Looking Back and Moving Forward

 Hello Everyone,

It's been weeks since I've posted, so I have a lot to get you caught up on what I've been doing.  For starters, I've been getting ready for my next Sew'n Wild Oaks retreat at the end of August.

My sister, Gail, was up for a few days and she volunteered to help in the kit-making process.  Here she is buried under a pile of project bag kits.

I had a bin of fabrics all selected and matched with a zipper.  They just needed vinyl, batting, directions and assembly.

We cut and assembled 79 kits which should be enough for the next two retreats.  I still have to make more for the final retreat in October.

The bags are easy to make and so useful for quilting supplies.  You can also fill them with smaller items that you don't want to get lost in your suitcase.  They are the perfect gift for anyone.  If you are interested in the directions for the project bag, you can download them HERE.

While we have been downsizing, we've run across unpacked boxes that belonged to my parents and Mr. Joe's parents. We ran across a section of newspaper from The Springfield Union newspaper.  Note the date.......this paper will be 86 years old tomorrow, July 26th.

We couldn't understand why this newspaper was important until we read the fine print. This is a picture of Mr. Joe's mother, Caroline Huntington taking her cow out for a leisurely stroll.  Our granddaughters wanted to re-create this image with Emily walking her steer, Rooster.  He wasn't having it!

It's hard to read the fine print, but it says the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge was nearing completion.  Little did Mr. Joe's mom imagine that her son and family would be living a short 50 miles from this bridge decades after this picture was taken.  Oh, the memories of one's life. 

As I was going through a box, I found this little treasure.  A bottle of Golli Wogg perfume in the original box from France.  

Mr. Joe's grandmother was a cosmetics buyer for Steiger's Department Store in Springfield, MA beginning in the 1930's.  This must be a piece of her past.  Pitch it or sell it?  Our grandson, Jess suggested we download the Google app to our phones.  You can take pictures of an item, and Google will scour the Internet for information.  It is pretty amazing.  This little gem has sold at auction for over $1,000!  

We've tasked our DIL to sell treasures and all proceeds will go to painting the interior of the house and the installation of new flooring.

We've been packing and marking the passage of time.  We may spend an hour on a box.....if not longer.  We are not only reliving our life, but the lives of our parents and grandparents.  It's a process, a very slow process.  This coming weekend we will be moving up some of the furniture that I just can't part with.  The cabin is so full, soon we will be hanging things from the rafters.

You have probably been hearing about the Oak Fire, the largest fire burning out of control close to the southern entrance of Yosemite.  As we were driving up to Bear Valley to attend a concert on Friday, we saw the pyro cumulus cloud generated by the fire.  It may look like a thunderhead but believe me it's not. Every morning we wake up to an orange and smoke-filled sky.  Yosemite is a 2-hour drive from the cabin.  We aren't in any danger from this fire, unless it goes absolutely ballistic.   

So that is what I've been doing over the past three weeks.  The move is winding down while my business is ramping up.  I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sample yardage for my next block of the month.  Shipping times, and the fabric-making process have been very slow.  Patience is not one of my virtues.

Soon,

Lynn

Day 4 at the Fair

 Hello Everyone,

Jess started out the day yesterday when he and Lil' Wayne placed 4th in the swine showmanship competition.

That competition is all about the FFA student and how well they can handle their animals.  4th place for his first year of showing is very good.

Next up was the turkey competition at 6pm.  We had been invited to dinner with our best friends of 45 years, so we bailed on the turkey competition which both Jess and Emily were in.  We were talking with the kids in the morning, and they just wanted to have the turkey competition out of the way.  They both swore they would never raise turkeys again since they are dirty, smelly, and not very bright.

While we were dining with our friends, text messages and pictures started arriving from our daughter, Emily's mother. Emily WON the advanced showmanship competition and came in 4th in the market category!

Here she is accepting her blue ribbon.  Emily was competing against her cousin and her friend Crayton in the Advanced competition.

Jess was a little nervous for his competition.

My daughter's text said, "Jess killed it with taking 1st in the first-year showmanship!"  Then he went on to take 3rd in the advanced competition against Emily.  The cousins were hugging after the competition, but my daughter and DIL were too excited to get a picture of the hug.

Part of the competition is holding the turkey upside down by the legs so the judge can feel the size of the breast.  The next series of pictures is so funny of Jess who didn't like this part of the competition.

Success!  Talk about feathers flying!

If someone held me upside down to feel my breasts, they would find them around my earlobes!

We said our goodbyes to Rooster, Knox, Nutmeg, Stubbs, Lil' Wayne and the two un-named turkeys.  They will be auctioned off on Sunday and taken away for harvest.

There will be hugs, petting, and a lot of tears from the kids as they say their goodbyes.  Their hearts will be filled with many memories, and the lessons they learned are invaluable.

This was Kinsey and Emily's final hurrah for FFA.  They loved their participation in the program over the last five years.  They are better young women who can do anything they put their mind to. They learned speaking skills, organizational skills, animal husbandry, and the ethic of hard work. They both held positions as officers in the program. They made many friends and many memories on their FFA journey. 

We are heading back to the cabin this morning with hearts that are full of pride and love for our grandkids.  They are good people!

Soon,

Lynn

Day 3 at the Fair

 Hello Everyone,

What a day at the Alameda County Fair!  Jess started the day at 8am showing his pigs.

Stubs was well enough to leave his pen and brought Jess a 2nd place in his class.

That was followed by Lil' Wayne coming in 1st in his class!

Win or lose, you always shake the hand of the judge.  The judge was pretty amazing because she knew their names.  Yes, they are written on their FFA jackets, but in tiny letters.  As she spoke about each animal, she told them what they need to do to improve, and she told them what she liked about their animal.  She also smiled a lot!  We've never seen that in all of our years of watching the judging.

Next up after dinner was Emily with wild child Rooster.  Look at the power and the look of determination in that animal. We were on the edge of our seats just waiting for him to bolt.  Our daughter couldn't watch.  He kept it together with Emily's gentle and determined handling.

He stood for a moment of calm for pictures.

Emily and Rooster won FFA Reserve Champion!  We all had tears in our eyes.  Kinsey is in the picture because she helped Emily every step along the way. She was in the holding pen and had knots in her stomach watching Emily in the ring with Rooster.

When the pictures were over, Rooster decided he had had enough and headed for the barn.  Emily went along for the ride. He is so big; he had a hard time fitting through the gates to get back to his pen.

We are off early again this morning for the showmanship competition for pigs.  Jess will be handling Lil' Wayne.

Jess got his pigs in February on the same day Emily's first steer died.  In honor of Wayne, Jess named his pig Lil' Wayne.  These kids are very caring and compassionate to each other. 

Yesterday was the most joy-filled day for the Wilder family.  

Soon,

Lymm