Cheep Peeps and Tackle-it Tuesday

First, the Internet Hall of Shame.

My daughter and one of her friends do what they call Tackle-it Tuesday. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Tell the truth, I really wasn't up to it today. I am still weak and coughing from a week of the flu. But my bedroom was TRASHED. This past week my kids brought laundry in here and sorted it into piles on the floor (helping mom, of course) and left them... bins of sweaters to recycle, Beverly clothes to sort into Winter/Summer and pack away. Bits of stuff (where does this stuff come from?), kleenex, wrappers (don't people know where the TRASH is?) etc. I couldn't stand it another minute!

So today I sorted, folded, cleaned, threw away, boxed up, binned. Put clothes in drawers and Space bags. One of the kids helped me cart stuff away, and one helped me vacuum. Had to stop in the middle of all the proceedings to run around for 2 hours dealing with the new chicks (more below). Note I did leave the rocking chair in the corner... mostly my dh's jeans and stuff (and ONE large purple sheet). And I have one box still to deal with, that is a couple quilt tops awaiting my attention, and a couple sweaters to recycle. But, not a bad day's accomplishment for someone who is still running on 3 of 8 cylinders. LoL.

Today our chicks came in. When my kids were in 4-H in another county, they could get 25 chicks for $25, and at the summer-end Livestock Show and Sale they had to turn in their best 5 hens for judging and auction. In this county, you get 12 chicks for $20 but at the end of summer, only have to turn in 3 of them, and you get $20 back just for entering the sale. I wish they had had Barred Rocks available, I love them. Fat chickens with black and white striped plumage who lay nice brown eggs. And I love Americaunas, which are variant colors but lay eggs in the olive-to-pale aqua range of greens.

Unfortunately, those weren't available. So Diantha got 12 Black Australorps... good, heavy-bodied meat and egg birds who lay brown eggs. Those are the little black chicks with yellow markings. Veronica got 12 Rhode Island Reds... tall, large chickens with dark auburn feathers and they lay reddish-brown eggs. And Josiah got 12 Red Stars. These have been bred for laying. They are pale auburn birds who religiously lay light brown eggs. They are the strawberry blonde chicks.

Hopefully, these will all be hens... roosters are loud and not good for much but helping the hens hatch out a clutch of eggs (which I don't want to do with these breeds anyway), or for dinner. In 20 weeks they will either lay little pullet eggs or start crowing... then we will know!

Some closing pics... Artemas is a good babysitter.









...and wound pics, which are healing incredibly well and quickly, and for which healing we are SO thankful!












We also want to say Thank You to all of you who have sent prayers and well-wishes in our direction. Artemas says they have helped him be encouraged and feel much better!

My dh, back to work this week after vacation, has come down with the flu and is spending all his non-work time asleep in bed with a fever.

Our water is still working. No floods under the house, that I know of.

No kidney stones this week. All our cars are running.
Wow.

Pictures

Sometimes one doesn't need many words.
Even if it isn't the "law"...

WEAR YOUR HELMET!!!

This is not some Avant-garde Art Of A Snail. It is the front fender from the bike. The front triple-tree (front forks and support for the front wheel and handlebars) is bent and will have to be replaced.

The tires, which are 30 (yes, read that, 30) years old, don't have a scratch on them. The bike starts and stays running. Probably will outlive me. Now on to something REALLY interesting!



Ready?













Awww, I've done worse than that on Sonic Skates!


REALLY READY?










That wasn't all THAT bad, you say?


Find something to bite on...















I will leave you with a more peaceful pic. Notice the nice pretty face, that is still all there because of that "bothersome" helmet. Notice the nice teeth, that didn't get knocked out.

Yes, this is the same pic as last night. We cleaned him up today and tonight he doesn't have a shirt on. But we thought you all might not be able to handle that, so just be happy. We are.

Thank you, Jesus.

It's Been a Week

or more since I posted. Wanna know what we have been doing?

Started off with the Knoxville Creative Hands Street Team show and sale, cost us $70 for the booth. Diantha sold ONE yarn, Des sold 1 bag. My dh sold enough soap to cover the booth. Here is a pic. I sold NOTHING.

Got my period (sorry if TMI) 4 days early, during the craft sale. Came down with the flu, during the craft sale.

While down this week with flu, we found out that the little girl next door who spent the night a few times recently, gave my kids lice. In 23 yrs. of homeschooling, none of my kids have ever had them. I don't know how people whose kids are in school can cope with this happening. I have had to drag my fevered butt out of bed every day this week to treat hair, bedding, etc.

I passed a kidney stone this week. And despite the weakness and flu and pain, did several new yarns.

My dh, while working under the house to put in a new drain for the washing machine, to move it to the new laundry area, broke a water main. I have never seen this before, but the main water supply coming in to this house, at least the only one we have found so far, is a rubber hose coming up out of the ground. Crazy. We have had the water shut off for 36 hours now. He filled buckets of water we could flush toilets with. Has bought the wrong parts twice now... once PVC instead of CPVC, and once the wrong size screw clamps.

Beverly took a new, 2-year-old's-eye-view pic, This one of Diantha.

Meanwhile my 11yod has oil in her hair for 8 hours today because the water isn't back on, to wash it out. And the water isn't yet back on because...

I sent my 17yos off to the PO today (3 miles away) with a package of yarn to mail. On the way, a car cut him off, sending him and the motorcycle (a classic 1973 250 Suzuki) off the pavement. The police called to notify us he was in the ER. Full chest/spine/cranial CAT scan AND xrays, hand xrays, road rash down his Left arm, stomach, legs (but not into muscle), broken Left collar bone. Spent 4 hours in the ER.

The Officer said he wasn't doing anything wrong, was riding slowly at the time (20mph), but cited my son for no motorcycle permit (I was supposed to take him this week but sick) and no insurance. Plus the cops had the bike towed, NOT by the company that honors my AAA. We don't know yet if the bike will recover. It has been an $8000 day w/no health insurance. We are glad our son is ok. Motorcycles are great, and we love them. You can't help the jerks out there. BUt they are, after all, only metal and rubber. They are fully replaceable. People are not. So we breathe a prayer of thanks tonight that our Artemas (Greek name means Safe and Sound), though hopped up on hydros, is truly Safe and Sound.

And I am really, really, tired.

De-Tree-ing and Photo Ops

So Sunday, I got up and made 30 Banana Chocolate Chip muffins from scratch. My house was a smell-o-rama, but I didn't eat any of them. Des and Tony took me and Tony's mother (my friend and ex-boss Cheryl) out to brunch at Wild Wings. Nothing like starting your gastronomical day with HOT. LoL.

Des made me a GORGEOUS handbag, with "loose" pockets inside, large enough to hold a couple diapers stood on end (or a paperback book), and a bottle of water (or Mtn Dew), and a zipper pocket big enough to hold my reading glasses, a lipstick, and my DL/Debit card. Wonderful!

Then they came to my house and hung out. Tony got hold of the chain saw and started making short work of our deceased tree.


Understatement of the Weekend: He grinned and said, "I like chainsaws."

We have thought of lots of things to make of the tree, now just have to get them done before the wood gets too dry or hard to work it.

The little girls spent time dancing in the living room, and bouncing on the "damp-een," as Beverly calls it. Des put pics of that one on her blog.

Beverly took camera in hand and snapped some pictures for us...
Des! And Tony! She was very excited to "help" in this manner. I love seeing the world from her 2 yo eye-view. Everyone seems very, very... tall. LOL!

IN OTHER NEWS...
Today (ooops, yesterday, sometimes being a night-owl can be SO confusing) two of the girls had 4-H sub-regional presentations in Crossville, TN, about an hour's drive away. Made me glad to live in our beautiful little town, close to beautiful Knoxville.

Diantha did a tabletop exhibit on Fiber Processing and Spinning. She won 1st place in the Clothing and Textiles category for Jr. High. Veronica did an oral demonstration/explanation of Spinning and Knitting, also. She took a high-score 1st place in Clothing and Textiles for 5th grade. I am proud of the girls and their efforts! They will go on to the Regionals. Don't know the date or place yet. Here they are with their blue ribbons!

By the time we were done there, drove back, drove 40 minutes the OTHER way to drop Diantha off at Des' to help her (since she is still feeling lousy), and got home tonight, we had been gone more than 12 hours. I have some new yarns done, but too tired to list them. Tomorrow is another day!

Sad Tree Day, and Mom, You're So WEIRD

This morning about 8 AM we started to have a lightning storm. For the first little while, maybe half an hour, it was "dry" lightning. It wasn't raining, but the lightning was fierce and very close, as there was no delay to the thunderclap, and you could hear the thunder echoing through the hills and valleys around here.

Then the rains came. I grew up just 22 miles from Xenia, Ohio, and stayed 2 days in the basement when the tornadoes went through that leveled that town (in what, 1972?). Then lived 22 years in FL, just above Tampa, the lightning capital of the country. So I have lived through some storms! But this was seriously the worst wind I have ever heard. When it was over, I started to leave the house... and this sight greeted me from the front porch.

Our front yard has (had) three large Bradford Pear trees. They don't bear fruit, but are gorgeous in Spring, totally covered in white blossoms... great shade in summer, and fiery red in Fall. The center tree (in front of the porch), is ailing... the crown is spreading and we are probably going to have to take that tree out. The one nearest the driveway (pictured) was our favorite. We sit under that tree often. We park motorcycles and cars under its shade to work on them. And the storm killed it.

Three little bright spots: one, I can make a LOT of pearwood, handmade, chunky, double-pointed knitting needles like these in my My7kids Recycled Yarn Shop if I cut and peel the branches while they are still wick. The second is, the tree missed our 450 Suzuki that was parked under it, by like 3 feet. And the last is, the kids didn't know what to get me for Mother's day, and I have been wanting an apple or peach tree. So today we went out, found one of each cheap, and they got them for me.
Oh and a Basil plant for my garden.

Still, it is a shame such a beautiful tree bit the dust. I have been a little sad about that. It isn't a big sadness thing like the loss of a spouse, marriage, child, or house. But sad still. And, those new little trees won't give good shade for quite a few years! ~~ sigh ~~

OK! A couple more pics! One is Veronica's feet, happily nestled in her mom-knit sox. Now that the cuff is fixed, she likes them. In fact, she had to have new sneakers to wear them with. (Just kidding, she was overdue for new sneakers. LOL)

Here is a little sneak peek at the Fuzzy Yellow Thing that I got from UFO Project Administration Service. This is the re-make that people voted for on my blog last week. I had a few people say they didn't think the lace pattern would show in that fuzzy yellow yarn, but it looks so far, so good. Yes, my carpet is purple.

Today Des said she thinks I might be on the cutting-edge of weird. What in the world might prompt a good daughter to say something like that to her mother?

Last night I was counting stitches in a knitting project that Diantha is doing. I needed a marker in the middle of a dpn, and instead of slipping the stitches off the needle to the marker point, I took out my left earring (a handmade sterling and garnet with a hook on the back for the wire) and slipped it on the needle and hooked it. I might add that I have my left ear pierced twice, and in the extra hole I had a long, turquoise and sterling earring that I lost the mate of last week.

Later on, Veronica was sweeping the floor in the kitchen and found my other turquoise earring. Without thinking, I stuck it in the only empty hole.

I promptly forgot about it and went out today, looking like this:

Des said, "You know, Mom, most people would have switched that top turquoise earring to the other side, so they had a pair and an extra." So I told her I never much cared for doing things the way Most People do them. LOL!

I got a special order yarn done after our errands today, and made homemade pizzas for dinner. But I did NOT get more knitting done, or the carding done that I needed to do, or folding laundry. On the other hand, I am not asleep yet!

Done is Better Than Perfect

I got Veronica's sock done. I missed her birthday by 3 hours, finishing the cast-off bleary-eyed but triumphant, at 3 AM. And Veronica, who NEVER stays up past about 10 PM, was awake. She put the sock on, and...
She didn't like it.

The cuff was looser than the other one. So today I picked out the cast-off, pulled out about 5 rows of knitting, put the sock stitches back on the little bitty size 1 needles, and did it over. I counted stitches on the first sock, and apparently I had decreased more times after the heel, to make the ankle more snug. So the 2nd sock had 5 more stitches. Not much you say? About 1/2-3/4" difference! I decreased the 5 stitches, ribbed my way to the finish line, cast it off, and behold, she likes it. Hey Mikey!

Above, the pics. The socks aren't really wonky, they were laying across my legs. There is lace on the top of the foot. The picture is a little more pink than I like but hey. And here is a nice detail of the heel, showing where I decreased off the little mini-gusset I make before the heel, so the short-row heel isn't TOO short at the back of the foot. Pretty, huh? Sometime I am going to put up a little tutorial on making toe-up socks. Sometime is not tonight.

It is thundering again. And it must be lightning with it (well duh, yo!) because the street light just went out.

Here is a bit of weirdness. I uploaded a background to my Twitter last night. It was a pic of the target I qualified with for my CCW. And an avatar that was the center cluster. Today, that background disappeared. Ok, I thought, they think that is potentially violent (they don't live in the South, LoL). I stand Politically Correct-ed. SO I put up another background. This one an innocuous quilt with Australian kiwis on it (to the left), and an avatar of a quilt block I made. Tonight that background also disappeared. What is up with that?

I spent most of the day putting shipping back on our etsy listings, and putting tags in for Diantha's and my shops, because we got accepted to EtsyFAST (Fiber Artists' Street Team). I got so sick of doing it, I had to take a break to wind yarn and make tea. Then we went to Des' house for a little bit while the teens were at church, and now I am back at it. We listed this yummy handspun in Diantha's Fluff4ewe shop today. I spun a little of it on Monday, and she did the rest. It is her May SHEteam challenge of flowers (Daffodil Garden). Stop by and buy it, LOL!

In a few minutes, it will be the National Day of Prayer. So PRAY! Our country sure needs it! And I don't know about you, but I sure need it too. Even if you don't think you know how to pray, try it anyway. Just talk. I can reassure you, Someone is Listening.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' Isaiah 58:9

Veronica Joy!

Veronica Joy is my 5th living child, born on the 5th day of the 5th month. She was the longest pregnancy I had carried so far, 39 weeks 2 days. She weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 8 oz. and had a 14 1/4" head. She was born at home, with big brothers and sisters and some friends in the living room, waiting for her.

What a pretty and happy baby too! She had curly, strawberry-blonde hair and peaches'n'cream skin and big brown eyes. Always smiling, always loving, always kind!

When she was 2, she had measles, very severely. The sustained high fever caused weak places to develop in her hair follicles and in the following weeks, her hair broke off all over. I gave her a "shag" haircut. When the hair grew back in, it was dishwater blonde and straight.

Veronica is a very intelligent girl! Besides doing her homeschool, she is artistic. She draws beautiful pictures, and she quilts, spins, and knits. She is learning to cook. She is very popular with babies, because she is soft, gentle, and cuddly.

Her name means "true image" (as in a mirror) and "joy," and I believe she is a True Image of the Joy that the Lord can place in our hearts when we love and trust Him! I know she is a true gift to us!

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Yesterday for her birthday, we went to Mayfield Dairy in Athens, TN. We all got to wear hairnets and walk through parts of the milk-processing plant, then enjoy fresh-made ice creams on their porch. It stopped raining long enough for us to do our "field trip" and started up again later on last night. LoL!


To the right here is Veronica with her ice cream.

To the left, all the kids (including niece Dana and grandkids) on the company's graven-image cow (LoL)

Veronica on the cow, Artemas with hair (and non-existent beard) protectors,

B licking an ice cream,

Artemas goofing off with a giant poster of a milk jug, and again acting very thirsty indeed. Can you tell he is the family clown?


Today Veronica got to use her first power tools ever! Richard and the kids are building some kind of something of the shelter out near the road, that we put the "bum" scarecrow in last fall. Richard is apparently giving Veronica some very important instructions about marking before cutting.



Beverly took up camera again, to give us a 2 yo's eye-view of one of the family vans. And not to be outdone, I took a picture of my clawfoot-tub garden.




I did NOT get the sock done. YET! 12 rows to go before I sleep.

Yarn and Soap and Cookies, oh YUM

I am not getting enough SOCK done.

But I did get several new items listed in Richard's Rossoaps Shop at Etsy, including his SHEteam May Challenge, Misty Mountain Rose.

Would you like to see a picture of our very sophisticated and well-engineered Soap Drying Facility? Here it is. These are shelves near the ceiling on the far-from-the-tub (which we don't use because I don't have the shower tiled yet), narrow end of the room. At least our bathroom always smells nice!

I also went walking. Despite dieting and exercising, I was only down 4 pounds in the last 5 weeks. That is all I ever lose, 4 pounds. But in the last 2 days, I am UP 6 pounds!! What the heck?? How does one gain 6 pounds in 2 days?

I got a recycled yarn done, finally. Mine is my SHEteam May challenge (theme is Flowers), Second-Hand Rose, an "Old Floozy Girl" yarn from a wool-blend sweater. Desiree says she thinks I might be a little much for SHEteam. ~~sigh~~ I wouldn't be surprised, story of my life. Seems I am a little much for a LOT of people.

I also got a little spinning done. This one I think will be Diantha's May challenge in her Fluff4ewe Shop. Now that I have got it started, I will probably have her spin it. I was just too curious what it was going to look like! And, for now it is a secret!

Beverly says that cookies are NOM NOM. Tonight we made cookies. We made Civil War cookies, which are simple sugar cookies with a little nutmeg in them. Very light and good. Then the girls frosted about half the batch with lemon frosting, and that was good too.

Then just to keep Richie happy, because he insists that ALL cookies should have chocolate in them, the girls made Chopped Chocolate Cookies. Basically Toll House cookies, but I was out of chocolate chips. So I took a brick of semi-sweet chocolate and chopped up about 6 to 8 oz. of it for them to use. Again, very light and good cookies.

I also got several loads of laundry folded, sorted, and cleared OUT of my bedroom so that we have more than just a little path to the bathroom.

Veronica decided (after 5 on Friday, when I couldn't call the place) that for her birthday, she would like for us all to go and tour the Mayfield Dairy Farm and Ice Creamery about 30 miles from here. Since my parents are in town for the Street Rod run in Knoxville, until tomorrow, I have to get up at the crack of dawn to call there to see if 16 of us can get in for a tour. And since it is 2 AM, I ought to go to bed.

Goodnight, everybody!

Decision Made!

Over 100 people voted in my Tam or Wrap? venture into ambivalence. And, the winner is, the wrap! Both projects are beautiful, but 74% of the vote went to the wrap. I do want to knit that beautiful tam sometime, but for now I will make the wrap out of this wonderful, fuzzy yellow yarn. And Diantha has decided to knit the tam out of the other UFO sock yarn we got, so that pattern won't feel left out.
: D

And The Winner Is...

Shanda N. from Utah!

Shanda was given the choice of 3 prizes:
1) Any item $10.50 or under from my HeartFeltFun Boutique
2) Any item under $10 from my My7kids Recycled Yarn Shop
or 3) 3 Bars (her choice) of handmade soap from my dh's Rossoaps Store.

Shanda chose the soaps in Cedarmint Scrub (our best seller!), Honey Vanilla, and Lavender Baby. I hope she will really enjoy them! And thank you, everybody, for voting and helping me decide!

It RAINED, oh NO!

We did Heritage Day at the local public school today. It is a combination school carnival/expose-the-kids-to-the-arts day. And this morning, it rained.

So the school called us to tell us they were still having it, only INSIDE in the gym. Arrrggghh!

300 running, yelling, sweating kid at a time in a gym with 3 huge moon-jump machines (with their noisy air blowers) and NO ventilation. Must have been 100° F in there.

This year, we actually sold some soap, and some vendors from last year remembered us and wanted to buy some. Most of the vendors were selling 50c to $2 kiddie-plastic stuff from Oriental Trading Company. We probably made about $45... but then, the booth was free.

We did 2 soap-making demonstrations (Misty Mountain Rose and Lime in da Coconut) and let the kids that wanted to, cut a small slice off soaps we made yesterday (Scent Slayer and Cedarmint Scrub) and take it home. For free.

Diantha and Veronica went with us, so they and I did spindling demos and let the kids try it, and make a bracelet if they wanted, out of the piece they spun. About 35 kids did them, a few others watched. Several chubby girls with braces and weird flat glasses watched and then didn't want to bother. "I told one, you are much too young to not want to try something new and then sit around the rest of your life wishing you had something to do." Sometimes people think I am weird, when really what I am is to the point. LoL.

Of all the groups or types of kids, the Hispanic girls were the most interested, and the Hispanic boys were even interested, but not most of the other boys, except ones about 10 years old. The Emo/Goth crowd couldn't be bothered. The girls wouldn't do it unless their friends would. I am SO glad I don't send my kids to public school. I am SO glad my kids do something if they want to, and have the confidence to try new stuff and do what they want, even if other kids their age look at them like they have 2 heads.

We didn't sell any Kin-dles, but Diantha sold one CD spindle kit (shaft with hook and grommet) to a girl who said, "My Grandma crochets, she will probably like this." And, we didn't take any pictures. Forgot my camera, dangit.

I am glad to be back home. Later I am going to look at a motorcycle, maybe to buy, and tonight I am going to make a tux vest and tie for Allen to take some girl to her prom.

But right now, I am going to have a nap.