I went to a party tonight. It was a going away party for a gal who had been working at the school for the last few years. She's leaving. The party was at the house of one of the school staff and his house is on the banks of the Peace. I mean right on the banks of the Peace. The Peace river is a beautiful river but it has been cutting it's way through this valley for so long that in most places the banks are quite high... like 35 ft + high. So not everywhere along the banks can you see it unless you are right up to the edge of the bank. But this house tonight was at one of the low places along the river. There was a long grassy lawn running right down to the edge of the river and I stood on the deck of the house and looked at the river and fell in love with where I live all over again. The Peace is like that. You walk away and because it is not always and completely visible you tend to forget it... Then you have an evening or a day when you spend some time on its banks and it sucks you in totally and completely and you wish for just a little bit that you could live that river in every part of your day.
The fog rolled down the river about halfway through the evening and while the sky remained blue above us, the river fog in its ethereal beauty drifted slowly past, rising and lowering in a ghostly dance. It was simply beautiful.
There was a Bald Eagle that did a fly by... and lazily the water rolled on. How privileged I am to be able to stand by the rail and watch the Peace in all it beauty.
I miss living by the water.
But I will one day again... if I can.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Miracles Please
A miracle right about now would be lovely. Super powered typing fingers so that I can finish all write ups...
A winning lotto ticket so that I had money to pay for everything....
And a time turner so that I could get level 4 homework done before Tuesday...
Ankles and feet that don't hurt... so that I could finish that treadling....
40 metres of hand spun cotton....
Enough sleep.....
I can't wait.... Tuesday can't come fast enough.... except for all that other stuff.
Pictures of the 150 hour project coming soooooonnnnnn!
A winning lotto ticket so that I had money to pay for everything....
And a time turner so that I could get level 4 homework done before Tuesday...
Ankles and feet that don't hurt... so that I could finish that treadling....
40 metres of hand spun cotton....
Enough sleep.....
I can't wait.... Tuesday can't come fast enough.... except for all that other stuff.
Pictures of the 150 hour project coming soooooonnnnnn!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Why, Oh Why
So I just chatted with a friend and her thyroid is acting up... Another friend is having feminine issues... Pops is having another myalgia attack... everywhere I turn health is at issue among my friends and family. I went to the doctor for my annual checkup and to find out what the dickens is going on with my Kankles (swollen ankles) and I found out that my blood pressure is up. Why, oh why do our bodies have their own minds about what's what. I mean... now that my kids are a little older and I'm finding more time for myself I am also finding that my body does not want me to do the things that I want to do. Murphy is involved somehow I'm sure!) Treadling.... I can't do that without going for hourly walks. I can't eat chips and cheeses anymore (which I love.. it's my snack of choice)... too much salt. Cholesterol is something I have to watch. And I have to lose weight. HAVE TO! Hmmm... : \
I am waiting for test results to come back from a bunch of blood tests and who knows what the heck I'm going to get from that. It's just not fair being in my mid forties and feeling like I'm 90.
Ok I've done my moaning for today.
It's a grey day... I am not moaning about it though since I was starting to notice that the grass was looking dry. But the rain came at the right time to green everything up again. I have been talking to the farmers and they are telling me that already the grass in the fields are growing double what it was last year... so while it may not be a bumper crop of hay, at least we will have enough. Teapot has been fencing... I say that loosely because he has been stringing wire in and out of the trees so that our sheep and alpacas can go out of their paddocks and eat green grass without wandering out into the road. All is good. They are enjoying the opportunity to have much richer feed and at the same time the paddocks get a bit of a break.
Then in the garden the rain is helping too. I have carrots that will soon need thinning and I have beets that are up and growing. The potatoes are nowhere.... yet... not even in the ground. The deadline was yesterday... but I'm still going to plant them.. they may be small when we dig them up... but I don't care. I just need Teapot to string wire so that the animals can't get to them.
Teapot is going to Australia. He has been chosen for a trip with the Rangers. He is so excited... he found out a few weeks ago that he was on the standby list. So he sent off the documentation to get his passport. Then he started waiting. On Tuesday I got home in the afternoon and checked the emails... and there was the confirmation that one of the people had dropped out and Teapot's name had been moved up on the list of people going. Jackpot! He's training.... walking fast every evening in a serious effort to get into shape before he goes. It is Northern Australia and it will no doubt be hot. He needs to acclimatize. He will be leaving on the 29th of July and returning on the 21 of August. That means that he will be gone for half of the summer... I will miss him dreadfully. But it is a once in a lifetime trip... and he deserves it. I told him to bring home wool.... he said no....!!! Damn! But I've got some time to work on him yet. ; )
Meanwhile, I'm working on level 4... and I have my extension... but I'm still hoping I won't need it... Hope springs eternal!!!!
I'm off to go for a short walk... and get my ankles exercised before I spin the last of my needed 150 hour yarn... why, oh why can't I just have my 27 year old body back with ankles that don't swell... it's just not fair!
I am waiting for test results to come back from a bunch of blood tests and who knows what the heck I'm going to get from that. It's just not fair being in my mid forties and feeling like I'm 90.
Ok I've done my moaning for today.
It's a grey day... I am not moaning about it though since I was starting to notice that the grass was looking dry. But the rain came at the right time to green everything up again. I have been talking to the farmers and they are telling me that already the grass in the fields are growing double what it was last year... so while it may not be a bumper crop of hay, at least we will have enough. Teapot has been fencing... I say that loosely because he has been stringing wire in and out of the trees so that our sheep and alpacas can go out of their paddocks and eat green grass without wandering out into the road. All is good. They are enjoying the opportunity to have much richer feed and at the same time the paddocks get a bit of a break.
Then in the garden the rain is helping too. I have carrots that will soon need thinning and I have beets that are up and growing. The potatoes are nowhere.... yet... not even in the ground. The deadline was yesterday... but I'm still going to plant them.. they may be small when we dig them up... but I don't care. I just need Teapot to string wire so that the animals can't get to them.
Teapot is going to Australia. He has been chosen for a trip with the Rangers. He is so excited... he found out a few weeks ago that he was on the standby list. So he sent off the documentation to get his passport. Then he started waiting. On Tuesday I got home in the afternoon and checked the emails... and there was the confirmation that one of the people had dropped out and Teapot's name had been moved up on the list of people going. Jackpot! He's training.... walking fast every evening in a serious effort to get into shape before he goes. It is Northern Australia and it will no doubt be hot. He needs to acclimatize. He will be leaving on the 29th of July and returning on the 21 of August. That means that he will be gone for half of the summer... I will miss him dreadfully. But it is a once in a lifetime trip... and he deserves it. I told him to bring home wool.... he said no....!!! Damn! But I've got some time to work on him yet. ; )
Meanwhile, I'm working on level 4... and I have my extension... but I'm still hoping I won't need it... Hope springs eternal!!!!
I'm off to go for a short walk... and get my ankles exercised before I spin the last of my needed 150 hour yarn... why, oh why can't I just have my 27 year old body back with ankles that don't swell... it's just not fair!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Flat Out
Flat out is Newfy for not having time for anything. And that has been what the last few days have been all about. I'm supposed to be working on spinning this morning... hopefully the last for the 150 hour project... we'll see! It' is coming along nicely though and it feels divine. I am looking forward to wearing it.
As for life and death... was talking to a lady who knows lots about alpacas and she thinks we should breed Mishka again this year but wait until August... we are thinking about it.
Meanwhile there's a kitty that is making it very hard not to love him.... yes him.
(we thought it was a her but more and more there seems to be other thing there. He sleeps in our hand and I have a picture to prove it.
Meanwhile the slutty mother is already trying to prowl around for another kick at the can. She will be spayed as soon as the little one is weaned.
The ankle is not as swollen and I'm seeing improvement which really relieves me since I was worried that some of the swelling was heart related... but no... as the ankle feels better the swelling is not as bad. Obviously I hurt it.... I just can't remember doing it!! (Does that mean that I'm getting old.. or have I burnt out one brain cell too many with all the drugs I've taken over the years... hmmm!)
I've started walking again and I never realized that walking just 1 km each day could make me so stiff. I can hardly sit down on my butt since it is what is stiff. Ouch! But I am determined to walk some every day.
So for now I am off to spin card and knit.... and maybe do a write up or two.
It's a beautiful sunny day.... maybe I'll spin out doors... hope you're having a nice day too.
As for life and death... was talking to a lady who knows lots about alpacas and she thinks we should breed Mishka again this year but wait until August... we are thinking about it.
Meanwhile there's a kitty that is making it very hard not to love him.... yes him.
(we thought it was a her but more and more there seems to be other thing there. He sleeps in our hand and I have a picture to prove it.
 |
| Sorry the picture is so bad... I hate my new camera... it's not really all that good! |
Meanwhile the slutty mother is already trying to prowl around for another kick at the can. She will be spayed as soon as the little one is weaned.
The ankle is not as swollen and I'm seeing improvement which really relieves me since I was worried that some of the swelling was heart related... but no... as the ankle feels better the swelling is not as bad. Obviously I hurt it.... I just can't remember doing it!! (Does that mean that I'm getting old.. or have I burnt out one brain cell too many with all the drugs I've taken over the years... hmmm!)
I've started walking again and I never realized that walking just 1 km each day could make me so stiff. I can hardly sit down on my butt since it is what is stiff. Ouch! But I am determined to walk some every day.
So for now I am off to spin card and knit.... and maybe do a write up or two.
It's a beautiful sunny day.... maybe I'll spin out doors... hope you're having a nice day too.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Life And Death
Mishka (our pregnant alpaca) aborted her baby this morning. The fetus had not been growing for some time from the looks of the birth sack. It was completely formed about the size of a very small lamb, but that was all... I would say that it stopped growing about late February or March. There it lay on the hay for us to find this morning. Mishka seems ok. Honeydew was standing sentinel over the dead fetus... so sad.
We will wait till next summer and then we will try her again... She will need time to heal.
Life and death seems so normal when you live on a farm. Animals come and animals go. While we have a terrible sense of loss when something dies, it is strange that the butchering process does not seem to bother us (alpacas are not included in this butchering process.. just sheep). It is almost as if our hearts harden against the ones we know must die for meat. Yet, there is such joy all around when babies are born healthy. As they grow, we pick the ones that will go on to become adults and those that must pay for the others in the form of meat that we can sell. I am not sure how we do it but there is a sense of resignation when something is chosen to be slaughtered for meat. But these two things are so vastly different from when something dies of natural causes... there is such a sense of loss... as if a good friend just died.
I think, the miracle of birth brings us closer to the sublime.... to God maybe.
While death just brings us closer to ourselves.
We will wait till next summer and then we will try her again... She will need time to heal.
Life and death seems so normal when you live on a farm. Animals come and animals go. While we have a terrible sense of loss when something dies, it is strange that the butchering process does not seem to bother us (alpacas are not included in this butchering process.. just sheep). It is almost as if our hearts harden against the ones we know must die for meat. Yet, there is such joy all around when babies are born healthy. As they grow, we pick the ones that will go on to become adults and those that must pay for the others in the form of meat that we can sell. I am not sure how we do it but there is a sense of resignation when something is chosen to be slaughtered for meat. But these two things are so vastly different from when something dies of natural causes... there is such a sense of loss... as if a good friend just died.
I think, the miracle of birth brings us closer to the sublime.... to God maybe.
While death just brings us closer to ourselves.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Slap Happy
Me (as I'm getting into the shower): Does this vast expanse of soft smooth skin get you all excited? Do you want to touch it's velvety smoothness?
Mosquito (sitting on the screen outside the bathroom window): Buzzz.. buzzz.. buzzz buzz buzz.
Me (to mosquitos): ha ha ha ha ha..... sucka!
Teapot (from bedroom): You're weird!
Me: Slap! Sh-t... one bit me! Look there's mosquitoes in here!
Teapot: Serves you right for taunting them...
Me: (sigh) Where's the Afterbite!
Mosquito (sitting on the screen outside the bathroom window): Buzzz.. buzzz.. buzzz buzz buzz.
Me (to mosquitos): ha ha ha ha ha..... sucka!
Teapot (from bedroom): You're weird!
Me: Slap! Sh-t... one bit me! Look there's mosquitoes in here!
Teapot: Serves you right for taunting them...
Me: (sigh) Where's the Afterbite!
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