am I dead yet? ARE you sure?

ok I heard from the doctor..
she said
'stay off your meds until tuesday then call me'

ok cause I really had no intention of going back on them until I got a period
which arrived this morning.........

I am ever so thankful.......
who'd thought that I would be grateful for cramps, bloat, pms, tiredness etc........

well I am
cause it was causeing a TON O PAIN

I haven't slept in days...... with sever joint pain, mental confusion ( no comments do you hear me trish?)

etc etc

I was whining so pitiously I pissed off myself.

meanwhile a friend who just had her husband retire..
called me this morning to complain about him being underfoot
damn

I knew that was going to happen

she didn't like my suggestion........

( humor me here I really am the walking dead)

I told her either shoot him or become a hermit

apparently neither appealed to her.....

I DON"T know why

well she could have neutered him but I think he would object to that.

so that is only an option while he sleeps.

today

I am not alive

this post is being channeled from the other side

I can tell you that it is pretty warm here.....

but not warm enough to be that 'hot place'

and there is a draft

so apparently being on the other side is not permanent............

maybe I should learn to drink?

vi

edited to add.......
for those folks who are wondering about the antics of the cats...... remember that picture of calpurrnia?
well they all look basically exactly like that
they are laying around like slugs soaking up the warmth of the woodstove......
seriously....we poke them to make sure they are breathing at times.........

oh and the poll is still here I think

I just have to say,

there surely are a bunch of smart ass folks that visit here..

everyone voting for 'chicken hats'

so is that a hat with a chicken on it

or a hat FOR the chickens???

what should I knit next
	more socks
	Latvian mitten
	scarf for me out of sisik
	a sweater for me
	something for bernie
	chicken hats
Free polls from Pollhost.com

you've been 'tagged'

Four jobs you have had in your life:
pooper scooper for the "parrot place" in paramus nj
art director
graphic artist
typesetter


Four Movies you could watch over and over: any harry potter
what dreams may come
hocus pocus
the addams family

Four Places You Have Lived:
Texas: Baytown and Texas city
NJ: Fairlawn, Bogota, Fairview, North Bergen, Paterson
PA: the poconos
germany

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
I don't watch tv.................sorry dear the chickens enjoy watching out the windows however....


Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
oregon
virginia
conneticut
canada


Four Websites You Visit Daily:
Knittersreview.com
gmail
google news
yahoo weather

Four Of My Favorite Foods:
cheesecake
icecream
turkey
coffee

Four Places You'd Rather Be Right Now:
at the farm in the barn
upstairs with bernie
at a book store
upstairs with bernie ( that one is pretty good you know)

Four Bloggers I am tagging: ok you know the drill......now..........
let's see who do I have to get back at?????

Minnie naturally

hmmmmmmmmmmmm what other smart ass folks need this???

ah......... yes Trish
kelly........for the smurf hands remark lets see who else do I need to get........I mean tag............ hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
and I will reserve the last for a bit

what should I knit next
	more socks
	Latvian mitten
	scarf for me out of sisik
	a sweater for me
	something for bernie
	chicken hats
Free polls from Pollhost.com

no still no word from the doctor

so I stopped taking my meds
I am feeling a bit better.....not myself yet
but better then the other day
I can't concentrate on much
(thank you minh dear......but I can't concentrate on much..... I am sort of trying to read the spinning book and it isn't sticking)
and I do feel better then the other day
I can get up and walk....
I just don't have any ompfh..........
I don't feel like working on my scarf in sisik which as you folks know....I love
or even picking up the sock I started in the opal petticoat
the border leichester is sitting there unplied.....
as is the ingeo
and the peacock single
which is also un-photographed to show you folks.......

we did put marguerite downstairs in the boys pen.........
she is right next to the girls
but by herself
she isn't too happy but she will get over it
she comes to her brooder for bed now

monica emailed me that the boys are doing well
moe moe is again trying to crow
and curly and moe both whisper to her
she sings them songs about me
I miss the boys so much

now I have that neme or whatever to do
and I did start it
I will post it soon

I will I promise


vi

I gave up and called the doctor

Ok I am on these meds to treat this insulin resistance.....
they had some nasty ass side effects
I suffered through the 'gastric' upsets that had me in the bathroom 5 out of every 24 hours
through the nausea that sets in all the time
through the light headedness.........
( some folks would say I was light in the head prior to this all.......but hey)

however the malise and the lethargy have got to go
I can't even freeken knit
I can manage going down to see my chickens twice a day
and putting a log on the fire every two hours
that's about it
oh
yeah
and laying down
I can manage that
I have trouble with remember to eat
and to take the meds
poor bernie is beside himself

so I called the doctor

naturally I haven't heard back from her
but I didn't expect to for a while........
probably by friday
I hope I am awake for the phone call

oh and I haven't had a period since november either
I had better not be knocked up
or bernie will get a do it yourself Vasectomy

with an exacto and a rubber band

( cause he was supposed to get a real one after the ruptured ectopic.......hmmmmmmmmm wonder who didn't get the big v????)

meanwhile my boobs hurt
like they have been repeatedly mashed in that poundy thing at the fairs......
you know the one that uses the slegde hammer and you try to hit the top
they feel like the sledge crashed THROUGH the top

air hurts
my bra hurts
my SKIN hurts
oh man

isn't it wonderful being a GIRL
gees
can I be a goldfish please now..
I don't see sore boobs on a goldfish........................

ok the roosters
monica informs me that moe moe is starting to crow again
so he is getting adjusted
curly is repeatedly asking for hens to be brought out
( that's my boy)

so the boys are doing well
as soon as I feel better I am going out there with shrimp to see my boys

I wonder if they will remember me???????

til next time

vi

OHHHHHHHHHHH how do you solve a problem like

MARGUERITE????


fa la la

damn
I wish it was that easy

first off marguerite if anyone cares to remember is our youngest little chicky
she is still upstairs in a brooder in the studio

she was spoiled over the fence rotten when she got here

she does NOT know she is a chicken

she thinks she is entitled to my complete and total attention 24/7

( gees every OTHER living entity in this entire HOUSE thinks that as well.........)

if she doesn't GET my attention
she flys to my head

I never get any notice that she is going to land on my poor beleagured head

she is not surprised by this

it startles the crap out of me every single time


it also hurts
she's got tallons

short of wearing a Cambells chicken soup can hat..........

I don't know WHAT to do about this problem



now my boys

Monica informs me that they are settling in
that curly loves her to pick him up
(moe moe does too but he needs to be sweet talked......he likes that first)
and that moe has my sense of humor

WHAT you have never experienced CHICKEN humor??
WHAT sort of deprived life do you have anyway???


shame shame

moe has a sense of humor

he is also adorable

can you tell I miss my boys so bad

I am hoping to get to see them this week and bring them shrimp


oh the curly headed monsters
fawn is mad at me
I won't let her eat marguerite's chicken food

thaddeaus is mad at me........I won't let HIM eat ambers wet food

calpurrnia is in the corner playing with a leaf.........
'oh LOOK a LEAF!!!'

she just likes to sit on my chest all night and purr
LOUDLY
think JET ENGINE size noise
where that is coming from in her little tiny body
I have no freeken idea

she must be pipeing it in


soooooooooooo
that is my current family news
oh
and that this freekishly Warm JANUARY
which I predicted
as we bought the wood stove

is driving me nuts


I so wanted to sit on my fat assets and feel all warm and smug all winter
i mean compaired to the posts from last winter...............
but no
as we went into debt to buy this stove..
naturally we changed the entire global climate both weatherwise and economically


my what power I have.!!!!!!!!!!

gees


vi
~til next time

peacock roving and one ( or so) of calpurrnia

ok first let me tell you
the colors are actually wonderful
I can't get a decent picture of them in the light outside
and the flashe washed them all out......it really does have a lot of that particular peacock blue/green that the word conjures up

I got it hanging by the wood stove

and I am fixing to dye some nylon

to sparkle through it.....( I got icycle for that I think.....)

now my little calpurrnia
this is how the cats all tend to sleep around the wood stove
little brazen hussy that she is.....

oh a chickens life

my boy are at the farm
we of course are heartbroken
they were bullied by a mean roo and monica found them huddled outside the barn in the freezing cold.
so she put them in their dog crate and stuffed straw in
I wanted to go and get them
she said they will be ok
that she is going to put them in with a very elderly roo named chippy.....
and that if they all get on the boys will spend the winter in there
they caught a mouse
curly let monica cuddle him
moe moe follows her around

I miss my boys so much

today I gave the girls popcorn and bacon grease as a snack...
it was cold down there and when I picked them up their little toes were so cold
so I warmed up their toes
I am going to give them a nest box saturday I think


bernie has to go to NYC tomorrow and friday.....
I am a nervous wreck.....
I just sent the check for the life insurance payment and it may be late.....
I hope not

if he dies I would really miss him bad.......
and I would have to bring ALL the animals to the farm
then hire myself out as a donkey

ok I am spinning that INGEO
( that must be indian for............ demon fiber that is going to make me nuts)
I am feeling a bit better too
I have to eat a bowl of cherrios every day I noticed to help some of the 'gastric sideeffects' of the meds
oatmeal didn't do it!
go figure

lets see
I got spin on thursday and a class I am teaching on thursday
I am also teaching on saturday...........

that is if my classes are full.

I have to spin up some alpaca
and either cat or cashmere I think if the ingeo doesn't work for the 100% natural other then wool skein contest..........
so I better call jo and get some alpaca.. what about ? 8 oz?

Linda sent me merino............ I have to make her something for it..cause she wouldn't let me pay her
Monica gave me 12 oz of kid mohair locks. I have to make something for HER
she also wouldn't let me pay her.
I did give her some soap and lotions to thank her for takeing my boys

OH MY BOYS.......................... I miss them so very much
I can't tell you all how dead it is around here without them

oye

til next time

vi

Big Beautiful roo's

my boys went to the farm yesterday
meanwhile I am so worried about them as it is so cold
Monica said that she is keeping them in the crate as it is so cold and she found them outside cause one of the other resident roo's was mean to them
I don't know if I should go and get them or what....

but here are my boy's pictures
( and the girls too)


that is a picture of both of them
curly is in the front
moe moe is in the back


moe moe


curly in the front again



the girls

and a kinda dark one of moe moe

high winds and chicken goodbyes

we had terrific high winds last night
so high that they downdrafted the wood stove and we could NOT keep it going.
I understand that the winds knocked power lines out all over...downed trees and all

now we have them big pines that moron neighbor the 'landscaper' told us would fall on his house.....
not a branch is off those trees at all!
so much for landscaping huh?
anyway...... arborists are tree specialists.....you need a degree.

on to other news

my boys are going today

I am so upset
this is the last morning my boys will crow to ME
they will crow tomorrow but not to wake ME up
I wonder if monica will hear them

I am so heartbroken
I have to take pictures of my big beautiful boys
now I wish I'd taken larry's picture too but I didn't

the chickens don't really like the camera

I wish we had moved already so my boys wouldn't be leaving but instead just going into
the palace of the happy chicken out back

meanwhile

in fiber news
I am still spinning
when I get enough done and plyed...I am going to dye it up and start a latvian mitten
so all the folks that would care to join in.....
It is going to be a bit but I am planning on doing a latvian mitten.....
just let me get the spinning done.....
so you all may want to decide on which one YOU are doing...
I haven't completely decided yet
I know I want to change the colors to something a bit less traditional......
probably purples and such to match my winter coats
with navy, I suppose some cream.. reds?

I will see when I got to do the dye work


til next time

vi~who is going to take the camera to take pictures of my boys

ok ok I am making soap

5 freeken batches of honey oatmeal

you would think I never made soap in my life...
( for the record I been soaping since 1994....but the first batches were so damn bad that even the mice won't eat them)
I have gotten better since then

ok
so I need to make soap
I need to make multiple batches every day for like 2 weeks
yes I got that busy with soap again.
folks are discovering me!
again!

( I was lost but nooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww i'm found.............fa la la la la)

anyway, I have a ton to make so hopefully I can get it done
I can't do the 50 pound batches anymore by myself..
so even if I do 20 pounders and split them that is something
I just have to do at least one or two a day


I am still at a loss as to what to knit next
I have to make a cd player cover which I am going to sew
I need to make linda a needle case and fix kris' that I made her for her birthday
I should probably also make one for me
I never did!
I have that snowflake doll to make
there should be a package waiting for me at the post office with stuffs to finish her with

I keep dreaming of farms
of sheep pens and goat pens
gardens full of veggie and herbs
wonderful full orchards and chicken coops
areas to make soap and to make dolls
and to sit and knit and think

I am thinking of starting an active goal for this....... complete with little goal notebook

I want my animals near me so bad I swear I can hear them baaaaaaaaaaa

ok

again with the what shall I knit next........

a smoke ring scarf?

a regular scarf?

lavtian mittens?

a mitten adapted from tudor roses by starmore?

more socks are a given

gloves out of self patterning or striping sock yarn?

or should I just set and spin a while?????


help me out guys

I wish I knew where Amie gets them cool poll thingies..........

cause I would put one up for this


vi

I am so sick of being sick

I probably haven't said much but I haven't been doing real well health wise
the endo put me on meds, and the adjustment has caused a bunch of other problems

gastric upsets my ass

which is in a sling big time

anyway if I seem behind things

it is because I am

I am also very tired most of the time
I end up sitting in my computer chair alot

so folks I am so sorry if I forgot someone or something

there truly are days I am lucky to make it downstairs



vi

larry the chicken

as some of you know I raised some chicks this fall
three turned out to be roo's and three hens
( then there is marguerite but that is another story)

we lost one of the roo's saturday.
everyone told me heart failure
he was young healthy robust.....
glossy feathers
bright eyes
and I went down to find him dead

Carole lost a chicken too this weekend....
dead for no reason

I felt terrible
like I did something wrong and that I would lose my other chickens

today is monday and so far my other chickens are fine

so maybe everyone was right...... poor larry had a birth defect?

I will miss him



now I finished a pair of socks last night and told amie........
she added them to the 200sock total

I don't know what to knit next
now I probably will start another pair of socks..cause don't I always
but I want to do something else too....

I want something quick I think...
I would like to knit some latvian mittens but I have to get the skeins done for my spin group skein contest.....
which I was told about AFTER I was signed up...... carole and kris did it when I wasn't there.....
what are friends for?
and the nerve of them
making us all spin for spin group........
who ever heard of such a thing??????


so I ordered ingeo and soy for the 100% natural ................ other then wool

I have access to alpaca, and mohair, and cashmere.......but I figured let me do something that we didn't have buckets of laying around ..makes sense huh?

my new lendrum is a dream
but the footman/dt sqeaks like crazy.

the advise is mixed................don't oil
oil everything but the sealed bearings

I can't take the squeak so I am going to risk oiling the squeak with a silicone lubricant.

the weather

it is hot as hell here
51 degrees F or about 11 C
if it is so hot here, I wo'nt be able to save a ton of money on heating oil, there by I won't be able to justify the woodstove

see we bought a wood stove and it is going to be the hottest january on record
palm trees will be coming HERE........

oye

any ideas on what I should knit next?????

mittens?
gloves?
hat?
lace scarf?
felted clogs?
gee what else is there?


vi

snowflake doll or....how to go nuts without even trying

ok I missed the deadline for farm show
so the keeper of the snowflakes is still here
lanquishing on my workbench reprouching me
but
in my defence

I got a large soap order for a wedding......
honey oatmeal..
and the way I make it.....it isn't the easiest soap to make
I have made 3 batches so far and will make one or two more as insurance.
I have to do a lot more soap making after that is all done
I have to replenish stock

I am still not able to lift my 50 pound batches.... or this would have all been done
but I keep pushing

now in fiber news....
Amie has a two thousand sock count going on...she also has some pretty cute goldfish there..... so check that out
I will send her the picture of the pair I am about done with as soon as I do the toe decreases on the last one
I have to do either that opal petticoat sock.....( thank you again Lanea) or some light trekking xxl
very simiilar to the petticoat sorta in color but a bit lighter

I also have a few skeins to do as I apparently was volunteered while I was NOT at spin group to enter a 'creative skein' contest as well as a 'how good is your basic spinning skein contest'
I was told YESTERDAY......
gees

so I think I got one figured out but I need a really wild over the top one as well..

ok
in woodstove news

we sorta have it figured out
we still need more stack and we are saving to get a fireproof wall behind it
the installer I think put the chimney and stove to close to the wall
we have a sort of sheild for the chimney rigged right now
and we have a sheild for the stove back
but we need a more permanent solution.

oh and I need a woodstove rake and some stove gasket..
other then that we are saving some serious money on oil with the stove
and the temps outside can go down......
the studio is about 88 all day
the main house is in the upper 60's and 70's
and NOW when I get up at about 7 a fire takes me about 10-20 minutes to have fully on

I think I lost some weight too.

ok
chicken news
Monika asked for us to bring the boys on January 14 instead of this sunday which is ok
then marguerite is going down to the pen to be a REAL chicken
and maybe I will bring up dulcette......................
mmmmmmmmmm

take that marguerite
she flew onto my head today while I was trying to spin a bit, as I was waiting for the lye to cool down to make my soap batch.
damn
that hurt

we are getting a pizza tonight as I have the kitchen in an uproar with no counters and soap all over

now over the next three weeks I need to make a LOT of soap..
I have my list...
gee I should post it here huh? to remember it ( or at least a partial list)

ok
Patchouli
coffee kitchen
lavender (plain)
raspberry violet
peach goatsmilk
milk and mallow root
grapefruit lily goats milk
almond goats milk
blackberry goatsmilk
freesia
rose garden
carrot honey
colonial bayberry ( I love this scent)
forest sage
orange ginger
spearmint grapefruit ( I love this one too. sooooooooooo refreshing)
bayrum
coconut lime
cucumber melon
plain cucumber
sandalwood comfrey
Lilac
mixed mint
patchouli spice
zen garden

woooooooooooo
we are so low on stock
I was so much busier then I expected this past holiday season.

folks please remind me to make the soapies
oye

what other news

oh the lendrum is great
it squeaks a bit but we are going to oil everything but the plastic or nylon bearings.
other then that I am really enjoying this wheel
I never actually believed I would get it

but there it is
!!!!!

I can't wait to blend my own sock yarn..........
I wonder how tunis and nylon will wear???????


hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

ok til next time
vi
ps: I moderated comments on the blog as I am tired of ditching foul ones......
so I am sorry guys
but for a while
ok?

ok here is marguarite***

***I never can spell her name right..

I had to disable anonymous comments folks sorry...
you have to sign in to post.
vi

good morning and happy new year

hihi everyone,
I am back ( ok so sorta)
and I am busy.....
(state farm competetion doll, soap orders, stoking this wood stove)
I am getting a lot more excersize....
between the whole wood heat thing
the spinning wheel......
my chickens in the basement....
I lost a few pounds!

ok first off let me tell you
wood heat rocks

and also let me tell you
I do love the soapstone stove
just hate the incompetant dealer that sold it to us

I know a LOT more now

we have to put more stack on the chimney
and install a wall protector.......

we have burned only 50+or - gallons of oil per month so far....
so we've saved about 800. so far....
we paid 450 for the wood......
we are already into savings against the wood stove.......
I expect that in January and Febuary......
we should save about 2000........ which means the wood stove paid for itself in one heating season.....

I am planning to start cooking on it too.....

even the electric is down about 10.00

and
AND

AND

some one told us where to get FREE wood.... hardwoods
already cut into logs
we would just have to split them

a splitter is about 300.....for a small one

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I think one winter heating season would pay for the log splitter too

ok
I have pictures
I have to upload them
but I got pictures

some of that little shit marguarite the chicken......sitting on the cat tree with the cats.
( she shits all over, not like my beloved dulcette)

I will have some doll pictures as well

I have to make soap today so after that maybe pictures


ok til next time

vi