If I Were Wealthy

1. I would eat fruit more often. All kinds and exotic stuff too.

2. I would adopt at least 20 dogs. But not cats.... 2 of them is enough.

3. I'd buy a really nice tent trailer... because I love the ability to sleep at night in a nice bed but love to camp and hear the sounds of the forest at night. No tent and I don't want an RV or a hard sided trailer.

4. I'd go camping a lot... in out of the way places... where nobody could find me... just squirrels and maybe a coyote or a howling wolf in the distance.

5. I'd buy a swimsuit that flatters.... nah... that's impossible.

5a. In view of not getting the previous one, instead I'd hire a cook to do all the cooking here and he/she would come camping too... but not in the tent trailer... that would be weird.

6. I'd find a beach where I could camp right by the water. (PEI here I come...)

7. I'd pay people to stay away while I skinny dipped... (or in my case fat dipped).

8. I'd buy a friend flowers and a nice pastrami on rye sandwich with potato salad on the side....  and then we'd share lunch and drink tea.

9. I'd finish the house renovation.... new flooring and a finished wall in the stairwell with no wires poking out anywhere... "wouldn't it be luverly".

10. I'd buy exotic trees and spend a fortune trying to get them to grow.

11. I'd hire a tractor to come and plow up all the poop in my yard. Then I'd bag it and sell it and be even more wealthy.

12. I'd put in a very elaborate water garden with running water so that it wouldn't breed flies.

13. I'd buy Teapot a new canoe... the canoe of his dreams... maybe two canoes.. (that would include the canoe of my dreams too)!

14. I'd pay off all my Mom's and Dad's debts. Hey mine too.... I'd be debt free.. now there's a thought!

15. I'd go to Olds Fibre week every year and spend a fortune at the vendors and buy all my friends something sumptuous to spin.

16. I'd go to Victoria with a friend to shop for beads.

17. I'd go to Britain with Teapot and the Daughters... to see the Scilly Isles and then I'd go to Scotland to the Orkney's and I'd get my picture taken by this fellow.

18. I'd pay for my friend's medical bills in Veit Nam... her husband recently died there unexpectedly with a lung infection with no travel insurance.

19. I'd go to Walmart and buy those $4 angora socks that Daughter #1 gave me for Christmas 2009.... and loved.... I know... I actually loved s----..... Holy Cow!

20. I'd come visit you or pay to have you come visit me. Would that be ok?

I think that's enough....

Bye bye....

Seeking Magic

Here for more Ethereal Art

What is it that makes us want the world to be un-ordinary.  I have been reading a lot of blogs online recently and the ones that most appeal are those where someone is seeking beauty through the un-ordinary... through the world of magic.  It seems to me that people seem to deal with the world around the by seeking the humour in it but what they really want is not reality but that which is beyond them. We find it inordinately appealing when something from the world that is tangible combines with something from us to create something intangible.  For example, when I hear the howls of coyotes out in the night, it sets the hair on the back of my neck to standing on end. There are shivers that pass up and down my spine. It is the intangible connected-ness of coyotes howling and my reaction of hairs standing on end that creates the world of the ethereal.

A few years ago I began doing the research on mathematical models in the natural world and what I discovered was that there was a connection between math (the absolute abstract) and nature which is tangible.  In it's simplicity, mathematical models are random numbers that equate to create recurring patterns. In other words, no two snow flakes are the same yet all snowflakes possess six-fold symmetry. In the plant world, this interprets as leaves, petals, daisy heads etc... with patterns that can be duplicated in common mathematical equations, particularly the "golden number"[(1 + the square root of 5)/2 =1.618 which the Greeks studied so long ago.  The curl of a drying fern, the spiral of the seeds growing in the head of a daisy are also to be found in the spiral of nautilus shell.

Patterns in leopard skins and some forms of insects as well as Giraffes and Cheetahs have patterns that can also be duplicated by mathematical properties. Even cracks in mud or the way fur lies on an animal are reflected by mathematical properties.

Thousands of years ago there was a Greek philosopher that said that "all things are number" and perhaps he was closer to the truth than we can know. In the end, it is the connected-ness of all things to each other that gives this world it's ethereal quality. Perhaps that is why we tend to be drawn to the ethereal, perhaps we have a desire to return to our roots which is somewhere between mathematics and number and our skin cell's patterns. Perhaps we are not as unique in the world as one may thing... perhaps we need to look at math more closely to understand ourselves better. Perhaps we can use math to cure cancer. We just need to find the identical patterns to helps us understand what is underlying all life.

Who could believe that something so definite as mathematics, so absolute,  could be so intricately entwined in something so elusive as life.

When I hear a coyote howling in the night and the hairs on the back of my neck is beginning to rise, then I will know.... and not just wonder... that the ethereal is at work in our world.

Here for more Ethereal Art

More Old Pics...

Teapot in his youth...

How did he get like this?!

I always did like the out doors.

He looks like he should be carrying a gun and not a wine glass.

And why oh why did he marry this freak.

We did have our moments of normalcy.

Then the kids came along. Daughter #1 and Daughter #2....

Daughter #1 liked to drag Daughter #2 everywhere around the house.

Things started to get to me and I had moments when I should have been in the looney bin.

It started to rub off on Daughter #1

But how could you go crazy when there were moments like this...

We didn't build snow men... we built the kids snow horses.

Impish little grins....

Daughter #1 went to school... this was her 1st day.

Then Daughter #2 went to school a year later... and this was her 1st day.

We all got older.... but sometimes I miss the old days when we were young and foolish.

Conversations Again

Go here for background information on the following...

Left Toes: SnooooOOOooore..... Snork! Hmmm....! I could have sworn I heard someone calling to me.

Right Toes: You did you dip stick. Wake up.... it's spring... it's time to come out of hibernation.

Left Toes: I can't hear you.... I... just a minute..... ah, that's better. I couldn't hear you very well inside my slipper.

Right Toes: I know... since Christmas when she got the slippers I've been feeling awfully lonely. All I do is sleep. Usually I shiver my way through winter but not this year. It's been lovely and warm and she never wore socks at all. I love slippers. I've never slept so good in all my life!

Left Toes: SHUT UP... now you've done it you said the S word. She doesn't know yet does she?!!!

Right Toes: Nope, I don't think so.

Brain: I seem to hear you guys talking about S---- again! What the heck are you guys on about now? Are you complaining? Of course you are. You always complain. Well, I'm not wearing socks... you've got new slippers so that should keep you warm.

Feet: Noooo, we're not complaining....

Left Toes: As a matter of a fact I was just saying how lovely and cozy I've been this winter.... please, please, please, keep the slippers.

Brain: Ahh you like the slippers eh?  I thought you might.

Feet: Yeah, it's been a very luxurious winter. I haven't been cold at all.

Brain: Hey! Do you guys hear that.... what is that sound?

Feet: Oh that...

Left Toes: I told you to keep your mouth shut.

Right Toes: Well, should we tell her?

Left Toes: We have no choice really and she'll just find out anyway.

Brain: What are you two muttering about?

Feet: That noise you hear?..... that's the socks on strike!

My Blog = Blah

I have come to the conclusion that my blog is boring me to death.... it needs another face lift... hmmm not sure what to do.

I still like the content, though, sometimes I wonder why on earth anyone would want to read this stuff... for me it is journalling. My life and my family and mostly my work gets documented here and it is fun to go back and have a look at stuff that we've done in the past and projects I've completed. Yet, when I see other blogs with 500+ followers I kind of scratch my head and wonder why I've been writing for almost two and a half years and my followers are so low... is my life that boring? Must be.

Of course, I keep saying that I am not doing this as a popularity contest... I'm doing this for me. And so I carry on.

But a face lift from time to time doesn't hurt... and I'm ready for another one... something warmer I think.
Hmm... I'm off to have a go at it. And some breakfast.

There..... now that's a change... and it's in keeping with the fact that I can't choose which colours to use!

Day Is Done

I have been picking cashmere. Last night it took me three hours to pick 30 grams of cashmere. I know you are wondering what in the world is she picking cashmere for... you're probably wondering if I mean to pick out cashmere as in a special type of cashmere... or to pluck at it. Well, in this instance I mean to pluck at it... as in plucking all of the hair out of it.  You see, cashmere in the raw state can have a lot of hair in it... so it needs to be plucked out before it can be spun. Also known as dehairing. So tuft by tuft the hair is pulled from the fibre and then it is ready for blending in this case and then spinning and so on... This plucking job is being calculated as part of my level 4 150 hour project.  It has to be done and though I have not finished all of the other questions I thought I would start working on my 150 hour project a little in between doing some of the other questions.

I decided to stuff sandwich bags with the fibre to be blended, 5 gms of merino, followed by 2 gms of silk and then 3 gms of cashmere (plucked) to give me a 50/30/20% split. After I have done up 10 bags I will blend them and spin them... and then I will make up another 10 bags... and so on.  But suffice it to say that my 150 hour project has begun.

The darn hair is dastardly to pluck out of the cashmere fibre. I sit with my legs stretched out on the couch with my bag of cashmere in my lap, the folding table with my weigh scales by my side and some paper towel to catch the hair from landing in my lap and making me look like a Sasquatch. I surprisingly don't really mind it too much... I started last night while the Daughters were watching a movie, and I carried on with it again tonight. My shoulders do ache after a while.

Meanwhile Teapot and the Daughters are off to bed because this is the last day of March break...It's back to school tomorrow for them. This past week has been lovely and mild and we have been barbecuing dinner ever since the turkey a few days ago. The girls have been spending inordinate amounts of time out of doors and the sunshine would cheer the worst mope these last few days. (And believe me, we have needed cheering since last weekend... after Tootsie died).  It is funny how we have pulled together over this last week... it's like family first and everything else can come later.

Teapot managed to get two of my shelves in yesterday and and finished all the shelving in the pantry. He also got the table/island finished too.  We are finished with the kitchen... and it is a great job. There's one last shelf to put up but it is cut so all I need to do is buy the shelf brackets that will hold it and that won't happen until I get to the nearest hardware store. Tomorrow, I'm going to get going on our bedroom.... in between spinning and plucking. Yup, more spring cleaning... I think I'm on a bit of a roll.

I'm off to dream of plucking the hair out of cashmere. All is quiet and there's no longer any movement on the upper floor since all members of the household are now snoring peacefully. Day is done.... but there is always tomorrow.

More Spring Cleaning... (Or How Poop Can Affect Your Life)

What I want to know is how in the world did the spring cleaning turn into a mini renovation! In the process of switching around the food pantry and dishes pantry, we decided to install the new counter tops which have been sitting in the shed since our big renovation two years ago, fix the doors on the cabinets which will contain the food from here on in, make a new island, and prepare the dishes pantry for the new doors....  Two years ago, at the time of our big renovation, the kitchen repairs/renovation got put on hold because of flooring issues. (We couldn't decide which flooring to put down through the house.  We still can't and since the sunroom is far from finished we don't have to make that decision for a while yet.) Meanwhile, the kitchen was workable for "the time being".... but of course, "the time being" stretched into two years. Yesterday, I had a mini crack-up... (that's where you go slightly nuts) and decided that life was too short to live in a crap heap. (Of course the poop all over the yard helped me to come to the point of my mini crack- up and also with the living circumstances descriptive of "crap heap".) The dog was trotting across the kitchen with muddy, poopy feet.... Teapot was tramping through my kitchen with his poopy boots and the last straw was after Daughter #1 walked into the house with horse doo doo attached to her shoes. I looked around and saw the recycling overflowing, and potatoes rolling across the floor... and every surface littered with dirty dishes... that's when I snapped! In very short order I had the food pantry gutted (and low and behold in the back, on the floor, were some mouse turds from the damn rodent we caught just before Christmas which I thought I had gotten rid of.... which just added to the poop analogy... hopefully we don't have another rodent issue)! At eleven last night, I was not finished but there were some serious improvements. This morning, I got up and the kitchen was still in a ree raw... (Newfy term for a serious mess)!  So I had at it again... at some point, Teapot took pity on me and began helping me remove a shelf which we had been using "for the time being" as a counter and replace it with the new counter top... which turned into an all-day-effort.

The shelf with the toaster will be lowered to the light switch level and then a new shelf will be added above it. All the recycling bins underneath will be covered with a brown checkered set of curtains. Eventually this counter will be where the sink is placed.

Meanwhile, the shelves are waiting tomorrow's efforts since they will be raised and put into place fairly speedily. Then we just have to rebuild the island with a more permanent completion effort.... (that means that I have to paint the top and Teapot has to level it so that the boiled eggs don't fall on the floor every time we use it).

...but in the meantime here it stands leaning against the wall with the log which will hold it up... (but not level apparently)... standing next to it. The chair will be set under it so that we can eat there two. The old trolly (lower left corner) will be making a one way trip to the dump.

Later in the summer, we will move the plumbing to the new counter and install the new sink, and replace the counter on the other side of the kitchen where the sink is now. And the window (to the left) that overlooks the sunroom will be removed to make way for a pass through for the dining room.

Ugly counter top in the old part of the kitchen... this will have a new counter and the sink won't be there. Meanwhile the cabinets in the background are getting adjustments made to the doors to improve them and is the place where the food is now stored.

(We are doing this so that dirty dishes cannot be viewed from the living room and the new counter will act as a pass through for the dining room.) All that I have left to do is make the curtain to cover the recycling which is under the new counter.... (yes I want a curtain instead of cabinets... because it is more country style) and make a bread box since I lost mine to wool since it is not air tight.

I have come to the conclusion that I have too much stuff in a small kitchen and so there are plenty of boxes to go to the Thrift store and the dump. Junk that has been sitting on shelves and not in use in far too long, belongs somewhere other than in my very nice clean kitchen. And let me tell you, that proper counters after years of wood laminate counters that have splits in them, (where crumbs and grunge gathers for a bacteria infested mess), is like night and day. There are a few bags of bulk grains that need to be placed in containers but otherwise that is it.... oh yeah and the pantry doors need to be cut and installed... but all in good time.

This is the old food pantry which now holds all my dishes... it just needs another shelf below and one above (which Teapot will cut for me today) and the two doors.

I need to finish level 4 so that I can take a week to do the wood burning on the front of the doors before they will be installed... but in the meantime it is starting to shape up.

Teapot seems to think that by the end of today we will have it finished... for now (that doesn't include the plumbing changes which hopefully will be done this summer). Meanwhile I still have to chase everyone around with a mop and bucket... and that won't change till the ground dries out a little more. In maybe a week? I sure hope so cause I'm just plain sick of poop... and crap heaps!!!