More progress pics

Sorry about the abundance of posts on this subject. There is just a lot of progress this week and it is easier to post pics while I work than waiting until the end and having tons of photos to post. So here are the progress photos from this morning.

 

Doing a bunch of flowers, leaves, trees, etc., has always been hard for me. I've finally figured out through the years that it works best to not get too detailed, but instead focus on the overall shape and contrasts of darks and lights. The viewers are a lot smarter than we give them credit for at times and I think they'll be able to figure out this is a bouquet of flowers.

 

Fancy little flowers around the head.

 

The man is looking snazzy with his tie and shirt all finished up. Actually, I think I have the man more or less finished.

 

Finished the morning off by getting the skin colored on the girl.

Painting Progress

I'm plugging away at the latest project. Here are some photos from progress the past week or so.

I got the dog finished. I started by trying to block in the areas that would have some darker shading to them.

 

Overall I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

 

Then it was on to the girl's dress. It is hard to see in the photos, but I used a combination of pink, white and gray to do the shading. The pink adds a nice little bit of color so it contrasts with the white background. The gray is tricky because it quickly overpowers the other two colors.

 

I'm getting ready to head over and work on it again this morning. 

Not quite sure what I'm going to work on, but I'll have photos for you soon enough!

 

Another side project

I figured since I'm about to have a baby, why not take on another project I have no idea how to do? Realistically I do enjoy the challenge of having to problem-solve on projects that other people aren't quite sure how to do.

The project I'm tackling right now is a board with cutout faces for people to take photos with. Here are the pics of how it is going so far. And I have a reference photo to go from, so don't think I'm coming up with this material all on my own!

 

Step 1: We didn't have exact measurements, so I had to figure out proportions and measurements on my own while drawing the design on the board.

 

I think I more or less got it figured out.

 

Step 2: Hire someone that knows what they are doing to cut out the faces ;-) My dad broke out his old jigsaw and got the job done.

 

He looked so proper while doing it with his pinky sticking out. He broke it a few years back in a roping accident, so now it doesn't bend correctly.

 

He had to drill a hole first to be able to start with the jigsaw. Poor girl's forehead didn't stand a chance.

 

Step 3: Start with the paint. Thought I would start with the hat and jacket to see how things went.

 

Step 4: Move on to the pants. I'll have to choose what color I want to go with next now that I've finished with the gray. I'm just kind of playing it by ear.

Home Town Awesome-ness ;-)

During the month of July, Wallace County 4-H families and volunteers kick into high gear. The county fair is by far the most eagerly anticipated event every year in our small county. Three towns combine to put on a phenomenal exhibition of hospitality and quality exhibits. I know I moan and groan a bit about having to find volunteers to staff things, but when the week is all over, I'm always ready to do it again!

The week starts early for the 4-Hers doing the style show on Monday. Then it is on to arts and crafts and by Thursday everything is at full-steam ahead. That is when the livestock shows begin and people flock to the fairgrounds starting at 7 in the evening to get on the rides at the home-owned carnival.

I have been to numerous fairs, some much larger than our own. But the one thing I absolutely love is the fact that I can trust the people running the rides to be quality people that I would trust my kids (or nieces or nephews) around. They aren't there to get your money. They are there to provide a safe and fun time for everyone attending. It's nice to know that you aren't looked at as just another dollar in their pocket.

The final night of the fair is complete with a free-will donation barbecue that is put on by the county ministerial alliance. It is great food and is served by members of all the county churches working side by side! And the big finale of the entire week is the spectacular fireworks display that certainly out-does many a fireworks display I have seen at much larger towns or venues. Makes it all worth the wait! The entire carnival comes to a standstill as hundreds of attendees turn to stare at the skies. Brings chills to me just thinking about it. Then the carnival slowly shuts down as parents pull their reluctant children away from the home-made cotton candy and fun rides...sometimes the little ones actually fall asleep on the rides ;-)

This video will give you just the tiniest glimpse of what our county does during this busy week. When our current pastor was assigned to our church about 6 years ago, they moved here right around the time of the fair. After participating in it to get the full experience, he told us during his sermon that everyone that helps/volunteers during the week should get a "I survived the Wallace County Fair" t-shirt! And he has loved participating in it every year from then on.

Here is the video from last year's fair. I filmed the footage and students of mine put it all together. And as my cousin pointed out, I missed filming the traditional water fight during the fair clean-up on Sunday. There is a good reason for that...I would like to keep my camera gear in functioning order ;-)


I

Out for a Stroll

Even though I'm stuck inside due to the heat, I still try to get at least a little exercise each day.

Today's exercise started with me climbing my pregnant self over into the barn to visit the puppies this morning. I obliged to let them wash my toes and legs with their tiny little tongues while they waggled (that's what I call it when they wag their tails so much it wiggles their whole body) their tiny little tails at me.

Most days the exercise comes in the form of walking to my parents' house for lunch. Mom and I work together to get the noon meal. They live less than half a mile from us, so it makes for a nice little walk even if it is pretty hot.

I took some pictures along the way today. It was incredibly hot, but the clouds and sky still made for a beautiful view.

And here I am, carrying my little container of tossed salad that I contributed to mom's very tasty meal of pizza. I can cook the exact same pizza the exact same way as her, and hers ALWAYS tastes about 20 times better.

The view looking up is much prettier than the view looking down...sigh...I kind of miss my feet ;-) But it means baby is growing "ever stronger" as my shirt proclaims. I think it is safe to say that when I got this shirt, while working with the KSU basketball teams as a student strength coach in the weightroom, I never really pictured how it would look over a pregnant belly. But, hey, it still fits!

Hiding from the heat

Today is a scorcher. And according to the weather forecast, we are in for more of these in the next week. Extreme heat isn't super healthy for me at the moment, so I'm bored inside. I have been taking some pics in the last two weeks, so I'll share those with you today.

On days when it is cool enough, and I have access to our UTV, or Mule, I like to take some of our dogs for runs. We have an abundance of them and the combination of fixed and not-fixed means that we have to basically keep them in pens most of the time. They are SUPER happy when they get a chance to go out and run!

 

This is Zoey. She likes to dart across in front of the Mule sporadically so I have to keep on my toes with applying the brakes. However, she LOVES human attention and usually runs along right next to the mule so she can keep a close eye on where I am. 

 

This is one of Zoey's puppies from last summer that we kept. His name is Auto. He was one of the biggest pups of the litter and is beautiful to watch run. This day he went full-out for probably 3 miles or so without me pushing him. Most of the time it was all I could do to keep up in the Mule.  

Oh, and did I mention that the one dog I can't take on runs right now has 10 puppies? Earlier this year, mom and dad's dog (a puppy from the litter last summer as well) dug under the fence and got in with her...and presto! We now have 10 more dogs.

 

When I take the dogs out, I like to take them running around our farm ground close to the house. This is where we have our small amount of irrigated ground. Dad is extremely conservative when it comes to irrigating and with the early rains, we actually have only run the sprinklers a few times. The above and below pictures are after the second-cutting on our alfalfa. The strip of it that is left is because that is where the sprinkler was sitting when we swathed and baled it. I LOVE the smell of alfalfa and if you drive through it after it has blooms, you will see all the butterflies and bees, etc., that love it as well. We have cut it twice and baled it into big round bales to use to feed our livestock through the leaner months so they still get that nutrition even when there is no grass to eat.

 

Above are our oat bales. I didn't get a chance to get a picture of the oats before we swathed them. Oats, unlike alfalfa, have to be planted every year and you really only get one cutting off of them. Our baler was having issues and we needed to get them baled quickly, so some of our neighbors came with their baler and baled at the same time as we were to make quick work of it. They are really good about swapping labor with us to help each other out. No money exchanges hands, just good ol' fashioned labor. Their drills were not available to plant feed, so my husband took ours over and planted what they needed planted.

 

This last picture is really about the only picture I've gotten from wheat harvest.  It has the grain elevator to which we haul our wheat in the foreground. But I took it because of the yellow stone building in the background. For decades this house has stood guard over the railroad and housed numerous families and workers through those years. It now belongs to the museum, but I think it is neat to still see it watching over the railroad today and the green grass in front of it made an especially striking image this day.

The first day we cut wheat this summer, I begged my dad to let me ride into the elevator with him while he took a load of wheat in the semi. This always brings back memories of how special it was as a kid to go with him and get a cold glass bottle of Pepsi out of the pop machine there at the Co-op in Wallace. I don't know if they have the pop machine anymore (I am staying away from pop during the pregnancy), but my mouth still watered for the sweet cold taste of Pepsi while I sat in the truck on the scales.

 

As for harvest, we are still harvesting. We have a couple of fields that got really weedy after the late rains so we sprayed them and have to wait for the weeds to die off before we can harvest them. 

I guess that's it for me. Stay cool everyone!

Helping with harvest...sort of

One of my favorite times of the year is here. It is wheat harvest! Unlike last year, we actually have some wheat to harvest. It still isn't the greatest we have ever had, but considering the weather conditions it has been through, we are thankful for what we have.

Since I am a bit (ok, a lot) on the pregnant side, my husband has banned me from doing a lot of what I usually do this summer. That includes not driving the tractor and grain cart. If you know me at all, you know I'm still working every angle to get myself in the field.

I did figure out that my husband isn't a big fan of making sure the extra fuel tank on the pickup is filled so they can refuel the combine in the field. So, I have taken on that responsibility. Hey, I'll take what I can get.

I have to figure out a new way to do some things since my belly takes up a bit more space now ;-)

 

My parents are so cute and an example of a great marriage. Oh, of course they bicker...today there was a doozy at lunch that was over horseradish or something...but in the end, they make time for each other. I took this picture right before mom went with dad on a "date" in the semi to take a load of wheat to the elevator.

Since I have been banned from a lot of activities, I'm having to find other things to do. So I have taken to helping my mom a little bit more with the harvest meals. This lady is a pro! I will never be able to do everything she does and make it look so effortless. Since our fields are all within a couple of miles of the house, we don't do meals in the field this year. All the men come to the house for lunch and in the evenings mom and I make sandwiches to take to them. Mom usually does most of the work, but I contribute potato chips!

Baby T and I posed tonight for a picture of her at her first wheat harvest ;-)