The BeanQueen's Ramblings

I'm particularly tired this PM

2012-01-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

so won't have a long post.
I did, however, make a decision to help myself by reducing my use of Facebook. I played the game of Farmville, which I did enjoy, but found it was a tremendous "time-suck", I just quit "cold turkey". It makes me feel pretty good about myself. I never was qute sure how I allowed myself to get sucked into it anyway.
I'm working on more of goals for this year, too. Nothing like positive actions to make one feel better!

Another day "in the salt mines"

2012-01-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

at work as per usual with a whole load of things to get done. It's a good thing I get here early enough to write this before so I can give myself inspiration for the day.
I was going to post a photo of the finished test knit, but forgot the cable to my camera, so it will have to wait until another time. But, at least I can let the creator of the shawlette know that I'm done.
On to the greenhouse!

"Red sky in morning, sailor take warning................"

2012-01-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

first half of an "old salt" adage. The sunrise this morning was a fleeting glory of pink, orange & gold reflected on the clouds that held our weather forecast of snow or rain.

I did not get my planned work done yesterday - late home as usual - but we had some faux fajitas - made with leftover roast pork and fried onions & a few of those NUMEROUS green peppers, some sour cream & salsa. I had a bit of time to get in a couple of rows on my dad's sweater before bed.

I hope to get to the peppers tonight as 'tP' has bowling & I drove myself so I can leave on time. I have to do some ironing & a bit of cleaning, too.

Looks lovely today

2012-01-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

so far - sun is shining, temperature above freezing, a good way to start the week. I hope it remains that way.

Last night I figured out how many stitches to cast on for my dad's new sweater. I am using the top-down raglan by Stephanie Japel and doing the steek to make it into a cardigan. I had to determine the number by extrapolating from the one I am doing for myself and the measurements from my dad that my mum sent to me. I hope it will be a good fit, but I do have some lee-way as he likes the sweater a bit loose.

I am still plugging away at the Citron and am planning to sew on the #2GS's shirt tonight as well as deal with a whole box of green peppers!

You will not believe how we ended up with them. During the bad weather we drove the 4X4 to work, 'tP' was taking me up one of the hills at the U. to go to my office. We were following a produce delivery truck on its way, we supposed, to one of the dormitory cafeterias. It hit a really bumpy part of the hill and as it bounced it's way up the back door, not tightly latched it appeared, came open and a box bounced out. We stopped so we could remove it from the road and tried to follow the delivery truck. During the time it took us to pick up the box it vanished. So, 'tP' took the box to work, called the produce company and told them we had the box. He was told someone would come to get it, but that did not happen. We now have a WHOLE box of green peppers. I will freeze some , dry some, and we will try to give a whole lot of them to our neighbors.

Lots of snow gone, but............

2012-01-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

it froze quite hard last night and there is now ice on top of the snow remaining, and all over the places where it had melted. Treacherous if one is not careful. My hens don't like it - they want out of the house, but when they go out there is ice all over in their enclosure making it difficult (& cold on the bare feet, too, I'm sure) to perambulate.
I am doing a jam marathon today. I try to keep an eye on my feezer contents and when things start getting a little out of date (as it were) I want to use them right away for something before they lose all of their quality. For veggies & meat it is soup stock, and for fruit it means making jam. I made blackberry, strawberry, blackberry-pear, and apricot jam. It makes one feel so very domestic, LOL.
Yesterday I cut out a shirt to make for the #2 GS. I re-purposed a man's cotton shirt that I bought from one of the local thrift stores. I think it takes longer to take apart the old shirt and get it pressed and ready to cut than it does to cut out & make the new shirt for the GS. I removed the buttons & will use them in the "new" shirt, too. I'm glad the #2 will still wear things that I make and it helps his mom, too by saving her some money in the clothes area.

Blogger failed me yesterday

2012-01-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

I spent some time trying to make a post yesterday, but apparently Blogger didn't like me as it is not present now and I can't remember what I posted.

Ah well, another day.

Today was the weekly shopping trip where I picked up food & sundries for us and food for the chickens & one of the dogs. Plus, I got a pattern to make a fleece jacket for the #2 GS.

It was/is a very windy day. That will make short work of the snow for sure.

2012-01-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

I am at work & there is no one else here. 'tP' had yesterday off from work, he brought me in as our car is at the auto-body shop (remember the guy who backed into me), then came to get me early as we were worried we might not get home again due to road closing or some such nonsense.

To-whit, I did not get the e-mail saying that the campus and our offices would be closed today due to inclement weather.

It snowed & we had freezing rain last night so roads were ice-covered this AM. We just left earlier as we knew it would take us longer to get here and as you may know, the PO doesn't recognize bad weather or bad roads as a reason not to be present at work, ie. 'tP' had to be at work.It is still snowing, but is mixed with a lot of rain and it is above freezing, so it's just really sloppy and slippery, too. at work, ie. 'tP' had to be there.

I'm working in the GH, sampling & other stuff. We shall see if tomorrow more can be done.

Be careful for that which you wish, LOL

2012-01-18T09:35:00.000-08:00

We now have over a foot of snow and it is still coming down - forcast up to 10" more today. I had to dig out to the chicken house (all of the ladies are staying in the coop today-the snow it higher than they are tall) and the rabbit hutch.
"tP" brought me in to work as he has the day off from the job, but I asked him to keep an eye on the weather and to come get me early if it looked even the slightest like they might close the highway to our little town. This has been done, trapping us in town, more times that I like to remember.
I am coninuing to work on the test knit and on the Citron scarf, too. I plan to get some sewing / quilting in this weekend, too. I want to make sure that all my crafts get some attention - too long I put off such things for other "work".

SNOW & with a vengence

2012-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

It's coming down and blowing sideways at the same time. Coming home tonight was an adventure. 'tP' had to work until 6PM (ugh & ugh) so we didn't get out of town until 6:30PM. By that time the road was starting to drift in and visibility was very poor, but we made it OK.
We shall see what tomorrow will be in the morning - as usual, LOL.

OK! It has finally snowed and....

2012-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

there is forecast for more. We shall see what occurs.

I went to the meeting of our fiber group - The Wool Gatherers - had a grand time. We always have a potluck and then usually some sort of program. Good food, as always, and an informative demonstration about fiber prepartion (for spinning) from a couple of gals who have fibery animals and do a lot of spinning, etc. Several of our members have fibery critters - alpacas, llamas, sheep of all sorts, angora goats, angora bunnies and even yaks are represented. Good group!

I got the button sewed on the Lavendar Lace Sweater (a summer garment) and purchased the buttons & ribbon for the Pink Cardigan, so I'm making progress.

I also purchased yarn for the cardigan I will be making for my "papa". He had this raggedy old - dare I say it 'acrylic' - cardi that I had made him 'about a hundred years ago'. It was all stretched out and in pretty bad shape - he had loved it to death as he wears it all of the time. It is his "coat of many colors" as I had made a multi-colored stranded sweater for him. I have to admit that this one will be just one color, but it will be wool. Admittedly, I got Cascade SW 220, but that will be for easier care than expecting my mum to remember that it needs to be handwashed, plus all that extra effort needed for regular wool.

Still cold, still no snow - RATS!!

2012-01-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

I know lots of folks don't want the snow, but we do need it to be here: for our water supply next summer, for the plant's water rest of year, for protection from freezing, and just for generally letting us know it's winter-you know, LOL.

More late hours for 'tP' means we still can't get home in time to do much but do nightly chores & eat. One would have thought that after the holidays we could get back to regular hours, but NO-O-O-O-O folks got sick, folks got hurt & folks retired (& around the PO it is like other govt. agencies, a replacement worker does not come in until a bit [quite a bit really] of time) . So it's going to be a while before we can get relief.

Oh my! 11 degrees this AM

2012-01-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

but still no snow here. A plant person like me begins to worry about the "floral babies" as well as the fauna ones when the weather behaves as it has. It's doubley hard when the earlier temps have been so mild. We shall see in Spring, I guess.

Worked on the test knit project some last night - so far so good. Then I knit a swatch & cast on for the Citron shawl - I've had the pattern & yarn for quite some time as I received it as a gift in the "Swap the Seasons" swap on the Hi-Fiber Diet Podcast sometime back (2009 I think, as it's been in my queue since May 2010).

a tiny bit of snow last night

2012-01-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

and now I've noticed it getting a bit colder. Hmmmm, could it be that winter will return? One never knows around here.

I got a small bit of mending done last night and we had some very good creamed eggs on WW toast for supper. Throw in some canned fruit and spinach and it was nicely balanced nutritionally, plus quick to make.

I've put a couple of my chickens up on freecycle - only to good "chickie" homes, though, as I don't want someone who thinks they need chickens but is not ready to house, feed & care for them.

I hope to be able to get a bit of crafting in this evening while 'tP' goes off to his bowling league.

The "Year of my Retirement!"

2012-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

OK that's the theme. Now for the goals - now 'mind you' they are NOT resolutions. Resolutions set one up for failure and that is not an uplifting behavior - can you guess that my first goal is to focus on uplifting behaviors?

#1 practice uplifting behaviors - and this includes all of those things like focus on others' good points, focus on one's health, focus on enjoying all that life has to offer.

#2 focus on UFO's & working "from the stash" for my hobbies - having caught up in the knitting area, I now turn to the sewing & quilting projects.

#3-?? to be continued in later blogs

I cleaned the chicken house today and was able to shovel out the pen some too since it is not freezing. The chickens always like a clean house - they scratch around in the newly laid down sawdust and have a great old time. I am going to give a couple of the chickie-doodles away (most likely to the DD) as we just cannot handle so many eggs. I am not used to chickens that lay an egg almost every day!

I attended the board meeting for my fiber group this afternoon - we are attempting to get a calendar of meetings for the year. Lots of ideas, but we needed to flesh out some of them - this group likes to learn new things, and spend some time talking about old ones, too.

a little old-fashion lady to help us remember that it really is winter, LOL.

Late New Year goals............

2012-01-07T15:14:00.000-08:00

but I do plan to make some. It is just a matter of being able to sit down and list them - they're in my head & I've begun already on some of them!

Shopping today - regular weekly chore & a trip to Costco. Anyone who knows Costco knows it can be a stressful experience, one knows ahead of time that it will be a big bill, but it is still somewhat of a shock & we DO use a list with very little going off from it.

Am now in process of making bread, cooking some pumpkins and getting apples ready to be made into sauce. The ones stored in the garage frig were getting soft, so it's time.

I've been selected to be a test knitter for Paula of Knitting Pipeline Podcast - she is designing a shawl to be sold by Quince & Co. yarn company. They sell yarns grown & produced in the United States. As one of my "soapbox" topics I totally support made/grown/put-together in the US products and always purchase such if it is available. Plus, that yarn is so-so-so nice. If you knit I recommend it whole-heartedly

Another long day,

2012-01-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

one would think they would be over at "the old PO", but not yet, I guess.
We barely got home in time for me to start some supper for 'tP' before I was scheduled to "attend" Dr. Julie-Ann's tele-class on meal planning.
I did get the corn chowder together to heat and had the salad in the 'frig (having made quinoa salad this morning before we left for work) so he just had to serve himself. It turned out OK.
I really enjoyed the class and got some good ideas. I already do meal planning, but this gave me some different ways to approach the subject. Thanks JulieAnn!

Our new year is just being a lamb so far.

2012-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

What beautiful weather (oh I know, we will pay next summer) we are having here on the Palouse; sunny, unseasonably warm days & nights, too, seems to be the description of weather right now!
I do worry a bit about the garden & the fruit trees. They could get damaged if it suddenly goes back to our usual COLD.
We had a wonderful visit with my folks when we did our NewYear trip. Their health is a bit precarious, but they are doing their best to beat the 'blues' and the downturns. I am proud of them for their good spirits. We had a visit with one of our neices and my #1 brother. Some of the other relations who are within travel distance were suffering some ailments that deterred them from travelling, so we were thankful for those we did see. Here is a photo of mom & dad & myself taken by 'tP'.

I got some major progress on my personal 2011 UFO challenge before we came home. The second bear for 'the MBP' was finished - and I recruited my mom & my #2 sister to make bears!
Patch Bear & Bonnie the Ballerina Bear:

I put the buttonhole side of the button bands on the "pink steeked sweater" and now all that is left is the grosgrain ribbon reinforcements and the buttons (I have to buy both ribbon & buttons-can you believe that I did not have enough buttons to go with a pink sweater in my button stash?). Then I will have finished my knit UFO's and will focus on the sewing & quilting UFO's in 2012.
Oh don't get me wrong there will be startitis in the knitting department, LOL. But my primary focus will be again to reduce the amount of UFO's and to try to "work from the bins".

The rain has stopped for a bit AND

2011-12-29T12:08:00.001-08:00

we are going to visit my folks on New Year's Weekend! As federal workers we will get Monday off from work so we decided we could make the drive. We've called the pet sitter and have the schedule set up. Sometimes things work out OK after all :~).
I finished the button side of the bands on the cardigan last evening. Now I shall have to figure how many buttons I wish to put on and plan the spacing of the buttonholes. It will be done before I know it, LOL, not bad for a sweater that has taken me ONLY 2½ years to complete. Hey!! that's better than the lavendar lace sweater - it's 5 years old and still not quite done!

Rainy winter day

2011-12-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

here on the Palouse. The day is grey and cold, too.

I picked up the varigated pink sweater and began the steek to turn it into the cardigan. I did not do a good job of planning when I began this sweater and really had never steeked anything.

(The vest I made & steeked was done after I started the sweater.)
Unknowingly, I did not add enough stitches for the steek. Therefore I had to put the reinforcing stitches just 2 stitches apart. This made it difficult when I was cutting the steek. But as happened I had only one problem; apparently I missed one stitch when I did the reinforcement as an end appeared to be loose. I secured it with a tiny bit of thread and plan to cover it with the grosgrain ribbon, so it should be OK.

I picked up the stitches on each side and began the button side of the button bands. I want to figure how many buttons to put on the cardi before I make the buttonhole band.

This will be the last of my UFOs in the knitting area. The others (just 2) will be frogged and turned into some other project. I just need to put a button on the lavendar lace sweater & it shall be complete, too.

The SFS socks are all done, washed & dried, too. I have to find the label & the darning yarn, then send it off.

The "Mother Bear Project" bear just needs a face & stuffing and she will be ready to be sent, too.

It will be good to start 2012 with no UFOs (in one area anyway).

Back to work today

2011-12-27T13:06:00.000-08:00

but it is so quiet here - all of the University staff have a mandatory week off (budget troubles, as usual) and most of the "feddies" are on holiday, too.
Everything seems to be holding together, though, in the greenhouses and in the office. Not much for me to do, but some notes & some transplanting. I may need to take some tissue samples, too, for the virus testing. So, you see there is not a lack of work, either.
I seem to have the winter blues when it comes to getting anything done around home in the crafty area. I keep the house up, but then I just feel like I want to sit snuggled up to my heating pad & hot water bottle & read. - "a hibernating bear", LOL.
I do hope to get inspired to make some loosely structured 2012 goals - I just don't make hard & fast ones as it never, never, never works. If I aim myself at some goals I find much better success.

and A Happy Boxing Day

2011-12-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

to you all (remembering, of course, that you need to let the "servants" have the day off-it is their holiday after all)

We hope you all have had good visits with friends & family or that you got a good phone call, text, Skype, or other electronic interaction with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

to each and everyone of you who celebrate this holiday. I hope it is the best one yet!

Good Health & Happiness to you!

Have you ever had "one of those days"?

2011-12-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today was mine - let me count the ways.................
#1 Intending to leave work early to get some dog food, chicken food, rabbit food, & cat food (how did they all run out at the same time????) I was going to drop off 'tP' at the PO and take myself to work. Upon his getting out & heading for the PO employee door - which is enterd by a keypad - I went around, got into the car & realized I had no key! In fact I had no purse - having left it hanging on the closet door at home - meaning no keys, no money to purchase afore-mentioned feeds, and especially no phone with which to call the DH & have him let me use his keys so I could drive back home to get the handbag. I had to wait until another employee arrived so he could let 'tP' know to come out & see me.

#2 Driving all the way back home to get the handbag & then all the way back to the job - wasting both time & fuel - to allow me to get started late on my work.

#3 'tP' calling me about an hour before I was to pick him up from work to tell me that the PO had "mandated" him to work on his days off so we would not get to go to my folks for Christmas after all. I had just received from the DD her gift to her grandparents since she would be unable to go herself - now have to figure how to send it and it is not really "sendable", plus it will arrive late. And one of our gifts was some Cougar Gold cheese for my dad (requires refrigeration, so not sure how to ship that either). I'll now have to figure how to send the gifts, plus my "quilt of the year" was going to my nephew, via his grandparents, & I'll have to ship that also!

Surely it had to end..................but oh no!!!!
#4 I dropped off 'tP' at the bowling alley as we did not have time to get to the feed store and get him back in time for bowling - WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE HAPPENS??? As I am pulling up to the exit area of the Zeppoz parking lot - it has a light at the intersection as it a route to the local Walmart - a gentleman (driving his son-in-law's SUV, as I later learned) discovering he has exited the parking lot in the entrance lane decides to back up and get into the right lane. I had already entered the exit lane by this time and before I realized what he was doing and could back myself out of the way (I was not quick enough on the uptake, I guess), he backs into the driver's door of our Prius. Luckily, no injuries and he was going slow so the door was not crumpled enough to stop it from opening. I call the DH out from the bowling alley to tell him what happened and he comes out while I am getting the information from the driver. He asks if I'm OK, I tell him I am, and he goes back to bowl, telling me he'd be done about 9 and to come by then to pick him up.
And, then

#5 What did I forget to do????????? Go & get the feed, of course.

I'm afraid to do anything tonight - who knows what might happen????????????

"almost Christmas"

2011-12-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

We started a new family tradition at our house last night.
"almost Christmas" will be a gathering at "gram & gramps' house" on the weekend before Christmas. We will exchange gifts, have chips & dip (honoring the tradition of my family's Christmas Eve tradition), & decorate cookies with children, grand-children (and when they show up in the future, great-grandchildren). This will allow everyone to have the option of celebrating the holiday itself at their own home or with other relatives-if they so choose-without the stress of having to decide 'where shall we "have to" go this year?' and give us the chance to have a wonderful time with our family.It was so nice to have our daughter, our #2 grandson, our #1 grandson & GF with us.

We had fun watching the gift sharing & opening, plus we got a few of our own. My 'almost grand-daughter' had made me a cute fabric bear with her sewing skills - the #1 was quick to point out to me that "she did this by herself" on the little sewing machine she had purchased recently. ( I think he wanted me to appreciate her effort due to the fact that I am a sewist and they often come to me for repairs & advice, LOL)

Then the #1 spent a good deal of time helping gramps to learn how to use his new smart phone - one of the gifts 'tP' wanted this year; the other being his new bowling ball.
Anyway, we all agreed that this would become a tradition for us for the Christmas holiday season.

More banana bread tonight

2011-12-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

Baked some more tonight. Tomorrow when I get back from dog grooming & shopping I will make cookies for our "almost Christmas" get-together on Sunday.
If 'tP' gets his long weekend (& one never knows with the PO around holidays) we will go to the folks in Camas, WA for a couple of days - have to come back on Christmas Day, but we get some holiday visit in if we get to go.
Thus, we're going to have the daughter and grandsons + one almost grand daughter for a celebration before.

I have been a slacker, I know

2011-12-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

I just feel so tired when we finally get home that it is all I can do to get the critters fed, the husband fed & a little home maintenance done. I don't even have time time for any crafting - SO-O-O-O sad, I know :~(.

Today is 'tP's day off so I had him take some bananas out of the freezer for me and I will make the little banana breads for the Christmas gifts to the neighbors tonight. At least one thing will be accomplished.

Jessie's sweater

2011-12-09T09:00:00.001-08:00

Here is the sweater for Jessie, finished yesterday and mailed off today. It's the Seamless Yolked Baby Cardigan by Carol Barenys.

Jessie sweater, a photo by drMolly on Flickr.

the sweetness of SUCCESS

2011-12-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

shown here as a loaf of sourdough bread made using no added yeast - just the starter. The starter was a gift from Deb and following her directions on "feeding" the sourdough starter, I was able to produce this BEAUTIFUL loaf - & it tastes so good, too.

Another late day

2011-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

'tP' has not been getting off from work until ~6:30 each night. We get home in time to feed the critters, eat some supper and clean-up. I've no time to blog.

I want to try to do better in the future. I'm in process of setting some goals for next year. It may or may not be possible - we shall see.

Working a bit on the sock yarn blanket, making some swiffer covers, & more mini-socks for my cards.

So, it's beginning to look a little like Christmas

2011-11-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

(well, actually a lot - we would wish to avoid that, but can't)
I've started to put up the decorations; we have the house lights up & need to put up the "town tree". In it's prime Colton had a reputation for Christmas decoration; unfortunately due to changing times that lovely lit-up town has faded into the past. But we have the "tree" made of re-bar on which we hang lights to emulate a real tree. It does look pretty.

I'm nearly done with the sweater for Jessie - I got it washed & blocked, just need to sew on the buttons. I got pretty little pink flower buttons for the 3 buttons.
I've started to make a blanket (modelled after the ones in "Mason-Dixon Knitting" #1) of leftover sock or fingering yarn held double. I've used the light/dark pattern similar to log cabin quilt blocks. It is a good way to use up those pesky sock yarn ends - VBG.
I am still working on finishing up the many UFO's that still plague me. The quilt for Derek has a label and will be given to him at the family holiday celebration. I also am making some mini mittens to hang on Christmas trees of all of my family members. They are quickly done & I hope all will appreciate them.

We still are getting lots of eggs from our chickie-doodles, not sure when we will have to use our frozen ones. I'm working hard to use our "in-home" stores in our meals. This will help us save some money, too. And, it helps get us ready to be retired, too.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

to all of our family & friends in the United States (whose holiday it is) and to all of our family & friends in the rest of the world, too.
We have so much for which to be thankful: our home, our health, our critters, and all of those afore-mentioned family & friends!

Although the wind has come in and removed the snow,

2011-11-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

it is grey today so makes it seem colder than it really is.

I did get one curtain for Ted's cage finished, but when I put it up I find it really needed to have extra ties at the bottom, too. I will have to safety pin some on for now. Next spring I will take it off and attach the extra ties more securely. I'm working on the second one now - have the ties and the velcro parts done, just have to hem the curtain and attach the fasteners.
We're still getting 4-6 eggs a day from the "chickie-doodles". I am not sure when they will slack off laying; I've frozen lots of eggs for that time and we eat a lot of them, too. Plus I can add extra nutrition to many of the things I bake.
I'm not having much time to work on my hobbies, although I'm nearly done with the baby sweater for the "English baby girl-Jessie" - I've been using all of my available time on that.
I've misplaced my Mother Bear Project bear #2 and my KnitPicks Signature needles, too. I really get upset when my brain fails me yet again. I hope I can find them soon as I need to get the bears sent off as soon as I can. I still am slowing working on the SFS socks, too.

Even when I don't have to go work.................

2011-11-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

I wake up at the early time. I'm not usually one for 'sleeping in' anyway, but one would think that another hour would be possible, but NO. Automatically, it seems, at 4:30 AM I wake up no matter what the day - UGH! Even though I know I need some more rest it is out of the question as once I'm awake, I'm no longer able to go back to sleep - unless I'm ill, and God forbid that occurs as I've had enough of that!
It looks as if the snow season is here to stay now as it is not getting warm enough during the day to melt it all. I have a mystery to solve, though; the birds have not returned to the feeders. I'm not sure if it is because I did not get them out right away as the weather turned cold or what. I will try spreading some seed on top of the snow so that they may see it and return - hopefully before new snowfall covers it again. Last year there were lots of birds, finches, sparrows, chick-a-dees, snow birds and assorted other "come in once in a while" fellows. I miss them.
We got quite a shock yesterday in the mail - AVISTA, the local power company, sent a notice that our billing would go up $48 per month! Ouch!!! & I'm not sure how our power use habits can have changed that much over the period since the last notice. We have the thermostats pretty low (& we have one of the programmable ones), I do the laundry most times in cold water (use hotter once a month to keep the washer 'gunk-free'), I hang the laundry to dry (even in the winter when it is a "P-i-t-B" to have wet clothing hung all over my office, as that is where my racks stay), and we try to conserve everywhere else, too.
I still have not gotten the curtains for Ted's cage done & the poor guy is getting cold I'm afraid. I shall at least begin them today if not get part-way done!!!

A nice sunny day today

2011-11-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

but cold. 'tP' goes bowling tonight so I'll be home by myself. Maybe I can get some sewing done - I still have to make the "curtains" for Teddy's cage. Right now I have a big plastic lid from a storage container and the metal piece from the old cage blocking off two sides from the wind. But it's getting considerable colder and even if he has a nice warm fuzzy coat it will be good to block some of the wind.
Here's a couple of photos; one of the baby sweater for Carol & Pete's grand-daughterand one of the mini-mitts I'm making for Christmas decorations.

Snowing here this afternoon & evening

2011-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

On our way home from Spokane it began to snow. When we got home it was not that far south yet, so 'tP' got his leaves picked up and I went off to get some shopping done. I also picked up the #2 GS for his weekend sewing lessons - that will happen tomorrow as it took a while to get the shopping done.
When we got back from the "local shopping" all three of us went down south to go to Costco and to pick up some dog food. We stopped to get some supper at DairyQueen and then to get a bit of fuel for Peter Prius.
So, by the time we got back on the road it was very dark, both due to the end of DayLightSavingTime, but to the storm that had moved in by then. Because the valley is only ~700 elevation it was raining (pretty heavy) down there, but as we came up the hill to our "neck of the woods" it turned to snow - very wet & heavy snow, too - and it was blowing straight toward us making it very difficult to see. We had to slow way down as the visibility was so poor - about 35-40 MPH the 15 miles to home.
We made it OK and now we are all safe & warm in the house. The #2 GS is working on his Treasure Hunt Search book that he got at Costco and I am listening to podcasts & will do some knitting.
SHHHHHHHHHHH gramps is watchin scarey movies - UGH!!!!

Tomorrow is our anniversary.............

2011-11-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

'tP' & I will have been married 18 years. It is nice to have someone wonderful to grow old with & to share all of life.

It's sunny & bright now, although it started as a cloudy, high overcast day. It does seem to have warmed some, too. Now, autumn days like this are great! It's too bad we're not home to enjoy it.

And I still have so much to do at home in the way of housework - it seems I am just too tired when I get home from work. And, I want to do some baking - think of that pumpkin bread and those berry pies that would be so-o-o-o good with some nice homemade bean soup!

I've started on the sweater for "the English couple's" new grand-daughter. It is of a nice soft pink yarn - I plan to make some bootees to go with it, too. Since we have no grand-daughters this gives me a chance to make girly things.

I'm back!

2011-11-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

just in time for the snow to begin.
The heated bunny water bottle came right before I left, so I set up both it and the water pan for the chickens, giving 'tP' directions to "make sure" that they both had water in them at all times to keep them from burning out since it was not freezing every night yet. So far, so good.
I still have to finish the "bunny curtains' for Teddy so he will be warmer when the real cold comes along.
It is rain mixed with snow today while I am at work filing reports and catching up on needed work. I got in some seed from 2 sources and need to make a day-length neutral order for my tech, plus make sure I have all of the needed requests from the meeting listed in my "to-do" pile.
'Peter Prius' is in the auto-body shop getting his "body-work by deer" repaired and we have a rental car - that we really don't like & can't wait to have our own car back!
The critters are all doing OK - & we're getting lots of eggs for now. All of the garden was put to bed before I left, so just the final processing of the harvest to do. I have to pick the ripe tomatoes off the vines I hung in the garage & make some tomato sauce/paste from them, turn the apples into sauce or pie apples and make an end-of-harvest inventory of the freezer and pantry to make sure I use the older entries before they lose their prime. Then I can get going on holiday gifts and some other indoor projects.
It seems my calendar is ALWAYS full :~).

Off to Puerto Rico

2011-10-29T12:22:00.001-07:00

for bean meetings - YES really, bean meetings - back next Thursday.

And it's COLD now

2011-10-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

It was 18 this morning as we got ready to go to work. Although we have heated waterer for chickens it's not up yet as I have to build a stand for it to keep the chix from scratching it full of 'non-watery' substances. I have ordered an heated water bottle for Teddy, but it's not here yet, so bucket for chix and bowl for Ted. The dogs get their bucket traded out each morn & night, as both varieties of heated buckets we tried failed quite early on. I hope the chix & bunny waterers do better.
I am trying to get all of the outside things finished by Saturday as when 'tP' gets home from work he has to take me to Spokane for an overnight stay as I leave for Puerto Rico at 0610 on Sunday morning. I'm absolutely not going to get up THAT early to drive 90 minutes & then the 1-2 hour wait one needs for security.
I plan to take some projects to finish (I hope) during my down-time from the meetings. Still have to determine what would be best to take, though.

Another jam-packed weekend

2011-10-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

The big 'D' was here this weekend, we picked him up on Friday and I took him home this morning. While he was here we were REALLY busy. The list of accomplishments is pretty long, too. We got in the last shopping day at the Farmer's Market, getting some squashes and some late fruit, we bought groceries, some wool to make 'grampa' some felted slippers and an electric water dish for the chicken's winter water. Then we came home and after putting away the purchases we started on our sewing lesson.
He learned about how the machine operates and how to thread it & put in a bobbin. Some elementary seam stitching followed and then he went outside to play with the neighbor boy, while 'grams' started a veggie harvesting / 'puttin up' marathon.
I dug carrots and beets, then froze the greens and after cleaning put the beet roots and the carrots in sealed containers in the outside refrigerator. After that I went out and picked the rest of the ground cherries and husked the ones that looked mature enough to ripen. I'm going to try to make some ground cherry / pineapple preserves later on - right now I just freeze the ripe ones in a sugar syrup.
Then today, 'tP' had to go down to WallaWalla as he had forgotten his ladder and his coffee filter holder at the friend's trailer, so the big 'D' & I worked a bit more on some sewing and I took him back to his dad's house. His mom was out hunting - something she really likes to do - and would pick him up later.
I came back home, made bread & rolls, picked all of the ripe raspberries that I could find (they really are not sweet due to lack of warm weather, so I will just make jam with them, adding sugar to sweeten) and then cut back the canes & tied them up for winter. NOW THAT IS A BIG JOB! After that I picked all of the apples, putting the wind falls & the wormy ones in a bucket to make applesauce this week and the good ones in a box to join the carrots & beets in the refrigerator. They will make pies, crisps, & dumplings later in the year.
There's still a list "as long as my arm" of chores to do for end-of-year prep, but it will be continued later.
Next week I go to Puerto Rico for the annual "bean meetings", so will have to fit that sort of thing in during the week and then the following weekend.
I am working on some little mitten ornaments to give as gifts for Christmas and then there are the felted slippers for 'tP' that I previously noted, not to mention the SFS socks and all the other UFO's that are in the pipeline.
Oh boy, I can't wait for retirement - maybe, just maybe I'll have a bit slower pace then.

cooling, cooling, cooling

2011-10-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

It's definitely fall. I had to put an extra blanket on the bed. We keep the heat way down so as to save on the AVISTA bill; that means "put on a sweater; that's what they're for" as Brenda Dayne would say and put another quilt on the bed.
We attended our next to last "Daisy training" class last evening - she is improving much and I have all sorts of knowledge now about how to continue the training. She is a really good dog, but is so large that it will be a good thing to have her understand completely what is expected of her. Plus, it will allow people to be able to get close to her without being overwhelmed by her love of every one :~).
It is going to be a busy weekend as we are wanting to finish buttoning up for the winter: finish all harvest in the garden & put it to bed, work on the curtains for Teddy's cage, make bread, make menues & the dishes to be frozen for "hurry days", introduce the #2 GS 'D' to the sewing machine - he wants to learn to quilt, and get the housework caught up, plus all of the usual shopping, cleaning, etc.

Home again, jiggedy jig

2011-10-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

I had an ABSOLUTELY great time - and it is never long enough - at quilt camp.
Staying true to my goal of completing UFO's (unfinished objects) or PHD's (partly half done) projects, I finished the blue & yellow quilt - for one of my nephews

the pair of socks from the Sock Summit class "Toe up socks for the Stubborn" and another bear for the Mother Bear Project

It was 30 degrees here this morning, so it looks like we will have to close up the garden this weekend and get heated watering pans for the chickens and the rabbit.
Winter means more time to do projects inside, though, so I'm just as happy about that.
And more soups, chilis, & stews, too

Just a short entry tonight

2011-10-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

as I am off to quilt camp tomorrow & I still have much to do to get ready.

More news when back.

A very productive day

2011-10-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today we accomplished a great deal here at the homestead, both indoors and out: clean bathrooms, clean kitchen, baked bread, vacuumed carpets, clean laundry, canned stewed tomatoes, clean chicken house & fixed the hen door so it can be closed to keep them inside if we want to, pulled onions to dry, harvested kale & beets, picke raspberries, picked cabbages, measured Teddy's cage stand so I can make the protective curtains to keep out the cold wind this winter, began the winterization of the RV, and had roast chicken & quinoa salad for our supper. When 'tP' gets back from bowling tonight we'll have homemade pound cake with fresh raspberry sauce for our dessert!

Here are a couple of pictures from our last camping trip. We took the #2 GS - the big 'D' - to see the White Bird Battlefield. It is great to be able to share the history of our area with him.

Gramps & D

and Gram & Gramps [being a bit romantic - heavens! and at their age :~) ]

A long hiatus

2011-10-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Life caught up with me, again.............. I meant to keep up with the blog, but I was overwhelmed with work and the homestead, too. I think it is lucky there is a 3-day weekend so mayhap I can get a bit caught up. Plus, I have to get ready for quilt camp starting on Wednesday.
The garden is still putting out produce; I made some more stewed tomatoes today after I got back from a long day of re-supply - made much more time consuming by the fact that the streets in Moscow were nearly all closed due to the Uof I homecoming. It sure put a wrench in the works for me. It took 3-4 times (or longer) as long to get around town and I already had more than usual to do today.
I have more berries to pick, more tomatoes & ground cherries, and I need to get to the beets, carrots & kale, plus pull the onions so they can be put to dry. Oh and I nearly forgot, there are those plums to dry that the DD picked for me.
I could go on & on, but I think I'll just post this for now and go get ready for bed - I'm 'pooped' from the stress today.

We got in one weekend of camping this year....

2011-10-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

We went to our usual favorite park, Winchester Lake in Idaho. Our #2 GS - the big D - came with us. The weather was really nice and we had a good time. It was nice to just sit around and relax. We had a couple campfires, roasted some hotdogs & some marshmallows, too.
The "men" went hiking with the dogs, played some dominoes (I joined in sometimes, too) and just enjoyed each other's company. I brought my yarn a& needles and made a bear for the Mother Bear project, when I wasn't cooking or reading.
Today I picked some more tomatoes and ground cherries, plus a bowl full of autumn raspberries. Yum!

Well we know autumn is here.........

2011-09-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

as it's cooling way down - we rode the Harley to work this AM & boy! did we get cold. It is going to be sunny & clear for the next few days, but cooler, too.

I had to share some pictures I got from 'the Mother Bear Project' - it's two bears being loved on by two of the children who received one of the bears that I made. It makes me so happy that I can share some love with these children. (In case you don't know Mother Bear, it's a project to give the small gift of a handmade bear to children affected by HIV/AIDS so they can have something that is only for them.)

A little rain today

2011-09-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

and some work around the house. I made 2 kinds of jam and a couple of jars of stewed tomatoes using my small tomatoes, small peppers and a nice onion from the garden. Plus the #2 GS and I made bread yesterday and generally had a good time.
I am still not to 100% even with the antibiotic - I guess I was more sick than I thought. I'm hoping to continue to improve, though.
My "bad Daisy dog" chewed up 'tP's favorite ball cap - he knows better than to leave things like that down so she can get them. I'm just not sure how to break her from chewing on things she is not supposed to - we have tried the "bapping" her with the offending object and saying "NO" in harsh voice, but has not worked so far. Otherwise though, she is learning quite well and usually does what one wants her to do.

Another day in paradise

2011-09-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I know I will soon be on the mend. Had to go to the doc again as I was not getting any better, in fact was worse, to find I have a sinus infection - with no sinus headache or any of the usual symptoms I have experienced in the past when I had one of these "lovely things". So, it's the 'Z pac' for me!
Am still watering garden as we have had no rain in a while and most everything is still going & going. I pulled the dry beans and hung them to dry so I can thresh them out. The second crop of 'spuds' are dying down so we'll dig them soon. The onions are starting to fall over so it'll be time to get them out, too. Then there's those beets, the carrots, the tomatoes, the kale...........................
I shall be busy this weekend!
We're getting 1-3 eggs each day now - I shall have to freeze some of them, too as we just don't eat that many! But in the winter it will be nice not to have to buy them. Yes, you can't have anything but scrambled to eat, but for baking who cares - and I love scrambled eggs anyway & they will be "our eggs"!
I've even got some late raspberries that may have time to get ripe if it doesn't go back to regular autumn weather to soon.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm love that homestead!

No profitable days here for some time

2011-09-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am so-so-so sick. My throat is so sore that I can barely swallow. I have used all my sick leave due to my surgery so am back at work. I try to stay away from everyone as I don't wish to give this to anyone!

It was 32 this morning at home - cold at night, but still getting up to 80's in daytime.

Frabjous Day!! tra-la, tra-lay

2011-09-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

After a week of laying eggs on the floor the chicken finally got it! Maybe it helped that one of her compatriots is now laying, too and got the egg in the nestbox, but never-the-less there were TWO eggs in the nestbox today!!! & none on the floor.

It has been moderately warm around here with no rain in site, so have to do the watering to make sure the plants don't get dehydrated before winter season.
My little onions & fava beans are coming along so they will be ready for winter, I think; now just to make sure they are protected enough to survive until spring.
Unfortunately, it has been warm enough that the 'stupid' garlic bulbs started growing - I shall have to plant some more later on to make sure that I will have garlic next year - I have never had the cloves sprout in the autumn before, but this year is so strange maybe that is why.

I am still suffering from my cold - VERY sore throat and terrible cough - and I am supposed to sell raffle tickets for our raffle quilt at the fair tomorrow. Luckily it is the first shift and hopefully there will not be many people looking at the needleart displays.

OK, back to projects on hand - I have so many and there is an absolute 'butt-ton' of mending I need to do.

End of summer cold - RATS!!

2011-09-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yup I got one - stuffed head, fever, cough & scratchy throat - kept me home from work today & I still feel pretty rough. I did get the pears finished up and now just have to do the rest of veggies in the garden: beets, carrots, kale, tomatoes & onions.
The onions & fava beans I planted for over-wintering are coming up so they will have time to get a bit of growth in before it starts to freeze hard, I think.

And the errant chicken is still laying eggs on the floor - I don't know how to get her to use the nestbox as no one else is laying eggs yet.

We got our first egg!

2011-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

One our "chickie-doodles" is obviously precocious as at 3&1/2 months we got an egg!

Now I just have to convince whomever it is that eggs need to be laid in the nest box, not on the floor,

Over the weekend it was very busy around Rosevale homestead. I made "irma pickles" (6 Qts.) and B&B pickles (5 pts.) from some cucumbers & onions that I bought from the Banner Ranch in Clarkston and some peppers I got at the farmer's market from Tonnemakers farms.
I bought pears from Banner, too, a week-end ago and will start canning them this week as they are getting ripe.
I picked all the rest of our corn and will begin processing it for pressure canning this week, too. It's a good thing we have that extra refrigerator in the garage!
'tP' worked a long day on Saturaday, so on Sunday we went for a ride on 'Howard Harley'. We went with some of his friends from the P.O. who ride on a trip up to Harrison, ID to see the Harrison car show. It was really hot and even with sunscreen we managed to get some sunburn - UGH! - but the ride was fun and the show was nice. Can't say as much for the lunch we had, but we will know to avoid that place again. On the way back the "guys" took us through Stateline, ID where there is (among other "interesting" places) a bar where bikers can ride THROUGH the place. We stopped after riding through to get something to drink - we had iced tea and water only, LOL. Then we headed home so we could get our critters fed and take ourselves to bed as we still have to work on Mondays.

Save what you can...............

2011-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm out in the garden picking last of the berries; picking beans off the plants & "recycling" plants into compost; pulling up the cucumber vines that never had a chance to make fruits & "recycling" them, too; picking ripe tomatoes - thank heavens for hoop house; cutting broccoli, cauliflower, & kale for the freezer and generally cleaning up the garden.
Later, I will paint the outside of the nestbox that we attached to the chicken house. I also plan to harvest some corn for the freezer, too.
It's warm & sunny today - doesn't make one think of such cold nights, does it? But that's the way it is around here.

Oh my goodness............it was 30 degrees here this AM

2011-09-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that I did leave the plastic hoop house up on the tomatoes. Since the beans are nearly done it was not a problem there and the beets & carrots are covered with row cover to help defeat leaf miners and root maggot. The coles are pretty cold hardy, so it was just an unfortunate part of living out here on the Palouse.
I went to the Saturday Market this AM, got some nice nectarines and a lovely melon. The Banner Ranch had bartlett pears, so I bought a box -'tP' will love that, pears are his favorite - and next week will get some cucumbers & peppers to make some 'Irma pickles' - this is a "fresh" pickle recipe from an old friend of my mum - we named them Irma pickles in honor of her. These, also, are a favorite of the DH & I love them, too.
I got the Daisy groomed and trimmed today - she looks so good all clean & neat - but it won't last long. She lies under the deck to keep cool and it is REALLY dusty under there. I'm keeping her in until 'tP' gets home so he can see her white & grey instead of her usual dirty tan with darker patches, LOL.
I've finished the sleeves on the Estelle and am now working on the feather & fan trim around the fronts and the collar area. The SS class socks are coming along and I am also working on a bit of spinning. I cut out pieces of fabric to piece a back for a quilt top that I have finished - I plan to make it up for one of my nephews - the next in line for the n&n installment of "auntie 'M's" quilts.
But now I'm going to lie down for a bit - I still get tired so easily - it is amazing how much some surgery can take from one.

LOVELY!

2011-08-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

I put two dahlia tubers in pots outside our front porch entry. The first bloomed just to have bugs eat the flower into ugly.
But then, the second one bloomed and apparently the bugs don't like this color, LOL.

It is so nice and I do love dahlias - so much variation and so many colors!

I'm feeling pretty good now and ready to tackle some chores.

2011-08-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

I can't overdo it, but if I'm careful things will get done. I've cleaned out my refrigerator and gotten rid of all of those things that seem to hide from one during normal use days. It's now all bright & clean in there and not nearly so crowded.
It's going to be chili-burger for supper tonight. I made a big pot of lentil chili the other day and we've already had it a couple of times. After a few days break we'll finish it up tonight on burgers. I've put aside a bit to use for stuffed peppers, too - one can use all sorts of goodies to stuff 'those babies'.
I've worked on the Estelle cardigan, and figured out I think - the toe-up socks that I took the class on at Sock Summit. I still think they are lots of trouble, but at least now I know some good 'cast-ons' and can get a sock that looks like what I'm used to them looking like.
I picked beans & berries yesterday; they are coming to their finish, but it looks as if it's time to harvest cauliflower and broccoli. Plus, the potato plants are dying down and that means digging 'spuds' will shortly be in order. The maize plants are filling their ears and soon we'll have homegrown corn-on-the-cob.
AND this morning when I was out feeding 'the farm' I checked in the hoop house and lo-&-behold there were 3 ripe tomatoes!

Well, I am (more or less) back to my regularly scheduled entries................

2011-08-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

had to go into the hospital for some surgery - 'nuf' said here about that as don't want to go into TMI.
But, I'm back home and although going very slowly about, am getting a few things done and thought I'd update the blog.
It's been quite sunny & hot here lately, although the evenings are cool - a sure sign of autumn here out on the Palouse - so the garden is slow in maturing its crops. We're nearly ready to pick some corn and there are still beans coming on so we're going to have a really good harvest of them. The apples are maturing and although there will be a fair crop I don't think they will be very large. However, as I keep saying "some is better than none!". The berries continue to trickle in, so there's going to be some 'mixed berry' jam coming up, too. I'm afraid the cucumbers just won't have time to set any fruits, but there will be tomatoes and peppers, as well as onions (they, too, are smaller than last year), garlic, potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, beets & carrots coming soon.
I've worked a tiny bit on the Estelle sweater and the Sock Summit Class toe-up socks. I've had to do a lot of resting & will continue to need to do so for a bit, so there will be slow progress on all projects for now.
More pictures to come soon. I've been trying to get photos of my progress, both on projects and on additions to my stash. I seem to go in 'fits & starts' at the photography thing, LOL.

My Sunday was very productive!

2011-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I made yoghurt & bread, I harvested berries & snap beans, I started building the nestboxes for the hens (I need to get some bolts to fasten them to the chicken house wall, so could not finish), and I cleaned up & organized in my craft room! Oh yes, and the "incidentals" of doing laundry and cleaning house, too. Plus, I put some beef in the crockpot so I could make B-B-Q beef for sandwiches at supper today.
How, you ask, could I have been so productive? AHA! the answer lies in the fact that I was home by myself and had no distractions, plus I was really motivated by the cooling from approaching autumn.
'tP' was off "with the boys" on a "harley run"; he got a ride up to Spokane to pick up "Howard Harley" who had been having his "training wheels" attached (we now have a 'trike'); then they all went on a ride around northern ID and eastern WA. They apparently had a really good time, even if the restaurant where they decided to have lunch made them wait an hour & a half for their burgers! and they never did get the "blooming onions".

more fruits & veggies

2011-08-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

It is good some things are coming from all of our hard work in the garden. I picked more beans and berries. We ate some of our kohlrabis - mmmmmm good - we do love them. We've had kale & lettuce. I noted last night that there was a broccoli head developing & some tiny cauliflower heads, too. I don't know if they will get as large as last year, but at least we will get some.

AND.......no aphids, no cabbage loopers - those netting cages do work!!

Corn cobs are developing, too - love, love, love corn on the cob.

Chicken nest boxes are on tap this weekend - the hens are getting up there so I really need to get them done. There's weeding to be done still out in the "water tower", too.

Families

2011-08-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

are the absolute best!
Our reunion (held at Beacon Rock State Park - a beautiful site indeed) was wonderful. Some of our big family were unable to attend: work schedules, transportation problems, prior commitments, etc., but all-in-all it was so good to see everyone together. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love my family - even a huge as it has become, LOL, and adding members all of the time, too.
We had good food, good talk & a good time all around.

'tP' & I were very tired, though, as driving over 300 miles (one-way) Saturday night, having the reunion and then driving back the about 300 miles on Sunday does take a toll on our (dare we say it) older bodies. It's going to take us all week to be able to get back to somewhat normal, I think.
The critters were glad to see us and the garden is going to greet me, I know, with all sorts of goodies to be harvested when I get home from work tonight.

I got the Age of Brass & Steam shawl blocked and photographed, but forgot to download the photos from my camera - which now has also lots of reunion photos, too. But, as soon as I can I will post a picture of the shawl and the family, too.
Here is the shawl - 2 pictures of me wearing it (photos courtesy of the #2 GS - 8 years old - 'big D') and 1 picture of it spread out.

Friday August 5th......................ALREADY??

2011-08-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

My goodness, but the time does seem to be flying by, especially when one has so many things to try to get done.

I did get the beans all packaged up and stored in the freezer - I spread them out on a cookie sheet, freeze them, and then put them loose in containers, so can take out whatever we need - and got 2 quarts.
Also the shawl is blocked and ready to be photographed - that darn time thing again, LOL.

This Sunday we are attending a celebration for my folks (upcoming 64 anniversary) and our 3 HS graduates: the #1 GS and the #3 & #4 nieces at Beacon Rock State Park (down on the Columbia River). We have to drive over late Saturday and stay in motel as 'tP' has to work on Saturday.

More hot days

2011-08-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

and I am not getting too much done. 'tP' has been working much overtime and we get home so late there is no time but eat, catch up a bit of homework, take care of critters and then fall into bed.
I did finish the knitting on the Age of Brass & Steam yesterday while waiting for the mister to get done at work - now to find some time to block it.
I got the beans cleaned and ends cut off, so tonight I can steam them & put into the freezer. I just don't have time to do the canning as it takes 90 minutes to can and I think I need to get some propane. There are actually enough to can, much better production than last year, but now not enough time :~(.
The #1 GS & GF have invested in their first home. They are buying a mobile home. Since he decided to hold off on going to college for a while, he has gone to work and I guess they figured they would buy the home instead of just renting. Why is it so hard to watch them grow up and move on with their life - AND I thought I had gotten over that with my children. I guess moms & grams just want to keep protecting them.

Apre' Sock Summit

2011-08-02T09:37:00.001-07:00

What a great time! I learned some things, I met some wonderful people, and purchased lovely things to add to my stash, my library & to my tea finery collection.
I got the Yarn Harlot to sign the copy of one of her books - thanks Stephanie, again - I met some of the podcasters who produce some of my favorite podcasts, and I was surrounded by fellow sock knitters. One could not ask for more.

At home the farm is thriving, even if we aren't getting the harvest we would have wished. There were beans to pick (I'll process them tonight), strawberries to finish up, raspberries & blueberries to begin, and other produce to anticipate getting. The chickie-doodles are getting big & I think I may need to give Teddy a haircut before the cold weather. I just don't want to have it mat up like it was last year when I got him. The dogs were very glad to see me, especially my big girl Daisy.

'tP' had taken the Harley to Spokane to get the set of wheels that will allow us to convert it to a "trike". We are looking forward to getting in more rides when we get it back home. There will be a trailer hook-up, too, so we will get a small travel trailer to use when we take longer trips.

Slow progress on projects: still working on Estelle, SFS, "toe-up top-down socks", spinning the Freckle Face fiber, the "Age of Brass & Steam" shawl from my hand spun, and now, add another pair of toe-up vanilla socks from the class I took at Sock Summit.

Getting ready to go to Sock Summit

2011-07-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am really excited. I know I won't have as much time there as I wish, nor will, I'm sure, see all I want to see, but I'll give it my best shot. I've already had the LYS owner admit her jealousy and ask me to record as much as I can to share when I get home. There are a couple of other local knitters who are going, so we should be able to bring back a lot of experiences.
I'm taking one class: "Toe-up Socks for the Stubborn" - well, I'm still trying to figure out if I really do like them or not. Otherwise, I'm going to shop and do a bit of "fan-girling" - what with all of the knitting aristocracy there AND the podcaster panorama.

On the project front, I'm still working on the Estelle cardigan (Quince & Co. Lark), the Age of Brass & Steam shawlette (my handspun), some socks (SFS & my own), plus some hand spindling on the Jenkins Turkish Delight spindle.

The garden is doing as well as can be expected for the strange year. We're still getting strawberries, although I think they may be coming to their end. The other berries are starting to ripen and we have had a few veggies from the garden, too.
The chickens are growing - I REALLY do have to get that nest box built! - and Teddy is looking like I may have to give him another haircut before winter.

a couple of photos of a bit of crafts I've been able to do

2011-07-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the beginning of a shawlette from my own handspun - it's the Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief pattern - I intend to add more rows to use as much of my yarn as I am able. The yarn is 2-ply spun from SW merino (colorway 'Blue Velvet' from "Dog Lover's Yarn" by Susan Zivec) during the 2009 & 2010 Tour de Fleece runs on my Golding spindle. And here are balls of singles spun on my Jenkins Turkish Delight Spindle. It's 'Sunspot' colorway of merino from Freckle Face Fibers. This is about half of the roving that I have - working on the other half, slowly, but surely.

And they just keep coming..........

2011-07-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

those strawberries, I mean ;~) - froze 12 more pints & 1 Qt (I ran out of pint containers, LOL). We've been eating lots of them, too. There is nothing like strawberries to tell you it really is summer. Since the rest of the garden is limping along we will have these red beauties if not much else, ie. the poor corn is only about 1&1/2 - 2 feet tall and is beginning to tassle - I expect we won't get much corn. I did, however, get some nice kohlrabi from the garden yesterday and it looks as if there will be more for us to enjoy.

Summer brings small blogposts

2011-07-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

What with all of that activity and the big number of jobs to do - it leaves little time for blogging.
'tP' gave me some BIG help by picking the strawberries last evening while I was doing laundry and ironing. He got 2 huge bowls full - let me tell you we may not have some things from our garden/orchard this year, but we ARE getting strawberries!

Sunny weather and all of that..............

2011-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

The garden likes it. It's nice to have summer back the "way it's supposed to be".
We're busy, busy, busy getting caught up from vacation and doing the usual warm weather tasks, too. This weekend we washed all of the windows on the outside of the house - this involves taking down all of the screens, washing them and then tackling the windows and the frames. It took us all afternoon to get done, but that's one accomplishment for this season. I try to do it 2X a year on the outside. We also did them on the inside, too, just to have sparkley clean view for a bit.
I picked more strawberries - we're up to 10 pints in the freezer and some left over for strawberry shortcake! YUM-YUM
'tP' & I have been going up to Uniontown for some music concerts at the Artisan Barn - Saturday we listened to Blues music and Sunday to French Creole music (from southern Illinois and Missouri of all places!). How many of you know that there's french speakers on that part of the Mississippi River? and I'll bet you thought, like me, that they were all in Louisiana, LOL.
Well, lots more to do, so will post later AND I'm going to try to get some of our photos sorted out to post.

Another hot day in forecast

2011-07-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

but I'm not complaining (well, too much anyway) as the garden needs some heat. It just necessitates me watering more now, though.
I got a call from the computer doctor that the machine is now good to go. Apparently a virus was contracted before I upgraded my virus protection the last time and it took this long for it to appear. Those "buggers" are sneaky that way. Anyway the technician tweaked a few things in the virus-protector and said we should be better off now, too. A mere $75 dollars to get that 'baby' back - I'll go get it later today after I have my doctor's appointment.
Not much happening on any other fronts as work is taking up most of our time. There are lots of people gone from the old PO and 'tP' is getting a TON of over-time. AND, me? well there is a huge backlog of testing to do and people to contact after I was gone for those 3 weeks.
Have I said lately that we ARE looking so forward to retirement??? LOL

Computer still at doctor

2011-07-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July.
Ours was notable in the fact that is was sunny and nice, but not too hot. Mayhap summer actually is here now.
The computer is still at doctor, so not too many posts for the time being.

A WONDERFUL trip!

2011-06-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time! I will try to get more here, but we have come home to find that the computer has a BIG problem and it is almost impossible to use it for anything.
ARGH!!! computers!!

& we're OFF !!!

2011-06-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

"See you" in 3 weeks.

We're in the count-down..........

2011-06-03T12:30:00.001-07:00

All the supplies are laid in for the kids to care for our "homestead", we have supplies for ourselves to survive a long airline trip (since they only provide "food to purchase" now-a-days), the gifts are all done, lists all made, camera & extra storage, passports at the ready, airline tickets confirmed, etc. etc. All that is left is to pack those suitcases! And that will be done tonight and tomorrow morning before leaving to watch the #1 GS graduate.

Some things are improving,

2011-06-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

but one of them is not the weather! Yesterday there was an absolute deluge & hail storm - there was so much water there was a couple of inches flowing down the street and deeper in some places; then there were hailstones the size of small marbles plus thunder & lightening. It was quite isolated though which was one blessing.
Last night I got the germinated beans & corn planted and 'tP' finished off the pile of compost + soil, so we have nearly all of our beds operational. The last thing I'll plant before we leave is some cucumber seed - then we'll just trust that we will have veggie plants when we get home.
I also got gifts for our host & hostess in the UK and will block the shawl this evening. The last thing to do is to get packed and make sure all is ship-shape.
After the #1 GS graduates on Saturday we will be on our way!

AND here's the shawl for Carol on the blocking board:

closer & closer

2011-05-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

to our trip.
We worked outside all day to day getting things ready. Teddy is now in his new home over the compost bin, the chickies now have bigger feed and water tins, the garden bed is fixed, the bean bed is ready to receive the germinated bean seed, & the corn patch is ready to have the corn germs put in, too.

The kids came over for a run-through on what they will be doing for us while we are gone and we have made a list of everything we need to buy for the critters, too.

I did get a sad call from the DS, he & MsT won't make it to the #1 GS's graduation. He is interviewing for a job and has to complete some sort of test. Plus they are readying their house to sell, too. I am so disappointed - the #1 will be so let down. His own biological father supposedly doesn't have time to come to his graduation and he lives only 20 miles away!!!!! this will only add to the disappointment.
We shall have to try to make it up the best way we can.

We were out working in the yard & garden

2011-05-29T16:03:00.001-07:00

'tP' worked on the "broken garden bed", I worked on the rabbit pen. Then it started raining AGAIN! so we're back inside. We ate supper and are planning to go to the movies - we'll see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (& eat popcorn!!)

Weather is back to cold &

2011-05-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'll have to cover the tender plants tonight - weather forecast predicts mid 30's & at my house that means it FREEZES. Bummer - I had wanted it to warm a bit before we left for the UK so we could plant beans & corn. I guess I'll just have to germinate the seed, plant it & hope for the best!
Tonight we are going to attend a play in which the #2 GS has a couple parts (it's a small school). I'll get pictures & share later.
The #1 GS is getting ready to do the graduate from HS thing - his mom says he keeps "trying on" the cap & gown, LOL.
On a more serious note, my DS was laid off from his position and although he got severance pay, etc., etc. I know it has to be very hard on him. He really likes his work and in these trying times it will be a while before he can find another. His area of work is something that suffered in the downturn. And, most likely, he & Ms. T will have to move elsewhere - maybe even CA - that would be very sad for us. :~(

Better late than never, right?

2011-05-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

My goodness, I meant to blog, I really did! But since it actually has been nice around here we have been spending all of our spare time outside working in the yard & gardens.

Anyway, here are pictures of my BirthDay flowers (gift from the DD & family).

And picture of my 'chickies'.

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-05-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

And yes it is great today, plus the sun is out, it's warm and my life is wonderful. Well, my life is wonderful even when it's not my birthday, :~).

I get a massage this afternoon and 'tP' is taking me out for supper. I've gotten well-wishes from lots of friends and family. Everyone should have such a good day.

It's one day BEFORE my birthday :~)

2011-05-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

and I am at work, as usual for a weekday. Waiting for my samples to hydrate so I can begin to macerate them & "get this show on the road".

I dug up the potato bed last night - yes, in the rain, but I had no choice. I HAVE to get those "guys" into the ground. I'll cut starts tonight & plant them on Thursday when I get home from work. That gives them time to dry on the cut surface and invite less "fungal friends" to the party. I can see a few peas emerging from the ground and my cole starts - in the greenhouse - need to be transplanted, so I'll take them home tonight. I'm going to have 'tP' help me put up my hoop house and get the tomatoes and peppers protected as I put them out, too. We may (or may not) get some garden goodies this year.

On the "boy am I dumb" front, I did get a note from the passport expiditers that they had my stuff and it was "in the works" - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed & doing some praying, too.

Still working on the Estelle and the SFS socks. Have not gotten the shawl blocked yet, but plan that for the weekend when I can make sure "the cat" does not find it. I also have succumbed to the "startitis" bug and cast-on a pair of those "toe-up, top-down" socks that Rue & Erin developed http://knitcents.blogspot.com/2011/04/ep-64-i-love-oly.html .

Rainy Day Mondays

2011-05-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

& every other day of the week, it seems.

We were able to get a little bit done in the time that was "wet-free" this weekend. I got the rest of the chicken fence done, 'tP' mowed the lawn, although he was raking in the rain at the end there. I planted out my onions & some lettuce (I was doing this in the rain, too) as they were more than ready to be out of their starter pots. Other than that we did some housework and I made some bread & pumpkin muffins. Not a really exciting weekend, but then they all can't be that way, can they?

On the craft front I finished up the shawl for 'the english girl', worked on the SFS socks a bit and frogged the Estelle - skeined up & washed the frogged yarn and cast on with the rest of the ball in the next size up. When the frog yarn is dry I will ball it up and continue with it.

In the "a whole lot more worry than one needs" area let me tell you what drNoMemory has done. I've nearly sabotaged the England trip by forgetting to check when my passport needed to be renewed! It was May 29 2011 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hurriedly went on line last night to find the expidited passport information and how I could get a renewal in less than two & half weeks. I got the information, got the pictures, paid the LARGE fee and sent it off this morning by express mail. It is supposed to be back at the latest by the day before we are supposed to leave. Needless to say I will be worried for the whole time until we are on that plane over there. How could I have been so silly to have forgotten that????????????

Blogger is back up, so.............

2011-05-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

I can do a post :~). Today is turning up sunny & nice, just in time to go bad for the weekend - that's the forecast - RATS!
I have nearly finished the chickie house - just the next box to be built and attached and the fencing to put up. Rain or not I should be able to get the fence up this weekend. The box is not such a hurry as these girls will be a while to egg-time and I can just put a cover over the hole for now.
The repair-it-yourself garden bed project is coming along. We got ready to put in the new posts to find that "they" don't make 'Trex' posts anymore, so now we'll have to get some wooden ones. We're putting them on the outside of the beds, so won't be in contact with dirt, but on bottom, plus, 'tP' thinks he'll put some concrete in the holes for stabilization, too.
I'm nearly done with the shawl for 'the english girl' but may run short of yarn. I found someone on Ravelry that actually has the yarn & colorway for sale, so am making a really quick buy.
On the Estelle front - another story here - I tried on what I had done so far and decided it was going to be way too small in the arm scythes, necessitating a FROG and a re-start one size up. I figure I can adjust for other fitting issues as I go, but too small sleeves and such is too difficult for me right now.

Happy Mother's Day one & all!

2011-05-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful one. The weather was not too nice, but it really didn't matter. We took a bit of a road trip, and then stopped by the kid's farm where I received a lovely bouquet of flowers & 2 roses from the #1 GS & GF. I also got some lactose-free cheese and some multi-colored little carrots from the DD - she knows what I like, LOL. The DS called this morning to wish me a good day and to let us know they will be coming over for the #1 GS graduation, so we'll see them before we leave to go to Great Britain.
I went on a 9 store Quilt Shop Hop yesterday and got lots of goodies, plus now I know where all of the "local" stores are located. Helps with stash-enhancement, don'tcha' know? I bought a FQ and a button from or for each shop (some didn't sell buttons) and I plan to make a wall hanging commemorating my first shop hop. Should be fun.
I am nearly done with the increases on the yoke of the Estelle cardigan. I try to just do my sewing and quilting on the weekends as I can take my knitting to work & do it at breaks or on the lunchtime. I also knit when riding in the car, so got some done today. Otherwise I did a lot of mending and that shop hop for my sewing time this weekend, .

Rats!

2011-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

back to the rainy & windy weather around here. And yesterday was SO-O-O-O nice. 'tP' and I came home and went right outside to do some work. I got one of the doors on the chicken house finished so I can latch it and "chickies" can't get out until I want them to be loose, and he got the garage cleaned out, plus finished the emptying of the garden bed we need to repair.
On another note, I am going to frog back my Estelle and put a different edging on it - one from Paula of the Knitting Pipeline Podcast - so it will look better. I was a bit put-off by the way it looked even with the slip of the first stitch. I want the sweater to turn out looking as good as I am able to make it.
On the job I am up to my ears in alligators, as usual, with testing, meetings & reports to do.

I'm starting the Estelle tonight!

2011-05-02T18:44:00.003-07:00

The second swatch on the original size 7 needles - after I found that the gauge on the size 8 needles when washed and blocked out was too large - is perfectly on gauge. So, I'm casting on tonight and getting started.

Tomorrow I go to my last Palouse Patcher meeting as the President - we'll be in London on the last meeting in June - and I'm going to do a lot of thanking and appreciating my members and my executive council. It was fun, but I'm not sure I'd do it again :~).

Oy! I see I'm stuck on Estelle, LOL. In other news it is pouring down rain and 'tP' had ridden "Howard Harley" to work today - needless to say he was very wet and cold when he got home. A nice hot shower was the ticket before supper. Fast for me as it was leftover quiche and some coleslaw with my 'signature homemade slaw dressing', then rhubarb pie & ice cream for dessert. Can't get much better than that! Off to knitting now.

The Estelle swatch is finished &

2011-04-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

washed. In the morning when it is dry I will measure it to see if I can cast-on for the sweater on the "real" cast-on day, LOL. I am nearly always behind in any KAL that I do, so this will be no different I'm sure.
'tP' & I went to the Ren Faire in Moscow this evening when he got home from work. It was a bit late as many of the booths started closing up as soon as we got there, but we had fun and got some good food. We met with the DD & 'the farmer' and walked around with them, too. There were some really lovely handicrafts and art there.
Tomorrow is supposed to be warm - we shall see - and we plan to use it to get some much needed yard & garden work done. I'm going to make rhubarb pie for dessert for supper, too. Mmmmmmmmmm good!

I got my yarn for the Estelle KAL

2011-04-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

at the Knitting Pipeline Podcast group. I will cast on for a swatch tonight. It is such a lovely sweater - I can hardly wait to get started - Cast-on is May 1. Join us if you have a notion.

Here's a photo of the shawl for 'British Girl':

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

The day was spectacular! Sunny and warm - after church we were able to work outside, I hung out laundry and worked on the chicken house. It was so nice to have a good day after so many cold and un-springlike ones.
I am making progress on the shawlette for my English friend. It is slow as I am so busy with all of the other things I'm doing. It is turning out very lovely, I think.

Snow again today,

2011-04-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

and it looks like it will be cold for Easter (& it is late this year, one would have thought that those egg hunts would have been in nice weather). Our #2 GS is going to go on an egg hunt in the liitle town next door to ours - the "city moms & pops" sponsor one for little guys on Saturday before Easter. Since he is just 7 we figure that he is still a "little guy" although he'd be quick to tell you that is not true, LOL.

I nearly forgot I wanted to start a shawl to take to my friend in England so I could have a handmade gift for her when we go in June. I picked out the Lingonberry Shawlette by Andrea Arbour. I wanted to use fingering weight yarn, but also wanted just a shawlette so I would be able to get it done in time. I'm going to use yarn from my stash - see photos.

We also plan to bring our friends gifts from the Palouse & surrounding area: a lentil/pea gift pack and a huckleberry gift pack. We wanted to share some of our favorites with them. They are going out of their way to make sure we have a wonderful time!

Well apparently I've done it again;

2011-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

that memory problem is gong "to be the death of me" yet, LOL. I could have sworn that I made an entry into the blog - I had some things I wanted to share and some pictures, too. But, did I really do it? Well, it's sort of apparent that I didn't isn't it?
Anyway, when I get home tonight I shall get the pictures into this post and some more of the things I wanted to share! REALLY, REALLY I will :~).

I completed a course in Home Food Preservation given by the University of Idaho Extension via Oregon State University. Although I have been preserving food at home for many, many years I learned a lot of helpful things and got some really good information about food safety and such. If you ever have a chance to something like this, I would recommend it highly. And here's a photo of my certificate!

RATS! I forgot my camera..........

2011-04-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

when I went to work at our annual quilt show & tomorrow I have other obligations so won't be able to get photos of the wonderful work. There were some really spectacular quilts this year. Everyone seemed to really like the show; as I was travelling around many people complimented us on the good show. As Madame President, it made me very proud of our group. I am pretty tired, though, due to some medication that I am taking for some physical problems. It leaves one just exhausted - I sure hope it does the trick, I don't want to go through this again. I will also go to my spinning group meeting tomorrow; one of the members is going to introduce us to some beading work. It should be fun.

Ok, so I was wrong,

2011-04-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

it's back to rain & cold. But, maybe not quite so cold and I'm hoping for a bit of dry-out as our quilt group has their annual quilt show this weekend. If you're near Moscow, ID come to see the great quilts! the Palouse Patchers 31st Annual Show at the Latah County Fairgrounds - a REALLY, REALLY good show and the vendors are not bad either, LOL. I'm back to working on SFS socks, this time it's olive drab team-knit socks in the usual humongous size (I do the large size because I think few of the sock knitters really like to do the big ones-takes a L O N G time to finish-and I want to make sure everyone gets a chance at socks). I'm also finishing up the PJs I got nearly done at camp - I had to measure for the hems and figure out how much elastic I needed. I did that last night & tonight I plan to put in the elastic and do the hems. The I'll have a nice new pair of "jammers". Then it's on to mending, mending, mending - I promised 'tP' that I'd get that darn jacket "re-zippered" and it WILL get done!

I could be mistaken, but maybe, just maybe

2011-04-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

it actually might be turning the corner into some better weather. This is the second day now that it has not rained (or snowed), although a bit more may come tomorrow, and it seems like the change may have occurred. I'm not getting my hopes too high, but it sure would be nice to get dried out a bit!

Here is a photo of the quilt top (from a 2005!! BoM) I was able to complete at camp and my latest apron, too. I made some pajamas (but for the hems & elastic, as I did not try them on there), completed a mystery top project using a 'jelly roll' - first time I had used one of those - and started on the completion of another UFO that I've had for SEVERAL years, LOL.

Quilt Camp was great,

2011-04-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

as usual. I did not take as many pictures this time, but I'll post some of the ones I DID take soon. Quite a bit was done on that old UFO pile, too. I got relaxed & refreshed and that is what I was looking most forward to, anyway. 'tP's vacation turned out to be no where near what he wished. His oldest brother passed away on the Tuesday of that week and he had left early on Monday to see if he could visit one last time. He made it in time, but the brother probably was unaware; never-the-less, it helped the DH with his grieving process, I think. This last year has been extra hard on him as he has lost 3 of his immediate family in such a short time. I'm hoping things level off and there's more peace around here for a bit. It is still way too wet to work in the garden - we NEED to get peas, potatoes, some coles and lettuce it - how we're ever going to do that is a big question at this time, though. I still have to get the berries and shrubs pruned, too. Not looking like a really good year right now.

And today it POURED rain

2011-04-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

so much for spring weather.

Here's my 'sort-of vanilla' socks; done & ready to go.

On Wednesday I am off to Quilt Camp Spring 2011, so there won't be posts until I get back. Tomorrow night is our monthly quilt group meeting (I'm the president, remember), so this will the the last post for a bit.

Hope all are well and being 'CRAFTY'!

I am so glad the weather forecasters were wrong!

2011-04-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday had periods of sun and today!!! was dry & nearly clear all day. The sun was out and we worked out in the yard. I couldn't make the chicken house little doors as I had no plywood pieces that were big enough, but I got all the posts in for the run and measured to figure out how big to make the rabbit run - I am planning to put it on top of the compost bins-no moving poop, LOL. I got some spinach planted and a few garlic bulbs - obviously I forgot again to plant it last fall as there appears to be none coming up. I got out the hoses and the row covers so I'll be ready to get some planting done as soon as it warms just a bit more & dries out some, too, of course. I made some really nice sourdough french bread today. I got a new starter - the Oregon Pioneer Starter from Nichol's Garden Nursery - as my old one was just not doing well anymore. It never did have much flavor anyway, so I decided to get a new one. I got the kitchen curtains washed & pressed. Here's a photo of Spring Cleaned curtains around the dining area window looking out at still leafless willow trees.

Getting blown off the map, nearly

2011-03-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

as the wind is really letting us have it - last night, all day today and forecast for all night, too. I felt some better today and went to work. I don't want to miss too much work as I need to save up my time off for the vacation to England. I've been working on the "sort-of vanilla" socks and spinning the 'Sunspot' merino fiber (on my little Turkish Delight spindle) into some yarn that I plan to 2-ply. Although I may have to 3-ply it if I can't get it a little bit thicker - it really is too thin - I don't want lace-weight, I want fingering weight!

A "good" day to be home sick??

2011-03-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

It is pouring down rain and wind is howling around the outside of the house. I'm up for a short time, but think I'll lie back down. I really, really hate to be sick. It interfers with all of the things one needs to do, let alone the job! More later. I got to be feeling better, but still s l o w on any doing. I got out the SC cowl to see about grosgrain ribbon for behind the buttons only to find I had no red to match the cowl. Thus I will have to wait until the weekend to get some. I did tie on the buttons to make sure they would go through the buttonholes and to fix where to space them. It looked good, so I can't wait to get them on & use the cowl before it stops being cold. Although, that could take some time, it seems at this moment.

I found some great buttons for the Shawl Collar Cowl!

2011-03-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

I'll sew them on tomorrow & post a picture. I found the real shell buttons in a collection of old buttons that my DD got at a yard sale & gave to me. They look great next to the cowl and should really work out well.

Here's a picture of the #3 pair of baby socks - finished them last night.

I'm a bit under the weather today, though and am going to bed early.