WHERE TO START???

I have to say, This year has turned out to be the most bizzare year of my life. I have never felt so unorganized and disoriented. It seems like eons ago that Chuck and I made the decision to buy this acreage. And since that day I feel like it's been one situation after another. But I'm holding fast to Chuck's comment over the weekend "Are we in heaven?" We truely do feel that way the biggest share of the time and believe that if we just keep working in that direction, we'll begin to feel 'settled'.

For those of you that have never lived in a rural environment, it's important to remember that there are lots of things that must be handled differently than if you live within the city limits. Fortunately, we have lived in both worlds, however it's been awhile since country living for us and you forget about the obstacles that must be overcome.

Back in the 'old days', we didn't have to worry about being connected to the internet. That might not be a problem for most people, but when you've had the convenience of instant and high powered internet connections, it takes some getting used to. I thought that a connection thru my Blackberry phone would be the answer, but turned out not to be an option because I wasn't able to download pictures to my blog. So we decided to go with a satellite connection, but had to wait for the providers to get us on their schedule. It's done now and I'm ready to go.

Speaking of country living, our garden produce was just awesome this year. Everything got planted in a hurry and then afterwards I wasn't sure what was growing where, but here's some of our crop of Butternut squash. The green beans were awesome, just not enough of them. The tomatoes were so,so - but I'm motivated for next year as I've reading up on mulching, etc. to prevent blight.

Last weekend I was busy traveling to Kansas City to visit our 'little girls'. Bailey played in a powderpuff football game (middle school) and Olivia (second grade) cheered at their last football game. It was a busy weekend. We always cram a lot into those visits. I went alone as Chuck had an Iowa game to go to.

This weekend I'm feverishly working to get things ready for my 2 week 'sabbatical'. I will be in Iowa City on Friday for a scheduled foot surgery. It will be an outpatient procedure, but I will not be able to use my foot for 2 weeks. In preparation, I'm organizing all of my unfinished projects to work on. I have high hopes that when the two weeks has passed, I will have the bindings sewn on 3 large quilts and 6 small quilts, the applique' completed on my Blackbird table topper that we received in Spring Green, and a couple of cross stitch projects finished.

I expect to post often on my blog because now I have a laptop. I will be able to keep up with emails and do some internet Christmas shopping. After the first week, I should be pretty mobile with my walker, but I won't be able to go downstairs to my sewing room. I look forward to having some 'found time' to go thru the files on my PC and get things cleaned out and maybe even figure out how to make my Blog look more appealing.

Anyway, I must go for now as I have a big day planned with lots to get done. Want to get a couple kinds of soup made so that I don't starve while I'm laid up. Chuck will take good care of me, but his idea of cooking is throwing a pizza in the oven or opening a can of soup. I'm sure I'll have lots of funny things to relay to all of you in the weeks to come.

Thanks for sticking with me. Bye for now.