spring cleaning.....

in the kitchen. well, really only 1/2 of the kitchen. i wanted to do the whole thing, but i try to keep in the back of my head that i have fibro, and if i want to get out of bed tomorrow, i'd better not push it.

so, today, the work was centered on the built in that paul made for me. it holds our wine, my canning, and all of my "witchy" herbs, as the kids like to call them.

it's obviously time to make the summer wines!! i like the gewurztraminers, reislings, and the liebermilch wines. they're light and fruity and taste great whilst floating around in the pool when it's 110 degress.... and it helps that it only takes about 6 weeks to make 24 bottles at 14% alcohol!!

i emptied out some old applesauce that was too old to use, and got all the canning jars ready to go....

soon it will be time to make strawberry jam. then this summer, it will be tomatoes from the garden. the last two years have sucked for tomatoes here, and i'm hoping this year we'll have a bumper crop. nothing beats opening a jar of summer tomatoes in the middle of winter.....

then this fall, more applesauce. there's an orchard about 45 minutes from us, and we go down there and pick a couple of bushels every fall and turn them into sauce. and decadent apple pies....

that's all i can anymore, jam, tomatoes, and applesauce - i've discovered those are the most practical things as they're affordable, and we actually consume them.





i went ahead and listed seamus' yarn in the shop: here's his pic:

he's a good bunny. he's a rescue, and he's gotten pretty comfortable here with us.

and that makes me happy.




oh, this is the yarn from the batts i showed you yesterday!

it's almost half spun up, and i'm really liking the way it's turning out. now i just need to find a really simple, but really nice looking lace shawl pattern. if any of you know of one, feel free to pass the info on!

the brilliant "miss harley"

today was harley's first day of levels obedience.

think of it as elementary school. she went through puppy kindergarten with no problem, and levels is like 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. So we go today, and there is only one other puppy there. (i love doing this kind of thing on weekdays..)


so, after one session, she gets kicked out of the class......

haha! she was promoted to level 2!! and i looked at the sheet for level 2, and it's just an expansion of what she already knows, so it shouldn't take us long to complete that either. then, one more level, and we can start working on agility!! she's already running through the tunnel we have here at home, and jumping the little pvc jumps i made her, so we're well on our way. she loves it so much, and that's whats really fun about it.



these are some batts i made today, they're 50%
baby alpaca and 50% tussah silk.
I'm going to spin them up and use them to
make a shawl. i figure that it's about time i
really tackled some lace knitting. i just haven't felt like i'm ready to do that yet, and i have no idea why. so i'm going to prove to myself that i can do it. i hope i actually have the patience to complete the project......

i want to imagine it being soft and wonderful, and beautiful. i'm going to spin up all the fiber, then dye it in a dark red. the silk should take the majority of the color, and it should give the yarn a very interesting look, that hopefully will make the shawl killer.....

we'll see. i'm going to start spinning it up tonite.



I wanted to show you this too, it's a floorcloth that i made a few months ago. the mariner's compass is my favorite quilt block. it's also the only tattoo that i have.....
i love it in the dark colors... i tried to make one in the "shabby chic" color way, but it ended up looking like the easter bunny took a sh*t on it! oh well, that's easy enough to paint over in different colors.....

harley just started barking, and i looked outside, and the sun is shining, but we're getting dime size hail! gotta love springtime in oklahoma....

i've got some of seamus' angora handspun that i need to list in the etsy shop tomorrow, but i just haven't gotten around to taking the pictures.... everytime i look at it, i think i want to keep it. but i just plucked another 2 ounces off of him, so i guess i shouldn't be stingy with it.

:)

Yeah, i FIRED you......

i was hoping to get out of town this week to go see my sister and mom in colorado, but it doesn't appear that's going to happen now. i needed someone to feed and water my 5 bunnies while i was gone, and i hired a 15 year old kid who lives across the street. i pay REALLY well, because it's incredibly important to me as these bunnies are not only an investment, but they're loved to pieces as well. he was supposed to come over sometime on saturday to learn the ropes, but we both ended up being pretty busy that day. so we set a time of 4:00 on sunday.

4 comes and goes, as does 4:30, and then 5:00..... at 5:30 he shows up at my door. and i'm fuming..... I said " I didn't think you were going to make it"

his response was "yeah, i got caught up in something"
i asked him what that "something" might have been, and he told me it was "sleeping"

he said "yeah, i stayed up all night last night, and slept all day."

well...sonny, it goes like this.....

"this is not my lawn that needs to be cut, this is not the flowers that need to be watered, these are living breathing animals that can't turn on the faucet when they run out of water. they can't walk over to micky d's if you don't show up to feed them. if i can't trust you to show up to learn how to take care of them when i'm here, how can i trust you when i'm not here? i'm not going to OKC where i can rush back in a hour if you "forget" to feed them, i'm going to colorado. i guess you're not responsible enough to do this job yet."

And then he says, "so, when are you leaving?"

And i told him that best case scenario, i would be heading out tuesady morning. and then i watch him as he's trying to figure out his schedule for the next day....

and i said, "maybe i didn't make myself clear- this isn't happening for you"

He says "wait- i'm not doing it?!!!!!???!!!"

"That's right, you're not doing it"

"WOAH!!!!!!!!"

yeah, just fired a person for the first time....

so, no colorado this week...

this is what i kept myself busy with all weekend- i was making checkbook covers and matching key fobs.... i'm going to make some luggage spotters to go with them. i made them for the blue dome festival, but i'm thinking about listing them in the etsy shop.

what do you think? list them or not......

i win, i win!

i answered a question on another blog about my favorite childhood toy and got entered into a drawing for a really cute finger puppet.

and i won! me! of all people! i never win anything!

he's on this blog:
http://redmarionette.blogspot.com/

didn't take any pics today, as i was busy kicking people out of their homes all day. 36 today, and another 30 or so tomorrow....sometimes that job really sucks... but then i can come home and play with fiber, so i guess it's worth it... it scares me sometimes tho, that we're only a paycheck or two away from being the people i'm helping to evict...

thin ice we skate on....

great. now i'm all depressed...

where's the ice cream?

oh, this will cheer us up....

puppy pictures!






little miss harley! this was taken last month, but she still looks the same, just a bit bigger...

she's such a good (in a bad way) little dog. i should actually say she's such a bad (in a good way) little dog. i like dogs who are stinkers.... and boy is she one. cranky when she's sleepy and snarky when she's awake. quite a bit like her mommy....

but smart, smart smart. she already brings me my slippers... and we're going to start our levels training in the next couple of weeks... and then it's on to agility!


so, yeah, there it is.

is this what happens when you pay off your car?

So, in February, i paid off my car!! yes, i'm excited at the thought of not having a car payment anymore...this car has never given me a bit of trouble, and while i like it ok, i'm not in love with it. it's a 2003 honda civic, and it's a good car, so i'm hoping that with proper maintenance, she'll last a few more years at least....

so, 3 days after i receive the title from the finance company, i get rear ended.... by a big mofo truck. like dump truck size truck....jump out, just knowing that my car's been totaled or something.... luckily, the dumbass who hit me wasn't really going fast enough to do any damage, so all's well there.

Last night, i'm going down the highway, and there's this pickup in front of me. he's got an open trailer that's he's towing.... he was doing the speed limit and everything, and me, being me, i like to go just a wee bit faster. (hush now, mom!) and something just didn't feel right about being behind him. so i decide to pass. i always turn my head and look over my shoulder, as i don't trust using only the side mirrors (see, mom, you DID teach me well!) so, i put my turn signal on, turn and look, and as i return my eyes to the road, i see two rain gutters coming up out of the trailer, and sailing right towards my car......

sheeeeettttttttttt! they were like 10 feet long, completely over the entire lane that i'm in, and there's nowhere for me to go, and those suckers are flying! one goes under my car, creating quite a bit of noise and bump, and the other hits right in the middle of my windshield, and goes flying up over the top of my car......pull off the highway, change into dry pants and look over the car.

again no damage....

today! i'm out serving peeps, and up about 300 feet in front of me, there's a big 'ole truck full o' dirt.

yeah.

a clod the size of my fist comes flying out and boing, boing, boings it's way right onto the top of my car. sounded like a can of corn bouncing off the roof. i didn't even stop to look.... screw it.

so, whomever is up there trying to jack up my car, i'd appreciate it if you'd cut it out.

now. k, thanks.

and in other news, this handspun is now listed in my shop.... go ahead, buy it. your mom called and said you needed new yarn.....

aprons, angoras, and stoopid judges.....

so yesterday was busy, i was sewing, and spinning and enjoying the spring weather....

and waiting for the judge to sign the "executions" that i have to serve... i swear he watches the weather channel, and picks the crappiest day of the week get those things ready. and then i'll bet he sits there behind his little judgy desk and laughs knowing that i'm out there in the hideous weather kicking people out of their apartments.... he doesn't do it directly to me, he just hates the lawyer that i work for, and this is his "special" way of getting back at him. jerk.

this is one of the things i was working on yesterday, a scallop apron. not bad for my first one, and i made the bias tape myself instead of buying some from the store. I like the vintage type aprons and think i'll go looking for more of those patterns.....


this sold yesterday, with only 23 views...

handspun from one of my bunnies, Fergus McGee,
He's a ruby eyed white angora, and he makes some
kick ass yarn!


Oh! and i finsihed the knitting needle case, that was an Alchemy request on etsy. i think it's the largest one i've ever made! 36 pockets, and it's made from some really cool japanese fabric.

monday, monday, lala- lalalala....

it was an adventurous weekend. well, not really... ended up in the minor emergency room saturday afternoon. yeah, i kept trying to pass out. and since paul had a bleeder in his brain like 5 years back, he's a bit panicky about those things... long story short, it's either a sinus infection, or an aneurysm. so, considering the fact that i'm still here, i'll assume that it's a sinus infection. not to worry, the doc said if i try to pass out again, i am to immediately go in and get a cat scan. the reason i didn't do that on saturday? have you ever been in the ER of a hospital on a holiday weekend in oklahoma.... yeah. all the yahoo's doing their yahoo things.....

so, i thought i'd introduce you to one of my bunnies.... this is Aengus Mcgee, after his hair cut- it's not as bad as i thought it would be, really.

he's a real sweetie, he'll be a year old in may. His coloring is what they call a "tort". He's a french angora, and when i clipped him, the fiber was 4 -5 inches long, which is really nice. His favorite thing to do is throw his toys around in his cage, and of course, turn out.....he's got a great hop and thump!

so, today, i've got to finish up a t-shirt quilt, and go to the fabric store to get some material for a knitting needle case i'm making thru alchemy on etsy, do bunny turnout, clean out the bunny barn, make some more stuff to sell at the blue dome festival, and......play with harley!!