In this bitter cold, the chickens started laying eggs again. Sometimes they’re frozen solid by the time I get down to the barn to find them. Aren’t they beautiful?

Do any of you remember Dianne who broke her leg several years ago? She is very antisocial and lives above the garage most of the time but she graced me with her presence this week. I have really missed her.

For those of you who don’t read the blog, here is Susannah’s latest “houseguest”, another disabled goose who couldn’t walk in that bitter cold weather so I brought her to the barn. Don’t tell me they don’t like to be warm! She has planted herself under one of Susannah’s heat bulbs. The others, including Lucky the Duck, sit out in the bitter northwest wind when the wind chill is 40 below! I herded them into a shelter the other day because I simply couldn’t stand to see them sitting out there.

Are you going to make the Online Sampler Quilt for 2014? Here are the January blocks in 2 color ways. This free pattern can be found on our home page. Start now and by the end of the year, you’ll have a nice quilt that didn’t require a big chunk of your time.

Telly loves Mark, our UPS driver. Can you tell?

 

This black cat is BC, Barn Cat from a couple years ago. Remember, I took him in but made him live in the barn all winter. When spring came, he found out where we all were and into the house he came with all the others.

Deano, aka Little Black Kitty, is going to the vet on Monday for his big boy surgery and his shots.

Bailey is doing well in Florida, living the life of a pampered pooch with Jeanne. I hope I can include a picture of both of them in next week’s Farm News. Rest assured that she’s in good hands which makes me very happy.

I called a phone number in the give away guide the other day to inquire about free parakeets. It turns out it was a fellow I know in Garner who had raised too many of them and was looking for homes. Wouldn’t you know, I must have sworn I’d never have birds again because the cages are gone from the basement. So now my free parakeets have already cost me $142.00 for a nice new cage and all the accessories. I will pick them up this weekend when the weather is warmer. And if I follow my rule of naming them after the person I receive them from, their names will probably be Sherman and Timmy. I’ll take their picture next week and fill in the details. Now I have the cats to convince that these birds are not prey.

Tomorrow Chew-E Lamb, a 7 month old golden doodle is coming to stay for about 2 weeks. You may remember that I kept him last summer a couple of times when he was just a puppy but now he’s a grown up puppy. The Lambs, Roxanne and Jim, are traveling to sunny, warm California. Just a side note – Roxanne was our very first employee at Country Threads over 30 years ago when they lived in Garner. One winter day we swept off the pond here by the shop and went ice skating! Ha!

That’s all for this week, folks! Love these days when I can sew for hours and watch college basketball.

Mary

See you on the blog!

P.S. ATTENTION ONLINE SAMPLER QUILTERS!!! Mistake in block – cut an additional 2 light squares of Piece #2 for the triangles that surround Piece #3. I am so sorry! By the time I finish making these blocks multiple times, my mind must slip into neutral!!

Piece Color Cutting

1 dark 16 squares, 2-7/8” x 2-7/8”

Cut once diagonally for 32 triangles.

2 light 18 squares, 2-7/8” x 2-7/8”

Cut once diagonally for 36 triangles.

3 accent 2 squares, 2-7/8” x 2-7/8”

Cut once diagonally for 4 triangles.

4 medium 4 squares, 8-1/2” x 8-1/2”

 

Remember to cut accurately and sew with a perfect quarter inch seam.

Thank you, KD!