Ordinary Days on Vine

Honoring those who served. Veteran's Day - USA

 The last seven months have been particularly stressful what with the pandemic waxing and waning and a truly unprecedented battle for the White House; however, the election is over and for all intents and purposes the US is breathing a little easier. We know that there will be much hard work ahead to re-establish the things that the USA has always stood for . . . things that have been eroded over the last four years. I, for one, am hopefully optimistic that civility and kindness will once again prevail. 

The pandemic has most certainly changed our lives and made us much more aware of our fragility. At the same time, we've also experienced resilience and our innate ability to adjust. For me and my husband, the 'stay home/stay safe' agenda has provided an opportunity to get at many projects around the ranch that under normal circumstances would have continued to languish. Of course, many of the outdoor projects have been managed by my handy husband . . . his talents and skills never cease to amaze me. In the past 10 months he has:

• Replaced the seats, front and back, in our 1965 Mustang.
• Plowed and prepared the back six acres for grass and alfalfa seeding.
• Braced the back pasture fence with hog wire panels (to lessen the accumulation of trash that blows in from the south).
• Seeded the back six.
• Made and used an attachment to the skid steer to sift dirt for topsoil.
• Built a paved area in the back flower bed for pot plants.
• Installed metal lawn edging around the entire back garden.
• Purchased and used a mower, hay rake, and baler for three cuts of alfalfa/hay from our pasture.
• Installed a sprinkler system and new lawn for our neighbor.
• Rebuilt our neighbor's barn.
• Rebuilt fence along the entire east side of the property.
• Repaired two excavator's tracks.
• Planted twelve 10-gallon trees - Eight along the south side of the arena, two in the front yard, and two in the back yard.
• Built protective cages around the eight trees by the arena - protection from deer and horses.
• Put up a shelter for the livestock in the steer pen.

Those are just a few of the tasks and projects he has undertaken. It is no wonder that some of our grandsons say that Grandpa's middle name is WORK!

The most significant project, by far, was the rebuilding of our neighbor's barn. For the last ten years that we've lived here on Vine, Annette has allowed us to make use of the back of her property's pasture and barn for our horses and hay storage. It only seemed right that the barn, pretty rickety to begin with, should be at least shored up and made safer and more useable. Clare, being the perfectionist that he is, used only the four original corner posts and some of the timbers to completely rebuild the barn which now bears no resemblance to the old one.

All new.

As for my finishes (and starts) the last ten months, staying home has allowed time for completion of many quilts, table toppers, Bloem baskets, masks, cards, gardening, and good books. I must admit that for much of the time I've had to deal with constant pain which certainly slows down the pursuit of many outdoor projects and activities. However, I've learned to ignore or at least put up with pain and keep pressing on. Although it was slow-going, I did manage to plant in the Spring, weed during the Summer, and clear out the garden in the Autumn. Gardening gives me much pleasure and it has been a delight to see all the beautiful blooms, etc. over the Summer. I didn't get the Spring-blooming bulbs planted that I wanted to but I did divide and transplant the overgrown bed of iris. We had a really cold snap October 24th that made many of the shrubs and trees leaves turn brown instead of the gradual Jack Frost colors. It warmed up some the last week in October but as of this last Sunday, temperatures have hovered near freezing during the days. . . no more digging in the dirt this year!

Inventorying my sewing projects for 2020 (thus far) reveals: Seven table toppers, four mug rugs, six Bloem baskets, one Kitchenaid mixer cover (quilted), one soft toy, fourteen cotton face masks, six of 12 blocks for the Block-of-the-Month challenge of our quilt group, eight full-size (twin, throw, and queen) quilts, three wall quilts, and one top. Both my Viking and Brother sewing machines are set up to finish one quilt and work on a new flannel quilt (pattern and fabric that I've had since October 2018, I'm embarrassed to say!). Since March, I've not attended any of the meetings of the Tooele County Quilters because firstly, March through May's meetings were canceled, and secondly, being part of that 'at risk' group for COVID-19, I've been very hesitant about being in any gathering of more than ten people. However, it's been good to keep in touch via social media and I do okay sewing on my own (although talking to myself is getting old! Haha!) The one quilt I am most proud of was the Meadowland Quilt (pattern by Meghan Buchanan of Then Came June). 

Everything about this quilt was fun - the pattern, the fabric I chose, the construction, and the fact that I made it for my lifelong girlfriend who loves it.

I have gone on a card-making spree a few times in the last year too and renewed my enjoyment of playing with paper and ink. Of course, my Stampin'Up! demonstrator, Wendy Knowles, has been a wonderful enabler! Haha! 

These are just three of my favorite cards - two autumn-themed greetings and a birthday card for my dad who turned 97 October 11th. I've been watching YouTube videos from various card makers and experimenting with new-to-me techniques and different designs. 

My Reading Challenge on Goodreads I set at 30 books for 2020, and as of yesterday, I've actually read 43! I love to read and although most all of the books read this year have been on the computer (Kindle), I've got to say that almost every one has been enjoyable. The local library has been closed most of the last seven months, so getting physical books has been out of the question. I have bought a few hard/paperbacks to enjoy that real turning of the pages feeling!

Another very happy thing has come about as a result of  'pandemic isolation;' and that is, more frequent communication with faraway grandchildren, particularly, our granddaughter in Lubbock, Texas. In April she and I signed up for Jennifer Jangles' 30-Day Sampler Embroidery on-line class, received our kits at our respective locations by the end of the month and began stitching day by day the whole month of May. It was great fun to share notes on our progress and it inspired us both to do more stitching. Since then, it's been delightful to exchange cards and texts about what we're doing and what we're thinking about. McKenna is a smart, thoughtful young woman who has found her path in life, both in her marriage to a very fine fellow and in her career as a marketing and communication specialist for Lubbock Economic Development Alliance. Love her so very much. 

That is not to say that our other grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been any less of a delight and joy in our lives. Even though we don't get to see them often enough, we still get updates via texts, phone calls, or social media that brighten our days. Our third oldest grandchild, granddaughter Brittany, will be having our 7th great grandchild in January 2021 and we couldn't be happier, especially since this will be our third great grand girl! There is a special quilt in the making for the new little one . . . just sayin'! 

It has begun to snow again and I feel a nap coming on. Besides, the two dogs on their beds are looking comfy in their sleepy posture. 

Ta for now,

Hazel