Bird Watching

I set the camera up in front of the window.  I put the camera on my tripod.  Now all I need to do is sit and be patient and hopefully one of the cardinals will come to the feeder!

Hope you have a great weekend.

Horning in!

This little, big guy is more of a pet, than our next steak dinner.   We weren't really sure if we were going to butcher him or make him into a ox/pet.   He is over two years old and he really hasn't gotten that big.   We can pretty much touch him anywhere; he loves his ears and neck scratched.

Not much happening on the farm.  The guys have finished the big garage doors, that they have been in the process of building for a friend.  All that is left is to get the hardware to hang them up with.  That will be this weekends project.  You should've seen the four of us loading those suckers onto the truck!  They weighed a ton.  Then we had to go and unload them at the guys place, too!

Still working on the blankets.  I have one done and working on finishing the other one.  Then, I will be working on weaving a couple of shawls.  I will probably be doing book work for the next couple of weeks. (after this week that is)

Next week is the big 50 for me.  The hubby and I are going to take the weekend off and go away.   We are headed to Vermont and where ever our fancy takes us.  That is if the weather cooperates!  The east is getting a lot of snow this week.  Hopefully by next week things will calm down.

Hope you have a great week.

Season to Season

Not all taken in the exact same spot, but pretty darn close!  Those are the south view of the mountains from the farm.  I love to see the difference in the view from season to season.  I think they make for a wonderful view, no matter what season we are in.

Hope you are having a great week.

The Life

The sun can still be reasonably warm, when it is shining, even when the weather is cold.  At least the cats think so.

I am back down in Jersey for the week.  Working on getting used to using quickbooks.  I bought a workbook that I can learn with.  It is helping a lot.  Now if I can remember what I learned long enough to apply it to my own business version of quickbooks.

Not a whole lot going on.  Just trying to get through the winter and getting ready for tax time.  Yuck, not one of my favorite things to do.  Once I get done with quickbooks, I have to get all my data into it for the weaving and the farm.  I will be pretty busy for the next couple of weeks.

The last time I came down to NJ, I rode with the hubby and we saw a car upside down on the guardrails, and this time, when we came down, we saw a SUV that was on fire!  I told him that I don't think that is a good omen!  I think I better stay home the next time he suggest going with him ;-)  

Hope you are having a great week.

Almost done

This is a better picture of what the blanket will look like when it comes off the loom.  It does mute the blues, but it will still be very pretty.  I think my dad will love it.  I still don't know if I will do the second one the same or not.  Still debating.

Snowed this morning, it was fluffy and then, the wind had to pick up and make it blow all over.  That makes for very nasty driving conditions on our road.  That is how the daughter wrecked her car, the snow drifted over the road.  I had to drive her to work this afternoon.  Went to the chiropractors and I almost drove the car!  I am glad that I decided to take the truck, when we headed home from getting grocery's the roads where covered and blowing.  You had a heck of a time seeing the road!  Welcome to the northeast!

Hope you have a great weekend.

OMG!

I would not of wanted to be the chicken that laid this egg!

Went today and picked my ring up from the jeweler, because I had it made bigger.  I go get my hair done and get home to notice that it is missing a small diamond on the side!  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.   I trust this jeweler, so I am sure they will make it right with no problems.

Was a reasonable nice day.  The sun was shining and no wind.  So, even though it was only in the twenties it wasn't too bad of a day.

Have a great evening.

Winter

 The ice icicles won't  be melting anytime soon.  The deep freeze is back starting tomorrow.

 I was hoping the picture would show the sparkles on the snow.  Maybe if you click and make it bigger, you will be able to see them.

 Coming out of the barn from weaving, I had to take this picture of the sun below the horizon.  Sure makes you cold just looking at it.

Hope you are having a good week.

More snow.

This is pretty much what it has been doing for most of the day.  We didn't get a lot in accumulation but still a nuisance.   It hasn't been quite as cold the last couple of days as it has been.  We are supposed to get cold again then back up close to the thirties this weekend.

Not much going on.  The daughter went and looked at a few suv's to buy this weekend and picked one out.  It is 4 wheel drive and that is going to be good for the winter months.  If you are going to live in the north it is always good to have 4 wheel drive if possible.  Her car was ready to be replaced.  Never is it a good thing to wreck your car even if you do need a new one ;-)

Hope you have a great week.

What a day.....

It is running like the guys wanted it too.   Now they are in the process of getting another to play with.  Then the next thing is getting a trailer to haul them on to do shows this summer.

It has been one heck of a day.  First, had to have dish network come out and fix our dish.  Then the daughter was in a car accident.  She came out of it fine, but the car wasn't so lucky. The roads get pretty bad when the snow blows all over the road and for the amount of state taxes we pay, you would think that our roads would be clear!   She has had a rough week.. I told her it was a good thing she is still living at home.   I feel bad for some of these college students that can't seem to find decent jobs in their career fields.

I have been making bread for the week.  I go through 4 loaves a week.  We usually end up giving one loaf away and the hubby takes one with him when he goes to work for the week.

Have a great weekend.

Started

If you click on the picture, you will get a better view.  I have it finally ready to start doing some weaving on it.  I think the white will be fine for this blanket.  I did put enough on the loom to do a couple of throws.  I am thinking about seeing if I can buy some yarn that is a little heavier in a different yarn.  This yarn I am using is a cotton that the fiber isn't twisted together has most yarns are.  I am thinking of trying to get a really soft wool yarn.  Like worsted.  We shall see.

The winds have picked up and the temps have dropped.  We started at 10 degrees with no wind this morning.  We are now at -2 with wind chills that make it feel a whole lot colder!  The first time this year that we have been below 0.  Oh why does the wind blow when it decides to get cold?!  Now it feels like winter.  Our old house sure makes it hard to keep warm.

I did book work today.  I bought quickbooks to try to keep my business stuff in order and I seem to not be able to get the hang of using it.  So, I bought the student handbook that shows you how to navigate and use the software.   Hopefully by the time I get through the book I will understand a little more.

Not much else going on at the farm this week.  Trying to stay warm and get some work done around the farm and the weaving.

Take care and stay warm!

Next

This is the next project.  It will be  a blanket when I am done.  I will be putting a white filling across it.  So, the colors that you see is the background colors.  I am hoping that you can see the colors when I finish the blanket and the white doesn't over power the blues.  This is the widest I have ever tried weaving by hand.  It is 48 inches on the loom and hopefully when it comes off the loom it will be 45 inches wide.

We got some snow today and the winds howled up here on the mountain.  It made for a pretty cold day.  That is part and parcel of the winter months here in the east.

It was a pretty good first day of my new years resolutions.   I exercised, spent time in the barn and studied my horse DVDs.  Off to a good start.  Tried to keep things simple so I don't defeat myself.

Hope you have a great week.

He's Right!

He was right this time, the weather man!  We sure did get the snow, sleet and rain last night.  I had fun trying to walk to the barn this morning to do chores.   I think it took me around 3 minutes instead of just one, to make it out to the barn!  I tip toed all the way.  I was even able to take a few pictures on the way.  

We have had rain, snow and sleet this year and a lot more warmer weather than cold.  The poor horses have been slugging through mud pot holes, that thaw, then will freeze, then thaw.   They are having to walk in a mine field most of the time.  We are supposed to have a cold snap for the next week, so far.  The horses will really have a hard time in the mine field then.  We are actually supposed to make it down in the single digits at night and a high of 17, by Thursday.  

It will be nice to have a week that requires no travel, baking and shopping!  I get to stay home and hopefully get some things done around the farm.  I hope to start on my New Years resolutions!  I want to lose around 20 or 25 lbs. (hopefully more).  Get a whole lot more horse riding time in.  Get lots more weaving done.  I hope to get my number one thing done on my bucket list and that is take Sirocco to a horse clinic.  

I think I better narrow that list down to one thing and work my way up from there, and that is lose some weight!

Hope you have a wonderful day.

2nd day

I spent the second day of the new year cleaning house.  We got a little dusting of snow today. Tomorrow night we are supposed to get a whole bag of different things.  Starting with snow, then freezing rain and sleet, finally it is supposed to warm up into the 50's and get rain for the remainder of Sunday.  We are supposed to only have one day of 50 then plummet down to the low 20's and stay that way for a while. 


This weekend is the gun show, so, we might head up there and see what they have.  Tomorrow is the day to make more bread.  I will then try to get up in the barn to do more work on a blanket, that I am getting ready to weave for my dad.  I am going to spend a lot more time up in the barn this winter.  I am planning to do some craft shows this year. That is if I can get enough stuff woven a head, that I won't have to worry about running out of inventory, while doing a show.  

We lost a calf today.  We decided to wait until spring now to get another one.  We will be behind in having beef ready for the freezer now.   I am glad that the hubby brought home some venison this year to put in the freezer.  Hopefully that and the turkey that we have and some pork will be enough until we can put more beef in the freezer.

The hubby spent the last couple of days sawing wood and putting the wood together to make barn doors for a friend.  That friend is the one that is supplying him with his new hobby (hit and miss engines).   Here we believe in the barter system.  

Well, that pretty much explains what is going on at the farm for now.


Hope you have a great weekend.

Happy New Year!

You have to forgive my attempt at doing a picture in paint on my computer.  I figure you get the idea of my message!  Hope all my friends and family have a wonderful 2015.   The family stayed up well past midnight celebrating.  We watched the ball drop, listened to music and had lots of snack foods.  The best part was enjoying the evening with our kids.  

Happy New Year one and all!