Random

I catch myself talking to the computer a lot. Especially when the computer does something that I don't want. (Hubby says talking is a mild word for what I do) I have a mouse with a mind of its own and the thing is.... it does things that make me really confused and slightly p.o.'d. Maybe I'll be working on something and all of a sudden there's a totally different page from the one that I was working on... It's like I'm walking along and suddenly I trip up and when I look back to see what I tripped on , there's nothing there. Hubby says that I type too fast and I'm not really that good.... harummff! I do type fast but, 'not being that good?'.... well really! Every now and again I'll be typing away and right out of the blue I'm typing in all caps... like how did that happen?!!.... I tend to think that there are little pixies that live in the keyboard and every so often they think it is... har, har... funny to trip me up mid sentence and screw around with what I am doing in an effort to convince me I'm crazy. Sometimes I think it is working.....

Yesterday was a great day to catch up on reading and rest.... having been up half the night meant that I was in no fit state to do anything. However, along about 7 p.m. I got my second wind and suddenly I was full of vim and vigor. I worked away on my Jacket commission and got a nice bit of spinning done and will carry on today on that, but in between it all, I did manage to get my silk skein of my midnight hours of spinning, into my book with a write up and so that is question 2 done. I will carry on working today on the jacket commission, as I said, but as soon as it turns dark out will come my silk rovings and I will start on a silk knitting yarn and I have the perfect idea....

One of the blogs that I follow is my level 3 instructor's blog and recently she posted a picture of a divine sweater that I adore so I am going to try to copy the cabled yoke or come up with something that is close as my 3" x 3" swatch. It is just too pretty. If I have to ad lib then I will, but my 3" x 3" sample will have been inspired by something that is just lovely. I also have an idea for my silk 3" x 3" woven sample..... but more about that later....

I have discovered that my couch is a great place to sit and spin. Perfect height, perfect slope, perfect depth for my back, perfect all round. I get to be with the family for spinning while they do homework, or work on the computer. It is great and meanwhile I still have my studio space for storing all my spinning stuff and keeping it out of sight.... that's great. We are keeping the office in the main room and putting the dining room out in the new room along with my studio and it all works out. I'll have to post pictures by and by when I can.... (my batteries need recharging again).

Well I am looking out on all my sheep and alpacas and they are having a quiet morning.... they are milling about yomping down pins from the Christmas trees. My ewes are all impregnated I hope.... there's only one that I'm not sure the ram got. So we will be expecting lambs in the spring again. I did have to fall back on my black BFL (Blue Faced Leichester) which means that I'm sure there will be a bunch of black lambs.... not something I wanted, (I wanted more white) but my white ram was just a little too young to do the job. We will be downsizing the flock as we are having trouble keeping up with all the hay they need. This summer past was a bad year for hay crops and so hay has doubled in price since last year and unfortunately the price of lamb has not gone up nor has the price of wool. I will pick out a variety of different fleeces and the best fleeces with interest and then the rest will meet their maker. I have a couple of old ones that are ready to keel over anyway so they will be on the butcher block for sure, not so much for their meat since it would probably taste strong and be tough, but I will have a look at getting their skins tanned. There is an old native lady who lives in a town not too far away who tans in the old way so I may possibly try her first. We will keep all of the alpacas.... and we are still debating on the llama... we will see.

We will definitely have to build another paddock this spring. I want my garden back. We are also thinking about changing our driveway and so that will open property up that we never used before for animals..... more pasture type land and not quite so marginal as what the animals are on now. Meanwhile Hubby is seriously looking into the Christmas tree farm idea, so we will see where that leads us.

One last random item..... sox. Ahhh! My favorite pair from the stock that the girls gave me for Christmas are by far the Angora/wool/nylon ones from Wal-Mart. At $4.00 a pair how can you go wrong? I just wish I knew if they were sweat shop made.... I hope not. Mine are black and grey striped.... I feel like the wicked witch of the west.... Nicholsville West that is.... (a good wicked though... my eyebrows are going up and down now) all I need are the red shoes.... who says you need sexy lingerie when you can have wicked witch sox..... scary thought indeed! (Sometimes it is not good to have a visual mind...)!

Well I'm off to spin, spin, spin,... hope your having a lovely mid-winter day. I have my girl Diana (Krall) playing.... how inspiring is that?