Ice and Snow

 

Ok, so I shouldn't have complained the other day. 

This time ice came before all the snow.......OMG!!!! See Mr. Cowboy's footsteps in the snow? That's about 7 or 8 inches worth depending on the surface area levelness....is that a word?

Anyway, Mr. Cowboy forbid me to leave the house...whew!!! I am secretly happy about that suggestion.  Now to the temperature.  Last night it was a -3 degrees with a wind chill factor of -7 so can I say bbbbbbbuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrr!! One of my blogging friends says she lives in Canada.....girlfriend I don't think I could manage living there. My pastor's wife is visiting in Florida and says it's around 80 degrees where she is.....now that's my like of weather......did I mention I love summer...hehehehe!

Ok, I finished complaining....for the moment. Take care everyone & keep safe! 

After A Good Rain

 Well, it's been very dry around here but the other day we had a good bit of rain. About an inch and the next evening the mushrooms were popping up everywhere and the grass sprang up as well, which meant it was time to mow the yard again. I was a steamy, sweaty mess afterward but I'm not complaining because we needed that rain!!!

Rain & A Pineapple

I know you can't really see the raindrops but it did rain a whole day here in central-ish Texas. I was so happy about that.

And now, Mr. Cowboy and I plucked the lone pineapple from its stem and cut into the little guy. As you can see Mr. Cowboy approved. The pineapple was sweet and tasty. It will be another 3 years before we produce another......LOL

The Gray Part 2

This photo is an example of all the gray horses Mr. Cowboy chose.

 

Hi everyone!! I have really enjoyed reading your comments. Yesterday I was laughing at the comments Carol and the Left-handed quilter wrote and then I saw what Needled Mom wrote when Mr. Cowboy walked in for lunch. Of course he wanted to know what was so funny so I showed him all the comments.  He "really" loved all your wonderful thoughts....hehehehehehehehe......and said that the next time we go to the races he was going to bet on all reddish brownish blackish horses.  I hooted with laughter with that one.

The next time we go back to the races will be next July so I'm sure he won't remember what was said by then.......I hope.

Here's a weird thought. I made tuna fish salad for lunch yesterday. Mr. Cowboy looked up from his sandwich and chips to ask why we always refer to it as tuna fish? We already know that tuna is a fish. I responded that it was too hot to contemplate why we call it tuna fish. Any thoughts on that out there is blogger-land??

And now for the weather.....today it was 101 degrees by 11:00am. I didn't think I'd ever cool off from just walking to the mailbox. Even the squirrels were napping in the trees. Whew! What's it like where you live?



And The Winner Is

Hi everyone. Well, I complained about the 28 degree weather here in central-ish Texas the other day and wouldn't you know it....all I had to do was wait a few days. We're back up to 70 degrees (Shout-ie  voice here)!!! OMG! Now I'm sweating profusely but I think I'll still purchase that coat just in case.

 

Okay, so Mr. Cowboy pulled a name from the old cowboy hat finally. The winner is desertskyquilts.

Congratulations to you. You know the drill. Leave a comment and I'll talk with you via email soon.

Next, I'll be a bit sporadic blogging for the rest of December as I'm sure we all will. The holidays can get a bit hectic at best. So, if you don't hear from me for awhile, Merry Christmas.....Happy New Year!!!!!

Ah, December!

Sorry, no photos in this post. I'm here to talk about the last month of the year in Texas. It's been about 15 or so years since I've purchased a winter coat. In fact, I can't find and don't remember the color of the last one. I'm saying this because it has gotten cold around the farm all of a sudden.
I'm sure you've all heard, just wait a few minutes for the weather to change here in Texas!!! Well, it did, from 75 degrees the other day to 38 degrees with sleet all day today. Plus the wind is about 5 mph. I know that 5mph doesn't sound very much except when you add the cold and dampness. 

Burrrrrrrrr!  I'm a summer kind of girl. I can cool off much faster than I warm up.
Oh dear, I'll need to purchase coat and quick.  Mr. Cowboy went out to feed the critters all bundled up in his overalls, a skull cap under his cowboy hat, gloves, boots......the works.
I'm already praying for spring.....LOL.
What's your favorite season and why?
I'm thinking I'll do a FQ give away from the comments.  Mr. Cowboy will love pulling a name from the old cowboy hat so leave a comment to participate.

Forty Below

It's August 2nd and the temperature here in central-ish Texas is 66 degrees. That's forty degrees below the normal temp for August. OMG.......I'm doing a happy dance with all this cooler weather.

In July?????

This was the skies in my neck of the woods for the past several days.

Overcast & 69 degrees.

Then this morning I woke up to this.....

Fog! Oh my word.......fog in July.....in central-ish Texas.......it's nearly unheard of and fascinating to me. This next week is scheduled to get back to the "normal" sunny, 95 to 100 degrees.......so I'm thinking what a nice change this as been for the month of July in central-ish Texas.

I hope where ever you live that you're enjoying the weather.

Out of My Mind

The hay process has stopped for the moment due to all the wonderful rain we are having here in central-ish Texas. I say that because this type of rainy weather is unheard of in the middle of July in Texas and the temp is 70 degrees but nobody that I've spoken to is complaining.
Anyway, I decided to get in some machine embroidery but first I'd have to load the CD on my new computer. Of course I have forgotten how to do that so I pulled out my trusty Janome Handbook, got out the CD and started to read the instructions.
Aren't you proud of the fact that I actually was reading the instructions!!!!
I got to the part where it mentioned that I'd need to insert the "dongle" when prompted.....
"DONGLE"
......omg......where is my dongle. This is not something that can be easily replaced.
I couldn't remember where I'd put it and if the handbook hadn't shown a picture of it, I'm not sure I'd have remembered what it looked like. This was like losing my MoJo..........omg.......
So, I started searching. I knew it couldn't be in too many places.

1. Looked the my Janome carrying case......not there.
2. Looked in my Janome front storage panel......not there.
3. Looked in several thread drawers under my Janome........not there.

At this point, I began to panic but was still hopeful. I started a more serious search.
I poured out all of the drawers under my machine......btw, that's eight of them and thread, scissors, needles and other sewing paraphernalia were everywhere... (sorry I didn't get a photo of that mess because by then I wasn't thinking clearly....as in hair standing on end, glasses askew, rumpled clothing and frayed nerves)

Have you ever heard that you can't see for looking????
That was me because after ten frantic minutes or so where I'd overlooked the "thing," I found it..........can you say WHEW!!!!

Here's what the dongle looks like. I thanked the Heavens, kissed my dongle and happily had my computer identify it.

By then, I was totally out of the mood to do any machine embroidery.

FYI.........put your dongle where you can easily find it.

It Snowed

Last night it snowed, our first of the year (2014). It doesn't snow usually here in central Texas, so this is a treat. The school kids aren't happy because they still had to go to school but I'm loving the beautiful scenery.

Happy Friday everyone!!

Wintry Weather

That's ice on the trees and it's 28 degrees.... for central Texas that's cold, better known as hog killing weather.

What's it like where you live?

Flood Waters

Our little Keechi Creek rose over its banks to flood the road from one community to the next. Boy did we get a lot of rain...... loads of thunder, lightening and wind around 30 mph.
In the words of Mahalia Jackson, an old Spiritual singer, "Didn't It Rain Children, Children Didn't it Rain!"

Details

 I've gotten the outer brown circle in place and will need to hand stitch a thin circle to add more detail later. So far the circle is roughly 16 inches.

The stars that appear above the eagle's head are supposed to number 13 for the first 13 states but I decided not to depict that tiny detail because my talents are not up to that one as of yet...... LOL

The leaf and berries have the correct number of 13 each and I have 13 arrows.  Not sure of my next step at this point but I'll sleep on it and come up with something soon.
The weather here in central-ish Texas is unusually rainy. Last night we had lots of thunder and very scary lightening. Then the rain came in buckets. It was one of those times like I remember my grandma use to say, "Get somewhere and be still, little girl!" That's what she told me during those time and believe you me, I was very still last night....... smiles!

Pop, Pop, Pop

That's the sound I heard just before I grabbed my camcorder and began filming around 6PM.

Yep, that hail.... pea sized hail but it sounded much bigger and very scary. I thought it would break my windows.

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.

July?

July 20, 2007 - 8AM That's fog you're looking at or through. My neighbor's house and 6 cows are out there somewhere. It's July here in Texas, it's supposed to be hot this time of morning (90 degrees). Instead, it's about 71 degrees. I should have known that something like this would happen. Remember, I posted in April for Easter, it snowed. Wow, this is amazing to witness. Just thought I'd share it with my fellow bloggers. Fog in Texas in July, what a hoot!