Sidney Wins Giveaway!

It has taken me awhile to get this posted, because the poor dog (Sidney) is still not adjusted to her new life and would not unwrap herself from my ankles long enough to for me to take a picture of her modeling her new collar.
The collar was donated by GoneDoggie through the generous service of Give Away A Day.

Sidney thanks both of these very nice ladies for her new look.

Tagged

I've been tagged by Janet at The Blackberry Patch !

Rules

1.  Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4.  Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5.  Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6.  Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

Hummm.

1.  I have a space between my front teeth -- Lauren Hutton style.  Though my husband says it's Terry Thomas style.  You have to watch old movies to know who he is.  I'll stick with my self-image  of the model.  And anyway, it's a gift from my father!

2.  My third grade literary achievement was to have my poem, My Bunny,  printed in the Advance Register, the only newspaper in Tulare, California.

3.  I don't enjoy watching television.  It's such a monumental waste of time.  When my husband is home I do try to sit through at least one program with him each night.  It is my sacrifice in the name of matrimonial harmony.

4.  I hate using the telephone -- probably because I can't hear as well as I would like.  I read lips and use visual cues to help me hear, so until we get video phones, I'll stick to email!

5.  I LOVE CHOCOLATE!  Dark, dark, creamy, luscious chocolate.  For Thanksgiving I had two desserts - chocolate cheese cake with a chaser of chocolate brownie fudge ice cream smothered in hot fudge sauce.  That took care of the chocolate cravings for a good, uhm, 3 days.  

6.  My hair was nearly completely white by the age of 32 -- another gift from my father.

Sorry, Janet.  I don't know enough bloggers to tag.  Guess the game will end with me.

Stitching Magic

This is my sister's first quilt -- her original design, hand-quilted and made as a gift for me!  

My two sisters and I were born in a 32- month span and the quilter is the youngest.  Having grown up in the shadow of a couple of over-achievers (one of whom is also a neurotic borderline OCD), she is not as confident about her abilities and creativity as I would like her to be. So, this quilt was to lie quietly in my collection and never be allowed to let others see my sister shine the way I see her.  

Without telling her -- after all, she gave the quilt to me. I can do with it as I wish -- I entered it in the county fair.  And of course, she took first prize (We have a very small county -- she won $3). And now I have posted it to the internet for the entire world to see.

We go to any quilting show within 100 miles of home and we see some excellent hand-quilting, but we also see some less skillful work, too.  She never sees her own work as being anywhere near equal to that of others.  

When she was little, I always envied her fantastic imagination.  I was always totally logical and practical and was never able to reach that magical kingdom that she lived in.  When I see her quilt stitches become slightly uneven or wander a bit off the intended line, I wonder what treasure did her mind find at that moment and where did that new trail take her.  So, I trace her stitching with my finger and try to follow her into the magic places I pray she still finds.  

I hope anyone who examines the hand-quilting of another wonders about what that person was thinking and experiencing with each stitch made and follow them into their world.  Every quilt is full of stories.

Blogging Milestone

Kim at simple-needs is having a giveaway -- check it out!

Daunting Task

Until 15 years ago, my wedded life had been dominated by the cubic shape of cardboard moving boxes.  My husband's military career moved us 22 times in 24 years.  More stories there! 

When we bought this small ranch in Oklahoma 10 years ago, he said he was tired of traveling and would spend the rest of his life right here.  

Now when you are 52 years old, the labor involved in maintaining 115 acres, barns, 2500 sq ft home, greenhouses, livestock, and crops is an adventure.  Every day brought new challenges to be conquered.  Building structures, improving the land, tending animals are very rewarding after 30 years of military life (not much "Mother Nature nurturing" there).

Well the wanderlust has struck him again and he is working part-time with the military again -- making 3 week-long trips all over globe.  He loves the farm, but has admitted we must downsize to something that is more manageable for his schedule and our advancing ages.

So, my daunting task is cleaning out all the STUFF that is in the greenhouse, 2 barns, workshop, and the house.  This must be done when he is working out of state, because he is a pack rat and he is convinced that every nut and bolt in the workshop has some vital importance to our future.  

Following him all over the world never allowed for our closets to become overflowing or superfluous items to hide under beds. We were even able to keep our vehicles in our garages. Yearly moves to a new house, state or country meant yearly yard sales. I even took a course to become a certified organizer to make sure that I kept our possessions to an efficient and reasonable level.  

Ten years of farm and home clutter is new for me and I have learned the abhorrent talent of "procrastination". I know WHAT I need to do, I know WHEN I need to do it,  I know WHY I need to do it. 

 

Where will I find the energy and will to begin?  How hard can it be to downsize to cottage-size living from ranching?-----I think I need lots of prayers!