Darn Spiders

My son, who is now 29, still screams like a girl when he encounters a spider.  For as long as I can remember, though, he would not let me "dispose" of the critter.  I had to take it outside.  Well, I've turned over a new leaf, and if a spider comes into my territory, it gets stepped on.  Unfortunately, the other night, one apparently crawled into my warm cozy bed with me and had a feast.  I have three bites, two of which are infected.  One bit is on the tip of my right pinkie and the red stripe runs to my wrist.

Soooo, I went to the doctor today.

This is one of her exam rooms.

Isn't it amazing?  I think my blood pressure always registers low when I am in this room.

Her other room is an African Savannah.  A high school student painted the rooms in 2003, I believe.  I think it was his senior project.

So anyhow, I'm on antibiotics and in alot of pain and just pooped out.  Even so, I did manage to get my carrots pickled, and I will write about that tomorrow.

A Funfilled Weekend

I had another wonderful weekend in Seattle with my Terry.  I took the bus down this time and it was uneventful.

I took this picture of an old shipwreck on my way home today on the train. 

Aren't these just amazing??

Last Week, Terry had noticed these mushrooms growing in the garden of his parking lot at work.  I got all excited and insisted on a bike ride there to collect them.

No, don't get excited.  I'm not going to eat them,

Look at this amazing color.

Here's all 4 types we collected.

I'm going to dye fiber with them!!!

Here are those big guys bubbling away in my crock pot.  Yes, this one is dedicated to dying fibers.

I'm going to get as much color out of these as I can, and then try some fiber in the pot tomorrow.

I didn't have time today because no sooner had I gotten home, the power went out!  It was out for 4 hours.  By the time it came back on, I was wearing about 5 layers of clothing and wrapped up in an alpaca blanket, napping in my glider.

Alas, I still had to deal with these.  Remember I just put all my canning gear away?  Sigh.  I just can't stand to see produce go to waste.  These are from my fields, grown by Growing Washington organic farmers.  There are three colors of beets buried under there also.

The carrots are going to be beautiful pickled.  I like the many colors they come in.

I fought the Lawn and the Lawn WON

It seems like not long ago I was fighting with lawn mowers.  I resolved that problem, partially, by hiring a guy to do my yard.  I continued to mow the fields that were not being used by Growing Washington.  Well, yesterday was a bright sunny day, and it looked as if I had a small window of opportunity in which to mow the lawn one last time before winter sets in.  We've already had frost at night.  Interesting aside here:  Last year this day it was 74 degrees!  So anyhow, I would have had my lawn guy come, but he was not available, and yadda yadda.  So I barely got started with the lawn when my John Deere broke down.  Sigh.  I crawled around on my hands and knees for awhile, trying to assess what was wrong, knowing that I know absolutely nothing about vehicles of any size or shape.  So there she sits.  Next week Terry will come and take a look at her.  I did get the job done with my old Lady Bug, but I swear she has no cutter blades left.

 I then decided to make another batch of homemade, canned spaghetti sauce.  I had made some a couple weeks ago, and since it turned out Fantastico, I wanted to make more.  I started by using canned tomatoes from last years crop.  Fresh herbs, Pasillo peppers, and it cooks for at least 5 hours.  I ended up with 16 pints.

Last weekend, I made Mushroom and Spinach Manicotti with my sauce for dinner.  Here is our breakfast the next morning.  An omelet with red peppers, mozarella cheese, and my awsome sauce.

Delicious.

So, the last 4 months, I've been really struggling with some "head" issues.  I had a CT scan, then an MRI, an appointment with a Neurologist, and today my eye Doc.  Seems in July I developed an extreme change in my double vision, and I've been miserable ever since.  When the doctor told me he had a fix, I started crying with relief.  I get my new glasses next week, and I can hardly wait.

Now I need to go clean up my kitchen and put all my canning supplies away.  That's it for the year, so she says for the 5th time.  We shall see.

My Latest Project

This is my latest project, Code name:  Terry.  What a guy.  Building a relationship is alot of work, but so much fun.  I'm not getting much of anything else done.

Terry is a true romantic.  He sings to me, and we dance in the kitchen.

Girls:  Need I say more?

On the farm scene, all of the alpacas are gone, and my purpose for being there is a real puzzle.  Especially with a long, cold, winter upon us.  I guess I'll be spending alot of time in Seattle.  My son announced on Wednesday that they are having a boy, so the sewing begins!!!  A grandchild in the future is so exciting.

Last night I cooked manicotti, using my home canned spaghetti sauce.  ZOWEEEE!  Was it ever good.  I should really make this stuff to sell.  So, I'm always thinking.  I'm sure there will be some big endeavor just around the corner.  For now, I'm dividing my time between Seattle and Nooksack and having quite a good time of it.

Lost River Alpacas

I made my last post on my Lost River Alpacas Blog today.  You can view it at:
http://lostriveralpacas.blogspot.com/2011/10/end-of-era.html

A Beautiful Day for a Train Ride

Tuesday was a beautiful day for a train ride.  I had spent 5 days with Terry in Seattle and was returning home by train.  The train runs along the coast of Puget Sound and through some of the most beautiful farmland.  I sat with some people from California and acted as their tour guide until I fell asleep.

My time in Seattle included a trip to the Pike Place Market, brunch with my kids, and a walk through the Freemont Market.

Terry's house is located right near the Green River Trail that runs for miles along the river, providing beautiful walking and bicycling.  Terry bought me this bike to keep at his place so I would be able to use it there.  I rode an average of 6 miles each day that he was at work.

This is the seat.  The peace sign is also on the chain guard.  In honor of the days of the flower children, I named the bike Buffy; for Buffy St. Marie, not Buffy the Vampire.

I mentioned in my last post that I would be dressing in period costume for the Nooksack Centennial next year. Above is the pattern I found for a walking skirt, the equivalent to our blue jeans today.  Can you just imagine dragging all this fabric around about your legs every day?

This is the pattern for the apron, or as they called it, the dress protector.  In all my research of attire in the early 1900's, I found the women wore mainly black and white.  Their only color was in their aprons.  I had a difficult time picking a fabric for the apron.  We have the Civil War collection, which is too early, and then the vintage 30's reproductions.  What came in between?

I finally found this.  The picture doesn't do the colors justice, but it is a nice green with yellow flowers.  I'm looking forward to making this up, along with the skirt.  Then I will just wear a lace blouse to finish off the look of a farmwife in 1912, ready to do her daily chores.

Nooksack Centennial Celebration

My little City of Nooksack will be celebrating it's 100th Birthday next year.  The City Council decided to have a big celebration for the event, and I was asked to chair it.  Now, I tend to take on too much, and have signs all over my house that say 'NO' as a reminder to me to slow down and think about what has been presented to me.  Well, this one was too much, and I knew I could be a positive note to this endeavor, so I accepted.

I have purchased patterns for clothing from the 1912's, and I will be dressed in period costume for the event.  I will be making a walking skirt, and a dress cover.  I will share those items in a later blog.

The celebration will be a huge party in the park on September 8 and 9th, 2012.  I'm in the process of building a Facebook account.  I will tell you more later.

Last week was a wonderful day at the Market.  I'm not there today because I have a cold and am dragging my booty big time.  Sigh.

I changed the layout of my booth, and it was amazingly effective.  Of course, you never know from one Saturday to the next what makes people buy from you.  There is my little spinner in the foreground.  By spinning there, I attract alot of attention.

It was actually a cool day, and I sold a few more hats to other vendors.

This woman bought her hat in the Spring, and suggested the vendor behind her get a hat since she was in the wind and was freezing.

It's so gratifying to walk around the market and see so many people wearing my hats!!

Isn't she just adorable in this hat?  Gotta make more.

Do you just love these Chinese Lanterns?

These are the masseuses that set up shop next to me each week.  They are such fun, and we've become great friends.

These Buskers provided some very unique and terrific music for us all to enjoy.

Now that I'm writing all of this, I'm so sorry I am not there today.  But, I don't even have enough energy to load the car, so let's get real.

I think it's time for a nap.