Machine Shed Update

It appears that I've fixed the blog picture storage problem now - by paying a monthly fee.  :(  Blogger used to be free. 

The building crew has been working on the inside of the roof this week.  On Monday they had to put up some plastic over the south door area to keep the wind from blowing through since they're working with big, sharp, pieces of steel.  They should be finished up by Mon.  The overhead door guys will be here next week and the electrician. 

I keep waiting for the important part to be added - the shutters!  

Bill has started spreading his 30 loads of rock.  He started out using our skid loader but that was going to take many trips so he's borrowed the dairy's pay loader.

Bill's dumping a load but he's behind the skid loader.

I'm headed to the basement to work in my craft room.  Need to make a sympathy card for today, a tag, two birthday cards and a wedding card for tomorrow.

Update

I found out that I can either pay a small monthly fee for more picture storage to continue the blog or delete old pictures in two places and/or only post the small size pictures.  I've edited some recent pictures and made them smaller.  That is time consuming.   

After getting back from Thanksgiving in Indiana, we've had a busy week, but I do have some new pictures of the machine shed and will post them tomorrow (Fri.).

We have another funeral visitation to go to tomorrow evening.  Our fire chief's mother passed away yesterday.  

Then we're looking forward to going to the Gemutlichkeit Luncheon Sat.!  Last year, when we went for the first time, my camera was acting up and I didn't get any pictures for the blog so hope to this year!  After that, a wedding Sat. evening.

Blog Problems

Just home tonight from a trip to Indiana with Diane & girls for Thanksgiving at Mom's with Glenn, Rob, Ross, and Reed.  Have found, the past couple of days, that I have reached some sort of photo limit with Google for this blog.  I have no idea what that means so will have to ask others who use Blogger.  In the meantime, I can post just words - but that won't be very fun.

Will see what I find out in the next couple of days.

Convention in Des Moines

Last week, Bill and I went to Des Moines for his yearly Pocahontas Mutual Insurance Convention.  We got there on Sun. evening.  All of the Board of Directors plus wives went out to Johnny's Italian Steakhouse that night.  Our room overlooked the pool and area where the vendors' tables were and where the President's Reception and breakfasts were.  

Monday during the day and Tues. I went shopping at two nice malls in Des Moines while Bill was at the convention.  Monday night there is always a dinner and entertainment.  This year the band was Philip Myers and his band.  They played mostly Billy Joel and Elton John songs.  Luckily, I didn't have breakfast or lunch at the hotel on Tues.!

Phillip Myers and band

I even got to see Santa!  It's always good to get some Christmas shopping done on this trip.  I enjoyed the pretty decorations, the Christmas music and it was nice that there were very few shoppers.

 

Huge Stampin' Up! Sale ! !

Today is the beginning of a big Stampin' Up! sale!!  Please go to my web site to see all the details (top right).  Be sure to use the Shop Now button from my web site.  If you shop directly from the SU! web site, you will pay higher shipping and not receive all of your benefits if you've earned free product with your order!  Click HERE to see the list!  There will be different things on sale on different days so check back on my SU! web site often!  You can either shop 24/7 from there or e mail me with your order.  This is a great time for friends to place an order together and receive Hostess benefits!

NW Iowa Women's Conference

A week ago, I helped in the kitchen at church on Thurs. and Fri. chopping chicken breasts, craisins and I made 18 - 9 x 13's of a pumpkin dessert!  We were expecting 220 women on Sat.!  Our pastor's wife, Joan, is always the organizer of big meals as she has worked in catering before.

The menu for the day was chicken salad with fine chopped apples & craisins on a square croissant which was cut in half, potato or beef vegetable soup, a fruit with jello cup and the pumpkin pie dessert.   It all tasted good!

We had programs to staple, fold and add inserts.

Several ladies and also some of the high school kids did the decorating.  They used lots of bittersweet.  Men were recruited to move tables & chairs before and after and to help serve soup and do dishes.

 The candles up front were beautiful.  Two couples had used these at their weddings.  

Everything came together and it was a really nice day!

 

Update

Bill is finally getting better.  We think he may have had food poisoning from the convention.  We made a trip to the ER during the night Thurs.  They ran some tests and he'll find out results at the dr. tomorrow.  He has lost about 11 lbs.!  

The building is taking shape now.  You can see what the two grays look like although depending on the light, it can look beige or blue.  They have the roof done on the east side.   We have about half of the 30 loads of gravel we'll be getting!  

Bald Eagle

Earlier this month I drove in the driveway and Bill was working outside.  He told me to check out the tree south of our house by the road - there was an eagle sitting at the top of it.  So I drove down there to take a picture or two.  It finally flew off.  We've seen one at our neighbor's around the corner before so nice to know there's still one around.

Bill felt better today but stayed home most of the day.  We found out others that went to the convention were sick too but don't think it was food poisoning.  

Our church is doing a new pictorial directory and the picture taking of everyone started on Tuesday.  This evening I worked at the check in table for three hours.  It was fun and the time flew by.  Bill and I have our picture taken tomorrow evening.  Hoping one will be decent!

Bad Case of the Flu

We just got back last night from an insurance convention in Des Moines.  I had a P.E.O. meeting last night and when I got home found Bill on the couch covered up and freezing.  He ended up being sick and up most of the night.  Today he has been in bed all day with the flu and missed going to an all day Board Meeting.  He's been very miserable.  So I've been being quiet today for the most part.  

However, others have not been quiet.  Lots of action around here.  The building crew finished the sides and ends of the building today so we think they're probably ready to start on the roof tomorrow.  We're having dump truck loads of rock and gravel delivered so it's ready to be spread when the building is done.  We've had about three trains go by.  The road grader was grading our road back and forth a couple of times. 

I'm making chicken & noodle soup for whenever Bill is ready to eat something.   I really like homemade soup but that's not one I've made before.  He says "yuck" so far to even the idea of having any, but I'm looking forward to it.  

The Ruby Pear Tea Parlor

Last year Mom and I went to The Ruby Pear Tea Parlor in Noblesville and really liked it.  So last month when  I was visiting, we went again.  You can look back at my 3/18/11 post for more pictures and also click HERE to see their menu, etc.  It was very good like our last visit.  It's hard to find a good tea room - this one is.  After having lunch and tea, it's also fun to browse in their gift shop for tea related items and other gifts.

Cucumber sandwiches and chicken salad.

We had a choice of scones and the white chocolate macadamia are very good.

The strawberry was ripe and juicy.

My pretty tea cup and saucer.

Pretty lunch size plates.

Tea cozy to keep the tea warm in the pot.

Really detailed staircase.

Fancy double door.

                                     

Fall Beauty & Fun

When I was in Indiana in October, Mom and I would go somewhere and then I would drive around forever taking lots of pictures of the trees!  So I have several more to post!  One day we stopped at one of my favorite places that has been around for years - Acorn Farm.  Not too many people know about it.  They don't really advertise.

Acorn Farm used to be a camp for kids.  Click HERE to read about it.  Now there is the country store and they hold events there in the old camp buildings.  Google Acorn Farm Country Store, Westfield, IN  to read some nice reviews.  Every year about this time they have seminars and show you how to decorate with some of the items they sell and give recipes for holiday entertaining.  Mom went last night.  It's a really neat store in a house with 13 rooms of things to look at or buy.    This first picture was taken somewhere else but this is what it looks like when you drive back the winding lane at Acorn Farm.  The second picture was taken outside the store.

On the Acorn Farm property.  This bright yellow tree is a gingko tree.

This is what you see as you open the door of the store - and the stove was giving off some heat which felt good.

If you like antiques and old dishes, they have lots!

I found 4 pretty lunch size chintz plates to buy.

Saw this nice barn used for weddings and other events.  Nice setting with a gazebo in the yard too.

Found this covered bridge in a neighborhood.

Loved this one taken the morning I left for home.

    

Wildlife Problems

We've been having problems with deer rubbing on our new trees and tearing them up!  Wouldn't you think they would find bigger trees to rub on?  Most of this evergreen's branches were torn off.  We've had two austrees really damaged by deer and now rabbits have been chewing on the austrees too - like about 15 of them!

Bill has resorted to putting chicken wire around all of the evergreens which has been expensive and a time consuming job.  It'll also make watering them much harder.

We have pheasant hunters from Wisconsin here today and tomorrow.  Bill is hunting with them this morning.  They stay at a hotel in Emmetsburg.   It's a sunny but windy day.

We have a Women's Conference at our church this Sat.  About 200 women will attend from all over.  Always a nice event.  I'm going to help in the kitchen today and tomorrow working on the dessert and some other things for the lunch that day.  Our pastor's wife is the one in charge of meals and does a great job.

 

The building is coming along!  The crew is hoping to have a bunch of guys here on Fri. to get the roof done quick.  There will be 4' of charcoal gray around the bottom, the roof will be charcoal gray and the doors and shutters will be white.  The 20' walls make the windows look small!

More Bronzes in Carmel

The workers are really making progress on the machine shed after some non-windy days this week.  The three windows are in and the siding is on two sides.  

Bill has been changing oil in tractors and his pickup and taking some trees out of fence rows.  He also took the loader out and dug out the rest of the big rocks we found/hit in the fields when ripping.

We had a nice day this week good for taking out window screens and getting them scrubbed, scrubbing the trash can, recycling containers, chairs on the porches to get them put away, cut off all the dead leaves from hostas and other plants and washed some windows.  Hoping for another nice day to get the rest done including planting a few tulips, daffodils and crocuses.

I'm baking pumpkin chocolate chip bread and waiting to see if we'll have Diane's girls overnight tonight or if I'll be going over to their house early in the morning to babysit while Diane works.  Then tomorrow night I'm going to help sell cookbooks at Turkey Bingo.

This grocery shopper is outside Joe's Butcher Shop.

Mom and Glenn put up this sign for her church's chili supper while I was there.  For those of you that live in the Carmel area, this is at Gray Friends Church at 146th & Gray Road tomorrow night!  Mom is making homemade butterhorn yeast rolls for the bake sale - and cheesecake.  I'd almost drive 600 miles to buy some of those rolls!