Pawley Farm

My sister, Susan, has recently finished putting together her website, Pawley Farm . She started several years ago, taking some incredibly beautiful photographs of her farm life. After checking into some framing shops, she decided that she needed to mat them herself and then found a local artisan who makes the barnwood frames for her. She has marketed her artwork herself and has them in several Northeastern Oregon shops including some local farm stands where they blend in perfectly with the farm atmosphere. She has also sold a few to a large furniture store who didn't think they would be interested until they saw her work and were so excited that they bought a couple on the spot and ordered several more. You Go Girl!

My sisters story is unique in the fact that she was born with cataracts in her eyes and had several eye operations as a baby and toddler and is legally blind in one eye. I have often asked myself how she captures the beauty around her. It truly is a God given gift. Susan also is a single parent, raising her two sons on her own for these last 16 years. She put herself through college and is a special education pre-school teacher with dreams to someday own her own farm. Susan and the boys live on a large ranch and vineyard in an old ranch house that they rent. They have all worked on and off (more on than off) for the owner and have the use of a big red barn and several different fields to run their critters in. They have a menagerie of horses, one donkey named Elmer, chickens, ducks, sheep and I hear they have acquired a couple of pigmy goats now. Susan grows a big garden every year and sometimes sells her wares at the local Farmers Market.

My big sister is a wonder in my eyes. She does so much and is now on her way to being a locally known artist. It is my mission to get her name and work out to you. Please hop over to Pawley Farm

and have a look at her work. Send anyone you know. Farm art would look wonderful in every house in the country...

Happy November!

Turkey Days coming. That means pumpkin pie, mashed potatos, stuffing, roast chicken (CHICKEN?!)- OH, pardon me, that's what's being served at my Rainy Day Cafe' tonight.
This picture's is just a glimpse of some Thanksgiving craftiness that's been going on at my house recently.


I found this knitted baby hat pattern and fell in love with it. These two are for Ayden and Noah. I have just finished one for little Weston who hasn't even arrived yet and have one in the works for a new little nephew, Kyle.
Hurry up everybody. Christmas is just around the corner...YIKES!

Gender Confusion...

We had just a little bit of gender confusuion going on at our house last night. Take a look at these pictures ~


First, Noah Bean thought he was a LADYbug...


Then Dustin and Josh decided to be little fairy princess'...
Just when I thought the madness was over Shilo and Blair showed up dressed like boys. They were in and out so fast that I didn't get a single picture.

Today our topsy-turvy world seems to have righted itself...

Happy Halloween!

Shilo and Blair wanted to wish you all a Spooktacular Halloween. Ladies, grab your broomsticks, lets fly....

Holiday Sister Swap & Halloween Corners of Our Home

My holiday swap sister, Catie ,
made me this great Halloween wreath. Take a close look at her Pumpkin People. Aren't they just adorable? I immediately hung it up on my enclosed front porch to great my Halloween goblins who are coming to visit in just two short nights. Catie also sent some really cute halloween socks that I am saving to wear on my last day of work ~ HALLOWEEN ~ and a bag of scrumptious licorice bites. MMM...thanks Catie!


This is the little bag that I made and sent to Catie An. It is made out of 100% wool felt, which seems to be my favorite thing to work with these days. I filled the bag with licorice and caramels with a bat shaped candy dish that was thrifted from a yard sale. Isn't Halloween fun?!


Our new front porch has really been fun to decorate this year. I even drug out some of the kids old construction paper bats and pumpkins from many many Halloween's past. What fun to have those old memories gracing our windows again...


"Punch It, BroomZelda"~ My sister, Susan, made this delightful witch for me several years ago. I can hardly wait for the first of October each year to drag her out of hiding.


5 little tea lights sit inside this haunted house, throwing flicering spooky images onto the wall while the Tales of Edgar Allen Poe wait quietly, daring some brave soul to open the pages...

CAA...CAA...CAA...

The Muddy Blues

Yesterday was the day for our annual trek to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island just outside of Portland. They have a corn maze in a different pattern each year, the most incredible caramel apples that you will ever sink your teeth into, a market that sells all kinds of fun farm produce as well as jams, jellie, syrups, you name it. After the market you can jump onto a hay trailer pulled by a John Deere and head out to the pumpkin patch to wander around and pick your own pumpkin. (I suggest you go a little earlier in the month. Most of the pumpkins still left in the fields now were rotten.) Always in the past, Dustin has been the first one in the car for days like this, jonesing to run through the maze and drag the biggest pumpkin that he could possibly carry back to the truck, so I was shocked and a bit sad when he informed me that he didn't want to go this year. He has been lifegaurding at our local pool and loves his job, so didn't want to ask for a day off, and anyway Mom, I want to go to a movie with my friends later. Well, I Never!! What happened to my little boy??! Shilo, on the other hand, shocked me by wanting to go. She has had better things to do for a couple of years now, but was very sad when she couldn't go with us. She is going to college, still working at the theatre and has picked up three shifts a week cooking at a local pizza joint. Silly girl. I keep telling her that life is to short to work two jobs when you don't have to.
Anyway, when we loaded up, only Riff, Brittany, Noah and I were in the truck but I had strick orders to bring pumpkins home for carving. Below are pictures of our day. You will soon see why I titled this post the Muddy Blues...


I kid you not, this is just one of the path's through this years corn maze. This is even a mild path, with some of the mud several inches thicker than this. Some paths were just soppy wet mud while others were less wet but very sticky. We had to be very careful to not stand still for any length of time or we would definately have lost our shoes. Next year I'm going to be wise enough to bring rubber boots. I did take a picture of three boys, probably about 10 years old, who came out of the maze covered in mud from head to toe. I just knew that they were running and sliding and having a good old time. I decided I better not post that picture as you can see their faces to well.


The blues comes into this story via the sky. Incredible beautiful blue skies with just a hint of a crisp fall breeze in the air made for a perfect day on Suavie Island.



Noah rode through the Corn Maze with Grandpa, all safe and sound in his snuggli. He really seemed to like looking around at all the cornstalks and just being outside. He smiled and told us little tiny baby stories all afternoon.


Noah's first hayride was a hit. It wasn't until we actually got out to the pumpkin fields that he decided to pitch a fit. Poor little guy was just so tired from all the fresh air and excitement that he fell asleep as soon as we hit the car and slept soundly until 2:30 in the morning.

What do you think, want to go for the Haunted Maze next year? At dark thirty, the ghosts and goblins come out...

From Hearts to Hands 2007

For the Second year, Lynne at I Was Knit Together In My Mothers Womb is collecting mittens to distribute to several different ministries in the State of New York, including a Children's Shelter. Lynne is asking that anyone who would like to join her either make or buy mittens and send them to her for distrubution. This is a wonderful project to keep little hands right here in our own country warm this winter. I made a few fleece mittens last year and plan on trying my hand at knitting a few this time. Pop over to Lynne's site and join this hand and heart warming mission.

The Wide World Awaits...

Son #3, Kevin, graduated from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland this past weekend. I love this picture. You can just tell from the almost delirious grin on his face that this has been a hard and long road for him to hoe. There have been many times over the past year and a half that we were all sure that we would never see this day, but Kevin perservered and pushed through the hard times, which included moving to a big city where he did not know a single soul and, for the first time in his young life, really being on his own. He had roommate problems, vehicle problems, studying problems, Chef problems and partying problems to name just a few. The only part of his life that was never a problem was his job. Kevin started working at Jake's right off the bat and has really done well and moved right along in his chosen career. Now he must chose, and be choosen, for his externship before he can be called a full fledged Chef. What an exciting career and world he has in front of him in this day and age of food. Eating is no longer just something that we all need to do to survive, it has become a hobby and a passion for many of us. I can't remember the dollar amount that was quoted as the yearly amount that is spent in the US eating out, but believe me, it was staggering and mind boggling. Congrats Kevin ~ Kudo's to you...

I wanted to get a picture of all the graduates during the ceremony, but just couldn't seem to get the right angle for the shot I wanted. What a fun sea of Chef hats! Quite the sight.

Riff's parents were here from Wyoming for the weekend, not planned to coincide with the graduatuion ceremony, but it was wonderful that it happened to work out that way. It was really good to see them for their yearly visit to the coast. We also had Riff's ex-wife, Kathy and her husband, Dave, out from Maine for the graduation. I know that it may sound weird to many of you, but I really enjoy visiting with Kathy. Now that the kids are all grown, we only see them at the big moments in the kids lives. Kathy and I are both knitters and she has recently learned how to spin, so is going to be sending me a couple skeins of her own yarn. I can hardly wait. How fun!


The picture above is a couple of Christmas stockings that I have knit. The purple one has been felted and the green has yet to be. I thought it would be fun to show the difference in the sizes of the two. These were really fun projects, though the kids have informed me that if I make giant stockings than I have to FILL giant stockings. I didn't sign up for that part of it...

I have finished a few projects in the last couple of weeks and started a few more, so hopefully, blogger willing, I will post some pictures of my creations over the next week. Seems that it's been a really long time since I posted any crafty things. What a slug I've been! Actually, to make excuses for my sluggish self, it's been really busy around here with the new baby in the house and trying to get my little Puddle Ducks Day Care ready to go while still working full time. My inspection was today and my liscence is in place now. WA-HOO! Only one more week of work. I'm so excited. Now to line up some little tykes to come and play with me...