My first quilt was called a “puff pocket” quilt.  One made these little 3×3″ pillows (each stuffed with 1/2 of a leg of panty hose) then the “pillows” were sewn by hand together into blocks, then the blocks sewn together.  It was pretty but surprizingly heavy. Having been sewing since I was very young I had plenty of scraps and I had every elderly lady at church saving me their old hose. Delighted I was carrying home a bag of the “stuffing” after church every other Sunday.  I was very glad I only made a twin size…I don’t think I could have lifted anything bigger.   Then when Ken and I got married, his grandma Clara made us a green/cream daisy pattern quilt.  She broke her arm a few weeks before the wedding and worried she would not finish it in time. But she healed quickly and it became one of the most memorable gifts we have ever recieved. That quilt is long gone, having been used on many a bed, and thorougly worn out.

I later began a yellow and white quilt in 1984 for my queen sized bed…and finished it just after we moved to Florida.  Feeling accomplished, I made my first visit to what was then Phelps Fabrics (billed as the largest fabric store in the south) and purchased the fabric to make a “Granny’s Fan” for Erin.  All in shades of pink, it was done as a block at a time.  When you got each block quilted, then you joined them all together.  Well life got busy and Gigi helped out quilting a good many of those blocks.  Erin still has this quilt, all though it is very worn and faded.

For many years I promised myself I would go to the annual quilt show at  the convention center.  Last Sept. I finally made it…..took me nearly 20 years to get there and boy was I ever amazed at what an art form had developed in quilting over the past years.  It is beyond description as to what some ladies have so creatively and artistically done with fabric, various textile components, and their imaginations.  But I digress…

Eleven months ago, I set out to make 4 of my grandkids quilts for their beds.  The 3 boys had built in bunks and to keep somekind of theme colorwise, Wheaton and Rowan got cowboy themed quilts in shades of old red, blue, pea green, and browns/golds.  Andrew, whose bunk was in the same room got a 9 patch design in basically the same colors except the green.  We had a great time picking out the fabric as Tia was with me at the time and we went to a really great quilt shop in Knoxville, and a couple of smaller ones in Oak Ridge.  I found a really pretty combination for Celia in pinks, green and black.   So I set out to make them doing the cowboy quilts first.  I wasn’t able to complete them before the “fab 4″ came to live with us, but by the new year I had finished the quilts for all 3 boys and had all the pieces cut for Celia’s.  Early this spring, Papa built the “fab 4″ their own bunk house bedroom and the quilts were put on the beds….all except Celia’s.  I just couldn’t seem to find a block of time to work on hers…..and she has been a real good sport in not complaining.  Well finally in July, I was able to get hers started, and yesterday with some help from her, I finished it.

Having the kids here for these past 10 months has been anything and everything but easy. We have been challenged as never before and I so often fall into bed at night thinking of how I should have done this or that instead of what I did with them.  This grandma is not very much fun, is way to serious most of the time, likes things probably unrealistically neat and clean, and fails to see how “silly” can be a positive thing.  But I am good at taking care of their needs most of the time…..clean clothes, meals, mending monkeys, donkeys, and doll clothes.  So the quilts became a way for me to do something for them, that was more lasting, more tangible, something perhaps they could hold onto for a long time.  And as I worked on them, I prayed for them and thought about how I wished for happiness to come into their lives once again.

They are little now and don’t think on serious things much.  But when they are older and settled again, I hope they will snuggle up in their quilts and feel how much I love them even when I couldn’t show them perhaps as I should have.  The quilts are not show quality, but each piece was cut and placed with love, not so unlike the piecing together of a family.  Different, special in his or her own way, unique all working together to be a “blanket” of love for each other….perhaps to hide under, to stay warm in, to rest upon.  And isn’t that what God does for us.

Celia’s Garden Quilt

Rootin Tootin  Cowboys for Wheaton

Chuck Wagon Gang for Rowan

North Woods News for Andrew

Ya I know its been a month since I last wrote anything.  Life around here is not boring, uneventful, stale, calm, or mundane.   It seems we are all being stretched and challenged in ways we never thought possible, and even though the easy way out is to curl up and hide under the covers, eventually we’d have to come out a face the day so we may as well look life in the eye and say “come on.. make my day!”

I’ve been leading our ladies Bible study for the past 3 weeks…growing in spiritual matters.

Grey had 5 kittens this week…..growing in numbers.

Had to have my embroidery machine fixed…still waiting for the estimate….growing in patience.

Had to sterilize a drinking glass because one little boy thought it funny to “pee in the cup”…growing in restraint.

Very little work coming in….growing in trust.

T-shirts are getting stretched across young shoulders that are getting very broad….growing in size.

Ants in my car…..growing issue with these relentless creatures.

Chickens eating like pigs, getting very brave as they explore different parts of the yard….growing prettier each day.

Contemplating adding onto the structure here to accomodate a space for Gigi….growing in mass.

Kiddo’s will be going to school next week affording us more time to work….growing in quiet time.

Some growth hurts, some feels good, some is tenuous, some is scary, some is blessed.  I guess when I stop growing, I’ll be dead…so for now growth is as Martha would say “its a good thing”.

There once was a time when just about every house built in the south had a porch of some kind attached.  Such was the meeting place for neighbors to drop in and sit a spell, where beans were snapped and peas shelled, where young couples flirted and made future plans on a swing, where little girls played “dolls” , and grandparents sat and reminesed about the old days.

These days, not many houses come with porches.  Oh there are fancy decks with hot tubs and plenty of seating on the back side of the house.  Some plans call for a “wanna be” porch….it looks like one from the street but it’s so narrow you can’t sit a rocker on it.  There are starting to be planned communities and small developments where porches are being designed into the front of the house.  I have to wonder if the new occupants will know what to do with it.  Seems we’ve lost nearly a whole generation who know nothing of the value of the Porch.

I did not think of myself as a “porch person” until a few years ago.   Ken and I used to travel around the southeast for his work, and when money permitted we would stay at bed and breakfast inns.  We began to rate them by if they had a decent porch or not.  We found that a sitting porch was the perfect place to wind down after a hard day of installing cabinets.  So when we decided to move from the city to the country, I knew that whatever type of house we built, it must have a porch.   I don’t have one yet.

The house that Tia owns in TN has a fine porch.  I spent a few days up there last week, and it was the first place I started the day with coffee and Bible in hand, and the last place I found myself before going to bed.  And several times during the day as well.  It is not a deck.  It is a porch about 10′deep and goes across the entire length of the house.  It’s elevated with 4 steps on one end and it faces the street and a very busy intersection of country road in once what used to be a little mountain town.   My  shop here is nearly at ground level so when we add a porch someday it will not be but probably 1 step up, but elevated it must be and with a roof or it will just be a patio and that’s a different thing all together.

A porch is approachable or at least it should be.  It should be a place that beckons the weary to come and rest.  Where only laughter and kind words are heard, maybe some soft sweet music.  It should be a place where all are equal, all are appreciated, and all feel loved.

When I walk down the driveway every morning (about 450′), to get my paper, I often think about the day I will have a real porch where I can slowly wake up and enjoy that mystical time of watching nature wake upas well. I can see it clearly in my mind…..it will have a white rail with a simple ballister, a swing, several rockers, maybe a small table with 2 stools and a game of checkers set up.  There will be pots of geraniums and impatients, coleus, and such sitting about, with perhaps some hydraingas planted along the ends.  It will face north and will be cool in the evening.  It will have roll up screens so when the lovebugs and yellow flies are bad, we can keep them out pretty well.  It will be a place where love abides and grace is realized. For now it is just a dream,  but  God blessed me with a husband who not only can build  anything, but  who loves to make my dreams come true, so  I’m pretty sure that this porch is in my future…hopefully  sooner than later.   When it becomes a reality, ya’ll come by and sit a spell.  I’ll put the coffee pot on or offer you some real ice tea and maybe a cookie or cupcake or piece of pie, and we’ll catch up, laugh some, dream a little and let God refresh our souls on a simple country porch.

I have named all my chickens even though we still are not sure if we have any roosters. The barred rocks are the biggest and go by Lucy and Goldie. The two aracuanas ( they lay blue and green eggs) are Roxy and Velma ( they are very silky and friendly) Buffy, is the Buff Orffington (she’s my pet and even if she never lays one egg we will keep her) there’s 3 Road Island Reds…Tink (she was the littlest chick), Jessica and Veronica (named for famous redheads) there’s the mixed one….sort of grey and gold mixed….we call her Frappe and she’s a loud squaker and then there’s the white one….Bad Chicken who if she doesn’t get a better disposition will be headed for the soup pot. Thelma and Louise are the Silver Laced Wyandottes and they re definitely have attitudes . I’ve let them out of the cottage during the day and they have much enjoyed running in the garden, hiding under the beans. When I went out to pick beans today, Buffy was all over my feet….I had to be very careful not to step on her. They come when I call them most of the time, and venture away from the cottage a little further each day.

The cottage is working out really well. Ken made roosting bars for them and different levels and the wood shavings have been just the ticket for their litter….they keep it fluffed up, it’s very absorbant and seems to hold the odors down to a minimum. They have huge appetites and I will start them on “growth feed” next week.

Tonight we will set off a few fireworks and I’m hoping it doesn’t upset them too much. Chickens are so skittish….it’s easy to see how the word “chicken” came to be a way to tease someone who was too cautious or a “scardy cat”. But they are also so comical the way they waddle/run/fly/walk all at the same time.

In other news about the farm, the garden has overall done pretty well. We have a bumper crop of tomatoes, cukes and squash. The corn was again a flop, but we’ve had a fair amount of eggplant, peppers and now the beans are starting. We had a delicious cantalope and I’m hoping the next one will be as good. As soon as the beans are done, we will start over and plant another crop…will try corn again in a different spot and whatever else I can get seeds for. I want to try to keep a couple of tomato plants going during the fall…even if I have to do it in buckets and move them close to the house.

The kittens are getting big and if they ever grow into their tails, they will be BIG male cats. Grey is puny and we are trying to get her healthier looking with some better cat food. We have been averaging about 100 degrees each day here so they stay hidden most of the day, and come out in the evening. We are beginning to think about getting a goat as the price of milk is getting so high. The kids all like goat milk and I think this might be a worthy investment if we can keep her secure. They are very precocious and if not confined well, can wreck all kinds of havoc. We already have enough of that with 4 kiddos running around here so I really need to think this through.

Ken has made substantial progress on the inside of his shop….has 50% of the insulation up and both big fans now installed and 1 running. He got some cabinetry finished along one wall, so he could get alot of his tools organized. And he got the ac unit installed and running in the spray room….this is huge as it is foolish to try to spray cabinets when you are dripping in sweat…..this was always a big problem at the old shop. Soon we will go to Erin’s to upgrade her kitchen. We continue to try to tweak the shop to make better use of our space. We repainted the kitchen, bath and our “Living room”. We are reworking the shipping area in preparation to rework the office and finally get us our own bedroom (instead of sleeping in the kitchen).

The kids seem to be growing by leaps and bounds….Celia and Andrew are changing so much….looking less and less like kids and more like young teens. Wheaton and Rowan have really slimmed down….lean and muscular. Wheaton also has done pretty well with the colitis as we really monitor his diet. We covet your prayers for him though as well as the other kids as school will be starting soon as this is going to be a really big adjustment.

The month of June is always a mid-year check point for me. Because of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year, I’m evaluating my progress this month. Continuing to be more enviromentally astute is one of my biggies for 2008 and I think I’m doing pretty well. I’ve only forgotten once to not take my UseAgain bags into the grocery store, I’ve got my compost pile started, the garden is planted and we are beginning to harvest, I’ve got 12 chicks which will soon be going into Cluckers Cottage (their chicken coop), and I manage to do 90% of my wash with one rinse cycle and no dryer. I’m noticing that more and more people are using re-usable grocery bags and that really pleases me, because even if they don’t use my bags, at least they are making an effort to do away with plastic. I however, still think my bags are the best, most colorful, best size and sturdy in construction and hope you all will give them a try. We’ve added 3 new colors, (orange, navy, red) and can do some of them in your favorite sports team colors.

I think we are really reaping what we’ve sown as far as oil dependancy goes….we have gotten so dependent on plastics, being so car oriented instead of walking or riding carpool style, etc. We’d probably be shocked if we knew how many things we use everyday that depend on oil in some form or other. Many of those things we truely need, but so many things we could really do without or in less amounts. A good place to start is getting a handle on the plastic bag issue….reuse any that can be reused until they fall apart (bread bags, cheese or frozen food bags, anything that comes in plastic). Get yourself some UseAgain Bags and take them everywhere you go shopping. Find some creative uses for plastic containers, milk jugs, etc. Stop buying styrofoam plates and cups, or the plastic kind whenever possible, and if you can, get a compost pile going and recycle your food waste…..see if you can reduce the amount of large trash can liners by taking your glass and newspaper to the recycling bins, and burying the food waste in the garden. Little things many of us can do without disrupting our lives very much at all, but if everyone would do just a little , the end result would be tremendous.

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Jaasper has enjoyed being “top cat” for some time around here. It is true that he is spoiled rotten, has more personality than some people I know, and love’s to be decorated and decked out with ribbons and bows. He has a wimpy meow and rarely uses it. He’s 16# of muscle and silky carmel and white fur. Right now, he’s sleeping alongside the computer….and I notice that he has gold glitter paint on his feet. Feelings of panic and dread ascend from my feet to my brain….screaming does not help, crying either. For 4 days I have been working on a set of 10 commandment banners. I purposely set this job for these few days when I’d be alone as they are a tremendous amount of work….hundreds of pieces to cut out and applique on,….I have the “stained glass” borders set for both and have all the words placed and half painted on one. During the chicken fiasco, Jaasper saw his opportunity to escape outside when the big doors were open….I captured the rascal and brought him in the back door…..I forgot that I had just painted around half the letters on the banner, and didn’t put him in the apartment as I usually do when I’ve got wet paint out on a banner. I went in to get a pie out of the oven, came back to the computer, was writing about the chickens when I noticed the golden paws. Yes, I will have to recut another batch of letters for those 5 commandments, cut away the interior field, replace all of them and repaint. Fortunately he did not mess up the border. Perhaps I should assemble the dog kennel….as Jaasper with his pretty golden paws is certainly in the “dog house” now .

I’ve noticed that everytime I remove the lid off the chicken brooder, or pass my hand over the top, the chicks get very excited….like maybe they think the sky is falling. I change the litter every couple of days, and since I’ve been alone this week, it is no small process. Another pair of hands is really helpful, but be that as it may, Ken built the brooder to come apart in sections so I can manage. I have to take the chicks out first and put them in a tub with a lid…..they can fly a little and can get out if determined. Once I have the sides and lid to the brooder outside in the grass I can transfer the chicks, and then clean out the bottom, throwing all the stuff in the compost pile. Today, it has been so nice out, that I left them outside for about an hour and a half. The chicks have to go back in to the tub, I take the sides and lid back inside along with the water and feeder, then transfer the chicks back into the brooder. Today, Big Mama (who I think will be “Harold” and Honey (she’s got a mishapened breast) got out onto the grass as I was trying to catch each one and put them into the tub. Honey is not too fast, but let me tell you, Big Mama/Harold can really move. So here I am out on the front yard, 400′ from the road, running around bent over trying to catch this chick whom the people driving by can’t see….just me looking like a lunatic. I probably won’t be taking them out now until the coop is built.

The chicks are really growing fast!  We have one though that has a large lump on her breast, I think it might be a cyst, but I can find nothing on the internet about it, nor do any of my chicken friends have any ideas.  She is pretty warm, but is still eating and pecking around.  The other chickens are not bothering her.  We call her Honey as she is pale yellow.  We now have Harriet, Lucille, Velma, Roxy, Honey, Big Mama, Frappe, and Buffy.  I have yet to figure out which ones are Roosters so these names could change.

My endeavor to reuse plastic bags is working quite well.  I’ve been able to reuse a bunch of them for leftovers, my own bread I make, and for produce and cheese that is in a plastic wrapping instead of a bag.

The garden is doing ok.  We will have a good crop of beans and yellow squash.  The peas will be a bust I’m afraid, and the corn is not growing as fast as I’d hoped.  The cucumbers are beginning to blossom and I should get a good bunch of tomatoes if I can keep the pests away.  Rain is pretty scarce around here so I have to water with city water which is pretty expensive.  I hope this weekend to put in some serious work towards a compost pile as I will be doing alot of yard work.

It looks like we may be getting an outside mama cat and her kitten so that should help with the rodent issue.  Actually, I’ve yet to see hardly any rodents, but it has been my experience that if you do have an outside cat, you won’t have any snakes. …..which is music to my ears.   We will work on building the chicken coop and yard probably next weekend.  I’m sure Ken will build something totally cute and functional and am eager to see what he comes up with.

We have made a new friend at the soccer games….micro farmsteaders who belong to a co-op.  I’m hoping to get in the membership so I can purchase some staples in bulk.  We belonged to one in Mich. years ago, and really liked it.

This weekend I will take care of the neighbors chickens so will get free eggs for the days they are gone.  These neighbors may be moving in which case I will inherit the Road Island Reds.  Since my chicks won’t be laying until Thanksgiving, this would be great, considering the amount of eggs we use each week.

So this has been a little of this and that.  Life on Sandystream Farm is never boring.

I’ve had a Miss Piggy in my life long before the puppet became popular on Seseme St. She didn’t talk in a high squeeky voice, wasn’t pink, not soft, not a toy, not a real pig, but though she wasn’t all of these, she was filled with sweetness it seemed most of the time. She has survived I think 15 moves and shows no worse for the wear. She is always perched out of the reach of little hands and she looks down on us from her shelf, always smiling. It’s like if she could talk, she would invite you to sit a spell, have a snack and a cup of coffee or glass of milk. She fits in with any style of kitchen from contempory to victorian to country, and even though she is over 50 years old, she still has a shine and her colors have not faded. Miss Piggy is my cookie jar, passed onto me from my mom. She has held many a different kind of cookie and sometimes even certain items that had to be hidden for awhile. She is a reminder to me, that if you fill your life with sweetness ( the non-calorie kind) you will keep your shine, your smile, and it won’t matter how many moves you make or how many times you have to adjust to a new situation.

We finally have the new colors for the UseAgain Bags. Bright Orange, Red and Navy. For those of you who follow certain college sports teams, we can  ow do bags in your college colors….presently Georgia Bulldogs, Florida State, and University of Florida. We will make the bag in one of the colors and the handles will be in the contrast. If you want this customized option, please call us to order them……904-845-3388. We are no longer able to offer the UseAgain Bag in teal as that color has been pulled from the fabric manufacturer line. I’m finding that the more I use my UseAgain Bags the more appreciative the younger clerks and baggers are. They are always amazed at how much the bags hold. I think they are very aware of how many plastic bags go out of the store each day, and are concerned about the environment more than those in my generation. This past week, I’ve saved each bag that had bread, buns, vegies, cheese, etc. in it and have been able to reuse it for a variety of things. I am determined to decrease the amount of plastic bags that come into this house and to recycle those that do. I presently am also able to reduce the amount of clear plastic food wrap and plastic zippered food storage bags as well. I encourage you to join me as we do this 1 small thing to make our environment a better place for the generations that follow.  It starts with one.