Let's Winterize The Fences, Shall We?

Hubby is going away hunting. Last year when he decided to do this, he came back damaged.  We're hoping he doesn't do that again.

It's traditional for me to undertake a big project when he leaves me alone for any length of time. The project that I wanted to do has been vetoed because he doesn't want me to run the saws while I'm alone. If you know me personally, you realize this sticks in my craw, and he's smart enough to know that if he's going to make a statement like that, he damn well better back it up with a rational rationale.

His reason this time: We can't have you hurt, because if you hurt yourself and can't work, we are sunk. (he still can't work from his last year's injury).
Ok, I know he's right, so I revised my plan. Now I'll spend my time getting the farm ready for winter, so that he doesn't have to and can help me with my project when he gets back.
Smart, eh?

Don't think for one minute I didn't see through that, but when he makes a valid argument I usually try to pay attention.
So, instead of redoing my bathroom cabinets, sink and vanity, I will fix fences and just generally winterize the farm.

Without a skid steer.

Let me say that again, in case any of you get the implications of that statement.

Without A Skid Steer! (Bobcat)

I will attempt to haul up a couple of loads of wood to the deck (without a bobcat, or a truck if the battery doesn't get replaced or the tire fixed...)

I will finally get the chicken pen enlarged and the hen house cleaned out (yuck)

I will get a few odds and ends picked up, like old fencing, fence posts, wire, get hoses drained and rolled up, a bunch of trash burned... little stuff like that. Maybe get the barn cleaned out.

And hockey watched, and knitting knitted, and a lot of bike rides if the weather cooperates.

This time of year I'm very cognizant of the fact that my riding days are coming to an end so any excuse to fire her up and take her for a ride pretty much takes precedence.

I need to get my cabbage shredded, crocks washed and put the two together to make sauerkraut. More grapes need to be turned into juice.

Hay loft needs to be rearranged to make it more suitable for winter, and the tops of the chicken pens need to be sturdied so they don't collapse under the snow load.

So much to do. So little time....

But I love fall.
And you know I love my farm.

Life Is Good!

What Happened To My Summer?

This may be forever known as The Summer That Wasn't. The winter lasted forever, then we got a few weeks of spring, a few weeks of "hotter than hell" and then fall.

As luck would have it, lack of summer, also means lack of projects that were slated to be completed during the summer, didn't get done.

Let's revisit some of the projects that were supposed to get done, shall we?

Chicken pen to be enlarged? Nope.

Back deck steps and railings? Nope.

Barn painted? Nope.

Greenhouse? Major nope! (major bummer....)

What did get done?

On the farm.... Chickens raised and butchered.

That's about it!

Spent a lot of time on my bike touring Northern Michigan, and , OH YEAH!!! The Rockies!

Some friends, hubby and I took our motorcycles out to Colorado where we spent one glorious week riding our bikes around and through the great mountains (and myself, having dropped my bike on my foot resulting in a broken bone or two, hobbled along for the ride as it were).

Totally awesome!

But then as we drove back into Michigan, real life creeped back in. There was a garden that needed to be weeded, a house and farm to be maintained and critters that required attention. That and the Mouth decided to move to Alaska, but I'm not over that yet so....

So, the garden got weeded and the foot hurt.

The critters got maintained and the foot hurt.

The house and farm were revisited and the foot hurt. And it continues to hurt, despite the fact that it has been over 2 months and it should have healed by now. Just sayin....

The tomatoes have been canned, and the grapes and cabbages are next in line, but this weekend is the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival, so in the kitchen playing with jars and canning lids is not where I want to be.

We have a new addition to the critter family. When The Mouth moved to Alaska she kind of forgot to take her dog with her. So guess who got her. "her" is a 4 year old boxer, the sweetest girl ever, very affectionate, loves to give hugs and kisses, and has a loveable goofy look about her. She's not the brightest crayon in the box, but she's nice and since I didn't want her to go to just anyone, we took her.

I've got two knitting projects I'm working on. The first is an awesome side to side knit vest from a new book by Interweave called Knitting Off The Axis. I'm using Knit Picks new Wool of the Andes Tweed in a purple heathery tweed. Sooo cool!

The second is a pair of socks with Noro's Silk Garden sock yarn. These ones will be warm. The first heel got turned today, and maybe tomorrow while at the Lamb and Wool Festival, I'll be able to finish it. Maybe. Still having arm issues, so have to take it easy but as long as I go slow, the knitting will still happen.

So that's all that's been happening. Looking forward to a color tour in a few weeks on the bikes, will be awesome!

Life is Good (and as if it needed to get any better... hockey season is starting!!!!!!)

I'm Over It! Time To Start Over....

I am sooo over this cold. It had it's day (week) and then came back for round 2. No! No round 2!
Jumped out of bed (crawled, whining and crying) with renewed ambition.
Spring is right around the corner, and someone has to whip this farm into shape. This year will be the year of the farm!
Yup! This year the farm will start to pay for itself.

And my first act is to get the chickens in shape. Have to wait a bit for some of the 1.5' of snow remaining to melt, but with temps in the 40's this week, plus rain coming that will help. The chicken pen needs to be enlarged. We set the posts last fall and then someone who shall remain nameless saw fit to break his leg and ankle, sending us down a 5 month road to nothing getting done. I have to go to Home Depot, maybe today and see what kind of netting or hardware cloth I can get (cheap) to drape over the top of the chicken pen. Yesterday I hacked enough ice away from the door of the coop so that I could pen them in again. Pen them in at night, let them out during the day. At least until I get a "lid" on the pen so they can stay in there.

I can't go to the Tractor Supply Store yet, (because they have baby chix) and I can never resist those. Especially since I want to get turkeys again this year.
I'm torn between my chickens. On one hand I wanted all of one breed (did the research and figured that for eggs and meat, in this climate, buffs were best, so I bought a bunch of them last year, they would lay and give me eggs and more little birdies, but on the other hand, it looks kind of cool to have all different kinds of chickens, all shapes and colors, running around. So I'll wait a week or so to visit the Tractor Store, then probably come back with more chickens than I need.

In the knitting arena, I'm still working on a mohair cowl made from Aloft (Knit Picks). I got the yarn to try out, and Clover USA was totally cool enough to send me their new line of bamboo interchangeables from Takumi to try out. I LOVE them, but I knew I would. I'm all about wooden and bamboo needles. I have the Addi Clicks and the Denise set, but even though they "click" into place and the others "screw", I prefer the bamboo. Easier on these old, arthritic, farmer hands. They have just enough "grab" to keep the stitches in place while my stiffer than they should be hands and fingers have a chance to work the stitches. Anyway, the pattern is just a long rectangle with a herringbone stitch. Totally cool stitch pattern, but it's not one of those mindless patterns. Have to watch every stitch. But it's almost done, then a picture.

So, for today, after work, I'll get into town and do some grocery shopping, then come home and put Bu-Dawgh's trolley back up. I have a run for him, from the cabin to the barn, but last year during haying season, the trolley broke and never got put back up. That will get done today, as well as planting more tomatoes.

Going to set up my Ebay shop again too, lots and lots of stuff I can get rid of to make room for living as well as make some money to buy more yarn, I mean to get stuff paid off!

My bike is on the trailer, ready to go to the bike doctor. It needs a few fine tune ups, to survive our Ride in the Rockies this summer. If hubby doesn't go fishing tonight, we'll take that over.

Life is Good!

Grapes, Grapes and More Grapes!

I got grapes (concord)!

5 or so years ago, hubby bought me a grape plant for mother's day, or an anniversary, or a birthday, I don't remember. I planted it out in the yard and it entertained me for a few years. I cut off the grape vines, made stuff out of them, and occasionally would it provide me with a handful of yummy, tart grapes.

This year, I GOT GRAPES! Lots and lots of grapes. And they are soooo yummy. They have seeds, but no matter.

So this morning I went out and gathered them all up, not sure what I would do with them. Showed them to hubby and he said "jelly"! I said, "no"!

I don't make jelly, only because I can't stand to throw away all of that flavorful pulp just to make a clear jelly, so we compromised on jam.

Never made grape jam before, so I Googled a recipe and came up with the one below. Have a birthday party to go to this afternoon, so later on today I'll make my jam. I'm estimating I have about 2 gallons of grapes, so that should make for quite a bit of jam. Sooo excited.

Still have to gather up the remaining tomatoes, we will likely have frost this week, and the cabbages are almost ready too.

The steers have been butchered and the new roosters are starting to fertilize eggs (red spots when I crack them open).

Fall on the farm! Time for harvest, and this year, harvest I will. Didn't plant any pumpkins so I'll have to buy some, but that's ok. I'll put them out on the front deck for decorations, then can them up for pies and butters in the winter. After the first hard freeze I'll go after apples. Hoping to make tons of butters and applesauce. Yum! The smells of autumn in the kitchen.

Grandson #1 got his first deer this morning, very excited for him, now he can enjoy venison that he actually harvested.

Lit the woodstove for the first time this season last night. It only got down to about 39, but it's been cool for a few days, so the cabin is starting to cool down. Time to bring up more wood to the deck! I LOVE the hustle and bustle of autumn, and the colors of the trees? Let's not even go there. Spectacular!!

Taking a motorcycle trip over to the Western side of Michigan in a week or so to see the colors over there! Can't wait!!

This weekend was the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wood Festival and while I didn't do much shopping, I did take a couple of classes. One was in hand painting sock blanks, and the other was knitting 2 socks at once. It was fun and relaxing. Between classes I sat on a picnic table outside and enjoyed the smell of the cooking vendors and the cool breeze blowing through the gigantic oaks out on the fairgrounds.

Life is Good!!

Grape Jam

2 qts of grapes

6 cups of sugar.

Wash and mash the grapes in a stock pot, mash them to get the juices flowing

Heat until soft, then run through a mill to get rid of seeds (keep them in the fridge so they can be germinated next year!)

Stir in 6 cups of sugar

Bring to a boil and boil rapidly until the sugar is dissolved. Skim off any foam.

When it has boiled long enough that the cooled jam is of gel consistency (a frozen spoon will tell you immediately if it's cooked long enough) ladle it into clean, sterilized jars.

Process in a boiling water bath for 15 mins (either pints or quarts).

I'll let you know how it turns out!

4 Red Leaves!

This totally goes on the "What In The World" shelf. The other day (date is important here), I found, under my maple tree, are you ready for this? 4 RED LEAVES!

"So what?" you might say!

"???" I say! (complete with silent waving of arms and expression of disbelief on my face)

"What does finding a few red leaves on the ground have to do with anything?" you might say.

Well, for one, it means that fall is coming. You know. Fall. Autumn. The season before all of the white stuff falls from the sky and covers everything for months and months and months. And it gets really cold. Yeah, Fall, you got it now. It's coming. Soon. The Maple Tree says so.

"But it's only August", you might say.

"I know, right?" I say. (I love that new "saying"), it fits so well. Kind of like when my teenagers started the "whatever". "As if". thing.

But back to reality.....Yeah. Red leaves in August.

Everyone I've told this too just about shrinks in horror. With all of the dire warnings no doubt contrived from NASA, NOAA, the Farmer's Almanac and Uncle Joe. But to tell the truth. It happens every August. Right after the blackberry season. This is the first tree in all of Michigan to start the color show.

Before long, the whole landscape will look like this:

Yeah, I get it, it's gorgeous, and Michigan rakes in big bucks from tourists looking for color tours in mid October, but it's a harbinger of whiter, colder times. When all of the reds, yellows, golds and half of the greens turn into varying shades of grays, browns and whites.

When the whole world is covered in white. When Jeff Foxworthy, the famous comedian states, "You might be from Michigan if you sit on a frozen lake and wait for your dinner to swim by". Yeah, good times!

But before you get all "awwwwww, these pictures are gorgeous, I wish I lived there....", note that the REAL result of these red leaves falling and the soon to be white stuff on the ground is the end of motorcycle season. Go ahead and say it now..... "awwwwww......"

The End of the Weekend

Ok, so I didn't fix the dishwasher. YET. That's next. And it's not because I got started and then got lost, I really did find other things to do over the holiday weekend. And besides, there is the procrastination part of the project. You know, the part where you think about it, and think about it, and figure it out, and then once you jump in, it takes far less time to actually complete the project than it did to think about doing it. That's where I'm at now. I have to hunt up a torque driver to get the inner door off so I can find God only knows what! Yup, procrastination, it's a good thing.

So, let's go over what I really did get done!

Spent a lot of time over at my Mom and Dad's because my brother was visiting from Colorado, which automatically means that my bike saw some serious riding time! That's cool. Included in one of our meanderings was a trip over to the closest Big Lake - Lake Huron, it was a beautiful day and surprisingly, not much traffic.

Dipped a bunch of pine cones. Pine cones are plentiful here. So are half burned candles at garage sales. Melt some candles, mix liberally with pine cones and you come up with an awesome fire starter for the wood stove in the winter. Probably the reason that half burned candles are so plentiful is because a lot of folks try to get rid of the "inside wood smoke" smell during the winter. Still working on this little project, seems like every time I go get the last bag of pine cones, there is yet another. That's ok, come around February, I will be glad for them.
Of course, once all have been dipped, that's really not the end of this fun project. Next comes cleaning up the stove, counter, wall and floor. Scraping all of the hardened, then melted, then hardened again wax off of every surface within a 5 foot radius.

Found a tolerable wall unit plan to build around hubby's newest aquarium aquisition.

Did a bunch of laundry, which required *GASP* the use of the dryer! For all of you who know that I'm a card carrying member of the "You Can't Use A Dryer Unless It's Snowing Or Raining Out And You Have No More Clean Underwear" club, know that every now and then, it is required. You have to reshrink jeans, underwear, socks. And you have to de-lint stuff. Everything. After awhile, no amount of snapping wet laundry outside over the grass is gonna rid it of all of the lint that builds up. Especially on the dark stuff, so once in awhile, you have to de-lint.

I got the first two books of MaryJanice Davidson's 'Betsy Taylor' series read. This was a wonderful diversion, however, since I don't have book 3 yet, that means I actually have to get up and do stuff.

Getting up and doing stuff is overrated. It's a fine line we walk here, I tell ya, between doing stuff, and just thinking about doing stuff. But, since I have given myself yet another day off in this long weekend, Tuesday will find me doing bunches of stuff, unless I go to my mailbox and find book 3.

Butterflies and Babies

Butterflies don't taste good. And anyone who tells you otherwise maybe never tasted the yellow ones. They're nasty. Yuck! I don't know, maybe it was a moth, or a canary. It was yellow and had wings. And it didn't taste good.

You may or may not have surmised that I was on my bike when this non-tasty event occurred. Usually watching for deer is the order of the ride, but last night the yucky tasting winged creatures were all over!

I ride without a windshield, never have liked them, to me it's just one more piece of plexiglass to have to see through, but last night it may have been nice to not be peppered with winged creatures who did or didn't taste good. Keep the mouth shut!

Last night was knit night, and I worked more on the Muskrat's sweater. It's coming along really cute, I'm totally in love with it, and it's almost done.

I'll let that sit with you for a minute.

Yes. I'm Al.most.done! like only 3 inches or so on the 2nd sleeve, then sew that bad boy all together. And it's not even due until August! Am I good or what?? Well, before you get all "atta girl, way to think ahead" on me, there are two other grand-kid birthdays in August and to meet my goal of making every one of them a knitted item for their birthdays this year, I've got to get going. One will be a set of leg warmers, that's easy enough, and the other a cute little blue jean type of vest. That will be cute too. But neither are started. Or swatched for. but I DO have yarn picked out, so I'm pretty much ahead of the game on that one.

And... apparantly we're going to be blessed with another grandchild. This would be daughter #6 (I think, after awhile, all of the imports get all mixed up). The Muskrat belongs to daughter #5 (or import #1), I think I need to order some tags, like I do for the chickens, so I can keep them all straight!

But since it's an "I just found out" event and I haven't even really been formally told about it yet, he/she/it is not yet on the list. But I'm still excited. This daughter is a close friend of The Mouth (actual daughter #4) who we adopted along with several others, making her #6 (I think). Math was never real strong. So, girl...... tell me already, for sure, so I can get you on my list!

Last Ride?

Rode my bike to work this morning. May just be the last time until Spring. This is distressing. Riding my bike is my zen. It's where I live, I am a biker chick in the true sense of the word. I even wore my brand new black leather coat! See. Biker chick all the way.

Well, all the way until it gets a bit colder and the icy and white stuff starts covering the roads. Then I'll be a sled chick.

Won't that be fun? Bu-Dawgh doesn't like my bike, or my snow machine, there's not enough room to sit comfortably, and there aren't walls to keep him from falling off.

So, is the time change kicking anyone else's butt? Does it even matter anymore, now that Nicolai has taken office?

Ugh. Good times are comin' I can feel it!

Oh, btw, happy birthday, Mouth, but if you want me to sing to you, you have to show up once in awhile!
Love you!

A New Toy

Squeeeeeeeee!

Last night, as I pulled into the driveway, what did I see in the back of hubby's truck?

A Snowmobile! Not a new one, but it's new! It's 1979, hardly new, but it was driven twice a year by a little old lady who only took it to church.....

You know the story.

Seriously, the paint on the running boards isn't even worn off yet. Stuff isn't even rusty. The tunnel still has paint on it.

I probably has less than 50 miles on it. But you know what's the best part???

It's ELECTRIC START!! I'll leave you with that for a moment, let it sink in!

Ok. Electric Start. You can't even imagine what electric start +snow machine means to a little old 50 year old lady. Ok little is stretching it. Lady is out of the park, and old? well, that's just ridiculous, but the fact is that I already have one sled, that I can't start cause it's a pull start. Not one of those Fresh-Out-Of-The-Showroom ones that start the instant you start to pull the rope. Nope, this one required triceps the size of Lisa's. Er, I mean, well, you have to be really, really strong to start it, and I never could. Unless it was already warmed up. Which it never was cause Lisa's not here to start it for me, er I mean, cause I could never pull it hard enough to start it to get it warmed up. (add in the layers and layers of restrictive clothing usually accompanied by snow machine rides).

It cost me...... NOTHING!! Well, it cost hubby some sort of trade or something or other, I've learned not to even try to keep track of his horse trading. If I were you, I wouldn't bother either.

Electric Start rocks. Now I don't even have to think about putting my 4x4 gas guzzling truck on the road for the winter. Nope, if my egg won't make it through, my sled will! YAY!

Do they make side cars for sleds? Hmmmm. Wonder what Bu-Dawgh's gonna do?

It does get better, really it does. Know where I'm gonna hang out this weekend? All weekend? From sun up saturday morning, till sundown sunday night weekend?

At the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival. I will be face down drooling in fiber and yarn and new books and patterns, and needles and, and, and, and.

And I will ride my motorcycle there, cause I am a biker chick (with sticks) and one of the gals in the office is a biker chick too, but her bike is a bit, well, more modern than mine (she has a new 1500 Harley). Mine's, well, not a new 1500 Harley. But's it's all good. Mine will beat hers any day! I'll even bet hers lives in the garage and never see's inclement weather. Mine laughs at rain, sleet, bugs and the errant killer leaf. It also laughs at me once in awhile. I can live with that. When I can't ride my bike anymore, I'll just get on my sled! Ye-hawwwww!

Sleds, Motorcycles, Fiber Festivals, and Bu-Dawghs. Life is good!! Electric Start? Life is REAL GOOD. This was just what I needed to jump start me into the impending fall/winter season.

Bring on the snow.................

The Tree Out Front

My neighbor has this beautiful Sugar Maple Tree. Huge. Gorgeous. Beautiful Tree. Really pretty. And I'm going to cut it down. Once again it has betrayed me.

This really really pretty gorgeous huge tree, every year, this time of year shows it's betrayal by *gasp* turning red. It's really pretty when it turns red, it seems to go branch by branch, from the outside in. But my own personal belief, at least this year, is that it doesn't really need to advertise the fact that summer is in fact, *whisper* "over" *end of whisper*.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, I get it. I know. Summer's over. My dead and dying garden is a testament to that. My closed windows yell it to me. The ferns in the woods shreik at me every time I ride by. The cool crispness of the air on my bike ride to work, and the colors... Well, the colors are really quite cool, everything from pale yellow to deep, dark burgandy. Salmons, oranges, reds, even purples. The air dries up, the leaves show their colors and then fall and walking anywhere produces a crinkle under foot.

Fall does have it's good points. There are the leaves, as previously pointed out, breathtaking. Peak season is in about 2-3 weeks.

The cool crisp air is perfect for getting those last minute projects done, perfect for cutting and stacking firewood. The season seems to inspire the "nesting instincts" of even highly evolved (or less highly evolved) humans. There's the "hurry" to get stuff done.

And there are the bike rides.

O.M.G. You haven't lived until you've ridden on the back roads of N. Mich during peak season. Just gorgeous. Take a break here and there to sit and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds.

Because....

it's coming......

They!

I've come to the conclusion that "they" are not all that smart.
"They" have a death wish. I think that "they" do not fully comprehend the effects "their" lives have on others. "They" are secure in "their" own little world and believe that "they" deserve the space that "they" occupy.

Take last night.......

Hubby and I went for a nice long (read...cold) bike ride through the surrounding villas, on back roads, front roads, side roads, basically we went all over (and at one point under).

On one of these back roads (or it might have been a side road, can't really tell sometimes) one of "them" decided to make an appearance. Actually, there were several of "them" but only one of "them" had any effect on me. One of "them" saw me coming. One of "them" decided that it would be fun to beat me at my own game. And one of "them" looked me in the eye and said "Bring It". (I actually heard "them" say this).

OK, I know a challenge when I am confronted with it, so I did.
Bring it.
I really had no choice if I wanted to walk away with my head held high (or even walk away, as it were). There we were, racing side by side, down the road, break neck speeds were reached. G's were maxed out, I'm pretty sure at one point I was air born, what with all the wind underneath my wheels. It was a moment where history could have been made.
Eyes met. He looked at me. I looked at him. (I think it was a him, but at those speeds who can really tell). Challenges were non verbally issued. I could feel his breath, I'm sure he could hear my screams! Moments turned into eons and in the end, I emerged the victor. Yup. I won.

Now... what the heck! I've never had one of "them" challenge me for road space in this manner before. I pretty much make a habit of this not happening. I avoid it, and"them". But it did happen. And, I reiterate... (see I can use big words once in awhile)... I won. That's how I roll. I must win. We must not let "them" see weakness.

I won, and I did not end up eating venison last night, nor did he (or the road) end up eating me!

Riding To A Crisp

This morning's commute was a bit "crispy". But it was great. The clear crisp air. The crisp leaves already on the roads. The crisp leaves as they're falling and they hit you in the face. Getting hit in the face with a leaf and saying "ouch" to yourself before realizing that being hit in the face with a leaf shouldn't really elicit that sort of response is something best kept to yourself.

Blondie came up this weekend from The Big City Where She Lives And Works. But she had to go back early before the hurricane hit. Seriously, that's what she said. (N. Mich is our locale, just for reference here). I was a bit stunned by her response when I asked her how long she was going to stay. Stunned enough to say something to the effect of "Just what do you think is gonna happen when the hurricane hits?" (again, N. Mich). She said she didn't know, but didn't want to be on the road when "it" happened (in N. Mich). It happened to be raining, quite a bit actually, so I told her to look outside. The hurricane has hit. This is it. This is all you get. You'll have to find your drama somewhere else, sorry.

No lack of respect intended to those who have really faced the hurricane, I understand they can be quite the deal. But up here, we get the air pressure changes, and some rain, equal to a good 2 day, well, rain storm. Usually without the thunder and lightening, just damp, rainy and yucky. But we have withstood it and will see another day.

Yesterday I took half a day off to wander out into my hurricane devastated garden (it rained, a lot). And pick a 5 gal bucket full of tomatoes. And can them. Yummy.
Today I will walk the same walk in search of jalapenos, and I will slice, dice and freeze them. Tomorrow, it's a crap shoot, all I know at this point is I'm getting my hair cut again. And then there's the obligatory food fest at work, so I won't be able to ride my bike, crock pot being breakable and rather large and all. (My stylist appreciates it when I don't show up with my helmet tucked under my arm). I think she likes to think I appreciate her skills for at least a little while before I subject the hair to the helmet.

Hubby picked up some of these really cool head sets that attach to your helmet and then with wires, attach to the walkie talkie on the handlebars. This is too cool. It will be even cooler when he takes it all out of the bag and gets the whole system set up. No more wireless bike riding for me, nope! We're wired for sound now! Look out baby bros #2 and 4. October will find us out riding, and, able to bull %&^*(* each other at the same time. A talent we have all but perfected!

On my current knitting project, The Sunrise Circle Jacket, I'm finding that I will run out of yarn. Yay. Do I try to find a close substitute to finish it off (hand-dyed, purchased a year ago, not much chance of locating the same thing), or do I go all bold and daring and knit 1/2 of it in a totally different color.

I'll ask the girls at work. And The Mouth, they'll set me straight. I have 5 different yarns to choose from that I have enough of to finish this project.

Stay tuned, now that the hurricane is over we'll resume our regularly scheduled routine!

Baby Bovines!

I got new babies! Hubby did a motor in exchange for a couple of bull calves. They are 5 weeks old. One is almost all white and we named him Pepper. The other is almost all black and we named him Salt. CUTE!!!! And, I was gonna take pictures but I couldn't find the Awesome Camera That I Bought Myself For My Birthday Last Year so you'll have to wait till tomorrow to see them. And.... instead of going fishing.... you might have to sit down here..... are you ready? Are you sure?

Instead of going fishing yesterday, Hubby build me a chicken coop!!!! Not just any chicken coop, this one has LOTS O Room! It's not done yet, but should be tonight and I'll get pics of that too.

He's feeling guilty I think. Next weekend is our anniversary and he's going up north to our cabin. My "Project For The Weekend When Hubby Is Away" is to put in my new sink and faucet. The countertop will have to wait, being as how I had to spend money on milk replacer and calf food. That's ok, I love new farm babies!

Didn't get much gardening in, we're still having frosts and freezes regularly, it's just not a good idea yet. I did have to go and buy a bunch of tomato and pepper plants, this was the weekend to do that and if it's not done now, they are pretty well picked over. So I'll just cover them and keep them well watered for another week or so.

Got the pool almost all cleaned out. After feeding calves and other chores, being in the cool water feels pretty good, plus pretty much eliminates the need for a shower, at least until morning. It works, get my water fix, get halfway clean, get my pool cleaned all in one fell swoop.

Life is good!

My brother and I had another Ride of a Lifetime on Sunday. He rides Hubby's bike when he's here. It was beautiful, about 70, bright sun and of course the scenery is beautiful. Any time of year, the scenery just rocks around here. And you always notice a lot more wildlife, scents, sounds... when you're on a bike. There's no beating it!

Almost got the baby booties done, just finishing up, so they'll be done for the baby shower this weekend. Got a lot of knitting done while my Red Wings tromped the Penguins again last night. Best 4 out of 7 series and we're so far 2 and 0. Tomorrow night is game three, this one is in Penguin territory, so there will be a home ice advantage for those boys. Will be another good game.

That's all for today, feeling very tired, like I tried to accomplish a lot this weekend.

Life Is Good! Life Is Great!! Life Rocks!! And, it's better than the alternative!!

I'm so excited! My brother from Colorado will be here today. He'll be here until Wednesday. There is lots of garden, home improvement, critter enhancement... projects scheduled. But... the most important is the obligatory day long bike ride. Last fall we did this on a day that was gorgeous, he rode Hubby's bike and I, of course, rode mine. It was Mid-October, the leaves were in full color and flying all around, and it was around 80. Unseasonably warm for October, but the day was just perfect. We both still talk about that day, so this Holiday weekend we plan to redo it.
Maybe we'll ride over to the Big Lake for lunch.

No, the chickens and turkeys did not get put outside. They stink, they smell and they're flying and running and &$%^-ing all over the bathroom, but last night was knit night so, we do have our priorities. Besides, it's really something that's a two person job and hubby was out playing too. He likes to do the go kart thing and last night he and his buds were playing go karts. So, chix and turks are still inside. Tonight doesn't look good either, I'll probably be with my brother, and hubby will be go-karting again.

Look at this yarn!!! This is my latest score from Yarn Of The Month Club. It's the bamboo ribbon yarn that I hated but couldn't live without. It's soooo soft and when it knits up the drape is just perfect. I don't know what this yarn wants to be when it grows up, it hasn't told me yet, but someday it will make me a real nice something or other.

Update on the Blueberry Issue. I've filed a claim with paypal. I hate to do that, but it's been almost 3 weeks since I've sent my money or even heard from the guy. I'd still rather have the blueberries than my 30 bucks back, but we'll see. I really don't hold out much hope for either. The picture above is the spot hubby cleared for them, guess they'll be for the strawberries now. Next week, probably, we can start putting stuff outside, so I'll get those planted right away.

Our youngest called from Iraq yesterday, he's doing well, things are quiet for now where he is. I'm still pretty scared about the whole ordeal, but with the addition of N and her Monkey to our household, I've been even more distracted than I normally would be. And that's bad. In a good way.

Tomorrow night, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I'll be there! Go Wings!!

One Of These Things Just Doesn't Belong Here....

Everybody say hi to Bu-Dawgh!
What do fish hooks and motorcycle keys have in common? As it happened they were both in hubby's pocket. Last night. When he decided to go fishing. And had my bike keys with him. And my car. Grrrr.
Back up....it really is an interesting story, bear with me here.

Yesterday I was working at our oldest's resale shop when Grandson #1 called from school and was sick. Since I had ridden my bike to the store, I went to the back of the store where hubby has his machine shop and get my car keys. And gave him my motorcycle key so he wouldn't be stranded without a ride if I didn't get back in time for him to go home. Went to pick up grandson, took him home, gave him excedrin and put him to bed. (he's plenty old enough to be by himself, all is good). Well, I got back to hubby's shop, parked the car.... told him I was back... and went back to work (up front in the same building, logistics are important in this story). An hour or so later he came up and told me he'd be late as he was going fishing. I could just as well blame him for the fact that my bike key remained in his pocket, but to be fair I didn't think about it either.

As it is in one or another of my stories, A+B=C and I was left with transportation, but without a key to make transportation go. So daughter gave me a ride home, which is huge, as she lives 25 miles in the opposite direction of which I live about 10 miles. But I got home, got chores done and had a very nice evening watching my Red Wings clobber Li'l Bro #2's Avalanche! hee heee. I was a nice sister, I didn't rub it in at all very much ok, I rubbed it in, you'd have done the same thing. That's what he gets for deserting the home team!

So, early this morning, I'm riding to work with hubby, so I can get my bike and we are happening to have the first real thunderstorm of the season. This should be fun. Oh well, I've ridden in the rain before, never on the outside of a metallic object, but hey, what's life if you can't count a near death experience once in awhile.
This is LIG in the sun, when it's raining she looks a little shinier, or wetter, or something, and as a backdrop, my awesome farm truck that gets 11 mpg. On a good day. Going downhill. With the wind. And empty.



The rain pretty much held off until I drove into the driveway and parked LIG. Then it downpoured, so I had to do my chores in the pouring down rain. And the horses were all standing in the barn wondering why I was putting their hay out in the rain. Who's the smart one here?
Never mind!

New Stove!!!

OMG! I am soooo geeked! Ok slow down and breathe. A bit of history first. When we first built our cabin, I looked and looked for an old cast iron wood cook stove/oven that had been converted to electric for my kitchen. Couldn't find anything affordable, for some reason the people who come up with these ridiculous county codes thought a roof was more important!
Anyway, couldn't find anything that I could afford!

Yesterday, our oldest, who owns and operates a resale shop called me and told me she got one come in to the store and I could have it for 75.00!! I was sooooo all over it. Gave her the money immediately, and loaded it right from the truck it came in on to hubbys truck.

So, last night I went on the internet to find out what I could find out about this particular model (Hasty Baker 1864) and found a picture of one that had been restored. This picture could have been taken in my kitchen. There were vertical log beams, the light fixtures were the same as mine and even my dish pattern decorated the kitchen. It was meant to be! (in my kitchen!) Starting this weekend, I'll tear it apart. Needs to be sandblasted and repainted. Electrical needs to be fixed. We can do all of that! See - self sufficiency does save money! Can't even imagine what it would cost to have someone else restore it.

I'm so excited I can't even think! That, by the way, is why I DON'T like to go into her store, she has soooo many cool things. Our cabin is like a rustic up north hunting cabin, and stuff that people drag to a resale shop is just the kind of stuff I decorate with! You know, pine cones, antlers, old rusty light fixtures, homemade stuff..... Aaaaaaaaaaaa (scream)!! I am soooo excited. Did you get that? Should I say it again? I'm sooooo excited!

(obligatory picture:)



Ok, I'm better, I promise.

As promised I took a new picture for this blog, as well as pictures of LIG, my Bu-Dawgh, Mystery (one of the barn cats), a turkey and of course my newest aquisition MY STOVE!!!
So here are some of them, I won't label them, cause if you don't know the difference between a Bu-Dawgh and barn cat and turkey, labels won't help!

Pics of Eggs Hatching and Other Stuff

Today, a short introduction into my seriously whacked out family!
This is too cool. Li'l Brother #4, who is a "chicken farmer" in the middle of the city in California recently sent me this video of one of his eggs hatching.
http://132.239.50.242/Chicky/Chicky
If and when any of my turkey eggs ever hatch, I'll upload those too.


Another Li'l Brother (#3) who lives in another city in CA, has started his own website called Demand95.com in which he calls everyone to demand that at least 95% of their charity intake goes to the intended recipient. He sponsors orphanages in Thailand, Africa, and Togo, eye surgeries in Viet Nam and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff that he hasn't gotten on his site yet. Be sure to check it out, it's the greatest thing I've ever seen.
This brother also won the Name Ter's Bike contest, in which the only rule was that the acronym must be LIG. "Losing It to Gravity" will be the official name, a nickname will ensue naturally, they always do, just like my critters, they name themselves!

Another Li'l Brother (#1) lives in Alaska of all places. Never will my feet touch the soil, or snow or ice in Alaska. Never! I'm sure it's beautiful, but I'll never find out for sure. Why??? Because it would surely be a one way ticket. On the off chance that my body and mind (which often travel together, much to the surprise of, well, everyone)ever end up there, surely they will not return, together or separately. A one way ticket. So it's just safer to stay in the lower 48. Talk about a logistical nightmare, we can't even imagine moving all of my farm stuff and all of hubby's construction and mechanical toys that far. One day my person will possess a pilot's licence and one day hubby will build me a plane and one day, we will take air trips to lots of different places. This is a for sure thing. The only unsurity is the date when it will happen, but it will happen.

The Mouth has already declared that she will not ride with us. Makes it easier, only have to build a two seater! Well, 3 actually, have to have room for The Bu-Dawgh! Because he can't be left alone. He's a baby, the poster puppy for separation anxiety.

One more brother (#2), and he lives in Colorado. There, I capitalized it, are you happy?

No sisters, never wanted them, never got them (until my brothers married). I was the oldest and only and happy about it. I was Daddy's girl. I ruled. I still do, ask any of them, they're afraid of my 5'3" mightiness, as rightly they should be.

Delivered a couple more hay bales to a neighbor who ran out and then rode LIG to work. The ride to work this morning was nothing short of GLORIOUS!! Warm enough for just a sweatshirt, the morning mist was in the air as was the smell of the dairy farms. My ride to work very rarely passes anyone else on the roads, I pass through no cities, villages or towns, just 4 miles of 4 season splendidness. Each season has it's own sensory nuances, this is clearly spring. My Mother's daffodils are blooming, and things are turning green. The trees are budding out, it's just waaaay too nice to spend time inside.

Unless the playoffs are on, then all bets are off.
Hey, Li'l Bro #2, your Avs made the 2nd round! So depending on who wins tonight, we'll either play you or the Flames.
Go Wings!! We will seriously spank you!!

Just Clearing Up Some Stuff!

I feel I have to comment on one of my comments yesterday.

You know, they make things called VCR's so you can record a show while you're watching another.
Yeah, a VCR? I can make a computer jump through hoops but I can't figure out how to set the clock in my truck! And now you want me to add another black box to the assortment that already lives under the TV, and know how to use it? For all I know there may be one there already!

The frozen barn, you should move your barn into the sun so it'll thaw out.
Now why didn't I think of that!

The high electric bill... Do your laundry at mom and dad's since they're not there anyway and they won't know.
I HATE, HATE, HATE soft water, have no use for it. No, I'll hang them out.

The high gas prices... Ride your horse to work since they're not doing anything other than look pretty.
It's very tough to just stand there and look pretty, just ask PAF. That's about all they can handle. Plus my 50 yr old body says "there's no way I'm gonna be the first one to ride any of them for the first spring ride." That's why I have kids! Plus, going back to the 5 or 6" of ice on our road.......

You should paint your bike a fluorescent pink color!!
Um, yeah! Probably not gonna happen. It will either be a cactus green (favored choice) with a hand lettered "Life Is Good" logo, or it will match hubby's who's is more of a dark mauve, almost raspberry, or plum. yeah, a ripe plum, that's the color. With black accents. But I'm still in favor of the cactus green (Like little brother's jeep used to be.)

See... Aren't you glad you have a bro that full of ideas and answers?
Lol, don't know what I'd do without you.

Tommorrow, I promise a really fun read complete with pics! (A challenge has been issued!)