i can {still} sew

September 2012- I've still got it {sort of}!  I was a very skilled sewer back in my youth.  My mom taught me to sew with her grandmother's sewing machine.  It was a Singer with all metal parts, nothing automatic or computerized about it.  I would sit at the machine in the sewing room with the window air conditioning unit humming in my ear, oldie music on the radio and mom hunched over my back guiding me through it.  My first project was an apron for a 4-H contest.  I got first place and never looked back.  Over the years I made everything from skirts to shorts, pants to blouses, dresses and jackets.  {I even made a bubble suit in the 80s- yikes!}   I won the most competitive of all sewing contests in 4-H in high school- Creative Choice at our state contest.  For this contest I enlisted the help of Aunt Sue to help me make my own pants pattern.  Of course back then I was a size zero and a half so I had to make my own pattern if I wanted it to fit!

Sewing was my path to so many great experiences.  I even met my college roommate/best friend/Godmother to my first born, through my sewing projects.  

Sadly, I just don't do it anymore.  I have dozens of excuses but none of them are very good.  About a year ago I wanted to start sewing a few small projects...mostly baby gifts for friends.  So I borrowed Oma's machine and made a few.  Since then I've acquired an older model machine that works good for these projects.

My skills are very rusty but with each new project my technique is improving and I'm remembering all those things mom taught me.  I'm just not ready to do button holes or zippers yet without her hovering over me so for now I'll stick with the simple projects.  

Here's some burp cloths I made for a friend's new baby boy.  

And these are for another baby boy that I made about a year ago.

gully washer

May 10, 2012- 

Gully Washer: a torrential rain that causes ditches to overflow creating flash floods in creeks, rivers and roadways.  

We haven't had one like this since 2007.  At least that's what we can remember.  The road on our property washed out 3 times that year.  We reinforced it as best we could but have not had this big of a flash flood to test it since then.  The downpour came after a few days of nice slower soaking rain.  Then it just opened up.  Casey says we got more rain in 3 days than we did all of last year.  On this day it was over 5 inches.  I think the total according to his weather station was 7.5 inches.  But the rain was coming so hard and fast for so long Casey is not sure it could accurately keep up.  

After the rain subsided we could hear the rushing of water down in the creek.  I'm not sure how many thousand acres drain into this creek before it gets to us but any time we get this much rain we know we may be stranded.  

Casey checked and the water was up about 3 feet over the road.  After supper he loaded us up to check again to see if we'd be able to get across in the morning.  

This is what we had a few hours after the rain ended.  This is only about a foot over the road.  

This is the same view, just a little to the left where the water was flowing over the road, eroding away on the other side and back into the creek.  We have two fairly large culverts running under the road but there was so much water it was flowing through those and up and over the road.  The water gap in the creek dividing our property from the neighbors washed out.

Casey testing out the road to see what was left.

This view is standing in the roadway looking back into the creek and the direction from which all the water was flowing.  I assure you the water was not this calm when the bulk of it first came our way.

 Widow Maker was drenched.  Nice and slick.  She needed a bath anyway.

She looked so ragged and was ready for the rain to stop.

Even with all of that we are so thankful the Lord has blessed us with this much rain.  After the drought for the last few years, especially last year we'll take all we can get.  

flower power

Springtime 2012- Despite the drought last year we've had some really amazing wildflowers this spring. I don't know what the exact combination of winter rain and cold was but I'm sure loving what it left behind.

Of course bluebonnets are my favorite wildflower, but these are a close second.  They show up after the bluebonnets have seeded out and dried up for the year.  I don't even know what they are called. 

But I love the way their tufts are stacked.

We have a small patch of them on our place and most of them grow as individuals.

But some grow in small clusters.

We also had some Mexican hats.

And Mexican blankets.

Even the cactus seemed to bloom more this year.

Here's how the blooms start.

I love when they just start to open.

This is the large cactus on the back of our place.

This one is down the road and you can see the orange color the blooms get as they develop.

Those darn thistles.  I'm certain the reason they grow such cool blooms is to trick people into thinking they are pretty and good to keep around.  Don't let them fool you.  They need to be eradicated.  This one drowned in Round-Up after I took the picture.

 

non-prickly cacti babies

April 2012- This thornless cactus is in a planter on the porch.  Casey got it on one of his travels somewhere- just picked a petal from a larger cactus plant, stuck it in the dirt and there you have it.  The easiest plant to transplant!  It didn't bud at all last year- transplant shock? drought?  Not sure.  But this spring these cute little sprouts appeared.  And each one of them will develop into a new petal.  Can't wait for a full plant with many thornless petals to add to the landscape.