Those of you who know me and my family, know that my oldest son's wife, Melanie, had a brain aneurysm almost four years ago. It was a very scary time for all of us who love her, but she made a miraculous, full recovery. Just a week or so ago, the unheard of happened and she had another aneurysm. Thankfully, this one was caught before there had been any bleeding. She had surgery last week and is now home and on the road to recovery again. Because this one was caught early, it would appear that recovery won't be such a long, arduous process this time. So, to all of you who have been sending good wishes this way, please know how very much they are appreciated.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Hopes Dashed
Friday, February 19, 2010
February Friday farm scenes
The weekend. How is it possible that it's here again so soon? Nothing big planned for this weekend, but that's the way I like it. Hope your weekend is the way you like it, too.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Knitting Olympics
That first picture has no particular relevance to this post, except to show that I'm apparently living on the frozen tundra now. I know many others have much, much more snow and I shouldn't be complaining when it's so pretty, but this is the sixth (that's right 6th) week that no progress has been made on the construction my studio! I'm trying to be patience. I know spring will eventually happen, but right now it's a little discouraging.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sweet Hannah
I can't believe I'm having to write another one of these posts. A few days ago I found that our oldest Great Pyrenees, Hannah, had died during the night, apparently in her sleep. She had not been acting sick, had been her usual sweet self and it was totally unexpected. We are so sad. She was one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known. Given the choice, she would have hung out with us all the time, but seemed to know she had to make an effort to guard the sheep. She was especially wonderful with the newborn lambs and I'll miss her even more when lambing starts this year.
Living on a farm and keeping livestock makes one extremely aware of the cycle of life and death. We all know it is a fact, but most of us don't experience death in a personal way very often. Because animals usually have a much shorter life span than humans, the whole process is sped up and, as their caretakers, we witness birth and death often. As so often happens here on the farm, within a few days of each other, we had the joyous birth of a much anticipated baby llama and the very sad and unexpected death of a cherished member of our farm family. It does seem to help the grieving process to have a new life to concentrate on or be distracted with, however you choose to look at it.
So now we've come to the place where we can think about finding another guardian for our animals. Holly has been especially diligent lately, spending nearly all her time staying very close to the sheep. Most mornings I find her stretched out sleeping among the pregnant ewes. She seems to know it is all her responsibility right now. When the time comes, she will serve as a mentor for the new dog, the same way Hannah did for her when she first came to live with us. I have been putting out the word that we are looking for another dog and we have a lead on one that we will go to meet this weekend. I feel strongly that the right dog will make herself (or himself) known to us when the time is right.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Crash landing
I went to Richmond last Thursday night to babysit for Parker (one year old grandson) and, as luck would have it, left my camera there. I'm lost without it! Since I started blogging, I never go anywhere without it, even here on the farm. The weather is once again causing road conditions to be unpleasant, so it may be later in the week before I can retrieve it. Meanwhile, I guess I will be searching through my stored pictures for some things I haven't posted before.
We have a another winter storm warning for this evening. It snowed several inches last night and is now drizzling rain, so we are really mushed up. When all this freezes tonight it will be even more difficult to get off the farm. My plan is to take care of the animals, but otherwise stay by the fire and get some knitting and spinning done. Might as well make the best of it!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Danger zone!
While Mike was gone this past weekend, I decided I would tackle the marshmallow exercise. First, I made a batch using a recipe from Martha Stewart Living. I think I made a mistake in the size pan I poured the mix into because it spread out in a thin and very sticky layer. The taste was good and I may try it again now that I've figured out a few things. The best recipe I found was one from this site. It's the egg whites that made the difference. The batch from the Smitten Kitchen recipe was light and fluffy and dee-lish!! I did pour the mixture into a smaller pan (lined with parchment paper and dusted with confectioner's sugar). I let it set up in the refrigerator overnight (except for that tiny little bit I had to taste). I dusted the top with more confectioner's sugar and then after a bit of trial and error, used my kitchen shears to cut it into neat little squares----just like real marshmallows!! I have a friend who is probably reading this and saying to herself, "Good grief, Dianne has really lost it now. Why would anyone make marshmallows from scratch?" I guess my answer would be because I can and because they are really, really, really good.
So, if you're feeling like a little kitchen adventure, these two recipes would be something fun to try for the weekend. Believe me, they are worth the effort.
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