Life at 60

Hi everyone. First I'd like to thank those who wished me a Happy 60th Birthday! I had a great time going out to dinner and getting to shop at one of my favorite quilt shops. I've given you a little taste of some of my purchases below. What I'll do with the purchases, nobody knows but it was so much fun looking, fondling and talking to the story owner.

As for the age thing.....I feel great at 60. I've been exercising to keep the body moving smoothly and I'm told by my doctor that my health is very good!!! So all is well.

Bird Brain

       Heart pounding, heavy breathing, sweating profusely.....that's what happens after chasing a fledgling bird from my garage. I'd just come home from grocery shopping, which in itself is a torture. 

       With the last load of bags hooped on each arm, I noticed something from the corner of my eye I thought I saw something. But at my age I chalked it up to those floaties that break loose & float across the iris. I closed the garage door & went inside to put up all those groceries. When I went out to do a load of laundry.......once again, there was a blur of movement just out of my line of sight but this time I could have sworn I saw something. And then it happened........a bird flew by my head. Mind you, the garage doors were closed so I'm in an enclosed area with that little bird.

       Let's just say I went one way and the bird went the other for the time being. Of course I raised the doors and you'd think the little critter would fly out those doors but oooooohhhhhh nnnnooooo!

We went round and round and round until I was dizzy, the bird flew up into the loft to perch and looked down his beak accusingly at me. 

       That was it, I had had it!!!! What to do, what to do???

Granddad's shotgun??? Too brutal, plus there's not guarantee that I'd actually hit the little birdie. The pepper spary???? Too over the top and who's to say it wouldn't blow back somehow on me. 

       Think girl, think.

       Lightbulb!! (from Despicable Me - movie)

       Out came two cans of canned air (one of each hand cause I'm an old western fan.....six guns and such).....and it was on again. When all the air was gone, my blood pressure through the roof that little birdie decided to flitter away. I ran for the down buttons and thank goodness, the doors closed and I crawled into the house.

      Can you see the sweat on my brow????? I hope not because after 10 minutes with a cold ice pack on the back of my neck, my blood pressure and breathing finally under control, my shoulders unlocked and my spine relaxed.

      Did I mention that I don't like things that fly, crawl, slither, hop, flutter, gallop, lope, meander, etc.....you get the picture!!

      Note to self: Remember, you live in the country with wildlife so always drive into garage and immediately lower door!!

Travel & Sewing

First off, greetings to all and a big thanks to Thearica at Pigtales and Quilts for hosting the sharing day. Make sure pop over to see what others are up to by clicking HERE!

 

 

I took a little vacation from life and drove to Padre Island for the weekend.

Yes, that's me on the beach. The weather was a balmy 72 degrees (in January)....loved it!!

Look at those waves!

 

 

The ferry ride was fun.

Have I mentioned that I don't like bridges.....EEEEEEeeeek!

 

Watching this video of "S" curves will make you dizzy but it was fun driving it.

The moon was so beautiful I had to try and get a photo of it before the fog set in.

And now back to life!

 

My passion this 2013 year seems to

 be making and sharing Mug Rugs which are just small blocks quilted and bound

 to use for coffee, tea or whatever beverage you like.

I like giving them away each week just to bring a smile to someone.

Some of these have already found new places to live while others are in-waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In These Shoes - Update & Home On the Range Story

Hope everyone is having a great holiday time.  I can't believe that this year is almost over.
It's freezing here in central Texas, around 25 degrees at night which is rare for this time of year. The temperature isn't much higher during the day.....burrrrrrrr, great sewing and reading weather.
So that's what I've been doing.  I'm stopping at nine shoes, I think. Now I just need to figure out how I want to stitch the blocks together. Any suggestions???? I'd love your input!

On a different note.....

Meet little Buzzard Bait!

He's a newbie in the herd, about 10 days old and unfortunately a color easily seen from the sky by buzzards. The other day we were feeding the cows and noticed a bunch of buzzards circling to land near this little one. They were very close to pecking her alive. Luckily we got there in time to do a quick rescue and a move closer to her mommy who was busy munching on hay.

 

 

After all that drama, for several  nights the temperature dropped to freezing and when we fed again little Buzzard Bait was nowhere to be found. Where had that mama cow hidden the little critter?  We look everywhere, hoping that the little goober made it through the cold nights.

Believe me we looked high and low, near bushes, fence rows, tall grass. How hard would it be to spot her with that near white coat?

Oh dear, she must be a goner but her mama was not worried, in fact the mama was stuffing her face with more hay and range cubes.

 



Then late yesterday, here she stood amongst the others.....thank goodness.

Did I mention that cows can be a pain!!

Out of Pocket - Give Away

I have to confess to all my friends that I haven't been taking care of business with the chores around the house. You know, vacuuming, mopping, sweeping and other general cleaning activities. So, I'm going to be out of pocket for a few days getting that stuff done along with the grocery shopping, mowing the yard because it has rained, we've had a bit of warm weather so the grass thinks it's spring (#$%&~). That sort of thing but I'm babbling. Let's get to the fun stuff..... The Give Away !

I was out in the ah, well, ahem, sewing studio for just a few minutes instead of getting to those chores.... and decided to cut some 6 1/2 inch squares of my favorite When Nature Calls fabrics..... and right then and there I decided to do an Out of Pocket Give Away..... get it... out of pocket....... never mind.
I have also included a 9 inch nighttime background square in the mix making a grand total of 15 squares in the give away.  Here's how to enter. You must be a "FOLLOWER" of my blog and believe me, I know my followers and appreciate them, and you need to
leave a comment stating that you want in on the give away. That's it!
It will probably take me several days to complete all the chores that have piled up around here so you have plenty of time to get in on the action. I'll do a linky number pick thingy or have a cousin draw a name from the "hat" early next week and announce the winner.
Okay, I'm stalling so I'll just hit Publish Post and get on with the cleaning already..............

Family History

Mom had this photo stashed away but pulled it out to show me my great grandparents on my granddad's side.
I was so excited to see it and even posted it on my sidebar for all eternity..... LOL
I've mentioned that both my parents are only children so I have great aunts and uncles. In the photo standing are: great aunt Ettelene, Edwin (granddad), great aunt Ollie, cousin Oddie, great aunt Peachie and great uncle Will (Great uncle Will was not originally in the photo but was placed in by the photographer... wasn't he clever way back then).  Seated are: great grandfather Daniel, great grandmother Delia, cousin Vinnie and great uncle A.D.
Great-granddad Daniel worked for a railroad in south Texas while Great-grandma Delia raised the children and kept house.

Columbus Day

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He sailed and sailed to find this land for me and you.

That was my little speech way back in 1962 in a school play.

Just a Thought

I'm no Spring Chicken anymore but I done seem to realize it. I get plenty of sleep, try to eat healthy, drink water and manage to get in a little exercise. I, also laugh a lot.....even at myself.....I communicate often with my wonderful "sisters of the heart" girlfriends and with the older folks in my community.....they need a little love, too. When I visit my doctor, the first thing he asks me is, "How are you feeling?" My reply always is, "I feel great and I'm on top of the world!" He is always amazed at my attitude.......he says he rarely sees any patient who is this positive. So I just wanted to say is.......try to have a positive attitude, do something encouraging to yourself and others each day and stay in touch with your friends and family even if it's only via phone or email. Enjoy life!

Hog Killing Weather

Disclaimer: This post may be distasteful to some but is told from my memory of long ago.

It's bitterly cold here in central-ish Texas.....around 27 degrees with a wind chill factor of 10 to 15 so that brings things down to 17-ish degrees........what we Texans call "hog killing" weather.
I remember those cold, blue northers sweeping in, blotting out the sun, chilling us to the bone.  On one of those times all the brothers and brothers-in-law, old and wise in their years gathered in our back yard in their long-john covered overalls, wool caps, coats of varied lengths, thick socks.......all in old mud cracked and caked boots. 
Granddad would load his double barrel shotgun in preparation for the "event."  My brother and I dawned our overcoats as grandma cautioned us to stay back and out of the way. Our eyes clear and shining, so excited to get to see this now forgotten experience.
Uncle Kenchion sharpened his ax as a large hog was moved from one pen to the next.  This prize hog would have been fed corn and other grains for a couple of months.  A large tree where a series of ropes hung behind the pen in readiness.
A shot rang out, the hog is dispatched instantly. Uncle K moves in to rope the hind legs of the hog and the other men hoist the 200 pound hog off the ground. A vein is opened with a sharp knife, draining the blood.  My brother and I move closer to see all the action. Gory but back then, a way of life.
Granddad places a large trough under the hog as Uncle K. uses is ax to open the underside of the hog.  The men move in and start to cut away the precious portions of the hog to be shared by many families.
Grandma helps to salt down the pork and rinses the intestines many times to clean them for use later.  Very little is wasted as the men work.
My brother and I are freezing but don't want to go inside and miss anything.  The men carry our portion of pork to the meat-house or smoke-house to be stored.  Salted meats could last quite a while during winter months. The other men wrapped they portions in bits of cloth to take home to their wives and families. This pork would feed several families for weeks to come.
The day is nearly over.  Grandma soaks the intestines in salty water to leave over night.  It's almost time for dinner.  My brother and I warm by the heater as Grandma begins to prepare the evening meal, Granddad gets cleaned up and Mom is home from school.
Those are the memories I had when it's so cold like it is now.

Roughin' It

Picture it.......Last night I was home relaxing in the den watching a neat "Critical Situation". The show was revewing the 1997 shootout between the LAPD and two well armed bank robbers. I was rivited. The phone rings and I thought to myself.....hmmmmmm, it couldn't be my godchild, he'd a work and can't call out. It counldn't be my mom, she either reading something or watching some sports thing. If it's a telemarketer, I'll just hang-up quickly. With that in mind I answered....."Hello." Immediately my cousin who talk rather loudly anyway, started talking rapidly about that he was stuck somewhere in a field where he'd been looking for a lost cow. And could I please come and pull him out. I was, of course, his last hope. At first, I really wasn't listening to him because I was valently trying to listen to "my show!" But when he said to please come. So with shorts, a T-shirt and flip flop on I grab my keys and cellphone and run to the jeep and take off. Now, mind you, I don't know where I'm going it is about 8:30PM now...dusk dark and I don't really go out in the evenings unless "I" want to. Anyway...I'm driving down this oil paved road that I'm unfamiliar with and my cousin calls me on the cell to see if I'm on my way. With a calm that I really didn't have I said, "Yes, of course. Just hold your horses." He had to talk me to his location, which was not easy because he's talking north, south, east, west and I'm in the tell me a landmark mode. Fifteen minutes later, I find the field, which is waite deep grass and there's my cousin right in the middle of the field waving his arms wildly and talking loudly into my ear, "I see you, I see you. Can you see me?" I must admit, for a split second I wanted to say, "No, I can't see you." But I reframed. Finally I reach me by driving through the very tall grass. Insects are flying everywhere. Did I mention that I don't do bugs at all. Unfortunately I had to lower my window to hear my cousin over the road of his truck and my pounding heart. (I hate insects) The little buggers swarmed into my opened window and started buzzing around my head and face. Bad choice. I was swatting them, listening to the instructions from my cousin and thinking if I'd just let the answering machine get it, bah, bah, bah, bah. Who am I kidding? I'd still be in that field. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, cousin asked my to put my jeep in 4wheel drive. Do what? What was 4wd? I'm never done anything like that or knew how. Why me? So now I have to find that button and engage the 4wd after cousin and tied us together with some kind of cable. Finally I found that button, pulled it and hit reverse. Needless to say....my cousin was pulled to freedom, I blew the insects out on my high speed drive back to my house and was able to finish my show because I did, for once, remember to push record!