Janine Quoted

Janine was quoted in the Covenant College Spring 2009 BUILD Newsletter about the improvements and remodeling of the campus library. See "milestones" on page 2 of the newsletter.

Koetsier Ranch

Nathan and I work very part time at Koetsier Ranch, setting up for the events taking place at the ranch, as well as off-site catering events. Janine has worked there in the past also. Koetsier Ranch was featured in the Valley Voice this past week. More pictures of Koetsier Ranch can be viewed at their website.

Agriculture in Central California

I love to see all the farming that goes on around us in Tulare County, California. We are already past the green season, anything not watered is getting brown and dry. If you walk through any weeds your socks get full of stickers, especially from the fox tails. Fruit is growing on the trees and vines, alfalfa has had 1 to 2 cuttings. Alfalfa is one of my favorite field crops because it is green, smells good, and is not tall and obstructive to the view like corn.
Today my brothers' field behind our house got the winter wheat chopped. Experienced silage choppers can get the wheat straw hauled in with well orchestrated maneuverings of their trucks and tractors. There were 3 mowers, 1 rake, 2 choppers, 10 silage trucks, 2 mechanics/gas pickups, 1 water truck to keep the dust down, and 1 tractor starting to plow. (I'm not even sure if these are the correct names for all of the equipment!)
Ree, of thepioneerwoman.com , always shows pictures of what is happening on her ranch in Oklahoma. I think it is very interesting to learn about different areas and people via blogs, so here are some scenes from California.

Monday, Monday II

Since it is Monday again it is time to do laundry.
See, I am doing quite well, I have some loads lined up to go into the dryer. And being the good wife that I am I also made sure to wash Keith's wallet with all of its contents. Why was he at work and the wallet at home in his jeans pocket? Hopefully he doesn't need to buy gas or anything else today! Hopefully ATM and credit cards still work after a run through the washer!

Keith's Costume

Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones, Sr.

Keith Haveman as Professor Henry Jones, Sr.

Keith is ready for work in his costume. He got voted as having the best costume.

Keith Is Coming home From Work

Sewing Again

I got some sewing in again today. I can tell school is winding down. Today I made a skirt for Lorissa. It was going to have a zipper, but I changed my mind and made it with an elastic waist band. I really love this fabric so it was fun to work on. The sewing machine gave me some problems so I cleaned out a bunch of fuzz and re-threaded it and it worked better.

Some sewing tips from an infrequent seamstress: use good thread, make sure you thread machine correctly, iron as you go, take your time, take breaks, and pin things carefully.

Sewing Costume Accessories

Keith needs a costume for work on Thursday. He is going as Professor Henry Jones from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After a search at several thrift stores, family, and friends we scored a tweed coat from Ed. I decided to sew a bowtie and hat. For the bow tie I got a pattern off the Internet and made a batwing style bow tie. I got a 99 cent McCalls pattern for a woman's hat, that worked perfectly. I am glad I got a pattern, it had some good sewing tips that made the sewing much easier.

California Oranges

It is such a pleasure to wake up and smell the orange blossoms. It is amazing that the five small citrus trees in our yard can counteract the usual dairy smell that we have around here. The blossoms are also beautiful.