An October Mish Mosh

(Hang onto your hats; this mish mosh post is going to cover a lot of different things!)

October is the month of the Hunters' Moon.  The name acknowledges the shift from gathering crops to continuing to prepare for Winter by hunting - fields are mostly harvested and clear and leaves have fallen which makes it easier to see game, game that's been preparing itself for winter and is fattened up.

The Harvest Moon is waning at the moment and when I was out this morning with Pepper (once again, Tammo was too warm and cozy to get up at that early hour) the moon was aligned with a star or planet just above it.

The beauty of the moment took my breath away, and I snapped a few pictures. Some of the best things about being an early riser are the things you get to see just before dawn. This was one of them. Lucky, lucky me.

It's been in the 40s for a week or so now, and it's still cool enough after the sun rises that I need a jacket or a sweatshirt to stay warm. I haven't spoken much about my weight loss (I began right after Thanksgiving in 2024), but I've lost 57 pounds. (Slow and steady wins the race, as the turtle said to the hare.)

Craig snapped this photo of Pepper and me the other day and, while I knew my clothes were becoming too big for me, I didn't realize just how loose they had become and how they were hanging off me. That's my favorite pair of capris and a new sweatshirt that was a gift but they're too big. I'm very, very grateful for the weight loss, but I've realized that it is time to do some shopping. (More lucky me, depending on your point of view.)

Ian's final football game was last Thursday. He'd never played football on a team before, and he has learned a lot. (That's him in the middle of the photo.)

He made some really good plays in their final game, including a fumble recovery at the last play. Still, they lost 0 - 8, the only game they lost this season. Proud of you, buddy!

The family cheering squad: Craig, Nancy, and Paul (Vanessa's parents), and Lisa, Curt, Vanessa, and Brianna (Vanessa's sister.)

In other sports news, Mila and Lucas' soccer season wraps up this week.

Curt (pointing) and Vanessa have coached both teams again.

Mila keeping her eye on the ball.

Halftime pep talk. It's been fun, but as the weather has gotten cooler, I feel a bit like Tammo does - I don't want to leave my cozy home and sit on a windy, chilly soccer field. LOL

Jayci is so good about sending us photos of Elsie Mae (who celebrates her first birth day on Halloween. Hard to believe.)  I was looking through the latest batch and something caught my eye. Do you see it, too?

The quiet book!  And she's been playing with it! That made my heart really happy.

Before heading into the sewing room yesterday, I brought all the newly blackened beeswax ornaments upstairs, pulled out the ones I already had, sorted them into groups (Christmas, Animals, Miscellaneous., etc.) and discovered a big oops.

I had used the wrong inventory sheet when I'd made this batch. That sheet was an older one and did not reflect what I actually had had in stock.

Instead of the 165 ornaments I thought I now had in stock, I only have 126. I was going to have to make another batch. I began inventorying what I still needed to make.

And then common sense stepped in. I have 45 molds. I had at least one finished ornament of all of those except 2. The only one who was going to notice those missing molds is me. Did I really want to spend several hours to set up/pour/pop/clean up again for two missing molds?

I did not.

So, I packed up all the ornaments, updated my inventory sheets, and called it good. And then I headed into the sewing room.

I have discovered that I can make a pleated petticoat in about three hours, including cutting it out. I'm working my way through the six different cotton fabrics that I bought last week. (Three different shades of blue, a red, a black and a green striped.)

Yesterday I made the black. Have I said before how much I love pleats and pleating? (Rhetorical question, folks. I know I have! LOL)

Today's plans? Walking the dogs, of course. Then, I'd like to open my Vintage Club Phoebe (the lamp)

which has been languishing on the clothes rack shelf for a few days.

And, I found and bought another short cloak pattern that arrived yesterday.

I've used this brand's patterns before and found them to be well researched and accurate. The short cloak pattern is hard to find, but I got lucky.

I haven't finished either of the short cloaks I've already cut out of wool. I want to see how this pattern makes up before I put any more time into them. I don't want to waste the wool, either, but if this pattern works out like I hope it will, then I will try to get a few made from it now and then come back to the other two unfinished cloaks after the Feast when I have more time. (You know, when I start my holiday sewing. Lots of time, right? LOL)

That's it for today! I'll end with a hint about tomorrow's post.

Stay 'tooned!

Mish Mosh Time!

Time for a mish mosh post - I have lots of snippets to share but nothing that is really an entire blog post in and of itself. 

More from Miss Mila

I'm back in the sewing room and working on a custom order. Yesterday I picked up a stack of fabrics and found another note from Mila stashed underneath them.

Certainly the gift that keeps on giving!

I have put all her notes in an envelope and will save them with my most special treasures.

An Eddie Emergency

You may remember that I said that there was an emergency at Kalamazoo the second day of the event and so our packing up was haphazard and as fast as we could go. That emergency was actually for Leslie and Rick.

Their vet had called and said that their dog Eddie had a temperature of 106 and was very, very sick. Leslie dropped everything and headed home, while Rick stayed in Kalamazoo to pack their trailer and truck for home.

Over a week later, Eddie is still sick and has been hospitalized three times. An abscess that began under his chin, ran down his neck, and then curved to the middle of his chest turned out to be the culprit.

Once that was discovered, drained, and cleaned, he did a remarkable bounce back.

He even came out to play for a bit during the family Easter egg hunt.

Eddie is not out of the woods yet. The abscess refilled yesterday and had to be surgically drained, but this time it was mostly water and not infectious material. His temperature has remained low and antibiotics are taking care of the infection. 

Keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, wish for good karma, or whatever you feel most comfortable with for Eddie.  It would be very much appreciated.

 

The Family Easter Egg Hunt

An annual tradition, we always gather at Leslie and Rick's farm for an Easter egg hunt and dinner. This year, due to Eddie's health, we still held the egg hunt but then ate at our home.

There is an Over 18 and an Under 18 division and the winner of each gets a golden egg with a prize inside.  The Under 18 was full of candy, while the Over 18's gift didn't fit inside the egg.

There are some T-Rex fans among the adults in my family, so when I found this T-Rex wind chime, I bought it even though I knew it was too big to fit in the egg.

Mila won the Under 18 egg,

and Craig the Over 18 egg. (His face when he discovered it was empty! But then I handed him the box the T-Rex was in and all was right in his world. LOL)

We all piled into cars and headed back to our home for a midafternoon snack of Hershey pie, cheesecake,

cake pops,

assorted candy,

and Chex Mix.

We hung out the rest of the day, playing games, and watching the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

More KZoo Pics

People are still posting their pictures from Kalamazoo on social media. Here are the last of them. (I think...)

This family had stopped and asked about the pockets I have for sale. I am sharing the story behind them and how the earliest pockets were tied around the waist and not incorporated into the garment itself like they are now.

A nice photo of Rick at his booth. Taken before the emergency call about Eddie that upended the day for us.

My travel buddy Gretchen talking to the man whose wife makes my maple cakes. Gretchen is wearing a bedgown and I recognized the fabric because I had it in my stash. Turns out that my mother had made it for her.

Puppies at the Park

We are dodging raindrops now instead of snow and ice, but when we can, we take Pepper and Tammo across the street to the park.

Lined up and ready for their frisbees to fly.

"Here comes mine!!"

"Oh, never mind the frisbees."

"There is nothing like fresh spring grass for a good roll."

Have a good day, all!

A February Mish Mosh

The weather has warmed up here and the snowpack that's been on the ground for over a month has finally melted. Reason to celebrate!

So, here's a mish mosh of some things that might also make you smile - they sure did me. And a couple other things thrown in because, you know, mish mosh!

Gesundheit, Molly!

Mama had a sneezing fit the other day and Lisa was able to catch the very last part of it on video.

In case the video doesn't work, here's a link to it on YouTube. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/Grb4pYpglBU?feature=share

Sweet girl, no one sneezes like you do!

A Letter Blitz from Titan

Pony Pals Kate, Cambria, and Titan are my penpals. I love getting letters from them and I save every one of them.

Sometimes those letters sit for a while after they've been written while waiting for a stamp or a parent to take them to the post office. When that happens...

I get a letter blitz! 

Which I don't mind at all. I grab a coke, settle into my cozy reading chair, and enjoy opening and reading those letters.

All three kids draw me little illustrations on their letters, and almost always one of them is a horse or pony.

Western Earthquakes? Should I Worry?

The west has been having a lot of minor earthquakes this year. Sarah has felt them in Montana, and Jessica in Utah. The epicenters have not been close to either of them so I wasn't too concerned until Jessie sent me this map.

The red lines are fault lines and they pass very close to her home. (The brown portion of the map indicates that that land is actually elevated and part of Dry Mountain.)

Their home is up on Dry Mountain and they have a retaining wall surrounding their back yard to hold the mountain back. The two fault lines are just beyond that sagebrush covered rise.

Honestly, I haven't ever worried about earthquakes for Jessie's family. Wildfires? Yes, and with good reason as they have come very close to her home in the past.

But now that I am aware of how close those fault lines are to her and that the area has had some shaking, I do feel a little trepidation.

Gimme Some Elsie Mae, Please!

The western part of the Isenbarger clan gathered in Idaho this past weekend to celebrate Elsie Mae.

Gimme was thrilled to be holding her first grandbaby and it looks as though Elsie Mae was equally thrilled, too.

The occasion was Elsie Mae's baby blessing. 

Andrew, Titan, Jessica, Cambria, Dondao (Todd's Grandpa name), Jayci, JC, Elsie Mae, Gimme, and Kyle.

Great Uncle Kyle holding his sweet great niece.

Thanks to a Zoom link, we were able to be there for Elsie Mae's blessing. We hope to meet her at a family gathering later this year.

Now That's Service!

Our local Bob Evans has really good food. And Friday night, we had a server who topped all other servers.

Lisa ordered a breakfast plate and asked if she could have a little more syrup. 

When our server brought that extra syrup to her, it was three pitchers! And, she'd brought us all fresh biscuits and extra butter. "These are hot and just out of the oven, so I thought you'd all like to have some," she said. Yes, ma'am, we sure would!

Giddy on Up and Into History!

I don't know who these people are, but when this photo appeared on one of my living history social media sites, I had to take a screen shot.

Full marks for keeping that living history vibe going! And how wonderful that, despite their need for assistance to attend, they found a way AND did it with smiles!

Hmmmm... I wonder what I could do to my walker to make it horsey...

It's Wednesday, so Mama and Nashie are coming to spend the day. With the warmer weather, we will be able to be outside with them more today. 

I'll be sewing the very last trade shirt for Kalamazoo when its my turn to be upstairs, and cutting out bedgowns when I am downstairs keeping Molly company.

Should be a great day; hope yours is as well. 

Mish Mosh!

The first mish mosh post of August! 

What's a mish mosh post? Several small things, too small for a full blog post, combined into one. ("Mish mosh" was also a common answer when we kids used to ask our mom what she was making for dinner. In other words, she really didn't know at that moment! LOL)

My BreyerFest Volunteer Model

This gorgeous guy arrived yesterday - Salut, the 2025 volunteer model.

His paint job is stunning and he is very, very matte.

I liked all three colors (it was a gambler's choice) but black was the color I liked best. I am thrilled to have this pretty guy in my collection. Thanks, Breyer!

Some New Dala Fabric

The theme for BreyerFest 2026 is Midsummer Fair (I love that!) and Scandinavian horses will be a big part of the event. Daughter-in-love Emily is Swedish/Canadian, and I know from her that Dala horses are very much a part of their culture.

I have begun to buy Dala-themed fabrics in anticipation of the event.

I made two XLTs from each of these stylized Dala fabrics

and they sold before I could even advertise them! I've got more more of this fabric on order - I really like the black and red and may make one for me.

One new order of fabric has arrived while another is still on the way.

Some of the fabric (like this one) is already spoken for - I've had people contact me after they heard the 2026 BreyerFest theme and ask specifically to make them an order using Dala horses.

Since I am currently awash in all fabrics Dala (LOL), I'm trying to think of something I could make Emily from some of it. This fabric would make a nice pillow.

I will send these pics to those who asked me to make them some haversacks using a Dala print and then I will use the rest of it for my stash of completed haversacks. (Which is very depleted at the moment between recent sales and donations to a couple of shows.)

I reordered more of this Halloween fabric. It's sold out twice and is very popular. (I like it, too.)

And I got more of this burro fabric in. Burros are also a very requested print for haversacks.

Cambria & Titan Keep Busy!

Shrek the Musical (and the infamous How Now Brown Cow video) hadn't been over for more than a few days when they were back recording another video.

This was a different composer and it was a Christmas song that they were recording. Titan is in the middle with Cambria to his left in the back row.

New to their experience was a modeling gig.

After seeing the kids in Shrek the Musical, Christy Marshall Photography contacted Jessica and asked if the kids would do a photo shoot for her. As I understand it, it is to be used advertising mini shoots for back to school pictures. (Photo by Christy Marshall Photography.)

That's new to their wheelhouse (and their mama's!) but Cambria and Titan are having fun doing projects like these.

Summertime! And the Livin's Easy

Leslie and Rick plant a huge garden every year, and they focus on heirloom varieties and indigenous plants.

This was their corn a few weeks ago...

... and this is that same corn right now! I think Rick stood in the bed of the truck to take that photo. Wowza!

Hmm, I actually had more mish mosh to share, but this post has become quite long so I'll share the rest in a day or two.

Stay 'tooned!