Howdy from Northern California! I agree with you about living on a farm. I was raised where there was lots of land to run around on...but no farm animals or crops :-)
Don't know if your mother (in-law?) and you might be interested, but there is a group of us on the board who will be starting to make The Farmer's Wife Quilt. Here's the link to the thread
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-52690-1.htm ...warning, it's 71 pages long...we'll be starting on Wednesday. It's a great group already and it's going to be fun. The explanation is at the beginning of the thread.
Anyhoo, welcome!