The Smell of a Barn

First things first...

I know anyone with a barn full of critters right now

is either going to be rolling their eyes

or be jaw-dropped & dumb-founded.

I am fully aware of my abnormalities:)

(You can read more about the Barn Quilt Block right here.)

But...

growing up, any time I was stressed, anxious,

mad, worried, or upset, I would go muck out the barn.

That was just my therapy.

Nobody would bother me,

probably for fear that I would either stop

or put them to work too.

So I had physical & productive work

while I sorted through whatever the issue was.

The labor, the sound of the fork and my breath,

the smell, and in the end, the accomplishment

all worked together.

I remember when I first went off to college

and had a stressful day/week whatever,

I drove around looking for barns

wondering if I knocked on the stranger's door

and asked to clean their barn 

if they would have me arrested or put in a white room

with a 'special' white jacket to wear.

I never had the nerve to ask.

Life of course is not without its issues.

I have been helping care for an elderly couple

who mean a great deal to me.

Over the past 6 weeks,

3 of them have been spent in the ER.

I am not saying this for sympathy or kudos,

but I still don't have a barn to muck out.

I'm pretty sure when you see a big old picturesque barn,

the first thing running through your mind is not

"If only I had a pitch fork and wheelbarrow."

It's kinda peculiar how the habits

we form growing up stay with us throughout life.

I think we need those things.

Now I usually go out and play with a chainsaw,

weed wacker, pruners, shovel, etc.

Do you have a (therapy) habit like that?

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Barn Quilt Block

They might be common in the mid-west,

but this is only the second one I've spotted out here.

After I spotted this one,

I kept saying to Mr. LB, "That barn would be good.  Say,

look at that barn.  It has a nice big wall."

We were headed toward the Eagle Caps.

You can get a little better idea of the view in this picture.

The hay meadows looked fabulous.

I am happy for the ranchers.

If it's as dry as predicted, maybe they will have enough

not only for their own stock, but to

sell a little extra.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Buggy Barn Quilt Show

Mom and I went to the wonderful

Buggy Barn Quilt & Folk Art show

in Reardan, Washington.

This is the wonderful Buggy Barn quilt shop.
I will just let the pictures do the talking...

 It started at 10am.  We were 20 min. early.

This is the view of the cars in front of us.

And the cars behind us...

We didn't have to wait a long time,

though when waiting for a quilt show,

it does seems like forever.

Now quilts...

 That's Mom saying, "Look how they..."

This is the second barn that 

they use as a sort of annex during the show.

There was a shower that came through as I was

taking the picture so it's a little dark.

By the time we made it around the barn, 

the sun was shining.

Even quilts on the old water tower base.

Folks are usually pretty nice at quilt shows,

but this was exceptional.  It seemed as though

all of the attendees were as courteous as

the great families that hosted the event. 

I wasn't sure what to expect.

There was a great basket weaver,

wood work, metal work, and several

vintage style booths.

I kinda forgot to take pictures when we were 

looking around at the booths.

I did get one of this great little wagon.

After the rain, I was trying to shade my lens with my hand

(also in the picture) from the sun.

This was probably the most unique 

show I have attended.

It was a beautiful day in spite of the shower

in the morning.

I can't imagine the work that went in to putting

all of this together as

they had to wake up early in order to 

hang quilts the day of the show.

Due to the sketchy weather,

I am guessing they took them down

and re-hung them Sunday morning.

All I can say is

"Job well done!"

If you ever have the opportunity to attend,

I would highly recommend it.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches