April 9, 2010

OINK the Pig

When we lived in Oregon, Winston was 3 and he wanted a elephant.  We couldn't get him an elephant, so we got him a pig instead.  We built a fenced in place up in the woods.  But our pig was social able and wasn't used to being quarantined.  As a result we were never able to keep him in the fenced in area for longer than 15 minutes.  He laid around the yard and the chickens would follow him and clean up after him.  He would run up in the woods and get muddy in the stream. We had a huge gas bottle and OINK would knock it over and turn it on and it would just spew gas. When we walked OINK went on a walk with us.  It was kinda scary because it was a country road and there were a lot of blind curves.  We were afraid that someone might hit OINK, and we would be responsible for it.   So one day Joe decided to tie OINK up.  We had an old farm tractor and we chained OINK to that using a VW seat belt for a "leash" around his middle.  Oink grew and grew.
     One day I was getting Winston and I ready to go to town and Joe started screaming.  He was in the Pig pen getting it some food when he accidentally got the chain wrapped around his leg.  I really didn't know what I could do because if the pig jerked one way the chain would probably tighten.  So I just had to hold my breath and watch.  Fortunately nothing serious happened.
     When OINK was really small he was adorable but when he got big, it wasn't hard for us to turn him into ham and pork chops.  OINK provided the best bacon we had ever had.  It didn't reduce in the pan but held it's shape.  It was also totally delicious cooked on a wood cook stove.  YUM.

 This gives you an idea how big the hexagons are.


 My goal is to quilt everything I can inside the hoop and move it over once a day.

I really enjoy quilting.
Last weekend I bought the new thimbles.  
I really like the gray one, and I am going to go back and get one for my thumb.

4 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

What an amazing story, But then, you ARE an amazing family!
I dare say, never a dull moment.
Not sure I liked the ending even though I imagine it is the one that made the most sense.
How did the children take to it, since he was a pet/family member for a good long time it seems?

Your quilting is so lovely. Bravo!!!

Quilt Architect said...

Well I don't think we ever fooled Winston into believing that we were raising this for anything other than meat. But we did got to the farm and bought the pig for 15.00. It was cute when it was a baby. Joe would bring home gallons of milk home for the pig that the small grocer could sell because it was close or past dated. The pig would run up to the truck when it heard Joe coming down the road. Joe would open the milk and pour the milk in like it was a quart of oil going in the car. Or he would bring rotten peaches home from the vegetable stand. The pig would just chew them up seed and all like jelly beans.

When I would try to get into the truck (before we had him tethered), the pig would try to rub his muddy nose on my pants. I was deathly afraid of the pig after seeing what it could do to the peaches...and I wasn't really that in love with him anyway and thought he might be able to read my mind.

When it was grown it was like having a rebellious teenager (you may look forward to the day they leave). I didn't have any rebellious teenagers but when I was raising this pig I did think about the comparison. It wasn't the cute little baby pig that we had picked up at the farm.

I didn't let Winston watch it being shot. He heard it and he knew what was going on.

We had chickens too...but I will save that story for another flower to visit.

Thank you for the compliment about the quilting. I am really enjoying it. I am going to talk more about the tools of the trade soon.

Anonymous said...

I loved your story about "Oink"
too funny! The quilt is turning
out beautiful! I like setting little
goals. I am about to sit down and
set quite a few goals for myself.
:)

the wild magnolia said...

I love true stories. Oink was a pig among pigs. For him to be so good for the table makes the memory of him even better.

Living in Oregon must have been a wonderful experience.

The quilt is coming along nicely. Beautiful design.

Great post!