Exciting times

Our burned meadow.

Monday morning looked nice.  Blue sky.  Slight breeze.   So Jim decided it would be a  good time to burn up some of the stuff I have been liberating from the closets.  Out he went to our old rusty burning barrel.

Did he have the hose hooked up and close? No.
Did he stay and watch it? No.
Are we in a severe drought?  Yes.

He went inside to do something.  Luckily he did keep an eye on it from the house and noticed right away that the fire had escaped the barrel.  Out he ran in his slippers to stomp out the fire.  Then just after he tore out of the house I decided to go out for some unknown reason and noticed him losing the fight.

I raced for the hose that was in the garden with the sprinkler attached.  The sprinkler wouldn't come off for the longest time and I had to stop and go slowly.  Finally it came off and I dragged it over the fence to Jim and ran inside to call 911. After a few minutes I didn't hear the Clifford siren going off so I called them again.  They said they had notified everyone but since I still didn't hear the siren I called the Brandsted's who now rent our land.

Then I thought I should try to help.  I was going to bring out an ice cream pail of water and pour it on the part of the fire that was licking towards the woods, but realized that even 5 quart ice cream pails full of water would not make much of a dent.  I remembered reading in a book how the pioneer women would fight fires with blankets soaked with water so I went to fight our fire with a bath towel in my ice cream pail of water.

Jim was still watering it and still in his slippers.

After a few minutes the little Clifford fire truck drove up with Mike Elliot in it.  Mike's son Kevin, one of our local firemen, who was vacationing in Tennessee, had been paged and he called his dad.   Since Mike was in Clifford he got the fire truck and with Kevin instructing him on the cell phone got lots more water onto our fire.

Then Joel and Ed Brandsted came up with shovels and then it was all out.

While the men were all standing around admiring their work the fire departments from Mayville, Hillsboro and Galesburg all turned up as did our other neighbors Alton and Marilyn Anderson.  What a great group of neighbors.

So we have a big burned spot in our east ‘meadow’ and Jim's hair is a little less long on the top but other than that and his slippers, being scorched, all is well.  Jim put his totally soot black slippers through a wash cycle and says they are as good as new.  (Almost)

Scorch marks on laundered slippers.

If you think you might need some fire proof slippers Jim recommends Carol Wright catalogs.  They are on sale right now!

Love,

Nancy

Early Swallow sighting

Dear Mary and Jeni,

It is Swallow time at the farm.  It seems very early this year.  I was sitting on the back deck this morning watching them cruise our skies.  It is my favorite time of the year.  (After the day the Orioles return in the Spring).  That is only one day though.  This goes on, if I am lucky, for several weeks.

Swallows on the wire. (No longer electrified)

Swallows in the Box Elder tree.

Joy riding on a breezy day.

 View from the north or back deck....There is a woodpecker tapping on our downspout also.

View from the front (west) porch...

Every year I get a lot of swallows.  Some years more than others.  This year the gathering is early and makes me think there might be an even larger gathering, after a second nesting.  Here is a link to a big swallow year.  http://2knitwits.blogspot.com/2007/08/birds.html   That was taken in late August so this sighting, still in July, is abnormal.  (Well, so was everything else this hot summer.)

What I've been doing.

That is a nice bag.  I've been thinking of sewing a bag so I can sew some of Chris's Art Patches onto it.  

But I don't sew much so I'm sticking with the project I'm in the middle of: mittens for everyone!  Of course, I'm just knitting with the yarn in my stash and I'm not swatching, so the mittens will just turn out the size they turn out.  Here's what I've got so far - modeled by Elliot.

Sewing again

Hi Mary and Jeni,

I have been working on this during my Tuesday quilting nights at Faye's Henhouse Quilts up in Mayville.

Finally finished a project today.

 The body is made of a laminated fabric.  Sort of like oil cloth but more flexible and softer.  I will be easy to wipe it clean if (when) it gets dirty.  I was supposed to put a magnetic snap in the pink top but I have heard lots of stories about how they pull out so I just left  it open.  The bag is 15" x 13" in size.

The yellow floral is a laminated fabric so it will just wipe off if it get dirty.

It has three pockets inside.  The lining is made of the green batik that is on the handles.  The pockets are made of the bright pink.  Two on one side and one slightly larger on the other.  This bag is called the Bella Bag by the designer, Heather Mulder Peterson of Anka's Treasures.

My job today is to find some really cute buttons to replace the pins holding the straps in place.

So I am off to buy some buttons today to make the handles look really cute.  Jim thinks we are going to Fargo so I can go see my nephrologist, but I know why we are really going.

The purse with buttons.

Love,
Nancy

My Singer Model 12 handcrank with a fiddle base.

Singer Model 12, handcrank (with bentwood case.)

Dear Mary and Jeni,

These are before pictures. 

I am not going to do much cleaning as I don't wan't to ruin the lovely decals.  There is some oil around the pillar that I will carefully clean up and I will try to do something about the nickle plate as it is dull and a little rusted on the hand crank lever.   Otherwise I will leave it as it is.   

It is so beautiful that I can't stand it.  It moves perfectly quietly so I feel that if I can only get it threaded and get the shuttle in correctly I will be able to sew with it.  

Right now it is the earliest machine I own.  They were made up until 1902, so this machine is older than 100 years. It looks pretty good for it's age doesn't it?

How many other machines made over a century ago are still working.  These machines were made to last!  Here is a link to more info about the Singer Model 12.  

detail of decals on front of Singer Model 12.

 

detail of decals on center of the 'fiddle' base.

face plate decals.

decals even on the handcrank!

The bentwood case.

The top number is the serial number.  8296094
It dates the machine to 1888 according to the Singer Co. records.

Cindy Peters says it takes a #23 needle and she has them for sale.  I will be ready to go once I get a few new ones.  The one in it looks as old as the machine.

Yes it is a beauty!

Love,

Nancy

May 2nd 2012

Hi Mary and Jeni,

Yesterday was one of those rare perfect days.  The breeze was soft the sun was shining and the lawn was full of dandelions.   The dandelions were full of Red Admiral butterflies.  When you walked across the lawn they billowed around you like a cloud.

Red Admiral on Creeping Charlie

Even what was left of the crab apple tree was starting to bloom.   When you walked near it you could hear the hum from all the bees that were nectaring there.  It also had a share of the Red Admiral butterflies.  

Red Admiral on Hopa Crab Apple Tree.

It was a great day for gardening.  Jim planted potatoes, peas and strawberries and has plans for beets and lettuce today.  

It is sure nice to be back at the farm.

Hugs,

Nancy

April first

Hi Mary and Jeni,
Last night was World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour and at 8:30 I put out the ice luminary Jeni made way last winter.  We took a class at the Linden Hills Co-op and made a sample one in the downstairs freezer.  Then I waited and waited for a good old fashioned Minnesota winter to make some more.

HA!

So tonight, in honor of earth hour, and to clear out the freezer I put out our only ice luminary.  I finally used the special drill bit I bought just to make a chimney in the ice globe.    The luminary was really  pretty and I think that making one in the freezer for use on special occasions is a great idea.  So what if it is warm.  Last night it was lit at 8:30 and I showed it to Jim at midnight and it was still looking good.  Sometime in the middle of the night it melted and burned out.  Nothing lasts forever, so I enjoyed it while it was there.

Here is a video made about midnight.  The hole in the top was originally less than an inch so it has melted a lot but it doesn't make it less beautiful.  Thanks Jeni.

Hugs,
Nancy

Alice's puzzle

This is a wonderful portrait of Alice M. Johnson by Andrea Gianchiglia.  She did this in pastels.  I think it is beautiful and it even makes a great puzzle.

Somehow it looks better without the lines on it.   :-)