Merry Christmas Everyone

Granny 2 Died

She's one of our black & white speckled hens. They lay super dark brown eggs. The boys called her "Mean Granny". She was the one to put a contrary critter in it's place ;) Always talking and sqawking. She left behind her sister Granny 1 "Fatty Granny" and 14 other assorted hens and roosters. Before she died she sounded like a lizard. Lost her spunk. We did not know how old she was when we got her but she was well loved here by the boys and I.

Winner is chosen

Ok!
Looks like Heather is the winner. Congratulations!! Just send me your address and I'll get them to you soon :)

Did It Really Freeze? & a Contest!

I can't tell.

Can you?


On a side note the remember the 6 baby black chicks that hatched May 27th? Here they are.....


How many big shiny black roosters did you see?.....

This is the Contest! My Rooster Conundrum :)

Every once in a while I hear the strangled cries of a young one learning how to crow. But which one? I think .... thought there were only 3. But now I am not so sure. What do you think? And how does one tell? Their mom is a Black Australorp. The sire was a Rhode Island Red. If they were RIR's it would be easy for me to tell ;)

Just leave a comment and my youngest will pull a name randomly on Thanksgiving Day for the winner. November 27, 2008.

The Prize is a set of 6 revised McGuffey's Eclectic Readers & Primer. All it needs to be a complete set is #5. Here is a picture of the actual barely used books.

Busy Busy

I dyed 6 rovings and 12 yarn hanks this week! Most of it was sold, traded or bartered before it ever made it to Esty. I'm happy and it was a TON of fun! Here it is...


It's on it's way to places from Texas to Canada :D So this week I have more rovings to do and list.

Project wise I have finished Phillip, Derek and Deven's hats. I'm working on Logan's now. This is just the 1st 1/2. The other 1/2 will be shades of green and a bit tan. Same yarn as Phillip 1 side of hat.... Let me find a picture....

Here it is!

I wonder if dad would wear one of these things? (In blues) Or would he rather a new Texas A&M baseball cap? :)

I'm learning to knit 2 socks at the same time. That is super cool! It feels like it takes longer, but really it's not, because by the time I am done. I will have 2 socks to wave around instead of 1!!!
These are for Day of the Dead competition. I will probably lose because I decided to try and learn this at the last second and had a few problems ;) But that's ok :) I will be using this method from now on socks. I really wish I had know about it a LOOONG time ago hahaha

The project I started for Shirly is creeeeeping along. I have a hard time with charts that don't have full written out words for back up. So I have set it aside untill after the holidays. Maybe I can get it done intime for her birthday. If not maybe Christmas next year :D

Mom's Christmas yarn finally came in as did her replacement yarn for her Bday. To bad bday is almost tomorrow and project is huge. I had to replace the yarn because it was 70% alpaca/30% silk It was beautiful and sooooo soft. I got it on sale years ago. It screamed MOM. I just didn't know what to do with it until this year LOL. This year is when I found out I was allergic to Alpaca. I can knit with if fine (suuuure) it's when fibers start to float and land on my face... My face welts up where the fibers land cry. So last week I was wandering the internet and found some 50% Merino 50% silk Angel Wings by Fly Designs in Teal Lake And got it on SALE!! So Mom you will get a super nice Bday/Christmas present next year.

I guess that's it for now

Dale isn't climbing the fence

He's leaping the fence like a dear. I saw him do it!
And I think we found a new owner for both Dale and Nona.
They live down the road and need a new buck. :)

Dale is driving me nuts!

2 weeks ago he got out of the pasture and discovered the pear tree. Every since then he has derived a plan to get to the pear tree at least 2x a day! All fencing areas have been fixed. I think the unknown 1/4 of his breed is mountain goat ;0 and that is how he is getting out now. Only because Nona hasn't followed since all the repairs have been made. :) He does follow me back to the gate everytime. Like a little boy in trouble. Head down and all haha. The pears are just too much temptation I guess. He'll be after the persimmons next month.....

Critter Pics

Derek ready for game

Hershey born July 4 last of the hatching

Red and "Fatty" Granny

Henry, Hershey & Goldie

"Mean" Granny

Jack

Nona & Dale

Flashbacks

I've been dyeing fiber for my etsy shop. The green is a consignment! It's a semi-solid. Much like the blue Deven did that has since sold. He is very proud of that btw :) I have since spent quite a while re-skeining the yarn to give a better representation of the colors. Below is a picture of a couple. I'm not a fan of orange, but the October challenge for my Etsy Team is Fall colorsm and I really LOVE how this came out.


This scarf is a donation for the Special Olympics coming up. The goal is 5000 scarves for the athletes. I'm going to try and have 5 made and mailed by the deadline. I don't knit & crochet as fast as I used to, and I still want to get the boys' things made for Christmas finished.

This was just finished getting spun up. Its the Corriedale Logan dyed for me with koolaid and I steamed. I need to take it off the bobbinand set the twist. It looks like it's about sock/fingering to DK weight as a single ply. It may bloom bigger. We'll see. But I spun it to ply so it's tight.! We'll see. It came out nice though


Here is one of those Christmas presents I was talking about. A reversible hat for the boys. This is one side. I still need to finish the decreases and close the top, so I can start the new color at the brim. When it's done I'll have 2 more to go.

Today is Homecoming

This post is picture heavy.
Hey sis! Remember this one? It's yours, I couldn't find one of mine.


These next three are the boys' for today. They call them "garters" now. Not "booteniers"




Here are the boys bright and early this morning ready for the fun day!


And finally Derek showing off his fancy shirt he had to have ;)



Have a GREAT Friday everyone!

Homecoming

Derek's Homecoming is Friday! I can't remember one being so early. I thought they were always the last home football game. This will be his first time marching on the field with his friends in band. I'm excited for him. The school is having a cook-out before the game.

Look at what the chickens have been doing!

They aren't white eggs either. They are actually a pale blue tint. The darker ones are green. They come from the Aruacanas Goldie, Muffles and Anna Belle.

Roving

I dyed most of my BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) Roving yesterday. With the hurricane weather down south, the temps have dropped quite a bit here; and its taking longer to dry. Normally they would be already. This morning they were still damp. They turned out really nice. Although steaming makes it look squished. Kettle dyed looks like there is more there (blues/violet), but both have exactly the same amount of fiber. 4.25 ounces. I have 3-4 oz left to dye of BFL.
Then I can get started on the Merino. I can't wait. I bought 6lbs. to play with.

Band?!

So Friday Derek comes home and tells us he dropped Food/Nutrition class for Band...And its a done deal. Eek! He hasn't played an instrument in 4yrs! "Oh and he needs to be at the football game at 6pm to help setup. Is that ok?" He was so hyped up and excited. He didn't even have an instrument yet. I wasn't prepared. I thought we were going to the school to get his notebook he left in keyboarding class. I hadn't clued in on "the game" for some reason. Game didn't start until 7:30pm! Next time I'll come prepared with a knitting/crochet project or a book ;). We saw our neighbors...The only people we knew there. lol We had a good time though. Derek looked like he was having a great time down there on the line with his friends. Next time he'll be marching with them! Speaking of marching. He had practing last night fot 2hrs at school. His teacher told Phillip the school provides the instument, we provide the mouthpiece. I still don't know what he's playing... Baratone or French Horn.... Derek finally told me before he left this morning. Maybe he'll know today.

Total Silence

Yesterday was my first day EVER alone in total silence that I can remember. What did I do? you ask....
1. 1 load of laundry
2. spun 4oz. of Corriedale fiber the boys dyed with Koolaid
3. watched 3 old movies on the FOX movie channel
4. talked to Hubby and MomMom on the phone when they called to see if I was "ok" ;)
5. can't forget the fact that I burnt my lunch!

Featured Crafter of the Week

This weeks featured crafter of the week from the SheTeam at Etsy is me! I sell yarn that I have dyed, Knit items. It's a family endeavor so the boys are free to make and sell also. So far Deven is the only one to take me up on that. He is dyeing yarn and selling it. He would like to move on to wooden items. I am excited to see what he comes up with in the future. The blue yarn here is one of his creations he has named "Inspiration". The floral design doily is cotton dishcloth. It can be used as a washcloth/hot plate/trivet/and much more. Do come and visit our shop, you might just find something you like :)

Wow Sales in My Etsy Shop!!

We are so excited! Deven should be very proud of himself though. All 3 sales today and last night are his. I've been teasing him about having a big head. And he's been teasing me about being the better "everything" ;)

Featured Crafter of the Week

This week's seller is Handcrafted at Wit's End. She makes handbags and purses out of repurposed items like antique quilts, and my favorite...cloth feed sacks, and coffee bean bags. Awhile back she had one that screamed my mom made from a Kona bean bag. It was gone faster than I could think about buying it! I like chickens so here is an example of her work with a chicken on it ;) and do go check her out!

Week in review Wednesday

I'm a day late. ;)
Deven and Logan had testing yesterday and that took up 1/2 the day. They go back to finish tomorrow. Derek wants to go to the High School here. It looks smaller than Jenna's. I think his class would have a total of 65. I graduated with 334! So now I am having to wrack my brain on what he has been learning for the last 3 years. I do not remember a lot. My medicine really did do a number on me memory wise. The kids don't like to discuss it, but when I can get it out of them I was "pretty dang slow". No wonder I thought I was going bonkers when I was coming off it to switch over to Topomax.....But I digress. Derek has to go to the High School and take the 1st 1/2 of the TAKS test tomorrow morning. I'm not worried about him taking tests. It's him writing an essay that bothers me. He just cannot sort his thoughts quick enough. I hope he doesn't freeze on that part. Phillip says he doesn't mind if Derek gets put in the 10th grade instead of the 11th. I think he will be bored to DEATH. But maybe not. High School is different than Middle and Elementary. We'll just wait and see what the tests say.

We got approval to get an appointment for a pediatric psychologist for Logan to get a firm diagnosis on Aspergers and/or any other LD's there may be. Now to find one. The yellow pages aren't being much help. Dr. ofc isn't aloud to make this referral for us, "its a private matter", they said.

I've dyed yarn. 414 grams worth. I was going for camo. It came out green and pink. The dyes split somehow. So instead I have "Briar Rose" soon to be in my store. While Zander was here we dyed 463 grams of Corriedale roving with koolaid. First time ever to dye roving. Koolaid was safest with an 18mo around. AND was first time to steam dye. That was fun. My spinning is getting more consistent and stays around worsted weight.

Of course Phillip is on call. Good news is they have a new guy now so in a couple months he gets to share ;)

School again. HUGE flip flop

Part of the reason it's taking so dang long to decide on what to pick or do is, Deven has been waffling back and forth all summer about going to school this year. We keep telling him "Fine go." Then he changes his mind again. So yesterday afternoon we all went to town to "see the school". This town is 1100 people large according to Google. All 3 schools are together. Middle School is a new one. Band camp was going on there, and the Asst Principle gave us a tour. A gaggle of giggling girls followed us around and finally started to talk to Derek and Deven. It was really funny. The girls ranged from 13-15. One ran off to tell a friend about the boys and came rushing back all embarrassed. When I looked over there were 3 more girls looking through the glass window. haha. My boys are clueless! They think they might want to go to school this year haha. And Deven says he may try out for football. From what I understand they don't care if he can play or not. He's 6ft 2in. in the 8th grade! The other kids are not ;) I hope it goes well for Derek. His experience last time was scary aweful at KISD. I don't foresee any "gang activities" in a small town. But we'll talk to the High School Principal anyway about those sort of things when he is there. Logan is wants to try too. They are going to place him in the special ed program. (have to get paperwork from old school). With the school being small, it's integrated up to a point. After that he would be bussed to Academy. He'll still have to be after-schooled. He does well with schedules because of his Asperger's. It's the being away from home all day I'm not too sure about. It took 3 months to integrate last time he was in public school. I really hope it is quicker this time. I want this to be trauma free.... For everyone. I count this as being the first time for me being home alone ever since kids. Last time doesn't count. I don't remember it. My old medicine did that. I don't remember alot. It dawned on Phillip last night before bed that I would be alone. He still worries about seizures. It's been over 3 years now, almost 4. And Logan may only be gone 1/2 days. Depends on the testing and how the special ed program works. I am hoping for full integration program, but it may not happen. There are several delays. Age wise he is 6th grade. But when is he was in KISD he was 1 yr behind. They wanted to hold him another yr behind but he is a big boy and he had an IEP. So they said they would pass him and give him another IEP. It's a toss up right now if he will be 5th or 6th grade. They will use the test and his size to determine. School starts the 25th. Which coincidentally was when I was going to start anyway. But now I feel rushed. They all have shoes. Some of the correct school supplies. Now I need to make sure they enough nice clothes to wear.

Rogers is alot like Douglass only smaller. The grainery is next to the train tracks. I even saw a little mexican restaurant on the corner when we drove into town :) We'll have to drive around there some more, but I doubt they have a Pizza Hut ;)

Shoes

Normally when buying shoes for the boys, it's a painful process. It will take days. They don't like the style, no one has the right size, and so on. It wasn't like that this time. Instead we went to Shoe Carnival and cut them loose. (We always start out like this). But we live in a different town now, and people ask if they can help us...often. So Logan got his foot measured. And then we found a shoe he liked! He walked in the store with a men's 9.5 4e and out with 13 4e!!! OMG why didn't the child say something sooner about needing new shoes?! We were willing to buy him 2 pairs, but they only had 1 that he liked. Deven went in with a 10 4e and out with an 11 4e. Derek stayed the same 9.5/10 wide, it just depends on the shoe. He got a 2nd pair since the pair he had was still nice. The store was having a "Buy 1 get 1/2 off sale" so I got a pair of Sketcher girly shoes. They are brown leather with embroidery on them. All 4 pair for $152. MUCH cheaper than the last time the boys needed shoes LOL
Phillip's shoes will cost more than all four pair combined I am sure. He wears those SAS ones, and has about worn them out. If he ever gets a non-OT weekend we'll be going to the outlet mall and getting him a pair.

Featured Crafter of the Week

Each week my Etsy group the SHEteam has a featured crafter. This week it is KLow. Take a look at her store. She makes cards and paper crafts. Here is an example of one her cards. Very cute!

Are you ready for school?

We almost are.
I won my ebay auction for Logan's history/geography. He'll be learning Winter Promise's American Story part1. The rest is easy we continue where we left off at the end of last year. :D

Deven and I haven't decided on yet on if he is going to do the Ancients or an in depth 1yr American history. After we figure that out, then I can search out the big deals. ;) He needs to take a placement math test. He's hoping to place the same or higher than Derek LOL. It's a European math program. So things are more integrated. Algebra, Geometry, etc are used every year, all year long instead of split into separate years. Deven is also waffling between Earth/Space Science and Life Science. The rest we continue where we left off.

Derek is going to be in the 11th grade this year! Can you believe it?! He will be in Driver's Ed. Civic's, Spanish, American Literature, Most of Year 11 History/Literature/Biographies from Old Fashioned Education, his Language Arts will continue from last year. I'm thinking Psychology might be a good elective if I can find a good book for him. And perhaps Economics. He wants Computer Science or Physics for his 3rd Science credit. I just need to find the books! Many are on line just waiting for me to hit print or buy for $2......I just know it ;-)
Wait! when is the big library sale? that's where I found most of last years books.....

If the boys go on a reading frenzy I'll look at the suggested reading at Ambleside Online or hit the used book store and let them find their own books :)

Pictures of the dry tank

No more frogs and and turtles in the water. There was a heron here right before the water dried up. Didn't have my camera with me :( Wonder how long it will take to fill back up to where the vegetation is?

I wish Summer was over already!

Grasshoppers are killing the garden. Not that it was putting much food out anyway ;)
It's hot!
I like it cooler... like Spring and Fall.
The water tank has dried up practically. We're in a drought...Guess it's a good thing I didn't have fish put in it lol So we have a plastic bin up by the house for the goats to get water from. This weekend we go to the feed store to get a real water tub for them.


Did I mention I have a chicken addicted to dry cat food? I caught her the other day. She makes a b-line for the porch every morning to see if the cat has food in her bowl. She goes nuts. You can't just make get off the porch either... you have to pick her up and remove her to another part of the yard! She tried to eat the dogs food last night. He just kept sticking his butt in her face haha. When his bowl was empty he walked away. Poor poor Honey, nothing left for to have. You would think we starved her the way she acts with the cat food. Amazing.


On a side note I finished my first 2 ply handspun yarn on the spinning wheel. My friends tell me it looks like "art yarn". Phillip and the kids say "no way!". I think I have enough to make a warm funky hat. If not I can use the purple single ply I made as a 1st try to finish it off with.

What's happening today?

For starters I used the air horn to get the boys up this morning haha
Really.... I did! They hate it too. They told me it was "totally unnecessary"
I figure if they would have gotten up on time I wouldn't have had to use it :)

After two months, we got the call to come pick up the plates to the new car today.

My first handspun yarn is hanging in the shower setting it's twist.

I've reskeined 3 hanks of yarn for my Esty 2 more to go. Then I need to take pictures so I can list them for sale. Then I want to reskein some of the ones that are for sale and redo pictures. I think with the new way, they are prettier, and give a better representation of the yarn. I have one listing up that is the new way. It just needs a couple more pictures.

Anona gave me some beautiful wool roving she dyed. I would like to get prepped and start spinning on. Many shades of purple.

I've let the 3 white guineas out of the brooding area, and now they are hiding from me! I can't find them. They are "hopefully" under the truck or in a bush. I can't hear their trill.

We lost one of the newest chicks. It drowned in the last rainstorm. Grandma was right when she said they were so dumb they could drown in a tsp of water. haha. It was pretty windy and may have gotten separated from Goldie (momma hen) . She has 2 chicks left.

I finished a sock at lunch. The boys dyed the yarn for me with kool aid when we first moved here. I need to start the mate to it soon. It's really neat looking. But I won't ever do the pattern again as I am doing it now. I am in a knitting challenge where you use microgauge. 10 stitches or more per inch. That is killing me & my hands (we won't tell Phillip ;)). I have been able to keep gauge. Yay. Normal gauge doesn't bother me, but this micro gauge UGH! The way around it is to knit is short stints.

A while back I started a project for Aunt Shirley. Perfect yarn/perfect pattern. Hah! the yarn was pooling in a way that you couldn't see the pattern at all. So that got frogged. I found a new pattern. Hopefully it will turn out better. (crosses fingers). I'm not saying what it is yet. But it is in Summer 2006 Interweave Knits You'll just have to guess ;)

Time to go do the boring stuff like laundry and make sure Derek loaded the dishwasher. So I can do the fun stuff

It's here!!!

This is a Kromski Polanaise. Isn't it beautiful?! I love it. Phillip put it together for me. I watched the video and came back to tell him what to do and he had already done it! He had "the picture" LOL I chose the Mahogony finish. That purple you see on the bobbin is the same stuff from my spindle. It took FOREVER, but I untangled the mess. I think I am spinning to thickly. I want thin! But that is the excitement talking. Supposedly I can do many thicknesses on this wonderful machine.


And in all honesty I suck at spinning right now. I have broken the leader thread SO many times last night. then the bobbin wouldn't wind. The roving would just spin tighter and tighter and snap! The leader breaks again. It's set on double drive. The video says I can have scotch drive but it didn't say how. My friend "Anonaesq" on Ravelry sent me to Pacific Wool and Fiber for instructions so I can set it up. Hopefully it will make things a little easier. I also ordered a spinning book. It's just not here yet. Too bad I don't know anyone close by that can say "Hey! you did that wrong, do it this way."


Here is what I did get done last night

Things from the week