Snow Storm, Morning Visitor, Crafts

Here's what we woke to this past Monday morning.

It's pretty.......but it's a lot of work!

And I've noticed we've had visitors most every morning lately........

Cleaning up underneath the crab apple tree.

Here is my wool needle punch picture all done & framed. I really enjoyed this little project.

And here's what I've been working on lately.......little baby mittens! Aren't they cute!

Ben & Sadie really like the doggie buiscuts that I made for them. Ben loves them so much that he likes to hang onto his for about an hour so he can tease Sadie 'cause she already ate hers and doesn't have any more.



He just lets it set there for Sadie to see but as soon as anyone comes near he scoops it up & carries it around in his mouth. They're so funny.....

I baked mixed berry pies today....oh my word are they good!!!!!!!!! Luckily my Mom & Dad are coming to visit soon & they'll be bringing my more berries! I'm also trying out the sourdough bread that was in MaryJane's magazine. I'll be baking it in a couple of hours. I can't wait....I hope it comes out good!

TTFN!

Bear Dance

This was the email going around at work today. Have a good chuckle.

TTFN.

More Sick Animals

A couple of days ago we had to put flea/tick medicine on both cats & both dogs because Casey, my himalayan was having an allergic skin reaction to something & we thought it might be a flea bite since we found one on him. Well, Sadie, our boxer licked the medicine off Oreo's back. The poor, poor thing......she was horribly sick from about 9:00 pm, all through the night. It slowly subsided after several hours. By about 5:00 am it had subsided. She dry heaved all night after all the food & bile were gone from her stomach. The poor baby. I felt so bad for her. We thought we were going to have to take her to the emergency vets but I called & they said the medicine is not toxic. Then the next day her medicine that was on her back was driving her nuts. SHe couldn't sit still for 3 seconds, she kept trying to dig at it and she was so miserable she was whining.

I'm giving Casey human antihistamine to clear up the skin allergy. It seems to be responding. He doesn't like having a dry pill put down his throat twice a day. He's 12 now & has lost weight so he feels like a little whiffet when I pick him up.

I promised the guys at work that I would make one more of my Rhubarb-Strawberry pies before I left the company. I have to admit, damn I make a good pie! They said I should sell them. Hmmm......they're putting ideas in my head.

I finished the wool needle point project. When I took this picture it reminded me that I have to go back & fill in the places that are kinda thin. The white flecks that showed up in the picture are tell tale signs. I punched most of it in not-so-good light so I need to go over it. I am painting a photo frame to put it in.

While I was Valentine shopping today for hubby, I picked up the current issue (and my first issue) of MaryJane's Magazine. I can't wait to get home to look at it!

TTFN!

Needle Punch with Fine Wool

This past Sunday was our monthly gathering for Saco Valley Fiber Artists. It was held at Janet's house who is a fabulously talented rug hooker (check out her website, http://www.jconnerhookedrugs.com/). Well, she is working on adding something new to her business. They are needle punch kits of her own original designs. And what's even better is she is dyeing fine wool thread to punch with instead of the shiny embroidery floss. I love this idea because first of all, I love Janet's designs and second, I love the matte hand dyed wool colors much better than the shiny embroidery floss. I am so excited because she sent me home with one of her designs that she drew for me while I was there & she had me pick out some colors to punch it with & all she wanted in return was for me to punch it so she could take a picture of it for her site/kits.

I love to needle punch so when I went home I started on it right away. This is 2 nights of working on it. It is so fun, I can't wait to do more of her designs. I also like to draw my own which I haven't done for needle punch yet but I have for rug hooking.

This was the first kit that I ever bought from Attic Heirlooms. I need to frame it or do something with it.

This was a rug hooking pattern that I downsized which I still need to finish punching.


And that is all I've done so far in needle punch.

TTFN.

Organic Skin Care

I've had very oily skin for most of my life, and I mean very oily. A few years ago that changed & it is so nice not to have a grease slick on my face anymore. So now, I need to use a moisturizer in the winter. Never had to worry about that before. I discovered a few years back a great little home business called Greenridge Herbals. They make all organic skin care products. They have grown over the years & moved to Florida. I had been interested in trying some of her products & finally did last year. I ordered a "Pumpkin Face Cream" which I like. The only thing is living in a cold climate, in the winter it stays solid. So I just have to rub my fingers in it until some melts & I can rub it on my face. I then ordered her "Face Petals Brightening Scrub". This one I really love. It has tiny jojoba beads for the exfolient. A tiny bit goes a long way so this will last a long time. She has so many enticing products, I will be trying out more of them. If you are interested in checking them out, hop on over to http://www.greenridgeherbals.com/. Just thought I would share that.......


I made some peanut butter doggie treats last weekend. Odd thing......Ben liked them the day that I made them but ever since, he has no interest in them & won't even take it out of my hand. He takes a quick sniff, then snubs it and turns around and walks off. Sadie still loves them though.........and I used the crunchy peanut butter, too!!




Well, I have to go watch the second part of "Wuthering Heights" on PBS, Masterpiece Classics (the new 2009 version).....for the third time. I am so addicted to that movie!

TTFN

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

December 8 - 6:00 PM
It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9
We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the whole world? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had! Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!

December 12
The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment! My neighbor tells me not to worry- we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14
Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15
20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16
Ice storm this morning. Fell on my butt on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17
Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20
Electricity's back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling! Took all day. The damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22
Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white sh*t fell today, and it's so cold, it probably won't melt 'til August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter, but he says he's too busy. I think the *sshole is lying.

December 23
Only 2 inches of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What, is she nuts?!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24
6 inches - Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snow plow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25
Merry f---ing Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn slop tonight - Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God, I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.

December 26
Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27
Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28
Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. The BITCH is driving me crazy!!!

December 29
10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30
Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his *ss. The wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted.

December 31
I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8
Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Stormy Sunday

Today we are getting 8-12" of snow. Lucky for me.....I was just starting to feel out of shape. Now I can go snowblow, shovel & roof rake all evening long & be too tired to get up in the morning. Hubby had to go do a magic show & got stuck trying to get out of the driveway so I had to go help. I think I pulled something trying to push him out. Kitty litter does the trick though, just as long as you aren't stingy with it & put plenty down. You might have to apply it at least twice or more.

So while I pass the time until I can go out & work my butt off, I made some raspberry scones this morning for breakfast. I love scones & I love making them. Yesterday morning I made blueberry ones. I wrap them individually & put them in the freezer. Then in the mornings I take one out & by time I get to work it's all thawed. I recycle & reuse the wrappings also. I'm big on recycling. The blueberries are wild & the raspberries are from my parent's huge raspberry patch. They are both picked by my Mom & Dad up in Northern Maine.

YUM!!

And I did some spinning. This is a blend of my Nevis' seconds & red merino. I thought I would try an odd color combo & see how it came out as Nevis is a tan alpaca. I'm not crazy over the color myself so after I spin it I'm going to overdye it but it is a joy to spin. It looks fine in the pictures, like a soft pink but in person it looks like a dirty pink.

Ben vomited some bile this afternoon so he had to have a bath. It gets on the hair around is mouth & holy cow does he stink! Sadie likes to try & lick the water coming out of the sprayer while I'm bathing him.

Boy if looks could kill.

Poor Sadie has had cabin fever as it has been too cold lately for her to stay out very long. She is good at entertaining herself & playing alone.

I caught some action photos of her. She would run around the other side of the barn & come flying back out again like some imaginary playmate was chasing her. She will get all that energy burned off this evening when she goes out with us to clear snow.

I was determined to get some goat milk soap made this weekend. I used fresh goat's milk this time instead of the canned I have always used in the past. That is why it is lemon yellow in color. No, it's not going to stay that color. This is a small batch of spearmint. I hope to get a batch made next weekend, too. I would have made a bigger batch but didn't have enough goat's milk.

Yesterday I went to see my friend Debbie at her shop in Limerick www.greenwoodherbals.com. She made up a tea blend for me to see if it will help with my migraines. She told me that the Chinese believe that the liver is the cause of migraines. I found this very interesting & am going to research it. I am determined to find the cause of my migraines & put an end to them. If the liver is "out of balance" or overloaded with toxins or something that it can't filter & flush out properly, the result is a migraine. A liver detox may be in order. So anyone who suffers from migraines, I would recommend looking into this. What have you got to loose but your migraines?

Oh, and for anyone wondering, Chistopher is back to himself now, kicking up his heels at grain time. He is so funny.

Well, better go start on the snowblowing so hubby can get back in the driveway. TTFN.