Before.......and After

You all are too kind to me:) Thank you for your wonderful comments on my Lady Sweater!

I love redecorating......but not cleaning. And let's just say that Jessie and Tyler's rooms leave A LOT to be desired:)

But last night while Todd was at fire practice, I sucked it up and cleaned Jessie's room. I'm sure our trash hauler will love me....Oh. My. Gosh. 5 trash bags later, we could see the floor. So she got the lecture (that I can vaguely remember my Mom giving me about 30 years ago....). And we proceeded to pretty much empty out her room and re-arrange her furniture. I'll spare you the picture of the mountain of dirty clothing that was under both of their beds. The girl is a pack rat. I could be one, but I can't stand cleaning and dusting so I try not to be.....

A new quilt, new dust ruffle, I'll get her some antique plates to hang on the wall along with a couple other things, new curtains and she should be mostly good to go.

Then Tyler wanted his bed moved (actually, I just switched up his bed and his dresser, I'll finish painting his room this weekend and hang everything back up).

Then I had to move the computer from Jessie's room out into the family room. This way they can both play on it and it now gets excellent wireless DSL connection (guess from one end of a 70 foot ranch house to the other is a little to far for our wireless signal).

Now I'm debating if I want to move this into Jessie's room, paint it white, put a shelf in there and a curtain on the front for her bookshelf. Or if I want to look for something else. I'm leaning towards this, as we already have it.

Of course, I'll have to find a new home for the kids TV, VCR, Wii and all their movies - and somehow, I don't think totally getting rid of them will be an option:)

Any suggestions????

September Lady Sweater

After messing around for 3 days trying to find the perfect buttons (I finally found 3 in my mason jar of vintage buttons), and blocking the heck out of it - it's done and I am happy!

I had read on Ravelry about how this yarn grows in the lace pattern when blocked, so I made a Medium. I should have probably made it longer (I am not a fan of short sweaters), but I was so tired of the lace.

When I blocked it, I spread it out on a towel, spritzed it with water, stretched it out to where I thought I wanted it, layed another towel over top of it and ironed it. Then I took the top towel off and ran the iron a few inches above the sweater, while I ran the steam button. I do need to re-block it though - I have sleeves that are an inch different in length, and one front panel is a little bit shorter than the other.

Hopefully it will warm up so I can wear my new sweater - it's only 55 degrees right now here in Ohio:)

Calling ALL hunters......

We made a quick run up to my parents house last night so my Dad could fix my durango - something about the idle control motor being on the fritz. All I know is my durango would go VROOM VROOM VROOOOOOOMMMMMM while driving down the road:) And both the dodge dealership in Ashland AND a private garage could not fix the problem and after $500 - they aren't getting any more of our money for this particular problem:)

Anyhow, on the way home, we are talking away, the 4 of us, when onto the road jumps a DEER!?!?! Of course, Todd is driving and swerves to miss it but it was right there. Bam, thump, bump.....we stop, turn around, go back.

And it was a fawn. So Todd pushes it off into the ditch, looks at the durango real quick, we drive the last mile and a half home.

This morning, the only damage to my durango is a busted right front turn signal:

And the teeth/slobber marks down the driver's side door:

We are so incredibly blessed that it wasn't a full sized bambi and it didn't hit dead center on the front quarter panel.

This morning Todd stopped in at the township garage to let them know where the fawn was at for disposal purposes......

All I say is I am so THANKFUL it wasn't bigger, so THANKFUL there wasn't more damage and we were not hurt and I SO WANT MORE HUNTERS OUT THERE TO CONTROL THE DEER POPULATION!!!!!! They are all over the place.

He is determined

Tyler had been a little bummed prior to the county fair. He is not old enough to show an animal at the fair, and he really, really wants to.

So there is a steer/heifer show in Medina on October 10th. Jessie, of course wants to show there. So we told Tyler he could take Roscoe the heifer (the boy who showed her named her that - to go along with his pig Bo and his chicken Luke and Jessie had Daisy).

This weekend Tyler disappeared on me on Sunday.

I found him out behind the barn washing Daisy.

I didn't ask any questions, I just dropped the cleaning in the house and spent 2 hours with him walking, washing and drying both heifers. then we had the talk about you need to let mom or dad know when you want to go out to the barn to work with the animals.

And he informed us last night he is not showing Roscoe - he wants the black calf that we just weaned on Friday night halter broke in time for the show on the 10th. Seems that he thinks Roscoe is too tame.

We will have our hands full in a few years with him.....

P.S. My Lady Sweater? I blocked it yesterday and it grew. About 5 inches. Which is a very good thing..... I'm off at lunch today to find some buttons. Hopefully I will have pictures tomorrow:)

A finish

My lady sweater is done. Except for blocking and weaving in the ends. I broke down and tried it on last night as soon as I finished - hopefully blocking it will relax it a little longer:)

And I have something in mind for a new project for a friend. The first one I tried for her I didn't like the color....

I found this little shelf at a junk store. Seriously, the store is called "usefull junk". Todd needs to cut about 2" off the tops of the 4 corners so it will slide right up against my cabinet. And paint it- I know I want a yellow and red kitchen, but this is a little too red. But for $3, I'm happy:) And the little pyrex casserole dish? 50 cents.....

And the saddle? More than likely sold. They just want to make sure it fits their horse, which will happen this weekend.

My coat turned into a purse is coming - I have to wait for Todd to hammer on the gromets. We won't talk about the ding I put in the kitchen counter when I tried to use the hammer to put them on:) Hopefully this weekend. I now know why the directions said to do this on something really hard, like concrete.......

An era goes away.....

Bet you all didn't know that I used to show horses? Seriously show horses, every weekend from March until October. All over Ohio. Saturday and Sunday, with a lot of travel. I can remember one time driving 2 hours for 1 class. We spent more time waiting for our food from the concession stand than I did actually showing the class. Todd still wonders how I talked him into going with me to that one....my response is - why are you complaining - I did win the class, didn't I?

Well, having kids finished horse shows off for a while, and in my naivette I thought once they were old enough they would love showing and horses as much as I do, and we'd pick up right where I left off.

Wrong.

Jessie has informed me that there is no way I am showing a horse when there are cows and pigs to be shown. She talks the good talk when she is with grandpa about wanting to ride, but....if I ask her at home if she wants to ride - nope, I want to go walk a calf.

So my show saddle was going to be listed on ebay tonight. We've kicked this around for months. The breaking point was, do I need a $1,400 saddle to ride a horse once a month (um....or less the way this summer has been). But then a good friend came over and had another friend who is looking for a show saddle for their 12 year old daughter.

Here's to hoping they buy it. There is a steer to buy for Jessie and hotel rooms in Columbus to pay for, don't you know......

something crafty

Suede leather coat purchased on ebay - $7.25 + shipping - sorry no picture, I was in too much of a hurry to cut it up to stop, find the camera and take a picture:)






Lining fabric - stash (actually, a woven handtowel I purchased years ago to decorate and never did) - $0





A new purse/bag - PRICELESS!






Go here for the tutorial!


I still need to put the gromets in and finish sewing the handle together - so I'm off to JoAnn's this afternoon for the gromets and a leather sewing needle. And more needles for my newly fixed sewing machine seeing as how I BROKE 4 needles yesterday afternoon trying to sew this......

Hopefully tonight I'll have pictures of the finished bag......

Somehow

I don't feel like talking, but I am in the mood for something OTHER than the 4-h animals on here....

We had soccer games over the weekend Saturday morning. Both kids lost their games this weekend, though not for lack of effort. 6-5 for Jessie's team, 3-2 for Tyler's team....

I cleaned out 2 flowerbeds - which took me about 5 hours. The one around the pond, and one next to our shed. I would have gone round the house and done more, but we have a very large bees nest in one wall of the house and I was not in the mood to get stung. I'll try and take a picture of it tonight before the weeds come back again.....

14 loads of laundry are done. And folded and put away (except for the last 2 loads). Still have to get some clothes out of the camper and wash them....

And I spent about 3 hours yesterday sitting and knitting on my sweater. While Jessie did her homework. I have about 1/2 a sleeve left and it will be done. Hopefully it will fit.

Todd's working like a maniac to fix his truck. The bed was rusting pretty badly, so we found a used stainless steel flatbed. 3 weeks later, it is in place. He has to hook the electrical wiring up for the taillights tonight and can drive it home. WHOOO HOOO. This fix was MUCH cheaper than a new standard bed for his truck OR a new truck.

The End........

I know I gave you all the highlights (and the lowlights - think sale day!) But here are some pics of the week. I took over 100 pictures of Jessie and Tyler and all the projects....

Jessie and Daisy

But - here are some more action shots.

Can I say how sad and glad I am that the fair is over? We have all worked so incredibly hard at this......and are already starting to plan for next year now. How many coming 10 year olds do you know that think the perfect birthday present would be going to Columbus, 100 miles away, for a steer show? Or going doe hunting with her daddy in PA?

But this weekend, I'm going to stop and smell my roses (if I can find them through the weeds in my flower beds). I'm hoping I can pick the last of my tomatoes and can them, freeze some sweet corn and get rid of some weeds...... I know I have high hopes for the weekend but I miss my flowerbeds and my garden.

Jessie and Alli

Jessie and Oinky Doinky - I love that name!

Tyler's eggs

There is a very good chance we will be going on vacation in January to Georgia - but not for some R&R - oh no! There is a pig show in Atlanta that Todd's cousin wants Jessie to show in. Hopefully Georgia in January will be warmer than Ohio:)

I am working on something crafty -hopefully I'll be back Sunday with more details......

See ya,
Kris

Six hours of tears later the animals are sold

Saying Goodbye

Tyler asked if we could stop by Oinky Doinky's pen and Oreo's pen on the way out of the fair tonight so he could say goodbye. We are being mean parents and making him go to school tomorrow instead of to the 4-H livestock sale.

But really, 3 of us in the family crying is going to be hard enough. As Todd said today, who would have thought you could get attached to a pig?!?!?!

My answer was - who are you kidding - I cried when Jessie showed her steer on Saturday and placed, I cried when Shania won her class, when Keri got grand champ in her division and Jessie got reserve, when Nathan got grand champion in his division, when Kent got grand champion overall, when Brittney won her class, when Emily got 3rd, and when Kyle got second in his class.

The ONLY reason I didn't cry when Jessie won her market hog class - I thought he was just picking the top 5 and was going to dismiss everyone else and work the top 5 again. I didn't realize she had won until she had the ribbon in her hands and was walking out the gate.....

Heck, I cried this morning when we were talking with the proud father of the kid who got grand champion......

You all get the idea....

Guess I just have sympathetic tear ducts and I will make sure I wear my sunglasses tomorrow....

Because tomorrow will be HARD. It could be a good thing I will miss Jessie selling her pig - the sale starts at 8:30 and Tyler's bus comes at 8:20 and she will be one of the first 12 to sell their pigs.......

Kris

The final totals.......

Jessie:

Oreo - 4th in her Open Market Steer Class (out of 9)
4th in her Wayne County Born and Bred Steer Class (out of 10)
Reserve Champion first year Market Steer Showmanship (out of 4)

Oinky Doinky - 2nd in first year showmanship (out of 10)
1st in her Open Market Hog Weight Class (out of 10)
Reserve Champion Division 4 Market Hog


Alli - 1st in yearling Shorthorn heifer (out of 4)
Grand Champion Shorthorn heifer (out of 4)

Daisy - 4th in her beef feeder calf class (out of 11)
4th in first year beef breeding showmanship (out of 17)


Tyler - 2nd Place for Tallest Stalk of Corn


Me - 1st in Youth Size Quilt Machine Quilted
Best of Show Youth Size Quilt
2nd in bed sized Sampler Quilt


I DID NOT take any of my baking - ran out of time to get it in there so we ate it. No big loss....

All that is left is the sale. I think she couldn't have asked for a better fair for her first year. Now to repeat it for next year:) Pictures to come later.....

Tonights haul from beef breeding

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Here we go again

Second in show man ship

Here we go again

I never thought we would clip a pig

Tyler and his second place corn

A day of REST

Hello everyone!!!!!! Thank you so much for the wonderful comments so far on Jessie's fair. Our friends' daughters who came to cheer her on showed her how to get on the internet - she got a kick out of reading all of the comments (and for the record, I NEVER knew I had internet capabilities on my phone - I'm almost afraid of what the verizon bill will be now). She is having a blast, and needless to say, we have created a monster.

For more day one pictures, you can go here. I'm leaving my camera in the camper so I will have it with me at show times:)

Off to wash Oinky Doinky and to SIT and EAT.

Hugs,
Kris

Day one is done

First class over

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Weigh in number two

We are here

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9-11

Never forget!!

God bless all of our police officers, firefighters, troops and military serving this great country.

Kris

LIKE IT OR NOT

We are ready. The camper is in at the fairgrounds, the tack boxes are packed, groceries are in the back of my Durango for me to take into the camper. The fan cage is at the fair grounds, thanks to a 8:00 run in there last night. Oinky Doinky has had one last bath. I’ll wash Oreo, Alli and Daisy on Friday for Jessie while she is at school. I'm working until noon and then I am out of here.

My tomato sauce is canned, the beets are canned, the corn is froze. I got my quilts into the fair on time (with 10 min. to spare actually), and I have the cookies baked for 4-H snack for Thursday night (cut out cookies in the shape of various animals). Dinner for tonight is ready (sloppy joes and pasta salad). My baking entries in the fair are sort of made – the cake is baked, the bread is baked, I’ll do the cinnamon rolls tonight when we get home from decorating and taking the animals in.

I have one of my current knitting projects in a bag ready to toss in the camper – just in case I need some ME time while at the fair. Hopefully Dawn will like the color.


As you can see - I will be able to upload pictures of the fair from my phone.


If you are around the Wayne Co. Fair – look us up and help cheer her on. Jessie shows Saturday (steer show), Monday (pig showmanship), and Tuesday (market hog, beef breeding and feeder calf). Oh – and both kids will be doing the kiddie tractor pull Sunday afternoon. We’ll be in one of the barns most of the time.

Here's to a relaxing fair:)
Kris

This is a test - I wanted to see if I can send photos from my phone to this space - and I see I can and it works great.

Apparently oinky doinky is to big and lazy to stand up to eat, so we must lay down to eat:)

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Holey Moley

I'm tired.



This weekend I painted the fan stands, fan cages, and the BOTTOMS of the tack boxes (how in the world did I neglect to paint the bottoms until after I had packed them all up???)

Animals are walking.



Animals are washed and clipped. Of course, being a PIG and COWS, they will need more baths this week.





The redheaded step child is walking better. Here's to hoping she is good and tired by next Tuesday when she has to show so her attitude doesn't shine through.......



I canned 20 pints of tomatoe sauce and froze 10 dozen ears of sweet corn. On the list for tonight? Canning the 14 pints of beets that are all ready to go, they just need run through the pressure canner.



The yard is mowed, sort of (still have to do down by the road). The camper is packed. Still have to buy food but I'll wait until closer to the weekend.



And we went last night and brought Jessie's heifer and one of her steers for next year. This is the heifer, I don't have a picture of the steer but we are wondering what the heck we were thinking - he looks just like her only solid white! There is a steer/heifer show in Columbus, Ohio over Jessie's birthday - she has already let it be known that either we take these two calves to the show, or she is going back to PA with Todd for doe season. Todd has already decided we are going to the steer show.....




My mom says this is double payback time for all the years I showed a white horse. We'll be buying stock in blueing and woolite.