This was yesterday morning at 5:30 am.
After church I walked up to the car show even though it was very hot. So many fun cars – 2 SSRs like Red. And I swear I was busy all afternoon but what did I do?
Mollie spent the night – Bob picked her up a couple hours ago. How do you think I did training her about the chickens?
I did not expect pullet eggs till next month but I’m excited. I have nesting boxes all lined up and will move them tomorrow. I’m almost afraid of how many eggs I’ll be getting. I love the chickens – the eggs are a nuisance.
Number 9 Hymn for Old People:
NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I HAVE SEEING.
Can’t even remember if I posted this before and can’t take the time to look back but here is my very own reflecting pool with algae:
Good Night, Ladies!
Put them in small containers alongside the road……free eggs if you need them….?
To Donna M, whose Mama is Betty —
I was preparing the birthday card to send out, and I remembered a few special recognitions that might delight your Mama!
You may know this already, but if you send a note/email to the White House,
they will send a special birthday greeting to your mother! They look very fancy and official too.
Also, if she has a favorite sports team or something like that, contact them too.
I don’t know if they still do this, but the Today Show used to always recognize 100th birthdays on their morning program.
I hope that Ms Betty has a wonderful birthday!
Your humidity photos remind of here, except that our temps are quite a lot lower. In fact, down right cool. It will heat up by mid-day and the sun will look gorgeous on the newly bailed hay in our fields. I love that once-a-year view from our house. We recently talked about buying a small house in town and decided it was time. By morning, we agreed, we just can’t leave here. We love it so much. But, my husband has started on a downward path these past few months. Leg strength nearly gone. Carpel Tunnel and no feeling in his hands. Arthritis getting much worse. Very unsteady on his feet and more. Luckily , we have found a guy who actually likes to do yardwork and we have hired him to do ours. My husband used to do so much, and now suddenly he can’t. Very depressing for both of us, but it would be worse in a small house in town. I just know it would be. Your reflecting pool looks like a farm pond and t he other one? Just sad, very sad.
Sue – My husband sounds just about like yours, but he does not have carpel tunnel. He gets so frustrated when he tries doing something but he can’t. He used to farm and build houses and worked hard. I guess life takes a toll on the body. I’m glad I can do what needs to be done here. He can mow the lawn yet, so that is good. I use the weed eater. But there is no place like home!! And we have lived in the same house for 58 years, but will soon be sharing a barndominium with our daughter and husband as we are building one on our farm. We will live at opposite ends with a garage between us. No more steps. We are both ready for that!
Doesn’t seem fair that the hard workers literally break down in their elder years. At least, that’s how it seems here. You know the saying….Getting old is not for sissies.
Sue – I’m so sorry about your husband. Rick isn’t much better so as long as I can keep this up, we’re not leaving! Ive always said the local undertaker will have to haul me to town from here on the farm, cremate me and bring the ashes back to the farm.
Thanks, Mary. I have always been concerned about Rick, too. He has had it tough for a long time. And, we have it tough too because it takes at least two to manage an acreage. We gave up the actual farming a few years ago and lease the fields. At least we get to see the cattle and the haying. I admire how much you do by yourself and still quilt. I am falling behind in everything seems like.
Sue – oh, during the summer I don’t get much sewing done – maybe tomorrow. I’d love to make a few more log cabin blocks. No thinking – just sewing in the AC
It is so exciting to get those first pullet eggs!
It’s going to be hot all week here in SE Iowa. The men are working on the barndominium today. It is taking shape. Our son will come next week from Ohio and frame the walls to get them ready for the electician and plumber. Progress is being made.
I’m working on a “I Spy” quilt for charity. It will not be real big.
Our refrigerator gave up the ghost last week. Thankfully we have a spare one. We will get the new one tomorrow. They were fully scheduled for today. So glad we had an extra one here. It seems it is always something, isn’t it?
We really enjoyed the Fever basketball game last night! Amazing to beat the No. 1 team in the western league, but so fun!
Stay out of the heat as much as possible.
Hope your pond didn’t cost $16 mill as you only got a half-grassed job. My best friend sent me a photo of the Pantone Color of the Year, this green color and the color identified as “American Flag Blue.” Makes me laugh every time I think of it. I really DO miss all the fresh eggs and milk that were a staple for me when living in Iowa. Yes, I know all about raw milk, but I ONLY bought from farmers that had my mom’s seal of clean approval. VERY hard to earn. She was so clean she made Mr. Clean look like Pigpen of Charlie Brown fame. If I had the money, I would spend mid-April through mid-October in Iowa and the rest of the year on a tropical beach. I love, love, love Iowa summers . . . and, yes, even the humidity.
You are a dog whisperer, our Laney would chase those chickens without mercy. Our 1st stop was Santorini, Greece. Its a small island with the famous town of Oia, all white buildings and churches with blue dome roofs. They grow 5 kinds grapes in small mounds (they look like a basket) and they sundry 3 varieties to make a special wine that is aged for 12 years and is dark brown in color! Truly a dessert wine. The town was hit by 2 major earthquakes in 1956 and most of the town was destroyed. The few villagers that stayed made the decision to rebuild as a tourist destination. They get 2 million visitors per year! Santorini has over 1200 churches on the island! Many families build a small church on their property and because of this they pay no tax on their property! To be a recognized church it must seat 5 or more people. It only rains 20 days in a year so lack of water is an issue. Grapes, Olives & Tomatoes are grown here.
Kim – so are most of the churches on private land small seating 5 or a few more? I’m going to look up the town with blue roofs – sounds beautiful! Regarding the grapes, do you like wine and did you try some of the dessert wine? I’d say those villagers made the right decision of being a tourist attraction – wow!
Yes, the churches are private to the family. The family contacts the local church and a priest will come and hold a service. Its a big ta-do, usually a baptism. Yes we tried 2 wines, the white and then the brown sweet wine. We bought a bottle of the brown sweet wine ( a dessert wine served with cheese & fruit) for our friends who we are staying with in Greece when our cruise is done.
Kim – I didn’t know you were actually staying with friends – who live in Greece? Have they always lived there? Are they Americans? Why do they live in Greece? (Sorry)
They have a home in a small mountain village (about an hour from Athens). They are both Greek and came to America as young adults. They met in Mpls at a Greek Church and married. They live most of the year in the states where their children & friends are. Since they retired they spend more months in Greece and see family. The Greek home is in her hometown and everyone knows them.
Kim – oh, how fabulous!!! A real Greek experience from a local perspective – take some pictures for us, too. I’m wondering if it’s hot there – do they have AC? I’ve read Europe doesn’t have AC much and this summer it’s very hot. Thanks for this travelogue – hope it’s not a burden
Oh, by the way I wanted to say something about your algae bloom. I always thought that was caused by fertilizer runoff from farms. But I didn’t understand the one at the reflecting pool at Washington. Is it global warming? Or contaminants in the water. You’d think science could find a way to combat it. Maybe too costly?
Carolyn – I always thought algae was the result of hot weather. The lakes around here are always so green nobody wants to swim in them but they’re shallow like my pond and like the reflecting pool. There’s no fertilizer runoff here.
Love that picture of Molly with the chucked. Yes, you did a great job training her. (I heard she’s lazy, too!) I’m lucky my golden retriever/mutt isn’t interested in chasing anything. But I know that he would like to visit other dogs.
I have decided to go to Ireland for the wedding couple’s Irish reception. I’m going solo but will stay at hotel in Cork with other guests. It’s totally out of my comfort zone but I don’t want to miss out on the fun. Success at the wedding is giving me momentum.
I’m lucky my granddaughter is going to stay with dog and cat.
Is it too much trouble to participate in farm coop to sell your eggs? Ours works out for a lot of local farms. People have to preorder on the web, then pick up their order on Tuesday evening. Just an idea.
I wonder if a food kitchen would be interested. The kind that feeds the homeless/less fortunate.
I remember that your angel food recipe takes a lot of eggs. 😀
Do you ever make quiche?
I went to Fiber Art at the library. I brought my slow stitching project. My friend was doing Japanese embroidery with crochet thread on a dirty quilt of blue patches. She had laid patches down and attached them zigzag stitching on machine. I need to get a picture to share. I was blown away by it! I love to be amazed by such things. Like what I see on this blog.
Thank you for the blog. Have you ever thought of Substack for your musings? I’m not aware of the requirements but people pay to subscribe. I’d pay to subscribe. Just thinking.
Dog days….i googled it. July 3 to August 11….. don’t shoot me, I’m only the messenger 😂🥵🥵
I’m going to therapy this morning and then I’ll see what else I can get into.
Mary you r an awesome trainer….love that chicken with to top hair dooo
Have a good one
Joy – we know about Dog Days – my birthday is July 3 and my sister Becky’s is August 10 – all inclusive in Dog Days – ha!
I am so sorry for asking again….but I didn’t see your comment….will you sell the pattern for Uncle Sam on the bike….one of my favorite….
Paula – no, I’m sorry. The one I made recently was literally done improv style because there’s so much wrong with the pattern written nearly 50 years ago. We didn’t know what we were doing way back then.
I also asked about the Uncle Sam on a bike quilt pattern. I had said I thought I was itching to stitch this pattern. Well when I didn’t hear back from you, I decided to goggle it. I goggled Uncle Sam on a bike quilt pattern. To my surprise, a picture of the pattern popped up with options to order. I picked an option through eBay and ordered the pattern. I have never ordered through eBay and thought I probably would be sorry, but the pattern came in good shape. I was excited to get the pattern and started it right away. It was a challenge but I have enjoyed it. Mine isn’t complete yet but yes I will have a close resemblance to Uncle Sam. Fun – the pattern was a 1987 Copyright Designed by Steve Schutt #123 . The pattern pieces needed to have the quarter inch added to them. I drew the pieces on freezer paper then added the quarter inch seam allowance. This reminded me of paper dolls a long time ago. Well you can tell you are still an inspiration to me and I always trusted your patterns.
Will you clean your pool like they did in DC?
Better than what I dealt with yesterday. Something left a deposit on my deck by my door. Must have been a huge dog or something wild. No not a bear. I am familiar with bear skat. I had to figure out how to deal with it. Shovel for sure. It left a stain on the wood that was not coming up. Not fun!
I got binding on a quilt yesterday so now I have another binding tack to do. I finished the other tack job and glad to have another quilt completely done. I am loading another quilt on the long arm today if time permits.
Fran – how do you know about bears? Surely not in SW Iowa! So have you figured out what left you such a large “gift”?
Mary, I lived in Alaska 35 yrs. I saw very few bears during those yrs and I am thankful. I have seen plenty of scat.
Fran – really??? Alaska – so why did you live there and what brought you back to Iowa? Now I understand why you knew about bear scat! I love details like this
You are blessed with so many eggs! Wish I was closer to buy some!
We had some nice storms and rain Sunday so it has cooled off to 76 this morning and it’s a blessing. We always have high humidity in Northeast Texas and temperatures in the 90s feel like in the 100s. I’m glad for the respite from the heat. Our baby bluebirds are growing and changing so fast. Seems like the daddy feeds them more than the mom, she cleans the nest.
I hope your leg is healing well. Hugs 🥰 from Lucy and Penny 🐈⬛
Pamela -buy some???? I’d love to give you as many as you could use!
This weather sure is miserable isn’t it? When I watched the weather report this morning, they said the temperature in International Falls will reach 98 today – that town is right on the Canadian border. WOW! Yesterday was a great evening for us, going out for dinner and playing cards with friends. Have a good day everyone.
Try making the South Beach diet Egg Cups with real eggs. I make them with a dozen eggs at a time and freeze them. Then reheat in microwave one or two at at time for at least a weeks worh of breakfast. I did buy a silicon muffin pan but you can use foil cup cake liners.
Christina – I’ll look it up!
How wonderful that you quickly trained Molly to leave the chickens alone. We have our grand pup, Viking, here every day (he has anxiety when his person leaves him for the day, so our son drops him off to grandparent day care when he goes out). We quickly trained him to leave the birds alone. We have lots of mourning doves and other birds, and he completely ignores them now. But the squirrels are another thing!
What lovely eggs! Can you give the extras to folks at the church or a local food bank? The comments about the lost fabric made me laugh. I often have that problem, as well as missing spools of thread, etc. Have a good day & hope your leg is healing well.
Deb – I’m not able to give them to the food pantry or any public food program because my eggs are not inspected and FDA approved. Sad. But they’re better than any you can buy at the store! Viking reminds me of Keeper – he is never far from me.
Love the post which I’m seeing this morning with coffee. Pullet eggs, peaceful animals, a bright golden haze oer the meadow. Have a lovely day Mary.
We had a weekend at camp of salads of all kinds – broccoli, potato, pasta, jello and corn on the cob shipped in from Maryland which is yummy. Ours here needs a few more weeks.
Loved your newest thrift store finds and of course will find a card at home to send to Betty. Such a milestone to celebrate as well as moving to be with her family and do all she is still able to do. It’s a small act of kindness on our part to write a brief note of well wishes and put a stamp on an envelope. I did go to a local post office Saturday and buy the new Barbie stamps that were issued. I told the clerk I think I’m a geek for wanting new stamps when I mail out cards. She said one day all people bought were flag ones and she wanted to say buy some colorful ones too. I told her the flag size fits better on our utility bills and I am one who still mails out my bills rather than pay on line,
Well sorry for that error of posting twice.
We had a weekend at camp of salads of all kinds – broccoli, potato, pasta, jello and corn on the cob shipped in from Maryland which is yummy. Ours here needs a few more weeks.
Loved your newest finds and of course will find a card at home to send to Betty. Such a milestone to celebrate as well as moving to be with her family and do all she is still able to do. It’s a small act of kindness on our part to write a brief note of well wishes and put a stamp on an envelope. I did go to a local post office Saturday and buy the new Barbie stamps that were issued. I told the clerk I think I’m a geek for wanting new stamps when I mail out cards. She said one day all people bought were flag ones and she wanted to say buy some colorful ones too. I told her the flag size fits better on our utility bills and I am one who still mails out my bills rather than pay on line,
‘Love the chickens but the eggs are a nuisance!” 😂 Brian, one of our church members, has a couple dozen chickens and he brings eggs to church on a regular basis to give away. He says he’s made everything from eggs he can think of ! I always take 2 dozen for us—one to use fresh and a dozen for egg salad. A dozen for my cousin across the street who eats 3 eggs a day even though he doesn’t especially like eggs (good protein source) and if there are a lot left, 2 dozen for my vegetarian friend Cindy who gives one box to their son’s family. Brian wanted to make them available for the church’s Little Free Pantry but the health department won’t allow it. I love farm eggs—absolutely no comparison to store-bought. One thing—Brian has a couple of Guinea hens and their eggs are small and REALLY hard to crack! They almost feel like ceramic! Brian explained that Guinea hens don’t nest—they lay their eggs wherever so they have thicker shells—interesting! He also has Araucana hens that lay bluish/greenish eggs—pretty. Do you have any interesting breeds?
Sue – all of my new hens are fancy breeds – I’ve always had a green/blue egg layer during the years. It’s always fun to hand a friend a dozen eggs and have a green one included. I take eggs to church, choir practice, hairdresser, friends and friends of friends, neighbors – I do not charge for the eggs. I’m more interested in the chickens.
Hot and humid predicted here for a few days too. Cleaning the cool basement might be on my list instead of sewing. As Cynthia mentioned, summer is going by fast. I noticed that Walmart and Target are already bombarding us with “back to school “ ads. Give the kids a break.
Love the picture of Molly and the chickens. You are a dog whisperer.
Greetings, Mary! I agree with you about the humidity, it is unbearable. I am enjoying the hymns for old people! I looked up which hymn matches as well. I have get outside early and weed under my deck before a friend arrives today to look at my gardens. They are in their peak right now. My Zinnias and Cosmos are still growing so no flowers yet. I am working on a binding yet. Slow progress, I am just going to sew mu table runners and wall hanging bindings by machine. I actually sit down so seldom. I baked a Rhubarb Crisp yesterday, that season went fast I am thinking. July is almost to its mid-point and then poof! Summer is over. You have done a wonderful job training your dogs not to attack the chickens. Is it a natural instinct that they attack them? How long did it take to train them. And Sandy’s finding her Dresden plate piece of fabric in her coffee cup was Hilario us, bet others can identify with that. I hope to get a few things accomplished today. It’s Monday, after all, the most productive day of the week…okay. (Or once was). I will be sending a card to Betty as well, what a milestone birthday, for sure!
Sandy, your missing fabric story made me laugh.
Apparently, Molly took the chicken training to heart. The rest of the crew is adorable! I wish we lived closer, so we could pick up lovely country eggs. With the nasty humidity keeping us indoors, I should be sewing up a storm; it makes me grumpy and tired. We were longing for something homemade but didn’t want to turn on the oven, so we we made Rice Krispie Treats. 😋
Thanks Mary. I hope your leg is healing.
Hi Mary, l cut blades for my dresden plate block,couldn’t find one, searched every where around my seat and coffee table. Found it in the bottom of my coffee ☕️ cup! Life is full of surprises! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy