a compilation of many thoughts...

First of all... Spinning. I have severely neglected my spinning practice. I don't exactly remember the last time I sat down at the wheel, but I think it was shortly after the start of the new year. And that's bad, bad, bad, because the only way I'm going to get better at spinning is if I practice every day. Fifteen minutes a day, at least, they say is a good amount of time to spend at the wheel to improve your spinning practice. Fifteen minutes is not too much to ask, is it? I do stay on Ian to practice his guitar at least thirty minutes a day, so it shouldn't be so grueling for me to commit to fifteen minutes a day. I recently placed an order for over two pounds of merino wool, and so I have a nice amount of wool to last for a bit and no excuse not to practice.

I'm still on the lookout for an old large stockpot that I can use to relax the yarn after it is spun and plied. It's crazy that I haven't been able to find one at the thrift store. So in the meantime, I do have quite a few loops of yarn waiting to be relaxed, yarn that I had spun during the fall last year. It's another thing I want to accomplish so that I can actually knit something from the yarn I have spun. And, oh my, I still have so much alpaca fiber that needs processed. I would really, really love to send it out to a mill to be cleaned and made into roving, but it's so expensive. So for now, I need to just plan on doing it all myself. It's not hard. Just very time-consuming. And considering that the fiber needs spread out to dry, and it dries best on a warm day, well, I have not processed any wool this winter besides small amounts to make some dryer balls which I dried indoors.

And speaking of alpacas, shearing time is again just around the corner. This year we are having the shearers come right to our farm which completely elates me! No more renting a cargo van to transport them. No more rounding them up and smooshing them into the van. This will be so much nicer and convenient!

Our goats are seriously such a source of joy and entertainment. I would love more, but Brad lovingly says "no" unless we unload some other animals first. The alpacas are not his favorite. They are definitely my pets. It's not that he doesn't like the alpacas, he just doesn't like that they are not cuddly and friendly, and I do agree. I wish that they were easier to handle, but that's just what alpacas are like. They are not like goats or sheep who come right up to you and let you pet them and hug them and love on them. But they do love in their own way, on their own terms. And I honestly couldn't imagine sending my four buddies away to another farm. I have heard of too many farms that take on alpacas not realizing what they are getting into and then the animals are neglected. Friends of ours own a large alpaca farm and they have done many animal rescues, and I have heard the horror stories, so I don't know how I could give my animals up. I would have to have extensive background checks done!

So there are no plans to give up the alpacas. I think Brad mostly just teases me. And I do believe that we will end up with more goats eventually because I plan on breeding our two girls this year. (I really, really want baby goats. They are so mischievous and fun!)

In knitting... I finished my first pair of knit socks yesterday! I love them. I'm not sure how long they'll last since I used 100% merino wool. I've heard that it's best to use a tougher wool or a blend of merino with nylon for socks since that will make them more durable. But I used what I had on hand, and I will wear these socks on days when I won't be out trekking all around. I'm just so thrilled to have knit socks, and I feel as though I may have developed an addiction to sock knitting. One skein of fingering weight and about a week later, I have a pair of handknit socks. It's a lovely thought.

After finishing the socks yesterday, I immediately cast on for my Harvest Cardigan. The collar is knitted first and then stitches are picked up and the body is knit afterwards. I worked on the collar last evening while visiting with my in-laws and got it about halfway done.

This past Friday, I received sample yarn cards from O-Wool. I had ordered the cards for their "Local" yarn which is a blend of merino wool and alpaca and is sourced from farms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I found this extremely exciting, since I am a Pennsylvania girl and I do enjoy working with local yarns. I am in love with these colors. I typically do not order sample cards, but I just knew that I was going to love and really use this yarn in the future, so I wanted to see the colors and texture in real-life rather than just through the computer screen. These samples are truly beautiful, and I find myself frequently picking up the cards just to admire the colors and finger the fiber. I've picked out some favorites that I will definitely use when the perfect project rolls around in the future.

I finished copying the book of Luke this morning. I started this back around Thanksgiving of last year, I believe, so I started the practice copying about the birth of Christ right around the time we were celebrating Christmas. And then, of course, the book of Luke ends with His crucifixion and resurrection which has fit perfectly again as far as timing goes considering Easter is in three weeks.

I have found this practice of copying the Scriptures to be very good for me, very therapeutic. I read the passage, copy it, and then meditate on it. It's a good way to read through the Bible for a visual learner. Not only am I seeing the words when I read them, but I'm seeing them for a second time as I copy them into the tablet. That seems to help tuck those words a bit deeper into my mind and soul. I'm now wondering which book I will copy next. I thought about doing John, another Gospel book, but I've also thought about Ephesians which really is one of my most favorite books of the New Testament.

Ian and Lily have their last class at the museum this afternoon. I admit that I will miss it. I would drop them off and then head to the Carnegie Library, grab a coffee, some books, and settle into a big leather chair and spend the time reading. That's pure bliss to me. Sometimes, I would pull out my yarn and knit for a bit. Last week, I took my mom along and we enjoyed a very yummy Greek lunch while the kids were in classes. I've already decided that we will make a trip to the city at least once a month so that I can continue to take advantage of the hugely expansive library. That library is a dream to me. Floors and floors and stacks and stacks of books. Oh my, the books they have!

My sister and her two children are going with us today. I am going to take them around the museum while my kids are in their classes. I took her son with me a few weeks back and he enjoyed it immensely. I anticipate a very enjoyable day, and the sun is out, there is blue sky with fluffy white clouds and the temperature is supposed to be near 70! Oh joy!

Have a most blessed day!

these january days

I love photos. You wouldn't know it if you came to visit me at our home. I think I have one actual photograph hanging on our wall, and it's a photo of our family when there was only four of us and Lily was about two. In fact, one of my friends used to make fun of my lack of photos considering how often I have my camera in my hand. I just don't know.

However, I do have many, many photo albums, and it's always a delight to look back through the years and see how the kids have grown and the things we have done. I'm always so happy when I receive our annual Shutterfly book. It makes the hours of organizing it online worth it - when we have that finished picture book of our previous year.

I also find myself simply enthralled by others' photos. Admittedly, the photos on blogs are what draw me to certain blogs. I love the capturing of each moment. I love to see the story of others' lives played out in photos. There are times that I have found myself just studying particular photos, taking in the light, the shadows, the details. I think it's the right side of my brain that pulls me into the artistic aspect of photographs. 

When I worked as a visiting nurse (in my former life, pre-homeschooling), I vividly and clearly recollect an elderly woman that I had to visit to draw blood. She lived in an old apartment building, in a tiny little efficiency apartment. She was so frail, so fragile looking. She had her oxygen on, coursing into her old lungs the necessary substance of life, and I helped her onto her sofa and prepared to draw her blood. As I was pulling out the needle and the bottles, I glanced at the wall behind me. 

There she was. Sitting in the typical 20's style restaurant that you would imagine. The tufted booth (I imagined it red) and many photos on the wall behind her. It looked like it would have been a lively place. She had dark, dark hair and dark lips. Her hair was styled in a wavy bob, and beside her sat a handsome gentleman with slicked back dark hair, looking very dapper in his suit. Huge smiles on the faces of both. In the prime years of their life, probably around the same age that I was that day as I sat there on her sofa getting ready to draw her labs. 

It just struck me and struck me hard. The life she had. Her husband. Her children. What did she do in her spare time? How did she spend her days as she lived her life, growing older each day? 

Gosh. This poor, fragile woman once lived a vibrant, full life. She faced many of the same problems and complications that life was going to bring to me, to anyone who is alive. 

Though I don't remember her name, I can still see her face. The photo on her wall was burnt into the hard drive of my memory. It was such a vivid reminder to me to live each day, to live each day of this short life fully, and to be thankful for the blessings from God. 

So I think that's partially why I love photographs. They capture those moments in time. They capture faces and places and adventures and sometimes even awkwardness (I have some REALLY awkward photos from junior high dances) and fears. 

That, my friends, is why I read through photos. I do love words. Words enrich the mind and the life, but photos speak to my soul. And so I capture the simple moments of our mostly simple life in photos. That's why I do it. And that's why I share those photos here. 

And this post? Whoa, an overload of photos in this post, eh?  

We've had the sickies in our home over the past week or so. This is actually the first annoying sickness we've had so far this winter so I'm thankful for that. 

I made a big turkey dinner this past Saturday, and with the leftover carcass, I made bone broth. Have you ever made bone broth? I make it anytime I can. It's easy, especially if you do it in the crockpot like I do. There's no worrying about watching the stove-top fire when you use the crockpot. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about (bone broth????), go here and read.)

It turned out that I needed that bone broth sooner than I thought. My intention was to freeze it and use it in a few weeks. Then Ian woke up with a sore throat and cough on Monday, and so, last night that nutritionally-packed bone broth was used as the base for turkey soup. You really should consider making it. It's packed full of nutrients, and it tastes so much richer and fuller than regular old meat broth.

Hmmm. What else is going on here? Well, we are doing some small renovations. We painted the entryway and installed some new lighting a couple of weekends ago, and then this past weekend, Brad and I tackled the hall bathroom. Painted the walls, ripped up the flooring and replaced it, painted the vanity, and we are working on replacing the trim. So we've basically been living with the contents from various rooms in our living room. I've attempted to put everything as much out of the way as possible, and when I cringe as I walk past the piles I try to remind myself of how nice everything will look once it's all done. How do people live through kitchen renovations? Oh my. Well, I suppose we'll find that out in a few years or so when we tackle that huge project.

I forced myself to go down into my studio earlier today and clean it. It's been a mess since our open house back in December. I cleaned it partially sometime after that, but I've been busy with a fundraiser which wrecked it even more. But with all of that mostly behind me now, I managed to put everything mostly back to normal. Gosh, do I love having things cleaned and spaces cleared. A clear space clears my mind. 

I think it's been a long time since I posted about our little hobby farm. We still have rabbits, alpacas, the goats, and lots of chickens. And, of course, there are the two spoiled dogs who are pampered in the house.

I'm really regretting not breeding the goats this past fall. I really want some baby goats. Gosh, they are unbelievably cute, fun, and mischievous. Next year, I'm really going to work on that, breeding them. The problem is that I don't really know of anyone local that has a male Nubian goat that we could borrow. And I'm very hesitant to purchase a buck because I've heard from numerous people that they are extremely stinky animals, and I'm not sure what level of stinkiness I'm willing to deal with. We've already got a fair amount of stinkiness with all of the manure. Hmmm. 

So this very random, all-over-the-place blog post just filled you in on the last week of my life. Thanks for all of your comments. I've really been enjoying reading them, and I've really enjoyed allotting myself time each day to read everyone's blogs once again.