Q is for questions

Adrienne recently tagged me for a meme and asked me pretty please to play, so here goes:

The rules: Posted here at the beginning. The player answers all questions. The player then chooses six people you want to know more about and tags those people by listing their names at the end of the post and going to their blog and leaving a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Also, you let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? In some ways it doesn't seem like much has changed. We lived on this property (in an old double-wide) and were self-employed in the same businesses we are now. We had two bulldogs (Rosie's parents), three horses (Rick's horse, now old, and two different ones I was competing with in, yes, dressage), a barn cat, and Emma the lovebird. But that was pre-Brian, pre-housebuilding, pre-Shetlands, and pre-spinning and knitting, all very significant changes since then!

2. What were five things on my to-do list today (not in any particular order)? Guide Brian's violin practice; laundry; go to town (a school concert, the feed store, and the recycling depot); ride Lock; work on dressage chapter newsletter (I'm volunteer editor).

3. What snacks do I enjoy? Pearson's chocolate-covered mint patties, frozen raspberries, plain ol' chocolate chips.

4. Where are some places I've lived? A "Century Farm" (a working farm in the same family for at least 100 years) in western Kansas; southern California suburbia; a working farm/ranch in the Texas Panhandle; several dorm rooms in Nebraska; and my favorite place of all - here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon!

5. What things would I do if I were a billionaire? Pay off our debts (the house and Rick's practice); buy the five acres beside us or possibly a different home with more acreage (and build a bigger sheep fold!); set aside money for Brian's higher education and caring for aging parents; and set up an account with enough money to live off the interest. Since Ted Turner says one only needs $5-10 million to do that, the remaining millions could be spent on charitable projects, especially supporting missionaries who are telling people the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here are the six people I'm tagging: Becky, Beth, Franna, Juliann, Kara, and Sharon.

And for those of you who are word-weary, here's some eye candy - the irises that opened since yesterday:Yesterday, above. Today, below.
That's it for now at . . .

P is for plying, pink, purple - and pretty girls!

When I have time to sit at my wheel, I work on plying the fibers from Kathy's sampler pack. I am quite pleased to have figured out a way to ply each single on itself from a center-pull ball and join one fiber to the next in the plying process so I don't have a bunch of knots in my knitting. Unfortunately, there's no way I'm going to get all the resulting yarn on one bobbin, so there will be at least one knot in the skein. :-(

This is a Pink Walloper rhododendron Brian and I got Rick for Father's Day two years ago. It didn't do much last year, but this year it put on a real show.

Some of the pink and purple iris buds have been trying to open all day. The cooler temps of the last couple days have slowed down them down. It's quite windy, too, so the moisture from the bit of rain we got yesterday isn't going to last long. Ah well, we take what we get, right? I noticed a couple small blooms on the biggest of the rhodies that we rescued from my friend's yard last year:

In case anyone has wondered why I haven't featured the two ewe lambs in my blog, it's not because I'm keeping them (unfortunately; why can't we keep them all?). I've just had a hard time getting photos that show what pretty little girls they are because they are both such pets! Either they are coming towards me, in my face, or walking away - no posing warily at a distant for these two. But this morning I did manage to get a couple photos of each to go with their ads on the NASSA Sales Site. Below is Princess #1 (Blanche) and Princess #2 (Bevin).Then this afternoon, while Brian had their attention, I captured the shot below. Isn't Blanche stunning?
News flash: I got an email from Jan with Black Sheep Gathering saying there was one last pen in the Shetland barn and wondering if I wanted it (I said yes). I think that means I'm in the show!

That's it for now at . . .

O is for "on the needles"

Yesterday while tracing a meme backwards, I ran across a reference to a knitter who practices "project monogamy," as opposed to having many UFOs (unfinished objects) on the needles. It was a relief to learn that there is at least one other knitter who likes to work on one project at a time; I've gotten the impression that I am an oddity in the knitting world!

My current WIP (work in progress) is this Baby Surprise Jacket gift-knit out of rose chenille. The name of the project is perfect because the baby herself is a surprise to our pastor and his wife after many years of marriage and two teenage boys. Meleah isn't due until August but I don't know when the baby shower will be, so I'm trying to get it done early.

Okay, in the spirit of total honesty I will admit to not being as faithful to knitting projects as I am to my husband. (I know; *GASP*!) There IS one UFO in the house which is ignored unless I'm between projects - the Scarf of Miserable Yarn. Someone told me I should just throw it in the frog pond (unravel it) because life is too short for unpleasant knitting projects, but that's not an option for me. For one thing, I AM faithful to finish a project (if not monogamously so) once I start it. For another, the yarn was a gift from which I am supposed to knit myself a scarf (yes, obligation plays a big role in my life). Thirdly, I DO love the colorway and softness of this yarn, and know I will LOVE the resulting scarf when it is finished (I believe practicing delayed gratification is a virtue). So there you have it, probably more information about my personality and character than you wanted to know. :-)

This morning we woke up to the refreshing smell and sound of rain - what a blessing! There was NO moisture evident in the soil when Rick tilled the garden Sunday after a long, dry stretch and some extremely hot days, so everything was thirsty. The largest of the Japanese maples at the front of the house is bowed over the sidewalk, appearing to reach for the puddles during a break in the showers. Jackson looked like he'd had a bath after his morning constitutional and deer check!
On a down note, I found out this morning that the livestock show at Black Sheep Gathering is full. I can still send in my entry and be put on a waiting list, but I can't imagine that many animals get pulled from such an event. They aren't exactly injury-prone performance horses like those entered in a dressage show! If I don't get in, I'm not sure what will happen with my lambs. Keeping four intact ram lambs until OFFF in September would entail building new quarters, and I don't think my long-suffering husband would agree to that, especially since there is no assurance that I'd be successful at marketing there. If no one expresses interest in anyone in the near future, tough decisions will have to be made. I'll be praying for wisdom - and interest!

That's it for now at . . .

N is for News from Lake Wobegon

Story #1: The public is mislead; this is not Lake Wobegon, there's not even a pond. But the woman is strong, the man is good-looking, and the child is above average, at least in height. Does that count?

Story #2: Brava rejoins her flock!Briefly. Sunday morning I let Brava out with the lambs and other ewes. She looks and feels better and plainly wanted out; I thought rejoining the flock might make her feel even better. That's her in the middle, enjoying some grazing time before I put everyone in the sheep lot. After the grain was gobbled, the lambs gathered around "Aunt Brava." Soon most lost interest, except for Bryden, the youngest and randiest of the boys, and Bluster-the-horned and second horniest."Who? Me?""But girls SMELL so good!" When it looked like Bryden was going to run himself and Brava into the ground, which in her weakened state might cause her to relapse, I opened the gate and Brava gratefully escaped the harrassment. Looks like it might be awhile (like weaning time?) before she'll be able to join the flock for good.

Story #3: Lambs pass muster. Yesterday morning I was able to examine all the lambs up close and personal. I particularly wanted to look over Blizz and Bluster to make sure they were show-worthy, and I think they are. I also wanted to look at the roots of my three dark moorit lambs' fleeces to see if there is any color change. They are still bittersweet chocolate to the core, and Browning and Bryden have stunning luster as well. And everyone, every single one, looks to be stamped with Braveheart's perfect tail!

Story #4: Irises open at Boulderneigh. Yes, the long-anticipated buds have finally started to unfurl their gorgeous petals. These are the first show-stoppers:
Story #5: Record-breaking heat abates. Sunday was actually pleasant, sunny and still quite warm but with enough breeze to keep it tolerable. Friday and Saturday saw record high temps all around the state, with some areas even on the beach hitting triple digits. With rain forecast to move back into the area on Tuesday, there was only one thing to do - get the rest of the garden in. If you recall, Rick took advantage of early warm, dry weather and planted (from left) onions, peas, leaf lettuce, spinach, cabbage, head lettuce and radishes.That is all looking good, and we've been eating leaf lettuce and radishes. Today we added "green" beans (Royal Burgundy), carrots (Scarlet Nantes), eggplant (a Japanese Long and a Satin Beauty), bell peppers (two Golden Bell, one Sweet Chocolate, and one Purple Beauty), zucchini, yellow straightneck (Early Prolific), cucumbers (Muncher), watermelon (Sugar Baby), a pumpkin (Spirit) a cantaloupe, a honeydew, seven tomato plants (one Delicious, two Fantastic, two Manitoba, one Sun Gold and one Grape Juliet. Brian desperately wanted his "own" garden, so Rick tilled up the NE corner and they planted a short row of radishes, a short row of beans, two hills of zucchini and one of yellow straightneck, the grape tomato, and a Gerbera daisy that he begged to have when we were buying plants this morning.We ran out of time before getting the corn planted; hopefully we can get that in this week. It feels good knowing that no matter how bad things get politically and economically, we should eat well this summer.

That's all the news for now at . . .