Winter Days

Old man winter has made his way to Oklahoma again. It wasn't the pretty white snows that caused alot of problems but the thick ice that coated anything and everything and in return made for quite a huge power outage. The nearby town was completely dark for days and still there are a lot of homes without power. We were lucky enough to have ours restored late this afternoon but it is still flickering and I wouldn't be surprised if it goes out again.

Of course this lil' one thought nothing of it as he had his own personal flashlight and made sure he joined in all the activities.



Riding in his PaPa's old feed truck to take care of the little bottle calves was part of his chores!



He tried to offer them some hay but they aren't quite old enough for it just yet.




Bottles with warm milk now that hits just the right spot!



Feeding the birdies is also on the list.



Off in the distance are 3 deer grazing for a little something to eat.



The trees are encased in ice and they are a pretty sight at night although sunshine would be a great sight to see. It's been a bit on the bleak side here.





The cows are staying well fed with extra grain besides the bales of hay. Inside tonight I plan to enjoy the overhead lights and hook a little on a challenge rug. I sure don't know how those pioneer women did it so long ago in their sod homes with just an oil lamp. Makes you appreciate the modern conveniences that we take for granted today! Bless all those men who have worked non-stop restoring so many of us with power and are still working to restore those that are still without.

Hope your staying safe and warm tonight and being thankful for all the many blessing we have each day.

Happy Trails....Ginger

This Is Not Good....

This isn't good and it just keeps coming. I don't even like to go outside it sounds like shotguns going off with all the trees and limbs falling.

I managed to get some more birdseed scattered as the birds are still looking for some lil' treats.





Inside a lil' one keeps busy with a tootsie pop....





Happy Trails....Ginger

ICE SKATING...YIKES!

Well the weatherman got it right this time...Ice and then we are suppose to have snow with blizzard like conditions. So far the electricity is still on but they are predicting major power outages. The grocery store yesterday was crazy....lots of folks stocking up on batteries, sandwich supplies, and of course the cookie isle was about empty wouldn't you know it!

I'm at work today and within minutes everything is coated in ice. Danny is bringing home 2 bottle fed calves from his Mom and Dad's house so they don't have to get out in the bad weather to take care of them. So two lil' calves will have a nice warm place in our barn and when Sloan comes to visit he'll get to help with the feedings. We just make a cowboy out of him yet!

Hope your staying warm and safe in your neck of the woods!

Happy Trails....Ginger

You Drive I'll Sew!

Today we spent time traveling to an auction, birthday party, and did a little bit of shopping to pick up some supplies for work. As Danny drove I sewed up the Grandma Moses embroidery block into a mini quilt....I haven't made a miniature quilt in a long time so it was nice to have something quick, simple, and prim!

Once a month the group AAPG that I belong to has a online retreat encouraging those who can to work on projects. It is such fun seeing what everyone is working on...such great stitches, needle punches, quilts, hooked rugs, and oh so much more.

I began this lil' hooked mat and finished it up all but the binding today...it measures about 10 inches square so it went really fast.



This lil' cat pinkeep was my last accomplishment tonight...It was a pattern I found in the Mercantile Gathering Magazine by Sweet Liberty Homestead. It took maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. Think I'll have to make a few more of these as it was so quick and easy.



What will tommorrow bring...a round up of sorts at Mom and Dad's. Cows and calves will be herded into the pens for separating the bigger calves from the cows and the orchestra of sorts will begin. The bull will start his snorting, cows will be bellowing, calves will be bawling and the dogs will be howling and of course the guys will be barking orders. Added to the melody will be the sloshing of muddy boots slipping and sliding....call it all sweet harmony!

Happy Trails...Ginger

Isn't It True...

I stitched this lil' block up this morning and plan to make it into a mini quilt. It was a design by A Stitch In Time. Grandma Moses couldn't have said it better.



I had some leftover scraps of material so just to keep busy might as well do up a lil' kitty doodle as well. I could be working on the dreaded taxes but then again I'd much rather be stitching. Feel free to use the doodle below...




Happy Trails...Ginger

1800's Inspiration!

Last year I went to the Dallas Quilt Show and this is one of the treasures I came home with. It's a wonderful book filled with photos of rugs made dating back to the 1800's. Lots of inspiration lies within those pages....

Here's one I started and finished in a couple of evenings...it measures 13 x 16 inches and it will be just the right size to set on the gossip bench my dad made me when Danny and I married.



Sloan and I enjoyed the day finding some more inspiration with finger painting and making playdough hotdogs...of course the conversations he carries on are the most fun. He talks so well for a 2 year old that I sure have to laugh at some of the things he comes up with! He was telling me how good a boy his cousin Jaxson is and that he's a good boy, too. Of course I had to agree. I told him I was a girl and his response was No your not a girl your a "MoMo"....silly me!

Happy Trails.....Ginger

Hooking Rugs Can Be Addictive!

There is more to life on the farm than feeding cows and donkeys! There is the afternoons spent fishing, gardening, laundry, and yes hooking...rug hooking that is!

I've been known through the years to have an addiction for things...now there not bad things just stuff like tennis! Yes, played for years 3 to 4 days a week, quilting....lets just say I have enough quilt tops for the entire family plus the neighbors, needle punch and rug hooking...okay so I bought out the entire stock of dmc floss when the local Wal-Mart stores was clearing it out....lets just say I have tubs of floss and leave it at that!

Then let's just say a gal can never have enough wool or can she....



Maria of Star Rug Company sent me this wonderful pattern and it worked up in just a couple of evenings....Harvest Angel will make a perfect gift for someone on my list!



Still trying to use up the big ol' basket of scraps I made this scrappy heart and key rug....I don't think I even made a dent in the big ol' basket of wooly worms.



This lil' red house came out of the scrap basket, too....I've been making myself bind rugs. I must admit though I get several ready before I grab the needle and thread.

Well I'm off to find my hook or needle!

Happy Trails...Ginger

On The Job Training

I've had a lil' one with me at work this afternoon and he quickly gets bored staying in an office. I must admit I do too. So we just take a lil' walk over to feed the goats.



He sure isn't scared one lil' bit. He would like to get right in the pen with them but when they are eating horns seem to go flying in every direction for food.



He would rather be outside working with the "guys" so he has talked his PaPa into helping him for a little while...who can deny a face like that?

Empty Baskets?

I'm not the only one that empties baskets around here. I've been plugging away at the scraps of wool strips and within the last couple of days I've made a few chairpads and a small rug. Still there is enough scraps to make more.



Now more importantly a special lil' guy is always on the hunt for a special toy or two and he empties the basket more than once in a day....we have to be careful because there are frogs, lizards, dinosaurs, snakes, sharks, and even an elephant or two roaming around in my house. Thanks to Aunt Jenn and Uncle JJ we are being entertained with a kazoo, whistle, and a harmonica....





Slowly the Christmas gifts have been going home with this lil' one...wonder why his Dad forgot the kazoo????




Happy Trails....Ginger

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Did you count your blessings for 2009...mine were unmeasurable! Family and friends have I many. I said goodbye to two dear great~aunts that went to live in heaven still a blessing. News of cancer and a radical surgery still a blessing, I still can see and talk with my daddy. A woman in my life who I try to pattern my own life after my Mom she's strong, encouraging, and always has a prayer upon her heart.

Three of the best sisters in the whole world. Yes I admit it I was the big sister who pestered each and every one of them...yet today I received a call from each one with the most encouraging words who could ask for more?

Blessings of two children that are grown and even through the ups and downs of life we have an unconditional love...we talk, we listen, and we respect one another.

The blessing of a grandchild who brings the most wonderful joy into our lives. He's a gift sent straight from heaven.

A husband that is my very best friend, the person I walk hand in hand with, lean upon, and confide in. We talk through our problems, we share in our joys as well as our sorrows....he's my blessing til death do us part.

My mother and father inlaw are a blessing. They are more than extended family we would do anything for one another. Along with extended family is the many nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even grandparents that have passed away....all a blessing for we each have touched one another's life in some way.

Blessings of dear friends some silver some gold. Blessings of just a smile from a stranger, an encouraging word from a pastor, food upon our table, the warmth of a home on a cold, winter night.

My blessings are unmeasurable. Our lives and how we live them has an effect on so many others. So with the end of 2009 I look forward to the many blessings of 2010. Oh I know there will be tears of joy intermixed with tears of sorrow yet I still will count my blessings!

Happy New Year and Happy Trails.....Ginger

Snow Days

It's been a cold one here on the plains of Oklahoma yet today the sun is shining and slowly the snow is melting although they are predicting more for the next few days.

I finished up the snowman rug I started in November just need to get it steamed, hemmed and bound. I used lots of scraps but it doesn't seem to have made a dent in the overflowing basket. I'm sure there is another rug or two to be found in that evergrowing pile of woolley worms.



Someone enjoyed there real first adventure in the snow!



Little did Mom and Dad know over 47 years ago that their lil' family would grow so big and this is just the grandkids!



The cows out at Dad's place were eager to see him coming with bales of hay!






The farmwork never ends but we do enjoy what we do. Christmas time was a time to remember the birth so long ago and the rewards we can have if we only trust and obey!

Happy Trails....Ginger

Blizzard in Oklahoma!

Uncommon words for sure. They say it hasn't been this bad since 1914. The winds are howling at 50 to 60 miles an hour and just about all the interstates are shut down as well as the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. They say the malls are still jam packed though...
Not me I'm home the house is cleaned up and hopefully I can get the cooking done.



The guys are always out and about doing something feeding the cows, working out in the shop, or something that just can't seem to wait!



Christmas with all the family has been rescheduled for Saturday at lunch with the weather being so bad. Multi car pile ups are happening all over the state and I would rather have everyone safe. So tonight I'll be enjoying warm cocoa and find some time to work on my snowman rug.....Let it Snow!

Happy Trails....Ginger

Merry Christmas

As I sit here and reflect on Christmas we have much to be thankful for. The blessings of family and friends. Yes like most of you we have our own mountains and valleys we must go through but with each we try to learn from them and build a character that one day will be pleasing to our Lord.



Family and friends are my richest assest here on this earth. I enjoy life even through the trials. The parents God chose for me, the sisters who still fill my life with laughter, a husband that sees me on my good days as well as those that aren't so good and yet is always there no matter what. My children who I adore and a grandson who brings the sunshine into my everyday! Family it's sacred! Friends near and far some I've met, some I've never seen yet they are all so dear.



I think about Mary as she held Jesus in her arms and pondered about this wee lil' one. She held the very son of God in her arms. She was such a young girl with a heart for the Lord. The chosen earthly parents for Jesus. How very blessed Mary and Joseph must have felt.




As the days of December are quickly going I want to wish all of you the Merriest of Christmas' and may you remember just how dear your family and friends are to you and the true meaning of Christmas.

Happy Trails to You Until We Meet Again......Ginger

Holiday Happenings!

December is in full swing and the days are quickly going by. My niece Megan will turn 8 on December 21st but we had a birthday party for her a little early. I don't think she minded on little bit.



We enjoyed pizza and chicken and of course ice cream and cake!



Oh and I found some colored pencils one night and had fun making a few Christmas cards with some of my free doodles! You can find them in some of the previous post.



Now doesn't Jenn look cute as Lady Liberty! She made the costumes for the annual Christmas parade float that our nearby town has. Their float won 1st place out of about 60 entries. Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam were about 12 feet tall on top of the trailer. They did a really good job hanging on!

We have another birthday to celebrate this week our daughter Jenn will turn 25 on December 17th!

Hope your enjoying your December days!

Happy Trails....Ginger

Stocking Doodles Just For You!

Here it is already December isn't it funny how quickly we go from the start of a New Year and then poof it's already the end. I must be growing old. I remember as a kid thumbing through the SEARS catalog and wishing and hoping for a long list of toys.

Here is a couple of free lil' doodles to use however you choose. Well got to run one busy lil' boy is keeping me on my toes today!

Happy Trails....Ginger