Confused wool?

I'm not sure what is going on with this guy's wool. The top layer of it is coming off and leaving the under layer alone. None of the other sheep are doing this so it doesn't seem like it would be rooing if he is the only one. We have had a very strange winter with temps in the 60's one day and then 20 the next. Very weird. I'm hoping the shearer will be here soon.

I have been in Arkansas for a week so have not had a chance to post. I got a call from my dad saying my grandma was not going to make it much longer and she wanted to say goodbye to everyone. She has been in the hospital for about a month. She passed out at home and was taken to the ER. She is now in extended care where they are hoping she will get strong enough to go home. I really don't think that will happen. She wont eat and is getting very weak. I was able to spend several days with her and I am very grateful. At 94 she is one of the funniest people I know. She doesn't even mean to be funny. She makes ma laugh and smile. She kept telling us all to be good to each other and love each other. Family is and has always been everything to her. The nurses love her because every time one of them would do anything for her she would say what every southern lady says..."bless your heart". She seems to be at peace and she knows where she is going when she leaves here. I'm just thankful that God picked me to be her granddaughter.
I haven't posted a picture of Lucy in awhile. She is an 85 pound sweetheart. She knows what her purpose is. She is happier because she knows her job is to guard her sheep. Day 3 of The Purpose Driven Life is about what drives your life.

"Everyone's life is driven by something. "

The 5 most common ones are:

Guilt

Resentment and anger

Fear

Materialism

The need for approval

The benefits of a purpose driven life are:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life

Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

Knowing your purpose focuses your life

Knowing your purpose motivates your life

Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

"Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace"

Verse of the week:

"You Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 (TEV)

Verse of the week

This is my ram "Rex". I thought he had wonderful fleece and when I spun it last weekend I was even more impressed. He will however be going up for sale. I have given a lot of thought to what I want from my little sheep farm and have decided I want a small flock of varied colors for my own personal spinning, knitting, and weaving whims. I had at one time thought I would breed my girls every year and sell several each year. I have decided I want to keep a few and maybe breed a ewe or two each year. Having lambs is just too fun to not ever breed. I also have decided to get rid of my rams. If I want to breed a couple, I will lease a ram. As for ram lambs, which I am sure to get nothing but since I declared this, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I think I am just getting tired. Maybe it is just the winter blaas. I remember back when I wanted a big house, a big yard in the country, lots of animals and now 20 years later...here I am and......I want a smaller house, a concrete yard painted green and I still want my animals but just not as many.

On an up note, I found someone to shear this year!! That is a huge relief!!

Well, we are suppose to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight so I am trying to psych myself up for a weekend full of inside projects. I promise to look at the snow and say "Oh, it's snowing...how pretty" and actually mean it. Inside joke.

Here is Day 2 from the book The Purpose Driven Life

I hope you enjoy it.

"You are not an accident"

"God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything he creates. Every plant and every animal was planned by God, and every person was designed with a purpose in mind. God's motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says, "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love." ( Ephesians 1:4a (Msg) )

God was thinking of you even before he made the world. In fact, that's why he created it! God designed this planet's environment just so we could live in it. We are the focus of his love and the most valuable of all his creation."

Verse of the week

Psalm 138:8

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands.

Verse of the week

My skills are slowly improving. Above is the scarf I just finished. Learning to knit has been so fun. I love the flexibility it allows you. I spend quite a bit of time sitting in my car waiting for practices to be over and it is a great way to pass the time. I have made 2 hats and the scarf so far and am working of a pair of wrist warmers.

I'm still not sure I enjoy spinning. I am getting better but it takes so long!! Maybe it will get faster as I improve but I can't imagine having the time to spin all my wool. I have to return the spinning wheel on Saturday at my last class so if I decide I want to spin my own wool I will have to buy a wheel. That leads to what kind of wheel? I don't like the wheel I have on loan but it is a loaner and not in the greatest shape. Any suggestions on the best wheels?

I looked out my kitchen window one dreary winter day this month and saw this beautiful bird. Just thought I would share it with you because it is pretty.

I have started reading a new book called The Purpose Driven Life. I have had the book for a long time and am just now getting around to reading it. I'm going to use it and the scriptures it references for my verse of the week for awhile. I hope you enjoy.

Day 1

"It's not about you.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose. "

Colossians 1:16

For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

Dreaming of Summer...all year

This is a picture I took last Summer of an orange daisy. I was on an orange kick and every flower I bought was orange. I'm posting it to brighten your winter day and to remind myself that, God willing, summer will return. Maybe you like winter.......I do not. I spent the first 30 years of my life in a place where a sweatshirt was the heaviest winter coat required. I want to live there again. If I did not have kids in school and worry about uprooting them and causing who knows what kind of horrible, irriversable damage to them and their teenage social lives (this is of course how they view it)...I would move tomorrow. I will no doubt move the moment my youngest flies the coop. Of course by then, my oldest will have moved back, married and started a family and I will not be able to leave my grandchildren. I know, I know...I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but this is how I think when winter is here. I know it is necessary. I know God created the world and each season has a purpose. I know creation needs a rest. I will even admit snow can be pretty when it is falling, but after that initial thrill of, "Oh, it is snowing..how pretty!", it just gets ugly and dirty and makes everything a mess!! I'm sorry, this was not suppose to be a negative post but a cheery, orange, bright post... This is my buddy, Dixie. She is 8 years old and still acts like a puppy. She is not the sharpest tool in the shed but she loves us and she has been a great pal to my son. She still turns in circles at feeding time all the way from the house to the barn.. I hope I have that much energy when I'm...what would it be?...56. She is a good girl and everyone loves her....except the mail man.

This is my cat, Marla. As you can see, she hates winter too. She is a deck cat. She was suppose to be a barn cat, but she decided she would rather be a deck cat, which is fine. She occasionally finds her way to the hay loft to warm up on winter days. Marla had a brother, Marvin, but he ran out of the corn field at the wrong time and he is no longer with us. My daughter and I brought them home from a trip to the nursery to buy plants 2 years ago. The people who owned the nursery were annoyed by them and kept kicking them out of the way, so we asked if we could have them and they very excitedly agreed.

I also have a house cat and I would post her picture but I have only seen her a couple of times in the 9 years she has lived with us. She is my daughter's cat and basically lives in her room full time. She seems to have no desire to broaden her herizons nor does she need any humans in her life besides my daughter. I think she is very weird and kind of creepy but my daughter loves her...hopefully enough to take her when she goes off to college in a year and a half. Hope you have a wonderful, winter day.......I'm trying

Back to Reality

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We spent a quiet Christmas at home and then left for Mexico on the 1st!! I thought I would share some of my vacation pictures with you. It was so beautiful and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. The kids had a great time swimming with the dolphins but our favorite part of the trip was going whale watching. We saw several but my pictures don't really do it justice. Sometimes I hate being the camera guy because you feel like you miss part of everything while trying to get the picture!! Hope you enjoy the pictures and a belated Happy New Year!

Verse of the week

I don't know why I have a thing for moose at Christmas, but I do. We have a small tree in our basement (which stays up all year and shoved into a corner) and we decorate it with a combination cowboy/moose ornaments. The basement is where we put the "fun" stuff. I made these cowboy boot stockings a few years ago to go with the theme.
I hope you enjoy your Christmas and are blessed by being surrounded by your family and friends. I pray you know the true blessing of Christmas as you celebrate. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
This week's verse makes me think of Mary and what she must have been thinking. I remember what it felt like to hold my babies when they were born and look at them and wonder what they would grow up to be?..who would they look like?..what would they do with their lives? I thought of all the things I wanted for them. I love the song Mary did you know?
I cannot imagine what Mary must have felt. Did she know? Did she know her son would rule all of creation? Did she know her son would one day save all our sons and daughters?
I have one more passage from Luke to share with you before Christmas..I hope you enjoy it.

Luke 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Verse of the week

I wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas decorations with you. My son made these when he was 5 years old and they help me remember what Christmas is all about. They are priceless.

Here is the verse of the week...hope you enjoy..

Verse of the week:

Luke 2:8-14

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Well, that's pitiful.

Well, it is pitiful..my first attempt at spinning. I took my first class last Saturday and this is what I produced. I'm trying to make myself feel better by calling it novelty yarn..people pay big bucks for novelty yarn! This is definitely going to take lots and lots of practice!

Verse of the week

Verse of the week..

Luke 2: 1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Verse of the week

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We traveled to Arkansas to visit my family. We (30 of us) gathered at my 93 year old grandma's house and had Thanksgiving dinner. She was thrilled to have everyone there even though she is starting to have trouble remembering things and even people sometimes. I lived with my grandma during my high school years and I am so thankful for her. We never had much but she gave so much of herself to me over the years. Thank God for grandmas.



I have been remiss in posting a verse so I will remedy that. I think a series of verses about the birth of Jesus from now until Christmas would be good so here goes....hope you enjoy.

Verse of the week...
Luke 1:26-33

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
....."Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Verse of the week

At shearing time this year, I only had 5 sheep. I sheared the poor little things myself with the help of my husband. I was so worried about cutting the sheep that it took us 30-40 minutes to shear each sheep. Needless to say, I now have a real appreciation for anyone who does this for a living. By the time I got to the last sheep, I had the hang of it...somewhat...and actually got the wool off in one piece.

I washed the wool but put off sending it in for many reasons. I didn't have much of it... I didn't really know where to send it and I didn't hold out much hope of it turning out very well. Two weeks ago, I decided to just send it. I sent it to Frankenmuth Woolen Mill and the lady on the phone said it would probably take about 12 weeks to get it back. I was a little disappointed because I have signed up to take a spinning class in December and was hoping to be able to use some of my own wool. It arrived a few days ago!! Less than 2 weeks and I had it back and it really turned out beautifully! I plan on using the black iset for a braided rug I'm making for my kitchen but the other two will go to spinning class with me!!

The verse of the week is actually a passage from Proverbs 31:10-31

I am only taking portions of it here since it is so long but it is entitled The Wife of Noble Character

...She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands...She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple......She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come....She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.....Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Projects, projects and more projects

This is what happens when I make a trip to the yarn shop. I end up getting carried away. The closest place for me to buy good yarn is about 1 1/2 hours away, so I tend to stock up when I go. I bought this gray Shetland/Angora blend along with a red Merino/Alpaca blend to make a plaid scarf. I really love plaids and have to make myself try other things occasionally.

I bought this white and blue Mohair because I have never worked with it before and thought it would make a beautiful scarf as well. I'm hoping they turn out nice enough to give as gifts for Christmas. That would justify all the money I spent on the yarn!

My shawl turned out pretty good. It is the widest thing I have made on my loom so far. It is very soft and cozy. After I make the scarves, I want to learn to double weave. I have always wanted to make throw blankets and I love the look of the Woolrich wool blankets. All those stripes and plaids!

Happy Halloween

Halloween just doesn't seem the same when your kids outgrow dressing up and trick or treating. Although my daughter did dress up for the local haunted house her class put on as a lady named Betsy Reed who is believed to have been hung where our High School now stands for poisoning her husband. Nice. It was actually very cool. That is her in the wedding dress poisoning her "husband".

My daughter who is in college mentioned missing the Fall decorations and pumpkins so I found this University of Illinois flannel fabric at Wal-Mart and made her a pumpkin. It was super easy and I know it made her smile.

I thought by now I would be able to post a picture of what Halloween becomes when your kids turn into teenagers...having your yard and trees decorated with toilet paper. So far, only one group showed up and my son and a friend were waiting for them and scared them off before they got the job done.

Have a Happy Halloween!

National Anthem

I have sat through more games than I could possibly count. My oldest daughter was a cheerleader from 3rd through 12th grade. I went to almost every football game and basketball game she cheered at. My middle daughter cheered from 3rd through 8th grade and then played volleyball 9-11th ( one year to go). I went to almost every football, basketball and volleyball game. My son has played football, basketball and baseball since he was 6 years old. I have been to almost all of his games as well. My point? Well, at every game, the national anthem is sung. That is a lot of games. Some years ago, I found myself looking at the flag and wondering how many people even think about the flag or our country while they stand. Don't get me wrong. I'm not judging. When you attend that many games, it is easy to stand there and wonder what time you'll get home and how many things you can get accomplished before you get to bed.

I decided that every time they play the national anthem and I stand and look at our flag, I would say a prayer for our soldiers, their families, the leaders of our nation (regardless which party is in control). I am so thankful to live in such a great nation and I am especially thankful for all those who VOLUNTEER to serve this country.

I dread the upcoming elections. The bickering has already begun. Most of what they say has no substance and they never really answer any question asked them anyway.

That is why I decided to pray for the leaders of our nation (regardless of who has power). They all need it. Our country needs God...politically correct or not. We need a leader who knows he needs God.

Here is the verse of the week...hope you enjoy

Psalm33:8-15

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth--he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

Help!!

I am hoping someone out there can help or tell me where to look for instruction on dyeing my wool roving. I purchased this kit which includes various cushing dyes, citric acid crystals, pre-wetting solution and a measure cup. It also came with a book but it deals only with dyeing wool fabric. I'm sure parts of the process are the same but I'm just unsure and don't want to destroy any of my roving. Any dye experts out there?