Home alone

The last few weeks have been busy with visitors.All are gone now , but we are left with this huge Smurf, given to us by Johannes.
When we started to farm almost 40 years ago we needed extra help during the summer months.
There was an agricultural exchange program available through the government and that worked very well for us. We mostly had young fellows from Holland with one from France and one from Finland to add to the mix.
Johannes was one of these fellows and we got along so well, that he came 2 years in a row. That was 25 years ago and this year he came back for a visit with his family.
They spend the first few days with us and came back at the end of the trip, with this Smurf. Johannes was a good ball player and he won this at Canada's Wonderland.
Since it was too big to take back on the plane, it stayed with us. Jonas and Evelyn love it

That can not be said for the chicks.
Last Friday was chick day on the farm
Since it just happend to be the same day Jeanette and Jonas came for a visit, we thought it might be fun to introduce the grandkids to the chicks.
Bad Idea!
Jonas might not be scared of the huge smurf, the little chicks was different. He did not like them at all and the visit was very short.



 Evelyn did not mind, but the chicks were more interested in her, then the other way around.
In a way I should not have been surprised. These little chicks can be very noisy and nosy.







In October Evelyn will get a little brother or sister, so it is time to start on another baby quilt.
The circles are sewn together with fusable interfacing.
Turn them inside out and iron the blocks to the back ground.
Next step is to stitch around the blocks. I use a buttonhole stitch with varigated thread.
I made enough blocks for 2 quilts.
Once you have all the fabric out, it does not take much longer to make 2.
Right now is a quiet time on the farm. The wheat harvest is over and the straw is in the barn.

Summer activities

 A few weeks ago we spend a few, very hot days up at the cottage of Emily's parents. It was just the 8 of us, kids and grand kids.
Evelyn and Jonas enjoyd the sprinkler, at least after the water warmed up.
This was the first time they tried to play together. And we had fun watching.




Talking about dedication! After making a few rag quilts and a table runner Emily decided to tackle a queen size quilt top.
And as we know, a lot of those do not get finished. But not here. She took it with her to the cottage and spend the time to get the top all put together.
She has the next one lined up already!





It is that time of the year again. The harvest apple tree is loaded this year.  I have been making apple sauce, but there is more to do. Both Jonas and Evelyn love apple sauce, so you can never have enough.
Today was not the best day. First one of the jars exploded in the canner. Then when I took the next load of jars out, I dropped one on the tiles in the kitchen. What a mess!
A little later we discovered a flood downstairs in the furnace room.
Bur all is cleaned up again. It helps to have a plumber living in the farm house. REally handy at times.
Now for something unusual. This amarillis is in full bloom out on the deck. There are 2 more buds coming.
This is not the first time hre, but still it does not happen often.
Finally another sunny day.
WE have had a lot of rain and that stopped the combining. But the guys are at it again today. If tomorrow is the same we should finish with the wheat.

An old friend

I have tried different times to blog, but I cannot get the pictures to load up.
Maybe it had to do with the fact, that the first try had over 10 pictures.
This will be short and sweet. It if works I will try again.
This week-end is our church's, Listowel Mennonite Church, 50 the anniversary. I was asked to phone Val Fleming, the owner of the Kaleidoscope of Nations quilt and see if she would loan her quilt to us for the week-end. She was willing and yesterday I drove to her place to pick the quilt up and Monday I will return it.
This quilt was sold in 2003 at the Mennonite Relief Sale in new Hamburg. You can find more information on my blog under Relief Sale Quilts.
We are in the middle of the wheat harvest, but it is going very slow. 31/2 inches of rain will do that. We have had a lot of rain. The flower beds look lush, but my planters are not doing well.