here is her close UP!!!

my very OWN baby goatie has arrived!!!

at 6am this morning.
Rosie had a girl and boy.....
the girl carole named violet
soooooooooooooooooo I am waiting for pictures
and I am a MOMMY of a goatie

hahahaha
vi







ok.............
now this one will actually be in MY name on her registration papers
!!!!

oh man
I can't wait to see her

everyone loves a baby..................... GOATIE!!!!

ok this is all 7 that were born yesterday


this is casey's quads.....aren't they just too cute? the one with the white butt is a boy and will be wethered and become a pampered pet.



and here are patty's three

wow
aren't they WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!

vi
til next time

everyone hug a chicken, hug a goat
hug a curly headed cat

BABIES BABIES!!!!! spring is here!

this is sweetheart
and her two 'grade' baby saanen girls



btw, I had a wonderful dream last night
I dreamt that I was touring a doll sculpting studio/factory
and I got a job there as a doll artist
I dreamt that I was left to create the most wonderful fantasical scultures of various folk tales
(you shoulda seen my pinnocio- nothing like disney)
and they even let me sculpt standing up

yes I sculpt standing up
I just can't sculpt sitting down, and I don't know why!
it was a wonderful amazing dream

I even made quite a few friends in my dream......( I wonder if they dreamt of me?)

then I dreamt that when I got home................ I found a duckling in our living room (which for some odd reason was the living room in the apartment we used to live in)
someone said..'sadly that duckling will wander off and die............. and you will find it dead.'

yeah right like I would let THAT happen
I found the duckling and put it in a brooder and raised it up to a pretty black and white duck.
she eventually got a friend in her own pen in the yard


isn't it truly scary what goes on in my mind

and this
is fritters......remember last year she had apple dumpling.....( remember that one in the cast)

she had triplets
two boys and a girl

hahahah
spring is here

I am waiting to hear today

vi

sharon started laying

last night!
finally dulcette gets it......she laid in the morning and told me to come get the egg
and SHARON decided to unload before bed........
now both dulcette and sharon do that crouch thing with their wings out if you pet their backs
sniff
only henrietta and marguerite are still babies........and henrietta is going to start any day now.....
no more babies......
sniff
my boys have wives........my girls are laying eggs...........
my goat is due febuary 28

oh my........
ovulation and lactation will abound.....

meanwhile, if you all will notice under the cats names.........are links to the chicken pictures

as requested

vi

a good day for dyeing

I have a couple of skeins of knit picks shimmer........ in the happy days colorway
I didn't like the way it pooled when knitting up when I used the first one

so I figured I had nothing to lose and threw the second skein into the dye vat
it is a nice mixed red and burgandy now........ wines...... a few sort of orangey red areas
it is hanging by the wood stove to dry.

Calpurrnia thinks this is the BEST CAT TV.....
so she is sitting there watching the drips...........

she loves watching the tub drip so we leave it slightly on........
she is mesmerized by it
I tease her and tell her to change the channel as she has seen that show before.......
I got strange cats

hahahaha

anyway, I like the way the skein came out so far
we'll see how it knits up
if it knits up nicely......... the scarf I did in the other skein is going to take a trip through the dye vat as well

meanwhile I am waiting for bernie to get home

the thyroid meds have started to work and I am feeling a bit better

not out of the woods yet......but much better then before

meanwhile, I am still swatching for the chicken hats.......
which actually I am going to put on chicken dolls not my real girls..( although they would be cute)

my girls are telling me now when to come and get their eggs........
so they are growing up
marguerite is still a ways off ... about two months off of laying.

I am resisting putting in an order for more yarn................
I will be strong.......I will not buy more yarn
not until the 10 skeins of laceweight are knitted up
even though I want a skein or two of that shadow merino from knitpicks in grapejelly.............
I will be strong

I am just doing some fast cowl type things, playing around with laceweight

although you know................ the 100% merino in white ...for dyeing..........
hmmmmmmmmmmm

ok ok
well that's it right now
I am waiting for bernie
so we can start our weekend.

til next time

vi

the chickens think they're turtles

they keep BURYING the eggs
now
I know that they are all new at this
and I also know that I am robbing THEIR eggs
but they are my girls
you know...........
MY girls
I love their little beady eyes and little kissable beaks
I feed them layette and snacks
they get tomato's and cherrios
bread and spinach
and I sneak them pizza crusts once in a while......
not to mention the occational scrambled aunt orphelia
( we don't like aunt orphelia remember........)
bernie and I clean their bedding regularly
they get fresh water twice a day..........
and sometimes yohurt and cottage cheese.......

I love them
so why oh why would they bury their eggs?

they are NOT turtles
if they are then damn they are the FASTEST turtles I ever did see...........
I ask you

vi~who got today's egg while part of it was still unburied
what do they think they are? PIRATES?

il nostro mengele caro bello***

our beautiful beloved mengele

I went to nj today
to the doctor
maybe maybe I can avoid surgery......
I think so as I have been avoiding surgery for a while now.....
shoulder surgery....... back surgery......
so we'll see
and no don't ask.......

it was right up the street from our Mengele
so naturally I had called them and told them I was coming to see them

I ended up teaching Kathy the secretary how to knit
and visiting with mengele as much as she was able which was not a lot
she was very busy with patients
she looked tired and I am a bit worried about her

you all know how I love our mengele

Kathy looked great.......she'd lost some weight and it agreed with her.
she is learning to knit very very fast
I was very proud of her........

meanwhile the thyroid meds are helping immensely
although I probably should have actually EATEN something today
huh?
I didn't.......
I had coffee and ran
so at 5pm when I got home I had a cheese wrap........
maybe that was NOT the best thing to have done?

so I am now really really tired did I mention I am tired

well yup yup I am
tomorrow is spin..............
I am not ready and probably won't be able to go........ ask me now I am way too tired

let's see
I am swatching for the chicken hat............. which is actually going to be a sort of gauge swatch for the latvian mittens
which i will probably get to by JUNE......
meanwhile as mindless waiting room knitting I am doing a shaped sort of hybrid dicky/scarf thingy
I am sort of designing it as I go
this one has long scarf like fronts that I will be able to tie or wrap.
I am going to make another one that is more like a normal dicky
and I am also going to make a mobius sort of cowl neck

all these in laceweight, all in garter stitch and all mindless waiting room knitting

the chicken laid another egg either today or yesterday............bernie found it buried in the bedding
hmmmmmmmmmmmm
guess they really didn't want me to get their eggies

in curly headed cat news

thaddeaus has decided sleeping on our heads is a very good thing for a cat to do..........
mostly my head

with his tail wrapped around my face...............

this isn't working out so well for me
but he is thrilled with it all
until I have to go to the batheroom..

oye
til
next time

vi

And on tuesday....... hearts abound

well I have hearts all over the place.....
or should i say heart SHAPES
all them little chicken breeches are heart shaped...........
we got another egg last night around 4pm
i have confused chickens
this one was a darker purpley color and you can see it trying to be brown
Amie wants to see the two together with something for size referance

so if you celebrate happy valentines day to you........ and I wish you all the sight of heart shaped breeches on chickens!

( it's the back part when they bend over to peck the ground it is lighter in color and heart shaped on my chickens)

ok in other news
I am going to see Mengele tomorrow........... I have a doctor's appointment right down the road from where she works so I am dropping in.
I imagine I am going back to her regularly in about a month or so

the thyroid meds seem to have started to work, I got up before noon!
although I am still not sleeping at night
The wood stove likes that as I load it again at 1am
after bernie loads it at 9pm..............
so this morning at 8am when I got down, it was still burning a tiny bit!!!!!
just a tiny flame in the back of the firechamber in the corner, but a fire no less.


I have a question to ask of you all

I have three files I need to open
one is a .efx which I know is an e-fax
one is a .wps
which I don't have a program for

and one has no file extention

I have a windows based system and I am still running 98SE as I like that OS
can someone point me to a translate program
as I think these are mac based files


Spin group is thursday night
I am still not sure if we are going cause bernie isn't sleeping since I am not sleeping

even though I come down here to see if he can get some sleep

so we'll see

if I can't go I have to drop off the skeins for the skein contest by either kris or carole next week
and a huge soap order is due next week too.

that is about it for now
I have to take those pictures for Amie, which I will do when the sun is up over the mountain


til next time vi



ok Amie
here you go sweetie

OUR First EGG

the chickens laid their very first egg today

I don't know which hen did ( we think it is dulcette however)
but one of the big girls did
I will take pictures later
I am so proud!!!

you can't see the very soft lilac color of this egg..

but there is a few tiny brown spots on this......

this is the color they will be eventually

it is a tiny egg.........

eventually the girls will be laying jumbo brown eggs

Snow beautiful snow.........

Vi’s mixed bean soup

THE BEANS

Small whites

Lentils
Black eyed peas
Black beans
Small reds
Dark red kidneys
Baby limas
Large limas
Green split peas
Great northerns
Pink beans
Yellow split peas
Garbanzos
Pearl barely
Pinto beans
Lt red kidney beans
Navy beans
Cranberry beans

Meaty ham bone

Two stalks of celery chopped fine
Small onion chopped fine
Garlic either minced or powder
Parsley either fresh…..flat Italian parsley or dried
Kosher salt

Water

This mix is best made over time…… make a pot of each beans maybe once a week…..
Hold out ¼ cup or so to add to a gallon pickle jar to make this mix



Rinse and pick over the beans

Add to your kettle, cover the beans with water about two inches above to start.
Bring to a boil…..
Simmer for about ½ hour, adding water if needed
Add the ham and the rest of the ingredients

Simmer until the beans are slightly mushy…..

Serve with a mixed green salad…… really really good with mesculn salads.

And a HUGE glass of ice cold from the well water



Vi
Who loves ya???






Pinetree Garden Seeds www.superseeds.com
Park Seed www.parkseed.com
Vermont Bean Seed Company www.vermontbean.com
Shepherd’s Garden Seeds www.shepherdseeds.com
Vesey’s Seeds www.veseys.com
Johnny’s Selected Seeds www.johnnyseeds.com
Territorial Seed Company www.territorial-seeds.com
Seeds of Change www.seedsofchange.com

tomorrow is our anniversary

we were to go out to eat and then possibly some special shopping but since we are expecting a storm.....
we figured we would stay home warm and cozy with our little furry and feathered family.
I kid around a lot about my bernie....
I tease him an awful lot
but really he is a wonderful person
he is interested in almost everything
loves animals
is mostly really responsible.......
has a great sense of humor
and
loves me totally and unconditionally
( I do know that although I always ask him)
we were so young when we got married
no one thought we would make it
we weren't sure
and there were times where it really didn't look like we would
but
after all these years
we are still together and totally in love.
and we are each others 'center of the universe'

I wish that feeling for all of you..

til next time

vi

Truly I come by it honestly……

I was recently contacted by a family member I have not seen in about 20 years, this is for her really, if she comes by again....... as she was too young when it happened to laugh about it or even know about it. Anyway, maybe you all will enjoy reading about my family's crazys


My whole family is nuts…..I swear the lot of them are certifiable.
I don’t know if it is because we are Italian, and rather…….ah…… unique
Or we are truly just all insane. But if you folks wonder why I see things a bit left from center, well............... this is one of the reasons

I remember one time, when my dad was 70………. he ran away from home!

The first clue I had that something was wrong was there was a bag of grapes on my windowsill……… of course being this is my life….. it was infested with yellow jackets….( you know the wasp)

I knew something was up cause in my family a bag of fruit meant something was up, and it wasn't good news….
( what like the mafia has the kiss of death, & we have fruit? WHAT sort of demented reasoning is that? aunt martha died........quick get the pineapple? gee and some families just call or send a card huh?)

I shoo-ed away the wasps and grabbed the fruit, as I opened my front door the phone was ringing….

Naturally it was mom……( why yes………we are all psychic how did you guess?)
Mom: ‘your father has run away from home’
Me: ‘yes mom I know…..i found the bag of fruit on the window sill’

(this may be Italian for…….’I’ve left your mother in a fit of stupidity, and now I am here to make YOU crazy’- or I could be wrong)

Mom: ‘ so he’s been there already then?’

Meanwhile

DING DONG……….. and it ain’t the avon lady…….


Mom: ‘ don’t tell him it’s me on the phone’ naturally mom knows it’s dad…..I mean heaven forbid one of my friends would decide to intrude on this family melodrama.
Me: ‘no mom, lemme get the door’

I get the door
Yup
Dad………………..

Dad: ‘I’ve left your mother’
Me: ‘oh?’
( meanwhile I am thinking to myself…….. and when did this become MY problem?, ok so I also thought a bunch more to myself but those things are not repeatable in mixed company)
Dad: ‘yes I have left your mother……..’
Me: ‘ok , why?’
Dad: ‘she won’t give me any closet space’

Ok now let’s back this up a bit……. Dad is notorious in the family for not only being hard to buy for…..but for NOT wanting clothes…. He has a suit that is got to be 95 years old, one dress shirt, one tie……….three pairs of work pants with shirts to match….most of which aren’t too holey……
Everything you buy him, he just gives away……
And HE is complaining about closet space……..

THE MAN HAS NOTHING TO HANG UP!

Me: ‘ok, I will make the coffee’

I mean what else you going to do………
Dad stayed a while and ranted and raved……. Bernie got home, we had dinner………

I figured we would put dad up in our room and we would take the floor…. ( one bedroom apartment at the time)

Dad: ‘I’m not staying………….. I will find a hotel’
Me: ‘dad it is 9pm you can’t find one now’
Dad: (forever stubborn) “ I don’t want to put you folks out’
Dad to BERNIE: ‘make sure you mow the lawn for mom, and take out the garbage on Thursdays’ ( remember dad doesn’t want to put us out……. I’m thinking that is code for “I am really pissy, and everyone is going to suffer, while I decide to have my hissy fit’)


Me: ‘ok’ (see I learned early on..........when dealing with irrational people...... simple one word answers are probably best.......and the least likely you get you grounded for the rest of your natural life)
Bernie looks stunned………….

RINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Dad: ‘I’m not here’
Me: ‘hello’
MOM: ‘is your father still there?’
Me : ‘why yes we have some bananas, how many would you like?” ( I mean this IS the monkey house at the zoo right? You ain’t gonna find Ozzy and Harriet here bucko)

Dad leaves
Mom rails on and on about how terrible dad is……and that I am to feed him and make sure he is ok

Mom hangs up
And I fill poor Bernie in on everything that is going on…..

We go to sleep……
Saturday morning 8 am………..

DING DONG………

Dad walks in looking TERRIBLE like death and taxes

Me: ‘DAD, you look TERRIBLE’
Dad: ‘ I slept in the truck’
Me AND BERNIE: ‘ oh my GOD, why?’
Dad: ‘ I didn’t know that the hotels charged by the hour……….$35.00 an hour’

By this time Bernie and I are trying hard to stifle our laughter……
Because really this is Dad you know……and he is 70……. And it is November…..
But damn he did do this to himself……
So to cover the mirth……
We make the coffee then Bernie gets the bagels…..
We feed Dad and the phone rings……
Of course it’s mom……
She knows dad is there…..but has to go on and on and on and ON….( told you all I come by it honestly)
Meanwhile DAD is going on and on and on and on to Bernie, who is trying hard to look sympathetic……but is still secretly laughing his ass off about dad finding out about the ‘no tell motels’

Ok lets fast forward now a bit…..
Dad has been out of the house and I think by my Uncle Joey for about 2 weeks
It’s Saturday, I am home cleaning…… Bernie is working

Mom pops in…….
We are talking
And DAD pops in

They rush to the door……….and get STUCK in the door way…..
YELLING at each other the entire time….
I swear on my curly cats heads……I could NOT stop laughing…..
So naturally they started to yell at ME……..
Still stuck in the doorway….
It’s enough to have a person be looking around for the hidden camera….

THIS HAS to be some kind of a cosmic joke no? ( and you all wonder why I keep telling you......Larry moe and curly run the universe and they as you all know ARE CHICKENS)

Oh man did I get yelled at
‘don’t talk that way to your mother’ ‘don’t’ talk that way to your father’

I grabbed a set of keys and proceeded to tell them…..

THIS IS MY HOUSE
YOU do not pay the rent here, nor the bills, I DO………
YOU won’t talk to me like that in my own house
And I am NOT giving you back these keys
You all have one set of keys
LEAVE TOGETHER
Either make up or kill each other……
But
NO ONE IS GOING TO DO THIS TO ME IN MY OWN HOUSE ANYMORE

Now if looks could kill, you all would be reading this on a Ouija board……
But they did leave……

( I still can't believe I told them off like that but I do occationally have finer moments........)

The next day my Aunt rose called….. wondering if I knew where my folks were….
I told her what went on
We were both sure that they’d killed each other and we had only to await the state police showing up for us to have to go and identify the bodies
I even CALLED my cousins that are cops to see if they’d gotten a couple of ‘does’ reported

Turns out my folks decided on a second honeymoon….and went upstate….
Scared the living shit outta me, I tell you
Gees raising parents ain’t easy………
But I think it did work out better that way.. I really did not feel like identifying the bodies, or facing the reporters you know.

So I come by it honestly…..
But now that I have told you all…… I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to be awaken in the middle of the night by both my deceased parents……who will again go on and on and on and ON…….. about telling the family secrets…..

In MY family, just cause you’re dead doesn’t mean you still don’t have an opinion, it just means you eat less……


but they better watch their ghostly ass' cause I got a LOT more stories........................

ha
so there
vi

ps: bernie has a crazy sister in jersey..........after we met her I turned around and said 'i am sure glad that the nuts and squirrels are falling out of YOUR family tree for a change'

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

http://www.albc-usa.org/wtchlist.htm
http://www.albc-usa.org/wtchlist.htm#poultry
someone asked me about the rare breeds recently
my orpingtons are designated as 'recovering'
which is a good thing.
I love the orps, i highly recommend them.
when we move, i plan on getting more orps and
chantecler as well as maybe delaware

we still haven't heard back on the lamb, I imagine that the shepherd is busy lambing.
the goat is due in two weeks.........

I am looking at shetlands as well as ouessants lately.......
( the sound you just heard was Carole from lilac corners fainting)
but I may just start to go with rare breeds

I swear I can't wait to move............... our time in this little stone house in the woods is over now, i can feel that......it is time to move on.
All the signs lately point in that direction.......... while sometimes it makes me sad.......mostly I am looking forward to what's next

I will however miss my big ( allthough cluttered) studio and my 250 year old sugar maples......
time for someone else to be stewards of these ancient trees

til next time

vi

vi here again
the doc called............ thyroid meds to be started tomorrow
well that explains the slug like lifestyle of the past couple months...........

bernie will pick them up on his way home tonight
meanwhile
I got a massive headache which started from sinus but is now something more
so I am going to just go and hang with the cats and chickens

ttyl

vi

mark the calendar with a star.....VI has nothing to say

nope absolutely nothing....
as I still feel like a horse kicked me
I actually DREAMT of horses
so it is pretty bad
I am going to attempt to venture out into the day light

( quick grab the garlic.........cause you know....it's been a while, I could have turned into a vampire you know)

as soon as my legs can hold me...........
ah........
mm.......
that may BE a while

wake me up when it is really spring........oh in about 6 hours

vi

food poisioning is a terrible thing to waste

ok so in addition to the insult that is already my body.....( and I use that term loosely)
I had a goodly case of food poisioning last night

I do not recommend you try this at home

and if you are foolish enough to do that even though YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.......
do
not
be
stupid
enough
to
drink
coffee
the
next
day

and don't ask me how I know

let me tell you
chinese food left over for two weeks is not a good thing to eat
but I thought it was only in there about 3 days.......
damn this menopause
ok so I forgot
it smelled fine
tasted ok
I was sick as a freeken dog
so sick
that thaddeaus sucked his tail in worry all night
FAWN even sat on the bed this morning in sympathy
oye

I decided on chicken broth with rice and mushy broccoili for dinner
I called the doctor
bernie called me and insisted I call the doctor
he sounds like death and taxes.............
well damn
the poor guy did NOT sleep all night
when I started to have extreme chest pains........cause you know I can't get sick like normal people
he was all for rushing me to the hosptial.
I was shivering and cold so I veto'd that idea
telling him
'i would prefer to die at home thank you, surrounded by the feathered and furred family we have assembled'

I finally fell asleep about 4am......... the alarm goes off at 4:30 am
bernie told me to go back to sleep
yeah like I could EVEN STAND UP
hahahaha
sure
I managed to slither down the stairs around 10:30am
more or less I think.......................
I got the fire going about noon
and it got warmish in here at about 3pm
I repeat
do not try this at home

vi

I swear I have the sickest friends

you people all voting for chicken hats.....
and whats more
I got a couple designs in mind
who's the sick one now?

I have a bit of good news
we only used 13 gallons of heating oil in the last 6 weeks.....
yeah!!!!!
of course it was hotter then arizona in the 'snowbelt' of pa
but hey

doctor news ............ tests and I am waiting on results yet again

chickens are fine
the roo's have girlfriends
and moe moe is growing a real comb in
they are getting bigger monica tells me

the girls are doing well
they got all moved all over while their pens were getting cleaned
and I did get down to see them today with some bacon grease
they love their suet
when it gets below 35 degrees I give them bacon grease
not a lot
just a little nibble
they love it
you should see them
I even got sharon out to hold her and give her a tiny bit more..
(one ounce of bacon grease lasts 4 chickens over a week here......)
I love my girls so much

one of my clients called me sunday.................
the first thing she wanted to know was how are the chickens........she also has orpingtons

my laperms are sacked out all over soaking up the heat from the wood stove

I didn't feel well again and laid down upstairs................
little calpurrnia took that watch and came up to 'watch' mommy
fawn took yesterday
thaddeaus, fawn and calpurrnia took saturday..............
after I got home from teaching
but most of the time they are here soaking up the heat from the woodstove
however they will rouse themselves if there is the merest hint of canned food in the air.................

thems my babies................


til next time
love from vi