Snow, Cold....It's January.

This old dog LOVES just laying in the snow.

We have had a couple of good snowfalls, 5 to 6 inches, which is plenty to make one feel like they have experienced winter and are ready for spring.  Unfortunately the coldest days are yet to come.  It seems to me that the coldest weather occurs the first week of February.  And this year is no exception, though the coldest days are expected at the tail end of January, so starting tomorrow.  They are telling us things like the "coldest weather in two decades"  and "wind chills well below zero".  I hope they are wrong again.  I remember in the mid-90's when we lived in Indiana having almost an entire week when the temperatures did not rise above 0*F.  You tend to remember that kind of thing when you have to take care of horses before going to your 8 am job in the morning.  At least we lived in a new house there.  Here in our 120+ year old house with no insulation we have to worry about frozen water pipes, frozen drains and more.  The good news is that this cold is only expected to last about 3 days.  And we have LOTS of firewood just outside the door.



Since my last post I have managed to keep busy.  No agility trials this month, though I did ride along with a novice handler and her dog to Incredipaws for their debut in the ring earlier this month.  I went for moral support and to help her navigate trial protocol.  They did quite well, though they did not Q in either of their runs.  But the very first time in the ring is kinda scary for the handler and can be somewhat overwhelming for the dog.  They really did a great job and they are entered in our trial in Zanesville coming up in just under 2 weeks.  I can't wait to see how they do.  They are a great team.

I spent a good part of yesterday prepping for the cold weather to come.  I bedded the stall area in the barn for Apples and Truffel and Grover and I used the Gator to take a couple loads of hay and dog food for Star to the barn.  I do worry about the chickens in the cold weather to come as their coop is large for 3 chickens, despite having a heat lamp.  I have been debating putting them in a dog crate in the barn and piling hay around it, but then I can't use the heat lamp.  I haven't decided yet.

This past weekend, starting Thursday and going through Sunday, I took a class for certification in Canine Massage Therapy.  I ended up being the only student for the weekend and so I got more hands on training than I would have had there been 2 other students in the class and I came away with my certification.  I am contemplating what I plan to do.  I still feel like I need a lot of practice, but I have Grover here to work on.  Rowdy has some physical issues that make him difficult to work on, but he may get some massage as well.  I wanted to learn this to work on my own dogs, but people keep telling me they think there would be a market for it around here, so I need to have some cards made up.  Tomorrow Grover will be my first client.

Other than that, I have been working on finishing up some projects and have started a new one or two.  The towels I had started in the last post are off the loom and just waiting for hemming.   Well, one is hemmed the other 4 are waiting.  One of the black ones was the request from the Arts Center that prompted my weaving these.  There are 2 black, 2 red and 1 green.  I am happy with how they turned out.  The black and red ones will go to the Arts Center and I will keep the green one or possible gift it.

I also made a second baby sheep hat for my grandson, Wilder.  The first one I made him was much too small.  I was very pleased to see that this one fit him and may fit him for a little while.  Isn't he adorable in it?  I will be back out to Oregon to see him in only 3 weeks and 2 days.  Not counting or anything.  My mom will be going as well.

I need to get all of us in my family I have knit these hats for together for a photo. But there are 2 of us in Ohio, 1 in Oregon and 1 in California, so it won't happen soon.  Sadly. Maybe I will get 3 of us when Mom and I are in Oregon next month.

 



This particular project was on the loom for almost a year. I decided it was time to finish it.  Yes, it's a guitar strap.  It was meant for a gift when I started it and it will still be a gift, just a year later than planned.  I don't think the recipient reads my blog.  But I won't say who it is for.  Handy that I was even able to find a guitar in my house.  And it goes so well with the strap.  I would be willing to make more of these straps. Just let me know what colors.  We'll see who reads this.

I also finished my lacy beaded Mystery Knit-Along shawl that was for the month of October.  I wonder who had time to knit this entire thing in one month?  Not me.  It is beautiful!  This is my favorite kind of knitting, though the finished item is very impractical, especially for someone whose daily wardrobe is jeans and a hoodie.  Can you see Rowdy over by the creek?  I love this photo.

And I have knit ONE "thrummed" mitten.  The white "hearts" are actually chunks of carded wool that are knit into the inside of the mitten, so it is kind of like one of those fleece lined jackets, only a mitten. I am sure the wool will felt to the shape of my hands once I start wearing them, after I knit the second one of course.  It was kind of hard on my hands working with the yarn (handspun by the way) and the wool together, so I will finish up my towels and another project before I get to the second one, but I will.  After all what good is only one mitten?  Too bad I don't have them ready to wear this week!

I think that is about it for now.  Upcoming events include Agility in Zanesville Feb 9th and 10th, then a trip to Oregon with Mom Feb 21 through 26.  And somewhere in that period of time, we will be tapping trees and making maple syrup as well!  We are due for a good sap year.  I do like syrup season, especially now that I have a new Gator to use, as our Honda is getting pretty rough and not always dependable.  We have some pretty serious hills to deal with in snow and mud during syrup season and I haven't trained Apples to pull a sled, so I'm glad I have the new Gator.  So is Grover. 

Wrapping Up 2018 and Looking Forward to 2019!

2019 is upon us.  I'm not sure how 2018 went by so quickly.  I must be having fun, right?  Time flies when you are having fun.  Lots of fun.

2018 was a huge year for our family.  We had some momentous events.  I think the very most important one was the birth of our grandson, Wilder, in May.  The news that I was going to become a grandmother came to me in late August 2017 and was one of the biggest surprises of my life as my son and daughter-in-law had told us previously that having children was not in their plan.  They did not tell anyone that they had, in fact, changed their minds until it was confirmed they were expecting.  And Wilder arrived in May.  Here he is, now 8 months old with my son, Ian.  I have been out to visit him in Oregon twice, and will be there again next month.

Speaking of my son, Ian, the second huge event this year was his graduation in June from Oregon State University's College of Forestry with his bachelor's degree in Recreation Resource Management, also earning the honor of being named "Outstanding Senior" in his major.  Way to go, Ian!
 


And of course we have had yet another year with our beloved old dog, Rowdy.  He will be 14 in April and every day with him is treasured. 

Officially on the list!

And speaking of dogs, we certainly cannot forget that Grover and I earned a huge title in agility in September, our (first) MACH, or Master Agility Championship!  We worked 4 years for it and I am so very proud of what my goofy rescue Aussie has been able to do.  We both had to learn so much!  
And then of course we also qualified to enter the AKC National Agility Championships being held in Tulsa OK in March.  We are entered and we plan to be there!





In April, Sam and I closed the Real Estate business we had taken over from Sam's Mom back in 1999.  The shale gas industry coming into our area and drilling and paying landowners to lease their land really hurt our business and we decided it was time to retire and spend our time on other things.  It was rather a 2 edged sword, as the gas industry that hurt our livelihood in real estate also allowed us to retire a little earlier than we had planned. But having a 200 acre farm, one is never really "retired".  There is always so much to do!  

We have also had losses.  One of the first alpacas we bought back in late 1999, Peg, died at almost 19 years of age in June.  She was the last of our first alpacas and a special favorite of mine.  This leaves us with only one alpaca, Truffels, who is now 15, and she shares the barn and pasture with Apples the Welsh pony and Star the Italian Maremma.  We also lost most of our chicken flock to hawk predation this past fall and have only 3 hens as of this time.

I think in all, we have been very blessed this year.  There were things that could have been much worse than they turned out, such as my mom breaking her humerus in Italy in March and the flooding we experienced here in late May while Sam was off on a fishing trip.  We had the rainiest year on record here, with over 57 inches of rain in the area, which is 20" above average, according to the Wheeling Intelligencer. This made it a rather poor year for the garden, with some of my veggies being flooded out.  I will be hoping for a year of better weather in 2019, but otherwise, 2018 may be hard to beat.





I can now post some photos of projects I have been working on that were gifts this year.  Socks for Mom for Christmas.












 

A Steelers blanket for Mary, my mother-in-law.  I was disappointed after fulling the blanket that the colors became somewhat blended and muddy.  This photo is pre-fulling.  I learned that wool blankets and small checks do not work well in the finishing.

 


 I also knitted this Death Star hat for my son in California.  He loves it and says it is "ridiculously warm".  He lives in the mountains, so it will get used.

And currently on the looms are some black and gold towels, which were a request from a customer at the Arts Center in town.  I will do 2 in black and gold and 2 in a dark red and gold, I think.  I do love the way the colors and pattern are working together so far.

                                                                          





  And also some silk scarves in natural and navy blue with just a tiny bit of wool in the blue yarn.  The threads are very fine so these are taking a little longer than the towels.  But they will be lovely, I  think.                                                                       
 
I am almost finished with the lacey beaded mystery shawl from October.  I should have that done and blocked by my next post.   

I have also been working on re-knitting the sheep hat I made for Wilder which was MUCH too small.  I have now started it and ripped it back out twice and re-started it.  I am hoping the third time is the charm.  It would be nice to finish it in time for him to wear it this year.

A rare sunny day!