Be prepared ....

Don't talk with your mouth full !

Yes,  be prepared for a little rant and some bad pictures.  I am so aggravated with Windstream,  if I had any option at all,  they would lose my business right this moment.  For several weeks now,  my Internet connection has been so poor that uploading pictures has been a real exercise in frustration.  It has taken me at least 15 attempts to get any picture loaded without stripes of color running across them.  My usual inclination is to assume that I am doing something wrong.  After consulting with my computer genius stepson over the weekend,  I have discovered that,  once again,  Windstream does not quite deliver on what they promise.  I finally called to request help from them and was told that there is a "latency" in the lines in my part of the county and they are working on it.  The nice lady at Windstream said she had the same problem at one time and it took three months for them to get the lines repaired !  Ack !!  This might be one of the few times I wish I lived close enough to town for there to be a Starbucks with free wifi down the road.  Unfortunately,  the closest Starbucks is at least 25 miles away,  maybe more.  This post was written nearly a week ago and I've been trying to upload pictures since then.  I give up .... this is the best I can do right now.  I'm sorry for the way they look,  but it's this or nothing !  I'm just hoping my " latency " ( whatever that is ) is repaired soon.  Rant over ... for the time being.

The holiday celebrations are finally over.   I try to not schedule any family get-togethers too close to the actual day because I want my sons to be able to stay at home with their children and establish their own traditions.  So, our family gathering time was last Thursday.  I like to think that instead of procrastinating,  I was just prolonging the celebration.  ( That's my story and I'm sticking to it ! )

Other random goings on around here -

• All the sheep and alpacas are getting hay at feeding time now.  It's so funny to me that all I have to do is show up with hay once,  and from that day forward,  the sheep are gathered in that spot waiting for what they know is coming .... and woe be unto me,  if I don't show up at the appointed time.

• We've broken a record for rainfall in central Kentucky this year.  Unbelievably,  the grass is still somewhat green,  which is why I was able to put off feeding hay for so long.  Until yesterday,  that has meant that we have mud,  mud  and more mud,  so I'm happy for the change in the weather that made the ground freeze.  In fact,  I'd be even happier if it would stay frozen until spring.  These periods of unseasonably warm weather had me wondering if we were even going to have winter this year.

Decorations on the head courtesy of her breakfast partner,  Birdie.

• The chickens are even getting out to scratch around sunny days.  I usually keep them inside when the weather is unpleasant,  but like children ( and some adults ),  they tend to get cranky after a while,  so it's good to give everyone a little more space to stretch their wings ( so to speak ).

• We are still getting some food from our garden !  The chinese cabbage, kale and brussell sprouts are still edible .  Why have I never planted a fall garden before?

• I'm hoping to spend a little time in the studio this week.  My yarn came back from Fleury Sheep and Wool,  right before Christmas , and I'm anxious to start playing with it.  It turned out really, really nice.  It's a blend of our alpaca and sheep fleeces in a light worsted weight.  I've started a shawl,  so may have something to show before too long.