Tina's Country Life

My Ideal Morning

2011-08-02T09:54:00.000-05:00

Morning is my favorite time of the day. I love getting up to the sounds and smells of the morning. Today, on my morning walk, I thought about what would make an ideal morning for me.

First, I sleep late. Well, late for me, which is about seven o’clock. Then I get up, get dressed, and make my way into the kitchen for a cup of aromatic coffee, warm and rich, with just a bit of bite. The dogs lie at my feet and a cat jumps into my lap and settles down for a purr as I check my email and Facebook for the latest news.

After my cup-o-joe I get up and invite the dogs to join me for my morning walk, to let the chickens out of their coop and then get the paper. We walk up the driveway with the dogs chasing each other and running to nuzzle Anna as she guards the driveway from unseen intruders.

The chickens are moving around in the coop, watching me through the window. Crowlee is anxious to get out and lets me know by crowing over and over. I can hear Iris, the guinea hen, making her “ka-ka-ka-ka” call, also ready to be out of the coop. Tending to the chickens is next, adding feed to the feeders and giving them fresh water, then I can open the door to the coop and let the birds out to greet the morning. Crowlee literally jumps through the door and stands in the opening blocking the other birds from getting out, but they push past him, even running through his legs to do so.

Next I continue on up the driveway, calling the dogs and cats to join me on my trip to get the newspaper. We stop to look at the orchard and then start back towards the house via the path around the pond. The dogs take a short swim in the pond, and chase each other through the woods, running back to join me on the last leg of our morning stroll.

Our last stop is back at the house where I fill the dog’s water bucket and water the plants before I step back into the house and settle in with another cup of coffee and another check of my email.

Yes, this would be my ideal morning….

But wait. I have just described this morning.

I couldn’t ask for more.

On “The Farm” Life Is Certainly Entertaining

2011-03-29T12:36:00.001-05:00

This morning was one of those mornings that held a delightful surprise for me. It wasn’t yet dawn when I crawled out of bed, got dressed and started my morning farm chores. The morning was rainy and damp and I didn’t relish the thought of getting out in it and experiencing the ambiance of a cold, wet day. Morning farm chores. Sounds positively dreadful, doesn’t it? Well, let me explain…

My mom started calling the acreage I bought “The Farm” from almost the first day she heard about it. The name stuck, even though, in fact, it was not a real farm. We have always had dogs and cats but up until this year we had no livestock. Three hens, a rooster, and three guinea fowl are now my livestock. Livestock!

Since I am now an official farmer I have official farm chores, which include letting the birds out of their coop in the morning, giving them feed and water, and closing them up in the coop at night. These chores are not something I shirk or try to avoid. I know from owning dogs and cats that they need daily attention to not just live, but to thrive, and I happily try to give them what they need to be happy dogs and cats. And now I do the same for my chickens and guineas.

In fact, I enjoy working with the birds, especially the chickens. Each time I approach their covered yard they run to the gate to greet me. I’m sure they are expecting a treat but I prefer to think they are happy to see me. As I work in their yard, giving them feed and water, they follow me around and two of the hens come up close and watch me. I pet them frequently, thinking that they will be used to human contact when it comes time to clip their wings and then remove the netting from the yard so the guineas can roam freely, eating the dreaded ticks that plague the other animals on The Farm.

This morning it had started to rain so I decided to open the coop up early in case the rain got harder and I wouldn’t have to go out in a downpour later on. I figured that the birds weren’t even awake yet since I hadn’t heard Crowlee (our rooster) crowing. I grabbed my raincoat but didn’t grab my camera because it was too dark to take pictures anyway. The dogs and I made our way to the yard and I opened the door to the coop. The chickens weren’t too anxious to get out of their cozy coop and into the rain, and I was ready to get back into the house. Then it happened. Crowlee crowing. What’s special about a rooster crowing? This time it wasn’t an ordinary crow, the one he crows regularly. No this was Crowlee making his trilling crow. He was still in the coop, but he was crowing and trilling. I wasn’t sure if he would still be crow-trilling if I went back to the house to get the camera to record it, but I decided to try anyway. When I got back to the chicken yard with the camera he was nice enough to crow for me a time or two. Thank heavens I was able to catch it.

My Tag Team Alarm Clock

2011-03-17T10:27:00.001-05:00

Do you need an alarm clock to wake up every morning? I certainly don’t! At times I daydream about the high pitched rhythmic “beep, beep, beep” of my old alarm, wishing that it could awaken me out of my dreamy slumber like it used to. But alas, my alarm clock has become worthless. Useless. Not at all necessary. Yes, my alarm clock went the way of the Dodo bird.

And why is my alarm clock extinct? Well, you see, I have cats. Not just any cats. Special cats. Cats who have a built-in alarm system all their own. And they are nice enough to share.

It usually starts with Mini walking up the length of the bed stopping near my pillow where she sits and waits for me to wake up enough to get up to feed her. Instead I move her away, then roll over and try to snuggle back into the covers for another few minutes of sleep. Again she walks back up beside me and tries the “slap at the light switch” and the “climb the lampshade” maneuvers. I move her away from the lamp and try something different by rolling over, scooping her into my arms and trying to hold her down, hoping she will settle in and decide to sleep with me a while longer. Since her efforts have not resulted in their morning feeding her brothers Bart and Yowlee step in and take their turns. One of the two will jump up on the bed and attack my feet while the other lies down on the floor and uses his claws to pull him along the perimeter of the box springs. Now I snap my fingers, which at some remote time in the past worked to stop the cats from their bad behaviors, but not this time. No, the clawing at the box springs continues, sounding like the plucking of a guitar string below the bridge. Plunk, plink, plooopk. Noises guaranteed to get me out of bed and reach for the spray bottle of water I keep next to the bed to discipline the cats. I step around the end of the bed and aim the spray nozzle at the cats but they are not there. They have skittered down the hall and are now waiting in the kitchen for their expected breakfast.

No, I don’t need an alarm clock any more, and if you’d like one of mine I would certainly consider sharing.

I wonder. . . would I miss my purring foot warmers?

The cats enjoying their breakfast after getting me up.

The Virtues Of Patching Jeans

2011-01-04T11:25:00.000-06:00

I know, I know… The fashion trend is to have shredded jeans. Some even have ‘patches’ showing through. At a recent art and craft fair I saw a pair walking by with shreds from thigh to shin on each leg, and quilted floral fabric peeking through the shreds as the 'patch'. And it was quite… ahem…. fetching? Well, not really. Especially because I knew that they had been purchased that way.

You see I believe that shredded jeans and patches should be earned and not purchased. Any hole, rip, shred or fringe that appears on my jeans is there by my hard work. And, when my favorite pair of jeans does develop said hole, rip, shred, or fringe what do I do? Wear them to town and flaunt my 'designer' look? No! I PATCH them.

Patching jeans is a tradition passed down from my Mamma, who was a true virtuoso when it came to patching jeans. She patched my brother’s, my dad’s, my friend’s, and my jeans for years. Her style was usually more structured than free-style, and her method was to use the best unworn denim she could find for the patch and to never use the stiff, ugly iron-on patching material that is still (believe it or not) available today. Even before she had a zigzag sewing machine she patched using a plain straight stitch. This utilitarian method, while not fancy, was certainly effective, and those patches usually held better than the surrounding jean fabric.

After getting a zigzag machine her patches became more artistic and whimsical, some even funny. I remember a certain pair of red jeans I wore and wore and wore, until the seat was paper-thin and the knees virtually gone. When she returned them to me after her patching session they sported appliqué fabric flowers on vital spots on the derrière, and vines and leaves and more flowers on the patches she applied to the knees. I wore that pair of jeans with pride and bragged to anyone who would listen about my Mamma’s patching talent.

Recently my brother presented me with four pair of jeans to be patched. I put the task off for several weeks because once one begins to patch it is hard to stop, and I was afraid that I would end up patching the cat-claw-shredded mattress pad that covers my box springs if I ever got started with patching. But yesterday, since the weather was nippy and I didn’t want to work outside, my conscience began to gnaw at me, forcing me to uncover my sewing machine and begin the patching task. I pulled several pair of really old jeans from a pile that I reserved for patching material and began to look for enough good denim for the patches I would need to apply. I unfolded one pair and looked carefully at them and there they were; patches from mid-thigh to shin, stitched with a feather stitch in dark blue to mimic the color of the denim. Patches made by Mamma.

I sat and fingered the stitching; thinking of her love for us; to patch clothing that was clearly worn but not worn out. Sacrificing her time and effort to stretch the life of the clothes. Making something work instead of making something new.

In today’s language she would be recycling. But that wasn’t the reason she patched jeans. She did it because she loved us and it was the right thing to do.

Christmas Is Over But My Dreams Live On

2010-12-29T18:08:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had an idea that just wouldn’t leave you alone? Or one that you dreamed about? It doesn’t happen to me very often but when it does, WOW!

Before Christmas I made several blown glass ornaments. On one of them I ‘drew’ a poinsettia on a blown ornament and it didn’t crack while I made it or break from thermal shock in the kiln. I was elated. This success gave me so many ideas that I wanted to try and one of these ideas I actually dreamed about the other night.

Yesterday I was able to torch for the first time in weeks. The day was cool and the studio was about 55 degrees, a perfect starting temperature since the torch and kiln will raise the temperature in the studio by at least 10 degrees during the course of working at the torch. I knew I was almost out of oxygen so I knew that once I ran out of oxygen I might not have another chance for a while. So I got busy. I had to dip my hollow mandrels and get them ready, and I had to wait for the kiln to warm up enough for what I would feed into it so I made a red, white and green twistie to pass the time.

In my mind the ornament would have a clear base with grapes and vines decorating the top. I didn’t have any dark purple cane pulled so I created one with periwinkle as the base and dark amethyst transparent encasement, pulled out to about a 2 mm thickness. I cleaned a rod of clear glass and got ready to make the ornament.

Heating a freshly dipped hollow mandrel will sometimes cause the bead release to pop, so I carefully introduced the mandrel to the back of the flame and wafted it there for a few seconds. When I could see that there were no pops or cracks in the bead release I brought it forward in the flame and started heating the mandrel and also the clear glass rod. When the clear glass was liquid I applied it to the very end of the mandrel, and then marvered the glass to press it onto the mandrel and give a better neck to the ornament; and then I began to wind on the glass to form the hollow blob of glass that would be blown out later. As I wound the glass on, I brought it out until it was about double the diameter of the neck and then I wound it back down so that it had a roughly sphere shape to begin with.

Next I heated the glass until it was glowing and puffed a small amount of air into the ornament to expand it very slightly. This is to help center the bubble inside the ornament so it is a better final shape. Then I added another wrap of clear glass so that the glass is thicker and will make a sturdier ornament.

Now that the glass was thicker it was time to blow it out to make the ornament shape. I heated the glass until it had a uniform orange glow, and then I raised the blob straight up over my head and begin to blow through the hollow mandrel. Understand that when I say blow I really mean just little puffs of air, not like I’m blowing out birthday candles but more like saying “puh puh puh”. Watching the ornament grow with the air that I’m puffing into it I am aware that the ornament needs to be centered by turning the mandrel and also by lowering it to a horizontal orientation so that the heat of the glass will cause it to droop floor-ward but turning the mandrel keeps the ornament centered by using gravity and turning to offset each other and give a good shape to the ornament.

The base of the ornament was made and I really liked the shape of it. It was centered and a nice round shape. Now to decorate!

I used the purple cane I had pulled earlier to make dots in a grape-cluster shape in three places on the shoulder of the ornament. I didn’t concentrate on finishing one cluster before moving on to the next, but put two or three dots on one spot and then moved on to the next, continually turning the ornament and wafting the whole thing in and out of the flame to keep the whole thing warm. Putting the grapes on was definitely a stressful thing to do, and then I needed to put on vines and leaves! I found a piece of yellow-green cane and spiraled it on the shoulder of the ornament just above the grape clusters, making small loops that would suggest the tendrils of a grape vine. Next came leaves that I made using some vine cane that was on the bench. I added two or three leaves to the top of each grape cluster and then a few on the vines. I felt that it still needed something so I found a piece of goldstone cane and used it to suggest a stem on each of the grape clusters.

WOW! The ornament was complete. I couldn’t believe that I had put the decorations on the ornament without it cracking or the bead release breaking. I looked at it and decided to blow it out a bit, so I heated the ornament and puffed a couple of times into it. That made the clear glass at the bottom grow down instead of out, making it more of an oval shape. I knew that it was a good shape and I was afraid to take the time to check for any gaps or misshaped grapes, so I put it in the kiln.

Then I took a deep breath!

The annealing process takes several hours and when I checked on the goodies in my kiln during my nightly dog-walk, the temperature was still 125 degrees. I pulled each item out and looked at it, but didn’t keep them out long, and I returned them to the kiln to cool completely. At this first look the ornament seems to be okay, but the only way to tell is to check on it the following morning when it is completely cool. This morning I removed the ornaments and other beads I had made from the kiln and examined them closely. Unfortunately the grape cluster ornament has a very small crack under one of the vines but it is hardly visible. Overall it is in good shape. I won’t ever sell or give this ornament away, since it was my first grape cluster ornament, so it is definitely worth keeping.

Let me know what you think!

My first grape cluster ornament!

What Can Eclipse An Eclipse?

2010-12-21T23:51:00.000-06:00

So, how important is it to stay up half the night for an event that hasn’t happened in almost 400 years and won’t happen again until 2094? I’m not so sure.

I thought that the news reports said that the eclipse would start at 12:00 and take over an hour to reach the full eclipse but at 12:15 there was no sign that I could see that anything was happening. I figured that I was up anyway, so I might as well stay up and see what it’s all about. A few hands of solitaire or a bit of web surfing would kill the time.

Well, at 12:29 I noted that the moon is getting a bit greyer, probably about 40%.

But. . . I was wrong. Upon checking at 12:49 I could see the edge of the earth’s shadow start to cover the moon, and I could see why they say it will take so long for it to take place. It was going at a snails pace!

At 1:35 I walked up on the hill so I wouldn’t be in the trees that surround the house, and the perspective is much different there. The constellations Orion and the Pleiades were visible, but clouds obscured the big and little dippers. The light cloud cover didn’t cover the eclipse but did provide a dramatic backdrop for it. I saw a ghost ship in the clouds, and the face of an old man waiting for the show.

The night sounds greeted me, the coyotes in the distance, the hoot of an owl, neighbors’ dogs barking, and the screech of an unknown bird, all accompanied by the bump-bump-bump of the gas well pumper just up the road

The cats and dogs joined me and I stood there for a few minutes watching the shadow creep onto the moon. I turned off my flashlight and stood surrounded by purring cats and nuzzling dogs and watched as the sliver of white disappeared from the moon, turning it a burnt orange color.

Was it worth it? I would say yes. Not just for the eclipse itself. It was worth it to catch a bit of the life I don’t experience because I’m usually tucked warmly in my bed at this hour. It was like going to a foreign place by just stepping out my front door. A place that I don’t visit often but when I do it’s always thrilling.

What’s There to Crow About?

2010-12-20T14:47:00.000-06:00

I’ve mentioned before that I started keeping chickens and guineas. I bought them as one-week-old chicks and keets from Atwoods. There was a very helpful and knowledgeable lady there that answered all my questions and guided me on what I would need to start my chicken-guinea adventure. Four of the chicks I bought were ‘sexed’, meaning that they were supposed to be all female. I bought two others that I told the lady I didn’t care if they were male or female because I did want one rooster. The keets came as straight-run, meaning they were (probably) 50-50 male/female.

Fast-forward 15 weeks.

My routine each day starts with a walk up to the road to let the birds out of their coops and then on to collect the newspaper. The dogs and cats usually make the trip with me. It’s not a long one in distance but time-wise it can take quite a while, depending upon what I find to slow my progress. I have paused on my route for sunrises, flowers, birds, turtles, and anything that sparkles on the path.

This morning started like most others. I let the chickens and guineas out of their coops and checked their food and water and then made my way up the driveway. Anna, our beloved Pyrenees, was ‘guarding’ the driveway from a depression in the grass, so I made my way over to pet her and say good morning, and the other dogs joined me, nuzzling her to say ‘hello’.

Then we heard it; a strange sound. Something I had never heard before. I paused, and the dogs did too. Waiting to see if the sound happened again. Yes, there it was. What was it? It was coming from the chicken yard. Could it be? But that’s not what it should sound like. And again – the sound. Yes, yes, yes!

Crowing!

I walked up to the yard and watched as one of my ‘guaranteed female’ hens was crowing. I have wondered about this particular chicken for a few weeks because it was much larger than the other hens and it’s comb and tail feathers were larger. I have read that if one has only hens that one of them will take on the role of the rooster, crowing and acting more rooster-like and giving up their egg-laying role. But I don’t think it alters their physical appearance and starts at this early age, and especially since they haven’t started laying eggs yet.

Crowlee

So, I do have my rooster. It’s not one that I expected, but I’ll take what I can get. As to the crowing, I think it’s one of the sweetest sounds I could ever hear.

What a way to start the morning!

Plug Into Your Creative Process

2010-12-17T17:28:00.000-06:00

Exactly what is the “Creative Process” and how do we plug into it?

Much of my work requires that I know how I want the finished product to look or work and then work backwards to achieve that. This works for my jewelry pieces as well as my programming tasks. To me, this is fascinating; working backwards to achieve the goal!

For a program I’m writing I need to know how the user will use the application, with needed input and desired output, then breaking that down into the steps it takes to go from one to the other.

For a jewelry piece I envision how I want the piece to look and then figure out how to put the components together to achieve this.

In either of these endeavors I usually sketch what I want, literally writing down steps of a program, or drawing the finished jewelry piece then figuring out how the wires will work together by drawing the wires as they are bent and woven. Some of my sketches literally look like scribbles because I ‘wrap’ the line I’m drawing on the page around the last one drawn. I imagine that these little sketches wouldn’t make much sense to anyone but me, but even months later I can look at the sketch and see what the wire would be doing in that piece. Often I can see that what is in my head doesn’t work with the wire, so I literally work it out on paper, saving time and effort, not to mention precious silver! Many times one sketch gives me an idea for another piece or a different way to do something, so they help me to come up with new ideas for my jewelry, too.

Sketch of a ring design idea.

These sketches are very important to me and to my creative process. I have sketches for wire wrap ideas going back years, to when I first started making jewelry. These ideas are still useful to me and I do refer to them often, especially when I want to make a piece similar to one I’ve done in the past.

So, for me a large part of the Creative Process involves putting a pencil to paper and actually drawing what I want my jewelry piece to look like. I would recommend that if you get in a rut design-wise try sketching your idea. The sketches don’t have to be frame-worthy, just enough for your ideas to come together in a finished piece.

Sketch and Pendant

Greet the Morning?

2010-12-15T09:07:00.000-06:00

So what’s so special about dawn that all the animals in the house want out and all the animals outside want in? And why can’t I sleep through it? I know the answer to the second question, but will I ever know the answer to the first? Probably not.

I do know that animals have an internal clock, humans included, which is pretty accurate. Our kittens have (for months now) started playing and jumping up on the bed at almost the exact same time every morning, attacking my feet, jumping on me, trying to rub their whiskers on my face, wanting me to get up and feed them. Coco, one of our dogs, starts whining at about the same time. Not to go out and ‘do’ anything, but to sit on the front porch and bark at the morning.

I’m not opposed to the morning. In fact, I love the morning and I am usually an early riser anyway, but this morning I wanted to sleep in. Just a bit. I had stayed up late last night working on the computer and wanted just a bit more sleep this morning. But, it wasn’t to be, and I did finally get up and start my day.

Sunrise Over the Pond

So, I hope your morning was a bit gentler than mine, and that you were allowed to sleep as long as you wanted to this morning. And if not, you have my sympathies. In any case, get out and enjoy the morning. The streaks of pink, gold, and orange painting the sky. The smell of the crisp, cold air. The birds chirping their welcome to the morning.

Have a wonderful day!

My, how time flies!

2010-12-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

It’s been almost exactly a year since I posted and I can’t claim any great endeavor that kept me from it. Just life. A busy life. So much has happened that it can’t really be condensed into a paragraph or two, so I won’t even try. And while it does seem like that might mean great, or life changing, or catastrophic events, it wasn’t. It was just life.

So, here is another attempt at keeping a blog. I have questioned my motives, wondering why bother, but in the end I would just like to share. Some of my insights and techniques and thoughts. It might not be interesting to anyone but me, but who cares? If you want to join me on this venture, please do. If not, have a great day. So here goes.

I started keeping chickens and guineas this past year, and while there is a lot of information on the web about that, there are little things I’ve learned as I went along that I wish I had known. One of our cats had a litter of kittens, which are now almost grown. Even now I’m trying to type with two cats in my lap. Big, purring, male cats. More on all the antics of the animals as the blog progresses.

Dolly

Gretchen

Anne

Guineas enjoying their millet

Also, I would like to share some of my thoughts on the creative process and share how I go about creating, be it a guinea house, a piece of jewelry, a lampwork bead, or another artistic effort.

One of my hand blown Christmas ornaments.

So, come and join me as I sip my coffee and muse about life.

Doorman for the Dogs

2009-12-16T08:01:00.000-06:00

One of these days I’m going to count how many times the dogs go in and out of the house in one day. I’m sure I’d be amazed. I’m also amazed at ME getting up every time to let them in and/or out. I’m sure you have questions as to why I’d be such a slave to the whims of my dogs. . . Why don’t we put in a doggie door? Well, since the largest is over 100 pounds any doggie door big enough for him is big enough for a human being and I just don’t want to leave the house vulnerable like that. . . Why don’t I just ignore them and leave them out and/or in? Well, they can be pretty darned annoying is why. Have you tried to sleep with a dog whining and whining and whining? . . . I can’t either. . . Another ‘trick’ they have is to hit the cat door with their paw or nose. This makes a clicking sound as the magnets in the door react to the magnets in the frame. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click….. and sometimes even Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Who can ignore that? So, long story shorter, I am a self-proclaimed doggie doorman.

Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-11T10:38:00.000-06:00

The cold weather puts me in a Christmas mood. Secretly I always wish for a white Christmas even with the driving problems associated with snowy weather. One of my favorite Christmassy things to do is decorate the Christmas tree, and I especially love handmade ornaments. In recent years I have given my handcrafted ornaments to everyone in my family and I hope that they are something they will cherish for years to come. Other things I like at Christmas time are the stories and legends that are told at this time of the year, so it makes sense that I would want to combine my favorites by making ornaments to tell the Christmas legends. Last year I made Christmas spiders. This year I’m making Christmas dragonflies. I don’t even have the legend written down yet, but that will come soon. . . meantime, here is a peek at my dragonfly ornaments.

I will post these in Etsy my Etsy store in the next day or two, so watch for them.

Star Light Star Bright

2009-12-09T23:29:00.001-06:00

First star I see tonight. . . and what a night it is for stargazing. The cold front has cleared the air and the sky is crystal clear. The night is cold but there is no wind so it wasn’t too uncomfortable to take a few minutes while walking my dogs to turn off the flashlight and gaze up at the heavens. I could see the Seven Sisters clearly, hunted by Orion. The big and little dippers were showing, too, which is unusual because light pollution makes it almost impossible for me to see the little dipper any more. I wish I had a comfortable chair to recline in with a really warm blanket and I would have stayed out in the cold and stargazed for a while.

I remember our whole family lying on blankets in the front yard looking at the stars oh so many years ago. Daddy would point out the different constellations and I would try my best to see the animal or person he was pointing out. Later, as teenagers, my friends and I would while away some time looking at the stars. Someone would tell the tales associated with the constellations and I would dream of the people and places so long ago who made up those stories. Do parents still stargaze with their children, or is that too mundane an activity? Do teenagers still enjoy the stories in the stars? I’m glad that I got to stargaze with my parents and my friends when I was younger. Those are the best of memories.

Fall Inspiration

2009-11-20T10:11:00.000-06:00

Here are the some of the beads I made this week that were inspired by the fall color outside my studio window.

Lampwork 'fall' beads.

I'm thinking of making earrings with these. Guess it's time to get to work!

Enjoy!

Chill Out!

2009-11-17T17:46:00.000-06:00

Cooler weather has arrived and the change is nice. I did enjoy the Indian summer we had in October, with temperatures in the 70s and even an 80 or two, but having cooler weather is so stimulating. Not just the goose bumps but the creative juices, too. It is so much easier for me to torch when the weather is cooler than in the heat of the summer. And most of that is not just a reluctance to fire up the torch and kiln because it’s hot outside, I really do think the cool weather fuels my creativity. Perhaps part of it is the ‘holiday’ feeling that comes with cooler weather, but I’m not convinced that is all it is. Today I made beads but none of them were Christmas beads. I just played, being inspired by the colors outside and a recent beadmaking class with Trey Cornette. I just can hardly wait to see what comes out of the kiln! That’s what creativity is all about!

Teeny Leenie Spamaleeni….

2009-10-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

Let me apologize right now if I sent you spam. It was unintentional. I was surprised to see several emails in my inbox stating that the email I sent was not deliverable. Thing is, I didn’t send any emails to those addresses. I think I figured out who did it, though. Leenie, my kitten.
Apparently she’s a very talented kitten. She’s tried to order pay-per-view (is there an all-kitten channel I’m not aware of?) from our dish remote control, and she’s recorded more than one program. I guess you can tell that she’s everywhere and into everything, on the tables, the counters, and the keyboard. We put an alarm pad on top of the DVR to keep her off there, but she just sits on it, alarm blaring! I’m sure she’s asking, “What is that noise? Did I do that?” All while looking so innocent.
I have tried to keep her off the keyboard. My computer is in a cabinet with a drawer slide for the keyboard, but it only works if I slide it into the cabinet. Now, if I could only teach her to type. I’m sure she’d be great at some of those work-at-home schemes.

Leenie laying on her favorite bear skin.

Today is THE Day

2009-10-21T15:16:00.001-05:00

The one day of autumn when the Blackjack and Post oaks show some fall color. After today they will be brown, just shades of brown. But today, I see oranges and rusts and touches of yellow. Yes, today is a great day!

Sweet Serendipity

2009-10-19T17:52:00.005-05:00

We never know what the day will bring, even though most of us live our lives with schedules and anticipation of what our day will be like. I certainly didn’t think I would get a great surprise on Saturday. I was working around the house, cleaning and puttering. My brother mowed the field between the house and the road and around the garden. When he got back to the house he mentioned seeing a pepper plant growing near a pile of lumber stacked outside the garden. I walked up to see what was there, thinking that I might actually find a pepper or two. I was pleasantly surprised to find a tomato plant loaded with tomatoes, most of them ripe and ready to eat. Serendipity indeed!

The plant is a volunteer, probably planted by an animal that sneaked into my garden and stole a tomato. It is certainly the Amish Paste tomato; since those were the only paste type tomatoes I planted this year. If you love tomatoes and need a paste-type tomato, this one is for you. It was the first tomato plant in my garden to bear fruit and ripen. The plants were loaded with tomatoes all summer, with just a bit of a slow-down in growth when we had those 100 degree + days mid-summer. The fruit was clustered like grapes and the flavor is great. I use them sliced in salads, on sandwiches, and to can, freeze, and make tomato sauce. Overall, it is a great tomato, and one I plan to plant every year.

A friend of mine ordered the seed from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and started the plants in her greenhouse. I can attest to Baker Creek's great selection and customer service. They have a great selection of tomato varieties, but I recommend the Amish Paste. Try them and see what you think, I believe you'll love them too.

Harvested last Saturday from my volunteer plant.

Will things ever be the same?

2009-10-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, I really did see it. It wasn't a figment of my imagination, nor is it an urban (make that rural) legend. It has been so long that I had actually forgotten what it looked like, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It actually felt good to see it again. I was afraid that the memory of it was actually better than the actual experience, but, thankfully, I was wrong on that count. When it finally happened it actually made me wince a bit and brought a touch of warmth to my heart. Unfortunately, it might be the last time I see it for some time again, but I know that if I have been able to survive without it this long, I can do it again. It might be a struggle, and I might wonder if things will ever return to normal (whatever that is), but I know eventually all will be all right. Yes, I did get a glimpse of the sun today, and it was a welcome one!

A laugh a day.

2009-10-13T22:58:00.004-05:00

My best friend Lynn sent me a link to a great site.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

It has photos of with captions to make you laugh. I especially enjoyed the cat and dog pictures (go figure!), so many of them could have been taken here at the Farm. I just can't imagine life without a dog or two (or seven!), and (of course) cats, too. And aside from the humor they contribute to life, they give us so much more: a foot warmer at night, a morning wake-up call, an invigorating walk around the pond. Each of our animals has a different personality and temperament, and, of course, their own quirks. Willie, the Doberman, is either reserved or running wild. He will sit and stare at me waiting for a pet or a scratch between the ears. Sometimes he will get impatient and lightly touch my arm with his chin so I’ll know he’s there, as if I couldn’t see an 80 pound dog sitting at attention by my chair staring at me. At night, if he doesn’t get one of the doggie beds right away he will pace up and down the hall, his nails going click-click, click-click, click-click on the floor, until one of the other dogs moves or he decides he didn’t really want a bed, anyway (ok, I've been known to make another dog move on occasion, too, if I get tired of hearing him pace). On our walks he literally runs in circles he's so happy with life, and he loves to run and chase the other dogs. When he came to us he weighed about 40 pounds and we weren't sure he would make it through the night. He was starving and sick with parasites, and could hardly walk. He had been eating roadkill beside the road where my brother stopped to check on the trailer he was towing. Willie came over to Mark and sat at attention in front of him, all bones and skin, looking up at him because he knew Mark couldn't turn away a dog in need.
Nope, I can’t imagine life without having met Willie, getting to know his devotion and his joy for life. He has given me at least a laugh a day, and has certainly added to the quality of my life.

Every journey begins with a single step....

2009-10-12T23:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, that's a bit trite, though true, but my blogging journey starts here.

My intent is to post interesting information on my life in the country, including living with my brother, 7 dogs and 4 cats; the weather (sure!); gardening; what's blooming (wildflower-wise); and other topics. I will also post information about my lampwork beadmaking and jewelry, hopefully sharing some of the fun and the tricks I've learned along the way. My intent is not so much to teach, but to learn. About myself, my craft, and the world around me.

You are welcome to come on my journey, to walk with me for a few steps or more; wherever it takes me.

Tina