New Life Old Farmers

Time to do fun stuff together (especially with our horses) is a constantly moving target.  Between My Loving Spouse’s schedule, the weather, my flue and the boys being shod, little has worked out.  We signed up for the Cave B Winery Prize ride, My Loving Spouse took the day off.  We knew we’d enjoy it, have fun and who knows maybe even win a load of gravel!  We also planned (as in talked about it, but the weather and life did not co-operate) to ride the horses a few times so we’d (horses and me) all have our spring jitters out of us.  Yes, that did not happen, best laid plans etc.  We did make it to the winery determined to enjoy our day.

We rode to the first tasting stop.  Easily setting up this first shot without My Loving Spouse spilling his wine.

A gorgeous location set just above the gorge of the Columbia river.  A beautiful day to be out and nothing beats Washington for beautiful cloud formations.  We tried to stay away from the other 118 riders, as more horses just add jitters to horses that haven’t been out.  You are not supposed to let your horse know you are jittery, so I worked hard at telling myself I was calm…..trying to fool at least one of us.

The only thing that could have made this day better, is if our horses just wanted to plod along and be lazy.  As is often the case on a first outing horses are hyped up on the green grass they’ve been eating.  They act skittish, dance sideways and seem scared of their own shadow.  We had just reached the red wine tasting location and needed to turn into this cloud formation.

The black cloud got blacker and we were now nearer the gorge’s edge.  It looked like a thunder and lightening show at any moment.  The day before we’d had a thunder and lightening storm at school, while the first grader’s were out a recess.  A drenched horde of crying, scared 6 year old kids came running into the library.  6 year old children have a bigger brain than a horse.  I was not enthused to ride into a thunder storm on a large animal with a small brain, near a cliff, who was already not comfortable to be out riding.

At that moment we decided to turn toward our trailer.  Beau got worse, refusing to step over a water line and I had to toss out the only glass of wine I’d been able to sample so far, so I could keep both hands available for managing my hyped up horse.  (Although I did manage to make up for it later once I was back on solid ground.)

Half way back to the trailer, Beau was worse and we needed to return through a row of staked grape vines.  I got off my beast, took the reins in my hand and we walked back in, well, I walked back in, Beau danced sideways almost the whole time, while My Loving Spouse and Sundance rode to the trailer as the hail started to fly.

I made the right riding decision for me, as I said, “There is a very fine line between ‘pushing the envelope’ and ‘it all going to hell in a hand-bag’!”

We did have a nice day.  We do have plans to return to the gorge to ride again…just not with an additional 118 horses and after we’ve had some more time in the saddle and possibly without a hail storm.
Am I blessed? You better believe it!

“Dear Bob,” is how I started my letters to Bob.  

“Dear Bob“, I wrote approximately 40+ times in the last 5 years.I had planned to go to Bob’s 100th birthday party in a few short months, but Bob was called home.

Last Sunday, he got dressed in his suit for church, unlocked the front door, so the choir director could come in and help him with his tie.  He sat down in his chair and quietly passed away….ready for church…ready to sing in God’s choir.  I cannot think of a better way for him to go…quietly, quickly, ready for church.

I’ve cried a few tears.

It will be odd to not write letters to “Dear Bob”.

I have been working on transforming the front garden.  There is lots of work to do.  I have lots of plans, but I am now doing it all out-of-order.  Today, I planted two climbing roses in Bob’s memory.  I think about one of the anthems Bob wants sung at his service…”May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful.”

Often in life, it seems easy to feel as if, I haven’t been or done enough…as Bob’s friend, I have no regrets.

Bob’s Arbor….I have been blessed by my friendship with my dear Bob.

Graduation time is coming and the purple quilt is done!  Our church has only a few graduating seniors this year, so I was happy to be able to contribute a quilt for this special girl.

The quilt started out as a ‘log cabin’ pattern, but then… I started making my own adjustments…until I liked it.  I love quilting my way!

This senior has plans for a major in musical theater, so I added a few treble clefs in the quilting.I used flannel strips for the backing.  I didn’t want them to look like a lot of left over pieces, so I put them on the diagonal.  (If one knows better, they might not do this, as flannel stretches, especially on the diagonal!  It did make it a bit harder to quilt, but I am still glad I did it.)  Sometimes it is good to not know ‘the rules’, just jump in and sew away!I think she will like it.  It was made with all the best of intentions, hopes and prayers….…and I am blessed.

I have had Spring Fever these last few weeks!

No, wait, I have had a fever these last few weeks of Spring.  The darling little people I work with managed to share a spring flu with me and it took me down.  While I was down, Spring was springing up.…all around.  The grass was greening…

The cows and chickens were loving it.The Spring bulbs were blossoming, bringing a huge smile to my face every time I managed a sneak peek outside to see them.My Buddy Beau was keeping his eye out for me, wondering when I would be back to play….No one is happier to see Spring than I am…no one!  I am so happy, that spring is here.  I am even happier, that I am well enough to enjoy it!

Spring is here!  It is beautiful!….and I am blessed!

It is official.  We own a hillbilly rig.

The fact that the deal was made while two bus drivers (My Loving Spouse and Co-worker) were fueling their buses at a truck stop, does not make it a Hillbilly Rig.  The fact that we could pay for it with one trip through the ATM, does not make it a Hillbilly Rig.  (These facts just make it an extra vehicle, that was cheap, that My Loving Spouse thought he could fix, so My Girl could drive again to work in something other than our vehicles).

A Hillbilly Rig is often fixed with duct tape.A Hillbilly Rig often has bits missing that are replaced with hand tools….such as window cranks (for those of you, that know how to crank a window).A Hillbilly Rig needs special instructions for regular features, such as how to open the door, because a bolt dropped off.  How to start it, because I could not stomp on the clutch hard enough to engage the switch, so My Loving Spouse installed a starter switch for it.A Hillbilly Rig has an antenna ball on the antenna, even though it doesn’t have a radio. A Hillbilly Rig has fancy mud flaps, which the seller wants back, because they are special to him.My Loving Spouse started to explain to me how to take the key out of the ignition, but I told him to not bother.  I am leaving the key in.  No one is going to steal it, because:

a.  They need to know that the key is in it.

b.  They need to know how to open the door.

c.  They need to know how to start it.

d.  They need to know how to drive a stick.

A Hillbilly Rig inspires perfectly ‘normal’ friends to say things to you, such as,

‘We’ve got to pick up some cheap beer and drive up into the hills.’

A Hillbilly rig must come in a variety of colors.I am not proud.  I drove it to work, but…

My Girl better learn to drive a stick and fast, because I want my car back.

Come and visit us…we’ve got a rig you can borrow!

There’s a new little fish in the family.

My family name is Fisher.

When you’re family name is Fisher, you are susceptible to things with fish on them…especially fabric.

I found darling fish fabric, while I was getting just a bit more purple fabric and I had to have it.  My nephew’s family had just welcomed the newest little fish and my Great Nephew carried, his Daddy’s, his Granddaddy’s and his Great Granddaddy’s initials.

I had to keep this new quilt simple, because I have too many other projects going, this comment alone, clearly defines me now as a quilter.  My goal was to sew this baby a quilt, easy, cute and get it in the mail.

I bought a bit of green bubbles to go with the fishes, a white on white and planned to use what else I had at home.

The width was decided by the size of my ruler (6 inches) to keep things simple.  I sewed these strips together and then cut them in to 6 inch tall strips.  I picked out some bright primary colored polka-dots and gingham for the other squares, cut them in 6 inch blocks, sewed them to white 6 inch blocks and ‘ta-da’!

I drew and cut out a card board fish.

I used this to trace and cut out 5 fabric fish and added them to a sea of blue.

I think it is easier to line up your applique and then trim off the excess after they’ve been sewn.

I got all ‘fancy’ and put the new little Fish’s initial’s on his quilt.

I love the yellow gingham binding!

and you know what?

I am blessed!

With love to them all

Joseph Solomon Fisher

John Stuart Fisher

Justin Stuart Fisher

Jacen Solomon Fisher

2017

Spring is here!!!

Everyone is so glad, after that winter we had, that almost no one is complaining about the wind!

All the signs of spring are here….There are so many signs of spring, that even My Girl is leaving ‘signs’ for her brother.We do have spring bulbs peeking out of the dirt, the grass is growing and the skies are blue again.

The chicks from school are entering their awkward stage.Or you could just call them ugly……and life is good.

Even at church, they are using ‘signs’ or name tags.  It is fairly hard to avoid using a name tag at church, as there are name tag greeters (enforcers) at every door.  I don’t really mind, as it is helpful for a lot of people.  Yesterday, I got my name tag from the ‘enforcer’ and quickly slapped it on my vest.  Here is a little hint for you.  Do not slap your name tag on.  Press it on, diligently and carefully with force, otherwise your name tag might fall off and you will look like the one person at church who doesn’t want to play ‘nicely’ and properly wear your name tag.  Your name tag might also fall off under your pew, sticking to the floor…and you cannot just leave it there, because, of course, it has your name on it.  You might have to get a spatula from the kitchen to get that sucker off the floor.

Spring is good.  Some signs of it, not so much.

My Loving Spouse and I figured out a vital truth on our trip to Cannon Beach last week.  Travel is better, if you pack a quilter.  Seriously, my need for fabric took us to places we would have never gone to otherwise.

I will be making a quilt for one of our graduating seniors this year and she likes purple.  I therefore need purple fabric.  Our fabric resources are low in Ellensburg.  Luckily, I have a patient husband, who is happy to drive to fabric stores.

‘Want to take a drive up the coast?’  

“Can we go to the quilt store?”

‘Of course!’

Going to quilt stores gets us off the beaten path and into the heart of the town.  Our first stop was Homespun Quilts in Astoria, Oregon.I found my first set of purples……and we asked where we should have lunch.

The Wet Dog…we were told.It was charming and I did have the Ale sample platter and yes, that is the Bad Ass Stout bratwurst you see…It was very yummy.  I had a Shandy, which is a beer with some soda, in other words, it is like a beer with training wheels.  My Loving Spouse had something darker, long past the training wheel stage.Quite possibly the Poop Deck Port…We had a great time and I recommend both the quilt store and the Wet Dog.

The next day, he wanted to drive down the coast.

“Can we go to the quilt store?”

‘Of course!’

Which is how we found ourselves at Jane’s in Tillamook, Ore.Jane’s took some time, because it was a little house transformed into a quilt store.  Fabric in every room!  (Even the bathroom!)  Oh, be still my heart!  I set My Loving Spouse in the back room, chatting with a couple of old gals and instructions to get lunch recommendations, while I adjusted the budget for fabric purchases, careful to only buy what I needed!

This picture is not all I needed…it is just some of what I bought.With the ‘old gals’ recommendation we set off for our lunch.  We would never have wandered down the pier without explicit instructions we received to turn left at the huge pile of oyster shells, we did find The Fish Peddler.  My Loving Spouse had the best clam chowder he ever ate and we both watched enthralled at the process of oyster harvesting.It was something!  Watching the shuckers get the oyster meat, they were fast and efficient.  They work on commission and as we tried to count how many oysters they shucked in a minute, we figure they shuck thousands in a day!  Makes my hands hurt just thinking about it.We left after a great time, with full bellies, a jar of oysters….and some fabric.

The morning we were leaving Cannon Beach, My Loving Spouse agreed to let me into one more quilt store, because I knew I still needed some more purple…We were packed up and ready to go…except the store wasn’t open yet.  This was a great stroke of luck, because instead of high tailing it out of town, we went where we hadn’t been yet, The Insomnia Coffee Co.It was delightful!They had art I understand….It was a delightful way to slowly spend our morning before heading for the farm.

The gal at the fabric store was equally lovely and what can I say….We cannot wait to go back…

You should travel with a quilter, if you need one, let me know.

It is easy to know, if someone has been to Cannon Beach.  You say, “Cannon Beach”, and if they’ve been there, their eyes glaze over, they smile and quite probably they sigh.

My Loving Spouse and I were due a get-away.  A get-away together, when neither of us were working, and we were somewhere we wanted to be, not somewhere we had to go.  The sea had been calling My Loving Spouse for sometime now, and with the winter we had, we were ready!

Washington and Oregon have lots of seaside towns.  There were plenty to choose from, however we are fairly poor trip planners, usually ending up in places that are a ‘near miss’.  This time I got smart.  My Loving Spouse started to name off city’s on the coast.

“There are plenty of places we can go,” he said.

‘Nope.’

“We could just drive down the coast.”

‘Nope.  We’re going where The Traveling Cousins go.’

“Really?”

‘They travel a lot and they love it at Cannon Beach.  That’s were I want to go.  They like Cannon Beach better than Hawaii!’

This is how we ended up with the best long weekend in a very, very long time.  We stayed at The Waves, and luckily for us, My Traveling Cousin called the hotel to double-check, that I hadn’t messed up the reservation and booked us into a non seaside room (which I had).  She got that straightened out and we were singing her praises for most of our trip, especially as we sat looking just outside our hotel room window!

Cannon Beach is just big enough to have a mixture of art galleries, coffee shops, gift shops, household stores, toy stores and kite stores… enough to enjoy a simple walk around… Plenty of places to poke around without driving anywhere…  Someone liked the kite store best, I loved watching him breaking in the kite he bought to fly with THE Grandson.We walked on the beach, reminiscent of our second date (except I did not step in tar this time, and My Loving Spouse didn’t forget to put the money in the parking meter).

We gazed at the sea and those who enjoyed it, we walked, we played cards, we enjoyed being together and being gone.  The ‘gone’ part was especially unique, as there was a ‘plumbing issue’ back at the farm and Number Two Son and Our Neighbor had to turn off the water to the house, until the Plumbing Pro showed up.  Team Offspring survived our latest plumbing issue and for the first time during one of them, My Loving Spouse and I still had HOT WATER!  (Sorry, Team Offspring, you did a great job).We are already looking forward to coming back.  It was the right fit for us, relaxing, refreshing and renewing…  I highly recommend it, go soon or go wherever your cousin goes…it worked for us!