The calves venture outside…

First of all, here is a picture of a neat farm implement that we just got. It is old and needs a paint job but I think it is very elegant looking. Do you know what it is?

I’ll answer that in the next post.

Last Friday, Trev finished the electric fence around the back pasture.

Then we put in some posts and ran some wire to cross fence it. The calves don’t need to be in the whole thing and this way we can move them around.

Red was really interested in what was going on…

She will follow us anywhere so once we opened the door, she followed Trev right out…

…and settled in…

Opus, on the other hand, needed some convincing…

He was OK once he got out.

Axe came to the door and just looked…

He wasn’t at all sure about this. Remember, these guys have lived their whole lives in the barn. This is the very first time even being able to see outside!

Once he decided it was alright, he came out and got really excited…

Each of them approached the fence and seemed to sense that something was weird…

Each of them eventually got zapped a couple of times and then they all settled down to enjoy themselves. They tend to stick together in a tight group.

Lots of fun!

Today, (Tues) I mowed the lawn for the first time this summer. Nice to be out and able to do things again.

Scarf situation…

As promised, here is what the scarves look like.

Here is one that I just finished and is still blocked.

What do you think, Kate?

This is Joan’s…

Here’s one I just started a couple of days ago for Wendy.

And as well as the scarves, I am knitting myself a summer top. This is the back so far.

The front will be lace. I am using the same lace weight 100% wool that all the scarves are made of.

I was playing around with my camera yesterday and took some pictures of my guppies…

And here’s two of my three babies…

I love the bright colours in this picture!

Trevor fixes the barn roof

Remember when I said that I had lost the pictures of my hubby on the barn roof?? Well, after the computer came back from the ICU, I found them! I will now tell the tale and show you the pictures of that event…

First of all, the problem.

We noticed in one of the last major wind storms of the winter that the last piece of metal roof on one end of the peak was lifting in the wind, causing the end long piece to start lifting as well. If it was not fixed right away, the whole end of the roof could be damaged. We HAD to get it fixed.

Trev decided to do it himself so he borrowed a 40′ ladder and safety harness from a friend (thanks, Dan!) and on the next calm day, surveyed the roof…

A loooonnng way up!!

He began by setting the ladder against the barn.

Our neighbour very kindly came over to help with this part. (thanks, Gord)

Trev got up there and decided that the ladder was too short.

Plan B. I drove the truck under the spot and they put the ladder on the bed.

That was better!

Trev got up onto the roof. He had to walk up to the peak and screw in a large eyebolt so that the safety harness could be attached. Seems wrong somehow…

OK so far. He looked really small up there!

Screwing in the eyebolt.

Up to this point, I was standing really far back in order to get the whole barn in the shot. I knew he was alright for a while so I started to become interested in some geese flying overhead…

Pretty cool!

Meanwhile, back at the barn…

He was done that bit and starting down.

He got this far.

He layed there and said that he couldn’t move any farther. I guess all he could see was air! I was sure that I couldn’t climb up there and help him! He waited a few minutes before mustering up the courage to continue…

The scary climb onto the ladder…

And he made it…my hero!

It looks more freaky when I zoom out!

OK, he spent some time figuring out the harness. My camera wandered again…

 

The harness is on…

He put his tools into one of the calf pails and prepared to ascend once more.

By now, this is a piece of cake!

He’s hooking up and starting to work. Check it out! I got him AND the geese!

Coming back for the tools.

Yeah, more geese!

The triumphant man! (this shot is reminiscent of ‘Signs’ eh?)

Well, he did the job and was able to get down just fine. Now, the wind can blow all it wants. While he was up there, he hammered in every nail he could find within the radius of that harness!

By the way. You can imagine how long all of that took. Those geese were flying overhead the ENTIRE time! There were thousands of them. Very cool!

He also painted the upstairs hallway. I haven’t taken the picture of the library end of it but it was painted yesterday.

 

So now I am caught up as far as work around the place is concerned. I will update the scarf and sweater situation soon.

 

First coat done…

It’s now 4:00pm and Trev just finished the first coat. It looks marvelous!

Here he is cutting in…

Half way around…

And done…

He’ll be doing the second coat on his next day off.

A blizzard…again!

Well, here I am – it’s 3:30 on a cold, extremely windy, miserable day.

Trevor went in this morning to the hospital to take a computer upgrade seminar…and the teacher didn’t even show up! He came home again and decided to work on one of the indoor projects on his list.

He wanted to put up picture rails in the front entry hall, then paint. I’m so glad that it is finally getting done! I don’t like looking at the white walls out there all the time. I took a couple of shots as he was just starting.

You can see “Celise” hanging up above the stairs. Another chance to see the size!

Here he is drawing the pencil line around. A lot of white, eh?? That fixture has to go as well!

Here’s the ‘after’ picture taken about 15 minutes ago…

Looking better.

We were quite surprised that no one on the island seemed to know what picture rails were, even though there are tons of gorgeous, old, Victorian homes here! We couldn’t buy them anywhere. We ended up ordering them in from the States. They came in 4′ lengths so he has to piece them together. We also ordered some brass hooks at the same time so we can hang pictures  without putting nails in the walls. Our walls are all narrow laths really close together under plaster.

Oh, here’s my new light fixture for the upstairs bathroom.

I love it! We found the fixture at Home Depot and the only one they had in was a rust colour. We bought it along with some white spray paint. Trev lightly sprayed it so some of the rust shows through. I think it looks older now. Anyway, it gives us a lot more light than the single bulb that was up there before.

New scarf…

I mentioned in my last blog that I was starting a new scarf. I waited a couple of days so that I could get a good start on it and the pattern would be visible.

Here it is so far…

It is such a wonderful, royal purple! I love the colour. The pattern is ‘branches’. This scarf is for…

wait for it..

wait…

Joan!

Hope you like it.

Feels like Spring!

Latest on ‘Celise’

I received an email yesterday saying that ‘Celise’ was accepted into the Canadian National Juried Show! Now I have to add the hanging sleeve and label on the back and tweak a few spots.Here is a picture of her once more…

The show is in Halifax this year and I have already booked our hotel room. Yes, I’m hoping my hubby can go with me. The quilt will need to be there during the first week in May as the show is May 30-June 2.

Yesterday, it felt so much like Spring, with really warm weather (23 degrees) that we did some things outside.

At this point, I have to apologize to my husband. As I was downloading about 200 pictures this morning of him climbing a 40′ ladder onto the barn roof to repair the end cap on the ridge, something happened and EVERY picture I took yesterday was deleted. They are not on the camera and they are not in the computer! So Sorry!!

It was a very heroic effort on his part. The ladder was borrowed along with a safety harness. He began with it on the ground but it didn’t reach high enough so we drove the truck into place and he (with the help of our awesome neighbour…again…thanks, Gord) put the ladder onto the truck bed which was just high enough to get to the ‘hip’ on the barn roof. He had to scale the heights first without a harness so he could screw in an eye bolt to the ridge. He accomplished that and then froze for a few minutes. He wasn’t sure if he would even get down! He did eventually make it down and climbed a couple of times more during the whole process.

Good job, hon!

Scarf update…

Kate’s is completed…

Anne’s is coming along…

And now I had a free magnetized board so you know how nature abhors a vacuum?

I bought some more wool, chose a pattern and set it up…

In the next day or so, I’ll tell you whose scarf it will be. Keep posted. Don’t you love my cute ladybug magnets?

Calf update…

We had 5 calves but one was a preemie and didn’t make it. We are now letting them all out into the back loafing barn to enjoy the afternoon sun. I went out there this morning to get some pictures but as soon as I entered the barn, they all just HAD to mob me. It is hard to take shots while running around bales of hay to get far enough away to take shots! Here they are …not the best angles or focus!!

Major is now almost 5 months…

This little pot-bellied pig…I mean angus calf is Axe who is 3 months…

Here are Opus (mostly white) and Red. Opus is 1 month old and Red (our female) is just over 1 week old. She is really big!

Hopefully, I will get some better shots at some point.

Well, that’s what’s been happening lately.

 

Party, knitting update, etc

Alright, the party was a week ago, sorry I didn’t give you an update sooner! We had a great time, even though 3 people couldn’t make it. Everyone was given a lei when they arrived and the ladies got a floral clip for their hair. It was fun to think warm thoughts and eat Hawaiian food. The main courses were…Deep fried pork with veggies, Rice noodles with chicken, Pulled pork, Sticky rice, and a wonderful cold macaroni salad. Dessert was a coconut pudding on a graham cracker crust, garnished with berries and a mint leaf. We found a traditional Hawaiian punch with mashed bananas, orange juice, pineapple juice and freshly squeezed lemon juice which was frozen the day before then ginger ale was added just before the guests arrived.

Here is the final table decoration…

I took this shot of the desserts. I didn’t think to take one of the main courses! Too bad…

Now, a shot showing our garage surrounded by ice.

You’ll notice the rod across the doorway. The door opens inward and was opening all the time so this is what we had to do.

The last couple of days have been warm so the ice and snow are almost gone. Loving it!

I looked outside one morning recently and noticed the birds making a pattern on the barn roof. I got a shot of them…

I realised that they could probably grip the ridges easier.

You may also see the last metal ridge cap bent backwards. The wind has been lifting it badly and the end metal strip has also started to flap in the wind. My husband is going to have to climb up there and nail them back down. He borrowed a 30′ ladder and will attempt the repair some calm day soon. Pictures will follow…

Now, for a knitting update.

Kate’s…

Another friend, Anne also has a birthday coming up so I started one for her. Steph’s had to be set aside for now.

Here’s the new one…

That’s all for now.

 

Progress report, party, and my history

I’ll start with the progress report on the two scarves I am knitting.

Here’s Kate’s…

It’s coming along nicely.

Now for Steph’s…

Not bad…I added a picture of my pattern on a metal tin lid. I purchased a magnetic board (8.5″x11″) and am using it for the red scarf. I needed another one for the green scarf and couldn’t find one anywhere. Actually, I wanted to buy one for a friend last Christmas and was unable to. The idea of using a tin lid came to me early one morning. I am using a couple of cute ladybug magnets to hold it in place and the ruler has a magnet strip on the back. This keeps track of where I am and I can just dump it in the bag anytime without fear!

Party…

We decided to have a -yeah, my husband is finished his travel assignment in New Brunswick and Spring is almost here – party.

Of course, it had to be Hawaiian. We love anything tropical anyway so this was a no-brainer! Here are some shots from my start at decorating today…

Our kitchen table with a quilt top that I made in 2005 or so. I love the bright colours!

Some of the ingredients for the party collected on a spare table in the dining room. I am going to attach the grass skirts around the top edge of the table. You can see the great punch container at the front. It looks like it is made of ice. Love it!

The dining room table. I took some pieces of bright fabric and laid them over the table cloth, then added the sand-coloured runner and a collection of shells. Not sure if I am going to add something taller in the center or not yet.

A different view of the table. The fake palm tree in the background was given to me by my eldest daughter and her husband. I have covered it with clear mini lights. It will be moved into the corner I think. The picture on the wall at the back is a pre-printed panel from my stash.

The doors from the family room into the main entry hall. Amazing that my reflection does not show up. You can see the new floor lamps that my hubby bought at Costco in New Brunswick before his last trip home. The three pictures of palm trees to the right of the doors are quilts that I made while in California. They are mostly thread painted with a bit of raw-edge applique.

Now a bit of my history. Lori, one of my readers requested some background information and I am happy to let you know how I got started, etc.

My father was one of 7 siblings with a Welsh background. They were all talented in art and/or music. All of my cousins are talented as well and my children are all talented. We are also discovering that our grandchildren are showing the same art/music aptitude! One of my aunts says that it is a virus in our family!!

I grew up with all of the supplies to do leatherwork, woodwork, calligraphy, metalwork, drawing, painting, etc. My father could do just about anything. He even had a few one-man shows with his oil and pen-and-ink pieces. With this background, it was easy to get involved in many ways artistically.I also took about 10 yrs of piano lessons, playing in many festivals and competitions. I did take a couple of art history and music courses in College. After I was married, I began directing choirs which eventually led to a full-time teaching job at the private school our children attended as the art/music specialist where I taught all the students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Over the years, I directed around 30 musicals involving children and adults.

While I was growing up, an aunt taught me to tat. My mom and I did cross-stitch, petit point and needle point, knitting, sewing, and I taught myself to crochet. (in there also was cake decorating)

When we started having our children, I decided not to stop doing creative things so our kids were surrounded by artwork and supplies. They all began drawing, sewing, etc at an early age.

My mother began quilting and teaching classes on quilting but I never actually got involved until 2005 when we each bought a copy of the same book. ‘Landscape Quilts’ by Nancy Zieman and Natalie Sewell. I loved the realism that they were able to attain and the raw-edge applique appealed to me. I went through the book and made my first quilt – ‘Patience’ and never looked back! My mom, on the other hand, made one quilt and decided that it was NOT for her!

I have quilting journals covering everything that I made and have been numbering them. I am working on #123 or so. I might do a post covering the kind of things I put in my journals sometime if there is any interest.

I want to mention that I have really enjoyed all the comments and I have been corresponding with some of you through emails and value those contacts. This is such a great way to meet other people all over the world.

 

 

 

Crocheting for a change!

Well, after the rush of getting the quilt ready, I wanted to do something different for a while. I also wanted to use my hands in a different way so that I don’t get sore from knitting.

I spent the last day and a half crocheting a mat. I wanted to use up some scrap yarn as well. Here is the finished product…

I put my iron on it to give a size reference. Here it is in our bedroom…

Now, on to the scarf situation…

Here is that one for a daughter that I just blocked on styrofoam sheets.

And now, the ones in progress…

I am working on both of these at the same time…well, you know what I mean.

Kate’s

The blue yarn at the beginning will be pulled out, the stitches picked up, and the lace border knitted on.

Steph’s

Well, that’s my update for now.