Alpaca Rose

2009 Alpaca Baby

2009-03-01T14:40:00.005-07:00

We had our first alpaca baby of the year. Mimosa had a little dark silver gray girl. Labor went great and the baby was out in a matter of minutes. Both Mom and baby are doing great.

I apologize for not writing in soo long. I have found that in the later stages of my pregnancy my priorities are changing. I think this blog might take a back burner this year. I will try my best to update on the alpacas and what not when I get a chance. I think most of the activity will be over on my baby blog this year.

First Snow

2008-12-13T10:23:00.005-07:00

We had our first snow of the season this past week. I love to watch it from the windows. Snow seems to make every thing look fresh and cleaner.

The part of snow I do not care for is when I go out to do my daily alpaca chores. It is so cold your face and your buns freeze even though you are bundled in many layers. The alpacas have all grown at least a couple inches of fleece and don’t seem to mind the cold. They just don’t like the wind. When it gets windy they run for the shelters. This time of year I am always grateful that we put in heated automatic wateriers for the alpacas. If they were not heated I would need to go out and break up the ice every hour.

Electricity

We have had electrical issues since we moved in a couple years ago. The main problem was that the original owners and builders of the house opted for the cheap route and drew the power to the house from the main road. Unfortunately this is a long distance and the wiring was not as good as it would be with a pole near the house. Anytime the heat or air would come on the lights would flicker. Or even if we turned on the vacuum you would notice the draw from the power. After many meetings and months with the electric company the day finally came when they put in the new power pole. It sits between the house and the barn, and we plan to have 2 meters one for the house and one for the barn. Here they are putting the main pole in.

They had to put another pole out near the road that they connected the city power to and this is what they would use to connect our pole to the main power line. Every time I would see the guy on top of the pole just hanging there with a strap, I got nervous. That is one job that would not be for me. Getting all the power switched over to the new pole and getting the new meters in will happen some time next year. Everything takes forever around here to get anything done. Small towns are on a different time schedule than the rest of the world.

Stocking

I have been working like crazy on this stocking. I am actually a little further than this photo. Last night I nearly finished the heel turn. I would really like to get this done by next week.

Decorating

I was able to get the tree up and put out the decorations. It all turned out pretty nice. I still have some last minute decorating I am working on. I am making holiday seat cushion covers for the dinning room table. Right now the covers are in a Hawaiian theme and they just don’t go with the whole Holiday stuff around it. I also plan to make an orange pomander for the season.

This Christmas my in-laws are coming to stay with us for the week. We will have an extra 4 people to celebrate the holidays with. We are planning to mostly bum around the house and relax. I am looking forward to spending time with them and catching up on everyone’s lives. So this week my list is long and I am hoping to add to the list a few homemade gifts. If I actually get everything done I would like, I will be applying for my Super Woman license. LOL

It's a Girl

2008-11-17T10:27:00.004-07:00

The biggest news lately is I hit my 20 weeks pregnant and the halfway point. We had the gender ultrasound and the baby is a girl. I was so hoping for a girl, and am so happy that is what we are having.

I made a batch of brownies and topped them off with lovely pink frosting to celebrate our news.

I had mentioned before going through my old knits I had not finished, and finding some to work on. I pulled out this Reversible Cabled scarf. The pattern is from the book Cables untangled and I am using Classic Elite Waterlily yarn. I would like to wear this scarf this winter so I am working on it again here and there.

I also pulled out last years unfinished Scandinavian Christmas Stocking. This pattern is from Interweave press titled Christmas Stockings. I am using Classic Elite One Fifty yarn in colors Orchid, Chestnut, & Daisy. I love this knit, not sure why I never finished it.

Australia

I am totally excited about the upcoming movie Australia. It is directed by Baz Lurman and stars Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman. The plot summary from IMDB:

In northern Australia prior to World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

The movie opens Thanksgiving weekend. It has been described as an epic movie; you know the kind that they just don’t make any more. Not only am I excited about the storyline and the people that are in it but I am so looking forward to seeing Australian countryside. It is on my list of places I need to go to before I die.

Daylight Savings

2008-11-02T06:37:00.004-07:00

We get an extra hour today due to daylight savings. I wish I was able to sleep that extra hour. We were both up at 5am. So I got up and plopped myself in front of the computer. I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween.

Here is a photo of some of my Turkish Turbans from my crop this year. I just love the color variations and how they are kind of shaped like acorns. I think I will plan to plant more next year.

Being pregnant, a girl has her cravings and I was craving caramel apples. So I could not help but whip up a batch for Halloween. This is the first time I ever made these. Being my first time I learned a few things. I bought a bag of organic apples and a few of them had some spots that needed to be cut out. The caramel does not stick to the cut spots, so if you are making these for other people it might be best to hand pick the apples. Also even though I placed them on wax paper the caramel still stuck to it, so I recommend spraying the paper before placing the caramel apples on it. Overall they turned out wonderful and delicious, I recommend a tarter apple, they go well with the sweet caramel.

Sabrina is doing great. She is real spunky and a fast runner.

She and Jasmine have become good friends. They are both very independent and are often off by them selves on their own adventures separate from the herd checking in with their moms on occasion for a milk break.

My favorite tree is turning colors. Most of the trees around here are evergreen, but we do see a touch of red and yellow here and there. We have started using the pellet stove in the morning due to temperatures around 30 degrees F. The cold weather has me itching to pick up my knitting again. I think I will look through my unfinished projects and see what is calling me to finish for the winter.

October Blur

2008-10-18T15:44:00.001-06:00

Where is the time going? I have been so busy I feel like I am missing out on my favorite month. I am still here and still pregnant and we are all doing just fine. I just have a moment to drop you a line and let you know I plan to do a proper post as soon as I can. In the mean time I am revving up for Halloween and practicing my best Cackle as I stir my bubbling brew, unfortunately nonalcoholic brew. 8)

Summer Comes to an End

2008-09-29T14:42:00.003-06:00

Bronte’s baby is doing great. We named her Sabrina. The weather has definitely turned towards autumn, with the night time temperatures getting as low as 40 degrees. I have been in the process of upgrading my computer. My original hard drive was about maxed out with hardly any space left. It was inevitable and I put it off as long as I could. During the upgrade I even changed to windows Vista. Let’s just say it is not my friend yet. So many of my everyday software does not even work and even my printer no longer works with the Vista. It has been a real pain in my BUTT! I am almost done with setting up the main things although I think it will take me a little while to get everything the way I like it.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to walk away and come back to it later. So I went outside and did some exploring with my camera. Here is what I found.

Although summer is over yellow has sprouted up all over my property.

You can not help but be cheerful walking through these fields.

Also on my walk I spotted something in the distance that looked like wild strawberries. It took me a little maneuvering to get over to them, do to the weeds and what not in my way. Once I got to them I realized they were not strawberries. I think they are rosehips from some wild roses. Disappointing but still they are cool looking.

These morning-glories are growing up the fence of my garden. I believe they were planted by previous owners, or at least the seeds migrated here.

My Turkish turbans are looking great and will bring wonderful fall color once I harvest them and place them inside.

I went to the back of the property to check the creek bed. It had a little bit of water trickling through.

If there is water I usually check for tracks to see what kind of predators are on the property. Luckily I only spotted these raccoon tracks. They have five fingers so it looks kind of human like. The photo on top is mine and underneath is one off the internet.

Hope everyone is easing into Fall. I am looking forward to October; it is one of my favorite months of the year.

Twisted Saturday

2008-09-15T10:47:00.004-06:00

These sketchers I have had forever or at least 9 years. Back in their day they were cute and even sparkly. I loved the fact that they had no laces and you just slip them on. They are the pair that I kept near the door and the ones I slipped on when having to go check on the alpacas, the mail, or even to see what the dogs are into outside.

Our Saturday started out normal Chris left with the trailer around 8 am heading to Lowes to get a pallet of the wood pellets we use for the stove. The temperature has started to drop and it is only a matter of time before we start running the pellet stove regularly. He got back after 9 with the goods. We keep the bags of pellets stacked on the back porch so we can get to them easily. I slipped on some jeans and my old sneaks (photo above) and headed out the back to help unload the bags and stack them. Chris was driving the jeep towing the trailer through the back yard to position the trailer as close to the back porch as possible so we would not have to travel too far with the bags.

He only made it about half way when his transmission died. It sounded terrible and we think it was stuck in neutral. Unfortunately we were not even close to the back porch with the trailer when the car died. At this point our stress level began to grow. Chris decided to go get the tractor to see if he could push the trailer from behind to get it closer to the porch. He was able to move it a little bit closer. He got off the tractor and tried his jeep again, yes it is confirmed the transmission is broken. Every moment that passes the stress lvl is increasing. The jeeps front end was close to the dog door at this point and of course Brandy chose this moment to come out of it. Since she is practically blind and deaf I ran over and stopped her half way out the door and pushed her back in the house afraid she might get hurt in the drama that was taking place outside. Once I got her in, I turned on the steps and my goal was to run and get through the back porch to close the dog door to prevent the mongrels from getting out. I am not sure how it happened but I missed the last step and landed on my ankle in a falling motion with a twist. When I hit the ground I immediately felt sharp pains and I grabbed my ankle. Of course with all that was going on in the dark abyss of Saturday morning I could not contain myself and started to cry uncontrollably while lying on the ground where I landed clutching my ankle. Chris of course witnesses my whole graceful maneuver and he was beyond his breaking point.

After I released all my tension in a river of tears and Chris had moments of beastly rage where he released his tension by making animal like noises to the gods of despair. I realized that I had to pull myself together because that is my roll I push on and get things done even when it feels impossible. Chris was overwhelmed with the situation and I knew we would not get passed this point with out me moving forward. He was worried about me being pregnant and maybe needing to go to the hospital to have my ankle checked. So I got up and although I had pain in my ankle I could tell it was not broken. I also knew I had a little bit of time before it got worse so I would go on the adrenalin and the shock of the accident.

After getting up Chris noticed the shoes I was wearing and told me to immediately throw those pieces of trash away. He was right, I knew it was time to let them go. Of course I took some photos of them before tossing them in the trash. It felt weird.

So I went inside put on some lace up boots and went back outside and I steered the jeep while Chris pushed the back end of the trailer with the tractor. We got it into position and I stayed on the trailer handing him the bags one by one all 50 of them. I just tried to stay in one spot and just pivoted around trying to keep most of my weight on my good foot.

We went inside Chris called the repair place and eventually they came and towed his jeep away to be looked at on Monday and we have no idea when we will see it again. Here is Chris watching his car being set by the tow truck. I think we both felt a loss, him and his car and me and my old shoes.

With all the chores done I propped my foot up and iced my ankle. It did not look bad but it hurt. That evening it hurt so badly I ended up giving in and took one Tylenol. I really miss Ibuprofen, but I am not aloud to have it while pregnant. Chris wrapped my ankle and that seemed to help. I kept ice on it all evening trying to num it. All weekend I have been keeping off it and trying to keep it elevated. I think in a few more days it will be as good as new. I will keep my fingers crossed the jeep will have as good a turn out.

I am an optimist at heart, even when life comes at you hard. I think that if you learn from your experiences and you always get back up after a fall and brush your self off. You are going to be ok, and be more prepared the next time life knocks you down.

Long Weekend in Florida

2008-09-09T17:33:00.004-06:00

I went to Florida for the holiday weekend for my Dad’s retirement party. I stayed with my sister and her lovely family. This is a photo of their two dogs. The one on the Left is Charlie, and she is a miniature schnauzer. The one on the right is Samantha and she is a snoodle. I love these dogs. They were so well behaved compared to my mongrels at home.

The first day my sister and my nephews and I went to Mt. Dora and I found Knit & Needle Nook. It was a great little yarn shop. I ended up buying a couple of knit baby pattern books. I did not get any yarn, I feel like I have enough yarn at home to last me a few years.

This is a fountain we found as we ducked under shelter from the rain while walking along the street filled shops of Mt. Dora. I think that is a clematis vine growing along the trellis in the background. We did get a couple of days of rain while I was there, mostly from the hurricanes around us.

Here is my Dad and to the left his wife, he was leading a bunch of people in a chicken Congo line through his property. By the look of him it appears he is having the time of his life. I definitely long for the day Chris and I both can retire. His party was a huge success. There were probably over 200 people there. He had one of those blow up jump inside thingies for the kids. He also had a dunk tank, which was very comical. There was plenty of good food and even a DJ with a dance area. The party was a huge success and was a great asset to set my Dad off into his retirement.

Here is me and my nephews at the party. I had not seen them in a couple of years so I was shocked at how much they had grown.

One of the days my sister, brother, his girlfriend & my nephews went to the Disney market place. Along the water there was a flock of ducks resting on the grass. It was real cool to see them up close since we do not see any ducks in New Mexico.

Here are my nephews in one of the shops.

Here is my sister on the left my brother in the middle and me on the right in front of a large Lego Lockness Monster. This day was very hot and humid we all felt like we were melting while outside.

Here is my bro with his girlfriend.

One of the nights my brother had us all over for a night of Italian & some Wii games. He made this awesome tiramisu. I was impressed I have never attempted to make one. This one turned out great. Another night his girlfriend made an orange chocolate chip bundt cake. She is going to send me the recipe, and I can’t wait to make it. It was delicious.

The last night the whole family went out for Mexican. Here is a photo of my Dad, his wife & me at the restaurant. My sister and her husband were celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary. It was a great night.

Overall I had a wonderful time and am so glad I got the chance to see my family and spend some time with all of them. I was lucky enough to get in and out of Florida in between the hurricanes. The weather there this time of year really blows. I am really spoiled in New Mexico with over 300 days of sunshine and blue skies.

Bronte's Baby Girl

2008-08-28T15:43:00.004-06:00

Bronte had her baby this week. She had a beautiful little black girl.

She is a smart one. She was up and trying to walk about 10 minutes after being born, and soon after that she was looking to milk.

Her fiber when the light hits it just right looks like velvet. She is real sweet and Bronte is a great mommy.

Florida for the Weekend

webshots photo

I am heading to Florida this holiday weekend for my Dad’s retirement party. It should be lots of fun. Chris is on baby watch and will be staying home. We have one alpaca past due and another one due this weekend. I hope they both wait till I get home before they have them. I always hate to miss the new babies being born.

Have a great weekend!

Thank You

2008-08-16T11:15:00.003-06:00

Thank you every one for all your kind well wishes and congrats. It means a lot to me. Some of you have been with me for several years and I truly feel blessed to have you.

Barn Progress

The building itself is pretty much done. Right now they are wiring the electricity and putting up the lights. There is a small 10 by 8 room off of that little door you see from the front. I plan to use that to store fiber, and what not. They still need to pour the front cement slab that will be under that front awning. Also with all the rain we have been having we plan to put gutters to get the flow of water to the back of the barn.

Here is a side view. We chose to use a few clear panels on the roof to let in the natural light. This will save on electricity so we will only need to use the lights at night if we are out there. We are keeping the barn open inside and plan to use movable panels that we can configure it however we need to for the alpacas. There is a cement slab in the front inside that we plan to store the hay and feed. I really hope this is done by September because we really need to start working on the fencing and get that done before winter.

My Garden

My Turk’s Turban squash are doing great. Actually out of all the things I planted these are about the only things I have to show for it. The blueberry plants are still there but at the rate they are growing I might see blueberries in 10 years. Maybe by next year they will have a larger growth rate if they make it through the winter.

We have had so much rain I found this mushroom in my garden. Mushrooms are rare in New Mexico. I probably took about 30 pictures of this mushroom, I was all laying on the ground trying to get under neath it. LOL. I think it is really cool like there should be a little gnome or fairie under it.

Feeling Lately

To be honest this whole past week I have felt nausous & queezy. My taste buds are all out of whack. Some things that were a staple in my diet that I could have eaten every day for the rest of my life I suddenly cant stand to be near it. Right now I am into Orange juice. I have not drank this in a long time except for maybe on vacation. Suddenly it is the best thing in the world. I also have been eating honey nut cheerios with a sliced banana. It is heavenly. I cant remember the last time I ate cheerios. Fall can not come soon enough as far as I am concerned. I think I will feel much better then.

I am Pregnant

2008-08-06T16:03:00.001-06:00

I have some news to share with you, I am pregnant. I just found out last week. I was a few days late but did not think much of it, thinking maybe my calculations were off. While at the grocery store I dropped a home pregnancy test in the cart. I took the test when I got home. Almost immediately 2 pink lines started to form. OMG! I decided to wait till Chris got home from the office before telling him. He came home and I explained what happened and he said “You are not pregnant.” I showed him the pregnancy test, “Maybe?”

The next day I am not sure what possessed me but I started calling family members, then I got scared and decided I better go to the doctor and make sure the results were correct. My normal GYN does not do babies so they referred me to the Women’s Health center. I gave them a call and the receptionist said they do pregnancy testing from 8-11 & 1-4 every day. If your test comes up negative they will charge you $25 out of pocket and if it is positive they will bill your insurance.

I thought that was kind of rough for anyone that was really trying to get pregnant how they would feel having to shell out the $25 after the bad news. Then I thought of the woman who seriously wanted the test to be negative and how happy she would be to pay the $25 and even offer to pay the next 3 women’s fee.

I headed out to the women’s center that afternoon making sure I had $25 on me. Filled out the form, they called me back I took the test, and then I was sent to wait in the lobby for my results. I had brought a book and I sat there reading the same line over and over again. In the background there was some crappy daytime court show on the TV. Each second I sat there my heart beat louder and louder, I could hardly breathe. They called me to the back my face and neck I am sure was all red so they asked me to sit down. She said “The test was positive you are pregnant”. I exhaled not realizing I was holding my breath. They gave me a due date of April 4th and scheduled my next appointment for when I am 10 weeks along.

I am 36 and Chris is 39. Over the years we have gone back and forth on whether or not to have a child. When I was 30 we actually tried to have a child for a whole year with no results. Then after a long discussion we decided together not to have children. We are selfish people and live for ourselves, and I have always felt that the world was overpopulated and someone has already had my babies twice over. Through out the years in my mind I always go back and forth on the idea, trying to figure out what I really want and if I would regret not having a child. Would I miss out on the greatest love of my life, maybe that is what I was afraid of the pain that comes with such a great love.

When I turned 34 I decided to go off birth control and let nature take its course. If I was meant to have a baby then it would happen. So 2 years later and no baby one starts to think the room their eggs are in is filled with cob webs and no longer sporting pastel pink & blue ribbons, or your husband is not as viable as he thinks. Turns out both parties are in good working order and now we are pregnant.

I am doing well. I am trying not to get too excited about it till I get through my first trimester. I did have a small break down in the shower the other day. First I was thinking I am not alone in here. Then I started thinking about having a baby and how it was a part of me, flesh of my flesh kind of thoughts. Then I started crying uncontrollably. I just let it flow. I was in the shower anyway. My face was a little puffy for awhile but I felt a little relief after releasing some emotion.
I decided to create a separate blog for the baby, that way I can keep this one for the alpacas and what not. That way if you are not into babies you won’t need to suffer through all the cute & fuzzy stuff. I will put this post on there that you just read and then continue to journal my experience.

You can find my baby blog at TOOT SWEET.

Somewhere in Time

2008-07-27T10:40:00.003-06:00

Holy Moley, I have been trying to get to this blog forever. Right now New Mexico is getting tons of rain due to the hurricane that hit Texas. It started raining Friday and has not stopped since. This is more rain than we normally get in an entire year. We are fortunate enough to be up in the mountains. The rain is just flowing through our property on down the mountain passing through everyone’s land in the process. We have a small creek in the back of the property that is now a raging river. If it lets up any I am hoping to get some photos. Due to the rain this weekend it is giving me time to update you on what has been going on lately.

The photo above is of a plumeria plant I found at Home Depot. Anytime I have brought home a plumeria from a tropical location they usually just give you the stalk. It looks like a stick and you plant it hoping for the best. I have never been successful. I was very excited to see one with leaves. There is hope yet.

Baby update

Schaherazade’s baby is doing great. Her mom’s name is Arabian so we looked to the animated movie Aladdin for inspiration. We named her Jasmine. With those big brown eyes and long lashes the name suits her. Schar is a first time mom and she is not producing as much milk as we would like so I have been supplementing Jasmine twice a day with a bottle of whole cows milk. Needless to say I am getting very attached to her as we spend this time together.

New arrival

Novalei arrived from Washington State. She is the girl I bought at auction this past January. She looks great and fits right into the herd. We are getting a break from pregnant mom watch the next group are not due until the end of August. Although we have one Bronte looks like she could have hers any day. She is so big you would think their were twins in there.

The barn

The barn is still not done, no surprise there. It is starting to take shape. It still kind of looks like a big mess. I am just happy when they show up to work on it.

Knitting

I am still working on the back of the cabled lace vest. I have started the arm shaping, and have completed about 8 repeats of the pattern.

Our front porch attracts lots of large moths this time of year. The birds will sit on our railing and fly over to the wall and grab one to snack on. It always amazes me how large they are. This one is about 5 inches from wing tip to tip. These last couple of weekends we have been doing a lot of alpaca maintenance, worming, vaccinating, and toe nail trimming.

So much is going on, I just feel like I am somewhere in time. The days are rolling by and stuff is getting done but I often don’t know what day it is. I guess all this rain is Mother Nature giving me a chance to catch my breath.

Cherry Oh

2008-07-01T15:57:00.004-06:00

There is nothing like a cherry festival to get you in the mood for summer.

This year we came away with a cherry pie, 2 jars of honey, and a bag of Carmel pistachio popcorn.

I ended up making this lovely cherry coffeecake with the leftover cherries. I modified the recipe a little using fresh cherries instead of canned pie filling. I just pitted and chopped cherries in half and poured a bit of sugar over them and let sit for an hour in the fridge. A few other modifications to the recipe: I added cinnamon to the cake part and used chopped almonds instead of pecans in the topping. You can find the recipe HERE.

Last Baby of the Season

Schaherazade had her baby, and it’s a little brown girl. This is Schar’s first baby.

First steps with mom watching her little girl’s technique.

Schar takes her baby out to explore the pasture.

It was a big day for the two of them. Schar relaxes and chews her cud while baby snuggles close by.

Tagged for Meme
I was tagged by Karin for the Front door/Back door Meme.

I cringed a little about being tagged for this one because I don’t care for any of the doors in this house. Eventually we will replace the front door with something more to our taste, but around here the animals come first so the door is on the bottom of a very long list. So here is the front door. It is filthy, with all of us traipsing in and out with muddy shoes this door does double time for dirt display.

The front door was not the feature that sold me on this place it was definitely the large front porch that won me over. This porch is awesome. The sun rises in front of the porch and makes it toasty for sitting with a cup of coffee and a bagel. It also is the best spot in the afternoon since it is shaded and harbors a nice breeze.

The back door, I don’t think you can get more rustic than this. One of these days I will get a group of friends together and have a sandpaper party. The whole back porch and door could use a good sanding.

I couldn’t show the doors with out showing the dog door. This was one of the first projects we did when we moved in. It is a big deal to cut a whole in your house. It took Chris and I a while to make the first cut, there is really no going back after that. It turned out great and a blessing not having to let the dogs out & in all day long.

I suppose to tag a few, how about Lauren, Kristen, Kelly & Alicia want to show us your front & back door? I would love to see everyone’s doors so if you read this blog go ahead and grab the meme if you like.

Shearing Day 2008

2008-06-20T11:54:00.004-06:00

Progress on the barn, it was nice to start seeing the beams go up and get a look at how it is going to be.

We finally had our shearing day last weekend. Here is the set up we went with since the barn is not completed. We rented one of those canopy tents for the day. It sure helped keep the sun off our backs. Our shearer came from Santa Fe. This is something you need to book way in advanced do to the shortage of shearers available.

Once we were all set up we marched one alpaca at a time under the tent for their make over. This photo is of Magnolia she was one of last year’s girls and her first time being shorn.

Here is the after photo of Maggie.

Here is Kiri enjoying the fan on her new haircut.

Here is Doll, Scher, & Mimosa

Remember these boys, Radley & Dorian they are looking dapper in their new doo.

I think Willy’s new trim accents his moustache. When I am near him I can not help but go into a bad French accent.

Hay & more Hay

Chris & I drove about 90 miles south to buy some oat hay that had just been harvested. The dealer we were purchasing from did not have the hay at the feed store yet so we had to drive a few miles to the farm, and actually pick the bales off the field and load them. We were able to squeeze a total of 64 bales onto our trailer and truck bed. We had a little bit of drama when we pulled out of a gas station and a few of the bales fell off. We had to pull over and load them back up. We ended up getting some better ties and securing the load better for the drive home. Needless to say by the time we got home we were both pretty tired to have to unload, thankfully we had some friends come over to help.

After that whole ordeal with getting the hay ourselves we decided we would go ahead and have the rest delivered. This is what 233 bales of hay looks like on a flat bed. We decided to buy enough hay this summer for the entire year because it is cheaper to buy it in season. Last winter we were paying around $14 to $16 dollars a bale in the off season and that was grass hay. The hay we just purchased is around $6 a bale and it is much better quality. The nice thing is that with the delivery they stack it for you. Unfortunately the barn is not completed so we had to have them stack it in our 2 car garage. Then once the barn is done we will need to have a hay moving party and get some help moving it all to the barn.

Little Lightning Doll’s baby is doing great. She is a month old now. I wanted to thank you all for name suggestions we decided to call her Lily of the Valley, or just Lily for short.

Lily was the only one that did not get shorn this year. I felt she was too little but there are many farms that do shear them young, especially if they plan to show them next year.

Today is the Summer solstice and I think the longest day of sunlight. I feel like I am running full speed through this year. I am so thankful when I walk out with the alpacas and they make me laugh and have me smiling from ear to ear. They give me a chance to stop and live in the moment.

New Pillow Bed for Cosmo

2008-06-01T09:38:00.006-06:00

I love this time of year when we are able to open the windows and let the breeze swoosh in to refresh the air. Cosmo is an indoor cat so he especially loves to sit on the window sills taking in all the outdoor activities.

I decided it was time to make him a pillow insert for his kitty pi I knit for him the summer of 2006. I would normally just stuff a towel in the bottom, and thought I would eventually make a pillow for it. First I made the pillow using some suede fabric in my stash. I stuffed it with that memory foam stuff.

Then I made a zippered cover for it using this fabric. It is from the Wizards & Whimsy fabric line. I love the little white tiger wizard cat, he resembles Cosmo.

Here it is, all completed and ready for a cat nap. It will be nice to be able to toss the cover in the wash when it is full of cat hair. The cushion is so comfy I have plans to make a cover for my ugly worn out office chair, and making a similar cushion for the seat.

Cement Pour

They started pouring the cement for the barn on Saturday. We had a bad rain & hail storm last week that delayed the pour.

This slab will be inside the front of the barn were we plan to have a little office on one side and the other side we will store hay & grain. Our contractor says it will be at least 30 more days until the barn is done. Originally it was to be done by the end of May. Chris and I have found the people to be on a different pace out here in the country. Unfortunately it will not be done in time for us to do our scheduled alpaca shearing in 2 weeks. I plan to rent a canopy tent for the occasion, and keep us out of the sun for the day.

Bette

I was able to cast on last weekend for my vest. It turns out the pattern is not as hard as I thought it would be. Now that I am getting the hang of it, I am enjoying the process. Starting with the back I have completed the ribbing and 2 repeats of the cabled lace pattern.

Tag I’m It

I was tagged by the wonderful Angelika, here goes.

“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
Chris and I were living in Oregon and both of us were in college he was in Dental School & I was at Portland Sate University. I originally was planning to be a Pharmacist. At the time I was planning my wedding for the summer of 1999. For me I did not want to spend a lot of money on the actual event I prefered to spend it on the honeymoon. I am all about the vacation. I found a used dress at a wedding consignment shop and had some alterations done to make it more personally mine. I was in to cross stitch & also mosiacs, where I would brake a bunch of old plates and glass and arrange the pieces onto trays and tables. Oh and lets not forget I was madly decoupaging found objects at thrift stores.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today
Chris & I are going to see the new Indiana Jones Movie
Cutting out squares for my plaid quilt.
Knit a couple of rows on my vest
Pull a few weeds in my garden
Make some sun tea

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Apples with peanut butter
Hot Chocolate with Hazelnut syrup
Plain M&M’s

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pack up the 4 legged kids and get the heck out of New Mexico. LOL
I would buy a huge farm with all the bells in whistles, where we would live in the Spring & Summer. I would also buy a little cottage on the East coast. Not too small, but big enough to have an amazing design & craft room. We would live there in the Fall & Winter. I would travel the world. I would also donate large sums of money to wildlife preservation & to no kill shelters.

5) Places I have lived:
New York (upstate)
California
Lousiana
Mississippi
Florida
Oregon
New Mexico

6) peeps I wanna know more about:
If anyone has not been tagged yet and want to do this one consider yourself tagged.

Flapjacks

2008-05-23T11:47:00.003-06:00

Yippee, we made it to the long holiday weekend. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I have been craving crepes with cream cheese and fresh strawberries for months now. I have never made them before and am a little intimidated. So I thought I would make some chocolate chip pancakes instead. These were delicious with butter and syrup. One of these days I will make crepes.

Doll’s Baby

Little Lightening Doll finally had her baby. It’s a white girl.

Doll is a first time mommy and she is doing great. I was a little worried after she gave birth some of the other females whom just had their boys weaned and removed from their pasture, tried to claim the baby as theirs. It was kind of funny one would walk over to the baby and be like this one looks good I called it she is mine. Then another would walk over and say no I think this one will be mine. I ended up putting Doll and her new baby in a separate pen the first 2 days so they could bond and have their space.

Kisses from Mom

She is a sweet little girl.

The fiber on her looks amazing. It is nice and thick and so very soft and curly. We have not named her yet. I was trying to think of something that went with her moms name, and Chris is leaning towards white flower names.

The Barn Progress

We were hoping to have the barn done by the end of May, no such luck. They have completed the dirt work. They also trenched out around for the posts and built a frame on the ground to guide where the posts go.

They plan to start pouring cement next Wednesday. I won’t hold my breath.

My Garden

This is what the garden looked like this year before I weeded it out in preparation for planting.

Here is a photo of one side all weeded and I also added compost and manure this year to better the soil. I have planted blueberries, birdhouse gourds, Turk’s Turban squash, Bunny’s Tail Ornamental grass, Flaming Feather, & three varieties of Peonies: Bowl of beauty, Emile Debatene, & Sarah Bernhardt. Oh and also planted 3 stalks of Lily of the Valley. Not much going on yet hopefully will see some thing soon.

I did start a couple of seeds inside. These are Lobelia & Pansies. My friend gave me one of those planters that hang over the porch railing and you plant on both sides into the pockets. I plan to put these in there to see if it works.

Mad about Plaid

I have been seeing a lot of patchwork plaid everywhere. Like these American Eagle Bermuda shorts.

Also this JCrew Madras Cabana bag.

So I have started cruising the clearance fabric bins and looking for pastel plaids. I did not want the lumber jack flannel Christmas red or green. This is what I have so far. I think I might make a summer table cloth or quilt and possibly a hand bag with the leftovers.

New Knits

I am planning to cast on soon for this wonderful vest. It is named Bette and is in Louisa Harding’s Winter Muse Classics. I have been looking over the pattern and it is not an easy one. I have even tried to find another vest pattern that might be quicker and less thinking involved, but just could not find anything I like as much. This will be a torcher knit I can already feel it. At least it is a vest and no sleeves are needed. I plan to give myself as much time as I need and hopefully will be able to get it done by the end of summer.

Here is the yarn I have chosen. It is Filatura Di Crosa Wave in color 02 cream. It is a 75% merino wool/25% silk blend.

Hope all of you have a wonderful long weekend. I am planning for it to be filled with lots of sewing and knitting with some reading on the side.

Catching Up

2008-05-09T12:14:00.003-06:00

I will warn you this will be a long post. For starters my mother-n-law & sister-n-law stayed at our house watching over and tending to the alpacas while we were on vacation. It was so comforting knowing they were here while we were away. Mom noticed right away there were humming birds coming around the porch with nothing for them to eat. I had a plastic feeder up last year and put it away not remembering where I put it. When I arrived home Mom had found and hung up this beautiful ceramic feeder. The humming birds love it and I will have 2 to 3 sipping sugar water at any given time. This photo above is the best one I have taken so far. They sure are fast darting around every which way.

Alpaca Babies

Of course most of my requests for updates are on the alpacas, so I will start with the babies.

The three little ones Honey Buns, Willy Wonka, & Bugsy are doing great. It amazes me how fast they grow. Willy is still the fastest baby we have had and it is a wonder how he can stop on a dime and change directions. Thank goodness he is big enough now where I don’t have to chase him down every day to get his weight.

The three of them are very sweet, and it almost looks like they are in daycare. You will often see them off by themselves out in the pasture plotting some scheme against the adults no doubt.

Little Lightening doll is past due and today she has reached her 361 days into her gestation. Crazy! But look at her she is not budging. Everyday I go out there every couple of hours and take a look at her and say today, maybe today. Then she gives me the look like the one above that says no not today maybe tomorrow. Finders Keepers actually went 370 days when she had Willy Wonka so I am not as concerned with Doll and how long she is taking. I will keep you posted when she finally has it.

The Boys Club

When we got back from our trip we weaned the four 2007 boys, by placing them in the pasture with the three 2006 boys. So here is from Left to Right: Dorian Grey, Radley, Macho Latte, & Calvin. There were many tears and whining at the fence line for the first week but they are doing much better and starting to learn that they are big boys now and Mom isn’t around anymore.

Here is Kingsley & Klaus two of the 2006 boys, they are trying to tell me how mature they are and feel the new boys are babies and are very annoying. They have their moments but the good thing is all 7 of them get along and are forming their own little boys herd.

How many alpacas do we have? I get that question a lot. Right now we have 27 in all. One, Novalei is still in Washington. She is the one I bought at auction this past January. She is being bred there and I probably won’t have her sent home until after she has been shorn. All the rest are here with us. Of course with Little Lightening Doll due to have her baby any time now that will make the count 28. After hers we have 6 more due to have their babies late summer early fall.

My Birthday

I just had a birthday this past April and am now 36. I don’t feel like I am 36 personally I am looking forward to my 40’s. I don’t think I will feel like I am in my 40’s when I am 40ish, so I am thinking I might have more time to do the things I would like in my 40’s. If this is not true, do not tell me let me keep on looking forward to it.

I finally made the appointment and got my tetanus shot. My last one I had was when I was in college. They are good for 10 years. I started thinking about it last summer when we were building the shelter. It took me awhile to actually get up the nerve to go get it done. Seriously I can laugh at it now. The doctor pulls out the needle and it was so small I could hardly see it. He stuck it in my left arm and I did not feel a thing. The whole time I was there he kept making comment s like now the pain begins. I was waiting for the sky to fall or something dramatic. The spot where he gave me the shot hurt a little an hour after and would on occasion that week start to ach a little. Either I have a very high tolerance for pain or people are just lying about the whole situation. Anyway if you are due for one don’t worry it isn’t as bad as they say it is.

Birthday Gift

My in-laws gave me the perfect gift for my birthday. They bought me a Martha’s Vineyard Fiber farm yarn CSA share of the fall 2008 harvest. CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture. The money will be used to purchase hay & feed, and also to purchase more livestock for their farm. Then in the fall they will do their shearing and process the wool into yarn and send a portion of the yarn to each shareholder. The photo above was taken from Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Blog. The baby angora goats are so cute. Go HERE to learn more about the CSA and their farm. I believe the Fall CSA is already sold out, but they do shear twice a year once in the Spring & again in the Fall so eventually they will have the CSA open again to buy shares for Spring 2009.

Finished Object

I completed my Diagonal Scarf and love how it turned out.
Pattern: Diagonal Scarf from the book Morehouse Farm Merino knits
Yarn: 6 skeins of Trendsetter Tonalita yarn in color 2357 coffee Latte
Needles: size 7
This was a great pattern; I will definitely make another one.

I am still working on my reversible cabled scarf. I have two more skeins to go.

I have run out of time and need to go out and check on expecting momma. I Still have more to catch up on like my next knit project, the barn in progress, & my garden.

Our Caribean Cruise

2008-04-27T10:39:00.004-06:00

Chris & I are back from our 7 night Caribbean Cruise. We were on the Crown Princess. It disembarked from San Juan Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is an American island so it made flying there much easier not having to go through customs. The ports of call were Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, & Tortola. We had a wonderful trip and are well rested and sun soaked.

Here are some photos from the ship.

This is the Crown Princess docked at the Port in San Juan.

Here are some more photos from the trip.

My Favorite Moment

Webshots photo from 1973scotty

Chris and I booked a catamaran sailing cruise with Cool Runnings in Barbados. They took us out to snorkel with the sea turtles. All though there were only a handful of turtles to a very large group of people, it was magical. For a brief moment under water close enough to touch the turtle everything else just faded away. It was just me and the turtle and all was right in the world. Sea turtles are one of my favorite creatures and to be able to experience this was amazing. This was truly one of the best moments of my life. Chris enjoyed himself too. He has mentioned more than once how awesome the catered lunch was and how he can not get the chicken dish out of his mind. LOL. Now I will be in constant search for a marinated Caribbean chicken recipe, hoping to find something that will come close to what was offered on the catamaran.

I would love to go on and on and tell you all the details of the cruise and our adventures in the Caribbean, and not to mention the 100’s of photos I took on the trip. There just is not enough time in the day, & there is so much going on at home to tend to.

Love is in the Air

2008-04-03T19:54:00.003-06:00

We decided to name the new boy Willy Wonka.

He is sweet on Honey Buns.

These two love birds follow each other around all day. It is too cute for words.

Barn Progress

Work started to prepare for the barn. Truck loads of dirt have been brought in.

Then they mash it down with their big machines. Turns out there was a 6ft gradient difference from the front of the barn to the back. Seems kind of silly to truck in a bunch of dirt when there is a bunch of dirt all over the property, but they say the dirt would not be solid enough to build a barn on. So now we are bringing in better dirt. Geez who new?

Spring Cleaning

I am exhausted. I have been doing a bit of spring cleaning around here. It is not easy when you have people outside bringing more dirt. I have been cleaning the ceiling fans, the windows, the front porch and every other nook and cranny. It has been a frightening experience. It is done and hopefully wont need such a cleaning for another year. I am itching to get out into the garden but word on the street we are still do for a frost, so I patiently wait. Chris and I have scheduled a little get away for some R&R. Take Care and I will be back with lots of photos.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T09:16:00.003-06:00

Webshots photo
Easter caught me off guard this year. It is earlier than usual.

A favorite Easter dessert for me is Carrot cake. This picture above is from the epicurious website of the recipe Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting. Oh man that sounds good. You can find the recipe HERE.

I found these knitted Peeps a couple of days ago on Kat’s blog. She posted the pattern last year. Even though I am a little late for Easter I think I might still make a few of these. They are so cute. You can find the pattern HERE.

My plan today is to do whatever I feel like doing. Next week is going to be busy for me, so I am claiming today for myself. My day will probably consist of wondering around the blogs catching up on what everyone is up to. Possibly do some sewing. I just picked up the DVD Atonement and might loose my self in romance while working on current knits.

Palm Springs Photos
I will leave you with some photos from my trip.

Palm Trees of course

No shortage of palm trees.

Bougainvillea
These were everywhere, growing up light posts & fences.

Here are some more Bougainvilleas. Breathtaking.

Alicia and I spent a lot of time at the outlets, but when we managed to break away from shopping we did find a couple of good places to grab some cocktails and good eats. The photo above was taken at Taps Fish House & Brewery. This place was conveniently located at the Promenade shops in Corona. We popped in for happy hour cocktails and some appetizers. Another restaurant we found that was great is called Chez Philippe French Bistro. This place was walking distance from our hotel downtown Palm Springs. It was a bit spendy but well worth the cost. They had an outdoor seating area which was great for people watching.

A red Ferrari & a green Lamborghini behind it. I spotted these two while walking up the streets in Palm Springs. The people around here like their cars.

Lemon tree

Bird of Paradise

Here are a couple of horses out to pasture. All the locals had mentioned they had gotten lots of rain this year and that is why all the hills were green. Most of my photos were of the flora in the area. It was so nice to see everything in bloom. The air smelt of spring.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T11:58:00.003-06:00

Top of the morning to you. May your day begin with green eggs and ham and end with a pint of green beer. I decided to go through my stash and pull out all the green yarn and fabric. Not much green. The photo above is all I found.

Favorite Leprechaun Movie

My all time favorite Leprechaun movie is Darby O’Gill & the Little People. Here is a photo of King Brian the head of the Leprechauns.

Sean Connery is in this movie and actually sings a song titled “Pretty Irish Girl”. This is a fun Disney movie to watch on St Patrick’s day or if you are in an Irish kind of mood.

I made it home from Palm Springs. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with temperatures in the 70’s. I will share more photos of the trip when I get a chance.

I did manage to find a yarn shop near Palm Springs. The store was Knit Affair and you can go to the store site HERE. Pictured above yarn on the left is 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in color #12. On the right are 2 skeins of Cascade Yarn 50% Llama & 50% Wool in color #54 Pastaza Purple Jewel Heather. I have no idea what I will use these for but I couldn’t leave the store with out them.

New Baby

Finders Keepers finally had her baby. I got the call from Chris on Sunday the 9th while I was in Palm Springs. I wanted to get right back on a plane and fly home. He is a little dark chocolate boy. He has the same coloring as his momma.

He is a running fool. I am tempted to call him Forest Gump. With a name like that his prospects with the ladies later on might not be so great, so I will need to think of a studdly name.

Cookie’s baby is doing great; she gets more beautiful every day. We went ahead and named her Honey Buns. For such a sweet girl she had to have a name as sweet.

Keep your eyes open today and be on the look out for any Leprechauns. Don’t hesitate grab him and don’t let him go until he grants you three wishes. What would your three wishes be? I know one of my wishes would be anytime I snap my finger my entire house would be clean. 8)

Girlfriend Getaway

2008-03-07T20:17:00.004-07:00

"Shopping by the Sea" by artist Marianne Haas

I am meeting up with my girlfriend Alicia from Oregon for a girlfriend’s getaway. Every couple of years we plan a trip together. This time we are heading to Palm Springs. I have never been there. To tell you the truth I would be happy going anywhere. I am looking forward to putting on some lipstick and feeling like a girl again. My focus this week was to try not to get any large bruises while working on the ranch. The weather around here has been bitter cold, so I am utterly excited about the forecast in Palm Springs with Highs in the upper 70’s.

Reading Material

These are the two books I am bringing on my trip. The one on the left is Mrs. Mike by Benedict & Nancy Freedman. The book on the right is Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Both books have been on my list of must reads for awhile. I think this will be the perfect trip to finally have time to read them. I am also bringing along the diagonal scarf I started.

Projects awaiting my Return

I recently cleaned out my closet and found a few old wool sweaters no longer in style or in good shape. I plan to felt them and possibly use the fabric to make some bags, and possibly some other crafts. If you have any ideas or links feel free to send them my way.

When I get back I should be rested and ready to take on the rest of winter. There is a twinkle of hope since day light savings time starts Sunday. I love it when it gets lighter later.

Exotic Bloom

2008-03-02T13:24:00.005-07:00

One of my Amaryllis bulbs finally bloomed. This one is Amaryllis Cybister Chico. The colors are just amazing. I plan to dry this bulb out when it is done and try to get it to bloom again next year.

Here is a close up of the flower.

Cup a Tea

I am a big tea drinker. Last year I weened myself off of cafeine. That was a little torchersome. I had a terrible headach every evening for about a week. Now I’m on decafe. There seems to be less of a selection of decafe coffee & teas. I thought I would share my 3 faves at the moment. This one above is Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile.

This is Stash’s Apple Cinnamon. I tried this for the first time last Thanksgiving while visiting family. I have been hooked ever since.

This one is from the Bag Ladies Blossom line of teas. The flavor is Evening’s Comfort. It is a mix of chamomile & almond. You can find this tea HERE.

New Knit Book

I spotted this knit book at my last trip to town. It is Kitty Knits projects for cats & their people by Donna Druchunas. It is a cute little book. Some of the projects are a little dorky but it does have a handful of ones I like. I do like the hat & the little felted mouse toys on the cover.

I also liked this embroidered baby blanket.

Another pattern that caught my eye is this felted applique pillow. Overall a cute knit book filled with great photos & cat quotes and writings. Any cat lover that knits will like this book.

Baby Love

The little one born on Valentines is doing great. We have not come up with a name yet. I have been calling her Honey Buns, because I like to say this is Cookie Dough’s Honey Buns. LOL Of course I have not won over Chris with that name. I have been trying to think of some kind of confection or sweet of a name to go along with her mothers name. Plus I am still waiting to see what kind of baby our other one will have and I might give them a name pairing.

She just gets more beautiful every day. She has great conformation, and if she packs on a fleece like her Momma we might even bring her to a show and see how she does.

Have a Great Week!

Valentine Baby

2008-02-16T10:41:00.003-07:00

It’s a GIRL! Cookie Dough gave birth on Valentine’s Day. For me it was love at first sight.

Cookies is a first time Mom and is doing great. We new she would be a good Mom because all last year every time one of them had a baby she tried to claim it as hers. So finally now she has her own.

Cookie’s milk was not fully in the first day so I bottle fed the baby every 4 hours. The next day I felt like I had done a million squats and I could not sit down with out wincing from pain. If you want to work out your butt and thighs bottle feed a baby alpaca for a day. LOL

By Friday morning baby was milking regularly and all is well. Today it is snowing outside so I am keeping them in a makeshift pen we created in our well house. Baby will have to wait until the weather clears up before I let the two of them out to make acquaintances and to explore the pasture. I have my fingers crossed the other alpaca past due waits to have her baby until the weather clears.

Knitting

I completed my Scrunchable Scarf and made a hat using the same stitch pattern. I plan to line the hat with the fabric in the photo and possibly make a brim also. This set is very warm and perfect for a snow day like today. You can find the scarf pattern HERE.

I have been itching to use some of the yarns I bought in Portland last Thanksgiving and cast on for this Diagonal Scarf from the book Morehouse Farm Merino Knits by Margrit Lohrer.

I am using the trendsetter Tonalita yarn in color 2357 coffee Latte. I have never knit diagonally and it is turning out real cool.

Of course I can’t just be working on one knit I went ahead and cast on for this His/Hers Reversible cabled scarf. The pattern is in the book Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman.

I am using Classic Elite Waterlily yarn in color #1995 Azalea. The subtle tonal changes in the yarn really make the cables pop out. Cables are still my all time favorite thing to knit.

Here is Zissou & Klaus out in the snow trying to show the ladies they are tough and don’t need the shelter. Of course the ladies think they are idiots and are in the shelter cozy & warm.

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Have a great weekend and I hope you and yours are cozy and warm.

She had One Good Day

2008-02-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to tell you our little new born took a turn for the worse and did not make it. We named her Siena.

She had one good day. That day she laid in the sun, and frolicked with Bugsy. Felt the wind on her face, and nibbled on the ground.

We tried everything we could to help her fight off what ever she had. Her last few days she spent at the Vet’s office. We still do not know what she had only that it was some kind of virus. Her symptoms were close to Meningitis, which is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the central nervous system. Chris and I decided to donate Siena to the Camelid Reproduction Center of the Western Slope. In the hopes that her death will help educate and help prevent the lose of baby alpacas.

This has got to be the hardest part of owning livestock. Unfortunately these things happen. Right now I am focusing on the Mom, Never Ending Love. We brought Love home last night she had been at the vet’s office in case the baby needed any milk. She was happy to be home and back in the herd. Unfortunately she keeps looking for her baby. This should go away in a few days as she settles back into her life.

I am on baby watch. Do you remember these two characters Cookie Dough and Finder’s Keeper’s, well they are both due to have their baby any day now. I think that 2 healthy babies are exactly what I need right now.

Doll & Love Arrive

2008-02-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Bugsy is a little over a month old and is doing great. Here he is with Mom taking a nap in the sun.

Here is Bugsy playing alpaca games with Magnolia. They are both having lots of fun chasing each other around.

Alpaca Arrival

Two of our girls finally made it home all the way from Washington State. This is Little Lightening Doll.

She has a lot of spunk I think that is where the Lightening comes into her name. It only took her a couple of days to get use to me. She is already making her way up the hierarchy of the herd refusing to be at the bottom of the pecking order. She is due this April with her first baby.

This is Never Ending Love. I put this red neck chain on her for a couple of days so I could tell them apart out in the field. It only took me a day they are both very different.

Love is a very sweet girl. She fit right in and seems to like her new routine here at our ranch. You would not believe what happened last Thursday. She had her baby. We were not expecting the baby for another 2 weeks. I was so busy that day completing tax filings for the dental office. I was heading out to run to the post Office to make sure to get the 31st postmark on my mailings. I happened to glance out the window and saw a group of alpacas huddled around something. I realized it was a baby.

I was stunned and had to figure out who gave birth. We actually have 3 alpacas due within the next few weeks. I quickly figured out it was Never Ending Love. She had a little brown GIRL. She is under weight and Love’s milk had not fully come in yet. So I am supplementing the baby with Cow’s milk and a little bit of plain yogurt every 4 hours. I will get some photos up as soon as I feel she is in the clear health wise.

I have so much to write about but am having trouble scraping a few minutes together to post about it. I am hoping to get all caught up this month on my taxes & alpaca babies. With two more babies due soon I have been paranoid they might have theirs early also. I am keeping my fingers crossed they both stay in their Mom’s belly till they are done. 8)

America's Choice Alpaca Auction 2008

2008-01-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

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!

Holiday Goodies

2007-12-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

I think Starbucks is drugging me. I can not get through the holidays with out craving their peppermint mocha.

The Bird Lady

I am friend to the little feathered ones and also their nutrition worry wart. I try to get a variety of different kinds of seed, and alternate which ones I fill the feeder with. Next year I might get a bigger feeder. This one is a four seater and others will sit on top waiting for an opening and fly in for their turn.

Exotic Amaryllis

I like to plant Amaryllis bulbs in December. It usually takes about 8 weeks for them to bloom so it gives me something to watch grow through the winter months. This year I saw an exotic amaryllis bloom in a magazine. I had never seen anything like it. I knew I would give them a try this December. I ended up finding two bulbs and planted them in a large round planter with a variety of succulents planted around the bulb.

This one is Amaryllis Cybister Chico

This one is Amaryllis Cybister Emerald
I found them both at Easytogrowbulbs.com

Cookie Baking

This is the cookie list so far starting with top center and working around clockwise. Peppermint Bonbon, Mint Chippers, Coconut-Peanut, & Chocolate Peanut Butter chip fudge. I am happy to say they all turned out good. I usually have a batch that does not turn out how I thought they would. One year I made gingerbread cookies and they were like weapons. I made a ton of them and ended up throwing them all away. LOL. I have not tried to make them since.

Ornaments

I found this little sheep at Bath & Body Works. They also have a larger size. I like this little one. I hung it on my knitting cabinet.

I was searching through the Anthropologie clearance section and found this little guy. He is called South for the Winter Son. How cute is he with his little hat and bag.

Holiday Stocking

I have completed the cuff and am now working on the leg. Once you knit the cuff you turn the stocking inside out then start knitting the leg that way the cuff is inside out and is right side out when folded down. Do I think I will finish this stocking by Christmas? No, not unless it is a Christmas miracle. I am enjoying the fair-isle pattern, and my incentive to finish it is so I can start something new with the yarn I just got in Portland.

An Oregon Thanksgiving

2007-12-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

We spent the holiday with my in-laws, and it was perfect. We had the usual for dinner turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. My faves were the homemade turkey gravy and the cranberry sauce with oranges. I’m not much of a meat eater so I like all the sides. This photo was the center piece a glass round vase with rose buds surrounded by martini glasses filled with olives. That was a cool idea. The table looked beautiful.

Mother-n-laws Garden

Mom had lots of great treasures in her garden. One of which is this passion flower. I could not believe she still had blooms.

These are quince that had fallen off the tree. I think this was the coolest plant in her garden. It is such a romantically old plant that not many people have. The quince is native land lies between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, a mountainous region called the Caucasus that touches northern Turkey and Iran as well as Southern Georgia. There is still a wild variety that grows in these parts.

The quince appears in Greek writings as far back as 600 BCE. It was used in Wedding ceremonies. The ancient Greeks considered quinces to be the symbol of fertility and dedicated them to the goddess of love. There is a myth that says pregnant women who eat large quantities of quinces will give birth to industries and highly intelligent children. The quince is a sour fruit but the warmer the climate the plant is grown the sweeter the fruit will be. The most popular way to enjoy the fruit in the US is by making quince jelly.

I just love the history behind the quince and it is on my list of most have plants for my garden.

Dogs

My in-laws have 2 dogs, a Doberman & an Australian shepherd. The Doberman is Daiza, and the shepherd sporting a hair cut is Mattie. They were great to have around, especially when we were missing our own lovely animals.

Oregon Coast

We took a drive out to the Oregon coast the day after thanksgiving. The dogs enjoyed a walk along the beach.

The coast always amazes me. It is un-like anything you would see on the East coast. We grabbed some lunch at the Pelican Pub & Brewery. Chris and I were able to get some fresh seafood, and dinned on Calamari, mahi tacos, & Po’Boy’s and washed it all down with some great beer.

Best Friend

I was able to meet up with my best friend Alicia. She lives in Oregon. We met at some outlets for a couple hours. It was so great to see her. She had called me awhile ago to tell me she had bangs and I had called her when I cut all my hair off. LOL. So I think the bangs were working for her. I myself will never have bangs again. Every time I do, I regret it and then have to go through the awkwardness of growing them back out. We are excited and our planning a vacation for just the two of us next spring.

The Shops & Loot

Mom took me to a local quilt shop called Grandma’s Attic. It was a great little shop with a large selection that included designer fabrics. I was fortunate enough to find these Moda Holiday panels from Deb Strain’s Let it Snow Let it Snow series. I found them in this shop $2 cheaper a panel, plus there is no sales tax in Oregon and I did not have to pay for shipping. I bought 2, they are large squares, big enough to make a huge quilt or make placemats or pillows. I am not sure what I plan to use them for but just really loved the artwork, especially the cat snowman block.

The Yarn Garden

I was most excited about stopping at the Yarn Garden for a look around. Thankfully I brought a small list of possible up coming projects and yarn requirements.

Even with the list I was very overwhelmed. I was not familiar with the way they had their yarn organized. It took me a bit to get my barring. I had some suggestive yarns written down but unfortunately they did not have them in stock. The store had several rooms stuffed from top to bottom with yarn, and even a back room filled with needles and patterns. I tried to hurry due to the fact I had 3 people waiting for me in their coffee shop whom did not buy yarn. Thankfully Lauri my step mom helped expedite things by carrying my selection and asking the employees for more color selections & if they had more available in the back.

I came out with a bag filled with yummy yarn. The yarn in the top basket is Filatura Di Crosa Wave. It is a wool silk blend in color 02 Cream. The one on the bottom left is Trendsetter yarns Tonalita in color 2357 Coffee Latte. The last one on the bottom Right is Classic Elite Yarns Waterlily 100% extra fine merino in color #1995 Azalea. Instead of sugar plums dancing in my head I had yarn cakes swirling around in endless abundance. Personally I probably could have spent half a day at the shop to really look at every thing. The good thing is I got in and out and did not break the bank & I came out with yarn I have plans for.

I will tell you more about my plans for the yarn in later posts. Right now I am focused on my Christmas stocking and will show updated photos of my progress in my next post. Well we are home and I am finally done with all the laundry and backed up chores since we were away. The weather here has really turned for the worse. We came home to snow on the ground. It is all but melted by now but the forecast expects more to follow.

Holiday Break

2007-11-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Webshots photo by Don Paulsom
This is the photo I have on my screen savor.

Fall Color

We still have some trees with autumn colored leaves on them.

This one caught my eye like a beacon in the back of our property. The sun was shining through the leaves making it glow golden goodness.

Clearing Property

We hired someone to clear a section of our property. I picked a handful of trees I wanted to save and marked them with pink ribbon so he would not bull doze them over.

It only took the guy 2 days and he did an awesome job. We plan to build a barn next year on this cleared land and put some fencing up to add more pastures. With the land cleared it will be easy to plant some grass seed next spring.

Chris found this huge antler on the back of the property. It has 5 rungs which means I think 5 years. Our neighbor whom is a lumberjack told us that our ranch is on old Native American tribal grounds. If you look hard enough you can find arrow heads. If we actually wanted to dig deep enough we might be able to find some pottery and objects they might have used in their day to day living.

Christmas Stocking Update

I cast on for the Scandinavian Christmas Stocking. I am working on the Cuff. I love the color combo, makes me want a cup of cocoa with some raspberry syrup.

Chris and I are heading to Oregon to spend time with my In-laws for Thanksgiving. I might even get a chance to go to a LYS in Portland Oregon. I decided to make up a list of future knit projects and yarn requirements to bring with me so I am not a deer in head lights walking into a large yarn shop.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may all your wishbone dreams come true.

Time for Treats

2007-11-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the alpacas lining up around the 4 wheeler for a treat of alfalfa. Alpaca babies will milk their moms for about 6 months. Some of our moms have been milking since spring. Around this time when the grazing material is not that nutrient filled, we will give the alpacas a bit of alfalfa as a treat. Alfalfa is too rich to give them on a regular basis. If alfalfa is available to them they will always choose the alfalfa over any other grazing material. It is not good for them to eat too much of the stuff. Boy do they love it. We give it to them on occasion to help some of the Moms that are still milking to replenish some of their nutrients and to help them maintain a healthy weight going into winter.

Here is Radley trying to figure out what the big deal is about grass Hay. He is still too young to fully process the hay but he is giving it a try. They are just like babies they kind of explore their world with their mouths. You will often see them tasting the fencing and sticks and whatever else is around.

This is Macho Latte. Remember him? He was born last July 7th. They grow up so fast. He is my problem child. Out of all the babies born this year he gives me the hardest time. He has lived up to his name since birth. When he was born he needed absolutely no help from us and has been calling the shots. Thankfully his Mom is a no nonsense alpaca and will keep him in his place when need be. Back when he was born he gave me the hardest time for his regular weigh ins. Picking him up and carrying him over to the scale was like carrying a Tasmanian devil. LOL. I was so happy when he reached 25 pounds then I did not have to weigh him regularly anymore. He and I are starting to come to terms. I have started harness training the babies born this past spring and summer. Of course he is the one giving me the most grief.

You want to harness train your alpacas as soon as you feel they are old enough to fit in a harness. The older they are the harder it will be for you and for them. If your alpacas are trained on a harness it makes certain activities so much easier. Like when the vet comes, or when you need to move them to a trailer for transport. Or even just trimming their nails.

Pumpkin Seeds

We just finished up the last of the Pumpkin seeds Chris baked up from the pumpkins I carved. They were good. He made a spicy batch and a garlicky batch. He is still not completely satisfied with the end result. I let him mess with them I refuse to make them anymore. Mine never came out right.

Christmas Stocking

My yarn finally arrived from Webs for my Scandinavian Christmas Stocking. I chose to use Classic Elite Classic One Fifty, it is 100% fine merino. The colors are Orchid #7232, Chestnut #7238, & Daisy #7202. I am hoping to get started this weekend. Where does the time go?

Spooktacular Weekend

2007-10-26T11:02:00.000-06:00

I bought a bunch of pumpkins and have big plans for carving them up this weekend. I just love the month of October. I think my favorite seasons are spring and fall because they are the beginning of change.

This time of year I get the itch to make breads. These are both banana bread that I added peanuts and chocolate chips to the recipe. I usually make two loaves that way I can freeze one for later or even gift the second loaf. I also have cranberry bread and pumpkin bread on my list to make next. Better Homes and Gardens has been running a 100 days of holidays newsletter. They have some great recipes. Here is a link to their 25 yummy pumpkin recipes. I think I might make #5 the pumpkin pound cake to bring into the office for Halloween.

Baby Names

This little guy we decided to name Radley. It is an old English name that means “Red Meadow”.

This little guy we named Dorian Gray after the main character in Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. He is the one that was gifted everlasting youth.

The two of them get along great and have adventures every day. Here they are curiously watching Haley.

A bit of neck wrestling for two best buds, I Think Dorian is holding his ground. LOL

Molly

I have some bitter sweet news about Molly. I took Molly on a couple of play dates to a friend’s farm that has several goats. She just had a blast running and playing with the other goats. It was starting to get harder and harder to bring her back home. We got Molly as a working goat to help us with our weed situation in the pastures. Well Molly was a diligent worker and she would work from sun up to sun down eating those weeds. Don’t get me wrong she loved the alpacas and would try to get them to do goat things. After seeing her play with other goats I really just could not be selfish and felt she would be much happier with others like her. So Molly is enjoying her new home with a wonderful family of goats. I cried for days and could not even bring her name up with out a tear falling; it is probably why I did not mention it to you sooner. She was such a joy to have around. I still miss her but know she is doing great and is having the time of her life and may even have the chance to be a mommy one day.

Ravelry

Drum roll please. I am finally in. It took several months but I finally got the invite. At first I was very overwhelmed, but now I am so glad I joined. It is a great way to organize your knitting or crochet. It is a huge data base of patterns, yarns, photos, groups, pretty much everything and anything to do with knitting & crochet. If you want to find me my user name on Ravelry is AlpacaRose. I have also joined the Stocking Along group.

Christmas Stocking

I finally decided on a stocking to knit this Christmas. I started a tradition a couple of years ago and I knit a stocking every year. This is the Scandinavian Stocking from the book Christmas Stockings by Interweave Press. It was originally in the Interweave knits Magazine issue Winter 99/00. I bought some yarn at webs and am anxiously waiting its arrival. I went with some non-traditional colors and I think that is when I started to get excited about knitting a stocking this year.

October Babies

2007-10-13T14:50:00.000-06:00

We had two alpaca babies already this October. The one on the Left is Kiri’s, & the one on the right is Mimosa’s. Two beautiful Boys in tuxedoes.

Kiri had this little guy last Saturday so he is a week old today. It looks like he will be a dark silver grey color. He has great form and has exceeded in everything he does. He is a real dynamo.

Here is Mom in Babe enjoying some sunshine.

Mimosa had her baby on Wednesday. He was a little on the small side at birth but is doing great. This one looks like he will be a Rose grey color.

He is so sweet, I am trying real hard not to snatch him up and bring him in the house.

This is when he asks mom permission to go play with his new BFF. She replies ok but stay where I can see you.

Garden Harvest

Here are a few picks from my garden. They are all gourds except for the lil pumpkin. These things will be all over my house before the end of the season. I think I might plant even more types of gourds next year. They were so much fun to grow and to watch and see what shapes formed.

October Fest

As busy as we are we made time to run over to the local October Fest for Kettle Corn & some goodies. They had lots of craft booths. One of the booths was selling hand knits from Peru using alpaca yarn. It was so hard to choose one item I ended up with two. I really like that they have ear flaps. It gets so cold out here in the winter and since I am outside everyday with the alpacas these will keep me nice and toasty.

The Shelter

We have finally finished the exterior of the shelter we have been building forever. It is 30 x 20 and is big enough for all the alpacas to find a comfy spot to get out of the cold. We are working on getting it stained and building a few hay holders for inside.

Thanks so much for the compliments on the photos. It is a passion of mine. I literally take 100’s of photos a week. My camera is practically attached to my hand. I feel that there is beauty all around me and I want to capture it with my lens. I love being able to share them with you.

National Alpaca Farm Day

2007-09-27T08:49:00.000-06:00

This weekend is National Alpaca Farm Day. Go to this website Alpaca Farm Day, and at the very top you can select your state and see which alpaca farms are participating in your area. Many of the farms are open to the public both Saturday & Sunday and will have classes or demonstrations with fiber. You will be able to see the alpacas up close and learn about them. Also some farms will have products for sale either of the alpaca yarn or products made from the yarn. Some of the farms will have food & beverages.

Back from Vacation

Sadly we are back to the routine of life. The vacation was so much enjoyed we are already planning next years get away, making sure we do not go so long with out a break.

Wildlife Photos from the Trip

I spent lots of strolls walking up and down the beach with my camera trying to get close enough to some of the birds that were skipping around the surf.

This guy was particularly funny when he would run away from me. Declining to make the effort to fly he preferred a fast run.

This rabbit was on a grassy area near the beach. She appeared pretty well fed.

This squirrel trusted me enough to show me where he was burying his stash for winter.

This is my favorite photo of the trip. Chris spotted this little frog hiding in the crack of a tree trunk. He has got such a good eye. I would have never seen it.

These are my treasures found at the beach. I loved the red seaweed.

Some of the tropical plants were amazing.

Here is a close up of the flower. The colors look as if they were painted on.

Of course all good things must come to an end. We are lucky to have the memories so that we can smile when times are not so pleasant and remember when.

Mums the Word

2007-09-07T20:09:00.000-06:00

On occasion I like to buy fresh cut flowers for the table. I love to see them every time I walk past. Cosmo loves fresh flowers almost as much as I do. Unfortunately he likes to taste them.

I chose this bouquet for the two yellow Chrysanthemums that were in it. This is my favorite kind of Mum. The flower head is a class 1 irregular incurve. They are the giant blooms in which the petals loosely incurve and make a fully closed center. Simply Lovely.

Back 2 School Swap

I joined the Back2School swap that was started by Marta. My package arrived from my swap partner Jennifer today. Lots of goodies that include two pencil holders, pencils, colored pencils, sharpies, large post its, a holder for post its, & some lovely cards. All the goodies were in a cool brown box. Jen did a wonderful job making the pencil holders and the post it holder all three color coordinated with pinks and browns. You can check out Jen and see the package I sent her over at Shiny Things.

Finished Chevron Scarf

Yes, I finished my chevron scarf and it is modeled by Haley, whom thinks alpaca yarn is super soft and cuddly.

As soon as I cast off I looked through my stash for another go of the chevron scarf pattern. I found these two skeins of sock yarn I got last year from Mama-E’s Ceyeber Fiber sock yarn. They are both 100% merino wool. The one on the left is May-belle and the one on the right is June bug.

I gave them a try and even though they are really just two colors with different variation through out the strand, I like the way the stripes are coming out. The colors make me think of the beach & the sea.

Little Getaway

webshots photo
Speaking of the sea, Chris and I are heading to the beach for a much needed vacation. I can’t wait to feel the sand between my toes. I should be packing. We have to get up around 2 am to catch an early flight out of Texas. It is not so bad considering I usually can’t sleep the night before we fly somewhere. Too Excited!

The Never Ending Day

2007-08-30T15:40:00.000-06:00

Ok, the day did end and I am lucky enough to be sitting and enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee and some delicious Blueberry breakfast bars. A few days ago I had one of those days were nothing seemed to go right and it was one thing after another. Just when I thought it might be over something else went wrong. No Joke, towards the end of that hellacious day I opened a cupboard in the laundry room to look for the dog nail clippers and out fell a plastic dog bowl. I reached down to pick it up and on my way back up I whacked my head on the cupboard door I just opened. I stood hovered over the counter with my hands clutching my head feeling the egg slowly forming, trying to figure out what the hell just happened and trying not to cry or pass out.

Normally I am a positive person and can spin any bad situation around to look at some sort of good that might have came out of it. After all that had happened and now this I suddenly felt like Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump when he was facing the hurricane. I too had reached my limit and was shouting “BRING IT ON!” “You Want a Piece of ME!” Of course there was no one there, just me in my own space. My husband made me lie on the couch with some ice on my head all the while giving me a look of concern for my well being. I chose to keep an angry face the rest of the evening and my body flexed and ready for anything else that might happen. Luckily that was the last of it and a new day with a new start and a wonderful new recipe for Blueberry Breakfast bars. You can find the recipe over at My Messy Thrilling Life in one of her July postings.

Garden Update

Cilantro

Basil

Little Pumpkins

Gourd

More gourds. The gourds are turning out to be the most fun to watch. I will definitely plant some next year. I can’t wait to see how many I end up with this year to decorate for the fall and winter holidays.

These four crops had the biggest showing. Every thing else just did not come up or is growing very slowly like these sweet peas. I doubt they will get large enough to flower before the cold weather comes in and kills them off. Just did not get them planted soon enough.

Fabric

I am still itching to make an apron, this time I went to the store specifically looking for fabric to make one. The one on the right is an Amy Butler for Rowan fabric, that I found first and then carried it around the store forever trying to find compatible fabrics that were not too bold but also not plain. The one in the middle is Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics and the one on the Left is Barefoot Roses by Tanya Whelan. I have not decided if I want to do a patchwork apron or something else. I know it will just be a half apron with pockets. I am thinking to use the stripe fabric possibly for a ruffle along the bottom. Now if only I could find the time to get the sewing machine out and play around with it. I am longing for autumn or possibly a few rainy days stuck inside.

Thank You
I just wanted to thank all my readers for stopping by. I also wanted to thank you for all the comments. I cherish each and every one of them. I hope you all are enjoying the end of your summer.

Stinky Weasel

2007-08-22T12:47:00.000-06:00

If you have seen this guy lurking around my property give him a message from me. Tell him his days are numbered and he best be moving on.

Haley had a little chat with one of these skunks last Friday night when all through out the house not a creature was stirring except for Haley and the skunk. That morning we woke to the horrid smell that reeked through out the entire house. I can only assume Haley thought the skunk was a black and white cat. The score so far is Skunk one/Haley zero. All though I live out in the country and the smell was horrible, I decided against filling my tub full of tomato juice and drowning the dog in it. I called the vet to see if there was a new and improved formula for ridding ones bad dog of skunk smell. They gave me a recipe that consisted of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, & laundry soap. Mix ingredients into a paste then bathe dog with it. Several baths later and one new collar, she does not smell as bad.

Mom comes to visit

My mom came to visit for a few days. She had a great time getting to know the alpacas.

We took her to the county fair while she was here. These two Boer Goats were taken a little nap. How sweet they look.

Here are two that were wide awake and were looking for something to eat and settled with nibbling on Chris’s shorts.

I did not get the breed name of these two sheep. I was real taken with the one on the right with the freckled face and legs. I did a search but there are so many breeds of sheep and I am not sure what these two look like with all their fiber. Plus I needed to stop the search due to my growing interest in all the breeds I had found and the last thing we need at the moment is another type of livestock.

While my mom and I were out shopping and what not we stopped at a new nursery in a near by town. I found this beautiful Hoya house plant. Botanical name is Hoya Carnosa. I have seen the darker foliage almost purplish hoya plant but I don’t remember ever seeing one like this one. Plus I did not know they bloomed.

This is a close up of the cluster of star shaped flowers that grow along its vines.

Well things are getting back to normal. Mom is back in Florida. So play times over and it is back to the grind.

Becoming Jane

2007-08-10T12:10:00.000-06:00

Today the movie "Becoming Jane" is released into theaters. It is a biographical movie based on the life of Jane Austin. Excuse me a moment while I giggle with JOY! She is the author of one of my all time favorite classics Pride and Prejudice. One unfortunate thing about living out in the middle of nowhere, the movie will not arrive in our town any time soon. This is one I might need to drive a long distance to see. Jane will be played by Anne Hathaway, and her love interest Tom Lefroy will be played by actor James McAvoy. You might remember James from the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe, he played Mr Tumnus.

Cherry Tree Vermin

I walked around the back of the house and headed towards the shed for some hay when I stopped in my tracks and stared at where the cherry tree use to stand. Since there are no beavers in the area we are lead to believe that the Elk ate the cherry tree. I have never seen such a thing before. We had a total of 4 cherry trees that came with the property. I had planned to move all 4 to a new location this fall where they would get more water from an area that the run off overflows. By Fall we will see how many cherry trees are left to actually move.

Chevron Scarf

My scarf is coming along nicely. It should be finished by now but I have found little time to sit and knit. Summer as an adult is a whirlwind of many things to do. Longing for the dog days of summer from my youth with my list of things to do each day play, play, swim, play.

New Book

“The Apron Book” by EllynAnne Geisel. I picked this book up the other day. Often this summer I have been working outside and I have had no pockets in the clothes I am wearing. I have been meaning to make myself an apron to throw on while heading out to work with the alpacas. It would be great to store some things in the apron like treats, or nail clippers etc. So once I spotted this book I snatched it up. It has lots of great inspiration and a few patterns.

Here are two recent fabrics I have acquired. Perhaps I might use one of them in making an apron.

I am in a cleaning frenzy and the dogs are kicked out of the house today. My Mom is flying in from Florida on Monday for a visit. So the house is getting a good scrubbing. The mop is calling me best get back to it.

Summer Update

2007-07-26T12:27:00.000-06:00

I have been craving Pineapple Upside down cake for awhile. When I mentioned making one to Chris he crinkled his nose and said he doesn’t like it. I guess that is why I don’t make it very often. He added “Why don’t you put some rum in it”. Ohhh! That sounds good. My response was “Tortuga”. First thinking of the wonderful rum cakes made in the Caribbean and then of course thinking of Johnny Depp in the Pirate movies. I immediately set out to find the perfect recipe to entice my husband into liking the wonderful upside down cakes.

I settled on this recipe for Pineapple-Rum Upside-Down Cake.
It turned out beautifully. Chris had no complaints; I think he really liked it but of course will not admit to it. While in the grocery line I noticed the cover of Better Homes and Gardens featured a photo of an Upside Down Berry Cake. Next time I might use berries in the place of the pineapple.

Shelter Progress

What ever does not kill you makes you stronger. Building this shelter has been a true test to our relationship. Chris has learned that all though I can be tough at times I am no burly man. He has mentioned that I have marshmallow muscles. I have seen his butt crack more in the last month peeking out from the back of his jeans then I have ever in the 14 years I have known him. So much so I suggested to him he put some sunscreen on it. On occasion I need to remind him I am doing the best I can. Heavy lifting and manual labor is not my strong suit, and no I am not good at hammering a nail straight while clinging to a ladder several feet off the ground. However if he wants me to make him a drill cozy, I’m his girl. I will be so glad when this thing is finished and we have a little more free time on the weekends.

Alpaca Babies So Far

Do you remember the little girl born in May up in Rosehaven Alpaca farm in NY? We have gotten updates and she is doing great. We decided to name her "Ginger".

Satine finally had her baby. She had a white male we are calling “Calvin”.

Calvin had a difficult start due to the fact Satine’s milk did not fully come in when he was born. He was loosing weight the first few days which is a very critical thing for these little guys. We let the Vet step in and had both Mom and baby stay at their facilities for a few days so they could be under 24 hour care. Both are doing great now and are back home with us.

Just last Saturday Tasha had her baby. She popped that boy out in a matter of minutes, it was amazing. We are naming Tasha’s Baby “Macho Latte”.

Chris thought of the name Macho Latte and it suits him. He kind of has a look on his face where he is running the show, and gives off an air of attitude.

Of course he is the sweetest when he is napping.

Molly Our Goat

2007-07-13T12:33:00.000-06:00

Meet Molly, our Nigerian Dwarf Goat. She was born April 2, 2007. We bought her from a goat farm in New Mexico located east of Albuquerque. Chris was able to pick her up last month on his way home from a dental conference. We decided to add a goat to the farm as a natural means to get a handle on some of the weeds that are growing all over the pastures. We thought it would be best to get a young one that would grow up with the alpacas.

She is a female cream with dark points. Nigerian Dwarf Goats are proportioned miniature dairy goats. They can milk 3 to 4 pounds of milk per day. We are not planning to milk her. The Nigerians breed year round and usually have multiple births. She had a brother in the same litter. The females can be 17 to 19 inches tall, and the boys can average about 19 to 20 inches tall. Both sexes average about 75 pounds full grown.

She is only 3 months old and is still small. She is able to move freely from pasture to pasture by crawling under the gates. We set up a little area in Accoyodor’s shelter since he has a place all to himself he enjoys the company.

Here is Molly and Accoyodor sharing some hay.

All the alpacas have pretty much adopted Molly as their own. She gets lots of loving attention from all of them. She has settled right into routine with the alpacas. The best thing is she is eating all the weeds they do not eat.

Molly is adorable and we have fallen in love with her from day one. She is absolutely hilarious. She has got a lot of spunk, sometimes she will run and kick up her heals and jump around. She is real fast and it sounds like a train when she runs by. She has her work cut out for her, and it will probably take her a few years to get a handle on all the weeds growing on the property. She is more than willing to take on the challenge. Molly fits in nicely to our growing farm.

Our Anniversary

2007-07-07T07:12:00.000-06:00

Chris and I were married 8 years ago today. This is a photo of us on our honeymoon in Jamaica. It is one of my favorite photos of the whole event. At the time two of us lazily ridding horseback and enjoying the day was so outside the box for us. The photo is almost a glimpse into our future and we had no clue at the time. 8 years ago we were both in college. I was in college getting my bachelor of science in psychology, and he was at dental school working on his doctorate. If someone would have told me that 8 years from then we would be running our own dental office while becoming alpaca ranchers in New Mexico, I would have thought they were crazy.

My life is full and that is a good feeling. Who knows what is next on the horizon for us. We have only just scratched the surface of our lives together.

Know that your future is not written in stone and can have endless possibilities.

Time For Summer

2007-06-29T16:20:00.000-06:00

Webshots Photo

Summer has arrived. So get your flip-flops and pour yourself a tall glass of lemonade and head on outside and let the sun kiss your cheeks. Roll out that old cotton quilt under your favorite tree. Don’t forget to bring a handful of magazines you have been meaning to read or that book you just have not gotten to yet. Lye on your stomach and try to pick dandelions with your toes. Then roll over and look up at the big blue sky and think about your hopes and dreams for the future. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Take note of all the life and energy around you and know that you are very much ALIVE! Giggle if you must and relish the day.

My Garden

I chose this little fenced in old dog kennel area to start a little garden. The fencing will help keep out all the wild life that wonder through the property.

This is a before shot to show the major weeds that had taken up residency, I did trim the two trees that are in there. I decided to leave them so I can hang some bird feeders and what not from the branches. Plus with the hot New Mexico Sun the little trees will provide a little shade and will give me more options as to what I can plant in there.

Here is a photo after weeding. I put a strip of gravel down the center so I can easily walk through to the back with out disturbing the wet soil. Since there were so many weeds I think it is going to be a big struggle this year with them coming back. I think this Winter when every thing is done I will cover the garden with a tarp and try to kill off any of the remaining weeds lingering in the soil.

Here are the seeds I have planted

Sweet Pea, Red Hot Poker, Lavender, Chinese Lantern, Marigold, Gomphrena

Jack Be Little Pumpkins, Gourds, Cilantro, Basil

So far the Gourds, Cilantro, & Basil have sprouted. I am hoping for at least half of the stuff I planted to sprout. I have not started plants from seed in a very long time. It was lots of fun to pick out the seeds. As you can see I squeezed in as many as I could get into my small garden area.

Fields of Grey

Kiri & Mimosa have arrived from Rosehaven Farm.

The two of them stepped off the transport and immediately made themselves right at home. I would have to say these two adjusted the quickest out of all the alpacas that have come to our farm.

Kiri is a dark silver grey color and she has an amazing presence about her. She is a definite leader and ranks high on the pecking order in our group of alpacas. She has a weakness for baby carrots.

Mimosa is a light silver grey color and is a sweetie pie. In an earlier post I showed a photo of some yarn made out of her fiber and how amazing it is. She actually sheared 5 pounds of fiber this spring, which is awesome.

We are so happy to have the two grays in the pasture with the other alpacas. Their beautiful coloring enhances and compliments all the others. They are both due around the end of September and the beginning of October. Early fall is a perfect time for them to have their babies and a great time for rebreeding since it is not as hot that time of year.

2 Woolly Buns & a Boy

2007-06-21T09:32:00.000-06:00

Two of the alpacas we bought at auction in January from Alpacas of America arrived home. Cookie Dough is on the left and Finders Keepers is on the Right. Unfortunately they still were wearing their full fleece and had not been sheared yet this year.

These two are best friends. They do every thing together. They even walk side by side and keep in step with one another. They were both born in 2005 and will both have their first babies in February next year.

At the auction we had not planned on bidding on Cookie Dough but she came out early in the auction at #5 and Chris could not pass her up she won him over. Myself after walking through the viewing area of all the alpacas on auction only had eyes for lot #39 Finders Keepers. She was the only one I wanted and was so excited that I had won her in the bidding at the auction. Not only does she have a wonderful fleece in color and also high frequency in crimp, her father is Legacy whom is a well known light silver grey alpaca.

Also on the transport was our new Herd Sire Snowmass Accoyodor. We bought him from the well known Snowmass Alpaca Farm located in Idaho. He is the alpaca we will be breeding our girls to this year when they are ready for breeding.

He has a nice setup all to himself in a pasture beside the girls. He likes to watch the girls go into their shelter for water and hay and puts on a show for them prancing along the fence. All the girls have gone up to his fence and gave him a good once over and I think they all approve of him. Because they are all pregnant right now he does get spit at by the ladies right in his face. This is a sign that they are pregnant and not wanting to breed at this time. He doesn’t even flinch; he takes it like a Man. We are so pleased with Accoyodor. He has the best personality, very sweet and puts on his halter very easily and walks on a lead like he has been doing it for years.

I do love these woolly buns, but since the temperature here has been up in the 80’s Chris and I had to try and shear these two before they had a heat stroke. This being are first time shearing, lets say the two of them are not looking their best. We were able to shear off their back and belly fiber but since it took so long we left the majority of the neck and leg hair. The two of them feel much better and much lighter. They asked me not to show you a photo of their bad hair cuts and I gladly obliged.

Gangster Cows

2007-06-08T09:41:00.000-06:00

There is a group of cows wandering the neighborhood. We spotted them a couple of weeks ago on the neighbor’s property. We thought they were his until we saw him jumping on his 4 wheeler chasing them and yelling Hah! Hah! This of course works for the moment but they sure come back every day to enjoy his tall weeded land.

There are 4 in the group. One Black male, White faced black female, brown male & brown female.

Our property is completely fenced off so they can not get on it. All the neighbors that do not have fencing have been paid a visit by this group of gangster cows. I believe that New Mexico is a free range state, and the cows are allowed to wonder around.

I could not help myself but to cast on for the Chevron Scarf using the alpaca yarn I had just got. I am liking the color combination. The pattern is in the book Last Minute knitted Gifts.

One completed cabled bag side. Half way done, just need to cast on for the second side of my bag.

I completed the back of my Jersey sweater. Unfortunately I am bored out of my mind with this knit. I think I might rip it out and make something else with the yarn. For know it is going into the bag and left for another day. I thought that since it was a pretty simple knit I could whip out the sweater in no time. But since it is so simple I find myself not wanting to pick it up and work on it.

Haley showing us an example of proper summer time activity, leisurely napping in a strip of sunshine.

Alpaca National Conference

2007-06-02T17:21:00.000-06:00

Chris & I went to the AOBA alpaca National Conference. AOBA stands for Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association. They held their annual conference this year in Louisville KY. It ran from May 16-20th. Alpacas as far as the eye can see.

Seminars & Classes

Chris and I have been to many auctions but this was our first show. We both signed up for early bird workshops on Wednesday.

My first class was Broomstick Lace taught by Jody Sharp. When I signed up for the class I was not sure if it was going to be crochet or knitting, I like lace so I thought lets try it.

I had never seen this technique before. You make broomstick lace by using a large fat knitting needle and a crochet hook. It is a form of crochet but I think you can do it if you are a knitter. This scarf that I started in class is the peacock eye version, because the circles kind of look like eyes. I think it looks cool. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly. There are several tutorials online just google Broomstick Lace. It helps if someone can show you.

My second class of the day was Color Compliance checking taught by Connie Alexander. This class went into detail how the alpacas are color checked before the show so they are put in the correct group for competition. The tools you need are the AOBA show Division Handbook and an ARI fiber color chart. There are 8 color groups. There are lots of rules but if you go through the handbook line by line you will be able to figure out what group you alpaca belongs in.

Chris took the Neonatal Clinic that was all day long. Toni Cotton DVM taught this class. This class covered Female reproductive physiology, Breeding Recommendations, and Pregnancy. He learned a ton of stuff, most importantly what to do when things go wrong in birthing. I plan to take the class next year.

The rest of the classes through out the week we took together.
Here is the list of the ones we went to:

Raising Respectful alpacas - Marty McGee Bennett
Stress Caused Health Problems in Alpacas – Norm Evans DVM
Use of Ultrasound for Management of Pregnancy – Steve Hull PhD
Drawing Blood from an alpaca – Jeff Lakritz DVM
Steps in skirting an Alpaca Fleece – Andrea MacDonald
Practical Alpaca Pasture Management – Frank Rossi PhD
Managing Emergencies Before they Happen – Katherine Thompson

There was over 40 available classes to go to. Unfortunately several classes ran at the same time. I would say the seminars were the best and most valuable part of the whole conference.

The Auction

The auction took place on Friday late afternoon. There were a total of 86 alpacas being auctioned. 13 of those alpacas were donated by different farms with the money going towards AOBA. I have been to several auctions this year and I would have to say this was the most uncomfortable one. We only stayed through lot #64. First off there were no signs to tell you where the auction was at. Several of us were walking around the buildings trying to locate the auction. Once in side there were just rows of uncomfortable chairs. There were a few tables but those were reserved for the Farms whom donated alpacas to the auction.

The Gala

This was the biggest mystery of the whole conference. Chris and I bought tickets for it thinking it might be something grand and we would regret it if we missed it. The tickets were spendy so our expectations were very high. Once there we picked out a table and sat with a nice friendly couple. The tables all looked nice and the room was decorated in large objects going along with the theme of Alpacas around the world or something like that. There was a live band and I would say they were probably the best part of the whole thing. They started with an auction and they sold odds and ends. That was odd. Then they served us dinner in courses, starting with a delicious soup that unfortunately was cold. Then salad it was good. The main entrée was a big slab of steak with a potato pancake, & veggies. The steak was kind of disgusting at least my piece was. Then desert was a piece of cake. Oh and it was not an open bar even though the amount we paid for tickets should have more than covered an open bar. Then the dancing started. That was fun to watch for a little while. Chris and I called it a night and went back to our hotel. Overall the gala was a huge disappointment. The only reason why I am writing about it in this post is for the people that go looking up the conference next year and have no idea what goes on at the gala, they will have some idea before buying the tickets.

Louisville KY Restaurants

Joes’ Crab shack is right on the waterfront. We actually ate here twice. Both times good food and friendly service. The first night we ate here half way through the meal the disco balls on the ceiling started up and the lights turned down. The weight staff got up on the tables while YMCA played through the radio speakers. This of course brought me back to my roller skating days going around the rink motioning Y-M-C-A with my arms. The second time we went there it was lunch time and the weight staff did a version of at the Car wash while lined up between the tables. They have outdoor seating if you want to watch the river boats go by while enjoying your meal.

Along the river.

At night the bridge was lit up with purple lights and the city surrounds the river banks.

We also went to a place called The Pub, that was located in a down town night time area called 4th st Live. There are a few restaurants and shops and night time fun. This was an authentic British pub. The food was great. We ended up ordering appetizers and some drinks.

The Show

This is the first time we had been to a show, our first time seeing alpacas in competition. The shows took place over a couple of days. It was lots of fun to watch them compete. We both tried picking out which one would be the blue ribbon winner. After awhile I just started to note which alpacas I really liked and noted what farm they were coming from. Overall watching the shows was lots of fun and gave me a boost to think of trying to show some of my alpacas next year.

As the shows were wrapping up on Sunday there was a long line of alpacas waiting to be sheared. I don’t think these pour guys new what they were in line for.

The Loot

I could not very well go to a National Alpaca conference without bringing home some alpaca yarn. These two skeins are from the Royal Fiber Spinnery. They are both DK weight. The color on the top is Patiens and the one on the bottom is Garden Cosmos. I am thinking of making one of those chevron scarves from last minute knitted gifts. I might as well jump on that band wagon. We will see if these two colors will work for that pattern.

Since I live out in the middle of nowhere if I am on vacation and spot a book store I can not resist such temptation. I picked up Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter. This was on my Amazon wish list every since I saw Poshyarns sewn hats using the pattern from this book. I know we enable each other don’t we? I also picked up this Domino Knitting little handbook. I have been interested in learning how to do modular knitting and this book seemed easy to follow.

Well that wraps up the AOBA conference. We would definitely go again; the educational seminars are priceless if you are interested in learning more about the alpacas.

What is Going On?

Sorry my posting has been so spaced. There is a ton of stuff I want to write about unfortunately I am the busiest I have ever been. This is our first farm and I can tell you with the weather getting warmer there is a lot of work to be done. We are starting to build another shelter and hope to finish that within a few weekends. I also have started clearing out an old chain link dog kennel area that I am hoping to turn into a little garden for my own enjoyment of digging in the dirt. We have two transports of alpacas coming in that we purchased at the beginning of the year and they are ready to come to their new home. So lots going on and plenty to see, I will keep you posted.

Bronte's Baby Girl

2007-05-28T10:32:00.000-06:00

Our girl Bronte gave birth to a lovely little girl yesterday. She is our first alpaca cria of the year. She weighed 16.9 lbs and started milking with in an hour and a half of her birth. Bronte is doing a wonderful job as a Mom. Bronte and baby are still located at Rosehaven Farm up in New York. Michele called us to tell the wonderful news. She was able to email me these photos. Chris and I have been going back and forth on what to name the beautiful light brown girl.

Have a wonderful Holiday!

Alpaca Shearing Day

2007-05-14T10:27:00.000-06:00

Shearing day comes once a year for alpacas. You want to get them sheared before summer and not till after the last frost. We scheduled our shearing day last Friday. Here are all the girls that morning haltered and in a pen close to the shearing station.

We rented a 20 x 20 canopy from a party supply place so we could be under shade all day putting less stress on the alpacas. We put up the canopy the night before. It took us two hours to assemble. The rental place said it would be real easy. They lied.

We walked the alpacas in one by one for their date with the shearer. Satine was first in line.

They are placed on a mat strapped down so they can not move during the process. The more secure they are the safer they feel and the less likely of injury to occur from the sharp shearing blades.

The blanket is taken off first which is the side, back, then side.

Here she is modeling her new hairdo.

The most amazing thing was how much fleece they were wearing. It was a drastic difference and unbelievable how small they were under all that fiber. Especially the cria babies from last year. Here is Miss Bianca after being sheared.

Here is Rusty and Stef collecting the blanket off of one of the alpacas. There were 6 of us for the day. I don’t think we could have done it with out all of us.

Here is Zissou’s Blanket being sheared off. It was beautiful. It looked like black velvet.

Here is Kingsley and Klaus freshly sheared and waiting for Zissou to get done so they can go back into their pasture.

It was a long day and we were all glad when it was over. The girls adjusted quickly and were feeling good not having all that weight on their backs.

Here is Miss Bianca. I still can not believe how small they look with out their fleece. They are just so sweet and itty bitty.

Here are the boys going back out to pasture. We are all exhausted from the excitement of the day.

The Gift of Time

2007-05-06T13:38:00.000-06:00

This weekend my sister-n-law Stefanie and her boyfriend Rusty came for a visit and offered their help around the farm. This is the first time they have been here with the alpacas. Our alpacas as you can see felt right at home spending time with them.

Stef & Rusty might appear to you like real laid back nice people but let me tell you the truth they are a couple of power houses some real slave drivers. Just in one day we have accomplished so much. The work we completed while they were here would have taken Chris and me a month of weekends.

We were able to re-hang several gates. Rusty is on the left, Chris is in the middle and Stef is on the right. Most of the gates put in by our hired help last year were all hung incorrectly. Some would not open all the way or were hung on the wrong side. With their help we now have working gates. What a concept. I can not tell you how happy I am to have functional gates.

We also dumped several loads of dirt into the third shelter leveling the ground and making it acceptable height for the alpacas to feed on hay. Then topped it off with some gravel they seem to like to roll and lay on. Also in the photo you can see the finished feeders Chris and I had finished earlier.

We have no experience working with cement so Rusty and Stef were a big help in framing out and making a base for the waterer that goes with the third shelter. Just waiting for the cement to dry, then we can place the livestock waterer on top. This last step will complete this pasture we plan to move the boys into.

We started are work around 7 am and it took us until late afternoon to complete all I have mentioned and both Chris and I were ready to call it a day. They were not ready to quit for the day and suggested we start to work on the pasture on the other side of our property. Personally I think they might not be human, they insisted we keep going and get some more things checked off of our farm to do list.

So we began to dismantle this barbed wire fence. The fence had 5 barbed wires stretching across the length of the fence. We started at the top and took them down one wire at a time rolling it up as we went along. The unwiring was the most difficult part & barbed wire is no treat to handle. We managed to get through it with a little humor.

After the wire was down we began to knock and pull up the fence posts with the tractor.

Here is an after shot with the fence down.

Ancient Artifacts

Here are some items found out in the pasture. You can find all kinds of things while searching the ground out in the pasture. I spotted these two decorative glass rocks. Chris found the ceramic squirrels. He snatched them up and said he just found some Native American artifacts. We got a good laugh when he showed us what he had. Both the rocks and the squirrels I can only guess had at one time been in a previous owners potted plants. We did manage to find a real arrow head undamaged from time.

What a precious gift of their time Stef & Rusty have given us. It meant the world to us and we are so thankful for their generosity. It was a lot of hard work but I can say having them here with us was so enjoyable. You would think they would be scarred off and not want to come back for awhile, but guess what. They are both planning on coming back next weekend when we shear the alpacas. The month of May sure is a busy one around here. Now I plan to take what’s left of my Sunday and work on my knitting while I nurse my sore muscles.

Lifes Candy & the Suns a Ball of Butter

2007-04-28T10:29:00.000-06:00

It was my birthday on the 22nd of April. I turned 35 years old. I am not sure how I feel about it, so I am just moving along like it never happened. Chris drove me to El Paso and took me to P.F. Changs for my birthday meal. Of course I had to get a piece of the Great Wall of Chocolate cake pictured above. A girl on her birthday needs some chocolate to get through the day.

Some Birthday Loot

I got my first pair of VANS. I love these shoes. I have worn them almost every day since I got them. They were laced with a white pair of laces and had these burgundy laces in the box. I think I prefer the burgundy ones. Chris also got me these two books off of my Amazon wish list. The one on the Left is Patchwork with Pizzazz by Lise Bergene. It is filled with patchwork quilt and bag patterns.

The book on the Right is Romantic Home Sewing by Christina Strutt. I am into the whole French romantic style at the moment and this book has beautiful photos for inspiration. I think this book is even good for beginners to sewing. It has simple straightforward patterns that have illustrated step by step instructions. The type of projects in the book are: tablecloth, placemats, pillows, napkin rings, sachet, curtains, lampshade cover, canopy, hot water bottle cover, bed skirt, chair slip covers, envelope shoe box, bags, aprons, fabric brooch, child’s patch skirt, & rabbit doll

Another guilty pleasure, I was lucky enough to score two Japanese craft books. The one on the Left is Cotton Time this is the March 2007 issue. Although I do not speak or write Japanese you can not put a language on inspiration. The patterns all have illustrated step by step instructions. You just need to remember to look at them from the Right to the Left. I am someone that is a visual sewer I usually just look at the item and go about it my own way to replicate the item making it my own. So the fact that they are written in Japanese makes no difference to me.

The book on the right is Home Pretty Vintage Quilts. This book is mostly filled with little patchwork quilts and bags. Sometime I will need to scan in some photos from these books and show you how inspiring they are.

Time for Change

Nothing like a birthday to make you take a good look at yourself. I have been growing my hair out for 4 to 5 years and frankly when I look in the mirror I resemble some kind of sea hag. This photo of the White Witch from Narnia is a good example of how my hair is looking. So three days after my birthday I went and got it chopped off. It is just above my shoulders and it is a big improvement. I have always been the type that does not want to pull out a photo of myself from a decade ago and realize I am stuck in a time warp and have not changed my look. I love the hair cut and love the change. It is my husband that has a problem with adjusting to my appearance change. It took him a few days of side glances and peeking at me when he thought I was not looking, and he finally said he liked it and thinks I look pretty. I know he means it because that boy is totally honest when it comes to telling me what he thinks about the way I look. As soon as I can get someone to take a photo of me I will show you the new doo.

My Theme Song

I think everyone needs a theme song. That one song you go to that picks you up or makes you feel like yourself. I am not sure why I love musicals and can watch them over and over again, and frequently sing the songs from the movies through out the day. Where else are you going to see people breaking out in song and dance in publicly inappropriate places? I have a secret desire to join in. Anyway back to my theme song. At 35 I would have to say my theme song is “Don’t Rain on My Parade” by Barbara Streisand. This song is in one of my all time favorite musicals Funny Girl where Barbara Streisand stars with Omar Sharif. If you have your own theme song let me know and feel free to use my song when ever you need it. In case you have no idea what song I am talking about I will post the first verse of the song below.

First verse of “Don’t Rain on my Parade”
By Barbara Streisand

Dont tell me not to live, Just sit and putter,
Lifes candy and the Suns A ball of butter.
Dont bring around a cloud To rain on my parade.
Dont tell me not to fly-- Ive simply got to.
If someone takes a spill, Its me and not you.
Who told you youre allowed To rain on my parade!
Ill march my band out, Ill beat my drum,
And if Im fanned out, Your turn at bat, sir.
At least I didnt fake it.
Hat, sir, I guess I didnt make it!
But whether Im the rose Of sheer perfection,
Or freckle on the nose Of lifes complexion,
The cinder or the shiny apple of its eye,
I gotta fly once, I gotta try once,
Only can die once, right, sir?
Ooh, love is juicy, Juicy, and you see
I gotta have my bite, sir!
Get ready for me, love, cause Im a comer,
I simply gotta march, My hearts a drummer.
Dont bring around a cloud To rain on my parade!

Mimosa Yarn

2007-04-12T12:15:00.000-06:00

This beautiful grey yarn arrived in the mail from Michele over at Rosehaven Alpacas. There is nothing like a package of yarn arriving in the mail to make you do the happy dance.

The yarn is made non other from our Mimosa one of the alpacas we bought from Rosehaven at the beginning of the year. This yarn was processed and spun from her fleece that was sheered last year. I received 6 hanks of Mimosa’s yarn and am overwhelmed by Michele’s generosity. That was so nice of her to send the yarn. I think this beautiful shade of grey would look nice as a cable or fishermen’s sweater. I think the cable work would just pop right out in this beautiful color.

Progress on Jersey Sweater

I cast on last weekend for the Jersey Sweater. I started with the back and have had no problems so far with the pattern. I like the fact that the pattern is more fitted compared to some patterns that are just a tube with no decreases in the middle for your body shape. Especially with the horizontal stripping I don’t want to look like a water buffalo or shall I say watermelon buffalo. 8)

Fabric Finds

I get regular sale updates from some online fabric stores and normally I just flip through the selection and delete the email. Recently I could not help my self and I placed an order. Here is what I got.

This is from Susan Pisoni Sunny Side Up line of fabrics. I am on a chicken and rooster obsession. I think it started last fall. For some reason I can not get enough of them. I only got a yard and a half and am not sure yet what I will make with it.

This is from Brackman & Thompson’s line of Civil War Anthem. This one is called “Dogwoods on Hickory”. I was drawn to this fabric for its color combination. I just love the chocolate, plum & cranberry coloring. There is no hard edges in the fabric motif all soft rounded lines. I have no idea what I will use it for.

This is from Kathy Wilburn’s Wizards & Whimsy line of fabrics. I have been on the look out for fabrics that might work well in a hanging quilt in Cosmo’s corner of my craft room.

I also got these two fabrics as accents that are in the same Wizards & Whimsy line. I think if I have enough left after making the wall hanging I might make a cushion for his kitty pie bed I made last year.

Farm Work is Never Done

Every weekend we have been working outside trying to get this place how we want it. The list of things to do is endless. We have cleared out the three pastures we have the alpacas on now and are working on one of the last shelters that was built last year. It was never finished by the guy we had hired. Most of it is complete we just need to build some hay holders for the back wall and install the last waterier that is already plumbed. We finally found a local supplier of pasture grass seed that is safe for the alpacas and we can buy by the pound. So we picked up 10 pounds of seed last weekend. As you can see from the photo our pasture grass needs some help. I know it is still early but hopefully with some help we can have some nice green pastures eventually.

Wild Kingdom

2007-04-05T10:16:00.000-06:00

I spotted this herd of elk the other morning walking down my driveway. They came from the back of the property where the creek is and went on through to say hello to the alpacas.

I was amazed at how large they are compared to the deer we see regularly. Big beautiful animals, I am speechless in their presents.

New Knit Book

Charmed Knits-Projects for fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel
Of course this is written by Alison over at The Blue Blog.
The book is due out according to Amazon May 7th.

My first completed knit sweater was actually the Harry Potter Sweater from the cover of this book. I completed this sweater in January of 05 for the Knit along titled Weasley Along. The book is coming out just in time for the next movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Movie premieres July 13th.

Project Spectrum

Still moving along on my cabled hand bag. I have completed two of the repeats. I have ordered some bag handles and unfortunately they are on back order. So I am taking my time knitting it, and still have not decided on a coordinating fabric.

New Colors: Green, Yellow, & Pink for April & May

I went through my stash and plucked out some Rowan Classic Cashsoft DK in colors 506-crush & 509-lime. I bought this yarn a little over a year and a half ago when Chris and I were at a Dental conference in Albuquerque.

I plan to knit “Jersey” from pattern book Rowan Classic Café book one. I think the pink and green colors are refreshing and kind of look like watermelon colors. If I can actually start and finish this sweater in two months it will be a challenge. It appears to be an easy knit compared to some of the other more complicated patterns I have done, so I am going to give it a shot. The biggest plus is knitting from my stash.

Sticking with the pink and green theme here is some Pink Rose Green Tea from the Republic of Tea. This is one of their Sip for the Cure series, a portion of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.The flavors in the Sip for the cure line are: Pink Grapfuit, Pink Lemonade, Pink Lady Apple, and Pink Rose.

Fool's Day

2007-04-01T17:55:00.000-06:00

I finished my Blue & White project spectrum chair pad covers just under the wire. The new colors: green, Yellow & Pink start for April & May. They look fresh and new on my dinning room table chairs. Now I just need some tiki lights and some flower leis to make a Hawaiian evening.

Found Treasure

Chris and I have been working outside on the weekends. This weekend we were trimming the trees and bushes. It is starting to look like someone actually lives here. I found this little birds nest on one of the branches I trimmed off a bush. Thankfully there were no eggs in it. There are some locks from my hair I recognized, glad I could help out.

I placed it safely up in one of our trees. Maybe some lucky bird will fly by and claim it or at least use the materials for another one.

Fools's Day

Happy April Fools day. I am reminded of one of my favorite comedies titled “Raising Arizona”. The movie came out in 1987 and starred Nicolas Cage & Holly Hunter. This is one of those movies I can watch over and over again and still laugh. Nicolas Cage plays the character named H.I. McDunnough “HI” & Holly Hunter plays the character Edwinna McDunnough “ED”. After the two of them are unsuccessful in becoming pregnant they cook up a scheme to kidnap a baby from a family that just gave birth to Quintuplets.

Anyway bringing it back to my point one of my favorite lines in this movie is where it is near the end and Hi & Ed are trying to get the baby back from HI’s jail bird friends and Ed has come to a realization about her behavior and the consequences it may have. Hi tries to console her and reassure her that things will be all right.

Ed says: “ You’n me’s just a fool’s paradise”

I love that line and use it my self while talking to my husband. So in a way April Fools day is our day and any other couple’s that live in Fools Paradise.

The Beginning

2007-03-24T12:53:00.000-06:00

This year holds many firsts for us. This is our first year in our new home & the first year with our alpacas. No matter how many times I see the first budding of a plant for the year it excites me just as if it were the first time. This is a photo of a lilac plant near the house starting to bud. This is probably the only flowering plant on the property worth nurturing and saving. Of course it is located in the worst spot next to the driveway on the side of the house that we never look at except for pulling into the garage. Except for now that it is budding I find myself walking over to it a couple of times a day and marveling at its progress. There is something about watching plants grow, I can never get enough of it.

The Three Amigos

The boys have been living happily away from the ladies. It is the boys club and their real personalities are starting to show. Through out the day you can watch them running up and down their pasture. All three of them like monkey see monkey do. It is wonderful sight to watch them having so much fun.

We have had lots of excitement around here. The Veterinarian came out this week and we had our three pregnant ladies ultra sounded. It is always a good idea to make sure they are still pregnant after being transferred from another farm. All three girls are doing fine and holding babies.

This weekend we also started de-worming. It is a three day treatment where each one of them gets their set dosage in paste form orally three days in a row. We do this twice a year and the best time to start is early spring. Today was the first day and Chris and I are proud to say we managed to give it to all 7 of them and did not drop or loose any of the medication. None of them even spit it out. Just two more days of the same. The photo is of the apparatus you use to give them the solution, it kind of looks like a calking gun with a hook applicator. I wrapped up the end after cleaning it today.

Tea Cozy

I finished my tea cozy. I quilted a thin layer of batting in between the inside lining and front fabric. I thought it would give it more structure and also insulate the tea pot keeping the tea warmer longer. I am happy with the results and am thinking of making a round tea cozy next. Maybe one that looks like a hat box.

New Favorite Knit & Fiber Book

The Natural Knitter-
How to choose, use, & knit natural fibers from Alpacas to Yak
by Barbara Albright

This book is awesome. I can not put it down I have carried it around with me for the last couple of days and is officially my new favorite knit book. This is a big book and it offers so much more than just knitting patterns. For starters it covers all the natural fibers like sheep, goats, rabbits, camels, yak, alpacas, llamas, cotton & plant fibers. In addition to all the wonderful patterns it is chuck full of information & resources, it even has a section on naturally dying fiber and step by step instructions for an easy onion skin dye project.

There is a wide range of patterns all of which using natural fiber yarn. Here are some example patterns from the book:

Arthur’s Field of Dreams Sweater – using an alpaca/wool blend yarn

Bodacious Bunny baby set – using an angora/lambs wool blend yarn

Girl’s Night out Sweater & Hat – using a llama/wool blend yarn

Think Zinnias – using wool yarn

This book is eye candy with the beautiful full page photos. The photography was done by Alexandra Grablewski. I have to give her props she did an amazing job.

I can also thank this book for giving me a new vision of my self for my golden years.

Oh yea baby, I now can picture my self retired living out my happy days on the porch with my spinning wheel and lovely angora bunny resting on my lap as I gently pluck the hairs off the bunnies back and spin it into yarn.

Signs of Spring

2007-03-14T12:28:00.000-06:00

I could not resist grabbing these daisies when I went grocery shopping. Sometimes it just feels right to have fresh flowers to wake the mind up from winters sleep.

I also spotted my first hummingbird of the year. He was fling around the front porch. I am sure he is back from last year and looking for the hummingbird feeder I had up. I better get that back up on the porch pronto, before he returns with friends.

This is a sure sign of spring, Brandy napping on the front porch soaking in the sunshine. I am hoping to find time to work on the porch this weekend. It could use a good scrubbing. I am lucky enough to have a friend that wants to unload her patio furniture so she can buy a new set. It just is not in the budget for us this year to buy new furniture for the porch so I gladly accepted her offer. I told her I would pay her back with lovely afternoons sipping cool lemonade, comfortably sitting on the porch watching the alpacas in the yard, and of course working on our latest stitching projects.

Cabled Hand Bag

I know it does not look like I have been working on much, but I have. It took me awhile to design and figure out what kind of cabled bag I wanted to make. I looked all through every one of my pattern books and magazines. I finally settled on these two patterns to use in designing my bag.

This is the Lush Cable Pullover from Winter 2004 Interweave Knits

This is the Simple scarf from the book Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman.

I managed to put it all together and came up with a 24 row repeat pattern. This is as far as I have gotten with the pattern completing just 24 rows. I plan to make one long strip then fold it in half to make the bag. With this height and length of the repeat I think a total of 6 times for the repeat should be long enough. That way it will give three of the repeats on each side of the bag. I know I will probably use fabric for the bottom of the bag, so as not to snag the knit while setting the bag down. Not sure what I will do for handles. I think I will wait and see how it comes along then decide what looks best.

Recommended Alpaca Books

I thought I would answer Nickey’s question. She commented on an earlier post and wanted to know if I had any recommendations on books to learn more about raising alpacas. I think your best resource for that would be going to visit alpaca farms and talking with alpaca owners. I receive lots of emails on the subject of alpacas, and normally I respond directly to the person but I did not have any contact information for Nickey and since this is a popular question I thought I should post about it.

Unfortunately there is not much material available on alpacas compared to other livestock. The good thing is that most of the people in the alpaca business are very friendly and are willing to share their knowledge on the subject.

My first recommendation would be the Alpaca Field Manual by Dr. Norman Evans. We have the second edition. We are constantly referring back to this book for information on raising our alpacas. Just this last weekend we were trying to decide what kind of pasture seed to buy this year to plant for the alpacas, and there is a section on pasture grass and which grasses are best suited for the alpaca’s nutrition needs. The chapters covered in this book are: Basics, Immunization, Parasites, Diagnostics, Drug Dosages, Birthing, Cria related, Nutrition, & Skin & Fiber. This book is an excellent resource with a wide variety of topics to help in raising your alpacas. This book is not the easiest to find, some alpaca supply stores carry it. I found it at www.useful-items.com.

My second recommendation is the Caring for Llamas and Alpacas a Health and Management Guide by Dr. Clare Hoffman & Ingrid Asmus. This is another one of our books that we constantly refer back to. This book also has many illustrations that really help in figuring out what to do in the situation. The topics covered in this book are: Buying a Llama or Alpaca, Concerns of travel, Restraint, Nutrition, Herd Health, Teeth, Eyes, Wounds, Lumps and Bumps, Skin Disorders, Lameness, Heat and cold problems, Respiratory problems, Digestive problems, The down Llama or alpaca, Reproduction, Newborn, Mastitis, Aging, How to give injections, Passing a stomach tube, & taking a temperature. This book is more accessible and can be found at Amazon or most book stores.

I will throw in two more for good measure.

The Camelid Companion by Marty McGee Bennett. This was one of the first books we bought way before we even owned any alpacas. It was recommended by one of the alpaca farms we visited. This book is a good resource to teach you how to relate to the alpaca. It is a handling and training guide. It is a thick book packed with tons of instruction with photos. We have used this book to learn how to properly harness our alpaca and what steps to take to train your alpaca on a lead. This book is a good read to learn how the alpaca thinks and relates to us, and how we can do our best to keep our alpacas happy and healthy through proper herd management.

Lastly I would recommend Llama & Alpaca Neonatal Care. This book is a great resource that covers preparing for the birth, birthing, & newborn care and many other topics. Most likely you will be the only one there when your baby alpaca is born and you must be prepared for whatever may happen. Best case scenario you look out the window and there is already a baby cria nursing with Momma and you did not have to do a thing. In any event you want to be prepared for the worse and this book will help you get ready.

If anyone else has any other Alpaca book recommendations feel free to comment on this post. We are constantly looking for good resources to help us along on this alpaca adventure.

The Birthday Boy

2007-03-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

We have many birthdays and family events in the month of March, but today it is all about Cosmo. Cosmo turns 4 years old today. He is such a sweet boy and deserves a wonderful birthday.

Birthday Loot
Meow Mix market select, Whisker Lickins tuna flavor, & a 5 pack of mini mice.

The market select with real tuna & whole shrimp in sauce was a big hit.
Good thing we got the mini mice to play and work off those extra calories after the feast.

4 years old and already trying to fill Dad’s jeans

The rest of the day for the birthday boy will consist of watching wild birds at the feeder

Lots of cat naps.
Happy Birthday my little junior mint.

Alpaca Auction Phoenix Arizona

2007-02-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chris and I went to the Snowmass Alpacas auction.
The Snowmass alpaca ranch is located in Idaho. They held their annual alpaca auction in Phoenix Arizona this year. We stayed at the Legacy Golf Resort pictured above. The resort was only 6 miles from the location of the auction so was a convenient drive back and forth.

The auction was located at Corona Ranch. This is a facility that businesses can use for seminars etc. I liked this pineapple water fountain that was out in the yard.

Here is a door that was kind of off to the side. I just love the detail of the wood carving. It reminds me of Mexico.

This is the viewing tent. All the alpacas up for auction are in this tent corralled in groups with their lot number around their neck. This allows you to take a look at them up close. You can even go into the pens and check out their bite, and fiber and see if that is an animal you would like to bid on.

Basically all of us are walking around looking at them and they are just as interested in looking at us. They seemed comfortable with their bags filled with hay and each coral had a fan to keep them cool.

This cria is Snowmass Bravado. He is lying down beside his momma. Some of the alpacas were a 3 in 1 deal. This was one of those deals. If you bid on this one you got the Momma, the cria at her side, and also she was pregnant so that made it a 3 in 1 deal. Such a sweet boy.

Chris and I went to this auction to take a look at the Snowmass alpacas and to continue to educate our selves on alpacas. These functions always have several classes and seminars on varies topics about alpacas. We did not go to the auction to buy any alpacas; we are set for this year on our purchases. It is nice to go to several different functions to figure out whom you would like to buy from next year. Plus the people you meet that are all in the industry you learn so much from.

There was one alpaca that had me at hello, and it is a good thing we left the check book at home. Thoughts of picking up this alpaca and running off with her raced through my head.

This is Rose Petal.
She stole my heart. I am not sure who bid and won her, maybe it is a good thing. As small of a farm as we are at this time it just is not practical to buy such a young female that would not be ready to breed for another year and a half.

Chris and I did well at this auction we stuck to our guns and did not buy any alpacas. After looking at the Snowmass alpacas we know that we will definitely buy from them in the future. Overall we had a great time and met a bunch of great people.

4 More Alpacas

2007-02-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

I had seen a recipe in a magazine and then could not find it again when I wanted to make it. Don’t you hate that? Anyway luckily I had read the recipe and can remember most of it. This is my version of a chocolate cherry vanilla 2 layer cake. I used a French vanilla cake mix and mixed some chocolate chips and chopped cherries into the batter. Then put two drops of red food coloring into cream cheese frosting and slathered it on the cake. Then placed chocolate chips on top and whala! Pink Chocolaty goodness. I brought this into the office and it was a big hit.

Chris even got in the baking mode last weekend.

Chris made his famous jumbo cookies.
You can only eat a half a cookie at a time, other wise you might go into shock from sweet overload.

Granny Squares

All over blog land I have been seeing lots of crocheted wave blankets and several granny squares being turned out. I secretly love granny squares but am afraid of the 70’s nostalgia most people attribute it too. I pulled out my Debbie Stoller “The Happy Hooker” Crochet manual and sat down with some Lion Brand Chenille. Believe it or not it took me 4 hours to make my first granny square. LOL. The next two went much smoother once I got the hang of it. I think it would have been much easier if I did them all one color. I am thinking of making 9 more and putting them together for a pet blanket.

4 More Alpacas

Last year I got an email from Michele from Rosehaven Alpacas. She had found my blog and liked the name Alpaca Rose, because her farm name was Rosehaven Alpacas. Chris and I took a look at their website about their farm and really liked what we saw.

We emailed back and forth and finally Chris and I decided to buy 4 of their female alpacas. Here are the lovely ladies we are buying.

Bronte- dark brown female date of birth 8/16/03.
She is described as having dense, fine fiber. She even won a blue ribbon at the 2005 fiber to fashion Spin-Off competition. She will be having our first baby cria of the year with a due date around May 1, 2007.

Mimosa- light rose silver grey female, date of birth 7/25/02
Good conformation and a thick, dense fleece.
I am so excited to add some grey alpacas into our herd and the rose grey’s are even more special and sought after. Mimosa is due to have her baby cria some time in September.

Here she is freshly sheared. I just love her light silver color.

Kiri- dark silver grey female, born 8/2/99.
She is described as a terrific mother. Besides the wonderful coloring this is what drew me to her. I think it is very important for them to be good Mother’s and be experienced to the whole birthing process. The gestation period for an alpaca is a little over 11 months so the baby is very anticipated and you want it to have the best chance possible.

Here is Kiri with one of her baby crias.

Schaherazade – medium brown female, born 9/16/05
She was named after the Arabian princess who danced and told stories to the king for over 1000 nights. I could not help myself she is adorable. She will be bred for the first time this year.

We chose Captain Nemo one of Rosehaven’s herdsires to breed with Shaherazade. He is a solid dark rose grey. He is all that and a bag of chips as far as I am concerned. I hope Schaherazade is pleased with our choice for her. After breeding Schaherazade will have her first baby in 2008.

Rosehaven alpacas have been a wonderful farm to do business with. Comparing them to the farm in Oregon we bought from last year is like comparing strawberries to the annoying piece of gum you accidentally stepped in. I am so glad to have found them and am looking forward to a long farm to farm relationship with them.

Go check out Rosehaven Alpacas Farm website – HERE

Klaus Comes Home

2007-02-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Klaus arrived at sun up Saturday Morning. Here is Chris waiting outside the transport vehicle.

He is a cutie pie.

We separated Zissou from his momma and put him in a pasture with Klaus.

The two of them are turning into best buds. One will run across the field then the other will copy and do the same. Zissou seems to be doing fine away from his mom. We plan to put Kingsley in with the boys in a couple of weeks. So happy Klaus is finely home. His Mom Teresa had an ultrasound over a week ago and is confirmed pregnant. Once she is far enough along in her pregnancy to travel we will have her transported home.

Completed Whiskey Scarf

This scarf is extra long in order to wrap around my neck and have plenty to tuck into my coat. It turned out nice and is extra toasty with the 4 X 4 ribbing.

Project Spectrum Feb-Mar

The colors for project spectrum are Blue, White & Grey. I plan to use project spectrum to clean out my stash. I decided to try to go through what I have; let’s face it I have stuff in my stash just waiting to be started and in every color of the rainbow. So I am putting my self to the test and making sure to use what I already have first. With that said here is my line up for February & March.

4 skeins of Rowan Classic soft tweed in color slate blue, I plan to make the log cabin socks from the book Handknit Holidays.

4 skeins of Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky, in color fisherman 099; I plan to make a cabled bag of my own design. I have had this in my stash for 2 years.

Blue and White sheep fabric, I bought this forever ago I think originally to make a knitting needle case. I think I am going to make a tea cozy using this whimsical fabric.

Aloha! This Hawaiian print I plan to make 4 chair pad covers. I bought this fabric last year when I was in my Hawaiian phase. I still love the fabric and am excited to finally check these off my list.

Well if I can get these four projects done in the next 7 weeks I will be impressed.I think I will start with the log cabin socks.

Groundhog Day

2007-02-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

webshots photo

Word on the street is Punxsutawney Phil; the famous groundhog did not see his shadow this morning. That means spring is right around the corner.

Miss Bianca is a little skeptical of the groundhog, and says she will believe it when she sees it.

I can not believe it is February already. I am still wrapping up the dental office end of year tax stuff. I will be amazingly happy when I am done. In January I reorganized my desk and am implementing some new management of my work load this year.

Alpaca News

Do you remember baby Klaus. He and his mom Teresa are still in Oregon. Teresa is having a hard time getting pregnant. She is due for an ultrasound on Monday so hopefully she is confirmed pregnant at that time. The Oregon farm where they are staying at has weaned Klaus from his Momma and is now ready to come home.

He will be arriving here at the end of next week on an alpaca transport. Chris and I decided it would be a good time to wean Kingsley and Zissou. All the boys are over 6 months old. So we will be putting the three boys in a pasture beside the one the girls are in. This weekend we will be getting their shelter ready cleaning it out and putting some hay in the feeders. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us.

Knitting

I decided to go ahead and knit the whiskey hat, just to make sure not to run out of yarn after the scarf. The Hat is knit on straight needles. I had never knit a hat flat like this before. It was pretty easy. Then you just seem up the sides after threading last strand through all the top loops and pull tightly to close the top.

It is not easy taking a picture of your self in a hat. Keeping me in the frame was the most difficult part.

This hat looks good on anyone. At least that is what Haley told Brandy.

I just have the last ball of the purple to get through on the scarf and then start the ending stripes.

Up Next Project Spectrum and what I have lined up for February & March’s colors Blue, White, & Grey.

Books & Movies

2007-01-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

My love affair with books & movies has gone on as long as I can remember. I do not believe I could choose one over the other. I love them both independently for different reasons. On occasion the two collide, and I get very excited. Of course you have heard it before from many people and I feel the same way the movie is never as good as the book. But of course it isn’t. How can the big screen compare to your own vivid imagination.

The Golden Compass

When I first heard this movie was coming out this year I was thrilled. My first reaction was to tell my husband. He had no idea what I was talking about. Of course I replied “You never read Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials?” “You never read the golden compass?” Then he gave me that look and said “No, not everyone was a nerd and had their nose buried in a book”. I secretly in that moment was thankful for all the Harry Potter books in this day and age. Those books have made it cool for kids to read and has opened them up to explore reading other books.

Back to the Golden Compass
This movie is due out December 2007
The main character Lyra will be played by Dakota Blue Richards.
Other actors in the movie are Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and many more. You can catch a preview HERE.

This is the cover of the copy I have in paperback. There are numerous covers and box sets because this is the first book in a series. I am sure once the movie comes out their will be many more covers. The Golden Compass is on my reading list this year. I love rereading books that I read at such a young age. This is a book of fantasy, about stolen children. There is of course a parallel universe with angels, witches, and armored polar bears. What more could you want in a juicy adventure? Of course there are lots more to sink your teeth into.

Miss Potter

I believe the movie Miss Potter is at theaters now. Of course it has not hit my neck of the woods yet but I am waiting. This movie is about Beatrice Potter and her story. The movie is about her trials and tribulations as a woman and artist and how she became the artist and writer of the many images we adore. The preview for this movie can be found HERE.

I am a huge fan of Beatrice Potters work. I am very excited to see the movie and learn a little bit more about the woman behind the work.

This is a book I have in my stash. “The Beatrix Potter Knitting Book” by Pat Menchini. I found this used copy over a year ago. My copy is actually an old library book. It has a copyright of 1987. It is out of print but you can still find used copies at reasonable prices if you Google it.

This is a great find. Although most of the clothing is very dated and I would not make any of them. The charts and motifs in this book are priceless and can be used to make other things. There are tons of artwork and quotes from Miss Potter's books.

Here are a few of the motifs from the book.

Benjamin Bunny

Peter Rabbit

The book also has other patterns besides knitting.

Like this Floppsy Bunny Latch Hook Rug pattern.

Also this “The tailor of Gloucester” cross stitch.

This is a book I have not made anything from but is a true love to read and oogle over the photos, and a book I will keep forever.

Beatrix Potter Fabric

It is turning into a Beatrix Potter year. This year there was a release of a new fabric line titled “Garden Tales”. It is a little on the expense side but it looks lovely and would make a great baby quilt I think.

Here is a look at some of the fabric in the “Garden Tales”

Friday Night Knitting Club

Ok if you are not into Fantasy books and want a more grown up read this might be the book for you. This is “The Friday Night Knitting Club” by Kate Jacobs. This book is on my reading list this year. It is about a lady named Georgia. She is the owner of a little yarn shop. She is raising her daughter Dakota by her self. She has a best friend named Anita. She holds a knit group at her shop. The ladies all get to know each other and of course unexpected things happen in their lives and turn everything upside down. It is a book about sisterhood. I can not wait to read this one and to throw in a juicy tidbit; this book is currently in production to be made into a movie starring Julia Roberts. I can already see this book launching many knit alongs and movie knit nights.

Las Vegas Alpaca Auction

2007-01-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to the America’s Choice Winter alpaca Auction last weekend. This was our first auction. We were a bit nervous at first and not sure what to expect. Overall it was lots of fun, and we ended up buying 4 alpacas. All the alpacas at the auction were from Alpacas of America, they are a farm in Washington State. I will tell you more about the ones we got once we receive our package from them. After the auction they took a photo of Chris and me with our 4 new girls. I will post it when I get it. So exciting!

image from travelocity

We stayed an extra night in Vegas and went to see Blue Man Group. It was Chris’s turn to pick a show since I had dragged him to Celine Dion & Momma Mia on previous visits. I am not sure how to describe this show. It is not like anything I have seen before. It was very entertaining & educational. There was lots of audience participation. I would probably not see this show again, once was enough for me. My reaction when we left was “Well that was different”.

Of course I had to go to the Anthropologie store. I was in luck they were having a big sale.

I managed to get the last owl apron. I had been eyeing it last season and was thinking about making one, but the detail on the pocket won me over.

I scanned the apron in to show the detail.

I also got this awesome Tablecloth. It is rectangular 72X90. The best part is that I got it 50% off. It is so beautiful; I am tempted to hang it on the wall. I think it will look nice this spring on my table.

Progress on Whiskey Scarf

I am in love with RY soft tweed. It is knitting up real nice. I think with the 4X4 ribbing on the scarf it will be extra warm.

The Furnace

If you can believe it, I certainly can not; the furnace guy was just here and finally fixed it. Yes! We have been with out the furnace for over a week. Luckily we did have that weekend trip in Vegas which helped out. It took so long because they needed to order a part. It is snowing now and has been since 7:30 this morning. According to the news looks like we are in for it this weekend.

I did find something at Wal-Mart that has helped out with the cold. It is a heated mattress cover. I can not tell you how great this thing is. It has a control for each side so if your partner likes it at a different temp they can set it for them. For all you people that dread getting into your icicle bed at night get one of these and turn it on an hour before going to bed and enjoy a toasty nights sleep.

Alpacas in the Snow

2007-01-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the alpacas in the snow. I am not sure why they are out in the thick of it.

Eventually they did move to their shelters.

On the home front our furnace is on the fritz. Chris called someone to take a look at it. Someone might be by this afternoon. I will keep fingers crossed; I know how busy they can be this time of year. We do have a pellet stove in the main room of the house. It seems to be doing its job and keeping the icicles from forming on my face and finger tips.

First FO of 2007

I completed my Norwegian Hat
Pattern: Dalegarn pattern book NR 130
Yarn: Heilo
Flickr for the Stranded Colorwork members FO HERE.

I love how the pattern popped out as I was knitting it. I made the larger size hat because of color work and working in the round things tend to knit up a little smaller. Plus I want to be able to pull it over my ears. It fits perfect.

Project Spectrum 2007

Yahoo! Lolly is at it again and the new project spectrum will be getting under way starting February 1st. Here is the monthly color line up.

February / March = Blue, White, Gray
April / May = Green, Yellow, Pink
June / July = Red, Black, Metallics
August / September = Brown, Orange, Purple

I like how we have two months to complete a project instead of one. I found that last year my projects went way over time. Another bonus is three color choices instead of two. I already got something in mind for February & March. The link to 2007’s Project Spectrum is HERE.

For the Birds

2007-01-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of my bird seed hangers on my porch. I love to watch the birds flock to it for a tasty treat. Especially during the winter I make sure there is a little something for them to eat.

Down with the Decorations

Cosmo is protesting taking the tree down. The time has come and I have finally taken down all the holiday décor. It never fails, every year after boxing every thing up and placing in the garage, I will find holiday stuff here and there that I have accidentally left out.

Hat Progress

Just a couple more rows left in the pattern and then to make a big pom-pom for the top. Last to weave in all loose ends and I will be finished.

Next Up

Whiskey Hat & Scarf from Rowan’s Classic Winter book 6

I plan to use Rowan Classic Soft tweed in color Loganberry. My accent colors for the scarf are Bark & Mist

I am going to start with the scarf. Here is a close up of the end color stripping.

This next knit project fits in with the Tweeding Along group I joined. The group is a knit along and the rules are knit with any tweed yarn. The time frame is from September to March 20th. So if you are knitting with tweed drop on over and join the group.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2006-12-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

We are all snug in our home, while it continues to snow outside. The holidays so far have been quiet and cozy. Chris and I have been bumming around the house and making plans for next year.

The Kids have followed our lead and have been lying around with all their new toys scattered all over the floor. We are all getting fat and sassy.

Norwegian Hat

Finally cast on for my hat. Unfortunately I have ripped it out and started over twice. That is what I get for watching good movies while knitting a color work pattern.

I stocked up on some of my favorite movies: Pride & Prejudice, Anna and the King, Little Women. Why Joe? Why do you not pick Teddy? It is so upsetting.

Anyway, sigh, I made stupid mistakes like forgetting to change to the larger needle size when starting the color work. Then getting that right but then forgetting to add a stitch at the beginning. You think I had never followed a pattern before. I’m on the right track now and love the two colors together.

Two Pattern Books

I received these pattern books for Christmas and I love them. Thought I would share some of my favorites from the books.

Louisa Harding’s Winter Muse classics

“Brigitte”

“Audrey”

Ella Rae’s Book Six

“Willow”

“Essential”

I received a gift certificate to The Knitting Garden. It is like a golden ticket, or a get out of jail free card. I am savoring the possibilities of what to buy with it. Maybe I should hold on to it for an emergency must have purchase. 8)

Happy Holidays

2006-12-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Webshots Photo

This is our first Christmas in our new home. It is so comforting to be settled in and starting new traditions and memories.

Memory Lane

When I was 7 years old I wrote a letter to Santa like I had done each year before, only this time Santa sent my letter to the local paper and it was printed on December 25th 1979. My family kept clippings of it.

It Reads:
Dear Santa, My name is Tami. I am 7 years old. I want a sweetie doll. I hope you’ll have fun on the ride. We may leave you some cookies and milk. You may have my picture so you’ll remember me.
Love Tami

This cracks me up. For starters the photo is hideous. I am missing my two front teeth. I’m not sure what is up with the hairstyle, not very flattering. My thoughts are on his long journey and to take the time to enjoy the ride. The cookie part is clearly not in my hands. But want to make sure if Cookies are a factor in his decision there is a possibility my Mom might leave some out for him.

I did get a Sweetie doll that year. I actually can not remember a year that I did not get what I asked from Santa. Often I would ask for the thing that I most wanted or was the most expensive thing on my list. This was a strategy I thought of very early on. Just in case my parents did not have enough money for what I wanted I would put the burden on Santa.

Christmas Gift

Of course there was the year I got Brandy for Christmas in 1994. Chris tricked me into thinking we were driving around looking for Christmas lights. I thought he was lost because there were no Christmas lights on any of the houses we were driving by. Finally he pulled into a home and turned to me and said. “I lied we are not looking for Christmas lights we are here at a Bassett Hound Breeder and they have some puppies for sale.” “We can go on in and pick one out or we can drive away.” I shot out of the car like a bullet and we went in and picked Brandy out of a litter of 12. We often refer to her as pick of the litter. It was not an easy decision and looking back often with how stubborn and bad she is we probably could have picked any of the other 11 puppies and made a better decision. But she is our Brandy and life would just not be the same with out her.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.

Just in Time

2006-12-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my Christmas stocking. There were a few problems with the pattern or maybe with my interpretation of the pattern. I ended up ripping out the foot part and making my own modifications.

This pattern called for putting in a scrap piece of yarn for the heal then later going back pulling out scrap yarn picking up the stitches to knit the heal. This part went well. I just did it loop by loop making sure not to loose any of the stitches.

Overall I like the end result, and am so happy to move onto my Norwegian Hat.
HE HE HE HO HO HO.

Yarn Clearance & Sales
Has anyone else been tortured by all the emails about yarn clearance and holiday yarn sales. I have been so good up until I received the email from WEB’s with Rowan Classic Soft Tweed at only $3.99 a ball. I could not help myself; you know how much that yarn normally costs. Geez, I am weak I bought some. The good news is I already have patterns in mind to use it with so it should not sit in my stash long.

I thought I might make this Whiskey Hat & Scarf from the pattern book Rowan Classic Winter book 6.

I also plan to make these Log Cabin Socks from the book Handknit Holidays. This pattern is originally for Rowan Cork Yarn but Cork has been discontinued. I think the Rowan Classic Soft Tweed will make a nice substitute. I know I am a little late to the party and did not get a chance to knit them last year when everyone else was, but better late than never. Don’t they look cozy?

Holiday Scramble

I made a couple of sweets for the holidays. These are Lemon Poppy seed Snicker doodles. I also made some peppermint bark, both a big success the last day at the office. We closed down the dental office until next year, and will have next week off. I am excited about the time off. I am almost finished with all the holiday scramble and am looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the Holidays.

White Christmas

Looks like we will be having a White Christmas at our alpaca ranch. It snowed last Tuesday, and it might snow again tomorrow.

The alpacas don’t seem to mind too much. They sleep in the covered area at night if it is windy.

Kingsley our littlest one pictured in the middle is so dirty I can not believe how filthy he is. Boys will be boys I guess.

Brandy loves the snow. She is 12 years old but once it snows she runs around like a puppy. Dashing around and stopping to gulp a big bite of snow.

A New Day

2006-12-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

We made it through our first week with the alpacas. I put out a half a bale of hay and they still have not eaten it all. They tend to graze all day out in the pasture. They are just now starting to eat the vitamin pellets we put out and they eat about 6 cups in two days.

This week I have been working on getting them use to me. I have tried many different treats to lure them into loving me. One day I brought out baby carrots and they looked at me like I was the devil and wanted none of anything I had to offer. The next day I brought out apple cut up into little pieces. “No thanks we don’t like you”. One of the days we had a plumber come out to see about getting our automatic water system hooked up. I brought the plumber to the gate to go inside and once the alpacas heard his voice they came running over to spend time with him.

WHAT, a complete stranger. What am I chopped liver. I think they might have thought he was someone they knew. Anyway my feelings were hurt a little. We did some more research and bought a bag of sweet feed. It has a bunch of stuff in it including molasses and proteins.

We walked out into the field with a couple of cups of the sweet feed in a bucket. Yippee they love the stuff. Tasha prefers to eat it out of your hand and Satine prefers to stick her whole head in the bucket and gorge her self. Unfortunately it is so rich you can only give them about a cup each of the sweet feed.

The best part is now when I go to change out their water and check their food supply they come to me and say hello and check if I have any treats.

The dogs are starting to get use to seeing the alpacas in the pasture. Here is Brandy watching them from the front porch.

Kingsley is the smallest of the babies, and he is such a Mommas boy. He will skip and run around the field, but as soon as we get anywhere near him he will run to his Momma Satine, and bury his head in her fur. So Cute.

Christmas Stocking

Here is my progress on the stocking. If you look closely you can see the strip of waste yarn where I marked for the heel. I am at the part where you decrease for the toe. I will be joining the green and purple for the toe. I had planned to finish this last weekend because I am anxious to get started on my Norwegian Hat.

Unfortunately I burnt my left hand doing something totally stupid. I had an oven mitt on my right hand and I was pulling out a hot pizza from the oven. I must have gotten steam inside the glove and my hand began to burn, so not wanting to drop our dinner on the floor I instinctively reached for the pan with my left hand with no hot pad. I only burnt my middle finger and thumb and it hardly looks like anything at all, but man did that put me out of commission for knitting that evening. I must say nothing is worse pain than a burn. The next morning my hand was fine due to quick thinking and tending to the burn when it happened. I surely will not be opening the oven again with out having both hands protected.

Stash Enhancement

My Heilo yarn arrived for my Norwegian hat. Oh so excited. This knit along is going to be so much fun. I have been obsessed with checking out all the members’ blogs. There are so many great knitters in this group. If you check out the latest post on the KAL you will see the hosts made a list and broke every one down into groups by which type of stranded knitting they will be doing.

I finally got the tree up and decorated. You can see that Cosmo has claimed his spot under the tree. We do not really have a theme for the tree although the majority of the ornaments are Disney characters. Pretty much whatever we like goes on the tree.

This month is flying by. I hope everyone can catch there breath and take some time to relax and enjoy the moment.

Can't Help Myself

2006-12-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

There is a new knit along that started Dec 1. It is called Stranded the colorwork challenge. I really enjoy knitting with multiple colors and enjoy the end result even more. I could not help myself but to join this knit along.

I plan to knit this two color hat with flaps. I have been very cold these last couple of days outside getting ready for the alpacas so a hat with flaps is a necessity. If I am going to look like a dork I might as well do it with style. There is also a sock and mitten pattern that matches the hat that I might knit also.

The Knit hat pattern is from this pattern book Dalegarn NR 130.
I ordered some Heilo yarn in a cranberry color and an off white color. I ordered them from Bea Ellis knitwear.

This will not be my first Fair Isle knit. My first large Fair Isle project was the Rowan Tote. I use this bag all the time.

Christmas Stocking Progress

The stocking is coming along nicely. The top flap looks great. I just need to knit until I reach 13 ½ inches then put a strand of yarn in to mark the heel. Then it gets tricky if I can remember how to do short rows.

Alpaca Arrival

Chris and I went to the feed supply store and bought our first 10 bales of hay. We also picked up a couple bags of pellets and a bucket that plugs in so their water won’t freeze.

The transport arrived Sunday late afternoon. They had been on the transport since Tuesday. The transport went all over the place picking up alpacas and dropping them off. They were in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico & Texas. There appears to be alpaca farms all over the place.

Here is a photo of the 6 of them. They seem to like it here. I am so glad we decided to set up the pastures in the front, because we can see them out all the windows. It is hard not to pass a window and not stare at them. I can see them real good out the kitchen window. Cleaning up the kitchen never was this much fun.

On the left is Momma Sateen and the little white one is her baby Kingsley.
In the middle the little black one is Zissou and his Mom to the right is Emmy Leigh.

Lying down in front is Tasha she is Momma to the little brown one Miss Bianca.
Emmy Leigh is behind.

It is such a thrill to finally have them here and they like their home we set up for them.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

The In-laws, Chris & I loaded up the cars and headed to Chris’s sister’s house for Thanksgiving. They live in Roswell New Mexico. It is about a two hour drive from our home.

In tradition the boys slaved away all day fixing the meal.

Women having nothing to do, go to the park and play most of the day, contemplating possibly going fishing or hunting.

WHAT? Isn’t that how it is at your house? Well it did not go quite like that.

This is Chester enjoying the crisp fresh air. All in all it was a wonderful day. We had a fantastic meal, played a game called Fact or Crap, and then ended the day all watching Survivor.

Great Find

On Wednesday we took our family to a nearby ski town for some shopping and an early dinner.

I found these great embroidered towels. They are both in a Christmas motif one is a chicken and the other a sheep. Both are decked out for the holidays. I should have grabbed more but these two were my favorite. I am thinking of using the embroidery to make into two wall hangings. I love the images so much I know I would never use them to wipe my hands on.

Knit Stocking

I started a tradition where I knit a stocking every year. This year I chose the Giant Jester Stocking from the book Christmas Stockings by Interweave Press. The pattern is also in the magazine Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts at news stands now.

I chose Caron Simply Soft yarn in colors: Grape 9610, Limelight 9607, Autumn Red 9730, & Blue Mint 9608.

Alpaca Update

2006-11-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a more recent photo of our baby alpaca Miss Bianca.

I have good news. Three alpacas with their babies are coming home in two weeks.
Mommas: Tasha, Sateen, & Emmy Leigh
Babies: Miss Bianca, Kingsley, & Zissou
Unfortunately Teresa is not pregnant yet so she will stay in Oregon with her baby Klaus until she is confirmed pregnant.
We are so excited for their arrival.

Progress on the Structures

We decided to build a couple of structures for them to have shelter and to feed. We will wait to build the barn once we live and work with the animals for awhile, then we can build one for what we will actually need it for. This is one of the structures. There will be bins built against the wall of each of the three for hay.

This is a view of the back of the structures. Do you see the three little doors? This allows me to open up from the back of the structures and drop the hay into the bins from the back. Our contractor has told us he will be done with everything by Thanksgiving. I will keep my fingers crossed that he is able to meet this deadline.

Fetching Completed

I completed Fetching. I have already worn them and they work nicely to keep your hands warm and allow you to move your fingers. It only took one ball of Super 100% Australian Merinos yarn in color #1694.
You can find the pattern for Fetching HERE.

Well my house is a complete disaster and Chris & I are running around like idiots trying to get things done and ready for the in-laws that will be arriving on Tuesday. I had to stop painting to start cleaning up. I still have the kitchen left to paint and also I would like to do a faux finish in the newly painted main room & dinning room. We are also trying to get everything we need for the alpacas arriving in two weeks.

Life is a big blur of excitement.

Seasonal FO

2006-11-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my finished Halloween table topper.

This is the back side. I used a small pumpkin print for the center and a black with white flowers for the border. I figured the back I could use through autumn & Thanksgiving.

Painting Progress

I am now working on the guest room. My in-laws are coming for Thanksgiving so it is crunch time in getting the room done and useable. Chris asked me what color I was going to paint the room and I told him yellow. He looked at me weird and said the room is already yellow. Not Big Bird kindergarten primary color yellow, I want a light pastel lemon chiffon. Then Chris gave me the look, you know the one I married a crazy lady look.

Here is the old brassy yellow.

Painting over ugly yellow with primer.

Brandy supervising on my drop cloth.

New Behr paint color “Summer Moon”. Much better.
Just need to paint around the trim and the ceiling edge.
Oh and the closet left to paint also.

Boys & their Toys

We went and looked at tractors last weekend. Oh boy, who new there were so many choices.

Arrive at Puerto Vallarta

2006-10-26T09:35:00.000-06:00

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta early Saturday afternoon. We checked into the Dreams Resort. We were a little disappointed that it was overcast but later in the week when it was full sun we wished for clouds. We grabbed lunch at one of the hotel cafe's while we waited for the room to be ready.

Once the room was ready we put on our suits and jumped into the ocean.

After a shower we washed up for dinner and went exploring around the resort. These are luminaries they had hanging in the open air lobby.

We ate dinner at the hotel’s seafood restaurant. This is the view from where we were seated. I was amazed how blue the sky and sea looked from the restaurant. You almost could not tell where one began or ended.

The restaurant was covered with a huge thatch roof. It was amazing.

The next day we hung around the beach a little while then left for El Eden. It is the spot where they filmed the movie Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They had turned the area into a tourist spot.

There was a restaurant and a small swimming area. Also you could sign up for the zip-line. I came for the zip-line. I have always wanted to do this. I am not sure why. I felt like since I was terrified of it I should do it and it would make me stronger.

Here is the drink I ordered to help calm my nerves before shooting through the jungle like Tarzan.

Chris did not do the zip-line with me he is afraid of heights. Let me tell you it was the scariest thing I have ever done. There were 15 lines all together and took a total of 2 hours to get through the whole course. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I trusted each leap of faith plowing across the trees. I am so glad I did it, but now that I have, I will never do it again. SCARY! VERY SCARY!

Relaxing in the Sun

2006-10-26T09:25:00.000-06:00

Many days we just lay out on the beach chairs under an umbrella. I would bring a bag with my knitting and my book and relax the day away.

Knitting at the beach, there is nothing like it. So cool, and yet according to my husband not very sexy. 8)

Some plants around the hotel.

There were many little cozy spots to relax in as you walked around the resort.

Here is the view of the beach from our room.

The sunsets were amazing.

If we were not relaxing by the beach we would venture downtown.

The beach near the downtown area had many statues lining the walk.

We stopped for lunch at Pipi’s. This place was so good we ended up coming back to eat there again later in the week.

Here is a view out the window with all the stencil cut flags lining the street beside Pipi’s restaurant.

Turtle Release

2006-10-26T09:18:00.000-06:00

Our last night at the Dreams resort they had a turtle release for the guests. A local hatchery came by with 12 baby turtles and let us release them in the sand to head into the ocean.

The little guys were so cute.

The last three catching a wave.

Have I mentioned the Sunsets in Puerto Vallarta?

The last night at Dreams we ate at their Mexican restaurant. So many vivid colors. We each started with chicken tortilla soup and in the center is a spicy cheese dip.

The next day we checked into the second hotel Villa Premier Hotel & Spa. We planned the trip around two hotels. The first being Dreams, had a private beach and was all inclusive, which would give us a couple days to relax at the beach. The second place was Villa Premier which did not have a private beach but was walking distance to downtown.

One bonus of our room at the Villa Premier is we had a large private porch with a huge spa tub.

Oh Yea Baby.

Our maid at this room would leave us towel shaped animals with notes. How cool is that?

Over So Quickly

2006-10-26T09:10:00.000-06:00

We spent the last couple of days wondering around the city taking in the art galleries and doing a little shopping. Here is Chris sitting on a bench downtown.

The Loot

You can find some great deals in Mexico especially if you pay in Pesos.

The one thing I was looking for was baskets with lids. I was able to find these two. I use them to store sewing notions or yarn.

These hand woven blankets we found on the beach. The seller was walking along with a stack of them on his shoulder. These are very warm and will be nice for the coming winter.

This is a wool rug. It is folded up so you can see the pattern. It took Chris and I forever to finally decide on this rug. No two rugs looked the same, and I was trying to pick one with colors that matched our decor.

Knick-Knacks
The one on the left has a place to put a candle in the back so when lit the light shines through the glass with a carved fish. The middle is a ceramic bowl. The one on the right is a glass blown vase with cobalt blue along the top edge. Perfect size to display a flower or two.

Well that’s about it. We had a wonderful time and feel rested and ready to get back into the grind of life.

Delivered as Promised

2006-10-25T11:05:00.000-06:00

Yes our luggage arrived the next day around 5 pm. Only one casualty a ceramic frog I had bought was broken in many pieces. Fortunately it only cost a couple of pesos. They really throw those bags around next time any breakables I will carry on the plane with me.

I am glad I doubled bagged the liquid stuff because the Pepto-Bismol we had brought exploded in the bag. Everything was covered in pink liquid that was in the bag. Thank goodness it did not get out and onto everything else in the suitcase. Also, a good tip if you are going to Mexico bring some Pepto because you will need it. I believe it is called Montezuma’s Revenge. It hit Chris on Monday & I got it on Wednesday. It was not too bad since we were prepared.

Now to get the full trip report written and photos downloaded. I should get it posted by today or tomorrow.

Luggage Delayed

2006-10-22T12:53:00.000-06:00

We are back from our trip, unfortunately our luggage is not. We arrived last night around 8 pm. We stood there watching the luggage carrousel until it stopped moving and mostly everyone had collected there luggage and left. The few people left there in horror still trying to comprehend the fact that their luggage would not be there. This is the first time this has happened to us. Fortunately it happened on our way home.

The bad part is that we live 2 hours from the airport and it would be a hassle to come all the way back to pick up the luggage when they finally arrived. The airline service attendant told us that the luggage possibly might come the next day on another flight. They also said that when they arrive they would be put on a shuttle and delivered to our house. My fingers and toes are crossed that this actually takes place.

Chris and I made the 2 hour drive home and wanting badly to shower and relax. Unfortunately due to the new security requirements all our bathroom products were in our checked luggage, like hairbrush, shampoo, toothbrushes, etc. At this point I could care less about the clothes and really want my toothbrush and my face cream oh yea and my eye drops, & nail clippers.

A shout out to the luggage fairies, “Please have mercy”.

Leaving For Puerto Vallarta

2006-10-13T16:09:00.000-06:00

Chris and I leave tomorrow morning for some R&R in Puerto Vallarta. We will be staying part of the trip at this hotel pictured above. It is Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort. Chris actually stayed at this same hotel when he was a kid vacationing with his family. They have remodeled & changed their name since he went. I myself have never been to Puerto Vallarta.

Canadian Cheese Soup

I found the recipe for the Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup. I made it the other night and it came out tasty. You can find the recipe HERE or HERE.

Preppy Ripple Throw

Preppy Ripple Throw
I decided on this pattern for the yarn I had originally for the Grandiflora blanket.

I found it in "Under Cover" a book I got last Christmas.
This knit pattern is much easier and looks more enjoyable.
The pattern is for 3 colors but I plan to just use the two.

I like the ripple pattern and think it will look nice with the two colors.

I’m off to stress out and pack and wonder if I have everything.

Autumn Knits

2006-10-11T10:31:00.000-06:00

webshots photo

It is starting to look like autumn around here. It certainly feels like it with the dropping temperatures. I love the changes of the seasons.

Found a new Knit Along

This is the Fall Cable Knit Along. It started Oct 1st and goes through Feb 28th. There are even contests and prizes. I have to admit that knitting cables are my favorite projects. I am addicted to them.

Here is a flash back to some of my FO with cables.

Parrot Wrap

Hello Kitty Handbag

Cabled Hat

Rowan Cardi

Here are the projects I have planned for the Fall Cable Knit Along

Cable Embrace Scarf-pattern by Maia
You can find the pattern over at Maia Spins

I went looking through my stash to find some yarn for the scarf and came up with this Filatura Di Crosa “Dolce Amore” in color #4. I bought this yarn so long ago back when I was a new knitter and really did not have a clue as to how much yarn was needed for a project. I was buying yarn simply because I wanted it. I have become wiser and now try to only buy yarn when I have a project in mind.

I am using two strands to come closer to the width of the recommended yarn.
Here is my cast on so far.

I like the cable pattern and think the yarn will do nicely.

Of course I plan to Knit Bridget-Jo Sharp Book #2

Using Donegal Tweed homespun in color #880

I am hoping with the Knit along dead line of Feb 28th it will keep me on track to complete it by then.

New Cable Book

Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman is due to release October 24th.I have had this book on my wish list forever and it is finally almost released.

Visiting Family

2006-10-07T11:01:00.000-06:00

I got back from Florida Wednesday night. I had a wonderful time visiting my family. This photo was taken in my sister’s front yard. She has done a wonderful job with the landscaping and making it look natural to the area.

Sunday was the big family Barbeque. Lots of food and good times to be had. Here is a photo of me and my Dad.

My sister did a wonderful job putting this event together. People popping in and out all day long and she had enough food to cover everyone. I am not much of a large party person. I prefer small groups. I was very impressed at how well prepared she was. You Go Girl!

Monday at Epcot

Monday my Mom, Sister, Brother & I spent the day at Disney’s Epcot Center for the Food and Wine Festival.

Here I am with Jasmine. Dude check out her abs!

Here is the four of us at Le Cellier in Canada’s section eating lunch. The Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup is sooooo tasty. I will need to see if I can find the recipe.

We went to the tea shop in England’s section of the world showcase. I was so happy to find the Twinings Christmas Tea. They only sell it seasonally and it is my favorite tea. I should have grabbed more but I only had one suitcase. I also found this adorable mug “Snowy Christmas” a DUNOON English pottery.

I had a blast hanging with my peeps all day at one of my favorite places “Disney World.”

It is good to be home.

Long Weekend with my Family

2006-09-29T11:36:00.000-06:00

I leave tomorrow for Florida. I am visiting my family for a long weekend. I will be seeing my Dad, Mom, Sister & Brother. My parents have been divorced since I was a kid. They get along so it makes it nice for us siblings to all get together with them. I believe we have a barbeque planned for Sunday. I will tell you all about it when I get back.

Progress Report

Here is Fetching. I just reached the part for the thumb. Just a little left to go. This is a great pattern I think I might make another pair in a different color.

Here are the beginnings of Grandiflora. I have cast on about 4 times. It has been more labor than love. With 301 stitches on the needle it is hard to tell where you are at in the pattern. I might throw in the towel on this one and find a more enjoyable pattern to knit. I love the yarn so that is good. If you know a good knit blanket pattern that uses two colors let me know.

Cosmo PI

Finally Cosmo is starting to use his kitty pi I made him. I had to put an old towel in it to make it more to his liking. It is the perfect size for him.

Have a wonderful weekend.

My House in a Cloud

2006-09-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

The other day I felt like I was in a Scooby Doo episode. My house was sitting in a cloud as thick as pea soup. You could not see very far from where you were standing.

Fence Progress

Here is a photo of the old fence posts.

Here is a pile of the new material for the front pasture.

Here are a couple of the railroad ties in place. I was surprised how much they cost. When I was a kid we lived a couple years in Mississippi. When they worked on the railroad nearby our house my Dad gathered us kids and we would go pick up the old railroad ties that they left beside the tracks. We would drag them home and Dad would use the ties to border his flower beds. I think I got my love of gardening from my Father.

Of course I mowed one too many lawns as a kid and prefer to leave the lawn mowing to Chris.

Halloween Table Topper

I did work on my quilted table topper. I put a black border around the panel & have been making some strips for the sides. I am cutting out squares of Purple & green fabric for the strips.

I think I will use this pumpkin fabric for the back that way I can use either side of the topper.

Busy Month

This month is crazy busy for me. Lots to get done before October, I have a couple trips planned next month and need to get more of the indoor painting done before I run out of time. We have family coming in November for Thanksgiving and I would like to have the painting all done before they get here. Plus my sister-n-law might stay over one weekend in October and our guest room is packed full of boxes. I have not unpacked everything yet because we are still painting and it makes it easier to not have to move around a ton of stuff to do the painting.

This week I am working on the guest bathroom. We took out the ugly wood medicine cabinets, gold shower doors, and wood accessories. For now I am going to put up some primer then a coat of paint, can’t wait to paint over that dark color.

Fleece Delivery

2006-09-14T12:21:00.000-06:00

UPS dropped off a couple of boxes yesterday. To my surprise they were the alpaca fleeces shaved off our girls this season. I guess I did not really know what to expect or how much fleece comes off an alpaca. This is how much we got off of three of our girls Tasha, Emmy Leigh, Satine & one baby alpaca our Miss Bianca. I am thrilled. I do not have much time to do anything with it now but I plan to find a mill to process it for me and turn it into skeins of yarn.

I especially liked Tasha’s fleece. I love the rich dark color. I am glad we had a bay black baby this year, Zissou’s fleece should be real good next year come clipping time. Of course the white fleece is good too because you can dye them whatever color you want.

Tasha

Zissou

Oh Deer

2006-09-08T10:01:00.000-06:00

The Guys working on the front pasture area removed the barbed wire that was around the old fence. I looked out the window one afternoon and spotted two lovely deer walking through the front yard. I love it. It was so cool to watch.

Knock Knock

One morning I sat down to my desk to start working and I heard a tapping on the wall above the desk. Then it got louder and sounded like knocking. I walked outside and around the house to find a BIG woodpecker peeking out of a hole in the side of the house. Not good. He quickly flew away and I was unable to get a good photo of him. We will need to cover up that hole.

Grandiflora

I Picked up some yarn last weekend to start the Grandiflora afghan. We drove all the way to Hobby Lobby about an hour and a half drive away. I found some soft baby yarn.

It is Baby Bee Sweet Delight in colors “Berry Jam” & “Naked”. It should work nicely and once completed allow me to throw it in the washer when needed. Now to get up enough guts to cast on all those stitches.

Halloween Quilting

For the Sew I Knit along I picked up these two cool Halloween fabrics I plan to make quilted table runners with them. I am going to look in my fabric stash for some compatible fabric colors. I don’t have a pattern I am just going to wing it.

Under Foot

2006-09-01T08:17:00.000-06:00

The girls like to stay in whatever room I am in. Unfortunately most of the time they are under foot. Take the kitchen for example; the tile floor is real hard on your feet if you are standing for a long period of time. So I place throw rugs under each work station like the stove & sink. Apparently the dogs feel the tile is cold and hard and think I put the rugs there for them. Now to get any work done I have to lean over a dog or shoo them out of the kitchen.

FO

My wrap has finished blocking and has turned out beautifully. It is perfect for throwing over your shoulders on a late summer evening or autumn day.

I am so looking forward to this long holiday weekend. I plan to have lots of rest and relaxation, maybe throw in a festival or two. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Sweet Sound

2006-08-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

This week I am hearing the sweet sound of chainsaw and wood chipper. Believe it or not this is music to my ears. Chris and I finally found someone to start clearing our land. He will also be building our barn and putting up some fencing. The best part is he started this week.

We decided to get the front acreage set up for the alpacas first. I think the mountain lion print in the back was the deciding factor. Jodie mentioned in her comment that she would like to see some more alpaca photos. I am right there with her. Unfortunately our alpacas are in Oregon right now and won’t be coming home until Late Fall. The only pictures I have are the ones I already posted. I sent the farm an email requesting some updated photos of the four babies. We will see if they send them. They are a large Alpaca farm and are very busy. I will keep my fingers crossed, and if they send them I will post the photos.

In the mean time we are getting set up for their arrival.

Finished Objects

I completed the cable wrap and it has soaked in warm water and is now being blocked.

Kitty Pi

Completed and before felting.

Blocking on top of Cosmo’s tower.

Cosmo is a little hesitant yet to sleep in his new bed. I did spot him inside it once but he was playing around and attacking it. Hopefully he will start to use it like a bed. When he does I will share photos.

Cast On

I cast on for Fetching the pattern found in the latest Knitty.

I chose Super it is an Italian yarn 100% Australian Merinos
Color is Partie. I think I bought it at the local yarn shop awhile back.

Real easy so far.

Stash

Last weekend I actually went through all my books and magazines that I have with knitting patterns. It is funny how your tastes change as to what you would knit and what you would not. This is a strong argument for not buying yarn ahead of time for things you are not ready to knit, because by the time you are ready to knit that object you might not be as interested in it as you once were. There might be something new that just caught your eye that you would rather knit.

So glad I looked through all the patterns. There were new things that caught my eye that I put on my list for future projects. One that I can’t stop starring at is this:

Grandiflora
Pattern from Rowan Classic Woman pattern book
It is labeled as a scarf with finished size of 17 ½” x 90”

I am thinking of doubling it and making it a blanket. Probably with out the tassels due to them being too tempting for the cat and dogs to play with. It is knit using DK weight RYC Soft Lux. I will need to find an alternative yarn that is more reasonably priced for such a large knit. Also would like to find a yarn that I will be able to wash the blanket if I need to.

Creek Bed

2006-08-25T10:25:00.000-06:00

Chris and I decided to walk to the back of the property to see if the creek bed had any water in it. Normally it is very dry but we have had lots of rain. Sure enough the water is flowing through the creek bed. You could hear the running water once we got close to it.

Unfortunately we found some Mountain Lion tracks.

We also spotted Raccoon Tracks.

I think all the wild animals are coming down to drink from our creek.

New WIP

2006-08-23T11:36:00.000-06:00

I cast on for Cosmo’s new Kitty Pi Bed. It looks like it will be a quick knit. I really like the colors together. I am switching them every 10 rows to make for even stripes.

Pineapple Quilt

I cut out and appliquéd one of the pineapple pieces for the quilt. It is not sewn onto the background fabric yet I just wanted to see how it will look. Three more pineapples to go.

New Classic Rowan

Rowan has two new pattern books from their Classic series. Classic Landscape & Classic Alpaca, both pattern books use alpaca yarn. Both photos are patterns from the Landscape book. You can check out both books and other books from the Rowan Classic series on The Laughing Hens website HERE.

Eye Candy Friday

2006-08-18T08:31:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Chris and I drove to a small ski town about an hour away. We went through the Mescalero Apache Reservation to get there. The Indian reservation has a Resort and casino. We stopped by to check it out and have some lunch. The Resort is called Inn of the Mountain Gods. This is the view at the resort, unbelievable panoramic views.

Pineapple Quilt

2006-08-17T10:54:00.000-06:00

I picked out some fabric last weekend for the Pineapple Quilt. The finished quilt is 40” x 40”, so it is more of a wall quilt or table quilt. I decided to do mine in blues. Here is what I found.

The blue squared fabric on top and to the left I plan to use for the center of the pineapples. The little blue flowered fabric I plan to use in the background. Lastly the blue fabric on the bottom I plan to outline the pineapples and also use for the border and the back of the quilt.

This is my first time using a pattern for a quilt. I am use to just making it up as I go and just using my imagination, that way when you are finished it is always right because there was no blueprint that you need to compare it too. This will be interesting and a challenge for me to stick to the pattern. I still might tweak it a bit we will see.

Progress Report

Here is an update on my cabled shawl. It appears to be taking forever. I found a mistake and realized I cabled all three small cables after two rows instead of after four. I noticed this mistake about 5 rows up. I was torn as to whether to frog back or just keep going. I decided to just knit to each section that was messed up and just drop those stitches and fix them individually using a crochet hook. It took an entire evening to fix. I was proud of my self this was the first time I had the confidence to drop stitches on purpose.

Another Room Painted

I finished painting my office/craft room/cat room. I decided on a light lilac color. I needed something light and cheery because my desk and cabinet are dark wood. It was funny when I bought the paint at Home Depot the lady at the checkout said they painted their daughters room that same color. They were going for a princess theme. When I told her I was painting my office that color she just kind of looked at me funny. Yea, so what lady it is my office and I will paint it the color I want.

Kitty Pi

Picked out the yarn to make Cosmo’s new cat bed.
Lamb's Pride Bulky:
2 skeins of Blue Boy
2 skeins of Supreme Purple
Lion Brand Fun Fur:
2 skeins of Violet

Cosmo spent some time sniffing it and rolling around on the floor with it and has given me his approval on the color choice. I think I might even have some yarn left over to make some knitted cat nip mice and toys to accessorize. 8)

Eye Candy Friday

2006-08-11T08:59:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken in front of our little post office. That is a beautiful field of weeds. The trees down further in the photo are apple trees. I hope they don’t mow down the weeds any time soon I am enjoying the view when I pick up my mail.

Monkey Bread

2006-08-08T13:01:00.000-06:00

I made some Monkey bread last weekend.

Use your favorite sweet bread recipe let the dough rise. Then roll dough into balls, dip in melted butter then into cinnamon & brown sugar mix. Then layer balls of dough into a buttered bundt pan.

Let dough balls rise in pan. Then bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes then turn bread over onto a cake pan. Drizzle with glaze (confectioners sugar & milk). It is best eaten warm, Just pull it apart and enjoy.

You can probably find a recipe on the internet with specifics. I have heard of people using frozen biscuit dough or the Pillsbury dough for cinnamon rolls. I prefer homemade and use rapid rise yeast.

Holiday Fabric

I know I am a little early with this but I couldn’t help myself. I found some great Halloween fabric.

This is titled “Life’s A Witch” fabric by Alexander Henry.
How could I pass this up with a knitting Witch I could not resist.

This is titled “Broom Sweepers Panel” fabric panel by Diane Knott for Clothworks. This comes in 24” tall by 22” wide panels.
I just love the colors and the art work on these.

I am not sure yet what I will make with them, possibly something for the kitchen table, and maybe something for a friend I plan to visit around Halloween.

For all you Gamers out There

Although I primarily spend my free time crafting and what not, I also enjoy playing P.C. games. My favorite is World of Warcraft. This is an interactive game that you play online and with other players all over the world. I blame my husband for getting me involved with this game. Anyway you build a character and run around to different worlds and complete qwests. You also have a profession that helps you make money to buy new equipment etc.

Anyway to make a long story short hubby came home the other day and had printed me out a cartoon he found on the games website. Here it is.

It reads:
Everyone has special talents.
For example here is yarnmaster Graal, the High Knitter of Orgimmar.

Orc on Left says: What is this?

Yarnmaster Graal says: It’s an axe cozy you put it over your axe.

Orc on Left says: Yeah, I don’t see that happening. Ever.

Hubby and I got a big kick out of it.

Eye Candy Friday

2006-08-04T08:06:00.000-06:00

Sundara started something called Eye Candy Friday. This is where you post a photo you think is pretty or interesting or you like. So here is my photo for Friday. Here is a view out one of our windows. Cosmo likes to watch the birds swooping around.

The Lily Pond

2006-08-01T09:43:00.000-06:00

What have I been up to? Painting, Painting & more Painting. This is the color I picked out for the laundry room. It is called Lily Pond by Glidden.

Here is a photo of what it looks like on the wall. I find myself gravitating to this room because it is done. I plan to paint my office/craft room next. Since that is the room I go to sit down and do my work for the office and my room to be creative and relax on the weekends I feel it needs to be done.

Jo Bob’s Law

Uncle Jesse

I have learned about a new law that has run rapid out here in my small town. It is called Jo Bob’s Law. This law states that if you need something done give Jo Bob, Tommy Jo, or Bobby a call and when they feel like doing it they might swing by. We have had three different men out at the house showed them the property told them what we would like them to do. Clear the land; build a barn, put up fencing etc. All three men have come out walked around with us gave us the impression they were our man to do the job then once left our house never heard from again.

This does not just work for the local builders or contractors. We also have had two electricians out at the house. When our air conditioner turns on our lights flicker & also when we turn on the vacuum. Turns out we need to put a whole new power line to the house which entails the city putting in some power line polls. Big Job, have not heard back from either one of them.

So if you run into Jo Bob, Tommy Jo, or Bobby at the local corner store or post office please tell them to give us a call.

Future Knit plans

I can not believe it is already August. Time for me to plan out the rest of my knits for the year. I am still working on my cabled wrap. I am on the last skein of yarn and hopefully will be finishing it soon.

Some things on my list for Fall & Winter

Fetching from the new Knitty. When I do work at the office I freeze my tail off. It is hard to type and get work done when you have to alternate sitting on your hands. A pair of fingerless gloves is way over due. Since I love cables this pattern caught my eye.

This is Lucy modeling her kitty pie bed

A kitty Pie for my boy Cosmo. This pattern is from Wendy over at Wendy Knits. There is a whole kitty pie photo gallery HERE, where cats are showing off their new beds. I have been meaning to make one for awhile now and feel I have neglected my mommy duties by not having made one yet.

Such a sweet boy, I am a monster neglecting his needs. 8)

Lastly my big project planned is Bridget – Jo Sharp Book number 2.
I have already swatched for this, I just need to cast on and get going if I want to wear it this winter.

That is it for now, back to painting for me.

When Pigs Fly

2006-07-26T09:51:00.000-06:00

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

2006-07-21T09:32:00.000-06:00

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

2006-07-12T09:43:00.000-06:00

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

2006-07-07T15:32:00.000-06:00

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

2006-07-05T13:23:00.000-06:00

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.