Category Archive: Life
Monster trucks finished at 48 x 54″ and will be a great boy quilt. I’ll put it aside until just the right boy happens along for this quilt. I have cut out the backing for the Jinny Beyer wall hanging and that’s as far as I got before I had to go to the dentist.Planned and changes
Well, I had planned to quilt the braided quilt top,
but couldn’t decide on a design. And I planned to put the binding on the monster truck quilt, but that also went astray. 
Instead, the plumber was here, working on the barn and we ended up removing many things from the barn which are now on the disposal pile which is supposed to leave tomorrow. The middle of the barn looks pretty good. The table holds the fleeces that I still have to skirt. And there are lights sitting there which will be installed tomorrow.
I think all these cabinets are leaving tomorrow.
After that a neighbor, Franna, came and taught me about skirting a fleece. I didn’t have a clue what was involved. I had been told that it just meant taking off the poopy parts. Not so. We picked out as much vegetation as we could (that takes a long time, if sheep have not had coats) and we checked for breaks in the fiber as well.
Here is a Cormo/Shetland cross fleece on which we worked, picking out much vegetation and other stuff. 2 fleeces took us about 3 hours.
You can see here that it has a nice crimp to it – and also a bit of vegetation left. A good wash, combing or carding, then spinning and knitting or crochet and it will be a beautiful garment someday. It is soft and has good shine to it
And here is your sheep fix today – of the yearling ewes that will be next years mothers.
Beyer wall hanging
Another flimsy – the Jenny Beyer wall hanging is now ready to be quilted. This means I really need to use the quilting machine next week if I’m to get any finishes this month.
Today was a beautiful day and I did get the grocery shopping and laundry done as well. Sunday, we are scheduled for the rest of the shearing. And today our big (200# plus) ram moved to a new home. He will have 60 acres to roam with many females. I hope he’s happy. He was becoming dangerous to humans here. Still he was handsome and I will miss him.
Monster trucksflimsy and sheep
The Monster trucks flimsy is now in one piece. The piece at the right with trucks will be the backing, when I get time to quilt this. Right now, with all that is going on, I’m just happy to have this all in one piece. Yes, I know there is a mistake and it is going to stay there at least for now and maybe forever. There has been very little sewing time this week.
Sunday, I have been promised the rest of the sheep will be sheared. Today another Shetland was bawling, so I went to find out why. Of course she was on the far side of the pasture and when I came within two feet of her, she decided to lunge for the barn and that’s all it took for her to become disentangled from the blackberry vine. They have been eating the blackberries like they are candy which is great. But she must have cried for over 15 minutes before I got to her and then it was one long, loopy vine across her head and down one side. Once they have their heavy coats off, I want to say it should go better in the blackberries and roses, but I doubt it. I need to get coats and put on them to have better fleeces and my bet is they can get those coats caught on something. Sometimes sheep are smart and sometimes not.
Time saving Fast food
We rarely eat out, but we frequently have time saving “fast food”. I can or freeze a variety of foods. Yesterday, we wanted soup. How long does it take to open a jar of potatoes, one of carrots, one of green beans, two of salsa, and one of red beans. (I could have added frozen corn or peas) I opened the jars, added seasonings, and heated. I added a salad and we had a meal. Now, that’s fast food that’s even faster because we didn’t go out. It’s even less expensive because we didn’t move the car.
Today’s fast food included some soup left from yesterday, potato salad from potatoes cooked 4 days ago that I made up this morning, and by noon was cooled. We added a spinach salad and there was another fast meal. I took some strawberries out of the freezer and added cashew crème for dessert.
I cooked a large pan of potatoes and we had them fresh cooked that day, “fried” with tofu another day and potato salad today. I rarely cook a meal that is just for one time.
I sometimes blend most of a jar of potatoes and add some corn and seasonings for a fast potato soup or corn chowder. I usually can beans, carrots, and potatoes, out of season when it’s cooler, so that also warms the house for that day. When I made patties or casseroles, I make enough for 2 or 3 meals.
I am a firm believer in fast home cooked food as it is more nutritious and less expensive than going out. It also saves time and is another way to get more time into your day for fun things like watching sheep babies or sewing/quilting,—-or as we had to do today – visit a neighbor in the hospital.
Be aware though, if trying a new recipe that may not turn out how you think it will, one meal will be enough. I only do the above on meals I am confident in.
Today came/went
I sat down to write this post and realized that it is dark and I have not put the sheep in for the night.
Sheep are in – I don’t know what happened to today’s hours, but they are gone – they came and went FAST. The sheep are such fun when I let them out in the morning. The babies leap and run and leap again for the joy of life. Tonight when I got up there to put them in, the babies and moms were in the barn. But in the dark, it’s hard to tell who belongs to who, so I ended up leaving the stall doors open and let the mothers sort out their offspring. The sheep who were not bred this year, were put in a different area. I am so thankful for having indoor facilities for them.
I am so thankful for help! The strawberries are weeded and hoop house is cleaned out and new seeds are started. This young lady can only help me 2 days a week, but she gets so much done, it is enough. In fact, it is wonderful! Next week, we will work in the barn.
Coordinating and baby 8
Hiring and supervising are not my favorite things to do. But today, we had the plumber out to do some repairs on the barn water system and tell us what we need in terms of money and supplies to get done what we need.
Then there are the repairs needed to the barn doors which, the last person saw fit to remove and put on backwards, plus remove all the hardware. So that also meant a trip to the hardware store to purchase the right hardware.
I hired part time help in the garden to finish planting potatoes and help with weed control in the hoop house. She worked so hard today, she finished the potatoes – which was about 160′ of them, before the rains hit. Then she went into the hoop house and worked the rest of the day, staying until she finished weeding all the aisles, picked parsley, and watered.
I need someone else to help with some of the old fence posts that are coming down. I guess 20 years is a bit much to expect from some of these posts. So an interview was in order. My first impression of the fellow that applied was good, but he needs a full time job, so will call me when he has achieved that.
Plus, I have someone doing some drywall work on the little studio apartment to get it ready to rent. So I dealt with the repair work on that
Oh, and did I mention baby #8 was up and nursing when I went to the barn this morning. The air is breeze and a bit crisp, but definitely springtime (this morning). I don’t have a photo of baby 8, but here Friday’s babies are out romping in the sun. Mom is a Ouissant – a rare breed. Babies are half Shetland.
All I did was coordinate, freeze (it is cold out there in the wind and even in the barn), go for parts. Why should I feel this tired?
Spinning, planting, shearing
A bit of spinning,
50 potatoes planted which is about 1/4 of them,
and 5 sheep are sheared. The lambs are getting reacquainted with their mothers and the rams are in a big fight. With their coats removed, they don’t know each other. It got to late to finish the shearing, so the others will be sheared in a week or so.
More Monster trucks and miracle of birth
Here are more trucks – that’s as many Monster trucks as this quilt will have. Mary came over and we were digitizing – or rather, she was teaching me, when I felt restless and decided we should go check on the sheep at the barn.
I knew tomorrow was due date, but that doesn’t always mean anything, Surprise! The bag had broken and before we got her in a stall, she was in this stage.
We talked her the 4 feet into the stall where she lay down. She was showing little feet.
This little fellow rushed out and
before she finished cleaning his head, he had a brother.
They are still wet, but all are tired and taking a bit of a nap.
Then it was time to try to stand.
Time to figure out how dinner is served. Both were born and trying to find dinner within 20 minutes. I will never tired of the miracle of birth.
More big trucks and sheep
Here are a few more big trucks. It’s going slowly because I have to keep an eye on the sheep. 3 more to lamb. One is technically due today, one mid May and one anywhere in between. Of course then there are the other things like meals and visiting people in the hospital. All of you know what I mean.
Evil eye from mom because she doesn’t want to let me near this baby.
Getting a peak at the baby
Finally — the baby!
If someone will explain to me how to download a video here, I’ll take some photos of the little ones playing and show them.