Old School Acres

Deconstruction

You'd be amazed at how much material you get with a 25-cent wool suit coat.  When I started purchasing them I was going for the gold (wool) and was pleasantly surprised by the goodies found within.  Most, if not all, are lined with satin.  Buttons are a given.  Some have suede elbow patches.  Shoulders are shaped with padding, the softest flannel ever, and a scratchy cotton that makes awesome owl feathers. 

Mondays are Quarter Monday at my local Goodwill and all clothing is a quarter.  My favorite thrift store changes their $1 clothing each day depending on the tag color.  No one is much in the market for wool suits going in to summer.  They are ripe for the picking!

L to R:  Wool suit coat lined with orange satin.  Blue wool suit coat with one sleeve removed and the shoulder pad exposed.

It's going to be a long summer

Just me and the girls today after the long weekend.  Each has had their turn crying about something that didn't warrant tears.  The pool pH isn't quite right so no swimming, which brought on huge tears.  Then Ellie kicked Katie in the eye and Katie is sure it was on purpose.  It's going to be a loooooooong summer.

They're separated for now.  I'm going to take a deep breath, give myself a pep talk, and work on this:

Austin P'owls

Get it?  Yeah, I know.  Lame.  Not exactly what I was going for, but cute in his own way.

Mom?

Are you my mom?

If you name is Sarah and your Jack likes owls then you *are* my mom!  My apologies, Sarah.  I can't find the buttons I used for the other owls eyes. 

I even got my own owl this week.   Marjorie and I did a little swap.  An owl softie for 2 of her prints.  Look:  An owl and a hedgehog as crafty friends!!  There isn't much cuter than that!  You must check out Marjorie's shop.

A typical night on the farm.

***Warning:  Lots o' pictures

The sites (and smells if you have an active imagination) around here.

Katie scooping horse poo.  We've been letting Mariah and Casserole out to eat grass in the yard.  That poor old corn crib behind Katie.  We are considering tearing it down and putting up a new building.  There is an antique sleigh up in the rafters.

Happy dog.

Cat in the tree.

Our church cemetery.  Our property borders it on 2 sides.  It's about 1/4 mile away.

The raspberries are growing like weeds.  We should have a bumper crop.

Hopscotch

I will announce the winner of the owl tomorrow evening. 

Do you smell something?

We have tons of this:

From these (you have to look close):

They make great cat toys:

For a couple of years I've tried to think of a productive/useful way to use all this plastic bale string.  This person is even trying to make some money selling it as a craft item.  And here is a funny story about bale string.  If you get a package from me and it smells like horses or hay, it's the bale string I used to tie up your goods.  Consider it a little piece of the ol' farm.

Who knew

Who knew there were so many owl lovers out in Blogland!  I better make a super, fabulous, feathery owl, huh? LOL  For anyone not here yesterday, go here for a chance to win an owl softie.

Who knew the time of day to catch the barn swallows sitting still is in the morning?  Not me.  I went out for a walk this morning and caught 3 actually sitting still!!  And there are some baby swallows, too, but I can't see them yet.  They sound like little mice.  Unfortunately I had to use the flash inside the dark barn.

One sitting.  One flying like a little torpedo in the sky.

 

Snips

Just what are snips?  We all know the little saying about snips, snails, puppy dog tails, but does anyone know about these snips???  Evidently the original saying was "snips of snails."  Um...ewww.  I don't know what snips have to do with mushrooms, but it works for me.  This is the shoe that goes with snails.

Busy weekend.  Brett did a parade with the carriage and Marge and Molly.  Yesterday we moved some of the horses to a different pasture.  The girls spent some time in the pool.  You? 

I promised a give away, didn't I?  How about one of these:

Comment on this post this week and I will draw a name Friday, May 25. 

What a hoot

Yes, another one.  Each one I like a little better than the next.  This one has tufts.  Did you know those tufts aren't ears?  I didn't until I was researching owls a couple of weeks ago.  The experts at  the Cascade Raptor Center say "...these structures are neither horns (a bony outgrowth of the skull of some mammals), nor are they ears or in any way associated with hearing.  A bird's ears are on the side of the head not on the top where these feather tufts are located."  So, there's your owl lesson for today.

 

Wool tweed.  Made mostly with materials from a deconstructed suit coat and include satin, felt, and flannel.  Vintage buttons.  Fabric-wrapped wire feet.

Snail shoe

Only one, because I'm not convinced I like it.  I also need to make sure it's going to fit the intended recipient.  Linen lined with satin.

We're off to the Children's Museum.  Have a great day!!