Friday, October 30, 2009
On the job
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
For real
Rita gave me the courage to tackle knitting gloves for the first time because of her pattern that appeared in the original "Homespun, Handknit". I love that little book....I'm on my third copy. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be available from Interweave anymore and Amazon has a new copy for $155 ! What's up with that? Until finding Rita's glove pattern, I didn't think I would ever even try to knit a pair; it just seemed impossible, but her clear, concise instructions made knitting gloves easy.
The picture at the beginning of this post is from the terrace at Snowbird Mountain Lodge and it is one of my favorite places in the whole world. We left Asheville right after my class and headed for this spot, which is on top of Snowbird Mountain right outside Robbinsville, North Carolina. The Lodge has an interesting history, but the best part about it is the oh so peaceful atmosphere. There are no televisions, no phones in the rooms, and the big gathering room/lobby has a fire going in the fireplace almost all of the time. The big room is filled with comfy chairs and squishy leather sofas and the bookcases lining the walls are filled with books you can borrow to read anytime you like. And then, there's the food. So, so, so good! This trip, for the first time, I managed to pace myself and didn't leave there vowing to never eat again! Mike spent the day on Sunday hiking in Joyce Kilmer woods, which is nearby. The above picture might give you an idea of how I spent my day. My justification was that I almost never have a day when I don't have to do barn chores, cook meals, clean and/or just generally work at all the tasks that need attention when you live on a farm. I did a little spinning in our room, took a nice, long bath (with no distractions or interruptions!) and then claimed a prime knitting spot on the sofa in front of the fireplace. I was so relaxed, I almost took a nap. (Those who know me could tell you this would be an earth shattering event.)
So, now we are back to our real world, with somewhat of a thud. Our corgi girl, Ivy, has hurt her back and can hardly get around and this morning we found one of the yearling ewes dead in the field. We don't know what happened to her. I heard the Pyrenees barking a lot last night from the gateway into the farthest field and this morning, I found them both lying beside the body, guarding her, I suppose, to keep the coyotes from coming in for a feast.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
To the mountain top
The only complaint I can muster about Rhinebeck is that I wasn't able to discover just what the heck was "Artichoke French" and the line for the chicken pot pies was so long (I'm talking hours!), that I never got a taste of one.
As much fun as Rhinebeck was, it is always so great to come home. There is nothing like that feeling of turning into the farm lane and being home, regardless of whether I've been gone days or just a few hours. I've got a to-do list going that will take me the rest of the week to accomplish (if I'm lucky and if I stay on task....which is oh so hard for me). We're having gorgeous weather right now, so I'm out to spend some time with my own fiber sources (sheep, alpacas, llama) and some quality time on the mower.
*That top picture is of a huge billboard on the route to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. So Cute!