Interloping Squatters

These are the photos of what my livingroom looked like today

while I was on the couch working on the laptop.

Albert in MY rocking chair

Albert on MY footstool

Sarah in MY rocking chair

What is wrong with these photos, I ask you?

They don't even have to decency to look me in the face!

Cats, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Have a blessed Monday evening.

Tomorrow is moving day (I hope!)

Will keep Ya'll posted once I get to Casey Co.

Early Monday Morning

Thanks to fotosearch.com for the photos in this post.

He who created the Pleiades and Orion

and who strides the heights of creation

He is the Lord, the God of Hosts by name.

He formed the mountains and created the wind

and thru His Spirit declares His thoughts to men.

He who created the Pleiades and Orion

and who strides the heights of creation

He is the Lord, the God of Hosts by name.

song - Pleiades and Orion by John Michael Talbot

Have a blessed Monday, Everyone.

From central KY.

Sunday Sabbath

God's Promise

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

The Promise of the Lord to the Israelites during the Babylonian exile.

As minor as the setback of not being able to move yesterday was in the big scheme of things, I found comfort in these verses which are among my favorites in the Bible. May you, too, find comfort in the fact that God has plans for your life, to give you hope and a future. Be well, everyone, on this Sunday Sabbath. God bless you All.

Best wishes from central KY.

Simple Saturday and moving delay

There was a glitch today in getting the mover-helpers here thru U-Haul to load my belongings to be moved. So the move has been rescheduled to Tuesday. Now I have time to do all of my laundry before the move. I'm tired. And I'll leave you with this simple photo of an image that can be found all over KY at this time of year. Have a blessed Saturday evening, Ya'll, and a joyous Lord's day tomorrow. My best to you all. From central KY.

Tobacco barn

Friday Fotos

You've heard of wine in a box - here is cat in a box -- Miss Annie.

Of course my cats have "cat" beds, but they

seem to like anything BUT their own beds.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, I have yet to master taking pics with my digital camera, plus it's a cheapy camera! I'll have to invest in a better one sometime.

Hope Ya'll have a great & blessed weekend. I will be offline for quite some time since I am moving tomorrow and don't know when I will get to the public library to update my blog. But I will have photos of the move, and pics of the cabin, etc. Thanks for all of your well-wishes for my move. The weather is going to cooperate greatly, and is supposed to be in the 70s for a high, which is great with the cats riding in the truck with me, so that they don't get too stressed with hot temperatures.

See Ya'll soon. Take care, from Fayette Co KY - soon to be Casey Co KY.

Thoughtless Thursday

No words, just a photo for this

Thoughtless Thursday

9-patch Star crib quilt

Have a blessed Thursday, Ya'll.

From central KY.

Way-Back Wednesday

As most of you know I am moving on Saturday. I have been going thru all of my storage boxes, and found these neat little figurines that I'd forgotten I had. My Mom gave them to me when she and my Dad were cleaning out my Grandpa Schanding's home after he passed away. Here are photos of the three figurines.

The cow is a little cream pitcher. And I think the donkey used to have something that would lie over its halter on its back. The pig is just a pig, albeit a little creepy looking! Here is a better shot from the side to see more of the figurines.

I do treasure these because they are so old, and my

Grandma Schanding probably picked them out. I never

knew her since she passed away in 1958. But in seeing

photos of her in her twenties, I look quite a bit like her.



Hope you enjoyed these little pieces for a Way-Back Wednesday.

Take care Ya'll, and have a blessed day.

From central KY - Fayette Co.

Treasure-Find Tuesday

I have been on the look-out for a rocking chair or two to go into the cabin and/or go out on the main floor's deck/porch. I found this one on Craigslist for $15. The cushion came with it, and I did notice that the cane seat needs some work, but it will do the job. It needs refinishing or painted. And if anyone can tell me if I need to do something to it before painting, please let me know. From the looks of it, it has been outside some, it has that weathered look and feel about it. So I know that something needs to be done to it to prolong its life. I also contacted another person with a rocking chair for $10, but haven't heard from them. I will continue to look on Craigslist to see if anything else comes up before my move on Saturday.

So, without further ado - here is the rocker that I just picked up this evening.

OK - sorry for all of the mess in the background, I'm still packing up stuff for the move. Please forgive! Whaddaya think?

Take care All - and have a blessed Tuesday evening. From central KY.

Sunday Evening's Sweet Dreams

May you all have sweet dreams for this Sunday night's sleep.

Good Night, Ya'll. Sleep Tight.

From central KY - Fayette Co.
Photos from fotosearch.com

Way Back Wednesday - Canning Jars

I recently put an ad on Craigslist in the antiques section

for old canning jars. I want to use them to store

dry goods in the cabin in case of bugs and the dreaded

rodent of country-living -- the field mouse.

I was contacted by Maureen who is originally from Wisconsin,

I could tell by her accent. Actually I guessed Minnesota or

North Dakota - I was close. At any rate she told me that

she had about 47 old canning jars, blue and clear ones,

mostly Ball, some Atlas, and a Carbonic (I think) -

it is one of the clear ones with the wire bale.

These are some of the ones I unpacked from the boxes she brought

them to me in. She was gracious enough to pack them in

old wine bottle boxes - just perfect for my move on the 25th.

I don't know what these small bottles are unless they were used

for cream? Unless they were used somehow to can? I don't know.

These are some of the zinc and glass lids that she gave

me to go with all of the canning jars.

I probably paid too much for them. About a $1 a jar.

But I've always loved the looks of the blue Ball jars. 

And some are the old type that say Ball Perfect Mason.

I'm washing them up in the dishwasher now so that they

will be ready for me to use once I move and can

settled in enough to start putting my dry goods that are

now in plastic bags, and boxes into the jars for safe keeping.

Just wanted to share with Ya'll this great find of mine.

On a Way Back Wednesday.

Take care everyone, and have a blessed Wednesday.

From central KY - Fayette Co. 

Giveaway - HenPals Nest Box - Life on a Southern Farm

GA FarmWoman Pam and her FarmMan are having a giveaway on their site for their homemade Chicken Nesting Boxes.

You can visit their blog at Life on a Southern Farm

and post a comment for a chance to win a nesting

box that is handcrafted, expertly by FarmMan.

As you can see from the above photo, these are extremely

well built hen boxes, and I believe they are going to draw

to giveaway a 3-hole nest box which would accomodate

12 hens. You can also blog about the giveaway and

be entered 3 more times to win. And also be entered

another 3 times if you tweat about it on your

Twitter account. So head on over to

Life on a Southern Farm and look at other photos

of the nest boxes, and enter into their giveaway.

There have only been positive remarks given by those

folks who have won or bought these nest boxes.

Take care Ya'll, and have a blessed Tuesday evening.

From central KY - Fayette Co.

Sweet Simple Sunday

Just a couple of photos from fotosearch.com

for this sunny Sunday Sabbath.

I hope Ya'll have a blessed and joy-filled day.

Take care, from central KY.

Silly Saturday or Autumn in Autumn

I'm sharing photos of my great-niece Autumn today. She is 20 months old, and her Mom is my niece Melissa - my brother Chris's daughter. Melissa is expecting another little girl in December right about the same time that Autumn will turn 2 yrs old. Melissa's new daughter is the one I am making the giant Granny Square afghan for. Although that has now taken a back-seat to me trying to get ready for the move that will take place in 2 weeks from today. So, as a proud great-aunt - here is Autumn.

I know you Moms out there will appreciate the photo of Autumn eating spaghetti! LOL

I guess she hasn't quite gotten down how to use silverware yet! And also, I thought I'd spare you the photo of her on the potty-training pot - just in case you're eating or something, though I know most Moms would understand. ROFL

Have a great weekend everyone. And may God bless Ya'll! From central KY.

Thoughtful - Thankful Thursday

I was thinking today of how many years ago it had been since I'd wanted to be involved in farming, and it was back when I was in grade school and into high school. Back then, I wanted to marry a farmer, and have 12 kids, work on the farm, as well as cook huge dinners for the family and hired hands just like the farmwomen of old.

Things changed, life happened; I did get to raise some chickens, a few hogs, and a couple of heifers when I lived in Bismarck ND with my then husband, but my management skills had much to be desired, I know better now. Then I worked for 9 years with a university swine research unit; and before that helped on another university's farm with their hogs and sheep.

After working on the swine research farm, somehow I got lost, and forgot about farming and working with animals. Probably because the farm was a confinement system, and I couldn't see working with livestock in that environment any longer.

Somehow, come 2006, my yearning for farmlife returned, and I started reading up on raising chickens, and goats, and sheep - the Storey Publications. Began learning more about intensive grazing, and its benefits.

Then, that fateful day occured when I heard Suzanne McMinn on NPR's Inside Appalachia - about her blog Chickens in the Road. That's when things really turned around. But maybe some seeds were again planted when I made friends with a gal in Casey Co KY on a Yahoo group, and back then, which was about 2006, I had dreams of moving there and helping her on her farm.

I think that things happen for a reason. Most of my life I have wanted to live and work on a farm, work with livestock. I've had the chance to do a lot of that along the way, even marrying a son of a farmer, and though it didn't work out, and Steve had no want of farming, I still got to work with his Dad some on the farm and come to love it even more, and get his Dad's support in my wanting to learn and experience farmlife.

I honestly believe that God has been preparing me for this moment of getting the chance to move to Casey Co, and become involved in farming full-time. Even the experiences I had when I went camping in Amish country in Lancaster PA have shaped me to this day. When I was there, I went next door to an Amish dairy farm and asked if I could help them finish milking because it was starting to get dark, and they looked like they may need a hand, if just to carry the milk buckets to the large holding tank.

All of this reflection is just to say I've been thinking a lot today, and am increasingly grateful and thankful of the experiences, good and bad, that have brought me to this time in my life. I am thankful for all of my blogging friends who have given me the courage to do what I have dreamed of, and for their encouragement and support. I see through your experiences how many possibilities there are, and to not give up on my dreams. So I now say a heart-felt thank you.

These are my reflections for a Thursday.

I hope Ya'll have a great rest of the evening.

Take care, from Fayette Co KY

Soon to be Casey Co KY

New York Amish: Book giveaway on Amish America blog

SUNY-Potsdam Professor of Anthropology Karen Johnson-Weiner has spent years researching the various Amish communities in New York. Karen’s new book New York Amish: Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State is the first to explore Amish settlement in the state.


While you won’t find any Amish on the island of Manhattan, since 1949 they have established nearly three dozen settlements across the state, from Western NY to the North Country near the Canadian border.

This is the beginning of an interview that Erik Wesner at Amish America blogged about today. There is a giveaway on the site for this new book on Amish communities in New York State. If you would like a chance to win a copy of the book, go to the blog and leave a comment. You may also be entered another time if you mention the blog post on Facebook. And you can also be entered a third time if you do a post about it on your blog. The interview is very interesting, and I hope you will head over the Amish America to browse through the interview, as well as look at the many interesting blog posts that Erik Wesner has written about the Amish in America.

Have a great rest of your Wednesday, everyone. Take care, from central KY.

Wordless Wednesday

Have a blessed Wednesday

Take care, Ya'll, from central KY

Photos from fotosearch.com

Tuesday's Treasure or Keep Believing in Dreams

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Keep believing in your dreams, Ya'll!

Field of Dreams

Take care everyone, have a blessed Tuesday, and keep dreaming.

From central KY - the Bluegrass region

Now that's what I call a Granny Square

I'm working on an afghan for my niece's second baby girl who is due in December. I was working on an individual Granny Square afghan for her, but that kind of went by the way-side. So I decided to do something a little easier, and just make the afghan one big Granny Square. Below is a photo - it's about 12" square right now, and I'll probably make it 36" square - so a I'm a third finished, and want to get it finished and to my niece before I move at the end of September. Anyway - wanted to share this with you. I really like the multi-color of the yarn, and it is kinda girlie - so will fit my great-niece well, I hope.

I hope you all enjoy your Labor Day, when I hope you're free from labor.

Take care Ya'll - from Fayette Co KY.

Sunday Sabbath

I'm taking an idea for a Sunday blog post from Sandra over at Thistle Cove Farm - some of my favorite quotes that you may find interesting or encouraging.

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment . . ." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Do not part with your dreams or aspirations for when they are gone you will exist, but you have ceased to live." Henry David Thoreau 

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Everyone - have a blessed Sunday, and enjoy your weekend. From Fayette Co KY.

Silly Saturday

This morning is cool here in central KY. There is a breeze blowing, and I had to put on my long jean jumper instead of wearing shorts and a t-shirt like I had been doing all week long with the air conditioning running. I have the windows open and the sliding glass door open with a third of it blocked so that the cats can't get out on the balcony - I don't have a screen door to the balcony.

My youngest cat, Pookie, has a big snoot-ful of the cool breezes, and is running crazy thru the apartment chasing any of the other cats that get in his way - much to their dismay. Lots of swiping and hissing going on. I'm anxious to see how they all will do with living in the country, and having the freedom of going outside. I guess more curious than anxious. I plan to let them out when I am there at the cabin, and try and bring them in when I am gone, and especially bring them in at night.

Here is a silly photo of Pookie making himself comfortable on the couch arm, taking a break from watching the bugs that gather around the table lamp. He looks fat, but he isn't, he just has long hair, and is also growing since he just turned one year old a few months ago. It's nice having a young cat in the family again. He's a hoot!

Hope Ya'll have a great Labor Day weekend. Here in central KY the weather is going to be wonderful, with highs in the mid-70s, with low 50s at night, and right now it's 54 at 8:00am. Take care, and have a blessed Saturday, from Fayette Co KY.

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday, I am thankful for sore muscles - all over my body!

There has been construction going on at my apartment complex, inside and outside the buildings since the new management took over in January of this year. Lately, the banging, sawing, heavy equipment moving has gotten on my last nerve.

So, yesterday I took a trip to my beloved Casey County KY to visit my friend Bobbett, whom I will be farming with when I move there at the end of September. We spent the day clearing out her no-longer-producing tomato plants and weeds from six cattle panels. Then moved the panels to the barn.

You wouldn't think it would take about four hours to do such a thing, but it did. There were still some good tomatoes on the vines, some ripe, some to make fried green tomatoes with. We took our first break for a drink after about two hours of work, and to cool off since it was in the upper 80s yesterday, though there was a nice breeze blowing.

Our second break, though, was the one I was looking forward to the most. We went back out and worked some more after our first break. Then, this is what was waiting for us during our second break before we ate lunch.

Bobbett and her parents have a nice swimming pool at their place, and we both jumped into the pool with our work clothes on. I had on shorts and a t-shirt, and Bobbett had on the same. It was delightful to say the least. We spent about thirty minutes in the pool, then went in to have some pasta salad for lunch. Then we were all rested up and satisfied with food, and went out to finish our task.

I left there about 5:00pm, having gotten there about noon. It takes almost two hours to get there from where I live. And today, I am sore all over from my finger tips to the tips of my toes, and what a wonderful workout it was. I think that the move to the cabin, and my future in farming with Bobbett is going to be a success. And we'll get more done outside as the weather cools, than we did yesterday.

Take care, Ya'll. And have a blessed Thursday. What are you thankful for today?

thanks to fotosearch.com for the use of their photos

Wordless Wednesday

Trio in pink

Barn

Pig tails

Corn shocks