from the desk of Nina
the Great Pyrenees dog at Our Family Farms
December 2010
While Joyce busies herself with quilting, I thought I’d commandeer the computer and send you a note. I’ve had an amazing winter so far with so much snow to play in; it is so fun!! This is my favorite season and after I get done running and chasing and rolling in the snow, I enjoy just lying in the snow-covered lane and watching the traffic on the highway. I really have it good here.
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Phil had a good harvest but worked hard 6 days a week, 18 hrs a day for a month with nary a rainy day break. He was tired! This was the earliest he’s ever finished harvest; October 20! He planted radishes as a cover crop in August and again (aerial seeding) in September. Phil was thrilled with the results of doing this last year so added more radish fields this fall. They aren’t for eating or harvesting. The radishes provide a lot of natural fertilizer to the soil as well as control weeds and erosion. The neighbors wonder why he has such green as the rest of the fields are turning brown.
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JP is a sophomore at the local community college so is gone more often than I like. I get SO excited when he comes home from class. He is a great buddy and I love it when he gives me belly rubs. He drums often at church and this fall started giving lessons to a young man from one of our churches. He is the area computer helper and enjoys fixing and building computers plus he is thankful for the cash. He’ll get his Associates degree in Computer Science in May. We aren’t sure what next fall will hold for him. He is enjoying all the snow with his snowmobile.
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I love it when K comes home for visits. I get even more attention then. She continues as the wedding gown coordinator for THE place to have your wedding gown preserved (or altered or pressed) in Chicago. She keeps quite busy and handles more designer gowns than one could imagine. She has been able to attend some fancy bridal runway shows on Michigan Avenue this year. Her job sure provides Phil & Joyce with interesting stories! She got a new apartment the end of August and is so much happier having a real bedroom AND a sewing room. Hatmaking is still her joy.
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As I mentioned, Joyce loves to stay busy sewing. Sometimes I go in her studio but she keeps it so cozy warm in there that I prefer the cold cement in the rest of the basement. She is excited about the New Year as there are plans to add a long-arm quilting machine. She’ll do the quilting on tops that others have made plus she’ll also make quilts start-to-finish for customers. Before that all happens, there has been (& continues to be) a flurry of cleaning & sorting going on for her new quilting area.
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Joyce has made 4 trips to Ohio to see her parents this year. She is so thankful she can do that drive on her own now that her health is so much better. In August, K rode with her for Ronk-a-palooza, her family reunion.
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Well, I’m heading off to bark at another delivery truck. Woof! Woof!
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