8/07/2012

Patrice, her Porch and her Amazing Daughters


For many weeks over the past year, I have been visiting with Patrice and friends on her porch. What fun we've had! But before I begin today's visit, I want to let you know about two of Patrice's daughters.

One of the amazing daughters Patrice has been blessed with was the one who changed my blog from what it was to what it is. She gave Homeschool on the Croft the makeover it needed, and when she showed me the new look, it was exactly what I wanted.

 She is: 

"a freelance writer and photographer, entering college this fall to study Journalism. I'm a bookworm, homeschool graduate, and oldest of four. In my spare time (ha!), I enjoy web design. You can find me at my blog, Farmgirl Writes." 

Three cheers for Daughter #1 ...!

And then ... Wait for this. Last week, after Patrice's week-long party at Everyday Ruralty, I began getting messages from other bloggers who had been at The Porch, letting me know that Jackson was still at Patrice's. When I went to see what exactly was happening, this is what I found:


Do y'all remember the photo of Jackson, taken when he was a puppy? Well, Patrice's very talented daughter painted this wonderful picture from that photo.

How cool is that! Three cheers for Daughter #2 too!

And all this just goes to prove what I've said before: Aren't daughters wonderful!

And so to today's visit on Patrice's porch, and here are her questions:

1. Do you like to sing? What kind of music are you likely to sing?

I do have a tendency to hum a tune throughout all my daily chores. Normally, I guess, it's the last tune to have gone through my ears, so it'll probably be a hymn or psalm tune.

The Wee Guy sings almost all the time when he's pottering in the house, or playing by himself. He's often to be heard beginning a specific tune that's sung to a psalm, but the third line begins in a similar way to the American Anthem, and so the tune that has begun with a Scottish Psalter tune, ends with the Star Spangled Banner!

2. Do you watch soap operas (daytime TV), or have you ever?

No. I'm not sure we have that kind of thing here in the UK, really. Well, I guess we probably do, come to think of it, because it's possible to get loads of different channels, so I reckon some of them must show daytime soaps. 

As a teenager I used to watch Coronation Street, which was on on a Monday and Wednesday evening (if my memory serves me correctly). I also remember when the soap Eastenders began - it's set in the East End of London, and appeared to me to be the greyest, dullest thing I'd ever seen! I guess for those who watched it, it wasn't so grey or so dull, because it's still running - twenty or thirty years since its inception.

Borrrrring!

3. Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Nope. I'd assumed by my mid-forties that I'd be needing glasses, by so far, my sight is spot-on. We have something of a gender divide in our household with glasses-wearing being a rather male-dominated sport.

4. What's your favourite easy meal when the weather is hot?

Is that a trick question, Patrice?

What does it mean 'when the weather is hot'? Oh, hang on - I know what that is because I've read about it. It's when the temperatures go above 70F, or even 80F or even 90F. I have no experience of having to cook in such situations. I'm guessing in these situations a person wouldn't want to have to stand at a cooker, so I suppose I would choose to eat salads. Mind you, I can't think of having a salad without little baby potatoes, so they still have to be cooked. 

5. Tell me something about the past week.

Last week, the Wee Guy and the Builder left the island for a few days to go to the Black Isle Show. The pair of them went with the 'two uncles' - Big Brother and Baby Brother, so you can imagine the Wee Guy's excitement!

True to the form of the males in our family, the Builder did not have his camera, but fortunately, our pal, CA, was also there and he did get some photos.

Have a look at these. And while you look, remember who was taking the photos: his interests are cattle and sheep competitions!


Highlander bull

Limousin bull


Felicity ... I love you!

Highlander

And now onto the sheep ...

The real sheep were there. The lovely Blackface

Weirdo

Er, yes... You.

Don't try and intimidate me. You may look tough. You may BE tough. But you are WEIRD.

(With apologies to my photographer, who thinks Texels are fab.)

Gimme strength! This is too weird for words.

Hmmm ... Zwartbles

And there you have it. Not exactly something I did last week, but it was where the Wee Guy was, so that counts, right?

10 comments:

  1. i love those gorgeous cattle! and, yes, patrice's daughters are as talented as she is. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved all the animals! So pretty! I would love to have been there! AND I would love to have temps in the 70's, how wonderful. Here in Texas, USA the temps are in the high 90's with some days over 100. The humidity makes it feel even hotter. I am impatiently waiting for winter, hmmm, maybe I need to move to England. I also enjoyed hearing about Patrice's daughters. She is truly blessed! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. So glad you like the lady singing, she looks just like me. hahahahaha....not really! Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those sheep look humongous! And the limousine cattle - oh my! I have seen images of them before, but wow! Huge, like a limousine.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the sheep and cattle. Gorgeous pictures. Oh to think that 70 is hot. :) We have had many days of 105 with the humidity making it a "feels like" of over 110. It is cooling down now though, I think it just got in the low 90's today.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my goodness, those cattle are gorgeous! And those sheep with flat heads look strange. And it's been 110+ here in Oklahoma for the past several weeks. Today it was only 105 with some rain. I always love your posts and seeing your part of the world, amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would love to share some heat with you. We are supposed to have 111 on Saturday. It will be 106 tomorrow so I would love to have some, I wouldn't want you to have all of it. In fact, I would trade some weather. :)
    I loved the pictures of the show animals. We raised Limousin show cattle when I was growing up. Shorthorns too. We raised Suffolk sheep though. I loved all of your photos well not yours but you now what I mean. It was nice reading your chat.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a delightful post! I have been blessed with my girls.

    I enjoyed seeing the show. Those are some impressive cattle. We raise Black Angus, but have crosses of that lately. I like seeing the sheep. We are new to sheep. The flat headed sheep was interesting. It made me think of the American Pit Bull Dog, with its flat, wide head.

    You're fortunate to not need glasses. I'm not dependent on mine at all times, and that is a good thing. My sister has to find her glasses before she can do anything in the morning.

    Sorry about the hot weather question. When it goes over 100 degrees Farenheit, it's hard to think of lovely cooler weather. The sheep there must be so much happier than our sheep.

    Have a great week, and thanks for the kind words.
    Your print of Jackson will ship as soon as I get the print made.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, those are huge animals. I swear they look much smaller in the books I used to read my kids LOL. We live in the city where I'm just happy to see birds outside my window. I can't imagine standing next to one of those animals.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I loved all your answers! How different our perception of the weather is. I'm in South Florida, where 50 degrees Fahrenheit is considered cold and everyone breaks out their sweaters and jackets! Our temps have been in the upper 80s and low 90s, with heat indexes into the upper 90s. That's our "normal".

    I've been wearing glasses since I was a teen. They are the first thing I reach for in the mornings.

    Loved all the pictures! What beautiful animals, even the weird ones!

    Have a blessed rest of your week.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome pictures! Loved every single one of them! Patrice's daughter painted Tucker too! I was so surprised and totally delighted! I'm always amazed by the amount of talent in that family!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails