Fly Killer

I was at the feed store on Wednesday and picked up a box of Aeroxon Window Fly Killer.

I went back today and bought 3 more boxes!

It's doesn't smell, the flies don't stick to it, and it sticks on the window out of the way.

It has a poison on the sticker that the flies eat and then they DIE!!!

We had a barbeque here on July 24th. When the party was over we had hundreds of flies in the house. By Thursday evening we were finding dead flies everywhere, which is kinda gross when you find them on the counter, but that's better than them buzzing around everywhere.

I was surprised at how well it worked.

There is now a Fly Killer decal in every room in the house that has a window.

I might even put one in the camper!

Blocks from Japan Quilt Top ~ DONE!

Blondie finished her quilt top today!

This photo was taken before the dark blue border was sewn around the edge. It was dark outside when she finished so we didn't take another photo.

Here's the post with the original blocks.

Blondie sewed half the blocks. She cut all the setting pieces (small blue borders and white triangles) herself. I did the math so that all she had to do was cut and sew.

This is the first quilt she's done pretty much by herself. Meaning that she was pushing the foot pedal for the sewing machine....

She's so proud of it!

And I'm sooooo proud of her for taking on a new project, learning a new skill, and not giving up when it seemed overwhelming and really difficult.

I've got three more tops in the sewing room to finish..... I doubt I'll finish them this summer like I wanted to, but that's okay because I've gotten so many good things done this summer that I wouldn't trade them for finished quilt tops!

Oregon Trail Quilt Top

I finally got my Oregon Trail Quilt top done! I kinda like it. I started it in September of 2009 at the wonderful Quilt, Etc. store. They have the best block of the month class ever!

I've got a few kids who think it would win the "Ugliest Quilt Contest".

Oh, well!

I still need to piece the back together. My plan is to use all the scraps from this quilt (all my 1860's reproduction fabrics) and piece them together for the back. That's gonna take some time, too!

My goal of finishing the 4 quilt tops I have blocks for is only 1/4 accomplished. It's been a busy summer here helping other people with their projects so I'm not upset about not getting everything done that I planned.

Important people are being taken care of and helped.

And that's what is most important in life.

Blocks from Japan

Blondie and I have been working on a quilt for her over the last year. We've been participating in the country's best Block of the Month class. As long as we get the block assignment done before the next class, the next kit is free. If we don't have our assignment done, we've got to pay $5.50, which really isn't much at all!

The theme for this year's class was "9-inch Blocks from Japan". Most of these are from the class, but there are a few that we've added that seem to fit the theme. We have a few extra because the layout that Blondie decided on needed more blocks, 41 total to be exact.

The 'deal' was that I would make a block and she would make a block, then all the blocks would go into her quilt. Since she needed 41 we needed at least 20 different blocks for the pairs.

After going through three or four layout decisions, Blondie has decided on the final layout and her project for the next two weeks is to sew the blocks into the finished top.

Here are the photos of the blocks. I'll post a photo of the top when she gets it all put together. She's got something special planned for the back, too!

More of the New Forge

Hubby and Son1 cut down a dead tree on Saturday so that Son1 could have the trunk for his anvil stand.

Son1 has blisters on his hands because he's been having fun in the Blacksmith Shack (aka gazebo in the backyard.) He's not used to swinging a heavy hammer anymore and his hands show it!

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Hubby got a new tool box (that's ginormous!) so he gave the red one to Son1 for his tools. The anvil stand (stump) is on the left.

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 This week Son1 is going with Prion to help our friends fix their cement patio. Prion has been living with a wonderful family this summer instead of living in the dorms. It's been a blessing for her to get to know these people that Hubby and I love and admire.  They have been such a help to Prion that she wants to make sure that she repays them for all they have done for her. 

So she and Son1 will head up this week, move some large cement patio slabs, level the ground underneath, and replace the cement slabs.

Lots of work! Son1 said he's looking forward to it because he misses the hard work of construction he did before his mission to Mexico.

I should have him doing more work around here, but I don't want to give him work for the sake of working.... I'd rather have him do work that is worthwhile. 

Real men are like that... they want work that makes a difference.

Spray Painting the Chickens

Not real chickens!

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I bought this rooster and the matching hen for $7 at the local thrift store. It was probably a bit much, but I really wanted to try spray painting them to see how they would turn out.

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I scrubbed them both down with an SOS pad until most of the rough paint was gone. I had to let them dry for a few days to make sure all the water was out of the ceramic part. I didn't let the rooster dry long enough and had to sand some spray paint bubbles off and do some touch-up painting.

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Here they are spray painted and drying!

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I used Krylon (not usually my favorite) in Dover White. I didn't want a bright white, so this color was perfect. If I could have found Rust Oleum Heirloom White I would have used that instead because I really like Rust Oleum spray paint best.

I told Vet2Be that when I was done with them he could use them for target practice. For now they are going to sit on the kitchen table, or maybe on the counter.

Taking up space.....

and giving me one more thing to dust.....

but that's okay because I wanted a little bit of 'Farm Pretty' for the kitchen.

Little Cuties Come for a Visit

Our friend down the road needed just a little break so I offered to watch her two kids for the evening.

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I let them flood the sandbox with water. That was one of my kids favorite activities and these girls loved it just as much!

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Snack time! I LOVE my little table in the kitchen! It has pull out boards that are just the right height for little girls and stools!

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They got to play in the Fairy Garden and make cookies, too. I didn't get photos of those for their mom because I was too busy playing with them!

One of our other young friends says, "Awesome Sauce", and I think that just about sums up the evening!

It's Forge Time!

Our boys are sooooo lucky they have a dad that wants to help them enjoy their hobbies! Not only did they get a welder this summer, they also got a new forge. It's really for Son1, but I'm sure that Vet2Be will get to play with it, too!

It's a gas forge, but Son1 is also using the welder to build a coal-fired forge as well.

I'll get pictures of happy boys tomorrow. I was milking while Son1 was playing so all I could do was 'steal' his photo from Facebook.

Son1's title for his Facebook post was, "It's Forge Time!" Vet2Be posted the comment, "FIRE!!!!"

Yeah... boys and fire.... they go together!

Kitchen Progress

We are still puttering along on the kitchen remodel. Hubby got the floor done and then surprised me by taking me shopping for new appliances. We weren't planning on new appliances, the older ones were working (for the most part).

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I finally got the kitchen chairs repainted. Son1 installed them. I think it took about 2 hours to get them back on! We had to put a spacer between the chairs and the stand because the counter is about 2" taller than it was before.

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Here's the new fridge! The 17 year-old Whirlpool never died, although we wished it would because all the plastic supports on the inside of the fridge kept breaking. Yes.... we used duct tape to hold some of it together. But it kept the food at the right temperature, which is the most important job of a fridge. I'm planning on painting the bright white grill at the bottom of the cabinet. I'll probably paint it black, or one of the Rust Oleum metallic colors.

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We won't be replacing the dishwasher, it works just fine! It's nice to have the floor all done. I didn't expect that until sometime in August when it is too hot to work outside. You can see that we still have some work to do on the ceiling as well as get new overhead lights. We also have wires hanging below the cabinets that will eventually have under cabinet lights.

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The new microwave is in. It's a little higher than the old one which is great when I work on the stove with big pots. I used to have to pull the stove away from the wall to can or make cheese. The new stove is stored in the shed because we don't have the gas line hooked up yet. Once the gas line is in, I'll have a gas stove!!

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This is my favorite spot in the kitchen, the little table with the lamp on it. We still need to repaint the kitchen (and the rest of the house!) and get our message center more useable. Right now it's just a white board and clipboard pinned to the wall. I don't have big plans for the message center, just something that looks more 'on purpose' rather than stuff stuck to the wall.

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All in all, its great to have the kitchen this far along. It's nice to have counters and a sink! And it's great to be able to prepare food in a nice kitchen, even though it's not quite all done yet.

I've also been refinishing some furniture for Prion's room and Blondie's house. Nothing spectacular, but it's kept me busy. I LOVE spray paint! Especially the new Rust Oleum Painter's Touch! It's so much easier than a paint can and a brush and the finish is so much more durable. It was worth the extra money since I don't want to be doing this again anytime soon!

Maine Flowers

Spunky lives in Maine. She runs by these flowers every day and decided to pick a few yesterday.

So many of the home decorating blogs try to reproduce this wild, rustic look. They do a pretty good job, too!

But, oh! How beautiful it looks when it is real!

Sleepy Kids!

It's been hot here, just like everywhere it seems. In the afternoon the kids end up in the stall chillin' out! It's so fun to see them taking a break!

I hope you're staying cool!

Wild Fires

This is a fire burning near our house. It's about 5 miles away up the mountain. We're safe, and there is really no chance of it burning the area between the mountain and here.

About 80 homes have been evacuated in the town where the fire is burning.

There are so many fires burning in our state right now, and throughout the west. We are all praying for rain.

Source

My son-in-law took this photo from the roof of his parent's home which is right next door to our home. That's our barn in the center of the photo.

We've had 4 families within an hour that have offered to take us in, and our animals, if the fire gets close. We've got so many wonderful friends!

We're praying for rain and cooler weather out here. We're praying for better weather throughout the United States. It seems that almost everywhere is experiencing extreme difficulties right now.

We are all hoping that your family is safe this 4th of July!

The link for the other photos is here. And some spectacular black and white photos are here.

Sprayer for Sanitizing Solution

We had a brilliant idea!

We have been working very hard at spraying down the does, the milk stands, and the milking area of the barn with sanitizing solution.

 We were using a little spray bottle. And in the past we have brought out the sanitizing solution in a bowl to clean off udders before we milk.

But we bumped it up a notch by using a garden sprayer.

I LOVE it! We really spray down udders before we milk, and then we wipe them off with a wash cloth. I'm surprised at how much more dirt we get off using this method.

Vet2Be really loves spraying down everything when we're done. He thinks it's fun to use the sprayer.

Imagine, a 17 year old boy having fun using a garden sprayer to sanitize the milk stands and the floor.

I'm glad it works so well, and I'm glad he works well, too!