YEEHAW!!!

It's time for a hoe down!!! 

Yes, we like to goof off. ;)

Trueness to goodness! We're just goofing off!

"See that cute guy!" :giggle giggle: Oh, nevermind.

What's a hoe down without dancing?

Meet Manny



A perfect couple!

He's my cousin, trice removed.

Paper lanterns!

So proper. ;)

pumpkin toss!

The first and second place winners of the ladies' Flap Jack Flippin' Frenzy

Thanks for enjoying it with me!

Getting ready!

Last Octocer, my family graciously hosted what was the result of some long car rides and giddy girls with lofty thoughts. Dancing, pies, pumpkins, friends, full moon, crisp autumn chill, more pies, more dancing, and some bonfire singing made the evening absolutely perfect. My family and I were completely whooped by the end of the party, but it was oh so worth it! Now every time it comes up in a conversation, people ask me if we'll do it again. And all I could answer then was maybe, I hope so. Well, the parents have given the go-ahead and it's on it's way! The harvest party that people compared to something that was stuck in the movies or old books is coming again this year!

Now it's time to make the final plans, make lists, and get the final emails out!

The dance floor

I can't wait!!!

I'm surrounded!

By roosters, that is. ;) We have over 50 chickens running around right now, and several of them are roosters. No, we are not raising fighting cocks (most of these will be 'taken care of' in less than a week), the hens fight more than the roosters. That shouldn't surprise you. ;) But every morning when I open up the barn doors, dozens of poultry come running our and all of the roosters start giving it their all. From the tiniest 8" bantie to the 7 1/2 lb. lunker start crowing with all their might. Every rooster has his individual crow, almost to the point where we can tell the difference between them. Come butchering next week, things will get very quiet. Now, don't take it the wrong way when I say that I'm looking forward to butchering. I'm not morbid. But I am looking forward to actually getting things cleaned up around here.

Having so many chickens can be quite destructive. They sneak into the garden, tear up the flower beds, peck dents and dings into the pumpkins (I promise you, they'll taste better AFTER they've turned orange. :roll:), they make messes everywhere they go, ect.

So yes, I am looking forward to butchering, just not the actual deed.

1863

A welcoming lunch greeted us as we came up to the camp

A friend getting ready to go on a stroll through the camp

"Get back in line!"

Maybe if we lay low, they won't see us.

"Give me that water, boy!"

Playing taps

Going for a walk

Now it's time for the cooler settings on my camera. ^_^

Group picture

Zoomed out

moment of silence

Now for the piece-de-resista'nce!

Tada! I love this picture

Brain Spark

You know in comics, when someone gets an idea, there's a lightbulb above their head? Mine comes in sparks. Once it sparks though, it's kinda hard to stop the neurons from spreading the spark all over the place. ;) About a week ago, we got an ad for Joann's home decor fabric. Inside said ad was this picturesque picture of someone's couch. On said couch was a bunch of mundane, normal pillows, but then, there it was! A gorgeous pillow with a chrysanthemum fabric flower sewn right on top. I had to make it. I didn't have any directions but I absolutely had to make this pillow. For those of you who have gone shopping with me to any boutique-y store/bazaar/show, I have an obsession with unique pillows. I have a few pillows in my room now, but this surely would be the piece-de-resista'nce! I sat all through dinner brooding this sudden surge of creative juices and how on earth I would piece this together. I decided a protractor would be necessary. But how many petals? How big should they be? Well... when I finally found the protractor, we only had one size. So that answered that question. But how big should the finished project be? How much fabric? Could I use all the fun scraps that I can't use for doll dresses? Would those colors all work? The questions just kept coming. My dad suggested to search the web for directions. Not a whole lot out there... There was one felt pillow, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. But it did give me another lead. Then I decided to check Joann's website. I searched and searched. Finally, I found it. At the bottom of the last page of free projects. I was so excited I almost couldn't contain myself! But as I read the directions, I was taken over by the dark cloud of 'what the heck am I getting into?' To feel what I experienced, just click the link:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/projectdetail.jsp?projectFlag=true&CATID=&fullPath=home+decor+%26+fabrics&PRODID=prod342161&subCatName=home+decor+
I decided I could do it easier and more streamlined. I pulled out the protractor and a big plate (because I can't draw circles to save my life) and got to cutting. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do, but I was going to do it. I found some fun fabrics in my stash that were too small to do anything else with, cut them up, and sewed them together. As I sewed them onto the big circle (the plate size), the flower suddenly emerged. I kept going and then finally decided to just stick them all on there to see what this thing was going to look like when all was said and done. ;) Here's what I've come up with so far:

Isn't it gorgeous?! Sorry for the horrible picture... It's what I get for using my webcam. ;)

These boots ain't made for dancin'

Who knows how many miles these over loved riding boots have trodden? They most certainly have lost their original glow from all those years of hiking and horses. But they most certainly not made for dancing - yet. With their thoroughly worn out leather souls and less than supportive ankle, they definately make your feet extremely sore (to the point of not being able to even stand) the next day. But very soon they shall :hopefully: be fixed! I found a shoe repair shop nearby, and I'm hoping that they can put some better soul into it. Yeah, leather souls don't exactly make walking, hiking, let along dancing very easy. So hopefully, these boots can soon be dancin' boots as well!

Little things

Funny how it's usually the little things that you take for granted the most. Soon the turkeys will be butchered, and our source of many hours of sore laughing muscles will be silenced. Going on an Easter egg hunt every day, the sweet smell of fresh cut hay in the barn (and smelling like it yourself!), and being greeted by an 8" tall rooster every morning. Yes, our rooster is about eight inches tall, his name is Mr. Collins (all you Pride and Prejudice fans will get this), and he thinks that he is the most magnificent thing in the world. Even noises that become white noises over time can be taken for granted. Our elderly neighbor goes to town several times a day just to get out of the house. Everytime he comes back up the driveway, his old beagle stands on his lap, sticks his head out the window and announces their arrival. There was a time though, when this old dog was too worn out to even do that. Fortunately, they found out what was going on and fixed it. So that old dog can continue his song for many more years (hopefully). :)

PS - I really don't know where I'm going with this post... Being whooped does strange things to my brain. ;)

Summer Nights

Our little man - Mr. Collins

Princess 'Megan' Cleo-cat-tra giving us her typical, condescending glare

Our latest poultry attempt. So far they have been very successful (except for the one that the dog snatched...)

They think that they are beautiful in their eyes.

Simply stunning, Mr. Tom

A must :not: read!

I haven't read the Twilight books or seen the movies. I chose not to - most would ask almost with disbelief, "WHY?" At first, I thought that it was just the fact that the main character was a vampire. A handsome vampire. That sparkles. No thank you! Anything that really deals with the occult of dark romanticism is not my idea of good entertainment. As I found out more about the series and saw what it was doing to young girls, young women, even married women, I abhorred the series even more. What ever gives you the over sensualized thoughts, the emotional 'ripping out' of your heart for a fictional character, giving you a fake example of what 'true love' is making all other human relationships worth nothing, suggesting that you isolate yourself to be with the blood-sucking, FICTIONAL boyfriend is definately not worth getting involved in.

Phil. 4:8 shows us what God says we should put our time and efforts into.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Just some thoughts on the pop culture icon that has swept the females of the nation off their feet...

For more reading about the Twilight series, please read this:
http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.6099193/k.76B1/The_Darkness_of_Twilight.htm

A classic, retro evening

The theme for the ball in June was WWII - an odd choice for English Country Dancing - but very fun! As usual, I finished my dress the day of the ball. ;) But strangest of things, I was able to convince my brother to finally go! :D So we got ourselves all dressed up and went to the ball!


Yes, there is a story behind my brother 'costume.' Back in WWII, my great-grandfather helped to rebuild Pearl Harbor after the December attack. When he came back to the states, he always wore a Hawaiin (sp?) shirt and khaki slacks. My mom even remembers that as his 'default', everyday clothing.

I love the big flag! Although, it has fifty stars.

Rosy the Rivetor (aka - Holly)

Winston Churchill even made an appearance!

Mingling...

I had no clue that one of my friends had taken this until she posted it onto Facebook the next day... The strange thing about it is that you can see my Great-grandma Jenny in it! We have a picture of her back when she was my age, and she has almost the exact same face!

A British invasion complete with argyle

The evening did sort of have a 'musical' quality to it.

~The End~