Yarn And A Barn

To New Beginnings...

2011-01-02T10:02:00.001-06:00

May 2011 bring you peace, abundance, and bright new beginnings.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to work on healing all aspects of my life. I am grateful for my wonderful friends and family and their outpouring of support and love.

My doctor is no longer ruling out cancer, and has scheduled a review of my latest brain MRI with a neurologist. I am not worried, and am living with acceptance of all things and joy for each new day.

Namaste.

My Barn Having Burned To The Ground, I Can Now See The Moon...

2010-12-08T09:57:00.010-06:00

Betrayal.
Brain tumor.
Pending divorce.
Sheep and most goats gone (to Lael, bless her heart! Did you see her featured in the winter Spin-Off? Yay! Support her and buy her marvelous handspinners' fleeces!)

What came next?

Fully-opened heart.
Peace.
Joy.
Freedom.
Uncertainty.
Unconditional love from dear, wonderful people.
Doc... the most amazing presence that I've had the honor to experience.
Awakening.
Release.

"Remember, we are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we're so deeply interconnected with one another. Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is the supreme creative act." ~ Ram Dass

I hold the intention that there is peace, abundance, kindness, serenity, and unconditional love in this world and this universe. Enough for all. I hold the intention that we are NOW reflecting and magnifying positive energy. My heart is wide open and I send you love. Please join me in holding these intentions! We CAN change our lives and others' with our focused positive energy! We must be IN THE NOW to do it!

What if WE were in fact in charge of co-creating our own reality? We are. We do. Let us be mindful of this at all times and in all places.

"Metta Sutta - Loving-Kindness Meditation"

May the hearts of all beings be filled with happiness and peace.

May all beings be safe and secure.

May all beings be healthy and prosperous.

May all beings live joyfully and with ease.

"An EEG study by Richard J. Davidson of people who meditate in metta, with a minimum of 10,000 hours practice, showed substantial differences in the magnitude of gamma waves as well as gamma synchronization, particularly during meditative sessions, and directly afterwards. During baseline states, where the subject was not doing metta, there was a signature brain wave pattern that distinguishes the metta practitioners, lay people as well as monks, from people, at baseline, who have not extensively practiced compassion meditation. This study also showed, during meditation, an increase in the activity of brain areas such as the temporoparietal junction, insula, and amygdala and increase the subject's ability to see things from another's perspective, and actually change the area of the brain that is involved the autonomic system so that the meditator's heartbeat increases. These studies show that the amygdala is modulated during compassion mediation. Compassion meditation has been shown to lower the participants reaction to inflammation and distress, both of which are associated with, "major depression, heart disease and diabetes," in response to stressors, a change that was dependent on the amount of time spent practicing, with practitioners who spent more time meditating having corresponding more significant changes in their brains." From Wikipedia.

Knit Nite at The Dog!

2010-10-21T12:13:00.003-05:00

It's Thursday, and that means Knit Nite at Yellow Dog Knitting from 6-8 p.m. - see you there!!

Yellow Dog Knitting

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2010-08-20T15:04:00.001-05:00

... paint them! Week two of art class.

This one was done with Daniel Smith pigments; I prefer them to the brand I used for the watermelon. Love watercolors!

Chef Jeff made a trip to the Amish village down the road for fresh-from-the-field cabbages... he's busy making sauerkraut again!

And we have even more guinea babies. I believe this brings this year's total to over 90. Sigh. Don't you need some guinea fowl?

Fall's just around the corner... I'm going to make the most of the summer days left. Sweet corn roasted on the grill, here I come!

Never Too Late For Old Dogs

2010-08-14T13:45:00.001-05:00

I have always wanted to learn to paint with watercolors.

Thanks to the miracle of the Internet (how much do we take it for granted??? Thanks be for the Internet!) I am finally able to take classes in my own home, on my own time (which is a blessing, since the only time I seem to be able to do art is usually at 1 a.m.!)

Behold the result of Week One of Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling - Foundations class:

It's a piece of watermelon on a square plate... in case you can't tell. ;) You can embiggen it but it's probably better if you don't. ;)

I know there are lots of imperfections, and I'm ok with them. I know how to do better next time. One of the best lessons from Laure's class applies not only to art, but to life: if we learn from our mistakes, they weren't a waste of time.

I learned a lot about reflected colors in shadows, and blending colors from just three primaries, and contour drawing (and to pay better attention while doing it!)... and I had a great time getting out of my head and into the Zen zone for a little while.

I recently had a wake-up call concerning my vision, which gave me the impetus to sign up for the class (which is great, BTW). Is there anything you've always wanted to do, but haven't? Don't wait for a wake-up call... in the words of Nike, Just Do It!

Never Not Busy

2010-08-08T01:17:00.002-05:00

It's been, what... five months? What's happened at Tuppinz Farm lately, you ask?

Ada Oberhasli Goat came into milk, without having been bred or having had any kids. Apparently this can sometimes happen in strong milking lines, and is caused by high levels of prolactin. It's called "witch's milk" or "precocious udder." (Do they have special classes for precocious udders?)

I duly milked the girl for a week, but in the end I decided to let her dry off (the vet having confirmed that she had no infection). We'd given all the milking equipment away when we decided not to breed or sell goats, so it was too much of a pain to milk without the little stainless steel milk pail - Ada kept kicking the bowls over. I do have enough frozen milk to make one serving of paneer (as long as Jeff still has a few cheffing days left...)

Sheep and goat shearing was - as usual - postponed several times as we tried to find an agreeable shearer. The Big Day will finally take place tomorrow. The sheep will no doubt be relieved to be rid of the floor-length carpets which now envelop them and make them appear like so many Cousin Its on parade in the pasture. The 2010 Sheep Corraling Rodeo was completed today in two hours, with just two people, and went very well... after four years, we've got the process down. Or maybe the sheep do?

There is nothing quite so freaky as Jacob sheep with camera flash in their eyes. This shot reminds me of Gene Simmons and the movie "Legend" at the same time... et tu?

Having reluctantly come to the conclusion that Icelandic sheep and Angora goats, which both need to be shorn twice every year, are not a good idea for Tuppinz Farm (and its lack of available shearers), we are relieved to announce that our dear friends Lael and Larry Wilson will be adopting the majority of our sheep, and our five mohair goats.

Lael is a professional shepherdess (visited regularly by a shearer!) and will perhaps be breeding our wonderful stock, and she'll definitely be selling their fiber via her website. I was a customer of Lael's before I became a shepherdess, and I'm confident you will be pleased with any fiber you purchase from her!

We will keep four or five of our "pet" Jacobs (whom we think will allow us to shear them ourselves). They undoubtedly will provide enough wool to keep us in sweaters and socks for our cold Wisconsin winters, without intimidating me into hand-spinning paralysis via unprocessed fleece overwhelm (don't you dare tell me you haven't experienced it yourself after a buying frenzy at a fiber festival!)

Thank you, Lael! You're a life saver!!

What once was our horrible, haunted and cursed, falling-down farmhouse...

... is now going to be my new round pen! Dressage donkeys, here we come!

We have experienced The Great Guinea Keet Explosion of 2010 (which is still taking place...) Twenty-eight keets and their parents have gone to a new home with some lovely people. There are approximately 30 left... with more on the way. Yikes! Not the best year to confirm vegetarianism, was it?

And finally, after four years of shepherdessing, I have moved my donkey tack permanently out of the sheep shearing area and to the other end of the Long Barn.

Tell me, please, why does a woman with just TWO riding donkeys need THIS MUCH EQUIPMENT?! Because nothing fits donkeys properly! I won't even show you my saddle collection... time to place some CraigsList ads. After many failed saddle experiments, I'm happy to report that donkeys seem to be very comfortable in Wintec dressage saddles, with wide gullets and cushy sheepskin pads. Anyone in the market for a wide Passier jumping saddle, or a Big Horn Flat Topline cordura saddle? A mule headstall and breast collar? Send me an email!

I haven't been doing much knitting, but I'm happily taking online watercolor painting classes from Laure Ferlita, which are wonderful. I recommend them wholeheartedly!

If anyone tells you how peaceful and quiet life would be on a hobby farm, remember this entry, and how infrequently I've blogged since moving here, and that you would be better off visiting a hobby farm than living on one!

Truly, it is enough to make one just want to lie down and take a long nap, like Miss Tikki here:

Crackerjack

2010-06-06T11:24:00.001-05:00

Crackerjack,
originally uploaded by Shelly Beauch.

Zentangle masterpiece by Shelly Beauch.

Our Home Stars In Commercial

2010-05-13T22:30:00.003-05:00

Our house is in a commercial for Wausau Homes! You can see it being built behind the president as he delivers his message; near the end you can even glimpse our historic dairy barn. I wish I could get a DVD of this - I can't download it from their site. :(

To see it, click here and then on "play video!"

Snowmelt 2010

2010-03-12T12:08:00.001-06:00

... and it is officially Mud Season here in Wisconsin. We don't have Spring with pretty flowers and clover and robins - we just get eight weeks of fog and muck. Well, that's what it seems like. When I look out the windows, all I can see is brown.

This is the first time I've seen the run without snow. It's located where the geothermal coils were installed. I do think I see a tiny island of pasture grass remaining...

"Please let me in! I'll wipe my feet!" says Boris.

At least Otter is already brown.

But Miss Molly's sparkling white boots have disappeared!

Molly actually hates stepping in anything oozy. She misses her very active exercise sessions, and instead tiptoes out and perches on the lone snowbank that remains. By the look on her face, I think Mud Season is making her a little bit crazy as well...

We all can't wait for May. In the meantime, I'm pretending I live in a sod house with a dirt floor out on the prairie. And washing lots of loads of old towels.

Back In Good Standing

2010-02-28T11:05:00.003-06:00

I've redeemed myself with the Ravelympics Committee after my Ishbel disqualification, by finishing Traveling Woman last night.

Miss Molly models:

Check out this crazy, giant snowman at the organic dairy!

Fi And Her Minion

2010-02-26T09:47:00.001-06:00

Fi And Her Minion,
originally uploaded by jeffnstasia.

Years ago, Beautiful Fiona had her own minion. :)

Emma And Her Minions

2010-02-26T08:50:00.001-06:00

Emma And Her Minions,
originally uploaded by jeffnstasia.

Yay For Ravelympics!

2010-02-25T11:39:00.002-06:00

Here are my medals thus far!

Making good progress on Traveling Woman...

Back to the arena!

* * *

ETA: Disgrace! Disgrace!

I awoke in the middle of the night vaguely remembering something about the WIPS Dancing event… Just looked it up, and that nagging thought in the back of my mind was TRUE: no other events can be listed in combination with WIPS Dancing!

I cheated! I must give back three of my four medals for my Ishbel! [Hangs head in shame. Goes to stand with disqualified female Chinese speed skater.]

I have let down my team. I’m so sorry. :(

I will work hard to finish Traveling Woman and redeem myself!

One Down...

2010-02-23T10:44:00.001-06:00

My first Ravelympics project is finished - here is Emma modeling Ishbel:

Pattern: Ishbel (I must be the last knitter on the planet to have done this!)
Yarn: Malabrigo Laceweight, "Ravelry Red," from The Loopy Ewe
Modifications: did size L stockinette portion, and size S lace repeates (ABACDE). Had to fudge some stitch counts but it all worked out in the end.

I scored an hibiscus plant at the grocery store yesterday, and awoke to a bloom this morning:

That'll certainly help see me through to Spring!

The roosters are already feeling the change in daylight hours - one lured a hen up to the goat barn last night. The others are sizing each other up in the coop, raising their "manes" until they look like umbrella-heads in order to intimidate one another and impress the females. Our three largest - Golden Laced Wyandottes - are big babies and stay on their roosting perches and out of the fray... which is unfortunate, as they're the ones we want to win over the girls!

Off to knit on Ravelympics project two, Traveling Woman... Have a wonderful day!

Ravelympics 2010 and Famous Rooster

2010-02-18T14:17:00.000-06:00

Still unpacking, ordering and hanging curtains and hooks, and trying to remember where I put everything, but I've had a few moments to knit and enjoy the Olympics.

My Traveling Woman shawl(ette) for Ravelympics 2010 (Team Wrap Around Ewe, lace luge and short track shawls events) has been easy thus far... but now it's time to begin the lace part! I love the "Persia" colorway of this Malabrigo Sock yarn:

I'm trying to finish up Ishbel before going to the charts on Traveling Woman; this is done in Malabrigo Lace in the "Ravelry Red" colorway:

I did the size L stockinette part, and the size S lace repeats (ABAC - just starting C in the pic above). I was worried about having enough yarn but I would guess there'd have been enough to do a complete size L. Really messed up my stitch count going into chart C, though... I just fudged it as I'll never be able to find what went wrong if I tink it.

My favorite competitors as the Games have been Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Evan Lysacek and Yevgeny Plushenko. So inspiring! (Helping me stick to my diet for sure!)

My favorite ad is, without a doubt... "I'm on a horse!" Brilliant! Not. To. Be. Missed.

What are you liking about the Olympics this year?

Our Silver Spangled Hamburg(er) rooster, Keach, was incuded in the latest Hobby Farms magazine:

He's named for a very dear friend, and is a wonderful guy!

Help Is Still Needed!

2010-02-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

Regarding my last post about the crisis in South Dakota, Christine asked,

"Good heavens, do you have an update on this? "

Yes, Christine, help is still needed - and I hope everyone will contact their representatives to make this situation clear to them!

Native American Heritage Association

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Thank you, lovely readers! And happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Crisis In South Dakota - Please Help

2010-02-01T22:40:00.000-06:00

From HUNAP:

January 28, 2010, Cambridge – Native American Caucus students at the Harvard Kennedy School are taking action in response to the inadequate national response to the crisis on Indian reservations in the Dakotas due to severe ice storms and freezing temperatures. Last weekend, a powerful snow and ice storm ripped through the region, felling power lines, and cutting off power and water to thousands of South Dakotans, many of them on the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Indian Reservations. When full power and water will be restored remains in question.

The ice storms cut off electricity in an area about the size of Connecticut. With no electricity, no heat, no running water, and a wind chill below zero, a crisis is mounting. The Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has declared a state of emergency for his community and is calling for immediate assistance.

The tribes are working hard to bring families in out of the cold into shelters. The South Dakota National Guard, the State’s Department of Public Safety as well as the Army Corps of Engineers have come to the reservation and supplied some emergency generators. Help also is coming in the Red Cross and other tribes. But even with this assistance these tribes, among the poorest communities in the United States, are not able to meet the overwhelming needs of their communities.

Outside the frozen plains of the Dakotas, this human crisis has received little attention. The Native American Caucus student organization at Harvard Kennedy School would be grateful to American citizens to give the spotlight to their fellow Native American citizens. They are in great need of your help and aid. The American People need to be aware of this emergency situation.

To assist the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Tribes, contact Stacy LaCompte at Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place at (605) 280-8588.

MEDICAL NEEDS: Dialysis Patients/Glucose Strips/Financial Support for Hotels

The dialysis patients have all been evacuated three hours away to Rapid City , SD. They are staying in hotels for at least a week and half, probably longer. Financial contributions are needed to help the families pay for their hotel expenses and food. An account has been set up at Wells Fargo to help with these expenses. You can contribute at any Wells Fargo or send to the Rapid City branch. Link To News Story

CONTRIBUTIONS:

Wells Fargo
Cheyenne Dialysis Patients (c/o Dew Bad Warrior)
Acct. #: 5815904338
1615 N 7th St.
Rapid City, SD 55701

Medical Items Needed on the Reservation (shipping address below):

° Glucose Strips

° First Aid Kits

° Children’s Tylenol

° Children’s Cough Syrup

FINANCIAL DONATIONS:

The Tribe has depleted its emergency budget with the two blizzards that already hit the reservation since December. It needs funds to help buy food and supplies for the community and volunteers, to pay for gas and overtime for the workers, to replace the motor at the water pump station that was destroyed, etc.

WIRE DONATIONS TO:

Cheyenne River Sioux 2010 Disaster Account
Direct to: United Bkrs Bloomington ABA # 091 001 322
Beneficiary Bank: Account Number 250 3373
State Bank of Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte , SD 57625
Final Credit: Account Holder @ UBB Customers Bank
Account Holder: CRST 2010 Disaster, Account Number 103173

MAIL CHECK DONATIONS TO:

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte , SD 57625

CHEYNNNE RIVER SIOUX CONTACTS:

Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101

Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman: (605) 365-6548

CRST Emergency Coordination Center : (605) 964-7711

When contrived motivation fails...

2010-01-29T10:45:00.000-06:00

... go for caustic wit:

Available from ScreamPrinting on Etsy (used with permission).

Can't tell you how much I love this.

In Training

2010-01-24T15:07:00.002-06:00

Ravelympics 2010

If anyone is inclined to participate, Michelle and I have joined the Ravelry Small Shawl Lovers group's "TeamWrapAroundEwe" for the Ravelympics next month.

Since we are making small shawl wraps/"shawlettes," our events will be LaceLuge and ShortRunShawl (unless they add more which would also apply).

I never understood the Ravelympics before, but apparently what happens is that you...

1) Join a team; you can join many teams and do many projects, but a completed project will only count as a "win" for ONE team. Your project, entered for one team, CAN count for multiple "event" categories (i.e., lace, shawls, etc.);

2) Enter your project info on a new Ravelry Project Page; using Team, Ravelympic, and Event tags so that Ravelry can magically "see" your project and apply it to the proper Team. These tags will be made available by Casey automatically when the games begin, on your Project Page, triggered by tagging "ravelympics2010" there;

3) Don't cast on until the opening ceremony;

4) Knit/crochet/spin furiously while watching the Olympics on TV;

5) Complete your project and mark finished on its Ravelry project page;

7) Get a "medal" to put on your blog!

It's all "calculated" automatically at Ravelry by the tags you assign to your project when starting it. The tags are what are most important - they "register" your project as participating in the games.

Hope that makes sense. Took me forever to figure it out!

Here is a Ravelry link, if you'd like to join our particular group and team:

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/small-shawl-lovers/858069/1-25

And here are the official Ravelympics 2010 rules:

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/ravelympics-2010/914393/1-25#2

In Training

I'm warming up my needles by working on this Ishbel in Malabrigo Laceweight ("Ravelry Red" colorway - how appropriate!) I'm doing the size large stockinette section and the size small lace section; I've read on Ravelry that I ought to be able to complete this with a single skein of yarn. Luckily, I have a second skein, just in case.

Good thing I'm in training as I made a big, fat mistake on this project while visiting with Michelle last week. See how the centerline veers by the needles there? Oops. And it's not even difficult at this point! We were having too much fun chatting, methinks... But she was doing the lace border on Aestlight - I can't even imagine doing that in a silent room, much less while having coffee at Mickey D's!

Terri just finished her Ishbel - isn't it lovely? Be sure to take a peek at Sabrina and Apollo, her beautiful dogs!

To cross-train, I'm crocheting a hexagon afghan in Blue Sky Alpaca's dyed cotton - SO soft (and thick, which is great for instant gratification-minded crafters like myself...)

The inspiration is from Lucy at the Attic24 blog - I love love love her color sense! I hope to have my craft loft looking like her home one day. Color is so inspiring and healing... and I don't get enough of it here in the winter hinterlands. Check her out and I bet you'll say, "I love Lucy!" too.

The dogs are so pleased to have their new giant run. Some days, when it warms above 30° or so, they refuse to come in when called. I've stopped calling them, as I don't want to train them to ignore me when I can't "enforce" a command (and believe me, I'm not about to go chasing them over an acre of snowy, rutted pasture!) So I just wait patiently until they've gotten all the "piss and vinegar" out of their systems, and then reward them with a treat and a cheerful "Come!" when they finally scratch on the door to collapse on their poofs.

Somehow, I think I'm the one being trained...

After tackling the last-minute packing (in a house with no heat, and then no electricity), moving stuff to the new house, missing the holidays completely, not having the dog run installed pre-move, dealing with winter chores while Chef Jeff spent a week in New Orleans for work, and tearing something in my knee slipping on the post-firefighting-hose-water ice, I'm a tiny bit worn out. Getting the new seed catalogs in the mail isn't helping my cabin fever! So here's hoping for a colorful, early Spring! I have my eye on a "Bubblegum Plum" tree to order...

"Mama, can I go outside to play again?"

Sigh.

Finishing Things Up

2009-12-14T10:31:00.001-06:00

The knitting didn't take long, but the marinating ate up almost an entire year! I present the "Dixie Shawl," finally complete:

The pattern is Garnstudio Drops 108-47. I wish they would name their patterns - I can never remember the number, and it's not exactly a catchy phrase that'll top the Ravelry charts.

I made it in Garnstudio Alpaca and Glitter yarns, purchased at Yellow Dog Knitting. Can't remember if it's their regular Alpaca, or the fine Alpaca - Dixie will know! I will definitely knit this pattern again because I love this alpaca yarn. I hear that it is processed correctly, so it will not "grow" to the same degree that other alpaca yarns can.

Otter is dreaming of sugarplums by the fire, and sending you...

We are getting ready to finish things up around this old house - our move up the hill is scheduled for Friday, after the new house's inspection by the County on Thursday. Luckily, anything we don't wish to take with us can be left here to be incinerated when the fireperson training program ignites it in early January.

I will so be dancing around that bonfire...

Happy Holdays, all!

ETA:

Get One At - Friendster Comments

Wealth Is Neutral

2009-12-01T23:25:00.001-06:00

I subscribe to The Daily Om. Today's message was one that really spoke to me. In this economic climate, I often hear people complaining that someone makes "too much" money. Chef Jeff will respond to such a complaint with the comment, "How much is too much? $100 more than the complainer makes? $1,000? $10,000? How much should the person make - and why does the complainer think they have the right to decide that amount for another human being?"

The truth is, there is more than enough to go around, for everyone. An attitude of abundance - and sharing one's blessings - increases one's prosperity (and that doesn't just mean financial prosperity, but a prosperity of the soul - friendships, joy, awareness...)

It is only when one begins thinking from a sense of abundance rather than a sense of lack that one realizes that it's ok - it's even great - for someone else to have more than it seems they could ever utilize in one lifetime. That means it's possible for us to receive such blessings in this lifetime, too!

Be happy for people who are blessed. When you are blessed, share with an open heart. Have confidence that The Universe will provide for all of your needs. Ask for, and believe in, abundance.

May you have abundance in all things: health, wealth, and happiness.

An Instrument of Change

Wealth Is Neutral

At its most basic, money is a tool that enables us to meet our individual needs. As a form of potential energy that empowers us to generate change, it is neither good nor bad. Yet many people react emotionally to issues concerning finances, unconsciously condemning currency itself, the manner in which money is spent, and people who live lives of financial abundance. Individuals who are rich in gifts such as high intelligence are acknowledged for their positive traits while those who have acquired material riches or aspire to become wealthy are frequently judged harshly. However, wealth is not a trait upon which judgment can be legitimately passed. It tells us nothing about how a person lives, what they believe in, whom they care for, or the scope of their values. Like any blessing, wealth is merely an instrument of purpose that can be used both constructively and destructively.

From an early age, people learn to court wealth while simultaneously associating money with greed, selfishness, and unethical behavior. Consequently, this idea becomes entrenched in their hearts as envy. To attain a balanced and rational comprehension of money, as well as a fairer perspective of wealth, we need to recognize that outward manifestations of wealth tell us little about the individuals enjoying those blessings. When we feel the finger of jealousy prompting us to draw unflattering conclusions about people whose lives seem more financially secure than our own, we should remind ourselves that there are many elements of their circumstances we cannot see. Their wealth may be the result of long hours of taxing labor, they may donate a large percentage of their resources to charitable causes, or their bounty may be an incidental aspect of a life spent doing what they love. Ultimately, we can heal our hurtful associations with money by turning a blind eye toward both wealth and poverty when interacting with others and instead focusing on the individual before us.

If you take a moment to consider you own feelings regarding money and wealth, you may discover that you equate financial prosperity with happiness, power, security, independence, or self-indulgence. Money itself, however, is none of these things. You can begin developing a healthier view of wealth by simply accepting that while some possess great wealth and others do not, we all have the potential to create lives of beauty, substance, and wisdom using the resources we have been granted.

The Mitten Mistake

2009-11-30T18:45:00.001-06:00

I missed the final mitten class at Yellow Dog Knitting because I thought I was coming down with something, and didn't want to spread it to the nice people there (it turned out to be nothing...)

I thought it would be a piece of cake to do the liners for Cindi's lined mitten pattern; she showed me her samples and gave me the gist of the procedure. So I was off and running this weekend with some apple green Garnstudio Alpaca, doubled.

Just pick up the first purl round after the cuff, and knit another mitten for the inside! No problem!

Fools rush in...

I turned the cuff the wrong way when I picked up the purl bumps (it should be folded to the OUTSIDE of the mitten; I'd turned the mitten inside-out first. Ack.)

The only way to get it to act as a lining was to turn the whole thing inside-out on itself through the thumb hole - and look what that does: makes the lining purl-side-out.

I am spatially challenged; that much is clear.

Let's get this straight. If you want to make a liner for your mitten, hold a mitten up, normal side out. Fold the cuff to the outside of the mitten. Pick up and knit the purl bumps, on the interior of the mitten, at the point where your cuff ends and the interior mitten hand begins. Knit a new mitten, away from the exterior mitten. When it is complete, tuck it inside the first mitten. The knit stitches of the liner will be against your palm. :)

Let's turn away and look at something else, shall we?

Here's our little tripod, Delilah, snoozing away in the afternoon sun.

Please note: Delilah is a mini LaMancha goat. LaMancha goats are usually born without exterior ears. She did not lose ears (or her missing leg) to frostbite. Delilah sleeps in a straw-filled, snug barn which even has a heat lamp for particularly chilly days. :D

Hope your day is as relaxing and peaceful as hers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T15:10:00.003-06:00

Wishing you and yours a holiday full of all good things.

Around our house, everyone's "celebrating" in front of the TV.

Downstairs:

Upstairs:

Finished Objects

Pattern: Multnomah
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in "Sahara", 1.5 skeins, purchased at The Loopy Ewe.

Pattern: Baktus
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, 2 skeins, purchased at Yellow Dog Knitting.

Always Busy On A Farm

2009-11-23T00:34:00.000-06:00

There really is no "down time" on a farm, and this weekend was no exception.

Chef Jeff shoveled and spread over 500 bushels of manure, alone. The goat barn has a new starter supply of hay for Swedish-style deep bedding for the winter; the chicken coop and nest boxes are fresh and clean as well; and the donkey pucks are out of the paddock. All that organic fertilizer should be great for next year's alfalfa crop - it'll work itself in over the winter and spring.

The house has now been sided outside...

... and drywalled and painted inside:

We celebrated Chef Jeff's 40th birthday with dinner at his favorite restaurant due to a surprise visit from my mother. I also baked orange scones for him this weekend instead of a birthday cake - he isn't fond of sweets. Well, he enjoys sweets, he just doesn't eat them - the man has a will of iron with regard to his diet (which is why he looks 30 instead of 40; me, not so much!)

Tonight we had "dinner in a pumpkin":

This would make a great Thanksgiving dinner for those who don't wish to roast a whole turkey.

The original recipe can be found here (warning: turn down your sound).

I altered it a bit by using dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. of thyme, turkey instead of beef, 3 celery stalks with leaves, Native American hand-harvested and parched wild rice, and white pepper. I used fat from heritage Berkshire hog bacon for browning. The "stuffing" went into a sugar pumpkin that I grew this year. It was delicious!

Next time we make it, we're going to nix the canned soup (albeit organic) and canned mushrooms, and go with dried wild mushrooms. We'll rehydrate them and use the stock from them to deglaze the frying pan, and then add in cream. We will use maple syrup for the sweetener, Worcestershire sauce for the salty, fermented taste, and real chestnuts instead of water chestnuts. Maybe some cranberries as well.

The recipe I made tonight was double what would fit in the pumpkin. Luckily, I have another to use. :)

In fiber news, the four Icelandic sheep and five Angora goats are shorn! Need wool or mohair? Get in touch!

We used Bob Rajek from Rajek Family sheep services for shearing, and were pleased with his care of the animals and the fleeces. He was very easy to work with. He is located in Stanley, WI, and also buys and sells sheep (for those interested) - 715-429-0879.

As far as my knitting, I've finished the large, blue and silver Drops shawl, as well as the Colinette Jitterbug Multnomah. I don't think I'll use that yarn again; it is still bleeding color after 10 rinses! I'm not too crazy about having been exposed to excess dye chemicals while knitting.

If you are thinking of knitting a Multnomah, be prepared to do some fudging - it's not the clearest pattern I've ever read, and you sort of have to see the big picture and intention and do your own thing to make it work out. For instance, fit in new lace pattern repeats on the borders when you are able to after making increases - the number of "repeats" in the pattern seems to be off, and I've seen a whole bunch of projects which don't have a steady Feather And Fan border all the way around the edges because of that.

I finished one gray mitten of Garnstudio Karisma Superwash, and started its mate; they'll be lined with lime green Garnstudio Alpaca. I also have a two-color Garnstudio Fabel Baktus on the needles. Pics coming soon... Who knows? Maybe the next Baktus I make will be the lacy version - I definitely have no intention of stopping knitting Bakti!

Next project is going to have to be a durable farm cardigan for myself; I'm thinking garter stitch, neck down, raglan, with a zipper. Also should do a hat for Chef Jeff - most likely the Doubleknitski.

So what am I most thankful for this week on the farm? Sleep!

Have a wonderful holiday, US friends!

Moving Right Along

2009-11-06T20:35:00.001-06:00

The house construction is moving along so quickly that I can't even get current photos posted before they're obsolete!

I posted on Facebook on Oct. 30th that Dixie mentioned that she couldn't believe how calm I was about the house project. I realized it was because Wausau Homes/Dick Hieb Homes have the process down. No worries. Everything on schedule. The contractors show up on time, right after the last ones have finished their work, and they're all polite and conscientious (they are even friendly to the goats!) We had a single, small concern with one tradesperson - but that was someone we'd insisted on using, who was not part of the usual Wausau crew. We just can't say enough good things about Wausau Homes/Dick Hieb Homes of Black River Falls. If you ever build, check them out if you want a hassle-free house project.

My father was a home builder when I was young, and I remember that there were always problems with the coordination of tradespeople, theft from construction sites, and arguments between contractors (when and if they bothered to show up). I was prepared to have to micro-manage this whole process, and really was not looking forward to it. I have never been so relieved to have my expectations proven wrong. I'm sure that having this house progress on-time and on-budget has saved my marriage and my sanity.

Chef Jeff and I love that this type of "panelized" construction (not modular) is better for the environment, as is the geothermal heating/cooling we chose. We like knowing that the structure didn't get wet or moldy since it was up and roofed in about three days. My good friend Denise sent me this link to share about construction of panelized (different from modular) homes - hope you find it interesting.

To get you up-to-speed, this was the status of the new house on October 2nd:

This was October 27th; the house was up, and they were trenching for the well and the electicity:

And this was yesterday. The interior drywall is almost finished! The UPS man, who is here almost every week, said, "Hey! When did you guys start building a house?!" He was shocked to see it appear suddenly, as if by magic.

The current house is the white building on the right (sinking precariously, day by day, into the hill!)

The 2009 chicken harvest has been deemed a success by Chef Jeff. We experienced only minor losses to a great horned owl and Otter. That would be our dog, Otter - not an otter otter. Let's just say that, for a hunting dog, she does not have a very soft mouth - and apparently has hunted her own vittles in her past life on the run. I learned not to walk her, even on-leash, near the pastured poultry.

If our chickens look oddly bright and yellow to you, that is because that is what natural, pasture-raised, healthy chickens look like. The anemic, chalky chickens one sees in the grocery store are not only devoid of color, they taste as bland as puffed rice crackers. If you haven't experienced the flavor of organic, humanely-raised, free-range chicken, well... you have no idea what chicken is "supposed" to taste like.

Wish I could get Chef Jeff to let me raise a heritage breed hog, because the same is true of pork (and beef, of course). What passes for meat at the supermarket isn't worth purchasing - I'd rather eat tofu. However, seeing as we have an overabundance of guinea fowl at present (25 at last count) and Chef Jeff finds himself unable to take them off to be made into roasters, perhaps a cute pig is not such a good idea.

Most important to us, of course, is that we know that our meat animals lived happy, peaceful lives and didn't suffer - either here, or at our great butcher's shop. Many thanks, Enos Hoover! And thanks to Julie and Vince at Coon Creek Family Farm for recommending him! (Julie's goatmilk soap makes a wonderful holiday gift - she even has bars with a skein of yarn on them!)

The pumpkin crop did not fare as well as the poultry; I grew three, two of which are in this photo. I wouldn't let Chef Jeff make them into pie so he was forced to buy others from the farmer's market. I was pleased to see that though my crop was not abundant, at least my pumpkins were larger than the ones he bought.

Blogless Denise keeps asking about my mitten class at Yellow Dog Knitting yesterday. It was wonderful! Cindi taught me many things I didn't know. I'm so glad I went and got to pick her knitting brain for tips.

As usual, there were plenty of goodies to nibble on during class. It wasn't knit nite (nor was it yet 5 p.m.) so I was good and didn't ask for wine. :D

Michelle and Dianne (the friendly, fearless leader of the CraftLit tour of London, Bath & Wales in 2010!) are taking a class with Cindi for a specific Drops cardigan. It is great to have access to a local yarn shop where one can request a class for any topic! They have some free patterns on their website if you are interested...

My mittens are working up very fast in superwash Garn Studio Karisma. I love the simple pattern that Cindi wrote, and I think these are going to be very comfy and toasty. You can see here that I've made my thumb gusset. Cindi is a great teacher because she knew how to handle my Eastern European uncrossed crazy knitting style and didn't bat an eye when I needed help with the mount of an increase. She told me how to do it my way, and didn't tell me I had to learn to knit like a normal person. How great is that kind of personal attention?

My other WIPs are a Baktus in Garn Studio Fabel sock yarns, and a Multnomah (the Fall-colored yarn, the name of which I can't recall at the moment). I love small projects, especially for gifts!

This is a behind-the-scenes shot of my stylist correcting the layout of the subjects to be photographed. Emma's such a great assistant.

And here she is with the baby sister she picked out herself from the Humane Association - Miss Molly. Molly always looks small until one sees her next to Dobie Emma! My girls - love 'em to bits!

The winners in the contest for the funny Yellow Dog Knitting totes will now be announced! Drumroll, please! They are:

Jen

Linda M

ciuccia

Congratulations! Would you three please email your mailing addresses to me so I can send you your totes? Thanks to everyone who left a comment on that post, and to Dixie for donating the bags for the drawing.

I love to read what you have to say, so I hope you'll always comment, even when there isn't a contest going on. Have a lovely weekend!

Mitten Class!

2009-11-04T19:44:00.001-06:00

Yay, my mitten class at Yellow Dog Knitting is tomorrow! Any locals care to join me? Just call the shop at 839-7272 and I'm sure they'll reserve a spot for you. I am really excited to make some wool mittens with soft alpaca liners. Here is the yarn I've chosen.

Miss Molly was a doctor for Halloween. She was so humiliated that she refused to look at the camera. (Nah, she was really a good girl. We just dressed her up for the photo op - didn't want to freak her out by taking her to the vet for trick or treating!)

So, anyone else get sucked in by V? Between that, Eastwick (on tonight - yay!), and Dollhouse, I should be getting in some good knitting time (which will hopefully make up for the brain cells I'll be losing). At least the current series of Masterpiece Contemporary is addictive as well. I hope that watching it on PBS will ease my conscience about too much TV time. Andreas Viestad is on again in reruns as well - awesome. We love his recipes.

Since the big switch to digital TV, we lost our CBS station. Our flimsy antenna has been broken in assorted walk-by accidents, so now every time we want to watch something, it's a matter of lifting what's left of the asymmetrical rabbit ear up in the air above our heads and moving around as if running a metal detector upside-down over the ceiling. Once a program is tuned in, nobody can move anywhere in the house until the TV show is over; if a person or a pup passes by the TV (even walks over it upstairs), we get snow.

I have a feeling (and a hope) that TV and cell phone reception will be much improved in the new house, as it's up high on a hill. I also have a feeling that the bad juju in this house may have a lot to do with electromagnetic energy!

Comment entries are now closed for the Yellow Dog Knitting tote bag - and Dixie kindly gave me another to give away! So I will be choosing TWO winners and will let you know who they are in my next entry!

Have a wonderful evening, and do some Sudoku or something to make up for any TV watching you may be doing along with me. ;) It'll be our little secret. Along with my current nail polish obsession... what's your guilty addiction?

Ooo, I hear Andreas talking about lingonberries and caviar (NOT together) - got to run while the reception is good!

Selling Something? Use A Kitten.

2009-10-17T20:23:00.004-05:00

It amazes me that, with all the charming and unique animals we have the privilege to care for at Tuppinz Farm, the most popular by far has been the kitten we found under Jeff's tractor, Nellie, when we went to pick her up.

The video of little Yoda on YouTube has been viewed over forty thousand times.

It seems to me that advertisers who use sexy models to promote their wares are seriously missing the mark. If manufacturers are smart, you will see lots of commercials featuring tiny kittens during the Superbowl this year.

Did you see what Steve Leveen, president of my beloved Levenger, tweeted today?

SteveLeveen Tip to shoppers this season: retailers have cut inventory to the bone. Buy early from wherever you shop.

Knitters, you have been given fair warning!

To prepare for any global yarn shortages, I made a quick trip to Yellow Dog Knitting before the holiday rush (and winter road slush!) It was a successful Stash Enhancement eXpedition (subliminal, that phrase.)

You may laugh now, but when I am enjoying the luxury of full yarn bins while others are shoving each other out of the way of picked-over LYS shelves like so many Babushkas in pre-Perestroika GUM, who will be sorry then? (If you can't make it out this week, Yellow Dog Knitting ships for a very reasonable cost!)

So, let's see what we have here...

Trendsetter Tonalita (soft!) for a (soft!) similar-to-Noro (except soft!) take on the Brooklyn Tweed Scarf.

Drops Angora Tweed for a cowl. Word on the street is that Miss Michelle is going to be making a lovely cardigan out of this yarn also.

An assortement of Drops Alpaca and Drops Classic Alpaca (a little heavier weight) yarns for shawlettes and cowls.

Some Fabel Superwash for socks, cowls, and Baktus scarves. I am SO darn addicted to the Baktus pattern! It is just the greatest thing for a mind that needs some Zen time.

And some Karisma Superwash (love this stuff!) for Nordic socks. Which do you like, this, this, or this? All three are so cute, I may have to run back for a few more balls of Karisma; there was some lovely lime green, some red, and a gorgeous deep blue... Hey, since we're not having carpeting in the new house, I'm going to need lots of cozy socks!

I left with a very funny Yellow Dog Knitting tote, which made its hilarious debut at Sock Summit:

I have another of these totes from a previous YDK S.E.X., so... if you would like the chance to win one, just leave a comment below before I make my next blog entry! (And you never, ever know when that might be!)

Funny, seen on PolitiFact.com - we could all use a little healthcare humor about now. Go ahead, lighten up and laugh. It's healthy for you.

In a recent post I'd mentioned I've been into the color orange lately. The lovely Carrie wrote:

Hey, have you seen the website called How About Orange? http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com
It's a design/craft website.

Very cool site, Carrie - thanks for sharing!

I leave you with a view of Miss PaddlePaws (Otter) enjoying a lovely fall afternoon in front of the fire...

Looks to me like she has the right idea.

Of Interest To Goatie Folks; House Progress

2009-10-13T17:04:00.001-05:00

Shepherd's Notebook posted about a new site that discusses treatment for CL in goats.

This will be of interest to goat keepers, particularly those on hobby farms who have come across their pet goats at auctions, from unscrupulous breeders, or as rescues (hint: if you anticipate having a meat or dairy herd, do buy the very best stock you can afford, from a qualified breeder with a proven history of maintaining a closed, healthy herd.)

The website mentioned, CLGoatCare.org, can be found here.

The "top" for the new house arrived today (first and second floors, above the cement basement which was finished last week). It's already up - more is completed than even these photos show! Amazing.

They also filmed a commercial for Wausau Homes here today as the construction was going on.

I do hope the crew was paying attention to their hammers and nails, and not how they were looking on camera! ;)

Yee HA, Back In Business

2009-10-12T02:09:00.002-05:00

Yippee, something got fixed and my entry page is back to normal. Phew! Thanks to those of you who suggested WordPress - I did set a new blog up over there and it was indeed very easy to use. I'll keep it there, just in case Blogspot goes wonky on me again.

Summer on a farm - even a hobby farm - doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging, as you can imagine. Add to that new Facebook and Twitter accounts, and my life took a major detour as I caught up with friends old and new. Sorry - I have missed you and your wonderful comments!

We had many more hatchings of guinea keets than anticipated, the most recent being this week! We are inundated with guinea fowl. They really are the cutest babies - much more adorable than baby chickens. They're like little "scrubbing bubbles" that zip all over the place on their huge, bright orange feet.

We are still awaiting the shearer to clip the Icelandics and the Angoras, both of which must be shorn twice a year. We had snow this week, so I hope he gets a move-on, since I want the goats to get a decent growth on them before the truly cold weather sets in. At least they have a snug barn, and we have heat lamps should we need them.

Speaking of the snug barn, the Golden Laced Wyandotte chickens that Chef Jeff pasture-raised for the freezer are now having a lovely night's rest in the box stall, before their first (and only) car ride to the humane Mennonite butcher tomorrow. They had a week of feasting on cracked corn, carrots, and apples, as I spoiled them a bit. Perhaps I should have fed them garlic to pre-season them? Well, joking aside, they will receive a blessing from Chef Jeff before they make their journey. I hope we have treated them with the respect they deserved, and that they had very happy days here at Tuppinz Farm.

The livestock are all well. The dogs are all doing great.

Otter sleeps very soundly.

Molly stops chewing her cow ear to watch the big machinery pull up the driveway.

We did have to say good-bye to our wonderful kitty Max due to liver failure. He had never been a healthy cat since he first appeared here at the farm. The other four cats are all just fine. Despite our feelings about outdoor cats, we made the decision to move everyone but Abby out to the goat barn. There, they have two levels of room to run about; a large, heated bed; windows to let in sunlight; and no dogs to chase them. Boris and Otter were a little too interested in some of the cats, and the floorplan of the new house will not allow us to keep the cats and dogs separate any longer. Abby is older and keeps to herself - she will live in the studio and loft in the new house, in which the dogs will not be allowed.

The new house - ah, the new house. Did I mention the new house?

Suffice it to say, the old farmhouse in which we now reside is going to fall down soon. Literally. It will cost less to build a new one than to fix up this one, which in all likelihood isn't even possible. We also have five dogs living in this one - can you imagine trying to repair it? So... we have begun building a new house up on the hill and hope to move in in December.

The old farmhouse will be burned - not only to give students in the firefighter program at a local college experience, but also to get rid of all the awful karma, bad energies, and evil spirits which have clouded our lives for the past three years. I wish I could be excited about it, but the fact is, the experience of moving to a place where dishonest folk left so many very, very bad things really took a toll on me emotionally.

Thank goodness Chef Jeff has been up for the task of choosing counters, cabinets, flooring, and fireplace rocks! I never could have made a decision with so many choices, but he narrowed things down very quickly:

The interior will have a warm, Southwest feel to it. We will have geothermal heat, so the puppers will enjoy a heated floor in their rumpus room downstairs. I will have a larger studio in which I will be able to spread out my knitting, spinning, quilting, and painting, and I can hardly wait for that!

It has been a long and troublesome journey but I am confident that moving on up the hill will make all the bad mojo a thing of the past.

Crafting kind of went by the wayside as Chef Jeff's company underwent a "rearrangement" of sorts, resulting in much, much more traveling for him (and many, many more chores on the farm for me - ouch!) Absence - and doing without someone else to haul the hay - really does make the heart grow fonder.

I am almost finished with my Drops sparkly shawl A/K/A "Dixie Shawl" (Ravelry link) - just doing the lower edge border now:

I've done two Baktuses (Bakti?) thanks to the pattern suggestion (Ravelry link) from Professor Nannette. If you are looking for a relaxing, mindless knit that will result in something infinitely giftable and wearable, and will let you enjoy your favorite sock yarn in a new way, this is IT!

Baktus Scarves In Drops Fabel and Koigu KPPPM from Yellow Dog Knitting

I'm loving the Fabel sock yarn's stripes.

There are more colors here than meet the eye initially. Very pretty.

Things I'm Liking:

The color ORANGE.

This Swedish (or Norwegian?) shop's clothing - I wish I could get it here in the US!

I follow a number of Scandinavian blogs and I like their aesthetic. I'm a big fan of Carl and Karin Larsson, white rooms and white furniture with handmade accents, and the simplicity of the Gustavian style. I can't read the text of some of these Scandinavian blogs, but I enjoy them nevertheless.

http://miaslandliv.blogspot.com
She has many more great links in her sidebar!

http://posidriv.blogspot.com

http://shabby-roses-cottage.blogspot.com

http://kathrinesquiltestue.blogspot.com

http://blomsterverkstad.blogspot.com

http://maalaiselamaa.blogspot.com

http://angelattable.blogspot.com

http://mykindofblog.blogspot.com

http://whitecountry.blogspot.com

http://ljo-s.blogspot.com

And now I just realized that my RSS reader isn't working properly; those blogs have some new entries I haven't yet seen. Argh! If it's not one thing, it's your mother...

I'm thankful for Birkenstock Central, who restored my stinky old Birks and kept them out of a landfill!

And so, dear readers, as the chickens go off to market and the "top" of the new house arrives tomorrow by semi truck, we embark upon a new season at Tuppinz Farm - one of gratitude for abundance. We are indeed very grateful.

Have a lovely week! I'm off to listen to the new episode of Electric Sheep!

Google Broke My Blog

2009-10-10T00:17:00.002-05:00

Google seems to have taken over Blogger and my ability to post here is not going to work.
If anyone can recommend a good blog host that will work with Macs, would you please email me? I do still receive comments via this blog.
It looks ok on the outside, but man, you should see the mess they made of it on the inside!
Have a great day!

Hungry For Change?

2009-07-29T16:56:00.001-05:00

PLEASE watch the clip at this site. PLEASE educate yourself about this subject. I can't think of anything more important for me to share via this blog than this information!

If folks in the US were actually aware of where our food comes from and what may be in it, we might not need to be debating expensive health care! (And it will remain expensive, whether the government "provides it" - via taxes - or it stays the way it is now.)

Did you know that the majority of diseases treated in the US - raising healthcare costs ever higher - are PREVENTABLE, simply by maintaining a healthy diet?

But, how healthy is YOUR food really?

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change?

Shared via AddThis

Everything I Need To Know, I Learned From My Dogs

2009-07-10T12:32:00.009-05:00

I was reflecting today upon the many important life lessons I’ve learned from my dogs. Here is their advice to you:

“You’re never too old to have a second childhood. Take time to enjoy the finer things in life, like a polo match and a glass of Pimm’s! Keep up with the whippersnappers and they’ll keep you young. Maintain a merry disposition. Share your blessings with others. Don’t let disabilities or aging get you down.” ~ Valentine, age, “Decrepit! But don’t order my urn yet!”; Springer Spaniel.

“Play hard. Get as much exercise as possible. Have a good appetite. Drink lots of water. Enjoy fresh air. Take a walk. Get enough sleep. Healthy living can help overcome illness. Give hugs often. Never pass up the opportunity to take a road trip.” ~ Boris, age two or three; Husky/Cattledog/other mix.

“Be grateful for what you’ve received. Be friendly to everyone you meet. Be curious about life. Be sweet. Don’t be shy. Go with the flow and adversity will pass you by.” ~ Otter, age about two; Labrador Retriever/other mix.

“Remain mindful and focused at all times. Don’t become ensnared by the power struggles of others. Have a sense of humor. Be present and poised for action. Deflect conflict with the strength of your Chi. Don’t abuse your power. Meditate: Om Mani Dobie Hum. Fiber is good for the digestion.” ~ Emma, The Doggie Lama, age three (plus several hundred reincarnated lifetimes); enlightened Doberman Pinscher.

“Take a bite out of life! Be tenacious for what you want. Fake it ‘til you make it. Make a lot of noise if you believe you’re right. A little mischief will often be forgiven if you’re cute. Have enough spunk, and you can stand up to anyone. Be kind to the weak and small. It’s good to have a schedule and stick to it, especially where meals are concerned. Give kisses freely.” ~ Molly, age two; Tasmanian Devil/Wolverine/Karelian Bear Dog/Heinzer

And from all of them…

“A little dust and dirt never hurt anyone. Life is short, so get out there and live it! The things that matter most are right in front of you... take time to pay attention.”

New Arrivals

2009-07-09T13:30:00.000-05:00

There are surprise babies at Tuppinz Farm!

A bunch of "scrubbing bubbles" appeared in the poultry food line yesterday:

"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!"

We have 18 new guinea keets!

When the guinea fowl go broody, they do it in secret. We never know if a hawk or fox has made off with one of them (we wouldn't mind too much as we love the wildlife also), or if they're not coming home to roost at night because they're on a nest. Apparently this time it was the latter. I think I spy another hen on a nest out in the sheep pasture... we'll keep an eye on her to see if another clutch hatches out.

Our tick population is well under control, and guinea fowl are amazingly loud, so perhaps if all of these grow up to adulthood, we'll fatten a few for the freezer.

Our chicken coop was also home to another hatch of babies - barn swallows:

The parents kept the coop insect-free while feeding their young, so have been quite welcome. Chef Jeff tells me he would give the babies a little pat on their heads each day. Don't they look like they're smiling? Having barn swallows grace our farm with their presence is something we look forward to each spring. They zoom around like tiny fighter jets all summer long, catching bugs on the fly. Beautiful birds. We always sigh and know it's springtime when we see them return.

This is my favorite hen, Pigeon Pie. She is a Quail Antwerp Belgian bantam.

When it's my turn to feed the poultry, she is first in line, and flies up onto my outstretched arm, or onto my head, or right into the feed scoop to fill her little beak and scatter food everywhere, creating a pile of chickens, ducks, guineas, and geese at my feet so that I can't take a step. Today, she thought I had something special for her in my egg basket, and flew up to take a peek. Sorry, Pidge, just my work gloves and camera in there...

Weather is perfect here today - sunny, not too hot, breezy. Baby kestrels are learning to fly and hunt. Dogs are napping. Sounds like a plan. Blogger just ate a complete post I had done with it's "autosave" feature (I hate that feature!) Perhaps they could nix that, and get the autopublish feature up and running again? Sigh.

Holiday Weekend

2009-07-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

It was a beautiful holiday weekend here in Wisconsin. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

The Golden Laced Wyandotte chicks were moved out to their netted pasture. They are about a month old now. They're loving the fresh air, sunlight, grass, and insects. Our broody Wyandotte hen hatched out nine adopted babies, so that little family was also put in the electric netting for "safekeeping".

In addition to moving the chickens around, Jeff and our Farmhand Extraordinaire, Dakota, got us caught up on goat vaccinations and hoof trimming, fencing, yardwork, hay moving, and a billion other tasks. Thanks for all the hard work, guys!

We had a great time at the Altoona fireworks with our friends, Dakota's family. Dakota's brother, Tanner, gave us a private fireworks show in his backyard afterwards. This is his stash. It was quite an impressive display!

We watched Tanner's fireworks from the comfort of our friends' new screen porch, which is the ultimate in summer comfort. What a great area to relax with friends! These guys are great hosts and it's always great to spend time with them.

That's Dakota there in the center of the photograph. We are going to miss him when he goes off to college this fall. Jeff says that Tanner will have a job here on the farm as soon as he is old enough. Two finer young men can't be found!

Knowing of our love for fishing, our friends generously invited us to access the Eau Claire River from their property. Chef Jeff and I had a lovely afternoon there yesterday. Though we didn't catch anything, we enjoyed being out in the woods and seeing the gorgeous scenery.

Afterwards, the Chef prepared the catfish he'd caught last week according to a recipe from this beautiful book, which also included recipes for homemade refried black beans and great guacamole. It was an outstanding meal, though we somehow got our hands on a jalapeño that must have been grown near a nuclear reactor because that thing was HOT - and this judgment from people who use habañero sauce on a regular basis!

We are so glad that Otter is acclimating to her new home. The other dogs love her... well, Molly tolerates Otter, but Molly's coming along (that's just her way - growl first, make friends later.)

Otter has Lyme disease so she's on antibiotics for a little while. She doesn't seem to have had toys or chews before; she's finally understanding that baked cow ears are a good thing:

When Otter was found she was suffering from heat exhaustion. We are so grateful to our wonderful vet for taking her in for us for treatment and boarding, despite her history being unknown. We intend to go to a town meeting to see how we may be able to change the policies and procedures of our township in order that stray animals may receive temporary housing and care in a more efficient manner; we are not served by the County shelter due to the lack of a financial agreement between them and our township. There has to be a better way, and we shudder to think what could happen if one of our own beloved dogs went missing.

So yes, now we are a five-dog family. I would think we were certifiably nuts, except that the entire vet staff said they hoped we'd keep Otter because they knew we'd be good parents. And Valentine is getting up there in years and has Cushing's, so, after all, we may be back to a four-dog family in the not-too-distant future anyway.

But if I had my wish, there would be a loving home for every dog... until there is, we will take in whomever the Creator sends us, sharing our blessings.

In crafting news, I am this close to finishing up my Drops blue alpaca lace shawl... just on the final rows. I started a Koigu "mindless" sock for traveling-to-fishing-holes knitting, and I hope to do some sewing this week before Saturday's MaryJane's Farmgirls meeting, where everyone will ask me if I've made any progress on my current stitching project (not yet, and it's already been three weeks since our last meeting!)

I've seen a cute sewing pattern made up on this blog, and I purchased a copy here. The construction looks super easy, and I think it will be a neat use for some of my Tanya Whelan/Free Spirit or 3 Sisters/Moda girly-girl, flower fabrics.

Have a wonderful day!

Independence Day

2009-07-05T15:53:00.001-05:00

Small town fireworks (Altoona, WI) on a beautiful summer night.

Grateful for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This Week In Farming

2009-06-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy week at Tuppinz Farm. Here are some of the highlights...

The sheep and goats were finally shorn! They are so relieved to be nekkid, as the days are starting to get very warm. That's "Fontina" (whom we call "Caribou" for obvious reasons) in the foreground. Need fleece? We have LOTS!

This year's Largest Fleece award goes again to our Jacob ewe Montana. Jeff tells me the Shetland fleeces are again very nice and soft. I'm looking forward to keeping the two badger-faced Icelandics' fleeces for my own use - they are identical in coloring so it will be nice to combine them and have enough matching wool for a big project.

I would have preferred that shearing not take place on the same day the farrier and vet were scheduled to attend to the donkeys, but on a farm, you have to roll with the punches. Farriers, farm vets, and sheep shearers are not as easy to coordinate as the business projects I was used to in my "former life". There simply is no option to have a "Type A" personality on a farm.

Poor Michelle had to have her shearing appointment on a day when she couldn't even be home! I hear her wether's fleece is really nice...

Potatoes are up and growing nicely. We're using this method.

My crazy junk garden is also doing well.

I tried to make raised beds using only materials I could scrounge up around here. I decorated with rusty bits of metal that were found on the property.

I'm growing lettuces, hot peppers, tomatoes, scallions, cucumbers, basil, cilantrol, parsley, three pumpkins, and sunflowers. We had lots and lots of rain this past week and the plants loved it.

We moved about 100 iris plants from the area that became the veggie garden, and popped them in the beds in front of the house. Several of them flowered despite this insult. We have planted echinacea I started from seed, as well as rudbeckia, in one bed, and roses in the other; next year it should be very pretty - all purple and yellow.

Little goats are growing like weeds, too. Here are sisters Elfine and Daisy May, almost all grown up (but still very tiny!)

The purchased Golden Laced Wyandotte chicks have their wing feathers now. Soon they will no longer need a heat lamp. They enjoy the thinnings from the veggie garden - feeding them teaches the chicks to eat greens (which they won't learn without parents to raise them) and it gets some good vitamins into them.

We had a lovely Wyandotte hen go broody. Unfortunately, before we realized she was nesting, we gathered the eggs she was laying each day for the refrigerator. We then noticed that she - and she alone - was hanging around with our single Golden Laced Wyandotte rooster... the two chickens we most hoped would reproduce. Hobby Farm Mistake #1027 - when the chickens you want to breed actually do, let the eggs turn into chicks!

So as not to waste her broodiness, we collected two days' worth of eggs which will hopefully become mixed-breed chicks, and stuck them under her. She accepted them readily. Hobby Farm Mistake #1028 - when you have a hen that is broody and you want to hatch out chicks, consider the fact that she is nesting in front of hay bales you will need to access in the next month - not the best choice of locations for anyone involved.

Last Saturday, we went to the farmers market in Eau Claire, at Phoenix Park. It was raining and quite cold, but we had a great time. On our walk back, I saw this Labyrinth in the park - what a neat thing!

On the way home, we stopped at a couple of places to fish for a little bit. Did I mention it was rainy and cold? The only trophy was an ugly thing I caught called a river chub, which went gently right back into the water. We gave up on a fish dinner and went to Tep's Drive-In in Augusta, for their amazing garlic fries. Got to love a place with carhops - especially in an Amish village.

I ended up the week with a meeting of my MaryJane's Farmgirls group yesterday. We met at Dee Dee's Diner in Northfield and had a great time chatting and knitting and sharing pictures.

Dianne, Kayley, Dawn, Michelle

We meet on the second Saturday of each month to just hang out and do whatever... we talk about animals, crafts, gardening, and end up laughing. One doesn't have to be a "real" farmgirl to join; as MaryJane Butters says, "'Farmgirl' is a condition of the heart." We're just a bunch of gals out to learn new things and meet new friends.

The weather has turned glorious. First hay cutting this week. Crickets, junebugs, and moths abound (one notices this when one takes up fly fishing...) Baby squirrels exploring their world. The glow of light as the sun begins to cross the horizon is more amazing each and every evening. What a wonderful time of year.

Fishing

2009-06-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

Once in a while one needs to take a step back from the busy-ness of life to relax and rejuvenate. This is not so easy to do when one has a farm full of lively animals who seem to need constant attention and tending. But last Sunday, Jeff and I made a break for it and headed over to a county park.

We were amazed to find a beautiful section of the Eau Claire River running between sandstone bluffs and piney woods.

We had glorious weather.

Check out the doggie going for a boat ride!

We caught enough bluegills for a yummy dinner.

Can't wait to go again - but I still won't touch a worm... or a fish!

Out and About

2009-05-31T12:32:00.001-05:00

Delilah is doing so well that she has re-joined her herd!

Dexter and the Tulip Family (Samson, Mama Tulip, Delilah)

She's been out to graze with her family, and now everyone's back in the loafing area, chewing their cuds and soaking up the sun.

Pippin on platform; Delilah on far lower right.

That one above is worth bigifying to see Pippin's yawn.

I am amazed at Delilah's resilience and strength... and tolerance of us sticking her with needles twice a day. She gets a chewable Vitamin C as a reward (and to give her stressed immune system a boost).

Go, Delilah!

New Beginnings

2009-05-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

This year's batch of baby Golden Laced Wyandotte chicks arrived today!

Of course we play classical music in the chicken coop... doesn't everyone?

Hope this makes you smile today!

She's A Witch!

2009-05-29T15:48:00.000-05:00

No, not Ysolda - she is perfectly charming! Although we got to YDK too late to join in the weekly Knit Night, we were able to tag along as Dixie and her gang took Ysolda to The Livery for snacks and drinks afterward. We ordered up a plate of smelt for Ysolda to try, because you can't come to Wisconsin and not eat smelt, right? She gamely tried them and even took a couple more on her own.

No, I refer instead to our poor dear Delilah, who is recovering well from her surgery yesterday.

You can click the pic below if you have an interest in seeing the actual surgical amputation site (clean, but not for the meek).

Dr. Bender in Whitehall did an excellent job. We are truly grateful that we can always rely on him. Delilah was feeling so much better after the operation that she attempted to gallop out to pasture with her herdmates! No more "dead weight" (ugh) holding her down and making her wobbly.

"Whoa, there, Nellie, you're supposed to be in recovery in the box stall for three days!" We finally caught our girl (a little loopy on the pain medications she'll be on for a while) and convinced her that there were fresh dandelions aplenty - along with hay, mineral, kelp, and a cool bucket of water - waiting for her in her private chamber. She's enjoying her pampering and the hand-picked weeds being delivered to her door. Her appetite is very good, which is a great sign.

Thank goodness Dr. Bourdon had come out as soon as we noticed Delilah limping. He got her on penicillin therapy right away, so that we were able to halt the progression of the disease through the tissue as quickly as possible, saving Delilah's life! Again, we are so blessed to have yet another good on-farm goat doctor - they are really few and far-between.

Delilah Just After Birth

Baby Samson and Delilah

Delilah and Samson, One Day Old

Mama Tulip, Baby Delilah, Jeff

After consulting three vets and doing research on our own, Jeff and I were still stumped about what caused Delilah's leg to go bad. There was no sign of injury in a fence or by another animal; the illness didn't present correctly for "blackleg" (a tetanus-type infection); and everyone was scratching their heads as to what caused the blood clot that destroyed her leg with no warning... until Dr. Bender mentioned something to Jeff.

"I've never seen it in practice, but I remember studying it in vet school - ergot."

"You mean like rye and witches?" asked Jeff.

That's exactly what he meant (and if you are Dianne RJ, you get bonus points for knowing what I was talking about when I ran into you today!) But for everyone else, I will "'splain, Lucy"...

Samson and Delilah at Two Months, with Mama Tulip

Baby Samson and Delilah, nibbling on my scarf.

Remember the Salem Witch Trials? And how young girls were murdered for "being witches" - having tremors, being possessed, seeing visions, going spastic? One theory which explains their behavior is that they had ergot poisoning. Though I see on Wiki that that's disputed, what isn't is the effects of ergot poisoning on animals.

Delilah at Three Months

We won't ever know the source (pasture, hay, grain, oat straw used for bedding), but thanks to Dr. Bender's recollection we were able to look it up in our copy of The Merck Veterinary Manual (thanks forever for that, Pamela! We use it ALL the time!), confirm Delilah's symptoms and progression, and solve our little mystery.

Samson, Delilah, Mama Tulip

I guess if something completely odd and out of the ordinary will happen, it's going to happen at Tuppinz Farm.

In other farm news, due to the ground being litterally covered with fledgling birds, barn cat Barley is being held prisoner in the house (confined due to his penchant for beating the crap out of the other cats). He'll remain indoors until the birdlings can actually fly on their own. The chickens are quite amused by all the little ones and seem to think they are baby chicks that they are supposed to guard.

Baby Blackbird with Sumatran Rooster

Animals are just so... odd.

Have a great day! I get to sit and knit with Ysolda at Michelle's tonight!!

Ysolda at YDK Tonight!

2009-05-28T11:15:00.001-05:00

The beautiful and talented knitting designer Ysolda Teague will be at Yellow Dog Knitting in Eau Claire, WI, tonight! Hope to see you there - Knit Night at The Dog is already fun, but tonight will be extra special.

Ysolda is on a US book tour for Whimsical Little Knits, which will be available at YDK tonight. It is the neatest little book - I just love it. Ysolda will have her samples along, and Dixie and Cindi have whipped some up in their fantastic Garnstudio Drops yarns for us to fondle.

Ysolda's being hosted by our good friends at Kellane Farm, which means she gets to play with cute baby lambs during her visit. I'm jealous! Must get over there soon.

Happy Birthday, Bemma-Boo!

2009-05-25T13:16:00.001-05:00

Miss Emma turned three yesterday!

Chef Jeff always wanted to take Miss Fiona to Panera for soup in a bread bowl when she was with us, but he never got the chance. Thinking that life is too short to miss an opportunity, he was determined to treat Emma this year, so we took a little time off from chores and away we went.

Note Chef Jeff's shirt...

Emma eyeing her soup and bread bowl (Chef Jeff ate most of it.)

Drooling isn't very ladylike, Emma!

Afterwards, we took Emma to the pet store, where she carefully sniffed everything, finally picked out her own treat, and proudly carried it up to the checkout on her own. Everyone who saw her in the store got a good chuckle.

"Yum!"

"This is the BEST birthday EVER!"

Hero, Part Two

2009-05-18T13:21:00.012-05:00

A feature write-up about Jeff's grandpa appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today. It is here.

We've created a memorial website for Bill, which can be found here.

I also found a couple of photos of Bill in his younger days, which I really like. Thought you might like them, too.

Photo caption reads: "William & Edward 12 and 15 yrs old taken spring 1929."

Bill "bustin' a bronc" (you know I don't go for that method but that's what they did back then!)

A newspaper photo showing Bill having a make-believe cup of tea with granddaughter Becky. She was born with Down syndrome and Bill did much volunteer work for Milwaukee charities that helped brain injured children.

Bill and his wife, "Sutty" (Etelka) at Jeff's college graduation performance. The Chef's degree is actually in music, did you know that? He was a classical composer before he became a Pharm Boy (joke there...)

Chef Jeff's been away in California but is returning tonight. I hear he shipped some wine home which is a good thing, as I think I'm going to be needing some in the next few days: Delilah goat had a blood clot in her femoral (leg) artery and now the leg must be amputated.

At first the vet thought it was from a tetanus-type (clostridial) infection, but then it didn't present in a manner that made him confident about it (the goats are all vaccinated for tetanus but this would have been an odd type of clostridia (?) that usually only affects cows.) He saw no sign of an injury - and Frieda The Just earned her name by being very careful about being the only horned goat in the herd, so she can't be blamed. So Doc Stan the farm vet thinks it was just a freak thing. He says things like this sometimes just happen in a barnyard, and we shouldn't second-guess ourselves about it being something we did, or didn't, do.

Delilah is doing as well as can be expected. There is no feeling in the leg now so she is not in pain, just uncomfortable. She is eating well and brother Sammy and mama Tulip are looking out for her, standing on either side of her when the goats get hay or a treat of grain. She's very good for her shots, but thus far, I have given myself one penicillin puncture and have swallowed some as well - I'm looking forward to Jeff returning to veterinary duty tonight.

We've discussed the potential amputation with several vets, and the vet that has seen to Delilah's needs since she was born is able to perform the surgery. He's actually really a small animal vet, and we always took the goat kids to his practice for disbudding under sedation. He gives us the impression that recovery will go smoothly with sufficient pain meds. Lila's attitude is good right now, so we're thinking this is the appropriate path to take.

So unfortunately I won't be able to attend Bill's funeral. I'll be here giving more penicillin injections and toting hay bales (split into flakes first, of course) and exercising the dogs who can't seem to be outdoors enough in the spring weather. But when Chef Jeff returns from paying his respects, I plan on us toasting Bill with something from Sonoma... and maybe having some time to actually relax and visit with Jeff for more than the five minutes a day we've had to speak to each other in the last few weeks... months... year?

Oh wait, baby chicks arrive in two weeks... and my cold frame just blew over - still haven't gotten my seedlings into the garden bed. No time for sitting still on the farm...

Farewell To A Hero

2009-05-15T18:53:00.006-05:00

William Stamm
November 7, 1916 - May 15, 2009
Milwaukee Fire Department Chief - 1970-1986

Chef Jeff's grandpa passed away today.

We will remember Bill's generous nature, as well as his stories about being a cowboy before he went to work for the Milwaukee Fire Department. Once, he was astride an "un-broke" horse that decided to jump through a V in a tree. The horse made it through - but Bill and the saddle remained. I don't think Bill ever swore in his whole life - even then, though it was weeks before he could walk properly.

Bill came from humble beginnings and was very proud of being 100% Swiss. He never took a drink and never smoked. He sure enjoyed his sweet rolls, though. And brunch. And fancy dinners. That man loved to eat in restaurants.

Bill received an award from the Humane Society in honor of all the animals he saved from fires. Bill traveled to Nicaragua to provide aid after an earthquake. He was a true humani-ani-tarian.

Bill was a Mason and a Shriner. He really loved the Masonic chicken roast picnics held every summer.

Bill's elder brother Eddie passed away just a few weeks ago. The two brothers were best friends and both resided at the Masonic Health Center in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

1921 - back row: Buster Hunziker, Eddie Stamm, Herman Kunz.
Front row: Homer Kunz and Bill Stamm.
The goat, "Billy," belonged to Buster.

Whenever asked how he was doing, Bill would reply, "Can't complain!" Even in the ICU. That's a response I'd do well to remember and imitate.

See ya' round, Bill. Be careful up there bustin' them broncs...

2009-04-23T10:30:00.000-05:00

Who's this fuzzy face?

We are officially a four-donkey family! Meet Rocky Mountain Songbirds Ty-Dyed Champ:

Currently, Tikki won't let him near Jazz and Eli... or her hay pile. But things are actually working out well and in a day or two they will all be fast friends.

Champ is a nine-year-old gelding who comes to us from the nice folks at Dixdlor Ranch here in Wisconsin. He was born here and the photo on that web page is in fact Champ himself!

Eli's wondering if we'll still love him. Silly boy!

Spring is almost here at Tuppinz Farm. The sun sometimes feels warm, the grass is starting to green up, and we're having lovely evenings before the nighttime temps drop back down to freezing.

This guinea bird is doing his evening predator scan and calling the others back to the roost.

My seedlings are doing well in their indoor greenhouse. Tonight we are getting a truckload of soil for our new veggie garden bed. This weekend, we'll get the cold frame set up and the beds made. We'll plant around May 15th.

I have some wonderful seed potatoes from Seeds Of Change and I'm going to try this super easy method of planting them.

Hope things are green in your part of the world!

A Good Week Of Surprises

2009-04-03T17:23:00.007-05:00

It was a week of surprising weather (warm days followed by snow showers and high winds), and surprises in my mailbox.

Beautiful handmade potholders arrived from Professor Nannette, and Miss Kary sent an original painting of an owl (a favorite animal of mine) by Brenda Webster-Drouin. Thanks, guys!

I'd placed an order with The Loopy Ewe, a favorite shop for sock knitting needs. This is what I'd ordered:

And THIS is what I received!

Turns out I am now an official Loopy Groupie. The gifts they sent were more than what I'd ordered to begin with; what you don't see is the chocolate which I promptly ate. Thank you, Sheri!

I became a convert after I received my first order with TLY and I realized what all the high praise was about. They have excellent customer service, and usually include a handwritten thank-you and little treats with my orders... which are becoming more frequent, I have to admit; I love the "instant gratification" of their fast shipping!

I also received the new "Whimsical Little Knits" book by Ysolda in Scotland, as well as two skeins of Fearless Fibers yarn. One of these is destined to become these (Ravelry link). I have been waiting on pins and needles for that KnitSpot pattern to be published and am jazzed to cast on for these beautiful socks.

All in all, a very good week indeed.

Around The Farm

Frieda The Just gave us 1.4 ounces of beautiful cashmere at the end of March. Not bad for a mostly-Boer goat with a strong resemblance to George Washington.

I planted peas and broccoli rabe outside; started Tigerella and Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes, and serrano and jalapeno peppers, inside.

Other than that, it's business as usual here on the farm. Lots of playful activity inside when the puppy playpen is too muddy from changeable spring weather:

It looks like Champ, our new riding donkey, will not be arriving this weekend as planned. Hopefully he'll be home in the next couple of weeks.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Lots Of Fiber

2009-03-01T13:39:00.002-06:00

I was in the fiber doldrums for some time. Just couldn't get motivated. There were a couple of our raw Icelandic fleeces (from Asta and Birta) sitting in the entryway, which taunted me daily. I finally decided that, after two years, it was time to unpack the picker and carder that had been sitting in boxes while several house nightmares were endured.

Not having a decent fiber washing area has proven to be problematic, but I made do with many buckets in the kitchen over a period of days (Jeff was not allowed to make fragrant Indian food during my scouring!) The laundry room here doesn't have a heat source, and though there is a tub on the first floor, it was never installed properly and doesn't drain, so Jeff kindly carried all the dirty water outside for me.

I was really fearful to try the picker and carder but I needn't have been - they both worked wonderfully and I was soon blessed with my first home-grown, home-scoured, home-picked and home-carded Icelandic lamb roving!

Because I wanted to spin a fine but soft yarn, it was time to re-acquaint myself with an old friend who has the necessary double drive talents:

We hadn't been on speaking terms for several years due to a previous failure to communicate.

It turned out that this wasn't due to my unfamiliarity with my friend, but rather an inherent problem in my friend's physical makeup.

Once this was corrected (requiring minor surgery on my part and a trip to Montana and back for an amputated piece of my friend), my buddy wanted to "make nice" - but I wasn't having any of it, due to the insults my friend had given me the last time we got together.

I am now willing to forgive and forget, and so is my friend, and we have been getting on famously in this new relationship.

As any fiberartist can tell you, once the floodgates have opened, creativity comes on like a tidal wave. Not only have I been spinning the Icelandic lamb, but also this lovely fiber (click for big to see the sparkly stuff!):

... as well as some home-grown Jacob wool (from Gruyere):

I even made significant progress on my "Dixie shawl":

Like all lace, it looks like a damp mop and will until it is blocked. But believe me, it's really pretty:

My good relationship with the Dundas wheel gave me the confidence to have a chat with the Ashford Table Loom as well, and it has been released from its undignified penance in the long barn.

Disclaimer: Seriously ugly wallpaper courtesy of previous homeowners.

I am not a big fan of anything other than rigid heddle (i.e., simple! Easy!) weaving, but it seems a shame not to give this gal a warm (comparatively-speaking), indoor home. We will try to get along better now, and hopefully she will not confuse me with mathematical equations this time around. I guess it's not really her fault... she has always been a peach to use.

It's freezing in here (perhaps not to looms but to us humans), and some woven wool blankets would come in handy, so I had better be polite to her.

Max is just meditating, and staying clear of all the fiber activity.

Other Happenings

Two photos from our farm are in the current issue of Hobby Farms magazine - yay!

There was a quote in this issue that I loved: "Hobby farming is like hobby coal mining." Truer words have never been spoken... it's still work! (But definitely worth it to have delicious organic eggs!!!)

And to reward myself for a consistent yoga practice, I asked this Etsy artisan to embroider some clips to keep my hair out of my face during downward dog - she put pink lotuses on them to match my Prana yoga outfit:

In upcoming excitement... what do you think of this handsome fellow, hmmm?

Hope your day is full of health and creativity!

Spay Day 2009!

2009-01-23T23:17:00.000-06:00

Hey! Help the Tuppinz pups support Spay and Neuter Day 2009!

Kary entered her boy, Diesel, and I've entered Emma & Molly, and we're having a friendly fundraising contest.

But I also supported Bella, and we think she deserves a ton of votes... won't you donate in her name? That little girl really deserves some donations to be made in her name!

Please spay and neuter your pets, and please support your local shelter - they need your help now more than ever.

Yay for "recycled" pets!

2009-01-19T19:26:00.001-06:00

Some mindless fun after a very stressful day.

Create your own, from words on your blog, at Wordle.

A Winter Feast For The Soul

2009-01-15T17:40:00.002-06:00

A global meditation begins today - would you like to join it?

WinterFeastForTheSoul.com

It's ok to start late, too. ;)

January 13, 9:45 a.m.

2009-01-13T09:52:00.000-06:00

Click for big. That's F, and it is not wind chill.

Chef Jeff put extra bales of straw in the goats' barn yesterday, and the chickens are locked in their coop with the geese and ducks for extra warmth. There are also heat lamps in both areas. But I'm seriously wondering if the donkeys need coats...

Evening Chores

2009-01-09T19:27:00.001-06:00

Six Degrees

2009-01-08T13:20:00.001-06:00

2009-01-05T12:56:00.001-06:00

Daily Gratitude

Airing bed pillows and my thick Gjestal sweater out on the hard-crusted snow, in the sunshine (current temp - 15°F). Fresh!

Wikipedia. I love Wikipedia. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good. If you use it, too, won't you consider making a donation?

Fiberarts

Someone got into a skein of Claudia Handpaint this morning. Instead of spending my only free hour knitting, I will be spending it untangling. Sigh.

2009-01-03T15:17:00.003-06:00

Daily Gratitude

A diamond-shaped wood splitting maul that will help us finally be able to chop the wood in the woodpile so that it actually fits in our small fireplace.

A husband who takes over splitting wood after I've had my three test whacks. The splitter works great. My bad shoulder, not so much...

A full wood holder by the back door.

Aromaleigh mineral makeup sending out inexpensive trial packets (with no shipping charges) so I can play around and see what actually works with my skin tone (please excuse the rare and icky photo of my tired-looking, winter-weary, test-makeup face with no foundation.)
The generous samples are enough for several uses. If you have trouble matching your skin tone, see their "linen" foundation shades.

A husband who believes the dogs value his cheffing skills as much as anyone; Molly is waiting impatiently for her venison tenderloin and brown rice dinner on a fancy plate for New Year's:

Dogs that play together so nicely but pretend to be fierce, making "WAAH WAAH WAAH!" noises while gnashing teeth that somehow never actually touch:

New yoga DVD#1 (with meditation talk by the Dalai Lama).

Zakuski

A favorite meal of ours is one consisting of zakuski - a Russian word for appetizers. Chef Jeff prepared a zakuski meal for New Year's.

It was accompanied by my plum pudding (a/k/a flaming booze cake) which I'd prepared back in November, as is traditional.

It was also accompanied by vodka (traditional) and Scandinavian berry liqueurs (a new tradition).

К здоровью! *

* To health!

Fiberarts

Finished keyhole scarf (one skein of Inka yarn).

2009-01-01T14:50:00.000-06:00

Daily Gratitude

Still day with snow on the ground and a cloudy sky, peaceful and quiet.

Cheerful pitter-patter of paws on wood floors.

Clean kitchen.

Hockey on TV keeping someone (else) busy and contented.

FREE Metta yoga practice from YogaDownload.com... not that I could actually do it, but it was great to listen to while doing my own simple practice. You could just sit and breathe while listening and still get a lot out of it!

Fiberarts

Drops scarf; "Inka" yarn from Yellow Dog Knitting.

What Was I Thinking?

2008-12-28T19:10:00.003-06:00

Musings on the February Lady Sweater:

1) A lovely pattern... for someone who isn't pear-shaped like me.

2) I like the color I chose, but I don't like the "Factory Farms" yarn. Splitty.

3) Come to think of it, I don't much like "Factory Farm Yarns" itself any more. I had an awful time with their interchangeable needles. I did some research online and found out many people had trouble with them. Yes, I know they are exchanging them out... but for how long? And why should I have to wait when I want to knit?

I also had several poor experiences with "Factory Farm Yarns'" customer service. We're talking bad enough to make me cry.

I then heard that "Factory Farm Yarns" allegedly asked for information from an American craftsman (someone I actually know) about how his product was made... and promptly took that information, and resources from the craftsman's supplier, and had their own similar product manufactured overseas. The craftsman's handmade items - and his family - took a hit. Not cool.

I realize that "Factory Farm Yarns'" prices are "good" - but with those low prices comes a lack of personal attention. When I made a goof on this sweater using "Factory Farm's" yarn, I certainly wasn't going to be rude enough to take it to my LYS to ask for their help. So I saved some money, but who did I have to help me out?

And if I don't support my local LYS, they may not be there in the future! That's more important than ever with the little hiccup the economy just had. I'll be damned if I'll see Dixie ever go out of business, after she and Cindi were so kind and welcoming to me. If not for the LYS, I probably wouldn't have any friends in this town, as that's the only place a farmer lady gets to meet others - and I've met so many dear people there! (Hi Sue, Sonja, Dianne, and of course Michelle!)

I don't buy factory farmed meat. As with my food, I want to buy local when it comes to my yarn and needles - needles that I may just need the same day in an emergency, rather than a week later... and ones which I expect to last a lifetime rather than fall apart on their first outing.

So I'm making a couple of resolutions for 2009:

Buy local in all things and support vendors in my community. If I need something they don't have, I'll buy from another small vendor (I will be loyal to YDK but I can continue shopping at The Loopy Ewe for Araucania, and because of their great personal service.)

No more "Factory Farm Yarns". I'm not sending my dollars straight to their executives' pockets, with no benefits going to the poor people in other countries who make their allegedly copied stuff.

No. More. Sweaters. I need simple, meditative knitting that I can pick up at any time, without following a pattern - especially with Chef Jeff here after his company's reorganization! [SHOOT ME NOW, SHOOT ME NOW!] I just gave over half of my clothes to Goodwill because, living on a farm, I never wear anything that isn't sweats/fleece or Polartec or denim.

With four dogs jumping on me all day, I definitely do not need a lace cardigan. (A lace shawl, though, to take away this constant chill, would be a good thing. And that's what I'm going to cast on with my YDK yarn just as soon as I've ripped out this cardigan. Maybe before.)

And I would like to knit more for charity in 2009 - helpful for my mental state, and helpful to someone who actually needs clothing.

Now, what to do with my "Factory Farm Yarns" stash...? It's bugging me to look at it. I feel like a sellout having it here.

Chef Jeff is cooking duck a la Francais tonight; olives, capers, fennel, and red wine. He's also making duck stock. The smells here tonight are making my stomach growl! I guess it isn't so bad having him home for a time (but ask me how I feel after I've seen the pots, pans, dishes, and glasses in the kitchen later tonight!)

Pax, Amor, et Lepos in Iocando*

2008-12-26T23:49:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year, dear friends. May it be one of abundance, in all good things, for you!

* Peace, Love, and a Sense of Fun

Book And Interview Found

2008-12-16T12:00:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I wrote about a radio show I'd heard that discussed the benefits of knitting (and other crafts) on depression, but I couldn't find a link for you.

The lovely Linda M. commented:

I'm pretty sure I heard some part of the story discussing knitting as a help against depression on To The Best Of Our Knowledge this past Sunday morning. I was listening with half an ear and started paying attention when I realized they were talking about knitting :-)

Thanks to Linda, I was able to find it!

It was in Segment Three of this show, and you can listen to it from that page. Here's the description:

Kelly Lambert, author of "Lifting Depression: A Neuro-scientist's Approach to Activating Your Brain's Healing Power," tells Anne Strainchamps about her brain research into how using both hands on crafts projects can be as beneficial to the body as taking psychoactive medication.

I also found this info:

Each hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge is podcast for one week following broadcast. To subscribe, go to the NPR Podcast directory at http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819402

It was a really interesting interview and I hope you'll have a chance to listen to it. Thanks much, Linda!

Finally Fiber

2008-12-15T17:50:00.000-06:00

I finally have some fiber updates to share!

The lost silver Glitter has been found behind a bookcase! I can start on my blue DROPS shawl.

I've got a good amount of bulky handspun piling up from the fleece of our Jacob ewe Gruyere.

My progress thus far on the February Lady Sweater. I'm enjoying knitting this easy lace pattern.

In Farm News

We took advantage of yesterday's warmer weather to do vaccinations, hoof trimming, and deworming on the 24 goats. I was dragging my heels, but we can't procrastinate caring for our babies.

The left side has been trimmed, right side has not:

We clip hooves with a Felco trimmer - it is similar to their pruners. Great tool and worth the price.

The hoof in back has not been trimmed; the foot in front is almost finished:

Chef Jeff measures Dexter with a weight tape to calculate the amount of topical dewormer to apply. Dexter came to us as a buck but is now a very happy wether:

Since we rotate our goats' pastures, we worm only twice a year, to ensure prevention of secondary health problems like anemia. We used an herbal dewormer and found it didn't work well at all; recent scientific studies have corroborated our anecdotal discovery.

We now use Dectomax, which is not yet FDA-approved for goat use, but which our vet has prescribed to us for off-label use on goats and sheep at 1cc per 22 lbs. topically. It is safe, effective, and very easy to administer. It does not remain on our sheep fleeces, which is extremely important to me.

We could not do without our milking stand when taking care of the goats. Here is our massive two-year-old Boer/dairy doe, Frieda (the herd queen), weighing in at 180 pounds...

... and here is our Nigerian Dwarf doeling, Sitka, at 78 pounds:

Little Elfine, born this spring, is our smallest goat; she is just 45 pounds, and too short for the stand!

Weather Update

I am seriously not liking this weather today.

My new jacket is awesome - I don't get cold outside at all. The trouble is staying warm inside this drafty old firetrap!

Health Care - Skip At Will

I heard a great story on NPR a couple of days ago about knitting helping depression. For the life of me, I can't find a link, though I've searched for way too long now. Keep your eyes peeled for it - I think it was on Talk Of The Nation, in their book discussion...?

NPR is doing a series comparing health care in America to that in other countries. It should be interesting.

Lael (and others), I'm grateful for your comments. If my friends didn't feel comfortable having opinions that differed from mine, I would never learn anything new. (And Lael, I totally owe you an e-mail - I haven't forgotten!)

I do feel that privatized health insurance buying pools, which would make coverage affordable to the self-employed and un- or under-insured, are a great idea. I'm all for coverage for everyone - just not overseen by the government (which will do everything possible to cut costs, and will likely make a mess of things), and not at a 50% or higher income tax rate.

Such pools would also encourage those who can work to work in order to afford such benefits, rather than encourage freeloading.

I certainly don't want to be financially responsible for people who smoke, or don't exercise, or otherwise don't take care of themselves. If everyone buys their own insurance, I believe it will cost us each less than if the government "buys it for us" with our tax dollars. We can still achieve similar economies of scale in purchasing, while maintaining a competitive market where our doctors' treatments are not dictated by governmental limitations on their services.

One significant reason people may live longer in some other countries is because (thus far) they have not had the sedentary lifestyle we Americans have "enjoyed". Nor the fast food. Nor suburbs, which require the use of cars instead of feet in order to go shopping or to work. I lost a significant amount of weight when I lived abroad, only to gain it back upon returning to an American way of life.

I want name-brand drugs, not non-equivalent (see last post's link - it is factual) generics. I want to spend an hour with my doctor if necessary, not 15 minutes; and I want to choose my doctor. If I need surgery, I do not want to wait a year to have it. If I need mental health care, or treatment for a syndrome which has not yet been defined as a "disease," I don't want it deemed as unnecessary by a bureaucrat. To provide care to those who don't have it should not limit the care of those who can afford it. Socialized medicine has bankrupted the health care systems of some countries who have initiated it,; now everyone's equal... in the lack of high quality (and not just minimal) health care.

Because of Jeff's job in the health care industry, I have access to actual, concrete facts and statistics on these topics. From my personal experience with friends and family who are experiencing many problems with socialized medicine, I gain first-hand insight. I'm not forming my opinions based on information from the politicized media in the US, or based on my emotions. How I feel about what everyone should receive is very different from what I believe to be practical and in the country's best interest.

A question I have asked myself is, if other countries' socialized health care systems are so wonderful, why do many Canadians and Europeans choose to come to the United States, at their own out-of-pocket expense, for procedures?

Just because something is available doesn't mean it should be "free to all." How would we feel if the government decided that, because there is nice handspinning rare sheep wool available, they will make us sell it to them, at a deep discount with a loss of profit to wool growers, in order to provide free clothing to the masses... and by the way, they will increase our income taxes to 50% to cover the administration of the program? Would we continue to breed sheep?

Do I believe the government will fund the research and development of new medicines (a very expensive undertaking, which takes decades, the results of which maybe 10% or less of new medications will end up being feasible)? No way, José.

People don't understand that when a company - any successful company - makes a profit, it is most often reinvested into company growth (= more jobs!) and research and development (= scientific advances! Potential cures for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's!) Profits don't automatically get deposited in an executive's bank account... if they did, the company would fail in no time.

Many folks also don't understand that "evil corporate executives" and "evil corporations" donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities and the arts. "Evil drug companies" provide FREE medications to those in the U.S. who can't afford them, as well as entire third-world countries! The government won't foot the bill for that!

I suggest that if people want socialized medicine, they consider moving to a country that offers it. Personally, I want to continue to live in a country which offers the freedom to succeed or fail, to buy or do without, due to one's own merits and abilities. With rights come responsibilities. And we can make modifications to the current system without going to an extreme.

I actually wish I lived back in the days when doctors made house calls and were paid in ham and eggs or good old-fashioned cash, and when we didn't have the "benefit" of being kept alive after losing our physical or mental faculties just because it is possible to do so.

Complicated issues, for sure!

Hope you are staying cozy and comfortable today! Be well.

Congress Puts Santa Out Of Business... Please Help!

2008-12-15T17:45:00.000-06:00

Wow, not to get all wigged out and political on you for two posts in a row, but this just came to my attention and I think it's very important to us crafters!

Trying to appear as if they are actually doing something to benefit us (after the fact), Congress is now making laws that would put Old Saint Nick right out of business: no handmade toys from artisan toymakers (read: Etsy folks) will be able to be sold (legally) without prohibitive costs to the makers for required testing.

Please go here to read about it in simple terms, and to find an instant, easy link and ready-made letter so that you can contact your representatives.

Honestly, it's a case of too little, too late... Why on earth are we trading with a Communist country, with horrible human rights policies, anyway? Hint to the U.S. Goverment: they hate us! It's no wonder they put melamine in our pet food and lead paint on our kids' toys! How 'bout we spend our dollars in, oh, Sweden, maybe?

I would be utterly remiss if I didn't tell you about my favorite candles, by AromaNaturals - or that they are having a 25% off sale until December 30th with the code "Wish" entered at checkout.

We've been enjoying AromaNaturals candles for many years. They offer a true aromatherapy experience, with natural (not perfume) essential oils. They are a tidge pricey, but with this discount it's the perfect time to check them out - we think you'll become addicted, as we are (Chef Jeff will not let me burn any other brand of candles in the house.)

Our favorites are Relaxing (Lavender/Tangerine) and Ambiance (Orange/Lemongrass). They have little "trial" tins of most of the scents, and three special ones available for the holidays: Wish, Evergreen, and Peace (Ruby). I just ordered a new stock for gifts - they would make perfect stocking stuffers for your recipients, too!

I need to light up my Relaxing candle soon... having DH home for three days is already making me bonkers. I keep going from room to room, picking up things he's left behind (snacks, maps, work papers, notes, glasses). This must be what it feels like to have a toddler. Mothers of small children, you have my sympathy.

Hope you'll have a great rest of the week. Me? I've got some cookie baking to finish... My first attempts at decorated cupcakes reminded me of the Frank Zappa song about the Huskies and the yellow snow...
guess I should have left out the orange flavoring in the frosting (sigh).

Maybe I should have put a little plastic dog and hydrant on there instead of the deer?

Holiday Spirit

2008-12-08T11:02:00.018-06:00

Chef Jeff found out the day after the election that his company was laying off 1800 people. I have heard of doctors actually quitting their practices due to the impending health care changes; they know they won't be able to provide the standard of care they would wish to while limited by government time and cost mandates.

I'm afraid that people who desire "health care for everyone" might not realize that they'll be paying for it with their taxes, and that it will mean substandard, government-"coordinated" (ahem) care for them and their families - those without care may get it, but those with health care will lose much of what they've come to expect. Physicians and health care companies already know that. Socialized medicine is an interesting idea - but "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch," and the government hasn't exactly been great at administrating "helpful" programs thus far (Google "Indian reservation").

I'm afraid I don't subscribe to a Sesame Street-ish, feel-good attitude that, if we just believe what politicians tell us, we'll live in a Utopia of free, top-quality medical care. Words are cheap... good medical treatment, and good medicines, are not. *

A few days ago, Chef Jeff found out that he would be retained - yes, we have been on eggshells this entire time, which did not make for a very joyful Thanksgiving, but did make for vastly increased wine consumption during that particular holiday. Good thing Festival Foods had a by-the-case sale.

Chef Jeff, relieved and thankful, therefore decided that this holiday was one of celebration and deserved a real tree.

Tree shopping in Eau Claire is vastly different than in Milwaukee. Here, they use the honor system:

And our huge Fraser fir tree was a bargain at $35; in Milwaukee, this would be about $100! What are trees going for in your neck of the woods? Just curious!

Chef Jeff got some new, efficient LED lights and decorated the tree perfectly.

Molly and Emma are all aglow with Yule colors as well:

I made the best ever mac and cheese the other night, and thought you might like the recipe, as it earned an "Excellent!" from Chef Jeff - something I've never received before. Just don't tell him how easy this is!

Homemade Mac and Cheese
Adapted from The Farmer's Wife Comfort Food Cookbook

2 T butter
2 T flour
2 c milk
1 tsp. salt

3 c pasta
salt for cooking water
1 c. grated cheese
2 c. buttered breadcrumbs (allow 1/8 as much butter as crumbs; melt butter, add crumbs, stir until coated)

Preheat oven to 350° and lightly oil a baking dish (mine was about 10x10).

Cook pasta in salted water until just al dente. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to baking dish.

Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet; add flour and salt and stir to blend. Cook a little while on low until "floury" flavor is gone, but do not burn! Add milk a little at a time, blending, and stir until thickened (it will still be a bit runny). Turn off heat. Add grated cheese and blend.

Pour sauce over pasta and top with breadcrumbs. Don't worry if it looks "liquid-y" - the pasta will absorb the liquid as the dish bakes. Cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until brown and bubbly. Major yum!

Chef Jeff is home for two weeks for re-training. He needs my computer and Internet connection for web conferences. He has already taken over my knitting room for studying.

I was going to post a pic of the new DROPS Inka seed stitch scarf I'm knitting, but I am being kicked out - no time to even make a link for you.

It's going to be a very loooooong holiday...

* I respect that you may not share my opinion. It is, however, founded on the following: the fact that I have many relatives living in two countries with socialized health care (it sucks for them); the fact that I have a dear friend who lives in a third country with socialized health care (it sucks for her); and the fact that many of our family members and friends are physicians, pharmacists, nurses, health care workers, or involved in pharmaceutical education. Therefore, I do feel justified in sharing my opinion on this subject on my personal blog.

Amazing Grace

2008-12-07T10:30:00.002-06:00

OK, even the Wondrous Emma Dobermint can't do this...

...yet.

Enjoy!

A Few Of My Favorite Things Part The Last (Probably), And Why I Love Molly

2008-12-05T00:00:00.008-06:00

OK, folks, we're getting down to the wire here if you're still ordering holiday gifts, so here's something that I can highly recommend for those hard-to-shop-for recipients on your list: Penzey's Spices.

It's time to toss that ten-year-old tarragon, ditch the decrepit dill, and order some fresh, flavorful, aromatic spices from this fantastic (Wisconsin-based - yay!) vendor. If there's a baker on your gift list, why not order them a baker's box and replenish what they've depleted making this year's holiday treats? Someone love a good curry? Penzey's has them covered.

All the gift boxes come well-packed, surrounded with bay leaves and whole nutmegs which you can actually use. Penzey's often includes samples, and their catalogs have great recipes. They're sending $9 gift cards with certain orders placed before December 21st!

Penzey's gift boxes make great wedding presents, too!

Why I Love My Molly

As you saw on yesterday's entry, Molly is a rather... "unique" dog.

She has had three DNA tests, all of them inconclusive.

We think she's part wolverine.

If you never blow up another pic on my blog, blow up this one!

Emma adopted Molly from the Humane Association. From now on, we would probably think twice about letting a young Doberman choose her own pet. (Just kidding!)

We're not entirely sure that the glow in Molly's eyes is actually from the camera flash, or some inner demonic possession.

I'll tell you more about Molly in my next entry. (Please note: Molly is NOT vicious! She is only playing in all these pictures. I swear.)

And The Winner Is...

2008-12-03T22:21:00.003-06:00

"Let me pick it, Papa! Boris, stay away!"

"Here is the winner!"

"No, no, MINE! MY winner!"

"Not giving it too you... la la la la la..."

"Did I hear someone say 'cookie'? PTOO - here you go!"

Linda, please email me privately with your mailing address, and I'll get the Yo Yo Ma CD right out to you. Happy holidays!

A Few Of My Favorite Things, Part Five

2008-12-02T14:55:00.000-06:00

As the countdown to holiday gift giving continues, I have a few more of my favorite things to share with you.

For the environmentally conscious on your list, may I suggest a basket from Juniper Ridge? Their organic, sustainably-harvested natural goodies smell just wonderful. Chef Jeff loves their Siskiyou Cedar soap; my favorite is Desert Piñon. Wreaths, tea, smudge sticks, incense, sachets - you can give your recipient the true scent of the West.

For someone who isn't feeling very well, how about a package from Healing Baskets? They have some simply wonderful ideas for sharing comfort and helping you to say what's in your heart. They have specific items pertaining to cancer, divorce, loss, or the blues - touching and thoughtful items. You can choose to have them sent as a prepared basket if you so desire.

Not sure of someone's shoe size? Zappos offers free shipping, exchanges, and returns! I have purchased several pair of shoes and boots from them and their service is fantastic. They offer super-speedy delivery, even with the "standard" option (it always comes faster than they say it will!)

I didn't realize that walking around on farmland would be so traumatic to my feet. The Birkies and Keds were abaondoned after bouts of plantar fasciitis and twisted ankles. Next came waterproof workboots, which were great for a while, but the ground here is as tough as farm life, and the leather soon became too loose to offer any support. So what does the modern farmerette pick as her footwear of choice? Technical hiking boots with outstanding support! Oh geez, they're on sale now! Shoot! Well, I'd buy them at twice the price after wearing them - they are awesome and I can't recommend them highly enough. I have narrow, flat feet and they are the most supportive and comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They're standing up great to daily farm use.

Zappos also carries Ariat riding and western boots, which are lovely for any horse (donkey, mule) owner on your list.

Speaking of farm duds, I'm really pleased with the Lands' End jacket which arrived a few days ago. I can pretty much guarantee you that you will not be the least bit cold while wearing this coat, whether in Chicago, North Dakota, or Alaska! It's fantastic and super toasty... even without a bunch of layers underneath, even while standing still!

I now understand why Inuit coats have fur around the hood - the (fake) fur on this hood keeps the wind and snowflakes off of my face, kind of dispersing them before they can hit me. Love it. Another thing I really love about it is that it has a two-way zipper (very helpful when bending to fill chicken feeders or pick out the donkeys' hooves). It zips up past my chin, but no metal touches my face - just cozy polarfleece. Great design - nothing worse than a cold zipper on your chin or neck!

This jacket gets an A- - the minus being only for the fact that the pocket openings aren't angled. But as I'm usually carrying an egg basket or water bucket while wearing it, that's not a big deal. Sign up for the Lands' End e-mails before you place an order - they're offering great sales and free shipping bonuses these days.

For your favorite epicurean, what about a custom tea blend from Adagio? Choose their favorite flavors, name the tea, and then upload artwork for a custom label. Yum! (I believe you must create an account and be logged in to have access to this option in the "blends" section - yes, I just checked, you do.) Not sure what your tea lover likes? Adagio offers several samplers of "trial size" tea tins.

I have my own blend there - it's called Chocolat Framboise Caramel. Guilt-free indulgence.

Here's my favorite pic of the day: Molly sleeping.

When she's awake, Molly has a curly tail like a Husky. Sometimes, when she's very sleepy, or asleep, she forgets to keep it curled up.

I have already fallen behind on my holiday preparations. I have some caramels made and ready to be shipped to dear friends in Belarus, but my plum pudding has not yet been steamed, nor have I started on the liqueurs or sugar cookies (though I have received all my orders of cutters, decorations, and ingredients, thank goodness!)

Having Chef Jeff home for a long holiday weekend meant the kitchen was in a constant state of messiness, and I'm only now catching up on the cleaning, and making room to work.

I also have been a bit distracted by that DROPS alpaca shawl that I started - once I had a few rows completed, the pattern was easy to memorize, and I'm enjoying listening to Jaques Pepin's biography while sneaking in a few rows a day. The shawl is knit from the center top (10 stitches) downward and outward - my favorite construction method. The yarn is super soft, and not at all splitty - yay! Mine came from YDK, of course.

Have a lovely week!

Lazy Sunday...

2008-11-30T14:17:00.002-06:00

...inside:

... and out:

A Few Of My Favorite Things Part Four, Which Does Not Include The Cats

2008-11-28T16:53:00.001-06:00

Heritage turkey, hand-harvested and wood-parched wild rice, and winter squash were greatly enjoyed last evening.

All that business being through, today is the day to avoid car crashes near mall entrances, and instead stay home and work on the holiday plum pudding (a/k/a "famous flaming booze cake"). I am now soaking dried organic raisins and cherries in sherry in the fridge, and making some candied peel (since we didn't have the called-for citron).

Candied peel is easy to do, and you might enjoy having some around to snack on (or to give) this month, so give it a try!

I had homemade ginger syrup left over from this fantastic cocktail recipe, (danger, Will Robinson!) so I'm using that on the lemon and orange peels. I think it will add great flavor.

I also found that old recipe we used for liqueur for gifts. It's from a very old issue of Victoria magazine. This might be nice to make now and have on hand for Valentine's Day.

I would suggest you consider using organic fruit for anything calling for peel...

I made some caramels the other day, and they were delicious. Definitely a new favorite recipe. It's from the latest issue of MaryJane's Farm Magazine; it's a nice publication about organic living, "making do," crafting, cooking, and farmgirl attitude in the oughts. You may be able to find it at your local bookstore (Borders carries it here) or you can subscribe (or give a gift subscription!) online. If you'd like this holiday issue, you'd better give them a call before they're out of it.

All this cooking, and no time for fiberarts? I was determined to spend some time in my little hideaway today, as Miss Emma Dobermint encouraged me to do.

Some lovely new yarns arrived today, and I've swatching to do.

The pic below is Dream In Colors "Starry" from The Loopy Ewe. They sent a gift of a Loopy stitchmarker with my small order - how nice!

I saw an ad for this Sunday Knits scarf on Ravelry, and learned that it was made from "leftovers" from a mitten pattern Carol Sunday has in the current (Winter '08) Interweave Knits magazine. She offers the mitten yarns kitted up, with the scarf pattern included for a small extra charge. I love the colors and both designs, and have read good reviews of her yarns, so I made a little splurge. The kit arrived very quickly, beautifully wrapped, and was inside a free tote bag - cool!

I am this far on the February Lady Sweater:

Just trying to work the bodice long enough before I begin the lace pattern of the body. It's going well; the KnitPicks Swish worsted is splitty, though.

I was going to start my Drops shawl today, at Dixie's prompting, but just as I went to photograph it for you, I discovered that one of the five ungrateful wretches of our feline freeloaders had absconded with the silver Garnstudio Glitter which I'd wanted to strand along through this project. Blast!

Chef Jeff and I have hunted high and low for it, to no avail. It's probably been dropped through one of the air returns, or is buried in lint behind a piece of furniture. Oh well, good excuse to go in to town to Yellow Dog Knitting and pick up another spool... not that I need an excuse to visit and see what new goodies have recently arrived!

Miss Emma has grown tired of waiting for me to stop looking for that spool and just sit down to knit or spin.

Chef Jeff took Nellie (tractor) and Smelly (manure spreader) over to the neighbor's to help them clean out their sheep shed this afternoon.

I have to say, after just two years of farming (if you can call our inept attempts at keeping pet livestock "farming"), it is kind of nice to be called upon to assist with birthing a goat or a tractor task. We don't feel like such neophytes now. Of course, we're not so naive as to tell other farmers that our tractor actually has a name...

One very nice thing about this community is that when there is someone in need of assistance, there are always folks available to help out. Our neighbors helped us with the first goat birth here at Tuppinz Farm (when we couldn't even tell a buckling from a doeling yet!), and we'll forever be in their debt for helping us to keep alive those little kids born in the middle of a very cold January (Tulip's Samson and Delilah).

The neighbors are very different from us, and we don't see each other that often, but it's really nice to look across the fields on a dark night and see their safety light on; we know they're just a phone call away if there's any trouble. I hope they know they can count on us as well.

I'm Listening To...

...my favorite favorite winter music - consider downloading "The Holly and the Ivy" - especially if you have visions of Dickens and plum pudding floating around in your head at this time of year. It is my personal favorite rendition of a holiday carol!

Please remember to enter my CD drawing from yesterday's post - I'll pick a winner Sunday night! You can comment on either post.

A Few Of My Favorite Things Part Three

2008-11-27T19:37:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! May all who are celebrating this holiday have a relaxing, enjoyable weekend!

It seems the apple does not fall far from the tree. Falling under the "do as I say, not as I do," category, we started defrosting our turkey a little too late. Granted, it only weighs in at seven pounds, but we should have taken it out of the bag and removed the giblets yesterday, as our bird is still a bit frosty today.

No matter. Chef Jeff has just ditched me. Having seen several deer out in the pasture, he donned his blaze orange and is currently doing the hunter-gatherer-manly-man thing. The turkey will probably have ample time to defrost before he returns at dusk.

I have wanted to make the recipe in the pic below, from Spirit Of The Harvest, for years, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm thinking I'll adapt the ingredients for a side-dish for our turkey ~~dinner~~ ~~supper~~ midnight after-hunting snack. Doesn't this just look awesome? Wish I had an extra pumpkin sitting around...

So, finding myself abandoned, and having exercised and fed the dogs (who are now napping by the fire), I have a moment to share some more favorites with you!

Michelle and I went to the cupcake shop yesterday only to find it closed. How disappointed we were. But I've found the solution - check out Bake It Pretty for fun cupcake kits! Michelle, now we can make them ourselves (or have your lovely daughter, the baker, do it!)

Here is an easy project that would make a nice gift, full of my favorite scents: a holiday potpourri made of dried oranges or lemons, star anise, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and juniper berries.

I think it looks so nice on our Thanksgiving table.

Molly is not supposed to be gnawing on the firewood... See what happens when I'm distracted for even an instant?

Something that will appear on that table later is my favorite salad: romaine lettuce, Castle Rock blue cheese (you won't be able to find that as it's from the organic dairy down the road from us, so try Maytag instead), toasted pecans or walnuts, and Stonewall Kitchen's fabulous Balsamic Fig Dressing. It is amazing. So is their Orange Cranberry Marmalade (better than their Holiday Jam for sure).

Stonewall Kitchen usually sends extra samples of other goodies when we do a stock-up order; you can save 20% Friday through Sunday using the code Q01516R8 at checkout. Sometimes their site gets bogged down during a sale - try again if you get an error message.

I can tell you from experience that they box things very well, and even wrap gifts beautifully for a small fee. A package from Stonewall Kitchen is one that will go over well (even with your in-laws!)

Here is another place with gift baskets. We are having their wonderful wood-parched wild rice with our Turkey tonight - definitely one of my favorites. It is so different from any grocery store wild rice I've ever eaten, and a thousand times more flavorful. It also cooks up much faster, which I assume is from the parching.

I'm thankful for...

This view of the goats' barn and winter paddock, from my bedroom window:

This thoughtful gift that I received - sock yarn that is dyed with intention, in the colors of the Tibetan flag, and which includes the maker's mindfulness and compassion for all sentient beings. It's made by PippiKneeSocks, whose shop/blog I am unable to find - maybe you will have more luck. I'm thinking we've gotta keep this gal in business.

Or maybe this yarn will inspire you to create a mindful gift yourself. Check out Tara Jon Manning's Mindful Knitting for more on that subject.

I'm listening to...

Because I am thankful for you visiting me here, I have an extra copy of this CD to give away to someone who can tell me, "What's wrong with this picture?" in my comments:

Well, there's cooking to be done, and I'm wearing the chef's hat today. As the saying goes, I love to cook with wine; sometimes I even put it in the food!

Have a great weekend!

A Few Of My Favorite Things Part Two

2008-11-25T14:27:00.001-06:00

My fellow Americans - is your turkey defrosting by now? My favorite, no-fail way to cook a turkey is thus:

Take your bird out of the fridge a few hours ahead of time, and bring it to room temperature. Rub it all over with butter. Stick a tiny amount of chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the cavity, along with salt and pepper and any other seasonings, and put a cheesecloth soaked in melted butter over the breast. Put the turkey a rack in a pan large enough so that air can circulate around it. Place more celery, carrots, and onions (diced - you can eventually grind them up for the gravy) around the turkey in the pan, with more butter.

I preheat my oven to 425° and then turn it down to 325-350° immediately after putting in the bird. I baste the turkey every 20 minutes (including the cheesecloth). I allow 20 minutes per pound but it usually is done sooner. Cooking this way, the bird comes out perfectly brown, every time.

Make sure you cover the bird with foil after taking it out of the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before cutting off even one piece! This makes it really juicy.

I make my stuffing separately, using purchased organic chicken stock (not broth) for the liquid. I put in fire-roasted chestnuts... preparing them keeps Chef Jeff busy with something and out of the kitchen while I get the bird going.

My mother never could cook a turkey in the allotted time frame, and Thanksgiving dinner invariably got pushed back from noon to about 4 p.m., by which time the side dishes were spoiled, and we were all crabby from starvation and not being allowed to "spoil our appetites" with a snack. The reasons for her turkey ineptitude were that she a) stuffed the turkey with dressing until it was fit to burst (and no air could circulate inside), and b) she cooked it right after taking it out of the fridge. I also think she may not have started thawing it until the day before Thanksgiving, so it was still partially frozen.

This year, we are having a heritage, rare breed turkey from Coon Creek Family Farm. We purchased two and I'm not sure what Chef Jeff has defrosting - it is either a Narragansett or a Bourbon Red. We had one of their birds last year and it was awesome! It had so much more flavor than a plain "homogenized" turkey - just like our own heritage breed Golden-Laced Wyandotte chickens taste better than "plain vanilla" birds from the store. It is amazing what was sacrificed when people decided to breed "improved" livestock for consumption - namely, flavor! Not to mention the fact that the "improved" breeds can't even reproduce naturally. Heritage breed poultry are so much more healthy, and able to forage on their own, and really thrive without human management. Give me a natural bird every time.

There are instructions for brining a turkey at the Coon Creek site, also, if you'd like to try that method.

I know our turkey spent the summer sunbathing in a low-stress, natural environment; ate healthy, organic food and grazed on a beautiful pasture; was treated respectfully and allowed to have a full life; did not have to receive antibiotics and chemicals to keep it healthy (as it wasn't raised in a compressed, confined area full of filth); and - most importantly to me - was processed humanely (the same butcher processes our own chickens for us), and purchasing it supports a small, organic, family-run farm. I know it is safe to bring this meat to room temperature before cooking because of how it lived and how it was processed. In short, if I was a turkey destined to be a Thanksgiving meal, I would want to live my life on the Coon Creek Family Farm!

Julie at Coon Creek sells some of my favorite goatsmilk soap - and she boxes it beautifully for gift-giving. Ask her about the soap with the skein of yarn imprinted on the top for your YarnArtist friends! Pop her an e-mail - she'll be glad to help you out.

One thing I am particularly grateful for this Thanksgiving is receiving an invitation to a family's holiday meal. For people to open their hearts and home to us, to think of including us, is something I will definitely be giving thanks for on Thursday.

In the past, Chef Jeff and I have made homemade liqueur to give at the holidays. It went over very well. Jayne has a recipe for Van der Hum tangerine liqueur on her blog and I think we may try it this year - perhaps with clementines?

If you see clementines in your grocery store, you must try them. Don't buy them after December, though - they will have lost much of their flavor. They are so easy to peel, and so sweet - the perfect winter afternoon snack! Another favorite at this time of year.

I will try to post another recipe for giving tomorrow, but must dash now - the farrier is on his way to attend to one of Tikki's toes.

Have a great day!

A Few Of My Favorite Things Part One

2008-11-21T19:47:00.009-06:00

Wow, this cold weather has knocked me for a loop. It's 24° (not taking into account the wind chill) for a high at 3:30 p.m. ~~right now~~ when I started this missive. I thought my nose would shatter off of my face while I exercised the dogs today. How come they seem to love it when it's this temperature? I can't convince them to come in no matter how hard I beg and chase them around their pen (maybe that's part of the fun for them.) All my time seems to be spent trying to keep warm, do chores, and back up three years of digital photos to disks (argh!) but I thought I'd try extra hard to check in with you today.

One thing brightening my days as I tend to the livestock has been Gemma's CogKNITive podcast. I find the musings of this knitting prison psychologist absolutely hysterical. Gemma also offers up useful life skills tips, from a cognitive behavioral modification perspective. In other words, she reminds you to take a step back and think about what you're doing, and why, so that you don't react to everything in your life emotionally. I find this very helpful. Another podcast I've been enjoying is Knitting Rose.

I have been seeing, and been given, so many interesting things lately. I thought that with the holidays coming up I'd share some shopping resource links in case you're looking for gift ideas for your family and friends, and post some of my favorite pics to cheer you up during this busy season. So here's the first entry of "Stasia's Faves."

First I'll tell you about some of my favorite Etsy shops. I just received these beautiful olive oil lamps today. They were a custom order from the lovely Karen at One Wintry Night Pottery. It was great to work with Karen to have these made - they're just what I was looking for. The cool thing about olive oil "candles" is that they're non-allergenic, and the oil won't ignite if the lamp spills. Karen had the great idea to put a little rim underneath the lamps to prevent tippage. The glaze is a lovely khaki green with purple and blue inside the bowls. I can't wait to order from Karen again.

These adorable mugs were a gift from my dear friend Miss Kary. She had them custom made with my mammoth jackstock jennet (big donkey) Tikki on them. How cool is that?

They were so cute and sweet that I burst into tears when I saw them. They are by Memekiwii, who makes all sorts of wonderful creations.

The ornament above is from a local Scandinavian imports shop. It is a Nisse - a sort of farm elf who secretly helps with chores - on a goat. One is supposed to put a bowl of porridge with a pat of butter on it in the barn on Christmas Eve so you keep a helpful Nisse happy.

I love anything Scandinavian- or folksy-looking, as well as Scandinavian food (an upcoming post will feature Chef Jeff preparing venison according to a fantastic Scandinavian recipe from Andreas Viestad!) I love red jackets with pointy hoods and colorful trim such as the anoraks made by Wintergreen in Ely, MN.

Swedish Dala horses, Swedish clogs, Norwegian sweaters, books by Sigrid Undset... I'm just Scandinavian at heart. Perhaps some of my Russian ancestors mingled with the Finns?

My favorite yuletime holiday decorations are my little straw julbok - oh darn it, I found that link just to show you what they are, but it looks like I may have to do my part to support the economy in a minute, that's so cute! While we're on the subject of cookies thanks to that link, I stocked up on some cutters and deocrating sugars from FancyFlours.com and I can't recommend them highly enough - they ship really fast, and everything is wrapped beautifully in tissue, with a sugar cookie recipe included (Nannette H., don't even look; I sent the girls something from there today to keep them out of your hair while you're studying!) Check out their blog for some wonderful ideas. YarnArtists (my new word for knitters and crocheters, inspired by Cat Bordhi, who tells us in her CraftSanity interview that the distinction will soon blur beyond recognition) will love their sweater, cap, mitten, and stocking cookie cutters.

Back to elfwear. I love that Wintergreen clothing, and have a pair of mittens and a hat through which I feel absolutely no cold, even in the most bitter weather. If you're looking for something warm for a loved one, take a peek! The clothing is made very well, as one would expect from a small, hometown company formed by people who have been to the polar ice cap, and who run dogsledding vacations. But though I've lusted after one of their red, elfie anoraks for years, I couldn't justify getting one only to get donkey dirt and goatie hoofprints all over it. Lands' End had free shipping today so I got this practical coat instead, in manure brown so it won't show the dirt so much. ETA: Deer season opened today and I realize the stupidity of having purchased a brown jacket to work out in the pasture!

Maybe someday I will be able to dress like a Tomten. I could wear this skirt, and these clogs, with my hair done up like Mrs. Olsen from the Folger's commercials, or Kirsten of the American Girls.

On to current favorite foods. I told you about the cupcakes from Dessert First - I've been there twice more, and actually saved some cupcakes long enough to get a photo for you. I can assure you, they disappeared in less than five minutes of taking this shot. They were chocolate, pumpkin, and red velvet - yuuuuummmmmm... Barstow Street is my favorite street in Eau Claire, what with Yellow Dog Knitting, Dessert First, and the Scandinavian and Native American shops within easy walking distance.

I guess that won't help you if you're not in this neck of the woods, but perhaps there is a special bakery in your town which you haven't yet tried? Why not explore something new and get yourself a treat while you're shopping for everyone else?

Now my favorite current knit. Dixie from YDK (one of my favorite people!) is going to learn Norwegian so that she can converse with the manufacturer of her new yarn line, Garnstudio/Drops. I wonder if I could convince her to pack me in a suitcase and smuggle me aboard her flight if she goes over for a visit? The last time I was in her shop I purchased some wonderful Garnstudio alpaca yarn to make a shawl that Dixie had on display - I'll be casting on very soon. The pattern shows it in their Kid Silk, but mine will be in a denim blue alpaca with a tiny strand of silver Glitter carried along.

Of course, no list of my faves would be complete without my kids, so here are some shots to give you a smile. Our house doesn't get above 58° indoors in the winter (sometimes just 45° at night in the bedroom!), so the furbabies are usually found snuggling together for warmth, as Emma and Squeaky, Max, and Barley are doing above.

My last fave of the day is this picture of Molly as a baby. She still makes me smile every single time I see her, with her comical ways and quizzical looks.

OK, I've been working on this for five hours... time to go knit!

I'm Listening To...

Lovely Gloomy Day

2008-11-06T22:23:00.006-06:00

It was a drizzly day, but still unusually warm. I had a wonderful afternoon with Michelle and Dianne (RaveLink). We met at Yellow Dog Knitting and then went across the street to the Acoustic Cafe for soup. Michelle and I also stopped at Dessert First for their famous cupcakes (holey moley!!!)

The gals introduced me to Melissa at the shop (hi, Melissa!) She also keeps sheep. It's nice to live in a small town where everyone loves wool.

I was thrilled to find that Dixie (RaveLink) had set aside the latest Garnstudio Drops pattern booklet for me. I swear that lady must have ESP - I was on my way in to get it, and found that she'd saved the last copy with my name on it! Now that is service! (They are checking to see if they can get more copies in, as Michelle also wants this issue, so if you're interested, feel free to give them a call.)

After seeing a sample shawl (RaveLink) that Dixie had knit from the book (#108-47 on the Garnstudio page), I knew I had to make it. Dixie used the Garnstudio Alpaca yarn with a thin thread of soft, silver, sparkly stuff. It gives the impression of beading without the work, and doesn't alter the feel of the shawl in the least. So I purchased the yarn to shamelessly copy her efforts, as well as a skein of Kureyon sock yarn in greens and purples. I'm always a sucker for the Noro colors, and Cindi (RaveLink) said people are making nice little shawlettes with this, so I had no choice. Ahem.

I meant to take lots of pics but I was having so much fun gabbing that I forgot to take out my camera until I was on the way home and saw this leafless oak in a newly-harvested corn field. Hope that will give you a little taste of this fall day. I also intended to take a pic of my Turtle Turtle cupcake for you, but I ate it as soon as I got home - sorry.

The sun shone for a few moments today but for the most part, we had sprinkles, and then very high winds - I came home to find the lid of our grill blown clear across the yard, and many fallen branches (yay, kindling with no hard work.)

I also saw three redtail hawks gliding over the stubbly corn fields; no hiding places for rabbits, voles, and mice now that the stalks have been cut. And yesterday, I was lucky enough to see nine or ten wild turkeys in the field behind the donkeys' pasture; if you look closely you may be able to make them out behind Tikki.

The Annie Modesitt Silk Corset has been driving me bananas. Below is yet another attempt - see how far I got this time before I realized I was reading the chart wrong for the wrong side? I simply can't transpose lace charts when they use a "-" for purl on the right side, and the same symbol for knit on the wrong side - just can't wrap my brain around it being a symbol for two different stitches, though I completely understand the fabric construction. Doesn't make for "mindless" knitting (which I crave) at all.

Solution? Do it in the round! I should have listened to my instincts earlier and done it this way from the start.

Now we're in business. No more chart mistakes.

But I'm thinking the variegated yarn is looking splotchy. I haven't alternated two balls so far on this piece because I was having enough trouble with the pattern... I'm thinking I'll start alternating now to break the colors up a bit, but will the splotchiness of this neckline section bug me later on? I wonder if I should put a lifeline in? Then, if it does look wonky later, would I be able to rip this part out, pick up from the top of the next section I'm about to do, and re-knit this part backwards?

I think I think too much.

Yoda thinks I should just have a little more coffee. I think she's right. Nothing like friends, fiber, and a good cuppa' Joe on a blustery fall day.

Enough With Red And Blue - I Need Green?

2008-11-04T15:45:00.002-06:00

You Need Some Green in Your Life

Green will make you feel alive, renewed, and balanced. And with a little green, you will project an aura of peacefulness and harmony. If you want stability, you've got to get a little green in your life!

For extra punch, combine green with blue or purple. The downside of green is that it can promote jealousy in yourself or others.

The consequences of more green in your life? You will be drawn to a new life path. You will feel free to pursue new ideas and interests, no matter how strange. You will be released from the demands and concerns of others.

What Color Do You Need?

The guilt won out and I voted. I forgot that I had one more choice. What a country! But I didn't get cookies and I didn't get a sticker - I was bummed.

Thought I'd show you the one-room schoolhouse that serves as our voting place. One booth. Five nice ladies who remember who owned our farm 25 years ago. No line. No other voters! But it had apparently been a busy morning, with 36 people voting before we did at 8 a.m. We didn't have to present any identification - Otter Creek is a small community and as newbies, we kind of stand out (Jeff was voting in a suit in a community where most folks wear John Deere hats.)

Chef Jeff signed up to be a poll worker next year, as his company encourages employees to dedicate a day to volunteer work. The polling ladies were impressed with his Declaration of Independence Silk Tie.

Since there is only an old outhouse behind the "town hall" they have to rent a porta-potty for election day. Hee hee.

Another glorious day here in Wisconsin, so I took the dogs up to the playpen a little early and let them blow off some steam. If you need a quick dog pen, cattle panels and posts are inexpensive, and an easy way to go. I don't know what I would do without an area where they could all safely romp and get out their P&V. Daily exercise makes them so much more well-behaved indoors, and being youngsters (except for Valentine), they really need to work off some adrenaline every day.

Exercise is a better option, I believe, than crating a dog who suffers from boredom when its "parents" are away. A crate is great for giving a dog a den for a feeling of security, or for playing a role in housebreaking a puppy in-between letting it out every three hours... but it's no replacement for the daily workout that every healthy dog needs, and which will help prevent him from releasing his energy through chewing up your sofa cushions while you're at work.

That being said, if you have a young dog, expect some household losses; despite all of Molly and Emma's exercise, they still destroyed a recliner in a single afternoon. God made puppies cute directly in proportion to their penchant for mischief.

Our dogs beg to be taken to the playpen at a set time every day. They have some kind of internal alarm clock that goes off (and which has not changed despite the Daylight Savings Time switch, throwing me off), and suddenly they are all jostling me, trying to lick my face, and panting vigorously. One word - "Playpen?" - sets off a frenzy of excited barking, and we are on our way up the hill to the little run. It's shaded in summer by giant maple trees, and sunlit in winter, being on the south side of the apple orchard on the hill.

Want to see the Tuppinz Pups in action?

Molly is not supposed to dig in the pen but when she's worn out from playing tug-of-octopus with Emma, she resorts to excavating tree roots. Don't tell Chef Jeff, but I think it's funny when she does it. He's the one who fills in the holes so he doesn't find it quite as humorous.

What a wonderful fall day! Now that the trees are a bit bare and the fields have been harvested, I can show you the layout of the farm. I took a couple of pics on my way back from voting.

The photo above is a view of our farm from the south:

A - the house amongst the old maple trees
B - the brooder house (chicken coop)
C - the goats' barn
D - the "long barn"; it's falling down so only the upstairs is used for light storage
E - the "big barn" which is being repaired; it's a former dairy cow barn
F - the donkeys' and sheeps' current shelter (will eventually be the big barn)
G - Nellie The Tractor's garage
H - hay storage
I - two more hay storage buildings
J - the neighbor's cornfield
K - another neighbor's land; we call this area "Dr. Zhivago-land" because it's full of beatiful birch trees and looks like Russia.

In the picture above, A is Jazz, Tikki, and Eli; B is a Jacob sheep to the left of a little sheep shelter; C are the guinea fowl; and D is the "basement" of the chicken coop where the sheep have excavated a hole so that they can go under the building in the summer and stay cool. They have a large building and large trees in their pasture to provide shade, but apparently the walk is too far for them, or it is cooler lying next to the rock foundation. In any case, it's quite a scene when they all decide to pop out from underneath the coop at once.

The white building is an ugly garage with a roof that leaks; it's going to have to be torn down before it falls down. I will be glad when it is gone because it is hideous and useless, and blocks a beautiful view.

Right. Here we are looking towards the south. A is the road where I took the first photo, looking north. B marks two huge mounds of dirt - a new neighbor is putting up a tractor shed on that site, prior to building a house on that land. C is "Dr. Zhivago-land" along that same road, which curves east and then south from our property. And of course in front we have Tikki and Jazz.

The sumac berries are nice and red. The leaves are almost gone. I think this is the last day of Indian Summer. I'm off to enjoy the afternoon, and curiously await the outcome of the election tonight. Have a good one, and may the best candidate win!

Pre-Election Blues

2008-11-03T23:49:00.005-06:00

I've got pre-election blues. I'm one of those Undecideds. I can't choose who is the lesser of two weevils. They all - from the National level down to the local - seem full of fast talk to me.

I have less that 24 hours to make one of three Presidential choices, the third being to exercise my right not to vote, and to voice my dissatisfaction with the available candidates that way. Do you think if we all went on a voting strike, they'd stop the long-running, media-blitzing, double-talking campaigns? I don't think it's anti-patriotic not to vote; I think it's one of the freedoms we are lucky to have. So then how come I know I will feel guilty if I don't show up at the booth, huh? Must be my Catholic upbringing. In this election, I think I'll feel guilty no matter what choice I make.

In the latest Quilter's Home magazine, a designer whom editor Mark Lipinski interviewed said that she was an X [not saying which here] Party voter, and when asked how she felt about that Party's candidate, replied that she was "holding her nose and voting the Party." I thought that was hysterical. (Fabulous mag, by the way, even if you're not a quilter. Lots of artistic and decorating inspiration, funny articles, recipes, and cocktails, too! Where else could you learn how to make a tuffet in this day and age?)

Do you know whom I would trust as President? Tom Hanks. I'm serious. He'd be great.

Let's shift to some less-negative blues; rather, blue-green, and of the yarn variety. I'm swatching for the February Lady Sweater, with KnitPicks Swish Superwash in Tidepool Heather. I've had to go down a needle size from the pattern recommendation. The yarn feels odd - more like acrylic than wool. I'd wanted non-superwash, but they were out of it when I ordered. Hmmmm....

I completely messed up the first five rows of the Annie Modesitt silk corset yesterday, so I frogged it and began knitting again today. I realized where I'd been going wrong, and now that the unusual-ness of the pattern (read: disorganization) has had a chance to soak into my brain overnight, it's going smoothly for me. I'm not doing the buttons/buttonholes, though; I'll just sew up the front and wear it as a pullover. No way am I sewing up all those buttons, let alone buttoning them up!

Here's the yarn I'm using - Artyarns Regal Silk in color 144:

It was in the mid-70s today - totally uncommon for this time of year in Wisconsin. Lovely, sunny, breezy day. The animals seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, and the dogs got some extra time out in their playpen chasing their rubber squeaky octopi,as I was in no hurry to go back indoors. I soaked up the sun and breathed in the fresh air, because I know in another month I'll really be missing warm weather. Beautiful!

The plants are right on schedule, however: leaves have changed color and most have fallen, pods have formed and opened, seeds have been scattered. I found these out on an old fence by the silo, amongst the wild grapes. Do you know what they are? I haven't a clue.

We had a nice time over at Michelle's on Saturday evening. Got to spend time with a couple of my favorite LYS ladies and see what fiber projects they are up to. Dianne showed us a finished Ice Queen wimple which was gorgeous. That's been on my to-do list since it was published, but I was too intimidated to cast on. But Dianne said it was really very easy, so I have hope... She also was wearing a Pinwheel Sweater that she'd knit, which made me really want to make one for myself - it was so flattering. Dianne had knit lace all around the body edge and the cuffs, too, and it was beautiful in a dark blue variegated worsted (I believe).

Dixie had the latest Drops ladies patterns magazine, and there are so many cute designs in it that I'm going to have to stop in at Yellow Dog Knitting to pick up a copy, and maybe some of the Garnstudio yarn for a project as well.

Chef Jeff and I got to meet Michelle's two adorable donkeys as well as the magnificent Kiara, a Gypsy Vanner horse. Wow! She looks like a Disney horse come to life.

I hope you have a good Election Day and that you don't have to wait in line to cast your vote. We vote in an ancient, one-room schoolhouse that serves as our town hall, and there's never more than one other person there ahead of us. I'd feel happy about that if only I had a clear choice in candidates!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:36:00.007-05:00

How will you celebrate this night when the veil between this world and another is at its most transparent? I'm baking some special Gruyere bread for dinner, and thinking a cozy fire and gingersnaps are in order... maybe we'll make a fire in the outdoor firepit, sip some apple schnapps, and look for the moon.

A black cat was near the chicken coop last night! Hopefully he'll get some of the ever-present rats... I will not inhumanely poison or glue-trap them, but I have resorted to instant-kill traps, or sending Jeff out with a .22 to dispatch a few cleanly and quickly (he never shoots if there's a chance he'll miss). They are going through organic chicken feed - despite its being stored in metal cans - at an amazing rate, and I am not running a rat ranch! These are the kind of ethical issues I've had to deal with since moving to a farm, and for an animal lover, they are not easy to decide. It might be easier if rats were edible, hmmm? Well, they're almost the same thing as squirrels... OK, I know you're saying "Ewwww!" Enough about the rats.

Chef Jeff had me watch Nosferatu with him again this year. I don't care if the movie is old, silent, and relatively overdone by today's standards - it is the creepiest Halloween movie ever! Having seen Shadow of the Vampire makes it even creepier... it's based on the many rumors that Max Schreck, the vampire in the movie, was a real vampire. After seeing Nosferatu, I can almost believe it.

What's your favorite Halloween movie? Have you seen An American Werewolf in London? What about The Company of Wolves? I think my favorite spooky - and just plain good - movie is The Village - it's really more a psychological study than a thriller, and beautifully filmed.

Well, about those quilt fabrics... the consensus seemed to be that the one print didn't really go with the others, so I took it - and the solids - out of the mix, and re-thought the whole project.

When in doubt, order more fabrics, right? I chose some Bali batiks in the hopes that their variegated colors would pick up more of the somewhat odd shades of teal, orange, brown, and purple in the prints.

Valerie mentioned that the prints were all similar in scale, and the colors all similar in value. I agree with her about mixing things up for a good quilt composition... but something about this project is calling me to combine choices that all blend together. Maybe because I'm not doing traditional pieced blocks, where the pieces also form a pattern; this is going to be a scrappier looking blanket, using just one shape for the "blocks," and I want it to have a very soothing effect, with no piece standing out. Don't ask me why - and I may regret not using traditional color and scale theory once it's finished!

Thanks, Valerie, and everyone, for your help! It freed my mind from being committed to just the fabrics I had on hand, and allowed me to re-think my goal and define it more clearly. I appreciate your help in getting me un-stuck and thinking outside the blocks! (Hee hee.)

The fulled shawl is not a complete disaster - it will make a very warm wrap for barnwork. Here it is after my disaster with the front loading washing machine (never again will I own one of these! There's no wool soak cycle! I hate this thing!)

Still, it was a bit of a disappointment, as my crafting time has been so seriously limited since we moved here. Well, onward and upward, right? I've swatched for my next project. Since it is so cold here in the winter, I'd like some cozy underpinnings that don't make me feel like a male mountain climber. I'm craving pretty, feminine clothing these days (can't remember the last time I've worn a skirt) - enough with the overalls!

Luckily my swatch was right on for the Anne Modesitt corset (Ravelry link), so I'm going to give it a go.

I hope your day and night are full of delightful frights - none of them involving your crafts!

Help Wanted

2008-10-26T21:02:00.001-05:00

No, not a new farmhand - believe me, we couldn't pay you enough!

What I need is your artistic skill. Ready?

I've had these fabrics for months and have avoided cutting them because I simply can't decide which work together. The prints are actually all from the same maker's set, but they looked odd together when I received them, so I ordered some solids I thought might work.

Now I'm not so sure.

I have got to get going on this project. Can you please tell me which of these fabrics you think would work together in a quilt? It is going to be either pieced of same-size triangles, or done in a stack-and-whack type design. You can click to embiggen it...

Thank you for your help!

I leave you with a picture of Miss Molly luxuriating on my new merino shawl... before I accidentally fulled it.

Sigh.

Maybe I should just take up latch hooking.

Have a great week!