Happy hour

Today was supposed to be a wash-out, like yesterday, tomorrow, and Sunday. But this afternoon the sun broke out, and I pulled over at the bottom of our hill on my way home and captured this:

Just looking at that picture makes me happy. And I'm getting some time at home alone tonight, which also makes me happy. Rick has mostly laid around the house since we got home from the hospital Wednesday morning. But tonight he got an emergency call from a client over on the coast and took Brian with him because he wasn't sure he could drive that far (the stone hasn't passed).

It's been a disrupted, discombobulated week. Still, I've managed to get Lance out for frequent short rides, and have been playing with yarn. After months of spinning Jacob singles, I finally started plying it using my miniSpinner. I filled one bobbin to the brim,

then started on another; I was rather stunned to see just how much I had spun up on my Jenkins Turkish spindles since July! There's a bit more roving yet to spin and ply before I can measure yardage.

This morning I finally skeined the mohair yarn I spun and plied during the Tour de Fleece. Rick's first black walnut bowl was the perfect receptacle to hold the turtle while I used my noddy-noddy. The skein is only ~273 yards, so I may combine it with something else for a two-color project.

Earlier today I noticed a red-tailed hawk on the ground in our middle pasture. It flew to a tree before I could grab my camera, but I still managed to get a decent shot of it (at least if you click to biggify), with the added bonus of a touch of fall color.

That's it for today from . . .

Ugh.

Let's start with a pretty picture, shall we?

That was yesterday's sunrise, so obviously the day started out well. That continued through a ride in the fall woods on my mustang man, in spite of dreading a noon dental appointment. I had ignored some niggling issues with a crowned molar long enough, though, so it was time to face the music. Turns out the music is the ka-ching of the dentist's cash register, so to speak; said molar is trying to abscess so I'm on a week of antibiotics before getting a root canal.

Last night shortly after Rick arrived home, he started getting uncomfortable – back spasms, he said. Massage and heat helped – a little – temporarily, but by 11:00 he decided I needed to take him to the ER. It felt very much like I was transporting a woman in labor (only moi didn't make that much noise). The ER was swamped so it took hours to get seen, diagnosed, and treated . . . for a small kidney stone. (Is there something in the water here???) At least I had a spindle with me.

We got home shortly after 4:00, then I was up again at 6:30 to do chores, make breakfast and lunch, and get Brian to school/Rick to the pharmacy for drugs. Now he's snoring and I'm bone-tired but unable to sleep. Maybe I'll take Lance out for another ride before driving to Salem again to pick up the teenager.

That's it for the latest trials at . . .

Sunday snapshots

I'm sharing this from my recliner, trying to stay off a painful foot. Nothing serious, just cranky, old body parts that got a lot of use today, as we had absolutely perfect weather and much needed to be done – by those of us not occupied with homework. ;-)

While Rick finished the roof of a wood shelter (for his turning wood) and put tin on the side of the storage end of the sheep fold,

I weeded the arena and started cleaning out the garden, which I totally blame on Mama Pea's guilt trip inspiration.

 

Before the bush beans came out.

You can't tell I made a dent in the weeds of either area; at least removing the pea vines, pea trellis, and bush beans is noticeable. I also saved seeds from the bush beans and mulched all four rhubarb plants.

When Rick left to pick up a load of hay, I walked down the hill to get instructions on chores from a 'neighbor.' She bottle-fed Brigitte several times a day when I was gone for the World Cup last March, so I'm tickled to be able to return the favor while she and her husband visit their daughter and granddaughter in France. After walking back up the hill, I thoroughly cleaned and re-bedded Lance's stall for dust abatement.

Rick arrived with 3 1/2 tons of beautiful third-cutting orchard grass, so it was all hands on deck to get it stacked in the barn. That, added to the first and second cutting we had already procured, should finally be enough for the horses and sheep until next summer.

In spite of the hard work, it was nice to be working outside on such a lovely day with beauty all around.

That's it for now from . . .

Celebration Sabbath

For Jackson's 10th birthday – and for the Lord on His day:

Love to you all from . . .