Scared Out Of My Bejeepers

It has been blowing a gale all day yesterday and today. I took out some broccoli stems to the bunnies in the dark last night and all around me were those dead pine trees, (they surround our property), which were cracking and squeaking in the heavy winds.  It felt so much like Hallowe'en with all that noise.  It was a real night for Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. I kept looking over my shoulder and I thanked heavens the doggies were with me.... all of them including the ADHD dog.... Bailey!

I am not one to scare easily.  I used to have a boyfriend who would try to scare me by popping out of closets when I got home from work or would pose as having hung himself off the shower rod in the bathroom. He even bought  a retractable knife and stuck it in himself in the kitchen one evening... I found him lying on the floor in the kitchen with a knife sticking out of his chest... but then, I would pose as having fallen down the steps, unconscious, with blood oozing from a gash on my head.... but none of it was real... still it was a situation where it would scare the dickens out of you if you thought for the split minute that it was real. (I got him really good with the falling down the steps one since I acted as if I was unconscious and kept the act up really good.... Ha!)

Then there's Teapot who comes up behind you when you're not expecting it and knocks your knees out from under you. Or sneaks up behind you while your working hard on something and softly whispers in your ear and makes you want to poop in your pants.  Teapot is a little more subtle about his scaring tactics than was that other fellow.

So I have become accustomed to getting the pants scared off me. I try not to think about being scared too often.  But the one thing that scares me beyond all reason is walking through a forest in the night when the wind is blowing.... Oh man does that scare me.

Now the bunny cage is approximately 20 steps from the house and there is nary a tree for another fifty feet beyond but when I walked out there last night I got the creeping sensation that something was watching me. Now we have wild life aplenty around here... as you know, moose have walked right up to the house, deer are common visitors, the coyotes have been skulking around regularly for the past nine years and owls silently pass your head without so much as a howdy do. So when I felt those eyes on me last night, I peered through the dark in an effort to figure out what was watching me. I looked toward the horse paddock and there was Dreamer lazily eating her food which assured me that whatever was watching me was benign at least. And then I peered through the dark toward the alpaca's paddocks and they were all sleepily chewing their cuds quietly.... this too was a good sign.... so why was the hair on the back of my neck standing on end as the wind howled and the trees waved back and forth.

I just couldn't figure it out.

I started back toward the house taking steps slowly so that I wouldn't fall into the holes that the dogs insist on digging. I didn't want to sprain an ankle or worse. Five more steps and I had another look around. Still there was nothing that I could see.... or hear at that point with the wind chimes blowing back and forth on my deck... but I just knew... I just knew that there was something there with me. That's when out of the corner of my eye I saw it.... it looked like a person standing there with a long grey gown that was blowing in the wind.....

I just about jumped out of my skin..... why hadn't she spoken to me..... I called out.... "can I help you?" I thought perhaps she was lost.

Dead silence.... and I mean dead.... just her two arms raising up to beckon to me.

The hair by now was standing not just on the back of my neck but on the top of my head and on my arms and if truth be told I'm sure the hair on my unshaven legs were all standing at attention too! Every skin cell told me to run like the bejeepers...... I was sure that some specter had come to take me to some other realm...... I turned and walked fast thinking, "you're nuts, you're nuts..... there's nothing there.... there can't be..." that's when the best friend of any man or woman came to my aid.

During the renovation of 2009 we were smart enough to install motion detectors on the front deck lights.... Woo hoo! Halalujah! On came the motion detector light as it detected my now very speedy motion.

I turned as I stepped up on to the steps, to look behind me and there blowing in the wind was not the specter of my imagination.... but......

 Which in the daylight looks like this....

It's just the damn tarp that we used last summer for shelter for the alpacas from stormy rainy days. The wind of the last few weeks has torn it to shreds!

Phew! I'm glad I don't scare easily!

Nasty Weather In The Air

I finished cleaning the house last evening with a little help from Teapot and the Daughters.... good thing too since an Aunt and Uncle who are visiting my parents came to call last evening.  We had a really nice visit. And I felt proud that my house was so nice and neat and tidy... usually I'm apologizing for the mess that is all around me. Here's how it looked after the big fall 2011 cleanup...

Much better now that you can see the surface of the couch and actually sit on it!

Plants watered and window sill cleared off of debris and dead flies. Nice basket of wool for coziness and that cute wee owl to watch over all.... very nice.

Oh! Look at that.... we can eat at the table for heaven's sake.... there's nothing on it except for a table cloth... lovely (except its pink... urgh!) What a novelty.... a table that you can eat at... never heard of such a thing!

This is still the messiest area in the house but it is my work room after all... you have to have stuff laying around where you are working right?!

Wow! And even the computer area is neat and tidy. Gosh though... looking at that old blue chair of mine makes me realize just how ugly and in need of a cover it is.... yuck!

Still though the whole house looks awesome even the front porch which Teapot fixed up... it looks great too.  I wonder though for how long!

Just before our guests arrived and right after they called to say they were coming I took a quick spin into town to go to the bakery so that I would have something nice to put out and eat... (well... we are Newfies for heavens sake... what would a visit be without food on a plate... at least I served nice things... cheese and crackers and the yummiest grapes... the bakery stuff looked gross... honestly!) Anyway... as I was saying.... on the way to town I snapped this photo...

Now if there's not snow in those clouds I'll eat my shirt..... Although the forecast is calling for above freezing temperatures, I'm not holding my breath. Teapot says rain and maybe he's right but I'll wait and see.

Today Teapot will be hauling in hay... and we'll be finishing up winterizing the yard etc... there's a few small jobs around to be done before that snow comes. We've noticed that in the addition there are some spots where you can see daylight through cracks that have formed where the logs of our house butt up against the addition walls... This will require caulking since the logs shrink over time and the caulking needs to constantly be watched as the cracks open. There are a few windfalls from the last few windy weeks that will need cutting and burning. The tent trailer will need it's tarp wrapped around it and the hay will need to be stocked for horse and alpacas. Then we have to haul the ram to his new home where he will be happy to see his girls again. Tomorrow there are a few fence issues to be addressed as the snow of last winter has pulled the fence in the alpaca pen down and if they really wanted to, they could step right over then fence in one place... thank heavens they don't run fences... alpacas are very mild mannered. So these are the jobs ahead...

With Monday being Hallowe'en I feel like I should have pumpkins all over but I don't... as a matter of a fact you'd never know that it was Hallowe'en at all around here.  Nary a witch or pumpkin to be seen.... unless you count me as a witch! (Some days I feel like I could pass as one.) But since we live way out here in the boonies and since the girls are getting older and are not trick-or-treating anymore (this is a first for us) we really don't feel the need to dress up our house. We do watch scary movies on the big night... and eat carmel popcorn made by moi, and go to the fireworks that our volunteer fire fighters put off.  But somehow Hallowe'en just doesn't seem the same now that we are not walking house to house with our children. Still, Christmas is on the way and I guess we will be thinking about that great event as it draws closer....

If I don't get back here before Monday, you all have a great Hallowe'en... watch out for the ghosts and goblins.... and don't eat candy till you throw up... always sage advice from the Batt!

Change Is In The Air

 It seems like day after day goes by and I can't think of anything to say so today is a day to catch up on all the mundane things that are happening that don't really seem worth talking about but yet are my life.

For two days I have been cleaning.  I think it all started when I cleaned up our bedroom a week or so ago.  I got a hankering for a really nice clean house... but then maybe it was the fact that I had this beautiful new loom and no where to put it. Or perhaps it is just that winter is around the corner and I'm feeling the need to hibernate or make a nice little nest for myself. Then again it might be that more and more Christmas is niggling in the back of my mind. Either way it has lead to a massive clean up/move furniture readjustment. Each night I fall into bed with a sore back and stiff joints. It has to do with the pushing and pulling of all furniture in this house... When I say I'm moving everything around I mean it.

Last spring I made a decision to put the dining room table in the big square room off the kitchen which had always been our living room.... and I moved our couch, chairs and T.V. into the sunroom. It was great.  For years we had felt that the sunroom was not being utilized to the best of our ability. Day after day that lovely south facing room was just sitting there as a storage room for all my spinning and weaving gear and for our dining room table.  When we had decided to build the sunroom we had made the decision to put a door in on the west side of it with the idea that eventually we would build a deck on that end of the house but as time has gone by I really have become sorry that I did that... I should have just put a window over there and not a door at all. We've never built that deck but do intend on building it at some time in the future.  The other thing I'm really sorry about is that we didn't extend that room out a few extra feet. The room measures 5.5 feet by 24 ft. It is a fairly awkward space because it is so narrow. Not quite roomy enough for a dining room and certainly not roomy enough for a living room.  It was intended to be used as an office and as a bit of studio space for me but what we have found is that I get lonely when I use it for studio space and want to spin where the familial action is. The office in the was alright but then we had nowhere for our dining room. And the kitchen is just too darn small for it. So in the end we have decided to use the sunroom for our living space with the T.V. in the summer and the dining room will go into this room off the kitchen and then we will switch it back to the living room in.... well suffice it to say that there will be two major moves a year. Which is what I have been doing. We're kind of like a bunch of Beavers with a summer home and a winter home... the deepest rooms in the house are the ones we will use for winter and the other ones will be the ones we use in the summer... clear as mud... I know.

Anyway here are a few pictures that you can look at to see just what I mean... and do realize that I have a long way to go before I am finished....

The couch is back in where we used to have the living room... I already miss the bright light of the sunroom. : (

This is all junk that was in my studio which needs sorting... I have a plan.... really I do! I see the cats have found a cushion on the floor... that figures.

Looking toward the kitchen you can see that the computer and desk are in a complete mess. that's my next job this morning... is sorting out and dusting that area.  Oh by the way I'm not packing to leave Teapot... the suitcase is the one in which I haul around my spinning wheel.

My studio space has received the new loom as you can see but I'm still trying to fit everything else around it! The fore ground is where the mess is but I'm working on it.

The dining room is in the sunroom directly off the living room... I haven't a clue what to do with all those stupid binders... that's all the work from my Master Spinner program... and the table is a little better now because I've sorted a whole bunch of that stuff... Actually Daughter #2 is writing her science test on the table at the moment... she missed it due to her outbreak of Shingles.

Perhaps I will take pictures again in a few days when I get everything sorted out. I might have to do that to prove that I am not the world's worst house keeper!

I figure a big clean twice a year can't be a bad thing... it gets rid of any giant dust bunnies and keeps Murphy at bay... well it's my theory anyway.

Two days ago, Teapot and I went for dental appointments.  For the first time in a very long time I need nothing done.... which means no cavities. Yeah!  Teapot however, has a bunch of small cavities. Poor guy. It was interesting going to this dentist... it was a new dentist that we have never gone to before.  We walked into the office and there was no doubt in my mind that dentists do really well for themselves.  I went into the bathroom and there before me was a T.V. for my viewing pleasure. Then after I went into the office there was another T.V. over my head to look at while I was getting my teeth done. There were six chairs for the dental hygienists and there were four more chairs in more privates spaces for those who were getting more than just a cleaning. Then there was this huge machine for taking xrays and to be quite frank, while I was in that machine I felt like I did the last time I went for a mammogram... it actually was kind of scary... thank God it only took a few seconds to finish. Then as we were leaving they handed us a certificate for a free lunch from Quiznos. Like since when do you get a free lunch on the Dentist... I can handle that!

More importantly though, after our appointments were finished (and my gums felt raw from all that scraping) we went to the Telus store while we were waiting for our half hour after the fluoride treatment.....(we couldn't go to Quiznos yet). OH and we had fun!  I have an iPhone.... like how awesome is that!  I tried posting on this blog from my phone but it wouldn't let me do that... well, I haven't read the instructions yet but I'm working on it... Still it is just the coolest phone on the face of the earth. I love it. It's a big change for me. I am seriously determined to go into mod mode. I refuse to get left behind on the computer/technology front. So I have all the bells and whistles on my phone. And that makes me a very happy camper.  I can take all kinds of pictures which I could do on my other phone but now you can see what they actually are and the pictures are pretty good. I can mark things on my calendar.... I already have appointments written down for the dentist! And I can access the Internet and listen to music and I can check the weather forecast. I love it... texting is so easy now... I have a touch screen keyboard on which I can type like stink... I love it. Last week I thought all those complaining about their Blackberry dying on them were nuts... now I can see why they were complaining... I mean I'm not quite that crazy but you can have a real love affair with your phone you know!  Mind you I still hate people who pull it out when they in company and start texting on the phone... it's very irritating. I will not be one of those kind of people I assure you.

Each morning when I get up, my expectation is that we will be facing snow. But still the snow is holding off. I'm quite happy with that though I don't want it to hold off indefinitely because I know how important the snow pack is for summer moisture.  We need rain for sure if we want hay for the alpacas next year. The days are mostly grey now... no more leaves on the trees. They have been gone for weeks. It is time for packing things away cleaning up the yard and getting the garden mulched. We always try to get it done before the snow comes in an effort to make spring cleanup easier.  We have closed our tent trailer (actually we did that a few weeks ago)... which is usually open all summer but we have not put it away. It needs to be put away soon since it will get damaged where it is by a snow plow if we don't do it before the snow comes, so this weekend will be a time of getting the last of the work done in the yard, before snow falls... and more importantly stays.

Teapot will be going away soon.  He has meetings in Victoria on the first weekend of November. I will be teaching Kumihimo braiding in FSJ on that weekend... I can't believe how time is flying by. This is the last week of October sure!  After Hallow'een there will be no help for it.... Christmas all the way... scary thought indeed.

Remember my plan last year to knit silk socks for everyone for Christmas... yeah that was stupid! : ( When did I actually think I was going to get that done.  I still haven't finished my first pair from my Cat Bhordi book... let alone decent socks for everyone... I must be nuts... mind you there is always next year.... ; )

Somehow I am feeling like the dark days are ahead and I feel anxious to get everything ready for those days of hibernation/ hiding away from the cold and dark... the lights are on longer each morning before I turn them off for the day and God help us on those days when the sun doesn't show its face.... I feel like I'm disappearing into the dark.... Maybe I need to start hiding away some money for a little vacation in late February.... even a trip to Victoria at that time of the year is a break... while we are still having snow and cold and dark, dark, dark, they are having daffodils and sunshine and bright light. Maybe I can convince Teapot to go.... we just need the money eh?! 

Anyway, now that I have rambled on and talked about those mundane things that affect me each day... it's time for me and sort through papers and heaps of junk that haven't gotten put away yet in the great autumn cleanup of 2011.... hope your day is not as mundane as mine.

Getting Ready

I have been watching Grey Jays (Whisky Jacks for you Newfies) scurrying away from my feeder with food for the last few weeks.  When my dogs rejected a certain brand of food that we had been given we decided to put it out for the Jays... sure enough they love it. They have been visiting every blessed day and flying off into the forest with chunks of dog food.  You must know that what they are doing is getting ready for winter.  It's almost here and it is becoming clearer every day.

 We had our first brush with winter the other day.  Friday we had our first snow fall.  It came and then it went and by last night another Chinook was blowing in. I actually had to open my bedroom window last night again after a week of sleeping with it closed. As October slips away I see more and more signs that winter is coming.  The mountains to the west of us (the Rockies) are snow covered now and the few straggling geese are making their way south.

So the dear Daughter #2 is home again today... she has Shingles and is suffering from needle pricks in the area where the rash is.  It feels like there are dozens of wee needles pricking her skin and it is very distracting... poor kid.  She opted to stay home for a couple of days till this stupid rash goes.  In the meantime she missed, on Friday, a Science test and so she is studying to do that when she gets back to class.  So I suppose that in a way she is getting ready. 

Late October seems to be a season of getting ready. I'm not quite sure why.  Perhaps it is because we tend to start winter preparations at this time of the year. For example, we spent yesterday afternoon prepping the alpacas for winter.  They have all gotten their teeth trimmed, toes trimmed and shots for parasites... so they are good to go. The last of my sheep... the ram to be exact will be leaving us this coming weekend.  I started to trim the rabbits and decided that the staple was not quite long enough so I cleaned up the last of the knobs and noils on their fur and and gave them a good combing out.  As a result they are ready for winter.  So that accounts for all animals. Then Daughter #1 pulled all the rest of the beets and carrots in the garden and I covered the garden soil with chicken wire so that the cats wouldn't be using it for their bathroom.... so that' ready for winter.  Daughter #2 has outgrown her winter jacket and so I ordered a new one for her it should be here within a week.... then she'll be almost ready for winter. What's left?  Mittens.... today I will be starting in on a bunch of mittens for the Daughters.  Both girls are the most terrible at losing mittens even though they are 14 and almost 16 years of age.... so I will be knitting mittens for them out of wool that I spun when I first started spinning so many years ago... (yes, I still have some of that old stuff kicking around). In the end they will be ready for winter. Teapot needs boots for winter and we are working on that and so do I and so we are working on that too.

As you can see getting ready seems to be a part of our lives these days.  There are other things to that make me think about getting ready.  I am starting to clean up my spinning studio space which got trashed the day our electrician came by to finish putting in some outlets in the front sunroom.... I also have to figure out what I am going to do with the new old loom. That's something that I am going to be working on today. All this cleaning... including our bedroom the other day makes me think that it is a good time to prep for the almighty season of Christmas.... (there, I said the fowl word).... I'm still thinking of a new couch and chairs for our living room. This too seems like I am getting ready.

Meanwhile my level 5 homework progresses but I haven't actually made my binders ready to receive my work... so that's something else I am hoping to prep today. And last but not least.... in 2 weeks I will be teaching Kumihimo braiding on the Maru Dai in FSJ so I am starting to prep for that too. So even in my professional (snork) life I seem to be getting ready.

It's time I think to make a list of all that I need to do.  I'm sure I will forget something.  I know... forgetting is a way of getting ready for old age isn't it?! Well, if that is the case then I have been getting ready for years now!

Hope this finds you in all readiness....

Have a good day.

I've Heard Of Spring Cleaning... But Fall Cleaning?...

Does anyone want a 7 ft. tri-loom?  Probably not. But I'm selling mine... I have offered it to a friend of mine who was looking for one a few years ago.  I'm hoping she will buy it.  I was really hesitating about selling it at first. But in the end I decided that it took up too much room in my house and I was disappointed that I couldn't get it to work unless I used bulky weight fibre... worsted was just too fine.  I had spun some worsted weight fibre and given it a try and came to the conclusion that it was too open a weave for my liking.  Yesterday Teapot and I decided that our bedroom needed some attention (and how!!! more about that in a minute) and in the process of moving the 7 ft tri-loom this way and then that way, in a fit of frustration, I made the decision that should have been made months ago to sell mine.... part of the decision was an offer from a family member to make me a large pin loom for blankets. He can make one for me and have the pins slightly closer and it will be good for a finer weight of yarn. So the loom goes... if there are any takers.

I have a really hard time parting with equipment.... well some equipment... and I will probably wonder if I made the right decision especially if it sells.... but then I do have that brother-in-law who will make me a new one.... I hope... if the offer is still open. Argh!... See now I'm wondering if I should be selling it.

Anyway, I have been eyeing up my bedroom for a couple of months and thinking it seriously needed an overhaul. We have been sleeping on a mattress and box spring for many years with it sitting directly on the floor.  About a week ago the pooches discovered something incredibly smelly and nice to roll in outside. Then they came home and ran upstairs and rolled in the sheets on my bed. Ugh! It was disgusting. The sheets were ruined and thank heavens I had a mattress pad on because the mattress pad saved my mattress from being destroyed too. That was when I knew I needed to do something with my room for sure.

About a year ago I blogged about buying a new bed to accommodate the mattress and box spring but it was not to be... we were never able to agree on a bed and eventually we just gave up on it and decided to wait till such a time as we could agree. Then this summer past, on the weekend of the dyeing retreat, I happened to go to the Transtor site where one of my friends works....  (that's the garbage dump for you who are unaware...). Now in HH we are lucky enough to have a dump with a sharing shed.  This is a great big shed where people can bring things that are still of use but they don't want anymore. At any given time you can find some pretty awesome things in that shed.  I have been known occasionally to bring home perfectly good wooden chairs and put on some nice new upholstery and voila... a perfectly good chair.  I have also been known to bring home things for the deck... Teapot brought home gates for the paddocks and chicken wire for the chicken pens when we had chickens... perfectly good chicken wire... like who is going to get rid of that I ask you... all kinds of good things can be found in the sharing shed. Well on that fateful day this past summer I happened to find an awesome headboard and footboard that I just couldn't pass up. Home it came.  Teapot gave it the evil eye but he didn't complain so I knew he was ok with it too.

Over the next few months I thought and thought.... believe me, that is never a good sign. And I finally came up with a great idea.  We would use the headboard and footboard and make side rails... and make them high enough to discourage the dogs from jumping up on our bed. It would also be high enough up that we could put their beds under it and they could sleep underneath us.  Teapot agreed to this idea and so yesterday we got down to it and made our bed.... and cleaned up our room like it has never been cleaned before.  A place for everything and everything in it's place... so to speak.  We haven't had a bedroom like that since before the renovation in 2009... like that's ages ago... how we've lived in that pile of poo is beyond me.  It now looks awesome... and we have a bunkbed with our pooches.  Yes the bed is high but it is no higher than a hospital bed... and no need to worry about falling out because Teapot and I like to snuggle close... (and that's the only thing you're going to know about our sleeping habits too!)  I was even able to bring in from our shed a beautiful antique settee that has been in my family for a good long while and use it in our bedroom... al in all it looks awesome... There are a few small jobs left to be done but I will finish them tomorrow.  Today we are cutting alpaca teeth. But in the meantime here are a few pictures to view.

The blue settee in the foreground is the antique that I'm glad to finally be able to use. The windows need curtains.. but that will come tomorrow.

This is looking from the head of my bed toward my closet and the balcony door. I haven't got closet doors yet but that is coming in the new year.... yeah!

This is looking from the balcony door toward Teapot's closet which also needs a new door... The tri loom is the one I am selling... and the shelf and mirror will trade places with the painting that you saw in the previous picture on the other wall.  Yes I know we need an outlet and yes I know there is another box to unpack on the floor in this picture!

And voila... the dog's beds are under our bed with nary a dust bunny to be found... ( I whooped their asses and kicked them out with Murphy a while ago... but I do hear Murphy knocking from time to time.)

Oh! And look there's the Narminator enjoying his new digs now.... Baily and Jiggs sleep over on the other two beds that you saw in the previous picture.  Yes that's plastic containers full of wool on the other side of the bed but they are neatly placed on a shelf..... so there!

I had to add this picture even though it is similar to the first since, with the sun shining in, it looked so inviting that I just wanted to curl up like a cat and have a nap in that glorious light.

 

 

So that's it. I'm off to saw off alpaca teeth. I'm wiped out just thinking about it... I hate sawing off teeth. It is a grizzly job. But it's nice knowing that I have a lovely bed and bedroom to welcome into its ever lovig arms when I'm tired and worn out from sawing off teeth and cutting toenails and giving shots! I can't wait to go to bed tonight!

Pleasant Saturday Morning

Daughter #2 went to see the doctor yesterday because on Thursday night when I checked her over I noticed a rash that resembled chicken pox.... it has been confirmed that the stingling in her skin on the back of her arm and under her arm and all down the side of her back is Shingles... : ( I started to suspect this about mid-week and really wanted it confirmed by a doctor... she is now taking antiviral medication in an effort to get the rash and the lingering pain under control. It will probably take a week or two depending on how tenacious the rash is before she will be better. Poor kid...

The loom has landed!  Sitting on the floor of my dining room is the new/old loom. (New to me, but old in years.) I have decided to give this loom a new name.... I so dub thee MacDonald.  Somehow it looks like a MacDonald. It will need some cleaning up and possibly a paint job.... What colour do you paint a loom that is named MacDonald. My friend thought black.... I do tend to paint things black... but somehow I thought Granny Smith Apple green but then that doesn't sound serious enough for a loom whose name is MacDonald.  Perhaps I should paint it black and the decorate and embellish in Granny Smith apple green. Hmm.... now there's an idea!

We had our first snow fall yesterday.  The wee doggy and the kitten had quite an interesting time checking out the new snow... it was their first time experiencing snow.  It didn't really stick on the ground but the vegetable patch is covered in snow this morning and the deck... but everywhere else, it melted.

Time to pull what's left of the carrots and beets in the garden.  I will need to get them out of the ground today since they will freeze there if I don't. Teapot and I do not have a root cellar and so we leave our vegetables in the ground till the last possible moment since they do not last long once they come into the house.  This way you get the effect of a root cellar until the ground freezes.  Our vegetables last this way until Christmas... after that things tend to rot. We have often thought we should dig out a root cellar under the house but since the crawl space down there is so d--n small it is virtually impossible to get down there to dig.   You can see in this picture that the vegetable patch is covered in snow.... next year our plan is to build another raised bed behind this one for potatoes....it will be just wide enough between the two raised beds for the truck to go so that watering with the water tanks will be easier. Probably the year after we will build another raised bed beyond that for more potatoes.  I also want a raised bed in front of the big shed... (that would be on the south side) so that I can put tomatoes and beans and peas there.  All beds would be readily reachable by the truck for watering purposes. I think I might have to hire someone to come in and move the soil since that is a huge job for a person with a wheel barrow.

Daughter #2 has just come down from a night of very little sleep.  She says she was uncomfortable due to the Shingles... poor kid.  All has been quiet to this point except that the two cats have been pestering each other's tails. They seem to like playing with each others tails.... apparently a flicking tail is almost as good as a ball with catnip.  I have had a lovely peaceful cup of tea and now that I have caught up on the news for today, and read my few favorite blogs, and checked out and answered a few emails, I'm off to finish plying a small sample of rayon that I spun yesterday.  I might even get my Lyocell sample finished today.  Either way, Monday, I will have to get the binders set up for my homework and I have to do the many write ups for the work I have already produced while it is still fresh in my mind. So until then have a good weekend... and I hope your Saturday is peaceful and quiet and you get everything done that you planned on doing.

Wabbits, And All The Junk That Is My Life

Today is shearing day.... or hair cut day for the bunnies.  I've decided that I really can't leave it any longer. They will be so cold if I trim their fur and then we have a cold snap.  But I have checked the weather forecast on three different web sites and they are all calling for above freezing temperatures for the next week. That's good because even though I don't intend on trimming the bunnies down to their skin, I do want to get the best staple that I can.  But then I do want the bunnies to have enough fur grown back in time for the really cold weather.  I have learned that the best angora comes from keeping your animals trimmed every three to four months. The angora doesn't get a chance to get matted and they don't chew on it to rid themselves of those pesky lumps... too much fur means a sick wabbit.... and we don't want that.  Some bunnies can be combed and that will do the trick but I have read some real horror stories about bunnies ingesting their own fur and then dying from associated problems.

Yesterday I had intended on finishing up a spinning sample for my level 5 homework but life interjected and I ended up moving furniture around at Pop's house. Once I got him settled I came home in time to get supper on the table and then I was so pooped that spinning was too much for my poor tired back to handle.  I did card the fibre-blend that I am working on and it looks lovely... hopefully it will spin up just as nicely. I am hoping to get some of the book work done today as well. I have five samples now to go in my book with the next one being spun today. That's six samples... if I keep this up I will be finished in no time at all.... (snort!)

As for the loom... the loom is in the works.  I finally was able to get in touch with the lady who is selling it.  I have a friend coming for a spinning day tomorrow and hopefully if everything works out then she will bring the loom with her. However, I am not holding my breath considering how difficult this whole loom purchase has become. Still, October 26th I have an dentist appointment and I will pick it up then if it doesn't work out tomorrow.

So that's it. Not a lot happening around here other than the normal... though I do start Knit Night again tonight after a hiatus of five long months.  I am looking forward to seeing the knitting gang again.  Daughter #2 is staying home today as she has developed some odd sensitivity in her shoulder that is causing her quite a bit of pain... whether it is muscular or nerve related we are not sure but I will be calling the doctor today for an appointment since we have been trying to self treat for over a week now. October seems so mundane it hardly bares writing about it.  Hallow'een is coming and maybe that will provide fodder for blogging.... but then I shouldn't complain since who knows what excitement might come... and it might not be excitement I want!

I will wish you all a good day and I will wish you a sunset like the one that came and went as I was coming home from Pop's house last evening.

Marvelous eh?

Loom Issues Continued

So I still haven't been able to sort out the loom situation.  Obviously the lady who is selling it is not wanting to sell it very badly.  I have not been able to get in touch with her. I've left messages but she is either not getting them or just doesn't care. D-mn!

Well I guess it will require a drive to FSJ.... ; \

A Good Morning For A Little Of The Blogs I Love, Some CBC, And Some Spinning

I had a lovely comment this morning from that lady who got me started on blogging in the first place. So I responded in kind and wished that she would be more consistent in her blogging... (it only takes a couple of minutes to post... really!!! and I wish some of you would blog or blog more, as case may be). Then I sat here with the intention of catching up on some of my favorites.... Yarn Harlot this morning is worth reading. Oh how I hooted..... I can't believe anyone in their right mind would "dry" their sweater in the oven...
The House Of Edward was sweet too. (All men could do with reading that one).  I mean not every man gives cool gifts like, antique bronze kaleidoscopes, first edition fairy tales, hand painted lockets.


It is a blustery day and the wind takes the curtains in my room and blows them across our faces. Teapot dreamed that it was spruce trees as he walked through the woods. But I just woke right up as the curtain drifted across my face. It was lovely to know that the first Chinnook of the season is here and it is not even winter yet.  It would have been a good day for a canoe ride... too bad Teapot has to work.


I have been working on my level 5 homework. I have three samples done and I will be working on more today. It feels good to know that I am on my way.  So far the samples have been coming off the wheel with assurance that they will be just fine. Some of the nylon ones were under plied but this was quickly remedied and so, for the next one, I will know to put a little extra ply in it.

From left to right... Bamboo, Nylon, and Nylon/wool in 50/50%.

I am not overly gone on working with some of these fibres though I do have to say that there is a place for a little nylon in sock yarn.


Some people think that Bamboo is a new and lovely yarn with a renewable resource. Bamboo grows quick and therefore is a good alternative to some more natural yarns and certainly is better than acrylic which comes from petroleum based products.... but in the end Bamboo is highly processed and as a cellulose based yarn, is regenerated through an extruded process that is as highly manufactured and chemically nasty as any of the petroleum based products... in buying it... don't think that you are doing something good for the environment. It is not a green product. As a matter of a fact Soy silk and Bamboo and NGO (corn silk), and silk Latte, and Banana are all similar in how they are processed and as such are no better than any of the rayon type yarns.


(By the way the pink (yes pink) table cloth against which the previous picture was taken was a Thrift store find and  hand woven/hand made.... I can handle pink in that situation. )

So I am off to listen to some CBC while I spin a 80/20 nylon/wool blend yarn... I hope this one comes out as nicely as the previous two...


See ya.... (go have a look at Yarn Harlot... it will give you a good laugh.)

Loom Issues

After I sold the sheep I had intended on using the money or at least some portion of it for something of value so that the money didn't get dribbed and drabbed away in small increments for water and gas and lunches at school and so on... you know all the things in daily life that need a little extra cash and when you check your budget at the end of the months you've blown $300.00 and don't really know on what you have spent it. So I made the decision that it was time I purchased a little loom... not just the Rigid Heddle looms that I have which in the eyes of most weavers doesn't even rank as a loom. (Mind you having said that I will probably get poo for that statement from weavers that read here. And Ashford has come out with their version of the Knitters Loom (I have one) which is taken the weaving and knitting world by storm... if that's possible)!  Now, I have been eyeing up the loom of one of my instructors, a really nice little table loom that I had had a look at when I was in Olds.... and I have been diligently saving my pennies for it and if it is still for sale next June then I might... just might have enough money saved for it. So when the sheep sale went through, I started to sound out people in my guild about buying a wee floor loom.

Problem #1:
I don't have a whole lot of room in this house for a floor loom. I need a small floor loom.

Problem #2:
Finding a small floor loom is not the easiest thing to do.... since there are very few on the market.

Tackling these two problems has not proven easy. My dream floor loom is the Leclerc Compact loom in an 8 shaft. Or if I could find a 12 shaft Minerva.... which is virtually impossible since Leclerc doesn't even make the Minerva anymore... then I would be happy with either. The reason for these is that both of those looms are 32 inches wide.... which translates into 36 inches on the outside of the loom... the smallest floor looms on the market.  Perfect for under my steps here in the house.  But more importantly they are both Jack looms and that is what I want since I absolutely hate.... hate... hate.... counter balance.

So with a little money in my pocket the search was on to find a wee loom for the right price... and the right size and most importantly a Jack....

I have a friend who has this acumen for sniffing out spinning and weaving equipment when no one else can.  She had heard of an ex-weaver who had a little 32 inch loom for sale but she didn't know if it was a Jack or not. So Saturday we went to have a look at it. After digging through someone's shed and looking like the proverbial neighbourhood hoodlums (the lady who owned the shed was at work) we found said loom and dragged it into the daylight.  Looking closely we discovered that the reed was in horrible condition with rust basically ruining it... (this was not a terrific problems since if CLR wouldn't take the rust off then you can still purchase reeds to fit that loom) and it was the perfect size though only a four harness.  But then we noticed the pulley on top.... hmmm... it was a counter balance and I absolutely didn't want that. So back into the shed went the loom. That night I came home with disappointment in every fibre of my shoulders. "Pooy," I thought... "no loom."

Next morning I was up early as Teapot and his nephew (The Wonder Boy) headed off for a day of hunting... (still no moose or elk).... I decided to look online at Leclerc looms. And there it was, in all it's glory... the loom my friend and I had pulled out of the shed the day before.... and according to the website it is a Jack... hmmm!  It is an odd Jack as it turns out,  since it has some pullies on the top, thus our confusion in thinking it was a counter balance. Hmm!

So this morning I am calling the lady who owns the loom and I am confirming with her that I want to buy it. It is cheap.... cheap... cheap... for a floor loom... which is great... it is a little flimsier than a floor loom should be and it is no longer in production though the website confirms that you can still order parts for it. Still, I think it will do until I have saved enough moola to buy the loom of my dreams.... (actually looms since I still really want that table loom that my instructor is selling).

Have a look at the one I am buying....

I'm pretty sure it will work... at least for now.

Crazy Daughters And Their Crazy Friends On Crazy Sundays

The Chicken girl is here. And the Daughters are nuts. I have one that is up-side-down on the settee and the other is gurgling instead of talking. She is argueing that she is diagonal and the other is complaining about her cheap vinyl shoes from Jasper which she thinks are awesome and leather.  How do you know it is Sunday afternoon in the Nichols house.  We are all really bored and this brings out the crazy side of our personalities. The cat is now hanging over my head.

I think this is enough stupidity for one afternoon...

Hope your day is not as boring as ours and that craziness is only minor in your house. 'Cause it's really taken ahold in ours!!

Simon and Garfunkel

Most people will look at this photo and will know who these two gents are. I can't remember a time when Simon and Garfunkel weren't a part of my life.  As a girl my sister learned how to play piano (I couldn't or didn't because I had no thumb on my right hand) but I could sing and did I! When my sister turned 12 she was given a songbook of Simon and Garfunkels hits. She learned how to play many of them but the one I remember the best is Bridge Over Troubled Water. She would play and I would sing and my grandfather loved it.... so much so that he recorded us on a really bad cassette player and we still have that cassette (but no player to play it on).

I was tickled this morning to learn that Paul Simon has just turned 70 years of age.... and he keeps on truckin'.  He has just come out this year with an original album and recently he has come out with an album of previous hits. That to me is just awesome.  Now I realize that a lot of people out there will say that Graceland was Paul Simon's best album ever but I disagree... I just love Rhythm Of The Saints. The Daughters and I will groove out in the living room listening to that album fairly regularly.  So I am looking forward to listening to these new albums.

The other evening I went for a walk with Teapot and on reentering our driveway I was truly impressed with two trees standing sentinel over the driveway and house in the full moon's glow. One tree is a Pine tree that so far has been able to withstand the onslaught of the Pine Beetle and the other is a twisted and gnarled spruce tree. They have been standing over the driveway since we first moved into this house and somehow in the moonlight of the other night they made me feel like I was coming home to two good friends. So I named them.... they are... you guessed it... Simon and Garfunkel.

Teapot thinks I'm nuts....
I think you should just "Slow Down You're Movin' Too Fast...."  and check out the trees or smell the roses... it's all the same.

"Feelin' Groovy"

Tick Tock... Time Goes On

Tomorrow morning will mark the third anniversary of Ye Olde Batt (the blog). I have been looking back on the last few years through the many posts that I have completed.  A year ago I had decided to remove the Followers List since I knew that the list was not a true reflection of those who were following along with the blog (it all seemed to add to the idea that blogging was a popularity contest and I certainly wasn't interested in that).  As time goes by, I have gained some new followers and I have lost some of the old ones. Meanwhile there are a few who remain steadfast and true followers.... and to those I give a heart felt thank you.

I have enjoyed, over the years, writing for this blog, and while sometimes my writing has been funny and entertaining, sometimes the mundane parts of life have affected me and my writing has reflected that. Through it all, this blog has remained a way for me to keep track of the events of my life and the lives of those around me. It has given me an outlet to talk about and keep track of this little farm and my business which waits patiently to become one.  It has also given me a way to keep track of the joys and anguishes of becoming a Master Spinner. Always it has been a reference for my life.

While I don't share everything in my life (sometimes things are just too close to the heart to share with anyone, let alone with everyone) I have tried to share the more interesting parts. In this fast paced life where Blackberries and iPhones rule, where staying "in touch" is the norm, where computer screens rule, and social media have become the foundations for relationships, where face to face conversations seem to be on the decline, blogging has provided me an opportunity to meet new people and connect with old friends and family with whom I have lost contact. Through it all, my blogging has allowed you, the reader, into a part of my world.... and I hope you have found something to enrich your world too.

When I first started my blogging life I had heard from a friend that she had started a blog and I thought, well, if she can do it so can I. I wasn't really sure though if I could write about interesting things enough to make it worth my while. I had no clue about how to actually work a blog and the whole thing seemed a little daunting. So I decided to jump in and treat it like it was a journal with entries as often as I could manage. And so here I sit three years later still trying to write cohesively, coherently and responsibly.  I hope that I have managed to achieve that....

I hope most of all that my life will continue to offer a little humour, a little knowledge, and a little bit cheer into your life and I hope you will stick with me as I try to continue to do that.

The one and only thing that I would add,  is that I would ask you, the reader, to occasionally drop me a line in the comments as it really is encouraging to get an occasional comment and I do try to respond when I can...

Oh and by the way... here's a statistic or two for you... I have written 742 posts over three years which works out to approximately a post every second day.

In the meantime stay tuned as tomorrow I will be back with an update on my level 5 homework which I once again am attacking. (I have a really awesome Bamboo sample that I just took off the wheel...)

And so it goes.... tick tock... time goes on.

Thanks Giving

Canadian Thanksgiving day.

I am sitting here alone in the quiet waiting for the Daughters to get up. Teapot left an hour or so ago to go with his brother and nephew for another day of hunting in the back country. They haven't been able to see anything worthy of their hunting efforts yet. It is a coolish morning with a nip in the early morning air. A normal fall day. The leaves have almost gone and actually around my yard there's hardly a leaf to be seen.  The sheep and Honeydew have departed for their new home almost a week ago now. I do not miss them, though the first night they were gone, I dreamed that they were having difficulty adjusting to their new home. Weird dreams abounded that night... but since then I really haven't thought of them much... probably because it has been so busy with the gallery show and preparing for that and then company for the weekend and now that things have settled down I find I am quite used to them not being there.  Mishka, on the other hand, seems to miss her companions and now looks longingly at the boys on the other side of the fence as though she wishes they were a little closer to her. The ram paces back and forth wondering where his flock of girls have gone. He will be moved to his new home soon too.

Meanwhile I am having a easy time caring for the rabbits.  I didn't realize how well this would work. They love being groomed and hardly move an inch as I comb their long locks. I will give them a good trim in a week or so... closer to the cold weather but not so close that the shorter hair will be an issue for them as they try to stay warm, and then I will not trim them again till early spring.  They are easy to feed and easy to catch and once they have been caught they hold quite still and enjoy a cuddle or two before I brush them out. I think the bunnies and I will get along just fine.

I haven't been able to get my mind off the gallery show.  It was great... in no uncertain terms.  I was so surprised that I sold two pieces right away.... It will mean a little income before Christmas.  I hope that some of my other items will sell but there is no guarantee. I came away from opening night feeling that all the work of the few days leading up to the show were well worth the effort.  I finished the scarf that was still on the loom yesterday and I will keep it for another occasion. I am also carrying on and working on the two shawls that never made it in to the show. I have several pieces on my diamond shaped loom finished and will keep going with that since, with some pretty beads, I think it will make a beautiful, though heavier shawl. But the hot pink shawl will become an alpaca blanket and I will play with the colour of that one a little so that it is not quite so hard on the eyes. Maybe tone it down a little. We'll see.

With a wee pooch at my feet, and a Turkey in the oven beginning to sizzle, the sounds of Thanksgiving surround me...

I am so thankful for family and friends who have supported and uplifted me throughout the year... its great to know that I am cared for and loved.

I hope you have much for which to be thankful too...

Now... those Daughters of mine are stirring and after breakfast they will want a shower... I'm running low on water in the cistern so I had better go deal with that... a visit to the parents place to fill the water tank should do the trick and I'll have a nice thanks giving coffee and toast with them too...

See y'all soon.

Fine Marnin' For A Lot Of Stuff

So we have company for the weekend.... sort of. Our company came and then they went and then they came and then they went and now they're here. Sort of...

 I know it is all confusing but suffice it to say that Teapot brother, wife and son have been visiting. The son lives in FSJ and works as an apprentice linesman. The brother and wife arrived on Thursday while I was in FSJ putting up the show. They stayed for supper and brought it with them and then left. They went to FSJ to stay with their son. The next morning Teapot's brother showed up early in the morning for a day of hunting. Teapot having a day off  from school was happy to oblige. That evening Teapot and his brother got home in time for us to go to the opening of the show. (More on that in a minute... ) Then Teapot's brother left and went back to FSJ. So in essence our company only comes during the day and doesn't stay for the night. All this too-ing and fro-ing is kind of making my head spin. And for a Newfy it feels really weird that they keep bringing food and I can't feed them.  I realize they they are trying to make a little an impact into our lives as possible and while that's thoughtful, for a good Newfy who likes to feed everyone up it just feels plain weird. The wife is in the kitchen as I am writing here making chili.... like, I could have done that... and what's worse is they brought their own food... Maybe they think I can't cook. It, quite honestly is freaking me out!

More about the gallery show....
I sold two pieces by the time I had left the show on Friday night... I was soooo stoked! Just like that I have made in excess of $150.00 wahoo... now why can't I do that all the time?

The show went really well. We were all so pleased that it was well attended. We all felt that it probably is one of the best shows we have put off.  Awesome. This is our fourth show and we wanted this one to look more arty than crafty and I think we pulled it off. Everyone was favourably impressed.

So the show will be hanging in the gallery for the next month and then we will be taking down and there won't be another for three years.  Still two of the ladies in the guild want to have a private show for the three of us.  So I am thinking hard on it. It is not easy to come up with enough stock for the show, especially when they want one of a kind pieces. I guess I will think on it.

I am off to finish a scarf that I didn't get off the loom in time to make it into the show. And now I have ideas abounding through my brain for other nice items to weave.... I've just got to get a bigger loom...
(sigh). I just wish that I was making chili instead of my guest.... weird!

Setting Up The Show

I spent yesterday morning sewing the last of the beads to the shawl that I knit last year. Then at 12 noon I headed off to FSJ to help hang the show. Tonight is the opening and if anyone is interested and is close enough to come by they will be serving wine and cheese. : )

Here's a few pics of the set up....

This is what you see as you are entering the show. But not the big easel on the right... that's part of the setting up.

To the right are creams and blands.

....moving into purples and ....

...mixed tones....

Then on to greens and blues.....

more blues with a beige thrown in....

...then you come around the corner and you are into reds and oranges and browns....

In the middle are collections.

We all really worked hard to make this an outstanding show.

You can see the plynth with the old boots and the hand woven/made shoelaces. Which was really cool.

Consultation on draping all the various shawls was an ongoing affair.

So if you are able to make it to our show which is called "It's A Wrap" we'd love to have you come... and bring your wallet 'cause that's what these shows are all about.  And if nothing else come and help us eat that wine and cheese. ; )

Work My Fingers To The Bone

So as per usual I'm thinking that I'm just going to have a poor showing at this show. I really wanted to have three shawls and 6 scarves and a bunch of shoe laces.  I'm going to have one shawl 5 scarves and a couple of shoelaces.  I lay in bed last night have heart palpitations worrying about my lack of getting stuff done but there comes a time when you have to admit that somethings are just not going to get finished. I'm at that point. I'm really liking the scarves that I do have done and I love the shawl that I finished last year but I would have loved it a whole lot better if my shawl was one of several.  Thank heavens our guild is big and we will have a good showing anyway.

I have a stack of scarves on the table waiting for the iron today. I have a shawl waiting for a few beads on the table and one of my scarves still needs to be finished which I will do this morning. And I'm tired.  I wish I had two more weeks. Then I would have a bunch more stuff done. Tomorrow I will go to town and help hang the show. Tonight will be the last little bit of time I have to get stuff done. The shoelaces still need tips so I have to find time for that today too.

Friday night is the opening. The show is called "It's A Wrap" and it is time to rub elbows and drink wine and eat cheese.  And hopefully a few of the things that we make will be sold. Then the weekend is here and I have family arriving for Thanksgiving. Teapot is off on Monday and Tuesday since there is an extra day given to those at our school because of busing issues and having to work later than the rest of the schools in the district.  I am happy to have him home. It will give us a chance to catch up on life and get back to normal. Then Wednesday when Teapot and the Daughters go back to school Level 5 homework starts in earnest. I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm just sorry that my shrug from my level 4 homework is not back from my instructor yet since it was supposed to be in the show though not for sale. It's just not fair. : (

Meanwhile here's a few pictures of scarves and shawls.

A stack of scarves...

The shawl that needs embellishing....

Scarf that I will finish this morning.

Well that's enough for now... I had better get back to my spaghetti making.