tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27303107508649667732024-03-05T01:07:53.300-08:00Knits n WeedsLucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-53261676967419988902015-11-26T10:28:00.001-08:002015-11-26T10:29:23.293-08:00Thanksgivings<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This morning I see many Thanksgiving posts on Facebook. Lots of "gratefuls" and "missing those no longer heres". It gives me pause this morning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My mom has what is possibly terminal breast cancer. We know for sure it is Stage 4, having reared its ugly little head after 3 years of clean PET scans, this time in the form of a brain tumor. It compromised, most likely permanently, the function of the left eye and the left side of the face in general. The right eye is similarly affected, though not to the same degree. That tumor is inoperable, though a large chunk was taken in the name of biopsy last month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Am I grateful that my mom survived a difficult brain surgery? That now in addition to the above she has cognitive and speech difficulties as a side affect of the surgery? I don't know. If she weren't so cheerful and good-natured most of the time, I would think we were making the wrong decision to keep pushing through with treatment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We started stereotactic radiation two weeks ago. It was supposed to be simple; five treatments, every other day. We were counseled the radiation would temporarily increase inflammation and impairment to the adjacent nerves, ie a reversal of the gains we had made in speech and cognition post-surgery. We were not prepared for her mouth and throat to become so swollen that she lost the ability to swallow, necessitating a return visit to the hospital to have a PEG tube installed, so we can literally pump fluids, nutrition and meds straight into her stomach. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Even though it has been six days since the second radiation treatment, recovery of speech has been slow. She is super confused. She gets lost in the bed. She has more pain because of the PEG surgery. Her speech is super slurred and it's hard to not get frustrated on both sides. She even tries to spell, but if I can't understand the letters, then it still doesn't work. She asks to write it out, but that part of the brain doesn't quite seem to work right now either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And of course she still cannot swallow. "I'm hungry, can I have some soup?" "No Mom, you can't swallow, remember? Look, I'm putting lunch right into your tummy, isn't that cool?" Yes, it's cool, and while she is theoretically getting all of her nutrients and calories, it doesn't replace the smell, taste and sensation of real food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Last night my mom asked me how long she had been in prison. "Prison? You mean the hospital?" "Maybe." I couldn't help thinking that maybe she thinks she's in hell now, trapped in a body that won't cooperate. When she's having bad moments, when there's nothing else I can do for pain or to make her feel better, or see the pain in my dad's eyes over the thought that we might be killing her faster than the cancer is with these medical interventions, I think I might be in hell, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are no easy answers here. We'll get the latest PET scan results back next Tuesday. We plan to finish radiation next week. As we get more answers, we'll make more decisions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today is Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that state and federal laws allow me this leave time to care for my mom. I'm thankful that my employer is a strict adherent of those laws. I'm thankful for those coworkers that have donated leave time so I got at least one more full paycheck. I'm thankful for all of the support, prayers and love being constantly sent our way by friends and family. I'm thankful this time has allowed my dad and I to become closer again as we support each other in our care efforts. And I'm thankful for those sweet moments with my mom, which reaffirm in these difficult days, at least today I'm doing the right thing.</span>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-84949056676482468752015-11-01T12:21:00.001-08:002015-11-01T12:21:04.921-08:00Adventures in Brain Surgery10:42am Saturday morning. I'm walking down the hallway of the 6th floor inpatient rehab center. Singing a song about ants. Pushing my mother in a wheelchair. <div><br></div><div>"The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">" My mother chimes in on the hurrahs. We're walking around to the windows that overlook that small park. "The ants go marching one by one and the little one stops to suck his thumb (she giggles), and they all go marching down, to the ground, where it does not rain, boom-boom-boom." More singing along with the "booms". </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We keep walking, well, I keep walking, and in between more verses in which I try desperately to remember what the littlest ant is doing in the fourth line, we take breaks to look out hospital windows and at the paintings lining the hallways. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Hey mom, what's in that painting?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I don't know.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Are these red flowers poppies? I point.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Maybe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">At the farthest point in our stroll is a large 6-story curved window. The view is impressive. She peers down at a couple walking on the street below. "They looks so small from here, like ants," I observe. She looks around for more ant-people.</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">***</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">On the morning of October 15, my mother underwent a left craniotomy for a brain tumor biopsy. The scans showed a large cherry-tomato sized tumor, growing bilaterally from the base of the brain, damaging the nerve responsible for facial sensation, including the inside of the mouth, and ocular function, which controls eye and eyelid movement. What the tumor was impeding in functionality was also producing huge amounts of nerve pain. Entwining itself around crucial nerves, the tumor itself was inoperable, but it was deemed important enough to possible treatment outcomes to risk surgery and biopsy the tumor. </font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">The surgery was complicated by the location of the tumor. Imagine a space nearly dead center in your skull, surrounded by crucial parts of the brain. Yep, that's where it was. The language center of the brain was shifted over to remove a large chunk of tumor. Now the brain has to recover from the trauma of being poked and moved around. So here we are at rehab. </font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">My mother requires 24/7 care. Medically she is fairly stable, but she cannot walk without assistance and is very weak. Short term memory is nil. Certain aspects of speech and cognition are not available. </font><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The nerve damage affecting the use of her eyes has not gone away, so she has very limited vision. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Through all of this she is mostly cheerful. Her world revolves around meal times, therapy and needing to pee, which is announced suddenly and urgently. She often uses a sing-song, small voice, and sometimes the best way to get her to vocalize is to sing songs. Hence singing about ants as we walked. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Her pleasures are simple. A sympathy card is carefully read and admired. She reads every part, even the designer mark on the back and the postmark on the envelope. A new puzzle with flowers make her eyes big and wide. She oohs and ahhs over the colors. Tell her she has a visitor and she lights up, full of smiles. She may not talk much, but she's always following the conversation, nodding here and there. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The essence of my mother is still there with her generous nature and usually good humor.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In rehab she gets three hours of therapy a day. It includes use of the walker, strengthening, dexterity and balance. We get training too, how to help her move safely, use equipment, etc. One session is dedicated to speech therapy, which is sometimes the most frustrating session for her. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">***</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Losing a piece of my mother in this way was not something I expected going into the surgery. The biopsy results confirmed breast cancer metastasis. We can't consult with the medical or radiation oncologists until she has progressed further. I don't know how I'm going to balance working with caring for my mom. Even doing shifts with my dad, this is a full time job. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And the neuralgia pain seems to be coming back. Over the past three days, she has gone from no pain, an unexpected blessing of the biopsy, to needing pain intervention. How this will affect her rehab and brain recover is too early to tell. We're repeatedly told by staff that stimulation and activity are needed to improve function, but how to balance stimulation, rest AND pain is another unknown. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">***</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Today is another day. We've briefly ventured outside with the wheelchair to look at flowers. Now we are watching tv (her request). It's fun to watch her reactions to the commercials. The Colonel was telling us about his chicken, that its finger lickin' good. She smiles and nods, "Yep".</span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><br></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-87961309055776293352014-06-01T02:58:00.003-07:002014-06-01T03:02:04.916-07:00Beekeeping: An Introduction<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until six weeks ago, I'd never been stung by a bee. Nope, not once. I didn't avoid them. Just call it good bee karma. I gave them their space to do their bee thing and moved deliberately and slowly around them. We had an understanding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then I met him. Never mind that he lives in the Central Valley. He's a hobby beekeeper, transitioning to professional. Rehabilitating part of the family farm, living mostly off-grid. How could I resist? Ok, we'll go for the obvious simile that I was drawn in like a bee to nectar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which is why I find myself in Oroville, picking up fifty packages of bees for hive expansions. Each of the boxes pictured below contains 2-3 pounds of bees and a queen. This is the start of fifty new hives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course this was during one of our warm spells in April, so the bees and I were happy to arrive in Dos Palos. It had rained the day before, so the air was clear and the moon was rising through shades of purple over the field of onions. It was almost enough to fall in love with the valley again. (Not really, but it was beautiful.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we started the process of opening each package and shaking (yes, literally) into the hive. Each box is placed near the hive entrance where any stragglers can make their way into the new home. The queen is in a special wood and mesh box called a queen cage. To ensure the bees accept that queen as their own, a candy plug is placed in the end of the queen cage. By the time the workers have chewed through the candy, she will be accepted by the workers and can begin to move around the hive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each pallet below has two hives on it. We did fifty hives. It was a long day. After shaking the bees, we gave them a pollen patty and sugar syrup. The extra nutrients help the new hive get a jump start and prevent them from swarming. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVOsBc9DyA0KjfFk9lo5ZCCCpIdP1afQvuRW8VgK8Kfb8IVl5VeVfb0-3YZBt7z2JmQhoS8ekiihg7_EQGqFlozvPbtrzX5a5hQoqOHk0OlRZSoqnG3UNt-h5OtXsVGKs8P1kGkrbB1Hb/s1600/IMG_1906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVOsBc9DyA0KjfFk9lo5ZCCCpIdP1afQvuRW8VgK8Kfb8IVl5VeVfb0-3YZBt7z2JmQhoS8ekiihg7_EQGqFlozvPbtrzX5a5hQoqOHk0OlRZSoqnG3UNt-h5OtXsVGKs8P1kGkrbB1Hb/s1600/IMG_1906.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During that first day, I was wearing long pants, a long-sleeve shirt and a veil. I was actually stung through my long-sleeved shirt on the shoulder just after my friend was stung. I didn't have much of a reaction for my first sting. Of course, it's not the first sting that matters. It's the second one...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This little darling decided to visit for a bit while we took a break in the shade. She's busy cleaning off the sugar water we sprayed on the package to keep them from being too mobile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when he offers me my own hive? Of course I'm not saying no. I bring home package number fifty. I'd already repainted the old school wooden boxes, so it was a simple enough matter after doing forty-nine packages to set up my own hive.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFyEDA_U-MgglLJjrxAMMOtvJ72UQr7Eiy8UxG8U65LvGYQvlmG2ojSiKR4uYhhQmJ8TsVk8-0-MqV0i-JuH4okPhF4_5Wdidtp3dLKZX5nnoD-yRijRjA7CUznATcF74JmwVsiwDa1Fz/s1600/IMG_1902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFyEDA_U-MgglLJjrxAMMOtvJ72UQr7Eiy8UxG8U65LvGYQvlmG2ojSiKR4uYhhQmJ8TsVk8-0-MqV0i-JuH4okPhF4_5Wdidtp3dLKZX5nnoD-yRijRjA7CUznATcF74JmwVsiwDa1Fz/s1600/IMG_1902.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ta dah! Look! I have bees! Riley approves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see the orientation of the package to the front of the hive, to facilitate the workers moving into their new home. A check a few weeks later shows a happy and productive hive. In the first frame, you can see capped honey in the upper left, and some pollen deposits mixed in with brood (baby bees) in the center. If you look really closely in the center you can just about see some c-shaped white larva that will be capped by the nursery bees soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here you can see lots of capped brood. While capped they transition from larvae to adults, analogous to a caterpillar metamorphosing into the adult butterfly. In a few more days these brood will begin to hatch, chewing their way out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonus shot of Riley on the ranch! The lighting really was phenomenal that day.</span></div>
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Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-48640339831474670182014-05-31T20:33:00.001-07:002014-06-01T01:47:31.354-07:00"Cat People Are Smarter Than Dog People"<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">You know, I see headlines like the one from Huffington Post below, and I realize that most people I know now would consider me a dog person. Yet I am solidly from a family of cat people, was raised with multitudes of cats (at one time we had six for a 1.2:1 cat:people </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">ratio).<br /><br />Well, on reflection perhaps it would be best to say that I was raised in an animal friendly environment. In the first 18 years of my life, we had eight cats, two dogs, anoles, box turtles, fish, rats (rats rule!), an iguana, a garter snake, a couple of hamsters (rats are better!)... I feel like I'm forgetting something.<br /><br />And for the record, I had two cats when I got my Corgi pup, in addition to dairy goats and chickens. I'd have cats now if I could. And goats. Chickens. Maybe a bunny. Yeah, baby bunnies are cute!<br /><br />So, what do they say about animal people in general? Hmm...</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/cat-people-dog-people-intelligence_n_5412245.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063">Cat People Are Smarter Than Dog People, New Study Showswww.huffingtonpost.com SAN FRANCISCO — "Dog people" and "cat people" really do have different personalities, according to a new study. People who said they were dog lovers in the stu...</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A few pics of family members gone but not forgotten... Wish I had more pictures!</span><br />
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<br />Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-37741940693534023512012-08-15T21:00:00.000-07:002014-06-01T03:09:20.135-07:00The Kool-Aid Dye Project<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My fiber guild proposed a challenge this year: dye fiber with kool-aid, make something and display all of the resulting projects in the fiber room at our annual county fair.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seems like a good idea, but I floundered for inspiration for awhile until I saw someone's fabulous <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/helloyarn/youre-putting-me-on" target="_blank">handknitted kneehigh socks</a> on Ravelry. They had wonderful striping action, and I knew I wanted some for myself. Now, the socks I admired were from handspun yarn, but I wasn't going to have time to dye fleece and handspin the yarn for the socks.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I compromised.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knowing that 100g of sock yarn doesn't quite yield a pair of knee high socks (think mid-calf), I purchased 2-100g of undyed yarn from Knitpicks.com. Now, I could have dyed the fiber in the skein, but I wanted stripy rather than variegated yarn. So borrowing a friend's knitting machine (thank you Lindsey!) I turned each skein into matching sock blanks.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I had a canvas onto which I could paint kool-aid stripes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using Biscuits and Jam <a href="http://www.biscuitsandjam.com/stripe_maker.php/stripe_maker.php" target="_blank">random strip generator</a>, I selected my colors and stripe width and repeat parameters, printed out the result and had a guide for my stripe pattern.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dyeing is pretty easy. Kool-aid is considered edible and
non-toxic (depending on who you ask, right?), and pretty easy to use,
with a minimum of prep. <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html" target="_blank">Knitty</a> has an excellent tutorial on dyeing with Kool-Aid, complete with colors achieved from different flavors.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Mixing up the colors, two packets per color.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsIXeI64_aSYtlRYLFkszBihV5ug-3sOZb9A6aGRYhAlrkBwHARgsXR0CA3WaZ3XR9C0aT2rJHbXnYK7x4jbTpMewlqA3Ai5Oa3Z2990xPP7vJhzm0Dh630G6LgUJOCCGEP7l-X1pvGo_/s1600/IMG_0379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsIXeI64_aSYtlRYLFkszBihV5ug-3sOZb9A6aGRYhAlrkBwHARgsXR0CA3WaZ3XR9C0aT2rJHbXnYK7x4jbTpMewlqA3Ai5Oa3Z2990xPP7vJhzm0Dh630G6LgUJOCCGEP7l-X1pvGo_/s1600/IMG_0379.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Ready to dye, the two blanks laid out together.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiYjPfBkSk-4DpUZXKNwnYyScOhiObWx41OGAAgSFv0h3r_O-gLFKOpiud-HMzrNXrioM-vj4ZHiX6fs1VDzUpc70M7f_4M7YdQiQMCDsPPQyy_9NLizxQtuAaxNoh1rYO1rAks1DkTmB/s1600/IMG_0380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiYjPfBkSk-4DpUZXKNwnYyScOhiObWx41OGAAgSFv0h3r_O-gLFKOpiud-HMzrNXrioM-vj4ZHiX6fs1VDzUpc70M7f_4M7YdQiQMCDsPPQyy_9NLizxQtuAaxNoh1rYO1rAks1DkTmB/s1600/IMG_0380.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Wrapped in plastic, ready for microwave "steaming" to set the color.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqpxsQQkO0G9iA5svdgo_5AcsLsZUl0JZAaq0MjThItJz_pWLj8n5hhv8DuCzE8nDBLkjinquAhAnsxGocHAPcF6snvqTD9HwHu1yOzBLt_gL3zQmG3u-D_ix3LwHr7d-9QtTNVNWifD-/s1600/IMG_0382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqpxsQQkO0G9iA5svdgo_5AcsLsZUl0JZAaq0MjThItJz_pWLj8n5hhv8DuCzE8nDBLkjinquAhAnsxGocHAPcF6snvqTD9HwHu1yOzBLt_gL3zQmG3u-D_ix3LwHr7d-9QtTNVNWifD-/s1600/IMG_0382.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">On display at the fair with other kool-aid projects. If you look closely you can see the beginning of a toe in the upper left.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Best thing? The socks still smell like strawberry kool-aid.</span><br />
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Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-55481944989161618882012-02-25T20:10:00.000-08:002014-06-01T10:28:21.545-07:00There and back again, a fiber tale<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It's that time of year again, when vendors, knitters and other fiber enthusiasts descend upon the Santa Clara convention center for the annual Stitches West convention, where there is easily an acre of booths all selling yarn and fiber related stuff. This is the best opportunity to see indie dyers and craftpeople in person, touch yarns you've only see in glossy pages on through the gentle blue glow of the computer screen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Last year at this convention I struggling with epic pneumonia, and had no idea how radically my life was about to change. It was nice to relax and get high on yarn fumes with a few thousand like minded fiber enthusiasts. It's one of those rare times when my knitting worlds converge into one place, including</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Auburn Knit Night, MeadowFarm, and Fiber
Trash Girls, as well as friends from the blogosphere and Ravelry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There were pajama parties, great food, and lots of squealing over color, fiber and accessories. Here's my acquisitions for this year.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.missbabs.com%2F&ei=IK5JT5GpI4_MiQKHkbXdDQ&usg=AFQjCNEEB4DPauG7ZM_8trMLM2dWd4Wqmg" target="_blank">Miss Babs</a>' Yowza. 540 yds of luscious hand-dyed yarns. This is going to become a Harmonia's Rings sweater.<br />
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This was the first time I've seen <a href="http://www.westernskyknits.com/" target="_blank">Western Sky Knits</a>, but fell in love with this glitter sock yarn in the Rustic Rainbow colorway. I've made socks before in the same yarn base, and they're yummy.<br />
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Of course I had to acquire more <a href="http://www.abstractfiber.com/" target="_blank">Abstract</a> fiber. This is Polworth in Lauren Hurst colorway.<br />
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And I took my very first stitches class this year, a fair isle for socks how to with <a href="http://janellaidman.com/" target="_blank">Janel Laidman</a>, author of such sock wonders a Sole Enchantments. <br />
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Another <a href="http://cocoknits.com/" target="_blank">Coco Knits</a> pattern that just could not be resisted. I'll have to see what I have in stash to make this... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiMnTHJYsaSffzVjpiUAiWARaKO2TlmxknW3ZXtqluqwjEiGSDUp7JXYGKHs636WlnhAAbMDdtERQwYda8LiUdnuGYI6nOed5WVwBKJYFEMvkpl-MabL1fvG040WpBwYNkhnjDyyXGr5d/s1600/IMG_0163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiMnTHJYsaSffzVjpiUAiWARaKO2TlmxknW3ZXtqluqwjEiGSDUp7JXYGKHs636WlnhAAbMDdtERQwYda8LiUdnuGYI6nOed5WVwBKJYFEMvkpl-MabL1fvG040WpBwYNkhnjDyyXGr5d/s400/IMG_0163.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And, I won this awesome organizer from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/chickenboots" target="_blank">Chicken Boots</a> in the daily prize drawings. I had just been admiring Rowen's organizer when other friends informed me that they'd hear my name announced as a winner, and I was thrilled with my prize!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Friends, food, fiber, so much to absorb... My senses are still reeling with everything seen, touched, tasted, heard and felt. I'm really going to sleep well tonight!</span></div>
Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-5516529305487326082012-02-18T21:37:00.000-08:002012-02-18T21:37:40.395-08:00Unpacking, The Saga<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">I’m sitting in
my new place,<span> </span>500 sq ft of
laminate floors, double-paned windows, European-style fixtures and soft
lighting.<span> </span>I love it.<span> </span>My first night I unpacked most of my
kitchen, much of which has been packed away for nearly eight years.<span> </span>I happily washed and dried for hours,
reacquainting myself with my paternal grandmother’s crystal and glassware, my
maternal grandmother’s cast iron pots and pans, my own dishes and hand crafted
pottery mixing bowls.<span> </span>It’s by no
means organized, but its clean and unpacked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Not so with my
beloved books.<span> </span>The shelving is all
up, but every time I look at the pile of boxes, I hesitate.<span> </span>What’s holding me back?<span> </span>Finally tonight, a week later, I jumped
in while dinner was cooking.<span>
</span>Pulled a box off the shelf, opened it, and put it on the shelf.<span> </span>It’s a box of games, including the
fabulous card game Munchkin and Lord of the Rings trivial pursuit.<span> </span>That wasn’t so hard, was it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ok, on to the
next box.<span> </span>Oh, my knitting
books.<span> </span>I’ve had access to those
all this past year.<span> </span>Right, up you
go in a place of honor.<span> </span>Next
box.<span> </span>Some paperbacks.<span> </span>Excellent, I haven’t read those in over
a year, they’ve been all packed up during the divorce and in storage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And then it hit
me.<span> </span>For some odd reason that I
cannot explain to myself, and yet try to share here, maybe I’m not quite ready
for these books to come out of their boxes.<span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I’ve never been
without books, and can barely remember a time that I couldn’t read.<span> </span>I’ve kept childhood favorites like Hans
Christian Anderson, Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie, and Anne
of Green Gables.<span> </span>I read and reread
old friends like Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Charles de
Lint.<span> </span>New friends too; Kim Stanley
Robinson, Barbara Kingsolver and Frances Mayes.<span> </span>Then there’s the host of reference books; knitting, natural
histories, geology, herbals, gardening.<span>
</span>Anyone who’s helped me move knows that I love my books and don’t like to
be parted from them.</span></div>
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So upon opening the next box, it hits me, these are intimate relationships I’m reviving.<span> </span>The oldest of the books have been with
me a very long time, and they have anima from being handled so long.<span> </span>Like the very best of friends, they
don’t resent our separation.<span> </span>They understand and are glad to be welcomed back into my life and on the shelf, but my memories around these books are complex.<span> </span>The books aren’t different, but I am,
and handling them now reminds me that I’m not the same person I was when I
packed them away.<span> </span>No wonder I’ve
barely been able to look at these boxes. </span></div>
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Each box, each book, more than any of my other possessions, forces a reminder
of who I am, complete with all of the changes.<span> </span>I’m still not always sure how I feel about all of these
changes, h<span></span>ence the hesitation
putting books on shelves. How can I reconnect with my books when I’m still
figuring out my own story.<span> This</span> could take
awhile…<span> </span>In the meantime, it’s time
to put away dinner and maybe open another box.<span> </span></span></div>
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</span></span>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-25947318507830276762011-09-01T01:10:00.000-07:002014-06-01T03:09:43.673-07:00The Green Sweater Project: Dyeing<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another belated post, this time from August 2011. </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In July I started cleaning a Romney fleece acquired locally from a friend in the fiber guild, resulting in about 5 pounds of decently clean wool. I had decided at some point that I wanted this to be a sheep-to-sweater event, just to say I'd done. I decided that I wanted a rich, multi-toned green, maybe even a bit heathered. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I pulled out my dye sample book and newer color box, picked out the colors that made my heart sing, and set about dyeing.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaT9dNx5BaxDMzWyP5NPiQn5UUJkqbrvWP1dfkOOQH6k_l2qwws3e00oaz0RTEzsoBEM7I12GwgOD8K5kyp_XHhrtAUlVPRr0rAa3By2gswFTTddANkgnq7wlwTBJ_f6uywKmGU7HIz-XE/s1600/IMG_0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaT9dNx5BaxDMzWyP5NPiQn5UUJkqbrvWP1dfkOOQH6k_l2qwws3e00oaz0RTEzsoBEM7I12GwgOD8K5kyp_XHhrtAUlVPRr0rAa3By2gswFTTddANkgnq7wlwTBJ_f6uywKmGU7HIz-XE/s400/IMG_0036.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First is soaking the wool in hot water with a splash of vinegar. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJSrT_JY3_aW4EA01uKvUjM5US7S14ZcQnnHi5aE9KGtw-XtpqTcPAJeoOQ0X0kwt7dWThCkdfwuPZBFl-tunx59hvtmyzpBjlab9vXz_be-NTE_HLnOjEokbKxmFdnYOiHKbBP-mPoy5/s1600/IMG_0031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJSrT_JY3_aW4EA01uKvUjM5US7S14ZcQnnHi5aE9KGtw-XtpqTcPAJeoOQ0X0kwt7dWThCkdfwuPZBFl-tunx59hvtmyzpBjlab9vXz_be-NTE_HLnOjEokbKxmFdnYOiHKbBP-mPoy5/s400/IMG_0031.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found I could comfortably work with about 3/4 pound at a time. More than that and things got unwieldy, and the fiber didn't have much room to move in the dye pot. I used a large steamer tray insert in a buffet server to do my immersion dyeing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a result of the primary color drying on the rack.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRTWpFAe5ct-Ke4dYc4cqiw7j5cMkSGcrVV1m05ba6jMKTiQ1OdrpMCzSlXu4tMaePeDYhqkFjDlNZ56FqyldcPxFPBhqDMj_XPCm_LE9ROliFlK2fDbjj9oc6l88e6rRmRaUmSP5xmTq/s1600/IMG_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRTWpFAe5ct-Ke4dYc4cqiw7j5cMkSGcrVV1m05ba6jMKTiQ1OdrpMCzSlXu4tMaePeDYhqkFjDlNZ56FqyldcPxFPBhqDMj_XPCm_LE9ROliFlK2fDbjj9oc6l88e6rRmRaUmSP5xmTq/s400/IMG_0033.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I processed a total of six batches over about four days. Two of the primary green, three of other shades, and one of a fuschia that was supposed to be a bit more salmon as a contrast color. We'll have to see how that works out during the blending.</span>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-84588926349249556852011-08-16T20:14:00.000-07:002011-08-16T20:14:58.665-07:00More fuzzy babies!At five days old, Dharma's babies were happily scampering about, so we decided they could be let out of the birthing stall. I usually do this at around three days, but because Sprawl couldn't walk, we held off a bit.<br />
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Turns out it was really good timing. We heard sounds coming from the pasture that afternoon, and upon investigation we found Maharani had quietly given birth around 2pm to twins. We each grabbed a baby, dried them off, cleaned out the birthing stall and installed the new momma and babies. She had a boy and a girl, and just like Dharma's babies, they are both fuzzy.<br />
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When all the excitement was over, we found Sprawl, Spunk and Spot piled up outside napping after their first afternoon in the pasture.<br />
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I especially love Spot's ears. She looks like a little bunny.<br />
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We continue to give supplemental bottles to Spot and Sprawl. Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-49575668678224782742011-08-01T11:51:00.000-07:002014-06-01T03:10:18.671-07:00A new way to sampleI first leaned to dye samples last year with Sara Lamb and the Fiber Trash Girls. Then Jan showed up this summer with a dye sample box, rather than a binder. Using embroidery floss organizers, she samples small amounts of dye, keeping very accurate records of the combinations used, then wraps the small amount of yarn around an embroidery floss bobbin for easy viewing. Her idea was featured in <a href="http://www.interweavestore.com/Spinning/Magazines/SpinKnit-Winter-2011-eMag-for-MAC.html?SessionThemeID=23" target="_blank">Interweave's Fall Color ezine, Spin Knit</a>. <br />
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I loved this idea, and set out to increase the amount of sample colors I had. I began by sampling my primary Lanaset colors: turquoise, mustard, yellow, scarlet, fuchsia, and navy and black. I sampled each at DOS 2%, 1%, .5% and .25% to have a range of tints. Four jam jars fit nicely into the crock pot for steaming.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqSkik4qI6Vmq2oPY1OBui1xnNP5aAdMdztDTWRpDaDuxRnyKJ_wRyvBvaFEw6K0Upk3aXrssJeqA8QydlDwM1C-REtHLO2MOS_-7srT1z5A3sth0KsclaYI94A8yjCWsRPvAtnpr034f/s1600/DSCN0312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqSkik4qI6Vmq2oPY1OBui1xnNP5aAdMdztDTWRpDaDuxRnyKJ_wRyvBvaFEw6K0Upk3aXrssJeqA8QydlDwM1C-REtHLO2MOS_-7srT1z5A3sth0KsclaYI94A8yjCWsRPvAtnpr034f/s400/DSCN0312.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I then picked my favorite two-color blends and sampled at 2%, 1%, 1% with a drop of black added, and .5%. Here's a different selection of greens drying.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCpWee4D_CTsPxBElPUyZeyOgV_WWhpS4_w4nfo6b3vfIeN6zNIbdJBVDTk7D6z9Px1KHcYzYMc1D6AuTJiibQ8hf2bwZVBKjRHFfmhZuy65u26Pp5Pz5SAuQ996kJM1uEp6CD9dMgBIr/s1600/DSCN0318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCpWee4D_CTsPxBElPUyZeyOgV_WWhpS4_w4nfo6b3vfIeN6zNIbdJBVDTk7D6z9Px1KHcYzYMc1D6AuTJiibQ8hf2bwZVBKjRHFfmhZuy65u26Pp5Pz5SAuQ996kJM1uEp6CD9dMgBIr/s400/DSCN0318.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are a selection of my colors, all wrapped up and ready for their box.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUHS_A1eya_Yhpk0jga4KEq-n2iW3RnKvjyBJgyiLZuXpy8ye6WL1r_iyS0iSMm1eZ6a67y_DFd1sKZxs_ucUc9R0Tpmi3PqKpX5OzB5kfL4tKcAQbDw5KyXCHd080_R5Hbg7FAP3lqvG/s1600/DSCN0320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUHS_A1eya_Yhpk0jga4KEq-n2iW3RnKvjyBJgyiLZuXpy8ye6WL1r_iyS0iSMm1eZ6a67y_DFd1sKZxs_ucUc9R0Tpmi3PqKpX5OzB5kfL4tKcAQbDw5KyXCHd080_R5Hbg7FAP3lqvG/s400/DSCN0320.jpg" height="480" width="640" /> </a></div>
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This project is by no means even close to being finished, and it'll take me a very long time on my current schedule to fill my sample box. </div>
Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-78690332399409934842011-07-27T18:37:00.000-07:002011-07-27T18:37:41.229-07:00Kid Update<i>I think I'll keep posting updates about the babies, especially Sprawl, here, so check back periodically for new information at the top of the post.</i><br />
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We've been feeding Sprawl every 3-4 hours today. Here he is at the 5:30 feeding when I got home.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMifhS4atK6kwr40Zdu_BUAsrkZooO7UV1GB7B7hDv6IsvGmBifTS-4rCKPuN6_gMvv-gHURUKT9rHECxvrYLwjzm7M1iEHSNFXk244spJIVaVi3atkCXdECnFBCsFVfhu7K-xzSnV2NPp/s1600/sprawl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMifhS4atK6kwr40Zdu_BUAsrkZooO7UV1GB7B7hDv6IsvGmBifTS-4rCKPuN6_gMvv-gHURUKT9rHECxvrYLwjzm7M1iEHSNFXk244spJIVaVi3atkCXdECnFBCsFVfhu7K-xzSnV2NPp/s400/sprawl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Here he's snuggling with the most awesome housemate ever, who's helping take care of him while I'm at work.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCcuZYUFa2pT-OgO1M-GOzmTvgiWmeflJ8bJJL9CzD8-c78hdq8-imlSen0HrLxbg2wCwhcyl88eoA4Orv70bugdthrEVReRinWcDtAAfDtnSSlyK3P6ZdJnzkSfpyPk6ifm40xsutef-/s1600/DSCN0351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCcuZYUFa2pT-OgO1M-GOzmTvgiWmeflJ8bJJL9CzD8-c78hdq8-imlSen0HrLxbg2wCwhcyl88eoA4Orv70bugdthrEVReRinWcDtAAfDtnSSlyK3P6ZdJnzkSfpyPk6ifm40xsutef-/s400/DSCN0351.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Therapy time. At each feeding we let him try to walk on the pebble walkway or dirt, both of which he manages better than the hay covered concrete of the birthing stall. Oops! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEi979Q9uNFTp3VuDCSDUV0Ih0wc5oJsj_y9JIiSO0elM46LYcASN2__zvPnKl1P_VjLzt6DdvTf2VPyR0DyyOS1U6sP2p9bBQEsquQzxAqC9xI_045J3UMRNYHOIyPXzXVTyTbAtXfq4/s1600/sprawl+-+oops%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEi979Q9uNFTp3VuDCSDUV0Ih0wc5oJsj_y9JIiSO0elM46LYcASN2__zvPnKl1P_VjLzt6DdvTf2VPyR0DyyOS1U6sP2p9bBQEsquQzxAqC9xI_045J3UMRNYHOIyPXzXVTyTbAtXfq4/s400/sprawl+-+oops%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
He's walking/standing better today. We believe he'll be walking within a couple of days. He's very vigorous, and has already learned to come running towards ankles.<br />
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Sprawl has two sibs. This is the girl, Spot. She's got daddy's long ears, with a big, dark-colored spot on the back. (You can tell we're being very thoughtful with the names here.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzs9YmCfPLTHp0B47shXXkSu3mGAz9mIyaXiVy0LwXSxzfyoeE9ZJnR66O3VNpqn45VauYnNdU1VEZxr6WcuvY0-uWyAS40NTsADi9uorcWlu2xG-i5xT9fmIyh3HI3J_7PBO_2NL92nXq/s1600/spot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzs9YmCfPLTHp0B47shXXkSu3mGAz9mIyaXiVy0LwXSxzfyoeE9ZJnR66O3VNpqn45VauYnNdU1VEZxr6WcuvY0-uWyAS40NTsADi9uorcWlu2xG-i5xT9fmIyh3HI3J_7PBO_2NL92nXq/s400/spot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We still need a name for the other boy, seen nursing in this photo. We'd like to keep the alliterative theme going.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBLUQieJB2NG-9hBtEuvI611U1oRmvd8H-r7vE2rBS4HBaYCP-Xe0tILya4xK5PR8stCpcvfQmUJeuOD8mDOaCapr78mAmMeZHRfSFKA1EDzlHGjZrkQF-vLL-2hl6KYtKNQoGMutqyUx/s1600/DSCN0358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBLUQieJB2NG-9hBtEuvI611U1oRmvd8H-r7vE2rBS4HBaYCP-Xe0tILya4xK5PR8stCpcvfQmUJeuOD8mDOaCapr78mAmMeZHRfSFKA1EDzlHGjZrkQF-vLL-2hl6KYtKNQoGMutqyUx/s400/DSCN0358.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqjoqxm-co81L2F4QAbBPjmRMZpoLU4ecGkk2hrq6bHJjiWbZc7lO1QLyX3GcFOyvvpH43olIYpQ-nooDDLqOu56cUziJGAOXImE1Ung0SiCkWbQQIksX5UvvY7y2WPHNuenH4DsPIRzV/s1600/DSCN0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-31024535116235679882011-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:002011-07-26T21:18:03.049-07:00Dharma's fuzzy babiesBack in January I took Dharma over to my goat-partner-in-crime's for a little goat-on-goat action. I'd missed getting Dharma bred in 2010, and didn't want to miss another breeding season. So when I failed to catch her again in heat, I made arrangements for her to go on an extended stay with the buck of our choice. <br />
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She obviously came into heat after just three days of exposure to the buck. We left them together for three weeks, which should have caught two heat cycles. Goats have 150 day gestation periods, so I calculated out the first day to watch for labor signs as June 17, with a likely day of June 22. The days came and went... No babies... <br />
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I had to conclude that she, as well as Maharani, were in fact not successfully bred this winter. Since they were both obviously pregnant, beginning to resemble extra-wide loads, I had to further conclude that they had gotten themselves knocked up by the Angora buck after we moved to new pastures at the end of February. We share a barn and pasture with a big beautiful Angora buck, a couple of Angora does and their babies, and several sheep. Well, my girls decided that they liked this big, fuzzy buck, and perhaps they'd like some fuzzy babies of their own.<br />
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So based on moving day, I recalculated the earliest possible day they could possibly deliver as July 22. Sure enough, Dharma at least didn't take long to make friends with the new hunk in her life as she delivered triplets, two boys and a girl, this morning around 3am. My housemates heard the commotion; I slept through it all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRA7ecfU7Cs-AK-zIhQGIEP-jISr02ph3A_z5xhqdSp4edO7Pz_R6-7cl49zp0RwL87_RYFkoc0Zmdkel839cvkcGdqV9uqJlHepjOlRxCCBMtUpsJipIOny47dffzHUKCLprIzc6ASVv1/s1600/DSCN0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRA7ecfU7Cs-AK-zIhQGIEP-jISr02ph3A_z5xhqdSp4edO7Pz_R6-7cl49zp0RwL87_RYFkoc0Zmdkel839cvkcGdqV9uqJlHepjOlRxCCBMtUpsJipIOny47dffzHUKCLprIzc6ASVv1/s400/DSCN0340.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And they are fuzzy. One of the boys has long ears, not a La Mancha trait at all. We have fuzzy babies with some dairy conformation characteristics.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImpUSglFypJUlRM6OsDJCE22yBJ50dx2FL8R70B5MSsRfC8kRD3VS9Fl7PsOf6tHgTbIpZhMob0niyETJiU-hbLA_5wJY4ZNbSl2qUX7c1gblWbJqLsZxeD8z7y4R6AXBNOHO_6BKzHTd/s1600/DSCN0338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImpUSglFypJUlRM6OsDJCE22yBJ50dx2FL8R70B5MSsRfC8kRD3VS9Fl7PsOf6tHgTbIpZhMob0niyETJiU-hbLA_5wJY4ZNbSl2qUX7c1gblWbJqLsZxeD8z7y4R6AXBNOHO_6BKzHTd/s400/DSCN0338.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
One of the boys, the darkest of the three, was having trouble standing, which meant he couldn't effectively nurse. Luckily I had frozen extra colostrum and milk from Dharam's first lactation two years ago. We thawed the jars and my housemate began feeding the boy on three hour increments while I went off to work. After the last feeding this evening, the little boy looks like he might start standing on his own soon, and we can stop the bottle feeding. Dharma is a trooper and is taking care of all three babies.Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-54058229105369204512011-07-05T15:20:00.000-07:002011-07-05T15:21:58.808-07:00Processing the Fleece, Part I<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Last year I acquired a Romney fleece from <a href="http://weavinfool.blogspot.com/">Lindsey</a>, and there it sat in a garbage bag in my shed for the remainder of the year. I knew I could pay to have it sent off to one of the mills to be professionally processed, but I wanted to get hands on with at least one fleece, and this was going to be the one. I just needed the proverbial rainy day to get started.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">So finding out last week that I was going to have some extra time on my hands, I decided it was time to fish out the fleece and get started. I missed taking a before photo, but lets say that it was a yellowish bunch of wool that filled a large trash bag and weighed many pounds.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first step is to scour, or clean, the wool, which essentially involves soaking the wool in large tubs with a bit of Dawn. I used two 15-gallon tubs and split the fleece in two. The first water bath is hot, to open the scales on the wool. The water was instantly muddy brown with lanolin and dirt. These were left to soak and cool for several hours. The process was repeated three times, each time the water being cooler. (Note that there are both hot and cold water taps outside the house. Somebody was thinking ahead!)</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItCBnjZtWco3PpsCivnDkZtJtpjLUiTdjvsrXF-nCWcM5PdbsiC7Gmg2zbIxoJTKqLmpIkYGwiJAGKfc9jdCwRAojy5MgNAu-nk8_TDAXTIdSkfct5bEjzJm2XAMl9h7nCohdHgJvY4pk/s1600/DSCN0243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItCBnjZtWco3PpsCivnDkZtJtpjLUiTdjvsrXF-nCWcM5PdbsiC7Gmg2zbIxoJTKqLmpIkYGwiJAGKfc9jdCwRAojy5MgNAu-nk8_TDAXTIdSkfct5bEjzJm2XAMl9h7nCohdHgJvY4pk/s400/DSCN0243.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">You have to be very careful to not felt the fleece during the cleaning stages. Hot water + soap + agitation = felt, so there is no rubbing or squeezing of the fleece. In between water baths it was gently lifted out as a mass and placed in a giant colander for straining.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Finally satisfied that the fleece was reasonably clean, it was placed in the bottom of the washing machine for some quick spin action. Again, no agitation. We went straight to the spin cycle in an old-fashioned upright for some centripetal action. Look how fluffy after just a minute!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy3AM3GuGa3hARJgvG1a9Ja1N3PIT09NcimaDFcirS75F2DA0zGF-nTd-Uj4zPtNmxMc8K1ddKnTKGYjAAkjjHgKBi3ScE9xqOHD97H967yqTtQjOdy48jxQx3cVVWEPhBfVB8Eqs5hoL/s1600/DSCN0244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy3AM3GuGa3hARJgvG1a9Ja1N3PIT09NcimaDFcirS75F2DA0zGF-nTd-Uj4zPtNmxMc8K1ddKnTKGYjAAkjjHgKBi3ScE9xqOHD97H967yqTtQjOdy48jxQx3cVVWEPhBfVB8Eqs5hoL/s400/DSCN0244.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Finally the fleece, being reasonably clean, is left to dry outside on a rack. I occasionally shift the masses around to expose all of the fiber to dry evenly. I suspect it will be dry by this evening, and I'll be able to weigh what I have left after most of the dirt and lanolin were removed.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe96340e26MSkpnpsSq9HyKNyT_nhcjcIn4iHNdA1lQRPH6eIAIwmNC5lzUJK2xCLwoWN2WHVp1OODYZd8Jj4AXhBy6ep0xsGIp7iBBlndOXe7tuIy3Tj5Y45CmKghWcmRi2lSdMC2c7Ii/s1600/DSCN0247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe96340e26MSkpnpsSq9HyKNyT_nhcjcIn4iHNdA1lQRPH6eIAIwmNC5lzUJK2xCLwoWN2WHVp1OODYZd8Jj4AXhBy6ep0xsGIp7iBBlndOXe7tuIy3Tj5Y45CmKghWcmRi2lSdMC2c7Ii/s400/DSCN0247.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-4296000906616240672011-05-29T09:58:00.000-07:002011-05-29T10:00:44.164-07:00On a Happier Note - Spindle CampAnd to make up for the very wordy and imageless previous post, here's a short overview of last weekend's Spindle Camp.<br />
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Spindle Camp has become an annual event at a small resort/campground at Lake Francis in Dobbins. There are a mixture of traditional campsites, RV hookups and cabins for rent. Spindle Camp itself took up an entire site where we could hang out in the shade of our pop-ups to spin, smooze and catch up. See all the happy spinning wheels waiting for their people to wake up?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKDYWI41GQ22xcWZy_gPDPJtiquqXGh-kMPlYNS9WJGCxQTtH3vi0g6md3D_b-lvrQRrTNpn2DpVJLutZ9zYYAU0wOIQlVSfhS_tulYuHKXqGK5tazct2s_sQFcz_h8E8XctRWIprD5tC/s1600/IMG0482-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKDYWI41GQ22xcWZy_gPDPJtiquqXGh-kMPlYNS9WJGCxQTtH3vi0g6md3D_b-lvrQRrTNpn2DpVJLutZ9zYYAU0wOIQlVSfhS_tulYuHKXqGK5tazct2s_sQFcz_h8E8XctRWIprD5tC/s400/IMG0482-L.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There was food. Mardi made a gluten-free strawberry-rhubarb cobbler.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFU3gGAEcWmvIhJG1c2kWCLkEGKBGgpWLEbStE02F3GnsQN-HvJ67Nv-YwD05q07JE_QVJ1KeHJMuxLhGQGaj2CNkc65L1bXfGzYkZ6U_C2jICnhR2mz4dkHrixswwCkyZDGAJ4sclr5WR/s1600/IMG0214-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFU3gGAEcWmvIhJG1c2kWCLkEGKBGgpWLEbStE02F3GnsQN-HvJ67Nv-YwD05q07JE_QVJ1KeHJMuxLhGQGaj2CNkc65L1bXfGzYkZ6U_C2jICnhR2mz4dkHrixswwCkyZDGAJ4sclr5WR/s400/IMG0214-L.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And there were roasted peeps. Yep, roasting peeps on an open fire. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y-1oizh3_qQ0On0TT5UmWWdAF7PGwDkVbTti42QHybwFWiI-l7pjNIfTEWZUzko3qm4v5BA1KjcEZdtsZbu5YRTcuIZDcfPh72ViP3LjDzRgMBZhJ1R11joV98KXKO26_9CZeaV0ug0h/s1600/couple+of+girls+roasting+peeps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y-1oizh3_qQ0On0TT5UmWWdAF7PGwDkVbTti42QHybwFWiI-l7pjNIfTEWZUzko3qm4v5BA1KjcEZdtsZbu5YRTcuIZDcfPh72ViP3LjDzRgMBZhJ1R11joV98KXKO26_9CZeaV0ug0h/s400/couple+of+girls+roasting+peeps.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They're really incredible. The extra sugar coating caramelizes beautifully, leaving a thin crispy shell with the gooey inside. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFckfrMb3pbobhJKp2fmahir6v7SXjsWkNHg76VSns_GsHg-APJGM-oHe75SD1X_deemHRJC1vcyiuhXajd43eaa3oAY3U6tNdlk-McEHI59p5qCUbMeFB1C9ufdBr1CPLGrai2phmdxES/s1600/eating+peep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFckfrMb3pbobhJKp2fmahir6v7SXjsWkNHg76VSns_GsHg-APJGM-oHe75SD1X_deemHRJC1vcyiuhXajd43eaa3oAY3U6tNdlk-McEHI59p5qCUbMeFB1C9ufdBr1CPLGrai2phmdxES/s400/eating+peep.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This started as a funny experiment, but they are my new favorite camping food. I couldn't wait to try all the colors. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Special thanks go out to Jan Evers for organizing the event once again, and Susan Prince for photodocumenting everything and getting donations from some of our favorite fiber suppliers. Everyone got a bit of swag.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkM8rUtVVLEnC3aFJ8_1Y4vNgAAPzvtMEfUCeRvg-6AYufxlml6Gw9WC5YB3z-opQiFM7OQEp01tYs_GeTfWiAgyjJiZ900kZgJn0Ggtnh4BpTjJ_6NUAW0Int4A61IcgnLyopT_fC6vJ/s1600/IMG0362-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkM8rUtVVLEnC3aFJ8_1Y4vNgAAPzvtMEfUCeRvg-6AYufxlml6Gw9WC5YB3z-opQiFM7OQEp01tYs_GeTfWiAgyjJiZ900kZgJn0Ggtnh4BpTjJ_6NUAW0Int4A61IcgnLyopT_fC6vJ/s400/IMG0362-L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Here's mine. It's Lisa Souza merino in a color way that I love.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_9N7ScCrEbnNwFbiTtRkTmvrAKJJYWbA6W_eQEdu2x_yvIOnIl2VmOhTaujEdsuPaClXO2RIjTzx6bnWKCaQC1JuPMtWpC4RxjNXNwbG9AAg3A3XWUJ2C9DKioNUHmn6YjDfjeir7hG1/s1600/IMG0312-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_9N7ScCrEbnNwFbiTtRkTmvrAKJJYWbA6W_eQEdu2x_yvIOnIl2VmOhTaujEdsuPaClXO2RIjTzx6bnWKCaQC1JuPMtWpC4RxjNXNwbG9AAg3A3XWUJ2C9DKioNUHmn6YjDfjeir7hG1/s400/IMG0312-L.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
Other attendees have written in more detail about their camp experiences, which you can check out on the following blogs:<br />
<a href="http://burrobird.typepad.com/burrobird/">A View From Sierra County</a><br />
<a href="http://sagecreekfarm.blogspot.com/2011/05/spindle-camp-iii.html">In Stitches</a><br />
<a href="http://saralamb.blogspot.com/2011/05/aftermath.html">Woven Thoughts</a>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-54885188981132581852011-05-28T23:27:00.000-07:002011-05-28T23:27:21.296-07:00Irreconcilable Differences<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Turns out there are exactly three reasons one can apply for divorce in the State of California: (1) irreconcilable differences, (2) incurable sanity or (3) nullity of marriage for legal reasons (ie incestuous marriage, one member was not of a legal age to marry or fraud). </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Irreconcilable differences. We hear it a lot, but what does it really mean? Websters defines it as representing findings or points of view that are so different from each other that they cannot be made compatible. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
I think about this a lot. I think about the reasons for my marriage of nearly ten years to end. I chase them around in my head. The bottom line is that when you cannot agree on an idea, fact or statement, and in fact debate the meanings of certain words in a semantic fashion to beat those differences into alignment, there comes a point when you realize this is what is meant by irreconcilable differences. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It means we're not going to agree. Ever. Not gonna happen. And when it's an irreconcilable difference regarding a foundation of a relationship, at least you hope you can agree about the outcome, because there's really only one outcome if you can't agree at that point, and that's to agree to disagree. Which in this case means divorce. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Though this was initially my decision, and even though it's been over a month, I still feel stunned as I move through the process of dividing up our property and filling out what seems like endless amounts of paperwork. (It was so easy to get married?!)</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I naively thought I'd be able to blithely file the papers, put away my wedding ring, update my Facebook relationship status and move on. Instead I'm emotionally up and down. My future as a single woman is overwhelming. I know logically that time needs to work it's magic, but I won't deny that there' s a small part of me that would like to wake up from this nightmare. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">So if you ask me how I'm doing and I don't respond right away, well, some days just suck. The generosity and support of friends, family and fiber are slowly working their magic. Time will do it's thing. Life will go on. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And some day we'll have some warmer weather and we'll get to </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">play in the dirt and </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">plant out all of those seedlings we started in the greenhouse! (Sspt, yes, spring is on it's way. I saw blackberry bushes in bloom in Auburn today. It's coming.)</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-6386873309688391362011-05-14T10:42:00.000-07:002011-05-14T10:42:50.512-07:00Shearing Day<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Last Sunday Carl the Shearer came to shear Sue's goats and sheep. There are Romeldale and various Romeldale crosses. The white one is a Corriedale, and the greys are fleece mutts. Carl trimmed toes and sheared using his mobile electric shearer. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The process of trimming a sheap or goat has been called the two-minute waltz. Before mechanical shears, it would take six men approximately2-3 minutes to collectively shear a fleece. With mechanical shears and using a consistent pattern to turn the body of the sheep, a good shearer can shear an entire animal in under two minutes by himself. Mechanical shearing and the techniques that were developed by the Bowen brothers in New Zealand mean faster shearing with a more uniform cut edge and fewer cuts to the sheep, all which yield a higher value to the fleece.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here's a short video of the shearing of Queenie the Angora goat, which gives you an idea of the process of shearing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzweYn1MJ49jblU4Xj6o0J9yUEeywBkDU0BPbHEw_Vbfb_9acldf4b0ThRETChu17sU_ZO5gGu0SFL4i_iQlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here's some pics of the various wools after shearing. These will need to be skirted (removing the poopy bits) and then sent to a mill to be professional cleaned of vegetable matter and processed into fluffy roving.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-47551260782916210402011-05-08T22:51:00.000-07:002011-05-09T07:10:45.282-07:00Lots of changes<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Where to even begin? Beats me, which probably says a lot about why I haven't posted in months. So lets just gloss over unpleasant things like moving in between snow storms, losing power repeatedly, having first bronchitis, then pneumonia, and discovering that the old place was infested with black mold on the walls after we moved out.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My new home includes the opportunity for most of my favorite things: gardening, fiber, a large yard for Riley, a barn for the dairy goats, and a new flock of chickens. The new place has a greenhouse and potting shed, so we've been starting seeds weekly for the last couple of weeks. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQXAAdxXjRPYmwqTsP0Tys6ZTNui8llzkYSjbVOQt_oHhwQDEXub1J7nj-RbawA_eylhVBgQ1qlD4OMoXPYfmnbJDPstQK3Qri6PtdEBCLRJymrZUnQKBY5MvUrD6gD1kUc0JAYcRjRe4/s1600/DSCN0133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQXAAdxXjRPYmwqTsP0Tys6ZTNui8llzkYSjbVOQt_oHhwQDEXub1J7nj-RbawA_eylhVBgQ1qlD4OMoXPYfmnbJDPstQK3Qri6PtdEBCLRJymrZUnQKBY5MvUrD6gD1kUc0JAYcRjRe4/s400/DSCN0133.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</td><td style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'll confess that I've had trouble for years getting my own seeds started. Too hot, too cold, not enough light... Well, not a problem anymore. These seeds are popping up, no problem. Many of them are already developing their first sets of true leaves. That's trombetta squash in the front, then lots and lots of sunflowers. I counted fourteen dozen sunflowers and six dozen zinnias, among other things. We want lots of cutting flowers in addition to our veggies and herbs.</span></span></td><td style="text-align: left;"></td><td style="text-align: left;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Riley gives it all two paws up. (I was trying for all four paws up, but missed the moment!)</span></div><br />
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</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-44823999083594245582010-12-05T11:54:00.000-08:002010-12-05T11:54:38.233-08:00In Search of Some Holiday Cheer<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I think most of you reading this will understand, though possibly may not agree with, what I'm about to say.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">HAPPY HOLIDAYS!</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Yep, I said that dreaded PC/non-PC phrase. And why shouldn't I? I've been saying it for far longer than the idea of being politically correct has existed. Why I say it goes back to fourth grade, when my class did a project studying different religions. We visited a Catholic church and a Buddhist temple. The other fourth grade classes visited other places of worship, and then we shared what we learned. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What is it about being nine and suddenly understanding in a big way that there are other people, with vastly different ideas and customs than your own in the world? That was the year I understood that while Christmas was what the majority of the people around me celebrated, there were still many of people right there in my community who celebrated other traditions. I made a conscious decision to recognize that fact by wishing people Happy Holidays as a way to acknowledge and respect others. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Twenty-five years later, I don't describe myself as being aligned with any one religion. Seems to me that most teachings include practical concepts for living a 'better' life, but very little about bigotry, narrow-mindedness and just being rude. I don't want to be boxed into any religion if it means I can't acknowledge all traditions with a non-denominational greeting.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And as for those people who have said to my face that I'm unpatriotic, anti-Christian, etc., the nine-year-old in my really just wants to stick out her tongue. I know better and I'm not going to let anyone take it away from me.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And now for a non-denominational, wintery scene of Riley playing in the snow.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TcdqeRMQhnkFaYt87PVSM_ekV6Scro5SIWBcoaTlTYeuvLF_5cK29N7A3gdJak8Tvv17ig2INa0gSe2L5-yt5hXJyv5DPTdOBNg7IPBQjeajsrz96h-EOCcAM1nETypyKKeOFf5fzMin/s1600/DSCN1307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TcdqeRMQhnkFaYt87PVSM_ekV6Scro5SIWBcoaTlTYeuvLF_5cK29N7A3gdJak8Tvv17ig2INa0gSe2L5-yt5hXJyv5DPTdOBNg7IPBQjeajsrz96h-EOCcAM1nETypyKKeOFf5fzMin/s640/DSCN1307.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-46583601991844109672010-11-20T20:47:00.000-08:002010-11-20T20:47:34.490-08:00The Happiest Place on Earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Back in March we participated in Disney's volunteer program and earned two Disney passes, which had to be used by December 15. So we called some friends, calculated gas mileage, scrapped together some pennies, asked my sister to watch all the animals, and headed south.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEW7tRMioyTf-JiPSU-s2ABh0EngG3pFi0D0jcUZ4UOtewS3cS6uBcWShTcJ6qnPVBt1Olwb5KZVkRbumohMAkauCE4fAHnGFGC7fnFc0WkMOB5hHJHRVA39OzNWB2oTDFW9vOavypQa3/s1600/DSCN1240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEW7tRMioyTf-JiPSU-s2ABh0EngG3pFi0D0jcUZ4UOtewS3cS6uBcWShTcJ6qnPVBt1Olwb5KZVkRbumohMAkauCE4fAHnGFGC7fnFc0WkMOB5hHJHRVA39OzNWB2oTDFW9vOavypQa3/s400/DSCN1240.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">We drove and drove and drove some more. We listened to back episodes of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me to pass the time. And drove some more.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBiCIe4stI86r7RiN1mHN_kJP-L-OKN2MYRyVpwQ7Osb_yNUIheq8ooVg1JXfwtITBAN4xyFE-t4ezAswe6hBw-rX-AWJDchmN0BMjV_OFJiP5rBKu_XUyV36xEZyZHyrF0Qr7S30uqPe/s1600/DSCN1242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBiCIe4stI86r7RiN1mHN_kJP-L-OKN2MYRyVpwQ7Osb_yNUIheq8ooVg1JXfwtITBAN4xyFE-t4ezAswe6hBw-rX-AWJDchmN0BMjV_OFJiP5rBKu_XUyV36xEZyZHyrF0Qr7S30uqPe/s400/DSCN1242.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And finally we arrived. DISNEYLAND! We actually stayed two nights with our friend Debi, who is an <a href="http://www.velvettouchpainting.com/">amazing artist</a> and just happens to live in Los Angeles. She is lives in the <a href="http://www.thebreweryartistlofts.com/brewery_website_002.htm">Brewery Artist Lofts</a>, a former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery turned artist-in-residence community. </span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVKSmhjbVHsi6fvhZ7IxhlCC9O6Wvy5rzzNZMzrQm-p9hG6DhX5t_pj2aluzA0WXncJ5eU9RyLxE9mjfoWf-dvizQ6dNg-sllxcPbDjhZVtZxsDxjqT7DPU38DFYMXfvtyuxNWZmI_qpf/s1600/DSCN1253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVKSmhjbVHsi6fvhZ7IxhlCC9O6Wvy5rzzNZMzrQm-p9hG6DhX5t_pj2aluzA0WXncJ5eU9RyLxE9mjfoWf-dvizQ6dNg-sllxcPbDjhZVtZxsDxjqT7DPU38DFYMXfvtyuxNWZmI_qpf/s400/DSCN1253.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our gracious hostess doing a little product branding. Debi has an annual pass and gleefully accompanied us into the park. And she mentioned to some other mutual friends we were coming into town, so with the wonder of texting, Chris was able to meet up with us in the park.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The park was not crowded, so we were able to hit all of our favorite rides before lunch. Indiana Jones, Tarzan's Jungle House, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Innoventions, Sleeping Beauty's Walkthrough, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters. (I got the high score.)</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdvh7cygLg52LloPriF384U63pgHcEmNRI7qVn5GWXwshhNCQcjEfadsWO9mFYEuM5K4vP31H839MNW6RGsr5S9bttBGJjCWGQtStXJjoF3fDSQd3mFts9UXyu7c9MLnqZ25yeqVEPltt/s1600/DSCN1260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdvh7cygLg52LloPriF384U63pgHcEmNRI7qVn5GWXwshhNCQcjEfadsWO9mFYEuM5K4vP31H839MNW6RGsr5S9bttBGJjCWGQtStXJjoF3fDSQd3mFts9UXyu7c9MLnqZ25yeqVEPltt/s400/DSCN1260.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">On our way through the castle back into Fantasyland we found the Evil Queen, and had to stop to show our reverence. She was pleased by our recognition of her greatness. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6OtE711XfFpEqZAaFXH2Z00rpuDeCnD8Fg3e1nA6dpm_OJY545JQseE0Yrlh4tAZrv5TMggunZkFraM4QKSIq9-oTMvxPR96Y6Se8hyphenhyphenT8FawhwgYY7Sl0XM_Abf9S4RWHq0q5iStGfWop/s1600/DSCN1263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsm5NJMXunsCRIgc31XxYj5AT_RU8QGU-FExIlpDdOu2-5RMSw6BwZD71YflQN2gvis1HPkML2vwpbJQYjVD9RZzpXZvYEvEgTpTcCLU10EnarMVLYTv5IAw8vvoQn1nQM1DLIyrWGx68/s1600/DSCN1268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsm5NJMXunsCRIgc31XxYj5AT_RU8QGU-FExIlpDdOu2-5RMSw6BwZD71YflQN2gvis1HPkML2vwpbJQYjVD9RZzpXZvYEvEgTpTcCLU10EnarMVLYTv5IAw8vvoQn1nQM1DLIyrWGx68/s400/DSCN1268.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Then on to Autopia, with a lovely example of LA traffic, including irate drivers. (Chris is a deaf interpreter and has a very expressive face.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEP0F8HVQHHlosimCIEuitBDHO1ak9iC0px9wgzm2wAI_pNR6R339D0Sc5Y3IjIX2aEFIsU2Ctwrh6Z0jrOHM05GSNC-c9Bg4yMdMmRKzcZcJMMz-QKwiqReIw6xbT1Ts1xY8f5wH7CCRT/s1600/DSCN1287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEP0F8HVQHHlosimCIEuitBDHO1ak9iC0px9wgzm2wAI_pNR6R339D0Sc5Y3IjIX2aEFIsU2Ctwrh6Z0jrOHM05GSNC-c9Bg4yMdMmRKzcZcJMMz-QKwiqReIw6xbT1Ts1xY8f5wH7CCRT/s400/DSCN1287.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lunch, teacups, Finding Nemo, Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Indiana Jones for the second time, running around the former Tom Sawyer's island, now Pirate's Cove. I'm sure I'm forgetting something in there, like Winnie the Pooh.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpcSMjhbAgpnBtzMKnsfx7taD-JKqSUtXrMe7StIKk-f-kHhE3AiV6hyn-18kR4ANHHI6DfejTlGzjKicUOio2CoE-cgoHcN3cxuwHTq6OQMfVn5kGYCHh37Ysc0aOTD_h5KXVwTkpKtl/s1600/DSCN1297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpcSMjhbAgpnBtzMKnsfx7taD-JKqSUtXrMe7StIKk-f-kHhE3AiV6hyn-18kR4ANHHI6DfejTlGzjKicUOio2CoE-cgoHcN3cxuwHTq6OQMfVn5kGYCHh37Ysc0aOTD_h5KXVwTkpKtl/s400/DSCN1297.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">After the amazing fireworks and 'snow' on Main Street we ran back into Fantasyland for awhile, rode the carousel, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Storybook Canal, and Snow White's Scary Adventures. Through Sleeping Beauty's Castle one more time. While waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion, the rain that had been threatening all day finally opened up and poured. It was after 11pm and we were done. A total of 13 hours in the park. Don't know when we'll get back south again, but it was all worth it.</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-57999857190744910852010-11-07T17:47:00.000-08:002010-11-07T17:47:23.064-08:00Stuck in Mud<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Today was the 8th Annual EcoKids. Today it also rained. A lot. In the last 24 hours it dumped 1.77 inches on Grass Valley, of which 0.64 was received in the last 6 hours. Yep, that would be the same six hours during which we set up the Burton Homestead, opened, and subsequently were utterly rained out. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This wasn't just a little rain. How do I know? Well, first off is <a href="http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/google_precip.php">this nifty website produced</a> by the National Weather Service that I posted on Facebook during the last storm. Be sure to play with the different time scenarios during and after a storm. So very cool. So yes, over half an inch during the time frame in question.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Secondly, there was water sheeting off of the ground, which then lead to the further observation that our meadow aka parking lot for the event was rapidly turning very soggy.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4-S9N_PC-RFkUTwuwVMqRL8UbI3rY_N5MUsYlP51lcozr_tnCg4TwuIKpMH0UjhrkVa0XTnH2zJ5q6xARybKTrU1gtbN-xePnB9HUJSnVw-TRY6z7zQgzQAPYqVw5VqdKT_t2_eyTxMz/s1600/stuck+in+the+mud+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4-S9N_PC-RFkUTwuwVMqRL8UbI3rY_N5MUsYlP51lcozr_tnCg4TwuIKpMH0UjhrkVa0XTnH2zJ5q6xARybKTrU1gtbN-xePnB9HUJSnVw-TRY6z7zQgzQAPYqVw5VqdKT_t2_eyTxMz/s320/stuck+in+the+mud+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Why do people assume that just because they have 4WD that this won't happen to them? People were very nice but a bit dismissive of my AWD Scion. I could feel how slick the ground was, thought I was going to make it, but no. Completely stuck, almost to the bumper line on the passenger side. So people in 4WD and big pick ups tried to make it out and got equally stuck. Luckily my Geico insurance coverage included tow service. Within 15 minutes I had a tow truck and got pulled out of the mud.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdv7Z6Cip14MjGZdW8n1Yk9RNVfBOS94Bmt5LVqKCkhT0yBoT9lzSHKYWMfpuH8Aq-aW4pCvBTLqLhEr4x8HmGHZOjvzejbwLuHrnpi-9kDcgowaC-qp2VAvFshWqn5d-9_6pnDAB_r77N/s1600/stuck+in+the+mud+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdv7Z6Cip14MjGZdW8n1Yk9RNVfBOS94Bmt5LVqKCkhT0yBoT9lzSHKYWMfpuH8Aq-aW4pCvBTLqLhEr4x8HmGHZOjvzejbwLuHrnpi-9kDcgowaC-qp2VAvFshWqn5d-9_6pnDAB_r77N/s320/stuck+in+the+mud+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">The tow truck driver made short work on installing the tow bolts on the front of my bumper. I never knew that's what those big eye bolt looking things with my spare tire stuff were for. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeyRkcDII2aN9vOLINlHOqk6Oihe7EZ1JAkgw1gdpgaYAh-8GdylRsSpydv4PYJ3E9TqJhEdeJxqxuNMuo81pd8ACGXXJ2z_nACSn4SJ82wjdYkO-o04iDAsDpGgdcxXaMMHRtfCWUCc9/s1600/stuck+in+the+mud+-+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeyRkcDII2aN9vOLINlHOqk6Oihe7EZ1JAkgw1gdpgaYAh-8GdylRsSpydv4PYJ3E9TqJhEdeJxqxuNMuo81pd8ACGXXJ2z_nACSn4SJ82wjdYkO-o04iDAsDpGgdcxXaMMHRtfCWUCc9/s320/stuck+in+the+mud+-+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We made it home ok after that, where DH had started a fire in the wood stove and had a lovely pot of our locally sourced chicken (see previous post) whipped into a lovely chicken veg rice soup.<span id="goog_729444400"></span><span id="goog_729444401"></span></span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-12640192308571758452010-10-30T15:31:00.000-07:002010-10-30T18:19:41.736-07:00Alouetté, gentille alouetté...<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Warning - this contains some detailed photos of our us harvesting our excess roosters.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This summer our broody hens hatched out seven chicks, of which four turned out to be boys. Now, hopefully you know by now that you don't need roosters for hens to lay eggs. Additionally, when you have more than one rooster fighting for dominion over the harem things can turn nasty. Our dominant, three-year-old rooster Kazoo will not share the coop with the young upstarts, so every night we have to go out with a flashlight and rescue the recalcitrant boys off the roof of the coop and shove them in with everyone else. Since it's hard to find homes for excess boys, we decided to take the plunge and do our first chicken harvest.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Neither of us had harvested chickens before, so we watched some youtube videos. I liked <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy_vutu5qO0&NR=1">this one</a> the best. We dressed in Troy's cooking clothes. Set up an ice bath, trash can, hanging hook, cutting board, and knives, and caught us a rooster boy each.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmNz4CC6AN7fWD1ppY8H4kKmt8o53eP0igH-CSV8nbFjWYZMxRXq-HeZJZge1LMlZmdd3HnP-Tq_6O7XJviBTDSSJlJAVGCk85pXTEGGBL-7YCXtLjUUse8FFeFU02sTR2TjoIqznaN_b/s1600/DSCN1209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmNz4CC6AN7fWD1ppY8H4kKmt8o53eP0igH-CSV8nbFjWYZMxRXq-HeZJZge1LMlZmdd3HnP-Tq_6O7XJviBTDSSJlJAVGCk85pXTEGGBL-7YCXtLjUUse8FFeFU02sTR2TjoIqznaN_b/s400/DSCN1209.jpg" width="300" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We didn't have a cone, so we simply tied them up by their feet and bleed them out by cutting a carotid artery on the side of the neck. The chickens are already in a semi-stupor when held upside down, and once they loose significant blood pressure, it all ends pretty quickly. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNo_OO-As0utM8A0pWPodYf4AdTWMzi2vycEublPqZNssvnytDJnCuiT3mfZgY7k-IdvCOkHW1SzA0Z_uhn9JUYLDOYlf8PuhoEynR1t-2qkIo2jpuJJj_the_RFzdnIFA7zdVkNLtDRs/s1600/DSCN1212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNo_OO-As0utM8A0pWPodYf4AdTWMzi2vycEublPqZNssvnytDJnCuiT3mfZgY7k-IdvCOkHW1SzA0Z_uhn9JUYLDOYlf8PuhoEynR1t-2qkIo2jpuJJj_the_RFzdnIFA7zdVkNLtDRs/s400/DSCN1212.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Troy decided he wanted to try skinning his chicken. Here it is after being rinsed off.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHMOyh7j8hrpMGPIrYSZePj47JlZDuq8ytHPskZkS8Fso1LZLbK8OOIaCMou8aj6vdj23QTWpB6Dmlv1FQXZIfgvMRedIbIq-Jj8dcdj0ZqvQLXhgdgXm_6UgV3WkPkK1CAffp1mqN77t/s1600/DSCN1210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHMOyh7j8hrpMGPIrYSZePj47JlZDuq8ytHPskZkS8Fso1LZLbK8OOIaCMou8aj6vdj23QTWpB6Dmlv1FQXZIfgvMRedIbIq-Jj8dcdj0ZqvQLXhgdgXm_6UgV3WkPkK1CAffp1mqN77t/s400/DSCN1210.jpg" width="400" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNo_OO-As0utM8A0pWPodYf4AdTWMzi2vycEublPqZNssvnytDJnCuiT3mfZgY7k-IdvCOkHW1SzA0Z_uhn9JUYLDOYlf8PuhoEynR1t-2qkIo2jpuJJj_the_RFzdnIFA7zdVkNLtDRs/s1600/DSCN1212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I wanted to go traditional by plucking my bird. There is definitely a knack to it, and while there are a few pins left in the skin, it wasn't that hard. This is my bird after plucking. Really does look like one of those imitation rubber chickens.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjil7T56aSfCLaB1feNvHBE-2GPMzWs_ruK9PLK7NoMtUgZn8Ck1DB9dm6XSgiwWWQ29zRtidMQZIgu4vSuT9I8U_PYvj3XzT09K0HQtTgn4-wwY-JvHe2Hop3RfMw2LJGJVChkRjWVqY/s1600/DSCN1213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifl89FM8nQUy4AGOVHSCSGGrQk0Y1Q1zKd7swpgJrdjmHrHVTTK8Kfl-9gD2FJ2hi-7nuDV-6MxQMAwddVO6ueJ3Kk62AN6U1Fy2-sHWSvR97yXpGpyD8Yydqmu6AJdH9TZE9KDlaFKHCW/s1600/DSCN1214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifl89FM8nQUy4AGOVHSCSGGrQk0Y1Q1zKd7swpgJrdjmHrHVTTK8Kfl-9gD2FJ2hi-7nuDV-6MxQMAwddVO6ueJ3Kk62AN6U1Fy2-sHWSvR97yXpGpyD8Yydqmu6AJdH9TZE9KDlaFKHCW/s320/DSCN1214.jpg" width="320" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There's the crop. Don't want to cut that open accidentally. This is where all of those biology dissections really come in handy. Pulling apart viscera is the same on all animals.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVGvupE_c9Y8cgsC-q0uVHf9mtkfGSUMFAJLwxxEPr-Ss7qrXyzGUP8fdpdmFhYrgu2fUxIy-t20e7IRxmRlwK9I8BnzImAEH2CkK9nOTrZ_4pdHOmDOhEKM2ZPKz4N9-JMUeSYLrZCw_/s1600/DSCN1216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVGvupE_c9Y8cgsC-q0uVHf9mtkfGSUMFAJLwxxEPr-Ss7qrXyzGUP8fdpdmFhYrgu2fUxIy-t20e7IRxmRlwK9I8BnzImAEH2CkK9nOTrZ_4pdHOmDOhEKM2ZPKz4N9-JMUeSYLrZCw_/s320/DSCN1216.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes Mom, that's me doing the nitty gritty. I really did stick my hand repeatedly into the chicken. (Ask me about the time I didn't eat chicken for several months after being threatened to stick my hand into the chicken or go without.)</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When we were done we rinsed out each carcass and placed them in the ice bath to finish cooling rapidly, finally putting them in a freezer bag and into the freezer. Since these birds are all from breeds that specialize in egg laying, they don't have the plump breasts that meat birds do, so these won't be great roasting birds. Also, at four months of age are probably beginning to toughen up just a bit. Most roasting birds are harvested at 10-12 weeks old. These'll probably go into a soup or stew pot.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisw4jod5BPc4s_wLtwHUGwf0NT4SLblJQJepS_ZRzIW9tbwAnFQqu1zpiC2JqpqCrb7A2tODiDHzVyKLxxiv93koLPew_gw03J4Cb5IYgEZ1pUUOhTiHKix3Eu-I5HHsomPzaJfPnLK2h4/s1600/DSCN1215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-82085283564559161082010-10-13T10:49:00.000-07:002010-10-13T10:49:22.969-07:00The Life of Riley<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I've heard there haven't been enough Riley posts, so here you go, our life with Riley. Enjoy!</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGM_7uL8r0A148aMADGMZPk4yLRM-oo3tCseumggEBufElLie0aWYZyzpyQ4bVE9JTx5cSPGU1tQeXsWcCKZk9OsTrAljT_-MoKahZaRhKzKamKXsBg0alT6MbW_Qz6TAscpM7wr2fzt99/s400/Riley+Album+-+04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="350" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day one with 13 week old, tri-color Welsh Pembroke Corgi, Riley.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGM_7uL8r0A148aMADGMZPk4yLRM-oo3tCseumggEBufElLie0aWYZyzpyQ4bVE9JTx5cSPGU1tQeXsWcCKZk9OsTrAljT_-MoKahZaRhKzKamKXsBg0alT6MbW_Qz6TAscpM7wr2fzt99/s1600/Riley+Album+-+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUxluSRsl0EHprUyipmwsgBW1MNYzQdz4WFDpJSLVneu9hTjRhwaAV9T6tzVf1t5Bt5y0iMAeHIVf-qhIm1Th6atlku5bNIP4ACVh30oDJ1fqlxQSKLiYRVGkPJmJCNCQtkFA4s-lNNUX/s400/Riley+Album+-+15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out with Ringo at 49er Feed and Farm Supply, a full size male Corgi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUxluSRsl0EHprUyipmwsgBW1MNYzQdz4WFDpJSLVneu9hTjRhwaAV9T6tzVf1t5Bt5y0iMAeHIVf-qhIm1Th6atlku5bNIP4ACVh30oDJ1fqlxQSKLiYRVGkPJmJCNCQtkFA4s-lNNUX/s1600/Riley+Album+-+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoFM8ajZt34VGjqnGoUZPolUKVqz3jswTF0H6PzokFyD5fgzeVIdb9wYv2xdNoiuQkF0tesadyfzgleNCfUwgpm_uKq58q0TjfwRrF9gOx3kn68LPMclbneH8LU4tCSjM2Z6pCw5pNTsa/s400/Riley+Album+-+25.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running in green fields while I work, 5 mo old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoFM8ajZt34VGjqnGoUZPolUKVqz3jswTF0H6PzokFyD5fgzeVIdb9wYv2xdNoiuQkF0tesadyfzgleNCfUwgpm_uKq58q0TjfwRrF9gOx3kn68LPMclbneH8LU4tCSjM2Z6pCw5pNTsa/s1600/Riley+Album+-+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGKkE1tl9eddpKLyPmx9QDymbxNbb7d4oVtcMXcatlWVPXnB23feIeAdge7-Y86S_U5W2CD8ftIn5IZ-s4wREg714Ic5n4sGa05QikZtthntqJHS0r78EbZ6CF_nWuGTrAu1O2_J8seSg/s400/Riley+Album+-+26.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going to work. Water? Check. GPS? Check. 7 mo old Riley? Check.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGKkE1tl9eddpKLyPmx9QDymbxNbb7d4oVtcMXcatlWVPXnB23feIeAdge7-Y86S_U5W2CD8ftIn5IZ-s4wREg714Ic5n4sGa05QikZtthntqJHS0r78EbZ6CF_nWuGTrAu1O2_J8seSg/s1600/Riley+Album+-+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sWUXYTk_oyYnoJdnBkxERdq-gkECDYspDdbJr82IoALQzPq9hAKalr4p-oHAP4Mt8r8HB2LdhrTzMj2Wu4FM7O_WCiSJqhRX7U_7WZhETT50DEjzeZMlx81LrFmZzVl3hjfnFSkycjho/s400/Riley+Album+-+29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exhausted after a morning of playing and exploring in Forest City, 8 mo old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sWUXYTk_oyYnoJdnBkxERdq-gkECDYspDdbJr82IoALQzPq9hAKalr4p-oHAP4Mt8r8HB2LdhrTzMj2Wu4FM7O_WCiSJqhRX7U_7WZhETT50DEjzeZMlx81LrFmZzVl3hjfnFSkycjho/s1600/Riley+Album+-+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyopfw9QH9aT0t_jsor13BmFH1Dncz8jU1F15BWXgaTeU3MuAwM3dn5_9UlU-q_VA4_W9hgK5oNLH8FSndVu4Ky6ZMQRT7ZsnXu8kUMq3M7RybwVkG9CuLg_dJvBXtoGCeKdks8sRsbC7n/s400/Riley+Album+-+30.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special canine supervision at work, 9 mo old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyopfw9QH9aT0t_jsor13BmFH1Dncz8jU1F15BWXgaTeU3MuAwM3dn5_9UlU-q_VA4_W9hgK5oNLH8FSndVu4Ky6ZMQRT7ZsnXu8kUMq3M7RybwVkG9CuLg_dJvBXtoGCeKdks8sRsbC7n/s1600/Riley+Album+-+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhhtl_KjYqW1Dzosc_FlnfZNobSR4oyBVU7QKQtshX80Aq4rL4Bs9O_Zy3VvDRKNBWGij0laJs_iAUBM-2bMf6BbwK8oIM4wi49WKgv9xNXfhTKRrsqY9kGLXGMWVh9T-OdXduufgVOZX/s400/Riley+Album+-+31.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping Sue Flynn sweep the floor after Spinning Saturday, 9 mo old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhhtl_KjYqW1Dzosc_FlnfZNobSR4oyBVU7QKQtshX80Aq4rL4Bs9O_Zy3VvDRKNBWGij0laJs_iAUBM-2bMf6BbwK8oIM4wi49WKgv9xNXfhTKRrsqY9kGLXGMWVh9T-OdXduufgVOZX/s1600/Riley+Album+-+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhC1tb9veJWMnZcIvaQ4fMJfCQ0tuPqN1GjmMkHN_i_vfaqKEsZ1SSTk0I604oQ5Z_jbRZBJqa4TWVs4AyIvzXGs4rXV4Zonpmg_Qy9YKKUEo66f1JvFOsss4SxAQwiIB1GKkqZmrHSpR/s1600/Riley+Album+-+35.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging at the river and patrolling the boundary, 10 mo old.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhC1tb9veJWMnZcIvaQ4fMJfCQ0tuPqN1GjmMkHN_i_vfaqKEsZ1SSTk0I604oQ5Z_jbRZBJqa4TWVs4AyIvzXGs4rXV4Zonpmg_Qy9YKKUEo66f1JvFOsss4SxAQwiIB1GKkqZmrHSpR/s1600/Riley+Album+-+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">After preparing this post, we found out that Ringo, our Corgi friend at 49er Feed and Farm Supply on Wolf Road, was fatally injured after being hit by a car Saturday afternoon. Our deepest sympathies go out to Ringo's family. He will be missed by many in the community.<br />
</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-13898269867365038072010-10-10T15:57:00.000-07:002010-10-10T15:57:33.229-07:00Grass Valley Celtic Festival<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Grass Valley Celtic Festival hosted by KVMR is my annual chance to reunite with friends acquired during the eleven years I worked and played at Renaissance Faires. The last several years I was in faire I braided hair with Adorn Thy Hair/Tresses Entwined, and the Celtic Festival is not only at my local faire grounds, the hair braiding booth comes every year.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Good friends, good music, best fairgrounds anywhere! And then it turns out that my fiber guild also participates as entertainment. Wham! My local, fiber and faire worlds collide. It means a lot of my favorite people all centralized into one place. I even spun a bit when I wasn't braiding.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara Sue with her masses of hair.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jocelyn with her long hair and sunglasses. (Sspt, those aren't period sunglasses.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riley made lots of new friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiffany getting to play...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And even Leann and Shane from Americoprs stopped by!</td></tr>
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</span></div>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-26989662768730082932010-10-10T15:39:00.000-07:002010-10-10T15:39:16.053-07:00Getting ready for winter<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last week's chance of rain had us scrambling to put things back under shelter, caulk the holes in the shed and getting the chimneys cleaned out and ready to use. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Some things we try to do all summer, like cutting and stacking fire wood, but there is invariably a fall scramble to get everything done.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There's a reason for fall cleaning in addition to spring cleaning. I need this kick in the pants, I mean opportunity, to organize and put away all of that stuff left laying around out of doors while we work on projects. Trimming goat hoofs and making new garden trellises means that bags of screws, drill bits, etc., are often left left wherever I used them last in one mad attempt after another to squeeze one more activity into my day, and now we have the seasoning of reckoning at hand. I've even cleaned out the garden cart!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We're not the only ones getting ready for winter; we found this praying mantis in our bathroom earlier this week, happily munching on a resident crane fly. The first year we were here we had a mantis take up residence behind the African violet on the bathroom shelf. There's no plant there now, but this guy seems just as happy hanging out by my deodorant or on the bathroom mirror.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQFN_AN9at6H3Y2gvjvK53Wov0WAb6ZOtLg3PYr2thZ3ck_auNCZGj65h6VYf88gxBEgrt_qwWYIg6NVao70AAxMOioA-gFRRg2Q0PKEx1SRaLxUMYDulKLNw1e-eIm_Fdi2m8WIv356u/s1600/mantis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQFN_AN9at6H3Y2gvjvK53Wov0WAb6ZOtLg3PYr2thZ3ck_auNCZGj65h6VYf88gxBEgrt_qwWYIg6NVao70AAxMOioA-gFRRg2Q0PKEx1SRaLxUMYDulKLNw1e-eIm_Fdi2m8WIv356u/s320/mantis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So going down the list, chance of rain scare not withstanding, we have maybe a cord of wood put by, the yard raked, about half the tools put away, fall veggies planted and chimneys cleaned. We still need to finish roofing the new goat pen, finish organizing the tool box, built a compost bin, organized the garden tools and pots... I think I'm losing the battle.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Of our babies born this summer, well some of them are almost all grown up, with some surprises. The triplet doelings are doing superb, and have put on enough growth that they should handle the cold without any problems. And those twin boys from Pi? Well, turns out one of them was a girl too! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brack, 3 mo old wither from Pi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDevHaUqh17br1NUjeoarIjhyphenhyphen1fyTECV8_jqGr7xRu8lsjJUHhCpielui-xAAB9GG29fydbK5JXlkGU2eUJk7V8PT-QyQ1ufJaqYcYsIcqZClox3Vfsv4saoC71Tp-badv9Wr_fU07dljd/s400/goat+babies+Bess,+Bridget.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bess and Mary, 5 mo old doelings from Maharani</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Unfortunately, it turns out that Pi isn't that great for milking. Small udder, undeveloped teats even after nursing for three months, so we swapped her out with 3/4 La Mancha doe from <a href="http://www.questenclave.org/">Quest Enclave</a>, who is Pi's actual owner. In exchange for wintering at our place, I can milk Bean until it's time to dry her up halfway through her next pregnancy, sometime mid-spring. Already Bean is an obliging, sweet goat who is giving us about a pint of milk each morning. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bean, newest addition</td></tr>
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</span></span>Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730310750864966773.post-31146583766949012732010-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:002010-08-22T13:11:49.576-07:00Quick Catch UpI'm sure it's a cliché to say that I'm not sure where the last six weeks has gone. I can look at my calendar and see events, one after the other.<br />
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There was the rest of Le Tour de Fleece, during which I spun everyday except for the two rest days and the last two days during which I had the flu and was trying to keep the entire world from spinning while I moaned on the couch. I did spin for several days after to make up for the missing days, and have a lot to show for my efforts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pdpOk3xcXj8MKELYbUpqp-3Vdsz2pSiByWlNRhBo0m15oH_OdbVuajHlqgK0St4UNde6OnE-5RxoeIOYoHXKdwzm0WYVvAWOzMsvXcJQ_OtpBSdx1Yz-18pRvkJm7tI3Jni2Okohm3u1/s1600/Fiber+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pdpOk3xcXj8MKELYbUpqp-3Vdsz2pSiByWlNRhBo0m15oH_OdbVuajHlqgK0St4UNde6OnE-5RxoeIOYoHXKdwzm0WYVvAWOzMsvXcJQ_OtpBSdx1Yz-18pRvkJm7tI3Jni2Okohm3u1/s400/Fiber+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dLGYpOGncy-tjOewl1HnMITMLxga8GHyjKRH1SGvox6r3I_BaAs7FwoJl54Rgb_qCgTFQ78zv-eXZhIGb7vyF5vvE4soqtBp_QHXzz5Vc900zWn8Jz6uKQ1IZvx5cxRcyeWBPkDBjSL3/s1600/Collision+Fiber+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dLGYpOGncy-tjOewl1HnMITMLxga8GHyjKRH1SGvox6r3I_BaAs7FwoJl54Rgb_qCgTFQ78zv-eXZhIGb7vyF5vvE4soqtBp_QHXzz5Vc900zWn8Jz6uKQ1IZvx5cxRcyeWBPkDBjSL3/s400/Collision+Fiber+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
There was a mountain retreat to Forest City, filled with girlfriends, laughter, excellent food and, of course, more fiber and spinning. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ltd6NgxEieYVsI5UPm6cEaxw6RjzB5T5Y-WT3w_jZO7Jlb_ZPsr12_ph4SzhmBXKSn3bqXleVF97laHeHZ4JVBcvhQD0LOQf4Tf3hi4xL3T_iQ4YBEDjSzhOn-i0T4PODNvpM_1P_CeB/s1600/forest+city+spinning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ltd6NgxEieYVsI5UPm6cEaxw6RjzB5T5Y-WT3w_jZO7Jlb_ZPsr12_ph4SzhmBXKSn3bqXleVF97laHeHZ4JVBcvhQD0LOQf4Tf3hi4xL3T_iQ4YBEDjSzhOn-i0T4PODNvpM_1P_CeB/s400/forest+city+spinning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Riley was exhausted by it all.<br />
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At roughly 5000' and far away from light pollution, I felt compelled to use the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-walk-5-stars-astronomy/id295430577?mt=8">stargazing</a> app on my iTouch to identify many of the constellations. I really like this application and have continued to use it at home to learn more about the night sky.<br />
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Then there was the always inspiring Nevada County Fair. The local fiber guild hosts the woolen and woven entries at the fair each year, breaking up the duties amongst ourselves. I didn't enter anything this year, having suffered an overdose of procrastination when it was time to register exhibits, but I did help receive all of the beautiful entries and then volunteered three nights of the fair to demonstrate spinning. In other words, it's another excuse to hang out with girlfriends, gab and spin. There may also have been some Lazy Dog ice cream involved, but I'm not telling.<br />
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Jocelyn also taught Mardi, Barbara Sue and I how to use the inkle looms, and now I'm thinking about what wonderful projects I might make. <br />
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On the home front we've been doing winter prep. It seems far away now, but we only have half a cord of wood, which means we need to keep harvesting. We'll go through at least two cords, more if it's a nasty/early/cold winter. We're also doing a few weatherizing improvements and getting fall vegetables transplanted into the garden. I snugged starts of broccoli, red cabbage, brussel sprouts and parsley into the garden this morning, where the larger summer plants will help shade the new plants while they get their root systems established.Lucihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198014141555869921noreply@blogger.com1