in loving memory of amber

we lost our amber today
at 10:45 am
I had petted her little head, and told her I was going up to the bathroom and I would be right back.
when I got back she'd gone
amber was born sometime in 87 or 88 I do remember it was spring however
and today.... april 23, 2006 she left us in the spring.

she was every inch herself and every inch a diva

when we had her home...... a tiny ball of fluff with merry her little fluffy sister.......
I was musing out loud 'what should YOUR name be??? autumn?..........september?

she sat at my feet, barely 6inches high, and meowed up at me......I know she understand me
and I SWEAR that I heard her say........'my name is AMBER.....A M B E R'

I was startled and look at her.......
'your name is amber?'
she meowed again
I said..........ok amber it is.....

damn I am going to miss her............

when thaddeaus was still a baby....only 5 months old, he was sleeping at the top of the stairs.
in front of the bathroom doorway, I was sad to say on the 'goddess'
amber had been down in the studio and killed a white footed deer mouse.
BIGGER then her head

she had a funny kind of rabbit hop to climb the stairs but she did....with that mouse in her mouth....
she slamed it down next to the sleeping thaddeaus....
let out a CAUTERWAWL to wake the dead........and swatted him across his sleeping face....
then I SWEAR she curled her lips in discust turn her BACK on him and rabbit hopped back down the stairs
I swear she was letting him have and telling him.....'hey KID, THIS is what you are supposed to be doing.........i'm old you know....it's YOUR turn'

that cat had real attitude

I am going to miss her terribly......

vi

Long ago and far away

When I was growing up........
I remember that the people in my family and neighborhood were very interconnected.
Uncle John Langfinger used to come over for coffee in the morning....
at night during warm weather the neighbors would take turns gathering on someone's porch talking and laughing from after supper until after dark.......
My relatives visited every weekend and sometimes during the week as well.

If someone needed help........they ALL rushed to help, family and friends.
I called neighbors Aunt and Uncle and there was very little difference between the two.

Everyone talked at least daily, over the fence........ on the stoop....... while drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

I remember when our well ran dry......... Weezie and Uncle John dropped a hose to our house.....then Uncle John helped dad sink a new well.

EVERYONE was like this..

so my sense of family, friends and community means a LOT of contact.
Now I am sort of far geographically from whomever is left so instead of setting on the stoop
I call.

recently I was criticized for this by one person I know.
As I will call her the same time every day and have coffee with her on the phone.

She implied that this is a fault somehow on my part......
I disagree.

I am more and more seeing people disconnected, families not close...people not knowing their neighbors.
I see society tumbling apart
Folks don't care about other folks............ giving the excuse that 'is none of my business'

I also think we as humans are much poorer for this mind set.

Even when we lived in the apartment before moving up here to pa, neighbors regularly gathered on someones stoop.........
we had communal picnics in the center green of the apartment complex.

folks helped each other.

I am being told I am 'co-dependant'

no
I am old fashioned and human.

I believe that people need the daily connection to build a sense of communitee.......
I believe that only by helping each other, and sharing day to day life will people keep their humaness.

I don't believe that it always has to be in person............
I do however think it is very important to spend the time with the people you care about.
even if it is just over the phone........


let me ask you all...........
you know what I think.........
what do you think?


til next time

vi

birthday pictures

The penny thief

a story about a tiny little person.


When I was young, my neices lived with us.
I had the bedroom upstairs....... ( mine all mine..............)
I always had a habit of leaving my loose change around...... I would empty my pockets and toss it.
I trusted EVERYONE in those days

my baby neice who couldn't have been more then 3 at the time had a real thing for pennies......
she would grab them in her chubby little hand and scream 'my money' in delight.

we would tease her by offering her a quarter and three pennies........ she would ALWAYS take the pennies.

this particular day..
I was upstairs in late afternoon/early evening.
I was taking a nap as I had just gotten my period
I remember being so tired
my Bed was also right by the door.........

this little baby neice thought she was sneaking up on her aunt..............
but stumbled over a pile of change!
she couldn't resist it
( if you all could see me giggling while I type this)

she GRABBED the change.............. oh my
she got SO excited
she forgot she was to be sneaking up on me and screamed 'MY MONEY!!!!!!'
and started running out of the room
she was so excited that she never noticed that I reached out and grabbed her by the collar and took the money out of her hand.............
it was like a cartoon

she got downstairs and ran to grampa........my dad

she went to show him 'her' money
and looked down in her hand to find it empty!
the poor kid started to cry!

my dad was trying not to laugh, cause he realized by then what had happened..
plus I was standing at the foot of the stairs now with the handful of change

we let her pick all the pennies out of the change and I tried hard to remember not to leave it laying around

but I still laugh when I think of her doing that.

hahahahaha
til next time
vi
who has some good news to tell you all
and is going to the tunis farm tomorrow for a lamb cause it is my birthday!

ok fast updates!!!

MARGUERITE laid her very first EGG!!!!
yeah

I am so proud of her
she is a sweetie now that she can't fly onto my head


the doctor
I have a slight reprieve
I have to use a nitroglycerine cream 4X a day
and we are putting off the surgery for a while
meanwhile I am going to look for a second opinion
as I don't like this doctor
I was in a lot of pain
he kept telling me that I was NOT in pain

I am thinking I need a new doctor no?

oye

meanwhile I am home
and so happy to BE home
but I got to make up my mind what I am going to do within four weeks

oye

vi

MARCH 24 update

I have an appointment with a colo-rectal surgeon down here in easton tuesday
then thursday if I feel well enough................
Kris and Carole are going to take me to see about my tunis!!!

( now I am worried I can't afford my tunis....... )

meanwhile
today is not a good day.........
I don't feel great but I am hoping that this second opinion will figure something out for me

oye

vi
it isn't my head I am concerned about exploding...............................

ok so how does a person prepare for surgery?

1. last Harry potter book
   
2. all the Harry potter movies on dvd
3. sock yarn
4. more sock yarn
5. some comfy sort of non binding clothes?
6. icecream
7. yogurt
8. cashews
9. did I mention sock yarn?

I am going to the surgeon tomorrow the meds didn't work so it is time for this.

oye talk about an ass in a sling

I am hoping to have a bit of time and some less painful days to get the freezer stocked with meals for at least a month.

this is the time of the year we defrost the freezer and restock for spring, so I better get that done before anything happens

now about my chickens........ I really wish I had gotten the chicken diapers for them

so I could have them come up and visit me while I am convalescing......

well anyway bernie is taking off to take me to the surgeon tomorrow to start this whole thing.....

oye

and I am teaching saturday , I hope I can anyway.

soooooooo I will keep you all posted

vi

Thaddeaus Peabody goes to town

Mommy and Daddy were going to town, for the mail and chicken bedding.
Thaddeaus Peabody who'd been a very good boy, wanted to go with them.
Thaddeaus stretched up to the doorknob and tried to open the door himself...... Always being a gentlecat, who knew his manners.......

but mommy and daddy told him NONO Thaddeaus you can't go
Thaddeaus stepped away from the door
but refused to leave the hallway
he was so disappointed
But mommy was watching Thaddeaus and asked him if he'd like to go to town with them......
Thaddeaus looked up in confusion, mommy NEVER asked if he's like to go with them, she always told him he had to stay home.

"Thaddeaus dear, you have been such a good boy lately....... you haven't beaten up your sister or great grammie too awfully bad...... and you did get your full curly coat in, plus you did so well with your bath....you can come with us.....Daddy please get his harness and leash"


So Daddy got Thaddeaus' leash and harness and held him while Mommy put it on him.

He loved riding in the front seat looking out the window
he saw a red truck and a horse, he saw the feed store.
A nice young man asked what Thaddeaus was......... as he'd never seen a cat on a leash.......
Thaddeaus let the young man pet him and purred for him to show how much he was enjoying himself.

When everyone got home, Thaddeaus retreated to his cat tree to rest after his big adventure.

And Mommy and Daddy decided that Thaddeaus can go to town regularly.

pix and fawn news!

Fawn is finally come around....
she likes to be held all of a sudden..........!!!
she sits on my chest and purrs for hours now!
we are sooooooooooo thrilled
it is almost a year that it took








I have tons of goatie and sheepie pictures to upload for you all but haven't had a chance.

I had a dream of my father........ which I have to post later

we did taxes today, our accountant came here..... he found out that he is allergic to chickens!
the girls meanwhile buried their eggs yet again......


ok I have to run but will post more later.......


ok back
Trish

said I gotta tell you the five things I keep in the fridge......
ok we got eggs.........
oh and we got eggs

and we got eggs
and did I mention we got EGGS

get the feeling we are overrun with eggies huh?

what else

milk....... 100% whole milk
we alway got sour cream too
and bernie and his 50 mustards
( I got to dump them damn............ no one needs 50 different mustards)

orzo
there is also always a red cabbage in there
and celery
and whole garlic
oh and real butter......none of that crap margerine stuff

( we don't have high cholesteral......his is like 172 and mine is 153..... and the ratios are perfect)

everything else changes in the fridge
but we always have that stuff
( hey I LIKE red cabbage.....)

what else now??

Oh that dream

I dreamt that I was home in my childhood house............. something was wrong in the basement and it scared me so I went to the kitchen...............
on the table was a phone book with my dad's phone number on it
I called dad and told him to come home
he told me no
I told him 'but dad, I am really scared'

and Dad got all upset with me and again told me 'no I am NOT coming home anymore........I live here now.'

needless to say I had a fight with my father ........

( see I keep telling you all........ just cause they are dead......that means NOTHING in my family..........)

naturally I got a bit pissy about it all

ok

in other news
we washed Thaddeaus today
he is soooooooooooooooooo cute, cream colored and curly now
he really was getting a bit dingy looking
my boy is so curly now I have got to get a good picture of him for you all


til next time

vi

Little violet today!

oh my goodness she is sooooooooooooooo cute
hahahaha
I love my little goatie

Goatie updates, and general goings on

Violet the goat is doing very well, she is strong and sturdy.
she is eating well and growing steadily.
I am going to try and get out to the farm this week to see her adorable little goatie face.




All three of the big hens, Dulcette, Henrietta and Sharon are all laying.
Henrietta not as often as Dulcette and Sharon
Sharon averages every other day
Dulcette 7 out of 8 days
and Henietta has laid two so far....
Dulcette is laying jumbo eggs now
a warm brown color
Henrietta is laying the Lilac colored eggs
and Sharon goes back and forth in color

they tell me when they've laid, as they get cherrios for a treat!
Margerite should start laying in may or june.....

Dulcette has taken to hopping out of the pen when I go down
she is very funny running around in the basement.
I call her and she runs right back over to me........
Even her little chickeny brain understand that she needs to be IN the PEN to get the cherrios for her treat!
she just doesn't know how to get back in the pen.......
so I pick her up
she waits for me to pick her up, which makes me laugh.
All the chickens take turns coming out for a petting and cuddling session they love it
they fluff up their feathers and settle down and sort of talk under their beaks so to speak.......very softly....
I tell them how beautiful they are and how much I love them
they LOOK at me...hahahahaha



In Curly Cat news
THADDEAUS is no longer bald!!!
while we weren't paying attention he grew in a wonderful curly/wavey long hair la perm coat.
Since he is so light colored it is hard to see in photos but he has TIGHT little ringlets at the surface of his skin and then the fur sort of softly waves out from that
He needs a Bath....

Fawn is doing exceptionally well........she will be here 1 year on March 31.........
she is a little tank I swear......she charges around the house getting into everything
if she were human, she would be the little girl with the baseball cap, freckles and slingshot....she is a tom boy!

Calpurrnia is my sweet little blue eyed feminine baby girl.......SHE would be dressed in pink with ruffles and bows......if she were human.......
SHE would insist!
She sits patiently when I am dishing out the can food......... Thaddeaus gets his first......then Fawn who is telling me all about it ..........
and my sweet little lady calpurrnia is just waiting........
she knows hers is coming.......

Amber the 4009 year old cat is STILL with us
STILL a bit felted....
I work on her matts as often as she lets me
she never cleans herself anymore, letting me do it
it's been I think three years since she groomed herself.....
but she is still healthy, eating and happy as a senile cat should be

Ivan the fish..........remember him?
he is still with us!
I do partial water changes twice a week and total water changes every two weeks
today was his total water change........
the plants and IVAN are very happy.
I use Ivan's old water to water all the house plants.

on the 19th, I get the results of the spin contest put on by my spin group
I understand that the judges didn't believe I was a novice after looking on my hand spindle spun singles ( say that three times fast)
but I spun them on a toy wheel spindle that I made, when I was spinning only about 3 months
they also liked my novelty yarn........remember the peacock roving?
well I added some icycle dyed blue and some beads..............
I want to knit that into a scarf.
I am thinking of spinning some solid blue to go with it........... maybe solid blue and a bit more of the icycle
and knitting up the main part of the scarf using the novelty for the ends........

I am not actually a blue person, but that mix of blues in that roving was not too bad.

I am still waiting to hear from the shepherd about the tunis lamb
oh and lambing starts this week out at lilac corners

I have kid pictures to load for you all which I will do later this week

til then

vi

here is her close UP!!!

my very OWN baby goatie has arrived!!!

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

hahahaha
vi







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

oh man
I can't wait to see her

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

ok this is all 7 that were born yesterday


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



and here are patty's three

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

vi
til next time

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

BABIES BABIES!!!!! spring is here!

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



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

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

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

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

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


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

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

she had triplets
two boys and a girl

hahahah
spring is here

I am waiting to hear today

vi

sharon started laying

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

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

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

as requested

vi

a good day for dyeing

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

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

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

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

hahahaha

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

meanwhile I am waiting for bernie to get home

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

til next time

vi

the chickens think they're turtles

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

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

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

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

il nostro mengele caro bello***

our beautiful beloved mengele

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

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

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

you all know how I love our mengele

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

in curly headed cat news

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

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

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

oye
til
next time

vi

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

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

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

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

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

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


I have a question to ask of you all

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

and one has no file extention

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


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

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

so we'll see

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

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


til next time vi



ok Amie
here you go sweetie

OUR First EGG

the chickens laid their very first egg today

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

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

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

this is the color they will be eventually

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

eventually the girls will be laying jumbo brown eggs