Fiber-y Goodness

Today after my WW meeting, I came home to 2 (yes, two!) packages on my doorstep. I swear it was like mail heaven. In the mailbox was a Hobby Farm Home magazine, plus a netflix, and my two packages on the doorstep. The packages were from a Ravelry swap, and I couldnt wait to dive in. Check out what I got today.



I cant wait to get started on even more projects. (hubby will tell you how many I currently have going, thats if he can even keep track). I am definitely not in a committed relationship with any one project...

Off now to go fondle some yarny goodness...

Wednesday Weigh In- I LOST!

This week I was dreading going to WW. I thought I might even have gained weight. I ate out at Chipotle yesterday PLUS bought a frozen mocha (my nemisis). For sure, there was no way I was going to do well at the weigh in. Ha! I was down 3.6 pounds for a total of 13.2 lost. Not too shabby! I have .8 to lose in order to hit my 5% goal. I know I can, I know I can, I know I can. So my goal for this week is to lose at LEAST a pound. Thats right folks, next week I will be 5% lighter than when I started a month ago... I hope. I am going to be good at all the 4th of July events... we can do this!

Dinner

(please excuse hubby's lack of shirt- we were moving the turkeys and the result was quite messy!)

I had a whole post ready last night and blogger deleted it. In the post I told you about the amazing dinner we ate, at home. I had made goat cheese the night before. I took some toast, spread the cheese (crumbled more like it) on the toat and broiled it in the oven. We had two red tomatoes from the garden that I sliced and tossed with olive oil, salt and basil (from the garden too). All I can say is...yum!!!! We ate that aside our garden leftovers from the night before.

Mold, Farm Dinners and A Coyote

You know the saying, when it rains it pours? I know where that saying originated! If you remember a while ago it rained, and poured and the basement flooded. Hubby and I have been working on taking the carpet out because it just wasnt drying. We thought (and hoped) it would solve our basement issues. Then came the mold. Hubby went to get something out of the closet, and his jacket was covered in mold. Then there were moldy pillows, and shoes, and baskets...ulgh. Our insurance specifically does not cover mold I was told. I have put a call in to some mold companies to give us an estimate on how much it will be to fix it. I am sure it will be a lot so we are bracing ourselves. In the not so direct sense of it rains and pours- we also need to get both trucks fixed, and hubby needs new tires... I think we will be penny pinching for a while.

On the frugal note, we got all our chickens back from the butcher. Yum! We shared one with a friend yesterday, complete with potatoes and a salad from the garden! Tonights dinner is chicken, with garden zuccini and squash. This is a perfect time to be penny pinching, as our garden is just starting to deliver its goods.

While at work on sat, I got a message from Hubby. Something like this- "the neighbor just said he saw the biggest coyote he had ever seen on our property". Perfect... when I got home hubby was all geared up to go hunt for a coyote. He didnt see it (which is a good thing). All we need is a coyote to get our livestock. I thought I would share some pics of hubby dressed for the hunt.

A daily dose of fiber aka the making of yarn

(draped over the wheel before any spinning was done)


Yesterday I finished spinning up 8oz of this blue roving. I had bought it at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival two years ago, and never did anything with it. It took me about 2 weeks to get it spun. Yesterday I finished up, washed it and now its hanging to dry. I cant wait to knit with it!

(spinning on the bobbin)

(against a quarter to show the size)

I have a lot of fiber goals coming up. Starting on July 2nd is the Tour de Fleece. Essentually it is a competition (a friendly one at that) to knit every day that the cyclists ride during the Tour de France. When they take rest days, so do we. I am hoping to spin up a lot of fiber from my stash and then ill have even more yarn to knit with. Secondly, I promised to knit a aran sweater for my Uncle Cal. Yesterday the pattern came in the mail. I just have to buy the needles and get started. Thirdly, I am trying to see how many shawls I can knit in 2011. So far the count is 3. If I can get a total of 6 plus the sweater done before the end of the year Ill be a happy camper!

(winding on the swift)

(taking a bath in the kitchen sink)

(hanging to dry in the shower)

Wednesday Weigh In

Down .8! Wahoo!

A Farm-y Update

I havent posted much about the farm goings on lately because a-my camera card wasnt working and b- i might be a tad bit lazy. So here goes. Ill show pictures to catch you all up.

1st- the turkeys are getting big! they are actually looking and acting like turkeys.

2nd- Suprise and Delight (the two new goats) are adorable. I would never give them special attention...not me...never...ok so what if I like them best right now? so what if they get extra rations of feed...

3rd- The 19 meat chicks are going to the butcher on Sat, along with our surplus of roosters. We are looking forward to more chicken diners.

4th- Hugs finally moved to his new pen. I hate to call the adorable baby goat that everyone is smitten with a pervert, but if you know ANYTHING about billy goats I dont have to explain... this weekend was the final straw and he now has a new pen. He is NOT happy with this new arrangement and he is currently letting the world know. He even complains to the cat, who doesnt listen...

(hugs looks depressed behind bars)


(he tries to tell Mittens his sorrows)

5th- The garden is alive! We got our first harvest of new potatoes this week and are going to cook them with our fresh chicken. Check out the tomatoes! And we are going to have a huge surplus of squash. Maybe I can pawn some off on friends...beware!

(land of squash)

(squash)

(to-maters)

(cantelope and lettuce)

(sweet potatoes)

6th- I dont have a picture of them yet, but today we adopted 8 ducklings. They were free and I cant say no to anything so small. Duck eggs are our biggest sellers so we figured they would be a good investment.