really cold..... really really REALLY cold

ok not 27 below zero cold......but still

tonight it is to go down to 8

above zero

that's pretty cold no?

i fluffed up the hay in the duckie domicile
they have a snug little hay filled and hay surrounded duck house

so they stand OUTSIDE in the outer pen
ON one foot

and shiver

huh?
i know they go in their little duck house at night
they can't control their sphincter muscle......so the evidence is RIGHT THERE
and
serafina.....she's even sat on the ROOF of the duck house.....under the roof of the duck domicile

(these duckies have not one roof but TWO roofs over their heads.....they are LUCKY duckies)

so someone PLEASE tell me WHY they want to stand out in the cold on one foot and shiver?

i do realize that their brains are the size of a shriveled walnut

but still.....??

the rest of the week should be warmer and warmer

and it's time to start thinking of seeds for the garden

i want to get the peppers started soon as some of them take forever to sprout


i don't have too much to say right now

i am knitting some lace.....
the harebell fichu from 'victorian lace today'

it's a test knit
so far the instructions are rather terse........
i figured out the neckband part right away, but the first couple of actual lace chart rows and how they join got me nuts

so i was on the phone with a friend of mine that is a lace knitter out in western pa
between the two of us we sorta figured it out

the way it seems to read.....is that you repeat the first two rows over and over for a few

but actually you don't
you knit the entire lace chart a few times..... (7 actually) BUT
you join them to the neckband differently

this is a knitted on border
and it's curved
so it took some talking about it and a bit of math

the instructions ARE accurate but where a big vague to me

i think that test knitting this was a very good idea

for two reasons.....
1) to work out the kinks for myself
2) to 'get inside' the author's head

i suppose i need to learn how she thinks and writes
looking at the charts
not one of the projects in this book are really hard.....
involved maybe.....
BIG yes
time consuming..... oh yeah.......

but really not hard

now all i need is a huge cone of cream colored silk lace weight
and i can play until spring

(well this is my reward for gardening and canning all spring/summer/fall .....no?)

til next time

vi

and i am up so early!

i got up with bernie this morning
at 4:30 to stoke the fire
living with a woodstove is like having another pet.....you have to feed it regularly

meanwhile
i have been winding silk
more specifically....
silk from Spirit Trail, from RHINEBECK this past fall ( 2007)

and the pictures do not do it justice

it is a warm and glowing late-ish fall russet coloring
that blends softly through the golds, and russets and bittersweets and melons of late fall prior to all the leaves coming down

i am still trying to find a pattern that will make the most of it

i thought.....fichu.....
i have two patterns for them

or i could make up my own

i would like something suggestive of leaves
i probably would really like it beaded.....
in a sort of gypsy sort of way

i was originally thinking a sort of narrow shawl..../scarf

but maybe a fichu would be better.....
with a leaf boarder
and acorn shaped beads dropping of alternating points?

hmmmmm

vi

ducks are amazing! and other small windows on life

it's not too cold this morning but apparently cold enough.
i watched out the window while the woodstove was heating up
to see falstaff my drake break the thin layer of ice on the top of his water bucket.....
he broke it out enough for not only himself to drink
but for his duck serafina to drink as well.
just when i think that drake really IS a falstaff.......he does something sweet, and human
and then i am so grateful i did NOT eat him with orange sauce in the fall........


right now
i am watching the thermometer on the woodstove stove pipe.
it is registering almost 500 degrees
every morning and every evening i try to burn the stove this hot to clean out the chimney and the stovepipe of any built up creosote
when i first come down, i rake the ash to the front, sift the coals out, remove half the ash and then stack the fire
large stuff in the back,
small stuff and kindling to the front
and get enough wood up high

( just in case anyone needs to know how to run a woodstove)

some folks hate to heat the chimney, but i found that it does three things......

1)it heats the room fast ( with a soapstone stove that is a plus)

2)it cleans the chimney

3)it sets up a very good draft for a good hot clean burn


now while that is heating, i feed the cats.....
it's funny how we have a routine

right now i am sitting with coffee.....
the cats are watching the birds at the feeder we put out on the clothes line JUST for the cats to watch the birds....
they are only marginally interested though

a few weeks ago they caught a mouse......
i have three la perm cats
the breed that originated in a barn out in oregon.......

three cats.....

one tiny little 2" long field mouse

the cats could NOT figure out how to kill this mouse

they only were interested in it if it

a) moved
b) AND made noise

that mouse naturally got away

after all.......
was there every any doubt?


oh man
three cats.....

and i PAY an exterminator to get rid of the mice


oye

vi

an embarrassment of riches..........

within the past week or so....
i have gotten three new lace knitting books

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Victorian Lace Today
A Gathering of Laces
Heirloom Knitting

oh man i am in hog heaven
now all i need to do is get more laceweight yarn
( i am thinking of some zephre.......probably in the cream color so i can dye it myself, as i doubt i can afford full cones of all the colors i love...and i am thinking POUNDAGE here........i may need a fundraiser just to support my habit)

color knitting and lace knitting is one of my guilty little pleasures
neither is totally practical in my life.....
i wear that first ice queen i knit in mountain colors barefoot, out to feed the ducks

the ducks are not impressed
(tough ducks huh?)

i long to sit with a large and impressive lace project.....preferably with beads.....
but where would i wear it?
how would i wear it being only 5' tall.....

that won't stop me from doing at least one (that moraccan stole i would imagine)

mittens, socks, hats, neckwarmers.....
these are the knitting things that are practical in my life.....
and i do knit them quite often....( about to cast on for boot socks shortly)

now today i will do the dishes.....feed the animals.....
stoke the stove
put up the crock pot
and knit on that 'ice cream ice queen'
and feel incredibly guilty.....
and get lost in a foam of mohair and silk and beads.....

well.....isn't that what winter is for?


ok so that's what i keep telling myself.....
as i sit.....wrapped up in a guilty pleasure.....
knitting lace



vi



vi

have you ever had a dream you couldn't shake?

i just had one of those this morning
it woke me up

i dreamt i got annoyed with bernie at a shopping center
and told him to just go home

when i turned around to get in the van
it and HE was long gone....

i couldn't find a pay phone to call for a ride home
and i asked some young men to use their cell.....they informed me it would cost me 1.18
i had the dollar...but not the .18 cents

it's stuck with me all day


a lot of my friends are now widows
one is coming up to the anniversary of her first year as a widow

i think it is affecting me

i realize that here.....in this house
i can't live without bernie.
it isn't a dependant thing as in personality
it is a physical thing
the layout of this house
i can't throw wood on the deck
i am not strong enough to heft it that high
so i have to put a load in the wheel barrow and wheel it around to the front door and then make numerous trips through the house to the studio to put the wood in the wood barrels


numerous little things like that (not to mention that the kitchen isn't finished)


we need to move to a more user friendly house i suppose
probably a ranch would be the best idea
and much as i adore this soapstone stove
i think in the next house.....we need either a masonary heater or
a duel fuel ..corn/pellet stove
something that is easy for me in case it is just me
having to do all this

i have been thinking alot lately.....( and you all know that is never good)

about purposes etc....
it's said that your purpose in life will show itself in things that make your heart sing

some of what makes my heart sing is laughing with bernie
is making other folks laugh and laughing with them
is in seeing baby animals
making things with my hands
growing and canning our own foods

making my dolls
and writing this blog


so now
i ask all of you that stop by and read.....
what makes YOUR heart sing?????


vi

nope no snow showed......

so much for the snow storm.....
sniff
i wanted to sit and knit and watch snow fall outside
while the woodstove had it's happy little dancing fire in it
and eat hot soup for lunch warmed up on the woodstove while i watched

i did eat the soup
the stove is on
the snow was a no show

sniff

ok
the soup
it's REALLY GOOD

start with some onions..... chopped really really fine.....and some celery too chopped fine

and slowly saute them in a bit of butter until they are transparent
then add chicken broth about 3 quarts
and diced yukon gold potates.....well scrubbed but unpeeled about 4 cups
boil until the potatoes are done
add diced up ham
and parsley
and a dash of paprika

and a LOT of garlic

then make a flour and milk roux and gentle stir that in
simmer do not boil

add shredded white cheddar.....extra sharp
and a 1/4 cup of heavy cream to finish


i love this soup..... i make it when we have ham

we get yukon gold potatoes in the fall 12.00 for 50 pounds so we get two bags
and i love them
i like them smashed and in this soup
and sometimes baked

yukon golds and lehigh potatoes are my very favorites.....mmmmm
lehighs are to DIE for baked
they are the BEST for potato skins or for using them as twice baked
or the scooped out skins which are nicely crusty when baked for soup or stew bowls!

ok
i am knitting a third ice queen
the rowan kidsilk haze with beads i talked about yesterday

it's heavenly


i am going to make a red one, and probably that art yarn one
then i am most likely not going to knit anymore for a while
unless i knit a grayish one in fingering.....a heathered one.....maybe a silk blend
we'll see


i got my new book......
'victorian lace today'

yes i know.....i'm late to the party.... but hey.....


i also ordered Heirloom knitting by sharon miller.....

there are quite a few things i want to make out of those books
but knowing me.....i will take a bit from this one and a bit from that one and squish the bits all together.

now i need to get more laceweight
i love the idea of silk
and i have some
but i think i should stick with zephar for a lot of this

although i am wondering about colourmart.........and also about the 'gentle' yarn that fleegle recommended on her blog.....

i also need to figure what colors......
i don't think i would like a big round shawl
or even a triangular one
stoles are nice
but they can't be too wide for me
i am short and round.......
so think maybe..... sort of abrieviated stoles......not quite scarves?


oh my.....
now see if i was tall and dramatic.......
i would go for the over the top round or whatever 72 inch shawls.....
in dramatic colors or tone on tone heathers

with beads of course.......

but i am short so i have to make sure it is toned WAY down

but boy does it look fun to make

vi

good sunday morn to you all

and i just want to knit lace

i don't know why.....i just do

so in addition to yesterdays little border i showed you
i will be casting on another ice queen
this time in rowen kidsilk haze 'icecream' with bronze lined clear AB 6/0 beads......

I HIGHLY recommend this pattern and this designer, not only for experienced lace knitters but for newbie lace knitters
it's addicting like potato chips
AND
it's easy to wear...
this is the first knitted anything i have ever gotten compliments on
( twice in one hour even!)
and i been knitting for over 40 years!
i am going to end up with one in just about every color you can think of
as i love to knit them so much


i am still patiently waiting for the 'moraccan days/arabian nights' shawl pattern....

that will be a perfect late winter large project....something to dig your teeth into so to speak

ok of course since it's sunday.... bernie is making eggs
from the 'ladies'

now i forgot to tell you all
i ran into jackass on the road....
i am not sure WHY i took that road either, i was to be on the other side of town...
but he flipped me the bird!
he swerved slightly into my lane (oncoming)
and flipped me the BIRD!!!
hahahahahahaha
it all happened so fast that i wasn't quite sure what happened at first

guess he didn't like the newest papers he received no?


Thaddeaus Peabody continues to grow his hair (fur?) in
it is very silver pale cream, very very shiny......and still extremely short....about 1/4 of an inch
he is right now doing time out in his crate for beating on his grammie....
naturally she can do no wrong....although she does get into it with her granddaughter.....
and if they weren't cats.....we'd have an episode of jerry springer no?


we are to get snow.....yeah i heard THAT before
up here not too much
down in jersey 6-10
huh?
this is ski resort area......the 'snow belt'

oh well we have wood, we have food and we have candles and oil lamps
we should be ok

bernie just commented the other day that he thinks that we will have three cords left over from this winter
i told him.....that's ok
too much is ok
not enough is not ok

and if we have cords left over....that is then less i have to buy this year.

ok, i am off now
to eat breakfast and find a horizontal stitch pattern for the next part of that scarf thingie i showed you all yesterday

til next time



vi

ps: yes i intend on posting daily again
i loved it when i did it
but had to stop for other things.........

but now.....
i'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKkkkkkkk

i been doing THIS instead of working....

shhhhhhh don't tell bernie

out of sorts, kevetching for a rainy day

as you all know.......
bernie has been remuddling the kitchen for i think......
7 years now....
could be 5 but who's counting.........
and i still don't have my

dishwasher built in.....

the sink moved

WALLS

the floor done

C O U N T E R T O P S

lighting

C O U N T E R T O P S

a ceiling

C O U N T E R T O P S

the cabinets actually installed

C O U N T E R T O P S

and the fridge door reversed

oh and just so i don't forget

C O U N T E R T O P S

now, i have been reasonably good about this....... ok so i been whiny and cranky with occasional mood swings about this.....

but really come ON......7 YEARS ( or it maybe 5, but feels like 20)

now the latest one is.......'if you stop canning for the season, i will finish the kitchen'

hmmmmmmmm
i haven't canned anything in two months!
and i am having canning withdrawal ***




*** this is where you are considering canning WATER just cause you absolutely need to get something in the jars

see while i feel incredible guilt about opening a jar and in 10 minutes having my own homemade stew on the table, complete with yellow potatoes and mushrooms......

and while i feel incredible guilt about serving fresh homemade pumpkin muffins with apple or pear butter in 10 minutes

i do not intend on stopping canning........
we could win the lotto ( even if we don't buy a ticket........we could still win, someone could GIVE us a ticket)
and I would STILL CAN
and it must be an addiction.....like fiber arts

as i CAN in the 'kitchen from hell with no countertops'

YES, i must be a saint.......

now one more thing....i may have told you all

but just in case

this is a PUBLIC service announcement
print it out

nevah

nevah

NEVAH

nevah feed a man bean soup AND pumpkin muffins in the same day

NEVAH

unless you want to commit suicide by asphyxiation

from methane gas

don't ask

even the cat left



oye

vi

simple pleasures

i came down early this morning
(that is not actually unusual
but i have been trying to sleep in lately )

mornings start (in winter) with stoking up the woodstove
now, we have a soapstone wood stove
which i adore
but as i found out now over the three heating seasons that we've been blessed with it.....
there is an art to burning one
between the chimney draft
and the wood available
you need to relearn part of how to burn a stove yearly.


but when you get good at it,
and i have.........
you can just come down in the morning
rake the ash and coals forward a bit.....add some logs
and in a few minutes.....FIRE

a cheery little blaze that warms not only the room but your soul
sitting by that fire with a cup of something hot
and knitting
is one of the most wonderful simple pleasures of winter

a quiet time to think
or dream
before the sun comes up

the cats taught me that

they love to sit right in front of the wood stove
turning to warm one side of their body then the other
gazing into the depths of the fire

i guess it is a primal thing
speaking to our very cells
i imagine that the plant kingdom does the same with stretching it's leaves to the sun

we stretch out to the warmth

this fire, safely contained within the stone and iron,
this is security
the storms can come
we are warm
electricity can go
we are warm and can cook
oil prices can rise
we have our winters worth of wood paid for
and stacked neatly outside


what are some of YOUR simple pleasures?


vi

who maybe should wait til AFTER coffee to post?

EDITED to add yarn........................

hahahahaha
i finally took some pictures of the mohair sooooooooooooooo

here goes

the north wind doth blow ***

***

and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

only here we shall have rain

it's still freekishly warm here
but it suppose to start dropping to january temps soon
i will be lighting the woodstove again tonight
it's too warm for it to get a proper draft right now
also, it's too windy
cold and windy is ok
warm and windy...........nope not so good


in fiber news
i am putting thumbs on a pair of fast mittens that i knit just to make sure i have a pair

i must have 6 pairs of my mittens
but i lose them
or at least one of them
( well i do HAVE three little kittens......so the la perms could have done away with them)

i am going to actually put a STRING on these i think
and thread the damn thing through my coat!

these are knit in worsted cascade 220 quatro
in a blue and red
match my coats for the most part


now in thaddeaus peabody news
he ate some sort of strip of plastic and puked ALL over from the very top of the cat tree
gee thanks thaddeaus, projectile vomiting at 5 feet
and i didn't get you anything

i was telling him this morning that he was a very bad chicken
as i attempted to again get him OFF the ceiling
(if 90 percent of the cat is on the ceiling............. i do'nt CARE if his feet are on a shelf.....said cat is to be considered ON THE CEILING...... period)

he spend yesterday which was almost 70 degrees.....hiding under the goosedown quilt

that's my son

he's intrepid to say the least.....
the very least

absolutely the least

oh man

meanwhile i am spinning my tunis up
every day i spin some
i have almost a 4 oz bobbin of the chocolate covered cherry roving

( i was aiming for burgundy.....i missed)
it's a laceweight single so plied should be fingering
i will guestimate maybe 300 yards?
i could be WAY off.....you all KNOW how bad i am with math

i plan on skeining it
setting the twist
and balling it to ply it

unless someone has a better idea??????

PLEASE someone have a better idea?

when that is done i have the cherry red to spin


then i will dye the blue, yellow, green, orange and purple

THEN it is on to latvian mittens
(which of course by that time will be SUMMER, and who the hell feels like knitting wool in summer???)

i am waiting for that moraccan days/arabian nights stole pattern to become available
i love the pictures of it so far
and i love the beading
so i am going to be knitting that
i may even follow the actual pattern in the sample YARN!

meanwhile i am going to start some other lace while weighting
probably just a sampler out of the patterns in the barbara walker treasureys

i mean
i have to knit lace

you know?

well maybe you don't but i have a real NEED HERE

til next time

vi

high's in the 60's

it's to be warm today.

so warm that buggies are ALREADY woken up and flying around
the cats are going nuts with the buggies
which are apparently disoriented.....or so i like to believe
(in their little buggie brains)

pieheart said her windshield was a mess after taking her boys to school

so what is bad for her car.....
is very good for my ducks

as i plan on adding leaves to their outer pen today
it will give them some food, some entertainment and some extra exercise playing around in the leaves after bugs

plus it will help continue to keep their pen clean

while i am out there i will fluff up their hay too
not that it really needs it
but just because i like being around my ducks

if any one likes ducks, but worry about the noise......i can recommend muscovy ducks,

they aren't actually mallard derived ducks but 'duck like waterfowl'
and they don't quack!
they make the SAME noise a dog does when a dog is intently sniffing something

plus if you do decide to eat them..... they don't have the fat of a regular duck
that's why the resturants pay so much for them .....and in turn CHARGE so much for them

our ducks are pets
we feed them baby spinach, romaine lettuce, duck food, alfalfa pellets, cracked corn, sweet feed, bean leaves, pepper leaves, peppers, and bugs from the garden.

they meet me at the gate wagging their tails and lifting their little crests looking for treats
and they normally GET treats

for them and the chickens i hunt around and find as much green weeds during winter as i can


can you all say....'spoiled birds'

yes i knew you could.....



now with the heat wave here, naturally i realized that i have to get the garden started
EVEN if we move....... i still need to start the garden
just in case you know
i am going to put a few plants in large barrels just in case....
we can take them with us
i found a jam pumpkin from italy, which naturally being italian, AND loving pumpkins, i just HAVE TO GROW.......it's a real need you know

i will be very very glad when we are settled in a new place...i look forward to a much larger garden plus orchard there


ok one more thing
i put adsense on the blog.....it doesn't cost you all anything.....
or me anything
so i figured it couldn't hurt
i also opened the blog up publicly again
last year was a rough year for us
and i noticed that i was being stalked by a rather unpleasant and obviously mentally ill person ( yes i 'know' who they are, but won't say publicly)
so i closed the blog.
if you didn't have a direct link you wouldn't find it
now it's open again
and i am back to posting almost every day

ps: today is NEW MOON

til next time

vi

thaddeaus is growing hair back!!!!!!!

finally!

back in october..... little blue eyes got sick

we rushed her to the vet

it was some sort of a virus

she had medicine and after two visits to the vet she was fine

fawn had a light touch of it, the vet told me just give her calpurrnia's medicine

and yes that helped her as well



that brings us to 'the boy'



he wouldn't TAKE the medicine

and he started to lose weight

btw, cats lose weight VERY fast when they have the trots

after a very scary and extremely expensive office visit with thaddeaus,

plus shots, oral meds both pills ( yeah right) and liquid

thaddeaus wasn't getting any better

AND all ( and I DO mean ALL) his fur fell out!


that is a picture of him in the process of losing his fur



thankfully while he could NOT smell food.....he was so used to me hand feeding him that when i offered him HAM of all things, he ate it!

and then ate the cat food i hand fed him

after two weeks of many many meals ..... many many times a day

i finally got his weight back



and now thankfully his fur has started to grow back



now

two interesting side notes to this



one, he now sleeps UNDER the goosedown quilt between bernie and i.........



hmmmmmm





and two,

i got really funny pictures of him in his hot pink long johns........

which helped to keep him as warm as we could

even with keeping the woodstove burning on high

( and he loves his woodstove as you all know)



ps: he was mortified with the pictures so he's moving like crazy that's the blur but there he is .....in pink

I TOLD him if he took his little sister's mouse i would post them........







now

'the boy' is fine..... sassy, healthy, busy, bad to the bone.....

his newest thing is attacking the clothes pins on the indoor clothes line we have near the woodstove

he has regained his love of banannas

and has decided the between mommy and daddy under the goosedown is THE place to be.....

except possibly when mommy feeds daddy beans and homemade pumpkin muffins.....



then it's probably safer to sleep in the hollow tree cat bed in the corner.....

if it's sunday.....AND you have chickens

it must mean eggies of one sort or another

no?
bernie loves to cook sunday breakfast

he has been cooking our sunday breakfast for 31 years now
( am i REALLY that old? or....... was i really that YOUNG???)

now in 31 years you get to try a LOT of different sort of 'breakfast' type foods

i would be content with a chicken leg but not bernie

he swears it must be 'breakfast food'

( what the hell is that? i thought breakfast was BREAK FAST inother words, the first meal in over 12 hours?????? your stomach doesn't care what is put in it at that point .....raw shoe leather would work.....just as long as SOMETHING is in there)

ok so we will fast forward to chickens.....
very fresh chicken EGGS
and my new poacher
(no not as in taking deer or rabbit out of season or off a private estate)
an EGG poacher!!!!!!!!
finally after all these years i got one!!!!!!

it's got little removeable cups and it is actually big enough for the orpington eggs
PLUS I got it at the outlets at a discount! it was 7.99 reduced to 5.99!!!!!
so naturally i am very happy about that

i butter the little cups
and sprinkle some dill weed and/or cheese
and add the eggies and in about 3 minutes turn them out on buttered toast

so bernie is doing the toast and now after all these years.....I AM DOING THE EGGIES!!!!!!!

but that got me to thinking.....
what if ......in addition to the cheese etc.....what if i chop a bit of ham into the little cups and then add the eggies.....
or how about that sweet roasted red pepper that i canned this past summer?

i see a ton of poached egg ideas coming out of my little 5.99 poacher......

i may have to get more chickens!

vi

saturday, early evening

what a day

we went to town.......
new undies for me!!!!!!!!
cat litter for the la perms
the post office where the yarn fairy gifted me with TWO balls of kidsilk haze
one in 'liquor' and one in
'icecream'
ha
you all KNOW i had to get the icecream one

then off to ac moore for beads

a lovely person by the ravelry name of 'jerseyknitter' told me that she had gotten a mix of beads there in metallics.....when i told her how much i admired them
and asked her about them

she made a hat with them on a cream yarn and it was absolutely wonderful
i fell in love with it
so i am thinking of using them on either an ice queen or
on a scarf and then also the cuff of gloves

while there i got a few more beads....
ahem.....not too many

ok so i didn't get the amber ones i was dying for...(in preparation for that Moroccan days/Arabian nights shawl i intend to knit, when ever the designer finishes designing it)

and i left the warm cream colored pearls there..........( maybe i need to go back after them huh?)


OHOHOH i wore my blue ice queen today to town.....it wears well after you pick the hay out of it ( i wear it out to feed the duckies )

tomorrow i will wear the trendsetter one if we go to town

bernie sort of helped straighten the kitchen
my shoulders have been killing me
and the right one is partly frozen
so he did the kitchen
i have to do some of the exercises mengela gave me, maybe i can unfreeze it before it gets totally solid?


it's warming up a bit here
so naturally i am thinking of the garden
but we want to move
oh boy do we want to move
so i am torn.......
do i put the garden together
or just pack and hope we move during the summer so i don't cry about my garden not being there?

sniff


OHOHOH
i bought a LOTTERY ticket
my very first one i bought

how about that!

maybe i am a millionary and don't know it???????
hahahahahahhaha

til next time

vi

oye!

let's see

warning
rant coming on

today i am cold.
not just chilly and put on a sweater cold
but to the bones, 'not even wool from head to toe and being burnt at the stake will be able to warm me UP' cold

and today it was semi warm!
the ducks water was actually liquid the second time i went out to change their water for them

two to three times a day i have to change their water now.....
it freezes so fast,
plus i want to check on them in their straw filled manger palace

the inner pen ( with the metal roof)
is FILLED with fluffed up hay........
in the CENTER is their duck house...... that is also filled sorta with hay
hay is heaped over and around the duck house...... measured in FEET thicknesses
it's really very pretty
and i noticed that when it is really very cold they do stay in the duck house......
but mostly they are out in the outter pen
we did put tarps over that pen so they didn't have to stand on snow turned to ice

and i strewed some hay over that area yesterday because i can't dig their leaves they normally get

serafina is heart broken......she loves to root around in the leaves

they have to content themselves with the shredded romaine i bring them

i hurt my shoulder somehow takeing water out and bringing in wood

( ok so breathing hurts my shoulders.....they are so bad......but hey)

today i ended up with aspirin and heat packs on the one shoulder and i can't reach up with it......
mengela would kill me if she could see the shape that they are in now
oye


spinning news........
the tunis i dyed in what was to have been burgandy and is actually more like chocolate covered cherries ........is almost done

after that is the tunis dyed cherry that i have to spin
then the blue........the orange....... the purple......the yellow
and under duress......the green

but i will then be ready to start my latvian mittens
if my shoulders calm down enough for me to knit

oye

did i say oye yet?????

no?????????????????????????



OYE

it's almost 8:15pm now....i am waiting for bernie to get home
it's friday so the traffic is going to be pretty heavy


in other fiber news.....
i ordered two skeins of rowan kidsilk haze for two more ice queens
i need to get more beads

meanwhile my car knitting is some really tightly knit mittens
and a 'fidget' ( google it......trish sent me the link.......basically a stretch of knitting that just fits around your neck and buttons....i am doing it in leftovers from the mardi gras hat i knitted)

ok in canning and preserving news......
we still have about 4 pie pumpkins left....... and two neck pumpkins and a butternut or two
i have to can some of them up
i love having that much pumpkin around...... i bake one ( 350 degrees for 35 minutes OR until tender)
cool it down and peel it, seed it and it keeps in the fridge for quite a while

i make muffins, breads, and custards with it
i don't like pie crust so i don't put the custard in a pie
just a bowl of it
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

did i mention i love pumpkin??
and the fiber is very good for you

btw, pumpkin muffins are even better after they age a few days.....
so bake two pans of them.....and hide one batch

ok
i have got to go and start the supper......we'll eat after 9 i suppose
and by 10pm I WILL be a pumpkin...........
til next time

vi

how dumb do you think i am?

apparently pretty dumb.........


as some of you may know, we heat with wood......
it's really great, you know, friendly little warm woodstove
happy dancing flames that are glowing through the window in the door of the stove
keeps the house nicely toasty
saves us a HEEP o MONEY.........


well apparently my long suffering and hard working little woodstove is even more long suffering then i thought.........
as it had to keep the house warm over night ( 11 - 17 degrees outside and windy!!!!)
with the back door wide open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yup yup
talk about dumb ass.......
i had told bernie to 'crack the door'
just so i could get a good draft going so i could set and bank the stove for the night
he forgot to shut it
i forgot to tell him

but i was the last one up ......baby sitting the stove until it was ok to leave it

( i swear this stove gets lonely, all day it behaves.... we start to either go OUT or go to bed and it acts up......it either dies out....or the chimney temps go past 550.............it's like a kid at bedtime....'read me a story, get me water, DON'T LEAVE ME)

so this morning....at 5am he tells me this

i came down..... it was STILL 75 degrees in the studio......
but there was not a stick of wood left in the stove....just some coals

so i got it going again and went back to bed with the cats

nice woodstove

very very good woodstove

i am so glad i have always loved you and talked nice to you...........


ok now to switch gears totally........

can we talk about menopause?

now my mom never said a word about this....even though she WAS in menopause during my lifetime ( she was 42 when i was born)
and of course she died when i was pretty young.........

but DAMN..........

so i thought.....

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!
the pause has happened!!!!!!!
for months now i was all excited....
( see cause i bought like 15 packs of sanitary napkins....so naturally, the pause occurred about ten minutes AFTER the check cleared for them)

until this morning

no wonder i have been so lazy and tired...........

just wanting to sit around and knit and spin
and swill eggnog
and eat pumpkin muffins and such.....
( i still got more pumpkins to bake....and a FYI-do not EVER feed a man bean soup AND pumpkin muffins on the same day....unless you have decided to commit asphyxiation by methane gas)

so i ask you.....
IS THIS RIGHT?

isn't it enough i have thinning ( actually bald) hair.... a mustache and a beard
excess weight
vaginal dryness
dry skin
mood swings
night sweats
hot flashes
heart palpitations
dizziness
forgetfulness
insomnia
forgetfulness
and
crying jags?

do i also have to suffer the pangs and pains and discomfort of a period
with cramps etc?

i really really need to talk to customer service about this
this was not in the manual.....
or the brouchures

*but then they didn't mention the tender breast thing...male farting....
and acid reflux either....... not even in the small print.....who you gonna sue for breach of contract????????? GOD???????????

oh man


til next time

my bloated pmsing self bids you adieu
vi

new years day 2008

today is rain, it's washing away a lot of the snow

it's not too cold out but it is still icy when you first step outside
that sort of midwinter chill/thaw icy feeling
i knit a mohair blend scarf for keeping my neck warm when i got and feed the ducks
(for the knitters, it is 'ice queen' from knitty)
i made a second one for me to wear to town, and probably will knit a few more

still no decision on the legal matters against the neighbor.......we are waiting for the judge, who no doubt is about to hand the decision to the clerk as soon as the court is back from the holidays.

i have started to plan this years garden, although i had really hoped that it would be at ANOTHER house
well we'll see what this new year brings won't we

the garden in brief:
more sweet red peppers
not as many tomatoes, and the ones we do have will be two slicers, the rest colored paste tomatoes, black, white, yellow, orange and green
more fresh greens
more winter storage: carrots, leeks, brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions
and a few fruit trees i think
i am thinking of putting in at least an asian pear, a peach, and a cooking pear

along with blueberries

i am also going to try and find somewhere closer to board my sheep and goat
i miss them and can't get out to see them
i was going to see if i could bring them here.....maybe make a paper agreement with the uphill neighbors to 'rent' some space for zoning purposes so i can keep them here
i would need a total of 4 more consecutive acres..... leasing pasture is a time honored endeavor so i think it may be ok.


Thaddeaus is slowly growing his fur back, he looks like a weird unearthly alien bat creature........
calpurrnia is not quite as bald and has striped skin so she still looks normal.
fawn thinned out but never actually lost her coat.
I am so thankful that they are over whatever this was.
The vet is too, as he was worried about thaddeaus as much as i was

the upshot on thaddeaus being sick........he now sleeps BETWEEN bernie and me under the goosedown quilt.......
i do have some pictures of him with his hot pink long john suit on......that helped him alot during the day.
i have to remember to post those pictures later

the chickens are mostly in a molt, except marguerite
who is currently the only one laying
the holiday baking was mostly using serafina's eggs.
i had an entire drawer full of them in the fridge
duck eggs really ARE the very best for baking

the dryer broke.
bernie is getting around to fixing it
he thinks it is just a belt
so meanwhile i am hanging clothes by the woodstove
i love it
and i got him also talked into an outside clothes line

hahahaha
but i need a few of those spacer thingies to really use it
i have two and could use about 8 i think


this year, i hope to accomplish the following list

1. move us all to a farm
2. get a second freezer
3. establish an orchard
4. write more, for all the people who say to me 'you should write a book' i am going to try
5. get back to MY work, making dolls and pretty things
6. sew more
7. save more money for retirement

that is my personal list of goals.
these as anyone may notice are not INTENTIONS
just hopes and goals......
and the list is fluid, as stuff either gets accomplished it drops off making space for the next,
or
it may end up not important enough to pursue......
again dropping off and making way for something else

well that's it for now

happy happy new year to you all

til next time


vi

happy new year everyone

amazing........... it's almost 2008!

remember Y2K?
hahahaha
to all a most wonderful happy, healthy, prosperous and interesting new year


til next time

vi

a storm a storm........

we are, as i understand it......to get a storm

ok so what's news with that?
as we finally have a REAL winter......snow, sleet, ice.......COLD......
well this storm is due when we are to go to the company christmas party

which bernie has really really been looking forward to
(me too a bit.....i will admit......i like these people very much)
i got a new outfit for......( actually i got several new outfits and am wearing something ELSE from what i thought originally)

i really hope that the storm either holds off.......or
that it is over and done with and we can go there
i know we can't stay late

we heat with wood PLUS we got a very bald laperm at the moment......
he was sick and the vet gave him a shot which cured him BUT
he lost all his fur!

i can't wait to see june and jim..........
i won't have thier christmas presents until after this party but i still can't wait to see them

ok today i forked some fresh dried/wet leaves into the ducks outer pen
they have a ton of hay ( or so it looks like) in the inner pen......
i will put a few more bales in there over the weekend
it looks like a manger in there..... now if i get the rest of the animals home.....and throw a mom and human baby in there
we got the nativity scene......

the ducks seem happy

and i will admit it looks so pretty with all that hay piled around........
i love looking into their inner pen

they are pleased with the new load of leaves too......they are eatting the little sprouted weed seeds in there as well as any hibernating bugs they can find

i added alfalfa pellets to their waterfowl maintance pellets and cracked corn......
plus fresh spinach, lettuce and other greens
they really like fresh greens but the alfalfa will do when we can't get the fresh stuff

i like to get green weeds for them
they like bean leaves as well...... but they will weed if they can....so when they can't do it themselves i give them weeds from the garden

the chickens are as well but they AGAIN went into the molt......
i am not sure why
dulcette got molty and broody
i hope it just stays cold
(said on a day all the snow has melted and the ground is thawed and wet)

i got some of the holiday cookie doughs made up for the massive bakeout that i do every year
bernie takes them on trays to work with him
and we give some to his friends
i am doing fruit breads for his crew i think......not cookies......not muffins


we are still waiting for a verdict on the lawsuit against the assholes next door
i would imagine that the judge will uphold the arbitration award AND add legal fees etc to our award....i swear.......AGAIN, too bad he can't or won't order mental evaluations on those idiots.....

and have you all see the new knitty?
me and EVERY other knitter on the planet is going to want to knit that ice queen......

mine will however probably be in a plum or wine color

meanwhile.......

i have to get going and do some more baking and start supper

i am so behind on everything


til next time

vi

here i sit

contemplating my eggnog,
it's about quarter to four in the afternoon.........

we are thawing out
ok so I AM thawing out
bernie is bringing in wood

we further winterized the duck pen
as i decided they looked a bit chilly to me
so we tarped one side of their pen and part of the sunny side of their pen....
part of the sunny side is still left open
then we stuffed the roofed part with hay.....over the dried leaf bedding

followed by stuffing the duck domicle with hay as well
and they got a pail heater coming in the mail........ 44.95

it would have been cheaper to buy a little kids playhouse we saw at lowes for 299.

thems are two very spoiled duckies

plus we went and got day old produce for them
baby spinach......
lettuce

and alfalfa rabbit pellets as well
telling yous..............

meanwhile they were wearing a feather and down coat....(snowy white now thank goodness.....)

i was freezing my ass off

i still am not sure i got all my toes.....i think i left one out there

ok now........ for all you wood burners out there I GOTS something for you

we loved it click HERE
and watch the videos
they are great

and i am changing the way i burn our woodstove now

let's see..............
i have started baking for the holidays........ i will be baking most of the week
butter cookies
spitz
sugar cookies
snickerdoodles
mixed chip cookies......( chocolate etc)
he will be taking trays in for work
and some folks get their own trays
or bags or whatever of cookies
i have muffins to make as well for bernie's crew
i am going to make them muffins and apple butter for the holidays

let's see what else
i started to knit a tea cozy, from a book called 'a knitters stash'
it's a thatched roof cottage!
i am thinking.....maybe i should make it a ROUND cottage?
i have quite a ways to go before i have to make a decision.....
so we'll see

i have to knit mittens with longer cuffs at a much tighter gauge for me
and a pair of boot socks
it is COLD going on out to the duckies you know

i could also use a pair of barn boots while i'm at it
a good old fashioned pair of 'welleys'

let's see
on the jackass front

we went to court again wednesday past

she walked in with pippi longstocking braids.....
an acid green WAY too tight sweater and no bra

way way too tight pants that caused a HUGE spare tire and CAMEL TOES.....

ewwwww
they put her on the stand and she swore to tell the truth
then proceded to lie like a rug

first off she told the judge that the trees were all still standing.....
he asked her..... on the side line or on the back
she said on the side
remember now.....her attorney kept telling the judge that the husband cut the trees down
NOT HER and therefore she needs to be let off the lawsuit.....

she said that she never went to georgie up the hill's house
and didn't tell her that they were going to cut the trees down
but instead georgie referred to me as 'the crazy neighbors'
( yeah right...... georgie testified AGAINST her and for us)

she said that they put that stupid half privacy fence up because 'mr herron cursed at her children and they were terrified of him'
she neglected of course to mention that it was put up the DAY after the tv segment aired about them defrauding people out of money.........HERE ( click PLAY and turn your speakers on)

she made it a point to tell the judge that they were no longer together as this split them up ( our lawsuit)

she kept telling the judge she didn't want any trouble....
that she'd never spoken to me
and that she only moved in to the house in 04
when the deed was clearly ( and the incident was also clearly) in 03

oye

i don't think she spoke one single word that was true
including NOT giving her full name!


but the vision of her trying to sex up the judge................
oh man
she looked like a bad porn star.....( my lawyer said)

i told my attorney she was missing the knee socks and school girl uniform

mind this broad is as big as i am
not to mention 31
and the mother of 4 boys

somethings like her spare tire and camel toes.....really should be kept to herself

oye

so we wait for a decision by the judge now
he made it a point of saying......that the order of no tresspass stays in effect forever
period
even if we sell the property.....
( what if they buy it? they still can't tresspass according to this order)

so that is all that

hohoho

happy holidays to all
and to all a goodnight


vi

let it snow, let it snow.......let it snow

morning,
i am sitting here, watching the snow fall
it's very steady and very soft
like a holiday card
i been watching it since the sun came up.....or
more correctly since it got light out.............
i have to look over the woodstove which of course is on......
three years ago i dreamt of this scene........
and now i get to live it

i keep expecting Currier and Ives......
as well as the sound of sleigh bells.......which i haven't heard in YEARS
i dreamt of sleigh bells last night

the snow still falling softly but more of it now
is starting to cover the tree limbs
and it is time now to start my day

the gimmy gimmy, i want, greedy little violet christmas list

ok
so anyone have bernie's ear
here is my greedy little christmas list

at the top of the list of course
is a farm
well see........i got my eye on yet more sheepies
and another goatie
so i think it is a good idea to get the farm no?????



a milk cow
a mini jersey milk cow............
well doesn't EVERYONE have a milk cow on THEIR christmas list?

more poultry......i am thinking more chickens and some turkeys

again doesn't everyone have more poultry on THEIR christmas list

no? what is WRONG with you people???

don't you remember that whole partridge in the pear tree thing......
oh and I want the pear tree too.....the partridge is optional


4oz canning jars
you can NEVAH have too many of them i have discovered this since i got that french jam book
mes confiture
like 25 cases isn't enough.......


henkel knives......for 31 almost years i been married to bernie..........
every christmas list has the henkel knives on it

i don't ask for much.....( total adoration, akin to worship.....and keep telling me i'm perfect)
but you THINK a girl could get at least the three damn knives that are on her list
a paring
a filet
a butcher

duh
what is so freeken hard about THAT?

i don't CARE that bernie thinks i may possibly use them on HIM..........

hey i got stuff to CUT UP damit


some of them SAS clogs........the store is downtown RIGHT next to the yarn store........

which brings me to the drum carder.........
i need a drum carder to go with my sheep
that goes with my farm
that goes with my spinning wheel
that goes with my huge ass farm house kitchen and total food storage put the harvest away from the summer HOUSE
and the RED BARN IS NOT OPTIONAL


i did mention the greedy part no?

i want it all and i want it all NOW


thank you
very much


vi

ps: i am trulyviolet on ravelry, as well as kr just in case you wondered

tidying up the loose ones

ok this is about odds and ends

just getting short bits tidied up


rhinebeck: we went sunday this year.....and did NOT get to go spin alpaca
there was some confusion about weither or not the alpaca spin was on......
it was but i didn't find out until AFTER i was committed to rhinebeck sunday
we arrived late
i was a bit upset about that as i adore rhinebeck, hands down it is my FAVORITE fiber event
the colors are amazing
the trip up and down goes through some of my most favorite country
and the atmosphere is the very best
i got a few things....not much
some dyable 'glitz'
some bleached silk tussah
( little barn for both of them......and they were out of unbleached tussah)
a bobbin for the lendrum
and an amazing skein of hand painted/dyed 100% silk lace weight from
SPIRIT TRAIL
in the colors of late russet autumn
AND
i met mobarger from kr
what a sweet sweet person,
poor thing got the full violet treatment
and i was distracted by the rhinebeck abundance of fibery goodness
but she is a wonderful person....
( and really pretty too......reminds me a little of clara from kr)


the cats: they were/are sick. you all don't want to know what my vet bills are right now
it started with calpurrnia.....the runs.....
then a bit of vomiting
then fawn and the runs......

finally the big guy
only he still has a bit of the vomiting
we have stuff from the vet
he's still eatting.....
i of course worry like crazy
he will no doubt survive in spite of me worrying like a mother hen

which brings us to the hens:
no one is laying
they are just over 2 years old
i have to make a decision..........

we need to get a few more layers
two is good
that's enough
now marguerite doesn't like to share her pen
but that is the only space i got for more hens
unless the other three either go out to the farm
or something

i am also thinking they need a chicken tractor....now that jackass isn't around......

which leads us to JACKASS:

yes, once again we tune into the continuing saga of as the jackass turns

btw, i did mention that his wife's name is jeni............ which is a female jackass?
( that just cracks me up every SINGLE time i think of it)
ok well
apparently he has found hisself another victim......ah......i mean woman
and has left her sorry ass
she naturally has installed a new penis
( what HER wait?)
things are much quieter for the most part now
ohhhhhhhh
jackass shows up now and again......

he was here last night (halloween-for true frightening) to get the kids and take them somewheres
heaven forbid mother of the year over there does anything with/for the kids
no one actually parents the kids.....
how could a pair of 3 year olds parent 4 kids?

we go to court AGAIN on the 16 of this month

let's see

what all else

ok in KNITTING news
i am again knitting......not much as my hands will act up again but a bit
right now i am knitting a bit of wool to felt for a swatch of what may possibly
become a felted coat
i want a deep wine red boiled wool coat with black trim in the worst way
and the ones i drooled over at rhinebeck didn't fit me
even if i could afford them
soooooo
i can slowly knit garter stitch no?
and felt it a bit no?
and if i over felt it.........the BLACK felted border will get a bit WIDER no?

or so i think........


life on our little corner of the world:
well we finally got our killer frost
this past week........end of october
i got some stuff still out there......covered
i need to get the garden huckleberries picked
now that there has been frost

canning season is sort of winding down.....
i want to can potatoes and chestnuts and dried beans yet
talk about true convienince
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

open a jar of tators or beans
add a jar of ham........
we are off to the races in 10 minutes
all homemade......no salt......no msg......no weird stuff we can't pronounce

the duckies:
are doing well...........
i need to get another bucket for them
i will do that tomorrow
they are losing their little pool this weekend too
falstaff FINALLY molted......is molting.......
whatever
feathers all over the place but his primary flight feathers are FINALLY
FINALLY coming out
i waited long enough
there wasn't any actual FEATHER left on them....just the quills

i have been raking leaves and putting two or three wheel barrows full
into their pen daily
they have their little duck house and all......
and i guess they are as ready as they are going to be for winter


the sheepies and the goatie........
i have no idea how they are
long story
and i am pretty upset about it
i am pretty sure that they are perfect,
but i don't know for 100% sure
i am wondering if i can risk bringing them home here?
zoning would freek
but with jackass gone....maybe i can?

is there anything i forgot?

drop me a line

vi

halloween movies

i love halloween
it is such a happy holiday
no pressure for single folk like valentines.....
no expectations and uneasy family relationships to live up to......
or cry about later
and NO ONE in my circle DIED on halloween!
( can you spell ironic?)

ok part of halloween is the specials......
and the pumpkins...don't forget the pumpkins

so while i rarely watch tv..... and have serious trouble sitting through a movie
there are some movies and specials i would love to have a back to back marathon on

here is a partial list and i think i best add to it here and there huh?

• the worst witch- this was so campy it was great
• the addams family- both the series and the two movies with raul julia
• casper- the first movie (christina ricci is wonderful in this and the addams family)
• it's the great pumpkin charly brown ...... naturally
• harry potter.....all of them....one after the other
• the others- ok this was pretty scary the first time around, after that it's just cool
• edward scissorhands
• sleepy hollow- johnny depp VERY atmospheric~christina ricci again as well
• the nightmare before christmas
• the corpse bride ( we may as well get johnny depp out of the way
• the witches- angelica huston should only play morticia or a witch or both
• the witch's sister..... campy 70's fun
• witch's night out-little known but really interesting
• interview with a vampire -while we hate vampires messing up halloween, i gotta admit...this one is good
• bednobs and broomsticks.....witches never looked better
• the woman in black this one is from 2012 with 'harry potter AKA daniel radcliffe'
• paranorman (just get this one.... seriously do yourself a favor and just get this one)
• beetlejuice
• the haunted mansion-just cause i loved that scene of the coach with the ghosts
• bewitched-the SERIES
• hocus pocus......are you kidding me.... watch this a couple times
• the witches of eastwick
• disney's halloween treat
• practical magic-that house and that BOOK
• Canterville Ghost (1986)
• high spirits
• i married a witch
• mists of avalon
• bell book and candle
• narnia
• the adventures of ichabod and mr toad
• merlin
• the haunting
• the lady in white
• the watcher in the woods
• the ghost and mrs muir
• child of glass
• ghost story
• topper
• truly madly deeply
• the gift
• elvira mistress of the dark...campy fun
• the black cauldron
• halloweentown
• haunted history of halloween
• blithe spirit
• heart and souls
• the ghost and mr chicken
• blackbeard's ghost
• the frighteners
• chitty chitty bang band......oh come ON a flying CAR...i love it
• beyond tomorrow
• a christmas carole, (get the one with jim carey for the FX)
• coraline
• something wicked this way comes
• gremlins
• the halloween tree
• saint ange
• the woman in black
• mr. boogedy 
• when good ghoules go bad
• sweeny todd
• what lies beneath
• excalibur
• the sixth sense
• stardust
• the bridge to terabithea
• the pirates of the caribbean if you are inclined to pirates, the special effects rock
• ALL of the harry potter movies, do them back to back, start in july when it's raining out-YES this bares repeating.....oh man yes it does

ok that is part of a list.....i would love more movies like these. I highlighted my favorites for you all but really getting a bunch of these and watching them one after another with glowing jackolanterns and whispery 'cobwebs' all together is a wonderful family night that shouldn't give anyone nightmares
i have a lot of these on vhs but would dearly LOVE to get them all on dvd ( i have the corpse bride on dvd)....just cause i don't ever want to be without them on halloween
i wish that the folks that did sleepy hallow and the folks that did hocus pocus would do more although sleepy hallow was pretty gory.....it was just so perfect that i can accept the gore
i would love to see some more witches and ghosties.......
i also love a good ghost story...... preferably a real one....but a really good one is ok real or not
til next time
vi

must haves and security blankets

it's almost winter,
we started the heat here
saturday night we did the yearly break in firing of the woodstove

canning season is still going but for me not quite at the frantic pace of before

i have been having a good time making some pear preserves, each batch lowering the sugar
i would like to get to the point where there is NO sugar in there
just pears and juice
we'll see
the sugar draws the juice of the pears out and helps preserve them
and then you reduce the juice to syrup
it's really quite good

but i am thinking
if i simmer the pears in say.....pear nectar...until tender
then reduce the juice to syrup
same deal right?

ok to the original point of this post

what are your 'must have's'?

the things you must have in the house before winter?
i have a list

• honey-we need a fresh jar of raw honey for the winter for colds etc
• candles, and oil lamps- i now have 5 oil lamps with enough oil for probably 10 years, as well as 2 boxes of 36-15 hour candles
• wood-we have 10.5 cords, which i am hoping is enough if we have a bad winter
• 200 pounds of potatoes-direct from the grower
• a fully stocked pantry-all the basics plus what i canned all season
• new prodjects for the winter ( yes virginia, this is where the yarn would come in)

now with my canning and drying, i found a few new ways to put the staples we use up, things like mushroom concentrate to replace mushroom soup for soups and sauces and gravies.
( i love my friends on the canning list......we bounce ideas off each other all the time.....)

i also have to have dried sweet red peppers on hand.....and little jars of sweet roasted red peppers..... they are the best
the upcoming weeks i will be canning kidney beans, and pinto beans.....potatoes....etc
also stuff that is on sale that i didn't get to grow this year......
such as sweet potatoes..... chestnuts

i will hand wash all our woolen or acrylic sweaters,
and lay them outside to dry on the patio table

i have already planted the garlic...... it is tucked all snug in the little divided beds in the garden.
i planted 12 new varieties this year.....and will put in, i think three of the older ones
by the time i really find out what variety works here......we'll move!

oh well it is fun to plan and try the different garlics

i want seeds for the heritage 'long pie pumpkin'
i have found them on line so this coming season.....i will grow pie pumpkin and long pie
along with long NECK butternuts
i hope we do move before this gardening season next, as i want to expand the garden
and with jackass and his ongoing juvenile vandalism i can't
somehow...... the plastic 'tent' that i put over the peppers got folded back....
but ONLY the side we can't see from the house......
and tucked between the garden fence and the hoop that supports the peppers......
neatly tucked no less
that is pretty hard for the ME to do let alone the wind don't you think?
thankfully it was still enough to protect the peppers
so no harm
but that is what we live with daily
we are going to get cameras and put them in

now back to my garden
if it were larger i would have a longer list for next year
as it is
i would like to be out of here by next year
into a larger property and slightly larger house......
i wouldn't mind building
as we would then build around the woodstove and with added solar-greenhouse etc.....
the first floor would be a HUGE keeping/kitchen
the basement one huge storage room
(and real dirt floored root cellar)
the second floor......bedrooms and studio.....
bernie wants me to have a seperate canning/soap kitchen.....
that is doable fairly easily i think


anyway....... i wandered around as usual

sooooooo what do YOU do to prepare for winter?




til next time

vi

october blue skies

there isn't anything like an october blue sky
the color is sharp against the brilliance of the trees
if the weather is 'pretty' we try and soak up every last ounce of it before the cold winds
and the snow flies

so what am i doing?
CANNING
in the HOUSE

oye
ok today i canned mushrooms
sauteed in butter with garlic and onions and a severely reduced stock......
in little cute 4oz jars
not all of them sealed
that pissed me off highly......

now i had actually made the mushroom base on sunday...... lightly pureeing it
i put it in some quart jars in the fridge until i had time to can it

and i have to tell you
as good as it is.....mmmmmmm
and it IS good
it looks like swamp witch potions

ewwwwwwwwww
it really does
i kept expecting eyeballs and disembodied digits to turn up in it
told you.....it really looks THAT BAD

next halloween
serve a homemade cream of mushroom soup in CLEAR glass jars
you'll see


ok now...... duck eggs are excellant for baking
most excellant
and i am going to get a second female duckie for this
wow

falstaff will think he died and went to heaven
ha
little does he know......
HIS serves are no longer needed

hmmmmmmm
i also got ORANGES......................


well canning season is starting to wind down.......
ha
at least i tell myself that
i got blisters on my fingers from peeling pears but I LOVE these pears

i didn't tally what i canned this year.....not as much as last year but
i still have a ton from last year......(not that i went overboard mind with the canning, but if i could even think of eating it......i canned it)

i plan on hobby canning of artisianal jams etc all winter
oh and buying a half a cow and canning THAT


i got the bug you know


til next time

vi

violet at the fair

our little blue ribbon winner.......

what's a nice girl doing UP at an hour like this?

it's 5am ( or a bit past now)
i'm up
getting ready to go to the fair

some demon disquised as my friend carole talked me into showing violet the goat at the fair
what am i nuts?
do I THINK i am 19 still?

ha
i helped wash 18 goats yesterday
right now i am feeling all 47 of the 18 goats i helped wash.....
and a cow or two.....
maybe a pig as well

so that is what screaming muscles feel like!

and today...... ( heaven help me)

i get to take MY very own goatie into the ring
my very own goatie, who btw is not speaking to me

see goats don't like water
in the LEAST
they also don't like anything or anyone when they are out of their pens

this list includes

red headed children
golf carts
trucks
cars
tall people
short people
COWS
blond headed children
birds
ashpalt
gravel
PIGS
blowing paper
brooms
people sweeping with brooms
my face


did i mention there is a HILL between where the goats are penned and the wash station?
and in between ARE COWS...... pigs...... humanity OH MY.....


cows are big you know
even the babies are big.....
really big
REALLY BIG
REALLY
and they have very LOUD voices

ok so
today we go into the RING
( picture the really SCARY music in the horror movie)
more specificly......tonight
if i am still awake
and still alive
and still can MOVE one limb or finger on this body

and tomorrow
i get to go argue with goats and horses to pick peaches....
if i can move.....
well you get the picture

i think.....i need a nice snow storm.....
87 inches will do it
i need a bit of time off now


thank you all for listening to me


vi

bernie's angel again....

last week, bernie pulled in home here pretty late,
he had vehicle troubles and had a part in the engine melt on him!
so friday he had to take my van ( and i am still without a vehicle)

friday morning he is driving east on route 80..... coming down a nasty hill with no left hand shoulder.

he was in the left lane

knowing him.....he was doing 90

he was listening to the radio, which suddenly cut out

now normally in his truck......the radio starts to break up and lose signal around there.... it gets all static-y

the radio in my van just went completely dead.....no sound, just instant silence
and NO traffic on route 80 at ALL......... very odd for that time in the morning

he moved over, to the middle lane slowing down a bit......and rounded the bend at the bottom of that wicked hill

in the left lane...... pointing TOWARDS the traffic was a car!
( remember no shoulder)
the car had it's headlights on, and had apparently spun out and ended up facing north

when dh touched the volume slide on the radio
he found it had been turned DOWN

there had been no gradual or even fast fade of noise...as you all know would happen if you had turned down the sound

it had gone from LOUD to no sound.....
this was a slide thing.......
and it couldn't have happened that way....

he turned it back up

i would sure like to know who is his angel ( this isn't the first time he's been the reciever of help that is paranormal)

anyway, i have been thanking this being....... soul.......entity

as if they had not done that simple thing of turning the SOUND off the radio.....my bernie AND that other person would have been dead.


anyway, i thought you folks would like to hear about this

out of sorts day

what a day........
poor little badger got a vacine today....
my poor baby lambsie
kris said it's time he learns to drink water from a bucket....so we gotta get him a bucket

someone told me.....(remember i am all italian) that she knew that all italians made sauce with sugar and vinegar in it......because while she was NOT italian...she lived next door to italians and watched some on tv....
huh?

does living next to the ocean make you a porpoise?

oye

it's been that kind of day

and now i can't walk
my left arch is killing me
i don't know why but it hurts so bad......
ok meanwhile in duckie news
they are HUGE
and are going to monica's farm shortly
i bought 5 ducklings and made a new friend doing it......the 5 ducklings are carole's birthday present.....
1 for each decade of her life


some of my tomatoes have early blight
i have to mulch them
and cut the affected leaves off and spray them with liquid copper

one tomato is ripening...it's turning RED
i can't wait for the rest


bernie LOVES his new job
he loves the company and the people


he feels he is making a difference....keeping the ambulances running

now.....
i am haveing a bit of trouble breathing and a few chest pains...
so I am giong to go lay down


til next time

vi

serafina and company

we have four ducklings
serafina is a bit......ahem.............. protective

protective duck....+ me needing to FEED and WATER them.....= me covered in duck poop

not the way i wanted to end my gardening day the other day
oye

and it was exceptionally smelly poop.......and i know from poop
bright GREEN too

ok so we had this storm the other night..... and bernie ( you remember him right...mr. no more animals.....and mr. get rid of the ducks???)

ran out in the storm to make sure falstaff was ok....as falstaff is in the outer pen....since he tried to kill the babies and rape serafina....
the outer pen doesn't have a roof.... just a small panel and then top flight netting....

all that happened was....his food got really really wet......

my tomatoes flopped over......
and falstaff spent the night in his crate
oye

I tied up the tomatoes...... there are a LOT of baby fruits on them....
i am looking forward to black tomato sauce.....
and canning hopefully 500 pounds of fruits......
after last years abysmal season.....
the peppers aren't doing as well

meanwhile badger the lamb is getting big..... he is hearty and healthy and quite a handful at times
and he doesn't always listen like he should
but he's growing on us

bernie loves him and wishes we could keep him

we can't.....he's going to be a HUGE sheepie when he's done growing

oye

vi

where do i begin.......to tell the story.......

let's see
we'll start with the new lamb.....
there is a bfl lamb on the floor next to me
he doesn't have a name yet....he was born monday morning
and after three hours of life and motherly attention.....
he was rejected
so he came here to be bottle fed
he's doing well and in spite of the fact that he is a bit confused about his ahem.....
species.......( that's really easy to do around here)
i think he will be a fine and dandy fiber animals....... ( is it only me who hears george carlin saying.....fine......and DANDY)

ok
i have put a giant white stuffed cat in with him....so he isn't alone.....he sleeps with it.....and he trys to nurse off it....and me....and the pen......and georgette up the hill......and bernie.....AND his bottle.....
this boy is one CONfused little guy

i took him up the hill to georgette's fenced and private yard to gambol and frolic.... as lambs DO.......
yes we have pictures.......forthcoming

in duckie news....
we have a hatch......but a dead duckling
i am really upset about that...they pipped last night and probably died shortly after
bernie has to help me remove it from the nest box
it isn't in the next....but beside it
and we don't want it drawing anything


speaking of bernie
he's got a new job........as a shop manager of a fleet of ambulances, and a couple of techs
it is a wonderful job...much much more money..... better benefits
he will love what he is doing....i know him.....he is going to love this
and best of all...... salary......so more money AND he actually gets it!
closer to home a bit as well......by 60 miles a day


ok in cat news...... they are not impressed by this lamb
they have retreated to the boudoir
and have come downstairs only to express their displeasure by pissing behind the front door

so far......only the hens love me ( and the lamb but he's too young and dumb to know anything)......they each laid an eggie today....so i got 4


ok......now a few other odds and ends....
i still can't knit.....my hands are pretty swollen
however i was able to can a bit
i got 14 quarts of beef in red wine with mushrooms done..... 7 with homemade red wine from a friend of bernies.....and 7 with commercial wine
needless to say....
i intend on making wine this summer
ha
and i don't DRINK!
hahahahaha
i want red for cooking and white to make vinegar with....

meanwhile the garden is still not finished planted...i got pumpkins to go in
but we got small green tomatoes......bean flowers
mesclun........... and peas
( and the constant slug battle over my beloved peppers)
ok so i think
THAT is all the news......

stay tuned for pictures
and if i remember any more news


vi