Saturday, May 30, 2009

This is a clickable image.

Macs are wonderful computers and I only use a small part of what all they are capable of.

I am learning about how to use iMovie. I can shoot video from my little point and shoot Kodak digital, then edit the shots in iMovie. I am freakin' impressed.

Here is a little something I shot yesterday. Bunnies and chickens. And kitty.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Turn to the Left

Today, I had every intention to work in the studio to produce more Bunny & The Beast and Fuzzy Nuggets. I did get a few things started. Really. And I got a dozen FNs banded.

Then Sweetie went away from the house to network or some such crapguy stuff, (visit a friend and go to a bar,) and I went a little liquid.

To forward my business, go to Susan's Spinning Bunny. She has good deals on fiber.

To forward my way in the world, I offer this 48 minute documentary about this math savant in England, Daniel Tammet.

I believe that these savants, as well as the so-called "sufferers" of autism, are our hope for the future. They seem to tell us what our brain is capable of.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Remember to use the code.







The knitting, she continues. Finished these earlier in the week and I am pleased. I particularly like the never-repeated striping sequence of the yarn, and I like the heel bit done in garter stitch. Wish I could remember what yarn this was.

It's funny how I can go for months without knitting socks, and then when I do pick up the little needles again, it becomes hard to not have a pair in progress all the time.

I searched my bookshelves and cast on this pattern from Interweave's 25 Favorite Socks, (Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark,) with yarn I purchased at Troy from Earthly Hues. It is merino, bamboo, and nylon in the colorway Gutsy. The dye was derived from bamboo seedling; put up is 4 oz., 470 yards.





So I cast onto size 1 needles, as the pattern suggested and within the first few rows, I had an inkling that the gauge was way off. What, me swatch? I decided to cast on the other sock onto size 0s and am much happier. It amazes me what a difference one size can make. By the way, these aluminum needles came in a package that contained 4 sets of five needles in sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. They are lightweight yet strong and made by Boye. I can recommend them.




Saturday, May 23, 2009

Pull up, not out.

A silly little video starring Autumn, AnnaBelle, Heizen, The Chickens, Buster, Sweetie, and My Annoying Voice.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Simmer for 30 minutes.

My fibers are now online at the The Woolery. The Hot Pink and Lime are not available through them. Yet. I do not know why they are in the photo.

My friend that works part time at The Woolery said that everybody was quite taken with the batts. She said that she was finally emboldened to spin some fiber she bought from me several months ago and was delighted to say that it wasn't hard to spin. Duh! That's what makes it so great and not-scary-at-all. It is easy to spin because of how it has been treated, as well as that little bit o' sheep wool and/or other fibers. Angora! Gotta love it.

We will see if it sells. It is the same price as plain, plucked angora and less than carded angora.

On other fronts, I was able to figure out how to process the video I captured on my little point-and-shoot camera last month. IMovie to the rescue! I may try to embed it later, if you all are interested in a minute of our back yard life. With music and sound effects.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

With Moisturizers

Thanks, every one, for your kind comments regarding Sweetie's situation. And mine.

Sweetie is a maintenance mechanic, and I will not go into the sordid details of his firing after 13 years on the job. He acted honorably; he did not throw anybody under the bus. His local bosses all like him and wanted him to stay, but when the axe fell, it came from corporate headquarters.

He will find another job. We will do the Cobra thing with the insurance until then. He received his vacation pay. He has two apps in and has applied for unemployment. Financially, we are in okay shape.

Meantime, he has been home and was a nervous wreck until Thursday's call made it final. What a relief to have it over.

And, yeah, we are okay with this. We don't have car payments or credit card debt. The mortgage payments for the rental property are small. We may eat rice and beans one night and beans and rice the next, though. He hasn't been happy for the last two years and has sporadically looked for other work. He's been run ragged and when at home, he just sleeps. I hardly saw him. He has worked second shift most of his time there so I am happy to have him home in the evenings. It's odd to have him here. We've been sitting on the front porch enjoying life and each other. And the bunnies. And the chickens. And the cats. And the dog. He has been cleaning the house. (!)

I want him to visit his mom and sister in Georgia next week, especially since his brother is staying with them since his dismissal a month ago from his job in NYC.

I want Sweetie to have a life again.

I want Sweetie to be in my life more.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Keep at room temperature

Yesterday, Sweetie's termination from his job was official.

Hey, kids! Let's get ready for adventure time!

The only regret I have is the insurance, but we will manage. Otherwise, we're cool.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Get it fixed, at your home or ours!

So.

I have shipped off my first order from The Woolery.

Thirty batts. Fifteen Fuzzy Nuggets and fifteen Bunny & The Beast in three luscious colorways that will be exclusive to them. Once it is online, I will post a link. Chris has been very easy and wonderful to deal with, and I hope this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

My entire life has been a series of chance encounters with the odd opportunity taken, instead of going forth from high school with A Plan. My life has turned out well enough, in spite of sloshing around in the ocean of chance. This is just another event, an opportunity taken, after a random encounter.

I used to mourn not going to college, as higher education was not thought to be anything but getting better than one ought to be, according the my father. BS, Bull shit. PhD, Piled Higher and Deeper was his joke. Me being a girl, too, meant even less encouragement than my brothers got. All of us kids could have gone to college for free since my dad was awarded a Purple Heart in 1944, in Germany. No one told us about this possibility.

At age 52, I am so over it. I hate school. I hate outlines and footnotes. I hate bullshit. When I need to learn something, I used to get a book. Now, with the Interwebs, I can watch a video or read the text online. And I love the fact that there is a word for me: autodidact. A self learner. There is so much out there that I still want to know.

Okay, Mr. Maudlin, scram!

In bunny news, Icky Thump's abscess is healing. I was sad that nobody wanted to see the pus photo. Little Sister has also had problems with urine burn again. I think she must have a tail or genital deformity that causes her to have constant wet bottom. I have been checking her and applying anti-robotic to the affected areas for over a week and she is also doing well now.

Little Sister makes me want to rant a little bit about purebred bunnies. She is from a registered breeding pair. Her sister, now called Shirley, has not bred successfully. Another sister, died. The mother died from a broken back. Grumpy Daddy has fathered babies; I'll give him that. But this entire, very expensive, genetic line, has been a huge disappointment. I'm sorry to have paid $200 for the breeding pair and four children. I'd have been really pissed if I had paid $800 for just the breeding pair.

I recently watched a BBC documentary about pure bred dogs, with their limited genetic pool, and the resultant health problems, and I believe that the same is happening with bunnies, especially those bred for show.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

From Cultures Far and Wide

As I write this, we are without telephone and internet service. The line from the pole was ripped out of our house by, we are thinking, a truck with a mighty tall load. It's just one of those freakass things that happen. Sweetie has gone up to the General Store to call Verizon. Hope it gets fixed soon or I will have interwebs withdrawl.

Otherwise, I have been knitting. Socks, even. It has been maybe 6 months since I finished my last pair and since then have spent awhile working of the three scarf patterns. They have been a nice knit, so far, although I can't remember what yarn this is since I bought it over a year ago and balled it up last summer. I like the way it stripes, even if it is a wee bit splitty. I am using what Nancy Bush calls the Common Heel, which is easy peasy. The heel is what always wears out first on all of my socks, hence the common heel done in garter stitch for the last third. I plan to meander some yarn on the inside of the heel, too, as reinforcement.



The two chicks are growing, look! And they are getting brown feathers, it looks like. Once they are grown, I will scout the interwebs to see what breed they are.



Just to show you what can happen to rabbits, this is Icky Thump with a chin abscess. I hope it is from chinning and not from a tooth problem. I lanced it and expressed an incredible amount of pus, then slathered the opening with anti-robotic.

I don't want to gross anyone out, but I did take a photo of the pus, so if you are interested, let me know and I will email that photo to you privately.



Sweetie has rigged up the phone line until Verizon can get here. On Wednesday of next week. But woo hoo, we are online!

Sunday, May 03, 2009

High School Diploma or Equivalent Required

It's raining again. I believe that it has rained every day this week. It is a lovely type of rain, though. Especially in farming and rural communities as it is a slow and gentle drizzle that soaks into the soil gradually with no run off. There is no thunder or lightening but rather a constant wet patter made loud when heard inside the barn, under its great metal roof.

I spent a half-hour up there this evening and the only sounds I heard were the cheep peep cheep of a few spring peepers, the rain on the roof, 23 bunnies munching their pellets, and my own self-generated noise. No cars or planes. No dogs even. It is too quiet in Hooterville.

Scary.