Love your people - the quilted edition

I did a blog a few months ago (9 exactly actually) about loving your people now that we have lost one of our dear ones.  I am still "getting through" things and some days I simply put my feet on the floor and march forward and try not to cry all day.  We have good days and bad weeks but the good days are getting closer together now.  I am also trying to do things with people more and do more of the things that I love to do - like quilting.  So off I went to the family quit retreat this past April.  While I was there my family members gave me a special gift - The People Quilt!

One of my super creative cousins (Patricia) designed the quilt and sent out blocks for the family members.  Some did the X and O blocks in the center part (Kisses and Hugs the block is called), and others did the "people" blocks around the outside.  It was a funny story because when she sent the people blocks out she gave some simple directions and then about three days later she sent a note saying that the people they made needed to look like them!  AACK! is what most of the ladies said!

Here we are checking it out at retreat.  You can see some of the people, a soccer player and a ballerina (cousins daughters) there are a couple of cowboys (an aunt and a cousin), a fairy (cousins daughter), and everything in between!  All the blocks are signed but you can still tell who did which ones by looking at them.  They do look like the people who made them!

This is the bow from the package that the quilt was wrapped in - it was beautifully wrapped and this bow is hand made by the same creative cousin who designed the quilt.  The bee in the middle is felted wool and it is so cute!

Below is the label on the back of the quilt.  The quilt backing is a warn and wonderful fleece and it gives the quilt a really good weight for sleeping under.  

The flowers on the label are from a fabric that was used to make an anniversary quilt for an aunt and uncle - a beautiful forget me not fabric that has meaning for all of the family but is certainly appropriate for the quilt.

I had occasion to stay overnight at the Big Lake Rec Center while the High School was hosting a gun show - you'll learn more about that in another blog - but the people quilt came with me and made for a great sleep in the center and warm.  The people quilt is my new travel and every day sleeping quilt.  Ill give you some updates as we go as to the travels of the people quilt - its like my own version of "Flat Stanley".

There is a saying that when you sleep under a quilt you sleep under a blanket of love and this quilt is certainly,  literally sleeping under a blanket of love from my family where ever I go!

  Safe Journeys where ever you may go and may you have a blanket of love to sleep under when you get there!  Blessed Be!

Mamas New Boots

I have always had an issue with shoes and boots.  I love them and there are so many cute boots and shoes out there that one would think that I would be able to find exactly what I needed for farm/garden work easily.  Not so!  The problem you see is my feet!  They are flat and wide on the bottom but I have that high arch on the top that jams me up every time I try to get boots to wear.  I also have calves that are to die for - they are just huge!  It comes from being a long and triple jumper as well as gymnast in high school.   I had found a wonderful pair of rain boots - black with pink polka dots and not too tall that they had to be rolled down to accommodate my giant calves - many years ago and this year they finally just wore out!  I will upcycle them soon - look for that in an upcoming blog.  So the race was on to find some boots that would fit toot sweet!  I also like something that is easily slip on - I never go out the door with nothing in my hands it seems, and I dont need to have to put every thing down so I can wrestle with a boot and then try to gather it up to go out.

And then there is the fisherman in the family!  Who also needed new boots since last summer due to another growth spurt!  I know you cant tell but both of these guys are wearing rain boots of some type!  Reed is the guy on the right in this photo and that is a King Salmon that weighs about 25 pounds give or take.  Colton Conner is on the left and he is the owner of Drifterz Paradise Fishing Charters where Reed was lucky enough to be hired and is in training to be a fishing guide.  He has got his guide license with the State and he is waiting on his Maritime Credentials to arrive.  He took the two day (16 hour) class and passed with flying colors. (check them out on facebook also here). Such a great thing!  But I digress!  Of Course!

Alaska is home to a couple of other fishermen (women actually), the Salmon Sisters - if you havent heard of them - its a great story - they have helped to design some XtraTuf boots for the Alaskan way of life.

Above photo is the Salmon Sisters boots that I first saw when I was looking for boots.  I LOVE those octopus boots but the Salmon ones are cool too and so stylin'!  But alas finding ones that will fit my weird feet is a challenge!  But Reed had chosen a pair of XtraTuf deck boots and XtraTuf ships free to Alaska so I thought "what the heck - Ill try a mens boot and see how it does for me."  I have worn mens tennis shoes often as they are wider and make a better fit for me.  So we ordered up our sizes!

Reed got these white ones!

Mama got these blue ones!!  They are Wicked Sweet and they fit great.  They easily slip on and they are comfortable and best of all they are waterproof!

They are a total fashion statement I know and I'm pretty sure there were some ladies in the Lowe's store checking out my boots over this last weekend and a few dudes too for that matter - so jealous!

Isn't it amazing how the right equipment can make such a difference in our lives - right down to our cool blue boots!  Im pretty sure at this point that I have more "foot selfies" than I do actual "selfies"  but no matter.  I have been wearing these for about two weeks now and im pretty sure they will go great with a skirt I have so I can wear them to work!  

I hope you have some fun outdoor gear that makes your farm face smile at least once during your hard working day!  Happy Spring!

An Ecosystem Damaged - A Millers Reach Fire historical

20 years ago here in Big Lake Alaska, and specifically here on Wicked Raven Farm (before it became Wicked Raven that is) a fire broke out at Millers Reach, which is actually a road about 5 miles from the farm.  The fire came on a June day after a winter nearly devoid of snow and a spring that was drier than a popcorn fart!  At the time of the fire we lived off of Knik Goose Bay Road which is about 10 miles as the crow flies but takes about 30 minutes to drive to from the farm.  Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the fire path and the fire came within about 1/4 mile from the house we lived in.  Hubby had the sprinklers on the roof of the house and the garage and we had ash and floating embers landing on the house for days.  In Big Lake it was an inferno.

Photo by Brent Johnson

The fire burned hot and fast.  It burned across the property here at Wicked Raven Farm hot enough that it burned off all of the organics in the soil.  What was left was the clay for about 6 inches, then a 3 inch layer of ash and then sand and thats about it!  The house survived because it has a steel roof and the helicopters were able to drop water from the lake on the roof and keep it from catching fire- that and the homeowner at the time took a dozer and pushed all of the trees off of the property from the lake to the road.  The resulting brush pile completely burned away - we cannot even find the spot where it sat.

The Government came in and declared the area a disaster.  They offered trees for planting in any of the fire areas, paper birch mostly - we call the 16 birch in our yard our "government trees" and we laugh about it a little.  We don't laugh about the lack of soil quality here - I have to bring in dirt for anything I want to do - as you read about  in my Wicked Birthday Dirt post.  Keep in mind we didn't move here for the property - other than the lake and we never imagined that the soil would have burned off so badly.

Above photo shows our "Government Trees" lining the driveway - of course with our dogs enjoying the fall day!

We also don't laugh about the fact that it has been 20 years and the beavers have not returned to our area!  Trees have grown up and we have seen many muskrats, an otter, and other great wild life but no beavers have come back to a system of 5 lakes that all have Beaver in the name!  We are on Little Beaver, next to us is West Beaver, then Big Beaver, and a little to the right of that is Beaver Tail and just plain Beaver Lake.  Obviously there were a large number of the beaver in the system before the fire ravaged the food sources.  We also find tons of the beaver chewed tree leavings in the lake as we are paddling around in the small boat.  Where did they go and why have they not come back?

Im hoping to find some research about the area since we are at almost 21 years later and a number of studies surely have been done about what this fire did to the area.  I can't find anything about the beavers though.  Ill keep looking and keep you posted!  Stay tuned!

Happy Spring - a growing gift!

Spring is coming soon here at Wicked Raven Farm and Easter is just passed! Easter is a favorite holiday here mostly because it means coloring eggs, hiding and finding eggs and  that soon fun spring things will be growing!

I am always looking for little "gifts of grow" for kids, friends and family.  I think it important to have little reminders throughout the year about new beginnings and growing things and for the kids to have a feeling of accomplishment by growing flowers, veg or fruit trees.

Here is an easy gift for spring or for an Easter Basket for friends, kids, co-workers and family!

Gather up your old spice jars, empty prescription bottles (yes I know its not the best but I cant bear to throw them out and they are perfect for this), or those little jars that sample ketchup and mustard come in and rinse and dry them thoroughly.  Make sure you have the lids - you can make it work without the lids but its harder.

Get a bulk (I got a pound) of Nasturtium, Sweet Pea, or other flower seed that has kind of a big size.  Even sunflower and pumpkin or melon would work.  Fill the jars almost full with the seeds you have chosen.

Use small mailing labels to create a label for your jars.  Mine have a background of Sweet Peas and Nasturtiums and say "Dwarf Sweet Peas and Nasturtiums" and "Happy Spring".   Put the labels on the jars and you can either give them as is or dress them up with a bit of ribbon or raffia around the rim!  For some of these ones I used sweet pea fabric strips around the lids so it sort of matched the theme of my seeds.

I also like to keep a few of these on hand to give whenever I need a quick hostess gift or other small gift for something, it can even be a stocking stuffer for the right person!  Put it with a small pot filled with Easter grass and its a perfect hostess gift or housewarming gift even!

Happy Spring!