Pioneer Life

 I truly love the rural courthouses of my state.  Throckmorton County is located in just west of the Palo Duro Canyon.  The county has a population of 1,641 in the 2010 census a decline of 209 people since the 2000 census.  Throckmorton is the County Seat.  The population is 828 down from 905 in 2000 census.

Cattle, Cotton and Oil make up the economy of the county.  Some grains also are grown by farms/ranches.

Larry and I were in Throckmorton to attend the RA Brown Ranch Dispersal Sale in October.  This gave me the opportunity to add two more counties to mark off as having photographed their courthouses.  I decided to work immediately on the photos of  Throckmortion County Courthouse.

Already undergoing renovation the Courthouse Annex is completed.  One can visit Facebook to view what the renovation to the courthouse will look like.  I am thrilled to have taken photos of the courthouse before renovation.  Right now the courthouse stands empty waiting for the renovation.

With most of the family tree complete for both sides of the family I am reminded I have very easy life in comparison to my ancestors.  When Larry pulled into a parking place the first two things I saw was a park bench outside a business and a sculpture.  I was enthralled by the sculpture before me.  How many times had I done exactly what this women was doing.  Too many to count.  Has life changed that much for a woman who chooses to live a rural life.  Not a lot except maybe for electricity.  Our first home we built in East Texas was wood heated, no central heat.  I split more wood then I can even begin to think about.  Our new home we build at the ranch will have both central heat and wood heat.  Electricity is fickle and dies at the first site of wind or thunderstorm.  

A bucket in one hand and an axe in another.  Her chores never done.

I'll be working on Throckmorton County Courthouse photos over the next few months.

I'm using this layout as my CKCB Challenge #2 entry.  I had to change the color of something on my page.  I change two things.  My base paper is the "B" side of Fancy Pants Collecting Moments Inch by Inch is a graph.  I took three stencils to change the color of background using my Tim Holtz Distressed Inks.  Most of the Micro Burst Stencil is covered but you can see some of the green rays around the doily.  I also chose to use Crafters Workshop 6x6 Chevron Arrow Stencil.  Finally I took the CM Petal Multi-Maker Punch and made my own stencil with the results seen in the right above the photos.  Thought it gave a nice southwest feel.  A few more splats of Slate Glimmer Mist around the page and my background done.  From there I took the Jillibean Soup Poloroid Mat.  Took the "Life" Frame and went from white to aged pink with Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist and Vintage Photo Distressed Ink.  You can see a close up of the layout here.

I'd like to thank Studio Calico for their sketch as my inspiration found on my Pinterest Sketch Board!

Stay tuned.

Hello Fall

I remember vividly the fall season when our family lived in Niagara Falls and Wilmington, DE.  Beautiful rich colors of the trees and a trip into Pennsylvania for apples from the farm.  All those vivid pictures stored neatly in my brain from before the age of 10.  To my amazement the tree across our driveway at the ranch in 2010 burst forth color hardly ever seen from a native tree.  Had to document the tree in this glorious color!

I used Papers from Studio Calico, Echo Park and Ruby Rock-it.  Embellishments from Fancy Pants, Prima and Studio Calico.  Stencil from Crafters Workshop, Mists and Paints from Art Anthology and Tattered Angels.  Inks from Tim Holtz Distressed Line.

Looking in the distance across my neighbor's pasture is pretty green trees!  I thought while at the ranch this weekend I would take the photo of the same tree this year just a few days over three years.

This time you see dead trees in the back of the tree and water.  In 2010 our neighbor built a tank and chose not to cut the trees down in part of the area where the water would back up.  A common practice to allow cover for fish.  As you can see the grass is shorter and the tree just turning color.

At the same time I am reminded that the early fall rains we have had in abundance I might add have allowed for rye grass to come up and given the summer grasses somewhat a spurt of growth in the warm days of October this year.  Yet you do not see the tall summer grasses we had in fall of 2010.  2011 would put my world to a test that it had not seen since the droughts of the '30's and '50's.  The old timers around town would say the summer of 2011 was far worse then the Dust Bowl.  And it certainly claimed many trees.  Somehow this tree survived.

You can see the damage the drought caused as it fought to survive and did.

Living in my world at the ranch is an amazing one.  Like wishing I had the camera as I sat in the Kawasaki Mule and some movement caught my eye of a baby skunk within arms reach waddling by as if he owned the world back in 2007.  Or would have that youngster given me a spray I would never forget!  And I could list many more treats I get to see.  Life is very constant, my world moves in circles from one season to the next, one calving season to the next, from birth to death of a tree, an animal, or the garden. The cycle never ceases and the circle always begins again.  It's a constant I can count on never changing.  I wouldn't trade my life as a rancher for anything in the world.

I used my Mother Nature I put together for CKCB.  Do check what others have created with their kits.  I would also like to thank deanna13, a member of ACOT's community for the pointing me to the Creative Scrappers Sketch #255 for my inspiration.

May each of you have a blessed day!

Documented

One of the most popular words in scrapping right now is "documented."  It is as scrapper what we are doing, documenting our lives and the lives of those who came before us in my case with the heritage photos I have!  Instead of buying just a photo album for my son I am documenting his life with his photos through my eyes, and giving the ongoing album(s) to him.  On occasion I put in one of the photos I've taken.  I was thrilled to participate in the Moore, OK Benefit Crop!  The one challenge which was an absolute must do was the Layering Challenge by Kimmie Robinson.  Most of the products on the page came from the Paper Bakery Kits March 2013 Scrapbooking Kit.

I drew my inspiration for my first layer from one of the Design Team Members at Split Coast Stampers over lunch when we took three classes together at Crop Paper Scissors in Waco.  And I'm terribly sorry I don't remember her name.  Her comment was, 'Since your analytically inclined why not use numbers on your layout.'  Took me 10 months to do so.  This is a photo of one of my son's best friends and a young man who is like a second son to me.

I loved this layout when I was done!  And I'm hooked.....just haven't done another layering layout since I did this one!  But I will!  It's a great way to use up the scraps.

Until next time!

Odds and Ends

Yay!  September is here and the heat will break sometime this month!  My favorite time of year is just around the corner.....FALL!

I just have not felt like blogging!  There is a new design team over at Nuts About Sketches.  I made the decision in July to not run for another term.  Yet, I'll still be using Shawn's sketches at times for my layouts!

I have gotten into PL style scrapping starting on my Mother and Grandmother's cruise in 1984.  How I wish I could have gone with them.  Neither one can take photos...but there are some good ones.  My choice of Pocket Pages is from We Are Memory Keepers Multi-pack.  Love them!

Of course I picked them up for A Cherry on Top!  Here's a couple of Layouts using the pages:

 

One of my favorite photos taken during their cruise as my grandmother celebrates her 80th birthday!

I offered to redo the album for Mom as the album is failing.  It will be her birthday present in exactly two months.  I'll probably share more this month and next.  I also will be working on four minis for my family as presents for Christmas.  Come to think of it I'm not sure I have even told anyone in my family I have a blog except for the kids and hubby.  May have to change that after the first of the year.

One of the ladies on the message board at ACOT mentioned the blog, Counterfeit Kit Challenge.  I made a mental note a couple of months ago but never looked for it.  Towards the middle of last month after making the decision to sadly drop Paper Bakery Kit Club from November through Feb.  I have made spent so much the last 4-5 months I just have to use what I have.  In my journey of scrapping I have moved from stressing over paper selection on a layout to working within manufacturer's lines, to a kit club.  Being apart of my first kit club has fully freed me from almost all of my boxes.  I just have one box I will always struggle with....that analytic mind that is more comfortable with science and math instead of creativity.  I truly think over the next 5-7 months I can reduce that stash while being inspired to make my own kits from within my stash.  So I searched for Counterfeit Kit Challenge last month.  I was totally confused and over the next two weeks I studied the blog!  Happy to say I'm ready to tackle the challenge and have some great fun!  Due to the cruise album and then the minis, I'm choosing to put together a small kit when I get bored with PL style scrapping this month. I'll post my kit tomorrow so stay tuned!

Intelligent

What fun this week's sketch is over at Nuts About Sketches!  It's week #264 with an excellent sketch!

I rotated the sketch and kept the elements using mostly Studio Calico to once again do a layout with Zuby as the focus.  I am also wondering, 'Is vellum coming back in?'  I hope so.  The Studio Calico paper and vellum along with the Simple Stories Burlap paper came in my January Paper Bakery Scrapbooking Kit.  I used the vellum for the circle element in my layout.  Everything else came out of my stash.  Fun sketch....oh yeah, I already wrote that!

My daughter took this photo Summer '09.  I probably have written about how intelligent Zuby is. One of the first things I remember learning about horses is to look at their eyes.  They will always without fail tell you exactly how the horse is feeling at that moment.  You quickly get an idea of his intelligence and character.  I can tell from the base of his ear that they are pricked forward and he's wondering why with interest what Lynn is doing.  At the same time it didn't take him long to become bored with the black box going 'click.'  Having him born in my arms I can immediately read what his mood is and what is interesting him at the time.  And how quickly he will find it either boring or continue his interest.  Lynn took some other photos this day which I will scrap soon. They show it didn't take him long to find much more interesting things to occupy that constantly moving mind of his.

I hope you enjoy this week's sketch and will take a peek at the amazing work the design team came up with!

Until next time!

A Scrappy Weekend for Me!

This weekend I'm happily scrapping.  So before I dive head first into all things paper for the weekend I thought I would share a few things going on over at A Cherry on Top.  May 4th is the NSD Crop from 9am-9pm.  There are a terrific team of hostesses this year who will provide us with a wonderful time for 12 hours.  If you have never been to an ACOT Crop mark your calendar and join the ACOT Community.  The forum is already buzzing with activity.

I'm very proud of myself this week as I just have really stepped up on the number of layouts done this month.   There is so much inspiration floating all over the web but I really fell head over heals with The Becky Fleck Sketch Challenge - Week #38.  I knew just the photos to use!  My result below.

 

I chose to use Studio Calico Countryside collection which I just love love execpt I wish the cows on the paper were not Holstein's.  At least they are colored so I could look past the cows not being beef cattle.  I also pulled out some odds and ends from my Paper Bakery Kits.  It felt good to be in the home I have all of my embroidery and stitching happily away on my layout! I haven't done that in awhile. I have a 5x7 photo of these five Charolais heifers that I'll do a page from the same line. I prefer doing single page layouts, but I've been known quite often to put two single pages together in an album to form a double page spread.  I didn't win but each week ACOT offers a 1000 points to the winner worth a five dollar discount on your total order.  Of course the more points you collect the larger the discount.  And I think there is a $20 minimum on an order to use your points.  LOL, I sure can't stop at $20 when I purchase scrappy goodness.

Becky Fleck Sketch Challenge - #41 is up and all layouts must be posted in the same Gallery by midnight on Tuesday April 30th.  In otherwords it is 11:59 on the 29th.

The Challenges for April are all due in on Tuesday so if you are looking for some great inspiration then take a peek here.  Of course you can scroll down to yesterday's post to find the Heritage Challenge link I host.  Next month I'll be bringing the 4x4 back and I'm working on that layout for the example right now.  On May 1st come back and see both the Heritage and 4x4 Challenge examples on Wednesday's post!

Until Monday may you have a blessed weekend!

Ibn Zubaydahh

I want everyone to give a great big wave to Department of Homeland Security for doing their job!!!  It's just little ole me again with my Arabian Horses.  This time it's Zuby, with his registered name Ibn Zubaydahh and as you scroll through my blog you'll find his sire is Tammen and his dam is Zubaydahh.  And he has an older full brother Abcar Ibn Tammen aka AC.  By the way DHS investigator we appreciate you keeping us safe and please

I had an absolutely wonderful time using this sketch from Nuts About Sketches #258!  

Zuby is pictured here in May of 1993 as a young colt.  He's showing off a little and having some fun.

Now at the age of 21 he still plays in the pasture with his friend Bogart when he's feeling really good.  He has lived a year with thyroid cancer and shows no sign of  an additional slow down since being diagnosed a year ago. Everyday I treasure each and every interaction I have with this grand old gentleman.  I noticed this weekend Zuby has self braid his mane in to one horrible mess that only a pair of scissors will fix.  How he does that in a single day is beyond me!  He constantly reminds our now four year old Bogart that with age comes wisdom.  And I have seen in the last year Bogart has learned a huge amount from Zuby on how to live life as well as still defer to his best friend as herd leader although it is only the two of them.

Now you might be wondering why I'm writing about DHS.  I suppose with the recent happenings in Boston they will once again come looking at me.  Zubaydahh was born in the early 1980's given her name by her breeder Tom McNair a respected trainer/breeder in the Arabian Breed.  When I posted the layout in 2010 I happened a little under a week later on looked at the tracking of entries into our ranch website via our web server.  I wasn't surprised I was investigated I just didn't think I would know.  Not my fault my mother's beloved mare would share a name with a terrorist who would be killed by our country or that she would name Zu's last foal after his mother 21 years ago.  The difference is in the spelling of the name Zu had two "h's" where the evil one had one "h". They will find little ole me with Arabian horses, Lowline Cattle, an avid scrapper, and a huge love for my country and it's deep history I so dearly love to continue to learn.  I am a constant reader as it relates to my family lineage all the way back to the Pilgrims on my side of the family and on Larry's side the tidewater of North Carolina and how his family arrived in Texas before Stephan F. Austin.  They will also find out how much I love my state and it's rich history as the only state to have once been a nation.  One of my favorite sites is Texas Courthouses.  We have the most amazing collection of courthouses in the state.  I've started on my journey to photograph all 254 courthouses as well as scrap those photos.  It's a bucket list thing for me. They have written in the past it's a 200,000 mile journey on the Texas Courthouse website.  I am so excited at the prospect to see every one and read of the history of each county on the historical markers that can be found at each courthouse.  And if you wonder here's a layout of the Leon County Courthouse with more to come.

So wave to DHS on your way out and know they are really trying to keep us safe.  Have a great day Mr. or  Ms DHS investigator!

And a big whoop with two posts in two days!