Wednesday, May 29, 2013

 This is one of my favorite breakfasts!  I've been making this 'Baked Pancake' since my junior high school home ec. teacher (Mrs. Albee) showed us how back in....cough, gag....a long time ago!  I think it's similar to what some people call a Dutch Baby...
 Of course, Mrs. Albee did not serve coffee to us back in Junior High, but maybe she wasn't a coffee drinker.....
 We've got a huge 'inventory' of sewing machines at the moment and I spent some time cleaning up this American #1 - built in approx. 1873.....It should be on a treadle base but it sadly has gone missing....
 and this hand crank beauty made by Singer Sewing Company the year that Ford was building his models B & C, the Wright bros. built their second airplane, the first Rolls Royce was born and WW1 was still 10 years in the future!
Now I'm tired of the smell of sewing machine oil, so I made meatloaf sandwiches and hot cocoa for everyone for dinner and I'm going to go read for awhile - I've got a Stephen Bly novel just waiting!

I'll sign off with this picture of my west view and a wonderful quote from Oswald Chambers:

Tune your anxious heart to patience,
Walk by faith where sight is dim;
Loving God, be calm and trustful
And leave everything to Him. —Chambers

Saturday, May 25, 2013

 Another busy day on the Hilltop here.  Slept in until 7am (don't laugh) and caught up on my emails, blog reading etc.  Coffee was involved.  Packed up a couple Ebay items.  I make and sell primitives and sewing machines and whatever else I can.  No, that's not right - I don't make sewing machines, I just fix them!  Drove off to the Post Office to get them sent away, then home to do milking chores and rabbit chores.  By then we were hungry, so fixed pancakes with marionberry syrup....YUM!
 These are not pictures of pancakes.  I spent the afternoon working on two sewing machines and my daughter made these Carrot Cake Cupcakes with.....get ready for it......Cream Cheese Frosting.
Wow.   With coffee, of course.  In case you couldn't see them well enough, here's a closer picture.......

Later we made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn & green beans for dinner.  From scratch, of course.  Doesn't everyone?
 On a scale of 1 to 10....(bad pun)....How am I doing on this blog stuff I wonder?

While eating our cupcakes we discussed the meaning of the word ossification and its practical usage. 

We often choose a 'word for the day' just because we can.

Maybe we drink too much coffee........Nah.
 This is the first machine I worked on today.  It only needed cleaning and oiling....okay and a teensy bit of tweeking tweaking adjusting and she sews like a dream!  

Now she's listed on Ebay.  I already have one in my collection, so I wasn't interested in keeping her.  Sold one like her yesterday, too.  The model is a 401 and considered by some to be one of Singer's finest machines.
This is the second machine.  Betcha haven't seen too many of these around!  It should be on a treadle base, but of course you could turn the wheel by hand.  It is a Singer 29-4 Sewing Machine - fondly nicknamed The Bootpatcher by admirers.  This one was built in 1923.

I also have one of these in my collection.  Mine sits atop an iron treadle base.  I fully intend to get it working one of these days.   In my spare time.  Well, that's my day today.  I'll end with a quote I saw this morning:  I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

Friday, May 24, 2013


 Here's my day today.  Started out, well, with coffee of course.  Remember, no water last night?  Well, it was back by 6:30am, so coffee on schedule!

Worked out behind the barn today - taking rabbit & goat pics.  Have a couple three goat kids for sale, so needed pics.

Milked goats, cleaned a pen, sorted a couple moms & babies, did rabbit chores....that's Ocarina the English Lop child on the right......

The goat girls wondered where we were taking the moms & babies so there was lots of curious stares and a fair amount of hollerin'.










Earlier this week we got a huge load of new-to-us old
 sewing machines and I'm still excited about sorting
through them and working on them.  Some will stay in our collection and others will be repaired & find new homes!

 These little greenies (Singer model 185) are great little machines and CUTE!  (Cute is important, yes?)
 This is a corner of my personal sewing machine museum-to-be.  I've got great ideas and plans for this place. 
This is out behind the barn where we took bunny pictures.  Wasn't there a song or a rhyme about being out behind the barn?  Hmmmm.

Well, am ending the day off by sewing up some primitive coffee-grunged sunflowers.  I'll list 'em on Ebay and hopefully make a few dollars to help pay for that big load of sewing machines.....And when I get all caught up, I'll buy some more!!!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

I've noticed that people from all walks of life and all ages seem to use a vast variety of electronic gadgets with ease.  They walk & text, walk & talk.  They carry on conversations while simultaneously sliding their fingers over screens of teeny tiny computer-like gadgets.  I can't figure out how to blog.  I'm surprised I've gotten this far.  Now I need help.  Wonder what the dog is doing?  She's probably too busy to help me.  I'll go ask her and get back to this later.....