Too Cool, Two Cool Things

I've been working all day long. I started working on my silk for needlework sample for my level 3 homework and finally finished all the spinning last night just as I was going to bed. I was tempted to stay up and work on my needlework into the wee small hours of the morning but finally good sense won out and I decided that perhaps some sleep would make it better to work when I was fresh. This morning I woke up quite early and the first thing on my mind was my needlework.... I was excited to get started and so all day today I've been working on embroidery. This is the result......

I am really happy with my work. I think it is by far my best sample so far. The embroidery thread is spun in pure silk. The white is Bombyx silk and the ecru is spun in Tussah silk. I knew as soon as I found out that I would need to do a silk embroidery sample this year that I would use both Bombyx and Tussah on a black background though I didn't know what my picture would be then at Christmas time I received a catalogue in the mail from Northern Images and in it was an etched mirror with this picture on it and I knew in an instant that that would be my needlework sample.... I'm so proud.....

The second thing to tell you all about is the burl... I went to the guild member's house on Friday past to say my goodbyes since she is moving to New Brunswick which is way across country and I wanted to see her one last time before she left. In her living room was this really cool plant stand that was a burl that she and her husband had come across in the bush and dragged home. They had spent some time with a wire brush smoothing it down after all the bark had been removed and underneath, where it had gone through a fire in it past years, was this beautiful dark burnished wood. She put a base on it so that it would stand up and had it as a feature in her living room. I loved it and so I asked her if she was taking it with her or leaving it for the new people who are buying her house.... she said she hoped to take it with her but her husband was not happy about it and didn't want to.... that was it.... I never thought anything more about it.

As I was leaving she asked me if I had any fleeces that she could buy from me and I said that I had lots of fleeces and if she wanted one then I would send Hubby out with it in the afternoon and that she could have it as a going away gift.....

I left that afternoon for the Sock Workshop.

When I came home on Sunday there in my living room was the burl..... she gave it to me.... to ME... that was SO nice...... and it looks awesome in my living room..... at least I think so.


So there you have it..... two cool things which are too cool!

A Little More About The Workshop

Monday was a strange day.... I slept like a demon on Sunday night, and then Monday afternoon I conked out again. Still in between it all I did manage to get some work done on my level 3 homework. I have silk spun for my needlework. I still have to do a little more. But it is going better than expected.

Meanwhile I took some pictures from the Sock Workshop....

This was our manual.... full of excellent information...

We tried a superwash wool which I actually am dead set against since I really hate all the new fangled wools on the market that have been chemically tampered with. Superwash is wool that has had the scales removed by chemically treating it and then dipping it in plastic in order to change it enough to avoid felting.... thus making a washable wool. Would you want that on your baby.... I don't think so... and quite frankly I wouldn't want to put it on me either.... but I did try a sample and this is it.... it was quite soft but man, all those chemicals... why can't humans leave something perfect alone....

We tried wool blends with a nylon called Firestar and has a really amazing shininess to it.... still though it is nylon.... yuck!
I liked this sample the most.... it is a Blue Faced Liecester wool (BFL) and silk blend and felt lovely. The gold stuff has bamboo in it and also goes through a serious chemical process.
This was a self striping yarn where I used a Navajo ply method to keep the blocks of colour in tact...
This was a really harsh yarn that I didn't like the feel of but spun like a dream... Bamboo/Mohair/wool blend and would make an awesome sturdy yarn for a work sock in cool colours. Maybe it would soften with washing... hmm... maybe I'll have to try it...

And after all is said and done I now have the warp for the Big j.c. done..... woohoo.
I am working on a silk sample for my level 3 so that's what I'm off to do.... that and watch a movie.... see ya!

Workshop

Well six months of planning and the long awaited Sock Workshop of 2010 is over. I learned lots. I laughed lots. I worked lots. I enjoyed it lots.

There is nothing as gratifying as walking away from a workshop with new knowledge to mull and explore. I will be trying out some new spinning techniques for socks at the very first opportunity.We had a great time trying out worsted preparations for spinning a sock yarn that would withstand the onslaught of constant wear and tear that a sock gets. I relearned a plying technique that I had previously learned and got some techniques to make it even better.... I learned how to ply so that I can spin self-striping yarn and then I learned physics.... the physics of spinning.... things that I was already thinking about but hadn't quite gotten to the fruition of full formulation. I learned about the physics of twist in yarn and how the spinning wheel distributes twist, I learned about wave theory and how it applies to the distribution of energy and how it is interrupted by slubs in the yarn. I learned about recycling and how to use recycled bits in novelty yarn and what makes a good blend for a sock yarn. There really is nothing better than a successful workshop.

Tuesday is the full moon and once again sleeping has been an issue and so I managed to survive through the workshop with very little sleep.... I do have to say that I am next to wasted after working hard with near exhaustion. I am amazed at how well I did all things considered.

The company was great throughout the weekend and there was much to laugh at and discuss. Saturday started with great belly laughs which set the barometer for the whole weekend.

There were great fibres to try out, like my favorite for the whole weekend.... a Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) silk blend which was awesome and spun like a dream. I also got some Wensleydale which I am going to blend with some silk and cotton to spin for a nice 3-ply sock yarn. I think that it will look great maybe in a lace or textured knit stitch.... I was also invited to enter a sock in the Sock Exhibit and Exchange.... I think I might. I'm getting ideas.... the big thing with that is will I ever get time.....

I still have the big j.c. to finish and my birthday is only a few weeks away and my goal is to have the d-mn thing done and gone out of this house by then... it will be my birthday gift to myself. Then after all is said and done I have to get my level 3 homework done... I can't wait to get at it full time. Then what ever time is left will be for shawls for the fashion show at Olds and the Sock Exhibit.... we'll see. With ever increasing temperatures spring is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to sitting on the deck in the sunshine with a fire in the fireplace and flowers growing all around....

There lots to look forward to and lots to do.... in the meantime here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Moi with my Bamboo/Mohair/Merino blend 3-ply sock yarn. Oh... just look at that Rudolph nose of mine.... I could find wool even in the fog!
This was our instructor and I wonder what she was saying. Sorry M that was the only picture of you....

OK these two had a whole lot more fun than their faces are portraying.

Everyone is so serious.... they must be concentrating on the instructor.... she was very interesting.

Well she looks enthusiastic.... actually I think she's holding up yarn.... yes, we spinners need all the exercise we can get!

They're hard at work... I wonder what they're spinning....

We all had to fiddle with our wheels.... and look at that green on her bobbin... that's the Bamboo/Mohair/Merino blend fibre....

Ahhh... finally a happy face... "A little less seriousness and a whole lot more relaxation."... It's all good.

Cool another happy face....

And look at that there we all are.... We looked like such happy campers.... I means spinners....


And tomorrow you can see what we did.... I'm off to catch a few zzzzzzz's.

I'm Back And Then I'm Off Again

Well we had a lovely few days at the brudder's place. Very quiet and very relaxed. Daughter #2 got a cold but otherwise a relatively uneventful few days.... Hubby went fishing but didn't catch anything. The drive was nice and the mountains were awesome.... snowcapped and beautiful. Hubby and I discussed options for retirement.... which is a joke since retirement is a long way off yet. My desire is to buy a small piece of land on a lake and buy a houseboat that we can winterize, and live in all year long. It would be on the lake in the spring and summer and pull it up on the land in the fall and winter. No sheep. No alpacas. No worries. And closer to a city so that we have access to medical.... I'm sure I'm going to need it with my family history. We looked at two or three lakes that we would consider living on. I want to stay away from congested areas since I'm totally anti-social.... Now that I'm going deaf, it makes sense since that I'm more anti-social. I hate trying to figure out what people are saying. Why can't life have subtitles! Hubby's idea of retirement is to be able to fish and canoe. He also likes to hike but then his knees may not hold up for that. Whatever the case, I doubt if we will stay where we are.... but then you never know. Funny things happen in life and options come up that you just have to take advantage of... and sometimes they are quite unforeseen...

Anyway today I'm off again. This time I'm heading off for a long awaited spinning workshop. I will be working on spinning for socks..... that should be interesting. But first I have to head off for a short guild meeting this morning.... we are sending off a member who is moving away.... we will miss her. So we'll see y'all in a few days when I get back from spinning for socks....

Marnin' Narmin

Good Morning Conversation Between two Newfies....
John: Marnin' Narmin
Norman: Marnin'
John: Fine marnin' this marnin' Narmin.... (pause)
If it's as fine a marnin' tamarra marnin' as it is this marnin', Narmin, then it'll be a fine marnin' again tamarra marnin'!
Norman: Yup

Look what's blooming in my sunroom! It is indeed a fine marnin' this marnin'!


I don't know why they call them Christmas cactus.... they should call them Easter cactus.....

I'll be offline for a few days.... since I will be leaving tamarra marnin' for a few days vacation..... oooh la la! Have a good springbreak/weekend!

Winter Is Back

It's the last hurrah. Winter is working hard at being back again. It has been snowing for two days... well yesterday the snow melted by three o'clock and everything was wet, wet, wet. But I got up this morning and the snow is back... it has been snow all night so of course the poops are once again covered in white.... this is good because on a farm in the spring there is plenty of poop. I knew going for a walk the other day would jinx me and bring the snow back.

Our lambs from last year have all been butchered now and we are back to a nice normal number of sheep. There are four males two rams, Oscar, pictured here... and Ipwitch, and two withers Greigg Pictured here with Ipwitch in the background..... and Palmer. Up in the upper paddock there are eight ewes. Fanny, pictured here.... who is a Shetland/merino x is pregnant.
Red, pictured here.... who is a purebred Shetland is pregnant... they both twinned last year. Kracker and Krunch who are Fanny's offspring (I don't have a picture of them) and are also Shetland x are both pregnant. Queen is a purebred merino and she looks pregnant. Nellie, pictured here..... who is a Cotswold/merino x is also looking pregnant but since this is her first lambing season I'm not really sure. Then there is Lulu also a Cotswold/merino x and although I saw the ram have his way with her she has not caught for two years so I doubt if she is pregnant.... and lastly is Sal and she is more like a pig than a sheep.... a pig in sheep's clothing..... ha! She has the shape of a barrel and she is first on the hay regardless every time Hubby forks it in to the paddock for them. She pushes all the others around except for Lulu who is slightly higher on her legs than Sal. I doubt very much if she is pregnant because she has never lambed.... besides she doesn't look pregnant and I never saw the ram on her.... I think he was afraid..... but oh what a fleece. I keep Lulu and Sal (Sal is on the left, Lulu is black and in the middle, and Queen is on the right and Nellie is in the background with Mishka the alpaca)..... because they have first place fleeces. Very nice! They both took first place for their category in the Olds fleece show last year and Lulu won Grand champion. So good fleece will always have a place in my flock.

Shearing season is here and Hubby and I will have to face that when we get back from our trip next week. It is difficult to shear when the weather is on again off again... I am hoping that it will clear up and we will be able to get those fleeces off the girls before they start lambing.... I am hoping to rig up a harness this year that the ewes can sit in so that Hubby's back won't be so affected by shearing.... shearing is not for the faint of heart.... I would much rather shear an alpaca.... they don't fight it near as much as the sheep.

But for now it is a snowy day and I am thinking about a trip..... away.... and ooh la la.... I have to find someone who will feed them....

The Book

Kathryn Stockett... I just finished reading her book (yes.. occasionally I look up from the big j.c. and do other things). She has written a marvelous book called The Help about the relationships between black maids and their white employers in Mississippi in the 1960's. I have begun to find that it is harder and harder to find a book that keeps my attention and entertains while still having something to say about life, relationships, love, and most importantly social justice. Her writing is fluid and takes you into the world of the characters with ease. I don't normally use this blog to push anything but I was just so happy to find a book that I enjoyed that I wanted you all to hear about it.... if you are a reader and want a good read... this is one.... for sure.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

I wonder if Kermit had any idea about what "being green" would mean in just a couple of decades from the time he sang that song. Here at Nicholsville farm it is all about being green. I mean we do try to be green... I hate plastic and think it is the number one reason our planet can't breath any more. If we banned all plastic in anything other than medical situations... I do think plastic in medicine has revolutionized how medicine is delivered..... then this whole planet would be a whole lot better off. Meanwhile it is St. Patrick's Day and while St. Patrick wouldn't know modern day "green" if it came up and bit him... actually he would probably roll over in his grave if he knew green beer was served on "his" day....

I'm still pondering the reason for Wagon Wheels becoming smaller. (That doesn't have anything to do with being green.)

I'm going to the St. Paddy's Day tea this afternoon I think.... if I can talk someone into going with me. One time St. Paddy's Day was huge back in the day when I lived in NFLD. I miss it... on campus (MUN) there were always celebrations for St. Paddy's Day. But now I live in the north and though Canadian Tire is run mostly by Newfies, St. Paddy's Day is not such a big deal. But in honour of the day I am going to put on something green.... I hope I have something. I just heard on the radio that there are only two types of people in the world.... those who are Irish and those who wish they were.... hmm! Anyway... if you are green ... then enjoy St. Paddy's Day...

Hey I have a green nighty.... I wonder if I could get away with that... No?! Well I had better have a look for something green...

It ain't easy being Green... I wonder if green Wagon Wheels would be possible....

Totally Random

Why have Wagon Wheels (the food) gotten smaller... it's not fare!

It's snowing..... Murphy's law rares it's ugly head....I should have known not to get excited about spring.... at least all the poop is white for another few weeks.

If I see black wool or alpaca fibre after the big j.c. for at least one whole year I'll puke!

I cleaned up my bedroom... man were those dust bunnies ferocious!

The dog is shivering.... I think I cut his hair too short.

Why is St. Patrick's day in the middle of March.... and why do we wear green?

What does green beer taste like?

I have friends leaving today to go home to NFLD..... I wish I could go too.

Looks like we're leaving for brudder's on Saturday for a few days...

Hark is that the big j.c. calling?! Maybe if I ignore it some little elf will come and finish weaving the sleeves.... (dream on)!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go.... ho hum...

Fall Back, Spring Forward

It has been a busy weekend. I have been prepping two separate newsletters to go out this week. I also had the service at our little church for the third week in a row. That kind of work is mentally exhausting. It actually sucks out all my "desire-to-write" and dries me up like an old prune. But I now have two weeks of time without having to write anything so hopefully I can be a little more blog centered. I haven't been particularly blog centered lately and if is starting to bug me.

I like writng on my blog and miss it when I don't get a chance to write here but the same thing happened last spring and since I've only been keeping this blog for a year and a half I haven't had more time to see if this spring bloglessness is a trend. Spring of course is always a busy time. We all adjust by getting outdoors again, which means having to leave other things behind. Last year at this time, I was blogging about our house renovation and we certainly don't have anything like that this year to occupy us.

There is still a lot of snow around on the ground and patches of ice every day I see more and more ground/grass showing through. We can still have heavy snow falls... and it would not necessarily come as a surprise. Last year we had a pretty good one in the latter part of April.
More and more garbage is showing through the snow and I'll be glad when we can get out there to rake and clean up. Spring is always a time of mess and despite that I can't contain my pleasure at being able to wear light outer wear and seeing the snow slowly disappear. I just hope we don't get any spring dumps of snow.

You may have noticed that to the left I am no longer following the sunrise and sunset time.... this is because with spring very obviously on the way, daylight seems to be less interesting. Also it is already daylight when I wake... what's the point of following it anymore.... I usually lose track once the time change occurs anyway. So how does it feel to be on a new time? Did you all sleep past when you were supposed to... That's one of the nice things about where I live. I don't have to worry about time change.... you see I live in one of the only parts of the country that doesn't recognize Daylight Savings Time. So Saturday night when millions were fixing their clocks we just went to bed and didn't worry about it at all... I think it is great.

So with the weather turning spring-like I am thinking it is time to take off those Christmas pounds I put on and have been struggling to rid myself of. So my plan is to walk two and a half kilometres each day starting today. I'm also on a strict food regimen of 1300 calories a day. My goal is to lose 30 pounds before I head off to Olds College. I wonder if I'll reach it.

So the sun is up, and Hubby and the girls are headed off to school.... I had better get to it... a day of the big j.c. plus a nice walk to start with.....

Wanderlust

I'm all over the place these days. I can't seem to get myself to settle on any one thing. I'm not seeming to get a whole lot done. I do a bit here and a bit there but nothing seems to be coming off finished. It the dreaded disease. I call it wanderlust. Most people think of Wanderlust as being a disease where you want to travel all the time but for me it is more serious... wanting to travel all the time wouldn't be such a bad disease I'm thinking. For me Wanderlust is a need for my mind to wander from topic to topic, from project to project, from one thing to another without really settling with any sense to it. Usually it means that I need down time and time away from all projects.... usually it means I need sleep and lots of it.

As I may have mentioned, March break is coming soon and Hubby and I have decided to take a few days to go away with the girls and visit some family if they will have us. It will be good to get away from the day to day routine and do something different... it will be good to take just one project and focus on that. It will be good to put everything especially all the demands on my time, behind me and focus on something other than deadlines.

Deadlines seem to be the bane of my existence.... there was the big j.c. deadline which I didn't meet and I have to say it really knocked the wind out of me. Plus service quite a bit lately for church to prepare. Minutes to type and newsletters to prepare... I have two to get ready... It's not that I don't like doing any of these things... I think its just that I'm tired and coming up with ideas is tiring me out.
I look out the window and see the ice disappearing and I want to go for a walk but I feel guilty when I do because there are too many other things that I should do. You would think by now at 44 (almost 45) I'd have my sh-- together but still I'm as unfocused as any cross eyed cow.

So here I sit with my wanderlust drifting over projects I want done... projects I want to start... jobs I would like to forget and a nice clean house wouldn't hurt either.

I did go out today for a little walk.... it's good to play hookie once in a while and just enjoy. So to the Wanderlust disease that has attacked me of late.... and in the ever inimitable words of the wonderful Monty Python... "P--s off! I have work to do". And to my readers, "thanks for sticking around.... I'll try to write something interesting for a change".

Spring Is Here... The Grass Is Growing

I saw green grass. Yes I did! I saw green grass under a tree where the snow had melted and boy am I happy. Our road only has a few small patches of ice let and I can't wait to see the end of the snow around the yard. I do have to tell you that it is pretty difficult to get inspired to write this time of the year when it is too icy to go out walking and there's dog poop everywhere. March break starts next week and the public library here in HH is having an afternoon tea for St. Patrick's day.... I think I might go. It might get me doing something else and cheer me up. Not that I'm down... I'm just feeling a little burnt out. A vacation might be the ticket.

In the meantime the sun is shining and I want to go walking but there is just too much snow on the ground to walk safely. As a result the house is feeling rather like a cage. I still go out for knit night and recently I started working on a shawl project that I started last summer. It is woven on my 4" x 6" weavette loom with one block a multi green angora and the next block is brown llama. It is very soft and very light. I decided to pick up that project for knit night because I'm sick of lace gloves.... next fall when my hands are cold I will get back to them again. Part of the reason for doing the lace gloves in the first place was a gallery show in FSJ for which I had been preparing things for the last two years but when the choice was made for the theme it was.. "Scarves, Shawls, and Shoelaces"... yup not a one of those things that I completed in the last two years was a Scarf, Shawl or a Shoelace.... so I am now more focused on scarves, shawls and shoelaces.

Meanwhile the big j.c. rears its ugly head as I continue to spin black alpaca.... which I have to say I'm getting really sick of.

We are considering a few days away coming up here during March break which begins next week... I think Hubby and the girls are all feeling like a trip away. I'm thinking it might not be such a bad idea.... still there is a lot to do around here too. but a short vacation can't hurt right?

Well I just finished giving the small dog a hair cutthis is before the cutand this is after the cut
and he is looking painfully up at me to play with him.... the black alpaca is calling my name, and I have a dessert to make for dinner out at a friend's house. The day has begun and so must I.....

Colour.. Pink Is Putrid

Last night I was sitting in the living room at about 7:30 p.m. and I happened to look out the living room window and there before me was the most beautiful blue I have ever seen... I don't think I could even describe it. It was just before sunset and I don't know if the snow remaining in the yard was part of it, perhaps it was reflecting the colour a little, but somehow I don't think so because the trees and ground were already black. There wasn't a hint of any other colour in the sky, just this not-quite-ink-blue. It had an ethereal quality about it. I know I should have taken a picture right then and there but honestly I was enjoying looking at it so much that it never even occurred to me to get off my rump and find the camera. But I am glad I looked at it because it was just glorious.

At knit night last Thursday we were discussing our favorite colours and everyone was able to say what their favorite colour was except for me. I have a hard time choosing favorite colours because that is too abstract. A colour for me signifies as much a feeling as anything... so when I choose my favorite colour (if there is such a thing) it is always in context. I love blue but there are so many shades of blue that saying that is almost inane. I also love soft yellows like butter yellow and lemon yellow... but then if I think about a block of butter in a dish I almost want to laugh because that is not it at all.... the butter yellow that I like is a shade of a quilt that I once owned.... and I wonder if I like the shade of yellow or if it was the blanket itself that I liked. And if I think about a lemon I can't stand lemon but I love lemon chiffon fabric... it looks so utterly feminine. Red is an awesome colour but mostly because I love Stewart plaid.... then there is moss green. This is by itself actually a greyish drab colour but if you use it primarily in the bedroom it is very soothing. Mauve is lovely too if it is a lilac or if it is in conjunction with navy blue velvet. You see I love no colour as it stands on it's own but how it is in accordance with something else or with a feeling it evokes. I love melon orange but especially in regards to Cottonwood trees and how they look when the colour goes out of the leaves in autumn. So you see I have a difficult time choosing a colour that I can unequivocally say is my favorite.

Now you understand why I change the look of my blog so often.... mostly because colour is a tool... it is a tool the represents my mood.... I, over the last year or so have used many different colours on my blog, and all the time they are chosen to represent me..... I think, the colour that I least like is rose or any shade thereof.... puke! That is why the pink of the last few weeks didn't last on the blog for very long. Pink drives me nuts.... it puts me in mind of smoke and vapours. Pathetic.... I wonder if I ever threw up something pink.... hmmm.... I should ask my mother... maybe she would remember. Either way pink is vapid.

So there you have my low down on colour..... I can safely say that colour is a very personal thing... I hope I have not stepped on anyone's toes by saying pink is vapid.... If you happen to like pink and it works for you then more power to you.

My grandfather was colour blind.... I cannot imagine a world without colour.... how lucky we are to have the rainbow of them......

Monday Morning

It is Monday morning..... yuck! Actually it is not so bad... the crescent moon is shining down on us this morning in a sky that is a soft blue. The sun is not quite up above the horizon but there is that yellowness on the horizon.... it looks like it is going to be a fine day. There is no snow left on the roof as even on the North side it has melted and slid off. I have noticed that a huge chunk of snow came off the roof last week and hit the lower roof and left a dent. It is now that we will discover all the problems with the design of the additions and that obviously is one. I'm not really sure what we cane do about it other than knock the snow off in the spring in smaller amounts rather than have it fall off in huge chunks.

Each day it warms up and the snow turns to slush and water.... each evening it freezes again and turns to ice. It is treacherous to walk on and so I don't try hardly at all. I will be so glad to see the end of the snow....

I have noticed green grass trying to show itself in the sunny south facing areas where the snow has melted. The deer are coming less to feed on our bails. I just love spring.... except for the dog poo which seems to be everywhere.

I have three more cotton questions done for my level 3 homework... which means that now I have to get back to the big j.c. in earnest. I have done some spinning for it but I need to get really focused.... there have been several people who have seen it and think it is very nice.But the sleeves are calling me today and so I need to wash some wool but while that is drying I need to sit at my wheel and spin, spin, spin.... Everything else has to be put on hold for a couple of weeks.

So that's my Monday morning news, and blues..... the kids are out the door and Hubby too... the sun is up now and my wheel calls.... I'm off....

Brain Dead

Ok... I can't think of anything to write about because I'm feeling way too brain dead to write. So maybe tomorrow I'll feel more like writing something....

I watched movies all day once I got home from church.... and did a little spinning.... good activities for those of us who experience times when your brain refuses to do anything. I think I'll go to bed and nurse my poor brain....
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz......

Dog Days

If I remember correctly "Dog Days" have some weather connotation, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is exactly.... For me "Dog Days" has its own connotation, and I am feeling like this day among others lately, are "Dog Days". I look out the window today and it is windy and sort of grey... with sun.... The clouds are passing overhead at the rate of 'zoom'. It is mostly grey but there are God-like clouds off on the horizon... you know, they are the clouds that are always shown in the movies to signify God. Anyway my "Dog Days" include more than quickly moving clouds. You see, Duff, the big dog, is lying at my feet after a traumatic day yesterday. She went to the vet and so began the oddysey of "Dog Days Supreme"! She first had a thermometre poked up her bum which she was quite indignant about.... then she had a shot in the hip to knock her out, and once conked out, had her face cut open where resided a rather large abscess,.... then she got a severe case of the runs on the trip home from the anxiety of it all, which fortunately she was able to contain till we got pulled over in a gravel pit where she proceeded to stagger to the nearest snow heap to hunch up in a drunken manner and expunge herself. Nice! Dog days indeed.....

Meanwhile I sit here and watch the outcast alpaca trying to eat hay that has been inundated with stuff that has already exploded once from his butt. I always said Axton was a misfit... the other alpacas will have nothing to do with him... he's as much reverred as the boy in second grade that sat behind you and picked his nose and ate it after yanking on your pigtails.... no one likes him. I would never breed him for fear of producing a whole heard of nose pickers... I wonder if he is retarded...

Daughter #1 is in complete disgust today as she and her best friend had planned all week to have sleep over this evening and things have not worked out quite as planned... said friend was supposed to come after lunch but is unable to get a ride and Hubby won't be home till late having difficulties getting computers to work for irritating report cards... try living with an overly disappointed teenager.... and to make it worse, Daughter #2 has friend and so this only draws attention to the fact that Daughter #1 doesn't.... argghhh!

Wind always irritates me and as the clouds whiz past in their ever onward migration, like a heard of elephants across the Serenghetti, I find myself feeling like I'd like to chew nails... it is not a good day to spin.... my spinning wheel may join the clouds if things didn't go well.

So here I am forced to suffer the discontent of Dog Days..... a word of advice though.... sleep through them if you can.... but don't whatever you do try to get things done.... it never works. I think I'll go pick some stitches out of a pocket..... (I bet you thought I was going to say pick my nose.... well, I'm not the kid no one likes..... I hope)!

PS... I hope you like the new look....

Ahh .... Spring maybe...?!!

The seasons just keep marching on... I look out my window by the computer here and I realize that spring is on the move. All day yesterday the snow was sliding off the roof in great thunderous slumps. Water was dripping constantly and when I went out last evening to go to the monthly JCR meeting I realized that there is very little snow left on the roof at all. The paddocks where the animals reside are now blossoming quagmires of sh-- and hay. It is the time to watch for foot rot. Our ground here is fairly porous and so foot rot is not generally an issue. Still, in the spring when the ground has not quite caught up with the sun and the snow is melting but the grounds is not accepting the extra moisture, there is always a chance that my animals will have issues with their hooves.

More of our pine trees are dieing. The pine beetle has had its way with another generation of Pine trees and so now when the sap would be flowing back into the tree and branches would be starting to put out their new buds instead the pine trees are dieing and turning red. It is sad to watch. I look out on the deck and see that I am going to have to start watering the cedar trees that I have in my planters. I won't pull out the old annuals yet because that is an open invitation for the cats to use it as a bathroom. We get stuck just driving into our driveway as the snow turns to slush each day before returning to ice in the evenings.

Yep Spring is in the air.....

In house there is a turn back to the big j.c. as I start spinning once again black alpaca fibre and black wool... I also have been playing on the Inkle loom and have had a terrible time getting that sucker warped.... but I think I finally have it finished. It was fun having some of my spinny friends come by on Tuesday and see what they have been working on. One was working on plied yarn for sox, another was working on an Inkle loom like me and the other was prepping fibre for spinning on a charkha.... all is good on the spinny front.

Meanwhile Duff the big pooch still continues in agony with eye issues.... I am off to the vet today with her in another effort to deal with the problem of swollen face and obvious infection. I will be driving my way down highways that are at last dry.... no snow.... how great is that! I can't wait till the quagmire of my paddocks and yard are clear and dry once again.

It's at this time of the year that I miss my ducks puttering around in the pools of water.
Ducks in our yard in 2005

Bust A Move

I like small things.... I'm not small so why I like small things is not necessarily apparent. Perhaps it has something to do with wishing I was small.... I like my hands, they are small even though one hand has no thumb and the other hand has a fused pinky knuckle and looks as ugly as hell. I like my ears.... they are small... when I got my ears pierced the lady said my earlobes were so small that she wasn't sure she could pierce them.... eventually she managed.

I like small things like my spinning wheel which is one of the smallest wheels on the market.... I like small paths through the snow and not big plowed roadways. Last week at the Blueberry I saw a nifty little item.... I saw a cute little Inkle Loom made by Ashford. It is called the Inklet. I saw it and wanted it so I ordered it for my birthday.... No it is not my Birthday yet!

I like little small fishy crackers.... they make me feel young and happy. I like little weavette looms... they're small. My house is small even after all the renovations... it is barely 1000 square feet.

With all the small things that I like, it is odd that every now and again I bust out of the usual small-ness of my life and go big, big, big. My deck is big. At 441 square feet, it is almost as big as my house. My bike is big.... fat tires and a nice fat cushy seat on it... And my children are big as they tower over me.

I mean every now and again I bust a move and do something big.... like my tri loom. Most people were buying/making 3 foot tri looms for the tri loom workshop last year, and while I have one that size I thought, why not go all the way and buy the biggest tri loom you can get.... so I bought a 7 foot tri loom. I have a small house but I have a big couch. 9 feet to be exact and a sectional to boot.

What I have realized is that there is a real dichotomy within me. It is the yin and the yang at battle. It's not really an impractical/practical thing in me.... it's more like I'm made of all the contrasting desires and sometimes one wins out while at other times the opposite wins out.
When I was in University and studying philosophy one of the subjects that really caught my attention was that of a trinity.... and while THE TRINITY came to interest me later on it wasn't so much THE TRINITY that I was interested in then, but trinities in general and how they work..... I've always seen trinities as two opposing forces (though opposing might be the wrong word maybe two forces) and the opposition between them as the third.... so to make this easier.... I want smallness.... I am bigness.... what's in between is the reality of me. Has your brain now done a flip flop.... I wouldn't be surprised! Chinese philosophy explains it like this.... an individual has both the yin and the yang.... male and female (I think).... but the reality of what you are is a combination of the two.... perhaps you are more yin.... or more yang but you are still a combination of the two. Yin (one force).... yang (another force).... you (three in one).
What it all comes down to is acceptance.

I accept that I like small things.... I also accept that occasionally I have a need for big things..... that is what makes me who I am.... hopefully solid (Hubby says I'm not solid because I'm too spinny!) So maybe you are more yin or more yang but once in a while it is nice to bust a move and be the thing that you are not normally. So if you are female maybe once in a while you like to put on black leather and get a roaring motorcycle between your legs and hog it for a while.... or maybe you are a man and once in a while you like to get a fairy tale story out and read it to your kids. Either way it is nice to be in touch with all aspects of who you are....

We are all complex creatures... acceptance is the key....

And that's my waxing poetic for today..... I can't wait till I get my Inklet... : )

Friends

I have never been one to remember birthdays... I'm bad at it. My friends' birthdays come and go and I just don't remember..... I know.... that's pathetic....

The weird thing is long after I have lost track of friends of yester-year that's when I start to remember their birthdays. When they hang around with me I forget birthdays but when I lose track of them they stick in my mind... I know this is an odd phenomena, but I just can't help it.

I try to make up for this issue with my memory by presenting friends with gifts at other times of the year. Usually I have explained my problem, first so they know that their birthday gift may show up 5 or 6 months after the date of their actual birthday....

Recently I missed a friend's birthday and I am feeling really dreadful about it because I have never told her about the fact that I am so dreadful with remembering birthdays..... I am trying to find a really great gift as a belated birthday gift but I hate just giving anything. I am thinking what kind of miserable wretch forgets her best friend's birthday.... how can I do that. I have been looking for a birthday gift now for about 6 weeks to make up for my mistake..... and I'm not having any luck.... when you forget birthdays your gifts had better be super awesome....

So if my friend happens to read this.... then please forgive and bare with me I will pull through in the end....

Cotton spinning is going well and I'm on the verge of having my cotton section done.....

Have a great day... and if your birthday is today..... and you are my friend..... sorry I forgot.... and I will make it up to you... : )

One Third

I'm really happy to say that I met my 1/3 goal by Sunday night.... meanwhile I can't show pictures still since the d--- camera batteries died and I can't find the charger... Anyway... I was really happy last night when at 11:30 p.m. rolled around and Hubby came home from working on report cards, and my goal had been attained. I did a research question last night and finished that. I managed to get two cotton questions in my book and I actually started on another cotton question... two actually.... I will spin enough cotton on the charkha to finish the cotton roving question.... and the sizing question... clear as mud?!! Then after all that, I was just too tired to keep spinning while waiting for Hubby to return. After he called to say that he was just leaving, I sat and carded punis... which is a totally mindless job perfect for waiting while being too tired to do anything else.

I do have to get back to the big j.c. and this is the day that I have to do it so.... no level 3 homework. I'm going to miss working on it, that is for sure. But the big j.c. is calling me and I need to have that done by mid March and so the pressure is back on for that one.

I cannot believe that it is the first of March... last year, at this time, Hubby and I were preparing for our house renovation. We were planning and getting things in order for our start day which was April 1st. A year later and there is still a lot of work to be done but I'm not pushing. March break looms and I'm hoping that Hubby will do some then... we will see. If not then we will wait till summer and try to get the rest of the work done then. I am hoping to finish our bedroom and having all winter to ponder it has given me time to think about what I want to do in there.... I have decided to finish the paneling on three walls, drywall one wall and do wall paper on it... then I want to have all book shelves on one wall so that I can do lots of reading in there... (I'm a total read-in-bed addict). I've chosen our bedroom furniture and we have chosen a black leather headboard and footboard in a sleigh bed style with a platform (with drawers in it) for under the bed. That will give us drawers for clothing storage. Then I just need to pick out doors for our closets and I even have room for a small slim electric fireplace.... I can't wait to get it done.... I'm even going to splurge and buy a nice new set of bedding in a pear green shade.... which is a very soothing colour, and of course, that is the point. Soothing... a haven... isn't that what a bedroom should be?

Meanwhile we are all trying to figure out what colour is our new couch.... I say khaki green, Hubby says brown.... and there is now a big debate. The other day I saw in a magazine that the colour of our couch is called espresso.... whatever... there's still flooring to be done in the living room and the sunroom needs flooring, some paneling, and a ceiling and light fixtures. Sadly we are seriously looking at revamping the kitchen to accommodate a wood stove which means more kurfluffle. Suffice it to say that we have a bunch of work left to do.

With spring in the air... (plus temperatures all week this week)... I'm starting to think about house, home and garden.... Life turns outward again and I'm looking forward to spending some time on my deck with a fire in the fireplace... flowers all around.... a new orchard (which was part of the house renovation plan as we will be changing the driveway to accommodate the new front veranda making room for an orchard where the old driveway was). Funny how life is like that. In winter we hibernate, but come spring and life changes... I look forward to it

So life is more than the four walls of this house and my spinning and weaving, and I'm starting to think of other things.... all the more reason to work, work, work, and get the big j.c. finished and then the level 3 homework.

I'm off.... have a real nice day...