When Pigs Fly

This is the coolest present Chris and I received from my in-laws. I love this flying pig weather vain. We plan to mount it on top of the barn after it gets built. I am a strong believer that nothing is impossible, So I love the flying pig figurine.


Looking good in the Muck

I tend to wear a lot of flip flops and sandals living in New Mexico the majority of the year it is warm. Now living out in the country with some acreage. I soon realized the flip flops are not going to cut it.



These Dahlia boots arrived at the house a couple of days ago. I found them online at Smith & Hawkins. They are on sale right now for $11.99. They fit good. These will be my official scooping up the alpaca pooh boots, and my all around trumping through the mud attire.


Sew I knit-along

I have been a member of this sew along since it started. I sat out the last project which was sewing a shirt or blouse. I was just too busy and I was not inspired to make a shirt for myself. The new project I am definitely excited about.

Details taken from site:
Sew an item that’s quilted! The project can be anything as long as it has a quilted element to it. Examples: pillow, oven mitts, apron, or quilt. New sign-ups are open until the end of July. The theme runs from August 1 until September 15th.

This gives me a perfect excuse to dive into some of the quilt patterns I brought back from Hawaii. I have narrowed it down to these two and have not decided on which one I will try first.


Honu pillow pattern by Barbara Bieraugel
I am leaning towards the two in the top row.



Pinapple E. Komo Mai 40” x 40” table or wall quilt.
Pattern from Craft Sisters

August 1st until September 15th I think will give me enough time to complete one of these projects. Unfortunately all my craft and sew stuff are still in boxes. So I need to get on the ball and finish some other rooms in the house so I can feel less guilty about getting my craft room set up. 8)

Thank You

Just a quick note to thank everyone for all the info on the scorpions. This is a learning experience for me. Now, I definitely do not put on a pair of shoes before shaking them and checking for critters first. We also lift the blankets and sheets before hopping into bed.



Cosmo is a big help if I see him eyeballing something and getting into hunter stance he usually points me to a six or eight legged monster.

Critters in the Country

I thought I would share with you some of the critters I have seen at my new country home. This moth pictured above has been on the front porch for a week. He is huge. When you get real close to him it is kind of creepy how big he is.


Rock Squirrels



Often on my trek down the mountain these squirrels run across the road. They burrow under the rocks. They live in colonies and have a litter of babies twice a year.


Photos by Rosanna Hamilton


Jack Rabbits



Our pastures are full of these guys. Their ears are almost as long as their bodies. They are lots of fun to watch. Beautiful creatures. I told Chris jokingly that I was going to grow some vegetables for them. He complains every time he sees two of them meeting up, afraid they are going to over populate. :)

Scorpions! Oh My!



Yes, we have scorpions. It rained real hard and then that night we found two scorpions on the ceiling. The first one we found in the main living area. We were petrified. Chris swatted it down with a broom and I was supposed to whack it with a fly swatter. When the thing hit the floor it ran. We were shocked how fast it was. Finally I got it and smashed the crap out of it.

With my heart pounding I told Chris I was going to take a bath and try to relax before going to bed. I walked into the bedroom and there was another one on the ceiling. I could have cried. This time we used the vacuum and sucked him off the ceiling. Needless to say I did not get much sleep the next couple of nights.

I read up on them and they are nocturnal. They hunt at night apparently on my ceiling. They are not deadly unless you are not in good health. They sting you much like a bee sting. Here is a map of the regions they are found in.



Dirty Dogs



My dogs are pig pens. A down fall to living out in the country the dogs are filthy. Many times they come inside and I stick them right into the tub. Poor brandy has had more baths these last couple of weeks then she had all last year. Eventually we will get the yard around the house landscaped and put some grass in so there is less mud for them to roll in. Unfortunately the list is long and the yard is not high priority right now. Until then the dogs will need to suffer with the bath time woes.

Our Anniversary

Chris and I just had our 7 year anniversary. How time fly’s when you are busy living. We went out to dinner the night of our anniversary. It always amazes us to sit and talk about how far we have come in the 13 years we have been together.


My Anniversary Gift


Iris -Keeper of the Rainbow by artist Josephine Wall

Chris won this for me at an art auction they had on the cruise we took. No words can describe how much I love this painting. It strikes me right at my inner child. I can not tell you how many rainbows I have colored or drawn. This painting is so inappropriate and does not go with anything in any of my main living areas. But is so me and is perfect for my new craft room.

Is it not interesting how sometimes we take the easy route and decorate our homes neutral so as to create comfort for everyone to be comfortable in those rooms? We might hesitate to put something up that is a window to who you truly are. Or maybe it is because we have so many responsibilites as adults it is easier to stay on task then to daydream of the days spent with out a care in the world.

Here is the description of the painting from the artist’s website

“Throughout the ages, the rainbow has been the symbol of hope, a promise of better things to come. The ancient Greeks personified the rainbow as the goddess Iris, the favourite handmaiden and messenger of Hera, the queen of the heavenly court of Olympus. Carried by her shimmering wings, Iris travels so swiftly that mortals can see only the trail of her rainbow-coloured passage across the sky.”

Here’s to wishing all of you lots of Rainbows and Hope for the Future.

Three Boys

The last three of our momma alpacas finally gave birth to their babies.
Here is the line up.



The is Zissou – bay black male, Emmy Leigh’s baby
That is Emmy in the photo playing the part of proud mamma next to baby Zissou.



This is Kingsley – light fawn male, Satine’s baby



This is Klaus – beige male, Teresa’s baby
Klaus is a German name and the au is pronounced with an OW sound.


Wow three boys. Geez, thank goodness we already got one female baby Miss Bianca from Tasha. If you have not guessed it yet the boys were named after characters from the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. These three boys are my team Zissou. LOL, now I just need to knit the three of them red hats.

We have had a meeting with someone whom will be building our fences and getting us set up for our alpacas to arrive. The four original girls are being rebred at this time and will be able to transport them home 60 days after conception. The eight of them will be coming home hopefully by the end of September or beginning of October. So we need to get this place set up ASAP.

Pineapple Dreams

Look what I spotted at Home Depot. I was there for the millionth time but this time with out hubby. I just ran in to get some shelf paper for the bathroom. I purposely did not grab a cart. For some strange reason I gravitated towards the plants. I spotted this Pineapple plant and had to run for a cart because it was the only one they had.



I am not kidding myself I know the chance of keeping this baby a live in my climate will be a miracle, but what a glorious tropical dream if I can. I find myself starring at that pineapple it is just amazing to see it growing out of that plant.


Busy Weekend

Chris and I worked non stop all weekend trying to get some things done in the house. Here is a list of things we did.

Chris’s Office
Tore out nasty foot tall fake green marble baseboards
Tore down high corner shelf supposedly for a television
Ripped out built in crappy desk
Painted entire room color “Sesame” Behr paint
Put blinds on windows

Master Bathroom
Took down awful medicine cabinets
Threw out terrible looking black iron towel bars and accessories
Took out gold crusted dirty shower doors
Painted over Teal and sea foam walls with primer
Then painted walls with color “Navajo white”
Painted trim & window sill with color “Swiss mocha”
Replaced old bathroom accessories with brushed nickel ones.
Tiled along edge of wall around where old shower doors were.
Put in one of those curved shower curtain bars.

Living Room
Ripped out built in crappy wood shelving apparently for television

Master bedroom
Put blinds on windows
Replaced creaky fan with one that makes no noise




What a weekend. We pretty much worked from sun up to sun down the whole weekend. We did manage to relax a couple hours on the fourth of July. I made chili dogs with corn on the cob. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I was too pooped to make home made biscuits and went the easy way and bought already made little cake cups.

We still have lots to do but are happy with what we have accomplished so far.