Lanolin Soup

I washed some of the fleece over the weekend. I just wanted to give it a try and see how it would look washed up. I did not document the whole thing, I followed the technique the Yarn Harlot uses and it seemed to work well.

I laid the fleece out on the garage floor to get an idea of how dirty it is. My plan was to pick out the plant matter and then wash it, I did not pick out the plant stuff as there was so little in it. I was surprised at how little oder it had even when laid out. Not smelly at all.



I laid some of the locks out as the Yarn Harlot suggests. I weighed out 6oz. I will weigh the clean fleece when it is completely dry, I am curious how much weight is lost in dirt and lanolin.



I warned Paul and the kids I would be cooking a bit a sheep and the house might get stinky. Paul kept asking me when the lanolin soup would be ready. Funny guy.



Here is the washed fleece:



I was surprised at how clean it was. Portions of it are still a bit dirty on the tips. I did not separate the locks very much when I placed them in the pot. The part that are still a bit dirty were in the middle of my bundle, I think if I had spent a bit more time loosening up the fiber before I cooked it that the middle would have faired better. I may wash the portions I am not happy with again.



The good news: none of the wool felted during the washing process. Whoot!

Remembrance Day

We took the kids down to the park for the Remembrance Day service. It was quite moving. I must be getting mushy as I get older, I got all teary eyed a few times during the ceremony.

The Canadian Flag at half mast for the day:



Wreaths are placed here in honor of those that have gone to war for our freedom.

It makes me long for peace in this world.



The local pipe band is a class act:



I cold not help but notice that the leader had hand knit kilt hose on. Either someone loves him very much or he is one heck of knitter. I apologize for the fuzzy photo the man was on a mission



One of four Sentinels that stand over the service and the wreaths there is one from each branch of the service: Army, Navy, Airforce and one from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

The words on the monument behind him read, "We Will Remember Them."

Sheep for Ewe

Blogger is a fickle mistress. An hour ago it would not let me post a picture apparently now she has changed her mind. I won't look a gift sheep in the mouth and will carry on.

A picture of pretty girl, don't ewe think so?



A bit of flora to warm you up. (I was going to throw in another really bad sheep pun here bit I don't want to ram to many down your throats) I am done with the photo class it was so worth it. The last class we played a little with photoshop and learned enough to help me with my photos. Here is my before:



Here is the same picture I after I mucked with it. I could have just posted the after photo and you would have thought I was a vastly improved photographer. I figured there was no pulling the wool over your eyes and I should just post them both.



I have patient who raises sheep to train sheep dogs. I am not sure what uses the sheep other than training purposes. When she shears the sheep she sends the fleece to a place in Vancouver that pays her by the pound and she does not care where it goes from there.

Sometime ago she raised a few Romneys. She had a Romney fleece that she had saved for years. She said it was to nice to send to Vancouver but she was not quite sure what to do with it as she is not a spinner herself.

When I started spinning Paul mentioned it in passing to her. She came in to me see and offered the fleece to me. She told me I could have it for nothing if I could make good use of it. She would mention the fleece every time she came in for care, months went by and I thought nothing of it.

Now she is selling her home and acreage and purging all her stuff. She came in on Monday and told me she found two more Romney fleeces in her basement and wanted to know if I could use all the fiber. I replied that if she wanted to get rid of all of it I would see that it found good homes and I ensured her that it would be spun up with love.

Today this came home with Paul:



Holy sheep shit batman that is a lot of fleece.



Cute 4 year old added for scale:

Halloween

Before I show you a couple of Halloween pictures let me show what Sebass spotted in the tree across the street:



I think this is the largest wasps nest I have ever seen. I have posted a picture of the back of it as well. It is pretty cool. I love the way the built it right around one of the small branches of the tree. I don't know a darn thing about wasps, are they in there sleeping for the winter or do they die and build a new one next year? I really wanted to give the thing a nudge until a mental picture of me running down the street with a swarm of angry wasps chasing after me stayed my hand. I took a few pictures and beat feet. PJ wants to ask the neighbors if we can have it for show and tell.



I was at work while Paul and the kids carved the pumpkins. I was sad to miss it, I love the smell of carving pumpkins. I only took pictures of two of them. The third one was not feeling well and threw up its pumpkin guts all over the front lawn. I think it is unkind to take pictures of people or pumpkins while they are eating or vomiting.



Sebass was a vampire for All Hallows Eve. In this picture he looks spooky so it is my favorite. Q was a police man and PJ was Snow White. They were out the door so fast I did not get pictures of them. I think Kathryn got some and will post them if she gives me copies. (Shannon the BE meet the stones worked great to make his eyes all sunken and tired looking)



And one more happy pumpkin. I think he is laughing at the vomiting pumpkin that is in front and to his left.



One more thing: one of the kids made the sports page click here to see who it was.

Quick and Dirty

I have no idea what the heck we have been doing but I have been busier than a one armed man...well you know the rest. I have no idea what eats up my time.

The kids are keeping me busy school stuff, 3 field trips in the past week, pumpkin carving, work school pictures, homework, photography class and run here and there and my days are gone.

I don't have to much for you except for some pretty pictures.



Here is the moon set. This was taken about 7 in the morning just a few days ago.



We start out nice and cold in the morning, but it warms up enough for the frost to think about melting. The little light we get is sure pretty in the Fall.

Winter's Coming

I came home from my photography class and found someone asleep on my computer. I had left it on and it was warm enough to attract Shmoo.



Here is our sunrise this morning.



And out the back door this morning: Yup that is snow on that hill. The first snow of the season. I don't think it really counts if I did not have to shovel any off the driveway. We were not to far below the snow line last night.



I cast on for these yesterday and knit a little way before I decided they are not the right gauntlets for the yarn I want to use. When I read the pattern I thought they would be bigger than I wanted them to be, but I cast on anyway and they are to big. I am going to check online for a free pattern similar to the idea I have in my head and then I am going to make it up as I go along. Wish me luck.

Hockey

It took me 45 minutes but I got the pictures to post. I often think of moving to another blog service and then I figure better the devil you know. Who knows what I could be getting into with a different one.

Here are those hockey pictures I told you I would post. You can really see how much the kids enjoy playing by their faces. Here is Bass:



Here he is on the ice:



PJ, it really cracks me up how much she loves putting on all gear. She does insist on pick hockey tape. You can put the princess in the hockey gear if she has pink tape.



Here she is doing a puck handling drill.



And the lean mean hockey machine: Q.



He is a tripod on skates. The hockey stick seems to be mostly for balance at this point. He is really working on his skating at this point and having tons of fun. The fun is the important part.



Paul missed his flight out of S.F. this afternoon. I am not sure how it happened, he just did not allow himself enough time to return the rental car and check in I guess. He is in Vancouver on standby now. Flights are delayed due to weather and he is not sure if he will be able to get one tonight.

I can get the kids off to school and it is my day to work so as long as he is here in time to pick the kids up at school in the morning and afternoon it will work work out alright.

Hockey and Stuff

Whoops. I came on tonight to try and play catch up and post some hockey pictures of the kids for you. I am getting an error report when I try to post my pictures, I wonder if I am having the same problem Shannon did with her photos.

It has been a crazy week. The photo class was more fun than I thought it would be. I was kind of sketchy about the teacher after talking to him on the phone a few times, but it turns out he seems to really know his stuff and is a very interactive teacher. I think my photos have improved with the little bit I learned on Monday. I will try to post them Sunday and see what happens.

Paul has been out of town since Thursday night. I took the kids to hockey and have been busy playing with them. I decided to take them to Kewlona for a visit with family there. We left on Friday and got back this evening. It was a lot of fun. I have some pictures of that for you too.

The kids and I seem to be feeling over tired. I ran out of patience about 2 hours ago and the kids have been whining for quite sometime. I think a good sleep tonight will take care of all of us. I feel like I could go to sleep right now and it is only 8:30. I am going to read and relax for a little bit, maybe have myself a beer.

Photography

Bleh, I just deleted my post with the wrong keystroke. I don't even know how I did it.

I am starting a photography class in about an hour. It is Monday nights for the next 4 weeks for 2 hours. I am looking forward to learning more about my camera and how to take better pictures. I will let you know how it goes.

I have some finished knitting to show you, ironically I have not taken pictures of it yet. I take them Tuesday when I have learned some new and exciting camera techniques.

I have had a cold for the past few days so things have been kind of boring around here. I have been playing with kids and hanging around the house. Paul has been super busy with the SpineMED. Check out THIS.

Click on the link. Paul built the website with his own ten thumbs. I am so proud of him. He has been staying up until the wee hours of the morning working on it. He is looking for feed back so feel free to let me know what you think and will pass it on.

He is working hard to get this stuff together and get going on the SpineMED. He is grumpy in the process. I am trying to give him lots of room and be respectful of everything he has on his plate, but I must say I am tired of being growled out by the grumpy bear. It is so hard, I admire how hard he is willing to work, but I don't appreciate what a grump his focus makes him
sometimes.

It is impossible to help him out. He knows so clearly what he wants and how he wants it done that when I help I just seem to screw things up and make more work for him. Again, I am glad he has such vision, but it is very hard to help someone that is so exacting. I am hoping he will relax soon.

When You Put the Book Down

You get shit done.

You pick up your camera and snap a few pictures of Fall.



You capture a missing tooth:



You finish a Christmas gift. It did not take long. I am a little proud, cast on at the hockey game Friday night and blocking this evening. I am amazed at what happens when I can put down the books.



Funny boy in a funny hat. I love the way is squished his eyes all up.



Truth be told I did read a couple a chapters. At night, in bed after all the fun was done. I also took a few minutes to look out the front window.



I met Princess Leah.



I finished a pair of socks.



I captured more Fall colours:



I had a lot of fun. If you will excuse me, I am all pooped out, I think I need to go read.

Book Worm

I am going to try something this week. I am going to put the books down. I blame it all on Mom and Shannon. They sent a bag of books with Dad when he came up for a visit. I seem to feel compelled to read the entire bag of books as quickly as I can.

They are the J.D. Robb books. I have been sucked in, last week I read 4 maybe 5 of them. Yesterday I read an entire book. Last night I had a dream that I was cop in the year 2058. This is not good I need to pick up some knitting needles and knit until I stop dreaming that I am a character in the books I have reading.

My knitting is suffering. I am going to see what happens with my knitting if I put the books down. Even if I were to limit myself to one book a week I bet I would get more done. We might eat something other than pizza, the entire family might have clean clothes to wear, imagine the posibilties.

I might even be able to blog and answer my e-mail or is that crazy talk. I have gone about 15 hours without a book in my hand, I think I have the shakes. Is there some sort of program I could join, you know work your way down to 2 chapters a day or is cold turkey best?

Teetering

We are at a bit of a turning point in our lives. By "a bit" I think I mean huge. I have waiting for a shift, begging for a shift in energy and I think it has finally occurred.

Here is my metaphor. We went out to look at a house yesterday. We have been thinking about owning a chunk of land. We would like to build our home in a few years and we have been half heartedly looking for some acreage to build it on.

A few days ago we received a phone call from someone, who knows someone, who heard we might be looking for a bit a land. It turns out this couple with a four bedroom house on 20 acres is breaking up and they want to get rid of the house quickly. It is a great deal, 15 minuets from town, great well right on the property, a dirt bike track on the bus route for the kids to go school and in our price range.

While we were checking out the property we had a bit of fun with the truck. Paul tried to back it into a ditch to turn around and we got high centered.



You can't really see it in the above photo but the back wheel on the passenger side is not touching the ground.



You can tell if you look carefully, the front tire on the drivers side is not touching the ground. Paul tried sitting on the hood of the truck while I drove it out of the ditch. He needs to eat a bit more, he did not quite weigh enough to get the front tire on the ground.

We were stuck good (welcome to the past month or so of our lives)



Enter the shift: We went back to the owners of the one we had just looked at and the guy pulled us out with his truck. He was good natured and happy to do it. He was thrilled to pull a Ford out of the ditch with his Chevy. We may never hear the end of it, but we are no longer teetering.



I know you are aching to know about the house. Did we buy it?

In addition to all this house stuff, we have had a ton of stuff on our plates with the office. We have been in the process of purchasing our own Spine-Med machine. You may remember me mentioning the Spinal Decompression machine we had at the office? You know the one where a doctor in town put the machine in our office and we ran it while he paid for the machine did all the advertising and we kept our cut?

We did very well with that machine. But the doctor we were working with got greedy. He broke our contract and pulled the machine out of our office. We lawyered up and what not, lots of to do about it. In the long run we let him out of our contract with us (he broke it illegally and was still bound to it) and he let us out the covenant that stated we could not own our own machine within a year of him removing it from our office. Long and short: everyone is happy in the end. Paul is picking up our machine this weekend and we get started with it on Tuesday.

There is more...are you bored to tears yet?

We have another dream, you know in addition to the whole house thing. Our retirement plan has always been commercial property. We want to buy a building. Last night we were presented with an incredible opportunity to buy the bottom floor of new building, going up next to the hospital. We would own the bottom floor along with a local neurosurgeon and an MRI machine, and a doctor that specializes in facet blocks (more back stuff).

Last night we were teetering, for only a moment about what we should do and then it came. The shift. I swear to you I felt the energy in the room change, the energy in the house, the energy within me and within Paul. I remembered something I have always known, the glass IS half full. I knew it all along. I just needed to be slapped upside the head with it.

You are still wondering what we did? I bet you know....

Late to a Funeral

I feel awful.

I had plans to meet mom and her sisters at Uncle Bill's memorial service. Paul and I had it all planned out. Today I pulled out our suitcases to get everyone packed by Friday.

Then I went online and read mom's blog. The memorial service was last weekend. I was under the impression that it was this weekend. I have hotel reservations for this weekend. I booked Tuesday off work for the drive home. I wrote notes to the kids teachers letting them know the kids would miss a day of school. I went to the yarn store today and bought some locally spun yarn to take to mom. I got a skein for Darryl too. I am ready to go.

I am late. I feel terrible. It was important to me to be there to support mom and to celebrate Uncle Bill's life.

I can't buy a break.

What a Week

It has been a doosey of a week, but you guys already know this. I am going to just skip over the crappy stuff and share some of the events that made me smile.

Q had his 4th birthday. What a wonderful sweet boy he is! We are lucky to have such a sweet family. This boy is the icing on the cake:



He really wanted a boat for his birthday. Or a race car he could "really drive." one he could "fit in myself" as he put it. The race car was out of the question (shouldn't Mommy have one first? Or I am being selfish?) So the kid got a boat.

The thing is pretty neat, it comes apart and clicks back together in 100 different ways. It has a submarine, scuba divers and even a shark with shark cage. I saw it a Costco and knew it was destined to belong to Q. It even has a water proof motor that you can attach to any piece you want.



Lets just say that bath time is more fun than ever. I always thought the octopus in the hot tub was Paul, but it turns it came with the boat.



PJ has a sense of fashion that I can not even begin to understand. What I do know is that every day she comes out of her room dressed and ready for the day. I don't need to nag her to get dressed, I just need to be accepting of what she chooses to wear.

I have the other girls in her class talk about PJ's sense of fashion with reverence. I have heard them whispering to their moms, "Mommy look, PJ is wearing a princess dress to school, she always wears dresses." The self confidence that PJ has to wear exactly what she wants is admirable. I hope this does not bite in the but when turns 14.

Here is what she wore to school on Friday:




Work it, work it:

She was totally happy with herself. Who am I to judge? I love that girl.

Sebass apparently flew under the radar this week as I did not have any good pictures of him. He is still adapting to the long school day and is tired and a bit touchy when he gets home from school. This will go away. Won't it?