Invited to the King's Table

*fulfilled

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:07:00 +0000

Do you know that feeling you have when you are doing what you feel like God has called you to do? It is one of those things that He has called you to that gives you total joy. I am sure you all have had things you knew you were supposed to be doing but didn't really like it to much. This weekend was such a joy filled weekend for our family doing simple things.

We have been feeding our Nubian's Fillet Mignon, well not really; but they have been eating well nonetheless. The breeder we purchased our goats from started them on Alfalfa hay, not knowing much else that we could feed them to give them the protein content they need we continued in this expensive hay. They only eat about half of the bale and waste the other half, eating the smaller pieces and discarding the longer. Our rabbits have been happy to help us not waste by eating what the goats have turned their noses up at. At $16.99 a bale we just felt like we needed to research another option. Eric has been vigilant about this whole forage feeding and hay needs of the goats. His research paid off and we have made the change to Perennial Peanut Hay, the Alfalfa of the south! We are thrilled about this find, because we can get it for only $7 per bale and they eat everything in the bale - no waste at all!

Our Saturday started with a drive to the Panama City Beach area to pick up some yard implements, then up to Bonifay to pick up 72 bales of perennial peanut hay, then over to a hatchery across the Alabama line to pick up a few chicks so we can increase our egg production early this summer which will in turn increase our profit. Our coops are large enough to increase our flock and they have much land to roam at will.

When we got home we found that Rebel had been busy (sitting around for weeks) hatching out the cutest, most adorable chicks you will ever see! She had 5 when we got home on Saturday and by Sunday morn she had a total of 9. She is being a great mother, showing them how to scratch around, drink and eat. With the 9 we picked up in Samson, Alabama and the 9 that Rebel just hatched out, we have a total of 18 new chicks!

We did what small homesteaders or farmers have to do sometimes... we had to make the decision to kill one of our roosters. Mr. Baggins bit the big one. He had ran up my leg one too many times -repeatedly. For no apparent reason. I did my best to be friendly to him, bring him treats, etc.. Not only was he trying to hurt me, he was a rather active 'rooster' and was injuring some of our chicks. We do not see Husan near as vigilant about his rooster duties as Mr. Baggins had been. Now I don't have to carry a method of protection when I walk in the barnyard! You can imagine what was on the dinner menu for Sunday dinner.

To finish up our weekend we did finish some butchering duties that should have been done weeks ago. We butchered three rabbits, so the freezer is getting stocked. We will be butchering, oops there is that word again for those of you are are squeamish, again in 4 to 6 weeks. Our does are both pregnant right now and this will likely be the last pregnancy until summer is well behind us. We do not breed our does during the hotter Florida months due to heat exhaustion on the doe's part as well as the kits. If you are a small homestead and you would like to raise a sustainable meat source for your family's table, you should consider raising New Zealand or/and Californian Rabbits. Not only are we getting a great lean meat source that is free of hormones and who knows what else, we are selling our rabbit droppings for $8 per feed bag size (40 lb bag) and we are also curing the pelts for future use in coin purses, a quilt possibly or other such things. We are not wasting a thing!

*handcrafted valentine day love

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:09:00 +0000

Lets encourage one another in the area of handmade Valentine love. Let's face it, anywhere you patronize from not until after February 14th will be glistening with hearts, cupid, kisses, chocolate, roses and glitter galore. I like to send greeting cards to my friends and family or perhaps give gifts as much as the next person, but how can we show the love with our home made offerings? What are you making for the wee one's for Valentines Day? What have you made for friends or family? Is there a simple act that you will show your love to those near and dear to you?

I hope you will link up and share your ideas for others to glean from. There is no need to write up a blog post for the linky, simply directly link to a new post if you desire or a previous post with something you have made Valentines Day for those you L.O.V. E.

*January WIP'D Link Up

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:01:00 +0000

It is that time! Once a month I invite you to come and link up and share what projects you have WIP'D! On the last Friday of each month, I invite you to come and share your hand crafted project that you have completed in that month.   Just link up to a recent post on your blog talking about your most recent completed project that is now stamped WIP'D!

I had high hopes of completing one of my WIP quilts, but I did not attain that goal yet. I did get to the quilt shop and purchase the backing fabric as well as the batting with visions of putting binding on by the end of the month, this month.   I am not at a loss though, because I did complete some fabric post cards that will hit the mail boxes of many of my loved ones for Valentines Day!

Here's the rules- I don't really like that word rules, but anyway..
     *Link up with a direct url to your featured post on the most recent project you finished whether it is cross stitching, quilting, sewing, crafting, upcycling etc..
     *Grab my button and add it to your featured post, or link back
     *Come back again next month!

*laughter is good for the soul

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

A good, real, unrestrained, hearty laugh is a sort of glorified internal massage, performed rapidly and automatically. It manipulates and revitalizes corners and unexplored crannies of the system that are unresponsive to most other exercise methods. ~Author unknown, from an editorial in New-York Tribune, quoted in Quotations for Special Occasions by Maud van Buren

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart

Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food. ~Anna Fellows Johnston


I know this picture looks a bit crude... and I am sorry, but these two are like brother and sister and they were laughing it up to the highest!

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Prov 17:22

*Kilroy was here

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Farran is my oldest son's girlfriend and she and I have a lot in common besides the fact that we love my oldest son. Hey, how about that hair? Does it remind you of the 80's? I told her we wore the braided head band thingy that we would put on our fore head, under our hair, over our ears and tied in the back! Nothing, nothing I say, is new under the sun!

She is wonderful with animals and our black goat, Neffie is especially fond of her. Farran can get the goats to playing with her as if she was one of them. You can see here that Neffie is starting to frisk around and sort of hop-run sideways towards Farran.

And she wins. Head butt!

We take one of the barn blankets out in the barnyard so we can sit and visit with the goats, chickens , cats etc. Neffie just want to be in Farran's face.

Kilroy was here.

This is one of the pics I took while Farran was here. Aren't her eyes beautiful? I used some of those new editing options in Picasa on this image.

*scenic Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

Hope you all have a great week!

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 NAS

*goat coats

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:31:00 +0000

Last week we had below freezing weather again so I had to stitch them some new coats to help them stay warm during the blustery nights. These are the second ones I have made each of them. During the day when the goats are out browsing in the barn yard they like to rub up against the barn gate to scratch their sides. Each time they do this, little holes get ripped into the sides of the little coats.

If you have goats or animals outside that have to weather the temps, you can make these fairly easily. I shopped at our local thrift store and chose some cotton turtle necks as well as some sweaters and woven vest pull overs. I cut the arms off of the shirts and then sewed up the holes tapering it in towards the neck. I also taper sewed the bottom part of the shirt so it would pull closer to their tummies.

Shared at:
Make it Yourself Monday
Homestead Revival

*more fabric post card love

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:22:00 +0000

It is January 20th already, can you believe that? How are those resolutions you all made coming along? New changes you are striving for? All I have to say is I am glad each day has a fresh new beginning! With almost all of January gone, February 14th will be here in no time and with that in mind I have been working on creating some post cards that express a small token of my love for some of those in our lives.

Although Valentine's Day was at first a day to celebrate romantic love relationships, it is widely celebrate across the board in many different kinds of relationships. Gone are the days of a card being written out personally now Valentine cards have given way to mass production. This is part of our fast paced society, we long to let those we love know through a small gesture of a card on Valentines Day and when time is hard pressed we are very grateful for a mass produced card. I know I have been there, done that too!

This year however I have had the luxury of time to produce some hand made expressions of my gratitude and love for different ones in my life. Granted everyone I know will not get one, but many are on the list. I have been making these since the first part of January. I wrote about the first ones here and here.

These are my most recent finished post cards:

This one is not completed yet, I am in the midst of using the satin stitch to sew all the appliqued parts down!

Shared at:
Eye Heart Blog Hop
Sunday Social
Homestead Revival
The Sasse Life
Make it Yourself Monday

*chick-inn news at Erilyn

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:57:00 +0000

These belong to Husan. I cannot express how thankful I am that these belong to Husan and not Mr. Baggins.

Isn't Husan a beautiful rooster? We have not really had any problems with our roosters as far as the hens are concerned, or even amongst the two of them - no problems. Husan has never even shown any kind of aggression towards anyone. Mr. Baggins on the other hand is a different story.

Mr. Baggins to the left here, and one of our fine hens, Lucy to the right. I have to admit, I love taking pictures of our flock. They love to come around me when I am sitting on the ground in the barn yard, because often I have some treats in tow that I feed them from my hands. Just today Mr. Baggins tried to spur me on several occasions while I was in and out of the barn doing chores. I was on the phone talking to a friend and I was not really paying attention to him... it wont happen again. He didn't hurt me, but he sure as heck scared me.

One of our outside cats, Zeke a Russian Blue is quite at home amongst the chickens. He is one of our three Russian Blues that live "in" the barn.

I love Lucy!

We are collecting 80 to 90 eggs per week at this time, this makes me happy and helps provide eggs to the families we are committed to selling to.

Rebel with unrelenting commitment continues on those eggs. She refuses to get up for anything at all - food, pooping, stretching her legs - nothing. Hopefully in about two or so weeks, we will have some peeps!

Shared at: Debrah Jeans Farm Girl Blog Hop

*oh, barnacles birthday cake and quilts

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:12:00 +0000

Yesterday was my youngest son's girlfriends' birthday, so a cake was in order per Henry. Tiffany is a very mature young lady but is young at heart and I love that about her! She and Henry both adore Sponge Bob, yep you guessed it, we made a Sponge Bob cake. We looked for inspiration via Pinterest and found these:

Source: google.com via Eric-and Lynette on Pinterest

Source: cakelove.tumblr.com via Eric-and Lynette on Pinterest

These images helped us along the way and we came up with what you see below. It was fun making the cake and the fondant recipe we use is really simple to make. You simply use a bag and a half of mini marshmallows, a bit of water and a bag of powdered sugar. The recipe can be found HERE. I think we did a pretty good job.

I am sorry the images are so dark.. I need to work on letting more light in.. this means I have to study my camera.

After cake, Henry and Tiffany decided to start working on a quilt together. Henry selected some quilting cottons the last time we were at a quilt shop and they had decided a few weeks ago to make a quilt together. Henry initially chose a pattern that called for using templates - I was not willing to help with that kind of quilt making at this time. SO.. I gave him some options to choose from and he and Tiff chose the Friendship Star.

They work well together as a team! Henry was piecing and Tiffany was marking diagonal lines as needed on the back of some of the squares as well as pressing the blocks. Tiffany was a bit afraid to sew, she didn't (notice I said DIDN'T) have any experience with a sewing machine.

I was cutting the fabric for them. I always cut for Henry when he decides to quilt. He can, but I do it faster and better. Just sayin.

She was contemplating.. she really was having a good time. She even commented that she thinks she has a new hobby.

She was trying to use her pout face to get Henry to sew a complete block together so we could see what it was going to look like.

He thought it was funny, he didn't give in. I ended up sewing the first completed block. I was anxious to see it too!

THEN, then we got Tiffany on the machine and she put together 4 more completed blocks!!

Aren't they pretty! They have 3 more colors that will be used to make the star blocks. I think in all the quilt will have 24 of the 13 inch star blocks. It is going to be pretty. They are working to complete it so Tiffany can take it with her off to college when she starts in the fall. It was a great day and Happy 18th Birthday Tiffany!

shared at
WIP Wednesday's
Art For Little Hands
Eye Heart

*scenic Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:20:00 +0000

I hope you all have a great week!

*without ART earth would be EH!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:06:00 +0000

I am an artist and currently my medium of choice is fabric. I have been working with fabric for the last few weeks, but I still have not touched one of my WIP's. I do hope to get some backing fabric this week for one of my quilts so I can get it done!

I am thrilled to have these blocks. My dear mother-in-love gave these to me some years ago. I love, LOVE the story these blocks hold. I may have even told the story here before, but I don't think I have. So, if you have heard this story in real life, forgive me while I tell it again. I have 22 Sunbonnet Sue blocks that have been intricately hand appliqued, half of the blocks have Sunbonnet Sue facing right and the other half she is facing left. The fabric you see here may look similar to some of the Aunt Gracie fabrics you have seen at quilt shops in the last few years, but this my dear, is the real deal!

These blocks were started years ago when my dear mother-in-love was a little girl. Her mother started piecing these in the mid 40's. I am in love with the idea of the whole quilt. I love history. I love people and when the history of my family and a tangible object come together well, I get a bit excited.

One day this quilt will be lovingly pieced together with some reproduction prints as borders most likely. This quilt will be one that will one day will bring comfort and warmth to one of, or maybe over a course of time, all of our granddaughters. I will enjoy telling each one of them how this quilt was started in the mid 40's for their beloved great grandmother by their great great grandmother. I will share many stories of their great grandmother as they grow in age over the years. To have a quilt to lay over their laps to tell those stories will be a very special thing. I love my mother-in-love very much and I do thank my God upon every remembrance of her.

*picasa UpDaTe!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:04:00 +0000

This photo is SOOC and I have used it to show some of the different edits you can NOW do through Picasa. Picasa, a google product is a free photo editing program that you can download safely from picasa.com . If you already have Picasa, go get the updates! I have been using Picasa for years and recently started using Picnik (premium). I do like Picnik but sometimes it takes them forever to gather the picnic basket, the blanket etc... With Picasa being a downloaded product and not a web based editor, things move along much faster.

I think this is one of my favorite edits (Vignette) to use... before the update I was not able to do this using Picasa, but had to wait for Picnik to load. LOVE IT!

This 60's look is not my fav at all, but a fav of many bloggers I follow. Quick and easy edit now via Picasa.

Just for fun, comic texture.

And this I love.. framed! I can frame it in any color I like, and make the inner and outer border different colors and different sizes if I choose. Go check it out! Picasa Download

*a clutch of eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:41:00 +0000

Over the last few weeks Rebel, one of our Buff Leghorns has become broody. Broody is when a hen has a strong desire to sit on a clutch of eggs so she can hatch out some baby chicks! I tried to discourage her, daily over the last week or so. That however, has changed.

Yep. You guessed it, I gave in to her instincts at this very inopportune time! I went out to "feed up" on Tuesday morning and found myself making a comfy place for Rebel to call home for her coming babes. I was counseling myself through the entire process, "do you want to do this right now?", "not really but it looks like Rebel REALLY wants to do it!" Of course she does, it is all in her name?! You can just imagine how I was going back and forth with myself, do I - don't I? The baby chick lover in me won. Seriously, it may not be the best timing as far as time of year is concerned but I have to remember that I raised 20 some chickens last January and February. All of them survived and thrived, so I think between me and Rebel we will do a great job at raising her chicks.

We have given Frayja's training crate to her which must be like the Windsor Castle in England in her chicken eyes. She has enough room to raise her chicks when that time comes. Speaking of that, did you know it only takes 17 to 21 days for baby chicks to hatch out? Guess where I will be living during that range of dates? Yep, you guessed it... in the barn! I can hardly wait, I do hope I am able to capture some of that to share with you all.

Being broody is a strange state of temperament, at least in my opinion. Rebel seems to be overly focused on setting on her eggs. By the way, she is not laying on any of her own eggs or her sister's (Ms Trump). She will be hatching out some Easter Eggers, Barred Rocks, Delaware's, Rhode Island Reds, and or Black Sex Link fertilized by either our Light Brahma rooster (Mr. Baggins) or the Jersey Giant White rooster (Husan). I have to make sure she is eating and drinking each day. When I go out to feed everyone else, I simply pick her up and put her in front of the water. She drinks a lot during those times. I also hold a handful of her favorite - cracked corn, for her to eat out of my hand. Hens who are broody can sometimes become so focused on brooding, that they forget to eat or drink.

Her project due date (range) will be the 28th through the 31st of January. We are hoping for majority hens so we can increase our egg production in the summer, but if we end up with little roosters were already planning to raise some meat chickens this spring as well - so the roosters will fill the freezer.

Shared at: Farm Girl Friday's Blog Hop

*greener on the other side?

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:41:00 +0000

Why is it that those on one side of a boundary always think the grass is greener on the other side? Well it is no different for sweet little Nubian goats that live here at Erilyn! All three of them, Neffie, Cleo and Bodie had their sweet little Roman shaped noses through those fence holes seeking out those dried leaves (just like the ones on the side they were on). These girls eat their grain rations each morning without delay as well as their dried beet pulp. They are eager to head out the gate after that to get to their Alfalfa hay in the barn yard. We hope to be breeding Neffie (the black one) sometime this spring.

Lucy, the adorable Delaware Chicken, has no idea why the goats are not showing more of a grateful attitude for what is in their boundaries, she certainly is. NOT. This photo below was taken early one morning inside the coop before I opened the door to let them out. Lucy here, is so very guilty of roaming past her given boundaries herself. In order to keep the chicks safe, we put up boundaries so they would not roam into the barn freely. Lucy.... the fine Delaware Chicken is notorious for hopping the boundary and getting into the goat stall to find treats for her craw!

What about you, are there boundaries that you are trying to press through? Speaking of boundaries here is a GREAT book to read, The Hedge of Thorns published by Lamplighter Publishing. I have read this book many times over and it brings me to tears each time.

shared at:

*scenic Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:56:00 +0000

While living in NC we did get about one or two days of snow each year. This was the last big snow storm (cause it is always a storm when you get snow in Fayetteville NC), that we were to take part in. We had the perfect property for snow, too bad it only snowed once or twice a year. This storm took place in February of 2009.

*XO XO fabric post cards (more)

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:49:00 +0000

Fun fabric valentines from the heart! I made a few more "post cards" for those I love. I have to start early on a project like this if I want to be ready to mail these in February. That still wont mean I will get finished on time actually. I am remembering how my Christmas card addressing went this year... I start addressing cards EARLY December, I actually got a few in the mail. I carried the rest of them from room to room, transported them to a couple of doctors offices and finally took them out of my Lap Top Bag a few days before Christmas and sent out an apology (via email or FB) to those who would NOT be getting their Christmas card. Well I did start with good intentions with our Christmas cards, lets just hope there is more action on this project!

After I looked at this photo, I realized that this owl has a lot of junk in her trunk!

I used the satin stitch to hold down the appliqued cut outs and put on the darning foot (or free motion foot) when I did the wording.

I always share my work with my sweet husband, I love sharing each piece with him. He really helps me with ideas along the way. So sometimes you might get a hand made item from me that was actually co-designed with my sweet husband! This one (XO XO) he sort of gave me a funny look, he said, "Well I might not like all of them." I will try harder tomorrow to get a thumbs up from my beloved on each one of the Valentine's that I create!

Shard at Homestead Revival's Barn Hop

*unique post cards

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:37:00 +0000

So, let me be honest with you, I have been wanting to get into my sewing room so I could start to work on a quilt but I life just has not allowed it. Tonight after spending some time on Pinterest for some inspiration I got busy creating some Valentine cards for the some of the loved ones in my life.

I have been making these for several years now and I do enjoy making them. I don't really begin with a finished product in mind - I sort of create it as I go. What?! Doesn't everyone sew like that?

If you are interested in creating some fabric post cards to give at any time of the year whether it be Valentines, Christmas, Easter, Birthday, or JUST BECAUSE you will need a good working sewing machine. I love using my Janome 6600 because of the nice decorative stitches that is has. You will also need an iron as well as the list things listed above.

This one is my favorite thus far, it was simple and quick to sew and I LOVE the way it turned out. The stitching looks like lace around the edges of the fabric which plays well with the pink lace on the background!

This fabric post card made for Valentines, says: Friends are the flowers in the garden of life, thanks for being my friend. ~Lynette

I made this one a week or so ago.. not a fan. I love the fabrics.. but just not really jazzed about the way this one turned out. I only have one person I could send this one to, because it says BEST friend and to be honest I just don't think it is good enough to send to my BEST friend. So.. I will likely just give it to the our sweet postal clerk so she can give it to her daughter to use as some sort of inspiration. When I went in to day to make sure that cloth cards could still be mailed through the postal system, she was oohing and aaahing over it. She even asked if she could make a copy of it!

*chicken life at Erilyn

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:47:00 +0000

This is what it looks like every morning when they are let out of the coop. They have water in their coop, but they rush around the corner and congregate here for a bit.

Meet the Leghorns, Ms Trump and Rebel. Ms Trump will NOT leave the nest. She has stopped laying eggs but leaves one nest to the next to sit on her fellow chickens eggs. We did give her 6 or so to sit on and they stayed warm all day, but there was a time in the evening that she left them long enough to get cool. I am not really ready to shut her in and help her along the way, but she is certainly broody. (watch, next week I will post about how I have shut her in a crate and helping her along..) If you are a chicken keeper, what would you do? She is currently sitting on a very popular nest, as you can see her 'sister' sits on her when she is ready to lay an egg if she can't get her to move. This is a regular occurrence here at Erilyn.

I love our chickens. I can't wait to get more! We currently sell 5 dozen eggs per week at $4 per dozen. We will soon be selling some of "fertilizer" as well, since we have rabbit, goats and chickens readily producing! Have a great weekend!

shared at:

Deborah Jean's Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop

Homestead Revival's Barn Hop

*let the creativity begin

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:43:00 +0000

I do my best not to get caught up in the New Years resolution making habit. It just never works for me and I don't want to let myself down when I don't hold up to some lofty ideals that I would like to claim as mine attained. Somehow as a new year rolls around I think we all get that feeling of a "fresh start", which in itself I think is odd. If we were in a habit that we didn't think good, why would we wait until the end of a year, beginning of a new one to make a change?

My sewing room is cleaned, and organized for a fresh start, not because it is a new year but because I had several projects that I worked on that eventually allowed it to get into the shape it was in before the purge. It is like my rather large pantry, a few things put back in a convenient but not proper place a few times a week over a course of a year ends up looking like a huge mess.

I currently have 7 unfinished projects in the works and many in my mind that I desire to see come to fruition. I do want this year to be one where I sew more, but I do not have my heart set on a set number of projects I must finish. Just today I was talking to my best friend and she mentioned that she too wants to sew more but will not allow herself to be pressured by "the finished quilt number for the year" but more importantly she is focusing on herself (health) and her commitment and responsibility to home educate their last daughter at home. I know that in just a few short months planting, weed, watering, picking, pickling, canning, freezing, milking, raising (meat chickens) will all be a real part of my reality. I just know that this year I am going to be more purposeful in my sewing and how I can use that talent to bless others.

This room does not always look like this, I am real, I live OUT LOUD and often VERY messy. But for now, it is worth marking down, the room is organized and ready. Having a clean room and orderly allows my mind to function more freely and creatively!

Here is a clever storage idea I would like to share with you, in fact I wish I had more sleds! If you have a wooden sled stand it up on its end, cut two pieces of board that will fit in over the metal hardware on the bottom of the sled and make shelves for storing your pretties, whatever they might be.

*sew much to do

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

As I mentioned before, I hope to get more than 3 quilts finished this year, God willing! I sometimes do waste time and could be more disciplined and focused whether it is sewing or doing other things around Erilyn. I decided to make me a focus board of sorts that I could write on, wipe off and write again.

I took a medium sized picture frame that we had in storage and then found a piece of fabric to use as a background under the glass. I could have left it like that, but to be more interesting to me, I decided to look around and find a few things that hold meaning for me. I chose a few cards given to me by dear friends and a recent birthday gift (vintage buttons and pattern card) to put under the glass. Once it was all mounted and set in the frame I selected an overhead marker and dry erase marker to list the projects that I will work towards completing this year. As they are completed I can wipe them off and add new ones (or not).

Today I spent some time cleaning my sewing room and rearranging some fabrics. I even found some fabrics I forgot I had - ever done that? It was like going to the quilting store all over again! I am feeling encouraged, inspired and ready to sew - how about you?

*advocating for an orphan

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:38:00 +0000

Grab This!

This precious young man is in need of your undivided attention for just a few minutes. Once you read what is going on with Valentin you will be able to make a decision as to what part you play in his story. Please take the time to read this family's story to their journey to Valentin and where they are at now, you can read by clicking HERE.

If you will, consider writing a post similar to mine or copy this one and post it to your blog to help advocate for this little man. I am not going to try and play on your emotions here, but will you consider donating the cost of your fast food meal and Starbucks coffee this week to help Valentin? DONATE HERE

*scenic Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:58:00 +0000

This is one of our favorite spots on the American soil. This place holds so much history for my dear husbands family for many generations back. It is my desire to one day take our (future) grandchildren here, to tell the stories of their fathers jumping, climbing and hiding in the beautiful rocks at Devil's Den, Gettysburg PA. To tell them of the days when their grand father led me up Little Round Top at 6 months pregnant. To have told to them the days of when their great grandfather covered the grounds of the Gettysburg Battlefield and to have shown to them the places where their great grandfather and great great grandfather once lived. Have a great week!

*work in progress done! WIP'D!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:17:00 +0000

This past year was the beginning of our new normal which we are all still getting used to, I know you have read that here before, but it is the truth! We had a quiet simple life in North Carolina it did not include 19 chickens, 3 Nubian goats, 20 rabbits (currently) and 6 acres of land. I had friends that I ate lunch with on a regular occasion, I drove to the foothills frequently to visit my best friend, and on a weekly basis I went to a quilting class that I loved being a part of.

My new normal does not include eating lunch with friends on a regular basis, nor does it include hopping in my packed car and happily driving to the foothills to visit Franziska because I have a heap of animals that need constant care. Nor do I have a sweet quilting group to call my own - yet. I love what God has blessed us with here and while it might sound like I am complaining... I am not.

In an effort to start and finish more than 3 quilts in 2012 I could use some encouragement, or a push along the way, perhaps some inspiration! So join me in this WIP'D challenge if you will. Each Friday I will be hosting a linky for you to come and share your WIP at any stage, no need to write a separate post to include in that weeks link up, just include a recent post sharing a quilting project you have made progress on in 2012. I will start the WIP'D link up on the last Friday in January. Please tell your friends, grab my button and post it on your side bar, write a post about this on your blog if you will, and come back on the 27th of January to link up!

Please take the html from the button in my side bar to add to your blog. It would be great if you would like to blog about this in you are in a circle of quilters who might be interested. The more the merrier! May all of your ups and downs be with a needle! Keep a watch out, the first link up will be on the last Friday in January, see you then!

*year in review

noreply@blogger.com (Lynnie) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:55:00 +0000

January was our (mine and Henry's - Eric was still in NC) first real month in Florida. Before heading back to Florida I took a whirlwind trip to NC to visit my best friend. Then after getting to Florida, my sisters and mother came for a visit. A few weeks later momma moved an RV onto our property.

February we added chickens to our new homestead as well as rabbits. We had our first visit in this home from Eric's parents on this month.

March is spring break time and our house is usually full during those days. Summit, Henry's best friend flew in from Colorado for the break and a week or so later Kierstyn and Austin arrived for their spring break.

Near the end of March first of April we planted our first garden on this land. We were busy to say the very least.

The first of May we put our first Beehive onto our property, built our monster Chick-Inn Coop for our maturing chickens. It is now summer, so by May's end the niece and nephews showed up again. Eric put NC behind him and headed to FL permanently.

Momma was here off and on over the past few months. This is June, welcome to heavy harvest time! We sliced, battered, froze, canned and ate fresh harvest from the bounty of our gardens! Momma was truly invaluable to our homestead during this time.

July brought Kierstyn back to NW Florida for several more weeks stay before her school started up again in August. We harvested our first honey after only having the hive for a short time. We harvested a total of 50lbs of honey and left a full hive for the bees to live off of over the winter months.

August brought me a breath of fresh air. I was able to settle down for a bit and just be. I got some quilting and sewing of different sorts in during this month.

September was also a good laid back month, although we did plant some fall/winter crops during this month.

In October we had a cookout at our house for the lovely people from Eric's office, it was nice to host! Eric's folks made a quick trip over to visit too! We picked winter squash throughout the month! OH, and our house in NC SOLD!!

November brought with it much joy! Our home was full all month long and it was really fantastic. Franziska had a willy nilly idea, she decided one evening that she was driving down for a visit and got up the next morning and did it! This was the first time we have ever had all of my family at one of our homes for a holiday. All were present for Thanksgiving except one of my brotherinlaws and one nephew, they were both missed.

The December month started out with a visit from 4 lovely ladies (2 being my sisters) the very first weekend in December. We went to a Beth Moore Conference and then a few days later our oldest son deployed for 3 months. During the Christmas holiday's we had Austin and Kierstyn back for during their Winter Break. We finished up the Christmas holiday with my sister Lori and her husband, Mark here at our home.

I am exhausted after reviewing the past year in pictures. It has been a full year in so many ways. This has been the first year in our "new" normal here in Florida. We look forward to what God has in store for us in the coming year! Happy New Year to each of you and yours!