Almost November

Where has the year gone, only 2 months left until 2010… sure glad i don’t live at the coast and have to deal with the Olympics…I even decided that i won’t go over to Dream Spin on the island this year… as it is in Feb…feel sorry for the residents of Whistler..can’t even go shopping with out a pass..

Our Desert Mesa Retreat was a blast as usual, we had a lovely rain, lasted almost all day, we haven’t had a good rain for over 5 months…We had a full house as usual, we did lose 2 guests , Bev and Jean, they both had mini strokes a week apart and they live right across the road from each other… must be the water… giggle..  Our retreat Hosts, Carol and Horst are retiring in December, we will miss them, they have been really great to us the last 6 years…the new guests seemed to enjoy themselves, and plan on coming back..we love all the original guests, but it wonderful to meet new ones…The show and tell was wonderful as usual… the Merritt girls didn’t have much to show as all our stuff was at the art gallery… Marie did bring a shawl that i made for her for her 60th birthdaythis is the picture of it that i took when i was on the island last Feb.. ..i didn’t take any pictures of the retreat… too busy visiting… starting to look forward to the April retreat all ready..

I planted 120 cloves of garlic yesterday… the Garlic guy was here visiting Larry, and darn him, he won’t help me… he told me that they planted 6000 bulbs of garlic this year… last year they planted 4000 and got 600 lbs of garlic..he grows the Russian Red hard neck… i bought 2 lbs from him earlier and planted that… i love the hard neck stuff better than the soft neck stuff…

Levi and i were off to Agility on Saturday, it was the first time he had been in the roping arena, so i got there early to get him used to the smells and sounds and all the different dogs, which are all new to him… it is amazing that they really know that the dogs are different…we are now in a class of beginner advanced dogs… and he did really well, in fact better than some of the other dogs..one girl (woman) is running her daughters dog, dog is trained but the handler isn’t, and then there is me, trained handler, but untrained dog…i was really pleased with him, although he is a “Hard headed Aussie”…and is very stubborn… but we practice at home, doing jumps and weave poles… this is Levi the first day we brought him home… he is doing so much better, his nose was dry and rough, as were his feet, his nose is nice and wet and black, and his feet have softened up…and he has gained some weight, and his coat is nice and shiny..better take some new pictures of him… need to get someone to take some pictures of him on the equipment…

Larry is in town getting ‘gold’ snow tires put on the Jimmy… hope they last a few years..there is snow on the Coquihalla, so guess it is time..nice to have a half day to myself..  The new hens are starting to lay… had 8 eggs yesterday…love the pullet eggs… must remember to take a picture of them as they are so pretty…

Better go and start the laundry, and do some knitting, i am knitting the “swallow tail shawl”.. i hate the ‘nupps’ so am following Melody’s lead and using beads in the place of nupps, and i am very happy with it… should have it finished soon… can’t believe that i will have it finished 2 months in advanced… have several different plans, just have to figure out which one do do first… OH yeah… at the gift exchange at the Retreat, I got 30 grams of Quivit..from Louise…after the exchange she came over and asked me if i like it… now who won’t like Quivit..she asked me if i would like some more… and she gave me another 30 grams… and it is lovely stuff, very few guard hairs, and no veggie material…so i think as soon as i get my Traveller wheel back on Saturday,(it is on display at the Art Gallery) i will spin it up… no idea what to make out of it… maybe the “swallow tail shawl”… as i will need about 400 yards for the original… I doubled the size of the main part of the shawl i am working on now…should be the right size…okay… time to go get something done…. Bird is yakking up a storm…. one night he was saying “thank you Larry, thank you Larry…and then Larry said, You are welcome Yankee, and Yankee said…”Pardon Me”…right now he is yelling at the dogs… telling Dixie to Shut up…and then tells me that “Yankee is a snookie”…Yankee a big bird, what a bird, do ya want out… sure do love that crazy critter…. talk to ya soon……….  S.

I’M BACK

Hello… I’m back…sure don’t know where the time has gone… sorry i have been away so long…been busy… the Guild has set up a display at the Court House Gallery.. for the month of October.. This is what it looked like before we started… the girl in the picture is the Gallery Manager Kathi, and if you look really close you can see her little parrot on her shoulder…”Zoe”  cute little bird.. this is us.. me, Caroline, Andrea. Annie and Sheila S before we started This is Caroline working on a display… Annie was a floral designer, so she has the “FLARE” that we needed.. took us about 3 hours, and we were really plelased with the result.. Annie brought this lovely walking wheel, which i would love to own if i had room for it… she said i could have it…now i just need to get a house.. This is all my stuff.. kind of hard to show off shawls.. This is one of Andrea’s woven shawls and a knit shawl by Annie All the gloves hanging in the box are a guild project… fingerless gloves..and a few pair of socks This is a picture of my “wee peggy” (the one on the right, and one of Annie’s old wheels.. This is my girlfriends shawl that i gave her on her 60th.. the one i forgot… i knew i had given it to her, but forgot what it looked like This is baskets of skeins for sale.. This is the room when we were finished… we were very pleased with it..I hope we decided to do it again next year..  okay i have put enough pictures in, so i will write about Desert Mesa next time around… guild meeting tomorrow…

Frost

Boy, it was chilly this morning.. i slept in, and at 8 am, it was 1 degree… so imagine how cold it was earlier… just couldn’t stay awake this morning..i don’t sleep-in very often, so it was nice for a change..

Larry and i went to a “Garlic Festival” yesterday… they had an old tractor parade, and several of the hit mad miss motors that he likes, I had bought my garlic a couple of weeks ago, so i really didn’t need any… they also had some garlic mustard that i would like to have bought but they sold out the first hour…i did taste it and it was nice… will ask her if she will make some more this winter… they were also selling garlic powder, but i thought it was a bit expensive… about $12 for about 4 oz… i like fresh garlic… 

Then we went out for supper… and cards, and we got our butts kicked, and of course the guys won’t let us forget it… only the four of us this weekend, Clara is in PEI, and her hubby Steve is in Fort St John hunting with his boys…we are having thanksgiving here, deep frying one of our turkeys..

Cleaned out a bit of the garden this morning… the beans, zucchini, lettuce, and a few weeds…gave them all to the chickens… the new hens sure have tamed down, when they were in their original pen, they were really flighty, i would walk into the pen and they would hide in the back corner, but when i put them into the new chicken house with the 5 old hens, they calmed right down, one even came up to me for a treat… no eggs yet, it will be a couple months yet as they are only 3 months old.. we will get the meat birds and turkeys earlier next year..and be all done by end of June..

I get the whole day by myself tomorrow..Larry and Joe are off to Alexis Creek, a friend of our lives up there, and she has a part of one of Larry’s motors as a flower pot, and she said he could have it… it is the only  part left that he needs… a nice quiet day and then Agility with Levi at 5, and i just might stop and get myself some Chinese take away… they have the very best Ginger beef..  not quite sure what i will do tomorrow, clean up a bit, and then sit and spin for a while, then knit and then read… I am reading ‘The kite flyer’, very interesting, and then i plan on reading his next book, about the women in Afghanistan..what a strange country…

Retreat time is getting closer… i can hardly wait… talk to ya soon……this is willy… getting very old, he is at least 18 years old..

One less chore

One less chore to do now… we butchered the turkeys this morning… they were so easy to raise, and really didn’t eat much, they were too big though, and only 3 months old.. should have done them 2 weeks ago, but it has been years since we have had turkeys, i forgot how fast they grew… hens weighted 18 lbs, and the toms  weighted 26 and 24 lbs.. sure glad Larry doesn’t mind helping me, I can remember years ago,(BK)(before kids)..i would do them myself, one year we had 35 turkeys..and i did them all by myself..nothing nicer than homegrown turkeys, we fed them extra cracked corn… should taste good… we are going to deep fry one for Thanksgiving…

Went to a baby shower yesterday, I can’t remember the last shower i went too, it was so long ago… one of our agility friends had Invetro, and both eggs took, so they had twins, Suzie is so tiny, she had a tough pregnancy, but the girls, Caleigh, and Madilyn are just too cute… even got to hold one most of the party..Suzie and Josh made out like a bandit..tons of stuff.. and lots of stuff for 2  years olds… really cute, one forgets how tiny 6 week olds really are…

Things are getting closer for the Desert Mesa Retreat…i can hardly wait… I haven’t been away since Sept long weekend..then i think i am done going away for awhile… Levi isn't’ ready for agility trials yet… probably in the spring… i might take him to one in Kamloops just to get him used to the hustle and bustle… 

Guild is getting ready for our show in the local Art Gallery… should be interesting.. we are able to sell things, think i might sell my “Shetland shawl” knitted in the feather and fan pattern, i don’t wear it much… I also finished both shawls that i was working on… the purple one for my 60 year Vet, and the alpaca one for my friend who lives in the bush without power… and have started the one for my agility instructor who will also be 60 in Dec, so i have plenty of time, I am doing that one out of super wash blue faced Leicester, dyed a lovely raspberry colour… it is knitting up very nice…  better go  take care  hugs

Indian Summer

What a  beautiful day, today and yesterday…over 30 degrees every day… and cools off at night…

Nothing to interesting around here… slowly harvesting the garden… did some beets, didn’t get many jars, but i had bought 10 pounds when i was at the coast…have one more small batch to harvest.. lots of baby carrots… i don’t normally like carrots, do not like them cooked… but don’t mind them raw…or in carrot cake, or carrot marmalade..but i do love baby carrots, raw or cooked… we are leaving the spuds till they set their skins..hopefully they won’t be as mushy.. 

Took Levi to agility last night… just love my class now as i am getting semi private lessons…. everyone who started with me has quit… one girl moved to another night, so when i showed up last night… just me and the instructor Maureen, and her hubby Rob… Rob has been a armchair instructor for years, he could point out our mistakes, but he didn't run a dog.. , they got back one of their standard poodle pups, and she is going to be Rob’s dog… so he was running with me last night with one of Maureen's trained dogs, as he needs the skills, and i have the skills, but not the trained dog…although Levi did really well last night… but boy is he stubborn… he wanted to do the Teeter, and i wanted him to do the tunnel..so we worked on it until he finally figured out to do it my way…at least 7 tries before he finally listened to me… he seems to enjoy it… and he is very fast… so that means i have to get faster too… so maybe i will start walking with him…walk 15 steps and run 15 steps..until we are running… eh right… will give it a try.. Dixie, the

un-agility dog, and Levi..he is feeling so much better, when we got him, his nose was very rough,and dry, not wet or shinny, the same with his feet, his feet were so rough that when he put a foot on you it caught on my clothes, even my blue jeans… his nose is almost all nice and smooth and wet, with just one little corner rough, and his feet are nice and smooth too, we changed his dog food, as i figured he had allergies to grains… his stomach gas has smartened up too..he has settled down, and doesn’t follow us everywhere now… we are both pleased with him…well better go and get supper started, Joe the oldest child is coming for supper, and we are trying bar b qued roast and veggies again… hopefully i won’t cut myself this time…take care…. sheila

September YUCK

Just where has the summer gone..it is hard to believe we are into September and the days are getting so short … it is dark by 8 pm already…

Sorry I have been so slack about writing.. Jesse and I went to an agility trial on the long weekend.. in Kamloops..actually Heffley Creek, on the road to Todd Mountain… or Sun Peaks..everyone calls it Sun Peaks, but the mountain is still called Todd..and i used to live in the area, so it will always be Todd Mtn to me… We had a great weekend, my agility partner couldn’t make it that weekend, she had a wedding to go to, so she lent me the camper van, and Jesse and I went on our own… sure missed Denise.. but we had other friends there, so we had a good time..and Jesse finally got her finally starters game.. “snooker”… very much like the pool game… a red jump and then any other obstacle… we have had a hard time getting it, as Jesse is a little slow… but we made it this time..which is all i really wanted… Jesse is retired now… she is living with Daughter in laws mother, and i am not taking her to classes when someone else has her… i know it will be hard on her, and me too, but the last couple of months i only got her the day of the class for a couple of hours..Joe took her back to his in laws on Monday, L and i were out for cards and supper, which was good, or i would have cried when he took her…just writing about it makes me teary…. i have Levi now, and hopefully he will enjoy agility, and be good at it..he is fast and just needs to learn the commands…

Garden is slowing down… sure have a lot of cukes… long English, so going to do some more pickles… i have lots of jars of dills, none of them are full as there is just a few in each jar as they are growing slowly…I bought some garlic from the garlic guy in town… going to plant a bed … the hot Russian red, i use so much… and it is so much cheaper than buying on the internet… they ask $3.5 a bulb, and the local guy is asking $4 a pound… not as big, but it will do… they are having a Garlic festival on the 27th… i think we will go as they have the “hit and miss motors” that L enjoys… and they have some garlic mustard… and garlic powder which i don’t use much as i prefer the fresh stuff…Next day, Saturday the 12th … had to go to town to get some peppers for the pickles and turkey grower.. this will probably be the last sack of grain for them… they are getting big… and i don’t want them too big…hens should be okay, but toms will be too big soon… both Larry and I really enjoy them…wish we could hatch our own… think i might try and find some Bourbon Reds turkey… they will lay and hatch their own offspring.. and they are neat birds… we had a tom a long while ago.. and he would escort out anyone who drove into the yard… he would run in front of the car out to the front road… and walk back… and he was always under our feet, but that was before Jackson… who would eat him now…but maybe i can talk L into making a good pen for them…

We are off for supper tonight, it was my turn to cook, but Steve had to work today, so they won’t be here till about 6:30, so we are going up to their place, it will be much easier on them…just the 4 of us this weekend…others are busy…

Mom had a scare the other day… she passed a school bus with its lights on… said she couldn’t stop as she was going too fast… she is 83 now… and this is what i worry about… why was she going that fast, and she said it was at a 4 way stop… so why couldn’t she stop… oh well… guess my brother will have to deal with this..my sister in law is really good to her..I don’t usually see her drive as she likes me to drive when i am down there…

What a beautiful day today… had to put the swamp cooler on… getting too warm in the house..Larry is  having a nap as we are usually up late playing cards…  better go and pick Clara some carrots, she loves the baby carrots, and i don’t know how we will keep them this winter… got a bunch of beets to do too…well i  had better sign off… have a great day….

this is Levi on his dog house…need at least one picture .. sheila

First time in my life

For the very first time in my life, i had stitches for an injury…i know at my age, you would think i would be more careful… Joe turned 33 (yuck) on Monday, and yesterday was his first day off… so he came over for his birthday supper… he wanted roast, roasted spuds, and Yorkshires..and we had garden peas/carrots, and beans, and i made him a chocolate cake…cooked the roast on the bbq…on the roisterer..so supper was ready, and i started to cut the roast… and went to cut the string holding it together… and the knife slipped and i cut my hand…about 1.5 inches below my little finger, well i bled like a stuck pig…it was only about an inch long,but i can say that i have never bled so much… and of course it won’t quit.. and was squirting… so Larry took me into emergency… (only the 2nd time in my life i have gone there ,nope i lied, the 3rd time..)..we got there at about 6 pm, I was the 2nd in line, and we didn’t get out of there until 8:30.. i would hate to have to go to ER down at the coast especially for something as simple as a cut …here our Drs take turns at the ER… so this one must have gone home for supper before he came down…it must have been 7 before he got there… the guy in front of me chopped his hand with an axe.. so he had a lot more stitches… only 3 for me…but never before in my life, even my boys never had stitches… a few trips to the ER. .Matt was riding his motorcycle up the hill and was looking back at his dust and he ran his knee into a tree.. and Joe too was there, but i can’t remember why he was there… hurt his arm i think… so Poor Joe had supper all by himself..don’t know what we were thinking about, but i could have driven myself into town… Larry could have stayed home, ate his supper while it was hot, and fed the sheep and dogs… but i guess he felt he had to look after me, as i looked after him for weeks, months and years…better go… Larry is going to teach me how to drive Joe’s Quad… hope i make it back alive…. Guess what, i made it back… only a short drive around the block… it was nice, it is a automatic, so i don’t have to worry about that..it is a beautiful warm night, with a very warm breeze..didn’t go to far, as it is Friday nite, and there is always lots of traffic on the road…i find it very hard to steer, but Larry tells me that the faster ya go the easier it is to steer… but 10-15 klicks an  hour is fast enough for me…. big chicken i am…

I am almost finished the birthday shawl for my friend, (our vet)…think i will really get it finished this week, it was her birthday last week… also found that another friend turn 60, so there is another one to do…  Jesse and I are off to a agility trial next weekend, just read on the “wild fire” site that there is a fire up there… hope they get it under control really soon…It is Larry’s birthday tomorrow… i bought him a digital camera that i gave him a couple of weeks ago, and a book on bees, and a jar of blueberry honey… if he is interested enough i will buy him a bee hive for Christmas..we will get it in the spring… i don’t eat much honey, but it is nice once in a while….  okay… better go do some knitting…. hugs