Can we keep it?

 

Today was a tough day for me. My heart feels sad and my soul feels empty. I feel empathy for everyone who needs help from the resources they need to feed their kids and medical care for their families and newborn babies and seniors in rural America in nursing homes and those who need care in their small hospitals. I am scared for us too. 

Every day brings more disappointment in the government who used to care about its citizens. The antics displayed after the Big Awful Bill was beyond cruel. How can this be? 

To lose faith in what was decent only a year ago takes my breath away and leaves me feeling hopeless. I'm not sure that I have the energy to replenish my soul. I never thought the end of our lives would change this much. 

What was I thinking???

Laying awake thinking about my younger days until I only had two hours left to sleep before my 24/7 caretaking day begins. Whew...I'm already kind of shaky so now getting Hubby up and taken care of means I'm shakier. After a 1/2 hr. or so, I know I can make it.

So what kept my mind whirling? Maybe it is because my world is so upside down. Cruelty is reported every day, and my empathetic self is disgusted and devastated and sad. 

Growing up in the 1950's right after WWII was economically tough but I had no idea that it was. To say I was sheltered and protected is very accurate. Maybe a little spoiled like when my Uncle Earl babysat me and warmed my diapers after he changed me. When my parents came home, diapers were washed and drying all over the place. Uncle Earl was kidded about that forever. He even let me dunk my cookies in his coffee. I was the first grandchild on my Dad's side of the family.

When it was time to go home from the hospital, we lived in an apartment off of Payne Avenue on St. Paul's Eastside. Until I moved in, everything was fine with the other apartment dwellers. However, apparently a baby with colic who was constantly crying didn't go over very well. So Maud Nelson kicked us out and it was then that we moved into the 2nd floor of Grandma's house.  My Dad's brother and family lived in the bottom floor of Grandma's house with her and Grandpa on the main floor.

This is the house now except when we lived there it had a porch across the front where I played house and made so many meals out of seeds, etc. The bay window was great for growing a Boston fern and other plants and was where G'ma and G'pa and Randolph kept track of neighbors.

Randolph rented a room in the basement but was a friend who came from Bergen, Norway. He was a fisherman there in Stavanger.

That is what families did to get by. They helped each other and maybe even lived together. What could be better than living close to grandparents who loved to spoil us.

I'm writing these memories mostly for me. Maybe when I start forgetting things, I can revisit these pages to remember.

70 Years of Dolls...

I come from a family of collectors.  Perhaps I am the most prolific though.  Of my many collections, my dolls have been with me my whole 70+ years.

I have my first doll...pictured with me and my Grandma.  She is made of composite. "Composition is generally a mixture of glue mixed with sawdust. Heavier and denser than paper mache, composition is easily molded and is thus an excellent material to make doll heads."  The Spruce  She is in her original dress.  She has moveable eyes and her arms and legs also move.  So far I haven't had to repair anything.  Her face is so sweet.

I believe this doll came from Montgomery Wards

Back in the day, most of my girl friends got home permanents.  I got Tony perms also.  My Mom later became a cosmologist - beautician plus - so from then on I got professional perms.  I've had this Tony (Gillette Co.) doll (middle one) since the mid-50's.  She's had a few permanents - that was the big selling point for this doll.  I'm not sure what her hair looked like originally but she still has all of it!  I think she is so pretty.  More recently, I purchased a couple other Tony dolls to add to my collection.  

My vintageToni is in the middle...

My storybook dolls

More storybook dolls, etc.

One of my first dolls - third from the right - she walks!

Fireman doll, skater doll with crocheted dress, my vintage Ginny dolls, etc.

My very own Mary Engelbreit doll - Ann Estelle

My daughter, Alissa, made these - Hubby and I (in our wedding garb), the Gardener and the Angel!

 

There is so much to say about my dolls but I will never be able to publish this if I make sure you know all the details.  Maybe another time....

This is the cupboard that my Hubby made for my dolls right after we married 20+ years ago.  He is a keeper...it must be 7' tall.

Thanks for visiting and take care,

Bonnie


 

Warrior Weed Queen...

Here we are with summer 2/3 of the way over.  Well, that is my definition when it is the end of July.  I think we've had a warm/hot summer so looking at fall on the horizon is a good thing for me.

Bee Balm,  Milkweed
and Hydrangeas

The flowers are unusually full of blossoms with the temperatures and rain we have had this year.  The last of the perennials are opening - the Brown-eyed Susan are just beginning to open to complete the wonderful mix of red Bee Balm, orange and other variations of Day lilies, the three shades of pink and white Phlox, Hydrangea and the yellow Stella lilies. The wild light pink Roses are done along with the Lilacs, Lily of the Valley, Tulips, pink and magenta Peonies and Allium.  The Autumn Joy Sedum will soon be opening to complete the autumn garden.

I'm a pretty good deck gardener...but today I tackled the itch weed in the raised gardens out by my vintage camper.  Those awful invaders stung me right through my garden gloves - they are rubber like on the inside and the fingers but knit on the back so my pulling hand is stinging.  I will survive though - they are laying on the ground ready to go in the rocks behind the barn.  And good riddance!

Those dang itch weeds are down and out!

Pretty Pansies all in a row!

   Here are some pictures of my gardens - so let's take a stroll!

Mallow

Day Lily

Geranium on the stump and Phlox along the house.

Three different pink and white Phlox!

Ornamental Kale & Marigolds in the wheelbarrow - Day Lilies back my Gazebo.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my gardens...I wish you were here to help me weed!!!

Take care,
Bonnie
 

Making a Table Mat...

It has been quite a while since I actually followed a pattern and pieced a quilted item.  It is lots of work and tedious since I've been away from it for so long!!!  Just trying to remember all the little rules and hints was interesting...like what you can cut bigger so when you are done that you can trim to the right size, etc.

I bought three table mat kits so my two daughters and I could make them together.  There isn't enough time in their lives to spend a day or two sewing together so I thought it was time to just make mine and we'll go from there.

As I cut out the pieces and appliqued the four squares, I thought I will make mine and then offer to do their kits.  So....not so much after I spent most of two days getting ready to sew the 35" square mat together.  I'm going to suggest they use their fabric for other things being they have never pieced anything like this.  It is up to them, of course.  I will most certainly help them if they want to make their kits.

The top is done...now to quilt it but I'm a bit stymied on how I want to do that.  I have a few months to figure it out before the holidays are here. I've cut the backing and batting.  Now that it is this far, I think I will finish this up for my holiday table sooner than later.


We are having a lovely February here in Minnesota!  A whole week of temperatures in the 50's and 60's!  Winter isn't over but we're getting closer to spring.

Take care,
Bonnie



 

Enter Joy and Laughter...

My Hubby and I rescue older dogs from a great shelter.  Our Annie got breast cancer three years after she adopted us... her death left us so sad.  We never get used to this part of rescuing an older pet....but we know how many pets are out there that need a good home to live out their lives.

In September, joy in the form of a sassy little Schnauzer entered our home and our lives.  MacKenzie is a miniature Schnauzer and is the smallest dog we have ever owned weighing in at 17#.  Her personality is very big, however, and she won our hearts over the minute we walked around the corner at the shelter.  She is 6 years old and was found wandering around a small Minnesota town.  She had just had puppies and that is all we know about her background.

She never walks - she trots and runs and twirls and jumps 3 feet off the ground although we've been told she should not do that.  We have not been able to break this habit though.  We keep trying but that is what she does when she comes in from outside and whenever she wants a treat.

 Her effervescent personality makes us laugh out loud every day and many times a day.  There never has been this kind of visible joy in our home...

I think she came to us for a reason.  I had looked for different dogs to fill the void...we always look for a female, older and willing to put up with our kitty, who is now our 13 year old Bambi, that we adopted the year before.  When I contacted the shelter about a dog that I found that looked like she would fit into our family, we were told they had just the right dog for us.  This is the fifth pet that we have adopted from our favorite shelter so they know of what they speak!!!

 

Kenzie is our protector...especially from squirrels, partridge, pheasants, and cows, etc.  She perches in the window and warns us by screeching barking and then mumbling when we try to calm her down after thanking her for her vigilance.  We laugh every time it happens many times a day.

 

 Her little basket of toys is her endless joy...she loves to pick out a different one each time she wants to play although she has destroyed quite a few.  It is amazing what she can do to one that isn't puppy proof...she is a chewer.  She loves the squeaky ones - the noisier the better.

 

I'm convinced that she will extend our days on earth.  She removes the stress of these gloomy days and for that we will forever be in her debt.

Take care,

Bonnie 

Ma and Pa Kettle-like Porch...

This little porch/gazebo had been on my mind for a while.  Meanwhile, my friend's family built her one...sigh.  So this summer when my grandkids, John and Addy, were with us a couple of days each week, we enlisted their help.  Well, their efforts along with lots of Hubby help, went way beyond my expectations. 

                                               
                                           I even love it in the winter!!!

We didn't buy anything except some final screws.  Otherwise, we used the boards from my daughter's old deck (floor, frame and roof supports), parts from old screen houses (back wall and side railings, leftover steel siding from our little red barn (roof) and porch posts that we found in the pole barn!!!

Can't wait to have coffee and read and play with Kenzie in the spring!!!

Take care, 

Bonnie

Barn Quilt Square...

Because I'm a quilter, I've always wanted to proclaim it on my barn.  I finally found a woman who would make me a large quilt square and after a period of time....she notified me that it was done!!!  It is two colors...love the red and white - and it is 6' square and in a frame.

So then I had to find a way to get it hung on the barn.  I kept asking around until I found the perfect person (and his brother) to figure out how to get it up very high without renting a machine of some sort.

So they did it the old fashioned way with ladders and ropes and brute strength on a very cold and windy winter day!!!

It is so welcoming when I drive in the driveway and see my huge quilting symbol!!!

Take care,

Bonnie