Lost, Lost, Lost

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

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

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

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

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

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

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......