Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Eveready Bunny

Or is he more of a Duracell?


Yesterday my daughter,Chantel was working on a battery site in the middle of no where when this little
kitten came out of the grass.

He is super friendly and was starving.

Chantel brought him home and wanted to call him Battery but I think it is going to be Duracell.

He's pretty cute and so happy to have a family.


Even Dawson has taken a liking to him.

I finally finished Justin's stain glass window for...
yes...
 his garden shed.

It was original to the little building and there wasn't much left of it but we managed to find some new glass and put it back together.

His 'garden shed' must have been the original house as it had a stove and windows and is build into a hill.

The original homesteaders were the Salte Family and they made this incredible rock wall and planted thousand of trees.



It's a beautiful yard and nice to see it appreciated again.

No one has lived in the yard since 1989.

It has come along ways in just a few short years of care again!!

Christa



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Lightening Show

 My son, Justin took these incredible photos of the show in the clouds last night.



With all this heat and humidity,
there has been some scary but incredible cloud formations.



The fury of Mother Nature is unmeasureable when
 you see
 the power of the lightening and hear the rumbling of thunder.


Thank goodness

it continued to head east with no damage here.


Thanks for the great pictures, Justin!!


Love, Mom

 a.k.a

Christa

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

An Afternoon Delight

 The other night I sewed all night....in my dreams, that is!!

I think it was my subconcience saying "Go sew something!!'

Seeeew......
my grandma asked me to make her a mesh bag like my mom's.

I started with these fabrics.



And these jingles.....



This pattern is true to its claim. Fast and Easy...my kind of bag.

Too many projects = not enough time



The body is screening and the fabric is just applied as accent.


Even the pockets inside are screening!


And in less than an hour......




Taaaadah!!

The only problem is I made the large one which may be too large for Grandma!!

Shucks...
I think I will just have to sew another one.

Christa




Monday, July 23, 2012

Quilts in the Park

The Quilt Patch  in Moose Jaw,Saskatchewan held their quilt show  in the Crescent Park yesterday.

 It was a beautiful day with just a gentle breeze to wave the quilts and show off the quilting and colors.

Our group met up with the Moosomin girls.

We all had a great time and a lot of laughs.

It was good to see everyone again.

 I managed to find some great reds and whites at the Quilt Patch


to make my Winter Wonderland Blocks.

There was also this amazing quilt of Winter Wonderland hanging in the park.

Beautiful job on the stitching....

Thanks to Jane for holding it down for me....


and quilting!!


This was one of my other favorites with a couple of our favorite Moosomin girls to boot!


Caroline and Shirley closely inspecting the great work!

Then....
it was off to the Oliv Store.


It was filled with so many different high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars for a taste explosion!

The combinations of flavours were endless.

It was very hard to pick a favorite!!

Who would have ever thought putting a couple of drops of strawberry/peach balsamic vinegar in a bottle of water could taste so great??

Now if my new stove ACTUALLY worked I would make some focaccia bread .

Off to talk to the warranty people!

Christa



Thursday, July 19, 2012

Zentangles


With this extreme heat, we have had some incredible skies.

Thank goodness- not too many storms so far!!


I have been seeing alot of red these days....


.......in the form of cherries,cherries and more cherries.

I have to thank Maryann, Jane, Colleen, Terry, Breanna, Annette and family, Mom, and my husband and kids for helping all this week with picking.

If this is any indication of the volume we will have in the future we are definately going to have to start a u-pick it!!


While my niece, Breanna was with us, I showed her how to do Zentangles.

I am no pro at this but find it to be quite creative and very portable.


There are no wrong moves.




You just start with a simple drawing of something and then start to fill in with repetative patterns of your choosing.


There are some great samples of patterns for Zentangles online if you need inspiration.

Before you know it, you will be amazed what you can come up with!!

Remember!! There are NO WRONG moves.

You are the controller of your outcome (as is everything is life).

All you need is a fine tipped sharpie and a pad of paper!!

Give it a try....

Find the artist inside yourself!

Besides what else are you going to do in this heat??

Christa

Monday, July 16, 2012

Organic Field Day


Joy and Gary Steinke were kind enough to host an organic field day on Saturday, July 14th, 2012.

They farm north of Outram, Saskatchewan and have amazing crops growing this year.


Organic Bearded Wheat field
With these kind of crops I would be proud to show them off, too!

Organic wheat

The Steinkes are certified with OCIA and invited us to their tour even though we are certified by Procert.

We have been friends and partners in crime(well..fun) for some years now and share what has worked ....and not worked... for us in our experiences with organic farming.

Organic Rye field
This year is looking like they have done everything right!!
They will be busy combining in a couple of weeks starting with this incredible field of rye.


Joy and I have always had a running joke through our farming days about how high is your crop.

She always says it's 'boob' high.

I always say is that WITH or WITHOUT a bra on?

Well, look at the height of  your crop this year, Joy!!

It 'boob' high on perky boobs with NO bra on!!


Joy's husband Gary(left) and my husband, Arnold(right)


We had a yummy BBQ and for dessert, Justin and I made a cherry cobbler with our cherries.

It was a first time for using my new stove, using our cherries, first pitting experience and making cobbler.

The pitting alone was an experience. It was like we had been on a battle field.

Good thing we did it on the deck and not in my house!


It was a hit.

Everyone thought it was delic

BUT

there were a few missed pits.

We may have to have everyone sign a disclaimer next time if they are going to attempt to have a piece of our pies!
All in all, it was lots of laughs and a bit of rain.

A great time was had by all.

Thanks, Joy and Gary!!


Christa



Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Heat is On!


I was weeding when I came across this catnip!


Luckily, Winny did not see this little baby robin who greeted me this morning.


The cherries are just about ready with this 30+C heat.

About another week.

Just booking appointments for picking!! 



My niece, Breanna has been staying with us again this summer.

We managed to fit in some sewing today with all this heat. 




Last summer we sewed up this wallet.

It was NOT a relaxing pattern.



This year we tried a bag pattern that raved QUICK and EASY.

We started with this fabric and some mesh we purchased at the lake last week.


And with an hour, we had this bag.


That's the kind of progress we like to see!!

Was also a reminder of how much I am missing sewing.

Maybe I will have more time with the renos almost complete.


Christa



Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Well,it has been a busy couple of  weeks that's for sure!

Haying......check

Renos.......check..pretty much.

Vacation at Madge Lake....double check!!

.........and much needed one I must say!!

We went to a Doukabour village and museum at Verigin.Sk.


Amazing buildings and craftmanship!!!

One the reno front....

The kitchen is once again functioning and I love it.

Yup...this is my ktichen...not the show room!!



There are still lots to finish in the details but that can be done through the summer.

I am going to have to shop for some new pots and pans as I only have one pan that works on my induction range.

Any suggetions as to a good set to look at purchasing?

The flooring .....

that was an experience in itself!!




 We orginally were going with laminte
 BUT
with an 80 year old house, it just was not going to lay right.

So the hunt was on and within a day we made the call to try this dark flooring and I think it is working out quite well.

While on our way home with the new flooring,

 I had to stop to take a picture of these amazing trees.




Beautiful!!


Justin planted up this old seeder at his house.

Thought it turned out very well!


Please excuse the photos as they are off my phone.

My computer is due home tonight.

Enjoy the heat and try to stay cool.

I know I will with that water and ice dispenser on the new fridge!!

Cheers,

Christa






Thursday, July 5, 2012

Another one bites the dust

Well,HUGE progress has been made in the kitchen renos! Should be cooking up a storm in no time. It actually felt great to wipe down the counters and clean!! Would love to share the photos but those are going to have to wait. My computer is sick and is seeing the doc later today so I am left with just my ipad. My chopping skills with an apple are pretty remedial. Here's hoping for a quick recovery. Christa

Bucket Bag Tutorial

 I thought I would try to show you how to make one of these bucket bags... They are fast and easy. I used 2 Fat Quarters and some batting. I...