The Caturday Report & 800th post!

Hello Effurrybody!

Gracie here with our Caturday report and Mummy's 800th post!!  (Only one person guessed when it would be and that was Trish from our furrends at The Katnip Lounge! She actually guessed Friday, but Mummy & The Shepherd were busy watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics last night so it was too late to post anything when they got done. (Mummy said she'll have to think of a special prize to reward Trish for being such a good guesser.)  

Did you watch them too?  Mummy really liked the part when The Queen and James Bond parachuted into the stadium.  Mummy really likes The Queen and thought that Mr. Bond looked especially handsome in his tux.  She thought it was very brave of The Queen to jump out of that helicopter. 

Oh, Gracie, you & Mummy are nit wits, The Queen didn't jump out, that was a Stunt Queen.

George, you don't have to be so bossy - I'll bet you didn't know that Mummy was bringing home Peetsa for dinner - it smelled really good - all that pepparomi - but we only got stinky goodness for dinner.  Same old stuff - no peetsa for us.  Darn.  







Mummy sat in front of her string maker all night long - she announced that she was making her first "Olympic yarn"  I'll bet it is pretty -  like these lilies from The Shepherd's garden. 














Speaking of The Shepherd's Garden - can you guess what this is ?  No, it's not a watermelon - it's a zucchini!  They are best when they are about the size of a baseball - otherwise they get all mushy inside and hard skinned.  There have been lots of fried zucchinis for dinner in the past couple of weeks.  

And here is a little video of Mummy and me taking a walk down the driveway last week.  She wanted to show you how pretty it was.  I hope you enjoy it!

You all have a great weekend, and stay safe out there!

XOX  -  Your roving reporter, Gracie! 

Thingish Things...

"It's just, Eeyore," said Piglet. "I thought your Idea was a very good Idea." "Pooh began to feel a little more comfortable, because when you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a thing which seemed thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it." From the House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne










My sister sent me that quote last Saturday night to wish me luck - I was giving a church service on "Choices" on Sunday morning at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship with my friend Tracy Spring We had done the service originally in May at our church in Blaine, but I had to re-write it a little bit.

I talked - Tracy sang her wonderful songs.  How could we go wrong?  And, the service went well - and The Shepherd & I got to see a lot of old friends.

I thought the pattern of the "throat" of that petunia looked like the pattern of George's fur. What do you think?















I've been spinning like crazy getting ready for the Squalicum Valley Artisans Faire in September.


This is some Blue Faced Leicester that I got at Black Sheep.  I plied with silk. It gives the yarn a very pretty luster.










I still have 6 ounces of the wool left and some of the silk - I'm not sure how I will combine the balance.  It will be good for a scarf or a hat - it's very soft.

Just out looking around the garden.

And who are you, my pretty? 

Our new addition -

Since The Shepherd  didn't find any sheep to bring back from Black Sheep Gathering to keep company with Sandy, he went looking locally and our friend Nancy had just the ticket.

And I got to name her -  This little lady's new name is Stella.  

Walking on the lead was not going to work, so The Shepherd scooped her up and off they went to the pasture and her new friends.  

Isn't she a cutie?  

Surprisingly there was a minimum of "bashing" and setting up pecking order - she just seemed to fit right in.   Since she hadn't been weaned yet, there was a fair amount of crying and carrying on the first night. 

And the "peanut gallery" wanted to know what all the carrying on was about -.

Nosey old ladies...

Here we are, a week later and it's like she's been here all her life.  She will make a nice addition to our flock. 

Welcome to Marietta Shetlands, Stella. 

Looking back Sunday -

It's been a while since I did a Looking Back Sunday

Even though I'm "looking back" - these pictures were taken in 2009, these incredibly fragrant flowers are also blooming right now in this year's garden.   







The perfume from these beautiful lilies floats in through the kitchen window night and day.

The only difference this year is that the bloom stalks are about two feet shorter!  The Shepherd says it is because the bulbs are too crowded - he is going to dig them out in the fall and replant.

I would like to take a stalk to work, but I think we have some people who are sensitive to strong fragrances. 

I can't remember the name of this one - but it is related to the Stargazer lily - the one that started it all.  It's also very beautiful and very fragrant! 

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. 

PS - I'm getting really close to my 800th post!  Any guesses when that will be?

The Caturday Report!

Hello efurrybody! Gracie here with The Caturday Report!

It seems like all that goes on around here has to do with The Salt Mines.  Mummy has spent a lot of extra time making up for going on vacation.  Heck, what's the use?

But they have also changed her job a lot, so she's been having to so a lot of extra thinking.

 So, I try to take her mind of her problems by giving her new ones and chewing on her feeties.

One thing that happened last week that she didn't tell you about (I think she was busy telling you about her new sheeps furs...) was George's & my GOTCHA DAY! .  We have been living with Mummy and The Shepherd for a whole YEAR now! 






Mummy took this picture of Georgie and me on our very first day here and we still look like this a lot.  Snuggled up to each other - It's nice to have a good brother









 Another reason that Mummy didn't have time to tell you about our Gotcha Day was that she and The Shepherd went up to Blaine last Sunday evening to see their favorite band, Pearl Django at the opening of the Blaine Jazz festival.  It was a fun concert, with lots of teenaged kids from the Jazz Camp that went on last week in the audience.  Nice to see people enjoying "real" music.  

We've been lucky to have fairly "nice" weather here in the Pacific NW. (although we had lightning and thunder boomers yesterday!!)
It went from cool and cloudy before the 4th of July to warm and sunny afterwards.  I think that all those booms and fireworks scared those clouds away!  I'm sure glad that they are not making noises around here any more.  Those booms late at night scared me, Georgie and Bella sometimes.




The sheepies are growing and growing.  The Shepherd calls them his "snausages"  I think that has something to do with having a chubby tummy - he calls me that sometimes too.  But Mummy calls me "Princess Grace"  I think it is because I am so beautiful...









Here's one of the few recent pictures that Mummy could find of Georgie.  He has been kind of shy lately.  I think all of the 4th of July noises got him skittish.








Anyhows, that's what's been goin' on - not a whole lot else to tell ya.  I hope your summer is going great.  We feel bad for all the people who have been suffering in the heat, and count our blessings for what we have. 

You take care and have a wonderful week!


XOX, your roving reporter, Gracie

New "stash" from Black Sheep -

 I'm finally getting around to showing you all the goodies that I brought back from this years Black Sheep Gathering.

I went shopping with the intent of buying fiber to spin for the 2012 Squalicum Valley Artisans Faire in September.  I'm hoping to have at least a dozen skeins of yarn for sale and hopefully some crocheted items too.

BSG is such a feast for the senses!  You can find yarn, fiber, and what ever else in just about every color of the rainbow. 

This picture, taken a couple of years ago, illustrates the magnitude of the decisions that you have to make - what to buy, what to buy? 

I knew for sure that I wanted to go to Crown Mountain Farm  booth to get some grey baby alpaca and baby camel roving to match what I got last year so I'd have enough to finish my project.  But look what I found - mullberry silk sliver, in a 2 ounce package, dyed in the most beautimus colors! (honestly, I could have gotten one of each color, and there were 13 or 14 shades!)








And they had some Blue Faced Leicester dyed in the same color way!  How could I not get this big bundle of deliciousness? ? ?  

And then there was this blue green "lake colors" that are my very favorite colors in the whole world (get the feeling that this one might not make it to the sales table???)

Write it up, Mr. Crown Mountain - I gotta get out of your booth before I spend any more money! 

Then down the way at Carolina Homespun (where their motto seems to be "Spin for Peace and Equality") I found this pretty Mountain Colors BFL .  It JUST MATCHED the silk, don't you think - good fiber karma, I thought...

I also bought a couple of new crochet hooks - you can never have too many crochet hooks, you know.

Other things I got was this 1# bump of blue variegated potluck roving - It is probably corriedale or another fine, soft wool.  I have a couple of projects in mind for it.  







Another place that is a favorite to shop is Dawn's Custom Carding -

This Romney roving will spin up like a dream. 

She always has something to feed my mohair locks addiction...

More Romney in some nice fallish colors - it will be a pretty variegated yarn, that,  hopefully will sell well. 

And of course, I needed a new bar of Fogwash Soap.  Couldn't leave BSG with out that~

Let me know what you think of all my new treasures, OK?

Hooray for the ---

RED!














WHITE

   



 AND BLUE! 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

A New Caturday Report!

Bella, "hiding" in the potted plants on the porch, soaking up some rays.  

Oh, Hai -

You mean rays of rain drops, don't you Mummy?  

Although it has been cool and cloudy here, we have decided not to complain - there are many people whose homes have burned up in the fires in Colorado or who are sweltering in the extreme heat on the east coast, we are lucky here

Our yard is lush and green, taken care of by the expert hands of The Shepherd, in his other life as JP's Serenity Gardens.  We are very fortunate! 

I am awfully glad that Mummy and The Shepherd came back from where ever it was they went.  They were gone for three long sleeps -

Two very nice food ladies came and put out our crunchies and stinky goodness.  I think they put out foods for the vishus sheeps too.   But it just wasn't the same. 

It is nice to have Mummy home now though.  I feel much more safe when she is here - especially on Caturday, because she sleeps in late and we all get to stay in the big bedroom longer than on the days when she has to leave early to go to the salt mines. 









This weird bird went flying over the house while we were all  outside.  It was very noisy. 

 We sat on the porch and watched Mummy take pictures of all the sheeps furs that she brought home with her.  Some of them are very pretty,  She says she'll show you what they look like soon.  I only heard her mumbling something about an addiction to mohair locks...

Speaking of vishus sheeps, a lady came the other day and took two of the babies away!  Apparently Mummy and The Shepherd had talked to her on their trip and she needed two pretty little sheepies - it was a done deal before any of us realized what was happening!  

Sandy - the girl one of the white ones, is not happy and has been crying since, because her BFF is gone away.  Poor thing. 

So, everybody and everykitty - have a good week and a safe 4th of July.  I'll be glad when this week is over, there are too many booms and whistles and bangs going on for my likings.  

But where ever you go and what ever you do, remember to stop and smell the flowers.

Bye for now, 

         Love, Bella.