gmail is out

i get a 502 error, which is 'temporary'
for the past two hours
however some folks with gmail have been out over 12 hours now
as that is now my primary email......i am in serious withdrawl

now in daily news, it's cold out
really cold actually.....about 22 degrees
the heat came on!

i was lazy today and slept in until 9am..... ( which a week or so ago would have only be 8am)
so the woodstove went totally (just a few live coals) out

bernie stoked it last night, i went up to bed a bit early.
i don't know why but i am tired lately
anyhow when bernie stokes the stoke, it goes out too early
i can keep it hot for at least 10 hours but somehow bernie can't seem to

i have to get back to my paper work decluttering today and also transplant seedlings
i just planted a couple more leeks and some more greens even if i have to keep the greens in flower pots on the living room windows....it's time now

i am growing a few new things this year
i am growing a salad green that also produces a sweet red berry fruit
i am growing a cape gooseberry
there are two berries from the huckleberry family, one by luther burbank.
if the seeds outside germinate, i am also growing about 10 different spinaches
and about 12 different assorted salad greens, including a few lettuces
i got a bit heavy handed with the cabbages this year.....
there must be 80 of them
so we are going to have cabbages all over the freeken place

the only pumpkin i am going to grow this year is the heirloom and extremely rare long neck pumpkin
this pumpkin looks ( when ripe) like a very overgrown zucchinni....it's dark green, except for one tiny spot where it rests on the ground....that should be orange...
if so it's ripe...cut it and cure it
and put it in storage.....over the winter it will turn orange
how cool is THAT
?
i went nuts trying to get these seeds
fedco finally had them again and boom...i ordered

the other pumpkin i want is the 'jam' pumpkin
that is from 'seed from italy'
i am hoping to order those seeds and putting that one out next year

i have to tell you all, the ducks have announced in their sort of quiet duck like way.....that it is really truly spring and they are very very busy making ducklings...

i think we need to extend the pen a bit..... AND put a high perch in there for serafina, to get away from falstaff when he gets too amourous....

and he seems to be getting too amourous on an hourly basis.... i would imagine any man over 25 will be very envious of that silly drake....

i want to make a nice chicken pen out there too....the girls do need to go out...and we need three more pullets ....we are out of eggs right now

bernie wants to eat the girls.....i don't think so

speaking of bernie....
he's been home now a few days from his seminar.....
and he is all upset
the dryer broke, he thinks it's a thermal fuse but he couldn't fix it yesterday
(that's ok, cause line drying is a great way to keep electric costs down)
and little calpurrnia pooped on the floor....
he got all upset at that too...
but being it was calpurrnia.... all of course is forgiven....
how could you not?
she looks up at your with them big blue eyes...and jumps into your arms and purrs like her little heart is going to explode with love

that cat can work it


bob put trish's obit up.....
what a beautiful picture of her
what a wonderful tribute to her

and i still keep trying to call her


vi

it seems like time should stop

and just let folks be for a bit

but it doesn't work that way.....if anything, as soon as you think time should stop....it appears to speed up

just a random thought.


today is i believe, easter.

it is certainly spring

the ducks say so, as they are intent on making ducklings
my seedlings under lights here say so
they are huge now.......i just sowed some of them three short weeks ago
they really could be out in the garden now, if it was warmer
that is how large some of them are
i am going to start to move them onto larger pots, and sort a few of them for sale
i have a bit too many herb plants it looks like
sage, sweet marjoram, basil, anise.

thankfully this year i did not plant 100 peppers and 200 tomatoes....i showed SOME restraint

however i certainly WISH i had the garden space for that much

i planted a LOT of banana peppers, as i want to make a base with them, onions and garlic for pork, chicken and beef.

i planted some other sorts of peppers as well i need stuffers and also sweet red ones to dry

the celery is cutting celery, i hope to keep a pot of that in the house

all in all my future vegetable garden is thriving under it's lights, and i am always amazed at the tiny plants that now only fill a 2'X4' space......will grow so large as to fill not only the main garden, but the side garden and the deck garden with extras to give and sell.

those tiny little tomato plants will grow to be 10 feet tall out in the compost enriched soil

that is one of the amazing yearly miracles of spring, and one that i never get tired of

however it always makes me wish i had a greenhouse and cold frames and a much much bigger garden

the aftermath

i miss my friend
i talked to her daily
there are a few people that are such a part of my life......
that daily contact is important to me

i found that i am having trouble knitting.....picking up again
trish and i were planning on knitting a shawl and matching scarf together
and i can't face my needles or my yarn

i call her husband almost every day......
so when he comes home....
there is a blinking light on the answering machine
it isn't much i know
it is also nice to hear her voice on the answering machine, she always had such a soothing voice.....


i wish she'd gotten him the kitten she was talking about
there would be a living being for him to come home to.....that needed and loved, and depended on him

now last week, i was ill with food poisioning
this week bernie was in alabama at a ford training seminar
and i was to the doctor

i have apparently over shot that whole cholesterol thing....
with my cholesterol at 124 now

the good one is great the bad one is low
the balance is perfect but my over all numbers are getting a bit too low now
so icecream all around, suplimented, in no particular order by
steak
cheesecake
butter
eggs
more icecream
whipped cream and a cherry


i am cleaning house.....
a bit here and a bit there
but a bit EVERY DAY
getting ready for planting the garden as well

i see the ducks are planting ducklings..... i have to get out there and set up the nest so i can limit the amount of eggs she lays
i don't want to be over run
and besides i need eggs..... lots of them for baking....
i have too low of cholesterol you know.....

the cats all are mad at bernie.....
they didn't want him to come to bed
i guess they figured he abandoned them

either that or they really liked having more space in the bed.....

knowing them....it's probably the more space thing

til next time

vi

it's all so final

i lost a close friend

suddenly

she crossed with blessed little suffering if any....
it took a breath
she was gone

her body was held to help others
many many others will benefit because this wonderful person, cared so deeply about others suffering that she gave her self.....literally gave her body to help

no greater gift is there.....

i am so devastated

reaching for the phone to call her was such a part of my life

i can't wrap my brain around it all yet

she can't be dead.....she is still in my mind and heart so very much alive

her husband is beyond devastated....... there is no way words can convey how his very soul is ripped apart and shredded

i realize we all must die
no one gets out alive

and if i were to choose my own death..... please make it FAST and sudden.....
no pain
no illness
no suffering

how could i begrudge a friend that i love the same?

yet, i am so incredibly angry..... she's taken from us too soon.....
her husband denied the years of leisured retirement they both planned and worked for

her friends denied the brightness of her laughter

today is gray and heavy rains are coming down...
seems fitting to me

even the universe seems to be crying as hard as i am at her passing


there are others that knew her, and had the same medical crisis she did.....they lived
they feel guilt for that
i am so greatful they did live..... their jobs here are not done
i would not want to have also mourned them

this is hard enough
i am worried about them...... i know that they have a purpose here.....and it is important
their very dailyness of living is part of it

i can't seem to get them to see what i see so very clearly


and i have a question.....

how is it possible for a heart to hurt so very badly...... over and over again....
and not stop beating?
how do people go on after great losses?

i am so tired of the pain of losing family and friends

yet i know..... they are still all around me.....although i can't see them

i dreamt of my friend last night
she seems happy, and healthy.....and ok over there......

is it so very selfish of me to wish......she'd never left us?

i wouldn't want her to be a vegetable..... i am not that selfish....
or her to suffer to stay.....

but i just wish this was all a bad dream.....and i would wake up now

new beginings

my seeds are up
i planted them....had faith in mother nature and i am now welcoming them into the world

i need another flourscent light for them though

i will get that today as well as do town chores

bernie has to go to school in two weeks, he'll be gone i believe 4 days and 3 nights
he is concerned about me being here alone.

we will heap wood on the deck....
give the ducks WAY extra food, just in case we get a storm

georgie up the hill checked her schedule to make sure they are around
and a few other people told me.....if i need anything let them know

i figure i will just have to be a bit more careful
and as long as i do'nt fall in the garden again it should be ok


now..... i have to tell you folks

a friend of mine is very ill
i am extremely worried as i don't know too much except she is in the hospital and it's serious
when i worry i get distracted
and i may not remember to post
i will however clean the house
and i will talk on the phone almost nonstop while doing it

that's how i worry

now when she gets better and reads this......she will of course stop speaking to me

but let me tell you.... i would rather she DOES make it and stop speaking to me....
then cross over

and T when you read this....and YOU had better get well enough to.....or i swear i will haunt you in heaven....

just remember
you are loved

vi

oh most wonderous shredder

thou hast dazzled me with thy brilliance

i love my shredder
where has it BEEN my whole life

i take one bad memory in the form of a letter
SNNNNNNNNNNNNNZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

and it's confetti!

amazing

i like to see the little basket fill up
i am next going to burn it all in the bbq

talk about fun

now
that being said....paper work SUCKS

did i say that already? ........well if so it bares repeating

PAPER WORK SUCKS

no that does not make me feel better...

but that shredder sure does..... i can almost understand the fascination men have with them chippers.....

and the SHREDDER even does CREDIT CARDS

that's the BEST

as i had them all laying around for years.....expired ones that i didn't know what to do with

zoooooooooooooooooommmssssssssssssss

through the shredder

it's MAGIC

and the noise is pretty cool too


vi

til next time

paperwork.....the new torture

i hate paperwork
now i know you are nodding your head and saying....'yeah, who doesn't'
but
let me tell you......i am NOT kidding...

today after 20 years...i have decided to tackle the boxes of paperwork
now i did the tax type paperwork yearly
but the other stuff like credit card offers.....
aarp offers
magazines
it's all stuff with our names and addresses or other personal information
i haven't known what to do with it all!

well we finally got a shredder
and i got a bunch of bankers boxes to sort it all out

i even got a box for cards from loved ones........cause i can't throw them out

and while it isn't fun
it's not as nightmarish
almost

it is however at times torturous

i found old letters from favorite relatives that have been long deceased.....
i miss them so much

i found pictures of my beloved dog

i found all sorts of things

some stuff made me laugh

some stuff had me in tears

some stuff had me shaking my head and still wondering why

and unfortunately it also is breaking my back! seriously.....my back is HURTING!
did you know paperwork is HEAVY

it's physcially heavy and apparently emotionally heavy as well

i plan on burning the shredded stuff.....
in the bbq as it has social security numbers and account numbers etc

i already have a very large box of paper that can either be recyled or composted
that is making me happy

when i get it all finished, i know i will have even more to shred such as old bills and deposit slips etc from the 80's and 90's


i think this is also the first time in a very LONG time that i am actually doing a spring cleaning of sorts

i think it is time no?

anyway....
that's what i am trying to get done right now...
i thought it would takes me about two weeks...but i am realizing it is going to take a bit longer.....

oye

what do i do to myself
????



vi

testosterone poisoning

it is a terrible thing to see

i feel it is my public duty as a woman to alert you all to the symptoms of testosterone poisoning.....

i must warn all the faint of heart or easily offended to please back away from the screen now.....seriously...it won't do you any good to stay....

you gone?

ok for the ones who are left


are there women out there who live with men..... ( even men in training aka: boys)
who wonder just why they do the things they do?

and why at times we want to strangle either them or ourselves with a runless pair of pantyhose (extra support, sheer to the toe, size c)

yes it is all from testosterone poisoning

today, when we were out at best buys just LOOKING at a computer.....my husband suddenly and for no reason started to complain LOUDLY that this store was a rip off as the tower didn't come with a monitor

yup testosterone poisoning

and do i have to remind you all of the weed whacker incident?
when he bought a new weed whacker and went around striking terror into the hearts of every expensive cultivar i had planted here...... while the actual weeds rolled on the floor laughing their assets off????
only to finish up by slicing in half a brand new soaker hose...laid out in a recently planted bed?

yup testosterone poisoning

it's the same syndrome that makes men THINK they actually know what they are talking about...or that they actually have something to SAY about how you run the household

it's an evil evil thing....and even the most innocent manlet will have the beginnings of it

have you ever watched a man in full testosterone frenzy?
such as crushing a beer can on their heads

spending WAY TOO FREEKEN MUCH MONEY on something incredibly stupid like a jet powered riding lawnmower with attached flame thrower?

or screaming until they are hoarse at some silly tv screen while wearing their favorite team's body paint....( on your new sofa)

and if after a man has been in the bathroom, even the dog runs away and barfs.......

and what mother willing goes into her teenaged son's room....
gees the stench alone permeates the entire house the second the door is opened
AIRWICK solids shrivel up and die in that room in about an hour......

even YOUNGER boys....have that 'odor'......ewwwwwww.
remember from when you were a kid.....boys had cooties cause they SMELLED bad...

ewwwww


well you can look no further
the diagnosis is confirmed.....
testosterone poisoning.....

and sadly

there is no cure

( not even neutering them at birth cause apparently their brains are bathed in testosterone even in utero.......)



i have no solution......but i felt i had to warn you all

now

if it gets too bad
and some of you are tempted to whack him with his own weed whacker.....
remember this

no one looks good in neon orange jump suits

and community showers don't give you time to moisturize properly...let alone pluck your chin hairs.....


ok off my soap box now


til next time

vi

happy leap year everyone-spring is almost here!

it's a bit cold here......... duh, it's SO COLD here

that the rhodo is little wires instead of leaves!

now this morning i planted sweet banana pepper seeds, they did very well last year and i began to make a sort of cooking sauce/mix out of them, onions, garlic and meat juices.
it was good with pork and chicken, i imagine it would also be good with beef.....
so this season i would like to can 48- 4oz jars of it

next i will plant the sweet italian peppers i use for drying, followed by the stuffing peppers, as well as the frying and fresh peppers for salads and pickling

we love sweet peppers around here

the tomatoes this year will be yellow, orange, green, black, white and pink..... with maybe two red slicers..... bernie found out he likes pink, and orange for slicers!

i am hoping to get a nice deep raised bed for carrots. i am going to grow them in sawdust & sand if i do.....

our little hard working garden is so cramped but still manages to really produce a lot of crops like beans.....( last year was great)

i long for a larger garden with the ability to plant out 50 pepper plants and 50 tomatoes and 100 feet of broccoli etc......

but for now, we have this
i am also trying to think of a second place to plant my pole beans
as i would like to have enough to freeze and can ( and two years worth)


so meanwhile

i wish you all dreams of the perfect garden, a balance of pests and preditors in your garden, high yeilds and new ungrown before crops


til next time

vi

anyone got any experience with growing blueberries in containers in the north east?

hold the celebration.....

well the new office chair may end up as BERNIE'S new office chair
i think it is built for a person with MUCH longer legs

but it's still better then the hard wooden kitchen chair


in other news.........

i am working on decluttering the house
specifically the never ending paper work.....
my friend marilyn down in florida suggested getting a couple of boxes and putting labels on them as to what will be in there......and sorting it first

i am going to have to do a total reorganize of over twenty years
because of the paper work on the house....etc

so i figure this way
(in list of labeling)

• 1980's
• 1990's
• 2000/2001/2002
• 2003/2004
• 2005/2006
• 2007/2008
• house
• canning/recipes/foodstorage/gardening
• old letters and cards
• shred
• recycle
• burn

that's a LOT of boxes i think
but i think marilyn is right
and if there is a place to put it
it should go very fast
i plan to devote a few hours each morning to this, until i get it done. When the boxes are all done and all the saved paperwork is filed properly, they will be sealed and stored ( or tossed) BUT either way, it should not only make space in the house but be the start of decluttering in preperation to move.

i think i am going to set them up on a sawhorse with a couple planks in the living room and set the timer for me to work on it
one day at a time no?

i plan on gardening and canning and then being able to settle after supper and knit

my reward for a productive day

also, i am going to look into a grain mill, and bulk whole grain, i am working on a lowered carb, high fiber bread.....and i am leaning towards sourdough.

we sooooooo have to move
as i want to put in strawberry beds, and blueberries and cranberries

oh my

vi

rise up rise up.....on the floor no longer

office max just called......
they will be delivering my NEW computer chair

woooooo hoooooooo!!!

i know you all think that isn't really exciting news

but truly i am sick of sitting almost on the floor
or a wooden kitchen chair
i miss the cushy softness of a nice managers chair
this one is got a cloth seat
so the cats are going to have fun
my other had leather and they didn't bother it

by tonight my fat assets will be cradled in cushiony softness
and all will be right in the world

which brings me to my OTHER projects

i am going to start ( heaven help me) decluttering the paperwork in the house

i got twenty years or more worth of decluttering

a lot of stuff i do have to save
but now we have a shredder, i can start to ditch all those free credit card offers etc
i was too worried about idendity theft to toss in the garbage before
the sheer magnitude of the project has me nuts

but i figure ........ if i start it.....
it should eventually be done
what with gardening/canning seasons starting
and the beginning of the kal for

Moroccan Days / Arabian Nights-Pattern only

Woolen Rabbit-Kit, yarn and pattern


but the paperwork needs to be done and i need to get stuff packed so we can move

( everyone send good moving to a farm wishes please....and my babies come home?)


ok
off i go and wait for the chair
til next time


vi

International LaPerm Cat of the Year 2008

http://www.laperm.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.laperm.co.uk/winners2008.htm

i am so excited ....... my kids have won!! they did GOOD

actually since i did not breed any of these guys none of the credit goes to me
it goes to their breeders and to Linda Koehl the founder of our beloved breed

but i love these little curly guys so very much that i am thrilled
especially since fawn is so much older (born december 1, 1999) and is now happily retired here

the two winners are currently basking in the warmth of the woodstove....
and our little darlink calpurrnia.....who doesn't know
is upstairs snuggled down in the goosedown quilt


thank you so much everyone that voted

for us it was fun

for the cats......well they are just happy to have their breakfast of warmed up fancy feast and their woodstove ( or goosedown) and their lives full of love and leisure.....

til next time
vi
eta
this was too good for just one day but i have other news........


the moroccan days /arabian nights kal has started

here is the link to Susan’s website for the pattern ONLY ( she has a link to Kim for the kit as well)
Moroccan Days / Arabian Nights-Pattern only
here is the link to Kim’s site with the kit (pattern and yarn)
Woolen Rabbit-Kit, yarn and pattern


TODAY is the day this is available

for bess***

***

soon o soon the chair......

we went out and bought me a new office/computer chair today
office max had them on sale
they deliver it wednesday
wow i will be able to actually NOT type over my head

(if you all could see me now in my little broken chair.....i am on the floor!)

while there we got a 4 in 1 to replace my scanner that the cats totalled

with luck.......
they won't bother this one
which incidently was only 99.00!!!!!!
i am SHOCKED as my old scanner cost 4 times that....
but i did love my scanner .....it was an epson perfection and it was the BEST
this one is an epson too
it came with a shredder which we also needed


bernie got home finally at about 10:15 this morning
he plowed us out and watered/fed the duckies
we then did errands
we got the extention cords for the ducks water heater.....which is going in tomorrow
then the office chair and scanner
finally milk so i could make yogurt

(it's sitting next to the woodstove in it's little blanket)

milk is now 3.73 a gallon!
huh?
I said to bernie.....we got a MILK GOAT
what the hell are we doing BUYING MILK?
but see the goat isn't freshened as she is being boarded
and she is over an hour away
a little too far to run twice a day to milk her

i SWEAR

when we move
i am not only getting violet home.....but i am getting a mini milk cow
and a pigmy buck to put on violet for kinder goats

oye

3.73 a gallon.....
and i bet the dairy got about 20 cents a gallon......

i wish there was a raw milk jersey dairy around here

like in my YARD

til next time

vi

when bernie gets home.....

bernie runs an ambulance fleet
so during storms and such he stays with the fleet to make sure that the 911 ambulances can get out
he stayed with the fleet last night
but he called me a bit ago that he was on his way home
his day crew can handle what little bit is left now

he said when he gets home he is going to do the ducks ( it's killing me not to run out there to check on them)
i am watching them from the window
they are actually enjoying the snow!
they are eatting it and playing in it

i've seen them doing that before
they also like ice chips!
i give them fresh water twice a day..... and when i break out the ice in the morning they eat the chips!

they do eventually get around to the liquid water but those silly ducks like the ice chips!

ok so we are going to town, i need a new chair.....my computer chair is totally finished
milk to make yogurt
bread flour
a scanner or an all in one
to get to the po
and i think the feed and grain

i want more wild bird seed

i am trying to think of how i can put in a patch of grain for the poultry,
without the really horrible neighbors destroying it
i could use that resource this year, i got all that land i can't use!

speaking of the birds..... marguerite went all broody on me again

i was discussing this the other day with her

me: 'marguerite, dear, you need to get up'
marguerite: 'i am going to be a mother'
me: 'marguerite, dear, you aren't going to be a mother, you don't have any thing under you'
marguerite: 'OH YES I AM'
me: 'marguerite dear, to be a mother, you need a father, .......there aren't any fathers around here....they are over an hour away'
marguerite: ( eyeing me in her little chicken way)'it doesn't matter, cause i SAID SO'

me: ' i am going to get the stockpot for that crazy chicken'



what you folks don't have conversations with chickens?

how lonely your lives must be


til next time

vi

bumbles don't always bounce

i had a huge scare early early this morning.

i went out to water the ducks and under the snow was the ice
i didn't see it
and i went down like a ton of bricks
i couldn't get up
i was on my stomach and could NOT get up
i yelled but there was no one to hear me
bernie has to stay over down with his fleet so his 911 units get out to save lives

if i didn't figure a way to get up
i would be out there until he came home sometime tomorrow
i crawled over to the garden fence and dragged myslf up it

it will never be the same again
we are going to have to repair it before we plant the garden

i been trying all day to keep moving so i don't get stiff

but damn, i am really banged up
nothing broken thank goodness

but everything hurts
even my feet and fingers

i am going to have to figure a better way to get out to the ducks....even if it's a bit longer

and i think we are going to get a farm collie.....
my dog kiss would stand for me if i fell......... i would get up by leaning on her shoulder
i figure even if a dog now couldn't do that for me
i could send her up the hill to georgie or someone to get help
and she could help me keep the feral jackass animals off the property
and maybe even keep those ducks and chickens in line

i spoke to bernie......we will of course speak a lot more about this
adding a dog is NOT a spontanious decision.

there is a lot to consider
we have to find a good dog school to go to for socialization and basic training with doggie distractions
do a lot of research
and also if possible i would like to find a trainer that has at least some idea of what a thinking dog is like

my kiss thought things out.....
i understand the farm collies do the same

while i was always pack leader..... it was so helpful to have a dog around that could figure stuff out for herself

til next time

vi
who baked bread to appease her sore mucsles

we are to get a storm

which means bernie may not be able to get home until sunday

i need to make sure i have enough wood in the house.
i also wish i had a cover for the van
we have enough food naturally and oil for the oil lamps
i believe we also have enough emergency water

i will add to bernie's emergency bag for the truck

the one big worry i will have is the ducks.....getting out to the ducks to bring them liquid water.

i am so glad i canned all that ham and potatoes the other day
bernie can take a jar of that, a jar of beef stew, a jar of chili..... and maybe some applesauce etc ......all down to work for himself so he doesn't have to worry about eatting

i should make him take my van too i think

i had PLANNED to go to town and get a new scanner..... or even an all in one
as i have to get something done that needs a scanner/copier....
maybe if i go really early ?

georgie up the hill said she didn't think i was going to be able to go out
but i may have to

we do have enough cat, chicken and duck food.....milk.....
i can bake bread...
but i need that scanner/copier bad

oye

it's ALWAYS something

til next time

vi

urban farming-micro farming

as some of you know.....i am a firm believer in urban farming
in old fashioned victory gardens,
and in people being more proactive in the production of their foods
i also like to eat locally ( which for me isn't too hard as i have a lot of friends that are farmers....and we grow a lot of our own food here)

i have hopes that soon we will return to goats, chickens and sheep being returned to the urban and suburban areas....

as some of you know i have 4 sheep and a goat that i currently board..... i have more then enough land here but due to zoning.... i can't have them here.
( deer, wild bear and turkey yes.....my sheepies and goatie no-even though my neighbors would be more then happy to see and BORROW my little wooly lawn mowers and brush clearers)

so as you all also know.....we want to move to a larger peice of land so my babies can come home
( and i want a mini jersey milk cow too)

i think small scale family farms and neighborhood cooperation is not only the way of the future, but may end up the way most people that are middle class working folk are going to survive.

every day i hear of food recalls, due to various nasty bacterias or contaminations
it is getting very scary to me
i see on the internet that our children are not only getting fatter, but getting things like ADHD etc.

i think part of it is the NON-FOOD we are feeding ourselves
chemical cocktails that at this point our bodies are not able to fully utilize

while i am not advocating wheat grass shakes and tofu
i AM thinking that NOT putting human growth hormones in our beef
and NOT killing our meat while the animal is terrified out of it's mind is a start in the right direction

i am also thinking that going back to having a backyard cow...... which is a smaller thrifty beast could be a good idea
or milk goats
or milk sheep
one cow per two or three average sized familys?

i am thinking....... at this point
the systems we have in place now are not working really well
and if oil continues to be a problem the practice of bring food long distances won't be workable either

just a few random thoughts

as i wait for my seeds to start

til next time

vi

does it ever end?

i spent two hours on the phone today with verizon.....
we are trying to change our cable broadband to dsl.
we would have a savings of 240 a year by doing so


after the two hours of nothing but people who could NOT speak or apparently understand english
that 240 seemed like just not enough savings to me.....

verizon ships with 'in line' filters, which every phone must have to use their service.
fine
except i have wall phones, which have a seperate filter
and they charge you over 10. a peice for them
i needed three

BEFORE i even could decide if i liked this dsl service or not they are soaking me over 30.bucks!

i got so pissed off i told them

you know what, CANCEL this damn service
forget it
i will stay with broadband through the cable company and forget verizon
( and i will find a NEW PHONE option while i am at it)

miracles do happen as the last person i spoke to is sending me the filters i need for nothing

as they don't want to lose me as a customer
ok
then why did verizon put me through hell for over 2 hours
and i still don't have dsl ????????


just one of the little things that make life so damn exciting

( this is sarcasm.....just in case anyone noticed)

i am still not a happy camper..
i am thinking verizon owes me and bernie a meal at a resturant for the over 2 hour run around i got today
with a lot of folks that didn't speak or understand english

oye

til next time

vi

coming to you LIVE from the studio FLOOR

no shit..... i am practically ( and for all intents and purposes)
on the floor
as my chair broke~!
and the piston that kept it up high enough is now gone
so i am about on the floor!

we are going out this week to replace it

meanwhile
you folks that know me in person know how vertically challenged i am

well....imagine MY chubby little knee up around my ears....

to say this is annoying .....well.....
you know


now i tried a few other chairs
but like baby bear.....they ain't quite right
and they hurt my back

so right now i have three choices as i see it

this on the floor chair.....
a hurting back.....
or no computer.....

wait....did i just say the last one?
noooo
can't be


not me

nope

guess it is the hurting knee thing huh?
oye

til next time

vi

where did my week go?

well.......ok monday bernie was late getting in
tuesday due to weather he didn't get home at all ( none of us slept, not me.....not him, not the cats, not the chickens)

he got home wensday, and had to bring wood in for a few days, as due to the storm TUESDAY i couldn't get the wood up to the studio
when we all finally got to sleep the la perms slept ON HIM and i held his arm all night,..... i don't think anyone realized it until morning....

oye

last night he was late as his fleet had a unit to be cleaned
i don't know yet about today

happy valentines day to you all.....a bit late i know


i spent yesterday catching up on dishes and chipping ice out of the duck pen, trying to get the flooding in the basement under some sort of control

etc.....

holding down the fort so to speak

in KNITTING NEWS!!!

i started a KAL at KR and ravelry

for a shawl called Moroccan days/Arabian Nights designed by Susan Pandof and commissioned by Kim of Woolen Rabbit


i have never done an actual kal before so this is going to be interesting

i like this pattern, it is lace, but it is a very textured lace with beading etc
so i find this interesting
i plan on doing one in the honey color, and i am thinking i may do a second one in spicey reds....
i am even going to buy the yarn it's shown in!!!!!

i really like this pattern.

as you folks may realize, i do try to help designers along, if i like their work.
i made how many ice queens? ( she is another very talented designer)

there are a few others that i have gotten their patterns but haven't had a chance to do them yet.....
of course as i do i will tell you all

i don't mean to slight anyone
so if i have some of your patterns and i haven't said anything, it is because they are in line and i probably haven't found the yarn i want to do them in yet

now as to this week......i am very glad it's over
i hope next week is better


til next time

vi

happy anniversary noogums

today is our anniversary.....31 year
YEARS!!!!!
and he still can make me laugh
he still makes my toes curl
and while i am still super annoyed about the no canning/no kitchen countertops thing

i still love him dearly with my whole heart, and soul and toenails....

although there are times.....

anyone who's been married for a long period of time to the same person will tell you....
there are good things, bad things and things you don't bother to fight about anymore....

there is something to be said for being with one person forever.....
they are family...

sometimes more so then blood relatives.......

or maybe most often?

and while you do get mad
if you still enjoy each others company like bernie and i do

you are way ahead of the game.

he woke me up this morning, at 4:30 am ( yup we get up early)
and remembered to wish me a happy anniversary.....
me..... i was still half in a dream state.....

i just called him to make sure he'd gotten to work ok.....
yup just pulled in

we were to have gone out to eat yesterday but since he was out sick that week, we stayed home.
we shared the cooking, with a roasted chicken, my homemade mushroom gravy, mashed yukon gold potatoes and green beans from last years garden
my homemade and home canned applesauce for dessert

i am pretty sure he'd marry me again in a heart beat


til next time

happy anniversary bernie, i love you


vi


JaneThank you so much

'Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.'

i would say as i do visit your blog regularly, i would pass one right back

then there is

Catherine
Cyndy
martha
lanea
Jen
Jane
nanette
Amie
kelly
and last but not least.....a very very smart lady
bess
( bess dear.....it's true, you are scary smart)

it's snowing!!!!

naturally!

as i am trying to organize my garden plan, and make sure i have the seeds i need
i put in a small seed order to heirloom acres seeds, some colored tomatoes, and a few odds and ends that i don't have.

i still need to get the seeds for the 'old ivory egg' white tomato
and more eggplant seeds
the one last thing i would like is three blueberrie bushes

i think they will be good in barrels though....

when i was out to feed and water the ducks, i was still sort of mentally going over the garden.
even though i have it on paper, there is nothing like being OUT THERE

we have to cut back some of the apple tree that overhangs one edge.....i wish we could USE those apples....

anyway....
anyone ELSE doing their seed starting?
i have to get the pepper seeds into the starter, they take the longest to germinate

OHOHOH
the hens are on vacation....
yup since they aren't laying anyway much, we have cut their light hours back to give them a good rest, and hopefully they will be over the molt soon

no more then 12 hours a day of light.....preferably 10

even so ....we are getting three more pullets
i will give georgie up the hill some of the extra, and our attorney who also loves our eggs

til next time


vi

oh what do you all think of the names....
clotilde
yvette
clorisa
for the new hens?

any one got some suggestions?

tis the season la la la

it's time to start garden seeds....some folk already have
and
i will admit
i am a bit behind due to being sick and all

this year.....
i will be editing what i plant
my intentions are
not to over plant by 200 the tomatoes i need ( 20 of them should do it)

and only about 30 peppers.....not 100

i would however like more diversity in the garden.....
more to can at the end

this year i plan on canning sweet red pepper sauce, peppers and onions with various meats as well as plain.

i want to make sure that we have a good stock on hand of canned beans, potatoes etc

so the garden this year is MOSTLY going to be geared to canning.....
the deck garden will be our fresh eatting garden.....the main... for winter storage
and THIS YEAR
the brussel sprouts will rule!!!!!!

now when we move i intend on a hoop house to be able to move around the garden, extending a season here..... getting a jump on a season there
housing poultry over the winter....

here with the neighbors, i can't risk it
i would have mark come and clear where all the neighbor's dumping was......
level it out and put a hoophouse.....
but those kids would have the covering in shreds in about a day
i watched them breaking their own fence!

i can probably do a couple of cold frames and a very SMALL hoop house
sheilded by the main garden.....

anyway.....tis the season


so i am sitting here with long lists of varieties of seeds i have saved....
and trying to figure what to start and where it's going when it's ready for the garden.....

and yOU?

vi
til next time

Spirit Trail Fiberworks yarn

in all it's fibery goodness
SPIRIT TRAIL has some of the bestestest coloring around

isn't that the prettiest skein you ever did see?
so happy and bright and spring like!



Jen thank you so very very much

it's such a happy happy skein of yarn
now....
what to make of it??????


til next time
vi

still the flu

i am getting better
but
i keep thinking i can do stuff

i cleaned the woodstove today
took me 4 HOURS to recover......
huh?

i normally clean the woodstove, then make the coffee, feed the cats, stoke the stove,
turn on the computer, stack the dishwasher.....all in like 40 minutes in the morning

i had to REST from cleaning the stove!!!!!

i had to rest from takeing a shower.....

going to the po....ditto

as watering the ducks is.....

this flu still is knocking me for a loop

so....til next time

vi

i can't sleep

i spend the day ill again, this flu thing is pretty bad

i WAS better then went out to feed the ducks......
i ended up shaking, in a cold sweat, nauseus, dizzy, and very very weak!
just from carrying a bucket of water out to the ducks

huh?
i do that daily!

anyway, i went to bed normal time and couldn't sleep.
Thaddeaus couldn't either and kept getting on the bedside table, knocking a book off.....
and jumping off

now i got a LOT of books on my bedside table.... he was aiming to knock all them off.

bernie got upset so i dragged thaddeaus under the covers.....which is where he wanted to be anyway

but i still couldn't sleep so here i am

i was thinking about a ton of things

this upcoming election, which i intend on voting in..... now this will be my first time voting EVER, i never knew enough about it before, but after last election, i was so shocked at what i thought the smarter then me people in america did.....i swore i was going to vote in this election..... i just never knew enough before......but my friend pieheart explained it to me enough for me to really start to understand. i am smart about a LOT of things.....but politics doesn't make much sense to me.....

my chickens who aren't laying- i spoke to the folks i got them from, and they feel that the ladies are taking a break. And with the return of warm weather and longer days they will resume. i still ordered three new pullets.....yup buff orpingtons.....we are going to have chickie booms again. AND, we are going to change the ladies schedule... only 8 hours of light a day for a week or so then increase it gradually

how on EARTH we are going to move in this really tough housing market.... this is a biggie, as we need to get the sheep and goat home...... it was only for two years they were to be boarded..... i didn't figure this bad a market...... plus there are a number of things i want to get started, the orchard, greenhouse, tilapia experiment, passive solar, worm farming for castings for the garden, maybe even some more alternative energy and also more heritage breeds and veggies

trying to figure a way to be able to retire in 15 years.... another biggie, we don't have nearly enough savings, another reason i want the farm so bad, i figure it is a win win all the way around, we feed ourselves and sell our surplus, the money saved goes into retirement along with our regularly budgeted retirement savings

worried about finding a closer place for my sheep and goat so i can see them......if we can't move this year.....it was only supposed to be 2 years.....violet is two now....

wondering how long this flu from hell is going to get me.......it really has me phsycially weak i can't take much more of this, i am not used to not being able to do my chores

trying to figure what we are out of in our little storage system....... that long term food storage etc system i started two years ago has stood us in very good stead, for the most part, we have almost everything we need in emergency. This bout of flu was even semi planned for, but i didn't have enough theraflu....however i did have some.... so bernie sick as he was did NOT have to go out with his abcessed tooth to get more to break my really high fever

wondering how to get the dead tree out front taken down without going broke or having it fall on the house.... it's gettin worse, i looked at it today, but boy the wildlife LOVES it....that is why i haven't actually been in a huge rush to get it down..... i know they could use the help but it's starting to get dangerous now i think..... so even if we top if off at ten feet......they get the benefit...... we don't worry

oh yeah....i do worry RIGHT

no wonder i can't sleep

i didn't want to disturb bernie ( although neither of us sleep well without the other one there.....we better die together or no one will get any rest in peace)

so i figured i would come down.... stoke up the fire again
maybe knit a bit
write some of these worries down.....maybe i can figure a solution to some of them

see if any of my friends around the world are up..... isn't it daylight yet in england?
or how about australia?

or maybe just sit by the fire and see if i can get tired enough to sleep

til next time

vi

a certain fascination

i have to admit a deep dark secret.....

i have a certain fascination with contained small creatures

fish, small birds and rodents, even small bugs (ant farms, and worm abodes)
but especially goldfish

i don't know why

lately catherine has been posting some pictures of her garden pond with her goldfish

and naturally i am enthralled

i don't know what it is

the sparkling scales seen through that clear clear water?

.....the life? at once so at home and yet so alien?
living in an enviroment that would kill US in a fraction of a breath?

i remember as a kid going down to the creek out back ( at my aunt's house.....did anyone else do things like this?)
it was a very fast moving but shallow creek
the deepest was maybe 6 to 8 inches
but it was CLEAR

and watching minnows in the current,
hunting snails and newts and frogs

just for the pleasure of SEEING THEM

i remember watching algae clinging to the rocks
and my mom yelling for me not to get wet
yeah right

with all that life going on
how could i not plunge into it

picking up pebbles that shone like precious jewels under the water

or an empty pond snail shell

or even a bowl of pond water with a live snail in it
which naturally i was made to put back
reluctantly

i suppose i am not alone in my fascination right?
a lot of folks have ponds and keep fish in tanks

for me it's always been a mystical magical amazement to see
colorful creatures at home in the water

vi

almost back to the land of the living

and i learned a lot while i was so very sick

let my pain be a lesson to you

never drink a gallon of apple juice across 4 days......what goes in must come out
and when it does come out.........well......lets just say 'you are no longer full of shit'

never underestimate the weight of goosedown.....it weights 48 million tons per square inch
and it WILL trap you.....
as will blue eyed kittens...
who instantly weigh 97 pounds on each leg

dry toast can be a blessing

so can clean toilet bowls

there should be a law in marriages

if one person is deathly sick....the other MUST not get sick at all

sadly i broke that rule and bernie had to take care of me

i tend to halucinate nekid chickens dancing in a chorus line when my fever gets too high.....

this is an improvement of the plucked turkeys i halucinated when my temp got to 104 after bernie and i first were married

cold compresses are only a shock for a few seconds.....they are exceptionally good on your eyes

theraflu is your friend

logs for the woodstove must be made of lead
i don't know how those leaden logs burn

if you hold your arms up when you are really sick.....you fall over
(don't hang the laundry......it will bite you in the ass)

remember that apple juice thing....or you will regret NOT remembering it over and over and over

red noses are not the glamour statement you would think after hearing that stupid rudolph song

when you're really sick...... room temp water....
it's the BEST THING
vintage 20 seconds ago.....seriously
but it also weighs a ton.....must be really hard water

maybe i need a 'sippy' cup?

puffs tissues with the lotion.......pay extra


and the last thing

an entire week of your life can and WILL just slip by

you won't know
you won't CARE

and you won't even KNIT


til next time if i survive

vi

ps bernie is much much better
having gotten the other abcess yanked thursday....with no help from me

bernie is still very sick

we took him to the doctor today, he does NOT have a cold, the flu or sinus infection
she said that it was all from that tooth and the abscess from that
he was so ill this morning that in coughing and yacking....he shook the bed so hard it broke!
not the wood part
a Metal SLAT!
snapped in two!
we got it supported on wood blocks right now

he had a high fever and was shaking with the 'cold'
under a goosedown quilt and a heavy topper quilt

he kept telling me that if he could only go to work it would all be ok

his company is wonderful
his bosses are as worried about him as i am

he is eatting yet
but i am making him a lot of soups, pastina
oatmeal
tonights soup was ground beef with veggies and elbow macaronis
simmered until it was all soft for him
i had canned the meat with veggies during the summer
he's on his second bowl

he goes to the surgeon tomorrow
however if he gets worse tonight we take him to the hosptial

he can't even throw firewood on the deck
i will be bringing in tomorrows load in my wheel barrow

i also made him some honey with lemon for his throut
as this mess is draining it makes him sore and sick.....so that has been helping

i am so very grateful to have learned to can
and to have canned so much food over the summer
we certainly are using it now
( we were using it anyway.....but the soup stuff really has me grateful)

i'm really tired...
i haven't gotten much sleep but i try to sneak a couple hours in the morning
when he is up and is feeling good

funny how FAST you get adjusted again to an ill person in the house
it's like it was when my father was living with us
i work around his good days and good times and his schedule

til next time
when i hope i have much better news

vi
please wish bernie luck at the surgeon tomorrow
he needs this treated ASAP

bernie and the dentist

he's been there.... and now is a mess
he had one tooth extracted and now has got to have his impacted wisdom tooth out
and everything is covered with a lovely abcess!
oh man
MEN
WHY are they like that

so i have to run and get his RX filled
i hear his truck and yes he went to work and WENT BACK TO WORK

cause he is an idiot

and has me worried sick over him


til next time

vi

vote for MY babies.....PLEASE

no i am not bias...
hahaha
yeah right....NOT MUCH

anyway the la perm cat club in Britain is having a La Perm cat of the year contest

i entered ( i was asked) my three
fawn
calpurrnia
thaddeaus

so i ask you all
go see the la permies

vote for mine ( as they are the bestestest...... but i am not bias)
hahahahaha

http://www.laperm.co.uk/nominationsRegion1.htm

there is the url again


And the matter of my archives......
http://notashyviolet.blogspot.com/2008/01/html-and-my-archives.html

if anyone can figure it out

i would be really grateful

vi

ok i got some knitting to do now
and bernie has a very bad toothache and abscess tooth
which he is stubbornly refusing to go to the dentist for
now....where is that frying pan....you know the cast iron 12 inch one........

OH BERNIE....................

HTML and my archives

i am having a problem with my archives
they get progressively smaller to the point of being unreadable

( that is just picked at random.....scroll down)

if anyone can help me figure WHERE i accidently put that progressively 'smaller' peice of code
i would be grateful

as i am trying to figure it out and so far haven't been able to

thanks to you all

vi

i won i won i WON

i won a skein of lace weight yarn from Spirit Trail
i have never won ANYTHING in my life

so i am super super excited

i asked for magenta......or magenta and purple, red, yellow, orange
hahahahahaha

well i AM colorful you know


i am so excited!!!

now some (ha) progress has been made on the kitchen......he reversed the hang of the fridge/freezer door

still no built in dishwasher
so still no possiblity of counter tops

oh man........

still

a bit more


i guess the blistering blog post got that much done.......so what do i have to do to get the dishwasher installed?



it's a bit cold out
the woodstove is again for like the billiionth time paying for itself again

i love my woodstover

i talk nice to it and clean it daily

i highly recommend a woodstove to you all

ok i have to go
cause i am also drying clothes by the woodstove


til next time
vi

i dreamt of turn of the century immigrants

i dreamt there was a family,
mother and father
two daughters
about 4 years apart
i was seeing this from the eyes of a young teacher who came to the house to help the girls
the family was not rich
but they were not scrambling poor either
it was unclear where the source of support came from as neither parent appeared to work
it was a patriarchal family, and a fundamentally religious family although the religion was not clear.....the father was disappointed however that he had daughters instead of sons
the mother submitted to the rules of their religion and her husband

and the husband/father ruled with a strict and heavy hand according to his beliefs

from the young teachers point of view, the father was abusive
although she did not witness anything other then the father ordering his family verbally.

the demeanor of the family members and the fear in their eyes said much more
the apartment they lived in was lined with shelf after shelf of books
and the daughters sat at the center table under the light of an oil lamp studying from these books

the crutch of the dream came when the young teacher in a quest to stop some of the abuse within the family......

instead of attempting to remove or 'reeducate' the father ( which really was not done at that time)

proposed a rather unique solution......

she asked the father if she could try to jump the girls ahead a grade.....to challenge them

she informed the father that the girls were very smart girls ( which they were but not geniuses)
and
'let's challenge them just a bit, approximately half a grade'

from my vantage point in the dream i could see the father
he was so thrilled, and so proud and started to relax a bit
it did work in my dream

he had been driven to DRIVE his family out of fear that his girls weren't going to be perceived as 'good enough'
that their future life in this new country would not be as secure as he hoped
he was afraid that the community would as a whole look down upon them all
judging him and then his family inferior
that they would suffer and possible starve because of it

part of what i took away was the progressiveness of the thinking of this young teacher
in a society that did NOT have rules conducive to stopping abuse within the families.... she found a way around this

a way that everyone was a winner

and as i sit here and type this
i am starting to understand the father
which i could not do during the dream.......during the dream i kept thinking
'what a jerk......he needs to be gone gone gone'

i can see the thrill and relief in the eyes of the mother when the young teacher proposed this
i can FEEL the mood of the room lighten as they saw the young woman to the door as she was leaving

i can see the father......feel his fears start to drop away, being replaced by hope as he turned back to the center of the room and table with the girls, their books and the circle of warm light cast by the oil lamp

now i know that who ever this family is or was.............
or whatever reason this dream came

there is always another way

sometimes it is the opposite of what we think however


til next time

vi

hot porridge for all

it's cold

ok so all the people in the winter areas of the world know that already
it is obvious fact

(where the hell IS global warming when you need it???)

i'm cold

my toes even encased in woolen hand knit socks are cold

my ankles too

we won't even talk about my ass


i'm cold

sooooooooooooo

beings that I am cold
i feed all the animals a HOT breakfast

yup
the lot of them get a hot breakfast

I KNOW some of you besides shaking your heads.....are wondering

how the HELL do you feed chickens and cats and ducks a hot breakfast?????

well

cats get cat food with really really hot water stirred up into it
sort of like a kittie soup

chickens get mash with hot water and cooked oatmeal

as do duckies

my sheep and goat are out at the farm so i can't get to them
they get grain
and hay
here they would get porridge

so am i nuts?

well duh......that's a given

do the animals CARE?

who knows........ but i do


i'm cold so they get a hot meal

after all i don't have sweaters for the chickens and the ducks
just for the cats


vi
til next time

we gotta stop meeting this early.....

ok ok
so i haven't actually posted this early lately....but i have been UP
heating with wood means getting up early and getting the stove going

so i literally keep the home fires burning

i am looking into alternative energy

i would like to find a method or systems ( plural even would be ok, say passive solar and geothermal)
that wouldn't be too expensive to do
and could possibly be integrated into an existing dwelling

for when we move

yesterday i was sort of kicking around the net and found some ideas on using manure.

now before you all go..........ewwwwwww
manure CAN be stored in such a way as the odor is not accessible.
and the methane gas can be used for either fuel for cooking or heat

PLUS the heat of the actual 'cooking' compost can be used.......

then the finished compost can be used in the garden

a side product could be a worm farm....... worms for bait and castings for the garden

ok that would take care of heating problems

now how about electricity?
i know windmills, and wind turbines........but they are NOT cheap
even with tax incentives, they are not cheap......nor if i understand it right....
could one of them provide the household with enough electricity to not only go off grid
but to sell some.....
hydroelectric would be one thing......but who has niagra falls in the backyard?


if done correctly...... evenly balanced, it is my belief that a person CAN live on small acreage
AND provide a lot of their own needs for living....
not just survival but really fine living

and it need not be a back breaking endeavor

i just know too that there has to be a truly affordable way to go about all this
and once in place, i believe it would not take too much to run the entire system

animals will excrete without any more intervention then feeding them!

that needs to be moved to a place where it can join other objects of excrement and work together to do what it does best..........COMPOST


anyway.......
these are the things that i think of at 4am while waiting for the stove to heat
so i end up talking about by 5am when i am waiting to wake up

and you all thought i was shallow.......
hahahahahaahahahah

ah.......wait.......maybe i am!
haha

til next time
and hopefully WITH coffee

vi

MAN O PAUSE

oh man oh man

i am (like very very many of my friends) in menopause.......

now the classic definition of menopause is a cessation of the menses....
or the stopping of that annoying monthly nightmare called a period

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
nononono

it is truly the time in life......when your hormones (if you are female)
give you enough of a break.......for you to sit back and say.........


HEY

MAN

PAUSE

STOP

when your spouse or SO gives you grief........( cause they DO that.....they are after all MEN)
or says something totally stupid
instead of smiling and thinking in your head......

'what a freeken duffus, ........... we need to discuss this'

you turn around ( and if you are like me, a knitter.......you probably have a few very pointy potential weapons in your hands) and tell the MAN to back the F*** off
and get the hello out of your way

(NO???????????????????.....wait a bit.......one good hot flash and you will be telling Iraqi terrorists off)

and if he has half a brain cell left........he will leap out of your way......

i see my husband aging.....
and i don't know.....maybe it is pms on my part
or MANopause.......

or the moon in aries.....

but i SWEAR sometimes i just want to crack his head open to see if indeed there IS something swimming around in what can only be the utter VACUUM of his mind


the thing is.......
he knows this about me

yet he still continues to tempt fate.......( and my pointed and very very sharp lace needles)
and says dumb ass things.......

like last night

his comment to me,

(when i mentioned we have to actually finish the kitchen if we want to actually SELL the house.......for MONEY)

" hey i do my part around here......i go to WORK every day"

now at this point he realized that the flames he was seeing was NOT from the woodstove.......
but actually from ME
getting seriously mad.......


two seconds before i exploded

see he's a workaholic

he will think NOTHING of working 60-70-80 hours a week
one
two
three
jobs........

but ask him to install a hook on the wall........
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
that is way too much work you know

oh man

so now i got this kitchen....... no countertops
how many years?
98?

and i am getting a tad perturbed.......
(not so anyone would notice)

and after 31 years of marriage........
and 98 years of no kitchen......

i am telling you all the REAL meaning of MAN o PAUSE is

the man better freeken PAUSE.....
get his sh*T together

and get the hell out of the way

or finish the damn kitchen


vi

but i'm not mad or anything
i got MAN o PAUSE

is it spring yet?

ok i think i have come out of my mohair and silk
'ice queen' induced knitting fog...

maybe not
but i am reasonably sure i am awake at the moment

i have yarn for two more...i am going to knit two more
but first
i am sort of working on a fichu from the 'victorian lace today'
the harebell

it's gone from being a work in progress to a giant swatch

cause i messed up the initial location of the short row back shaping
but that's ok

i am going to play with this for a bit
i like a lot of it
but i think i would like it smaller around the neck.....and the lace a bit more open
so i am considering ...... size 1 needles for the neck band and go up to a 2 for the lace itself

like i said....playing


meanwhile i hand copied out the charts for it
but i have to replace my scanner before i do any big lace projects
there is no way i am going to be able to make a working copy by hand of some of the bigger lace that i am planning on doing


meanwhile

if anyone has suggestions for 100% silk lace weight with higher yardage and good prices
please let me know
especially if they are online and take paypal.......

even if i have to dye it myself

ok folks off i go

til next time

vi

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