An Afternoon with My Dad

I do have a couple of crafty blogs almost ready to finish up but today I had a great day and wanted to share it with you.

It started off with a haircut - when you have short hair like I do, its important to get it shaped (in my case - actually needs lots of thinning and cutting) every 4 weeks.  So that was good.

Then it was errands and a little shopping before I went to Curves after which 14 Curves friends celebrated our August birthdays.  So much fun - very good food - and lots of laughter!

I had to leave before everyone else did because I was going to see my Dad!  My hubby fixed his park bench and I went to paint/stain it for him.  When I got there he had begun the project.  Dad is 87 and still pretty sharp but his painting skills have definitely gone down hill and I'm not an expert.  First of all he was staining in the sun so things got sticky/tacky and uneven.

So together we finished staining the bench.  It was fun for both of us.  So I stayed and he talked and I listened and it was great.  I sure love my Dad!

Bonnie 

My Love Fairy Postcard

I love my Love Fairy - she's so perfect!

What a lovely surprise yesterday!  In my mail arrived a postcard from Liverpool, UK - it is part of the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap!  Jules is quite the artist - don't you think?  I love the vibrant colors and all the work and care that Jules put into making this card.  


The back is collage also and so pretty!

Beth Nicholls, of Do What You Love, organized The Great Big Postcard Swap for us and people from 15 countries and 4 continents are swapping postcards this month!!!  A huge thank you to Beth.  I can't wait for the next event!

I am just finishing mine up and its also off to the UK!  I'm a little intimidated now that I've seen Jules' artistic talent.  I love her combination of mediums....acrylic paint, glitter, crystals, and stitching.  She's so clever - I like her fairy figure.  I've tried to draw like this but I guess I need lots more practice.  Thanks again, Jules!

Home is Love to me!

My Great Big Stitched Postcard is all sewn, quilted, appliqued and embroidered.  Tomorrow it is off to Banbury in the UK to Kate! 

The back is appliqued and stitched some more!

Another fun experience - next time I'm going to paint one - it looks like so much fun!  I love to do collage so its time to spend a little time outside of my box.

Thanks for visiting!

Bonnie

My Lovely Old Barn

She has stood here in this space for more than 100 years.  I fell in love with her the minute we drove in the driveway in the year 2000. 

Every weekend we would leave the bustling city and drive to the bucolic country looking for our retirement home.  While the description of most of the places listed in the acreage part of the real estate section of the paper did not in any way meet our expectations or their descriptions, we kept looking and hoping and wishing.

Then one weekend on the advice of the receptionist in my building whose friend had a farm for sale, we ventured up north to check it out.  Unlike other weekends, this one held hope - lots of hope.  First of all, lilacs welcomed us up the drive.  My Guy will vouch for this - as we drove past the bushes into the open area of the yard, I said, "I could live here."  The barn - the circle drive around the yard - the ten acres - the house from the outside - made me feel like I was home.  Then we looked through the house and I was sold.  I could have moved in that day.  I was in love.

I've always thought of my barn as "her" - a mother building who has housed many children.  How many calves were born in this barn, nourished in this barn, sheltered in this barn, were milked in this barn and maybe their lives ended in this barn.  Countless. 

Not many families have lived on this land...families who came here, lived here, loved here and stayed here until they couldn't.

Then last week I came home from the east and noticed my barn - her roof was sagging more than ever.  The sun had weathered the south side and the freezing rain added too much weight and finally the snow must have been just too much in her weakened state.  A couple of days ago, I took some winter pictures after the snow and ice.  It was very cold and I couldn't get a good shot of my barn.  So I took pictures of our trees and the yard so I wouldn't have to get my boots on and plow through the snow to get the picture of my barn.

Yesterday my Guy came in and said, "The roof gave way on the barn."  I went out to look and my tears froze on my face.  The one end of the roof had given way.  She has stood vigilant over this farm all these years.  Now her demise is more certain.

When we moved here, I wanted to use my barn for weekend tag sales.  My Guy said it wasn't safe.  The roof on the back side needed repair.  We asked his brother who knew something about fixing up old barns.  He crawled up in the hay loft to look at the damage.  The estimate was devastating...I would have to win the lottery to repair her roof.

I had envisioned using the wooden stalls where the animals had been corralled for my repurposed, recycled and refurbished goods.  I kept pushing to clean her up and power wash her and it would be so nostalgic and fun.  It never happened.  We never even stored much of anything within her walls.  Now we never will.

Her shell will probably stand longer than we will.  Built before 1900, she is  constructed of tamarack trees.  We won't be able to really access the damage on the inside until spring I guess.  Aging is a fact of life.  I know that - I just thought she'd live forever.  Sometimes I am surprised by the things that tug at my heart.  She did and does.  I love my barn.

Bonnie