Happy Halloween!

The frost knocked the pumpkin vines down about 2 weeks ago - the big orange orbs have been moved into the greenhouse to "rest a while" before processing.

Several people have asked me about the buttermilk pumpkin pound cake that I made a couple of weeks ago. I'm sorry to say it was very disappointing. Despite having two cups of pumpkin in it , there was very little "pumpkin flavor" - and you couldn't taste the spices (until it had set around for a couple of days, and by that time, it was kind of dry...)

Better to make Farmgirl Susan's Spicy Pumpkin Muffins (BTW, I have started making it them with ONLY ONE STICK OF BUTTER - or 1/2 cup of margarine - which ever you prefer) - On her original recipe, she notes that you can do that for a "low fat" version of the recipe - I think it makes them taste fresher and they are not quite so greasy.

My other favorite Pumpkin Cake recipe is from the Cake Mix Doctor cook book.

Pumpkin Spice Cake
1 pkg (18.25 oz) of your favorite spice cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla (or cheesecake if you can find it) instant pudding mix
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 large eggs
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 cake pan or bundt style pan

Place the cake mix, pudding mix & pumpkin pie spice in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk to blend all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center where you put your pumpkin, oil, water and eggs. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for one minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thing and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with a spatula. Place pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed and when a toothpick inserted int eh center comes out clean, 32 - 35 minutes for the 9x13 pan or 55 - 60 minutes for the bundt pan. Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to tool for 1/2 hour. Frost with yoru favorite frosting or just dust with powdered sugar.

Store cake, covered in the refrigerator for up to a week (if it lasts that long)

I only use good quality ingredients - Jello brand Pudding mix - Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus - and a good quality cake mix - your cake will thank you for it.

P.S. Sinda continues to rally - she is actually eating better (and more) than she has in a while - and she is getting spoiled with the "tuna fish water" that she drinks right up. Dr. Perry has been out of town for a week - I'll talk to him tomorrow about a course of action.

Hug a Sheep Day

I saw on Tammy's blog that it is National Hug a Sheep Day. So here is a picture of The Shepherd with one of his snuggly girls. It always pays to hug your sheep












- that way they don't give you the dreaded "laser eye" when you come in the barn!

A quick update

Sinda has started to drink water again and ate most of her dinner last night (well she ate about 2-3 tablespoons out of the bowl - which is a bunch for her lately) -

I realize that she is not going to "get better" but this buys us a little more time, huh? Thenks to everyone for their kind thoughts, purrs and purrayers. T.

Oh, dear......

Sinda here - I haven't been feeling particularly well lately - so Mom stuffed me in the PTU (Prisoner Transport Unit) on Thursday and took me to see Dr. Perry.

"Mom" here - Sinda wouldn't eat ANYTHING I put out - stuff she has been eating for years - chicken baby food, which she loves - she just turned kind of queezy looking and walked away - then I realized that she wasn't drinking very much water either - and had gotten very dehydrated (which kind of caught me by surprise because I watched her so closely all summer to make sure that didn't happen) - yes, you who've been here before know that her kidney's are failing.

Todd said that when animals get dehydrated, they sense of smell and taste goes off and everything makes them queasy, in turn they don't eat and get worse. He suggested that they do a Sub-Q re - hydration - actually, that they do two - so I left my baby girl at the V.E.T.'s office and "with a heavy heart", went to work - They did blood tests before and after the re-hydration and the numbers changed so much that he was really encouraged - and when I got her home, after first using the kitty box, she acted very hungry - so I made up some ocean whitefish with tuna and she chowed down. same Friday and Saturday she ate some chicken & gravy - so I was encouraged - but today again, she won't eat and doesn't seem to be drinking much water either -

She's 21 1/2 years old - I can learn to do the sub-Q hydration - but will she stand for that every three days? I practically have to call out the National Guard to give her a pill -

My heart and mind are not on the same page with this - I thought I was prepared, but apparently not.....

Well, here I am -

...sitting at the computer, at a quarter after 11 (p.m.) waiting for a Pumpkin buttermilk pound cake to cool so I can turn it out of the pan - If it turns out to be good, I'll give you the recipe - if not, I'll take it to work - those people will eat anything -

I can't believe that it is the middle of October already - I just did my "Colors of September" - (barely made it in September!) and now it's almost time to do the "Colors of October" already.

"Well, what have I been doing??" you ask...

Mostly I've been doing LOTS of spinning - I've finished a bump of Kathy Green's "potluck roving" for my church auction - & I'm working on an 8 oz package of superwashed Merino and alpaca blend to put in the auction as well. Last year I spent a lot of time spinning the wool, and crocheting a hat and set of fingerless gloves for this event (it is an annual event) and it only went for $25 in the live auction (the wool alone had cost $28!) but my silent auction item of 8 oz of handspun yarn went for $40 - well, that's a no-brainer - two sets of handspun wool coming right up - (I'll take pictures after I get it all washed up and pretty) - and spinning takes up my late night time that I usually use for blogging - something had to give - but I have lots of things to tell you, so keep an eye out for new posts -

Right now, I'm going to go try that Pumpkin Pound Cake!

The Colors of September!

Every month since last October, Sue from Life Looms Large has hosted a fun challenge - to find the"colors" of the month. I have not only enjoyed doing this project myself, but have loved reading and seeing all the pictures from around the world as other bloggers have joined in the fun.

Quite frankly, it has been so-o-o-o warm this month, that I was not sure if we were going to get any color but blue (sky) and green (grass) - but



last week, the sun went away and the rain appeared - and we had some real cloud bursts - mind you, not like they are having on the east coast right now, but for us it was a lot.












Even though this oak leaf doesn't have any real "fall" colors - I did like the pattern of the rain drops and the veins of the leaf







The Shepherd has been so busy with other people's gardens that we are a little lacking in the fall flowers this year - but, hey, what the heck - the bills are getting paid - and this pretty chrysanthemum decorates our back porch.












Of course my trusty sidekick had to come along and snoopervise all the pictures that I was taking.









Out in the vegie garden, the corn is gone, the pumpkins are going wild and the asparagus weed looked so pretty covered with raindrops.
















Finally the colors are starting to creep into the yard - the katsura tree is starting to turn it's leaves make the yard smell slightly sweet.











The Japanese maples on the porch are a blaze with reds and oranges
















The rose hips are like sparkling jewels hidden in the blue foliage










The Bishop's Children dahlias that were planted from seed have finally decided to put on a show.









It's also time to start evaluating fleeces - this is Wicket's fleece - it is going to be wicked fun to spin - hope I get a chance at it...









I think this is either Ruby or Robin --- (unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the head that went with the fleece...) but this is going to be a lovely fleece and it is staying closely to original color - gonna be pretty!







And one little lone flower left over from summer - I hope you enjoyed my Colors of September - I almost didn't make it this month again - working on my church newsletter til all hours of the night...but it's done and I only have my spinner guild one left to do.

And guess what? I'm signed up to take another class from Judith McKenzie - but it's not until November - so you'll just have to wait to find out about it...

Back into the swing of things

And what have I been doing with all my time, you ask? Well, here's some of what I've been doing...

Some of you may remember that my big spinning & crocheting project for last year was Sophia's Sweater.

Well, last year right after my birthday and just before my spinner guild's Spin-In, I found out that my boss's wife would be having twin girls this summer. (They were born in July and you can see pictures of them by clicking here.)


So I got the idea that I would make two more sweaters for "our new girls" - (and by the way, I did clear it with the mom and dad before I did all this work on "wool" sweaters - yes, they said they would love to have them)

The Spin-In gave me a wonderful opportunity to look for some fiber to make these sweaters and I found just what I was looking for at the Sunset Fibers booth - they had all this gorgeous Corriedale fiber - I picked one with bright primary colors (above) and one with lavenders, pinks and greens - (little did I know at the time that they were naming one of the girls "Violet" - could this be more perfect for her?)


The rainbow yarn will be for Annie's sweater - I kind of panicked when I was about half way through spinning the rainbow yarn and was afraid that I wouldn't have enough (I really MUST start writing down how much yarn these projects take!) - so I plied part of it with white Shetland - I think it will make a nice contrast band on the bottom of the sweater and on the sleeves and hood - If I have some left over I'll make some boots or something.

If you click on the picture of the yarn for Violet's sweater, you will be able to see that I plied part of it with grey (Shetland of course).

They had the girls at our company party last week. It is astonishing how fast they are growing. I'm planning on making these in the 18 month size so they would be ready for next fall - but I want to get them done soon so they can use them next spring if they want - better sooner than later, huh?

The Corriedale, by the way was wonderful to spin - almost as much fun as spinning Targhee - there was also an article in the last "Spin-In" magazine about spinning specifically for crochet - Right now, I solve that issue by plying a little more tightly than most people - but I'll try it out and let you know what I think.

For your viewing pleasure -

Boy, haven't we all been there? I'll be back soon, I promise!

See more Lolcats and funny pictures HERE

The Colors of August!

Wow! August is almost past tense!

I have put together some of my favorite August scenes from our garden.

The Rose of Sharon bush/tree right outside our back door is heavy with bumble bees this time of the year - luckily they are more interested in the blossoms than they are in me.







One thing about August is that you can always tell where our drainfield is...








The corn du Jour is Mirai - a Japanese hybrid - it is better than dessert! (and it doesn't even need any butter - and coming from the "butter girl" that is saying a LOT!)








Dahlias are my very favorite flower (unless you count Zinnias, and Asters, and - oh well, maybe all flowers are my favorites...)

Dahlias come in so many different colors and styles - These are "Bishop's Children" that The Shepherd grows from seed.











I barely caught these pretty little daisies before The Shepherd (aka the "yard guy") mowed the pasture....












Pink Lupine, also grown from seed - there are purple ones and red and white ones so far - and half of the plants haven't bloomed yet! .










These California poppies have become one of our favorites this summer - there are as many colors as there are plants and he planted a bunch of them. Hopefully, next year they will come up from seed (and still be such pretty colors.











The garden has been so stressed from the heat, but these petunias on the front porch don't seem to have minded it too much.













These cone flowers just look so happy in the bright sunlight -










while this fern looks cool and collected in the dappled sunlight by our front door - this summer has been just a little slice of paradise...

Now for more visions of August from all around the world go visit Sue at Life Looms Large. Thanks again, Sue for letting us all find the beauty that is around us to share it with all of you.

And then a week later

Spinning wheel - check
Chair - check
Story board (How wool goes from Sheep t0 Sweater) - check
Wool to spin - 100% Shetland roving - check

!/2 day off from work for me and the Shepherd - check

Off to the NW Washington Fair we went and, as days go - the weather was great - none of the 90 degree heat we'd had the week before, thank heavens -



These two ladies were having a great time - and were surprised when I said it was 2:00 and they could go check out the rest of the fair - spinning does have a way of whiling away the hours -









My friend and "spinning mentor" Yvonne took the next shift after mine - she came a little early, not sure of traffic or parking - besides being the 100 year anniversary week for the fair, it was Kenny Rogers night , so it was bound to get crowded.














There were many lovely items in the wool show - I didn't enter anything this year - just didn't get "a round tuit" -









And, of course - the obligatory cow -

One aside note - the "Dairy Women" have a booth selling "Moo-wiches" - an ice cream sandwich between two giant chocolate chip cookies - they have been the hit of the fair for many, many years - The first night of the fair, someone forgot to fill the generator for the freezer truck - 5000 melted Moo-wiches - Oops...

But, not to fear - cookies were rebaked and more ice cream was brought in - there were Moo-wiches to satisfy all fair goers - tragedy was averted.

Off to the Skagit County Fair we went....

The County directly to the south of us is called Skagit (soft "a" and the "g" is is pronounced like a "j") - The past week was their county fair - we went two years ago, but did not get our entry in soon enough to go last year. This year, all the Shetland breeders who were going sent their paperwork in as soon as the enrollment opened to ensure that we could have a "mini" Shetland Show -



There were four farms who participated -

Krissie and Robin were our sheepy representatives - Ruby would not take part in any of the pre-fair lessons, so she didn't get to (have to?) go.

Mt. Vernon, where the fair is held, is only about 30 miles from our place -






Joyce came from Thistledown Shetlands - She had the longest trip - over 300 miles - to get here.











She had some very handsome little boys - I just loved the one with the "cumber-bun"










Lynn came from Soap Lake - probably close to 250 miles -










She had recently had foot surgery, but she always had a smile on her face.













Sally came from Granite Falls - about 45 miles SE of Mt. Vernon.









We all wondered if she had Max on Prosac. He was the mellowest, sweetest ram I've ever seen.












She also brought these two cuties...





Our friend Denise was nice enough to come help with the showing - she got to lead Robin while The Shepherd got the wiley Krissie.

Did I mention that it was hot - it was about 90 degrees at the "top of the afternoon" - in fact we have broken heat records for the past three days now.









The Shepherd also helped Joyce show her boys. (it looks like I need to sit down and figure out what's going on with my camera - a lot of my pictures were terribly overexposed)

The judge is the owner of Dawn's Custom Carding in Roy. She was fast, and definitely knew the type of fiber that she preferred...





I had to work on Friday, but Saturday I took my spinning wheel. This is where we sat to spin a couple of years ago. so this is where The Shepherd put my chair and wheel when he brought it in - but you see the square light spot at the verrrryyy end of this walkway? That is where the Shetland stalls were... So I packed up shop and moved down with "my people" --- it was much better.




Joyce didn't have a spare spot for her wheel, so she brought the lovely shawl that she is knitting. Lynn brought her wheel and all kinds of "show and tell" stuff - I brought the wool that I'm spinning for one of the baby sweaters that I'm making for my boss's new twin daughters.

As always, we attracted lots of people - prospective spinners and men, fascinated with the workings of the wheel - Since Lynn teaches fiber classes at her work, I let her do a lot of the talking, but I did a lot of explaining about why my wool was colored and how it got that way.

This yarn will be for Annie's sweater - I will ply it with the other bobbin straight out, not Navajo ply, because I want the sweater to have lots of color to it.

The wool for the other sweater is lavender, pinks and blues - it, of course will be for their other daughter, Violet.






And, speaking of Violets - last but not least, OUR Violet's fleece got the blue ribbon and rosette for the Shetland fleeces - (Outstanding in a class of one - )

As I mentioned earlier the judge is the owner of a fiber mill, and was clear that she was partial to "uniform length" fleeces (Appendix A anyone...)
However, I know quite a few hand spinners who would LOVE to get their mitts on this fleece - so, what ever, we got the blue, and we'll take 'em however we can get 'em.

The fair went really smoothly this year - they had changed some policies to let us go an hour before the actual closing time, to alleviate some of the congestion in the animal areas. We had a scary thing happen with the trailer just before we got on the freeway, but everyone (humans and sheep) was safe - although it might have knocked a few years off our life expectancies...we got home safe and sound.

This next Wednesday, I'm the spinning demo person for the NW Washington Fair in Lynden - I did it last year and it is quite fun. I need to get my new "story board" (How wool goes from Sheep to Sweater") put together. And the good news is that it's only supposed to be about 70 degrees instead of 90! Whoopee!