A New Home

It's finally done! Our "no money spent" chicken coop is move in ready. We had a motto when building this, we were not going to spend a penny on it, and we didn't. The building itself came from a family home that burnt down, it was all that was left standing. Some siding was melted, but the chickens don't seem to mind. The lumber was from an old trailer we tore apart and scrapped, the wire was from a chicken coop and garden from about 25 years ago! Storm door and windows were found in the loft of a family barn, who knows where they came from, but judging from the coat of dust on them, they won't be missed. We also confiscated some nesting boxes, feeders and waterers from years gone by. I guess it's a fair trade for farm fresh eggs!!!
We have left the large "people" door open until they figure out how to use this one. At first they seem to have thought it was just a window. They are too funny all pushing and shoving to be able to peer outside at their new world outside the box. I love watching their personalities develop. They are finally starting to make chicken noises too, not just the sweet little "peeps". Can't wait for the roosters to crow.
Love this picture...the little Bantam peeps like to hide other the three larger ones in the box. We are not real sure what the larger ones are. We were told they were Dominiques, but I am doubtful. Anyone able to help in this department? We also have one solid grey bird with a black beak, all the others have orange beaks.
And lastly, I have to show my sweet old girl. She is after all, sharing her pasture. This is Abby, my 27yr old Thoroughbred. I've had her since she was 5. We have been through alot together and I hope she will live forever as I cannot imagine life without her!

Walk MS 2009

What a beautiful day for a fund raising walk. My family and I just completed the 4 mile fundraising Walk MS 2009 put on by the National MS Society. I raised over $350 in donations, most of which came from High School friends I have reconnected with on Facebook! I feel very loved.

I was officially told I was graced with this disease in 2000 after a long bought of severe dizziness, to the point I was falling out of the shower, down stairs and just by simply turning around while walking or standing. Since then, I have lost the vision in my right eye, thanks to optic neuritis (it has 99% returned), have severe muscle "cramping" and a continued weakness on my right side. Luckily, these are all things I can live with and continue to lead a fairly normal life. There are many afflicted with this disease that are not that lucky. It was for those that I walked.

Easter Progress

First of all, let me say Happy Easter to everyone and I hope Spring is finding you. Our weather here in NE PA is slowly starting to warm up. I am noticing more and more signs of Spring everyday. My husband is starting the summer long process of trapping groundhogs, my horse is eating less hay and drinking less water, she is finding what she needs in her pasture, and today we saw our first farmer working up his fields. Soon, they will be planting.

Here is a little peek at one of our new Bantam chicks .
Notice the feathered legs and feet? I have now added 6 of these to our flock, they will be keepers and most likely NOT going to the butcher. Of the first 13, we have now established that 7 of them are roosters. Leaving us with 6 laying hens, all of which are Rhode Island Red crosses.








I took the Easter weekend off from weaving and started a new project, as if I need more! I few months ago I had purchased two balls of Schoeller & Stahl's Limbo yarn. It is a 100% virgin wool superwash, worsted weight. I LOVED the color and had to have it! Before Christmas I had bought a book on crocheted sock patterns, Crocheted Socks by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood. I started their Pebbled Sand, toe up, sock and am in the process of turning the heel. It is going to be a very heavy, very warm, pair of socks as each row of a single crochet is the passed over a second time as you do a long single crochet into the stitched two rows down. Me feet should be very happy next winter wearing these!

I also took advantage of my self proclaimed vacation and dug into this pile of roving I had purchased from Phylleri Ball, of SteamValley Fibers. It is a colorway of hers called Silver Sparks and is a blend of 55% wool, 40% kid Mohair and 5% Nylon Glitz. The little card she gave me with it says the goats names are Neville, Lavender and Lily. I think it's kind of neat to know the names of the critters who shared their wool with me! It is a beautiful blend of natural greys, pink, blues and purples. Very subtle shading to say the least. I've been longing for the time to get to this.






While catching up on all the of the TV shows I had stored on
my DVR, (You know, all the shows that the husbands don't want to watch (Ghost Whisperer, Legend of the Seeker, and sadly, General Hospital) or in the case of the latter, shows the kids cannot watch) I spun two bobbins full. Now this is where wanting my own wheel is really stating it's case. I only have one bobbin with my "borrowed" wheel. So in order to ply, I have to spin a bobbin, then wind into a ball, spin another bobbin, wind into a ball and then ply from two balls which are rolling all over my floor. The dog chasing them and getting all tangled up just pleads my case for me to my husband.





But here is the end result. I am pretty tickled with it. My consistency is getting better. It turned out to be a sport weight. or maybe DK. I need one of those little gauge gadgets, add it to my wish list! I am not ready to spin to a desired weight, it is what it is. I let the roving decide what it wants to be and then just try to spin consistently until I'm done.

But the best part....I got the go ahead to get my wheel! I will be vending my baskets at a Fiber Festival in Conn at the end of the month. If I can find the wheel I want, at the price I want, I will be bringing one home with me. Otherwise, I think I will be ordering one when I get home. Yippee!!!!!
































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Spinning and Weaving Demonstration

I want to take a minute and announce a Spinning and Weaving Demonstration, being put on by the Susquehanna Valley Spinners and Weavers Guild, this Sunday, April 5th, from noon to 4pm. The location is in the auditorium at the PP&L Riverlands Preserve located on Route 11 in Berwick, PA, right across the street from the main entrance to the PP&L Power Plant. We will be demonstrating the entire process from raw fleece to finished garment. Carding, spinning, weaving, knitting and crocheting will all be shown with many hands on opportunities as well. If you are interested, please stop by any time during the demo, this is free to the public! Make sure you say hello.

My "borrowed" wheel and a basket of roving, all packed up and ready to go. I am so looking forward to an excuse to sit and spin all afternoon!

A closer look at all that roving....have I mentioned how hard I have been bitten by this spinning thing? This only represents a small amount of what is in my closet. Don't you just want to dive in?! The grey fiber is Romney purchased at Mad about Ewes in Lewisburg (my current spinning project). The autumn colors and the grey with pink are both mohair blends purchased from Phylleri Ball from Steam Valley Fibers. The "white" is BFL top that I received free in a lot of basket weaving supplies I purchased on E-Bay! Free is always a good thing!


On the weaving front...these are just a few of the baskets I have been feverishly working on the past few weeks. Show season is here and I am far from ready...

Spring Peeps

Well, our adventure with chickens has begun...

We bought our peeps on Saturday from a man at the Channel 16 Expo. We were going to get all Rhode Island Reds but then he showed us these... The larger white bird is a Deleware Chicken, they apparently are on the the endangered species list. They are supposed to be very docile birds that lay about 1 egg a day right through winter. Mature weight is around 6lbs, so it is a good meat bird too. We are hopeful that this one is a hen, it was the only one he had left on his farm. The other larger birds are the Rhode Island crosses, I forgot to ask what they were crossed with, but I assume, as these are the only breeds he had, they are with the Delawares. The little black guys, or gals, are Dominiques, also an endangered bird. The grow up to be these beautiful speckled black and white birds. They are more docile than the Rhode Islands and also lay about 1 egg a day. Again, we are hopeful that at least 1/2 of our 13 birds are hens, but with my luck, they will all be, and I will have eggs coming out of my ears!!!!

For right now, these little guys are living in our garage under heat lamps and out of the cold. We are building, or rather collecting, our hen house. We are lucky enough to have many farmers in the family and between them all, we have been able to collect an abandoned backyard shed, about 20 nesting boxes, feeders, waters and assorted other necessities. We just have to put them all together and build a completely enclosed pen for them.

Wish us luck, there is no turning back now!

Polydactyls

Anyone know what they are? Extra appendages, toes or fingers. We have a barn cat that has eluded being spayed more times than I can count at this point. She usually gives us only two litters a summer and each litter may, if we are lucky, have two kittens in it. She is not very fertile, thank goodness! Lately, the past two litters, she has been giving us polydactyl kittens!

Yesterday she gave us two more, both males. The smallest of the two has the extra toes. One extra on the front feet and one hind foot has only one extra, the other has two.

If you have ever experienced one of these cats, they have a very distinct personality. The know how to use these toes and are hysterical to watch. They can literally pick things up almost like a human! There are so many toes, they just wrap them around, and without the nails, pick up whatever quarry they are after. Imagine throwing a ball to someone wearing a catchers mitt. Now imagine a paw outstretched to catch that little mouse you have just thrown across the room, it's almost as big.

Ernest Hemmingway made these cats famous. There are still polydactyls running around his farm. It's a genetic trait, so once it's in the gene pool, I guess it is there to stay.

I will post pictures once they are a little older, I don't like to handle them too much the first week they are with us. Both of these little guys will be up for adoption the beginning of May. Anyone interested?

Some Blogging Fun

OK, this is WAY overdue, I know. Of the many hats I wear (mother, wife, volunteer, weaver, teacher, etc, etc) I have only worn one the past two weeks, that of mother. There has been a really nasty bug floating around Northeast PA and my two children both caught it. They were running high (104.8) fevers, even with meds, for almost 2 weeks. As it was viral, all we could do was cuddle on the couch together. Now that they are better, life can return to normal and I can pull all the other hats out of the closet.



I think I may have mentioned this one other time...but I have MS, multiple sclerosis. I am very lucky that, for the most part, it does not effect my daily life. My stress level right now is so high that I have been forced to back out of some prior commitments and have been told to learn how to say "NO".



But, then I read this blog written by my Aunt Tammy, Treadleworks by Tammy. There is a link belowin my blog list. She was talking about paying it forward, this was not something I could say no to! Therefore....

To "borrow" some wording from my Aunt...

Here's how Pay It Forward works:I've signed up with Treadleworks by Tammy and committed to send the next 3 people who sign up here with me on my blog a hand-made item and goodie package within 365 days.By accepting my invitation, YOU agree to Pay it Forward to the next 3 people who sign up with you, on your blog, and send them something within 365 days.Want to join the fun, create some positive energy, a Blessing and Pay It Forward?The first 3 people to leave me a blog comment, telling me they would like to Pay It Forward is in!I will leave you a comment on your blog and you let you know if you are one of the three and then we will go from there.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And the prospect of a "gift" showing up, unexpectedly, anyday over the next year almost stirs up childlike giddiness! What a wonderful thing to look forward to, both the giving and receiving. How could you say no?!

So, how bout it? Who will be the first to sign up and "Pay it Forward"?