Jinxed?

Okay, okay, I know after we returned from Florida earlier in the month I listed many things I would miss if I lived there..... but this?

We have had one heck of an ice storm here in central Kentucky! The storm started on Monday night and we managed to hold our power until the worst of it Wednesday morning. I hoped that it would be temporary but it is looking like we may be without electricity for a long time (the current forecast from Bluegrass Energy is 5-15 days!).This is what our nearly half-mile long driveway looked like in it's worst place on Wednesday morning while the freezing rain was still coming:Without Paul home (he was contending with a string of cancelled flights while trying to get back from Washington, D.C.), I would have been at wit's end if it weren't for our new resident and friend in our cabin, Danna. It turns out that Danna has her very own chainsaw and knows how to use it! She lived in S. Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina and was without power for 6 weeks- her chainsaw was compliments of FEMA. What a woman!

We cleared the driveway, started fires in the our fireplaces, gathered supplies, and then I pouted around for a while saying to myself, "You are tough, you are NOT getting soft, you are NOT a princess." Truly, those were my thoughts and I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, having restless kids at home and praying for Paul to get here safely. To complicate matters, our new farm help couldn't get here (and now has to take off for the next week for personal reasons), and when we have no electricity it also means no water since we're on a well and have cisterns at the barns. At least our phones are working again after two days of being out.

Thankfully, Paul got home safely and spent yesterday as resident hero, problem-solving our water challenges at the barns and getting generator power to the house. I concentrated on caring for the animals, brought out all of our alpaca blankets, and told myself, "Yes, we CAN do this, I am not a wussy."

I have figured out a few things about myself in this decade of my life, namely that I don't like stress and change and don't handle it well... for about 1-2 days. Then I try to ADAPT (my word of the year, remember?) and think positive. Also, I am reminding myself that we have it SOOOO much better than so many people, the elderly and some with many small children, that are holed up in cold homes all over our area. I am not feeling sorry for myself any more.Besides, this storm has left incredible beauty behind, along with the damage. I'll have other images to share as I can get internet, here are a few, though they don't do it justice. I hope that wherever you are, you're warm and safe. Pin It Now!

Weather "Event"

I couldn't figure out why our dog Munchie kept scratching at the door at 1 AM... then I realized it wasn't him but Mother Nature trying to get my attention. She was throwing down snow, rain and sleet all at once, and it was bouncing at the patio door and windows all night long! Would you believe that it hit 60 degrees here last Friday? We always say if you don't like the weather in Kentucky, just wait a little while....Most of our animals have shelter, but the alpacas and dogs are pretty content outside. It is amazing how the ice doesn't melt on the alpaca's backs since they are so well insulated. The kids helped me feed because our helper couldn't make it on the slick roads, and Robert enjoyed sledding down the icy hills. Being the worrier I am (I take after my Mom that way), I'm preparing for the worst... a power outage like we had after the 2003 ice storm, and Paul is out of town like he was then.
It's currently raining pretty hard and icicles are forming everywhere.
Oh well, the chores are done, I've got bread rising, Mirian has just baked some of her special chocolate chip "tortillas", and Robert has a friend over. We have lots of rations, candles, and firewood. I'm finishing up some more scarves, and with lots of knitting I'm pretty content inside our warm home rather than out in this:
Be careful out there, my friends. Pin It Now!

Maine Mitts for Me!

Last weekend before heading off to my spinning retreat, I went through some of my fiber stash and discovered some lovely Bluefaced Leicester hand-dyed roving and some yarn I had already spun from it. I purchased the fiber at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the only year I had the good fortune of attending, perhaps in 2005? The yarn was sold by Firesong, and I remember all of their colors being stunning.

I enjoy working with alpaca most of all, but it is nice to work with other fibers from time to time. BFL wool is relatively soft, hard-wearing, and has really pretty luster. The yarn that I had already spun was fairly bulky and uneven, but I felt that it would be good for that pattern I love, Maine Morning Mitts! I spun a skein last weekend that will perhaps become a hat or scarf, my spinning was so much better the second time around.

These mitts will be nice to wear tomorrow morning when we finish up on the alpaca's routine herd health (worming injections and trimming toenails)! It's nice to have warm wrists and hands but to have my fingers free for fine motor tasks.

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Making Time....

This morning I was looking at my to-do list and wondering if I have time to go to my Wednesday afternoon knitting group. I have made attending this little get-together a priority (for my own sanity), but sometimes a bit of guilt creeps in.... I've been swamped here at the farm and have found that a certain daughter is pushing my buttons again. In addition, I certainly haven't made time to exercise regularly as I hoped.

But, I was just perusing the blogs I enjoy and caught up with Martha Stewart. I nearly took her blog off my list as it is of course more commercial than most, however I am finding that I enjoy a few minutes here and there of living vicariously through her! In the past month, she has posted about going to a wilderness spa retreat with her daughter in the Southwest, an island vacation in the Bahamas with friends, adopting some Himalayan cats from her local shelter, and riding her Fresian horses on a snowy afternoon (see that one here, MB and Marti Mu, hint, hint!). She posts tons of photos with each entry, many her own, so it doesn't have too much of a magazine feel.
Of course, Martha looks wonderful in all! It's easy to see why, since she has such an active life and does the things that she enjoys. I have read that she has a type-A personality and has worked for years and years obsessively on her career, but it doesn't appear that she is a total workaholic! Yes, she has tons of staff and no longer has children (or a husband) at home, but few could keep her schedule AND find time to do the things they love (and I would bet that like me she watches little to no television). On that note, I am feeling inspired to take a 20 minute walk in the cold with Munchie! (Photos here are from that walk...)
I had planned to write some reflections on the inauguration and have read many beautiful summaries, but I am unable to find many words..... WOW, that music, and the poem, and the benediction, and the SPEECH (oh yeah, and Michele's dress at the ball!) Let me just say simply that my heart is lightened and my mind is completely filled with optimism and pride when I consider the inauguration of Barack Obama.... God Bless America! Pin It Now!

Spinning and Spiral Cowl

This past weekend's spinning retreat was a welcome break from lots of cold outdoor activities on the farm! Our local spinning guild has had an annual overnight get-together for as long as it's existed (over 25 years?), and I've now started to feel like one of the old-timers, having attended perhaps the past 15 years. We rented a lovely house on a lake, and I fully enjoyed the usual sharing of patterns, techniques, ideas, opinions, and wonderful home-cooked food. Our group is very diverse, but all are generous in their teaching and I have learned so much from these friends. It's fun to see the variety of projects and to learn about the different fibers that everyone enjoys. (The green fiber above is mohair that Sheri dyed and below is wool from Sylvia's sheep that she dyed for a coat).My goal was to spin my own alpaca yarn and knit a Spiral Cowl (the free pattern can be found here), and I completed all but the final touches over the weekend.
I wanted to make it for my new grey and red reversible alpaca coat, and it does look great with it (though that picture didn't turn out well). It was a very fun and fairly simply knit, and I have already cast on to do another in Noro silk garden yarn. The button (shown above) which gathers it closer for warmth is made from bone, and I'd been saving it for a special project since buying it in Alaska nearly 5 years ago. This was the first time I'd done a picot edging, and I loved it! Pin It Now!