Celebrating Autumn

Living in the country has so many benefits…for me!  I realize that I am so, very different from most people but I feel like it allows me to do so many of the things that I’ve wanted to do for years…

…like taking time to celebrate Autumn with family.

We did just that on Saturday.  There were 15 of us and we pressed 36 gallons of cider, the kids carved pumkins and played in the leaves and we ate wonderful food.

I’m hoping that we have just had our 1st Annual ~ Bowe Family Celebration of Autumn!

   Now that we have had our practice run {which was a fairly spontaneous happening} we’ll need to invite the rest of the family and really get it on!

My brother slipped away before, after and a little during to get the trusses up on the little barn!

hand quilted with love : <3

The past several weeks have been a blur of commotion!

The last few weeks I’ve had our kids coming and going a bit here and there…

My daughter, Lauren, had a week off of work and chose to spend that week with us!  {yay}  She brought another one of her baby quilt creations with her so I just have to brag a little.

She has a gifted eye for fabric and design and she loves beautiful fabric! 

{it makes me a little giddy that I might have had something to do with that}

When she orders fabrics online she goes to quilthome.com.  It is our favorite place to shop.  They have a beautiful {actually AMAZING} selection and great customer service.

They also happen to be very local {for me}.

I told her that we could go up there for a visit while she was here.

She and I would both agree that walking amongst such beauty feels like a little slice of heaven.

Here is another one of Lauren’s quilts…Oh, my!…and look at that cute little guy.  He’s 5 months old today!

…much love for ‘the apple’…

Oh, the goodness that’s wrapped up in an apple.

Such diversity, sweetness and nutrition…

When my kids were babies, homemade applesauce was there #1 staple food.  I had a sweet {older} friend who would help me can up some apple sauce each year for my sweet babies.  Since then, whenever I’ve canned sauce I think of my dear friend, with great appreciation, for helping this young mom in those early years when I didn’t live close to my own mom. 

I appreciate so much when ladies are willing to give of themselves to help younger gals learn these valuable skills.

^{Titus 2:4-5…} These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, ⁵ to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

[picture taken by Trisha Love]

Now that this little man is 4 months old, he’s going to be loving some of Nana’s home~made apple sauce.

I wish I could decide what I want him to call me.  I know…I should just let him decide but I don’t want to be called ‘grandma’…that just doesn’t set well with me…so he might need a little encouragement….Nana…Grammy…Nona…Nanny….It’ll come…one way or another…sooner or later!  🙂

This is a favorite charm.  It’s round and chunky and reminds me of a candy drop.  Both sides have fun, vintage fabric that came from my Great Grandma’s fabric stash.

If you have some old, cherished fabric, this would be a fun way to preserve and share a snippet of it…

A Celebration of Memories…

As a child, Memorial Day often involved visiting our local cemetery, taking an opportunity to remember.

Living back in the area where I grew up brings many blessings and that so often touch those warm, fuzzy places in my heart.  It seems that everything about spring does that.  The beauty that surrounds us right now is simply astounding.

Each day I find that I marvel at the sights and sounds that surround me.

Visiting that old, rustic, wonderfully~unkempt cemetery where my grandparents, great grandparents, great~great grandparents lie is just another one of those {overwhelming} blessings.  I’m so glad that I’m drawn to visit there at least once a year.

the grave stones pictured above and below are not from relations but they are so old and beautiful

My great, great grandparents…Amos & Betsy Alby ~ homesteaded in this valley in 1896 as they made their journey from Norway.

Visiting this grave still brings such fresh emotion…even looking at the picture now makes me cry again.  As I speak of blessings from this area where I live, my grandma would have to take the top of the list!  She was an amazing gal and she is in my thoughts often. 

Oh, to be just a little bit like her.  

blessed indeed!

these outhouses always make me smile

on my way down the hill I stopped and visited my cousin who lives on the same place that Amos & Betsy homesteaded in 1896 ~ I loved the sheep that were freely roaming around

Quilts for Little Ones…

Can you ‘spy’ the baby in that picture?

As I see my little grandguy all snuggled in his beautiful quilt, I find that I swell with a little lot of pride, not only at the precious sight of…HIM but also the fact that the quilt was hand-made by my girl.  This past year she has found a new ♥ love…making baby quilts.

Here are some pictures I took recently of some pretty things that Lauren has been working on…

Although my photos didn’t turn out the best {so much light and so little time}, I know you can see that she is gifted {buttons are flying off my shirt}.  I think her favorite part is picking out the glorious fabrics {so much like her mom} and she does a truly amazing job with that.

A couple of weeks ago she sold her first one on etsy {clap, clap, applause, applause, smile, smile…} and she now has another one listed.  {see it HERE}

She also had a birthday yesterday.  {Happy Birthday, sweetness♥}

It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this SweetMan {9 days} today!

Here’s a picture of Lauren and the LittleMan that she spent the weekend with in Palm Springs!

Market Shopper ~ Sweet Rustique

I have had so much fun making this new Market Shopper.

It is a bag that measures 13″ x 27″. 

It’s nice and deep…perfect for that special sale or farmer’s market.

I have been collecting vintage barkcloth {old drapery} for years and it teams perfectly with the rustic burlap.

I always prefer to hi-light any special characteristics…{i.e. time-worn holes, care instructions, etc…}

This one is just too much fun!

I took a part an old oil painting and hand-sewed it to the front of one of the bags.

Oh, My!

This was a pretty perfect way to spend my Mother’s Day…

Picnic on the Mountain…

The morels are ready.

Can you see that sweet, little morsel of camouflage there?  I walked right over it and my little niece actually found it.  My inexperienced eye has a hard time seeing them.  I figure that Abbie has an advantage over me because she is so much lower to the ground…or, maybe it’s because my nieces have been out with their dad several times and are getting pretty good at spotting them.

We didn’t have a lot of success with mushrooms today but we packed a fun picnic lunch and that was a total success.

The girls planted these Tamarack trees last year with their dad so they love to spot them and see the progress.

Having a campfire with S’mores is a perfect way to polish off our little picnic on the mountain.

Simply In Awe!

These little toes did indeed wiggle their way to freedom this morning at 4:56 am when Noah David made his very grand entrance into this world and our family.

There truly aren’t words to describe it all.  I was so blessed that my sweet daughter-in-law wanted me in the delivery room, along with her mom.  This was a first for me.

Let me boldly say this, “Don’t tell me there isn’t a God!!!”  Nothing else makes sense of this miracle we call LIFE.

I’m so proud of our kids.

Jackie…you were simply quite amazing!

Thank you so much for sharing this gift with us.  This little guy has completely captured my heart and I can’t wait to get to know him.

Here’s another bold statement.  

“Isn’t he just the most beautiful baby boy you’ve ever seen???”  🙂

Dear Fellow Rurals,

It would be so nice if you would add to your colorful sign that your ‘sale’ is 15 minutes off of the beaten path.  If I had known that this detour would have taken 40 minutes, I probably would have kept going.  So glad I didn’t miss the birth of my first grand child because of this deviation.

at this very moment he is trying to wiggle free from his safe confinement ~ his new world awaits

Baby LOVE!

I had a wonderful weekend as I traveled to our beautiful Skagit County with my dear daughter-in-law, Jackie, for two baby showers with her family and friends.

This girl is such a blessing, in so many ways.

…and she was blessed beyond words with an amazing assortment and quantity of gifts.  Her heart was overflowing with deep appreciation with each and every gift.  {so fun to watch}

Jackie and her sweet Mom!

My three girls!  {love ’em all so very much}

My daughter, Lauren, made this quilt for her new nephew… {wow!  she did an amazing job ~ she even hand-quilted it!}

Jackie’s grandma gave her this quilt which was made by her mother-in-law…which would be Jackie’s great grandma.  She has had this tucked away for her first great-grand child.

Baby LOVE!

we have about 5 weeks to go {give or take a week or two…}  🙂