of this story?  Always pull down the lever!

Edit:  I forgot my thread. You know the point I was trying to make. See, it is these flights of fancy that show why my husband has so much to put up with.  I am forever having "here-after" moments. You know, when you walk into a room and you wonder what you are here after. 

Anyhow, while I was having angst over the fact that my machine failed me (remember I hadn't yet discovered that it was my fault) my wonderful husband actually offered to help by ripping out that errant buttonhole.  How wonderful is that?  I wouldn't ask my worst enemy (if I had one that is) to do that job!  I certainly wouldn't be having the man that I love do it either.  'Nuff said on that topic.  The job is done, the outfit is for sale and I cannot wait until it is gone!