Sunday, September 27, 2015

"BloodMoon" Eclipse

Thought I'd give it a shot, see if I could capture the blood moon tonight. Supposedly it will be another 30 years before it will be seen again.


This was taken before the total eclipse and I was so excited that I captured it, then decided to try the full eclipse. I had a devil of a time but it isn't too bad. I'm still learning :)


Now if I could just capture those Northern Lights, but I think I may need a fancier camera for that!


Friday, September 25, 2015

They're BACK!


The dreaded Asian beetles have descended upon us once again, they are the bain of our existence in the fall. This is just the start and hopefully they won't be as intrusive as they have been in the past where it takes all winter to get rid of the ones that sneak into the house!



On a more cheerful note it's also the time of year for the Mums bloom and the change of colors. Angie has been busy putting up an abundance of apples that she acquired from a friend. She's starting to lose her excitement about the whole process now because she has done many buckets so far. This weekend we'll be back to splitting and stacking...the fun never ends!


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Busy Busy Busy

This past week has been nothing short of crazy busy at work. Then we got started cutting up the 11 cords of wood staring us in the face for our winter heat. It's hard work but rewarding at the same time, knowing that our efforts are going to keep us warm and cozy all winter.

No Kodak moments this week, I guess that's not entirely true - this morning there were at least 4 deer in our field. They looked neat intermixed with the fog. I try not to make a big deal of them though, Cooper the wonderdog has a coronary if he knows they're out there. So, I just kept their secret and walked out of their line of view. It was a nice start to the day.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Back to Ancestry

I got an invite from Ancestry for a new subscription at a substantial savings so, loving the deal, I took on another 6 mo. subscription. I usually do in the fall so I have the winter months to work on the Family Tree. There's "new" information. What an oxymoron - old data being new. Anyway, I enjoy it and someday the grandbabies might enjoy seeing it all.

Dad and Mom on their wedding day - 1956

I have recently begun scanning the old photo's and adding them to the tree so they don't have to just be that blue or pink profile icon. 

My Paternal Grandparents

My Maternal Grandparents

Later my maternal Grandmother remarried so the only "Grampa" I knew was him and not this man. This guy passed away long before I was even born in 1945.

My Dad and his siblings. Dad is the one on the left in the back, Ralph, his older brother on the right.

It's a fun pastime in the long winter months. Imagine how much more difficult it was prior to the internet! 






Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sunday Funday


Today we had the kids (and grandkids) out for the afternoon. We made chili and cornbread and Grampa had plans to make airplanes out of foam he's been saving from meat trays. They turned out pretty good and the kids had a blast with them.


They also did some shooting with their Dad. Of course, the first order of business is the safety meeting.

There was all kinds of excitement but they were very safety minded, which made the older set happy.


Patience is a virtue. Waiting for his turn.


Cooper was called back to the house, patience is NOT a virtue of his. He loves being in the thick of it but safety first!



Grampa and the little one had about all the excitement they could take.









Wednesday, September 9, 2015

We've come a long way, Baby!

We purchased the property we live on almost 12 years ago already (hard to believe!)
It started out with a 1940's farm house that had been somewhat renovated inside.

Let's just say we didn't buy the place for the house. Hubby built me the little barn garden shed out back and I finally got a chance to use the "Mr. Ed" door I bought at an auction a hundred , several years ago.


The place has a beautiful hedge of lilacs in the back yard, and although definitely an added bonus, still not the reason we bought the place.


So, we remodeled that old farmhouse with kind of a pole barn construction around the old place and adding on 2 additions. We also demolished the top story and got rid of that. Those stairs were too much and we figured it was only going to get worse. We added heat in the floor in the new additions.


Finally getting a start on some landscaping in 2011 after tearing down the old outbuildings, building a new shop and remodeling the house. Starting to come together finally in 2011(8 years!). It was a bigger undertaking than we anticipated.


The landscaping is finally filling in that big area in the front of the house.


Having family here to enjoy all the wide open space to explore, ride bikes, golf cart rides, games, etc., THAT is why we bought the place.




Monday, September 7, 2015

Photography is not my forte'

I took some time today to fool around with my camera. I'm usually the auto everything point and shoot type photographer. I discovered quite a few settings on my Nikon that I didn't realize were there so I tried a couple "outside of the box" pictures.


Here's Cooper (my usual model) in a sepia tone. I see I need to work on background some :)


This one was in "selective color" mode. I can see how this would be fun.

I see the greatest photo's people take of fireworks, moons, northern lights, etc., and would like to be able to do that too (at some point). But for now, I put it back in auto mode.


Saturday, September 5, 2015

Auction Day

1st Saturday of the month is Auction Day, we've been going to these consignment auctions for years. This year we've been a little lax at attending. We just have so much stuff the last thing we need is more.

We used to really enjoy the old time farm auctions. Usually way off the beaten path and took us to places we wouldn't normally have gone. Then they'd have the lunch wagon. There's nothing better than a sloppy joe at the auction. At least that's how it was. Some of the allure is missing at a consignment sale but we go nonetheless. We even have a fixed bidding number.

So, today, we stopped in to see what treasures we couldn't live without. To make a long story short we didn't even pull out our number. There wasn't much there this time, it probably wasn't going to be a very long auction.

Instead we headed back to town for breakfast then on a drive around the backroads. I didn't take any pictures today, we just drove and chatted enjoying the A/C. It was a scorcher again today - sure looking forward to that cool down.

Friday, September 4, 2015

Summer's "Last Hurrah"

It's Labor Day weekend so I made sure I stocked up yesterday so we don't have to deal with the craziness in town this weekend. Actually, the craziness was starting on Wednesday but that's beside the point.  We have no big plans, just stay home and stay cool.

We took the golf cart out and about on the property looking things over and, of course, Cooper had to hog the cart ride along.

It's still really muggy today, sounds like that is to continue through the weekend. We are looking forward to next week when it's supposed to be in the 60's. Hubby struggles with this weather more than we do with his condition so it will be a welcome reprieve. Besides that we need some rain, it's supposed to do that too when the cool front moves in. The leaves are turning and dropping already but I'm not sure it's on schedule or if it's due to the crazy weather.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Cooper the bipolar hound

After I got home from work Angie showed up with the boys. We had a good visit and of course the boys had to snack. I'm sure we have basically the same snacks that they have at home but it's something about having it at Gramma and Papa's I guess. Today it was chocolate chip bunnies (Annies). I admit they are tasty.

Cooper was happy to see the boys as well, a bit TOO happy usually because he ends up bowling them over and slurping them on the way by. I swear that dog is bipolar, he can go from sleeping under my desk to full on hyperspastic mode in about 2 seconds (if that).


He is a good looking dog though, and he knows it, he struts around like he's the King around here. Who knows - maybe he is....

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

My first Mandala is finished!

I've looked at quite a few patterns for these mandala's and finally settled on this one - The Dandelion Mandala. Here's the Ravelry link :Dandelion Mandala

It was a fun project and the instructions are extremely well written. I had a couple of problems but overall it went just fine. I am anxious to try another one now but I know I will definitely be making this one again. It's one of those patterns that a change of colors gives it an entirely different look. I was unsure if the turquoise was a good color choice but I like it now that it's done.


Now to weave in all those ends - Yikes!