Here I am!!

Happy 2010 dear blogging friends.   It has been a very long time since I posted and I appreciate hearing from you letting me know I’m missed, MIA and receiving your encouragement.

We, like most of you, had family visit us over the holidays.  It was wonderful and very fun.  We were so pleased to have Joe’s whole family with us over New Years.     My house was filled to the brim,  Joe and I still talk about how fun it was to have everyone in our home.

Last month my sister treated me to a trip to Yuma to visit our mother.   We were really looking forward to some warm sunny weather.    LOL…….how about some sun and lots of rain, wind and  a fun time anyway.    As it goes, the day we drove to Phoenix to catch our plane it was sunny and getting warm.    

It was sunny on this day, we were in Old Town Yuma for the Lettuce Festival.   We purchased some fresh fruit and Asparagus for dinner.    It was so windy we didn’t spend to much time but opted for a nice warm restaurant for lunch.

We looked up quilt shops and while visiting one learned about a quilt show.    We went and I took some pictures:

 

This week we have a friend staying for the weekend.  Meka is staying while her owner is off  to Sun Valley Idaho.    

It’s a bit crazy here with our 5 lovable GWP’s,  my daily conversation’s go like this…..”put that down” , “give me that”, “that’s not yours”, “take that out of your mouth”, “Hey! Bring that back “,  “Off the table”, “Off the washer” and “Where did you find that?”      And that is just with Casey!  Joe calls him our demon dog, but really, he is just the youngest and is still in the VERY busy, nosey, destructive stages of puppyhood!!

Casey, Pepper, Meka, Slide

Casey,Meka,Slide,Pepper and Jake

 

Daisy Mae,  its just impossible to get them all in one picture.

This weekend we will take a few walk abouts, maybe a couple will get a haircut.    Pepper needs one,  but don’t ask her and Meka, well you just don’t come stay with Carrie and not get some grooming.   Poor thing,  she always thinks she is in trouble.   I will take some pictures because I know you are dying to see more pictures of my dogs.  LOL……..

I have been finishing up details on my BOM blocks getting ready to set them together,   they have been so much fun.   I love all the wool, never never get tired of working with wool.   So pictures of that too coming up.

This year I have really resisted joining a multitude of wonderful projects and will focus on finishing my BOM first.    One thing I will keep up with is my Jo’s Little Women group at Sew Many Quilts.         Then late spring I am going to sew along with the Wool Crazy girls.   If you visit this link today you are in for a real treat.    I’m so looking forward to this project.   I have the wool  that’s for sure,  are you Wool Crazy too?     I have been following the posts and wow, they are looking wonderful.

Well my DH is here now and he is taking me out for lunch!!!    It’s Thursday and  Baldy’s has Baby Back Rib special every Thursday.   Yummo!!!   There the best ever!! 

God bless each of you and have a wonderful week.

Prim Blessings,

Carrie

Primitive Autumn Prize

I was very fortunate to win this prize from Robin of  Bird in Hand Primitives.   I have it in on my grandmother’s piano in the heart of my home and enjoy having  a special addition to my Fall decorations.    The little stocking is just to cute too,  I keep wanting to make some for my grandkids and fill them with harvest goodies.    The little tarts smell so good,  they made the whole package smell like heaven.    Thank you Robin for sharing your talents,  I love having your special handmades in my home.

I didn’t finish my Schnibbles last month,  see,  I need to get the last little border on and I am waiting for the Blessing line to come to my lqs so I can choose the border.    I am hoping to get  the new project done this month,  man I have a ton of projects going…….yeah, I know you are all laughing,  gee like I am the only one!!   But finishing was a goal I set this year…..naive me,  isn’t that what New Year is all about.      My #1 problem is lqs do not have the patterns and I will mail order it,    its a cute snowball design.     

My girlfriend Sandy called last week to see if I could get away a couple days with her.     After getting my billings out, we headed over the mountains and through the woods to the valley.    Such a pretty drive this time of year,  we talked to much for pictures. :))     She is looking at new horse trailers with living quarters for there trip to Nationals.    That is  GWPCA, wirehair pointers, to attend the field trials.  They are being held in Illinois this year. 

Joe and I did the trek two years ago to Illinois,  it was fabulous.   Now I have about 20 new Quilt Shops and 10 Prim Shops and 100 bloggers along the way.   I think my dear DH would go crazy if we did the trip and I wanted to add my wish list of stops along the way.   But I was talking about my trip with Sandy.     

  So we started in Lebanon spent abit of time looking over one possible unit.  Then  off we went with directions to another dealer  near Salem, well it wasn’t  what we were looking for and we found a nice Farm with lots of produce so we stopped to have a look. 

They had the most interesting pumpkins,  bumpy skinned ones that were very cool…..we posed for a picture.     Don’t you love the handle on the one between our heads.  

This white one was so unique,  should have bought it I think.

These flowers would have come home if I was at home.

Inside their were some fun things so I took a few pictures.   Need a new apron,  they are so popular now.  Love these ones.

I always look at these dishes but have never bought any,  I just love dishes and I think these pottery pieces would bake food perfectly.

Well it was fun to get away and spend someone else's money…….lol…,  I am not sure if we got the job done but if we did Sandy is going to be traveling in style to Illinois.     Joe and I are not going this year,  darn,  it is such a fun road trip,  we never even turned the radio on,  we drove 18 hours a day and made it in 3 days.    Yes, that was one big migraine I had the first day there!!!

Ok its Autumn right?   Well we had snow this weekend,  No I did not take any pictures, it was to d…. cold,   oh excuse me,   I mean I am just accepting the fact that summer is over OK!?!!!     

Well Anne did so go here to see some great pictures her sweetie took.     Well timing is everything and look what was in the mailbox Sunday.     It came so late Saturday we didn’t pick up till Sunday  and boy did I get excited with all the Christmas decorations in Country Sampler.     How did they know it was going to snow 4 inches on October 4, 2009.

Now Cabela’s isn’t really my favorite but is that not a cute picture.   

I hope this finds you well and enjoying  Fall and all its beauty,  God Bless You and your family.    I am still going to share my favorite Apple Cake recipe and I think Friday is the day.

Fall Blessings,

Carrie

Gardening on the Edge, Daisy Mae

The Tulips started blooming and are so pretty.....I needed to do some shopping at Costco last Friday and was a bit side-tracked with the rows of flower baskets and trays of petunias. Soooo.. having no self control I picked up a basket and some trays. Daring to garden on the edge, a risk to be to early, daring the frost to take them away..... but so worth having the color in the flower beds.


I planted some vegetables and herb seeds in the garden. This weekend I think the flowers will go in the ground.

The Petunia's and Viola's will give some color, I need to buy the ground covers and some plants for pots too. But it is so fun to get the first blooming flowers.

Winter just is hanging around to long.

We had a busy weekend with our club Hunt Test and I just want to share one picture of Joe and Daisy. Daisy Mae passed her final test to achieve her Master Hunter title. She is now Joe's Lil Daisy Mae MH. I know..... so impressive!!! She is nine years old and Joe decided when she was 5 1/2 to go for the title. You can teach dog's new tricks, it just takes awhile, and you have fun along the way.


Have a great weekend, we are expecting a wonderful warm weekend. I am sure the garden will get some more planting. Saturday we will enjoy watching a local event Pole, Pedal, Paddle.
Even with a slow economy the entries this year are larger than the past year. It is a competitive event which individuals and teams ski, bike, run and paddle a boat to the finish line. I will show some pictures on Monday. Tylor and Matney will be visiting and Ty is bringing his very cool camera and we will get some good shots in all the sunny weather!!

Spring Blessings,

Carrie

Keeping Busy waiting for Spring

Last weekend I spent time at the Sportsman Show. Our dog club has a booth where we promote our club and pointing breeds. It is always fun, my girlfriend Sandy, and I have volunteered together covering Thursday and Friday afternoons.

This year I took our youngest GWP, Casey, with me. Mark, a wonderful companion of Sandy's, was there also. Casey is 10 months old and socializing young dogs with strange dogs is very important.

Casey is a little character, kind of a little teenager that thinks the world is all about him!

Slide Girl came to the show with DH in the evening. We spend a lot of time with our dogs, they have become a big part of our lives. We have met many people through our activities with our dogs, the field trial season starts in April. I will share some highlights of events we attend. I don't know what the economy will hold for these events this year but we are hopeful for everyone involved.

I received a call from my son in Omaha this week. The Proulx family is coming out in July for a visit. I think they are going to drive with the boys. A flight with three boys and all the gear just isn't appealing to them. Any way you travel with triplet babies is going to be an adventure. I just know I am so looking forward to there visit. There birthday is late July but I think a birthday celebration will be one big event while they visit.

They took family pictures this winter, they look great! What a challenge to get everyone just so, and as long as mom and dad are good, I think everything is perfect!

Some fun quilting stuff came in the mail this week. A new pattern from Fig Tree Quilts, Joanna says the zipper is easy. It has been a very long time since I put a zipper in, I don't even want to count the years. Little Purseletes, don't you think they will make cute little gifts. I want to make them for the girls.

Fresh Vintage, this publication is full of ideas and Fig Trees newest fabric line, Patisseries. There is a tip on a new notion that I was tickled to try myself. It is the Clover Fabric Folding Pen. It is a refillable pen that Joanna filled up with liquid starch for all the applique projects.

You can draw the starch onto the seam allowance instead of painting it on. Thanks Joanna for this new gadget tip!! Along with the pattern featured on the cover is a laptop bag. Joanna's fabrics really appeal to my softer palette side. Mostly my fabrics and home decorating are primitive, Fig Tree's Vintage look satisfies too.

I participated in a fat quarter swap, I received two beautiful bright spring FQ pieces from Carla, I just love them. Thanks Carla, I will use them in a project and post it.

I made a lot of these hour glass blocks up for my JLW class. Class is next week so I am ready to go.

Block 5 from Wool Garden came in this week, I have the block prepped and ready to stitch up. This pictures is pathetic, no color and so wrinkled. It is much prettier than this picture looks.
We are having some fairer weather this week, my son is coming over to help with a pathway in my garden. Moles were very destructive to it and my plants last fall so we are under construction. Its the only construction project in Central Oregon that I know of actually. LOL...well lets not talk economy! LOl.......

Have a great weekend and a terrific Friday the 13th!!!

Next week is St. Patricks day, I need to go find me some Shamrocks!!!

God Bless each of you!

Carrie

Slide Girl

Some of our friends say we are crazy, some days I agree. We started in 2000 by getting a new breed of hunting dog. A pointer, to be specific, a German Wirehair Pointer. One of the first things you notice about the GWP is their coat. They have a double coat, a short tight one then a longer wirey coat with facial features. Eyebrows, beards. We call them our bearded ladies. Some family members call them ugly..........WELL!!.....lol......hey there is a company making money off that description... you can buy t-shirts that say " I hunt with an ugly dog." So there......lol......

My DH had such a good time hunting with Daisy Mae ( Joe's Lil Daisy Mae) that after 4 years he wanted to double the fun and hunt two dogs at once. Enters Pepper (CH Proulx's Hot Shot Pepper). Daisy and Pepper have two different hunting styles, so this was not working very well...........after a year of storing telling (whining) I decided I needed a dog, to share with DS #2. I knew of an upcoming breeding that I was very interested in, the Dam's hunting style was very similar to Daisy and the Sire was Daisy's brother. June 5, 2005 the litter was born. Only two pups, but one was a full liver (coat) just like her mother. Perfect, I was falling for this pup immediately!

Look Closely both pups are there with mom.

The two pups were given names after the Dam's favorite ice cream, Hot fudge and Dublin Mudslide. Nicknames Fudgy and Slide...... Oh they were just the cutest!!!

They got weighed in daily and how cute is this, eyes and ears still closed.

They grow so fast and at three weeks they were introduced to the outdoors, a wonderful landscaped area with a stream bed. These two pups had free run over this for the next three weeks, giving them an amazing experience. It was fully fenced so no way to wonder off or let other dogs in. Just a watchful eye out for hawks and Eagles.

I think Slide was looking a bit like a Char Pei at this age. With only two pups to share in the feeding she was very healthy girl.

Growing fast and getting cuter everyday.

Slide and Fudgy were so bonded to each other it was sad to separate them. They had a special place to grow up and they were so fun to watch. But like all animal movies, you know the good ol Disney ones, times change and nothing stays the same. LOL.......I have learned first hand, don't raise two pups together....even though at this time I would have ignorantly done so.....

We brought "Slide Girl" home with us and Fudgy went to live with a family in California. Lucky girl, two veterinarians with two children. Fudgy's name is now River and she has a very good life.

Slide Girl, Black Pearl's Treasure JH, was named after a theme in the breeders home. The Dam's name was High Seas Smuggler, JH. About this time Pirates of the Caribbean was out on DVD, I love the story and Johnny Depp's not bad either!!! LOL... So this is how she got her AKC registered name and we still call her Slide.........hmmmm. I deferred to my son, who loves her too. I was thinking Pearl would be cute, but alas......she already responded to Slide and I was just being a girl......not a practical dog person......lol..

We had a lot of fun introducing her to the one thing she was bred for.........bird hunting. She was just having a blast. One of our first trips was to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon.

She did great and we were seeing she was going to be that hunting mate for Daisy Mae.
At least as far as we were concerned, Daisy had other ideas at first.....
Next big trip was to Condon, Oregon. This beautiful area is steep and full of Chukar. I hunted with my camera and had fun taking pictures of her on point. She was full of natural ability.
At six months of age she was honest and backing Daisy's point. I just love these young pictures of her in her orange vest. Her dark liver color made it hard to spot her and I was not wanting to loose my litte girl......
GWP's make great companions as well as hunting dogs. Hunting season is 4 months, so after the season ends we have fun being involved in new activities. AKC has programs you can get involved in and earn titles for your dog. We are involved in Hunt Tests, Field Trials, Conformation and the latest for Slide and me is Obedience. These are high energy dogs and left alone, well lets just say don't leave them alone without giving them lots of exercise. LOl........you may not be very happy if you do..... LOL... We are active in a local club, German Wirehair Pointer Club of Central Oregon, you can visit the website to learn more about the breed. There are some good links too.

This is a picture of Slide after she passed her first leg of Junior Hunter. You need to pass 4 times to earn the title. Actually not a hard task to accomplish but a good place to start with your pup, and they love having the extra bird time, and working for you.
This is not your best conformation pose or grooming but hey we were hunting......LOL....
Slide won her first Major event for conformation this past May at Walla Walla, WA at the age of three. We started showing her at 6 months and she has always shied away from the judge, so I am pleased this shyness is behind us because conformation gives me hot flashes. I definitely feel out of my elements in the show ring.

Daisy loved going to visit Slide before we brought her home, her favorite spot was watching the Coi on the cool rock. Daisy Mae is one leg short of earning her Master Hunter title.

Pepper is why or is it how we got involved in field trialing, she was a big running, long ranging girl. Joe later declared to Pepper as they lay on a bed together looking in each others eyes.....

"At first I wasn't happy with you, but that was because I didn't understand who you were." Ohhhh.....Pepper was so pleased to have her masters praise.

Ya..... who's smiling now after she took 3rd place in Derby at Nationals.... The next day she won the Futurity. OK he is definitely hooked.....

Slide playing with Jake and Casey. Enters the boys in our pack. DH has two new field trial buddies.

Jake is showing promise by placing second in his first puppy trial, he has beautiful conformation and a major win at six months old. He needs one point to be a champion. Jake came to us from a breeding that we couldn't resist.

Enters Casey, Jake was 9 months old when Casey came to live with us. Yikes, two pups at once, have mercy..........please........ don't let this cute little guy fool you...... We also loved both Dam and Sire and couldn't resist getting a pup from this breeding.......are you seeing the pattern here.....it reminds me of shopping for fabric and wool........you just have to have it.........LOl..

Yep, he is a climber just like his Dam and Sire........

Casey is fitting in well, and we love his coat. A much tighter coated dog and I won't be spending hours at the grooming table. And he is the last GWP that will be coming to live with us for a very long time.......... LOL......We will not be needing anymore for goodness sakes........LOL....

We now feel we have children again..........but we wont be in trouble for putting them in a kennel....lol....

It is hunting season so the wirehairs are very happy......right Casey!!!!! Hunt em up!!!!!

Carrie