Silk Spinner

Okay i am still alive

2012-01-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry that i haven't been writing again.... i have been playing Scrabble on FB, and love it... trying to keep my mind young, as i am getting old..will be 65 this year... Planning on spending my Birthday weekend with Toni, Melody, and Marie, and my agility buddies. The BC Alberta Yukon Dog Agility Regional will be in Naniamo this June... so would love to go down to my Moms, spend the night with her, catch the Ferry over to Naniamo, spend the day with Toni and my spinny friends, and then volunteer at the Regional.. it is on for 3 days so will try to volunteer or a day or two...then head back to Mom's on the Monday, and then back to Merritt on the Tuesday.. talked to Larry about it today, and he said he was fine with it...
Our Christmas was very quiet, Matt was home from the coast and Joe and Teresa were here for the day, we had a home grown turkey and my goodness is was perfect.. moist and lot of favour.. Larry did a good job of feeding them..Larry of course had no idea what to give me for Christmas, he ended up buying me some Montana silver earrings (2 pair), very nice, i have tried for years to convince him that jewellery is always a good gift..

Wynn has been going great in her agility classes, we have been really luck this winter, only 4 dogs in our class and they haven't been coming so Wynn and I have PRIVATE lessons...works out good..i love it... going to put her into her first trial in April, the weekend after Desert Mesa Retreat, just one day, it should be fun.. i am really looking forward to taking her... Levi is doing okay.. although he does miss going to classes, I will take him when the weather warms up a bit.. it is cold for him to just sit and wait for us...
Just went looking for a picture of Kayda, the Min Pin..couldn't find any... she has finally decided that this is home.. although she goes wild when Matt comes for a visit.. she jumps into his arms, and he is over 6 feet tall.. she sticks to him like glue.. he does miss her, but he lives in an apartment now..the cold was very hard on her -30 for a couple of days..she was wearing her winter coat and i made a mohair sweater for her (hand spun of course), she looked like a football.. just out long enough to pee and then back in.. I had better get my camera charged up and that some pictures of all of them..

Larry is staying busy in the shop, rebuilding all his old motors and drag saws..this is a picture of one of the drag saws he rebuilt.. it was used for cutting logs into lengths before there were chain saws.. so actually they were the first chain saws.. oh ya, there's Kayda...
Better go, time to go feed the pack.. Kayda in the house, Levi in the back porch, Wynn, Dixie and Jackson in the shop... i promise i will be back soon.... S

new picture

2011-11-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

How do ya like my new picture... it is a pin that belonged to my Grandmother (who died when i was about 10)..Her brother had been in Africa during the Boer War, and he brought this pin back for her... our only family antique... the pin is made of gold... and it is real gold nuggets on the shovel handle and the blade... and the rope is gold, and i love the rivets ....
Life has been pretty boring around here since the spinning retreat... I can hardly wait for the spring retreat...we had a wonderful time, and everyone is looking forward to the 10th Anniversary in 2013... we need some good ideas on how to celebrate that...Toni came and spent the night, we had lots of good giggles..
Levi had a wreck two weeks ago... and we have no idea how it happened... i found some blood on the deck and went to find him... he was in the dog house, someplace were he never goes.. as my Vet put it, he had degloved his penis... the skin was hanging off the end... he ended in the clinic for 4 days..it was surgery my Vet had never done before... but he is fine now... still try to keep him quiet, but he was jumping the fence with in a week... i would have thought that it would hurt too much to jump... he is going back tomorrow to get the stitches out...
Wynn did well with her first class at agility this past week... somewhere over the course, I hurt my knee, so i limped thru the run... by Sunday I could hardly walk, and have been gimping around all week... made an appt with the Dr for tomorrow, but the knee is back to normal to day, but will probably hurt it again on Saturday..we had two dogs drop out of the class, which i don't really mind as that leaves only 4 dogs in the class, where is normally 6 dogs...the woman who quit the class was a real drama queen... she was afraid that the dogs would fight.. one other dog and Wynn growled at her dog..but this way i get to run more... plus one woman is running 2 dogs, and then i get to run twice between her dogs... good class..
Larry got our back porch almost finished... just the inside needs to be finished..should have made it bigger...
I planted over a 100 cloves of garlic this week... just need to cover it with hay...hopefully that will help it keep from freezing...
Off to the food bank tomorrow... busy place these days...
I am almost finished spinning up some Merino and silk roving that i got from Smith & Ewe, in Kamloops at the retreat... very easy to spin, and a lovely pinky purplely colour... got a couple of patterns that i am interested in knitting... anything as long as i don't have to SEW it together... .. have a great day.... S
Matt is coming home next week...his birthday is on the 12 of Nov... my baby will be 31... he hated being 30, so i imagine 31 will be tough.. he just moved into a apartment from a basement suite..

Levi

2011-09-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Levi is now official retired from Agility Trials and training. I know he is only 4 years old, but he just doesn't care for agility. I have tried really hard to make him enjoy it, but no luck..My final decision was made at the 5 Star Trial,the beginning of Sept, he just wasn't interested, even the judge commented on his lack of enthusiasm

. I think what helped me decide to retire him was training Wynn the past 4 months, she loves it and runs with great joy. Levi was 18 months old when we rescued him from his 5th or 6th or 7th home, it is always hard with a rescue dog, he doesn't know how to play with me or even the other dogs, and he has had so many homes you just don't know how he was treated.. It bothers me that i am giving up on him, but I am not giving him away, he is in his forever home, and he will spend the rest of his life on the Homestead with the rest of the pack..if he had had his way last night, he would have spent the night chasing bears... the dogs were wild and barking their heads off...Jackson barked for hours... Levi laid on the front porch and barked..he would have been gone if he had backup but Dixie and Wynn were in the house..

So now I will spend all my $$ and time on Wynn... wish i had a video camera and i would get someone to take a movie of her runs... last night i was messing up my share of the run... and the little witch was whining at me, telling me to smarten up and get with the program.. I had to laugh at her..she is so darn fast, we start the fall classes soon, in Merritt, so the gas cost gets cut right down.. i have to travel 90km round trip to get to the Summer classes on Iron Mountain..about 50 km round trip in the Winter... this is Wynn practicing her Zones. "2 on, 2 off" that is used on the teeter, the dog walk, and the A frame... front feet in the dirt and back feet on the obstacale..she has amazing " zones" .. She should be ready for trials in the spring...

this is the dogs water bucket.. filled with pine cones.. Larry must have emptied it 5 times.. he has a big orange box just full of pine cones..

These are the socks that i now own... the grey ones are made by the wonderful Sock lady, i asked for Grey as the main colour and every shade of pink she had... and of course she had to make them just a little wild with a dash of orange... very cool... and the green ones are one that Marg Sjorstrom made me for our FB exchange... she calls them Beaufort Sea socks.. fit like a glove.. will write soon.... hugs

finally summer

2011-09-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

What a great September we have had... the weather has been wonderful. Denise and I went to the Kamloops agility trial the long weekend, and we almost froze the first night, I got up put on my sleep pants, my socks and my sweater and was finally able to warm up..the days were beautiful, the grass was green (previous years it has been brown and dry and very slippery), but with the late spring and all the rain, I am sure they had lots of water in their well to keep the grass nice. Levi was his putzy self all weekend, the whistle would blow for over time and he would start running, or he would know that we were half way thru the course and he would start to run... even the Judge noticed it... so i made the final decision and I am retiring him at the end of September, I have paid for the month so will finish it... Wynn is doing fantastic, she has discovered that this new game we play is FUN...she is truly amazing, she does every jump with grace and a grin on her face, and clears it by miles...her weaves are getting awesome, last class she did 3 jumps in a row and made her entrance into the weave poles at a gallop...i was so excited that i stopped to reward her... she should be ready for trials by the spring. My friends are amazed that she has only been doing agility since June..
I have been busy making jams and jellies... strawberry, raspberries, apricot, black currant, red currant, chokecherry (for my buddy Lynne, who can't pick berries and watch for grizzlies bears at the same time), and crab-apple jelly for my friend and my mother, and i just finished making "Lady Rose Relish" also for my Mom.. made half a batch and it still made gallons (well sort of)..wanted to do some black berries, but Larry is too busy, and it was his idea... My crab-apple tree finally had some apples on it, so will make some jelly from them when they get a bit redder, and my Grannie Smith has some nice apples, so will do a couple of pies, and the DAMN squirrels have stolen my Peaches, i had about 24 nice peaches just waiting to ripen, the last time i looked there were only TWO left...little buggers...
Only a month until the October retreat, I will have to start spinning to make sure i haven't forgotten how..I also have a scarf that i have to finish for an exchange..got one done, just the final one to do...
Our truck is feeling ill today, Larry headed to the coast and it was running very poorly, so he came back to town and went with his friend... buying more JUNK...

this is Jackson after spending the morning chasing squirrels, and boy do they tease him... he hates being hot, and plays with the sprinkler or his wading pool.

this is our Levi the Putz... enjoying life at home and not having to worry about agility... i will still take him to classes just so he gets to go out with me..he is such a tough dog, so stubborn and strong minded, just like the Aussies..

I am also getting a new back porch, I cleaned the old one out yesterday and threw most of the junk away...and it was just junk... I am trying to take something to the Food bank every day... trying to declutter this shack...works well... i start a pile at the beginning of the week and by Thursday I have a few things to take...
Yankee was been talking up a storm and adds new words almost every day... his latest is "give me a cold beer",(we never have beer in the house), Morning Dear, Kayda's a porkchop, do ya want to go outside, and of course tons of words that i forget... I must write them down...take care will write again soon S

whoopee "summer"

2011-08-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

For a while anyway... it hasn't been too hot... just right, about 27-28 all day, and cool at night.. been busy picking raspberries, and black currants..never had so many raspberries, Larry put some of the "good Earth soil" on the bed, and they have really produced, plus the bee hive has fertilized all the flowers. If i had known that i was going to have so many raspberries, I would have made "raspberry vinegar" my grannie's recipe... 8 cups of fresh raspberries, covered with apple cider vinegar for a couple days, drain, and add more raspberries... ya do this a couple of times.. then strain and boil, a cup of sugar for a cup of juice... boil and then seal in jars... you use 1/4 cup juice in a glass of cold water and ice... it is so good, although the first taste is very vinegary, but by the time you are finished the first glass you want more...Currants have been very prolific too... nice to have the hive of bees in the yard.... we don't own the hive, our neighbour does, he was away for a month, the bees ran out of room and swarmed.. wish we could have caught them, but they were way up the tree...he will learn.
We have agility in the morning tomorrow, Instructor just changed it to morning, and I love the morning classes, Wyn did fantastic last week... we ran a full course, and she only made one mistake...she is finally enjoying herself, she knows when i put my agility runners on, and gets so excited..but she is so fast, the poor little girl will have to learn to work away as i can't keep up with her, and Levi is doing well too, he seems to be running faster and listening better, we will be going to a Agility trial beginning of Sept. long weekend.. Our instructor is have an agility clinic up at her place the weekend before... i have never been to a clinic, so it should be interesting..the instructor is Kim Gurr, well know in the agility world..she is going to the World National Agility trials in Europe...
We butchered the meat birds last weekend..they were a little too big, but nice and fat... we also got 11 turkeys the end of June, and they are doing well too. boy do they grow fast..Larry had to pick them up as i was away that weekend, so he has been looking after them...
Friend of ours have a Cerebral Palsy son, and he has found me on face book, and has been trying to talk to me every time i get on it... he gets really bored, and so when i talk to him so he is happy..i also send him funny jokes of the internet, and he loves that too... he is 14, he rides on his Dad's motorcycle with him..
Had a nice fresh salmon up at Steve and Clara's last night... very good, I ate a lot more than my share, love Salmon... Larry doesn't care for it, so I ate his 2nds' too. They have 20 or 30 chipmunks up there... they are too funny, wish we had some down here... we have squirrels and they drive Jackson wild, this picture was taken a couple of summers ago... but he does the same... he even tries to climb the trees, but those darn squirrels tease him until he is frantic..
Larry got another old drag saw, he has enough junk to fix until he dies... guess I am the same, only I have enough wool to last me more than one life time... haven't done much knitting or spinning this summer... i guess i should get started again... Spinning retreat is very full. with a wait list..I can hardly wait for October.. have to get something knitted up for the show and tell.... have a great day.... S

what a mild winter

2011-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

What a mild winter we are having... it was only +5 this morning..almost the end of July and it is still so cold, I haven't put my winter coat away yet... the dogs and I go up to Iron Mountain for our summer agility classes, it is about 1000 feet higher than Merritt... and they are still having frost up there.., and we are still wearing our winter coats up there... one girl put on two pair of pants the other night... hoodies and jackets.. and all the hoods were up the other night... the dogs love the cool weather for running... it is suppose to warm up this weekend... guess we will have to see....
Wynn is doing well in her beginners classes..we do have a few disagreements, but i always win... and Levi is doing good too, seems to be running faster... and his weaves are very good and very fast...
Garden is growing slowly, although the weeds don't care if it is cold... I even had two new blossoms on my apple tree that has apples on it..weird weather...
I haven't been doing much in the way of knitting or spinning... better get my project done... before i run out of time... I bought a Kobo ereader with my birthday $$... very nice... i also bought myself the "game of thrones" book set... 4 books and am reading them on the new reader... I watched the HBO series on the books... and quite enjoyed it, and am enjoying reading the book...
That crazy parrot is driving me nuts as usual, we put him outside during the day, and I forgot to bring him in one night... and it was dark outside, and i hear a little "hello" from outside, so i head out to get him in, and i turn the porch light and hear a great big Hello...the wind was blowing the other day and i looked out to see if he was okay.... he had stretched himself up to almost double his height..and was looking in the window at me..Joe came in this morning, and Yankee told him "Morning"... what a character he is...
Well as you can see nothing exciting is happening around here..better go feed the hummingbirds... poor babies are cold.... I had to bring Matt's little dog in the other day as i heard a hawk or eagle screech and i didn't want him to get her... she only weighs 8 lbs, and i have seen the eagles pick up huge salmon from the river, Matt would have a fit if i lost his dog to an eagle or coyote... although she thinks she is a tough as the big dogs...will try to write soon....S
I am listening to Old songs on the TV... and Ernie Ford is singing " Davy Crockett" boy did that bring back memories... I love the songs that i can sing along to...when there is no one home... I can't carry a tune in a bucket.... Davy Crockett,Davy Crockett, King of the wild frontier.....giggle

new picture

2011-06-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hi... how do ya like my new picture... i took this one about 7 years ago, when my girlfriend was fostering a brood of native children, and we went to a Pow Wow... wish the picture fit better...
Nothing too exciting around here, Wynn is doing well in agility, and seems to be enjoying it..it is a nice small class, only 4 of us, so we get lots of time on the equipment... haven't tried it all out yet, but she does well on the dog walk, the A frame, jumps and tunnel.and the weave poles...the weather has been terrible, it was very cold and windy..Levi had classes last night...and he did well, he even ran fast for the 'Putz'...but the course was long and he could get up the speed...
We have even had the fire on at night... Larry hates being cold, and I hate being hot..what a combination..eh..
we sure haven't had any summer yet... grass is lovely and green, and the trees bloomed well, I have never seen so many blooms on the Saskatoons, and the Chokecherries... you couldn't see a leaf for the flowers... I have a little Lilac that is a beautiful DARK purple... and it is still blooming... i love the dark ones..
got some of the garden planted, took forever this year... we got some "good earth" soil from a local business that takes sewerage and cooks it over and over, mixes it with coffee grounds, wood products, and then composts it... beautiful stuff, no odor, and very black, so i added some to the garden boxes, will see if it helps... Had a good birthday, L and I took friend Clara out for supper at the 'Keg' in Kamloops, had a very nice meal, and lots of laughs...I got $$ for my birthday, so i think i am going to get myself a 'kobo' reader..they have a new one out..a bit more dollar wise, but I really want one... I have been watching "Game of Thrones" on HBO... and am really enjoying it... so want to read the book.. the paperbacks are $50 for 4 books, and the ebooks are $20 for 4 books... then the kids can always give me gift cards from Chapters..they will never be at a lose for a gift.... it come with 100 books already... all the old classics... better go get supper started... roast, new spuds, and Yorkshires... anyone want to come for supper..... S

For Sale CHEAP

2011-05-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

YUP... i am about ready to sell this noisy little brat... usually by this time of year, we have moved him into his outside cage... but with the weather being so cold I don't like putting him out until the weather is about 17 C.. Wynn has a squeaky tennis ball that we play with, and guess who has picked up the squeak of the ball... yup his highness...almost drove me to drink this morning..so as of 10 minutes ago he is outside... and not saying a word of course... I think I will teach him to say "Please, don't give me away"...of course he can bark like all the dogs, so when they start barking, he barks too.. so now instead of 6 barking dogs, we have 12..and then he yells at them and tells them to "shut up", he knows all their barks, and yells at the right dog when that dog is barking.. I have a rotten cough for weeks, and he now coughs and sneezes like me... he also has Larry's smokers cough..He calls Joe the minute Joe walks into the house... "Joe, Joe".. and Joe answers him with "what do ya want, Yankee", and Yankee answers with "Come here"..in a very commanding voice..it is hardly to believe we have had him 7 years...we do laugh at the fool...I need to win a Lottery, so we can build him a fancy outside/inside cage that he can live in all winter...
A bunch of my agility buddies are off to the Agility regionals in Abbottsford this weekend... I would have loved to go and volunteer, but we needed new tires, and the truck insurance was do this month, and with the price of gasoline, i decided to stay home... isn't it a pain when life gets in the way of FUN... Denise and I are off to a trial in Kamloops first weekend in June... so that will have to do....
Finished plying some merino and silk, and am hanging it out in the sun to dry... now i have two projects to get done... fancy scarfs, so they shouldn't take too long... everyone who has done the pattern say it is easy and fast...

Better get my rear in gear and get the invites to the Fall Retreat out this weekend... sure don't know where the time goes... We got some Good Earth (composted bio solids) this week... what a beautiful soil... black, no smell... think that we should get some more... our soil is pretty crappy...(oops) guess we will be making it crappier... giggle... have a good day.... hugs

yippee... spring is here

2011-05-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope so...hummingbirds are humming...bees are buzzing, grass is growing and the sun is shinning.. but there is a cold wind.. anyway the sun is shinning...
Nothing to exciting around here... got baby chicks coming next week...only 25 this year... still have about 10 in the freezer from last year... no turkeys this year...
My 10 year old crabapple tree finally is blooming, it has never bloomed before..we fertilized it, watered it good..but no blooms... so we are excited.. the other one (crabapple) is 8 years old and it isn't blooming either... apples, cherries, and the peach tree are blooming ... hopefully with the cold weather and the later blooming that when they do bloom fully we will get lots of fruit.. My flowering currant is blooming and smells so good.. a very strong spicy smell.. that really carries on the wind..

Don't ya love my Levi... very studious..he did well in agility last week... his weaves were so good, he had the dirt flying... it is the BC Agility Regionals in Abbottsford this long weekend.. would have loved to go and volunteer, but truck insurance is due, truck is in for repairs, and we are putting new tires on it... so i am very BROKE...and with the price of gasoline... can't do it... Denise and I are off to a trial in Kamloops the first weekend in June... it has been years since we have been there...and then another one the end of June... Wynn starts her beginners classes next Monday, we can hardly wait..I have been putting her thru some of the obstacles at Levi's classes, actually between classes, and she catches on really fast, had her going thru the tire, and thru the tunnels... she will go anywhere for a squeaky tennis ball...she is so much fun... we have a good time together..better go and get supper started, will have a houseful again today...Joe and Theresa and the kids...

Its coming, Spring that is

2011-05-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

How do ya like that great picture of that turkey boy... he is a Royal Palm turkey... they aren't big.. toms weigh about 20 lbs.. and the hens about 14 lbs... we don't have the hens, bobcat got my 3 hens this winter..and these two are off to Pritchard on the long weekend.. to a girl who raises them...she only wanted one, but i told her the other would be used for dog food... and that changed her mind..so she will take both of them... giggle..
nothing interesting around here... didn't sleep very well last night, so feeling kind of out of sorts today...I did work at the election on Monday... and that was quite interesting, made about $170 bucks, and then wrote a cheque out for my next agiltiy trial and that was $141.00, so i guess it was worth it.. Will be starting Wynn pretty soon... here she is learning what is called 2 on and 2 off... that means two feet on the ground and two feet on the obstacle..she has it figured out already.. she doesn't look too happy, but she is, really... Larry is off to the states on Saturday to pick up some more junk... another "drag Saw"..the saw that was used before chain saws..the hockey game is on so better go get my wheel out and do some spinning... I am meeting Donna tomorrow we are going out for lunch and make some decision about the retreat... Merritt has a very good Japanese restaurant.. the best i have been too... not many but this one is by far the best... have a great night... S

First day of May

2011-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

first day of May, and I am still wearing my sweater..none of the trees are in bloom... one poor little lilac bush is showing a smidgen of colour, and my Manchurian apricot (at least 10 years old) has its very first bloom on it... went to take a picture of it today, and of course my camera batteries were dead..but they are beening charged as ~~we speak~~ as i type..
Poor Levi and I had a terrible start to agility class yesterday... i walked the course several times, and then when i went to run it... 21 obstacles and i got lost 4 times.. it just didn't make sense to me....everyone was killing themselves laughing at me..then we broke the course down into smaller parts, and i finally was able to make sense of the course... and Levi ran it really well.. lots of speed and paid attention to me... until we headed for the last obstacle, (a tunnel which he does with no problems)... there i am standing with my arm out, pointing to the tunnel, he turned and looked at me, and went and sat in one of Maureen's chairs.. I kept insisting that he go to the tunnel, and he kept changing chairs.. he finally did the tunnel... and was very proud of himself...
Nothing to exciting this week.. although i did get my new watch from Heather, a picture to follow as soon as the batteries are charged..I have been spinning some lovely Merino and alpaca..almost finished plying it today... will finish to night... it is a very soft mauve colour... but i think i need more colour.. so will over dye it, and find a pattern.. still have two projects to get done, and then I found out at the retreat that there were a couple of my friends that i missed their 60th birthday...so will have to fix that.. We went to a 65th birthday party last night, they had live music in the garage... what a great time ... she was the very first friend that i made a shawl for... can't believe that it was been 5 years... she had been very sick, but she still uses it.. One of my friends mentioned that they have "An Annual 65th birthday party"... i love the idea..think i am going to use it when i get to be 65...take care everyone, and hopefully spring will show up soon... Wynn and I need to start our beginner agility classes... should be worth a giggle or two..

more retreat pictures

2011-04-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

I will try again to download the pictures from the retreat..just look at the concentration on these three... Lou, Linda and Glenda...

This is Sue and Renata... these two do production spinning..you can feel the heat from their wheels

Bill and Hanlo, two old friends catching up

Isobel modeling a shawl i made..i just saw a big mistake in it... damn..and i traded it for a watch with a beaded strap... guess i will have to email her and tell her i will take it back... this poor shawl originally was white with hot pink beads where the nupps should be...(I hate nupps)...after washing it and blocking it, i found that the colour of the beads had run, and had stained the wool..i was so stressed that i cried..decided to over dye it in Lavender ... turned out better although I can still see the pink stains..but looking at the other picture i took of it... i found a big mistake... of course no one but me can see it...

Levi and I had a good day at agility today... he was better than the others in some things of course... worse in others... I decided to jump him at 16 instead of 22... and he seems to run faster.. We have added another mutt to the pack.. Matt's Miniature Pincher Kayda.., now Wynn as her own private live toy... they love to play togethere... she is here for a month or two... poor Matt isn't spending the time with her like he should.. that picture is when she was a pup... will take some new ones of her.... have a great nite...S

Desert Mesa Spring Spinning Retreat

2011-04-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the Spring retreat has come and gone, and was really great fun this year... there were 37 of us, and a few drop ins..the food was great... a bit of Philippine food thrown in for good measure..a chicken and pork stew, and their very delious spring rolls were to dye (die) for..we had new cooks in the kitchen, and they a great job... although she had a fit when she realized that she had not thawed out the hamburger, I told her to take a breath and send hubby to the store for some fresh burger...so dinner was a little late, but we were all fine with that.

We had a goofy bunch of spinners this year...this is a picture of Martha.. wearing dread locks and a beard made by Gudie..

And this is the before pictures... Martha has a delightful laugh, makes everyone smile.. this is the friendship blanket that we made for Bishop David, he was badly beaten in Kamloops in October 2010..he was a very special friend to the spinners and came and had lunch with us several times over the years... one year he brought his vestments and they had little pulls, so the weavers among us fixed them..they were lovely hand woven silk..

this is too weird... i didn't type the last paragraph in Capitals... were did they come from

This a very warm and very well done ear flap hat by Wendy V

These beautiful socks are by the famous socklady, Lynne... aren't they beautiful

these are very interesting flat top toques by Carol a very new spinner.. this blog drives me nuts...i have a terrible time getting the pics were i want them.. will write again soon with more pictures of the retreat... S

Cold, cold, cold

2011-04-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Whoopee... next weekend is the Spring Retreat... I can hardly wait... we have 35 guests, and Donna and I...
i like the spring retreats as the smaller group makes for lots of laughs and eavesdropping...I am finally feeling better... cold/cough/bladder infection/sinus infection all seem to be gone.. thank goodness..
Levi and I had a tough weekend at the Cloverdale Agility Trial...there was something wrong with him...Friday nite we did run a very poor Steeplechase, but Saturday was awful... for the first run he won't leave my side, so i tried to run with him, but he went around the first jump, tried several times to get him to go over it... no luck, so i excused us and left the ring... same thing happened for the 2nd run.. except this time he went thru the jump... twice... so i excused myself again...I spoke to the Judge, and she thought that i did the right thing leaving the ring, she thought he might be limping a bit and suggested that i take him to dog chiropractor who comes to these trials, of course she wasn't there on Saturday..i think he wasn't feeling well as several times i found him quivering in his crate... so we tried again on Sunday, and he went thru the jump again, I then tried the weave poles which he did, but he won't take the next jump.... so I excused us again, and went to find the Chiropractor, she had time to look at him... she ran her hands over him, and felt that he had several spots that need adjustments... so $40 bucks later she had him adjusted...there were several spots that he turned his head to her like she was hurting him... I scratched him again that day... and was very lucky that the manager of the trial gave me a 6 run credit for another trial.. I took him to class yesterday and he seemed okay, although I had him jump 16 inches instead of the regular 22.. damn agility and Dixie have taught him to jump the yard fence..so now we can't keep him in... i was wondering if jumping the fence might cause the problem and he does sometimes twist his body as he jumps...
Nothing else too interesting... Food Bank is full of laughs.. some of those native men are just too funny... they love to make ya laugh... I am now Secretary/treasure of the food bank... we are changing a few things..and plan on going to Kamloops to see how they run their food bank..
I rescued the shawlette today... the one where the beads ran and made my white shawl spotted with pink... I over dyed it with Lavendar... and it looks good..still a bit of pink on it... will take it to retreat for show and tell... I am hoping to get the shawl from Denise, the multi colour one.. not sure i will see her this week though.
Well I had better go clean up the kitchen...and get my wheel out and do some spinning, working on some alpaca and silk from Barb Eslake..very nice to spin, although the colour is too soft for me... might over dye it, the lavender was lovely... have a great day

Still feeling under the weather

2011-03-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Morning... still feeling yuck... poor nose was so stuffed I could hardly breath...I finally dug out the Neti Pot.. (little tea pot thingy that you fill with warm water and a pinch of salt, then tilt your head and stuff it up one side of your nose)... I know it sounds gross, but I can breath today, and i even made it thru the night without waking up with a mouth so dry I had to get a drink...
Agility class this week was absolutely humiliating... I could not for the life of me remember the course... Levi did great, but i kept getting lost..my excuse was that my head was just too stuffed up to think straight... that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.. on our last run of the day, everyone was clapping... and they said it was for the Handler (ME), cuz i finally got it right... Denise and I are off to another trial this weekend, down in Cloverdale again... hopefully Levi will be as relaxed as last time... several more girls are coming down, so it should be fun..
The snow in the yard is finally gone...now i just have to rake all the pine needles and the dog poop...the currant bushes are putting out buds already... but they are a real weed...
I have spun up some lovely alpaca and silk from Barb Eslake.. still have about 9 ozs of fibre to spin up... the spinning retreat is just around the corner.. yipee... have to save up some cash just encase i see something that i absolutely need... I have some BFL that i bought in the fall... so i will take that to the retreat.....don't have any great plans for it, but i love the feel of it, and it is so beautiful to spin...
Joe and his honey and her kids have been here all weekend... they are easy to have around, but i sure like my nice quiet house when everyone is gone...Teresa took the girls to school, and the silence was a real dream..well i had better go and put the roast in the oven... "prime rib" was on sale at Coopers last week... 4 bucks a pound off the regular price... oophs forgot, I got to bake the bread first..another half hour of rising and then into the oven... I have been playing 'Scrabble' on Facebook... i have one friend who just won't quit starting new games... I think Judy and I are playing 15 games... 4 with Gail d, 4 with my neighbour, and one with my sis in law. and a couple with some agility buddies....i have been really lucky.. I have had 2 'bingo's last week and one this week... that is were you use all your tiles and get a 50 point bonus.. take care guys... talk to ya all soon.... S

I am just fine

2011-03-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I didn't realize that it had been over a month and a half since i had written, I really had planned to write more often when i started this new year... but what is new, i flubbed up again.. not sure where the time has gone, I ended up with a bad cold in February... first time in 3 years, and it really knocked me for a loop... finally got over it, and then it came back with a vengeance two weeks ago, I was sure i was going to cough up a lung or two.. I don't usually cough so went to the Dr, and he tells me that the new meds i am on can cause pneumonia, and if i was still coughing on the next Monday to go in for a x ray.. or if i had problems breathing to go for an xray... well that night i needed two pillows to be able to breath, so i called and they made me a appt for an xray.. and they turned out fine... so I went to Cloverdale that weekend to an agility trial and we had a great time, Levi got two "Q"(qualifying scores)... he was much more relaxed, he laid at my feet as we waited for our turn, before he would pace around and sniff dogs and their handlers... he even peed when i took him out, before he would just sniff around and not pee, and then pee in the ring... he even ignored the ring crew and the judge...so things went much better.. he ran a great run at class yesterday, he is improving... I can hardly wait to start Wynn this spring, but the instructors home base still has 3 feet of snow, so we will have to wait...
I went to the coast for my Mom's 85th birthday on the 24 of Feb, we had great plans, but her birthday was probably the worse she has ever had, her best friend passed away that morning..she had only been sick and in hospital just over 3 weeks, and she was such a sweet heart... and a very good friend of my Mom..
Snow is all gone around here... and the lawn is starting to get green in spots... the dogs were out in the field munching on a patch of green grass this afternoon...
I didn't go to the Fibres West fibre fair... just didn't have enough $$ to buy anything, and didn't need the tempation..plus Desert Mesa Spring Retreat is just around the corner...
I had a project that i worked on, Sandra on Facebook put a little thingy up, that if you went to her page, and put up the same thingy, she would send you a hand made gift, so i did it and i got two answers so i had to make two projects, got the first one done, nothing too fancy, the garden basket shawlette was the first one, i did it in "finn", and put pink beads where the "nupps"(hate them) were suppose to be.. it looked great, washed it and blocked it, and when i unpinned it... i noticed the beads had lost colour and had stained the wool, i was so "pissed"... i quit knitting and spinning... decided to over dye it, what a disappointment... just need to find the time to over dye it...
Still volunteering at the food bank, I am now secretary/treasurer... we have to make cutbacks as we have more clients and less money... so the new presidnet and i are making some changes..
Larry has been busy panning gold... in the shop, it is too cold out and i don't need him falling in the river..we have great plans to go out during the summer and have a picnic, take the dogs, and go gold panning..may be we will make our fortune, (giggle)..
To all my dear friends who have been worrying about me, I am fine, just LAZY.... really...

Darn Ice

2011-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Weather in Merritt has been weird... +17 last Thursday, -17 yesterday morning (Monday)... but it is getting lighter in the morning... almost daylight at 7 am this morning... we also had 5 inches of snow on Saturday...and of course it covered the ICE... it was agility on Saturday, Levi knows what day it is... i have special boots that i wear to agility..I went to the shop, kissed the old guy good bye, put Wynn on a leash and headed for the truck, i cut across the lawn... all the dogs were under my feet, wanting to play ball, and Wynn lunged on the leash and i was walking on ice buried in the snow, and down i went.. landed on my bubble butt...of course the fall knocked the wind out of me.. and course all 4 dogs thought i wanted to play... and were in my face,... I could hardly breath, finally got them away and then tried to stand up, and of course i was sitting on ice, and couldn't get my feet under me, kept slipping on the ice, and there was no husband or son around to help me up... so i called Levi (he is very sturdy) and he stood strong so i could use him to stand up... then i looked around to see if anyone had seen me fall... lucky the snow was dry and was easy to brush off, and then we headed out to classes... we both ran good... i wasn't sore... even had a hot bath with epsom salts, and still felt okay, until i went to bed... and every muscle in my body hurt..i could hardly turn over... been feeling better every day..I hate this time of year, too much ice... Went to the pool today... nice and warm...had a good swim, and lunch with a friend... Feb 2, Ground hog day... our 43 Anniversary... i can't believe I have been married to the old guy for that long... several times i almost called it quits, but we (I) worked on it, and made it thru the rough times.. My 34 year old son is going to be a GRANDFATHER.... his girlfriend's 17 year old daughter is pregnant...i just can't believe that someone gets pregnant in this day and age if they don't want too.. she is a very smart girl, and i would think that they know better...oh well... I can't be a great grandmother as I have never been a grandmother... oh well guess that is life... L is watch Goldmining Alaska... what a dumb show... they are so stupid... even I know better... I'm off to Kamloops tomorrow to get my new glasses, and spend some of my Christmas $$... new bathing suit... and some new jeans.... take care.... S

A whole week has gone by..

2011-01-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

Time sure flies when you get old... although I am only 63, I find the memory slipping..like forgetting my grocery list, heading down the hall and not remember what i am looking for... getting lost on the agility course... we won't even talk about agility this week... it is so frustrating when I know he can do it, but won't... I don't think he really likes agility, but he does it because i ask him too... he never looks like he is having fun... there are a lot of dogs in agility doing the same thing, but their handlers keep up the struggle... and some day it will work..Denise and I are thinking about coming down to Cloverdale for a trial the middle of March... will try again... I plan on getting him his Starter Standard, and Starter Games titles before we quit... and WYNN is ready to start training...

I miss Jesse... it has been over a year since I have seen her, she was Joe's dog and when he split with his wife, the other grandmother got the dog...I finished her and she got her Starter Standards, and her Starter Games.. she was very slow on the teeter, and we struggle with that, but everyone has struggles... I really do miss her... breaks my heart when someone asks where she is..her colouring is very much like Wynn's,

Everyone used to laugh at her when she went down on the table... her tail won't quit wagging..shouldn't have done this... can hardly see the screen for the tears...oh well...

Had my 2nd methotrexate shot on Tuesday... 7.5 mg... didn't get sick, and seem to be sleeping better, hips aren't as sore..although for some reason I wake up at 3 am.. and can't go back to sleep.. so i stay in bed when L gets up, he puts Wynn in bed with me, and we both go back to sleep... we slept an extra hour this morning.. so I was late phoning my Mom... which i do every morning...Wynn is getting so smart, she has been misbehaving, so when she comes when she is called, we play with the frizbee, so now she comes instantly... even Jackson is playing with her now... we have had her 4 months and he is just accepting her..well i had better go, need to phone a friend who has just lost her husband.. I try to call her every couple of weeks...have a good nite...

Anyone want an Australian Cattle dog cheap

2011-01-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

Anyone want 'Levi'...real cheap... the fool got into the alpacas and llama pen today,... and they SPIT on him when he chases them... he came in the house, and stunk so bad i had to kick him back out...he came in with Larry for supper, and i made him lay in the porch until we had eaten... and then i gave him a bath...he has had so many baths for just the same reason, he just hops into the tub...and is well behaved for his bath... what a foolish dog... It is a real skating rink around here today... we went out for supper last night, and they laughed at me as i wore my cork boots... I had to untie Levi when we got home, and his dog house was surrounded with ice... so i didn't land on my butt..they laughed but i was safe... things are still melting.. but so slippery... nite

would ya believe it

2011-01-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

Can ya believe it, but my eyes are better...so much better that I don't have to wear glasses to drive any more... of course close vision is degrading, it got to a point where I couldn't wear my glasses to watch tv... but had to wear them to knit and spin...funny things happen with old age...I have worn glasses since i was 14.. and now at 63, i don't have to wear them... Road was a little slippery going into Kamloops yesterday, but there were rivers of water up on the Coq when i came home, temperature was +8... and -6 when i got home... then it warmed up last night, and turned everything into ice...Levi and i had a crappy day at agility today... hard to believe he was great last week, and didn't care this week... although last week he was tied up all day as we had the gates open as Larry plowed the driveway... maybe next Friday I will tie him up again and see if that works... may be he used up too much energy playing with the pack... we are off to supper and cards tonight... i am going to be really elegant and wear my cork boots (boots with corks-(kind of like studs in tires) tonight... our drive way is like a skating rink...and i don't want to land on my butt... well i had better go get dressed.. think i will wear jeans with my cork boots...nothing too fancy... have a great night.... nite nite

Snow and more Snow

2011-01-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

We woke up to about 4 inches of snow yesterday... looks great, and covers up all the mess... it did snow on to straight ICE... so we walk very gently.. almost landed on my butt when i went to feed the dogs..

Levi and I had a great day at Agility yesterday, it was probably the best class he had ever run... he was fast, he listened, and he worked away (I could stand in one spot and direct him to the next obstacle) he found a hidden tunnel hole.. i was really pleased with him... the picture is one taken last summer.. Even Wynn behaved herself at class, I take her and put up the Exercise pen so she is learning to stay in it, and learning that i am not too far away..
This is Dixie enjoying the snow... her and Wynn had a great time
Yankee has been talking up a storm these days, he is just too funny... he told Wynn to "smarten up" the other day, she was jumping at the cage cuz he was teasing her, he is talking more with strangers around, i

think it is because Teresa and the kids are here a lot
We had to put our old tom cat down before Christmas, and Yankee seems to know that he is gone, as he never calls him anymore... now that i think about it, he never call the old dogs after we had to put them down...do ya think that he knows..
I have been practicing "patience"... not sure it is doing any good yet, but i will keep practising... have a great day

more pictures

2011-01-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Now isn't this different than what i usually do..i really do love the colours...was worried that it would be too small, but it is for my Chinese friend, who is very tiny... hope she likes it...

Dixie and Wynn trying to decide who gets the ball, Dixie used to be the only ball dog, but Wynn loves a good game of catch, and take the ball away from Dixie... so there ya go... two entries in one day.... hugs and lots of patience.....

Daylight

2011-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to celebrate Dec 21 like i would have like... it is my very favourite day of the year... summer is coming.. already you can see that it is much lighter at 7 am.. I am working very hard on my 'inspiration word' (thanks Louisa).. 'Patience' I try to think of it every day...Larry says i don't have much 'patience', but he can be a challenge at times.
Went out for our first game of cards of 2011... girls won of course... hand and foot canasta... you really need patience with that game...
Finally downloaded pictures from Dec 2010... Wynn's picture on the blog... she is such a sweetie for a 'rez'dog..can hardly wait for spring and i can start training her seriously...

Finished another shawl this week... very different from the lace ones... multi colour, with a couple of rows of stocking stitch, and a couple rows of YO and knit 2 together... wild colours..have started another one, very simple, don't have to think about it... although i do forget to do the yarns over..and there are only 4 to the knit row... oh well.... patience... Pictures are a little late... this is the finger i slammed in the shop door... the door handle broke and i wasn't fast enough when i tried to slam the door

.. Couldn't find Levi or Wynn one day, found them in my bed..talk about spoiled critters

This is a picture of Wynn looking out the front window... don't ya just love the ears...they stay that way most of the time..gives her such a quizzical look...

We have a glider rocker with a foot stool, and it rocks too... she hops on it and rides it to a stand still.. she won't have a problem with the teeter in agility... little dog is Matt's 'Kayda... poor little thing just about froze when they were up for Christmas... she can't wear her coat as Wynn rips it off her..and uses it for a toy... how can ya tell i love these dogs.... will download shawl pictures later today.... hugs and lots of patience...

Word of Inspiration

2010-12-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

Decided that my Word of Inspiration for 2011 will be PATIENCE with people, with the critters, and with the Hubby.... Happy New Year....

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year... 2011....where does the time fly..I know I have been very lazy not writing... got into Christmas shopping and that took up loads of time.. Dr appts, and then 3 weeks before Christmas I had a bad reaction to some medication and I was flat on my back for 10 days or so, and it took me another week to get enough energy to do anything... Luck for me I had most of my shopping done, but I had no energy to decorate the house, or bake.. L loves short bread, mince meat, and lemon tarts, but poor boy was out of luck this year.. Teresa and her girls decorated the tree, wasn't even, but I didn't really care... I was so sick i even missed 2 agility classes, and that never happens... We went out for Christmas dinner at friends place, very nice treat...we didn't open our gifts until late Christmas day as Joe was working until about 7 pm... Joe and Teresa gave me a beautiful set of LG front loader washer and dryer,RED.. you actually need papers to run them... very nice..Joe's Teresa loves to do laundry, so now she has a nice set... Matt gave me a gift certificate to Penningtons, I need a new bathing suit, Mom gave me some $$ so I think i will buy myself a set of wooden knitting circular needles... and Larry gave me a heated DOG bed for my old border collie who won't come in the house or the shop...just what I wanted.. Matt came up on Boxing Day, so we had our Christmas dinner on Boxing day...we had Prime Rib, mashed spuds, Yorkshire puddings, and veggies... was it ever good... I am such a good cook.. OH CRAP.... I typed like crazy for 20 minutes, and it didn't save it... so here we go again... now i need to remember what i wrote.. Dogs are doing fine, although 'Mackie' last old border collie is getting very old..we had to put down the old cat just before Christmas, that was tough... he had a very loud annoying meow..and Yankee would holler at him just like we did..."Willy, shut up".. funny Yankee hasn't even mentioned him since willy died...wonder if he knows that Willy is gone... Matt had his little Min Pin here for a few days, poor little girl has NO coat... she decided she was going to sleep with us last night and crawled right down to the bottom of the bed under the feather duvet and stayed there... Matt went home today, got a New Year's party to night, and promised me that he won't drink and drive, he has been very good about that... he would even sleep in his car if he didn't have $$ for a motel or taxi..
L and I are off to Denise and Jack's in the morning for a Surfer breakfast... rice, sausage, fried egg and gravy... actually it is very good... got to go find my camera I have some good pics of the dogs on it.. one of the bloggers i read, 'Damesfly' chooses a word for 2011, and tries to stick to it and make it work for her..I have decided that i will try it... now i just have to find the right word.. got Denise's birthday shawl done, just have to block it, it is her birthday next Saturday...will take some pictures of it, it is so different than anything else i have done in years.... Have a great New Year's S

21 days to the DAY

2010-12-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

What a good day at Agility... Levi did really well today... listened to me, ran fast, and didn't make any mistakes... I was very pleased with him to day... I did take Wynn..I want her to get used to staying in the Exercise pen.. I have to tie her in, as she can climb out... she is getting better at staying quiet..she gets excited when the dogs run, she wants to go too...for some reason she likes orange or beige coloured dogs... she gets really excited when Arnie runs, he is a Shibu Inu.. looks like a husky, but is small and very orange.. everyone did really well today... and it was a good course, lots of front crosses.. Levi's last two runs were clean runs... absolutely no mistakes.. and fast...his weaves were amazing... last class(two weeks ago).. I was ready to quit, he just wasn't with the program... I can hardly wait to run Wynn... I have her signed up for the starter classes starting in May..hopefully we will have started practicing at home. Got some more gifts organized this week, I am trying really hard to stick to my budget... it is tough living on a seniors pension... I have started going back to the pool, boy i am really ready to nap when i get home.. feels good though...
I slammed my hand in the door of the shop...smashed my middle finger.. it turned a beautiful shade of purple...doesn't hurt except when i whack it... I took a couple of pictures of it... better get my pictures down loaded.... take care

Almost December

2010-11-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

I sure don't know where the time goes these days...25 days to Christmas...I don't even want to look at the last date i wrote on this blog...i guess nothing interesting is happening around here... We have had a couple of inches of snow.. and the temperature was very cold for a week or so... but it has warmed up nicely today... +4 today... I have started going back to the swimming pool.. 2nd time today..I can hardly make it home without having a snooze..and have dozed twice since 2 pm... Matt came and got his little Min Pin last weekend.. she was so funny, I think she climbed right up his leg...and licked his face till he was soaked...she had finally settled down, and spent a couple of hours a day outside until the tempature dropped .. he always takes her out on a leash as he lives in the city, and here she just got to run..and run she did... her and Wynn got along really well... Wynn did miss her the first couple of days...Wynn is a funny girl, we laugh at her every day..she loves to play with the ball or frisbee..when it is just the two of us, she brings it back to me, but when the other dogs are around she won't bring it back... she figures they are going to take her toy..I need to take my camera out more often..
I have been working on Christmas presents.. finally figured out what to get Joe.... him and Larry are the hardest to buy for... I am determined I am going to keep within my budget this year... come hell or high water...got a Dr appt in Kamloops on Thursday so will finish it up that day... and then i will get everything else here in town...
I have to change my picture tomorrow... have to go thru the pics to find a good one.. or go out and take a new one..
I told ya that i lost that bag of fibre, well now i have LOST my Denise needles..and I had just rounded them all up...and they were in the box... I think they got thrown out by mistake... Larry has a small trash can by his chair, and Joe's girlfriend is always cleaning up around here, and I think the box had fallen into the trash can as it had been on the coffee table..and she didn't know what it was and out it went.. I have a few more spots to look, but I went thru the craft room yesterday, and they weren't in there...and the extra bedroom too... I had planned to buy a set of the Harmony needles as i really like the look of them, and i love the colours... so i guess when i get my Christmas $$ I will buy myself another set...
I have been working on cleaning up the junk on my computer desk... I still have business stuff here... I also threw away floppy discs... can ya imagine.. i don't even have a slot for the floppies anymore..
Joe has changed jobs at the Mine.. he is now washing the equipment... we really laughed as it really wears him out... he is used to sitting and driving, now he has to walk.. the wash bay is 500 feet long..but he seems to like it..Theresa (his girlfriend) and her kids where here yesterday... funny kids, worth a giggle or two... I don't take any crap from them, and the look on their faces is too funny... their Mom is a real softy, and they get away with all kinds of crap..but they have learned that doesn't work with me..the youngest came in today and asked to see the EAGLE, finally figured out she meant "Yankee"...the dogs enjoy playing with them..
We didn't have any agility classes this past week, Instructor was away learning how to torture us some more... I didn't take Wynn last class and Levi was a real pain that day... I think he is jealous and works harder when she is there.. I can hardly wait to start Wynn's beginner classes... she has got such good balance, she jumps on the foot stool from the glider rocker and it glides too, and she just balances on it... I have bought a couple of videos on training... now just have to find the time to sit and watch them... well better go do some spinning working on a project.. take care

pick one up, drop one

2010-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

I decided to do some knitting with straight needles... I usually use circular ones... I can't believe how many times i drop a needle...i have done 20 rows and I bet i have dropped one needle at least 20 times, at least once a row... guess it is good for the waist line..
Anyone want a husband, cheap, and i mean cheap... his back is hurting and you think he was dying.. won't do anything about it, so it just keeps hurting... cheap, real cheap...

Finally got the retreat pictures downloaded... how do ya like the new one of Wynn... that was the day she got spayed... she only wore the collar for a day... you would never know that she had surgery.. she is very funny...we get lots of laughs with her... Larry puts her in bed with me in the morning...she flops on her back and goes back to sleep... started taking her to agility classes, just as a visitor.. she is still too young... and she needs to be socialized... Levi did well at our last class, i think he is jealous, so is working better...

this is Toni learning to spin silk... it turned out great... it really isn't as hard as you would think

this is Toni's 60th birthday present.. didn't it turn out nice... i was very pleased with it... and she loved it... I decided on doing it in white, as i used to have a white peacock and i loved the look of his feathers... reminded me of a wedding dress..

Weather has gotten colder every day, but the sun does shine almost every day... Matt was here a week ago Sunday, he is off on a Mexico Rivera Cruise for his 30th birthday, so he decided he would leave his dog with us... Kayda... just went to see if i could find a picture of her... no luck... her and Wynn use the house as a race track.. this is her own personal dog park... she hates the cold, but loves to be able to go outside on her own... no leash...

I have been feeling rotten all week, even missed agility classes this week... something which i never do..just feeling queasy.. got a few Christmas presents bought this week...Matt will be easy as he loves to buy clothes, so i just get him a gift certificate, and he picks out his own... Joe, well he is a problem... and Larry is an even bigger problem... better go get lunch started... will write soon....

Lost, Lost, Lost

2010-10-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever put something away, and never found it again... before the Retreat (which was great), I started looking for some fibre, cashmere and silk, enough to make a shawl, and I CAN NOT FIND IT...... I have racked my brain, and looked every where, and I can't find it...do any of you know where i put it...
We had a wonderful retreat, new managers from the Philippines, so our food was a little different, but good...had a great time catching up with old friends...i took $100 and spent it all... also did a bit of trading and that went well too..
But this week started off badly... Toni phoned me yesterday morning, her buddy and my good friend lost her husband to a sudden heart attack... it was devastating, they were so close and the very best of friends.. it broke my heart to think of her being alone, I decided not to go to the funeral, I won't get to spend anytime with her, so I plan on going down later and spend some time with her, when things have quieted down and she has some time to get herself together...
Got Wynn spayed last Wednesday, she came thru with flying colours, the clinic suggested that she be walked on a leash for a week, by Thursday, she was flying around here, you would never know that she had had surgery..kept the collar on her for only one day, guess I haven't downloaded the pictures yet... she is doing very well, we have started her serious training this week, and she catches on immediately... we have moved down off Iron Mtn for our agility classes, I missed last Saturday cause of the retreat, so am looking forward to this Saturday..i plan on taking Wynn just to get her used to the X pen and being around other dogs and people.. better go and get the laundry finished... i am expecting some pictures of the gift i received at the retreat... guaranteed to make ya giggle.... see ya soon...............

Almost Fall

2010-09-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Where has the summer gone... time sure flew when you get old...
Nothing to exciting around here, Joe and his honey have been here for 3 days... we find it a little difficult as we are used to be here by ourselves..and this crappy old mobile doesn't need 4 adults in it...it was okay when the boys were little as they didn't take up much room, and we kind of got used to it as they grew up... but 10 years on our own kind of spoilt us... didn't have to share the bath... now it seem when i want the bathroom someone else is in it... oh well...

Wynn is doing great... she has decided she likes the Frisbee toy... she hasn't quite figured out that if she doesn't bring it back I can't throw it for her... she still sticks to me like glue... velcro dog... Levi has finally started playing with her... although he snarls at her...but she has him figured out, and just pounces on him... Don't ya just love her ears... i keep hoping that that one ear keeps standing up... doesn't she look like trouble looking for a place to happen... she keeps packing shoes around.. they are all up on the back of the chair out of her reach..
I am going to pick my peaches today... i am afraid that it will freeze any night now.. we have had the wood stove going for days now... Larry hates getting up to a cold house..
We will be adding another dog... no not to keep... Matt and his friend are off on a cruise from LA to Mexico, so we will get Kayda for 3 weeks... her and Wynn should have a good time... poor Kayda will freeze up here, as she has absolutely no coat... she looks like she is wearing a slip her coat is so fine... well will go and pick the peaches... suppose to clean out the truck today... but have to wait to get liver dog treats out of the oven... day for dog treats... dehydrating ground turkey, and baking chicken liver treats... Levi and I will be down in Cloverdale Oct 1-2-3... if anyone wants to come and laugh at us... hopefully this trial he will be more willing to do what i ask.... he has been doing well in agility... not fast, but dependable.. now we just have to make sure he will stay as dependable at a big trial.... have a great day

Holy Smoke

2010-09-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it has been almost a month since my last blog... oh well... I spent most of the first two weeks with my foot up... soaking it in Epsom salts, and rubbing it with Arnica Montana..(herbal suave)...no pain walking although it does get sore at the end of the day... so a good soak and a rub helps .... I spent most of my time knitting on the 'Haruni Shawl'... their picture not mine...what a battle... bet i could have made 5 other shawls in the time i knit this one... i used a variegate green hand spun silk, what a trial it was... I couldn't put the edging on as it was too fine, and I kept dropping stitches.. am trying to crochet the edging on now..
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/haruni
will post a picture when i get it blocked...

Lets see what else is new and exciting around here.... oh yeah.... got a new DOG.... a rescue.... found her on the Hwy..put a call into radio station, but didn't get any answers... had to laugh at Larry... he always say, we don't need any more dogs... I brought her home, and he grumbles...' what are ya going to do with that'... anyway when I took her out to the shop to get him to put some holes in an old collar, he puts in one hole, and then says, "guess i should put in some more holes"... she had been on the property a whole two hours, and he decided we were keeping her... then he tells me that she is my next agility dog..so when i didn't hear from her owner, I decided to name her..."Wynn".. my girlfriends name is "clara wynne",,, and i thought that it was a pretty name.. so i called Clara to make sure she didn't care if i named the dog "Wynn".. and she didn't care so "Wynn" it is... within 24 hours she was coming to her name...Levi isn't impressed with her, but as Larry says the last time a puppy came into his life, he was kicked out...so we keep telling him he isn't going anywhere...she is a very smart girl... she hopped on the sofa the minute she came into the living room, i put her down, and told her no, she did it a second time, and i told her no, and put her down, and she hasn't been back up since.. I didn't trust her, so decided to put her in the kennel in the shop, Larry figured she should stay in the house, so i told she could if he cleaned up the puppy poop... so he decided she could stay in the shop.... went to get her next morning, and was the kennel a mess... puppy poop everywhere... i had to pressure wash it... but she has never messed in it again... took her to the vet for shots, Liz figures she is about 5 to 6 months old...weighs 16 pounds.. looks like a border collie cross, but is fairly small... I couldn't get her to stop eating the first couple of days... about 4 cups a day, she is down to 1.5 cups now... poor thing was starving..we figure she came from the Indian Reservation, so her nick name (already) is "Rez dog".. but we both like her, she slept in the kennel in the bedroom last night... and was very quiet...sticks to me like a shadow... she is even chasing a ball... just need to teach her to tug... that crazy bird has learned her name already, and then tells her to "quit chewing".. she is also a shoe packer..all our shoes are in the living room.... the other picture is Larry and Levi on the Quad, that crazy dog loves to ride on it.... With my foot being sore, my agility instructor has been running him for me... he has always been a little frighten of her, but they worked out their problems and he ran well for her... it was nice to see him run... I have never seen him run before, as i was the one running him... Won't be long before the fall retreat.... I can hardly wait....
Friend of Larry's has a Garlic Fest at his place near the end of Sept, Larry is going with his motors and I am taking my spinning wheel, should be an interesting day.... Then Denise and I are off to a trial in cloverdale the beginning of October, then the long weekend, and then the RETREAT....

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch

2010-08-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

And I do mean OUCH.... Sunday evening after supper, I was out feeding the dogs... I had just feed Mackie,(he lives in his kennel in the barn yard), and i was heading over to the chicken house to gather eggs and give them their evening scraps... Larry had put the sprinkler on the compost pile, and i was trying to get around it without getting soaked, and stepped into one of Mackie's holes(he digs them to sleep in), and down I went... with a crash..and OMG did i hurt...i just laid there and howled for Larry, who was in the shop, and of course he is as deaf as a post, so i hollered and howled until he finally heard me... and came to my rescue... I couldn't stand up, or actually i hadn't even tried to stand up, as i wasn't sure my ankle wasn't broken..first thing he did was go shut off the sprinkler as i was laying in the ooze from the compost pile, and then laugh at me as i was covered with chicken scraps which was potatoes salad..and mud.... I was sick to my stomach with pain.... and of course with my elephant weight he couldn't have lifted me up if he tried... by that time I decided it wasn't broken, so i rolled over on to my knees and stood up, but i was in a 12 inch deep hole, now how do i get out of the hole... one way was to step up with my good foot and put all my weight on my sore foot, or step up with the sore foot, and put all my weight on it... i have no idea which foot i used to get out of there...so Larry helped me hobble over to the house... I was just shaking with shock... I didn't go to emergency as the last time I was there, i was there for 4 hours for 4 stitches, and it was Sunday night... phone the family MD Monday morning and he was over booked for Monday, so got in there Tuesday morning, and he sent me for x rays, so it isn't broken, just badly sprained... i am fine walking on flat surfaces although it does hurt, but walking outside on uneven ground is very hard... and putting the foot on the floor first thing in the morning is un bearable..not too much pain today, but it is very tight with the swelling... so that takes care of my agility classes for a while... poor Levi, he will miss it..I am going to the food bank tomorrow as a lot of the volunteers are away on holidays... i will be fine as it is only two hours and i sit most of the time...better go and put it up...starting to throb a bit.... hope ya all are feeling sorry for me...I am really surprised that i didn't break it, especially at my age, but at my last bone density test, my Dr told me that i had the bone density of a 22 year old... my dad had good strong bones, he fell a lot the last year of his life, but didn't break a thing..so i guess i take after him.... S...

Broken heart

2010-07-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day, Levi and I were off to Agility this morning... we had a great day, and he is getting better... slow but is doing all i ask... did some quick shopping, left the truck running with AC going just for his highness, would hate to be arrested for dog abuse...

Came home to very sad news, my old Red border collie "Meg" has passed away... or as many doggy people say, "Crossed over the rainbow bridge..." She was 13 years old and had been in really good shape, she had lost some weight, she was feeling good, acting goofy... and ate all her supper last night...Larry found her beside her dog house... she was a silly old girl, never much of a sheep dog, just a good dog..it was funny the other day one of Joe's friends was here helping him work on his shack, and she came at him, "grinning, sneezing, and clacking her teeth" and he jumped into the horse trailer terrified that she was attacking him...she had never bitten a soul in her life..we are still laughing over that one... We had one litter of pups from her, and that was a hassle, she won't stand to be bred, she would rip off the face of any male dog that come near her..so we artificially inseminated her, and she had a nice litter of 5 red pups.. she was a good mom, but the hormones never did kick in, she still won't be bred... so we had her spayed..never much of a people dog, just a good family dog... her buddy Mackie will be lonely as they shared the barn yard... I am always glad when the dogs choose their own time, then I don't have to make the decision...
Really hot today, love my Swamp Cooler, I sure don't know why they don't sell them in Canada, they are so much better than an air conditioner.. Swamp cooler doesn't keep the house as cold as a AC, but it is about 8 degrees cooler than the outside..and so much better for your health and the environment as they just use cold water.... stay cool

Willy the old pussy cat

2010-07-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Just changed my blog picture.... forgot to change it beginning of July... this is Willy our very old cat... he is about 13-14 years old.... Willy came into our lives with a big fat lie (by me)... I told the family that i found him on the drive way... actually i had been visiting a friend and she didn't like him as he beat up their other house cat... he was all of 8 weeks old...so we only had two cats at the time, and my plan was he was suppose to be the barn cat... yupp that lasted about a month....Matt used to pack him around in his winter jacket, and of course as soon as it got cold, Matt moved him into the house... he has been a good old cat, a good mouser, and affectionate... now that he is really old.. he stays in the house,(hate cat litter boxes).. and has turned very noisy..even the parrot gets annoyed at him... Willie howls, and I yell at him and tell him to shut up... now the parrot yells at him as soon as he howls.. just too funny..
Finally got the chickens butchered... they are a bit smaller than last year, but just big enough for us 3.5 pounds to 5 pounds... just big enough... I had bought some Lotto Max tickets and Larry wanted me to check them before we started doing chickens on Saturday, i told him, nope... if i won, i would never pluck another chicken in my life..well of course i didn't win..
My baby boy called last night and i gave him a rough time about not phoning me more often... he told me if i kept up on my blog, he would know what was going on and never phone me..brat...but i love ya....
We had a pot luck up at Andrea's last week..it was a great sunny day and we spent the whole time outside... good food as usually, one of the girls made balaclava, and my god was it good... best i have ever tried..going to get the recipe from her... Clara also made a peanut butter chocolate pie and it was really good, I made one, but didn't turn out as good as hers..oh well, will try again..
I have been picking currants this week, got half a water bucket today, and hardly made a dint in the patch..I have to go into the middle of the patch and find the red currants, they make such good jelly... think i will ribbon the bushes and get Larry to dig them out and move them..so they are easier to find... they so much softer than the black ones... think i will check out to see who wants to pick some berries... also got the first raspberries, and they are so tasty... and i ate all the cherries all 9 of them... too cold a spring, but my peach tree is loaded... hopefully they will ripen..

Levi had a good agility class on Tuesday, he does have his moments of brilliance, and i must dwell on them... he sure has taught me patience...we had a semi private class on Tuesday, and it is so much more fun... and we get to work on the dogs problems and don't feel guilty taking up more than our share of the instructor's time.. several of the group are going to the Agility Nationals in Calgary beginning of August, i sure hope they do well.. Denise and I are starting to think about the next trial.. one the end of August, one the beginning of Sept, and one in October in Armstrong and one in Cloverdale then too..so we have to decide... her little Pip is a fair weather dog, he hates heat and rain... Down loaded this picture of perennial fuchsia, but the program won't let me move it... oh well... I have started another shawl..not sure if the intended reciepent reads my blog, so won't say who it is for..of course i had to "frog" it...just wasn't big enough and i was two stitches out oh well... it is an easy pattern, and is easy to follow..so am just ready to start the pattern rows today...nice and calming before i go to bed.... take care and i will try to write soon................. S..........

Too much excitement for this old brain

2010-07-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hi... We had way too much excitement last night...good friend and neighbour down the road called about 10:30 last night... there was a fire up behind their house... they have 17 acres that borders on the Reserve...and they(the reserve residents) haven't done anything with the bug killed trees, anyway... there is an old log house just up behind their place, apparently the young local residents go up there to smoke their pot... and must have started the fire.... John and Peg had been smelling smoke for a couple of hours, but no sign of smoke or fire... one of the other neighbours spotted it, and called Peg and John.... and they called us looking for help...there are several young fire fighters in the area... on the reserve and a neighbour boy (young man now)so they started fighting the fire, then the local firefighters from the Native Firehall showed up, and told everyone to back up as it was a structure fire and everyone had to back up 100 feet, and they just let it burn...it was pretty scary for us locals, as the ground is covered in dead dry pine needles. Then the rest of the Fire fighters from the fire fighter camp showed up..and all they did was take pictures and write in their note book... anyway Larry went back down to Peg and John's this morning and the fire was out... sure hope so as we have had wind all day... good thing it was yesterday and not today...I am sure the whole reserve would have gone up in smoke... the wind usually blows from the west, which means the fire would have gone away from us...just too scary for us.... we won't have had time to get anything out if it had gotten away... the bird, the dogs and the cats... and my spinning wheel... one of them anyway... just way to scary for this old broad... that has been as close as we have gotten to losing this place... and of course we don't have any insurance...cuz, they didn't like our heating system (very safe, not in the house system that burns wood), the cost of stove oil and the insurance was way too expensive for us.. Got 10 chickens butchered yesterday, but we slept in this morning, went to bed way after midnight...so tomorrow we get at it again.......... have a great one......

I forgot

2010-07-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Morning... i just remember I forgot something really important happened when I was in Lavington..I was sitting waiting for my turn to run, and a lady came up to me and asked me if I had noticed that she had been looking at my dog... I, of course, hadn't paid any attention to her as there are always people looking at dogs..my first thought was that Levi was her dog and that she had lost him and she wanted him back... . I said no, she asked me how long i had owned him, again my radar perked up, I said i had him for a year and that his name was Levi, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around her neck, and said "Levi, it is you"... apparently she had been his foster mom for 6 months when he had been at the SPCA in Vernon... he did recognize her, and her dog (apparently Levi and her pooch were best buds while he lived with her)... she said he had been the 'Dog from Hell'... no manners, he got on the counter, and the kitchen table... won't come when called, she said that she usually put her new foster dogs into kennels at night, she said he was like a cat, all 4 feet against the kennel, and that her and her hubby couldn't get him into the kennel, and that he was the original escape artist (which he still is, he finds a hole under the fence, we block it and he finds another one).. so Dee was another home that we didn't know about...so that makes us his 5th home by the time he was 18 months old... we figure that we have been the longest home he has had in his short 2.5 years...it was very interesting learning about her trials with him... he does have better manners these days... although he does love to love to sleep on the sofa... and he did get into the other dogs' feed the other night, and did he fart up a storm..he just can't handle any grains in his feed... so of course he gets the most expensive feed in town....
Off to town to pay the property taxes today... and the water license.. have a great weekend......... S

my goodness it has been 5 weeks

2010-06-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

1 week ago
Where does time go.... hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since i sat down to write... lets see if i can remember what has happened.... well I turned 63 on the 7th of June... Joe bought me a new dishwasher for Mother's day and my birthday..works good... better than the other one i had... a whirl pool, this one is a GE, dishes get well washed . and it is much easier to load...I have some very fine glasses,(beer glasses from Lee Valley) they are very thin and small, and they are very hard to clean by hand, but this dishwasher cleans them to sparkling
Finally got the garden planted, and of course the dogs run thru it every day... Joe is on holidays and Matt had a week off, so i had both of them at home, plus Joe's girlfriend..what a crowd..Joe, Matt and Larry took a couple of days and headed up to Bella Coola... so I actually had half a day on Wednesday and half a day on Thursday by myself... Teresa stayed until noon on Wednesday, and I had to go to the food bank on Thursday... so i actually had time for me... I knitted on Toni's shawl (6 rows left), ate supper when i wanted too, watched a movie, and just enjoyed my quiet time.... wish i had more days like that... They enjoyed their trip... just up and back... Matt left his little dog with me... she was so happy as she had her own personal dog park here....playing with all the dogs, sleeping and playing so more... Matt says she is still sleeping..
We had our International knit in Public day... and we only had 3 guests, but it was okay... we got to spin under the huge tree in Baillie house yard... the weather was warm, lots of mosquitoes , but we had a good time..
Levi and I are off to another trial in Lavington (near Vernon) this weekend... my instructor and a bunch of her students went to "Regionals" in Abbottsford this past week... they had a great time, and 5 of 7 of them qualified for Nationals in Calgary in August... not sure if they will go, but qualifying is a good thing... the next class we had after the Regionals, Maureen (instructor) laid out the Masters course that she ran in Abbottsford... and Levi did a good job, ran a clean run... but I am not expecting much from him in Lavington... we will donate again... but it is good practice for him... we are off to class tomorrow, so we should do okay...
Tuesday the 30th of June
Never did get this blog finished last week... sure don't know where time goes these days.... Actually i was sicker than a dog last week.. started on Tuesday, was dizzy and really out of sorts..vertigo.. i think... didn't start feeling human until Thursday... so wasn't sure i could go to the trial in Lavington, but by Thursday I was feeling much better so was able to go, and lucky for me, I felt good all weekend... We had a good weekend.. weather in Lavington(Vernon) was wonderful... warm but had a nice breeze all weekend...Levi did okay the first two runs of the day on Saturday... last trial he went and visited all 4 of the ring crew and the Judge, but these two runs he only visited one of the ring crew... ran clean runs, but was way over time...he actually had about a total of 30 seconds of extreme brilliance in our 8 runs of about a minute each... the last run of the day I decided that i would run the course with or without him... he did well the first 5 obstacles, then went and visited the judge, i got him focused and away i went...without him... Denise said he had the most puzzled look on his face, like 'where the Hell is she going with out me...' I didn't even look back to see where he was... I just kept say... 'i am not waiting, i am tired of waiting for you'...Denise said he did take some jumps on his own...of course everyone was laughing at us... and Denise and some friends were yelling, "go sheila go..." but i think it must have done some good for in our class yesterday he stuck with me really well, the best he has ever run... he slowed down and i told him i wasn't waiting and they said he sped up to catch up to me..... it was a very good class the very best he has done... I was going to purchase some pictures from the photographer who was there, downloaded pictures, but her prices were out of sight...
I FINALLY FINISHED "TONI" SHAWL.... and breathed a sigh of relief... it looks great, but i can't put a picture up as she sometimes reads this mess of a blog.... I can't block it until Joe moves out as i use that bed..... but I have until October, sure glad i didn't have to be in a rush to finish it... have started another one, again it is a surprise, but it is a simpler pattern for dear friend... and then i have another one that will be wild colours that i have to have done by December...spent a couple of nights not knitting just about drove me nuts with nothing to do.... I only knit at night when Larry is out in the shop....
Well we will be butchering chickens in the next week or so... will be glad to have them finished.... check one of the turkeys today, she had over 30 eggs under her... wonder if they are fertile...
Weather has been terrible... we haven't even had our swamp cooler on yet... i see the neighbour had a fire going this morning.... we have also had some thievery going on in the valley, neighbour lost some tools and his electric bike... sure glad we have Jackson on guard duty around here...some boys on a motorbike drove by and he hates motorbikes, so he stood up on the gate and gave them shit...don't think they will be back...i promise i will try and write more... helps settle me down.... have a great weekend... we are off to a 50th birthday party on Saturday.... hope the weather is good... i am taking our shade tent in case it is very sunny or rains... and i bought him a whole pile of "sparklers" to help him celebrate.... have a good one......... hugs

June already

2010-06-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, it is June already... where does time go...weather has been so rotten that i don't even have my garden in... but it has been so cold... had cuke plants on the deck and they were too cold and look awful..

Well Levi and I went to another trial, again we donated our entry fee... I know he can do it, but he gets so distracted and wants to go visit the ring crew and the judge... but then a lot of dogs do that... I am begining to think it might be me...as Dixie wasn't the least bit interested in agility either... well I have decided that i will give him another year, and if it isn't working by then we will quit... no sense flogging a dead horse...

Went to Kamloops for two appointments yesterday... my first Mammogram since the boob reduction..and oh my god, it didn't hurt... first time in 23 years it didn't hurt... I go every year as there is history of breast cancer in my family.. my grandmother, her two sisters, her brother's 3 daughters, and my Mom..we did have the genetic screening and Mom was clear of that gene, so they didn't even test my blood.. and then i went to the Rheumatologist and she just renewed my prescriptions... I have been feeling crappy but it has to be the cold weather as i had been feeling good..

Meat birds are growing well... Larry is building a screen door for the chick house... it was way too hot in there for them... Still have one turkey sitting on eggs, but they are no good as she has been on them for over 28 days... 2nd hen is sitting on eggs in the shed, so lets hope these ones are fertile..

We gave Jackson his yearly hair cut last week, he sure looks good, but we have to trim up the edges... he loves to be short coated... loves to be scratched now.... now Dixie and Levi have nothing to grab on too... no long coat..

Spinning retreat is almost full... can't believe how fast it books up for the fall one... we have such a good time...

well had better go make Larry his lunch... and get back out to the garden.... Still working on Toni's shawl for her 60th birthday in November... 450 stitches now... only 50 rows left to do... 25 are pattern rows... can hardly wait to get it off the sticks,I need to see what it looks like... have two more planned by December... these ones will be a lot easier...... have a great day......... sheila

Invasion of the Hummers

2010-05-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Just went out to feed the hummingbirds... they are going thru 5 cups of syrup a day.... anyway they had been out of feed for about 30 minutes, I walked out with one feeder upside down, and instantly there were 2 Rufus's trying to feed out it UPSIDE DOWN...so i turned it right side up and just stood there... instantly there were at least 10 hummers there feeding out of the feeder, I didn't even get it on the hook, so i just stood there and marveled at them... i could feel the breeze of their wings on my face, and they were flying between me and the feeder..6 inches at the most... We have more that we can count.. especially at night when they are fueling up for the night...i did count at least 20... and this is before they have their babies.. Clara was here last night trying to get pictures of them, but she couldn't get close enough... now we know... starve the little suckers and then feed them out of one feeder...
Weather sure has been cold... freezing every night... feel sorry for all the folks who buy their bedding plants too early... i did buy the tomatoes, but left them under the roof of the porch and they are okay.... poor Yankee hasn't been out for a week, cold cold wind...
Larry has never like his name, so he decided he wanted to be called "ED" his name is Edwin Larry....so he taught the bird to say... "where Ed" "Here's Ed", and he (Yankee) is driving me nuts with it... he has also learned to say "Yankee is an Eagle"..
Meat birds are growing fast, a couple more weeks and they will be in the freezer..also have 2 turkeys sitting on eggs, should have chicks by next week... maybe... have to go find a picture of them... nope can't find any... better go take some... they are so pretty... Off to agility tomorrow... hope Levi goes well, Denise and I are off to a one day trial in Kelowna, at the park just as you cross over the bridge... beautiful park, right next to the lake, just hope it is warm, but will take my winter coat just encase..Still trying to decided if i am going to go the Regional, just to help out and volunteer...better make up my mind soon... will probably go down on Friday and spend Saturday with Mom, and then go to the trial on Sunday (that's the day they need help) and then just come home from there..It is in Abbottsford... should be fun... just have to decide to see if i can afford to go............have a great day

ZERO, ZIP, NADA

2010-05-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Yup.... a truly rotten weekend... sorry I have taken so long in writing about our escapades at the Leaps and Bounds Agiltiy trial this past weekend, cuz i was worn out... kept falling sleep all day on Monday.....We left Merritt around 1 PM on Friday, had a good trip down to Cloverdale... Denise brought her GPS..I have never had anything to do with one... so she programed in the address and away we went..we took 176 St... which turns out that I know it well... I never pay any attention to the street numbers when i am down there, I just know where to go..but it is a wonder that the GPS knows where to go... anyway..we had to stop at Sears as Denise need new runners and I forgot my sweater... and was lucky to find a very warm hoodie with a zipper..which i wore most of the weekend... anyway... we got there in plenty of time, I volunteered to change jumps for the evening, so i didn't have to do any during the weekend... I don't mind volunteering as i get to watch every dog, and every handler so i learn lots of tricks..We headed off to mom's for the night... had a nice warm shower and then off to bed... but of course we never sleep well the first night... and I had forgotten Levi's bed in the truck and he won't settle down..but i wasn't going out in my nightie for it... We stopped for breakie at Timmie's, Levi sits in the drivers seat while we eat... when we got back into the truck, Denise tried to put Levi into the back, and Pip (her dog who weighs all of 7 lbs) growled and Levi won't go into the back..turns out Pip got into the cooler bag, and he ate over half of his treats, got into Denises salad, so he won't let Levi into the back... didn't want to share i guess..we laughed as we figures Levi was playing Lookout for him...Gail and Karen came to support their Spinny friend (me).. and of course Levi just wasn't with the program... too busy looking around, and checking out the ring crew.. so we never did get a clean run.. and way over time in every run...very frustrating... but i wasn't the only one with a dog not paying attention... we slept better Saturday nite, and didn't get finished until about 5:30 as Denise and Pip are running the Masters courses and they didn't get finished too early... there were at least 75 Master dogs compared to 40 Advanced dogs and 30 starter dogs..I have to keep telling myself that is is suppose to be fun... took Levi to classes on Tuesday,(we have moved up to Maureen's home place for the summer so our classes will be during the week now.)... and of course Levi ran okay, not great but okay...did everything I asked of him, still not too fast but better than the trial..
Came home to some nice gifts from Joe's new girlfriend and her kids... a shade tent, a bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate to Garden Sushi... we told her she didn't have to do it, but Joe says she likes to do things like that...Matt gives me my BCAA membership for Mother's day and my birthday, and Joe gave me a card and a coffee mug..(a new dishwasher is coming)...and Mom gave me $$ for part of the shade tent...
Joe brought home 2 laying hens this morning, they stopped at the boat launch on Nicola Lake, and Joe found 2 young laying hens... they were friendly and he didn't have any problem catching them... so we have two new girls in the bunch.. this is Denise and Pip.. good picture of her, but not great one of Pip... also now known as TC ( trash can)

2010-05-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

One very bored Austrailian Cattledog with his one and only ribbon from the last trail we were at... poor boy...

Cold cold May

2010-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hi... sorry i have been so long getting back to ya all... L and I headed off to Ohlalla Washington on Saturday last weekend, a quick trip... we took oldest son's pick up, as we were picking up JUNK...for his old motors and drag saws... by the time we got to Merritt (20 Minute drive), i was feeling car sick..I have driven Joe's truck before and never had a problem with it, but for some reason when Larry drives it, he over drives it...and we sway back and forth... and I can not handle that... so I drove from Merritt to the toll booth... but that was as far as i could go..and then he drove, and i put the seat back and slept... made it to Mom's and headed for bed, and stayed there till morning... how i hate getting car sick, and i have been doing it all my life..you would think i would get over it by now..and it always takes me a day to get over it, so we talked youngest son into going with his Dad, and it was a good thing as they had a good time..Grandma gave them $$ for lunch as Larry wanted to go to "red Lobster"...which they did... they had laughs and travelled well together... I drove home and was fine...
Andrea and Sheila S and I went to one of the local schools on Wednesday,(one of our guild members is the Librarian there)... and showed off our spinning skills... we had a great time... and the kids were great, very friendly, polite, and very willing to learn... a couple of times we got overwhelmed as the classes changed, and there were 30 kids around 3 wheels, but we all had fun..
Levi and i were off to agility yesterday, and he is doing okay... he is not a speed demon, but i just want him to be calm and clean.. Karen and Gail, I will be down at Cloverdale again this coming weekend..for another trial, not sure if my friend will be there, as her little dog got into chocolate covered macadamia nuts, and plain macadamia nuts..and both are toxic to dogs...
I know it is time to change my picture but the tulips aren't open yet, and my batteries need charging, boy they sure don't last..
It is sure cold around here today... cold wind... there go my great plans for working on the garden and getting it ready for planting... only one of my 120 garlic bulbs came up... what a disappointment..will try again this fall..decided not to plant spuds as they go so mushy when cooked, over watered... unless i can talk L into making another bed for the spuds where they aren't close to the main garden, where they get sprinkled all the time...I am waiting on a whole box of tulips.. they are just about ready to bloom, they will probably bloom the weekend i am away... I chopped off two of my rose bushes.. golden showers i think they were called... the shrub of yellow roses...they were getting very tall and spindly.. as i cut out the dead branches it really looked even worse... so we cut it all back... and then dug out the one by the deck that also was very ugly...Moved that one near the fence.. hopefully both will come back... my peach tree has blossoms.. hope it doesn't get too cold for it... as they are so good.. little and sweet..can't remember what they are called..it is a self pollinating tree... Well better go and start thinking about supper... beef roast, roasted potatoes, and Yorkshire puddings and gravy and asparagus..

One thing after another

2010-04-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful weekend at Desert Mesa Retreat...weather was good, we even got to sit outside for a couple of hours... we are losing our Managers, they are retiring.. so we hope that the new managers will be as considerate as Carol and Orst...Everyone had a great time.. we laughed so hard, my jaws hurt...i even got a couple of cheques for the fall retreat..
Before I left for the retreat, my dishwasher wasn't working.. Larry didn't have time to look at it while i was gone, but he checked it out on Monday, and of course these new dishwashers are not easy to fix... so i am washing dishes by hand... and while Larry was under the house shutting off the water, he noticed that the hot water tank was leaking.. of course being a OLD mobile, it has fibre board on the floor, and it was soaking wet.so he had to take out the floor and replace it before he could put in the new tank... a simple tank replacement has turned into a real renovation..he had to take out one wall of the closet.. he is not a happy camper.. I did get the bird cage mucked out today... we have two cages for him.. one outside and his inside cage.. he gets it so dirty... i had to use the pressure washer to get then clean... Yankee has been yelling at Willy (old cat), willy has a bad habit of howling when he is lonely, hungary, thirsty... and we yell at him... Willy, shut up.... well that silly bird yells at him while he is howling.. and tells him.... Willy shut up.... really makes me laugh as he does at the right time.... the trees sure came into leaf while i was gone for the weekend.. even my peach tree make it thru the winter... cherry trees look good, and both my apple trees are getting ready to leaf out... hopefully my crapapple trees will get fruit this year... two apples on two trees last year...
i am not looking forward to tomorrow... all the clothes from the closet need to be put back..i had to put them on the picnic table on the deck as Joe is in the spare room.... which i would have used if he wasn't there..oh well... he did pick up the hot water tank for us, so that saved us a trip to town.. I made Amish cinnamon cake, sure didn't turn out like it was suppose to... but it does taste good.. I need to start walking and riding my bike soon... need some excerise.. well i had better go see what the hubby is doing and if he needs any help

Spring Retreat

2010-04-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Our Desert Mesa Spring Retreat is just around the corner.. Friday... i can hardly wait...a weekend just for me.. I never get one... yah right... Levi and I went to our first agility trial last weekend in Cloverdale.. We got down there Friday afternoon, as Denise had to run "PiP' on Friday night..Levi did well for his first trial.. he even "Q"ed.(ran the course with no mistakes, and with in the set time). much to my surprise.. and came close to a second "Q"... but it was taking a "Country dog" to the City... lots of noise, and people and other dogs... but he did well... although it did take him some time to settle down. there were 12 of from Iron Mountain Agility there... and everyone did well and everyone "Q"ed, .We will be back in Cloverdale May 7th weekend..and i will do things a little different..I will take him out to the bleachers and get him used to the sights and sounds..on Friday nite..
I sure haven't been sleeping well lately... i wake up at about 3 am and then can't go back to sleep..old age i guess..
The weather was beautiful today... the sun was so nice and warm... i have to wash the truck tomorrow, it is so dirty...also have to make the carmel corn for the retreat...I had even forgotten to get a gift for the gift exchange.. don't know where my mind is these days... CRS... can't remember shit... and i am so tired... will write again after the retreat, and hopefully i will remember to take some pictures.... nite..

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Time sure flies as one ages.... seems like it was just Christmas...
I have been thinking about all the shawls i have made in the last few years... I think the first one i made was for me, feather and fan, out of hand spun Shetland from Carol Arthur i think it was, I have since found out that the correct name for that pattern is "Old Shale"...read an item about comparing the two similar patterns... so when i started that one, my criteria was that the 'pattern' be no more than "4" rows of pattern...and that was a good one, cause actually it was only 1 row of pattern, and then 3 rows of knit and purl rows... so i handled that one okay, the next one was "Charolottes' easy shawl", again not a whole lot of rows of repeat... but lots of counting as one row had more stitches than the next... ended up doing two of those, one for my now ex daughter in law, and one for me... then i did one for a friend turning 60, and she was very ill and her family weren't sure she would make her 65th birthday, she is not 65 yet, but is still with us... and that one again was a really easy one "garter and lace" the body of the shawl was garter stitch, and then the lace was knitted on... again a simple one, but i just couldn't figure out how to add the lace. I checked with my knitting guru, Louisa (Dameslfly), she wrote me a very detail email explaining it to me..but i still couldn't figure it out, so we made arrangements to meet at Fibres West?? and she proceeded to tell me that i was trying to put the lace across the top of the shawl instead of down the sides... her patience won out and i finally got IT... so over the years now i have made lots (last count i think was 18) of shawls, and my plan for April is to show you pictures of them all, the ones i have pictures of... have to go dig them out of "my pictures"... anyway the main reason I started thinking about the shawls, is i started knitting a cute little summer hat for a friends Grand baby... and after about 15 rows, I got BORED... i am going to finish IT... I am knitting a shawl for Toni..(she will be 60 in November), and would you believe "there isn't two ROWs the same thru almost 300 rows of pattern... and I am winning the battle... I am at row 254... but no pictures of that one until OCTOBER..haven't had time to look for shawl patterns, and i have to go find a picture of something for the blog... Went out for supper last night... turkey, nice not to have to cook it... Matt is coming up tommorrow, so i will cook up a half a turkey for us... so we can have left overs...
Levi and I had a good class yesterday... Maureen our instructor makes us run tough courses, we are just Starters, so when it comes to our trials, we should have an easy time of it... we have 7 runs next weekend in Cloverdale..the first one will be tough as i will be nervous and that will affect Levi... so I just plan on donating $$ for the first run(we will screw up)... I know we won't do well till my nerves settle..and then the weekend after that is "Desert Mesa" which i am really looking forward too..two weekends away... poor Larry but he enjoys a nice quiet weekend with out me... have a great day... hopefully i will get some pics of Levi next weekend............. sheila

things are better today

2010-03-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

HI Well things are better today... getting used to the empty field.. sure has cut back on the amount of hay i am feeding..we were feeding a bale a day, looks like a bale will last us 4 or 5 days now... what a bonus... got a email from the girls new owner, and she says they have settled and are fitting right in... which i am pleased with... most of them were born here on the place, and that is all they know... I have a big problem sending anything through the auction... I had a lovely old ram, HANK... what a old sweetie he was... but we had too many of his daughters, and had to get rid of him... so i did the same thing, i sold him to a friend, and by the time she had to get rid of him, it was much easier for me... so the same thing will happen with the herd of Shetlands... they were good girls and easy to handle..
I have the worlds figure skating on in the background.. and they are doing the compulsory dance, which is the golden waltz, and i love the music...nothing better than the old time waltz..If i ever replace the love of my life, the next one will be able to DANCE...only time Larry dances is when he had had too much to drink, which never happens anymore...
I am taking Levi into town with me tomorrow, have to go get some lay pellets, and going to meet Denise (my agility partner) and introduce her dog Pip to Levi... they have never been together... sure hope they get along..or that will be the end of our doing agility together...
better get my camera ready to take with me tomorrow..hopefully will take some pictures of them playing..
almost ready to go feed the dogs, and gather the eggs and feed the llama and the 3 alpacas..

Sheepless in Merritt

2010-03-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Very sad day for Larry and I, we are now SHEEPLESS... I have been pondering getting rid of the sheep..i have no ram, and hay is so expensive, so i decided it was time... I have had sheep for over 25 years, and it was time... I tried my friend Toni, and i was so positive she would take them as she has such a soft spot for critters... I guess i should have told her that i was going to butcher them all, i know that would have done it... so I tried my neighbour, who also has a soft spot for critters... she thought about it for a week, and her and her boys came over today, and they are all gone... Larry of course wanted to keep his favorites, but i said NO... they all have to go... so now we are down to one old Llama and 3 old alpacas... 5 (2 old) dogs, 2 old cats, 24 chickens, 7 turkeys(Royal Palms)(i found two eggs this morning)...and the BIRD..so now we might be able to take a few more trips without worring about having someone come in to stay.. we will travel when Joe is on his 4 days off, so there will be someone here...
Levi and I had a good day at agility... he is improving every week... my agility buddy and i are thinking of coming down to Cloverdale for a trial the 9th of April... so if anyone is interested in having a good giggle watching Levi and I making a fool of ourselves let me know and i will let you know what time .. I am too sad to write much... will give it a day or two before i get over letting them go..

spring is around the corner

2010-03-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi... nothing new and exciting around here this week... stayed home all week, went to the Food bank on Thursday, (had problems with the program we use to keep track of the clients, everytime we added a client the program would take one away..would only hold just so many.. guess we need a new program, it isn't Word which will hold tons).. did a bit of grocery shopping, bought some cotton, boy i hate commerical yarn.. going to make a cute little cotton hat for a set of twins and my girlfriend's grandbaby..i have got them started, well one started, and do not like knitting them... so it will be a challenge...

Levi and I went to Agility on Saturday morning.. neither of us were brillant, but by the end of the class we had it figured out... wish we could have a practice run at the trials so we could figure it out before the run that counted..he is getting better every class... and his manners are getting better...

Steve and Clara came for supper, Ham, scalloped spuds, turnip/carrot, spinach salad, angel food cake with homegrown raspberry sauce.. talked Glenys into coming as Dave is away in Winnipeg... so we had to play "Sticks" a form of Contract rummy... Steve was worn out, so they left after supper, and we had a quiet night..

Got our new satellite from Telus on Tuesday... sure is a nice picture... high definitation.. and a PVR..(personal video recorder)... very nice... and Toni, i have it figured out, so i can program yours so you never have to miss a Cornation Street again.. you can program it to record your favorite program while you watch something else..so i have it set to record the new series "Pacific" only when there is a new show... for Joe.. he wants to watch it..he is a history buff... i can tell everytime he has been in the house, the history channel is on..i always thought he would be a good history teacher as he love history and remembers it..drive me nuts sometimes with all his facts...

The time change sure has upset the sheep and the chickens..but won't take long for them to get used to the change..
Think i will start raking the lawn tomorrow, if it doesn't snow overnight again... dog poop everywhere.. ugly... take care... Sheila

fuzzy bird

2010-03-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hi... had to change Yankee's picture... he was out of focus.... hope this one is better...Snow this morning... ugh... just enough to make a mess... nothing interesting today as yet............. S

Spring is on the way

2010-03-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

Morning... what happened to winter... I was out early this morning... 10 am, and was checking the trees, and my currant bushes are starting to show green on the buds... Lilac buds are getting fat.. and it isn't even the middle of March, I hope the spring stays warm and we don't lose the blossoms on the apple, peach and cherry trees..
Haven't been feeling well this week... went up to play cards with Friends last Saturday, i couldn't even get thru the first hand with out making a dash to the bathroom... so that was the end of cards for that day, and i still don't feel 100 % this week... went to Guild meeting, and didn't even take anything to do.. which is a real first for me... went to the Food bank the next day just to keep moving..was by myself and was rushed off my feet...havent' been sleeping, seem to wake up at 4:30 and then don't go back to sleep until 6.. just don't feel up to snuff... Agility was good yesterday, and i love it so much, I forgot i was feeling crappy...Levi did really well, a few errors, but we both got some praise from the instructor...he is doing as well as the other dogs who have been doing it for 2 or 3 years...I know i have said that more than once, but i am proud of him..At the food bank on Thursdays we set up a big pot of coffee and some muffins, doughnuts and stuff for the clients.. they come in, have a visit and a cuppa and then move on... i get a good giggle out of some of them... I asked one fellow how he was, and he answered" SSDD", I didn't have a clue what that meant, and he told me" Same Shit, Different Day"...don't ya love it... anyway we were chatting away, and one other fellow says..."did you see what she did", I said no... he said "She walked off with the cream jug " which was full of milk for their coffee.... can ya imagine.. really biting the hand that feeds ya..
We are changing our Satelliet system on Tuesday... Telus called me a few weeks back, and offered me a deal that i couldn't refuse... HD PVR (High definition Personal video recorder)"..and all the same channels for half the price i am paying now...so he is coming on Tuesday..
Monday Morning... got company yesterday and forgot to finish this... been knitting on the current shawl, not bad, but no easy repeats so i have to watch where i am all the time... and count and recount... but it looks good so far.. a bit of snow this morning, just enough to make ya mad... it was so nice and dry... will try and do more blogging as my faithfully reader (youngest son) reminds me that i don't update often enough... thanks Matt..

May the Bird of Paradise fly up your nose

2010-03-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

New picture of the noisest thing in my life... Larry has taught him to sing.."May the bird of Paradise fly up your nose, may an elephant caress you with his toes.." only word he can't say is 'elephant' but he is working on it... he is so noisey these days... when i am on the phone i have to give him a cookie (his favorite is the 'Ice wafers") to shut him up...
I really enjoyed the Olympics much more than i thought i would...i really like seeing them in real time, and not a day after the fact...(like it will be in Russia)...wasn't that Russian anthem really long and boring... Canada did us proud, and i am so glad there wasn't any trouble with all those people wandering around the streets...

I have finished my jacket... had to make it fit by adding some more rows along the sides... but when i washed it and blocked it, i couldn't believe that all the holes in the lace matched up... i will get the guild to take some pictures of it on Wednesday.. it was my Desert Mesa project from last spring... we had to make something out of what we were spinning... and i finished it... now i am starting on Toni's birthday gift...looks good so far.. only 50+ rows done...
Weather has been beautiful... i am sure my currants and lilacs are thinking about blooming..
Levi had a fair day at agility on Saturday, he wasn't as good as last week, but he did have his moments of brillance... but i must remember that he has only been doing it for 9 months... i must get some pictures of him soon... better go, the man in my life wants to check out his old iron stuff..... S

First clean Run

2010-02-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Whoopee... Levi had his first clean run...the course was a very fast one, and he did really well, and of course the mistakes were mine..but the last run was perfect... he did what i asked and his weave poles were great... he was better than all the other dogs in his class..(hope the handlers don't read this).. they have been at it for at least 2 or 3 years...and he hasnt been at for a year yet.. we have been practising weaves here at home, and some jumps..and boy does that make a difference... when i ran Jesse, we never had any practice time as i only had her an hour and a half a week, and that was for classes...

Anyone need a dog... this little fellow is looking for a new home.. his name is Kujo(awlful name, but i think he would answer to JOE..

He is a shih tzu/pomeranian cross, a year old and neutered.. Lady who owns him works and doesn't have time for him... he is free to an EXCELLENT home.. and i have to approve the home... It is a good thing that Larry won't get to see him, or he would be coming home with him... he is such a soft touch for critters needing a good home... we are so pleased with Levi... stubborn, but he is listening better all the time... Weather has gotten colder, -5 this morning... but we can't complain as it is only February... I had lambs born one Feb, they were black and by the time i got out to see them. they were white with FROST...so we had better quit complaining... Jackson right now is trying to climb the power pole to get at the squirrels that are teasing them..it is a big game for the dogs and the squirrels..

I have almost finished my jacket... and of course it is too small...i bought the magazine cause i loved the jacket,but it had only one size so i had to fiddle around with needle size to get it bigger for my big butt..so i thought i had it right... then i had a problem with the pattern and went to the authors website to look for corrections, and won't ya believe it, but she had the pattern "FREE" with small, medium and LARGE sizes..and of course the large size would have been so much better for me... lucky for me, there is several rows of crochet edging, down the sides and down the front... so i will just add more rows of crochet... and so far it looks good..but i find i can't crochet and watch the Olympics at the same time..I can knit but not crochet.. so i should get it finished this week, and then i start another shawl for a 60 year old friend, then i have several more shawls to do for friends who won't be 60 until i am too old to knit.. better go do something... have a great day.... S

Opening ceremonies

2010-02-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

I am not too excited about the "O", but i did watch the opening ceremonies tonight... nothing else on the tube, and i needed to have something on while i knitted... i was impressed, they did do a good job..too bad the other arms for the flame didn't come up, but that is life... I feel that the money they spent on the "O" could have been spent on other things... homes for the homeless, school lunchs and breakfasts for kids who need it...better hospital service, more help for seniors... i could go on and on... but there is nothing i can do about it..
Weather sure has been nice, warm, but no sun...it was +8 today...
Had AGM at the Food Bank yesterday, and i am now Secretary ... nothing too serious, but i guess i can help out a bit more... I spent 20 years volunteering at the Senior's intermediate care Residence... I just had to change... there are several things that i would like to change, but that will come as things progress...
Levi and I are off to agility in the morning... he did really well last week... we ran with advanced dogs and he did everything i asked of him, instructor said he was the best in the class...I know i am blowing our horn, but he really did well..and that makes me feel good...better go to bed.... see ya

Forgot

2010-02-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

I forgot it was February and time to change the picture... how do ya like the squirrel, sure is a cutie..

Forty two years of wedded bliss

2010-02-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Ya right... it is really hard to believe we have been married 42 years... Feb 2... ground hog day... We decided to go out for supper on Tuesday, and Merritt doesn't have anything exciting for a restaurant... so we went to Kamloops, I had to pick up my Christmas present, MY new sunglasses...and return a dog halter.. of course i didn't have the reciept for the halter so had to take a credit, which is fine, but i just didn't have time to look for something... i wanted a retracable leash for Levi, but theirs were way to expensive, they have the same type at Wally's world for half the price, so will save the credit for a toy for Yankee... Levi could pull out of the halter, and that is not what i wanted, so i bought another one, and he hasn't been able to pull out of it yet... he has such a square head and short nose... Then we went out for supper to "the Keg", a very nice restuarant... as we were celebrating our anniversary they gave us a nice dessert... but we were so full we couldn't eat it... Larry had scallops wrapped in bacon, and lobster and steak, and i had calamari and then Prime rib... (my favorite steak is rib steak, which is prime rib cut into steaks..) and as they didn't have rib steaks i went with the prime rib... it was really good.. could hardly eat it all... it was nice to spend some quiet time together and just chat about life..

Levi is doing really well with his agility, he is finally getting the idea that this is suppose to be fun... one of my agiltiy buddies was laughing at us last week, he wasnt going too fast, and i told him to hurry up, and she said he speeded right up..I have been practising "weave poles" and some jumps at home, and he is finally starting to bounce through the weave poles.. it is a front two footed bounce.. makes them go faster..I am really pleased with him... although as soon as we get to the class he won't do it... but as long as we keep practising he will learn that he has to do it all the time...I can hardly wait to take him to a trial...we are going to the earliest class on Saturday as we are playing cards early on Saturday..it should be interesting as these are dogs that he doesn't know... so he might get a bit snarky...so this is when the halter will work...

Weather has been nice, hardly freezing at night..it can stay this way till April for us...

One of the Shetlands hasn't been feeling to good this week... this is her taken this summer after she was sheared.. "Hay stack" is her name... i know a really weird name, but she was an orphan we bottle raised, and she always followed us around, and when we feed the sheep from the wheel barrow she was always under your feet, and kept getting hay all over her... so "haystack" cause that is what she looked like... gave her some 'ketamalt' whick is like a good dose of cod liver oil, and she is feeling better.. don't ya love the horns... they make good handles..well better go do some laundry, wash the floor, vaccum the living room... too many damn animals in this place.... have a good one.

@#%& Dog

2010-01-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Anyone want a 4 year old Bouvier really CHEAP.... yesterday the yard gate was open and Jackson the Bouvier and Levi took off barking up the hill behind the property about 3 pm, no sign of them at 3:30, so i went looking for them, I got back at 4:15 and there was still no sign of them, Levi showed up at about 4:30, but no Jackson..it was so unlike him, he has gone walk-about before, but has always been home with in the hour... so Larry went looking for him today, and found him about 3kms from here, and he was in an absolute frenzy.. won't come to Larry and just won't settle down..Larry finally settled him down and put a leash on him... I saw Larry coming home and thought the worst as he had only been gone 20 minutes..but he had a very wet, tired, excited dog... right now he is laying in the living room dead to the world.. I had called the neighbours to see if they had seen him, and Peg told me that there had been a bob cat around, Jackson has a very good nose so maybe he was out chasing the cat, he has been frantic about the squirrels the last couple of days, and it is a full moon tonight... so i am sure all things combined he lost his mind, and forgot about coming home... it was so unlike him... but i am glad he is home

January 25-2010

2010-01-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Just where does the time go... the older i get the faster time goes... again it was a beautiful day, no sun, but nice and warm, we woke up to 1/2 inch of snow, just enough to freshen it up... and cover all the crud on the lawn... 5 dogs do make a mess...We had a great guild meeting last week..spinning, laughing and just plain chatting.. I am still spinning up some wonderful very fine Merino that i had bought from Andrea, it was 17 microns, it was sent to Canada in error, they usually save the very fine merino for their own use... I figured i almost had it finished when Andrea gave me the 100 grams she had saved for herself..what a sweet heart... I have put aside my Glacial Green jacket, as i am having a bit of a problem with reading the pattern, I think i have it figured, but i wrote to the author, i did hear back from her, but she didn't really answer my question... so i will wait another day or two before i pick it up again.. so i decided to spin up the merino from Andrea on my traveller... I have been spinning my orginal on my Joy, which i take to meetings..both being Ashford makes the spinning very similar..i do love to spin fine.. I got the pattern for Toni's birthday shawl... can't tell you what it is as she does read this occasionally..now just have to decide what fibre to use... I have got a few more shawls planned as some of my friends are much younger than me... one in her late 40's and one in her early 50's, so i have decided that they won't have to wait for their 60th birthday.. as i will be too old to knit by then...
Yankee bird is doing well... he has learnt to say "Larry's a geezer"... just as clear as can be... did i tell you that Larry and one of our card buddies have major disagreements when we play cards... and their favorite gripe at each other is "a card laid is a card played"..well Glenys' hubby taught Yankee to say " A card laid is a card played, Glenys, ha ha ha" and it is so funny as the laugh is Dave's newfie laugh... very deep and definitely Dave's laugh..
Agility started on Saturday with me about ready to retire.. really bad first run.. dog wasn't listening and i was in the wrong spot at the wrong time..i am the oldest one in the class, one is a teenager,(19), and the other two are in their 20's, and then there is me... ancient...with a beginner dog.... the only good thing is that i sort of know what i am doing... i have trained 2 other dogs, so i am not a beginner handler, just one with a bit more experience. But Levi is getting better, we worked on some weave poles today, and he is getting faster, but we both slipped on some ice, so will have to wait till all the ice is gone.. Jackson has been chasing "Squirrels", have any of you seen the movie "UP"... and Doug the dog says "Squirrel" that is our dogs... Jackson stands up on the tree barking at them... and the squirrels just tease the dogs, they come down to 10 feet, and chatter at the dogs.. went to feed the birds today, and the squirrels have been getting to my birdseed, they leave me all kinds of things, just like a pack rat... this morning there were 'pine cone' clumps of dirt, pieces of plants, piece of plastic, and some stale pretzels that i had put out for them...and hunks of rope from the outside parrot cage..I know most people hate squirrels, but we don't, we find them fun to have around.. Yankee calls the one who lives here, "Squirrel Mackie" we do have a dog called Mackie, but Yankee put the two words together on his own...well better go do some spinning........... S

OH what a beautiful day

2010-01-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

HI... what a gorgeous day, above freezing, and i was able to have the front door open for a while today... so nice to have fresh air in the house... not doing any spinning as i am trying to get my jacket finished, almost got the back done, and then just the front to do... very easy pattern as long as i don't make a mistake... making a mistake on such an easy pattern makes me feel like a fool... but i am learning how to correct the errors without frogging it..
Levi and I had a good agility day yesterday, he is learning and is running faster although he still figures he know where he is going, he loves the A frame, the Dog walk and teeter... i got him to fly over 4 jumps and then thru a tunnel, and then the plan was that I would tell him 'tunnel' again as he was in the middle of the first tunnel, and he was to turn left and go thru another tunnel, but he does love the A frame, and he could see it as he came out of the tunnel, so he ignored me and headed for the A frame..then stood on top of it while i stood at the bottom... but he is learning... I feel that we aren't progressing, but my agility buddies come early to watch us, and they say that he is doing well... so i will try a couple of trials this spring.. and maybe only a couple of runs a trial... don't want to push him too hard... i need someone to take some pics of him so you can see him run..
Better go get supper organized, Joe is here for supper, we sure see a lot more of him these days since he and the spouse have separated..but i know he is lonely..we found the house a little crowded over Christmas with him and Matt hanging around for 4 days...it was okay when they were growing up, we got used to the extra bodies around, but now that they have been gone for 10 years, we have gotten used to just us here.. we live in an old mobile, would love a new house, but we do have a roof over our heads and it and the 10 acres are paid for... see ya soon

2009-12-31T22:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR... don't ya love my new picture... this is a pic of a Sewhet Owl, that lived in our barn a couple of winters back... should go check the barn to see if he has come back... might have to change it as it is really large.... hugs

Great Day but no Dinner

2009-12-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

Dec 31... started writing Christmas Day, but never finished it... so here is what i wrote, then i will start over again..

Morning... had a lovely Christmas Day, Matt arrived Christmas eve... We were all up early, Joe had to work Christmas Eve, but they let him off early so he was here about 8:30, Larry and I had done the chores, so we opened gifts as soon as Joe got here... Lots of good stuff.. I got new boots that i wanted, and a fancy knife sharpener, an electric one that even sharpens serrated knifes.. and lots of gift certificates to WALMART... I know that isn't too exciting, but I wanted a pair of Prescription sun glasses and they are very expensive, but Walmart has a good selection of frames... so will end in to Kamloops soon to get them ordered..

Dec 31.... We suppose to go up to friends for dinner... but as i was getting dressed, i decided that i wasn't feeling up to going out... stomach was quesey..so Larry and the boys went with out me... I was very disappointed, but would rather feel rotten at home then up at Clara's so i had two pieces of raisin bread for supper... Matt's little dog drove me nuts, she is definitely a one person dog, and she was really stressed while he was gone... Matt and Joe went to Kamloops to a movie one nite, and she had calmed down nicely...
Anyway... it is hard to believe that tonite will be 2010... seems like it was just yesterday that they were saying the world would crash and burn when the clocks turned over to 2000...we made 10 years with problems...
We will be in bed by 11 tonight..card buddies will be over for supper tomorrow early, so we will play cards for a couple of hours, and then have a lovely Prime Rib with twice baked spuds, ceasar salad, brussel sprouts and peas and corn, and the a delious chocolate roll stuffed with REAL whipping cream and iced with a light chocolate icing..girlfriend had given me this recipe over 30 years ago with instructions never to let anyone else have this recipe... I mentioned it last time i saw her, and she can't remember telling me that, and that she didn't care if i passed the recipe on...all these years i had been so good not letting anyone have it..oh... guess we change as we get older..
Weather has warmed up nicely... Hens are laying very well, had 18 eggs one day.. i have a whole fridge of eggs... will take some to guild meeting, hopefully will be able to sell them all...
I messed up the other day and didn't drain the hose that we use to water the sheep well enough and then the prairie water tap froze, so Larry is trying to thaw it out...
Got my Finn all spun up... got 2500 yards out of a pound... now just have to decide what to make out of it... I have restarted the glacier green merino and silk yesterday...had to go up two needle sizes to get it the right size for my BIG hips...it is the feather and fan pattern done in a sleeveless jacket... hope it fits this time...
I got an email from a very good friend who taught me to spin 25 years ago... i h ave been trying to get Anja to start spinning again, anyway she told of me of this new lady that she met who is also trying to get her to start spinning again... are you ready for this... this new friend of Anja is known in their valley as "Rattlesnake Annie" and has run guys off her property with a 'shot gun'... doesn't she sound like an interesting character... i would love to met her...
Better go and make up my baked spuds for tomorrow... we are playing cards early in the afternoon, so will have to have everything ready in the am... have a Truly Great New Year's Eve... please don't drink and drive...hugs

FOG

2009-12-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Darn it, I hate fog... woke up to very foggy morning... don't mind it during the day, but really hate it at night... I feel like i have been dropped into a hole, the tempature has sure risen.. +2 this morning... can't believe the change..
I am off to Kamloops this afternoon for eye tests, 2 pm appt, but that means that i have to drive against the lights coming home after drops... oh well i can always put my sun glasses on... should be a quick trip... no shopping to do.. only one gift to buy... and it is an easy one, a gift certificate for the youngest son... he is so picky with his clothes that there is no way that i can buy him anything that fits or that he likes, so the family has decided to buy him gift certificates, that way he buys what he likes...he has very expensive tastes..
The hens are laying really well... think we have 17 hens (one died yesterday, she has always been sickly) and we are getting 14 eggs a day... we started feeding them hot mash which they just love...helps keep them warm..but Larry's chickent house is nice and toasty warm.. almost too warm...
Got a Christmas present from my cousin in Wales(we have never met in person) a cook book with Welsh reciepes, funny book, one half the page is in Welsh and the other half is in English... what a strange language (welsh that is) some very interesting pictures...
Oldest son Joe is off to the coast today, going to spend a few days with Grandma..I was talking to youngest son the other day, I guess Joe is driving him nuts, Matt says he likes it better when Joe wasn't talking to any of us..(pre separation days), but I keep reminding him that Joe is lonely now..he works 4 days and then has 4 days off..so he kind of moves in on us on those 4 off days..I imagine he will be here over his Christmas days off..We are going to friends for dinner on
Christmas day... Joe wants us to stay home, but for years we never saw him but for a few hours on Christmas day, so we started sharing dinner with friends who were also alone..and it has gotten to be a tradition, so he will have to come with us... I will cook a turkey on Boxing day so that we have left overs...i will have to get Larry to cut one of the turkeys in half, they weigh about 24 lbs... too big for us... well had better get dressed and go feed the chucks...

MINUS -20C

2009-12-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Minus 20 C... sounds really cold but it is actually only -4 F... I can remember in our early marriage, we managed -45 F with no problem... we had no running water so that meant no flush toilet so that meant putting on the pants, boots, parka, hat and gloves just to go for a pee at 2 am... lucky for me in those days I was much younger and my bladder much stronger so those night trips were few and far between.. That house had been a grainery at one time, it had wood shavings as insulation and cardboard (painted blue) on the walls... having a bath was a real chore... we had an old cast iron bathtub in a back room with no HEAT...so we plugged in a heater, and fill up as many buckets that we owned (about 6 i would think) we would have to go down to the hand pump, fill up two buckets at a time, pack them up thru 2 to 3 feet of snow, put them on the wood stove, crank up the stove and wait a couple of hours. By the time the water was almost boiling, the tub room was at about 30 degrees F..just around freezing. you have got to remember that that tub was cast iron and it was cold... so now we had to move really fast...empty the buckets into the tub... the buckets must have held around 2 to 3 gallons, so you were looking at about 12 to 15 gallons in a tub that probably held 100 gallons, so you had about 4 inches of boiling water in the tub... it was too hot to get into, so then you had to rush down to the pump, pump two buckets of water, rush back up to cold tub room, very gently add the cold water and hope you didn't put too much cold in.. of course the cast iron really sucked up the heat... you had to have everything ready, hop into the tub, wet up, soap up and rise as fast as you could.. never washed my hair in the tub...took too long... so always washed it in the sink...We feed 150 cows a day while we lived there, and we went snowshoeing every weekend, no matter how cold it was..We lived there for 2 winters, and of course the spring that we left there, the owner put in a real bathroom...with heat... Summers were great up there, we rode on the cows almost everyday... cut firewood and sold it, dug earthworms for the fishing camp, and generally had a great time...

Gave my agiltiy instructor her 60th birthday shawl on Friday nite, and she was very happy with it...i was really happy with the beads.. It is the Swallow tail pattern..the fibre is superwash BFL.. which i really love... the colour was a bright pink that i didn't like so i did up a light blue dye pot, and overdyed the bright pink, then i was happy with the colour...

Sorry but i can't download anymore pictures..dumb program... i really like the MS Live Writer, but it is acting up and keeps putting my new blogs in March 09 ... weird.. I emailed them a couple of weeks ago and still haven't heard from them... better go and get my act in gear... even feed the wild birds this morning.. they weren't out of feed, but like to see a full feeder... see ya soon............

Two days into December

2009-12-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

Full Moon and two days into December, and it is cold out there... -9 C this morning...Guild had our Christmas lunch at Annie's in Logan Lake..very Christmasy house..i think from where i was sitting i could see 4 Christmas Trees, and all very decorated.. full of bobbles, bells, angels, and lights... very nice...Annie also collects dolls and there were dolls everywhere...and spinning wheels..i think she has 8 of them...But believe it or not... there were 9 of us there.... AND NOT ONE DESSERT...........can ya imagine... food was good..lots of it... Bernice is having a hip replacement next week, so we made up a basket full of wrapped gifts..so when she comes home, she gets to open a gift a day as long as she has to stay at home.....and there must have been atleast 20 gifts in there...she figures that she will be out and about before she runs out of gifts..but i would hate to fall on the ice and snow...

This is ROO, an Australian cattle dog,(blue heeler) she is on the teeter... the idea is that the dog must ride the teeter to the ground, in other words be in control at all times, but as you can tell... there is no control... and the look on her face is "oh my GOD".. this is one of the pictures from the Calendar my friend made us...

Took my knitting to the lunch today, i needed help to decide what to do with it... it isn't big enough..so will start over again..i have knitted it about 28 inches long... lenght is good, but width isn't... so i will start over again in a bit, after i get over my disappointment... I was doing so well... oh well... will take a picture of it to show ya before i frog it.......... better go do some spinning...

Poor Old Bod is falling apart

2009-11-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

I have been having trouble with my Microsoft Live Writer..won't take my font, and kept giving me a March 09 date... so emailed them and am waiting for a reply on how to fix it, as i really do like it and it downloads the pics so fast.

Went to family doc on Friday as my right hip has been hurting again..only at nite when i lay on it, and i know when it is getting really bad when no matter what side i lay on the right side hurts..and my shoulder has been acting up, getting more and more painful as the days go on... Dr figures it is a Rotor cuff (spelling) problem... where that came from i have no idea... so went for xray on shoulder and coristone shot in my hip (which hurt like a b***h), and probably shot in shoulder during the week after they read the x rays..Also had H1N1 shot at Dr on Friday... arm was a bit achy but only for a day..

Larry and i just finished putting netting over the chicken run today... started yesterday, but didn't get it finished... silly hens keep escaping, and Jackson(bouvier) likes fresh chicken for his supper..so now they(the hens) are pissed off as they can't get out of the pen... they are laying okay about 13-14 eggs a day... sack of lay pellets gave us over 240 eggs.. so the cost of pellets and hen scratch, about $24, the cost of the eggs were about $1 a dozen, so if i charge $3, i should make $40...
Guess i have to go find a picture for my December blog pictures..one of the girls who does agility with us gave us (the ones who trial their dogs) a calendar with pictures of all the dogs in it... there was about 6 pictures of Jesse, one was about 4x5, and the rest about business card size..and every dog had page, two dogs from the same family had to share a page... just love it, there is one pictures of an Austrailian cattle dog like Levi, but she is blue, she is coming over the Teeter, and she is in mid air, and the look on her face is 'OMG'... i have asked Karen for a picture of it, so i can put it up here..guaranteed you will laugh...

Guild is having our Christmas Party on Wednesday, up in Logan Lake, at Annie's, she used to be a floral designer, so her house will be magical..it is pot luck, so had to figure out what to take, have to remember there is only 9 of us, so much not make too much... going to make Spinach salad, and sweet and sour chicken....
Quit knitting on my jacket... i am not sure it will be big enough...will take it up to Annie's and get the guild to help me decided if i should "frog it" or keep going and if it is too small GIVE IT AWAY... Well had better go get supper going... nothing special, just chilli and bread... have a great day... Sheila

Almost December

2009-11-23T09:39:00.001-08:00

Morning, sure don’t know the time flies these days, i had a good week, Guild meeting on Wednesday, with a new young spinner… she caught right on… now we have to find a wheel for her to use… i have my old Ashford, so will dig it out of moth balls, tune it up, oil it up and get it delivered.. Finished spinning up the Quivit i got for my gift at the retreat, 2.2 oz, 63 grams, and i got 400 plied yards, just enough to make something..i love the quivit, but i don’t like the colour, so i dyed it yesterday “cranberry”, don’t know what happened to that sentence… silly computer does its own thing sometimes.. It has been acting up since Larry started using it… thank goodness he (we) have figured out how to use it… he is getting much better at navigating himself around.. he has figured out ebay and several sites he checks out every day… He almost has his “old tin” engine finished..just two pieces left to come..i will take a couple of pictures of it… he has done a nice job, i won’t tell him that though..

Had friends over for cards on Saturday, only one couple, instead of 2.. so we played a new game, Canasta, but a different variety..”Hand and Foot”… the guys whined when we decided to play it, but they did like it by the time we were finished..a lot more thinking with this one..a lot higher points… but a bit more complicated..it was fun… girls won both games…we used to play it years ago, again it was different, i find with canasta everyone has their own rules…

Levis and i had an okay time at Agility on Saturday, he loves to be with me, but he isn’t that excited about going over jumps… he loves the teeter, the A frame and the dog walk, and is fast on all of them… the instructor was standing the middle of the run, and he just quit.. that is not good, as when we run in a trial there are volunteers sitting around the edge of the arena..I was thinking of putting him in a trial the middle of December, but i don’t think he is ready yet..so i guess i will wait till spring..and try to get him more excited running the course… i would love to be able to “Q” Qualify, in every class i run first time around..Jesse and I took almost 18 months to get all our “Q”s, I haven’t seen her since September… and i really do miss her… but Levi keeps me busy keeping him out of trouble..I have been really surprised that he has been really quiet at the classes, he is usually very vocal when he can’t get to me, but he is the quiet one in the class, just sits and watches.. Weather has been good, had a bit of snow yesterday, but it was gone by 10 am..poor Lynne R is snowed in… Started knitting on my vest again… shoulder and arm have been aching so i thought i would take some time off knitting, but that didn’t work… still aching, guess i will have to go to the Dr to figure out what is wrong, although i am staying away from there with all this flu going around.

Sun,Rain, and Snow

2009-11-17T10:55:00.001-08:00

In the last 30 minutes we have had sun, rain, and now it is snowing… Levi and i headed out for our walk, and the sun was shining and the breeze was warm, 5 minutes down the road it started raining, and by the time i got home, it was pouring, came in and dried my hair, and looked out the window and now it is snowing, and now it is raining…I walked across the field, and after 24 hours of rain, (which we never have) there wasn’t any water laying in the fields and the ground was firm not sloppy with rain…Spuis Creek is 10 times higher than it was a week ago, and very muddy…In the 30 + years we have lived in the area, we have never had so much rain in 24 hours… at least 3+ inches, can ya imagine how much snow that would be… 10 inches of snow to a inch of rain..but we sure needed the rain… spoke to Andrea this morning and it had snowed 3” up there, she is quite a bit higher than we are…

Donna and i are revamping the door prizes for the Spring retreat… it kind of got out of control at the Fall Retreat…everyone was very generous and brought all kinds of stuff for the door prize, enough so that everyone got a gift..think this spring we will have 2 or 3 baskets full of very nice gifts, and just raffle the 2 or 3 baskets off..and use the raffle $$ to purchase gifts for the next retreat…

Just looking out my bay window, before i headed for my walk, there was no snow on the small mountain to the south… now the rain and snow has stopped and the sun is coming out again… the top half of the mountain is covered in snow..

Larry replaced the bathroom taps yesterday, sure are nice… we will need a new sink soon.. we have been in this mobile for 20+ years and it was 10 years old when we got it… would love a new house, but we do have a roof over our heads and it is paid for…have to win a Lottery before i get a new house…

Played cards on Saturday nite, we played two great games, the Losers(the guys) won the first game and we(the Lovelies) won the second game…they both were real cutthroat games…but i love those kind… I won us the last game…i didn’t have high enough cards in my hand to meld, so was able to play all the small cards i had, except a lonely pair of 4’s and Dave was sure that all the 4’s had been played, but guess what, I had 2… won the pile and was able to make 3 red canastas worth 500 points each…. what a giggle..

think i am going to have to quit knitting for a while, my elbow has been acting up, only when i knit though… so will spin for a few nights..

Had oldest son Joe over for supper last night, he comes for supper as least once a week now that he and his spouse have split up…we had home grown chicken, now that the boys have left home, we finish the chickens off at about 3 to 4 pounds… with him here last night, there is hardly enough chicken left for supper tonight..so now i remind why we finished them at 7 to 8 lbs when they were at home… this is a picture of my Mom taken several Christmas ago at my brother’s place, why she is wearing a gas mask i have no idea, but thought you might like to met her, and see where i get my goofy ideas from This is what she looks like (one on the right) without the mask… this was taken in Whiterock right after she finished her chemo for breast cancer…don’t we look alike… the other is her friend Grace, who used to be a teacher in Pemberton..they live in the same mobile home park in Langley.. The SUN is shining again…. see ya soon……. sheila

OH what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day

2009-11-11T11:40:00.001-08:00

Good thing you can’t hear me sing, as i can’t carry a tune in a bucket…Both yesterday and today are just beautiful, must have been up to at least +12 yesterday and right now it is +6, and i have the front door open…took Jackson for a walk yesterday, he sure enjoyed it… he must have peed 10 times by the time we got to the end of the driveway…he gets his nose to the ground and just goes… but he keeps looking back at me to see where i am… took him down to the creek, he loves water, but won’t drink or wade as his nose was working overtime… we have always thought he would make a good tracking dog, but his one knee isn’t great, and i don’t think he could handle charging thru the bush.. then went to town, and had lunch with Andrea, she is on her own this month as her hubby is off to the Antarctic again… for 3 trips this time, but we had a good chat… did a bit of shopping and then home…

Took Levi for his walk this morning, been using the “haltie” on him… it is like a horse halter, keeps good control on an dog who thinks he is boss.. you can pull on him, and it brings his head down and around, so you have much more control on him…

Larry has been after me for some “date and nut loaf”, so am doing all kinds of loafs today.. cherry loaf, lemon loaf and date and nut… got the cherry loaf in the oven..lemon loaf half made and the nuts chopped for the date and nut…

It has been so warm that i think my currant bush is got buds on it..sure hope this weather lasts… and we don’t need the expensive snow tires… needed to add a picture so found one of the noisy bird…his newest words are “don’t be a guinea” and ‘Yankee’s a guinea…’ right now he is carrying on a phone conversation… the side he hears… “hi, how ya doing, okay, I'm fine, okay, what's that, ok man see ya…” wish you could hear him…

this is old Willy, he has to be about 18 years old… and looking every year of it…. see ya soon

Happy Fall

2009-11-09T15:48:00.001-08:00

Just where has the time gone..It is almost winter, and i do hate winter… My baby boy will be 29 next week, poor boy is not impressed, he doesn’t want to get older..but what can one do… he is so hard to buy a gift for… so i just get him a gift certificate, so he has buy just what he wants… How do you like the new picture on the blog heading, Lynne R put a lovely picture on hers, and i was impressed, so i went looking to figure out how to do it… not quite what i wanted for the font, but i do like Jesse’s picture… thought i might change it every month..just for variety..

Finally finished the “Swallow tail shawl, and got it blocked.. pictures aren’t that great, but i really am happy with the shawl… will try for more pictures, maybe outside on the next sunny day.. I am really happy with the beads.. My Mom asked me the other day how many shawls i had made, so i sat down and thought about it… i have made 17 shawls… and still have a few more to go…. the alpaca one went up to Heather at Bowron Lake this week… her son was going up to visit so i sent it with him… hope he remembered to give it to her

Here is a picture of our lovely BROWN eggs..i love pullet eggs, had to lock up the biddies, as the dogs were hassling the ones who kept getting out..

Levi and I are doing great at agility… we are now in a class of advanced beginners… our instructor goes away to workshops, comes home and works the pants off us… this time it was all jumps and tunnels, with lots of twists and turns… I will need to get someone to take some pictures of Levi doing jumps or tunnels… he did really well this week… he is very stubborn, but when we connect he is very good… listens to me some of the time…i end up going over the course time and time again in my head after the class.

The guild was very pleased with the show at the Art Gallery… we didn’t sell much, but we did get some very good comments in the Guest book…

The weather sure has been good… cool, and rainy, but very little frost, it could stay like this all winter… the river is up, and creek are filling up…we don’t have a water problem as we are on a aquifer..(which is actually an underground lake)..

Levi and i are walking every day now… i even run a bit…run a bit and walk a bit, trying to loose a bit more weight, and build up the breathing..

Larry is still playing with his motors.. this is the latest one he got… lucky for me he didn’t have to pay for it… a gift from a friend…it is also very rare… he is still checking out the internet, trying to find stuff about it… Here is latest pics of Levi… Larry has a habit of giving all the critters nicknames… Levi’s is “baboon”…

I have started on my next project… for me this time… a jacket done in the “feather and fan” pattern… drives me nuts… i keep making mistakes.. only one row of pattern in 4 rows, and i make mistakes… i keep putting YO’s into places where they don’t need to be… i think because i have done so many lace patterns, it is merino and silk in Glacial green it is coming along slowly.. well i had better go feed the dogs, and gather the eggs…. talk to ya soon………….. Sheila

Almost November

2009-10-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-20T18:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-28T11:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-21T14:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-15T16:08:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-12T15:00:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-28T19:06:00.001-07:00

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

its me again

2009-08-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

HI.. have a few minutes between batches of pickles…one more to do and then i just have to wash the floor… i can hardly move on it as it is so sticky..

Did 5 qts of dills, something i am not good at, but Larry wanted some, and then a batch of cucumber slices.. like bread and butter, but have onions and red and green peppers..

just went out and took a picture of a rose, a Don Juan climbing rose…just planted it this year… and it is lovely… i picked 3 for me in the house, and they are a lovely dark red, so thought i would go out and take one of the outside ones… and the colours is so different but the sun is shining on this one… they have a nice rose scent… hope it makes it thru the winter this is a lily that i bought, it was suppose to be pink… but was a lovely yellow, and the scent was very strong here is Jackson one evening as he and i were playing ball…the ball has a handle on it, he has had since he was a pup..loves his ball here he is cooling off after playing ball… he loves the sprinkler..it is a small sprinkler so he can stand over it here he is soaking ass wet.. we gave him another haircut the other day.. just shortened him up for the fall..will take a picture of him looking good… here is Larry’s garden taken a couple of weeks ago…had beans, peas, beets, cukes and pickling cukes… and spuds… but i was not happy with them… they were all mushy..anyone have any idea why or how to fix it… our new neighbour has put a bee hive down here… Larry loves watching them… we figure these are the young bees cleaning house.. this one is of the bees drinking out of the bird bath..they love it.. this is a little sparrow preening after a bath this is a picture of the smoke in the valley during the Brookmere fire… the wind has cleaned up the smoke, but there are a lot of new fires this weekend… okay… enough pictures and must go wash the floor…. see ya

two days in a row

2009-08-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

What a surprise… two days in a row… took Levi to agility last nite… he sure wasn’t with the program… there were only 2 of us, so we tried putting the jumps up to 22 inches which is the height he will jump when we start trialing(i hope)..and he just didn’t want to jump that high… i had to cheerlead him thru all the jumps… the A frame, dog walk and teeter were fast, but not the jumps, so we put it back down…i wonder if 22 inch jumps is hard on his shoulders as he is a stocky dog..it will be at least a year before we can put him in a trial unless he really figures it out…. Woke up at 4 am, with a stiff neck and a headache, got up and took some Tylenol, but never did back to sleep..took Jesse up to classes, but felt spaced out… and didn’t think i could run her, so the instructor did… she did okay, but i just had to come home..so cancelled my lunch date with Clara, dropped Jesse off and headed home… crawled into bed and slept for an hour… feel some better, but still a little spacey…got 10 pounds of beets done, only 3 qts… still have 10 pounds left to do… thought i would get more qts.. so i guess that i will have to leave the ones in the garden until they are bigger… better go get the other beets cooking… talk to ya soon….

Well Hello…. been a long time

2009-08-17T09:59:00.001-07:00

It has been just too long since i had a minute to sit and write… don’t know where the time goes, but it flies, guess cuz i am getting old..

Just got back from the coast, left on Wednesday, and returned yesterday… wore my Mom out… she slept like a log the first two nights i was there…Thursday we were on the road from 10 am to about 3…i decided i needed to buy a good set of dog clippers, we had used the old set of cow clippers that we have had for a 100 years..18 inches long and weighted a ton, we used them on Jackson when he got his spring hair cut, and we used them again on Meg,(old border collie) last week… we used the alpaca head on her… and i hate to tell ya this, but i cut the end of her tail off…1/8 of an inch and boy did it bleed…we finally had to cauterize it… and she was so good..and she feels so much better… her hind quarters were all matted…i felt terrible, but it was an accident… anyway these new ones should be better, then we had to go into Cloverdale… and pick up my final cheque for my inheritance… they had sent me a cheque weeks ago, and i deposited it and when they decided that they gave us too much money, so they wanted 400 bucks back… i never got a letter about it, so i just waited, and i went into the bank on Tuesday, and the damn Notary had put a stop payment on the cheque, and they had overdrawn my acct by way more than i had in it…i was not a happy camper… anyway i called them when i was down there, and she had my cheque ready… to this date, i still haven’t gotten a letter about the mistake…i thought a Notary was suppose to make things easier… it took over 18 months to get our money..i sure won’t ever use a notary for my huge (giggle) estate…

Also went to Costco for a few things… and then of course we had to go out for supper… and oh my goodness the casino was right next door..so we spent an hour there… i played for over an hour on 20 bucks… that is fun…

I made supper for Mom’s friends while i was there… they never get to eat at her place as she finds it too difficult to do… so i made them chicken and spuds and spinach salad and frozen cheese cake… it was good… then on Saturday i took 3 of them to the agility trial..they seemed to enjoy it, and of course several of the dogs really goofed off.. one little Wheaton terrier had a great time, tugging on the chute, digging holes, and charging around the ring, and back and forth thru the tunnels..and of course won’t come back when he was called..at least he had fun..then we stopped and picked up some blueberries..they are huge this year… and very tasty…I left the coast a little earlier than i planed as there was a transport accident and they said the road was single lane.. so i left about 9 am, and then stopped at Wisbeys for veggies… they have such good prices… bought 5 lbs of peppers for 3.50… nugget spuds for 1.98 for 5 lbs..and 20 lbs of beets for Larry…that should be enough beets for him… so this morning i am cooking beets and washing jars, i decide i would also make a batch of blueberry jam…just for a change… also plan on going out to pick chokecherries for some jelly.. well i had better go and throw the laundry into the dryer… (i have been trying to get Larry to put me up a cloths line…) have a great day….

Hot, Hot, way too Hot

2009-07-30T13:35:00.001-07:00

What a terrible hot summer we are having.. oophs that reminds me… got to go change the sprinkler on the veggie gardens… be right back…(3 hours later)… forgot i had started this… read Louisa’s blog and she mentioned dehydrating cherries,… good idea, i had a bowl of soft cherries… hate soft cherries…like nice firm ones… so i cut them up, don’t have a cherry pitter… and put them in the dehydrators… filled the whole thing up…

L and i have been up early.. 5 am… and started butchering the meat birds… got 32 done yesterday and today… took longer the first day, as we weren’t into the swing, today we finished an hour earlier..so we are getting faster…not sure how as my hand was really sore.. well the thumb… put some emu oil on it, and that seems to help..nice sized birds… they are averaging about 4.5 pounds..very nice looking..they are only 7 weeks old… just have 11 left to do, lost 10 over the last 7 weeks..so will be up early again in the morning, but should be finished in an hour or so… and then just the clean up..it takes me a couple of weeks before i can eat chicken again…keeping 25 for ourselves and selling the rest to friends and family… will see how they like them…might do more next year…will get them earlier next year, probably in April and have them in the freezer in 7 weeks… then the summer is free…

Larry’s garden is doing well, we had beets and beet tops last night… things are a little late as we changed the soil in the boxes this year…. beans are blooming.. peas are getting there, cukes are flowering, and of course the zucchini are growing..I pick about 2 cups of raspberries a night… i need to start on the currants… have black and red ones, and i prefer the red jelly, but not enough this year… so will have to settle for the black… might try and dehydrate some as Mom really likes currants…the branches we put in for the peas to grow up have sprouted, all 6 of them… they were just plain old willows, but we need extra trees around here as we have to cut down the bug killed pines…sheep need shade, but they also like to eat them… got the fibre spun up for the show at the art gallery..got 600 yards from 250 grams… will take a picture as soon as my batteries are charged.

My columbine as gone wild in their bed… they bloom all summer long..and smell quite nice too… better go charge the batteries… think i need to get some new ones, these ones don’t seem to hold a charge anymore…. have a great day, and drink lots of water…. hugs

What a beautiful Day

2009-07-17T11:16:00.001-07:00

What a truly beautiful day… slept in this morning… both Larry and I were awake at 4 AM..not too sure why, but he got up about 5, and i stayed in bed, finally fell asleep about 6, and woke up at 8:30…it has been ages since i slept in that late… I usually phone Mom at 8, so i was a little late this morning… got my coffee and sat out on the deck and phoned her … it was a beautiful morning… finally got out and feed the chicks at 9, they are growing so fast… we have lost quite a few… about 5 or 6 in the last two weeks… no idea why… could be the heat…they don’t do well in really hot weather…that is the main reason i get them earlier in the year, usually about April, and then they are in the freezer by the end of June..but we had to wait for the new Chicken house this year… turkeys are doing okay… we have to get them moved soon… they are getting too big…

I have been picking raspberries from my small patch.. and there is lots left to ripen… Larry’s garden looks good… he is too funny, he checks it out several times a day..also checks on the bee hive… yes Gail, i plan on checking out the Bee place in Cloverdale when i am down in August, will buy him a book to answer his many questions about bees, they also have classes during the winter, so i am hoping that he will go down and stay at Mom’s to take the classes…someone has to stay home to look after the critters…

Yankee bird is talking up a storm, he is out on the deck in his summer cage… a friend of ours (one we play cards with) started teaching him to say “ a card laid is a card played”..Yankee has got it down pat now, he even laughs like Dave after he says it… Dave has a very deep voice, and his laugh is very deep…so now Yankee says “a card laid is a card played, ha ha ha ha…” makes us laugh every time he says it..we are not playing cards this weekend, so they will have to wait to hear it…he is trying to whistle the commercial for Toyota.. they whistle ‘what the world needs now is love’,he is working at it… neither Larry or I whistle so we can’t help him…

Well i had better go do some spinning, we are having a Show in the Art Gallery in October, and we decided to spin up skeins for sale..I am spinning some fibre from Andrea… ‘Paua’… pink, blue, green, and teal, and light blue… I don’t like to spin a mix, so i have separated it into colours… should be interesting when i ply it…this will be our contribution to “International year of Natural fibres, or what ever it is called.. have a great day….

Where did summer go

2009-07-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

Hi…. just where did the warm weather go… it stayed warm last night, but the wind is blowing today and the temperature is the same..cool…

Jesse and I went to our last summer trial on Saturday in Kelowna, and boy was it HOT… we ran a team run with Denise, we did okay, but Denise and Pip messed up… but team titles are hard to come by, so we will keep working at it..then Jesse and i ran a Snooker run..that one is like the pool game snooker, a red jump then another obstacle, and then a red jump and then another obstacle… you have to have 37 points… and lucky for us we got 39 points… i was just happy we ‘Q’ed, i am not good at this game..bet i have run 8 games of snooker, and just haven’t had enough points…Denise wasn’t feeling good, and Pip hates the heat.. so we left early.this is PIP.. .and then on the way home, that @#$% SUV heated up coming up the hill out of Kelowna… so we stopped let it cool off, made it another 15 K and it heated up again… we finally made it over the top and then it was down hill all the way home… took us 3 hours for 1.5 hour trip… Larry has taken it in to get it fixed… they figure it is the radiator…we had a real hassle with it over Christmas, but we figured it was fixed… seem when we put the AC on that is when it heats up… hopefully they will finally get it fixed…i hate it when my transportation isn’t dependable…

Garden is growing, slowly, but finally growing.. beets are all tops, so think i will thin them and have them for supper… our new Neighbor brought down a bee hive last weekend and he was down checking on it yesterday, says it is doing fine… Larry spends hours watching them..think i will get him a gift certificate for a hive for his birthday… it will take a year or so to get it producing, but the fruit trees should benefit..I took bee keeping classes 35 years ago..and he keeps asking me questions that i have no answers too… so will buy him a book, and see when their bee classes are over the winter, and send him down to learn bee stuff…

We had a guild meeting at Andrea’s last week… we are having a show at the Art Gallery in October, so we had to make some decisions… (what a bonus having Andrea live in our Valley, we have our own personally store)…we decided to spin up some skeins for sale… and put them into 100 yard skeins, and then supply patterns for 100 yards of yarn.. only problem with October is that it is our retreat weekend..but there are a few girls not going so they will babysit the display that weekend…sun is finally shining so i will go thin the beets and carrots… talk to ya soon…….. silk

Happy Canada Day

2009-07-01T11:25:00.001-07:00

This is ‘JESSE’ ADC (agility dog of Canada) we finally Qualified in 3 legs of our Starters Standard… so now we move up to Advanced.., we have two more legs in games, Snooker, which i am not good at.. and then we have our Starter Games title..We went to Lavington, near Vernon, a truly lovely park.. huge Maple trees, and lots of green grass..we parked in a far corner under the Maples.. there were 6 RV vehicles of us camping out there..we had a good time.. spent Friday evening visiting, and then we all had a great day on Saturday, and the Dog O Pog O Agility group(organizers) had a pot luck supper on Saturday nite… we didn’t stay long, as none of us slept well on Friday nite, we never do the first night away..the weather was great, and we all did well…

We have had some sad news, oldest son and his wife are separating..they have been together 8 years, 5 married… a real disappointment..but it is their life… mind you he has phoned me every day since he made the decision, he must need someone to talk to… Youngest son Matt is coming up for supper tonight…3 hour drive for supper, can ya imagine… he is bring his cousin Kerri Ann for the drive..had hoped for a quiet day today… but it will be good to see them both..

Chicks and turkey poults are doing fine… growing like weeds, we will move them on Friday as Larry is away tomorrow… that means i have a whole day BY MYSELF… whoopee…not sure what i will do… just stay home and spin, knit and spin some more…better go and get living room vacuumed and the bath room cleaned up….talk to ya soon…….. Sheila

WING

2009-06-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

Did ya hear the purple birthday shawl hit the corner as i winged it off my lap… I have had it… i have been working steadily on the shawl for months..and for some reason the last week i keep making MISTAKES…damn yarn overs..can’t even knit a pattern row without making a MISTAKE… i decided to leave it in the corner and knit something easier… am knitting a very plain triangle shawl for my buddy who lives in the BUSH near Bowron Lake..no electricity, or running water… simple alpaca… and the guild has a challenge… a cowl.. for the Display that we are putting in the Art Gallery in October.. I wanted to make it out of some silk that i had Navajo plied..so have to ball it up and get started and give the purple monster a holiday…

the next day… never did get this finished yesterday… new meds i am on, make me tired the day after i take it…but they are making me feel better…got the cowl started, yarn isn’t great, as i was learning to Navajo ply..but i do like the colours… and will just have enough to make the cowl..

Jesse (grand dog) and i are off to another agility trial on Friday, we are going to Lavington..near Lumby, near Vernon…it is suppose to be the best trial all summer, and the weather looks like it will be good, not too hot, and no rain…they even have a huge pot luck supper on Saturday nite..hopefully we will get our Starters title this weekend.. took Levi to agility on Monday night and he is doing well, doesn’t like the tunnel too much… he goes in, turns around and lays down and looks at me…so we borrowed a squeaky toy, and he comes flying out of the tunnel looking for the toy…I think he will be good when he settles down and listens to me, which he does do, but he wants to play with the other dogs…it is a good class as all the dogs are the same height (which means they jump the same height) so we don’t have to change jump heights after every dog..and all the handlers have trained a dog before, so we can move along pretty fast..we have one more one day trial in Kelowna later on in July, and then none until September…there is a trial in Cloverdale in Aug, i am going to come down and take Mom and her buddy and youngest son Matt (if he can get the day off), to the trial and explain it to them… should be good for a laugh..i am sure i mentioned this before… anyone of my spinning buddies who would like to come too, are more than welcome..

better go, i am making ‘Caramel Corn’ to take with us tomorrow…and trying to everything organized for Larry… we had radishes and green onions out of his garden yesterday… carrots are finally up… we must have 12 rows of beets, he is determined that we will have pickled beets.. see ya soon………. hugs Sheila and Jesse

Wild windy Day

2009-06-18T15:33:00.001-07:00

Finally got the garden all planted..as i said Larry replaced the soil in the boxes..he did most of the planting, and isn’t really into planting… planted most things too deep… no sign of carrots, or lettuce… so i replanted them today… he wanted turnips, and lots of beets, so finished them off too… i also planted some bush sweet peas, which i just love… makes me laugh when i look at the garden, for all the years he worked and i planted the garden, we never had a fences around the garden to keep the dogs out… first box he planted and the dogs ran thru, he put up a fence.. This is my buddy Clara..(card buddy), she is all dolled up for the Relay for Life last weekend.. here you can really see her great smile and laughing eyes.. believe it or not she is the manager of a local bank..we have so many good giggles together…

I had to go back and correct one of my blogs, Mom read it and she tells me that i am not 63, but 62, i know that, so i guess it was a slip of the fingers.. I talk to Mom every morning, she is 83, and we started talking about 6 years ago when my Dad started to deteriorate..(he had Lewy bodies dementia), i would call her to make sure she was okay, she gets really bad migraines and i wanted to make sure she was well enough..She had both my boys there yesterday, Joe decided to go visit, and Matt was home with the flu so he came over too, so they all went out for supper and then a visit with the cousins… my poor boys have a total of 3 cousins (both sides of the family), and two of them are called Kerry, (Kerri-Ann)..They all had a good visit, and Joe headed home around noon..

There is an agility trial in Cloverdale in August, and i haven’t been down to visit Mom for ages, so thought i would go down and take them to the trial, i won’t take the dog, but just Mom and her friend Ham and Matt, so i can explain to them how it works, and they can have a good laugh..somebody always screws up.. and we all laugh..anyone else who would like to met me there, i would love to see ya all… take care and will write soon

Summer Day

2009-06-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful summer’s day… sun, thunder, and showers, lucky no lightening..

I keep forgetting to tell you what the Yankee BIRD is saying these days…i was sort of watching a movie last week.. while i packed my stuff for the agility trial.. we leave the TV for the bird for company… anyway, this kid on TV was talking very seriously to a Myna Bird.. and the bird turns to the kid and says”Birds don’t talk”, well i could hardly quit laughing, so we started saying it to him, and by Monday, he was saying “birds talk” and by Tuesday, he was saying “birds don’t talk”…as clear as can be..Larry says to him in the morning, “chuck him outside”, which he also says…he is so smart, we have more laughs from him… at least once a day he makes us laugh…he know which dog is barking and yells at them… ‘Jackson, shut up’..’Dixie, get out of there’(the sheep pen), and ‘Levi, leave it’(he is herding the cat).. this is our lawn mover, Larry has been redoing the garden boxes, they had terrible soil in them, so he has been mixing sheep manure and some compost, and he started by wheel barrowing it over, it was so heavy that he decided to use the wheel barrow attached to the lawn mover, works good.. I keep hoping that some one will give us a “Quad”… but no luck.. he won’t let me take his picture of him and his tractor.. this is one of our meat pullets.. they are so cute till they are a couple of weeks old, and then they quickly be come the birds from hell these are the turkeys, only 7 of the 11 we were shipped… there are 4 laying hen chicks in with them, they say to put chicks in with the turkey poults as the chicks teach the poults how to eat and drink.. the turkeys were strutting yesterday… nothing funnier that 5 day old turkeys pretending they are big birds..will try and get a pictures of them strutting..have to figure out how to use the video on my camera so i can show ya them running around.. we use red lights, keeps them from picking each other… they are really starting to eat.. won’t be long before they are going thru 20 pounds of feed a day…

Had the card buddies over for supper and cards last nite.. Clara had walked in the” Relay for Cancer” all night, and she was worn right out…so after a really great supper if i do say so myself… steaks and chicken done on the ‘barby’ a huge bowl of salad, and new spuds, and the last loaf of home made bread, lemon flapper pie (lemon pie on graham wafer crust) for the girls and chocolate pie on graham wafer crust for the guys..we played one game of cards and everyone was out of here by 9 pm… which was fine…

I had a cortisone shot in my hip on Friday…it has been hurting since Larry broke his leg two years ago, (started when i had to stoke the fire every nite, the bending did it)..it got to a point where i couldn’t turn over without waking up with the pain… Saturday and Sunday nite i slept all night, and had no pain…what a relief… Dr gave me 3 shots in the hip, promised me no pain for 6 months..

The guild is doing the International Knit in Public day on Saturday the 20th, we had the choice of the 13th or the 20th, we took the 20th as we thought it might be warmer.. we love sitting under the huge Elm to knit or spin… i am working on two projects, will take the simple one so i can sit and knit and talk..and some for display…

We are getting a bee hive next weekend… our new neighbour up behind us, has 2 hives, and would like to bring one down here, as we have more flowers..should be great for next year fruit. They planted 18 trees on the long weekend… he has developed a solar system, that waters the trees 3 times a day..as they still live on the coast, but want to get the trees started.. a very smart man…hope it keeps working for them..they are much better neighbours than the original owners..who did everything in their power to make life miserable for the valley..

A very lazy day today… Larry sat in the Sun and read his magazines, i did two loads of laundry and knitted… Levi and I are off to agility tonite..the new dog food has really made him feel better, no more ‘farts’ at night… well one night only, and that was the night he got into Dixie’s supper..it is amazing that it bothered him so much..

The golden showers yellow rose is looking great… will take a pic or two of it today while the sun is shinning… talk to ya soon..

Guess i should

2009-06-11T15:48:00.001-07:00

guess i should read my last blog before i start a new one… but then i did turn a year old this week..CRS….(can’t remember sh#t)

is the disease of 62 year olds..

@#$% sheep won’t come in last night, so we just left them out and hoped the coyotes were away… early this morning 5 am, they started yapping.. Levi goes galloping down the hall to see if he could see anything..nothing of course, we were just laying there listening to the coyote and Levi jumps on to the bed..to look out the window.. Got a phone call from Lynn who is on her way home…she was kind enough to stop by, and we had a light breakfast at ‘Timmies’..and a short visit…it was great to see her again..

Went to pick up the chicks at lunch… 4 dead turkeys in the box.. so i flew home and gave them all a big drink of water..the lady in front of me in the feed store had at at least 10 dead turkeys and some chicks too.. chicks are sure a lot tougher than the turkeys…pictures tomorrow… i am really tired to day… think i will need a nap…. hugs

Birthday Week

2009-06-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

HI… well i am a whole year older this week…Sunday the 7th… nothing special just another agility trial in Kamloops, in a Baseball park on the way up to Sun Peaks, or as the locals still call it TOD Mountain… we lived in the area many many years ago, and i find it very difficult to call it Sun Peaks..Denise and I left a bit later than normal as she had company, we arrived about 5 pm…found a level spot for the Van…got our things moved over to the rings..had supper and then had to run the “cash Steeple chase”..we didn’t do anything.. although our instructor won $85 with her poodle..Our agility group did really well… Jesse and I did get another “Q”… time is always a problem for us…she didn’t have much speed this time around…Denise made me a birthday cake, and we shared it with the others…

Chicks come tomorrow… I can’t believe the chicken house is all finished this is the side for the meat birds and the laying hens and this is the side for the turkeys it is so nice and clean, won’t be long until it is a poopy smelly mess, and the cute little chicks are the “BIRDS FROM HELL” .. Lynne is coming thru tomorrow, so we are going to have brunch.. she picked up my bobbins for the Woolee winder for my Joy..i can hardly wait to use it all the time… i only got one bobbin when i bought it second hand..and the shaft is too long, so not sure if Larry can fix it or if i will just make do with some shims.. Levis is doing good… I finally figured out why he had so many homes, (we figure we must be the 4th or 5th one)… he FARTS…he sleeps in the house in our room, and the farts bring you out of a sound sleep… he also started messing in the house… so i decided to change his food, so i bought some very expensive food… 70% meat and 30% fruit and veggies… and boy does it work better… he did fart again the other night, but he had gotten into Dixie’s dinner… so now we have to pick up the food that they don’t eat..I think the grain in normal dog food is hard on his stomach…We are doing well at the beginners agility classes Monday nites… the first two classes, he just vibrated.. he was leaning against my leg, and i could feel him vibrate..this past Monday, he relaxed, didn’t vibrate, and laid down and just watched the other dogs..he does well over the jumps and A frame and the dog walk, the tunnels are a little tough as he wants to walk on them… Australian cattle dogs jump on the sheep's back to get across them to the other side to turn them..so i think that is why he does it.. he is starting to get himself into a bit of trouble around here.. but i try to make him listen..he wants to work the cats, but we try to keep him away from them… He is really fast over the dog walk… i just have to keep him under control…

Larry went into town to get the windshield of the Jimmy replaced… it was so pitted, and had two bad cracks in it..it will be so nice to be able to see out of it… only a 100 bucks deductable..we deal with CDI..

The Fall Desert Mesa is completely booked..was the end of May, and we had only sent out the invites the beginning of May… makes us feel good that it is so popular…the guild is having our International Knit in Public Day on June the 20th… we took the later date to make sure the weather might be a bit warmer..we are going to Bailee House… and will knit under the Elm in the yard… I haven't done much knitting lately, i have to get this stole finished, as i have two more to get done by Christmas… well, my dear friends i hope i haven't’ repeated myself too much..old age ya know… hugs

A great Agility Day

2009-06-01T15:13:00.001-07:00

I thought this day started off to be a good day, spent half an hour writing up a really interested (i thought) blog, and the @#$% thing shut down on me… and as much as i love the “window live writer”, it doesn’t save itself automatically , so here we go again…

Denise and I had a great agility weekend.. left Merritt about 2 pm on Friday… took her little ‘Pip’ over to Christina (our groomer who just moved over to Kelowna), had a very nice Chinese dinner and head out to the camping spot next to the arena.. a nice quiet spot, other than the coyote howling and the pheasant calling in the wee hours of the morning.. and our little ‘Jesse’ thinks she is a watch dog and she has to bark..so we had a terrible night sleep… and were worn out on Saturday, plus it was hot…Jesse and I did okay, we ran our ‘Standard’ course..which consists of jumps, tunnels, chutes, A frames and a dog walk…(about 18 obstacles) to ‘Qualify’, or ‘Q’, you both have to run the course with no mistakes, and with-in a set time frame… First run, we ran clean and with-in the time.. I was delighted as i have been struggling with this part for a year now…Denise didn’t do as well, as the heat really bothers Pip..(he is Jet Black)..at day’s end we went looking for a camp ground..found one, was a little tough but clean, we were able to shower, which was the best part… Sunday we went to a 2nd trial.. right in the park by the lake in Kelowna… beautiful park, so we parked under some lovely Maple trees.. so stayed in the shade all day… Denise did better on Sunday, and ‘Q’ in one of the games, as did Jesse and i… ours was ‘Jumpers’… it is a series of jumps and tunnels, and you have a set time to run the course… which in this case was 48 seconds..again there were about 18 obstacles.. and we ran the course in 46.35 seconds, so for those of you who know me.. that was a grand run.. this is “Jesse” coming thru the tunnel.. don’t ya love the grin.. this is the finished Chicken house from 2 angles, pretty fancy for a chicken house.. there are two inside pictures.. this side is for the meat birds and laying hen chicks and the other is for the turkeys, can’t believe it is all ready to go and the chicks won’t be here for 10 days… that man deserves a medal.. these are two 45 gallon barrels of manure tea… can’t wait till they start to stink

this is Jackson.. his feelings have been hurt lately.. not getting the attention he used too.. this picture is of my currant bushes,(about half of them) mostly black, with about 2 or 3 bushes of red..

Levi and I are off to agility classes tonight.. sure glad we don’t do much in the beginners class… he was sure glad to see me last night.. you would have thought i had been gone for a month instead of 2 days… We are off again on Friday to a 2 day trial in Kamloops, on the road to ‘SunPeaks’… I have a friend who lives up there, so i called her this morning and begged a shower for Saturday night, and she very kindly said we could…

The Fall retreat is FULL already… seems to get full faster every year.. i am sure there will be some cancellation as there usually is… oophs… better go, it is our coffee time.. i go out and spend a half an hour with that man of mine… have a great day…

Belated Mother’s Day gift

2009-05-27T09:51:00.001-07:00

One disadvantage of living so far away from one’s Mother is that you can’t spend the day with her… my friend Glenys has the same problem, so we decided to make a flying trip down to the coast on Tuesday last week, pick up her Mom, and then my Mom, and take them out for lunch, which we did… we ended up at the Olive Garden in Langley, had a good visit and a great lunch…Olive, Glenys’ mom is a real character, 91 years old and a real sweetie.. very bright and intelligent… she has a hard time getting around, but is very easy to talk to… her and my Mom Violet got along really well… i had to laugh at Olive she told Mom, that Mom had a happy face… I have never thought about Mom that way before..they both seemed to like each other..Glenys never did find the shoes she was looking for…but we had a good trip, although it did tire me out..i left home at 8 am, and got home at 7… and most of that time was driving.. in traffic that i am not used to… but it was a good trip..

Took Levi to our first agility beginners class on Monday, and he didn’t do too bad…considering that i have only had him 3 weeks, he was interested in the other dogs, and didn’t want to pay too much attention to me… but he finally relaxed, and wanted to play with his toy..he did want to bite my hands as we were going over the jumps, but i got the water pistol out and gave him a shot or two, and he quit biting..I figured out why he has had so many homes… we must be his 4 or 5th..he POOPS in the house…and has very bad gas…i feed him about 2.5 cups of food every nite, and i think the other night i must have cleaned up about 5 cups of poop, so he is not getting anything out of his feed… my son Matt feeds his little Min Pin ‘Orijen’ and he says she poops like a rabbit now… so i bite the bullet(the stuff is expensive) and bought him a bag, and started feeding him a cup in the morning and one at night… no mess last night, and NO GAS. Have Jesse this week too as we had classes for her yesterday, and then we are off to two trials on Saturday and Sunday in Kelowna..she is always good, DIL told me that Jesse was sick for 2 days after our last trial, which explains why she did so poorly that weekend…i have put her on the ‘Orijen’ too, as she has bad breath..

Hopefully Denise my agility partner will be feeling better, she has very high blood pressure, and it was ‘stroke’ high for the last couple of days, she ran out of meds, and was having a tough time getting it back down..will call her later to day to see how she is feeling…

We have a huge flock of “Evening Grosbeaks’ this spring… there must be at least 50 of the little noisy birds..they are even using the bird bath..I fill up the bird feeders every other day… the humming bird feeders get filled every night… we must have at least 20 of those little darlings..

Larry has the chicken house finished, will get pictures of it today..and so ahead of schedule, he has two weeks left before the chicks come on the 11of June.. I have been thinking that he should build one for a little guest house..Mom might come more often if she had more room..and Toni and Isabel could come up before the retreats..and I think Matt would like to have his own cabin… will get Larry thinking about it… although we would also like to put an addition on this mobile…just enlarge the living room..to make it a dining area and living room… and add more cupboards to the kitchen… I am so short on storage space..I don’t think i will ever win the LOTTORY..sure would have loved to win the 49 million..I am great at sharing…

I have been working slowly on the ‘stole’ for my friend and vet Liz, must not have been paying attention as i screwed up some where and had to ‘frog’ it back a couple of rows… also got the BFL superwash dyed… originally dyed it Magenta, but it was way too bright, so i added a bit of blue, and it is much better now… will also get pictures of it and the green merino and silk (from Isabel)(this one is for me… a lovely little jacket the pattern being the feather and fan) ..I am also taking the alpaca shawl i am working on for Heather to the trials, as it is just a plain knit so i don’t have to think about patterns..

I am off to Kamloops tomorrow, Dr appt and a bit of shopping… I was terribly upset yesterday, was out checking on my fruit trees, and my Ambrosia apple(loaded with blossoms) lay dead on the ground..Larry looked at it, and said it had heart rot..and we had had a terrible wind..or the dogs might have hit it… so i am going to look for a new one tomorrow…i love that apple… my Granny Smith apple tree is very scrawny, but is loaded with blossoms… will pick off some little apples when they show up…the weight will break the tree…. better go and get packed for the weekend… take care…

For my friends with a really weird sense of humor

2009-05-13T11:29:00.001-07:00

Larry says that i don’t have much of a sense of humour..he laughs at silly things, i laugh at funny things..Him and the boys must have watched “Lampoons Christmas Vacation” every year for 10 years..in fact i bought each of them a copy when they left home, but Larry loves it when they are home for Christmas so they can watch it together…

So anyway i had a very good giggle yesterday… here’s where my weird sense of humour comes in…I emailed my agility instructor “Maureen” on Monday, she emailed me right back, saying her Mother in Law had just died…and that she would get back to me when she could… then Tuesday morning there was a email from her… Her M i L was still alive.. the Intermediate care facility had called Monday morning and said that Rob’s mom had passed away, but when they arrived, the head nurse was waiting for them, telling them that she had come back to life, she had a heart attack and was dead for 5 minutes, then she started breathing again..on her own… well i guess she had several heart attacks all day Monday and her heart had stopped over and over..but she kept coming back..so they didn’t think she would make it thru the day, but she was still alive Tuesday morning, so Maureen asked me to email everyone to let them know… I emailed her back, and apologized as i had really giggled.. when i got home from town yesterday, there was another email, saying that she had passed away, FOR REAL this time…and that the family figured she didn’t like the other side, so kept coming back.. I know some of you won’t think that this was funny, but it gave me a good giggle…

Weather is still pretty crappy… only 1.7 degrees this morning… and it is May 13… also my baby Brother’s 60th birthday…I have a picture of him somewhere in my photos, but i just can’t remember where i put it… I changed the screen saver and now it is a slide show… and some of the funniest pictures come up..one picture was a chewed up brussel sprout that Matt’s little dog chewed up after i dropped it Christmas day..and a picture of him and i taken about 5 years ago, but i can’t find it… guess i should go thru them all… some of them are so out of focus..but others bring a few laughs..

I got all my BFL spun up.. went and dug out my dyeing pot…so will soak the yarn, and get it dyed.. will have to go through all the dyes to see what colour grabs me… i want a soft pink or blue or mauve..as those are the colours that my friend wears..also got one pound of the merino and silk (glacier green) all spun and plied.. now have to get a few projects off the needles before i start on that one for ME… a jacket done in the Feather and fan pattern…

The retreat invites went out this week… and have had lots of emails…Put me on the list… which i can do for a week or so, until i received the $$, i am sure we will be fully booked quickly this fall… 4 new girls are sending their cheques this week…so if you are reading this.. get the lead out and send your money…. talk to ya soon…. Silk

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

2009-05-10T16:02:00.001-07:00

A very happy Mother’s day to all my friends who are mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, and guardians of the Husbands..which i think are way worse than the kids.. I have a friend with 2 boys who always tells everyone she has 3 boys… (the husband who never grew up)…

A beautiful day today, 20 degrees today.. Larry is out working on the Fancy chicken house.. he is moving right along.. will take more pictures of it when my batteries charge up, boy they sure don’t last do they..

Jesse and I were in Armstrong last weekend with our agility partners, Denise and Pip..Denise got a new to her, Dodge camperized van… for us to live in… it was a little cramped, but we had a good time, Denise and Pip did really well, while Jesse and I did terrible..i don’t think she was feeling well, she didn’t eat the whole weekend.. and then to top it off, she pooped in the ring.. automatic dis qualification.. how embarrassing, and then we missed qualifying in Gamblers by 1 second..and then in our final run of the day, she peed in the ring… another disqualification..if i had had a bag, i would have put it over my head… brought me to tears.. but we had fun.. lots of laughs…and the weather was good.. Then i took Jesse to classes yesterday, and she ran like a hot damn…no mistakes, and as fast as she could go… for some reason she doesn’t like different dog walks or teeters…I also took Levi with me yesterday, to get him used to the other dogs, and handlers..of course he listens so good at home, but away from home, he doesn’t listen and i have to get angry at him to get his attention… we start our beginner classes with him last week of May..hope there are other handlers who know how to train their dogs… if they are beginner handlers and beginner dogs, it will be a long process..

Went out to supper and cards last night… we had oysters, potatoes salad, and Caesar salad… the oysters were very mild.. too big but nice and mild..the guys whipped our butts in canasta, then we played a silly rummy game, that has no name other ‘”that dumb Saskatchewan game” I have looked for a similar game on the ‘net’ but can’t find anything close..it is my turn to cook next weekend, and seeing it is the long weekend we might do it Sunday…maybe we will have deep fried turkey…hmmm…

Oldest son and DIL brought me out a Gift certificate to Canadian Tire… think i will go buy some plants… not too keen on gardening this year… better go and start thinking about supper… will write soon…

Where has the time gone

2009-05-05T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hi, where has the last two weeks gone.. I have been busy, but didn’t accomplish much..trying to remember what happened of importance..lots of lovely emails regarding the Spring Retreat… it is so easy to organize as everyone is so much fun… and understands when we ask for something a little difficult… the room we meet in has a hard twist nylon rug, and the fiber glues itself to the floor, so we asked everyone to bring something to put under their wheels,..and almost everyone does… the first year, someone picked up their covering and shook it on to the floor…i just shook my head… this year only one person won’t put anything under her wheel… and it did leave a mess…oh well….

Good news… we got another dog.. i know the last thing i need is another dog… well i took Dixie to an agility class, hoping to be able to take her to an agility trial the end of May.. one class at one trial.., but she showed absolutely no interest, and she had been away from it for 2 months… so she is OFFICALLY RETIRED..several friends had mentioned that a young couple(druggies) had a nice 18 month old Australian Cattle Dog, also know as a Heeler to give away…i had thought about it a lot, as i was also looking at a rescue pup in Prince George..Denise and I went and looked at the Red Heeler, and i decided to give it a weekend try… so i picked him up last Saturday… his name is Levi… my biggest concern was that he and Jackson won’t get along, but i introduced them thru the crate, and then got Larry to hold Jackson on the leash while i held Levi..and they sniffed all the right parts, so we kept Levi on a long line for the weekend, I went to town on Monday and when i got home, Larry had let Levi off the long line, and he was running and playing with Dixie and Jackson..they really get along great… although Dixie tries her darnest to get him into trouble… she has shown him how to get into the sheep pen, and they get carried away… so now only one at a time are allowed loose…I do have a picture of him on my camera that i haven’t down loaded yet…we will start agility beginners classes beginning of June… I have been putting him over jumps and thru the weave poles.. he has the most god awful bark i have ever heard… Heelers originally were a cross between a dingo and a border collie, and he has the dingo bark… we have to make sure he doesn’t use it often..

We (Larry and I) also gave Jackson a hair cut, as our groomer moved to Kelowna, and we did a pretty fair job..i have pictures of him too, it took us 2 days to get him finished. I finally went out and finished the pictures of poor Jackson and some of Levi and just downloaded them… Jackson before his hair cut Jackson with half a hair cut…he got tired Jackson after his hair cut… this is Levi with Denise before we brought him home Levi looking pretty Dixie and Levi snuggling this is the 3 of them chewing on each other… the building in the back ground is my new chicken house… Larry has to get it finished by June 11… our 50 meat birds, 25 laying hens and 10 turkeys are arriving that day… he is working on it all by himself…it is going to be a pretty fancy chicken house…he is a very talented man that man of mine…see ya soon…

Desert Mesa Spring 2009

2009-04-20T14:50:00.001-07:00

Another great retreat under our belts…Toni and Isabel came up a day early and spent the night with us…they finally got to met Larry, who they were sure did not really exist…and of course Toni, who is a real dog lover, fell in love with DIXIE… and of course Dixie fell in love with Toni..but then Dixie likes anyone who pays attention to her… We had Ben staying with us for the week, so he got lots of attention and slept with Toni that night…we had a great visit..headed off to the retreat early so had a few hours to waste when we got there..stopped at Coyote corners, and the Jade Shop…didn’t buy much..but love to look…Everyone showed up nice and early so we had a great visit..Jan from AB was a little late, so we were very glad when she finally showed up..i always worry when someone is late…was finally able to give Lynn her shawl..she was very pleasantly surprised, and pleased… this is Bev modeling the shawl at our last guild meeting, it was alpaca and merino.. and very soft and cozy… this is a more detailed picture of the little bit of lace… i had to use stitch markers as you start from the top and work down… so of course when you get to the pattern row, you are working with 163 stitches on each side of the centre panel.. the first couple of tries i ended up with the wrong amount of stitches left over… thanks to the wonder of stitch markers i finally got it right… This is Isabel and her friend Helen from Hazelton.. Beth Johnson reading her gift from the gift exchange… Beth has moved into the interior, and we are so pleased that she loves it here.. Trixie, Heather and Mary, the goofy girls from Vernon..always worth a good laugh when we get together.. This one is Diane, Rosalie, Julia, and Gudie..hard at work.. Renata and Sue concentrating very hard..

We really enjoy our weekend together… I had a real ah haw moment this weekend… I was raised as an “Army Brat”, (dad was in the service), so I don’t have any childhood friends, we all went different directions, as our dads were transferred..I only have one friend left from Highschool and she was my bridemaid..and of course we have gone our separate ways… but i decided this weekend, that my spinning friends have taken the place of my missing childhood friends… and i love seeing them.. it is like old home week when we get together… lots of hugs and plenty of laughs and giggles..

We were all out of there by 1:30, and i was home by 3… i was really tired, but managed to stay awake till bedtime, and by then the wind was really blowing and i couldn’t get to sleep, must have been after midnight before i finally got to sleep..and the wind is really blowing again today, Dixie hates the wind, and spends most of her time in the shop..Jackson barked a lot last night, i think cuz the gate was rattling in the wind..got laundry caught up today, so will go swimming tomorrow… it was great to see ya all………… hugs

Technorati Tags: Desert Mesa,shawl,gift,dogs

Young Parents

2009-04-12T13:10:00.001-07:00

We went out for supper at friends’ place last night…had a good supper, turkey burgers, and all kinds of salads… company was good, a strange mix though… L and I were the oldest, then several other couples in their 40 and 50’s, and then 2 young couples with little ones… the kids were good, but the adults a little strange… i guess they bothered me, as they had such different ideas about raising kids… I raised two grubby, fighting, laughing boys, and enjoyed every minute of it… the little 3 year old girl, was cute, and well behaved, but her mom drove me nuts… I have never liked whispering…with anyone.. this young Mom whispered to her little girl all the time, instead of just saying “thank Denise for supper” she whispers it to the child, as if the child could think of something like that on her own..Mom was very attractive, but doesn’t like dirt, farm eggs, food that doesn’t come off Styrofoam , food that touches on her plate..and her child getting dirty… they are also working on the child’s potty training, but Mom put her in blue jeans, with a zipper, and a scarf for a belt… looked cute, but the child couldn’t go to the bathroom with out help..it was almost like the child had to be all dolled up, instead of being practical..I guess that is the problem, i am too practical…the other couple were very nice also, but they were vegetarians, and they were (baby included) very pale, I know i am weird, but if i can’t complain to you all, i will fret about it for a while…

Only 5 days to Desert Mesa… not a full house, but we really enjoyed it last year with the same amount of guests.. although i do miss an agility class on Saturday, but one does have priorities… and spinning will always come first.. will take lots of pictures and get them up on here, seeing it is so easy…watching the “masters” out of the corner of my eye… what a beautiful place, i don’t care for golf, but i do appreciate a good shot..Larry is off having a nap as we are off for supper out again to nite… and then again tomorrow nite again for me… going way party for an agility buddy…going out for Chinese, and i do love their ‘ginger beef’… Happy Easter to ya all………. S

mistake

2009-04-10T10:21:00.001-07:00

it has been some time since i made those Hot Cross buns…. don’t add the yeast to the dough with out proofing it first… just tried it and it is taking forever to rise… mix yeast with some of the milk (i use water instead of milk).. i think the yeast they suggest must have been the rapid yeast…so sorry…

Broken puter

2009-04-08T14:36:00.001-07:00

After that big scare about that awful virus, i got a really bad spyware thingy.. couldn’t do a thing with the puter, so took it into local puter gal, and she fixed it up… had to laugh at Larry, he has always said he hated computers, but since he has been working on these old hit and miss engines, he has been looking for pictures and parts and books, well he was just pacing the floor waiting for the computer to come back…he almost knocked me out of the way to get to it…

The weather has been great the last few days, we went to Kamloops on Monday to get our passports, our pictures were rejected so had to go and get new ones, i was worried about the guarantor, but they just kept the original pictures and sent them along with the new ones., i have to go to our local Wal-Mart and complain…those pictures cost me $22..they should know that their pictures are not good… one thing with “Service Canada”, they put you back in the front of the Queue when you come back… that way you don’t have to wait again, and again..

Sheep shearer was here last week too… he did 10 Shetlands, 4 alpacas, and the llama in 2 hours… he is fast, Larry had to remodel our barn, we have always sheared in the lean too next to the shop, but the barn works much better, that reminds me that i have to go out there and sweep up all the crappy alpaca fibre… their fleeces are very hairy… and the llama’s is terrible… I have finished spinning up the BFL(superwash), just need to ply it,dye it, and find the right pattern…Guild meeting today, i am starting on some lovely alpaca fibre from Kathy.. I also finished up Navajo plying some hand dyed silk… it is okay, my Navajo plying is not good… won’t be doing that again…going to get the pictures of the shawl done today, kind of hard to wear the shawl and take pictures of it…Spinning retreat the weekend after next… not fully booked, but will be nice.. Last summer we had a pair of Great Blue Herons living in the trees in the back, and we saw them back yesterday, so we are hoping that they will nest here this year… we are off the busy road, and right next to two rivers, Nicola River is a mile away, and Spuis Creek in 1/4 of a mile away..so easy fishing for them..

Jesse and i have several agility trials this summer.. there is a new group having a single day trial the end of May, so I have decided to put Dixie in it too, just for one class… costs $12 a class, and they are having 4 classes for her group, and i will probably kick myself for not entering her in all 4, but i don’t think she will do well, although she might surprise me… i am going to take her back to agility classes as a drop in, to get her back into the swing of things..I have going to the pool, riding the stationary bike, and exercising in the pool for an hour or so… just to get fitter, if that is a word..

Back from Guild meeting, not many of us there, but we had a few good laughs…I ended up taking Dixie with me, as she was sitting beside the truck waiting for me… she was good, visited everyone, and then laid down with her nose at the door, she would have loved to go walk about..got the pictures taken of my gift shawl, you will have to wait till after the retreat to see it..it turned out good..

Here is an excellent recipe for Hot Cross Buns

3.5 –4 cups flour

2 packages yeast (or two tablespoons)

1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

2/3 cup raisins

3/4 tsp salt

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast,cinnamon, heat milk, oil, sugar and salt, till warm 115 degrees

add to dry ingredients, add eggs, beat low speed for 1 minute to mix, then 3 minutes, add raisins, add remaining flour for a soft dough, shape into ball, grease and let rise till double, make into buns, let rise, brush tops with eggs whites, bake 375 for 12 to 15 minutes… ice the tops…enjoylll

I love WLW

2009-03-30T15:57:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness… it so much easier to insert pictures with this WLW… click on the picture and it is there, instantly…. no waiting… amazing… this is Dixie after a trip to town with Larry, she won’t get out of his truck(also know as the chick magnet),..1985 Dodge Diesel ram… it is falling apart, but he loves his truck, good on fuel, 4 wheel drive, but it is like Fred Flintstones car you can stop it with your feet… holes in the floor boards… oh my goodness i love the easy of downloading pictures with WLW.. this is the first flower on my Hoya… Larry moved it outside last year, it was huge, probably 30 feet long and then i couldn’t get it hung back up, so i chopped it up, and took off two black garbage bags of tendrils.. i was afraid it wouldn’t flower this year, but it is growing like crazy and blooming.. and this is the Alpaca fleece that Barb McDonald sent me last week… lovely cinnamon, and a rich mahogany..i have decided to make a sideways vest.. with hand carded thick yarn.. i have some white from one of my old alpacas, i think the three colours will make a nice winter vest for agility…got my last gift shawl finished and blocked.. it looks good, will get a picture of it at next guild meeting, and will put it up when she gets it… Larry is off picking up some good junk from a neighbours… they have to move a hay shed, and it has tons of good junk around it… he has been there all day..so i am sure his truck is full…. can hardly wait to publish this, it is so easy now….try it out…

Technorati Tags: alpaca,hoya,dodge ram,dixie

Windows live writer..

2009-03-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

took Damesfly’s advice and downloaded this new program… looks interesting… Have had a busy week… but didn’t get much accomplished…pool on Monday, Guild meeting on Wednesday… and pool again to day… had Thursday all to myself, Larry went off to Lytton to get some parts for his engines sand blasted .. you can even change the font on this writer… i have been knitting a stole for a friend’s 60th birthday.. a lovely royal purple Merino from Aurelia Wools..i knit for a couple of hours after supper, and when i get tired i spin… been spinning up that “superwash BFL” i wish i had found BFL years ago, i would have changed my little herd of sheep..i really like the fleece… got half a pound spun, and am going to start to ply it tonite…

Mom, brother, and his wife, and Mom’s friend Ham headed off to Reno this morning.. Gerry got the use of a timeshare condo for a week…not sure how Mom will handle being away for 10 days..she just turned 83..and it takes her a while to get moving in the morning these days… i am sure they will have a good time… it will the most time she has spent with Gerry since he left home 40 years ago… i am going to publish this just to see what it looks like…

Fibres West

2009-03-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sheila and I met early this morning and headed out to Abbottsford for the 2nd annual Fibres West... first time i had been there... and it was good... Sheila and I arrived about 10:30 and were heading across the parking lot, when we heard "hey you guys" and turned around to see Lita, what a lovely surprise.. walked in the door and saw two old friends Irma and Vanessa who i haven't seen in years... 5 at least..it was great to see them... took me at least 20 minutes to get away from the front door, as friends kept coming in the door... lots of friends from the Retreats over the years, even met a lady that was at the very first retreat that i went to with the Chilliwack guild..that had to be 20 years ago...saw lots of good stuff, although i didn't need a thing..and was really good until i found some BFL superwash roving... i have a plan...so it is okay... i don't always have a plan, but i do have a plan for this stuff... it felt so nice... going to spin fine (what else) and dye some shade of pink... for a 60th birthday shawl... Karen dear Karen gave me some lovely stitch markers...can hardly wait to try them out... it was a nice day, we left about 2:30 and got home just before 5... i stopped for some Chinese take away... and was home by 5:30.... i am tired, so will finish this and head off to bed... agility tomorrow..
It was wonderful to see all my spinny buddies..wish i lived closer sometimes...oh well... Sheila and Andrea signed up for a weaving workshop in 100 mile, given by Eileen Shannon... wonderful spinner and weaver... she gave our guild it's very first fancy yarn workshop over 20 years ago..well i had better go to bed... read for a while and then crash... it was wonderful to see ya all... HUGs

Spring is almost here

2009-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Spring is almost here, but you sure couldn't tell it... it snows every night.. only a skiff, but snow none the less... our new neighbours(604's who are part time country folk) where up this past weekend, and went to Kamloops to buy some fruit trees... the ground is still frozen.. not sure what they bought or where they put them... I have been looking at the Alberta nursery catalogues, as we are losing all our pine trees, so we need something to replace them... they have good prices on oak, elm, ash, birch and willow trees, think i might buy 5 of each and just plant them in a garden box for a year or two... let them get bigger and acclimatized... they also have a "Honey berry" they say it is like a blueberry, but tastes like a wild blue berry...and is about 5 feet high and wide... going to get a pair (need a pollinator) for myself and two girlfriends who love blueberries...
Guild member and fellow spinner and I are off to Fibre West on Friday... should be fun... going to leave here about 8 am, it opens at 10 am so we should be there about 11... and should be home by supper..
Had the gang over for supper and cards on Saturday nite... roast beef done to perfection, mashed spuds, turnip and carrots, cauliflower and broccoli... and Yorkshire puddings..that didnot rise like they were suppose too... looked like hockey pucks... i just can't figure out why they were HUGE last time, and hockey pucks this time..oven was hot, oil was hot, and i mix them up around 2 pm, and beat them up every time i walked by them (Granny's recipe)..oh well will try again... and then fudge cake(another Granny recipe) for the guys and Angel food cake with raspberries... half a cake is only 160 calories...what a bonus for us girls..
I went to the pool yesterday, rode for a mile on the bike, and then spent an half an hour in the pool and 10 minutes in the hot tub... got home and fell asleep in my chair, and just couldn't wake up... slept for about an hour..sure felt good though
Got my last shawl finished last night... now just have to dress it, and that is my friends gift done... I have been spinning some lovely teal silk, not sure what i want, but i love to spin it... now i have to start another shawl, another friend is turning 60 in August... going to use a lovely royal purple from Aurelia Wools...not just have to figure out the pattern, i am thinking about the Feather and fan pattern, easy and would be great for her as she is very tall, and athletic, my Veterinarian, she says she is going to skip this birthday...
better go and get my books for the business done, the very last time....hopefully will see some of ya in Abbottsford on Friday....