All Thawed Out

That's right; even the pipes and their breaks are thawed. We have three breaks in the barn that we know about. One of them was in the wall of the fiber room which was completely flooded on Saturday. What a mess. It took us several hours to mop, shop vac, and move fiber out of the water. The cheap laminate flooring we put in there is curling up on the seems, but it isn't as bad as I had feared. I think a few throw rugs will be good enough.

This weekend has to be better. My sister is coming for a visit and I'm sure we'll have a good time with no flooding.

Merry Christmas

Baby it's cold outside

Brrrr! It is COLD here. Yesterday and today it was 8 degrees when I got up. Today the weather man said with wind chill it is -2 degrees. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don't ever remember it being this cold before. Thankfully it is dry, which is unusual for December. There haven't been too many accidents and it is possible to put on enough layers to do outdoor chores without too much pain.

On the up side, I took my finals on Monday and managed to do well on both, earning A's in both classes. Next term doesn't start until after the new year when I'll be taking Anatomy and Physiology 2 and beginning Chemistry. In high school I took physics instead of chemistry so I'm looking forward to that class. I love math and science.

Giving Thanks

Carly wants to say, "Hello."This holiday weekend was pretty mundane. We just had dinner at Rocky's parents' house which is what we do every year. I had taken a turkey out of the freezer to thaw and cook and then on Wednesday Jack went out and bought us all a rotisserie turkey. Since I couldn't refreeze the turkey I took out I cooked it on Friday, boiled the bones on Saturday, and yesterday Rocky and I canned turkey vegetable soup.

The only excitement for the weekend came yesterday morning around 9:00; and this is where we're giving thanks. Rocky was still sleeping in and I was being lazy with the dog in front of the TV when I heard this loud noise outside. At first I thought the dog got her leash tangled in chairs on the patio, but then I realized the dog was in the house so I jumped up to see what it was. It was this:
See that huge oak tree lying on the ground? It landed on the goat shelter. Fortunately the goats were not in it. Also, Rocky mowed right along there Saturday afternoon. The worst thing that happed, other than the damage, is that the goats got out.

Here are some more Carly photos for your viewing pleasure:

We had to buy Carly some different food to remedy a gas problem

and it smells so good that Jill likes it too.

Jack is doing everything he can think of to make Carly love him.

Here is a photo of Carly trying to get Jill to play with her. I put this photo up to use as a size reference. So far, Carly has only had one big growth spurt since we got her home.Life with Carly is one big learning lesson. This weekend I took her out to the barn and pasture with me while scooping. She had a ball. She loves the alpacas and is very calm around them, even when Alexis tries to stomp her. For the most part everybody behaved themselves, but in the last pasture where two of our studs live Carly got chased. It didn't seem too serious and she was good about staying far enough away. I was really glad that she wasn't the one chasing and she didn't seem traumatized over it, just curious.

Even though she behaved appropriately around the animals it will be a while before Carly goes out to scoop with me again. I did not know this, but it turns out that alpaca poop is quite tasty. As hard as I tried I could not keep her from eating it. She had diarrhea the entire next day.

Jill and Carly are getting along quite well. Carly has come to learn that Jill is just to look at. Even though I haven't seen her get swat by Jill, she walks a wide path around her.

Here is a good photo of Jill's bad eye:
She still gets eye drops twice a day. I don't think it has gotten any worse and she doesn't seem to be in pain.

As for me, I'm halfway through my second term back in school now. I've taken two practical exams in Anatomy and Physiology with two written exams to follow; and in Medical Terminolgy I've taken an oral exam and one computer exam, and I only have the final left which is another computer exam. It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of hours studying, but earning good grades is so rewarding.

Fright Night at Autzen

Wow! If you missed the Duck game last night you really missed out. It was louder than ever and the game was better than ever. Watching the Ducks cream the Trojans was unforgettable. Except for the USC section the crowd was in black and yellow for Halloween, and many people came in costume. During tailgating before the game little kids went trick-or-treating tail gate party to tail gate party. Part of the marching band plays along Pre trail before each game, but last night instead of playing they had a boom box, were all dressed like zombies and performed to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The entire evening was quite an experience. If you'd like to read more about and see some photos here is a link to our local news paper, The Register Guard.

Carly was there. She was so scared of everybody before the game, but so curious at the same time. During the game we put her in her crate and locked her in the car. After the game she was more relaxed and let a few people pet her. I weighed her today and she has gained five pounds since we got her. Here are a couple more photos of her:

She loves watching the goats and alpacas:

Watching animals again:
Sleeping on her back:

Carly and Me

I did what I said I wouldn't do...got a puppy. We named her Carly. She's a Labernese (black lab/Bernese mountain dog).

Rocky's cousins, Darin and Janet rescued Paris, a female Bernese this summer. Unbeknownst to them, she was pregnant at the time. After Rocky told me no and I wavered back and forth on the idea I finally said I wanted one and we went to Redding, CA to pick her up this weekend.

When we got there she was one of the first puppies to come to me and when I picked her up she hugged me back like she already knew she belonged to me. She's the cutest little 14 pound fur ball. She's already learned to fetch, but now we are working very hard on potty training. I never realized how much work is involved in training a puppy the basics (the last time I had a house puppy I was still a young teenager and my mom did all the work). After more than 48 hours I am exhausted; but I do think we made progress today, she finally pooped outside. I can't tell you how giddy I was over that poop.

Here she is at her cutest. When she isn't playing she does this:

Here is a minute where we forced her to let Rocky pet her. (She's terrified of Rocky because she fell while jumping out of his lap Sunday night and hurt herself, but she thinks he did it to her.)
This was Sunday before we took her from her mom and litter mates:

Back in School

I started my second term at LCC the end of September and it has been interesting.

My Medical Terminology course is a telecourse. We don't have the cable required to watch the videos on so I check discs out of the school library. This poses as a little bit of a challenge since the CD's have 4 episodes on each, you can only have the discs for one week, and you can only check them out once during a school year. The other problem with this is that the class is taught in order of the book (chapters 1-6 and 7-12) and the episodes on the discs are 1-4, 5-8, etc. but the chapters and episodes do not run in the same order. For instance, I am on chapter 4 which goes with episode 8; so I've had to spend time watching episodes I'm not ready for and am trying to catch up on the reading.

The Anatomy and Physiology has been challenging in other ways. It is a hybrid class so I only have to go to campus on Fridays and the rest is online. This means that class time is mostly devoted to labs and not much lecture. If we have questions after reading and looking at the information on our website we post questions to the class forum. So far the teacher and I have been the only ones on the forum; I expected to be the only one in class to take our exam today, but I wasn't.

The first class day in A & P we dissected rats; these were real live, dead rats not rubber or plastic. (No we didn't have to kill them ourselves.) It was unnerving, but very interesting. It turns out that rats look very much like humans on the inside, just smaller. When we were done our poor little specimens were hollow as we pulled all their organs out one by one.

Today was our first exam, at 8:00 am sharp. It was a practical exam with 25 stations set up around the room. We each went to a station; had 90 seconds to look in microscopes, examine a body part model, and answer two questions. I thought it was pretty hard and was unsure about a handful of my answers, but I must have done a good job studying because I earned 100%. Yippee!

After the exam we had more lab time with bones and skin models. There were a couple of bones that had been soaked in vinegar for a week; you would have thought it was rubber. At the end of class I checked out a bag of bones to bring home. So I have almost half a human skeleton to lay out and examine for the next week (these are plastic bones, they don't let us check out the real ones, we can only study those at school. It turns out that real bones are more expensive than plastic bones, they get brittle over time, and students' dogs seem to like them.) Next week I'll be bringing home a skull. I can't wait for Rocky to come home from hunting tonight, I'm going to have the bones laid out on the bar before he gets here.

Busy September

Even though school was out for most of the month (it starts again on Tuesday) I haven't had a moment to rest. I got back to my weaving project. Here all of the warp ends are threaded through the heddles on the shafts and I am threading through the reed. The reed keeps the warp evenly spaced.This is what it looks like from the back of the loom:
I did take a moment to play with Blue. He goes into the hidden space in the corner between my desk and file cabinet.
I canned 50 pounds of green beans, 14 quarts of tomatoes and 20 pints of salsa.
There were several wild fires surrounding Lane County that filled the valley with smoke which produced awesome sunsets:
Poor Jill kitty had to go to the vet last week. It's hard to tell in this photo, but she has serious glaucoma in her right eye and the iris is not at all visible. I looks like her eye is nothing but pupil and it is enlarged. I'm not sure how this episode is going to end, but Jill is almost 15 years old.

We went to the third Duck home game yesterday and they keep surprising us; they beat #6 ranked Cal 42 to 3. Washington State comes to Autzen Stadium next Saturday.

It's a Girl

Meet Lera Jeanne Basom:

Born August 28th

7 lbs, 5 oz

On a totally different topic; I spent my entire day yesterday canning 50 pound of green beans. I got 14 quarts and about 75 pints. That should last us a couple of years.

Promised Photos

Here are some photos from the Judith MacKenzie workshop.

This is the cochineal pot:
Cochineal is ground up dried bugs that is used to dye reds. I have a skein of yarn that came out of this pot that is a pretty pink with spots of peach. The peach spots came from limes. Judith cut up some limes in the pot and all the fiber close to them turned peach.

This is the indigo pot:

You all know indigo, it is what makes your jeans blue. When the pot got up to teperature it had this layer of scum on the surface. Judith put one drop of dish soap on it to create the hole where our yarn and fabric would be lowered into the pot through.

The indigo pot was really neat. We put white silk scarves in; when they first came out they were a pale greenish color, but the longer they were exposed to oxygen the darker blue they got. You controlled the darkness of the blue by leaving it in the pot longer. The items that were dipped in for just a couple of minutes ended up a faded blue jean color.

This is Judith after dropping in and taking out several items from the indigo pot:

When she realized that she didn't have any gloves with her she just went right in bare handed and said, "Well, it can't be helped." Her hands were a dark navy blue by the end of the day. She thought it would take about three or four days to wear off.

This is the room we were spinning in:

Pretty much the whole floor was covered with fiber and yarn, it was great fun.

Here is some of what I brought home:
The skein on the far left is one I painted. The pink one below came out of the cochineal pot. The two skeins that look black are actually navy blue from the indigo pot, as well as the scarf. The scarf was tied first and the diamonds were formed by tying garbanzo beans in it. It was all so much fun, I hope I can take the workshop again next year.

News alert:

Rocky is fishing this evening and just called to let me know that Chad just called to say that Aliya is at the hospital having the baby.

Whirlwind Summer

Wow! I made it through my first term back in college in over 20 years. I'm proud to tell you that I remember how to study to make good grades. The next three terms will be more difficult I'm told. Anatomy and Physiology require a lot of memory in order to learn the language, body parts, and body systems. For now I have four more weeks to catch up on house and farm work, and try to get some fun in.

The weekend after finals we attended Rocky's 30th class reunion. It was a casual event which was nice; and he enjoyed catching up with classmates.

Last week I was lucky enough to spend in a Judith MacKenzie workshop. Judith confided in us that she aspires to be the Julia Childs of spinning. We all assured her that in our minds she already is.

The workshop focused on color. We spent some time on carding, spinning, and plying techniques; and the rest of the time on dying techniques. (I do have photos to post, but I'm at work right now and the camera is at home.) We learned about some natural dyes that aren't too toxic to use: indigo, madder, cochineal, and lichens. A lot of natural dyes are toxic because of the mordants you have to use in order to get a permanent dye job. It was all very interesting. Judith is one of those people that you could never spend too much time with. She is very pleasant and is a wealth of knowledge.

Now I have to step back into my reality. Work yesterday and today. Tomorrow I get to go to the spinning guild, which I haven't done since June. This weekend is for canning beans. And Duck football starts soon after.

Halfway Through

The term, that is. Today I took another Chemistry exam that I studied all weekend for. I know I did well, but there were a few questions that I wasn't sure about.

Even though I felt well prepared for this test it must have really rattled me. First thing in the morning before the alarm rang the cat decides she needs out. So I get up to let her out and look out toward the barn to notice that the boys have shut their gate locking half in and half out. So I grab my robe and go out there at 5:45 am, hoping nobody drives by to see me, and open the gate for them. Now they can all get to water and shade again.

I go in, take my shower and when I go to use the conditioner out of the pump bottle that I just refilled I realize that I filled it with SHAMPOO; I have no conditioner, so I have to deal with tangles as I comb my wet hair. Next, as I'm trying to step into my underwear they snap like a rubberband right into the toilet. I usually try not to make too many trips into the bedroom while Rocky is sleeping, but this one could not be helped.

So, I finally get dressed, eat breakfast, and pack my bag and lunch cooler out to the car when I decide one last trip to the bathroom is in order. So I head back in the house, set my purse and keys on the washer, take care of business, and head back out. I locked my keys and purse in the house. I can see them sitting there laughing at my through the window. Fortunately I was able to let myself back in without waking Rocky up, grab my keys and purse and head out, again.

I had planned to make a deposit at the ATM on my way to school (I usually like to get there by 7:30 when the Science Resource Center opens) but decide I don't have enough time after locking myself out and all; so I head straight to school. All is going well enroute until I realize that I passed my exit! Can't believe it. As I keep driving South on the freeway I keep telling myself that I have lots of time, class starts at 8:00 and the test is at 9:00 and I'm well prepared. So I made a quick dash in and out of Goshen to turn around and make it back to the exit I need. I managed to get to school at 7:35 hoping that I really was prepared for the test. All the morning's mishaps really made me doubt myself.

Next week I have another Biology exam and then it is nothing but homework and quizzes until the August 12th finals.

I'll have a month and a half off and then I start Anatomy and Physiology. I hear it is a tough class so I'm not taking anything else with it.

Whew!

I spent the 4th of July alone studying since Rocky had gone to the coast fishing. He brought back one small salmon and a lot of crabs that are so yummy. We're going to eat the last of what we didn't freeze or give away tonight.

I was feeling pretty good about having the house to myself so I could study until about 9:30. The people who live across the street from our big pasture decided to light off all kinds of aerial fireworks this year. This wouldn't bother me if it were New Year's Eve when the pasture is nice and green, but right now it is very golden. All ended up just fine, but I worried all night about that catching fire from an ember.

Monday was my first Chemistry test, I was really sweating bullets over it. I played hooky from work last Thursday so I could study in the Science Resource Center all day where there are tutors to help. It paid off, I got an A on the test.

Today was my first Biology test. I think I did pretty well on it, however there were a few questions that I had to make an educated guess on. The test was very detail oriented so I was a little sketchy on some of the finer details.

We did watch a cute movie this weekend called Bob the Butler. It didn't get very good ratings, but we enjoyed it. It has Brooke Shields in it.

Now I'm off to crack crab and relax this evening so I can hit the books hard again in the morning.

Wildlife

Here is a doe that came to munch on our quince. We watched her for the longest time because she has what looks like a dislocated knee on her left, front leg. When she walks she doesn't bend that joint at all. You can see it in the second photo.The photos are taken from our kitchen and back door windows last weekend. Rocky wanted to try to jump on her so I could wrap her knee, but I think it needs a lot more than a wrap.

Rocky kept wondering what happened to her baby(s), but you can kind of tell in the first photo that her udder is swollen.

Later that evening we saw her on the side of our hill nursing two fawns.

Here is the rest of my Wildlife post:

I finished the hedgehog. Isn't he cute?
A quick note about school and then I have to get back to studying. I told you that the first day in Biology was rough; well that has leveled out and on Wednesday Chemistry was a train wreck. I was feeling pretty good about the teacher until then. I think he got behind schedule and decided to catch up all in one day because our first exam is Monday morning and there is a list of things it goes over. I was supposed to work on Thursday, but instead went to the Science Resource Center at LCC instead. I spent the entire day there getting help from Star, the tutor who works there. Thank goodness for her. She did a great job explaining things in detail that the teacher just touched on. Hopefully he'll stay on track for the rest of the term.

Now I'd better hit the books some more. I also have a quick in Biology on Monday over mitosis, and on Wednesday I have an exam in Biology.

New Beginnings

Is that redundant? "New Beginnings"

This week was my first week back to school in 22 years. The first day started out well with Chemistry and an instructor who is very easy to understand and follow.

Then I had to stand in line at the bookstore for about an hour to pick up one of the packets I needed, but the Biology one was out and they hoped to have more on the shelf Tuesday.

When Biology started I began to think that this going back to school thing was a mistake. The instructor had slides that he whipped through, it felt like we were supposed to already know a lot of the stuff he was talking about (this is cell biology; not something you think about every day), and he gave us four homework assignments that were due Wednesday, two of these assignments were in the packet. Tuesday my plan was to stay home and do nothing but homework and study, but I had to waste about an hour and a half and gas to drive back out to LCC just to buy the packet.

When I got home on Monday I was feeling rather discouraged so I took some photos that I thought were a little uplifting:

These are the cherries on one of our trees this year:

Now, I don't particularly like cherries, but we seldom see this many and have never had any after the birds ate them. Besides, what could be more cheery than cherries?

Rocky decided to raise a garden this year:

There's already squash coming on:

As you can see, he has a temporary fence around it. Even though it is only five feet tall the deer haven't been in yet. He does have a back up plan in case that happens. I'll keep you posted on it.

Here's what are left of my goats. This is Pearl:

She's pretty shy, but she's a sweetheart.

Next is Otto (Short for Silverado). He's a fun goat. He likes to play a lot and loves attention, but he's careful not to do damage (to people, that is).

Here's Billy ("The Butthead"):

Billy likes to inflict pain. I don't know why, he just does. Maybe he has "little goat syndrome", he is part pygmy. Maybe I shouldn't have taken a picture of him, it doesn't feel very uplifting.

Actually, after yesterday I'm feeling better about school. It's still going to be tough, but very interesting. Yesterday I learned about cell division and got to look at one of my cheek cells under the microscope; it looked like a fried egg.

Now it's time to get my chores and dinner done so I can hit the books again.

Taking a Break

I'm taking a short break from packing up the booth and getting ready to load the truck when help gets here, so I thought I'd tell you about a couple of good movies we watched recently.

Up is a must see. It is animated and if you go to see it in the theater soon you can watch the 3D version. (That's right, we actually went to the movie theater, and we're not even on vacation somewhere.)

Just Looking is an older movie that I hadn't seen before, but glad we stumbled onto it.

Both movies will make you laugh, but they both have meaningful stories to tell.

Now, I'd better get back to work.

Life

For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to stay focused on preparing for the Black Sheep Gathering coming up this weekend. I'll have a booth there selling alpaca fiber, yarn, etc. Now that it is almost here and I'm really feeling the pressure to get more done and feel like I need to keep my nose to the grindstone life keeps happening.

As I was working on fiber Sunday Rocky was getting the truck ready for me. He thinks I can't drive it when it's dirty. We also put the canopy on and I left him to install the clamps that hold it down. I was back in the barn vaccinating and de-worming the few alpacas who were left on the list to do. I got all but three done; these three are not halter trained and are a little too uncooperative for me to administer the medications without help so I figured Rocky could help me the next evening.

So, as I'm finishing up Rocky calls me on the walkie talkie, it's bad news. As he was about to put the last clamp on the canopy he ran his hand under the lip of the bed of the truck and ended up knocking a bees' nest loose. He said the bees buzzed straight for his face, one even bounced off his forehead. When he took a step back and around to run from the bees he felt a pop in the other hip and fell to the ground. He ended up staying home yesterday and today with pain medication nearby. Today he is still tender and limping, but seems to be getting around a lot better and I think he'll try going to work tomorrow.

Last night Rocky came to bed with more bad news. As he was brushing his teeth a piece of one of his front teeth broke off. No pain involved and it isn't a large enough piece the somebody would notice, but it still has to be annoying.

I'm hoping this isn't one of those things that comes in threes.

Today I got inducted into the mamogram club. Oh boy, that was a treat. It did not hurt like you hear and I'm not bruised. It was more akward than anything else.

I have to tell you what I witnessed on my way there. I was about the fourth car in line at a stop light and I could see this woman standing on the corner with a sign. At first glance I didn't think anything about her, but then I looked again and noticed that she looked clean and well kept. Her clothes were every day jeans and t-shirt, but they too looked clean and not overly worn. I couldn't read much of her sign from where I was, but the top line read, "Engineer laid off." The person in the first car must have spoken to her because I watched her walk over and take something (I assume it was money) that was handed to her. I could see, even from where I was, the despair and sorrow on her face. As soon as she stepped back on the sidewalk she turned away from the traffic and sobbed into her hands. I could see the side of her face, red and twisted in pain and her shoulders convulse with each sob. By this time the light had turned green and I had to drive away. All I could do was say a prayer for her and try to keep my own eyes dry enough to navigate the traffic.

To the lady on the corner: You have made me count my blessings today, and I thank you for that. I hope and pray that your situation improves soon, and that you will be able to look back on this time of your life and feel that it has made you a stronger, better, and happier person throughout the rest of your life. When I feel life is unfair I will try to think of you, and the courage it took for you to stand on that corner and ask for help.

Depressing Day Yesterday

Thursday evening Rocky was getting ready to go to the coast fishing while I was doing my chores feeding everybody. When I went to feed two of my pygora goats I noticed the smallest one, Mini, seemed reluctant to move and not interested in food. On further observation I noticed her quivering which was really weird since it wasn't that cold out and she hasn't been sheared yet. When I reached over and pulled on one of her horns to bring her closer to me she was so shaky that she stumbled and fell. She managed to get back up, but I could tell that her quivering was from the effort it took to stay up. She had her little legs spread out in order to keep her balance.

Rocky was kind enough to stay home a little longer to help me give her antibiotics and check her out a little more closely. (This mostly meant that he had to keep Billy away from me.) We decided it did not look good, but calling a vet would have been a waste since she was 14, which is ancient in goat years.

So the first thing yesterday morning I went out to check on her. At first I thought that both she and Billy were dead. They were both laying on their sides in the shelter and didn't move when I first called them. The second time I called Billy jumped up, but Mini just twitched and ear and kicked her feet a little. She was stuck on an incline with her feet in the air facing uphill. She couldn't get up.

I called my father-in-law since Rocky was fishing and he sent Ricky (not to be confused with Rocky) out. I had to wait for Ricky before I could try to help Mini or else I would have had to deal with Billy who could have put me on my back right next to Mini. I tried to help Mini get upright, but it just wasn't working and she kept groaning like she was in pain. I finally settled on turning her around so her head was uphill, hopefully making her more comfortable. Ricky volunteered to put her down, for which I am very grateful.

After that was done I asked to have her horns cut off, so they did that and then buried her. Now poor Billy is in a run all by himself and not very happy about it. I'm going to wait a week or so before I move the other goats in with him just in case he gets sick.

Poor Mini. I'm going to miss her, she was a sweet goat. (Too, bad it couldn't have been Billy.) Anyway, now we're down to just three goats and I'm wondering if I should start looking for replacements so Rocky doesn't have to start mowing the ditches again.

I Did It.

I can't believe what I am about to do at the age of 40, but it's all set in motion now. I have enrolled for Summer term at Lane Community College. I am very excited, but also quite nervous. My current plan is to become a Medical Lab Technician (they are the people who perform the tests on blood, urine, tissue, etc.). If all goes according to plan and I don't flunk out of the biology and chemistry classes I should complete the program in three years. From there I could end up at a place like Oregon Medical Laboratories, in a hospital lab, a doctor's office, veterinarian clinic, or even a blood bank.

Now, I have been down the college road before with big plans, so I know they can change. For now I am looking ahead at this exciting new career possibility. It will feel good to do something that feels important and helpful.

In exploring this venture I found out that college credits don't expire or rot, so I get to make use of the year I spent at the University of Oregon in the mid 1980's (too bad I didn't take any Biology or Chemistry classes while there). I also found out that I might be able to get Art credits for my spinning, knitting, and weaving hobbies. Both of these things really excited me.

You have to check out this webcam. I'll let it be a surprise, but let you know that it is on the USDA Forest Service's website.

Holiday Weekend

Our long weekend wasn't very exciting, but we did go to Odell Lake fishing on Sunday with friends. The fish weren't biting very well, but we did bring home enough for dinner.

We did watch a couple of good movies: P.S. I Love You and Gladiator (the one with Cuba Gooding, Jr.)

Projects

I've started a couple of new projects.  The weaving project is more dish towels.  These will be in the cat track and snail trail pattern (I couldn't find a link to show you the pattern so you'll just have to wait until I start the weaving).  These photos are of the warp that is ready to be beamed; that is wound onto the back beam.  The colors are mauve, navy, and cream.

This photo shows the raddle on top of the loom.  The pegs are spaced 1" apart so you can spread you warp out to the width your project will be woven at.  This way it will get wound onto the beam a the proper width and your warp threads on the outer edges won't have added stress on them from being pulled in or out.

I forgot to take a photo of the warp as it was being measured; I'll try to remember on the next project.

This is my new knitting project:
It is a Huggable Hedgehog.  Actually the knitting is all done.  I need to throw it in the wash to shrink and felt it, and then it will get a face and stuffing.

Mothers' Day

First let me start by telling you about the movie Australia.  We watched it the other day and almost turned it off.  The start of the movie is a bit shaky, making you think it's going to be silly,  but if you keep with it it turns out to be really good.  I would say that it is a must see.

Tomorrow is Mothers' Day.  For the past 19 years this has not been a good day for me in several ways.  My mom died almost twenty years ago while I was still living at home and not quite old enough to really appreciate her and all she had done for me, I never had the opportunity to meet my biological mother since she drowned in the early 70's when I was still a toddler, and I have not been fortunate enough to be blessed with children of my own.  These are facts that I usually accept well enough, but there are days like tomorrow that are just painful reminders of these great losses in my life.

My mom was a very loving mother who was always there when I needed her.  Nobody's hug ever felt as comforting as hers.  My mom loved her children and grandchildren like nobody else could.  She was always doing or making things for us whether it be our favorite birthday dinner (mine was roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy) or an afghan.  She loved to cook and bake, and she always had several crochet projects in progress.  Since I still lived at home when Mom passed away I didn't get any afghans or tablecloths, she made those for my brothers' and their families.  Mom did leave me with this:

A handful of unfinished projects.  There is a baby set and a couple of tablecloths shown here with the photo of a third tablecloth.  The third tablecloth has come up missing and I do my best not to let that eat me up inside.  This is the tablecloth she loved making the most and the one she left was almost finished and would have been perfect for my table.  I can't tell you how many times I have torn my house and attic apart looking for it, but I must not dwell on it anymore.

I have decided that I will spend tomorrow honoring my mom by working on one of her projects; I think it will be the beige tablecloth.  I don't need a special day to think of my mom since she and my dad enter my thoughts every day, but tomorrow I will devote some of the day just to her.  As I crochet I will see her hands as they used to work on these projects.  I will see her long, skinny, bare feet, crossed at the ankle, resting on the recliner stool.  It will be sad; I miss her as much, if not more, than I did when she passed; but it will also be comforting to have her hand work spread across my lap.

Happy Mothers' Day, Mom.

Patricia Gayle Bean  

December 28, 1931 - July 11, 1989

Shearing Day

First of all, I forgot to tell you something about Bandon. I was reading a list of events they have in the area and one of them is a cranberry festival. The thing about this that I thought was neat is that the high light of the event is a high school football game they call the Cranberry Bowl. I just love the idea.

Anyway, on to shearing.

Yesterday was the day so all day Wednesday was spent in the barn, cleaning, sweeping, rearranging. It was a hard day of work that paid off just in time. About ten minutes after my help left in started pouring down rain and I had to lock the alpacas in the barn. Nobody likes to shear wet alpacas and if the fleeces are even a little damp you have to find clean, dry places to spread them out to dry or else they'll mold in the bag and then it becomes compost.

So yesterday when we got started it was just like all the other years. The shearer has to teach us again how to hold, put the animal down, etc., but after the first three or four we all fell into a routine and we managed to shear all 24 alpacas in about an hour and 45 minutes. All in all it was a good shearing day, and now I have to start skirting fleeces all over again. (I skirted the last fleece from last year on Monday.)

Anniversary Weekend

We finally got around to celebrating our anniversary by spending last weekend in Bandon.  The weather was decent, even sunny when we got there at about 6:00 Friday evening.  We stayed at the Bandon Inn, which we enjoyed.  The hotel is right above Old Town and overlooks the bay.  The hotel staff was very friendly and had chocolate chip cookies for us each evening.

A funny thing happened with our room.  The people in the room above us kept walking with heavy footsteps (sometimes running) the length of their room and back.  There didn't seem to be a rhythm to it and sometimes they would open or close their patio door.  This happened Friday until about 11:00, started again early Saturday morning, and continued through out the day (while we were there, any way).  We pondered over what they could be doing.  After ruling out exercise we settled on cooking drugs in the coffee pot.

Curiosity got the best of me so on our way to dinner I stopped in at the office and talked to the clerk about it.  Turns out that the church next door was having Easter services that weekend and the minister's sister and her husband came from out of town to help with it.  They were in the room above us.  We all got a good laugh about over active imaginations.

During the day Saturday we went to the West Coast Game Park.  It is a walk through park with big cats, camels, wallabies, and a variety of other animals.  The areas where you walk are crowded with goats, sheep, deer, and llamas all begging for the food you can buy to hand feed them.  Here are a few of the photos we took:

The black shape in the lower left corner of the above photo is a capybara.  It is a large rodent that looks kind of like a nutria.  I petted one; they have bristles like a pot belly pig and are about the same size.

Yes, that is an opossum.  I thought Rocky was going to come unglued when he saw me holding it.  We also had the opportunity to hold ferrets and blond skunks, but I passed on those.  I was very glad Rocky didn't have any fire arms with him.

This beautiful creature is a nine month old Siberian Lynx.  We were instructed to stay away from her front paws and head, but she seemed to enjoy being petted until she'd get bored and decide it was play time.  That's when she went back in her pen.

The game park was fun, but I felt sorry for the cats.  They were all in fenced enclosures and had full view of the deer, and baby goats running around.  We wondered if they let the goats and deer breed so they didn't have to buy food for the cats.

Other than the game park we didn't do much.  We tried to whale watch, but didn't see any.  We didn't even see any seals or sea lions in the bay.  Maybe next time.

Spring is Here!

Spring finally made it to Springfield this weekend.  It was so nice to be able to go outside without a heavy coat.  Do I dare pack the long johns away?

There were three humming birds in the quince.  This was the best photo out of about a dozen:

I washed a bunch of yarn that has been hanging around, now I need to measure and re-skein it.
Today's agenda has more fiber on it.  I still have a few fleeces left to skirt from last year's shearing and this year's shear day is the 30th of this month so I'd better get busy.

15 Years

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. It does not seem like 15. Sometimes it feels like our honeymoon was just a few months ago and other times it feels like there was never a time we weren't together.

Our marriage feels like a strong one. We've made it through some tough times and are closer for them. We've enjoyed a lot of good times together as well. At the end of the day it is most comforting to fall asleep holding the hand of the one you love.

One Never Knows

Last Monday I signed up for a seminar given by McKenzie Willamette Hospital. By the time the event rolled around on Wednesday I was thinking I should just stay home, Rocky was sick with a cold and it seemed like a waste of gas.

Rocky encouraged me to go, so I got dressed in decent clothes and ran to town. Turned out that the event wasn't all that interesting; half was about when to go to the emergency room verses waiting for a doctor's appointment. The ER doctor giving the talk said that if you feel you're having a medical emergency you need to go to the emergency room. The other half was about skin care, and was basically two women promoting the products they sell. So, I wouldn't have missed much if I'd stayed home, but I did see a gal there that I used to work with. She was by herself too, so we sat together and did some catching up. I also happened to be a door prize winner. My prize was an Arbonne lip gloss and a makeup party. For those of you who know me, you're probably laughing as you read this; I rarely wear any makeup.

For Christmas Rocky's sister, Tami, bought tickets for the family to see Ain't Misbehavin'. It was fun, but not like any musical I've ever seen; there wasn't any acting in between scenes. The performers had beautiful voices, but all the song were from the 20's, 30's, and 40's so I wasn't familiar with them.

Now it's Monday and I'm supposed to be working.

Project Update

Here is another photo of the scarf:

I'm almost done with the weaving, but I have run out of weft, so I'll be picking some more up tomorrow.

I tried to get a photo of the red-breasted sapsucker that spends a lot of time on this tree:
but he's really shy.

Here is a squirrel that I watched for the better part of a day:

He made more than a dozen trips to our patio where Rocky cleaned some black walnuts last fall.  The squirrel kept finding nuts along the side of the concrete.  He'd always come up on the patio going and coming.  He'd find a nut, head across the driveway, stop in the middle of the driveway to readjust the nut, jump up on the log pile to look around, he'd find a special hiding place on the side of the hill, bury the nut, and then retrace his steps to the patio.  Each nut was given a different hiding place.