Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Back home again in Indiana


May has been a very busy month and lest you think I've been idle, that most certainly has not been the case. I've done a lot of sewing...so much so that my 30 year old Viking sewing machine broke down and I had to quickly purchase a Singer backup machine until the Viking is repaired.

In addition to sewing I've made all of the wedding invitations, reply cards, thank you notes, napkins, bubble wand tags, placecards and table numbers for my brother and new sister-in-law's wedding. Fun times and really busy.

The wedding took place last weekend in the town I grew up in: Michigan City, Indiana. Oh how WONDERFUL it was to be back home again in Indiana. My hubster and I plan to retire in Indiana in just three more years and I cannot wait until that day arrives. In fact, we did look at a couple of "hobby farm" properties for sale while we were there. Just looking and getting an idea for what is available.

Looking at Indiana's countryside and farm houses and barns has a special place in my heart. Indiana has a very large number of round barns that was a popular style of barn architecture around the turn of the century and beyond. There are still many round barns standing and this round barn is just outside of my hometown. Of course it has had some loving help to preserve it and is not in use as a barn anymore, but I just love to drive past it and the memories of seeing it as a child flood my mind and heart.


Isn't it gorgeous? Indiana isn't the only state where round barns were built and used, but it still has a lot still standing. Sadly, though, far too many of the original round barns have been destroyed or not maintained. They really were fabulous barns and an interesting piece of architectural history.

On my next trip to go back home again in Indiana I want to drive around to more of the round barns and photograph them. Due to the commitments and time restraints we had this past weekend, it wasn't condusive to a lot of "barn shoots" but there are so many round barns and each one is unique.

If you are interested in seeing more photos of some of the round barns of Indiana check out this link of the book The Quiet Path: Round Barns of Indiana . The link should allow you to turn pages through the book to view the photos.

My garden is growing nicely, but now that I'm home I'm spending the rest of the week weeding and putting up pea netting for the peas to climb on. It is also finally warm enough that I can work on the front flower beds. And the dogs are in desparate need of grooming. They had a blast at the kennel last weekend and came home muddy and matted to prove that how much fun they had on their farm stay. It's all good! :)

So posts of cardmaking and sewing and gardening to come. Oh, and some book reviews too. I had 13 hour car drive to get to Indiana so I had plenty of time to read.

Until later!
Cheers!
Jennifer

2 comments:

  1. Jennifer I've just always thought you were from Canada... I guess that's why you have no accent, lol.

    I've never seen round barns, they're not very common here in CO. Happy to hear that you enjoying your time in Indiana.

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  2. Hey! Did you drive? Did you go thru Michigan and south on I-69 if you did? Glad you had a great time and got started looking for THE perfect retirement place. I am going to have to take a few moments when I have time and check out those round barns. LOVE old barns, but I won't bore you to tears. Thanks for letting us know what you've been up to.

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