Bump in the road

I have two dads and this is one of them. His name is Dale. He had surgery on October 19th and is encountering some problems in healing after the surgery. His intestine is leaking into his body cavity. Doctors say that 80% of the time the intestine will heal on its own. He won't be able to eat for 12 weeks . . . IV nutrition in the form of a substance called TPN. Cat scans today. Wound exploration in the next day or two.

If your the praying type, would appreciate a prayer for him.

-dana

Pumpkins & S'mores

Sunday was a great day. It was spent doing this . . .



and this . . .


Which resulted in this . . .





(The MU stands for the University of Missouri. The football team is ranked number 9 this week thank you very much. Go Mizzou. Come on! Sing it with me!

Fight, Tiger, fight for old Mizzou,
Right behind you, everyone is with you.
Break the line and follow down the field,
And, you'll be, on the top, upon the top.
Fight, Tiger, you will always win,
Proudly keep the colors flying skyward.
In the end, we'll win the victory,
So Tiger, fight for Old Mizzou!)


Ya baby!
dana

Him. He and I.

I love him.

Here is such a small part of why.

This man is there. He is there in the good. Bad. Crazy. Hectic. Sad. Wrong. Right. Busy. Lazy. He is there.

I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing about how busy I am. Sheesh. Everyone is busy. But he'll listen. And, he'll do his part to make sure that we get everything done that we need to, should do and want to.

On a recent visit with one of my dads who is in the hospital, we were talking about businesses. He has had his own before. It was a partnership. Dad made the comment that partnerships are marriages. I have thought about that comparison lots since then. I know he is right. I run my soap business with my husband. Thinking about that, I realize that in addition to maintaining a successful marriage together Razor and I are maintaining a successful business together. As if having a successful marriage isn't hard enough we had to throw a business into the mix? I had never really thought of it in those terms before. Am I even making sense? All I'm really trying to say is that I am proud of us. I'm proud of our ability to be successful in our relationship.

I love him. I love he and I together.

-dana

It's the little things

In my current fast-forward pace of life, some days the littlest of things make all of the difference. With the hectic craziness that has defined the last several weeks around here, I sometimes feel like I have lost control. Like I'm being pulled under the wave that is crashing over me. Sure I make it through each day. But some days require a small triumph on my part just to make it feel like perhaps I do maintain some control.




So, this little thing is my triumph for today. Nothing major but enough to put a huge smile on my face. I had an idea, came up with a plan, executed the plan and had successful results. ::sigh:: Sometimes that is all it takes.



Even little Jezebel marveled at my triumph.



All rolled up and snapped tight. Order among chaos. Perhaps I can use it to measure the length of time until life returns to the slow and boring pace that I so prefer.

-dana

The flavors of fall

Fall is yummy. Both the weather and the food. And the special activities it allows for. Like going to the apple orchard today. And, holding baby chicks.




And pumpkin stew for dinner.




With apple cider doughnuts for dessert.

Here is the recipe for the best pumpkin stew in the world.

Pumpkin Stew

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups peeled, cubed pumpkin


Directions:
In a large plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add meat a few pieces at a time and shake to coat. In a Dutch oven, brown meat in oil and butter. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, water, bay leaf, bouillon, thyme and remaining pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir in pumpkin. Return to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat and pumpkin are tender. Discard bay leaf.

So, so good.

Now if your waiting for the apple cider doughnut recipe you'll have to keep on waiting.

I love fall.
dana

... As a bee

Busy as a bee.



And not liking it much.



When I saw these beautiful grasses it reminded me that I need to slow down and breathe.



And kick up my heels.



Boo and Licious love to kick up their heels.



So much going on. Soap making. Travel. Selling at festivals. Field trips. Homework. Laundry. Did I say soap making? Yearbook. Art. Art with middle-schoolers. Researching airfare to California for Christmas. Proofing portraits. Step-dad having MRI and slated for surgery on Friday. Trying my hardest not to think about the last thing. Long story. Lovin' the puppy but OH. MY. GOODNESS. Tired.

But, I did get a quilt back from Russ the great-and-growing-in-his-famousness-as-the-best-long-arm-quilter around! It rocks so I'm anxious to share it.

To the apple orchard tomorrow with the kindergartners.

-dana

Little fellas

Ok. So, it has been a week since I have posted anything here. I hope to explain why in my next post. But for now your gonna have to settle for some more photographs from last weeks shoot of these two little guys. You have seen the first fella a few months back on the tractor. I haven't heard from the momma . . . sure hope she likes them.

Just for the Momma

A super-duper-don't-know-when-I'll-get-the-rest-proofed sneak peak.

-dana

Neighbors

I have said it here before but I'm going to say it again. I love my house. I love my actual house but I also love the location of my house. We are on about an acre of land. Right across the street is a river. And a bunch of cows. Behind us is forest for miles and miles and miles. Then there is this next door.




You cannot see the main house until the next photo but in this one you see an out building that used to house food and some livestock. Then see that rock out cropping on the right hand side of the photo? That is what remains of the old spring house. A spring house is a building that is built right on a natural spring as a means of keeping it cool. In the days before refrigerators you would keep things cool in the spring house. Milk, eggs, cheese. That kind of stuff.




Now here you can see a portion of the main house. It is a grand house with a rich history. Used to be the post office for our small community. That and other things. I should talk at length with Mrs. F about her home and give you some of that history. I could sit and talk with her for hours . . . and sometimes do.




If you haven't been here you should plan a visit soon. I'd love to have ya!
-dana

The greatest part of my weekend!

The girls had their first clogging performances on Saturday and Sunday. They are the two shorties in the middle. Licious on the left. Boo on the right.

The rest of my weekend consisted of selling my goat milk soap and sugar scrub at an entirely different festival. And dealing with this . . .



What is that you ask? Does this give you a better clue?



You guessed it. Our septic system backed up and caused lots of loveliness to occur at our house. On a weekend. On a weekend when septic tank workers don't come out to fix it. On a weekend when when my girls have their first clogging show. On a weekend when my girls have their first clogging show and Nana and Papa traveled 6 hours by car to stay with us and see said performance. Did I mention how lovely that was?


Ok. Back to the good stuff. Did I mention that my girls had their first clogging performance?



Aren't they adorable?

-dana

Round robin!

Ever heard of a Round Robin?

I had but I didn't really know what it was prior to June of this year.



A Round Robin in quilting language is a group quilting project that goes something like this:

Each participant makes a center block. There can be all kinds of rules for size, color , theme, etc. Then according to a predetermined rotation schedule, each participant sends their center block on to the next person. That person then adds a "round" to that center block. Meaning, they add a border all the way around that center block. The quilter who made the center block then gets the quilt top back to keep and finish. In the end each participant gets their original center block with all of the added rounds back.

Yep, this beauty is MY round robin quilt!!




I made the center block and then 4 other talented quilters added the AWESOME rounds.

Ok. So the center part framed by all blue is my center block.

The red border with the yellow stripe in the middle and the green with yellow pinwheel cornerstones was done by Kari from Utah. How cute is that??? So creative and I just love how it frames out my center block. I don't know Kari in real life (only online) but I sure wish I did. Our tastes in fabric and design are very similar and I know we would be great friends. [***** Russ -- are you reading this? How ya gonna quilt around those 3D pinwheels?? It's headed your way soon. Please tell me there is way!]




The next round was added by the amazing and wonderful Susan from Massachusetts and it is the wide round that has the circles in it. How cool are they???? I love the circles. I love the fabric choices (the cornerstones are daisies and daisies are my most favoritest flower in the whole world!). I love your precise piecing. Just perfect!



Ready for the next round? Well, the VERY talented Janet from Michigan did the triangle border. I say "very talented" because I got to see each round that she did on every one's quilts and it was mind blowing. "Very talented" is putting it mildly. I wish we lived closer together so you could teach me some of your skills. Ok. Back to my quilt. I just love the triangle border and how the yellow is fanning out around it. Just so yummy.



The final round was done by the impeccable Liz from Indiana and I'm soooo lovin' it. The piano key outer border is divine. They are precise. They are perfectly straight. I love the whole array of colorful fabrics. Sheesh! It must have taken you forever!!

And check out this final picture. It is from the back. It's like stained glass it is so beautiful.




When the package arrived I instantly knew what it was. I ran inside to open it just knowing that I was going to love whatever it was that I saw. As I unfolded the quilt my heart was racing and when I got it open I was dumbfounded. I mean really. I was absolutely speechless for a good 15 minutes. I ran outside to hang it up and really get a good look at it. I was in shock. To look from round to round and she how each of your interpreted it and changed it and put your stamp on it.

The work that you ladies did on it is nothing like what I would have done in a million years. And it is PERFECTLY me! I absolutely love it! Thank you all so very much.

-dana