Growth Chart

     It's finally up.  This summer I took a simple 1x8, I believe, six feet long and turned it into a growth chart for Evan.  A simple pine board with a little sanding, some stain and varnish,  add a little black paint for the letters, and done. 

     It's been sitting on the spare bed since before Evan's birthday in June.  Yesterday, we got it up and measured Evan's height to mark the occasion.  A lighter stain would be helpful in making the marks show better, but I just used what was on hand. 

Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day

        Today, November 1, we celebrate All Saints Day or Hallowed (holy ones) Day. A time when we remember all the people who have gone before us living truly holy lives and now are saints in heaven with our Savior.  Some of these saints are canonized like Mother Teresa or St. Francis, but many are not. 

     Then tomorrow we celebrate All Souls Day, which is all the souls who have passed away.  They lived good lives, but because of the stain of sin are in purgatory where they are being made pure.  Many people go to mass tomorrow and pray for family members and friends who have died.  Offering a mass or simply remembering someone who is dead in your prayers shortens their stay in purgatory. 

  If today is All Hallows Day, last night was All Hallows Eve or Halloween, which comes from Celtic tradition.  In their tradition all those who died come back on All Hallows Eve as ghosts and goblins.  The Celtic people who put on masks to scare them away.  They also went door to door collecting treats.

      As Catholics we take these days to celebrate the Communion of Saints.  The Communion of Saints consists of three parts: those living on this earth (Church Militant), the saints in Heaven (Church Triumphant), and the pour souls in purgatory (Church Suffering) with Christ at it's head. Church Militant is in the struggle on Earth to save souls while the Church Triumphant is praying for those in the struggle and those suffering.

        The next time you think Halloween is getting way to commercialized remember it's Christian roots.  Also, you can check out some of the Mexican traditions surrounding this holiday.  

Side note: Evan's costume idea this year came from pinterest and ended up being a scavenger hunt around the farm to find piece to put it together.  A scrap piece of plywood in the barn, a piece of old hose, some plumbers tape, and left over paint.  Meanwhile the mouse costume was modified from a puppy pattern Grandma had.

Indian Summer

      With the warm day we are having, I decided to snap some fall pictures of Evan.  He wanted nothing to do with the camera.  He just wanted to get up and go. 

 

15 months

      How much trouble can I get into while Mom is busy filling the canner with tomato sauce?

     Dad likes to encourage my clothes pin fascination.

      In the middle of play time I take a break to read a good book complete with sound effects and Evan words.

     Dare devil likes to stand on his fire truck, but doesn't want Mom to get a good picture of it.

Rambling Rose

       One more project finish to share.  This xoxo's table runner is another simple project to finish.  A Rambling Rose charm pack was just the ticket for this vintage feel piece.  Plus one charm pack is enough to make two table runners and one pillow sham.

      After completing both table runners I used all the clipped corners, sewed them together to create this design.  It lacked a little size to fit a pillow.  The square border added enough width and used up some of the remaining square pieces from the charm pack. 



        One table runner is already wrapped up and given away as part of a wedding gift earlier this summer. 

       Now to find a home for this beauty.

 

Fall Leaf Table Runner

        Last fall I started this table runner, but didn't actually finish until after Christmas.  Each leaf was made with three squares from a charm pack called Hello Fall.  

     I had the top finished once, but it didn't look right. Then it dawned on me that the leaf was missing it's middle point.   I had sewed it together backwards so the middle fanned out instead.  Some days the seam ripper gets more use than others. 

     Be on the look out for future posts with more projects made from the Hello Fall collection. 

Modern Neutrals

        Modern Neutrals was the perfect charm pack to use for this baby quilt.  It went together super fast since it just consists of 4 1/2 inch squares and half square triangles. 

      Modern Neutrals was a line that consisted of shades of brown accented with pink and shades of gray mixed with turquoise.  

        With the prints it's hard to get an idea of what the quilting looks like.  You can tell the center has a four leaf clover shape with repeated diamond rows after that.  To add interest there are strips without quilting mixed in. 

      These days my helper always makes his presence known. 

         Now it is wrapped and ready to head off to a friend who will welcome a little one in November.  

Bringing in the Harvest

       It's that time of year, time when we spend the last warm days outside bringing in God's bounty.  Before we can get started, preparation is key.  Check over the combine, grain cart, tractor, and semi to make sure everything is greased, oiled, fueled, and in running order.  A few trips to get parts to replace broken pieces and we are ready to go.   Meanwhile Evan was busy at work in the driveway doing some farming of his own.   

       Before you start harvesting a farmer always wonders how well the harvest will be.  Every year provides it's own set of challenges.  This year was a wet one until late summer, which made it hard to control weeds and low spots in fields had lots of water sitting.   How would that effect yields?  

 

       Monday we kicked off harvest by cutting soybeans.  We started at the Carter farm, which had a major weed problem.  Most years it would not be in contender for top yielding ground since the soil is not our best.  This year, though, with more rolling ground it allowed water to drain better.  We were surprised to see it averaged 65 bushels per acre.  I believe county average is 45 bushels per acre. The ample rain provide enough moisture for both the weeds and beans.    

    The 80 acres was next.  It had less of a weed problem and better dirt, but it was mostly flat.  The end result was 56 bushels per acre.  Still very good.  We tried switching to another field, but the beans were just not ready yet.  In only words Evan can understand,  "Dad, these beans are still tough.  Time to switch back to corn."

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       While harvesting you always have those moments when things do not go smoothly.  Foreign matter is always hard on equipment.  Something broke a few sickle guards, could have been a rock or junk in the fields, but we had to stop to replace them. 

        Meanwhile Evan enjoyed some time to play in the neighbors previously harvested corn field.  A cornstalk always makes a good toy. 

         Help prevent field fires.  Blow off your combine often.  Less dust and debris means less matter to get hot and start a fire.  Derick already had two fire calls for combines/fields on fire.

      The past two days we have been working on picking corn which means Evan gets some quality time in the grain cart with Mom.  It is so nice that tractors have "buddy seats" these days.  I remember riding the Case with Dad as a kid and trying to find a place to sit.  There was never enough room.

       The car seat was a needed addition after Evan fell asleep the first time.  A lap belt and seat with no sides makes it impossible to keep a baby in place.  The car seat takes up a lot of room and makes it difficult to get in and out, but a necessity. 

        Evan enjoys driving right along with Mom with his own steering wheel.  Toys and snacks come in handy while we are waiting for Dad to fill the combine, but when the combine is in our sights or we're moving, all toys end up on the floor.

 

 

1 year pictures