It's been a long year...

at least it seems that way. It was good in many ways, we learned a couple of very hard lessons, and next year will be better.
One of the best things? My sunflower fence experiment. I planted a row of sunflowers at the outside edge of that strip between the sidewalk and the street, with two rows of beans on the inside and ran a soaker hose between the bean rows.
There was enough shade from the sunflowers that toads moved in and puttered around the beans....
Next year I will plant sunflowers the whole length of the yard on the east side. It also keeps people from noticing when I haven't mowed...
Eventually, the whole east yard will be garden, as I don't forsee grocery bills going down soon.

Windflowers

They curved a bit more than I expected when I was ruffling them, but I decided that I like them that way...

Just in case

you thought I forgot about beads....

Snow deferred

We were supposed to get a storm last night, but it appears to have slipped away to the south a bit and missed us, though there is another front moving in. The storm advisory has been changed to tonight, and I'm kind of hoping it holds off til tomorrow, since hubby has to be out in it all day Saturday...maybe it will be cleaned up a bit by then.

We're making most of our presents this year, for several reasons. Finances is obviously one, but when I was a child we made presents. It wasn't til I grew up and moved to the city that I fell into the glittering trap of consumerism, and in the process, forgot how much I loved to embroider.....something my grandma taught me at eight. I still have a book that she bought me for Christmas one year.
I had planned to make the Punkin some clothes for her doll, and had the pattern hidden, I thought, under some items that were already cut out. Well, of course she found it, and being very analytical, went and measured her doll. The pattern is for 18" dolls, and here comes Con, "Mom, this will fit my doll, why didn't you show me this?" So we are making doll clothes together, and that's just fine.

Happy dance

The gas bill came today....you may wonder why in the world I would be happy about that? Well, we've been working on getting that bill down---keeping the thermostat on 55 at night, 60 during the day, shutting off the living room, and no dryer usage.
We had a cold spell, it was 24 below one morning when we got up, though it didn't stay that cold the whole time.
Anyway, the gas bill was almost half what it was last winter when we had comparable cold snaps!

Still no computer....

Still no computer....this is taking surprisingly long. Oh, well, it is what it is.

Funny thing last night--we stopped at the grocery store, Hubby dropped Punkin and I off, then went to get gas. As he was starting to drive away I remembered I needed him to come in when he returned, so I turned and rapped on the window. Punkin saw me doing this and decided to help by screaming "Daddy, no, don't leave" at the top of her lungs, which startled a lady just walking into the store into taking out her phone and dialing 911---thankfully she hadn't completed the call when she saw that we were not being abandoned, which is what she thought was happening.
I thanked her, even though I wasn't quite sure if I was grateful for her quick response or irritated that she thought she needed to make the call in the first place......

True words

"Picky eating is a learned behavior for most people (there are some adults and children with legitimate sensory issues that are different than ordinary pickiness) - while everyone has a few food preferences, real pickiness is a product of affluence, and if you don't tolerate it, will go away."

I found this on Sharon Astyk's new blog, and truer words were never spoken.
Further deponent sayeth not....

Still here

still haven't gotten the computer fixed---thank goodness for DD's little puter!
And the library, and the church....lol.

It's been cold, 12 below this morning, and we're trying not to owe the gas company too much, so things are a bit chilly around here. We've made little coats for the littles and Eddie has lots of fur, so he does ok. It's funny to look at the chair in the sun, two littles in a pile, a cat on the arm, and another cat prowling. He's like to be in the pile, but he's never gotten along with anyone, so they all ignore him and let him play puma all alone.

We are making presents for Christmas, so the creativity machine is revved up, and the mess is tremendous. Ten year olds are astonishing!

Laundry

I just ran out of liquid laundry soap, so I pulled out the bars of Zote that I bought last summer....I've never used the bar type laundry soap before, so I have some learning to do. I like the smell, it's lemony and nice, but not overpowering. There was an extra cheese grater in the drawer, so I pressed it into service as a soap grater instead----grated in about a tablespoonfull to start. It didn't make suds, but the smell stayed through the rinse, and the clothes appeared to be clean, so I'll settle for that, maybe cut back a teeny bit.
We had a front coming through, so I was able to get four loads done and hung---the wind made short work of the drying today. I love not using the dryer, every load I hang is a load I don't have to pay Kinder Morgan for!

Still using a borrowed computer, but I think I spent too much time on the computer anyway!

Thanksgiving eve dinner

As best I can remember:
Thirty pounds of potatoes
Ten pounds of sweet potatoes
Twelve pounds of corn
Five dozen rolls baked from scratch
Four batches of cornbread, made into dressing
One large ham
Three turkey breasts and one whole turkey
Eight pumpkin pies
A quadruple batch of apple cake
Somewhere around a gallon of gravy
homemade corn tortillas
and Luis's hot sauce!

This was Wednesday; yesterday I only sliced some venison and fried it with potatoes, onions & apples.....no one complained, either. Perhaps they didn't dare!

If anyone

is looking for me, I'm without a computer (other than a few minutes here and there on borrowed time), probably til early next week.
I've been checking for messages on FB and if I have time, Etsy, but FB is the best way to reach me.

I laughed, sort of...

Adapting in place had a very pointed post about how we regard those we view to be on public assistance...I have to admit it hit a little closer to home than I would have liked.

Lightening the load

When we moved here from Anchorage I had a fairly large book collection---somewhere around 1000 pounds, much to my husbands dismay. I did weed out a few before we left, but I kept the bulk of them and we packed them up and loaded them in the trailer.
I've sold a few dozen on Amazon in the year since, but the bookshelves are still overflowing.

Life has changed for me, a lot, since I first decided I wanted to be a textile artist/costumer, and frankly, I wonder now what I was thinking then. These books have always been a part of me, something I would never part with. A couple of days ago it occurred to me that if I got rid of some of them I wouldn't have to carry them with me if we moved again. It was a strange thought and oddly attractive. I have four boxes ready to take to friends tomorrow, and I feel lighter already.

48

Yesterday was my 48th birthday and Punkin made me a wonderful card; it featured a cake with 48 carefully drawn candles! I am very blessed!

Today was the funeral. It was very well done and very moving---Punkin had a really hard time, though. We're not doing schoolwork today, she can't concentrate.

We made the annual trip to Sam's yesterday for flour and things of that nature. After we were done, and ready to head home, the troops were hungry. Rather than wait the hour to get home, we went to a buffet style restaurant that was on the way out of town. Thirty dollars later, we realized that the amount we had spent on one meal would have purchased somewhere around twenty pounds each of beans and rice, enough for about three months, the way we eat. For that we got canned corn, frozen chicken and a variety of similar items, equally pregurgitated and extruded.
Time to start a pot of black beans soaking!

Empty

is how I feel, no great extremes, just empty. Monday morning brought the news that Cindi was gone, and I was dreading the question from Punkin, "how is Miss Cindi doing?" At ten she's old enough for this, people don't just vanish, but the look on her face tore at my heart.
If only we saw in the Spirit more clearly, this sorrow would not be so great---some people did see and feel her entrance to heaven. Her husband saw the light as she went, Pastor felt it as a wave of brilliance that made him sweat and Irene saw it the night before as we knelt beside her bed.
Then Monday night we heard that the doctors could not find a heart beat for Nicole's baby and we wept again.

It's spring!

no, wait....it's just undecided.
Talked to a friend back home, and Anchorage hasn't had snow yet. Heh. How did we get so lucky?

I finally got around to making a draft stopper for the front door---took an old pair of Chuck's jeans and cut them right up the middle, sewed across the bottom, up the middle, and stuffed both sides with packing peanuts. Then I sewed across the top and slid it under the door and closed it....works very well. I don't know if I read this somewhere or not, so if credit is due, my apologies.

Sauce

Working on barbeque sauce....I think it's going to be really yummy once it mellows out a bit.
I used a five gallon bucket full of house-ripened tomatoes, they aren't as juicy as the vine ripened ones and I thought they'd be ideal.
Dipped in boiling water, peeled, & squeezed, then pressed into a sieve and drained.
Cut up three onions & chopped.
Simmered tomatoes, onions, 2 TB celery powder, 1 TB paprika(smoked), 1 TB chile pepper, ground, 1 TB mustard powder, 1 TB ground black pepper, 1 cup brown sugar and 1&1/2 cup white vinegar.
Simmered for about 45 minutes, then I ran it all through the blender because the onions stayed tough for some reason, then through a food mill to get the seeds out.

Hubby came home and added 4 cups of applesauce and 2 TB liquid smoke.

Today I put it in the oven in an open roasting pan at 250 for four hours, stirring occasionally....now it's ready to can.

Next time I might add cloves or a cinnamon stick, something "warmer".

Friday

The snow is gone and it feels like fall again....the last couple of days were odd--it smelled like spring, that deep, cold, wet smell you get at breakup. Then the breeze would be just so, and the scent of the neighbor's cottonwood would intrude and it would be fall yet again.

The flock of robins appears to be gone, the clock must have turned over and they left. We had probably fifty robins in the back yard, a flicker, a dozen jays, a cranky woodpecker, and assorted sparrows and finches. It was an uproar, to be sure!

Since we are planting garlic, we needed some mulch---so yesterday we got a pickup load of straw in bales. Con immediately decided she wanted a straw-bale house and commandeered the mulch for a house. I think we have a couple more warm days before I have to get the garlic in the ground, so she can play house for a bit..

Crossed a line

I crossed a line today.
Something like 17 years ago (am I that old?) I worked at an auto dealership in Anchorage. Our finance manager, who had one of the four coveted upstairs offices, was a fairly young guy, almost seemed too young for the lofty position he held. Over time I noticed that you could tell what day of the week it was by his clothes, and that if he wore a suit jacket, it was the same one. Either that or he had a closet full of the identical jacket, one for each day of the week. One day, the elbow tore, and I pointed it out to him. Next day, he was wearing the same jacket, with suede elbow patches. He commented that it had a lot of life left, so he had his wife fix it for him. I really thought he was a bit odd, since he obviously made quite a bit of money, why wear patched clothing? One day I had some paperwork for him--- as I came into his office his shoes were off, and I noticed that the insides of his shoes were lined with silver duct tape. That was really a bit much for me, and he went from thrifty to just plain weird in my estimation.
Fast forward 17 years. I had a pair of deck shoes that were perfectly comfortable, and were set to go at least a couple of years. Til the puppy ripped the insoles out and exposed the plastic honeycomb that composed the heels, that is. He also shredded the insoles and ate part of them, which he then threw back up. There was nothing to put back together, had I wanted to try. This morning I was looking for shoes and found them, remembered Todd, and grabbed the duct tape. You know, it's not half bad after all...I might even add a couple more layers for padding.

Almost snow

The forecast is calling for snow later on this week.....which means a frantic scramble to get those last minute things done in the yard, putting away hoses, pulling the last weeds....

Indoors, the beets are finally conquered---I'm quite sure they were reproducing in my bathtub at night when I was sleeping. No time to rest, though, the six boxes of apples, mostly windfalls, are waiting to become applesauce. I just washed all my bowls and pots and picked up the layer of newspaper on the floor---now to do it all again! And there are potatoes to wash, before it gets too cold.
During the beet canning the counter was covered, so we ate beets for dinner, with butter and salt and a whole loaf of 5 minute bread with cornmeal...we liked the texture and flavor, so I'll add that to the variations. I made the small batch, and substituted a cup of cornmeal for one cup of flour, then sprinkled the top of the loaf with salt-free seasoning before it went in the oven.

I'm debating harvesting the rest of the sunflower heads from the sunflower fence....the jays are enjoying them at the moment.

Crumbs

Now that the last bead show of the year is done, the muse is creeping cautiously out of hiding....

Bean soup

In all our uproar of late the garden has been sadly abandoned....yesterday Punkin and I went out and picked the row of yellow wax beans that had dried on the vine. We carefully shelled them and noticed the markings on them like a painted pony. We simmered them for an hour and added a handful of tiny potatoes and a bottle onion from the garden, and a half a jar of last years canned carrots. After a bit of seasoning, it was pronounced the best soup ever...

After reading todays post on Full Freezer, it struck me that this was more than just letting a child experiment----it's teaching her to feed her family properly. The things we took for granted are all but lost---heaven only knows how much I didn't learn because it wasn't interesting at the time----I only wish I could go back and ask some questions now.

I read Judy's post and was vividly reminded of the mother and child in the frozen aisle at Safeway, worrying about whether or not they had frozen pancakes at home....

Where to start?

How do I start posting again? I had deliberately paused, so that I wouldn't be scattering my problems all over the web, but starting back up is very daunting.
Not as much of anything as I wanted got done this summer, it was as close to a waste as I can imagine, and I would love a re-do. Especially with slightly better spring weather!!

Chuck & Con are in Denver at the Bead Ren, they'll be coming home tonight, and I am supposed to be making beads today so we'll have something to take back down there tomorrow.

At the moment, I'm just enjoying the quiet morning.

mi vida loca

Heard an alarm bark yesterday (who knows the neighbor's dog's barking well enough to know an alarm bark--I need to get out more!), looked out and saw a deer puttering around in our yard. It took five of us to corner and grab the little rascal! Shelley dropped him back over the fence into her yard and he bounded away with his tail in the indignent position....fluffed like a white flag.




Summer has crested and is racing downhill to winter....and I must pull myself up and preserve what I can for cold winter days. I made raspberry jam last week, and was hard put not to open a jar and eat it with a spoon, after tasting the last little bit that didn't fit in the jars.

All in all, I did not do or grow as much as I wanted to this summer, hopefully the lessons learned will last.
We're off to the Denver Bead Ren next week, with loads of discs, and hopefully leaves, Chuck has had more hours at the PO, so fewer leaves are happening...

New discs

If I could

If I could have only one rule in my house, it would be: NO COMPLAINING.
Nada, no whining, griping, NOTHING.....nuff said!



That said, it is an absolutely beautiful day.....sunflowers, blue sky, not too hot...the trunk show sent out, all I have to do is figure out what I have to do today!

I never thought

I would ever come to care for this country......for starters it just wasn't home, and not a week went by that I wouldn't remind God of this. Sure the sunflowers grow here, and tomatoes, but it's hot and dry, and there aren't any trees to speak of, and certainly no mountains. What they might call a mountain wasn't even a respectable hill back home. And there was no ocean. And, and, and....on and on, for seven years.
til one day I realized I wouldn't go back "home", even if I could...that this place, with it's wide open horizons and sunflowers had become home, and I was grateful for my little piece of it.
Of course, knowing that God does have a sense of humor, I may be moving again soon....

New pics

Saturday

We took Punkin to the fair. We had been there on Friday, but a thunderstorm rolled through, with a lot of lightning, so we didn't let her buy the armband and do the rides. She was soaking wet from the alligator pool, so she didn't mind as much as she might have.
Saturday we went earlier, and it seemed like everyone we knew was there. Punkin galloped from ride to ride and from friends to friends, having a wonderful time. After a couple hours of this, it clouded up, and while she was on the Spider, it began to pour. She did several more enclosed rides, but decided to have one last go at the spinning bears on the way out. We stood there, in the rain, while she spun with a bunch of slightly smaller girls, chattering and laughing. I glanced over at the mother standing beside me and realized she'd been terribly burned at some point. Her calves were scarred from skin grafts, and her face was scarred badly as well. Curiousity welled up, but I repressed it, and we stood there chatting as the children spun wildly and laughed. As she collected her daughter, our eyes met, and I smiled.....then she smiled back and was gone. I stood there, blessing the rain that hid my tears, and hugged the Punkin tight.

Pizza

Accidental pizza dough from the fridge----sauce, cheese, peppers, a bit of leftover burger with Italian seasoning, chopped zucchini and onions sauted with lots of garlic, fresh tomato on top.....sorry, no leftovers!

This was just a downright weird day, on several levels. It would take a book to tell, so I won't....tomorrow I will lock the door and make beads....

Garlic

I ordered garlic yesterday......I've wanted to try it for a few years but never remembered to order it in the fall. I'm trying four different kinds, Balarus, Siberian, Oregon Blue and Chesnok Red. We saw some that appeared to be Oregon Blue at the fair, but it wasn't identified....just labeled as garlic. I figure I have just enough time to dig the side yard garden deeper so I can get this in the ground in September......no more garlic from China!!

Wednesday

Not so much today.....took an allergy pill last night and have a hangover today..

The air is cooler in the mornings already, little air currents creep through the open window and curl around my face, the puppy scratches his way under the sheet and curls up in my armpit with a sigh.

Maggie

reminded me of zucchini bread and since I planted ten+ squash plants this spring---it's a long story, the first planting didn't come up, so I replanted. Then they began popping up in spots I KNOW I didn't plant them, which leads me to believe that SOMETHING dug around in my garden and scattered things....anyway, now I have a lot of zucchini, with more on the way.
So. I had forgotten zucchini bread until Maggie suggested it, and amazingly enough, Mennonite Girls had a yummy looking recipe. I did change it just a bit, (Chuck would commit me if I didn't...) I added a teaspoon of Vindaloo curry along with the cinnamon. I'll let you know...

Freaky

Watching the inflatable shark chasing the whale around on the neighbor's pool with every stray windgust that happens along.

It feels like summer broke---the air has a cleaner smell and feel today. Time to think about firewood and moose hunting. Oh, wait, no moose here....

Ok, it's Friday

Tried a new farmers market yesterday---it was pleasant enough and we reduced the red ant population a bit. There was a large colony right in the middle of the sidewalk, so every time we walked through there were a few less ants. Then we watched them haul the dead away from the nest, where the little black ants promptly carried the carcasses away.

Philosophic observation of the day: Don't try to build a house on the highway...

I absolutely love it..

when adults who have no relation to my family whatsoever urge my child to do something which will require active participation on my part without first consulting me.

Zucchini

We're starting to eat zucchini----yum! Had it in tomato sauce over pasta, fried and breaded and chopped with eggs and peppers...
The corn is tasseling, so sweet corn soon.

I keep thinking I'll stop making beads and just concentrate on gardening, but it hasn't happened yet. Either I get a great idea or I have a sudden pressing need for the green that doesn't grow on trees...either way, the torch isn't as idle this summer as I wanted it to be!

Bill & Marsha Burns this morning

THE TRUMPET by Bill Burns -- July 20, 2009:
The enemy is trying to re-establish generational curses by sending familiar spirits to harass and torment. This is in conjunction with the spirit of death that has been released over the nation through the focus and media attention given to the deaths of many celebrities in recent weeks. We're in for a fight against death and destruction on many levels.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns -- July 20, 2009:
I had a vision of thousands of warriors beating drums in a perfect and distinct rhythm. It reminded me of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics and the Chinese drummers. And, I heard the Lord say, "Listen to the rhythm of the warrior. His heart beats like the pounding of the drum with mighty courage and strength. You are My warriors. Get ready for battle, for I am taking you to a new level of intensity and effectiveness in warfare. Prepare your hearts, and let Me lead you to victory."
Jeremiah 51:20 "You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms.

Something shifted

in my brain....at least as far as cooking goes. I've gone from being quite structured and downright OCD about getting every last thing right to almost the complete opposite. I've been noticing it when someone asks how I cooked something or what recipe I used----I'll often have to stop and think, and my reply is usually something like "until it looks/tastes right, and cook til it's done". Perhaps it's middle age creeping up on me? I'd call it "dontcareitus", except that everything turns out fine...

Fresh friday

Another sunny day in the great wide open......there was a faint haze rising off the corn fields and that slight burnt smell that lets you know it's going to be a hot day. We watered the garden well last night, hoping to fend off the mid-day droops.

The orange fleshed purple smudge tomatoes are blooming, and I've noticed that they have darker stems, much like red sunflowers, you can tell from the stems if they'll yield red blossoms.

Dinner soon

I planted squash in a few different places this year, mostly in the strip between sidewalk and street, just so I could save the better ground for tomatoes. Which aren't doing as well as I'd hoped this year....
I also put them out by the street behind the garage, thinking that if someone needed one it would be easier, and I certainly won't miss a few!

New discs

Too funny

Whew

Time to sit down and rest.....three weeks of what turned out to be strep for all of us, a round of antibiotics for me (it got in the glands in my neck), a trunk show packed and mailed---thanks to everyone who bought those focal discs, that helped with the shipping!

The corn across the way is waist high, my green beans are in full bloom, and the summer squash are just starting to bloom....
We've been eating chard and mustard greens for a couple of weeks now, too. I was somehow expecting the mustard greens to be as big as chard, but they aren't, and they are beginning to put on a flower stalk, so I assume they're not going to get much larger. They taste fine, though!

We bought Con a new bed at a yard sale, still in the plastic. We did notice that her dresser need to be moved over to make room, but it didn't dawn on us until we tried to put sheets on it that something wasn't right. The guy told Chuck it was a regular/full, but it's actually a queen. Con is beside herself, she feels very grown up. We're wondering how many toys and books she can fit on this one!


Time to take a ten minute nap, than off to pick strawberries....the u-pick farm has a deal where you pick forty pounds and keep ten....it's a good deal, since otherwise the strawberries are 2.50 a pound.

Of sky and clouds

Talavera

A trail of crumbs

Thursday night Paul Cox was in town, and we went on a whim.....he had some surprising insights, and some things fell into place for me.

Time to buy a new copy of ANOF----gave mine to the village clerk. hopefully a seed planted.

More storms, so I still haven't had to water. I'm pretty disgusted though, we had suspected a water leak, and it's confirmed. We used more than 20,000 gallons last month, unless the first reading is incorrect. I'll have the village double check the reading on Monday. After all the care I've taken not to waste water on the garden, I really thought that we'd get by with just the base rate for water....drat and double drat...time to make some beads and time to do some digging!

Sarah

Stepping down?
Wow, just wow......
But, on the other hand, could be wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove....time will tell.

Brings back memories

Clicked over to ADN yesterday afternoon just in time to see the story about a Cardinal circling Merrill with inop landing gear. Thankfully the instuctor was on board, could have been a mess if it was a low-time student. As it is, she'll have this under her belt, and be much better prepared if she ever has a similar problem on her own. Money can't buy that kind of experience!

I have decided...

that facebook is bad news for blogging. At least for me. I get tied up in it and feel as if I've done something when I haven't.

It's been an interesting week, hot and dry until yesterday. A thunderstorm rolled through and watered the garden wonderfully. The Con is taking swim lessons in the mornings, and having a blast---I am not quite so impressed after being bitten repeatedly by fire ants while watching her at the pool. I had one crawl down my waistband and bite his way down the back of my leg....yow! Time to buy some grits to sprinkle around...

The green beans should be blooming in a week, maybe sooner, they are covered with buds. They're doing better now that we've gotten more mulch in betwen the rows to hold the water in a bit.

Jars

The other day as I was sorting the non-canning jars out of the box of "canning" jars that hubby brought home,it occurred to me that these junk jars are almost a thing of the past. Everything is packed in plastic these day, peanut butter, mayo, etc...
So last time I was near the canning supplies I picked up a box of plastic screw-on lids for the narrow mouth jars---that way I can keep and use all these glass jars for leftovers, seeds, dried fruit, etc.

Friday

Woke up to wild screeching from next door----I thought they had an injured hawk or eagle from the sounds of it...then I looked out and saw three baby raccoons chasing Henrietta, the elderly, grumpy white duck around the yard. There was one baby left in the cage, and he was the one making all the noise. He didn't appreciate being locked away when everyone else was busy having a good time!
Tried to get a picture, but by the time I got the camera, Henrietta had made good her escape and the kits were chasing the dogs instead.

No O2

Whatever shall I do?
Maybe I'll sew a surprise for the Con....

Weeds

I finally cut back the lamb's quarters, they were getting all fly-spotted and nasty looking----hopefully they'll regrow and we can continue having them with dinner. We used to can them when I was young, also the narrow-leaf plaintain, which we knew as goosetongue.

We've started eating the purslane that grows so abundantly in the garden.....just wish we could find a use for puncture weed and thistles!

Wednesday

It feels very strange without the Con around.....no movies playing, no thundering feet....

Looks like another hot day today. The two black dogs are lying the sun in various states of droopitation, while Cocoa is in the shade. Smart Cocoa.

I'm making bread and mailing beads today, maybe going to the nursery later to surprise Con with flowers when she gets home.

Tuesday

Rain again last night.....it's become an assumption that God is taking care of watering my green beans!! I think I've watered them three times, and they are on their third set of leaves. I could get used to this! This area has been under a drought ever since we came, so I have no idea what it looks like with water....

A big thanks to everyone who bought something from the CCF sale! I'm working overtime to get those pieces out the door, as well as the normal orders. Connie is away, so I'll have a bit more time to spend at the torch!
All three dogs slept in our room last night, then when the thundestorms started rolling through, Cocoa got upset. Peanut thought she wanted to play, so everyone was awake!

And, a shout out to Stan the Raku Man----the book came yesterday, and I think you bought me a new copy...sure seems like I had marked up and dog-eared the one I lent you at the show..

Ears

CCF

Which stands for Con's camp fund...the ruined tire yesterday put a bit of a crimp in the camp funds, so I dug out some Amber Rose and odd lot Aurae, and made some really pretty discs. Then I was having fun, so I made some more in other combos.

Discs

Beads

Like cats and dogs.....

Silver

I just realized I haven't done any of my little sets with silver for quite a while....guess I got a little burned out on them.
But, I discovered I have a 4 oz roll of silver wire to use up, so, I think I'll bring them back for a bit...maybe do a couple of new sets instead of the same old.

Beads

Oh, deer

Meet Rodger and Triton. Rodger is the big guy, Triton is the tiny one---all of four pounds at the moment. Both orphans that my neighbor is raising til they can go to a refuge. (She's a licensed wildlife rehab facility, so don't call PETA...)

Triton still has the freeze instinct, and can hide in two inches of grass!
He's also a tough little dude, and will fluff his fur and stamp his hoof at the cat.

New beads coming....

Probably tomorrow, on Etsy: just a quick heads up.
I had several emails about "Seeds" and "Aria", so I've been working along those lines and I think I'll have a nice listing tomorrow.

Grackels

There was a great kerfuffle out front, it sounded like the neighbor's dastardly cat had a baby grackel and was killing it slowly......turned out to be worm training. The adult was hopping slowly around the yard, pecking at bugs and worms, followed by three cawing babies with open mouths.
They were not particularly interested in learning how to catch their own, only in having Mom feed them, and quickly.

Crumbs

The book "A Nation of Farmers", by Sharon Astyk speaks of people being hungry because they don't know how to cook. This seemed a little outlandish to me, but I've been thinking about it, and watching in the grocery store. This week I heard someone ask her shopping partner if they were out of frozen pancakes, just as I would inquire how much bread was left.
I think I'm going to spend some time in the frozen food aisle, simply observing.

This led me to wonder how many steps it takes before we really do forget these things, and how far we must go to get them back. For instance, I grew up with homemade bread. Then we started going to the store in town more often, and store bread replaced homemade, especially during fishing season when we were all busy. Somehow we never went back to homemade in the winters, and then it was a thing of the past altogether. Canning our own food went the same way, and pretty soon we were living like white men in the middle of the woods......ie: living a lifestyle we couldn't afford...
Now, thirty five years later, I'm counting the steps, and looking for the shortcut back---I think it's a shorter road home.

Weather

Oh,yeah?