Last of May socks

I am attempting to post this last pair of CIC socks to the SAM 3 KAL but so far having no luck. I knitted them as Magic 32s, 2 socks on 2 circulars, sz5US, and Cascade 220. This is my very favorite wool worsted and I confess to having enough of it in single skeins to keep me busy for quite a long time.

Health problems for Robin

Poor little Robin has swollen eyelids to the point that the eyelid pimples up at different points and pops, then drains.  The blue eye is much the worst, but it is happening to both of them.  SOme folks on the MiniAussie list have suggested that she might have eyelashes growing inward.  This seems different to me, because of the pimpling, but I will cover it with the vet this week.

Now here's the worst.  Remember those 2 seizures she had as a little pup?  At the time we decided they must have been caused by getting whiffs of ant killer before it had dried, and I now only kill bugs with dish soap and vinegar.  And I stopped worrying.

She is now 24 weeks old, and has had a seizure on each of the last 2 evenings.  The first one happened up by the chicken compound, and we thought she had been poisoned somehow because it came on so fast.  One minute she was playing, then all of a sudden her foreleg drew up tight against her body and she fell over.  I grabbed her up and ran down to the house and put salt down her to induce vomiting.  Poor little thing barfed for an hour but then seemed to be fine.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have induced vomiting, because last night she had one while sitting in DH's chair.  FIrst her eyes get wide and scared, then her foreleg draws up (the other one this time) and she fell over in the chair.  I stroked and talked to her while it lasted, 60 seconds or so.  Within 5 minutes she was acting perfectly normal.

THe books say that if a dog has epilepsy, seizures can be triggered by most anything, but that the seizures follow the same pattern and duration.  All of these have done that.  She is also in heat.  I haven't had her spayed yet because I have been reading that it is better to wait until her growth plates close, especially if there is a suspicion of hip or elbow problems.  So I was planning to have it done at 14 monhs, but may do it before that, say at 8-9 months, depending on other things.

One good thing.  She is completely recovered from the lameness she had been exhibiting a couple of months ago.  She is still reluctant to jump down from things, but doesn't exhibit any pain when she does.

Help, I have never owned a dog with so many problems.  Is it because she is so small, or what?  I have also read that small dogs that don't eat well are subject to hypoglycemic attacks which look similar to epileptic seizures, and at first I thought that might have been the trouble night before last, because she hadn't eaten all day, but yesterday she ate off and on all day. so that couldn't have been it.

THis is so scary.  Have you ever run into anything like it?

 

 

AJ Wischmeyer, Quiltmaker

ajwisch@joimail.com

http://luvkuku.blogspot.com/

 

 

more May socks

Here are 2 more pair of Magic 28s for CIC and for the SAM3 KAL.
I am working on a pair of Magic 32s that I hope to finish by the
end of the month.

Sz5 US, 2 socks on 2 circs, Cascade 220

Pat's puppy update

Well, yesterday's note has turned out to be wrong.  Pat just couldn't go through with it; she feels that life with Tuesday, no matter how much trouble she is having is preferable to life without Tuesday, even for a few days per week.  I have to sympathize.  I would hate to not have Robin around all the time; she has wrapped herself around my heart.

DH is going to spend more time trying to teach Pat how to teach her dog.  Its hard because she can't make sense of what she reads.  She was of below-average IQ even before developing bipolar disorder and ADHD.  So she has promised to watch the VHS about Puppy Training that arrived with Tuesday, and I will look for others to get for her.

There's no doubt how much she loves the dog.  DH is just afraid that it may be too much dog for her.  THe half Queensland seems to be dominating right now and the nice quiet gentle mini aussie would have been better.  Oh well, maybe that side will surface as she matures.

 

AJ

 

 

Pat's puppy Tuesday

I have hesitated to give progress reports on Tuesday because there wasn't any progress (by my lights) to report. 

Tuesday is a very nice little dog, and DH says that she will do anything for HIM when he visits, but that Pat just isn't able to train her, or even take care of a puppy full-time.  I know it doesn't seem like much to take care of and train a puppy, especially when you don't have anything else to do, but she isn't coping with it.  All Pat has done, for all she says she's trying, is teach Tuesday that you never have to be any place you don't want to be right then, you'll get attention if you make enough noise, and you might as well pee anywhere you happen to be because nobody can tell when you are getting ready to go.

So Tuesday is going to come live with us part of the week and just spend Saturdaythru Monday with Pat.  Evidently Pat never gets to sleep because Tuesday either barks nonstop or won't leave her alone if loose.  I think we can take care of that  pretty quick.  Crate and exercise pen are ready.

Also, she isn't getting near enough exercise and that will be solved immediately too.

Robin's nose shouldn't be too out of joint as she will still go to work with me and Tuesday will have to stay home alone. (4 hours 2 days a week, big deal)

 

 

AJ

CIC-Magic 28-SAM3 KAL

Here's a pair of CIC socks I just finished, using the Magic 28 pattern, sz5US 2 socks on 2 circs,
Yarn Treehouse Wool Print, 100 % wool. It is actually a heavy worsted or chunky gauge, so I
think I will go up a needle size if I make the whole sock out of it again. It has so many good
colors in the variegation that I am planning to save the rest of it for trims and stretching other
scraps.
This is my first pair for the SAM3 KAL, and I hope to have another pair by the end of the month.
I have also made a pair of Horcrux socks for the SixSox KAL in April and a pair of Little Child"s
Socks for the Vintage Sock KAL this month, but I don't suppose the SAM3 will accept them, as
I finished them last week before I knitted these.

Little Child's Sock

Well, here are my May Vintage SOck KAL socks, the Little Child's SOck from the book.
I used Regia Cotton in (obviously) red, sz0US needles, 2 on 2 circs, and still had to cut the
stitch count from 72 to 64. I also didn't make them near as tall as the pattern called for.
I seem to be prefering my sock tops shorter and shorter, probably because of the increasing
heat. I better get to work and just knit some footies.

Predator loss

I know this is retribution for being smug about no predator losses, but we lost a mother hen, a Dark Cornish, to the neighbor(1/2 mile away)'s dog yesterday morning between 6:30 when my DH lets them out of the coop into the yard, and 7:30 when I went up to feed them.
There were feathers everywhere, and at first I couldn't figure out where she had gone, as the fencing had fallen back down over the hole.  I went out of the yard and walked the perimeter and found the tracks, then identified the hole.  I was just sick.  The 6 baby chicks are all right; they and the mama were the only ones in that coop and yard.  The youngest ones are 3 weeks old, and this IS central Arizona, so they are feathered enough to be OK. 
I have been seeing poop from a strange dog near the coops, and somebody got into our trash the last time we butchered, so should have been prepared for this to happen.
I phoned the neighbor and left a message asking if his dogs had been out at that time, since they had tried to get into a coop about a year ago and failed. He showed up at the house almost immediately, very apologetic.  His dog had actually taken the carcass home with her to chew on at her leisure, I guess.
He offered to pay for the chicken, but I refused.  If this happens again, and I have to shoot the dog, I don't want him thinking we had a deal to trade dead chickens for money. He assured me it will never happen again, but did tell me that she had killed all his daughter's chickens at their other place; they have only lived here about 4 years. She's an Aussie, and I love the breed, but a wrong Aussie can be very, very wrong and too smart to be thwarted in something they really love.
When my DH got home last night late, I told him and he was all for going over to the neighbor's house and thrashing him, but I was able to deflect him, thank goodness.  I really hate being enemies with the neighbors, and if it never happens again, I want to avoid that route. 
DH really prizes his Dark Cornish, and she was one of 3 out of 4 Dark Cornish to go broody AND do a good job of it.
Forgive me for this rant, but I needed to get it off my chest.

 

 

 

Buff Catalanas

I ordered 25 Buff Catalana chicks from Ideal back in March, and lost 4
the first few days. So, of the remaining 21, I seem to have 13 girls
and 8 boys, one of which is definitely NOT a Buff Catalana. We will
eat him first, as he is of no recognizable breed. I plan to keep 2
cocks, so I have left those 2 with the pullets and separated the other
6 to a grower pen.
Of the 8, 2 have bright blue earlobes, and 2 or 3 of the pullets do
too. Has anyone else seen this in Catalanas?
Like Jesse's Buckeyes, there is a lot of size and feather variation,
but I will keep choosing and choosing to try and improve the next
generation. One cock was/is always the first to try anything and the
biggest from the very beginning. Regrettably, he is also the lightest
colored, with the shortest tail of all the boys. I am hoping his tail
will catch up.
I'll probably switch my keepers a dozen times before it is time to eat
the others, but it is fun.
I phased out my Fayoumis, as the eggs were just too tiny, and the hens
too aggressive. Wali, my roo, is now living the good life with a
mixed flock of heavy layers with my DH's boss. I have only a
BR/Fayoumi pullet, pure black, and an Ameraucana/Fayoumi pullet, dark
grey, who saved her own life by starting to lay green eggs.
My DH is in love with Dark and White-Laced Red Cornish, and of his Dk
hens, 3 have set, 2 successfully, with 4 and 2 chicks respectively and
of 2 WLR, one set, with one chick hatched. All the chicks are WLR. The
Dark cock turned out to be infertile (we also tested him on other
breed hens) and made excellent chicken and dumplings. That is surely
the reason for the poor hatch rate too. THey all started with 7 or 8
eggs, and one poor DK didn't hatch a single one. She has gone broody
again, and I will get her a few feed store chicks then end of this
week. Poor thing, wants to be a mama so bad.

 

 

Pat's puppy

Yesterday I drove Pat to Winkelman to pick up her 9-week-old 1/2 Miniature Aussie, 1/2 Queensland Heeler puppy. I had asked Kathy (at Boldheart) to donate a puppy from the accidental litter to Pat and she had nicely agreed. She picked out the smallest and sweetest little blue merle girl for Pat and is selling the rest of the litter from her daughter's house in Tucson.
The puppy, which Pat promptly named Tuesday, is healthy and well-socialized, and her shots are up to date, tail docked and dewclaws removed. Just a few of the reasons its better to get even an accidental puppy from a breeder rather than somebody trying to make a few bucks from their backyard dogs.
It was the first time I have spent any amount of time with Pat and without Bill, and it went OK. But she did talk nonstop and I had to come straight home and spend some quiet time when we got back to Avondale and I dropped her and Tuesday off.
Robin went along, of course, and she was very good, also of course. However, she refused to go to the bathroom anywhere, no matter what, and held even her pee until we got home. The poor thing was so full of pee that she dripped a little when everybody was making over her at Cotton Fields, but still wouldn't settle down and go. I should have taken her to the dog park and stayed there with her until she HAD to go, but I didn't. I didn't want to see or talk to anybody for any reason for a while, and drove straight home. Poor little doggie; she must have peeed 3 times in the first 5 minutes after we got home. 4 1/2 months old. I sure do love her.

Rattlesnakes!

A few minutes ago, I killed my SECOND rattlesnake of the new season, although it was the first one actually on our property. THe first one I killed was on the road about 1/2 mile from the house on Monday. Coincidentally I was on my way to the vet with Robin, and it scared me enough to have Dr Bolen give her the first rattlesnake vaccine, with a second to follow in 4 weeks. Then, he says, in this climate, she should have them every six months because we can encounter rattlers just about year round in this climate. So I was feeling better about snakes, because after all, she IS growing.

She was 9 lbs, 9 ozs. on that day's weigh in.

The snake this morning was coiled up under a dog crate that we had left to air near a tree. I picked it up and walked away with it, and it was just luck I saw the snake. He didn't make a sound, or move. I ran to get the shovel, and then I couldn't find him when I came back. I looked and looked, and I was afraid he had crawled under the straw strewn around the tree. I practically had hysterics calling Robin away from the tree, but she figured out there was something wrong with me, and came right away. 4 mos old.

I finally found the snake, right where he had been, and chopped him up in little pieces right there, all the while yelling NO! at Robin as she jumped around wanting to attack the shovel.

I do tend to , some say, overreact to rattlers, but the memory of spending the night crying with Etta Mae after she was bitten has never left me. And she was 5 mos old and probably 25 lbs.

Now I am doubly determined to have her snakeproofed as well as get the booster vaccination. I found a place in Cave Creek that seems good, but they won't do it until the dog is 5 months old. If I had waited for that, she could have been bitten and died.

My main problem is my active imagination. I can always imagine so many more bad outcomes than good ones.

Depressed

Well, not really by clinical standards, but I did ask the MD to increase my Zoloft dosage, and he did. My cholesterol is 248 and I do have to start taking drugs for that, I have had absolutely no results from trying to lose weight, and DH had a horrible fit on Sunday. Its amazing how many things I always do wrong according to him, and did you know that it is controlling to suggest which egg he should eat for breakfast. I didn't either. As near as I can figure, I should never ever say anything on any subject AND when he asks me a question, I better know in advance what answer he wants or there will be another tirade about stupid people and nobody understands English, etc.
It wouldn't be so bad if he ever apologized or at least said he didn't mean some of the awful things he says, but that has happened maybe twice in 27 years, and NOT recently.
On the bright side, we have 3 hens setting, the new baby Buff Catalanas are growing, and Robin is a constant joy. She keeps me going.

DH and dog

Anyone who knew us in a previous life would NOT believe this picture. Dog on couch!

Edgar(1 year) and Robin(3 mos.)

I have finally gotten around to taking some pictures of Robin and the chickens by leaving the camera in my fanny pack and wearing it whenever I go outside with Robin. A necessary step, since she is no dummy and knows perfectly well where the clicker and treats are. The little devil goes her merry way if I don't have the bribes and behaves like a Companion Dog Excellent if I DO have them.
I originally hated the idea of abandoning all the dog training ideas I've had for the past 40 years and using treats and clickers to train, EVEN though my reading and talking to others have convinced me that its a better method. It just didn't seem right to me to bribe the dog. The book that finally convinced me is called Katz on Dogs, by Jon Katz. His explanations of how dogs minds work made more sense to me than anything has before. And I must admit that I haven't kept up at all with the dog fancy when we were dogless. So many new ideas have come and gone, but this one really works. It took 2 tries and Robin knows Sit. 2, not 10 or 15. Come is still iffy, depending on what else she is doing, but she will improve. She's just a kid, after all.
We had Robin help put the chickens away yesterday for the first time since both of us were home to prevent any damage to chickens or dog. She DEFINITELY has herding instinct, and went right out around them to try and bring them to us. Sloppy, but it was evident what she was doing. To me, anyway. So DH stood beside the door we wanted the chickens to go through and I danced around to keep Edgar from jumping on Robin. She didn't really try to catch a chicken; she just wanted them to MOVE. It was fun, and took just a few seconds to get them into the coop, and boy, was she proud of herself. Not something to try when DH isn't home, as Edgar needs somebody to guard him until the dog gets bigger and more sure of herself. Fun!

Miss Robin behaved herself very well at our first puppy class at Petsmart this morning. It is a class of 5, with 3 BIG puppies, Robin, and one little MinPin.
Robin is well-socialized to people and eagerly greets everybody of any age to get petted. But she is very unsure of herself around other dogs. SHe doesn't squat and pee or anything like that, but she doesn't want anything to do with them, even the MinPin.
The instructor assures me she will be 100 % better next week, just with another week maturity. I hope so. Her temperament is just so perfect in all other ways that I can live with it if she doesn't do well with other dogs, but I would prefer her to be good with them. So she can play with Pat's puppy if no other.

See what I mean?

Robin at Home

I bet I've taken more pictures in the 5 days since Robin came home to live than I had in the previous several years. I am still a lousy photographer but at least now I can crop, straighten, lighten, darken, sharpen, etc. Only occasionally do I keep one as is. Maybe eventually I will get better. After all, I have the ideal photo subject.

Get away from me!

Kuku kitty is fairly irritated about Robin. She spends all her time on chairs and dressers, beds, anywhere the puppy can't sneak up on her. It was really funny when the puppy fell asleep on the floor, and the cat sneaked up to sniff her. Robin woke up and Kuku jumped straight up 6 feet in the air. I laughed and laughed. SHe has been so embarrassed since then that she just sits around and growls.
Robin would love to chase Kuku, but Kuku won't run.

I'm old; Robin is young.

Isn't she adorable? I will post others showing her at attention, but Dh couldn't seem to take a picture with BOTH of us looking halfway decent. A red merle miniature aussie who may yet be a toy instead, Robin is 10 weeks old tomorrow and quite tiny. She really is an aussie though. She would adore to herd the chickens and the cat, but that's another story.

My OWN puppy

I got this photo of my new puppy from the Boldheart website. Kathy has been calling her Cherish, but I lean toward Zorra. My DH says neither fits (what does he know?) but that she will name herself within a day or so. He might be correct about that part, or at least which of the names will suit her more.
I am driving to Winkelman on Friday to pick her up. SHe was born 12/11/2006 so is past any spooky period and ready to come home. Kathy thinks she will mature as a small mini, rather than a toy, but DH was the one insisting on a toy anyway, and he is OK with her. THe litter I was waiting for didn't have a red female in it, so I was very glad that Kathy decided to sell this little girl rather than keep her as planned.

Knit from your Stash 2007

http://wendyknits.net/images/stash2007.gif

 

 

 

Knit From Your Stash 2007

http://wendyknits.net/stash2007.htm

 

 

 

Puppy update

The litter my puppy will be in is due in another week, and I am so impatient I am like a little kid that needs to visit the bathroom. I don't think I wrote that I drove down to Winkelman to meet the breeder and her dogs a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed all of it, the drive (except for crossing Phoenix), the area, the dogs, and Kathy. We really hit it off, and I gave her a little lap quilt before I left. She gave me a painting. Mutual admiration society.
And the dogs were truly wonderful. Real old style Aussies in smaller packages, smart and gorgeous. The minis are just about the size of good Aussies in the 60s and 70s, before the show breeders got hold of them and started breeding them bigger and bigger. Now the AKC Aussie is a big dog, and the minis are in the hands of those who appreciate them.
And the Toys!!! I am going to have so much fun. They are small enough to lap sit and big enough to work ducks, and sheep.
Kathy works cattle with the minis but not the toys. One good kick would break most of their bones.
I can't say enough good about them. I took photos, but my camera timer was set and I didn't know it. so all the photos were taken well after I pressed the button. Duhhh.

Cell phone update

Well, I have started to use it sporadically and did even succeed in calling myself from home. The big problem was that I don't get a good signal in my studio at home and I am so green I didn't know what the symbols meant. When I turned on the phone at work so I could get my co-worker to help me with it (and she is 76!), it went right to telling me how to set up my Voice Mail.
I have even managed to program a few numbers. But I tried driving, only in my driveway, and couldn't divide my attention enough to feel like I could drive safely. AND it was only my driveway. I suspect most everybody else is the same way, only they somehow have the ability to ignore that fact. Its kinda like driving at night. I am sure nobody else can see very well either, only they manage to ignore it and just trust to their God, I guess. I only have myself to trust, and she has proven untrustworthy at times, so I slow down some and really pay attention. I can't IMAGINE trying to talk on the phone, in the dark, and drive.

First cell phone

Well, I finally bought a cell phone.  I did it because I was pissed.  I went to look at a building for sale last week, and was supposed to then call DH before he left his work so he could go see it too.  I had several other places to go, so I thought I could easily find a phone.  Yeah, sure.  I never noticed before that there aren't phone booths everywhere any more.  In fact, I couldn't find one period.  And stores and such won't let you use their phones either.  Got to keep an open line for business, you know.  So I finally went to the big store that shall remain nameless and bought a prepaid phone.  I couldn't activate it right then, so I browbeat the little girl who sold it to me into letting me use her phone to call DH.

Since I am about as far from a techie as you can get, it took me a couple of hours to get it activated with the website.  I still couldnt figure out how to make a call, but took it along to Quilting in the Desert. 

I was going to be later getting home than I had planned, so I had somebody show me how to make a call (Duh, punch in the number and press send) and I was able to call DH and tell him not to wait up.  Thought I was so smart.  I have made a couple of calls since then.  But now I need to know how to receive a call and have had no luck using the instruction book or the website either.  They seem to  assume a certain level of familiarity with this stuff and skip the very basic.  I finally had to email the company and am now waiting to hear from them.  I have called the cell from my home phone and get a message that my call is being forwarded to a mailbox.  I don't WANT it to be forwarded; I WANT it to ring, or vibrate, or whatever, and it won't.  And I have no idea how to access that mailbox either.  Anyway, I hope somebody nice will answer my email and give me some answers.

 

 

AJ Wischmeyer, Quiltmaker

ajwisch@joimail.com

http://luvkuku.blogspot.com/

 

 

Browbeat, continued

Reading over the previous post made me think maybe I was too emphatic, and maybe its not really that bad. I was going to post the next day and say so, but I had to go to work.  When I walked out the door, DH was holding the broom and saying that it was getting way too rustic in here for him.  I thought that he was going to sweep, as he was going to be home all day while I worked.  Yeah, sure.

So the next day, Sunday, I said I was going to vacuum while he was outside doing some stuff, and he had a FIT.  The tirade about how he tries to spend Sundays with me ( generally asleep on the couch) and that I could easily do all the housework and laundry on the 3 or 4 days that he goes to work if only I didn't spend all my time stupidly in the studio (frequently trying to machine quilt for customers or work on the computer for my museum job).  Yada, yada, yada.  The fact that I make most of my small income working IN MY STUDIO and that I never ask him for money because of it, and that HE PREVENTS ME from working in there when he is home mean nothing to him.  The only thing important to him is that I be available, in the same room or outside with him, and paying attention to him instead of even doing something else side by side. 

Uh oh, I'm getting carried away again.

I have to go to the doctor tomorrow and tell him I haven't taken any meds yet. 

 

AJ in AZ

 

 

 

Being browbeat

  I'm getting more and more bothered lately by the browbeating ways of my DH.  Or, am I overly sensitive and just a total wuss and tone of voice doesn't mean anything, as he states?  I don't know.  If the latter, then I just don't know the difference.  We HAVE been married for 27 years, so why is it bothering me more than usual now?  But the litany of injustices I feel continues to grow and I'm getting pretty depressed about it. 

  For instance, my chicken hobby was a LOT more fun before he got interested in it and decided that, as usual, everything should be done HIS way.  Now 3 out of my 4 chicken coops contain his breed of chickens, and he is agitating to get rid of more of MY chickens because, he says, I have too many in the coop (nesting house) that remains. He won't buy any chicken feed, but has decided to keep some roosters wayyyyy past optimum butchering time because he wants to have backups.  He complains bitterly if any of his chickens ever run low on the expensive natural feed I buy, but will only do any feeding himself out of his hand.  There's a lot more, but you get the idea.

  And there is the matter of my high cholesterol.  When I came home from the doctor with a month's supply of samples to take and lower it quickly (The doctor was so concerned when he got my lab results that he called me to come in right away and get the samples), he had a terrible fit that I was going to be adding yet another drug to the ones that control my fibromyalgia and anxiety.  I tried to stand up to him, but in the end, I agreed to wait for a month before taking the drug, and in the meantime, give up ice cream and regular cheeses, animal fats, etc.  He wants me to get another lab test then.  I DREAD telling the doctor I haven't started the meds yet when he was so concerned about me.  But its easier to upset the doctor than it is to stand up to DH.

  Sometimes I cry for no particular reason.

  Sounds like depression, doesn't it?

  I can just see me telling him I'm depressed.  He sometimes tries to pretend that he is understanding about such things, but under any kind of stress it comes out that he thinks depression is the own fault of the depressed person, and anybody with any intelligence at all will just decide not to be depressed and they won't be any more.  Therefore, if I'm depressed I must not be a. intelligent, b.have no will power, c. take your pick of any other character fault you can think of.

  I should be going to knit with my friends this afternoon, but he is so mean and nasty about me going to town EVERY DAY (not true) that I said I'd stay home today.  I do have to work again tomorrow, so I really didin't have a leg to stand on this time.  But this happens nearly every week.  Sometimes I can stand up to him, but mostly I can't.

  There are so many things I'm not supposed to do when he is home, like quilting, laundry, housework, anything on the computer, that I tend to spend marathons in the studio alternately quilting and working on the computer when he is gone.  But it really makes him mad to come home and find me in the studio, and heaven forbid he should try to call me and have me be on the internet.  He won't leave a message and is real mean about it when he comes home.  And I never know WHEN he is going to come home.  His work house vary a lot, and he frequently goes to Pat's afterward anyway, but I am supposed to be sitting quietly in a chair in a clean house with all laundry already done and put away anytime he arrives.  Needless to say, this is my most frequent failure in his eyes.  I don't keep up with housework very well because I head straight for the studio when he leaves and don't come out until a few minutes before I THINK he might come home.  And of course I often guess wrong and then have to sit there seething because I want to go on sewing or else I'm in trouble because he caught me in the studio.

  I guess you should take all of this with a grain of salt.  I can cope with all of it pretty well most of the time; I am just extra depressed about it right now.

 

 

 

 

 

Puppy update

We sent a deposit to Boldheart Miniature Aussies for a pup from the Rose and Shiloh litter due February 7. DH fell in love with the pictures of Rose; he says she looks like the old Flintridge dogs that went in the the Australian Shepherd. I think he's right; those dogs were small too, and the AKC Aussies being bred today are huge and don't look too much like even the dogs we had in the 1980's. Rose is a small mini, and so is Shiloh, and Shiloh throws toys. Mine will be a toy per DH, and he is getting the pup for me, so a toy she will be.
We didn't get Mia, cute as she is, for the very reason I was afraid of. She was just too spooky and we also thought she was mainly socialized to the pack and would never bond as well to us as a pup that was removed from the pack at the proper time. TinyTrax pups were very nice, and I think the breeder does a good job with the little ones' critical periods and all, but she doesn't seem to do any training at all after that. SHe even had to lure the pack outside with treats rather than just telling them to go out. IMO, her dogs have potential that will never be realized. ANd there was no way to tell whether herding instinct was still present in her dogs since they have never been taught to do anything.
Boldheart Aussies are working herding dogs. You can train a herding dog to do anything you want to do with him, because he wants a job and wants to take direction from you. I can't wait.
I wish it wasn't so far away. The date I mean; I chose the breeder partially on the fact that she is in AZ and her dogs are raised in more or less the same climate I live in. I will go visit once before the pups come. DH says he doesn't want to go with; I just don't understand that.

My history with Aussies

--- In TASCA@yahoogroups.com, RuffHouseAussies@... wrote:

> I would like to learn more about your experience with the size
change in the standard Aussie after AKC got involved. Many, many years
ago my first Aussie was about the size of a large mini. Patches was a
great girl and I too later fell in love with the Toy Aussies.
>

We bought a retired ASCA Ch. bitch (Sassy) with the intent of putting
working titles on her, as her full brother was really sweeping all the
herding trials around, even beating some Border Collies. She was 17 "
but was 3 years old. We did well with her; the first litter was to
our herding titled male and the puppies had beautiful movement and did
very well in puppy classes. There were 2 eventual conformation
champions from the litter, both bitches and both larger than Sassy.
One was sold as a pet (bite was a little off) and we kept a small male
for working stock. Even though he continued to have great
conformation and movement, he was only 17" at 2 years old and we gave
up showing him in conformation after leaving the puppy classes. He
had never even placed again, but he was a fantastic working dog. We
sold him after getting his started titles.
The second litter for Sassy was to a larger Nat Ch. male, and the pups
were correspondingly larger. THere were 3 eventual ch.s, I think, 2
males (very large) and 1 large bitch. THe heads were beginning to
resemble the Bernese Mtn Dog a friend owned. The only reason we bred
Sassy to this male was that DH took him in for herding training and
titling, and the price was the stud fee.
Third litter was accidental. My large male pup from the previous
litter and stepson's jr handling bitch. SHe was a litter sister to
Sassy but much bigger. SInce Cosby was only a year old, we did not
register the litter and sold as pets to be neutered. We have always
felt that only OFA and CERF animals shall be bred, and we had to walk
the walk as well as talk the talk.
Overall, we much preferred the smaller dogs, but as time went on, the
judges that ASCAZ hired for the shows were Working Group AKC judges,
and they almost invariably went for the bigger, blocky head dogs, so
that is what people bred for. THe smaller ones still did much better
as working trial dogs, and the breed began to split. Understand, I'm
talking about here in AZ, and within our direct knowledge while being
active in the state club. And it was even before AKC recognition.
Eventually we decided there was no point in sticking with a breed that
was going to be split, like so many of the Sporting Group, between
conformation dogs and working dogs. So we sold Sassy back to her
first owner, and sold the others as working stockdogs since all our
dogs received herding training. And that was that until now.

AJ in AZ

 

 

 

 

 

Another photo

Isn't she beautiful? 

16 mos old Toy Aussie

This is Mia. We are going to see her too when we go to see TinyTrax' new litter. The owner says she hangs back and is on the bottom of the pecking order, so I don't know if she will be coming home with us or not. For obedience and herding you need a more assertive dog, and if she isn't that, I depend on DH to prevent me from saying YES to her. I have already fallen in love, but I only get ONE dog, so it has to be the right one. This picture is of her at 5 mos, and she is 16 mos now. 

Toy Australian Shepherds

Wow, DH is finally going to let me have a dog!!!!  I was making serious Mastiff noises and was going to research the breed and get one whether he liked it or not.  There was an AKC show just  5 miles away (as the crow flies) and I talked him into going with me.  He wanted to see the herding trials; I wanted to see the Mastiffs. We went, I saw the Mastiffs, he saw a TOY AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD being led around by a barrel racer who was attending an event on the same property.  He was absolutely beautiful, and has traditional Aussie temperament (standoffish but not frightened with strangers) and old style conformation and head in a toy sized body.  A red merle male, 7 mos old.  And his owner owns both parents and is going to breed them again next spring. 

DH said, if you want a dog, get one like that and I can teach it to put the chickens away.  He didn't have to say it twice.

So I have been researching since then, and we are going to go see a litter and a grown bitch that needs to be spayed next SUnday.  I will try to update

 

AJ in AZ

Swift and Ball WInder

THe antique wooden swift I bought off eBay came yesterday and I have just taken a few minutes away from cooking Thanksgiving dinner to try it out with the alpaca I bought for CIC sweaters.  With a few fits and starts (learning curve), I mastered both it and the ball winder and have wound 3 skeins into balls in the last few minutes  Woo-hoo!  I love it.  I wish I could have paid cash, but I'm glad I bought them.  More time for knitting, and the swift is very decorative too.  Maybe someday a wooden ball winder too.  I dislike plastic of all kinds more and more, and think the world would be a whole lot better off if most of it, especially packaging was simply eliminated.

 

Open wireless

ANd I can plug in my computer in the Vibe, too! Maybe sometimes these modern conveniences are a good thing.

Gentle Giants Rescue

I have been trying to look at this website, to see many different giant breeds and just SEE them, but the site is so huge, even the home page, that I can't even download the whole first page with my dial-up. It even kicks me off the web and I have to start all over again. So I guess I'm never going to be able to look at this site unless I take my laptop to Barnes & Noble or the Millstone Cafe and plan to stay there a while. Or heaven forbid, wait until next summer at Quilt Camp. Wait, if NAU has wireless all over the campus, I wonder if the MCCCD does. I will take my laptop to the CSA pickup tomorrow and see if it can pick up an open wireless system.

Mid-term elections

It was really great working the elections this time, even though as always, it was totally exhausting. THings really went very smoothly, and the turnout was wonderful. And the results were mostly very good too, even here in AZ. I CANNOT understand why Jon Kyl was re-elected, but most of the other people and propositions I voted for passed or failed or whatever. ANd countrywide too, Maybe, hopefully, finally, people have woken up about this gang in the administration and will start trying to undo some of the damage inflicted over the last 6 years. If its not too late for the earth and for our standing in the world.

Visiting friends

My friend TK and her daughter came to visit for a few hours last week, in the area from New Jersey. It was great to see her; wish I could see her more. Her daughter is a very nice little girl. Of course, she would be. Both Fred and TK are nice and intelligent, and they were mature enough to know what they were doing when they decided to have a child. It was funny, though. The little girl wouldn't look DH in the eye. I introduced them when TK was out of the room, and she immediately started fading away. SHe averted her eyes and backed away, and disappeared. We didn't see her again until we went outside to show them around.
I guess he's still got it. Or something. He always used to make women of all ages nervous for some reason, but he is 61 now. Oh well.

A dog to love me

I want a dog so bad, and I think I want a Mastiff. I haven't really known any personally, but I am going to try and rectify that this next weekend. THe Mastiff judging on Saturday is at 8:30, so I can go and watch for a little bit before I have to go to work. And I have joined 2 Mastiff email lists to try and learn more about them.
DH doesn't want me to have a dog. Its not that he doesn't want me to be happy; its that he is afraid his precious foxes won't come around the house anymore if there is a dog living here. I don't think that would happen unless I got some foolish dog that went flying out to chase everything in sight every time the door opened. A Mastiff wouldn't do that, I'm sure.
I guess they do snore though. This process of getting him used to the idea and then actually bringing a dog here to live may take a while. I wish Pat would hurry up and get a dog. He has a harder time refusing me a dog if she has one.

Baby chickens

My little brown hen has hatched 5 of the 6 eggs she was setting. That is so weird; that a white egg hen who is supposed to be a Fayoumi but isn't, would be the one hen in the flock that was firm about wanting to raise a family this year. I bet there isn't another white egg breed except Fayoumis that will set, and she is at best half. Anyway, 2 of the babies are half Ameraucana and half Fayoumi, 2 are half Barred Rock and half Fayoumi, and one is a purebred Fayoumi. THe other Fayoumi egg didn't hatch. So far I'm not sure which are the Amer/Fay and which is the Fayoumi, but the BR/Fay are black. That's easy.
DH thinks I'm really strange because I am more interested in cross breeding and seeing how my crosses turn out than I am in purebreds. He loves his purebred Cornish, (although he does have 3 different colors of the breed) and will fool around with them for hours. Good, that is supposed to keep him from pushing me to do this and that with MY chickens that HE thinks I ought to do. It doesn't really, but at least he isn't quite so insistent.
ANyway, Brownie is being a great mother. Its neat how she shows them what they should eat, and takes them around to explore, etc. I guess I could spend hours watching them too, if I had the time.

Tired

I have been so tired lately. I hope it is just because I am trying to do too much, and not a sign that illness is creeping up on me again. I am going to the doctor (the MD) next week and will have blood work, so will find out something I'm sure. I am also trying to ease my way off the SSRI I take. I have been taking it too long, and I do think its interfering with my adrenal output. And that of course would contribute to my tiredness. THe chiropractor gave me an adrenal support supplement, and I am taking it, but it doesn't make sense to me to take something else to counteract a side effect of another something. We'll see; I could just be having trouble adjusting to working 2 or 3 days a week at the Museum as well as trying to do everything else I normally do.

Warm Hearts, Warm Babies

I sent off a box of 34 handknit baby sweaters to them late last week. I took photos in groups of 3 as I packed them up, so I can copy the photos to my postcards and put them in Christmas cards to show people what I have donated in their names. I really love taking care of Christmas that way; everybody has too much stuff already, and if they want something, they buy it. So giving gifts is just a way of adding clutter to everybody's overfull life already. ANyway, that's the way it is in the world I know. I'm sure there are families that wait all year to get something they really NEED for a gift, but we're not in that world. Bill does try to give Pat something she really needs for Christmas, but a better quality something that will last her for a while. And that's OK.

More rattlesnakes and Earthlink DSL

Since I wrote last, we have killed 2 more rattlesnakes, both when DH was here. THe first was just inside the front gate at dusk, and was quite large. DH shot him with the .410 gauge. The other one was just the other night, when we were making our trek out the driveway and up to the BLM road, again just as dusk. This one was smaller, but was headed for the chicken yard. He had his head removed with a shovel. THey shouldn't be out this late in the year, but the weather has been too hot and neither the snakes nor the ground squirrels have gone to hibernate yet.
I found a special deal to get Earthlink DSL for $12.95 a month for the first 6 months. ANd yes, it was too good to be true. They sent me the modem, and Qwest activated the DSL on the line, but I was never able to get on the internet using it. I spent over 5 hours on the telephone with Indian Earthlink reps, 2 different ones, on Friday. Both had me do all kinds of stuff to make it work, and ended by referring me to senior techs. THe senior techs never answered, not even after an hour.
The second rep had me remove all traces of my dial-up connections, so I even had to re-install the Total Access software and start over. I lost all my archived email, again. I need to figure out some way to have email automatically backed up on the external hard drive so I'll quit losing all these things that I thought needed saving.
So anyway, this AM I couldn't even get the DSL light to come on the modem, so I phoned Earthlink and cancelled the whole thing. If the DSL can't even stay connected, there's no reason to wast my time trying to log on to my Earthlink. Grrrrrrr! I guess I'll have to wait until Wireless gets affordable enough for me.

For my students

If you can't get these thru your email, here they are. You should be able to print screen, or copy and paste to WordPad to get a paper copy.

These blocks are from Judy Martin's Knockout Blocks and Sampler Quilts, drawn in Electric Quilt 5 Easy Draw, then scanned to email as attachments. You have a copy of the book to find out how many blocks of each kind you need.

JudyMartinStars-EveningStar

  

JudyMartinStars-FlyingGeese

  

JudyMartinStars-Americana

  

JudyMartinStars-Potomac Pride

  

Yet another rattler

This morning about 6:45 I was sleepily filling the bird feeders, until WHOA! A rattlesnake under the north one, and he was BIG and he was RATTLING! ANd he didn't seem to be planning on leaving anytime soon, so I went and got the .410 and shot him from the safety of distance. But it shook me, as well it should. That is the 4th one I personally have killed in the last 11 days.
I hope this doesn't go on much longer. I should always be cautious, but lately I should be hyper-alert, and that is NO way to live my life. I need to be calm and relaxed most of the time to ward off fibromyalgia pain and Crohn's Disease exacerbations.

Picture of original chicken compound

  

Another snake, and CSA update

Yesterday morning I was in the Cornish coop feeding the chickens when I realized there was a rattler curled up in the dog crate we have there for shelter. He wasn't moving; it was still cool. So I quickly upended the crate, throwing him to the bottom, and went out the door, across the yard, and out through the gate, holding the crate up with one hand. There I set it down, went and got my trusty shovel, then dumped him out on the driveway and cut off his head. Yechhhh! THen I stopped to think about it.
DH was perturbed because I didn't come and get him to kill it. Duhhh! He spends most of his leisure time with his community service project and then wonders why I don't even think of being helpless and needing him to do things for me when he's here. Anyway, later I realized that I probably pulled a muscle in my back carrying that crate awkwardly out of the chicken environs. Adrenalin was in charge when I was doing it.

Also, people at the CSA want to buy eggs, and they want to know something about the chickens that lay them. So I sent this Word file to the coordinator to see what she thinks. I have orders for 3 dozen tomorrow, and nobody has even seen them.

Desert Haven
AJ Wischmeyer
22900 West Eagle Mountain Road
Buckeye, AZ 85326
623 386 3295
ajwisch@joimail.com


So you want to know about the chickens that are producing these great eggs. I tend to run on too long, so feel free to stop reading when you get bored.

Desert Haven consists of 20 acres of desert hillsides and a major wash that acts as a wildlife corridor between the BLM lands to the south of us and the Gila River bottom to the north of us. We border both, and our neighbors on both sides have at least 10 acres each, so its really nice out here. However, that also means that we are in the middle of the hunting range for bobcats, foxes, coyotes, skunks, owls, several different varieties of hawk, and a pair of golden eagles. Also rattlesnakes and dogs running loose. Dogs are the absolute worst chicken predator, as they kill for fun.

So, when we decided to obtain some chickens so we could have natural meat and eggs, our first step was to remodel a couple of existing chicken coops to make them as predator-proof as possible. Then we built another one to raise chicks in, and connected all three with a communal yard. The yard we even covered with orchard netting to keep out wild birds and especially predator birds.

The eggs can’t really be called “free range”, because the only time the chckens get to really free range is when I can be right out there in the midst of them. That doesn't happen near as often as they would like. But they get to be out in the yard in the daytime and secure in their coops at night.

What kind of chickens are they? I’m glad you asked. There are 7 Egyptian Fayoumis, 6 hens and a rooster called Walii, 3 Barred Rock hens, and an Ameraucana hen. There were a few more Barred Rocks and Ameraucanas, but I lost some to heat stroke when we first started having days and days of record-breaking heat. Now I keep deep tubs for wading in the yard at all times, and when its really hot, I have a misting attachment on the water hose to turn on. They love the mister, and stand around under it like kids under the shower. The ones who didn’t love the mister have passed on.

Coming up I have 4 Speckled Sussex pullets (hens too young to lay), 2 Light Brahmas, a Black Minorca, another Barred Rock, and 2 White Leghorns. This variety is because I ordered a hatchery-choice bargain assortment last spring. They should start laying in another month or so.

I brought up the older hens on Purina SunFresh certified Natural chick starter and grower until they started to lay, and have gradually switched them over the last six months from Purina Layena to a mixture of whole grains that I balance and augment with kitchen scraps, oyster shell, and dry cat food(salmon-based, natural formula) (when they are molting). The cat food is animal protein, 31 %, that helps them to grow new feathers and prevents them from picking feathers off each other to eat. All of the chickens also supplement their own diet with all the bugs they can catch. I abet this by moving the feed and water dishes to let them get the bugs there, and often put a shovelful of compost, just filled with bugs, in the yard. You should see them chasing those bugs around!They don’t get any soy, they don't get antibiotics, and they don’t get any arsenic unless its in our well water.

I'll try to post the picture I sent when this connection calms down.

Rattlesnakes

Never become complacent and stop paying attention! After not seeing a rattlesnake since June, I have had to shoot one under the north bird feeder last week, and last night I killed one IN the chicken yard. And the worst part is that I didn't even see him until I turned around from shutting the chickens in for the night. Which means I walked right over or past him on my way to the door, than turned around and he started rattling right there in front of me!
I ran and got a shovel and chopped his head off. It was getting darker by the minute, so I left the body until DH got home and we removed it to the wash. It was gone this morning. The other critters do appreciate a free meal, and anything left near the chicken houses disappears right away. So they must come by to check every night.
I don't kill any snakes BUT rattlesnakes, and I wouldn't kill them if they would stay away from the house and yards. I know they come around to catch rodents, but I encourage OTHER snakes to make their homes close for that purpose, and would just as soon never see a rattler. I know the bite wouldn't kill me, as I have had both a foal and a puppy bitten on the face and survived, but there was a lot of pain and swelling and I don't want to go thru that. So there.

New CSA

I went to EMCC and picked up my bag of produce this morning, after yoga. I got to meet Kolleen that I have been corresponding with for months, and also Rachel, the coordinator with Crooked Sky. Rachel says she has already had people asking about getting eggs thru the CSA and we all three discussed it for awhile, finally deciding that, for now, Rachel will give my card to those who want eggs and they can call or email me to bring eggs on CSA pickup day. This looks like it could really take off, and now here I am behind the 8-ball when some of the hens have decided its too much work to lay an egg every day and have cut back to every other or every third day. I wish the pullets would hurry up and start laying, as it looks like I will be able to sell all they can produce, whether to my quilting customers or the other CSA members.
I'm glad to be getting in on this right at the beginning. The produce I got is very nice and I know it is healthy and organic. I have visited the farmer, seen the fields, and gotten good answers to my every question. Its not only organic, but also LOCAL. Local is even better than organic. I just can't say enough good things about this.

Kuku kitty

 

Call Wave

Well, I gave up and downloaded the Call Wave software and signed up for the service again this morning, this time thru Earthlink. I thought we were doing fine without it, but my DH kept having awful fits about my being on the computer when he wants to talk to me. Shoot, it was for that reason that we got the voicemail in the first place, and the CallWave the first time. HE doesn't WANT to leave a message; he wants to talk to me RIGHT NOW. However, he does not want to pay for the service. In order to keep the peace, I have to pay for the extra plan myself, just in case he wants to call me once every couple of months or so. Bitch, bitch, bitch. But I don't understand why these tantrums. I do practically everything he wants already. The concept of compromise, to him, is that I will do whatever he wants. To be fair, its not just me. I think he is the same with everybody, and with Pat too. He always knows best, no matter what. But I get bloody tired of it.

So proud of my niece

Address by Ava Jensen

Good evening. I’m currently majoring in Philosophy with a strong interest in Ethics, and I graduated from the AIMS Diploma Program at the age of 16. I was given a district-paid slot in this program because I had little choice but to drop out even though I had an IEP. I was entitled to one as a twice-exceptional student, being both profoundly gifted and afflicted with major depression. It is due to that crippling condition that I began to fail school, but as a result of my status, I was placed on an IEP which bound my school and teachers by law to help me by making adjustments to my workload.

I should mention that even while I was too apathetic to get out of bed even to shower, I still tended to score A's and the occasional B on exams. It was the excessive amounts of repetitive homework which I had trouble turning in regularly. Yet despite the federal mandate that my teachers make accommodations for me as a disabled student, they steadfastly refused and so even with high test scores, I failed out of tenth grade. If not for the school district’s policy and responsibility to make amends for having failed to deliver to me a decent education, I would not have had the second chance afforded me by the AIMS Diploma Program.

Upon my successful exit from the program, my high school was eager to claim me as one of its graduates despite my decision to be awarded a Weld County High School Diploma instead. So now I have two high school diplomas, which brings me to my first question: With graduates no longer being allowed to have a diploma awarded by their former high schools, then surely they will no longer be unjustly counted as graduates of those high schools, correct?

The more compelling question here, however, is “What would have happened to me if I hadn’t been guaranteed a district-paid slot in the AIMS Diploma Program?” Most importantly, what will happen to the 120 more human beings who are now to be denied this much-needed second chance? How is reducing the available slots to be considered “moving the program forward”? What happens to the non-prioritized individuals who will remain on the waiting list year after year and never be deemed worthy of a second chance of their own?

The superintendent put forth the idea that reducing the number of district-paid slots from 200 to 80 will somehow serve kids better, since the other 120 were supposedly prone to “lying on the sofa” all day, using the AIMS Diploma Program as an easy and wholly unnecessary way out. With all due respect, that idea has little basis and fails to show that 120 students should be denied slots based on the alleged behavior of a few.

For one thing, those students who are not given a slot by the district must not only pay $1,000 out of their own pockets but must also wait until they are 21 years of age before they can apply to the program. Incidentally, I did spend a lot of time sleeping instead of actively working due to my medical condition, but I have gone on to cultivate a 4.0 and receive two awards of distinguished scholarship, one at AIMS and the other at UNC. That would not have been possible if not for the AIMS Diploma Program. Should I have been denied my second chance and condemned to a life of inescapable poverty? More pertinently, should others be?

Unfortunately, there are socioeconomic and racial factors at play here, and simply ignoring the cycle of poverty will not make it go away, at least not for those trapped within it. Many students drop out as soon as they are able in order to work to support their families, but without a high school diploma, they will find themselves unable to advance beyond a certain level of pay without resorting to professions beyond lawful society. No one ever really wants to become a high school dropout. At the very least, no one wants to be unable to succeed in life, and that is exactly what reducing the slots in the AIMS Diploma Program will cause.

The G.E.D. has been mentioned as an alternative, but it carries with it a heavy stigma, and I have personally seen great numbers of job listings which state that only those with actual high school diplomas will be considered for the position. There is much, much more which could be said, but for now I can only strongly urge you to alter your attitudes and actions regarding the AIMS Diploma Program. Thank you.

Bear Cabin Inn

Last weekend I went to a knitting retreat at the Bear Cabin Inn outside Show Low, and had a wonderful time. The first evening I did wonder why I wanted to go in the first place, since we had silly hats, birthday cake, flower leis (for me), and singing for MY birthday. Yechhhh! I have managed to avoid that sort of thing for many years and don't like it any more now than I ever did. But I do love my friends and I know they meant well.
As for immersing myself in knitting from Friday-Sunday, that was just fine. However, some knitters in the know (having been there before) brought sewing machines and worked part of the time on quilts. I WISH I would have done that, and definitely will next time. We arranged to have another in September 2007, since we couldn't get a date any sooner. There are also quilting retreats at Bear Cabin on a regular basis, but I have never attended because I save up to go to Quilt Camp in the Pines in Flagstaff every July.
Being used to spending a large portion of my time along, I got a little harried and sneaked out for a long walk by myself Saturday afternoon, and subsequently was able to maintain a little objectivity. I guess I just didn't realize how necessary the solitude still is to me. I have known it in the past, just forgot.
I took 3 dozen eggs from my precious chickens along to give the hostess, Carol, and we ate them for breakfast on Saturday morning. HaHa, there IS a method to my madness. A couple of the knitters have requested eggs to purchase on Fridays at Knit Studio. And Carol gave ME a box of Kenyan loose black tea in a wooden box after I admired it. Evidently her daughter still lives in Kenya and sends it to her on a regular basis. Its great stuff, although I can't take it strong and have to keep diluting it. Make it in the coffeemaker, and one little (measuring) teaspoon is enough tea for the whole pot. A cup of that will get rid of a caffeine headache in minutes.

A swarm of bees

Yesterday a swarm of bees landed in the palo verde tree right outside the chicken yard. They buzzed away but just hung there, hopefully just to rest before continuing the search for a new home. This morning they had moved to a place under the overhang on the Cornish coop. No good! If they decided to stay it would be hard to remove them, and there is entirely too much activity by the chickens and us there to make them feel safe. I got on the net and researched and found that they would probably move on within a few days.
And lo and behold, I was just up there a bit ago and they HAVE moved on. Thank goodness, I was not looking forward to trying to remove them to a hive even though we have a smoker and bee veils. A reprieve, now we can be better prepared to capture and hive the NEXT swarm we see. I really would like it if DH would take up beekeeping. After all, he did work with bees some as a teenager, and we have some of the equipment, and we have the room, and there are surely enough bees coming to water here and visit the flowers. I would LOVE to have honey from our own bees.
But alas, he only wants to do what he wants to do, and so far, being a beekeeper is not what he wants to do. I understand, even though I don't want to. After all, I only want to do what I want to do, too.

Educating the Gifted and Talented

Educating the Gifted and Talented

My SIL Conny's blog. She is very smart and a talented writer. Back when we were kids, I guess they weren't classifying kids as gifted, normal, sub-normal. All I remember is normal and sub-normal in my school, But everybody knew who the gifted ones were; they just called us smart.

Hemp, again

I think this photo must be before washing and the previous one after washing. It didn't shrink at all, but did relax. That evened out the stitches some and made it much nicer to feel. 

Hemp for shawl

Well, here is a photo of my swatch, either before or after washing. I can't tell which from the photos. However, I can really tell from the swatch in my hands. After washing, the yarn is much more flexible and the stitches even out some. It will never be called "soft", but is really very nice to feel. Its like linen, but the price was much more affordable. I have been knitting on it some the last couple of days and it is quite enjoyable to knit with, after you get used to it and solve whatever crops up. I don't have a bamboo circular the correct size (8US) so used a Bryspun (soft plastic) to start with. It clings just enough to help keep the stitches on the needle while you get used to working with the yarn. Now I have done about 6 inches of the pattern and have switched to Addis. I'll let you know how that works. I may need to switch back to something with more pointed needles to help pick up the stitches on M1. 

Panic! No internet!

Yesterday when I got home from town, the phone was dead. I didn't think too much about it; I had read all my email in the AM, and I knew where my DH was. But it stayed dead all evening, and it was still dead this morning. I had asked DH to call it in from his work, so at least I knew it was reported, just in case the outage was ONLY ours. It finally came back on about an hour ago.
I have been online ever since. Its amazing how many things you think you need to know RIGHT NOW when you can't find them out right now.
I'm actually kind of ashamed of myself for becoming dependent on the computer. I think I'm so smart because I don't watch TV and I hate the telephone, but now look at how I acted when I didn't have internet for 24 hours. Bad.

High cholesterol

I went to Dr. Kapur yesterday to discuss the results of my lab work. My total cholesterol is 213, or 231, I can't remember which, so I am going to say 213. He said the bad kind was over 100 anyway. I need to lose weight, as my BMI is 27, and that should help my cholesterol. Just from reading a few emails from RealAge, I find that garlic is supposed to help lower it, so I will get some when I go to GNC on Wednesday. He also gave me a script for Folic Acid, as it helps my B-12 work better, which I will fill then too.
This training class on Wednesday for the primary election is just for judges. First time I'll be going to one for a particular position. Dare I think that my feedback after every election has something to do with it? Lacking evidence to the contrary, I believe it has. But it won't affect Doris or people like her. They will still do everything the way they have always done it, and don't care to update their methods to allow the TEAM to take care of things. However, if the classes are any good, I will probably consent to be an inspector again in November.

New yarn

I've gone a little bit crazy lately, and bought several kinds of new yarn that I really love but didn't need. I bought 100% hemp lace weight for a shawl that I haven't had time to start yet, and I bought Butterfly Super 10 for a Peace Jacket that is lovely but I haven't started it yet either. That one I will definitely take to the knitting retreat to work on even if I don't start it beforehand. What happened to all my good intentions to finish UFOs at the retreat? I have at least 8 of those packed up in knitting bags to take along and finish and its only a weekend! Self-control is not my strongest suit.

Republican chickens

They are intolerant, small-minded, mean-spirited, and cruel to anyone weaker than they are.
I guess all chickens must be Republicans
DH has such a hard time with the way stronger and older chickens chase and peck the younger ones. I've tried explaining that chickens are like that, but he thinks there ought to be some way to prevent it from happening. Well, sure there is. You need separate pens for each chicken. Duh. That wouldn't be much fun for anybody. All you can do is eat or isolate the worst offenders and give everybody plenty of room to get away. Actually, I don't think we really have a problem that way. And both chasers and chasees get plenty of healthful exercise. Grin.

Because I'm cool like that...

Because I'm cool like that...


A knitter who is going to Gambia in the Peace Corp. I'll try to check on her regularly.

High Country News -- Printable -- July 24, 2006: Taking Liberties

http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.PrintableArticle?article_id=16409

"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way."

Home from Quilt Camp

And that was last Thursday. Many things to do, but I wanted to share how good my Wednesday classes were.
Paper Piecing in EQ5 in the AM, was great. Everyone in the class had at least a nodding acquaintance with the program, even if it was from Monday, so we were able to keep up much better and didn't spend so much time in frustration because of getting behind and being unable to go where the rest of the class was. Ask me how I know how that feels.
I liked it, and almost wish I had taken the 2 EQ5 classes on Tuesday too. But no, I wouldn't have liked to miss the one day of sewing with John Flynn.
PM was EQ5 Medalling Quilts, and we designed a quilt with 15 borders. And I might actually make the quilt I designed too. I would replace making the Braid blocks in Easy Draw with the Triangles on a Roll Braid that I already have for starters, and I would use the New York Beauty paper piecing blocks I already have as a UFO for the 14th border instead of re-inventing the wheel in Easy Draw, but other than that, I would follow my design. I love the way you can change sizes of blocks or borders with just a few strokes and then preview how everything is going to look, over and over, before committing to anything.
For instance, when I got home, I discovered that, if I make Marlon's Log Cabin quilt the way I designed it in class, it will be much too small, and if I just make the blocks larger, the program wants me to cut the logs larger than I want to. After all, I have many many 1 1/2" strips already cut for making log cabins. So that was not an option. I had to go into the worktable, add more blocks until I liked the size, then color (easily) and rotate blocks until I reached the neat way I had arranged the blocks in the first place, only now there are more of them. Cool.
So then I previewed and printed with fabrics, to help with log placement and started cutting and sewing. I love it.
Actually, I like all the quilts I designed in the various classes and will probably eventually make them all. I also have a few I designed in the Judy Martine Stars and Sets before I bought EQ5, too. Maybe I should work up one of those as a mystery quilt. I have never showed them to anyone, so that could work.
Back to the sewing machine!!

Second Day

Today I had an all-day class with John Flynn, Wheel of FOrtune. It includes curved piecing and tiny little templates but he is a low-key, relaxed teacher, and it went very well. I only finished one blockin the whole day, but I learned a lot and without stress and strain. The class was small, too, which always helps.
Then I visited Odegaard's and added some blues and golds to my set of fabrics to make Marlon's graduation quilt. I designed it on Monday, in EQ5, and its a Log Cabin variation. I also added a couple of oranges from the Bernina COnnection, as my Wheel of Fortune is in light blue, dark blue, and different shades of orange. Never can have too much fabric.
Tomorrow its back to the computer, for paper piecing in EQ5 in the morning and medallion quilts in EQ5 in the afternoon.
Thursday I have to pick up Kathleen and go home. Boo.

First Day of School

I am just wrung-out and wasted tonight. I spent all day in a class learning to use Electric Quilt 5. Major mental work all day, and I will still need to practice every day so I can learn to use it automatically like I do WOrd and Excel. Mary sat with me and also struggled. I guess the whole class did. But if I CAN get comfortable with it, the whole quilt designing process, and especially for quilts to teach, will become much quicker and easier.
I went to Los ALtenos to eat after, with Mary and Andy and Kathleen.
Then I found myself at Jo-ANn buying more baby yarn for charity sweaters. I still plan to visit Unravel, the Flagstaff LYN, but not until tomorrow.
Gotta go veg out.

Quilt Camp

Well, here I am, all checked in to my motel and waiting for the Meet the Teachers meeting tonight at Old Main. This motel, the Highland Country Inn, is twice as nice as the Parkside (50 yards away) where I stayed last year, and it cost less too. The room is much bigger, even with a bigger bed in it, the refrigerator is bigger, the bathroom is bigger, there is a table and 2 chairs, and the air conditioner works. I came up smelling like a rose. ANd this is good, because I had to pay waaaaay in advance to get this room rate and was afraid that I made a mistake. I didn't.
The wireless internet access didn't work at first either, no signal, but is fine now. SO I hope to be reporting regularly for the next 3 days anyway. Off to get ready for tonight.

Try again.

I don't know why this picture didn't upload with the last entry, but here it goes again. 

First Jiffy Baby Sweater

Finished, AND sewed together AND the ends
put away AND the cord tie crocheted and
threaded thru. And I'm SO proud of myself.
I believe I will have to do a few more of these
before I go back to CIC socks. It was fun,
and its so cute.

Yarn for Jiffy Baby KAL

I have been so successful at giving away my
acrylic yarns over the past few years that I
had a heck of a time finding any for this
KAL. But here it is. I will run 2 strands, one
of sportweight Red Heart Soft Baby and one
of a sportweight mauve anonymous fluffy
from my stash.
If that doesn't look good once I get started,
I will frog and use both ends of the Soft Baby. 

Juicer

DH decided we need a juicer after reading a book called Power Aging, by Gary Null, so we researched them on the Internet and decided on an Omega 02. I got it for $100 on ebay and it came a few days ago. Yum, just about anything is good juiced. Even celery juice is kind of good, but the best of all is 2 apples and half a little lime. I haven't ever really liked apple juice, but this is a whole new taste of apple juice.
THe juicer is a pain to clean of course, but I can feed the pulp to the chickens so there isn't any waste. And fresh vegetables are less expensive that bottled or frozen juices.
I saw somewhere a paragraph or two about drinking cabbage juice for IBD, but I can't think where. Oh well, I'll probably come across it.

Another Rock died

Yesterday when I went up the hill to feed the chickens, I found a dead Rock in the coop by herself. Everybody else was out in the yard. It had been an extremely hot night and I guess she just couldn't take it. We also can't leave them out at night because of all the predators. The yard isn't as fortified as the coops, and really can't be, or it would cease to be a yard.
We did remove part of the wall between the coop and the yard, leaving just the layer of hardware cloth on the inside and chicken wire on the outside. So there should be better air movement, although it really should have been OK already.
I really hate losing a chicken. It makes me feel so guilty.
So now I am down to 3 barred rocks, 6 Fayoumis and 2 Ameraucanas for hens and the Wallee the Fayoumi rooster. I plan on keeping the 4 Speckled Sussex pullets to go into the laying flock and Bill wants to keep the 2 Dark Cornish pullets and Edgar the Dark Cornish cockerel and raise some more purebreds of them. That's OK with me, because it will galvanize him into building another chicken house. Can't have too many chicken houses, you know.
And I need another house for broody hens to set and to raise their chicks. ANd maybe soon. I was pecked several times by the little brown hen when I tried to reach under her for eggs, a couple of times by one of the silver Fayoumis, and again several times a couple of hours later by a Rock. All of these incidents were when I was trying to gather eggs. They are not broody yet, but I'd be willing to bet that at least one of them will be completely broody in a week. Naturally, right when I'm getting ready for Quilt Camp. Bill probably won't even notice. Oh well, if they are going to be broody, they will still be that way when I get home and can make some adjustments to the living arrangements.

Migraine season

A migraine woke me up before 5 this morning. I took a Maxalt and tried to go back to sleep. No luck, it just kept getting worse. A washcloth wrapped around some ice cubes felt good on my head but it did nothing for the pain. So I got up at 6:30 and started my tea (which often helps with migraines). I drank a cup and took another Maxalt before heading up the hill to feed the chickens. The pain was still so bad that I vomitted twice in the chicken yard. Boy was I glad to have drunk the tea or I'm sure I would have had dry heaves. Those can be so painful. Anyway, I felt some better after that. Now I have had a stuffed-full headachy feeling the rest of the day, but it is so minor compared to the migraine that I have hardly noticed it.
The weather is doing weird things; that's probably the reason the the migraine. I guess I'm lucky to live here. If it really is the weather I'd be in a world of hurt more often if I was living practically anywhere else. Easy to say now, but in the midst of a headache I'd be willing to commit to doing anything to prevent them. Speaking of which, I'd better ask the doc about prevention medicine when I see him in a few weeks. Maybe I could just take it this time of year since this is when I have the most headaches.

Second pair toeup

This is my 2nd pair, made with 3 different
scrap yarns leftover from my DH' s socks. My
normal style is for more exuberant colors, but
I think these turned out nicer than my first
pair. I like them anyway. I did manage to
do the spiral stitch pattern on the leg this time,
which I completely missed on the first pair.
These are habit forming, and I will try and
work on the next pair's leg fitting more snugly,
not so slouchy.