Funky Burfday Socks

I promised a good friend some handknit socks...oooohhh....well....about a year before I left Peru. They were to be for her birthday. I jumped right on them and started knitting away. Got one done, got half the second one done; found a mistake WAAAYYY back by the cuff and had to rip it out and do it again. Discovered the second sock was smaller than the first, so I ripped it all out and started again. Started and stopped, started and stopped, then moved and packed them up and lost them, then discovered them again, but the needles had come out of the stitches and some were dropped and pulled out. Soooooo...I ripped back and started again. Finally I got them done and here they are:

Not the most beautiful I've ever made, but she is tickled to FINALLY get them, and now I can start on socks for myself. Or not. Maybe to sell. Who knows.

While I was in Iquitos, I had the opportunity to eat Paiche. If you click on the link, you'll see that Paiche is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Although it is said to be on the verge of extinction, it is widely available in restaurants on the Peruvian Amazon.

In this photo, the fish is as large, if not larger than the man carrying it. There are several places near Iquitos that raise Paiche, and it is being successfully farmed. I have to say that Paiche is one of the few fish that I enjoy eating without being prepared in ceviche. It just figures. A nearly extinct fish that isn't available anywhere near Cheyenne. The paiches I saw in the domestic fish farms in Peru were just babies, no more than 4 feet long. So here's another picture that I ganked from the internet:

Waiting and waiting...

I went to the movies a while ago and saw "Rock of Ages." Call me shallow, but I loved it. I saw it twice. Loved the music, and loved it even more when I found out that the actors all sang in it. It was a lot like when I found out that Johnny Depp could sing while watching "Sweeney Todd." Who knew Tom Cruise could sing? Who would even WANT to know? But, yes. Call me shallow. I'm now waiting for "Rock of Ages" to come out on DVD so I can watch it all over again.

Here's me with my gorgeous daughter. I love her more than my own life.

Catching Up a Bit.

In August, O and I went to Iquitos - yes, back to Peru - and played on the Amazon. I do have pictures of some of that on my camera, but the best pictures are on my USB, which a friend borrowed and hasn't returned yet. We ate at a restaurant that is out in the middle of the Amazon River. That river is HUGE. It's like being on the ocean. The branch of the river that Iquitos is located on is called Momon, with the emphasis on the second syllable (mo-MON). I have a few more pictures, and will post them as I get them downloaded, hopefully.

So, in order of appearance, is what's happening in the pictures below:

First off, here are O and I at a touristy restaurant called "The Yellow Rose of Texas."  It's owned by an American who came to Iquitos and couldn't leave.  The atmosphere and service are great, but the food is just eh, so-so.

And now, here we are in the restaurant out in the middle of the Amazon at night. It was very dramatic, romantic, quiet, and the food was very good. It was expensive by Peruvian standards, and it had a clean swimming pool on the lower deck. We had to take a bonca boat out there.

Here I am in the little bonca boat that took us to the restaurant. Remember "The African Queen" movie? This was just one step above the boat used in the movie. Nothing fancy, but it held about 10 people.

This last photo is of us on our way to eat lunch. Everyone travels about town on motorcycles, but lacking our own bike, we took a "mototaxi," or a motorcycle with a rear car on it. This was "Club Rojo."

I'm also getting ready for the yearly craft show that we go to in November. Have about 7 felted hats, a few crocheted vests, and my first knitted lace scarf. Well, it has lace on the edge. To tell the truth, I'm intimidated by knitting lace.

Is it the weekend yet??

Whupped. So whupped. It was goat shearing day, and although I didn't shear any, I did trim some hooves and drag some fat gals to the barber shop. I imagine that I am in horrible shape, considering I haven't done that kind of work in several years and I am completely tired. I'm still working at the ranch. No new job opportunities have come my way. I'm now working 4 days a week and we just got an increase in salary, so I'm better now than I was, but there are still "those days", when this job just eats me alive. I guess I must be getting used to it, though, because "those days" are now fewer and farther between than before. It helps me that O is here. It helps that Porter is still with me and just as devoted to his job as always. It helps that Celeste can still close her eyes and pretend no one is around, or just get up and leave when someone has a tantrum. I've learned a lot from these three dear ones. So here I seem to be staying. I've re-learned that there are battles I will never win. I've learned to choose my battles and to walk away from those battles that are futile. Literally. My days at the ranch go so much better when I am able to walk away from a tantrum being thrown in the house. Someone I know needs to have his temper tantrums in front of someone, and really, I don't need to be the one that he's in front of. There. That's the end of my ranch commentary. I hope never to return to it...unless it is to say that I've found another job. But one last ranch note: some things that are said here at the ranch by the residents of the house I work in sometimes leave me speechless. Here's an example --> "The doctor said to keep my arms. He said it would help." Another one: "I think my hands are numb. Feel them. Do they feel numb to you?" So I may be including some quotes from the house of the Four Wise Men that I work in. I hope you get a laugh out of them, because I really do.

So it's a new year. I have aspirations to see to. I have been spinning a TON, but have only actually finished one batch of pretty red merino wool. I squeezed out 650 yards from 3.5 ounces, so I'm happy with that. Opened up an Etsy shop and am working on a felted bag, a circular wrap, and a crocheted vest to list. There are already 4 of my daughter's listing in the shop, so I need to get on the stick and get my stuff listed! I sold all my hats before Christmas, so I'm back to building an inventory. Dogs are happily snoring, O is being a chef in the kitchen, and I need to get back to my spinning! Ciaou for now!

A year in a cookbook...really?

I don't know. I saw the Julie & Julia movie and liked the idea. And I have to make out a new menu each week for my assisted living house. I have reached the point that my creativity has pooped out and I'm repeating my same old standbys every week. Now that I've noticed it, I've begun to search the cookbooks for fresh ideas and dishes. There are 2 books that I seem to always come back to: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy. So, maybe I won't be cooking one recipe from one of these cookbooks every day, but I will be using both these books, and probably some more, on a regular basis. The problem is that I can't assume that the guys will like the taste of what I cook, even if I successfully execute the recipe. They are the ultimate "man and a can" dudes, preferring the taste of instant mashed potatoes and mushy canned veggies to fresh produce. I discovered right after I started working at the ranch that they didn't enjoy fresh garden vegetables or fresh meats. Seriously. Given the choice between ramen noodles over instant mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables and stuffed pork chops, they will go for the ramen and instant every time. I wonder if it's all a matter of educating the palate and getting them used to fresh, clean flavors and vegetables that haven't been cooking into flavorless mush and non-plastic cheese. So here I go on my cooking odyssey - starting with a shepherd's pie. Pork, carrots, green beans, garlic, and onions in their own juices and topped with REAL mashed potatoes. Wish me luck. They're a tough bunch.

New News

Okay, so here's my big news: My son-in-law has gotten a job with a company that contracts with oil companies to repair their drilling equipment. That job has taken him to Wyoming! He's in Rock Springs, and will be there for some time to come, from what I understand. So they will be in my neck of the woods early next year. O will be flying there to help pack things up and drive the moving truck out. He is thrilled to be involved in all this. It makes him feel very needed...and he is! The great thing about this move is that they will be out of the big city. Rock Springs is small, but gorgeous. I think they'll enjoy living there. Lots of things to do around the area - hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and close enough to Cheyenne that we can visit. Not so close that there will be family interference, though. I am just tickled pink with all of this! The downside of this is that it is more than freezing in Rock Springs right now, as it is in all of the High Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. That makes it dangerous work for a person inexperienced with the extreme cold. I worry about that.

Little Man, BiG Smile!

Here's my grandson, the spitting image of his mom at the same age - chubby and happy!

Craft Fair!!

Yay!! We're back into craft fair mode! Last weekend My sister and I did the "Christmas in November" Fair in Windsor, Colorado. I sold some hats and a couple of sweaters, and generally we did pretty well. I'm in the process of filling a custom hat order that resulted from that fair. WooHoo! Baby, we're back!

They say everything's big in Texas...

...even the smiles!!! Here's Roman's first recorded smile (that they are sure is not just gas.)

I think there will be many, many more of these. They have such a happy family! There are always lots of smiles and laughter :o) I hope they always have a happy home!

Overheard at work...

"Her grandson is a little boy!!!"

My big contribution

It's finished now, but I don't have a picture of it.

Summer's End, Winter's Plans

August is drawing to a close, thank goodness. I'm pretty done with the heat, grasshoppers, and other bugs, and am looking forward to the first frost! I have plans for the fall and the winter.

The greenhouse experiment continues...

This past spring was my first experience using a greenhouse to start plants in, and it wasn't a complete success, but wasn't a total failure, either. I learned a lot about light and greenouse planting, and learned a lot about the people I work with, too. One thing I learned was that plants need a LOT of light in order to germinate, and they will sprout even when it's very cold out, if they have 10 or more hours of light per day. So in order to have plants throughout the winter, I intend to plant a seed bed inside the greenhouse in mid-September to mid-october, and also to dig up and transplant some of our not-so-mature cold weather plants, like brussels sprouts and cabbage that were planted quite late, and then neglected for some reason. All I have to do is water them and keep the grasshoppers from demolishing them in the meantime.

In the seedbed, I plan to sow a few types of lettuce, kale, and chard. I think some carrots and turnips might even do okay, if I get them in soon enough!

I think I might be to keep my plans to myself. In the spring, I had planted lettuce in the greenhouse and told my co-workers...big mistake. One of them was positive it was a ridiculous plan and that since her dad was a master gardener, she must also be. So she gave the seeds 2 weeks and then ripped up the seed bed. She did it in the garden, too, later in the spring. To her chagrin, my little plants came up in spite of her, but not where I was looking for them, making it initially a little hard for them to get water.

I also plan to experiment with outdoor cold frames. We have an abundance of those poor brussels sprouts and late cabbage, so I hope to include these in my cold-frame experiment.

Newer Pictures

Here are some more recent pictures of my daughter and her family. Enjoy!


Mom and boy!

The boy!

My son-in-law with his boy.

Babbling on Thursday

I've been having issues with posting for the last few weeks. I hope I have it figured out by now and this one will actually go up.

I'm still working at the ranch with the cognitively challenged adults. I just passed my first year anniversary working here and I have to say it HAS been a challenge. Thankfully, Porter and Celeste are still with me, and having them is a blessing. Two normally-thinking minds in the midst of the abnormal. Celeste keeps everyone in line while Porter lets me know when things like seizures are happening.

Porter has recently begun to let me know about seizures more in advance. There is only one in the house that seizes, and before the seizure starts, Porter sits in front of the person and works to make eye contact with me. He keeps his back to the seizure, I think because it upsets him, and stares at me. He does not move, otherwise. Porter used to bark a lot to get someone's attention, and waited till the seizure was obvious before he did anything. So I am imagining that his understanding of seizures is evolving some.

Celeste is aloof. She has no desire to become involved with the residents of the house. She used to bark at people who had tantrums and yelled, but lately, she has simply sat looking at them, as if to study the behavior.

It appears that I have two canine scholars who are working at their degrees in human bahavioral studies.

As for me, I periodically have to remind myself that I am not defined by my job. I have an idea of how the parents of these people must have felt as they watched their child grow up, knowing that their capacity for learning and functioning in the world would be quite limited. It's sometimes disheartening to realize that as adults, they have no more capabilities than they did as little children. Arrested development. What a thought. As I move around the world of the mentally handicapped, there are so many more than I was ever aware of.

It all makes me so thankful that my own daughter is a gorgeous and normally functioning adult. I do not look forward to spending more time working here, but there must be something else that I am to do here, since I haven't been able to find a different job yet.

The grandbaby has arrived!

Oh, I've been a busy busy little bee...

Playing with new hat shapes...

watching the Stick Queen do her thing...



and doing a little spinning...

snagged in a destash...

Pele's Hair top whorl spindle, mango whorl, birch shaft. Spins beautifully. Again, the Pele's Hair spindle. Made in Hawaii by Glen Grace.

Avi Wasserman spindle. Ebony wood shaft and Yew wood whorl. Exquisite and elegant...and smaller than I expected. Would be very good for spinning laceweight singles.