Sheep-to-Shawl

My first "outing" on my own after my surgery was to the Spindrifters spinners guild meeting. They started talking about doing a Sheep-to-Shawl during the Skagit Highland Games, (which happened this weekend) and did anyone have a fleece that they could donate - hmmm, I thought.......1. We have LOTS of fleeces
2. What a better way to get our fleece in the hands of lots of people, and
3. What better fleece for a Sheep-to-Shawl for a Scottish Highland Games than a Shetland Sheep fleece?

This is Susie - John picked her fleece from last fall (the one she is wearing in this picture, as a matter of fact) and the guild VP came out and picked it up and washed it & dried it and here's what happened today:
First the washed & dried fleece is "picked" by pulling out misc. hay & other "stuff" that doesn't belong - picking is tedious work and probably took about as much time as anything

Then the wool is carded or combed. These ladies are using a drum carder which is a heck of a lot easier than doing it by hand, that 's for sure. What you can't see (because it is moving) is the little teeth on the round barrel - they "brush" the wool all in the same direction and you end up with wonderful fluffy little bats of wool called roving.

I stole this line from my friend Nancy K. - she has a wonderful blog called "A Shepherds Voice" (http://shepherdsvoice.blogspot.com/) with wonderful stories and pictures of her spotted sheep. Anyhow - People got a big kick out of my sign.

Anyhow back to the wool's journey - LET THE SPINNING BEGIN!

And, as you can see, there were a lot of spinners spinning!

& the balls of yarn went down the line to the weaver...

Who is weaving a lovely triangle shawl - Everyone who took part in the process gets a chance at winning it - now, that would be cool. She wasn't going to be able to finish it today, but hopefully the finished product will be at the next meeting so I can get a picture of it for you.

Here is one corner of the shawl. John & I were very excited to see such a beautiful thing made out of some of our yarn. It was a fun day!

Weekend cat blogging...

This is Sinda - looks pretty good for 16 doesn't she?






There is a blog I enjoy reading called Farmgirl Fare (http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/) She always has great pictures of her cats on the weekend, with links to other blogs that feature cats, too - she calls it "Weekend Cat Blogging" and I thought I'd join in, with some of my favorite pictures of our two kitties - Sinda and Mr. Neelix.



I love these pictures of Neelix - he is such a sweet cat - he waits by the gate almost every night for us to come home, and if John comes home and, Neelix has completed his "Welcoming" duties with him, he will go back out to the gate and wait for me to come home too. Better'n a dog.









And here is Ms. Sinda, daintly taking a drink out of the pond - if you'll notice, her little feet are planted firmly on the top layer of the waterfall - when she gets done drinking she wanders around complaining because her feet are wet. Go figure... Anyhow, here's my contribution to "Weekend Cat Blogging" Maybe next week we'll do "Weekend Sheep Blogging" Ha!

And memories of BIG Rocks

Today on the farm - Gwendolyn is staking a claim - "This is MY Bowl!",







Cimarron gets more handsome by the day!

And the baby swallows are out of the nest! Well not quite out - but at least on the edge...

My sister Merrill sends me the best stuff in the mail - she always sends me my friend Greg's articles from the Seattle Times-PI Sunday magazine - "Taste" and here and there she sends other things she thinks I might be interested in. Last week it was an article from the Wenatchee Daily World "GO!Magazine" called "A Town Stuck in Time" It was an article about Mansfield, the little town where I went to school and lived (in close proximity - we were 8 miles west of town) the first 18 years of my life. It was a funny and honest and sweet article and since it listed the reporter's email address, I emailed him, thanking him for the article - he wrote back - saying that he had enjoyed the people so much that he'd been back up three times since - Well, one email led to the next - I discovered that his daughter is going to Fairhaven College (my alma matter) and that he (Rick) actually worked construction on the college when he was going to Western in the late 60's. Then he said that he was doing another article on the Ice Age Floods Geological Tour & on the "haystack" rocks that dot the countryside up in Douglas county - I emailed back & asked if he had been to Boulder Park (a local geological anomaly). The next thing I knew he was asking if he could quote my sisters and me on some of my memories of playing around those big rocks? - Well this is kind of long - but here is my answer to him:

"Dear Rick:

You wrote:

"Regarding Boulder Park, I'd love to use a few lines in my story about how you and your sisters climbed those rocks as children and possibly about how your family farmed around those boulders. Would you mind? Do you have any other memories of growing up near Boulder Park? "

Hi - sorry to not get back to you sooner - Just getting back to my job has taken alot of my concentration right now -

We never actually were allowed to walk around in Boulder Park, because, that land belonged to another farmer - however we had our own little "boulder park" right in our front yard and up behind our home. Oddly enough, I don't have any "digital" pictures of our place, but in talking with one of my sisters, we agreed that most children growing up in the Mansfield area probably have memories of playing on the rocks (and the boys, as they got older, farming around them)

There was a scab patch (that's what my dad called the patches around the haystack rocks) that had two or three "kitchen sized" rocks (or so it seemed when I was a child - I haven't been out to it in about 25 or 30 years) probably 100 yards or so from our front door - the bigger one could be a pirate ship, or a bus, or sometimes just what it was - a really good climbin' rock - I'm not sure why but we spent a lot of time out on that particular rock - (perhaps it was proximity to the house & bathroom - you boys have all the advantage there...)

But, there also is a butte behind our place about the size of a football stadium - we called it "the cliff" growing up - It is composed of the same haystack rock material pushed into a HUGE dirt hill - probably dropped there when the glaciers melted. Anyhow, there are places up on the top where my dad & his siblings had played (in the 1920's & 30's) - placing rocks into outlines of walls, to form "rooms" - over the years, my sisters & I played in these "rooms" too - If you'd like to put on your best "11 year old" hat (ie - pretend that you are a kid again, not that you're wearing an old hat...ha, ha) you have my invitation to go up to the ranch (please call Doug Tanneberg for access so he doesn't call the sheriff on you) and take a walk up on "the cliff" - you can see clear to Canada from up there - I'm sure I imagined I could see clear to Spokane and far places to the east, - but I was always kind of directionally challenged, - I do believe you can see Mansfield from up there tho.

There is a chair shaped rock up there that we all spent many hours sitting and "contemplating" - it is so quiet up there you can hear the flies buzz. You could watch the jets fly overhead and wonder where they were going - maybe wishing that day, that you were going there too. (Be sure to wear long pants & long sleeved shirt to keep the ticks away) In the spring the top of the cliff is a great place to find wild flowers too - Bird bills, Yellow bells & Baby faces - maybe bluebells if you are lucky enough to stumble on to a patch.

Well, didn't mean to ramble - like I said, I'm not sure that my memories would be any different than any other child growing up on that plateau - but it was a great place to grow up - I'm always glad to see that Mansfield is still doing well enough to keep the school going - that is when a town loses it's heart, when the kids are shipped off to other communities to go to school.

You take care - keep writing those great articles - I'm looking forward to the one on the Missoula floods - If your daughter gets tired of dorm food - have her give me a call - she can come out and visit our little farm here in B'ham (just a small flock of shetland sheep and a couple of chickens, nothing fancy).

Sincerely,

Tina Thomsen-Park"

Like I said, oddly enough, I have no digital pictures of the area where I grew up, but here's my sister Merrill in the kitchen of our little house up at "the Ranch" Like I said, I have no digital pictures of the area - so I can't share them with you - I'm hoping we'll make it over there in the fall.

Cards & Letters

Here's what's blooming today in John's garden.



I have a girlfriend who has a BIG basket that she has saved ALL her Christmas cards for the last 15 or 20 years in. Each year, they can look back at last years cards & letters - pictures of their friends children and reminisce.

I got so many nice cards & letters while I was recuperating. When my sister set up the basket for them, she immediately started to remove the cards from the envelopes. "No, don't do that", I cried, "If you leave them in the envelope, when you go back to look at them and it is like receiving a new card all over again. I love sending cards to people. It is done so rarely anymore, with e-mail and voice mail winning out. I am my mother's daughter though - like my girlfriend, I like to keep the cards and notes I have received. It is really hard to throw them out, but my sisters and my DH have been pressuring me to "clear out" a few things. S0, I guess, I'll just have to keep only the special ones.

Speaking of clearing things out, I called my favorite florist today & she said she'd take my old florist vases - even give me credit for them towards a new bouquet! Cool! Is that a deal or what.

Abby & Frodo go to their new home tomorrow. A neighbor who fell in love with our little brown sheep while she was taking her daily walks. They will have a good new home.

Here's a picture of Frodo & dJango when they were babies. See why Carolyn fell in love with him?

I need to put together a brochure on Shetland Sheep for the this weekend's "Sheep to Shawl" at the Skagit Highland Games. They will be using one of our fleeces from this year. I can't wait to see how it works out. Of course I'll take pictures! Later, T.

All kinds of company

HERE'S GWENDOLYN!
Here she is! We have our very own spotted sheep! Who's lookin for a way out here - poor little thing - it seems like animals as a whole are not very friendly to the "new kid on the block" and sheep are no exception - but she's doing pretty well, and Cimarron has certainly taken to her. Gonna have to wait, buddy...

And this is Parker - our grand-nephew - he & his mommy & daddy came for lunch today - all the way from Olympia. Isn't that a sweet smile?

He especially liked John.
But I think he thought I was OK too.

Well - my spaghetti sauce is calling - just Prego & hamburger - nothing fancy - hopefully there will be left overs so I don't have to cook tomorrow night...it's my first "regulation" day back at work.

Our Latest trip to the BIG city....and more

These two pieces of artwork are hanging in the third floor waiting room of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance offices. That is where my surgeon, Dr. Heidi Gray, has her office. She is such a neat young woman - & she was very positive about my progress. Everything is healing nicely, (I can start my swim class again) and she said that yes, I could go back to work - altho she only wants me to work 6 hours a day - Don't know if I can limit it to that, but I worked a full day today and I'm beat. So, I'll probably take her advice and just take off at 3:30 or so every day for a couple of weeks till I get "back into it".


This is a "Top Hat" blueberry - it is one of my husband's bonsai plants. It stands about 15-18" tall and if you look closely you'll notice that it is covered with blueberries. It sits on a shelf right outside the dining room window and this morning when I was working on timecards, I looked up just in time to see a beautiful green & gold cedar waxwing land on this plant. Then that little devil chomped into a berry and GULP, swallowed it down. I sat there in amazement while it ate 5 or 6 of those blues, then thought- what am I thinking - throw something at the window and scare it away - I don't know why I didn't pull out my camera & take a picture first - it would have been a cool one.

The lillies are starting to bloom - these are asiatic lillies - pretty but not scented. My favorites are the orientals & orienpets - they are so fragrant. Every year in June, we've had a "Lillies & Lambs" dinner for church friends - it has been postponed this year because of my surgery. It has been rescheduled for the end of July - I hope there will still be some lillies in bloom then.

We'll be spending tomorrow cleaning house because Sunday noon, my nephew and his wife are coming with their little boy, Parker. It will be fun to see them. AND Gwendolyn is coming tomorrow! Stand by for photos!




dJango says "Do you think she'll like me?" I'm sorry dJango - we have to find you a new home - you won't get a chance to dance with this diva.

Waiting for Gwendolyn...

Cimarron says that he has heard a rumor that Gwendolyn is coming on Saturday morning - yup, he's right.

In the mean time, I have an appointment with Dr. Gray, my surgeon, tomorrow in Seattle. I don't have any reason to believe it will be anything but good news - and that she says I can be back at work full time on the 3rd. Hope so, that 's what I've promised my boss.

BTW, I tallied up the "retail" charges (ie. before insurance and all the "write-offs") on my little stay at the UW last month - it's up at about $25K Whew - thank goodness for insurance and AFLAC!


I need to get out and take some more
pictures in our garden, but I'll leave you with this beautiful rosa rugosa - Like Emeril the chef says, "If only there was smellavision" - these have the best rose scent that you'll ever run past your nose.

Oh, and GO MARINERS - what a great game tonight - and they are 17 & 7 for the month of June - hooray!

How We Spent our Summer Vacation

Since the early 1980's the third weekend in June has been the date of the Black Sheep Gathering, held at the Lane county Fairgrounds in Eugene Oregon - mecca for colored sheep and goat breeders, knitters, spinners, crocheters - just about anything to do with fibers. John has gone the past two years by himself, but I wanted to go along this year - It is always fun to see the other "sheep people" ...

AND to go thru the vendor show where you can find just about any color of wool or other fibers that you've ever wanted! I want you to know that I was very good and kept my pocket book under lock & key this year - I still have fiber from two years ago that I haven't processed!




So, does this look familiar - does this look like a man who is shopping. Yup, this is GIZMO - some people buy trinkets on their summer vacation - we buy sheep - John has his breeding program all figured out - we're changing from moorits to "pastels" - somehow, it makes me think we should dye all these little guys pretty colors with Koolaid - wouldn't that stop traffic on the corner?



BUT, before we went home we drove out to the coast and visited our friend Kathy H. and her partner Mike - they are refurbishing a 100 year old house in Gardner, Oregon - it is not much to look at now, but it's going to be great when they get it done - and check out the view from the front porch...







Way to go Kathy & Mike - we can hardly wait to see it next summer. :-)





When we left Eugene on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. it was nearly 90 degrees out. This is 7 hours later - does he look like he wants out of that crate? Let me tell you, that was one darn long trip, and we had air conditioning in the cab - none for the sheepies in the back of the truck though.





Introducing GIZMO - a new buddy for Cimarron and a new breeding program for Marietta Shetlands - Only time will tell, but I think he is particularly handsome, don't you?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's Back to Work I go

For a few days, anyhow, because we're going on vacation on Thursday. Actually, I've been putting in short days for the past two weeks - I've got to get it ramped up so I'm ready to be back full time on the 3rd of July.

We're ready to go on vacation and John is getting sick. Do you think I'll be able to get him to gargle with some Cepacol to get rid of his sore throat? We'll see.

BTW, here's a nice background music that plays off your computer - http://www.solopianoradio.com/ Sometimes it's New Age, sometimes it's light classical - it's almost always enjoyable. They even give you links to the artist in case you want to buy the album that they are playing off of! Very handy.

I think I may have mentioned my friend Nancy's blog before, and if I can ever figure it out, I'll post a permanent link to it on my site - but it's called "A Shepherd's Voice". She has wonderful pictures of her sheep & her farm in Minnesota and her stories are just darn great. Here it is: http://shepherdsvoice.blogspot.com/


I'm fascinated by all the fun pictures that I can take with my little digital camera - it is so much fun - take as many as I want, until I get just the right picture. As you can tell, I'm into flower pictures right now. Get ready for sheep, sheep & more sheep when we get back from Eugene! Later, T.

Our Little Farm

Here is our little flock of Shetland sheep going out for a munch - that is dJango heading up the lead - isn't he a handsome little fellow?




I call this my color wheel - our flock has primarily a "moorit" or redish brown background - but we'll be getting a new ewe lamb from our friends Donna & Tom and she is white with black spots. She is actually the grandaughter of the first purebred shetland sheep that we owned.



Several of our sheep will be going to new homes around the first of July. I always hate it when we have to get rid of some of them - but we don't have very much land, and can only support about 6 - as you can see - we have way more than that right now. Don't they look peaceful? You ought to hear them at 5:30 in the morning!



John's garden is coming into full bloom- he spent the weekend planting more beautiful plants here and there - these nasturtiums come up on their own every year from seed.





I never know what he's going to bring home from work - last week he brought home this old burned out stump. Now it looks like it has been here for ever. It willl be real pretty next spring when the narcissus come up around it.




Hope you enjoyed your tour of our little farm - Sinda says "Make sure you plan to stay a while and have a nice glass of iced tea the next time, OK?"

Summer time, ooh, ooh, ooh......

We're going to Carey & Wendy's for a Summer Solstice celebration this evening - when I started thinking about it last night the old Summer time song popped into my head - I added some additional reflections.

Reflections on Summer time

Summer time, summer time, sum, sum, summer time,
Long days that trick you into staying up past your bed time –

Summer time, summer time, sum, sum, summer time,
Remember how the harmony modulates?

Summer time, ooh, ooh, ooh

The young drivers check out one another, radios blaring as they cruise the road along the beach – it’s been the same Friday night for over 50 years…

It’s a time for fresh strawberries, little kids with “nuttin” to do & memories of lying in the sun with your girlfriends, optimistically checking each other’s tan lines every 15 minutes.

Summer time, summer time, sum, sum, summer time,
Summer time, ooh, ooh, ooh.

No More Pain Pills

Holy cow! Time flies when your're having fun, huh? I've been neglecting my duties here - I see that it's been a week since I posted last! If you are just joining me - make sure to read the archives - that's where the saga begins.

The newest of the news is no more pain pills - (although I have a few saved in case of emergencies...) Just taking Tylenol for Arthritis - that seems to be strong enough to dull the aches & pains I come up with during the night or day. It also means that I am allowed to drive, so I've been on a few short jaunts - to a spinner's guild meeting and into town to pick up perscriptions.

And I went into the office yesterday to finish up my payroll (print the checks & get them out to employees). I was surprised that everyone was so glad to see me - I even got hugs from some of the guys! Wonders never cease. Maybe it's my sparkling personality they have missed, do you suppose?

So, as this whole saga draws to an "end" I've been toying with the idea of keeping my blog up with just day to day stories and my thoughts on this or that - as I always do seem to have an opinion one way or t'other...ha, ha - maybe I'll be the next Barbara Kingsolver. Hardly.

I have a date with my sweet husband to go out to dinner and get groceries - resuming normalcy - it's been our standing Friday night date since we got married - it's a nice way to end the week. We plan our menus for the next week over dinner, go shopping and when we get home he carries in all the groceries. Such a deal. He's just the best.

So, I'd better go get ready. I hear the sheep calling, so he must be on his way home.

Things are "lookin' good"

I just can't believe how fast time is flying. I got home from the hospital two weeks ago yesterday! Two more weeks in "exile" here at home - (my boss has threatened me with something unimaginable if I set foot in the office.) Thank Heavens for computer networks.

Had a "check-in on the incision" appointment with my B'ham doctor this afternoon. She was very pleased at how it looks. Most of the redness is gone and I'm thinking I'm going to start putting the emu oil concoction that my friends in Spokane made for me. Emu oil is very beneficial at getting rid of scar tissue.

(I am, however back on antibiotics - this time for a bit of a bladder infection - I hope that's all it is. But I stocked up on yogurt at the store when I picked up my perscription so I don't run into "that problem" again, if you know what I mean)
It's really not so bad being "in exile" - John has worked so hard on our yard - it's like living in a park - and I am proud of him - I know he loves it tho. When I was looking for a new photo to post here, I realized that since I took the last batch of photos, everything has really leafed out and it all looks different again - Mother Nature has her early summer wardrobe on.

I made dinner "all by myself" last night. We had hamburger stroganoff, with noodles, green peas and strawberry rhubarb crisp for desert. Yum. Every single one of the meals that our wonderful friends have brought over the past two weeks have been delicious, but it's almost been like eating in a restaurant - I've missed my own cooking. I definately have to be careful when I pick up my heavy Pampered Chef pans, that is for sure. Do you suppose they weigh more or less than a gallon of milk?

I've been up for a while now - I'm feeling like it's time for a siesta. Later. T.

And the Staples are OUT!

My surgery was two weeks ago yesterday. Somehow it seems like a lifetime ago.

I was just sitting here thinking that not much had happened lately to report, but DUH - I got my staples out yesterday! And a little more info from Dr. Otto.

- 1 - It was a difficult surgery because of the old scar tissue - and she (Dr. Otto) was extremely glad that I had been in the hands of such a competent surgeon.
- 2 - Most of the cells on the uterine wall were the pre-cancerous type. That is so "hugely good", if you know what I mean.
- 3 - My tummy is looking pretty good but Dr. O is concerned about the redness right around the staples - but now that the staples are out, I think the redness is subsiding. It is however, bruised where ever they gave me the Heparin (sp) shots - but those are fading too. (I want you to be proud of me that with all the pictures I have posted here, I DID not take a picture of my belly and I'm not going to - that would be too much information even for ME!
- 4 - The Japanese iris pictured here is called Japanese Harmony. It is the iris that I gave to Dr. O yesterday as a "thank you" present - you know, in the "old days" patients would bring a dozen eggs or a chicken - She's lucky I didn't bring her a ram lamb. Ha, ha, ha.

Mystery Muffins

If you go back into the archives (May 12, titled "Friends") you 'll see a picture of this little fellow on his "birth day" Shetland sheep are fun, you never know what you'll get and you'll never know what they'll turn into a month later-

It is funny the things that pop into my head - memories about before & after my surgery - Like when they show someone going to surgery on TV and they show the lights whizzing by - they really do that in real life too. At the UWMC, they have some automation for getting the doors open (handicapped openers), but I decided, as they were pusing me down to pre-op, that the people pushing the gurneys need a little beanie hat with a strobe on it like how a police car connects with the lights to make them go green - this little beanie hat would connect with the doors and open them automatically without the "driver" having to stop the gurney, push the door open button and wait for it to open - Sounds like a good idea? OK, get to it you inventors.

Thanks to our friend Margot's organizational skills, we have had all these wonderful meals brought to us - Fixing food - what a comforting community event. Reminds me of a verse from a song called "Three Women" by a group called Domestic Science Club:

"There's a light in the kitchen
There's a light in the land
Three women round the table holding hands,
They carry the burdens, bring food when they can
They're easing the leaving, and they're holding hands"
(c) 1994 Carrie Newcomer

One night in the hospital when I couldn't sleep (and my door was closed) I found myself singing that song and a few others on this sweet album - One song (that has spectacular acapella harmony on the CD) is called "Unseen Angels" -

"Sometimes when I find I cannot sleep in my bed
Angels come and stand here at my side in the night
Silent in the dark of my dread, unseen angels come stand at my side.

Beautiful angels, unseen angels,
When I'm by my alter and tried, here in side,
Silent in the dark of my dread, unseen angels come stand at my side.

Time and time again, when I feel lonely and low
Giving into anger and pride, here inside
Softly, like the mornings first glow, unseen angels come stand at my side

Wild imagination runs out of control
When I'm finding nowhere to hide, from the tide
Bringing a sweet peace to my soul, unseen angels come stand at my side"
(c) Steve Mote & Joseph Spence. Year?


Thankfully, my door was closed - I sang the gambit of all the songs I could remember - from the songs listed above, to Willie Nelson's song "Crazy" - now that would have made them wonder if they need to take me off some of those good drugs, do you think?

Oh, Mystery Muffins - I almost forgot - Yesterday when I was taking my shower, I thought I heard someone drive into the yard - what I actually heard was the loud "boomba, boomba, boomba" of a car stereo - so I thought it must have been someone out on the street. Later when I got hair all done, etc. and came out to the kitchen, there was a sack with 1/2 dozen home made banana muffins on the counter - more comfort food - but no note to say who they were from. So, Thank you, Mystery Muffin Maker, who ever you are. :-) T