• May. 6, 2008
Our Day

I mentioned that Hurley ran through the electric fence in one of the pastures the other day,  but now it's fixed and the critters can enjoy some fresh grass.
We decided it would be a good idea to use some electrified white ropey stuff (technical terms) to make the repair so that the animals can see the fencing better and hopefully not think they can run through it.


We ended up replacing 2 sections and you can really tell how much easier it is to see it, as opposed to the regular wire.
When we first put up the electric fence, I was a little worried that the boys would touch it at some point.   When I told farmer husband my concern, he said "Well, they'll only do it once."  LOL So true.....

After school was finished for the day, we all had some tasks to attend to:
I got some bread going,

Middle boy jumped on the lawnmower - we can barely keep up with the grass this time of year.    (I often wish we had less lawn and more pasture so the critters could do the mowing)


Farmer husband is planting the fields around our house today - started early this morning and hoping to get it done before the rains come tonight.


Oldest boy (with some "help" from youngest boy) is giving spring haircuts:



The sheep really don't like standing still on the stand for this, but other than that it doesn't bother them any more than you and I getting a haircut, and it certainly helps them keep much cooler.

Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to spend a little time here before it's time to leave for baseball practice,
 

And I'd like to work on this:  a hedgerow sock in Dream in Color  Smooshy.
This yarn is amazing to work with,  and it even smells good!

Hope you're having a great day!

ps.  I've posted these pictures here in the past, but Max, Abe, and Doodle all made it to Cute Overload yesterday.

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• May. 2, 2008
Farm Foto Friday

The sheep & goats are all really enjoying the recent grass growth out in the pasture.   As you can see, they are keeping their pasture very well "mowed."    The other pasture is out of use at present because Hurley ran through the electric fence and now it needs repair.

Our goats really love dandelions!


Dandelions for us, please?



Little miss doeling loves to hang out with Eowyn


Have a great weekend!

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• Apr. 29, 2008
That time of year

It's that time of year and it seems like the activity level is definitely ramping up around here.  The weather is still "iffy" but the spring planting season has begun and we've begun doing tillage work.  (the term "we" being used very loosely, as I personally don't till a thing except flower beds!)   I've had a couple afternoons of helping shuttle men and equipment around, and also made a trip into town to ship off these:
  
These are some of the soil samples I shipped off to be analyzed.    We work with a renewable agriculture consultant that will take the analysis results and make a custom blend of biological additives to be spread on the fields.    The media tends to portray farmers as mindlessly pouring nasty chemicals onto their fields (and I know it does happen) but not everybody goes about things that way.   

Beside spring planting,  Little League has gone into full swing so we've got some extra running to do with that as well.   Only youngest son is in baseball, so it's certainly not as crazed in the past when all 3 boys played and I could have up to 9 games in a week!  That used to just about do me in.   The older boys aren't playing ball, but they are putting in extra practice time with karate as they have their 2nd degree black belt test coming up in June.

A friend's mother passed away a few days ago so there was a wake and funeral to attend, and food to prepare for the family.     When my fil died unexpectly 10 years ago, lots of people brought us meals and it was the best thing ever.   I never realized until then how much comfort a home-cooked meal can bring. 
One of the things I made to take to them was a Chocolate-Banana Muffin recipe, a nice treat that isn't overly sweet.

Chocolate Banana Muffins
1 1/4 cup flour                                    
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

* combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, then make a well in the center
* combine bananas & remaining ingredients, add to dry mixture, stir just till moist.  Spoon batter into muffin pan, (greased or use liners) & bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

I spent all afternoon at the hospital today, as my poor mil had to have surgery on her knee.  She fell on her knee last Friday, onto a concrete floor and broke it. (her knee, not the floor!)  The break was worse than they thought (the knee was broken into more pieces than the xray showed - OUCH!!) and she was in recovery for hours as they were having trouble controlling her pain.  I didn't realize knee injuries are known for being extremely painful but apparently they are.  It's extremely discouraging for her as she literally just finished physical therapy 3 weeks ago for a torn rotator cuff, which she had operated on in January.    Luckily she has a good friend that can stay with her and help her out for awhile, and I'll be making some meals for them as well!

And, because it's April in Illinois, here's a photo showing some of the hail we had yesterday!  It was small so it didn't do any damage but I have NEVER seen it come down like that.    
 
Well, I'm off to to the treadmill before I totally lose all motivation!!!
ps.   There was a question in the comments about being able to tell whether the goats are pregnant or not - most of the time, you can't really tell the goats or sheep are pregnant until later  in the pregnancy.   When it's close to the time, their udder will start to fill, and there are other signs we look for to tell us they are gonna go soon.  Honestly, some of the sheep didn't  look pregnant even at the very end!   Usually one a year a technician comes from another town and sets up his ultrasound at a local farm, and you can take your animals there to have an ultrasound for only a few dollars each!   Unfortunately we were out of town this year when he came so we didn't have that information to help us determine what's going on.  

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• Apr. 22, 2008
Random: potatoes, a playset, and a pup

This past weekend the vegetable garden got tilled up and the potatoes and onions were planted.     Over the years the size of the garden has varied dramatically, but I think this year's is about 20 feet by 30 feet.   And now to confess my dirty little secret - I really don't like to garden.   It may be seen as blasphemy coming from a farm wife (that's the impression I get sometimes) but it's the truth.   I love the idea of a garden...  but most of the time, working in the garden is hot and buggy, and usually in spite of all our work some nasty bug or weird fungus will ruin some of the crop anyway.

Boy, I sound like a big whiner-- just being honest though!   We had a HUGE garden a couple years ago and I think I got kinda burnt out.     It is nice to have some fresh goodies though, and I like to make tomato sauce for the freezer.   I've found with my back I have to be careful  how much time I spend in the veggie & flower gardens, so hopefully this size will be manageable for us.

Yesterday I had a little afternoon out for myself - got a haircut, went to the thrift store (yay, found some nice shorts for my skinny, long-legged boys that are so hard to fit!) and browsed a bit in the local antique mall.   An old friend (hey R if you're reading this, leave a comment)  has a booth there and I saw that she was having a sale - then I saw this playset and I couldn't resist it.   I knew the boys would flip when they saw it, and they did.   It's an old Marx set from 1968, so it's almost as old as me!     It's  like a suitcase that opens up and then  becomes part of the castle - I love things like that.  It came with this siege tower (they practically drooled at the sight of it, and something they tell me is called a ballista. )


They've already had lots of fun playing with this (especially as the ballista really shoots things!)
Max's idea of a good time is a little different - he's been going crazy now that spring has arrived and there are birds, squirrels, and rabbits out in the yard taunting him.

He seems to really think he can chase the squirrel up this tree, if only he tries hard enough!

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• Apr. 18, 2008
A Pair of Monkeys and One Goat Kid

Yay, I finally finished my monkey socks.  This was a fun pattern and I'm sure I'll want to knit it again sometime.  I'm glad to be finished because I'm dying to cast on for another sock with some great new yarn that came with my Loopy Ewe "Don't Be Blue Kit."   (for people that didn't get into the sock club)

A pair of monkeys without shoes:
 
and with:

(I need to work on my foot photography)

Ellie's little girl is still the only goat baby so far this spring.    At this  point, we're not even sure if the other does are really pregnant.    It'll be really disappointing if we don't get any more kids, but it's too late to do anything about it for this year.    (the buck went back home already)

This doeling may be the only one, but that doesn't make her any less fun to watch.   She is even friskier than the little lambs are, and she just loves to play on this tree stump.

Up and down, up and down---goats are so agile, it always amazes me.

She's like the other goats too - greedy!!


When she couldn't get enough to suit her, she jumped right into the feeder!
 
I guess she knows what she wants and how to get it!

ps.  Did anyone else feel the earthquake early this morning?  I don't think I would have known a thing, but Max woke up most of the household barking at it.

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• Apr. 14, 2008
Monday

I'm afraid I haven't been feeling very inspired in regards to blogging lately, mostly because I haven't done much of interest in the last week or so (sorry, no new baby animals)......but I have gotten some fun mail lately!

This is the package my mailman handed me -rather sheepishly- on Saturday:
         ( sometimes I think the post office hates me )

Luckily it wasn't anything fragile, it was a great tote bag I'd ordered from Etsy , made by artsy-craftsy babe.   When I saw it on her blog, I clicked right over to her etsy shop and snapped it up.    What can I say, it spoke to me.  Can you blame me?


I just love the color combination and she does a beautiful job with her sewing.  This picture shows the pocket in front - perfect to slip a knitting pattern into.

Beki even included one of her adorable button pins for me! Somehow when I'm buying handmade, I don't feel quite as guilty about adding to the bag collection.    Farmer husband didn't even raise an eyebrow at the arrival of another bag, so I've gotta give him credit for that.   I guess he realizes it's an incurable disease that he may as well just accept.   

He also didn't say anything when this showed up recently, either:

Now before you think too badly of me, please consider that this is recycling!
I just love Tepper Jackson bags, and recently came across a destash sale at Knittin with the Boys that not only included some great yarn but some very nice bags.  (visit Nachaele's blog to see lots of lovely knitting projects and her adorable weiner dogs)  

I've stalled a bit on the socks I've been knitting, but we had a quiet day yesterday so I was able to make some good progress on my monkey socks.    One project I have been spending some time on is a scrapbook of our Florida trip:

I bought the album last summer, before I even knew for sure if we were going!  I told farmer husband that since I had the scrapbook, we had to take the trip.  How's that for logic??  

I used to be really good at keeping my scrapbooks up-to-date, but that hasn't been true for awhile.  I blame it on learning to knit and the fact that with digital cameras we take soooo many pictures now.   For example, we took about 1000 pictures on our trip, so one challenge is just to narrow that down to what I can actually fit into a book.     I also feel like my scrapbooking mojo  has deserted me - like my pages are just kinda blah and boring....but I keep telling myself that the important thing is to get the photos and memories into a book so we can enjoy it and not obsess that it isn't "creative" enough.  If you scrap, what do you do?  Try to scrap every picture, or just a select few?   Simple pages or more elaborate?    Now, with my free time today, do I scrap or work on my socks?  It's the familiar too many hobbies, too little time dilemma!

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• Apr. 8, 2008
Spring has sprung

It's starting to feel like spring is really here.   We enjoyed some great weather this weekend and it was also time for youngest boy's spring piano recital.


Apparently that's one very special piano he's sitting at.   Due to an upcoming concerto competition, the university where his recital was held had this piano on loan for the month.     His piano teacher told us that the entire thing was hand-made, every single piece, in Germany..... and you can purchase your very own just like it if you've got a spare $100,000.   (I was kinda surprised the university even let us use it!)

Not much knitting to show but I did decide that I could really use some new springy-colored dishcloths:

And here's one more sure sign of spring....a goat kid romping in the pasture.     She's still our only goat baby so far.    If some of the does didn't look so pregnant, we'd wonder if there any more kids coming.....but they're either pregnant or they've swallowed a beach ball!   Meanwhile, this one's having a ball.....

And look- there's actually a little bit of green in that picture! 

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• Apr. 3, 2008
All things green

For Randi's Recipe Box Swap, I thought I'd share a recipe I tried for the first time this Easter.   I brought this spinach salad to my mom's for dinner that day and it was a hit.  I also brought it the next week to a friend's birthday party and it was well-received there as well.   It's a very pretty salad (as well as tasty) but unfortunately - no photo.
The recipe (with minor mods) is from allrecipes.com:

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika,   1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce . Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Easy and really good!!

More green:  All the guys around here were very excited as today was the day for the "Gator" , a really neat toy important farm implement, to be delivered.   The Gator comes to replace our aging "mule,"  which in addition to being super useful for yard-related chores, also comes in handy a lot on the farm for jobs such as crop scouting and soil sampling.    Everybody ran outside the minute the John Deere guy showed up:
 

All the features were checked out thoroughly,
 
And then it was time for a test drive:

Goodbye old mule, you've served us well.

Green is a pretty popular color around here for machinery,  and is also sported by our new(er) tractor which was  delivered recently:

This tractor is about 5 years old, much newer than some of the equipment we've been nursing along.   (and even being a used tractor, you do not want to know what this thing costs)     The tractor it's replacing had a lot of hours on it and was due for an overhaul.   Now that crop prices are decent for the first time in many years, it's a good time to make a few much-needed machinery updates.

Finally, here's a cute little logo from Not Quite Vintage.  

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• Mar. 31, 2008
Just under the wire

It's the last day of the month, and I was seized with the sudden whim to go ahead and squeeze in the  FaDSA  project for the month of March - a pintucked table runner. **      I didn't really have a plan in mind, but as I checked out the fabric stash I saw that in addition to some linen,  I also had some scraps I could use as well.     The weather really dictated this project - it is dark, gloomy and drippy here today - so I decided my table runner needed some color to cheer up the room a bit!

  
I didn't really think this through or plan it, just kinda sewed some strips together and then added the pintucks to the linen.   A very simple but satisfying project, and it does have the effect of adding some spring color to the table.
 

I think the weather is supposed to be drippy & dreary all week so I'm sure I'll enjoy looking at the cheerful colors in the table runner.   As you can see from this picture of a field near our house, we really do NOT need more rain right now!


At least the ducks are happy!

** eta:   It dawned on me that I should mention the book this project came from:
"Simple Gifts to Stitch"  by Jocelyn Worrall.
 
ps.  Lauren, I did make that hat - you can see it in the Dec archives or also on my Ravelry project page.   I loved the yarn!   I bought enough to make some mittens too, but somehow I haven't gotten around to that project yet.

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• Mar. 26, 2008
Up, up and away

The boys got some great kites from their Nana for Easter- 2 of them look like helicopters and the other looks like a fighter jet.    They couldn't wait to give them a try.

They went up into the air like a dream!

Almost looks like a real plane in the sky.

Today we had light wind, sunshine and a little warmth so it was time for the barn babies to take another trip out to the pasture.
Hurley says wheeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Let's go!!!

Max was outside too, and he was just desperate to get in on the action.  He finally wriggled under the gate and tried to join the flock.  He was very brave until the animals noticed he was there.

Then he wasn't quite so sure - especially about being examined by a lamb:

He acts like Mr Tough Guy but in reality I think he's more like this:

Yes, the boys settled him in a chair with a pillow for his head and a blankie to keep warm.   And he loved it!  

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• Mar. 23, 2008
At least it looks like Easter

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend- even if, like us,  you were someplace where the weather wasn't really cooperating.   It may have been cold outside (at least we didn't get snow) but we had a really nice Easter Sunday, as my parents had us over along with my sister and her family and also my mil and her mom.

My mil brought my mom these tulips - I just love the color!

Mom always sets a pretty table and we had quite the feast.

I had it in my head that my Forest Canopy Shawl needed to be finished in time to wear it on Easter and I was able to get it finished and block it  Saturday.
Here it is pre-blocking:

And then after a good soak and a stretch:
(these pictures don't really do it justice but you get the idea)
I blocked these points pretty severely but they didn't completely hold .....I may try again.
 
As this was a sport weight yarn, I used size 7 needles (instead of 8) and did three extra repeats.   This turned out great as I just had a very small ball of yarn left over and the shawl, while not huge, is a nice shoulder size.   This pattern is described as a great first lace project and I'd have to agree.  (not that I didn't have to tink back and fix things quite a few times)  I think this would make a great gift, and especially in a thicker yarn with less repeats, wouldn't take very long.    

We're still waiting and watching for more goat babies to arrive - maybe this week!!

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• Mar. 19, 2008
First Outing

Last week we actually had a couple days that were dry and warm-ish, so the boys brought  all the baby animals (and their moms) out to the pasture for the first time.  It's always a sight, with the excited lambs (and kid) exploring the new space, and the moms frantically trying to keep their own baby close by and the others away.   Once the spring weather gets here for real, they'll all be out together so they might as well start getting used to it now.

Here are the triplets in a rare moment of stillness - they spent most of their time leaping around (like Hurley in the last post's picture) and checking out the other lambs.

The boys keep these old chairs around for the kids to play on - they always love to climb.
Here's  the little doeling (miss cinnamon toast crunch, as she's known in some circles)  checking it out - didn't take her long to get the idea.


Right now she's the only kid but there will be more coming in a week or two.
They all tried hard to find something to nibble in the pasture, but everything's pretty dead still,,,,,

Sometimes it's just better to have mom around when you need a snack....

Eowyn takes her job as supervisor/guardian very seriously......

I probably shouldn't have done this before finishing one of my socks-in-progress, but I couldn't resist.    Janice  sent me a very generous thank-you gift, a Loopy Ewe sock club bag and 2 skeins of Fiesta Baby Boom.  

This stuff is so soft and pretty -I cast on right away for a Forest Canopy Shawl.    It seems appropriate because as I'm knitting it, I keep thinking how the colors remind me of an Easter egg!  (the colorway is called sandstone)

This seems to be a great pattern for first time lace shawl knitting  - I'm anxious to finish and see it all blocked out!

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• Mar. 14, 2008
It's Friday

For Show & Tell Friday, I thought I would share a picture of a rare bird sighting :

Caught sight of these 2 out in our yard this morning....2 little birds of the species LastMinutePatchworkandQuiltedGifts.    I was able to safely capture them and they went into a gift bag as part of my mom's birthday gift.  

For Mom's bday, we took her out to a cute little coffee shop and then did some poking in a few shops.   In a little gift shop I found this and couldn't resist grabbing it:
    
It's an adorable embellished box, filled with about 25 handmade cards, for all different occasions.   Like I said, I couldn't resist as it was sooo reasonable in price.  (and we all know what cards can cost- or even the supplies to make your own)

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
      Hurley jumps for joy on his first time out in the pasture

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• Mar. 11, 2008
It's coming!

It doesn't look like spring around here- well, except for all the bouncing babes out in the barn - and it surely doesn't feel like spring around here.   And yet I know that spring is indeed on its way,  if for no other reason than all the spring-cleaning blog posts that seem to be popping up everywhere!     

I don't have what you'd call a schedule or a real plan for spring cleaning,  instead I'm just trying to look around and  see what areas need some help.   Last week I took down all the curtains, washed, pressed  and re-hung them.   This week I've got my eye on a little de-cluttering.  Yesterday I went through the boys' closets and pulled out anything that needed discarding or donating.    I went to a homeschool moms meeting last night so I was able to pass on some things that were still in good shape - that's always a good feeling!    
    
Here's the area I worked on today - it's the top of some bookshelves in our den/library/computer room. 

It's a small area that I've let become a real jumble - I guess cause it's high up and not all that noticeable.    Most of it is  project bags, containing either wips or leftovers from FO's.
There's also a bunch of science experiment supplies in those boxes...some from this year's chemistry class, some from last year's biology class.    Speaking of which, could anybody use one of these lovely items:

Seriously, if anyone needs a  nice frog to dissect (for free!)  I'll be glad to ship him down the road.   He was part of a dissection kit I bought for oldest boy to use the end of last year.   The kit came with 5 "specimens" and I really didn't think we needed to do all 5, so we've got this little guy left over.     (not your everyday blog give-away, eh??)

After some dusting, putting away, throwing away, and re-arranging, these bookshelves are looking much more presentable!

Yay!   Now I'll be able to indulge in some  guilt-free knitting time tonight!  ( I've got one monkey sock done and am itching to get the next one going. )   Hope you're all getting more spring than just spring cleaning!!

ETA:  Never fear, leaving a comment will not automatically enter you in a dead-frog giveaway, ROFL!

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• Mar. 7, 2008
Lamb update

For Show and Tell Friday, I thought I'd do a little update on the triplets.   To recap:  the triplets are our bottle babies, as their mom didn't have any milk.  We  also separated them from the mom - it sounds heartless but in reality it's better for them right now.   The triplets don't know the difference (to them, anyone with a bottle of milk is mom) and the ewe doesn't miss them after a short adjustment period.    Last year this same ewe had triplets and no milk, but we left her in with her lambs and she stepped on one and broke its leg.    Sometimes these ewes are just kinda clutzy and clueless!    

Thistle's new lamb had to be kept in a lamb box for several days, as it just wasn't strong enough to get up on its own- but Thistle wanted her to get up and nurse so she kept pawing at her - ouch!!   Here's the picture again of her baby in the box - protected from the ewe but still visible (and smell-able):
Because Thistle does have milk for her baby, we want these two to stay bonded. (and this little baby is gaining strength daily)

Anyway, this was supposed to be a triplet update!   Here they are, enjoying a meal:

They get so anxious to eat that they bump the bottles to make the milk come faster (just like they would on a mom to make her milk come down).   Of course when the bump the bottle hard, it just makes milk squirt them in the face!    They are very active and curious, always jumping on and off the straw bales in their pen and checking out their neighbors on the other side of the fence.

They have names now, too:  the little one  in the top of the picture is the girl,  the boys have named her Arwen.    The middle lamb is very friendly and  LOVES to eat  (we keep track of how many ounces they eat and he easily outdoes the other two)  so I've named him Hurley.
The third one is another male, and we call him Loopy .  (he's the one with milk all over his face - he's a nut!)

And just to keep the goats fans happy, another picture of Ellie's new kid (as yet unnamed), in the middle of saying "mehhhhhh."

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• Mar. 4, 2008
The Second Wave.......

First off, I have to note - It's snowing AGAIN today!

The second wave of births has started - last night (I'm sure these ewes all got together and agreed to only give birth when we should all be in bed) Thistle had her lamb - just one small and  weak little female.    We have to milk the ewe and then feed the baby, but unless something is wrong with her, she should get strong enough to walk around and find the milk supply on her own soon.
Glamour shot of me waiting for the boys to bring a lamb box over - note I am not  THAT fluffy, I have a lamb stuffed in my jacket!  

Thistle wanted to check on her baby once it was all settled in its box with a heat lamp.

We could tell that "Ellie" the goat was getting very close to kidding, so I stayed up basically all night to check her every 30 minutes, but the stinker waited until this morning.

She had a small but sturdy little doeling (female) that's having no trouble getting up and around.   There was another one inside her that was born dead for whatever reason - always sad but it does happen.  

We've got several more pregnant does so there will be more little ones like this before long!

The barn cats continue to hang around the heat lamps whenever they can - usually, they can only get in with the triplets because in the other pens, the moms will shoo them out of the pen.  (the triplets don't have a mom in with them.)  But for whatever reason, Clover tolerates this kitty's new spot to hang out:

What a riot!  Clover walks all over the pen like this and the cat just sits up there.  I'm sure it's a very comfy spot for a nap!

It's amazing how fast the lambs grow and change - the ones born in February are all eating hay and feed in addition to  their milk .  Just look how much bigger this lamb's gotten in  a couple weeks since this picture was taken!  
It seems like we'll have at least a day before any more goats kid, so here's to a good night's sleep!

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• Mar. 1, 2008
In the last few days.......

A glimpse at Weathertop Farm in the last few days:

I'm enjoying look at other people pictures of sunshine and new green growth, because in the last few days here it did this - TWICE:


I'm not one of these people that hate winter and count the days down till spring, but even I am getting weary of this winter.   We've gotten literally twice as much snow as usual!  

I finished this in the last few days:

The Center Square hat (pattern from Knitty) , done in double-stranded, worsted weight wool on size 11 needles.   The hat was intended for farmer husband, and I thought it would be perfect because so many people on Ravelry mentioned that this hat turned out big....and farmer husband has a pretty big head - so does oldest boy.   Once the hat was finished though, it didn't fit either one of them, but youngest boy was quick to claim it.  (it fits me fine too, I guess I just have a big-headed family!)

In the last few days,  we've begun keeping a closer one on these girls  - several of our very pregnant goats!  Won't be too long now!

I'm not getting much knitting done because the last few days I've been helping out with farm tax stuff-ugh!  Definitely not my favorite thing, but at least I can drink some coffee and listen to my ipod while doing it.

And in the last few days,  I couldn't  resist casting on for a pair of Monkey socks out of my new Loopy Legends  yarn - Ferns & Toadstools colorway.
 
Have a great weekend!

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• Feb. 28, 2008
Stranded

Yay, my first attempt at color stranded knitting is not a disaster!  It's far from perfect, but I'd really expected it to be a loose, disastrous blob of yarn.   I watched  a video on stranded knitting and decided to try holding one color in each hand - and boy did holding the yarn in my right hand feel awkward!   It also made for very loose knitting, (leading to the thoughts that it was going to be a malformed blob) but I think the looseness actually worked well with the stranding.   If I'd been able to knit as tight as I normally tend to,  I don't think the hat would fit anybody.
 

Yep, I goofed up the chart on top and normally I'd rip it out, but ripping out color-stranded knitting that's also held double is just a pain.   I guess it's a bad idea for me to knit from a chart and watch Firefly at the same time.   Anyway,  this will probably be a hat worn to do chores and I really don't think the sheep will notice.    (I do think I could use more practice before attempting some fair isle mittens.)

And now for some sock knitting swag!!     Along with a boatload of other people, I signed up for The Loopy Ewe Sock Club lottery, and also along with a boatload of other people, I didn't get in.  So I decided to create my own little  club and order a few sock knitting goodies.
 
From the Piddleloop Sewing Team, a cute little hound dog "piddly bag."    Hard to resist, especially when part of the  cost went as a donation to the Pedigree Adoption Drive, which helps homeless dogs in  shelters and rescue organizations.   Just look at the cute little zipper pull:


From The Loopy Ewe , 2 great skeins of yarn that are part of the new "Loopy Legends" yarn  by  Zen String.    And I couldn't resist giving little Loopy there a good home.    That brown & green skein is really calling to me and I don't think I'll be able to resist for long.  (It's called Wendy's Fern & Toadstools)

I guess I'm on a sock kick right now, as I'm almost half done with a pair for farmer husband,  made from a sport -weight yarn.  This yarn isn't  as soft as the other sock yarn I've used , but he's pretty excited about getting some hand-knit socks, so I need to keep chugging along on these. 
 

What, a post with no animals?   Not around here!    This is Clover and one of her twins,  (a female)  taken about a week ago.
 

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• Feb. 24, 2008
Max & Abe's (not so) Excellent Adventure

So, as if we don't have enough critter commotion around here, the other day Max and Abe teamed up to confront a little beastie  who was hanging around the back deck.    Luckily, oldest boy heard their barking frenzy and  checked it out , as they had this guy cornered  and he was not happy.
He doesn't look very menacing in that picture, but with 2 dogs barking at him, he was hissing and had every sharp tooth on display, not to mention he's quite a bit bigger than Max - but you can't tell that to a weiner dog.
       
Max was not the least bit happy about being pulled away from Mr. Possum, and even though it's several days later, he is still looking for that possum every time he goes outside.   It's strange to have a possum around the house, normally they invade the barn where they can gorge themselves on cat food.

This is totally random but it just kills me -  we received some Disney pictures in the mail the other day, in a cardboard envelope clearly marked in large print:  Vacation photos, DO NOT BEND.   Here's how they looked when they arrived:


Ummmm,  thanks post office!  Jeez!

I enjoyed reading  people's opinions on the Jaywalker socks.   I put them aside to work on some socks for farmer husband out of a thicker, sport weight wool that is not nearly so soft, but they're going much faster!       One thing I've been noticing on blogs and  Ravelry are all the  gorgeous stranded mittens being knitted.    I  absolutely love this Kate Gilbert pattern, but I've never made anything with stranded colorwork, so I thought maybe I'd start out by trying to make one of these hats.   The pattern says its a good intro to color stranded knitting - wish me luck!    

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• Feb. 20, 2008
Jaywalking & Trekking & Tagged

With all the lambing commotion that erupted last week, I completely forgot to post pictures of my finished Trekking socks.  (I know, your lives aren't complete till you see my socks -ha!)  These are my first pair of adult-sized, fingering weight socks and it seemed like they took forever......but I love them!   I love the colorway and the warmth of them, and I've already worn and washed them several times.  
  

I've got the sock bug right now and I've immediately cast on for another pair - these are being knit in the Jaywalkers pattern.    The only problem is, this yarn really doesn't do it for me.   The yarn itself is lovely, but I'm just not sure about the colorway.   Is it cute, or obnoxoius?  I can't make up my mind.
(Being modeled by a sock darning thingy that used to belong to my grandmother)

I got tagged by Danielle to do a 7 Random Things meme.   I was trying to think of 7 random but interesting things about myself, but I've given up on that and am just going with "random."
1.  My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla
2.  I like nuts, but I don't like them in ice cream or chocolate
3.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian.   (till I later found out how long  they
      have to go to school)
4.  I have a degree in history and a minor in French - really useful out here in corn country
       (insert sarcasm here)
5.  I am not afraid of mice or snakes, but I hate BUGS.    I don't get queasy around blood,
       but once I had to squeeze a big grub/worm thing out of a barn cat (don't ask) and I
        just about hurled, it was so disgusting
6.  I never dreamed I'd eventually live on a farm and have animals.    Growing up, I didn't
      even know anyone with livestock! 
7.   If I had a bunch of money, the thing I'd definitely want to do is travel more...lots more

The lambs are all still doing well, even though it's gotten very cold again.    The triplets are really growing, soon their little sweatshirts will be too small for them.   Their sweatshirts are absolutely covered with cat hair.......I wonder why!


 

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