Matthew is taking a drawing class as one of his electives this semester. He's really enjoying it. I'm glad to see him getting grades for pictures since he spent so many years doodling on his home school assignments!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
School Projects
The other day Wayne was working with the boys on their school work while I worked with the '3 middles'. They started getting creative with the lock blocks they were using for math.
Matthew is taking a drawing class as one of his electives this semester. He's really enjoying it. I'm glad to see him getting grades for pictures since he spent so many years doodling on his home school assignments!
Matthew is taking a drawing class as one of his electives this semester. He's really enjoying it. I'm glad to see him getting grades for pictures since he spent so many years doodling on his home school assignments!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
September Saturday Part 2
They are warning that there might be a frost tonight so we harvested what was left on the squash vines, pepper plants, cucumber vine, and cabbage plant. Here's a picture of the last of the veggie harvest.
We also harvested the bean plants we are drying for seeds for next year. They are drying on some racks out back. As soon as they are dry we'll shell the bean pods and store the seeds for next spring's garden.
Brit was enjoying the cool sand in the sandbox while we were puttering around outside. She always keeps close by the action even if she doesn't take part in it very often these days.
Two of the goats had to smile for the camera...
And the alpacas were having their Saturday afternoon siesta.
We also harvested the bean plants we are drying for seeds for next year. They are drying on some racks out back. As soon as they are dry we'll shell the bean pods and store the seeds for next spring's garden.Brit was enjoying the cool sand in the sandbox while we were puttering around outside. She always keeps close by the action even if she doesn't take part in it very often these days.
Two of the goats had to smile for the camera...
And the alpacas were having their Saturday afternoon siesta.
September Saturday
Today was a beautiful late summer day to work on projects.
Katelyn is learning how to maneuver the lawn tractor in this picture. She's moving the cornstalks to the front of the house so we can try selling some of them for fall decorations.
Marc and I helped Wayne build a new hay rack for the goats in the barn. We needed something a little easier to fill and accessible to all of the goats at the same time. This seems to fit the bill nicely. The milking stool has been moved and then we created a new 'worm bin' underneath the rabbit cages.
We've read that worms and rabbits are a good combination since the worms use the rabbits' waste and help reduce the odor from the rabbits. We benefit with castings for potting soil and worms to add to the garden, feed the chickens, or sell to fishermen. It'll be interesting to see how this new project works.
I sold some fiber this a.m. to a woman who moved to the area from Manhattan. The town librarian gave her my name when she learned that Maurine was interested in purchasing local fiber for felting projects. She placed an order for some additional fiber so I'll be processing that over the next few days. It's great selling some of the 'harvest' of the farm.
To close the post I'll include the latest picture Katelyn took of Captain. He's such a sweet little guy.
Katelyn is learning how to maneuver the lawn tractor in this picture. She's moving the cornstalks to the front of the house so we can try selling some of them for fall decorations.
Marc and I helped Wayne build a new hay rack for the goats in the barn. We needed something a little easier to fill and accessible to all of the goats at the same time. This seems to fit the bill nicely. The milking stool has been moved and then we created a new 'worm bin' underneath the rabbit cages.
We've read that worms and rabbits are a good combination since the worms use the rabbits' waste and help reduce the odor from the rabbits. We benefit with castings for potting soil and worms to add to the garden, feed the chickens, or sell to fishermen. It'll be interesting to see how this new project works.
I sold some fiber this a.m. to a woman who moved to the area from Manhattan. The town librarian gave her my name when she learned that Maurine was interested in purchasing local fiber for felting projects. She placed an order for some additional fiber so I'll be processing that over the next few days. It's great selling some of the 'harvest' of the farm.To close the post I'll include the latest picture Katelyn took of Captain. He's such a sweet little guy.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Prayer for a Little Guy
Tonight I received a phone call from my friend Gail. We have been praying for her grandson who took a fall over the weekend and underwent testing to explain some of the symptoms he was experiencing. Today they received the news that 6 year old Deegan has stage 4 kidney cancer which has metastasized to his lung. He goes to the pediatric oncologist in Syracuse tomorrow. Please be in prayer for Deegan, his parents, brother, and the rest of the family...I can't begin to imagine how overwhelmed they must feel tonight. How thankful I am that even though the circumstances in life are always changing, our God is ever faithful and unchanging. He is in control even in this, and we're trusting Him to bring good out of this horrible situation.
Thanks for your prayers...I know he and his family will need and appreciate them.
Thanks for your prayers...I know he and his family will need and appreciate them.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Endless Mtn Fiber Festival
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Yes! We made it to the fiber festival!!! The weather was cloudy but the rain held off and we were able to enjoy strolling through the booths at the festival without getting wet or cold. There were many vendors offering lots of fiber, yarn, handcrafted items, and more.
Katelyn enjoyed taking pictures of LOTS of angora rabbits. This is one picture of many. They are so incredibly soft. I was reminded of just how wonderful their fur is when spun so I need to start spinning Arthur's fiber.
Wayne has been doing some rug hooking over the past year. We were intrigued by the punched rugs that were displayed. My grandmother used to punch hook rugs so they hold a special place in my heart. We kept coming back to this booth and watching the woman work on her project.
In the end Wayne did buy a pattern and yarn to make a punch hooked rug. I'm thrilled that he wants to get into this craft and look forward to the end results of his handiwork displayed around the house.
We took Katelyn to lunch--her highlight of the trip--and then picked up Nathanial from college to spend the night at home. It was a fun day of fiber viewing and dreaming of future projects.
Yes! We made it to the fiber festival!!! The weather was cloudy but the rain held off and we were able to enjoy strolling through the booths at the festival without getting wet or cold. There were many vendors offering lots of fiber, yarn, handcrafted items, and more. 
Katelyn enjoyed taking pictures of LOTS of angora rabbits. This is one picture of many. They are so incredibly soft. I was reminded of just how wonderful their fur is when spun so I need to start spinning Arthur's fiber.Wayne has been doing some rug hooking over the past year. We were intrigued by the punched rugs that were displayed. My grandmother used to punch hook rugs so they hold a special place in my heart. We kept coming back to this booth and watching the woman work on her project.
In the end Wayne did buy a pattern and yarn to make a punch hooked rug. I'm thrilled that he wants to get into this craft and look forward to the end results of his handiwork displayed around the house.
We took Katelyn to lunch--her highlight of the trip--and then picked up Nathanial from college to spend the night at home. It was a fun day of fiber viewing and dreaming of future projects.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Busy September Days
Today definitely reminded us that the fall weather is on its way. With temps only getting up into the low 60's and a chilly rain, the wood fire took the chill off the house and provided the heat to simmer a chicken soup for dinner tonight.
The past few days I've been doing a lot of spinning...both on my wheel and hand spindle. On Thursday I took my hand spindle along for the latest trip to the ER. Wayne's pain level was extreme yesterday so he needed to get the 'heavy duty pain killer' via IV. While he was receiving the 'heavy duty meds' I was spinning away on my hand spindle. He was very considerate and was ready to be discharged just as I spun the last of the roving in my bag. Tonight I finished plying 2 skeins of Flashdancer's yarn. I washed the skeins to set the twist and now they are drying in our toasty mudroom near the woodstove.
This morning I started baking for tomorrow's market day that my friend sells at. She called as the crescent rolls were rising and told me that she was sick and wouldn't be manning the tent tomorrow. I switched to Plan B and after forming the crescent rolls, placed them in the freezer so I can bake them off next Friday. I made up some gluten free rolls so Marc could have some with the soup instead of biscuits and froze the rest for next week. I was tempted to go ahead and make the gluten free cookies and put them in the freezer, but I knew they probably would be discovered before next week. I'll have to make them later--or double the batch and hide the extra in the bottom of one of the freezers!
Tomorrow, if all goes well, Wayne, Katelyn and I are planning to attend a Fiber Festival that is just over the Pennsylvania border. Wayne has never been able to attend a fiber festival with me so we're hopeful that he'll be up to the trip tomorrow. It's only a little over an hour's drive and it's a small festival so it shouldn't be as taxing as some of the bigger festivals held farther away.
Katelyn thinks she wants to learn how to spin so I gave her some practice at treadling on my wheel this evening. I think she's trying to get her dad to agree to some sheep on the farm. She keeps reading the ads in the local pennysaver and lets us know when sheep are listed. I tease her and tell her that Captain provides a nice fleece so we don't need sheep. She asks when I'm going to start spinning his fur. She better watch it...I might just try after the next haircut!
The past few days I've been doing a lot of spinning...both on my wheel and hand spindle. On Thursday I took my hand spindle along for the latest trip to the ER. Wayne's pain level was extreme yesterday so he needed to get the 'heavy duty pain killer' via IV. While he was receiving the 'heavy duty meds' I was spinning away on my hand spindle. He was very considerate and was ready to be discharged just as I spun the last of the roving in my bag. Tonight I finished plying 2 skeins of Flashdancer's yarn. I washed the skeins to set the twist and now they are drying in our toasty mudroom near the woodstove.
This morning I started baking for tomorrow's market day that my friend sells at. She called as the crescent rolls were rising and told me that she was sick and wouldn't be manning the tent tomorrow. I switched to Plan B and after forming the crescent rolls, placed them in the freezer so I can bake them off next Friday. I made up some gluten free rolls so Marc could have some with the soup instead of biscuits and froze the rest for next week. I was tempted to go ahead and make the gluten free cookies and put them in the freezer, but I knew they probably would be discovered before next week. I'll have to make them later--or double the batch and hide the extra in the bottom of one of the freezers!
Tomorrow, if all goes well, Wayne, Katelyn and I are planning to attend a Fiber Festival that is just over the Pennsylvania border. Wayne has never been able to attend a fiber festival with me so we're hopeful that he'll be up to the trip tomorrow. It's only a little over an hour's drive and it's a small festival so it shouldn't be as taxing as some of the bigger festivals held farther away.
Katelyn thinks she wants to learn how to spin so I gave her some practice at treadling on my wheel this evening. I think she's trying to get her dad to agree to some sheep on the farm. She keeps reading the ads in the local pennysaver and lets us know when sheep are listed. I tease her and tell her that Captain provides a nice fleece so we don't need sheep. She asks when I'm going to start spinning his fur. She better watch it...I might just try after the next haircut!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
First Day of School
We decided to surprise the kids with a special start for the first 'official' day of school...a field trip to the zoo!
We had hoped to take them to the Syracuse zoo which is about 2 hours away, but Wayne hasn't been up to traveling that far. We decided to get a family membership for the year to the smaller zoo in Binghamton so we can take advantage of the zoo, discovery center, and special discounts to other local museums and attractions. Katelyn woke up not feeling well again so Wayne stayed home with her with promises of doing something special on another day and reminding her that we would go back to the zoo again before the year is up.
Teacher Mom had a scavenger hunt activity printed out for the kids to fill out. I'll confess, we were so busy enjoying the animals that we didn't complete the activity sheet, but Marc did a great job filling in most of the questions.
The little guys loved the fish. Jonathan was also pretty impressed with the ball python. Mom was impressed with herself for being able to 'admire' the python and show the little guys where the skin was starting to shed. As long as there's a very thick piece of glass between me and the slithery thing, I'm brave.
After our journey through the zoo we met up with Nathanial. On Wednesdays he doesn't have classes so we had lunch together and then he and Marc went to Barnes and Noble while Rachael, Jonathan, Ian, and I ran into AC Moore for some craft items for school. Much to Jonathan's dismay we took Nathanial back to the campus and let him get back to his studying and on-campus job. He really misses his big brother "Nafanel" and made sure we knew it for most of the 45 minute drive home.
Katelyn was feeling much better by the time we got home. She and Dad had taken Captain for a walk down to Pete's Used Furniture Store to look at 'treasures'. Wayne now has some antique twin size headboards to refinish for his girls added to his projects in the workshop. (Hopefully, they'll be the subject of another post in the near future.)
We had hoped to take them to the Syracuse zoo which is about 2 hours away, but Wayne hasn't been up to traveling that far. We decided to get a family membership for the year to the smaller zoo in Binghamton so we can take advantage of the zoo, discovery center, and special discounts to other local museums and attractions. Katelyn woke up not feeling well again so Wayne stayed home with her with promises of doing something special on another day and reminding her that we would go back to the zoo again before the year is up.Teacher Mom had a scavenger hunt activity printed out for the kids to fill out. I'll confess, we were so busy enjoying the animals that we didn't complete the activity sheet, but Marc did a great job filling in most of the questions.
The little guys loved the fish. Jonathan was also pretty impressed with the ball python. Mom was impressed with herself for being able to 'admire' the python and show the little guys where the skin was starting to shed. As long as there's a very thick piece of glass between me and the slithery thing, I'm brave.
After our journey through the zoo we met up with Nathanial. On Wednesdays he doesn't have classes so we had lunch together and then he and Marc went to Barnes and Noble while Rachael, Jonathan, Ian, and I ran into AC Moore for some craft items for school. Much to Jonathan's dismay we took Nathanial back to the campus and let him get back to his studying and on-campus job. He really misses his big brother "Nafanel" and made sure we knew it for most of the 45 minute drive home.Katelyn was feeling much better by the time we got home. She and Dad had taken Captain for a walk down to Pete's Used Furniture Store to look at 'treasures'. Wayne now has some antique twin size headboards to refinish for his girls added to his projects in the workshop. (Hopefully, they'll be the subject of another post in the near future.)
Labor Day Weekend
We had a very special Labor Day weekend due to the visit of our dear friends Nancy & Phil from Maine. They brought lobsters for those of us who LOVE lobster (Wayne, Marc & Myself). The others had fun commenting on the way we eat them. The weekend flew by and before we knew it Phil and Nancy had to leave to make that long trek to the north country. We tried to convince them that they may have been exposed to some serious virus when Katelyn displayed symptoms, but they had to get back to their work and family so we finally let them go. Hopefully, they'll be back again VERY soon. (Hint, hint!!!)
After they left we did some puttering around the house. I put the dried beans into jars and refilled the drying rack with the next crop of herbs to dry. This time there was a totally new plant on the drying rack...Wheat that we grew in one of the raised beds. I'm going to try to do some straw weaving projects, which were popular in England. All the boxes by the rack are dried herbs waiting to be used in potpourri, sachets, or herb wreaths. This old wooden clothing rack has definitely been put to use this summer.
I harvested some of the blossoms from our bush that was covered this year. In the past couple of years we only had a handful of blooms, but this year it did great. I have another large basket filled with blooms on the dining room table.(Unfortunately the camera was on the wrong setting so the pics are blurry...I think I corrected the problem for the next set of pics.)
After they left we did some puttering around the house. I put the dried beans into jars and refilled the drying rack with the next crop of herbs to dry. This time there was a totally new plant on the drying rack...Wheat that we grew in one of the raised beds. I'm going to try to do some straw weaving projects, which were popular in England. All the boxes by the rack are dried herbs waiting to be used in potpourri, sachets, or herb wreaths. This old wooden clothing rack has definitely been put to use this summer.
I harvested some of the blossoms from our bush that was covered this year. In the past couple of years we only had a handful of blooms, but this year it did great. I have another large basket filled with blooms on the dining room table.(Unfortunately the camera was on the wrong setting so the pics are blurry...I think I corrected the problem for the next set of pics.)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Spinning and Soapmaking
Yesterday I decided to mix up a batch of goat milk soap. It's now curing and in a few weeks I'm going to hand mill the soap and add the essential oils and other additives. I decided to try a new technique of mixing the base soap and it went very well. If we can get an excess of milk in the fridge in the next day or so, I'll make up another batch of base soap. By not putting the essential oils and additives in at the time of making the base soap, I'm able to make smaller batches of specialty soap--the whole batch is not committed to one scent/combination of scents.
Last night I pulled out the spinning wheel and was enjoying a relaxing evening of spinning alpaca fiber. Captain must have thought it looked like a relaxing spot, too, because he jumped up in my lap and rested there as I spun. I warned him to keep his fur out of the way or he might find himself tangled in the yarn.
Last night I pulled out the spinning wheel and was enjoying a relaxing evening of spinning alpaca fiber. Captain must have thought it looked like a relaxing spot, too, because he jumped up in my lap and rested there as I spun. I warned him to keep his fur out of the way or he might find himself tangled in the yarn.
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