March, Saunter, Amble or Meander! Look! A pomegranate!

 I've just decided that the reason I'm so tired is because it's March.  Why didn't they call it....Saunter?  Or Amble?  Maybe Meander or Drift?  Or even Stroll?  Nope, they just had to name it March!

That seems to be the pace around here on the farm.  MARCH!
In between cancer clinic appointments with my Mom which seem to take all day on Wednesdays, the rest of the time is filled with Spring farm chores, Spring cleaning, making meals and making primitives for my Ebay store.

Here's a rooster.  I love taking a flat piece of fabric, imagining it to be something and then creating it.  Doesn't always turn out like I pictured it, but some fun stuff appears anyhow!

 I've done a bunch of special orders lately.  I counted up and realize I've made over 500 little rabbits of one sort or another!

Did I mention I'm tired? 

My blogging friend, Mr. RWP, had to go and say it was PI day today.  That got me thinking about PI.....No, actually I have never once thought about PI.  I was thinking about pie.  I made an apple pie & a marionberry pie and ate a piece of marionberry hot right out of the oven.  A little slice of heaven!

 I love to make these life-sized crows, too.  I love how mischievous and pesky crows are.  They always seem to confident and cocky.

 This is Barnaby the rabbit.  He just left for his new home yesterday.

 This is a family of barn cats.  Our own barn cats actually look pretty much like this.....only all ours are geriatric at the moment! 

We've got Tunyr, his sister Baby Deeds, another sister Bitty Boots, Clawdette and her daughter Tippy.  And to round out the bunch, one old tom named Amos.  I know Spring is here because Amos has been SINGING on the porch at night, the frogs are croaking in the beaver ponds and I've heard a big ole owl hooting down in the valley.

 This is my English Lop litter.  They are all boys except seven......

I named them Varley, Starly, Slater, McQuinn, Eclipse, Agenoria, Taylor-Bird and Britannia.

You know....just good old ordinary everyday names. 

 I've got my Hole in the Wall quilt coming along pretty well now.  I had to order the outside border online and just got it, so now I've no excuse not to finish it up!  The outside border will be the same as the 'hole' in the door.....

 My pomegranate plant has a fruit!!!  They bloom the most fabulous coral colored flowers, and this time one finally stayed on the bush and is growing into a tiny pomegranate!

It's been a long time since I blogged.  The days go swiftly past - all full of pretty much the same things.  Lots of ordinary everyday chores - housekeeping, cooking, sewing.  Today I put a new floor in one of a pair of rabbit cages I am double stacking.  I got almost done, only mashed my finger twice, and then my husband called to say he needed me to come pick him up at work (50 minutes away)and drive him to the mechanic to pick up his truck in town.  I put rabbits back in their cages, changed into my 'town' clothes and headed out.  Convinced my dearest that he should take me out for Chinese food (and he did!)  I headed for home - he headed for the feed store.  Once I got home he called to say he was bringing new chickies & turkeys, so out I went again to prepare chickie & turkey pens.  Into the house for a short time, then he drove up so out I went once AGAIN to put the new poultry to bed.  BACK into the house, only to realize I left my chore jacket in the rabbit house.  OUT again to get it.......noticed that I forgot to water a couple of rabbits so I did that.  BACK into the house only to realize I still hadn't remembered my jacket!   I left it there.  Did I mention I'm tired?  And old?
Well, 'nuf said for today.  I came.  I blogged.  I feel better now :-)

Of Elk, Rain, Sewing and Raspberry Vinaigrette & Lyme Disease

 It's been raining a lot.  You could say it's raining cats & dogs, but here on the hilltop it's actually elk.  Eleven of them decided that the pasture just outside the window was a good place to smash the fence graze on the non-growing grass early this morning.

 We saw one bull, several large cows and last spring's yearlings.  One was limping on one hind leg, favoring it quite a bit.  It always amazes me to realize that these enormous beasts roam the woods, yet if you're actually hunting for them, they're not easy to find. 

 I've been spending my days in my usual Winter routine - morning chores, which consists of milking goats, feeding kids, feeding & watering rabbits.  Right now six of the rabbits have litters so it's a lot more interesting to do chores when you can also check on the cuteness progress of the youngsters.  Once my outdoor and minimal indoor chores are done, I'm off to sew!!!

 This is probably the only picture of me you'll ever see.  I am NOT photogenic nor beautiful and I don't do 'selfies' etc. but I wanted to show the pile of 100 little bunnies I made (yep, one hundred).  I've recently done special orders (my Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/hilltophomesteadprimitives) for 100, 75, three orders of 25, and a couple orders of 20 various and assorted primitive rabbits!
It would seem that rabbits rule my world at present.

 .....in the process....












.....and VOILA! One hundred coffee/cinnamon
grunged bunnies!

 I made floppy eared Scrunge Bunnies, too.

 ....and then I made FeedBag Bunnies!!!

 Mainly I made a big mess out of my crafting & sewing areas.

Then, a FABULOUS thing occurred!  A dear, sweet friend came for a visit and brought me THIS!!!!  An AMAZING knitted doily absolutely bursting with ACORNS!!!  I LOVE acorns.  She knows this and said that as the doily was taking shape and she saw the giant acorns it became clear that THIS doily was to belong to me!   WOW.  

My family has Lyme Disease.  Some people don't believe in Lyme Disease.  Apparently they've never had it.  Some think you should just 'get over it'.  Wish we could.  Mainly what we do is soldier on each day, working through whatever the day brings.
Right now we're on an Anti-Inflammatory Lyme Diet for a week.  Mainly that means you can only eat certain fruits, veggies & fish.  Which would be easier if it were summer and all that stuff was in season.  And if I actually LIKED fish.  Not to mention I'm hungry for a big fat steak or maybe a bagel.

Our salad last night was made quite delicious by a very simple Raspberry Vinaigrette (I had to look up the spelling of that one!).  1 cup raspberries (frozen), 1 cup olive oil, 2 Tblsp. honey and 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar.  Blend it up til smooth and that salad was WAY easier to eat!!!

Here's what's on my mind today:  
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:6-7
Sometimes our lives can seem overloaded with struggles, heartaches & fears. We can even feel that we are in danger of going under. In those times, however, it is reassuring to know that we have a heavenly Father who stands ready to help us carry every load. Though the testings of life may feel like a burden too heavy to bear, we can have full assurance that our heavenly Father loves us deeply and knows our load limits. Whatever we face, He will help us to bear it.  Trust in Him.  (excerpted & revised from Our Daily Bread)

Back to sewing!

Winter, Red Rabbits, Then Came the Morning!

 Well, this morning we woke up to freezing temps and a dusting of snow!  I slipped and slid to the barn for morning milking & feeding chores, then back to the house for ham & eggs, toast & coffee.  I'll have to go out in a bit and do bunny chores, but my fingers were too cold right after milking.

Here's a newer pic of my New Zealand Red bunnies!  Their momma, Russet, is a newbie at this kit raising stuff, but she's kept all 9 alive so far!

 You can see our dusting of snow from one of my sewing/craft studio windows upstairs.   Brrrr.
We'll be feeding the cookstove all day today for sure!  We heat our big two story house with an Elmira wood cookstove Oval model that we bought when we built our house nearly 18 years ago.  Do I cook on it?  Well, only if I have to, I regret to say.  It's hot standing that close to it.....

 Here's Kaydence.  She loves me......can you tell?

The day she was born was very cold & frozen outside.  The very tips of her ears were freezing and we stuffed her in someone's jacket and rushed her to the house.  My husband calls her 'his' goat because he hugged her to life ;-)
She loves us for it.

 The kids are growing like bad weeds!  They are just about ready to go into the next stall with a big hay feeder and outside pen.  They've all been disbudded (de-horned) and some will become replacement milkers for us.

 Primitives this week:

A Spring bunny.......

 ...........more mischievous mice..........

.......and some owls.  These were fun!  I used to do a lot of painting when I was much younger and it's fun to be trying it again!

In a day or so, the butcher is going to call and say we should come pick up our beef.  That means I have to get the freezers ready......There are sour cherries that need to be canned as pie filling, strawberries & raspberries that want to be jam and any last year's beef that's left will need to be canned as well.  Can you say.......ouch?  Arthritis in the neck & shoulders will make this painful.  I'm so thankful that someone invented Tylenol and Ibuprofen!
Well, it's about time I went out and did my rabbit chores.  They'll be begging for treats and head-scratching, too.  At least I have a couple of heat lamps and a door to shut out most of the cold in that little building!

 My favorite song this week?  "Then Came the Morning" by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.  You can find it on YouTube, if you've a mind to. 

Until next time...............Keep your eyes on Him!!!

Of the promise of Spring, Young things born & Psalm 139.

 Rhubarb is hopeful.  It's a promise of Spring to come.  Very brave, Rhubarb. 
 Here in Washington, Spring only means a bit more rain and slightly warmer temperatures than Winter.

 On my venture outside in between morning and evening chores, I actually took out my camera and checked on a few things.  These chives are beginning to grow, too.

 My New Zealand Red doe, Russet, had a lovely litter of 9 fat little bunnies.  Now don't cringe, but if these don't sell, they will end up nicely canned in Ball jars.  Rabbit is an excellent and tasty white meat and cans up beautifully!

 My New Zealand Black doe, Coyote, had a lovely litter of bunnies, too.  Since I don't have a black buck, I bred her to my white NZ buck, so most of these are either steel colored or blue.

 My garden is being kept under control by the chickens until planting time.  It's so wet here that we won't actually plant until mid May.  Mind you, we will start things in the greenhouse, but they won't go out until the ground dries enough to rototill.

 This has been keeping me busy!!!  These six kids were born since the 30th of December.....three sets of twins and all are doing great!  We bottle feed them morning & night, saving some milk for the house.  We will disbud (dehorn) them all tomorrow and wean them from individual bottles to a bucket feeder for their milk very soon.  We wait until all are strong enough to get their fair share!
They were napping when I snuck in for a picture.....

 ....and this is what happens when they see 'Mama'!  There was much yelling involved (on their part, not mine) but you probably didn't hear it.  Did you?

Their names are:  (pay attention, there'll be a test later....)
London
Celeste
Marzipan
Voce Elyse
Milton
.....hmm.  I can't remember the other one.  Oh, well.

 This is a WEIRD winter day here in SW Washington.  It is WEIRD, because the sun is actually SHINING!!!!!!   We do not see the sun except on rare occasions and for most of August.  Other than that, it rains.  Or there is fog.  Lots of clouds.  Moisture.  Mist.  Showers.   Drenching downpours....Get the idea?

Our average yearly rainfall is 52-60".  Mind you, that is average.  Sometimes we get more.

 A good harvest, even in winter.  The pop bottles are for goat kid feeding.  We do not drink pop.  Nasty stuff.  Never have liked it.

 In between chores & the other stuff of life, I have been working on Valentine primitives.  I've done quite a few of these wooden hearts.....

 .........wool mice in vintage coffee cans (my Grama & Grampa always let me open their coffee cans with those cool winding key thingies!!!)....

....and so I made a place to store some of them while they're waiting to be bought out of my new Ebay store!!!!  You can check it out here:
http://stores.ebay.com/hilltophomesteadprimitives

You don't even have to buy anything ;-)    I'm having so much fun.  I've done this kind of stuff since I was a kid, only now I can do it a bit better, I think.

Well, that's enough for now.  The sunshine is calling to me, so I'll sign off with a suggestion that you read Psalm 139.  Recently we passed the anniversary of the Rowe versus Wade abortion decision that has been responsible for the deaths of many millions of souls.  This Psalm reminds us that God is familiar with each of us, even before we are formed.  How He must grieve over the souls of babies killed by their own parents' choices.   Whether you choose to believe it personally or not, it is still true.

What happened to settling down for a long winter's nap?

 This is what I was doing just the day before Christmas - putting the binding on my husband's lap quilt.....I did get it done and he loves it.  I neglected to point out the quilting mistakes I made......It's just as warm whether the points all match up correctly or not!

 Did you get moose moccasins for Christmas?  I had a pair when I was a kid and I've always wanted another pair.....I only waited about 45 years!  Good things do come to those who wait.  These are so comfy and now I totally understand how the Indians could glide silently through the forest.....

 These are some of my German sewing machine attachment tins.  I do not have machines to match them all, but I do have a nice collection of vintage German hand cranks and treadles.  We find ourselves seeming quite German at times.  My grandmother (whose parents were German) sang "Oh du lieber Augustin" to me when I was a kid.  I just recently remembered that and was surprised to read the history of that song;
"Oh du lieber Augustin" ("Oh, you dear Augustin") is a Viennese song, composed by Marx Augustin in 1679.
At this time Vienna was struck by the bubonic plague (see Great Plague of Vienna) and Augustin was a ballad singer and bagpiper, who toured Vienna‘s inns entertaining people. The Viennese loved Augustin because of his charming humour in bitter times, and they called him "Lieber Augustin" (Dear Augustin). Once he was drunk and on his way home he fell in the gutter and went to sleep. He was mistaken for a dead man by the gravediggers patrolling the city for dead bodies. They picked him up and dumped him, along with his bagpipes which they presumed were infected, into a pit filled with bodies of plague victims outside the city walls. Next day when Augustin woke up, he was unable to get out of the deep mass grave. He was shocked and after a while he started to play his bag pipes, because he wanted to die the same way he lived. Finally people heard him and he was rescued from this dreadful place. Luckily he remained healthy despite having slept with the infected dead bodies and Augustin became a symbol of hope for Viennese people.

 Now that the Christmas holidays are over, I'm back to crafting primitives again.  Today I made this little wool mouse family.  Can't you just picture finding them in your pantry???

 Here's a fun name for a sewing machine - the Silent Princess!  This is what's known as a 'badged' machine - made by a major sewing machine company (in this case, National Sewing Machine Co.) but the seller could choose the name they wanted.  There is an amazing number of unusual sewing machine names out there.

 For the upcoming Valentine season, I crafted these herbal hearts.  (Try saying that really fast a few times...)

 ......a passel of barn cats,

 .....a few primitive rag dolls,

 four crows, and...........

......have been doing some thread crochet flowers and leaves in my 'spare' time!

It's been a busy season, a lovely Christmas time with lots of good meals, board games, lots of music, singing around the piano and cozy fires.  Richly blessed we are and thank God for His graciousness to us. 

I'm still trying to get used to the emptier nest that we have now that my oldest daughter has moved out.  She's just down the road, but still her place at the dinner table is empty and now her rooms are my sewing & crafting studio.  I see her every day, but it's not quite the same.  Maybe harder because she's been at home so long, but it's making me feel older.  Times they are a changin'.  

On another note, I'm enjoying Winter and wish it would slow down just a bit more!  Seems like there aren't enough hours in the day for all I'd like to accomplish.  Yesterday I cleaned out my milk room and kidding pens in preparation for the upcoming goat kid arrivals (soon!).  Today I have the sore muscles to prove it!  We've gotten two seed catalogs in the mail and we're already imagining this year's garden (always better than the last one, of course).   Before you know it, the days will be longer and we'll spend more time outside once again.    But, for now it's still Winter and the new year is just ahead.  My prayer is that everyone who reads this blog will find the peace that can only be found with our Saviour Jesus Christ who died to take away our sins.  If you don't know Him, you'd better get acquainted quick!  This life goes by so fast and all of us will one day stand before Him.  Will He recognize you?

Of gingerbread and A.A. Milne and melancholy...

 December has been a month of melancholy.  Seems an endless round of work, weather, wood.  Work because my daughter moved to her own place just down the lane, but oh the stuff to move.  Weather because it's been cold & frozen and on Thanksgiving Day (how ironic), our water line broke and we were without water until next day, then completely repaired day after that.  We had Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.....definitely some things to be thankful for, if we weren't already.

 We heat with wood and the stove seems to devour it like melted chocolate in a desperate woman's mouth.

I'm relating to Eeyore (from Winnie the Pooh by Milne, if you're THAT uninformed!).  Feeling blue & friendless at times.  Wonder if the combination of chronic illness and the dreaded 'change of life' can do that to a person.........

 Spending too much time indoors, I guess.  Reminiscing over past years when the children were young and the calendar days were full of activity. 

Well, 'nuf of that!  Onward.
My 'new' sewing room is part studio to work in and very much a museum of relics - sewing machines from the late 1800s to the 1960s.  Lots of them.  Can you say....eccentric?

 This is a little piece of importance in my daily life.  I sit here and drink coffee, read from Our Daily Bread devotional and E-Sword (Bible online), pray for the needs that come to mind and mull over the day ahead.  I read a handful of interesting blogs, the headline events, the 10-day weather outlook and sneak a peek into the windows of my friends' homes via Facebook.  Check to see if my Ebay stuff is selling.

 Cookies are in important part of December.  Gingerbread men can chase the blues away in a heartbeat (if they had one....).


 I made and sold several batches of these guys on Ebay.  I wanted a bowl-full for myself, but I forgot and sold them all.....

 This is Dr. Zhivago.  He began to look like a Cossack from the moment I began sewing him together.   Just for the record, though I haven't seen that movie since I was a child, I remember that the scenery was amazing but the plot line was rather immoral. 

This snowman-Zhivago is a much nicer fellow.  

 In between moving my daughter's stuff out and hauling MILLIONS of sewing machines UPSTAIRS to my new spot, I also made some of these little fellers.

Then, I had an object lesson.  It started with this 1950s-60s sewing machine.  It looks great on the outside.  I cleaned and polished it up, oiled & serviced it, the cam stitch levers work smoothly and there's no rust or scum anywhere.  It is a FABULOUS machine!   Except it doesn't work.   The dumb thing is froze up solid!  I've done everything I can think of as far as freeing it up.  The only thing for it now is a vat of kerosene or some major doses of KROIL....outside.
Made me think about people.  Sometimes we look fabulous (ok, so we'll just go for neat & tidy) on the outside and most of the important things seem to be in place, but on the inside we may be hard hearted or stiff necked, or hiding other unpleasantries.   People often are not what they appear on the outside.  Before I judge people by what I see, I hope I'll think of this and pray for them instead.