Moving Right Along....

I have been enjoying a week of unconventional communication..... from intellectual debates with archdeacons to unexpected flattery from a Captain in the army. Even Hubby jumped into the fray.

Hubby and I have long surpassed the days when intellectual conversation of any kind is the norm.... we’ve discussed ad nausium topics of interest and so we generally know where each other stands with most topics. Conversation is usually a comfortable day to day dance of body language, and verbal discourse. Topics usually fall in the category of ongoing events. Rarely we discuss things that we hear on the radio and occasionally we debate topics that come up due to what we read. It’s not bad.... it’s just comfortable. So when opportunities arise on both our parts to exchange witticisms of any kind whether with each other or with others it is most stimulating.

I want to say that most of what occurred this week is due to the fact that technology is so advanced that one can debate online without ever coming face to face. One can be most brave when one is facing a computer screen rather than a person. I’ll be honest, my bravery is pathetic. I’m sure I would never say some of the things that I say if I actually had to look the person in the eye.

Technology, by the way, is at a premium these days in our house. Hubby came home with a surprise yesterday. I am now the proud owner of an iPod and also a new cell phone.... our old phone was becoming antiquated.... (I know... how can a cell phone be antiquated?!!!) so Hubby and I had been talking about getting a new one for a while. We had decided that we may get rid of our regular house phone and just go with cell phones and while we haven’t gone that far yet, we have each got a cell phone.... and WOW is it cool! I can take pictures and send them to my email, I can text message, I can access on-line information, I can listen to music.... all this and communicate verbally too. I spent several hours last night getting to know my cell phone and downloading music to my new iPod. I will be heading down to Victoria next week for training with the Junior Canadian Rangers so Hubby wanted to be sure that I was good with my cell phone and being able to keep in touch... I’m all set with my new gear. I think its great. For a gal who had no clue about technology just a few years ago..... well, I’m certainly not 40, fat and foolish anymore..... just 40 and fat! My daughter hates that word.... so in honour of her... overweight.

Take care and see you all when I get back.

In Honour Of Spring

I've been thinking about Daffodils. I've been thinking of Crocuses. I've been thinking of Hyacinths and Lilys too. In honour of those beautiful flowers I've changed my colours. This is the time of the year when a trip to my local Canadian Tire store sees me trekking home with a variety of bulbs and soil to plant for forcing..... I'm actually later this year than is usual for forcing bulbs. Generally I start in late January and have them ready for the latter part of March. I love a few flowers in the house when winter is still dragging its feet and has not departed north yet and forcing bulbs gives me lots of flowers in the house.
Mostly I like Hyacinths, but I have tried Lilies and Crocuses too.

The days are getting longer now and the sun reaches farther and farther around the westering windows of our house in the evenings. Hubby and I have made our annual forray to the local financial institute for the RRSP contributions of tax time. And more importantly, we have taken the initial steps toward the Renovations to our home in the form of financing. I will be traveling next week so I cannot do anything for the time being. But when I return I will be contacting the contractor and getting a quote for the work that we want done. Then next, to satisfy the banks requirements, we have to get an appraisal on the house for both now and after the renovations are done. After that, it's just a matter of signing the documents and then the work can begin.

Now when I speak of renovations, I mean Renovations. I don't just mean painting the floor and moving furniture around. We will be removing the majority of the roof to accommodate a new set of dormers to open up the rooms upstairs and we will be closing in a deck to accommodate a new office and den/studio. If we can, we will also be putting in an ensuite. And with no more than a change of entrance to the current bathroom we will gain a laundry room albeit small. There may even be a cold storage room too. It all depends on how much the whole thing costs. I am hoping that the office will accommodate a small wood cooking heater/stove so that when the power goes out we have some kind of back up.

So the renovation ideas abound. Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait to see the changes this place will undergo. We are talking about the new flooring and what type of windows to use, we are talking about sinks and toilets and tubs.... yes tubs....(I'll be able to sit in a tub again after 7 years of showers)! We are talking about closets with cedar linings. And with all that we are talking about wood stoves and code requirements..... I'm even talking about a new little car. It is all rather facinating and a whole lot exciting.

Hubby leaves the majority of the design elements to me.... he wants nothing to do with it. Depending on when we can start, we will do the sunroom first if it is too cold to move out. Then we will move out for the summer months into the tent trailer and give the contractor time to remove the roof and put in the dormers.

I'll be posting pictures here as the Renovations continue..... this is what it looks like now....

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's hoping that you are enjoying the romance that everyone deserves on Feb 14th. It's a day when red and white and pink are prevalent. Red roses and white lacey cards and pink tulips and carnations. That is what my house is filled up with. Chocolates abound and so do red heart shaped jelly candy. We here at Nicholsville West farm have a tradition of giving a cut out heart, usually red or pink, with a few words to those we love declaring our undying love. This tradition started with my Grandfather when I was a girl sooooo ..... 35 or so years ago, when he wrote..... Oh my Barbie little Barbie how I love you no one knows, But may you never have to go with a pimple on your nose. I still have that Valentine in my keepsakes, and so began a tradition which has brought laughter and tears and no small amount of heart palpatations.

Hubby and I started our day with a nice sleep in. We never got up till 11:30 a.m. and what a nice sleep in it was. Very relaxing. And more important, very rare! Love, after 17 years together, is very different from the days when we were first together. Sleeping in constitutes romance and though that sounds lame I really appreciated a little cuddle time. No getting up and getting breaakfast for everyone. Hubby got to linger with me and we loved every minute. The minutes before getting up when we roll over and wrap our arms around each other is always the best time of the day.... but on Valentine's day when the minutes become hours.... its just such a lovely, decadent time for both of us.

One of the most romantic things I have ever heard is the story of Ethel and Leo Rutlegde after 50 something years of marriage, both of them in their nineties and Leo's failing health was coming to a close. He had been in and out of consciousness for days and then the day before he died he came to consciousness and Ethel was sitting by waiting by his side as she had always been and slowly he whispered, "you know, I've been very fond of you Ethel my dear."

No grandiose declaration of everlasting love just simple appreciation for the woman who had kept him company all those years.



How could I not love this????!!!

Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you find joy in the caring... just simple joy in the caring with the one you love.

More On The Lives Of The Animals

Evening feeding time is just as much fun as watching the animals waking up in the morning. Hubby has been on feeding duty recently as I have been recuperating from winter and trying to get my head around being alive. So I've been sitting here watching him feed the animals.

Have you ever seen a sheep frolic? They jump in the air and bounce aroung like there is no tomorrow and they usually do this when they are happy. The ram is the best at it but some of the younger ewes do it too. The sheep are most happy when they are about to get their daily quota of grain. They jump and frolic around Hubby like he is a God. Even Honeydew runs to meet him at the gate. the ram and Greig my wither (castrated male) start boinking their heads together.....not because they are mad or upset but just because that is what they do. It's fun I guess. The alpacas line up and parole the fence line and watch from the closest corner as the animals receive their portion of grain. Hubby likes to feed them all alittle by hand so they are used to him and his smell. Honeydew, the llama is most skittish when he tries to feed her by hand. Honeydew has had a halter on her face all year and we have been trying to coax her to let us take t off her but for some reason she just will not let us touch her face.

Once Hubby has laid in the feed on the ground it is fun to watch them jostling for position to get to the feed. Oscar the ram is notorious for jumping under the feed and getting it all over his back as we are laying it out for him. This is something we try to avoid since the hay gets in the wool and makes a right proper mess. Not good when you want to sell the fibre down the line after shearing time. Izzy, one of last year's ewes is also notorious for that too. Jelly, who is an older ewe likes to eat and I mean eat. She gets a nasty look in her eye if you are carrying grain in a bucket and she can't get her head in the bucket right away. Tubby the retarded sheep just puts his head down and eats... like it is a job.... the rest take care of him and push him around when he is in the way or when he needs to go lie under the lean-to.

After the frenzy of feeding is over they all proceed to lay in their food and just chew their cuds while occasionally reaching down for another mouthful to just munch on. Greig and the ram will spend a great deal of time trying to lick up and left over grain that has gotten buried in the snow. The alpacas will go and get a good long drink from the watering bucket.

It's really neat to watch them frolic together and then just get along together. They have cool relationships. Just like people they get along some days better than other and the scrap and fight though rarely..... mostly the male alpacas....

It's neat to watch..... it's better than T.V.

It's getting dark out there now and they will be bedding down soon. I guess I should get ready to go to knit night.... I'm finishing wristlets and that oh so yummy wool for socks that I bought is waiting patiently.

The Farm

I love to watch the animals waking in the morning. As I sit here Honeydew, the llama, has just arisen for her morning stretch. Alpacas and llamas arise like a Camel... they lift their hind quarters first and then lift their front quarters. Honeydew has stretched her neck and then lifted her hind leg and given her front one a gentle scratch using her two toe nails. The rest of the animals in that pen seem to take that as a wake up call. The Oscar the Ram nudges Tubby the retarded sheep to get up and Greig has gotten up for a stretch too. Mishka is the last one to arise. They all head for the area where Hubby last laid grain out for them and they proceed to lick the area to get the last remaining taste from the snow. Tubby has opted to go back to sleep as he has put his head back down.

The male alpacas in the farthest pen are watching the movements of the animals that I have just spoken of. They are not quite ready to get up and move around. It is cold this morning or at least colder than it has been for the last few weeks. Dexter, one of the alpacas, has gotten up now and is patrolling the fence line. The other alpacas are still lying down in the hay by the feeder chewing their cuds and watching Dexter move around. The sun has just come up and the sky is pink and blue with hints of yellow and orange on the bottoms of the clouds and daylight is getting brighter all the time.

The ewes in their pen are just starting to move too. Most of them sleep outside where they can see what is all around them. But some of the youngers ewes like to hang out in the barn at night. They too seem to want more grain as they are checking out the place where the grain is poured onto the soft white snow.

Greig is pawing through the hay in an effort to upturn some clover seeds and get to the yummy stuff. Oscar (the ram) is poking about for the same thing. They are friends but they also butt heads from time to time. Both take care of Tubby the retarded lamb.... I don't know what they will do when he gets taken to the butcher block. Honeydew has decided to lie down again and Mishka the female alpaca has decided to lie with her. They are friends too.

It is such a placid scene and it is very calm to watch.

Later in the day things will get livelier and I will tell you about the manuevers of the animals to get what they want. See ya later...

Back To Bed

Hubby and I have caught a cold.... it's hard to avoid in this lack of humidity. Mine is affecting my balance and Hubby is just having a hard time breathing. Hubby stayed home from school yesterday and I took the kids to school.... I drove our truck when I probably shouldn't have because when I went out through the door yesterday morning the snow was deep and I could barely walk through it with out sidling around as though I was drunk. The curious thing is that I can't walk a straight line but when I sit I'm ok. Anyway, I drove the kids to school without mishap... that's what counts.

When I got home I pulled my old bear routine and went back to bed. It was actually quite nice to be there. I read for a while and I slept for a while and when i woke up I felt better... at least a little bit. Having a sinus infection after falling on your face and smashing your nose doesn't really feel nice!

The whole day was like that. Mostly peaceful with snow falling quietly and the animals poking about in the snow. the afternoon cleared away and we had beautiful sun all afternoon. The temperatures are dipping after the last few weeks of mild weather and the damn snow melting so that the snowmobiling Rangers couldn't go through the most beautiful area on the trail. Murphy's Law! It's all rather beastly, especially those in charge of 4CRPG. But I'm done with that and have had a weary time fronting calls of disappointed people in town. They're gone (4CRPG) and I hope they stay gone... permanently!

It was back to spinning last evening for homework. My goal was to give a light fibre drape. So I chose a lovely caramel merino as my light fibre and gave it drape with Tussah silk which is a lovely champaigne colour. The resulting yarn is gorgeous. I am doing a second sample of this fibre as my first has issues with grist. I have to get the grist right before I am satisfied. I have just combed the merino and loaded the hackles with merino and silk. I will attend to the sliver in a few minutes and then I will spin. But before I do I am headed back to bed.

This is the time for Old Bear to be coming out of hibernation however, this year Old Bear didn't get to hibernate in January with homework and Hubby's back and all, so Old Bear is semi-hibernating this year with morning sleep-ins. It is quite nice actually. As I look out the window waiting for lambing season to begin, there are some lovely snow flakes falling, (just a few), and everything is covered in a blanket of lovely white. This is the picture card from Hallmark. Very peaceful.... and thank heavens for that. Perfect for a sleep in.

So off I go.....back to bed!

Pink

In honour of the upcoming Valentine's Day..... think Pink!