I just want to knit.......

I love that little phase at the top of Susan Anderson's blog. Yesterday during our Wednesday knitting group, we all said it at least once in the course of the afternoon's conversation. It's so true. All of us admitted to wanting to abandon all the "have-to" things on our to-do lists and just sit somewhere and knit. And we all look forward to this knitting group now, as not just a social time, but one in which we can knit (guilt-free) the whole time without anyone needing something from us or feeling as though we should get up and get some work done! I think about it when I wake up in the morning....when can I squeeze in some knitting time? All day long, I am thinking about when I can take some time to knit a few rows. One of us is going on a six hour road trip soon and she can't wait to get in the car, so she can knit the whole time. And the rest of us are so envious! What is it that makes it so appealing? For me, I think, a lot of the satisfaction comes from the creative process. But that said, on a daily basis, it is the meditative aspect that appeals to me most. My husband says he thinks I have become a wee bit obsessive about knitting (okay, he didn't say "wee bit"---just the obsessive part). My answer is that there are so many worse things to be obsessive about, he should be happy I've settled on knitting!

When I was teaching knitting, primarily the beginning sock class, as the students were struggling along with that first little sock, I would tell them that very soon they would enjoy knitting socks so much they would be carrying sock knitting in the car and hoping to get as many red lights as possible, just so they could knit a few stitches while they waited for it to turn green! And I loved it when they would return some time later and admit that they now had stoplight knitting in their cars. Just think how much more patient we would all be with each other, if we only had a little stoplight knitting to help us!

Anyway, that little hat above was my most recent stoplight knitting. It's a prototype for a simple hat kit with some bulky yarn I've been spinning and dyeing. I'm having fun coming up with plenty of bright colors and a super easy pattern for some instant gratification knitting. So, do you have stoplight knitting?

If three's a crowd, what's this?

This is some kind of peafowl pile-up! Last night I went to the barn around 10 pm, to make sure the door to the chicken pen had been fastened and this is what I saw. Of course, I didn't have a camera with me and I was too tired to think about coming back to the house, then back to the barn in hopes of getting the picture. I did remember to take the camera tonight. Poor Mrs. Dandy. She's been teaching her chicks to roost the last few evenings and this is what she has accomplished so far. These guys and/or girls are getting pretty big, but they still need their mama to comfort them as they go to sleep. It's hard to see in the picture, but there are two chicks under one wing, one chick under the other wing and one chick up on her back. Being a mom is such hard work sometimes and getting the little ones tucked in for the night is enough to wear a mother out. They are still in a divided off section of the chicken yard and we will all be happy when they can come out and be free to roam. Mrs. Dandy is very protective of her chicks and terrorizes the chickens if they even look her way, so they'll be especially relieved to be rid of her.

We've been thinking that it may be time to let Mr. Dandy out of confinement. The garden is winding down (not the tomatoes!) and there is probably enough to share, if he decides to start raiding it again. He has been moulting and has lost all of his beautiful tail feathers, though the new ones are already starting to grow. I need to do some research on peafowl management because I'm not sure how he will react to the chicks.

I have been doing lots of dyeing and spinning and have two small knitting projects finished, which I will try to get pictures of soon. As usual, I have so many projects on the needles and am so close to having several of them finished. If I could just have a few days of doing nothing but knitting, but that doesn't seem to be in my future for awhile. I'm looking forward to cooler weather and even some long, rainy days when I can be guilt-free (almost) about staying indoors and knitting. I have such a hard time allowing myself to knit during the day. There always seems to be so much to do and I keep thinking, if I can just get caught up (I know...it will never happen). How do you fit in knitting time?

Life goes on....

Ahhh well, life does go on, thank goodness. Thank you to all who emailed and commented. I appreciate your good wishes and they did cheer me up. Pauladeen was special to me and I am grateful you all allowed me to mourn a little for her publicly.

Life on the farm does not stop for mourning or anything else. Animals still need to be fed and watered, new things are happening and there are challenges to be met. The new chickens have decided to start laying (a little sooner than I was expecting) and that is a welcome addition to our food supply. I found the first chocolate colored egg on the floor of the chicken pen, but by the next day the hen had figured out she should lay inside the nest box. (I imagine that the hens are somewhat surprised when that first egg pops out!) And guess which box she chose? Right, the same one the old chickens laid their eggs in. What is it about that one particular box? Wish I knew. The Cuckoo Maran hens are the ones that lay the chocolate colored eggs. I've always had brown egg layers (along with the Araucana's bluish-greenish ones), but have never seen eggs as dark as these.

I don't dare miss a day of picking zucchini and cucumbers and the tomato glut is on right now. I've been freezing a lot of the Roma tomatoes and passing out some of the rest whenever I can find anyone who will take some. Dinner tonight will be Tomato Pie, which is a recipe from my friend, Teresa. The only way to make it is with really fresh tomatoes, so now is the time to enjoy it. Here's the recipe. Hope you enjoy it.

Tomato Pie-

Ingredients-

1 pie crust

tomato slices

sweet onion

fresh basil

cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

1 cup Hellman's Light mayonnaise

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Bake an empty pie crust and cool. Dip tomatoes in boiling water and peel, then slice and place on paper towels to drain for a few hours. Saute sweet onion slices in small amount of olive oil.

Layer tomato slices with onions and basil between (can also add crumbled bacon at this point). Top the pie with mixture of 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.Bake at 425 degrees until browned and bubbly. Let set for 15-20 minutes before serving.

(This is how the pie looks before baking.)

Pauladeen-- February 1, 2004-August 17,2008

You know how sometimes things just seem to be so great, like you are finally getting a handle on things, getting on top of it or feeling somewhat in control? And then, wham-mo, when you are least expecting it something you don't want to face just pops up and forces itself on you. That happened today. We noticed Pauladeen was not with the other ewes, but was off by herself, down and uncomfortable looking. When I went to check on her----there it was, the awful prolapse, again. If you have read the accounts of lambing season here this year, you may remember that she prolapsed before lambing and we were able to sew her up and pull her through the lambing. She has prolapsed since then, a couple of times, and we have sewn her up again and yet again. It had gotten to the point where she was worried anytime we came near her. We were hoping that when her lambs were weaned and her hormone levels returned to normal, the problem would be solved. When I saw her this morning, I knew what needed to be done this time. We have tried everything we know to do and nothing is working. So, I made the hard, hard decision to let her go. It's the hardest decision I've had to make in a long while. She was my favorite, my special personality, the one and only Pauladeen. It breaks my heart to know she will not be at the gate to greet me anymore.

This is so strange because a friend of mine and I had just recently had a discussion about how we really didn't get very sentimental about our animals anymore. Both of us have been raising livestock for a long time and know the reality of life on the farm. Bad things happen, often in spite of herculean effects to prevent it. You just have to face facts and move on. And here I am, crying over Pauladeen and wishing, wishing, wishing I had not made the decision to breed her (which may or may not have prevented the prolapse).

Soon, I know I will be able to tell Pauladeen stories again, and not tear up. I have her daughter and she is sweet and personable and has her mom's great fleece. I will not ever breed her, in case she is genetically predisposed to prolapsing. I have Teeny, who is the new clown, funny and sweet, wants to be a constant companion to me. It has just now occurred to me that this post is related to the one just previous. It was not my plan to lose Pauladeen so soon, but there is Teeny waiting in the wings to be the new quirky personality here on the farm.....ready to step into Pauladeen's hoof-prints.

I've had enough life lessons for a while.