Ol' Blue

I found a picture of Ol’ Blue, recently. Some of you may remember me telling the story of her before. If you haven’t, well here goes!

I started driving Blue, a 1980 Ford, when I was 4! Yes, four! My daddy would load hay in the back of ol’ blue and we would head out to feed cows. My mom was expecting my brother and didn’t go out to feed with us. Daddy would stick her in granny gear (1st gear) and stand me up in the seat, jump out and start throwing hay out to the cows as the truck inched along. Now I don’t remember the day I must’ve drove crooked, but I’ll NEVER forget the day I drove straight!

As daddy was getting out of the truck, he kept telling me to “drive straight.” As I approached a big water hole, I pondered his words and my 4 year old self reasoned that if he wanted me to drive around that water hole, he wouldn’t have pointed me in the direction of the wet spot and emphasized “drive straight.” So I didn’t go around it. When ask why, I said “but daddy, you said drive straight!” We walked home on a cold winter day and got the John Deere tractor and went and pulled her out.

Flash forward 10 years and I drove her all over the community, to church, grandmama’s house, checking cows and following the tractors between hay fields. (I got my first paycheck for driving a tractor at age 11.) Drivers Ed was only a technicality and the first time I ever drove an automatic... where was the clutch?!?

The air conditioner spit water at you (it felt good on a hot summer day) and operated with a light switch, the radio only worked with a wire running from under the steering wheel and wrapped around the radio dial. More than 1 pillow had been lost in the seat. The bed was held together with a cable, because too many loads of hay and fire wood were wearing it out. Daddy locked his keys in it one night and reached through the floor board and opened the door. A wheel took off in the opposite direction of the truck one time. Everyone teased I would drive her to school when I turned 16. I always said no way!

One day daddy called from Lone Star Steel and said to meet him when his swing shift was over with a truck and trailer. Ol’ Blue had died, just a few months before I turned 16. I was relieved I didn’t have to drive her to school... but dang, we lost a good farm truck that day!

As today is “Labor Day,” I’m reminded of our upbringing - this long weekend would have been a prime square baling weekend. Daddy usually would take vacation from work to work even harder in the hay fields and we would be out of school to drive tractors, rake hay, and pull hay wagons. There would be many loads that looked similar to this!

We were taught “work before play.” Take care of your responsibilities, before the rodeos, play days, and 4-H shows, etc. We worked hard, but we played hard too! Today I’m thankful for a family that taught us the value of hard work and responsibility!

On the Road Again!

So you probably didn't know I was off the road... well, I was, but I wasn't. Let me explain. Last October, my truck broke down. Since then, we've borrowed vehicles, coordinated trips and schedules like none other. Juggling the farm, appointments, work, caring for family members, and even just trips to the grocery store, post office, and to get supplies were carefully thought out. It was hard, it was humbling. The winter was tough, because of our vehicle situation and dealing with the after effects of the drought last year and the subsequent high cost  and shortage of feed for the animals at the farm. But we survived and are extremely thankful for the ones who have been there to help us out!

Early summer, I finally admitted that I might need something different, other than a truck to drive. (I keep hoping that one day Jeff can fix mine.) I searched and studied and let me tell ya, buying a vehicle makes me nauseous. It's the worst.  I've always heard the saying "don't trust a horse trader." Well, it didn't take much looking and checking to remind myself why I have never placed much trust in a car salesmen either. Lordy mercy! The contradicting post on marketplace and Craigslist, and the sales tactics by some are so dang sketchy... It gave me headaches and stressed me out. Most of my vehicles have all been purchased from family or friends, so we knew something about them, yet one of them lied to us about the actual mileage.

I missed out on a couple of affordable vehicles, being an hour late to see the post...

I saw a vehicle sitting in town one day and stopped to look at it. A little higher mileage than I was really looking for. A few days later, a friend called me about it, because she knew I was looking and she knew the people who owned it and that it had been well taken care of. A few days later, it showed up on Facebook marketplace and was still available, when we finally decided to see if we could take a test drive. It was one of the busiest weeks and I said I didn't have time to deal with buying a vehicle during the middle of a show, but we did!

We feel like we dealt with a very honest person and the vehicle has been well maintained. Searching the make and model, they all appear to have a very long life, when taken care of. So, a few thousand miles back down the road, we got us a new (old) vehicle, that has became known as "the wagon" at our house. I've always maintained the thought that a "vehicles job is to get you from point a to point b" and it really doesn't matter so much about age or appearance, as long as it can complete the task at hand. I've hauled a lot of things in my pick up truck and looking back, sometimes I wonder how we got it all in there at times, but we did it. It did it's job and served us well in that season.

When searching for something new, we decided an SUV would probably be the best fit for us. ( I really, really did not want a minivan!) Rear cargo space was a must, with seats that fold down. Hauling flowers and going to shows, we need a place to haul all our inventory and I must say the 6 foot area is pretty exciting and having a back access door, instead of having to load everything from the side doors, is great. Our gridwall can even fit in there!

So while I'm not a "look at my new vehicle" type of person, I am excited to have my own ride again and be able to move out more freely and have something to get the job done. The fact that its the smoothest and nicest vehicle I've ever owned is really just icing on the cake and you know what - it's older than my truck was and has a couple hundred thousand miles on it!  It does have heated seats and the duel control heat and air works! (The heat on the drivers side of my truck didn't work properly and I absolutely hate being cold, so I'm sure the heated seats will be put to good use this winter!)  I've even been able to start using my new air fresheners and decorate my mirror again! To all of the one or no vehicle families out there, I get you. I understand how hard it can be and hope you have the opportunity to get something of your own, soon. New vehicles are so outrageously priced, that's not even a consideration for us. Now, if we can get those dang telemarketers to quit calling about extended warranty, we would be good, because they certainly will hang up on you when you say you've got 200,000 miles on your ride!

By the way, have you seen all the new car air fresheners and key chains we've been making? They come with cute graphics, but the air fresheners are unscented, so you can add your own essential oils or perfume to them. Find them in my etsy shop here or on my website here.

With our fall show season, we will definitely be loading down the wagon as we travel to our events, because as I've always heard "You can't sell out of an empty wagon!"  

Now back to sewing and working on things for fall and Christmas! Hopefully we will get to see you down the road sometime soon!

Vintage Lace and Doily Tunic Top

I've been brainstorming and wanting to create some type of lace top for a while now. Wednesday, I had to go to Longview (about 35  miles away) to pickup flower supplies. On my way to there, I finally got the vision for what I wanted to make and couldn't wait to get back home. Even though I had a few wreaths that had to be made, I had to dig out my buckets of lace, doilies, and hankies, and lay out my idea! 

No pattern, no measuring, I just started laying everything out. I was able to get everything pinned and started sewing, before I had to quit and go make wreaths, that had to be delivered Thursday morning.

Thursday afternoon, I was able to get back to the sewing machine and 4 bobbin refills later, the top is finished! I believe this is the first clothing item that I have made from scratch. I always tell people I add to shirts, but don't make them... truth be told, I struggle trying to read a pattern. I really should have wrote down the measurements for this one, though. 

While we were out Thursday morning, we found the pants at a garage sale... they were super cute and I knew I had to have them! Got them home and they were too big. The top folds over like yoga pants, so I decided to sew the flap down and insert an elastic piece. Pretty happy with how they turned out as well and they matched my new tunic top! 

Good news is that I didn't have sewing machine issues while I was working on this  (read: no mental breakdown, hissy fits, or ugly words!)  and I've got plenty of lace to make more! I am planning to make a few more before our show at Vintage Market Days of East Texas in September, so stay tuned.

This was my Thursday morning Facebook post and I think it sums up this top!