Life Away from the Farm

Yeah, I've been MIA.  Of course, the holidays were an obstacle, but I've had a lot on my mind.  Click HERE to find out what's been getting my attention.

End of Another Long Road

I know... I've been MIA for a while.  I've got a good reason.  Let me start from the beginning...

On Friday, May 29th, I blogged about our good news...  I titled it Miracles Do Happen!  My step-son and DIL, who were battling infertility, announced that they were pregnant!  That was the end of the first long road.  Her first positive home test was on Mother's Day.  Isn't that special!  It had been such a trying time for them that she didn't want to tell anyone she was pregnant until they heard the baby's heartbeat.  I guess that made it more real.  It was a time of great celebration, but the long haul was just beginning.

Things can go wrong with any pregnancy.  DIL was very aware of that fact.  But, as time went on, we worried less about miscarriage or some other complication.  DIL never stopped worrying.  She had an aunt that was due any day when, at a routine check-up, the heartbeat was no longer there.  As DIL's due date approached, and Brady became less active, she poked at him if he was still for too long.

Friday morning I got the call.  Let me back up a bit...

Wednesday night insomnia struck.  I get bouts of it regularly.  I stayed up all night.  Thursday I was quite worn out, but not the least bit sleepy.  By Thursday night I felt like I could fall over, but still wasn't drowsy.  I decided to help sleep come... 

It worked!  By 2am I was out cold!  At around 6am my cell phone rang... and rang...  "What the heck is that NOISE?"  I finally realized it was my phone.  Instead of reaching to the bedside table for it, I began feeling around the bed... under the pillows...  I was in a drug-induced coma, but I finally found my phone.  Step-son says, "We're at the hospital."   Yeah, OK...  zzzzzz

Relax.  I didn't sleep through the whole thing.  After jumping in the shower (OK, I didn't jump.  That's dangerous.), taking care of all the animals, and packing a bag of my knitting stuff, a book and of course, Frappucinos, we were headed to Dayton.

It was a long day.  Things weren't going the least bit fast.  We were sure it would be several hours more, so around dinner time, Papaw and I ran home to take some dinner to MIL and FIL, and take care of the animals.  A short time later, we were back on the highway headed to Dayton.  That's when my cell phone rang again...

Step-son's mom says, "They're prepping her for an emergency C-section."  OMG!  What happened?  Luckily, she was very quick to calm my fears.  They thought the baby's head was too large for her to deliver.  Things weren't moving along... But we were!

Shortly after we arrived back at the hospital, they took her to surgery, and we waited some more...

I won't hold you in suspense.  All are doing very well. 

Here is Brady's beautiful Mommy the next morning...

Here's a picture of the happy father...

And here's the guest of honor, Brady Matthew...

Yes, it's the end of another very long road, but the beginning of an even longer one.  Is there anything better than a newborn baby?

Record Breaker!

Remember the giant egg? 

We get some really big ones on a regular basis,

but every now and then...

 

FIL and I say it's the biggest we've ever had.

Mr J says the other one was bigger.

We may never know...

but we will know if we ever get a bigger one in the future.

FIL held the measuring tape on it so I could document the size.  

7 7/8" around that bad boy!  Or should I say boys...

Now, that's a meal!

Christmas on the Farm

Better late than never...  Thought I'd share some of my Christmas preparations and sights with you.

While digging through some boxes in the basement, I found these old poinsettia and holly sprigs.  Since this grapevine tree gets so much weather, I figured they'd be durable enough to dress it up for Christmas.

 

This love-seat rocker faces the drive, so I decided hanging the wreath on it would brighten this corner of the porch.

We have decided that this tree we planted last year will be our official outdoor Christmas tree.  It's a bit bigger than the one I had lights on before, so new lights are on the list for next year.

Of course, Sadie always has to supervise Mr J's projects, but she's not alone today.

Even the shrubs are dressed up for the holidays!

I love my fiber-optic tree... no ornaments.  I just plug it in and enjoy the colors.  And I can see the outdoor tree through the window.

Mr J's lodge has an annual Christmas party with Santa.  Grands #1 and #2 are too old for this kind of stuff, but #3 and #4 love it!

And they still love camping out in the living room!

The older girls love exploring the woods.  I think they made the mistake of letting Sadie lead the way and came out in a big mess of hedge apple trees... OUCH!

...and no gate!  Luckily Mr J keeps a wide path cut all along the fences.

Even though we didn't have a white Christmas, the days following were spotted with snow showers.  Here's one we drove into taking the grands home.  I took this because it drives Mr J crazy when I pull out the camera in the car!

I agree with Dorothy... There's no place like home.  I love our driveway at night.  I'm always looking for the deer in the headlights.

The snow seems to be getting deeper as we get closer to the creek.  I can tell we're getting close to the house...

I can see the little Christmas tree.  And since we've no place to go...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Wooden Spools and the Pickle Jar

Hello, I'm back!  Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas holiday.  I've been quite busy and haven't posted in a bit.  Some of you noticed.  I have quite a lot to catch up on, so I'm going to break it up into several different posts.  Today, it's recycling because this happens to be the first picture taken since I last saw you...

You know how I love these old spools.  They come in handy for so many things around here.  These are super heavy, with double two-bys on each end.  When sitting flat on the ground, these spools are about bar height.  One of them is going next to the high side of the pool.  I'll probably add some weather-proof stools and an umbrella.  Look for the finished project some time this century.

A fellow country person saw these and said that he knew a guy that used them for quail pens.  He cut a large hole in the center for a shelter, and then covered the ring with wire.  So now Mr J wants to raise quail!  Geesh!

This is a project I'm working on now.  (Yes, after Christmas.)   I found this small tree skirt while putting away some Christmas stuff.  It fits perfectly over one of our smaller wooden spool that I use to elevate the tree.  Plus, I'll have secret storage during December!

The gold thing is the base of our fiber-optic tree.  I will be cutting away the skirt from the center so that the fabric doesn't get too hot from the bulb in the base.   If you enlarge this one, you can see a small hole where the cord for the base comes through.  It was already in there!  How perfect!  I will stain the wood in the center and put edging on the skirt where I cut it.  I'll try to remember to post a picture of it when it's finished.

We haven't yet finished the walls in the basement.  Mr J wanted storage for his pool table supplies.  He added a few drilled holes and some left-over paint...

The smaller spools are from our fence wire and rope.  Being the perfect size for a five and three-year-old, these have been claimed by the youngest grands as stools.  I guess I'll pretty them up and upholster the tops to match the living room decor.

OK, I did promise a pickle jar...

I've been relearning to knit and crochet.  I had one skein that would not pull from the center, so I had to pull it from the outside.  (Knitters will understand.)  I don't like tossing the yarn around, especially when their are shedding animals in the vicinity.  I remembered this pickle jar.  A full 5 or 7 oz skein fits perfectly and feeds out very easily, keeping the yarn clean and tidy!

I love reading blogs about how you all have recycled items that would otherwise be tossed in a landfill.  To me, finding a way to use old items is a fun hobby.  Let me know about some of your favorite repurposing.

Non-white Christmas

I really, really wanted a white Christmas.  The tiny bit of snow we had a few days ago is all melted.  Today's forecast was rain, followed by rain.  I was watching the drizzle when suddenly the sun shone brightly.  I ran to the other end of the house with my camera...

I guess God felt bad about me having no snow.

I think a full rainbow on Christmas is kinda cool!

Merry Christmas to all...