Wool work

I've finally picked up my Dala sweater again. I ripped back several inches after running my needle around  as a 'life line,' then started knitting again with centered double decreases under both arms to take in the body. However, one side's decreases are looking wonky and have strayed from a vertical line, so I'm going to drop those stitches and fix them. No point in spending this much time on a spindle-spun, handknit sweater only to be unhappy with it!

If only I was a quicker knitter (and spinner). Last week I picked up enough fresh roving for at least two more sweaters!

The brown is a Romney lamb fleece I purchased years ago already scoured and picked. I planned to finish preparing it with my drum carder but that never happened and now I've sold said drum carder, so I decided to take it and my one remaining 2023 fleece to a mill's booth at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last fall.

While I'd love to lose myself in spinning the above, the longer, warmer days demand a different kind of wool work – harvesting and marketing this year's fleeces. Today I started with Bridget because she's the easiest to catch – and the easiest to shear. Yeah; it's all uphill from here.

That's it for now from . . .

Back in the saddle, literally and figuratively

As of Saturday night, the last hours of the end of February, I am back to taking care of all my prior responsibilities, i.e. house and barn chores. As compensation, if you will, I am also able to ride again, even if my inaugural post-stroke ride was just a modest walk around the arena after dark for awhile. But Stella was very good and I enjoyed the saddle time very much; it was so normalizing! And after just one short month from a subarachnoid hemorrhage that could have killed me. I am so thankful for God's undeserved mercy and grace, and for my guys taking up the slack.

Oh my; shearing is approaching fast!

OH! And as of a tele-visit with my doctor's PA Saturday morning before church – which I attended without consequence so that was great – I CAN DRIVE! And drive I will today – to work, and about half a dozen other places where I need to stock up on things. I also plan to go to agility class Thursday night and meet up with my cousin at Costco afterwards. Still, my best views are at home:

This cloud photo may seem modest, but if you zoom in there is a LOT of detail!

My toe is still limiting my daily step count; I'm hoping with time and continued protection with corn cushions and careful footwear selection it will quiet down. I have places to go and new shoes to wear! 😉

I haven't gotten any farther on picking up stitches in my Dala sweater yet. Since 'BS' (Before Stroke) I've been itching to knit a hat pattern I purchased: Melt the Ice, but haven't located enough red yarn in my stash. Actually, I'm itching to knit more than one, as my sister and some friends would probably appreciate their own hats, so I should either buy or spin a quantity of nice red yarn. But I was also recently inspired by a Melt the Ice hat Donna Schoonover knitted that wasn't all red; I could do that for at least one. (I can't comment on WordPress blogs anymore, unfortunately, so I hope Donna sees this.)

That's it for now from . . .

Two steps forward, one step back

On Sunday, the day after my last post, Brian escorted me out to the shop to watch him (and eventually Rick) work. I don't get it, but having me do so makes my son so happy. I took along my spindle and spun and watched (and even helped Brian a little by feeding that red tubing to him) until the linens in the shop dryer were dry. Then Brian carried the laundry basket and escorted me back to the house.

Rick had finally found my FitBit, which was removed at the hospital, and I charged it Saturday night. With moving around in the house and walking out the shop I got in 3,540 steps on Sunday, a far cry from my 12,000 daily minimum before my stroke (in fact, I got 19,395 steps the day OF my stroke!). I decided to strive for at least a few more steps every day in my effort to 'resume normal activities' as my discharge instructions say. On Monday I got 4,838 steps, and on Tuesday, I ventured out with Rick's old cattle-working cane and walked to the gate to pick up some packages there, put them in the garage, then walked to the barn to see the horses (it was the Lunar New Year and so the first day of the "Year of the Horse" – how could I not?), and got eggs from the hen house on my way back up. It all made me so happy, and I got in 5,924 steps.

this horse mobile hangs in our bedroom window

gorgeous cloudscape from our deck before I ventured out

the changing cloudscape when I returned from outdoors

I was surprised to see that one of the packages from the gate was addressed to me, as I wasn't expecting any of the things I had ordered (more on that later) to arrive yet. But when I looked at the return address and saw "TimPrint" and "Kentucky," I suspected my longtime blogpal and good friend IRL Sara. Sure enough, she sent me a card with a photo of her and Bea enjoying a beautiful sky in which she wrote such encouraging words, two sachets of loose-leaf herb tea, and some sheep cut-outs I can wrap with homespun and use as Christmas or everyday ornaments. A big mood boost at the end of a mood-boosting day!

My head and sciatica were fine with all the increased activity; I count that as two big steps forward!

Then one huge step back occurred. One of my toes, yes, a toe, objected. Stella stepped on this toe a year or two (or more) ago, and the middle joint has bent upward ever since; I suspect she broke it and it healed improperly. As a result most of my more structured shoes/boots bother it, so I wear my soft allbirds most of the time. A few months back I wore a pair of short boots that had heretofore been okay but they wore a blister on the top of that toe, making it even more touchy. I had worn my roomy chore boots to go outside Sunday and Tuesday since they haven't bothered my toe in the past, but on Wednesday my toe got very bothered – swollen, red, and extremely tender to the touch of even socks. I was worried that maybe it had gotten infected somehow, but my veterinarian husband and my nurse neighbor both thought otherwise and suggested I just hot-pack it. I've been doing that multiple times a day the last two days without much change, which has kept me inside with one bare foot; I only got 4,795 steps on Wednesday and 5,757 steps on Thursday (up and down stairs to do laundry and to get more spinning fiber). This morning Rick suggested sandals in passing, so I dug out my one pair of open-toed Keens. They work! The only problem is that I don't want to use them inside and outside, where it is muddy, then back inside; we don't wear outside shoes inside. So today I've been wearing them inside, where I appreciate the arch support, insulation from the cold floor, and protection from bits of debris (vacuuming is on today's to-do list). I might find a solution for that; in the meantime the 'one huge step back' has been slightly ameliorated.

I mentioned ordering some things. Indeed, I felt I deserved some 'retail therapy' in honor of surviving a stroke and the Year of the Horse! While still at OHSU I ordered three tops from Coldwater Creek, pictured below in screenshots from their website. I was hoping a horsey top would arrive in time to wear for the Lunar New Year, but was disappointed. I also took advantage of a sale on 'Muddy Mats,' getting three in a color that goes nicely with our great room wall color. These might help with wearing my sandals inside after outdoor outings if I do my best to stay out of the messiest of areas. I also ordered two pairs of shoes from PoshMark after another close friend turned me on to that app. I was looking for styles that might work with my sore toe once it quiets down; being comfortably shod is a huge priority for me. Eventually I plan to sell some stuff on PoshMark as well; I think it may become a replacement for eBay for me.

When I'm sitting, I'm often spinning and listening to an ebook (currently Chosen By A Horse; recommended!). Still spinning away on the navy top with my three Dovekies. I'm contemplating plying it with some Inglenook Sticklebatts I purchased, spun thin. Oh, and when my head is feeling truly alert I work on running my needle through the stitches of my Dala sweater just below the arm holes, which is where I want to rip back to. I figure picking through the stitches like this is far easier than trying to pick up fine, black, loose stitches after ripping back without a lifeline.

That's the post-stroke report from . . .

Showers of blessings and lots of rain

A lot has been going on here, including some big blessings.

I've had 'hay on the brain' for awhile, because we clearly didn't have enough and it isn't going to get any easier to find. There's a place at the bottom of our hill that usually has "HAY" and a phone number spray-painted on a sheet of plywood, so I decided to call. After buying one bale each of the two types the farmer has for the horses to try, I bought 55 more. The quality appears to better than the two 'off-brands' we bought earlier this year, the price is reasonable, and the location couldn't be much closer. Whew, what a blessing for now, and perhaps a good resource for the future (our favorite hay supplier is in his 80s and cutting back).

The remedial construction our next-door neighbors to the north had to have done is wrapping up, and last week they texted to say there was plenty of room in their huge dumpster if we wanted to get rid of anything. Boy, did we, thanks in large part to the shop project! Rick took multiple tractor bucket loads over, and our place does look better now – if you look past the multiple dead vehicles. 🙄 Hey, I'll take any improvements made.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from someone interested in buying a few sheep. I kept my hopes in check, as inquiries don't always, or even often, lead to sales. But this one has; I received the deposit yesterday. Hurray; three ewes are moving south next month, which will allow me to consolidate the remaining ewes into one group who should get along better thanks to who is leaving.

Sunday Poppy and I competed in our final agility trial of the year. We had a great time; the club that put it on pulls out all the stops, with personalized Christmas ornaments for each dog, a toy chest from which a gift for each dog can be chosen, a photo booth, and great raffle prizes. Poppy got three qualifying scores plus a first place out of four classes and a new chew toy, and I brought home a new ornament and a raffle prize!

Once again, some awesome volunteers in the Jenkins spindle-lovers' community on Ravelry organized and created a December fiber swap/fiber Advent calendar.

I so enjoy the daily opening, spinning, and plying of these small and varied fiber surprises, pairing them with different Jenkins spindles, even if it means less knitting time on my Dala sweater. The current weather is helping, though; it's been too wet to ride, so that means more time to knit and spin. Rick is also gone for a few days to the annual horse vet convention, and that gives me more time as well. But when he gets home, we are going to have to do some 'remedial construction' of our own; I noticed this morning that we have leaks over the daylight basement's sliding glass doors and the two east-facing windows on either side of it. 😳 It's always something!

That's it for now from . . .