Who IS That??

I have been going down the hill (well, part way down) to play with Jim's horses. He raises Appaloosas, and has more animals than one person can pet, brush, feed treats, and generally make a fuss over. I asked if I could come down and visit the horses and he said "Sure"! Every couple of days I go  down and hang out for an hour or so with the mares (I like them better than the boys). The big mares are pregnant, so they are getting very round. They are quite gentle and always looking for treats.

Most of the young horses are sold before they are a year old, so there are only a few that could be considered "babies". This is the only one that has no spots, unless you count a boy baby (about the same age) in the other pasture who is jet black with a very loud white blanket on his rump, but no spots in the blanket. I don't know if that makes him an Appy or not. Anyway, this is a very fuzzy small horse!

A Hollow Place...

      A little more than a month ago, on March 13th, my Dad passed away. He died in his own home at 97 years of age. My brother Larry had promised him no hospital or well-meaning but unfamiliar "Home" when it was time: Larry kept his promise.  Dad had a very long life full of family, friends, accomplishments, and adventures. We will scatter his ashes at sea this Summer, in the same part of the Pacific we visited for Mom 32 years ago. Time will make Dad's absence less immediately painful but we will carry him in our hearts forever, in that special spot reserved for family, both biological and chosen.

     There is a hollow spot in my heart where Dad stood. It is not possible to fill it. It simply is.

Nine Months is Almost a Year...

Nine months since I posted here. Now THAT is a slow blogger to be sure! Just been going along, not doing anything really spectacular, but being retired doesn't lend itself to spectacular. Especially when we have decided to live in a place where the total traffic on our road is three cows and a pickup truck (mine) in one day. We do like the quiet and lack of demands on our time, but I've had to make a list so I will be able to remember what I did on a given day. And no, I don't think it is a bad thing that I can't remember what I did... there is no reason for me to keep that trivia in my head.

Perhaps I will blog more, but then again, I may not. Sometimes it seems that folks just blog (or Tweet or post to Facebook) because they like the sound of their own voices, or they want to have other people notice them. I'm not one of those folks, but I will try to post a bit more regularly... I won't do the shotgun approach of Twitter and Facebook, though. You will actually have to look here if you want to see what I have to say. But since you are reading this, you have taken the time to drop by and see what I'm up to. Thanks.

I'm finishing up a pair of red microfiber socks for my sis Sherry. She's sensitive to wool, but appreciates hand knits. Next I'll begin a pair of socks in "Portland Plaid" (RSC/Blue Moon) of a pattern called "Another Roadside Attraction" by Star Athena. These will be for me.

Andy and Gretchen's Wedding Quilt

Let's see, on the quilting front, I finished Andy and Gretchen's Wedding quilt. They had their Thai Wedding on February 12th on the lovely island "Ko Samui".  It looked ssoooo romantic. Wish I had been able to attend, but the photos were a real treat.


I made a lap quilt with stars and Asian themed fabric for Erin to have for Christmas, and helped her make a baby quilt for her friend Roxanne, who is due... just about now.

Erin's Christmas Quilt

The Bing Kids and  my sis Nora finally received their "Hawaiian Shirt Pillows" for Christmas. I have been learning to quilt on Charlie's longarm, practicing on donation quilts for the Roseburg Guild. skill on the longarm is hard for me to develop, but satisfying, too.

Still making pottery, though it is pretty cold for having my hands in icy water... I seem to quilt in the Winter, and do clay in the Summer.  Say you never heard of a fair-weather potter? Me either.

What? Another Post ??

Yep, but just to introduce the other blogs I've started. While reading Kathleen Turner's blog Making a Mark, I realized I don't have to have just one blog. Sort of a combination of "Duh!" and "What took me so long?" moment. I've added several new blogs that link to this one: Red Hill Mud, Sticks and Strings, and one yet-to-be-named-blog for pastels. All will be up and (hopefully running) soon. Stay turned!

Lost in the Woods Again

Marlene says I don't post to my blog any more, and she's right! I have been lax about posting. I don't know what it is about me and consistency, but I can't seem to retain focus on anything for an extended period. I could chalk it up to being easily distracted (which we know is true), or lack of challenge (again, sometimes too true). I seem to have a difficult time doing anything on a long-term basis... it is a wonder that I managed to have a teaching job for almost 30 years (true, it was with two different school districts), and have been married to HJS for 28 years.

All of that being said... I resolve to make another attempt to post to the blog on a regular basis. Perhaps if I don't requile myself to post a photo each time it will be easier? That seems to work for some people, as does posting just a visual with no words. We shall see if I can do eiter one of those when I don't feel like doing both at the same time.

"Rufus the Weather Guy" often has a funny or interesting line at the bottom of his posts... that might do to add some spark of interest in my ability to post. He only posts to Weather Cafe twice a week, again might be a more manageable schedule (as I am failing miserably at daily posts) for me. When I don't post, I am angst-ridden and the gap just gets longer as I beat myself up for failing. No reason to do that; maintaining a blog isn't a contest! Again... we shall see what I can come up with this time around.

Here is my modification of  Rufus' line for the day from Friday.  I thought it applicable in some twisted way: "The reason history seems to repeat itself is that people weren't listening the first time."

"BFF" !!!

Twice last week, on my way back up the hill to the farm, I noticed that the black Clydesdale had a little friend in his pasture. The tiny (next to the draft horse, anyway) goat was always close to his friend. Once he was even under the huge horse, scrounging leftover bits of grain from the big guy's tub!

Today I drove up the hill and looked for the "Dynamic Duo". There they were ... little goat on big horse! TOO CUTE!

And me without my camera. Bummer! Boo, Hiss, and Double RATS! Then I remembered - camera phone. Duh. That is why I have a phone with a camera, yes? (Yeah, I don't think you can actually get a phone without a camera... but let me think I was prepared).

Aren't they just the sweetest things ever?

It's SOCKS ! (Well, One Anyway)

A few months ago, I received some wonderful sock yarn in the mail... Ann had finished a pair of socks from a pattern in "Sock Knitting Master Class" and sent me the rest of the yarn! WOW!

She had altered the sock from the original Thigh-High Stripes pattern to a shorter version, so there was LOTS of yarn left over. I knitted a shorter version of the striped sock with a little color pattern, too. Amazing how different the two pairs of socks look (well, her pair and my one sock). Ann's socks are primarily brown and rust and my sock is more teal and green. My sock will look better when it has had a bath and is all blocked into shape, but I think it looks pretty good. The yarn is so soft and wonderful, I do love it!


OMG... look at all those ends to weave in! There is a way to join yarn by sort of felting it together that eliminates the need to weave in so many yarn ends... I might have to experiment with that technique before I get too much farther along with the second sock. I hadn't done any socks that had stripes with different yarn colors before, so I didn't know what I was getting into. I'd never done any "stranded color work" either. That is a LOT of work! Glad I learned how to do some basic patterns, but I don't think I'll be doing a lot more in the future. I think I'll stick to self-striping or hand painted yarn from now on... with fancy stitches or cables and lace. Maybe color work will come back later, too. Ya never know!