The Barn Is Done

and it truly is beautiful.
We know we hit a homerun too.... everyone who sees it is in awe. Women gasp......"OOhhhh it's greeat!!!!!"

Men are the biggest kick to watch.... much more discerning. They will walk in and just take it all in for a minute. To a man, they stand there with one arm across the chest, hand cradling the elbow of the other arm. The hand of the cradled up by the face, stroking the chin or cheek, lip pursed, eyes scanning the ceiling, the walls, the shelves, the worktop...... If there are more than one, they huddle together, stroking and furtively pointing at the attention to detail in construction.

And then they say, in reverent and slightly whispered tone, "I want one."

I know! We want another one already!

The veggies are growing and thriving. We ordered and received a roll of row cover material and have so far covered only two beds; the artichoke and tender greens but I am ready with the hoops to cover two more. The broccoli are looking great and although there are plenty of flowers on the peas, not all that many have pods. Some, and those are slow to grow. SO now I know, I should plant them farther in the north raised beds if they are going to get enough sunlight in the fall. Once the leaves finish falling, these will get more warm sun, but at the moment, they live in heavy dappling shade. I will do all I can to keep them alive under the wraps as the days get colder and the winds increase.

My daughter rescued a chicken in Florida and is going in with her neighbor to have a small flock!!!! How cool is this!? Very small, however. The towns restrictions are 2 per household..... ridiculous. 2? It's hardly worth the bother..... and only half the fun. You need enough to have a proper self-respecting flock! I mean, how on Earth can they establish any form of pecking order? 2 is just a squabble, surely. .... Well, if they EACH get 2 and house them in the same coop, that's 4. I think they could handle that. The chickens, I mean. Girls can handle anything!

Had a blast learning how to program a computerized quilting machine yesterday. Once you know the HOW, it seems (almost) easy; but getting to that place was a long process. The one I use has no computer but I look at it now and wonder....... can I get an after-market add-on? I really like free-motion. It's a thing about the freeness of it but I can also see the freedom I would feel at the end of this long list of quilts ready to finally use. I have a closet of quilttops that are neglected and shelves of fabric waiting to be cut. At this rate, I'll NEVER die. (of course, that IS my ultimate plan......)