"On the plains of Oklahoma, with a windshield sunset in your eyes like a watercolor painted sky, you'd think heavens doors have opened."
Fly Over States



Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Farmer's Fenceposts

A few days ago, I posted that the girls have been going through some sort of readjustment on who is going to be top dog.  The biggest problem reared its head whenever Evelyn would go near our bed because Pearl thinks she owns it.  I'm happy to report that the girls have made a great deal of progress in working that out.  I credit Evelyn, mainly.  She's been coming up on the bed, regularly, but when she does, she immediately goes to Pearl and gives her big kisses as if acknowledging that she knows she is trespassing.  For her part, Pearl has calmed down and seems to have given Evelyn "permission" to come up on the bed.  They even have taken to cuddling and grooming each other while up there.  So all's fine in Georgeville on that front. 

In the past few weeks, I've had several attorneys/judges ask me to go back to doing guardian ad litem work.  Reportedly, if lawyers want a guardian ad litem who only does that kind of work, there is about a three week lag time before they can even get an appointment - work is that brisk.  I'm holding off, for now, because my grandson is due in February and I don't want to have to worry about court while I visit in NYC.  After he arrives and gets settled, I'll seriously consider if I want to come off my Sabbatical.  The year has been marvelous for my state of mind and I need to decide if I am ready to start back up in that direction.  The problem with trying to do good work as a guardian ad litem is that the "good" ones are worked to death.  And I wouldn't want to be anything but a "good" guardian ad litem - the stakes are too high.

This morning, I ran over to the land we are planning to buy to take a few photos.  I didn't go onto the property and just took a few shots from the road.  Buyer's Remorse hasn't set in, yet.  We're still waiting for the survey, however, and need to review it before closing, next week. 
 The old grasses are so dry.  It has been a dry year.
I so love that big Oklahoma sky.  A big difference between Oklahoma and Virginia is that in Oklahoma, if it isn't raining, chances are, it isn't particularly overcast, either.   That deep blue sky is just magic, to me.  Until I came back home, I didn't realize just how much the overcast days common to Virginia were bringing me down.  I wouldn't do well in Seattle, I 'spect.
The woods are in the back fourth of the property and I really look forward to traipsing back there to get some wildlife photos.  Today, I contented myself with fencepost shots along the north road:
A number of the fenceposts along the roadside where they used to farm are made of wood that looks to have come from the property:
The fences that divide the farming area from the grazing area are more robust.  Probably because cows are more rambunctious than wheat (or whatever this is).
 
 
I didn't pick the best time of day to take photos - it was midmorning and I was facing the direction of the sun most of the time. 
The following is part of the fenceline on the north edge of the property.  That speck down the way is my car on the gravel road. When I took this photo, I was standing about one third of the way from the western edge, looking back.  The pasture continues to the east about twice as far as is shown. 
The plants are so dry.  It wouldn't hurt my feelings if the grass burned off but the wind could really cause a problem if that happened so I hope it doesn't.  There is a fire station on the edge of the property on land donated by the owners so hopefully, we won't have to worry so much about wild fires. 
 I just like this shot for some reason:

This old building is on property adjacent to the land we plan to buy and used to be part of it - the original farm house, apparently.
Here are the neighbors to the east.  That is a HUGE house in the background (see the red roofed turret?).  That is a single family home. 
I got a bit more work done on Lady Melinda, this week:


Still a long ways to go...
I had my last drawing class, yesterday, and the last painting class is in the morning.  After I catch up on all my quilting projects and the weather warms up, I hope to paint a picture of the barn.  But I have a lot to keep me busy between then and now. 

Off to wrap presents.

Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Happy Second Birthday, Pearl!!

Pearl is two years old, today!

It is hard to believe it has been a whole year since her first birthday.  So much has changed, since then.  We left out of Virginia the very next day, earlier than planned, trying to outrun a snowstorm that was taking aim at the east coast. We still managed to hit a few flurries and ice before we stopped for the night but, overall, the trip west was easy.  But on her birthday, we were primarily engaged in packing up, loading the car, saying our goodbyes and making sure we didn't forget anything.

Girls in the empty house right before we left:
It is one thing to head out knowing you'll be back.  It is another to shut that door and know that is the last time you'll ever walk in that place - or even see it.  We were happy there and it was a loving home so a big part of me regretted having to say goodbye.  Of course, the larger part of me was on fire with delight at coming back home.  And I haven't had a single instant of regret.  If anything, the joy has deepened over time as the realization that I am safely back home, for good, has solidified.
Today, however, we are having fun with Pearl and enjoying "her" day.  She woke us up to screaming out the north window because the bunnies were vexing her (floppy eared sons of b*tches!).   After she managed to run them off, she jumped back into bed with us to snuggle and smooch.  She and Evelyn have been playing and wrassling in great spirits.  I suspect the cold front that is barreling this way from the north has them feeling frisky even though it hasn't arrived, yet.  Pearl will get a new toy, later, and tonight, they'll get Frosty Paws.
I may work on Lady Melinda in a bit - time to start coloring in her face:
Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Quilted Lady Melinda

I finally managed to find a day to devote out in the barn quilting Lady Melinda.   It took much of the day but went quickly because my longarm was being cooperative.  Here she is on the longarm before I started quilting:
I used a clamshell freehand design for the background in the sky:
I've been excited about the boat and am pleased with how it turned out after quilting in the "boards."
 
I deliberately left the edges of the cloak raw.

Lady Melinda is pregnant but I am not happy with the quilting lines.  I'll yank out a few in the belly and in the torso to try to make it look more realistic.
I plan to go back and use colored pencils to add shading to the quilting lines.

I am not particularly happy with the face but I hope I will be able to color in a face, neck, hair and arm that looks okay.  I'll be appliqueing the pennant in after I finish coloring.
Here are some photos of the back. 
 
 Some other photos:
 
 
I've been worried that I would put all this work into Lady Melinda and then ruin it all when I did the face.  That could still happen but, so far, I'm still happy with it.  The face looks a little wonky at this point but it always does at this stage. 

Wish me luck.  Still a long way to go.  I'll be glad to get it done so I can go back to doing a baby quilt for my grandson. 

Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl