AT LONG LAST, A RETURN VISIT ON PATRICE'S PORCH

It's been a while since I visited Patrice on her porch.  I visit her blog once in a while  when time allows. I haven't linked with the CHATS ON THE FARMHOUSE PORCH at EVERYDAY RURALTY. because I have to hand type all the questions and I unfortunately, I'm a two finger typist, lol.  My MacBook Pro laptop will not open the file folder with the copy and paste script. It will open the photo files and not the script file and I don't know how to rectify this.
I visit all my followers who leave comments on my blog first and if time allows I visit the other blogs.

I've been wanting to join the chat for some time but haven't had enough time.

I hope that Wendell will still recognize me and will come by to say "Hay, got a carrot?"

Here's are Patrice's questions for this week:
1. Do you eat eggs? What is your favorite way to serve them?
 I like an omelette with fresh mushrooms, red peppers, onions and swiss cheese. I like eggs cooked any ways but it has to be well done. I can't stomach eating any part of it raw. Those little  would be chickens have to be well cooked, just knowing where they come from... I've been like this since my last pregnancy, 38 years ago, lol...

2.Do you have a favorite item that you really like to have around? (a Pillow,a chair, a sweater, a teddy bear, etc)
I'm not attached to anything in particular except my favorite  fine black ink ball point pen. I like my pillow but I can sleep without it as long as it's completely dark in the room and there's no noise or movement.

3. Is most of the furniture in your home dark wood, light wood, painted, lacquered or distress?
I have light and dark and everything in between.

4. Please fill in the rest of this sentence. I could write a book about -------------.
I could write a book about living on a family dairy farm. It's a very demanding job 7 days a week with early mornings and late nights sometimes.

5. If money and Calendar/ family obligations weren't an issue, would you prefer to spend next weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, a posh hotel, a cabin in the wood or on a sailboat on a calm body of water?

With money not being an issue, I would prefer spending the next weekend right here at home without having to go to work or cook for others. I would enjoy simple rest and relaxation by the warm wood stove hooking away and only eat when I'm ready. I don't mind cooking yummy food for myself when I'm not in a rush and sipping on some nice GEWURZTRAMINER wine. It's too cold to be on a sailboat next weekend because the river is frozen solid. A gust of wind might be quite an adventure on the ice, lol...

I want to take this opportunity to thank my new followers and hope that you will feel welcome on my blog.
Stay warm and safe.
JB

GROW YOUR BLOG PARTY

I've resisted long enough and I've decided that it's time to take the plunge into Grow Your Blog Party.

My blog Of Petals and Wool  reflect my  many interests, family life and my work and sometimes my faith. Beside my family, I love gardening, hooking wool rugs, hand quilting, knitting, cooking, blogging,  cross stitching, crocheting, singing, photography and so many other hobbies.  

I started blogging on August 2, 2010 as a challenge. I was not familiar with blogging other than I read my daughter's blog. On the advice of a rug hooking friend that I met on Rug Hooking Daily ( a forum for  those interested in fibre Art  ) she encouraged me to JUST DO IT. That became my Motto.

Just like most beginners, I was very timid at first but as soon as I sat at the computer, the words just flowed and it seemed so effortless and the best thing, I was gathering some followers and meeting some new interesting people. I now have 130 followers.

My life is so very busy and that's why I haven't tried to grow my blog. By the time I read my followers' comments, there's no time left to do a blog post of my own, lol...

We have a dairy farm and I'm in charge of taking care of all the calves. I usually have around 25 to take care of from the moment they are born to the time that they are old enough to be put in the shelter with the young heifers.

I also am in charge of the office work for the company, and the yard maintenance, feeding the hired hands and everything in between.

Life can get pretty interesting on the farm sometimes, it's a lot of hard work but never boring.

I hope that you'll enjoy reading my blog. Your comments are very much appreciated.
JB

IT'S FINALLY COMING DOWN

I'm taking a wee break from taking my Christmas tree down today. I was getting tired so I sat at my computer and while I'm here, I may as well produce a post although it's just a boring one.

For some reason I enjoy looking at my priceless ornaments and wrapping them with tissue papers and putting them ever so carefully in the right boxes. They are priceless because I received them as gifts from my children. I have the name of who gave it to me and the year marked on the box. When I'm gone, they can all have their beautiful ornaments back. Each one were chosen with great care and love and given to me as Christmas presents. Every Christmas I've been receiving ornaments. They come from all over the world wherever my girls travels. I'll only show three as the rest is all packed in the totes. Some were bought locally when my kids were young and they mean the world to me too.

This is called a Li Bien Ornament and is painted from the inside through a tiny opening in a mouth blown glass. Because it's painted from the inside, the skill painter paints it in reverse... In Chinese, the phrase Li Bien means "inside". The skill of painting inside originated in the Qing Dynasty and has been a respected art for over 200 years. Each ornament is a work of art and no two are alike.

It came in this beautiful box with information.

This is a side view.

It was difficult to get a good picture because of all the light I have in my house.  I'm not complaining about all that sun  though.

This is a ship in a bottle and again not a great picture. I think this one came from Italy

This is another beautiful glass humming bird ornament.
I've been so not bothered by having my Christmas tree still up but it's really time that I put it away until next November.

Here is my latest update on my Childhood Memories rug. I ripped out the sky and built a section of the back of the house with my dad salting fish in the barrel. Somehow things looks out of kilter now but it's just a collage of vignettes...  My next step is to make a mud puddle for my pig.  He he.

I didn't had green split pea and ham soup for a while so I made a small pot. It was so yummy.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. They mean so much to me. it's like I'm having a conversation with someone who lives just next door.
Hope that your day is going well. Enjoy your weekend.

JB

ANOTHER WILD BOVINE ADVENTURE

One of our dairy cow thought that she would take the boredom out of my boring routine this morning. My clock radio had just turned on and I thought that there was no reason to rush so I fluffed up my pillow and closed my eyes for a few minutes while I listen to the radio. Yes, that all I got...a few minutes because my husband called for help.

Apparently when he was milking the cows, he opened the gate on the right to let the cows out of the milking parlor while he milked the other side. One cow stopped and stuck her head in the door to the milk house, as they sometime do,  but this  time a wryly  cow behind her pushed her and down the metals steps she went, right into the milk house where the big milk tank is and proceeded to stick her head in the office doorway.

My husband is not a quick thinker in emergency like  my son is. He should have put a halter on and ties her to something until help came but he opened the door and out the door she went for an early morning stroll in the snow. The temperature was very mild and the snow was melting. What a better time to  make a break to freedom.

My job description was this:  Go look for the cow. The last I saw her, she was heading toward  the silos....Bring a flashlight as it's dark out there....  My husband  had called my son but it takes him longer to get his bearings in the morning.
I got dresses and grabbed the flashlight and went looking for cow tracts in the snow.

What I saw didn't feel good.... her tracts were heading up the lane to a very busy highway even this early in the morning. I called my son to get him to rush because of the situation and I kept on walking up the long lane with my flashlight meeting a car coming toward me in the lane. He kept on going and I figured that she was on the highway by now. I was worried that she would cause an accident and someone would get seriously hurt or killed.

I walked all the way up the lane with my flashlight and suddenly her tracts shows that she's changed directions and is returning to the farm. The cars noises must have scared her off.

I call my son again and told him of the situation then my phone went dead as I had forgotten to put it on the charger last night.

When I got to the turn near the silo, the tracts showed that she had climbs on the snow bank and backs up and then her traces disappeared. The car that came down the lane has covered her tracts with slush... It was a mystery where she went. Then I see the tractor with it's lights on coming down the lane. My husband had gone up the highway looking for her and was coming back empty-handed.

 We all  walked toward the milking parlor end of the barn and picked up some of her tracts again. She had gone in the back of the barn where she was waiting to get in the barn at the back gate. My son went in the barn and let her in. I can hear all the cows giggling about her escapade.
After my chores I went home for breakfast.

The end.

Sorry, at 6:30am, I don't carry my big camera with me, so no pictures of the escapee cow so instead I have a picture of our melting snow. We are having some real mild temperature today for a change.

I hope that you enjoyed my true story.
Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. I enjoy reading the comments that you leave for me. They are like wonderful little presents that brings joy to my heart.
JB

MY FLIGHT IS BOOKED

My flight is book for February 25th to go be with my daughter Christine. Her baby is due in March but she thinks that the baby may be early and I need some time to get James to get used to be with grandma before the due date. James was two weeks early when he was born.

James drinking from a mug. Ummmm, I wonder if there's coffee in that mug because he takes a sip and says haaaaaaa after every sip, Just like daddy when he sips on a  cup of good coffee.

James like to help shovel snow with Daddy but is taking a little break from all the hard shovelling.

He sure did a great job even with only one hand. His shovel is very special.

Now the job is done, it's time to go in.

James is a happy little helper.

Here James and daddy are working on  decorating a gingerbread  choo choo train. James like tasting the chocolate candies before putting them on the frosting. Super heros have to take a break from saving people in distress and have some time to taste the little pleasures in life.

I can tell that Daddy is having fun too.

Now the choo choo train is done decorating and James is getting a bit hyper and started dropping the excess candy on the floor.

What a great job of decorating the gingerbread choo choo train. James is saying chooo choooo.

On the home front nothing much going on except that I was greeted with a
 new baby bull calf born January 2nd. It had been a while since we had new calf.
It's bitter cold still and I'm hoping that the weather will warm up a bit.
Stay warm and safe.
JB