America's Choice Alpaca Auction 2008

We made it home from the Alpacas of America Las Vegas auction. Again we had a wonderful time at this event.



I found myself spending lots of time in the alpaca tent. I was missing my own so hanging out with them was the next best thing.



The alpacas were set up in a large tent. They were all lined up in pens about 8 to 10 alpacas in each pen.



There was plenty of time on Friday and Saturday to go into the pens and take a closer look at whatever alpaca you were interested in. I was very fond of the silver grey alpaca named Thunder’s Little Miracle. Unfortunately she was lot #55 and I did not make it to that number. LOL



This is Novalei. She is a beautiful alpaca and was lot #5. There were a total of 90 alpacas in the auction and I made it as far as #5. The auction is very exciting and my heart was pounding when this little lady came out, and I could not help myself. I bid on her and won her for a great price. Fortunately they offer 4 year financing, because I did not plan on buying an alpaca this year, due to the barn we are building this spring. I got her at such a great price it was so worth it.



Here is a photo of Novalei from the auction catalog after she was shorn last year. She is a maiden born on Sept 14, 2006. So we will breed her in a few months and she will have her first baby next year.

Classes

There were several great classes offered over the weekend auction. We took 2 that were given by Eric Hoffman. He is the author of this book The Complete Alpaca Book 2nd edition. This book we bought on discount while we were there. This book is huge and is full of detailed information on alpacas. It is as big as an encyclopedia and pretty much reads like the encyclopedia of alpacas. Chris and I were interested in the book as soon as we heard about the chapter on feeding your alpacas. It is very detailed and gives you charts and analysis of what nutrients and why your alpaca needs them. There are so many different types of grasses & feeds you can give them that this helps you brake it down and to be able to choose the best for your alpaca. That is just one chapter, It will take me awhile to get through all the information in this book and I am thrilled that the information has been researched and available. There is still a shortage of information out there on caring for alpacas and I am so thankful Eric Hoffman took the years and time to make this book. The classes we took from him this weekend were Alpacas;Caring for them in their golden years & Farm Management; Behavior and Herd health. Both great classes and we learned a lot.

Restaurant

While in Vegas we found a new restaurant called Louis’s Fish Camp. It is located in the new Town Square shopping area. If you are heading from the airport towards the strip you will see it on your left hand side before getting to the strip on Las Vegas BLVD. This is a pretty sweet shopping area, and there is a whole large play area in the center for kids. Louis’s Fish camp was not easy to find. We eventually parked after driving around the market place twice trying to find it. After looking at the large directory we found it on the second floor. The food was so good. We started out with Fried alligator of course. LOL I had the crab soup and Caesar salad, and Chris had the Crab cobb salad. We were so glad to find the place and they must have a great chef back in the kitchen. All the food was fresh and tasted wonderful.

Anthropologie

I can not go to Vegas with out stopping at Anthropologie. I ended up with this great hand towel and 4 embroidered tea towels. The tea towels were in a clearance bin marked $1.95 a piece. I am a sucker for linens. When I finally walked out of the store poor Chris was sitting on a bench holding his head in his hand. I showed him what I got and he rolled his eyes. I am not sure he shares my vision of when I am an old lady and my cabinets are filled with precious wonderful linens, besides those embroidered napkins would be perfect for a little girl’s tea party. Not that I have a little girl, but you never know when the occasion might arise and I will be prepared.

The Show

It was Chris’s turn to pick out the show this time, and he chose the Monty Python’s Spamalot. I was a little skeptical and was not looking forward to it. It turned out to be a great show. I was very surprised. It was very fun and entertaining. I would recommend it.

We had a great time and are happy to be home. This weekend we have 2 alpacas coming that we had bought from Alpacas of America last year. I will tell you all about them after they get here. Have a wonderful weekend.

Made it to 2008

Well we made it through the holidays. Brandy & Haley hit the mother load this holiday season. They received gifts from everyone and are still going through all the treats and toys.


Meet Bugsy. Teresa had her baby on December 29th. She gave birth to a little white male we are calling Bugsy.


Mom and baby are doing well. We set up a pen inside one of our outdoor sheds with a space heater. We put the two of them in there at night for the first 7 days. Bugsy has put on enough weight so I feel more comfortable leaving them out with the herd. He is of course sporting a cria coat. We will probably leave him in a coat for the majority of winter giving him some time to grow some more fleece.


My favorite knit book I received this holiday was Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding.


Here is an example of some of the fair-isle projects in the book. I love the scarf and hat on the bottom right. I am thinking of making the scarf but using more neutral colors.


I also was gifted this great drop spindle kit made by Louet. It comes with three different colored roving & a wooden drop spindle. I am hoping to learn how to spin & also learn how to process my own alpaca fleece. I am a little intimidated to get started the roving is so beautiful I don’t’ want to ruin it. LOL


I have completed the first pattern row of the leg portion on my stocking. There are 3 pattern rows on the leg. Looks like I will be knitting this through 2008.


I could not help but start a new project. We are going away this weekend and I needed something a little more portable and something with less concentration. I chose this Scrunchable Scarf ribbed pattern. I am using Classic Elite Paintbox in color Black Granite 6803. You can find the pattern HERE. You can also find over a 100 of them knit up on Ravelry if you are looking for inspiration on what color or yarn to use for the pattern. That is where I found the pattern initially and loved seeing everyone’s results.


This weekend is the Alpacas of America auction in Las Vegas. We went last year and had so much fun we are going again this year. Out of all the alpaca events we went to last year this one was my favorite. I will tell you all about it when we get back.

Here is to 2008 may it unfold as the year of unexpected joy to be found in the least likely of places. Cheers to YOU!