Counting our blessings...

Alpacas checking out the camera...

Jonathan and Ian...

Ian and Katelyn...

Marc walking along the field edge...

Our Thanksgiving was a wonderfully, quiet, relaxing day. Wayne's boss gave us a 24 lb. turkey which wouldn't fit in the fridge so I roasted it on Wednesday. Most of the other preparations I made the day before, too, which left Thursday as a day to enjoy being together with the family and our friend William who came to spend a few days with us while his family was in NYC. (Will had to work so he couldn't go to the City.) It was great having a day to rest and reflect on all that we have been blessed with. I'm including some pictures of our blessings.

I was able to get the six alpaca earwarmer kits to the shop this week. I made one using each alpaca's fleece and then blended Mystifier's and Indian's fleece to make a neat two-toned yarn. While delivering the kits we ran into Diane who was also making some deliveries of some of her knit products. She has used some of our alpaca to make items for the shop. We enjoyed talking with the owners and seeing what else local artisans had delivered for the Christmas shopping season. There are some incredibly talented people around here!

We left that shop and went across the street to visit another little shop we hadn't been in. There we had the fun of running into our dear friend Carole who owns and operates Covenant Baked Goods. She rents a small section of the store and sells her baked items in this little shop. We tried to catch up on all the latest news and she put in an order for all the eggs Marc's chickens can provide.

Next we went to a little diner and had a cup of coffee and muffin when other friends walked in. Deb was delivering potato salad which she makes for the diner. Her daughter got married last year and moved to Florida so we got to catch up with Deb and Danielle while having our coffee. Wayne and I both commented on how neat it was to visit the little shops/diner and be able to visit with people...such a nice change from the "Wally-world chaos". I hope that we'll see a revival of the little village shops and the sense of community they bring.

Since I met my "quota" of spinning for the shop, I decided to treat myself to some spinning time with some of the purchases I made at Rhinebeck. I also wanted to try spinning some of that Babydoll fleece I got from Mary a couple of weeks ago. I really like the Babydoll though it does have lots of second cuts...which basically means you get little "noils" (aka"pills") in your yarn. This is okay as long as you don't mind some added texture. I'm thinking of making some mittens from the yarn so the added bumps won't be a problem. I've done a bit of spinning with some cranberry colored mohair top. Spinning from "top" (where all the fibers are running parallel) is a bit of a challenge for this beginning spinner, but I'm hoping with practice my yarn will be a bit more consistent.

Wayne walking the dogs... Rachael & the boys playing with the dogs...

Introducing....

And he-e-e-ere's.....MIDNIGHT!

The farm has a new addition...Midnight, a 5 year old black lab, arrived last Saturday and has been settling into life on the farm. His previous owners lived in the city of Binghamton so he's adjusting to all the empty space surrounding the house. (They had to move and couldn't take him with them.) Midnight loves to play ball, chase sticks, and roll on the ground with 2 little boys. He's escaped more than once but since he loves to ride, he happily ran and jumped in the backseat of the car when I followed him and opened the back door.

Brittany is adjusting to having a very active male dog around...she can frequently be seen giving him disgusted looks. (Yes, she is a VERY expressive dog...the only one I've ever seen who literally pouts when she's offended.)

We've brought in all the gourds and are hopeful that they'll dry properly so we can attempt some gourd crafts. I'm really hoping the bushel gourds cure well--they'll make some neat bowls/baskets. This is just a sampling of some of the gourds we harvested.

I've finally finished working on the pattern for the earwarmer I've been working on to put into a kit. Here's a picture of Rachael modeling it. (This picture is on the package) I plan on getting at least one kit into the shop this week.

Yesterday I picked up 2 big bags of babydoll sheep wool to try spinning. In my reading, it was described as a good blender for alpaca. A fellow spinner that my teacher told me about gave me one fleece from her sheep (Babydoll/Romney Cross) and one from her neighbor (100% Babydoll). I must say, spinners are such a generous lot--they are so willing to help you find what you're looking for and if they have it, they are more than willing to share. She encouraged me to come back sometime soon with my wheel so we could sit, spin, and get to know each other. She also offered to give me a couple of rams for lawn trimming and future fleece harvests, but that's jumping way too far ahead of what we're up to having on the farm at this point.

Ian says, "See you later! Come back soon!"