Moms will love this

My friend Christy sent me this. Too good not to share.

I've been so busy with travel on the weekends and preparing for the travel during the weeks that I'm not spending the time blogging that I would like. Let me make it through this weekend and hopefully I can find a balance.

-dana

Wanna play?

Warning: If you don't like puppies or kittens please stop reading now. Seriously. Because this is nothing but puppy and kitten mush.

Still with me? Good. I took these photos yesterday and as I was looking through them I was narrating them in my head. I tend to do that alot. Talk FOR the animals that is. I create entire conversations between them. Each of them has their own little catch phrases and funny things that they mispronounce and stuff. They also talk back to me in my head.

So anyhow, as I was looking through these I was narrating them. But I'm not so sure they need words. The photos tell a pretty good story all on their own.

















Tsali just doesn't understand why the older and more mature Truman doesn't want to play with her. Hmpf!

-dana

Live from Africa

Live streaming video from the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana, Africa. Click here. Love it!

-dana

Oh my

Currently my favorite sibling shot ever.

You wouldn't believe me if I told you where it was taken.

-dana

Super Sneak Peak

These are just the first that I have proofed so far. Lots more to go. What beauties!

-dana

Extreme insanity

Imagine if you will:



Further imagine:

Up to 32 non-stop hours of trekking, mountain biking, and paddling over 85-115 miles. And just for kicks you'll have to use only a map and compass to find specific checkpoints along the way.




Rock on dudes.

This is not just a nightmare . . . er, I mean dream. People actually did this. It was the Over Mountain Extreme Adventure Race held last weekend in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina.

Now I was not a participant or even a spectator at this event. After all, how ya gonna watch 32 non-stop hours over 85+ miles. I'd need a helicopter and with the cost of gasoline that would be pretty pricey. But believe you me, I have heard about every excruciating detail of the race. And I mean excruciating. Muscle cramps. Fatigue. Thirst. Hunger. Blisters. Delirium. And the overwhelming excitement.

Razor loves the sport of adventure racing. He loves the thrill of competition. And, the agony of defeat. He loves the months of training and the fleeting moments of race time. He loves the team dynamic and the true sportsmanship of the sport. He tells me that during every race he says to himself that he will never do it again. But, as soon as it's over he is ready to sign up for the next one. Sounds vaguely familiar to the whole pregnancy-childbirth-amnesia thing that I have experienced. After all, I do have to put into some terms that I can relate to because if there is one thing that I know for sure in this world it is that . . .

I.

Will.

NEVER.

Be.

An.

Adventure.

Racer.

-dana

Season change

There is so much I could write about today. Razor's recent 24 hour adventure race; potty training Tsali; the mega gash in Truman's tail from a recent cat fight; the next 6 straight weekends being filled with travel for Old Red Barn Co.; my latest quilt is close to being done; the big clogging performance coming up for the girls; um . . . oh, lots of stuff. But, I'm trying to make dinner, supervise homework, potty train the puppy, and not think about the bathrooms that I still haven't cleaned like I should have today. So, you get pictures of the season change at my house today.

Muah!
dana

Seed saving

Seed collecting at our house is a sure sign of fall. Boo and Licious prance from plant to plant and ask, "Do you want these seeds?" I most usually say, "Yes!" And, they happily collect the seeds for me. When we moved here 3 1/2 years ago and acquired our two greenhouses I made a point of showing them how to collect seeds for growing next season. Practical. Responsible. Economical. And, well . . . fun.



My girls know that a plant comes from a seed and, in turn, that plant will make new seeds. They know that some plants are annuals and others are perennials. They know that seeds are spread by wind, rain, birds, other animals . . . and by little girl fingers collecting them in the fall. To plant back in the spring.




Wait. You mean plants don't come from the store?

Huh. Who knew.

-dana

Beachy babes

My brother and his wife. Don't they just make you crazy? They are those people that you just hate. Cool. Clever. Smart. Snort-out-your-nose-laughing cause they are so hilarious. Savvy. Stylish. Gorgeous. Kind. Successful. Loyal. Thoughtful. Conscientious. Fun loving. Easy going. Yes, you want to hate them . . . but you can't. Absolutely. Can. NOT.

Rather, they are the type of people that you just WANT to be around. You want to bask in their glow. You want them to notice you . . . and they always will. They always find a way to let you know that they care about you.

Cool people are so good at that.

Wish I got to see them more.

Maybe then I would be cool.
-dana

FYI: That is really them. See! I told you they were cool.

Remember these wee lads?

How much can one person go on and on about her pumpkin patch. Not even "her" pumpkin patch so much as her husband's pumpkin patch. From the moment the seeds went into the ground this crazy lady has blogged every developmental stage of practically every pumpkin in the garden. Seriously. How dull.



Oh, come on. Humor me! These are just a few of the MANY sugar pumpkins that we have harvested. Most will be roasted up and used in cooking or baking. But, a few of these littler ones will be carved. Or brought to the girls' school to decorate their classrooms.




But these big guys are still growing!




In all the years that we have had a vegetable garden this is the FIRST year that we have actually had an abundant crop of pumpkins. It may seem like a small feat to some, but to us we feel triumphant! A victory over those pesky squash vine borer bugs!

I'd like to think that this would be the last post about the pumpkins. No guarantee however. I mean think of the pumpkin excitement I can still share. Harvesting the big ones. Weighing the big ones. Putting a nice display together of our beautiful pumpkins and ornamental gourds. Carving pumpkins for Halloween. Roasting pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin stew. Figuring out how to add pumpkin to my soap recipe. Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Anyone live near an Einstein Bros. Bagels shop? Oh my word! About this time every year they have pumpkin bagels and pumpkin cream cheese. These are the stuff of dreams. Absolutely. To. Die. For. Too bad I'm at least 2 hours away from the closest store.

-dana

Big trees

Big trees are cool. Some of these are over 400 years old. We picnicked and hiked in this beautiful old growth forest. After all, if I want my children to save the planet, I have to teach them to love the earth.

dana

Wrath of grapes

We've been making grape jelly like crazy people. My fingernails and cuticles are stained a deep shade of purple. So are portions of my counter tops and dishtowels.

Yet, I cannot pass this day without remembering the victims of 9/11. I pray for peace for those victims, their families, our nation, our service men and women, and victims of terrorism internationally.

-dana

We heart Nana & Papa

I love Nana and Papa with all my heart. Clearly, so do Boo and Licious.

dana

Quilts and such part IV

I just gotta say right off the bat a great big thank you for the encouraging comments to my last post. Day two of art was MUCH better than the first and I'm looking forward to next Friday. The middle schoolers still tried to push me but I let them know (with no uncertain terms) that I was in charge and they were engaged and enjoying themselves. I enjoyed myself as well. I'm looking forward to next Friday already.

Nnn-kay.

I have been wanting to share my latest quilts for several weeks. Amazingly I found the coolest couple that quilted the first two quilts you will see on their long arm quilting machine. Not only are they super cool people but they have two young daughters that my daughters like to play with. And, one of the coolest things is that we bartered my photography services for their quilting services. How cool is that?? I am glad that I met this family . . . and not just because they have a long arm quilting machine. Can't wait to photograph those beautiful girls.

This is the first one. You might remember me mentioning the patchwork quilt that I put together with 5 inch square fabric blocks that I acquired from a fabric swap. Well, here it is.





And, the backing on it is another patchwork that I had done with 12 inch blocks of various vintage sheets. I love this effect!



You'll recognize this one from the banner up top. I hand pieced the entire top this winter. I'm going to bind it with the red from the one block. This is probably the most conventional/traditional quilt I will ever do. I adore it.




These last two are some that I put together quickly. The first because Licious wanted one to call her own. The second because I have always wanted a Halloween quilt to take on fall hayrides and bonfires. Quick and easy but pleasing nonetheless.




Thats all for now.
dana

Middle school set

I didn't blog much last week for many reasons. The main one being that my girls started school and it was an emotional week for me. But another big reason was that it was also the start of school for me too. The start of teaching art again that is. Last school year I only taught kindergarten through fourth grade. However, this year it is kindergarten through eighth. Let me just say, middle school is a whole new ball game.

I knew that working with fifth through eighth grades would be different. Different in that they could do more and would have more ability. Oh, and I figured we could get more done in the time frame given. Some things I hadn't really considered though. Such as, they aren't so eager to please me like those adorable K-4th graders. Like, oh pa-lease, some of them would soooo rather be cartooning than making a collage. And they weren't afraid to let me know that either. And how can I forget, some are way too busy trying to impress the opposite sex to really be listening to me.

I knew that working with the middle school set would be different. I just hadn't thought of all the ways that it would be. Since art is only on Fridays I have had some time to think about our first day. After having a week of reflection I am better armed to deal with this challenge. I have some tricks up my sleeve. I am determined. I can teach them new things and make them love art in the process. I'm encouraged. I'm determined. I'm confident.

Oh, and I'm a little scared.

Dana

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

And the winner is comment number 6 left by Mrs. Kroon who said:

Wow. I'm impressed that you're willing to go this far. Giving away a quilt is pretty darn amazing, especially when it comes out of your wonderful collection. I'm commenting for the first time on your blog, but I've been a regular reader for quite some time. This was enough to bring me out of the shadows!

So, you mysterious "Mrs. Kroon" you, email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com so that I can get your mailing address and soap preferences.

By the way, I used a random number generator to come up with the winner.

Thanks for playing.

dana

100th Post & Give Away!

So this is my 100th post. To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to have a give away contest of sorts. Let's get to the goods.




First, I wanted to give some things away that really mean something to me. I knew instantly that it would be a prized quilt (!!!!!!), fabric, and some of the soap and sugar scrub that I make and sell on my website. Sounded good in my head. But, when it came down to actually picking which quilt I would give away . . . not so good anymore. This is kind of what went on in my head:

Give away a quilt? Are you crazy? Quilts are like one of your most favoritest things in the world! How are you going to part with one? You seek quilts everywhere you go. You shop for them. You beg, borrow and steal them. You make them. When you get a new one you bring it home and feel like you can give it a home that it so justly deserves. Now your planning on giving one away?

When it came down to seriously choosing one to give away (gulp!) I felt like that poor woman in the movie "Sophie's Choice" that had to decide which child to, well, um . . . well . . . you know.

Whew.

So, I choose this quilt. It is a vintage hand-sewn crib quilt with the cutest rabbits all over it. You might remember I have mentioned it before here.




I'm also going to send the lucky winner some Halloween fabric remnants. Just over the weekend I finished a Halloween quilt and used both of these fabrics. With all of you crafty gals that visit here now-and-again I thought this fabric could be put to good use by you.



Finally, the person who rips the quilt out of my loving hands will also get to choose 3 bars of soap and 1 sugar scrub from my website. You'll have to go there and see whatcha' like. You can click on the link at the top left of this page. Go now. I'll still be here when you get back.

So here's the deal. Leave a comment here to this post. I'll pick a winner by random draw on Wednesday at 8:00pm and announce the winner on Thursday. Sounds easy enough. Easy enough for you anyway. I still have to come to terms with the fact that I'm parting with one of my favorite quilts. (That and I will have to conduct the drawing, request mailing address, box up the goods, take it to the post office. Like I need another thing to do. Yeah. Sounds "easy enough"!)

You can only enter once. Repeat entries will be deleted. But, I'll never know if you have family and friends enter for you.

Good luck!
dana