Vote today

Please vote today! Make your voice heard. No matter what you stance on an issue, please vote.

Our country is being run by the minority. Why is that ? Because people who can make a difference don't vote. Don't think that your voice won't be heard - it will. The last few local elections have been won or lost by very small margins. If the issue didn't go your way and you didn't vote, you could have made a difference.

So get out there and vote people! And if you haven't registered, do it today so you are able to vote in the next election. Go to the county board of election web page to get a registration form, register at the county fair, call a neighbor for information, whatever it takes to get out there and take the country back from the craziness!

From summer to fall

All in one swoop. Today is only 20 days from my last post - when it was 90 out. Today, it is cloudy, rainy (as it has been for two weeks) and in the 60's. There was no subtle change, just one day our low was our high and at night it crept down to the 40's. Great weather for sleeping, but I could use a little sun to brighten my day. All this grey is so damn depressing.

I believe we could have some sun this weekend, which would be great.

We went to the Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs a few weekends ago. It was a lot of fun. Our friends from Indiana came in and we had a ball. We made body doubles on Friday night. Saturday, we went to the Wool Gathering. Our tiny group (Kelly, Jessi and I) had to leave early because Jessi had to work, but we were done anyway. I got some beautiful (if overly expensive!) yarn to make Baylor's hat in the colors he wants - Cat yellow and black and Allis orange and black. I'm doing the deer side in orange and the pattern side is yellow. It should look pretty cool. Additionally, I found some perfect peacock color (actually it's called Smoky Teal) that matches the sweater almost exactly! I'm totally excited about this baby set for Steph. Anyways - all that yarn is from Fiber Optics. I love their colors - so vibrant and rich. You can see, if you look closely, varigations of anywhere from yellow- orange to deep pumpkin in the orange and the yellow has a lovely halo of orangy-gold that tones down the yellow a bit.

I also bought 3 skeins of Hydrangea from Knitting Notions. I like her colors, too. I should have gotten the Chili Pepper, though. I kept thinking I had some of this color in my stash and sure enough, I now own six skeins of lace weight Hydrangea. YIKES!

I need to add some fringe to the afghan for baby Liam. I could probably do that tomorrow night at SNK. I need to get it to him before he's in school. Finish the hat for Steph, then cast on the hat for Baylor. It's next on my priority list!

I found a few items I want to make for Christmas, but we will see. It's hard to believe we are a third of the way through the semester and we have about 3 months till Christmas.

On that note, British Literature has been a lot of fun. We are working in the Renaissance and it is really interesting. I loved Medieval British Lit. It was a lot of fun. We had a test last week but I haven't received it back yet.

Well, just a few more days this week. Baylor is getting Senior Photos done on Saturday (hopefully) and it should be great. Dan wants to have him with his hunting gear to get some photos.

Labor Day

So this weekend was Labor Day weekend. What does that mean to me? Well, it means an extra day off for the weekend and usually a mandatory (and not always well received) picnic that 'has to take place because it's the last of summer'. Somehow I managed to avoid this scenario, although I am not sure how.

So here's how our weekend went:

Saturday I walked with the church for the Inner City Ministries - a good cause. I walked because its the right thing to do. I walked and knitted a sock. I walked and sweated like a pig in the 90+ temps. It was hot. Steve was going to meet me at the church - he volunteered for food duty. I was at the park talking when I got a call.

DH: What are you doing?
ME: I'm still at the park. Why?
DH: Come over to the church right now.
ME: OK

So I go to the church and TJ, my dog, runs up to me with his face bleeding. What the heck!?!?! Steve used the flatbed truck to bring the grill to the church and TJ loves to ride on the flatbed, so Steve thought it would be all right. On the way to Urbana, the grill shifted, throwing or pushing TJ off the truck. Luckily, it was just a little road rash and nothing serious. He was just scared. I took him home, got him some chicken nuggets and stayed with him.

Later Steve and Baylor decided to go to Illinois for the weekend. Or rather Steve decided that he and Baylor were going. Some day he will figure out his children are adults and need to be asked what their plans are. Baylor, although he knew it would be fun, had other plans that had to be cancelled. Of course he won't tell his dad that he has plans.

So off they went - TJ and I staying home. TJ with injuries and me with class on Monday. That's OK. I spent the weekend finishing up swaps and studying. I got to watch what I wanted to watch on TV, went to a bonfire at the Newmans and never once did I have to put a toilet seat down. It's the little things that make us happy.

Saturday night it poured rain! Lots of wind, rained over 2 inches, blew the door open, etc. I stayed up until the worst went through and went to bed about 1:30. Since I was feeding the steers, I had to be up by 8.

Sunday it continued to rain. I studied, knitted, and cleaned out the fridge. It was glorious. I finished the Mermaid shawl, started a water bottle cozie. just had a great time knitting and reading and doing what I wanted to do. TJ seemed to feel a lot better. Still not 100%, but just stiff and sore.

Monday I had class at 10:20, then I went to Hobby Lobby and the grocery. By the time I got home, the boys were home. Of course Steve was mad because the tarp had blown off the hay outside and Vern didn't even check it. Not my day to babysit! I had a great, if quiet, weekend, so it's all good.

More fair photos

Some photos of our time at the 2011 Clark County Fair! It was a lot of fun.

Baylor at barn set up:

Our booth : Our 4H club at the ice cream booth:

Baylor, asleep at the fair: Piggie love:

Baylor and his steer. He won the sign competition!

The annual flood. We had 4 inches of rain in 1 hour. Up to 18 inches of running water by the expo center. Of course, Ethan has to do something goofy, so he rented a scooter for the afternoon. They had a BALL with it!

2 days until fair

Everyone has been working hard. We've had Skillathon and Miscellaneous judging. Last minute details are being completed, including open class and booth decorating. With that, I bring you the hard working crew who worked outside in 100+ degree weather to bring you the Livestock Unlimited booth. I cannot wait until we assemble all this hard work into a beautiful booth.



Priscilla came on Saturday to help with painting. She, along with many others, worked their magic with the hot knife - cutting out the shapes we needed to make our vision come to life.

Leslie and Tina worked on the cow. It's really cute.



Tina worked on our 'gigantic duck', too. It's HUGE! Almost four feet tall.




Stephanie worked on lots of things - painting, cleaning up, designing. She will be an 'official' 4H'er next year and I'd bet she will be as great at it as her sister.



Our pig, Dusty. He's not 'dusty' here, but he is now.

The rabbit... he's about 2 foot tall.

We worked again on Tuesday night because we ran out of cardstock and such. Good thing we still had plenty of paint and styrofoam for designs. This is going to be so much fun!

Bayley working on painting... I don't know if she liked painting the flowers, but she loved painting my picnic table.

Sarah came out to help as well. Leslie (in the background) was in charge of lettering. She did a great job.

Kelly can't help herself. Out of 4H for four years now, and yet she loves helping design and come up with ideas for the booth.

Taylor and Brooke working on stuff. Brooke was winding down and Taylor enjoyed working with the hot knife.

The flowers turned out really pretty. Love the colors.

And my picnic table is definitely much more colorful. It's nice to see something other than the old dirty wood.

Tonight we go to the fairgrounds to set up the barns. Friday we set up the booth and open class. After Saturday, it's all relaxation and showing. YEAH!

Berry picking, county fair and camps

The last few days have been overwhelmingly busy. There is so much going on with the fair coming up in 3 short weeks, Steph's baby shower coming up, Baylor away at camp, and berries coming ripe, although I think the berries will be low on my priority list.

I've been out picking berries in the evening for two days and have barely gotten a full gallon. Last year, I could pick a gallon in one spot. It looks like we lost a lot of the canes last winter, but there are lots of new ones coming up for next year. That's fine. I'll pick when I can, but didn't yesterday and won't today. Yesterday I had a training session for 4H and today is knit night!

The county fair is almost upon us. Just three short weeks from Friday, we will be moving in and setting up. It's an exciting time. I love fair week. I need to send in my entry today and get started on finishing things. I have a photo I am taking. There are a few more projects. Here is a list of things I need to do before fair:

• Make Baylor's scramble steer sign.


• Work on decorations for the booth


• Come up with an inexpensive quick adult make n take craft


• Get prizes together


• Ballots for the lamp contest

Hmmm... that's all I can think of right now.

Finally, it's 4H camp week, well the end of it anyway. Baylor's been gone to camp since Saturday. He'll be home today. Can't wait to see him. I hope he had a great time. It's his first year as a counselor, not a CIT. He was so excited when he was leaving. Packed up some Christmas lights and stuff to decorate the cabin. Was stopping to get more decorations at Crafts 2000 and goodies at Ollie's. He almost quit, but he was really glad I talked him out of it.

Summer is always so busy at our house, but it's fun. This weekend is the 4th and it should be a great time, with the fireworks and such. Cannot wait!

My baby is 18!

Sunday was Baylor's 18th birthday. It's been a tough way to go, but he made it to adulthood. Sort of. He still has a year of high school and then some college, but as far as the law is concerned, he is an adult. He is intelligent, funny, respectful and hard working. What else could a mother ask for in a son? I love him. He's my baby!

Actually, I am quite happy with this situation. All of my children turned 18 without having children of their own. I believe that is an accomplishment anymore. They are all individuals with various tastes and opinions, no two of which are the same. It's pretty amazing when you talk to these young people who grew up in the same home but are so very different. Baylor obviously enjoys being the life of the party:

In other news, it is hot in Springfield OH. Very hot. We have had 5 90 degree days in the last two weeks. Another 90 degree day today. People who know me know that I have a fascination with sunshine, though. So here's a photo of the sun setting behind our silo.