summer spin in and dye workshop

had a great day at Andrea's yesterday, several of the girls wanted to learn how to dye, and dear Andrea (bless her heart), helped them... they had never done any dyeing before, so she had to start from the beginning with them... about 5 of us, hide away on the back deck and spun in the "sunshine"... till the sun got too hot, then we moved around to the front of the house into the shade..we had a very NEW spinner come yesterday... we met her at the WW knit in public day...and she was very keen on learning to spin, the other Sheila had an old,(we figured it must be 60 years old as Sheila has had it 20 years, and it was 40 when she got it...) traditional Ashford, i told her if she could spin on it, then she could spin on anything... by the time she was ready to go home, she had it down pat, i know it will come and go, but she is a natural...she is kicking herself now as she just got a full time teaching job, and gave up a Substitute teaching job, where she could have come to our Wednesday guild meetings... she figures she will teach full time for a year, and then go back to subbing... now isn't that a spinner after your own heart...I am enjoying my new JOY... it does have a burr on one of the hooks, and i have to find it, the wool won't feed in on that side...my poor Traveller is getting in tough shape all the moving around...so we will use the joy now for my travels...Larry has been busy building a wood splitter, just has to get the finishing touches on it... it looks good, we have so many bug killed trees, and we want to use them for firewood..guess i will have to help him when he gets it going... Gave Dixie a bath today, she was dirty, and is just starting to shed...so now she looks like she exploded... hair coming out every where...but she was really good, and only shook when she was all finished.. better get supper organized Dixie and i are off to agility tonite... hope she works better tonite....I should have taken a picture of her soaking wet... talk to ya soon.................. sheila

this is Dixie last summer.. with no coat....

lovely summer day

What a great day, about 80 degrees all day, with a light wind..a perfect summer day...just enough sun, then a few clouds to cool things off. Nothing to exciting around here today, did a load or two of laundry, and mention again to the Dear Hubby that i would like a cloths line, to save on energy, there is nothing i love better than the smell of clothes hung outside. I will keep mentioning it, and maybe by next spring i will have one... Larry was working on his loader today, making a thingy to help get the stumps out of the ground... we have a few bug killed trees and we want to get them down...then the thingy broke..so he is fixing it again.. we are lucky the pines in the yard seem to be okay, hopefully because we water the lawn a lot, we have unlimited water, 60 gallons a minute..we run the big sprinkler on the front field all day and nite.. the sheep sure like the front field these days, had a neighbour plow and seed it, and it looks great... we lose the lambs in the long grass.. we put the sheep down into the front field in the morning and then bring them back up at supper time..when we started a week or so ago, one of the wethers would not go with the herd, and came back up to the dry pen, finally decided to go on Saturday, now he leads the pack down. Jesse is still here, Joe was working and Kelly went to Lethbridge for a wedding with her mom, and we have agility tomorrow, so i will return her after class tomorrow, she decided that she likes to sleep with us, i don't care for her sleeping in bed, but old soft touch Larry loves to have her there..she wasn't feeling to well today, didn't even want to go and play with Jackson and Dixie..i would put her out and 2 minutes later she was yapping to come in... it will be quiet with her gone, the bird will like it better as he isn't allowed out when there are any dogs in the house...my friend never worried about her dogs and her African Grey, and they had a major trama there a couple of months ago, the pup and the bird love bananas, and Kirby the bird had a piece of banana and the dog grabbed the bird and the banana and separated the bird's bottom beak from his jaw bone, the vet wired it back on, it is a little crooked, but he is fine, eating and talking up a storm... we have never had the bird loose with a dog in the house..i am glad that we have always made it a rule

this is a columbine that has taken over my shaded flower bed, a huge mass of flowers in there..

this is Jesse coming thru the tunnel, don't ya love the smile on her face, the next one is her coming over the dog walk, that is 12 feet up, 12 feet across and 12 feet back down, and is 5 feet high...

Another agility day

Hi... well Jesse and I were off to another Agility Day in Kelowna yesterday, we had to be there by 7 or quarter past, so i stayed at my Agility partner's place, half an hour closer, we were up at 5, her hubby made us breakfast,which i found really hard to get down, that is just too early to eat..but what do ya say....but thanks...we had a good drive over, funny how time flies when you have someone to chat too...Denise and Pip and Jesse and I were running in a team competition, one handler and dog run 10 obstacles, and when they got back into their home spot, the second handler takes off with her dog... the first one, we screwed up, and so did Denise and Pip, but the second one, we all ran clean, and within the time allowed, so we Qualified... running teams is tough as one dog always seems to screw up... so now we move on to the Advanced level...which is harder... but we will keep working on it.... then we ran the Starters Jumpers course, and Jesse just flew thru it with no mistakes and no time faults, so we Qualified again, so then i had to move on right then and there, so her second run was an Advanced Jumpers, and she did really well, only made one mistake and of course it was my fault...but we had a really good day, but it was pretty hot, i had bought a couple of spray bottles with little electric (battery) operated fan on it, boy did they work good, all our group was using them, it sure helped in that hot hot sun, we did have a shade tent, and that really helped too, but the water was really helpful..i sprayed Jesse down just before we ran and that helped her stay cool...we didn't get out of there until almost 7 pm... and i was so tired, didn't sleep well at Denises, got home at 9 talked to Larry for half an hour, had a shower and headed to bed, with Jesse at my feet..and then i have fallen alseep 3 times today...and am still tired, i had planned on working on the garden today, but just didn't have the energy...
I have started working on a birthday shawl, i love the pattern, but am fighting with it... i even emailed the author, and it seems that i am not moving over my stitch markers...so will try again... the colour is Andrea's Royal Purple, and it really nice....Guild is meeting on Wednesday up at Andrea's, she wants to do some dyeing and so does some of the guild, i would like to, but i haven't gotten enough spun up of my Merino, only one more 100 gram bag and then i have to really think about what i am going to do with it...i have several shawl to make for next year, and might use it for that, but i love it, so might make something for me... well i had better go do something.... talk to ya soon.

finally home

Hi... got home from Olds on Wednesday about 8 pm... left here in the early hours on Thursday, had a good drive over, it is a long drive by oneself, but i listened to a book on tape and sung along with Don Williams, Willy Nelson and Abba..alternately between them... get tired listening to the book, and then get tired singing...anyway arrived safe and sound Thursday nite... i had forgotten just how beautiful the Rockies are... they are so huge compared to ours, and then heading out into the foothills..the sky is so huge out there... i am so used to have a mountain in view..the foothills were beautiful and green this time of year...I got into a Condo the last week before i left, and i was very happy that i did, I ended up with some awesome room mates, and we just hit it off really well...Barb from Cold Lake, and Caroline from Calgary, both were real characters, Barb is a designer of patterns designed for hand spun stuff, and Caroline was a student at Uof C, and a fantastic Spindlier... she taught a day class on spindling... very talent the pair of them... then the 4th roommate showed up on Sunday nite, Christie from Camrose, also a very talented spinner...My first class was spinning Stripes, the kind you make socks out of, it was a little difficult figuring it out, but i finally got IT...and then the 2nd one was Colour Blending which i really enjoyed... both were taught by Linda Shelhammer of Billings, Montana... the 3rd class was a 2 day course on Spinning silk...we had a wonderful teacher, Kim Mckenna from Langley... lucky for me, we were neighbours in the condos, so we spent quite a bit of time together, and as she didn't have a car, i took her down to the vendor mall and introduced her to the Roommates.. and of course we all hit it off ... I learned so much from Kim, even learned how to spin right off a cocoon, and then every single bit of silk they make.. one of my class mates and i bought a "Blue faced Leicester" fleece and split it, so we each got almost two pounds of wonderful fleece... i think i will wash it up and blend it with some silk oblong that i bought on Salt spring a couple of years ago... I had a great time there, and hope to go back next year, if they have courses that i would like to take, Kim is thinking of doing a 3 day dyeing workshop... would love to take that one... she is a very knowledgeable lady...and i was very pleased to met her....
While i was gone, Larry had 4 more lambs, one young ewe didn't want her baby, so he had to make her stand still so it could feed, isn't it amazing how men can do these things when we are not around... I called him every night, and i was amazed on how long he talked..usually it used to be 2 minutes, we are not into talking to each other every hour, being married 40 years, we don't need to check in with each other all the time.. I didn't buy much stuff, but what i did buy was worth a small fortune..i bought myself a "JOY".. i know i didn't need it, but i find my Traveller is showing travel wear..i also bought a pound of Finn, and a pound of Merino, alpaca mix, and 4 oz of Bamboo, and a shawl pin, that also does double duty as a cable needles... and two patterns from Sivia Harding.. and two skeins of wool/mohair for socks for me... roommate Caroline has a computer program that figures out what stitches you need for the size of your foot..and she is sending me a pattern just to fit me... so i will try socks again.... better go and put my chicken on the Barby.... hugs sheila

count down to OLDS

Only two more sleeps before i leave for Olds..i have waffled between going on Thursday or Friday..but think i will leave on Thursday to miss the huge traffic rush, the cost of the extra night in the condo is only 45 bucks, so i think i will do that and then explore the campus on Friday.. see where i am going to take the course, I need to know what and where to go in advance.

The good son came up for the weekend, he loves the lambs.. especially the tiny one..looks even smaller in Matt's big hands. He stayed over nite and left after supper on Sunday... he was suppose to call me when he got home, but forgot...worries me half to death, i am always afraid he has had an accident on the way home...
this is Haystack... she looks like a little hay stack with all the hay stuck in her fleece...looks funny now with no coat.. Larry figures she looks like a bug with those HORNS

this is Jackson, rolling around on the grass with his huge mouth open...won't want him to close that mouth on me...

Jesse and i had a good day at Agility today.. Maureen is making the courses harder every week, but we did good, we do the whole course, and then break it down into sections, and then run it a final time, boy what a difference, we did the final run with absolutely no mistakes... that means we are getting better. I am home from Olds on the 2nd of July and then off to another one day trial July 12th..one day trials are good... 4 different runs... I will write when i get home... see ya probably a couple 100 bucks lighter.... S

REALLY, REALLY big oophs

Yup we had a really big oophs around here last Friday... went out to do the chores in the early morning and found these two little darlings... little purebred Shetland lambs... and there wasn't suppose to be a ram in that pen..

I had separated the Shetland ewes from the other sheep and the ram in September... so technically there shouldn't be any babies... now you are wondering why i didn't notice that the ewe was bred, when she looked like this just before she lambed, but you must remember that i wasn't home

when they were sheared..actually this picture is of another ewe who lambed on Saturday..so you are wondering how they got bred..well i had two wethers (neutered rams) or so i thought... after i found the lambs, i did some checking, and although i am positive that i banded both of them, one had a testicle..and i guess it was enough... so now i have 5 lambs, and 3 more ewes also bred and getting ready to lamb...double damn.. the other older ewe had a nice set of twins, girl and boy, and the 2nd one had the tiniest little boy you have ever seen... i will take a picture of him...guess the "lord" must have got even with me for not being concerned with Larry having to help with the shearing . Now what am i going to do with these little darlings... guess will have to find homes for them over the next couple of months, or plan on having them butchered in the Spring...they take much longer to finish. Oh well, guess that is life.. Get ready to go to Olds next week...will be gone about a week.. leaving here on Thursday, doing the convoy bit with Andrea, and Hanlo, who is coming along to help Andrea. I am taking 3 course, "spinning for strips", Fibre blending, and a two day Silk spinning course. Was able to get into a Condo the last couple of days, staying with 3 ladies that i have never met, that should be fun. I like meeting new people, and hopefully we will get along.

Our WWKIP day was lovely, didn't have many knitters show up, about 4 or 5, but it was a beautiful day, and we had a nice get together. Lita and Joe Mijo are back for 10 days or so, first time they have back at the lake since Joe broke his neck and back last June. He is doing fine, and was glad to be back, i think Lita was too.

this is Bev, Lita and Jean under the huge Elm, with Bailie House (heritage house) in the back ground.

this is Kay and Mrs Hassel, very old friend who knits constantly, Mrs Hassel knit a pair of slippers in the 2 hours she spent with us.

this is Andrea and Annie enjoying the sunshine
Sheila S and Bernice concentrating on their projects. It was so nice we decided that we will met there again, just to enjoy the beautiful yard. It is Bailie House's 100th Birthday this summer, they are having several open houses over the summer and have invited us to help them share the day, so we jumped at the chance, the first one is 5th of July, i will just be home from Olds, but will be there with Bells on..better go do the chores and get ready to spend the day in town, and then start getting ready to leave for Olds... talk to ya soon........... S

a whole week of birthday fun

Hi... i know i have been absent this last week, but have been just too busy, went down to FENN Lodge in Harrison Mills on Monday, met Toni, Melody and Isabel @ Diane Brady's. We had a great time, i really needed to get away, and what a better time than to spend it with my spinner sisters. Monday nite supper, Isabel made a great East African Stew with noodles,it was de lish.. It poured all day Tuesday, we never stuck our noses out the door...I made supper that night, homegrown chicken (2) stuffed full of rosemary, thyme and a whole bulb of garlic in each one, drizzled with olive oil and real BUTTER cooked on a bed of little spuds.. took longer to cook than we planned, we also had my cheater Caesars salad... romaine lettuce, and tons of garlic mixed with mayo and a bit of lemon juice, with croutons and asiago cheese, i used 3 heads of lettuce and there was nothing left... only enough chicken left to make soup for lunch the next day..we celebrated my birthday after supper that nite, Toni gave me some lovely teal coloured silk,with orders to make myself something, and Isabel gave me 200 grams of merino/silk, and Diane gave me a home made pin cushion.. and we had a Black Forest Cake that was too die for..I came home on Wednesday as i had to head out for the agility trial on Friday afternoon. We left Merritt at noon, and got to Kamloops and unloaded by 3, trial didn't start till Saturday 8 am, i know way too early. We didn't qualify in anything, but we had some really nice clean runs,(No mistakes), but our time was slow... Jesse doesn't care too much for the tetter totter , so we plan on working on that part of our run...we had another birthday party on Saturday nite, my agility partner made me a Healthy Carrot cake, and she gave me a necklace made with some Hawaiian sea shells, and my instructor gave a me some fancy candles for around the tub..and all of them signed a card for me... what a great way to spend a birthday, with friends doing just what i wanted to do...I phoned Larry on Sunday morning, we are not much for talking to each other 20 times a day, we have been married 40 years and we don't need to be in each others pocket anymore..anyway, I asked him what he was doing, and he said..."GETTING READY FOR THE SHEEP SHEARER"...oh damn..he wasn't suppose to come till next week... the shearer had been in town in April, but i had hurt my knee and it just won't work...but then it was a good thing as the spring has been so very cold, they needed their coats... so anyway after we left on Friday and L got home there was a message from the neighbour saying the shearer would be there Saturday at noon, well by 4 pm the shearer phoned and he said he would be there early am Sunday...well there was nothing i could do about it, as i wasn't going home.. so i apologized, and he said that he could do it, and that it was my birthday present... so i told him i loved him, hung up, and felt guilty for all of 2 seconds and then forgot all about him... Saturday, the weather had been very cool, short pants came out about 3 pm, and back into long pants by 6, Sunday morning, everyone was in short pants and we had a lovely sunny day, i even got a bit of a burn..but by 4 the winter coats were out... and of course, i did the last run of the whole trial... and there was no one to cheer us one... so the ones who were there working, cheered us on.. and we missed that one by one little mistake, handler error... but our time was great on that one..

this is Jesse my agility canine partner...our little rat dog... i think we do really well together as i only have her two hours a week for our class..she just loves it so much...

This is Diane's little Jack Russel, Tidy... she used to have two... Neat and Tidy..she is getting old and loves the sofa... don't ya love the face...

this is Fenn Lodge... hope it turns out as it is a little dark.. it is a 100 year old hunting lodge that Diane and her partner fixed up..it is on 60 acres..if you ever get a chance, check it out... they have got it up for sale, so they might not be there long... better go and see what L is doing out side... he seems to enjoy his retirement... he was dug around all the plants and has given them all a big shot of sheep do do... and has made 15 trips to the dump with all the junk that we have accumulated..will take some pictures of the critters with out their coats... hugs... S