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

Short Vent ***

thar she blows

oh man

ok so i went to talk to the police today, as the staties won't come help unless the locals chief asks the local DA to call them in.

nice young officer, ( when did cops start being 12?) I told him all the stuff
showed him the court papers
showed him the order of no tresspass
the defiant tresspass order
the download from the TV station
told him about the kids tresspassing
about the harrassment
he asked me...'have you tried to talk to him'

I said yes......and he got in my face about two inches from my nose.......
and i am terrified of him
I told the cop that i have no doubt that if jackass could.......... i would have been dead already

i begged the cop to tell me what to do to help them help me

he said.....camera's but that he didn't tell me that
i said..... that's 2550. which i don't have

he asked about the fence
I said yup we fenced...... 6K worth of fence
that they've now damaged

ok....... then I came home
falstaff and serafina are making a mess since she started setting eggs
I don't think she's gotten off that nest today to eat or drink though

i uncovered the beans and tomatoes
brought the 7 trays worth of plants BACK out

watered and weeded the garden
and picked up a tick
ew
now you all don't know how much of a tick phobia I have
so when i felt this tiny little deer tick......... ewwwwww
crawling on my neck i flipped out
and flipped it off
only to have it replaced by a second one
talk about the creeps
oh man

i got the second....... smothered it in vaseline
shook and shivered until bernie got home
he practically had to do a cavity search until i was assured there weren't anymore ticks

listen you know who your friends really are
when you get a tick on your ass
and it is
JUST too far for you to reach

don't ask..........................


ok
then my insane KY sister in law.....( what is with my husbands family ??? are they ALL nutso ticking timebombs or what???)
got some sort of crazy restraining order on her husband by calling him up
rileing him all up
TAPING HIM without his knowledge and taking THAT to court
the man was in tears.
their sons were in tears

talk about a hillbilly hoedown
this sister in law ripped her entire family apart
like a BAD country western song
my poor nephews and brother in law
they were such a close family........ they all were always there for each other
always together
what a mess

i am thinking at this point
that the tick was probably the highlight of my day

oye


vi
til next time




*** like a whale!