Llama, Llama, Goat

 

Last week, I invited Bruce the Shearer Man over to help my llamas and angora goat feel cooler this summer. And of course, I kept the fleeces and will probably be selling them soon, as I still have fleeces and rolags of carded fleece that I’ve yet to spin into yarn. Here are some photos from that experience, with before and after photos, too.

Cataleya, my female llama. Before Photos.

Cataleya wearing her spit mask (trust me, it was needed!lol!)

Half a llama partially sheared.

My friend Kendra drove over to take photos and experience shearing day. We had to do the shearing down by my house as we don’t have any electric in our barn ever since an underground critter chewed our wiring.

I typically don’t shear a llama tail, but not only were their tails tangled, knotted, and dreadlock-like, but Cataleya also had a piece of wire twisted within her tail.

We couldn’t help but laugh at how funny her tail looked naked.

And voila! All done!

Cataleya’s After Photos! 

 

Isn’t she pretty?

And next up is Catlinite, my gelding llama. I had to walk each llama and goat down the hill from the barn to the house to be sheared, then walk them back up, and bring down another one…and so on, and so on. lol!

And Catlinite’s Before Photo! He used to be a show llama, and he still knows how to pose.

My twin sons, Jem and Jax were a huge help that day moving panels and keeping them secure when the llamas tried to thrash around.

Bruce the Shearer Man and all of us within spitting distance were very thankful that the llamas wore spitting masks.

 

Catlinite’s After Photo! He was making faces because he didn’t like the nasty taste of spit in his mouth.

Next it was my Angora goat Luna’s turn to be sheared.

Here’s her Before Photo:

 

My son Jem, caught this funny photo of Luna expressing her displeasure at being sheared.

But soon she relaxed and began to enjoy the attention.

And it wasn’t long before her thick, heavy dreadlocks finally fell to the ground.

And soon she was all done!

And she was so much cooler and happier!

Luna’s After Photo! Isn’t she pretty?

When I walked her back up to the barn, her goatie friends, Mud Pie and Latte didn’t even recognize her!

I gathered up the fleeces and carried them into the garage.

 

Boy Howdy! They were heavy and hot! It made me happy knowing they weren’t on my animals anymore, so they would enjoy feeling cooler this summer.

I ended up only saving the llama fleeces, as Luna’s fleece had become too matted and dirty. I usually shear her twice a year, in the Spring and early Fall. But last Fall it snowed the day before I was going to shear Luna, so I just put it off for fear of her getting too cold. The two llama fleeces are in very good condition, super soft, and not too dirty either.

Blogger Friends Rock!, Blogging Woes, and Confetti Cactus

 

I just had to share the recent emails I received from some of the volunteer management team over at Walkin N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue :

“Thanks so much to those hardy souls who came out to help with water for the horses and feet cleaning on Thursday.  Also a huge thank you to those of you who have donated and continue to donate money to offset the cost of the damage at the ranch.  Your tax deductible letters will be in the mail as soon as possible.   
As we have always said, the horse rescue could not function, survive and thrive without all of you.
~Loeta”

And:

“We have $105.00 new in PayPal this morning.  We sure do appreciate it!
~Anna”

To all of you fantastic, generous blogger friends who donated to WNCR……..I want to thank you, on behalf of WNCR, all the volunteers, and the horses and donkey, too. You guys totally rock!

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Peeking through the frost and ice on my bedroom window.

Still related to blogging……I am having some very frustrating issues with my computer not allowing to me to open and read a number of my favorite blogs. This is the message that pops up when I try to open certain blogs:

“Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site.

(blog http: url)
Operation aborted!”

One day I even received the same message for my own blog and wasn’t able to read it! gah!

After doing some research, and along with my twinling Jax’s help, we discovered that certain widgets were causing problems. So I went through and removed each widget one by one (copying and pasting to my notepad to reinstall later, just in case that particular widget wasn’t the issue). And after a few minutes, we removed my Amazon Book Shelf widget, and immediately I was able to open my blog page again. Aha! Apparently that particular widget was the trouble maker!

Ok. So I was able to figure it out so I could read my own blog, but I can’t do the same thing for my favorite blogs. See my dilemma? I really want to visit my favorite blogs, but can’t. I’m stuck. If anyone has any great ideas (and not too technical), let me know.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

During our arctic blast with the nasty sub-zero temps, I was able to cuddle up and finish my latest knitting project for Gail of At the Farm . I call this design Confetti Cactus….for obvious reasons.

Of course, this cactus is not covered in thorns, but is thick, soft and fuzzy. I blended a turquoise colored mohair/wool yarn with a multi-colored eyelash style yarn. I also added a narrow brim at the bottom to corral some of the ticklish eyelashes. (You can also lightly trim them, too)

 

Sure hope you like it, Gail. I’ll get it out in the mail next week!

We have another storm bearing down on us from Canada. Thankfully without those freezing temperatures from the last storm, but we are expecting more snow. Everyone stay warm and safe!

Icicle Lake and Sky Circus

 

I just wanted Cheryl Ann of Desert Horses and Sandy of Where My Heart Lives to know that their knitted hats are on their way to them. I was able to get to the P.O. before the storm hit on Monday.

These two hats are kind of a big deal for me, because it’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone ask to buy my knitted items. So, it was a real honor to be offered money in return for my talents and for doing something I enjoy. And it pleases me to no end imagining other folks wearing items that I've made for them, too.

So without further ado, I introduce you to my first commissioned knit hats! (lol!)

I must admit these two are probably my favorite hats I’ve made. Both Cheryl Ann and Sandy asked what color yarns I had left at home and I told them, a whole lot of variegated blue. In the past I’ve made knit hats for men or boys using this yarn, so I never considered that any women would like it, too. Of course, I did add the fuzzy, fancy yarn to blend with it, which gives it a nice soft, girlie look. But I’ve made so many purple colored hats over the past 4 years that I’m all out of purple, and I’m kind of glad. These blue hats are da bomb! 

 

And if you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you also know that I give my creations their own names. I don’t spend much time thinking up names, though. Rather, I let them names themselves, which happens usually very soon into the project. The name just sort of materializes into my thoughts.

This thick, soft, snuggly hat soon became “Icicle Lake”, probably because the fuzzy outer yarn resembles icicles, while the darker variegated navy blue yarn beneath resembles a lake.

I added a narrow brim at the bottom to give it more shape, snugness, and to keep some of the fluffy fuzziness out of the eyes.

And this colorful, thick, soft hat struggled with a name during the knitting process, but when the hat was complete, it immediately became “Sky Circus” because the colors in this hat are all of the colors that one would see if enjoying a New Mexico sunset. It exudes fun, playfulness and a sense of freedom. (I know. Seems like a lot of words describing a simple hat. But why not? Life is too short not to be creative and fun)

For this hat I left out a brim because Sandy preferred to be able to just roll her hat up or down as she desired. So, I created a much longer style for her to have the freedom to do this, instead. I also used three different kinds of yarns: the variegated blue yarn, the fancy fuzzy light blue yarn, and a multi-colored variegated fancy fuzzy yarn.

Oooh! I want one of each for me. But alas, these are one-of-a-kind designs. The yarn store is all out of the fancy fuzzy blue yarn. *pout*

So, ladies, be on the look-out for your Noggin’ Warmers (Hey! Maybe I’m onto something there?).

And Gail of At the Farm, I’m still working on your hat. All I had here at home was some turquoise mohair/wool yarn, and nothing festive to blend it with, so I visited the yarn store last week….and well, you’ll just have to wait to see it, until I give you a peek in a future post. I will be nice and give you a hint that your hat’s name is “Confetti Cactus”. hee hee.

On Their Way and Burger Boy

 

I finally completed all the knitted hats for the winners of my New Years Eve Blogaversary Give-Away.

 

I appreciate everyone’s patience and I hope these soft, colorful hats keep their new owner’s heads warm and cozy and bring a smile, too. I like to call this design “Peacock Flock”.

One of the knitted hats is a surprise for someone who is super special and has touched a lot of folks in the blogging community in a very positive way. This terrific person deserves to have a warm cozy noggin, too. I call this design, “Stone Creek”

 

While my twinlings were at their guitar lessons, Jen and I walked down to the post office and got the packages sent off.

Afterwards we drove down the road and stopped off at one of our favorite burger joints for awesomely delicious green chile cheeseburgers, onion rings and fries. The Legendary Burger Boy Restaurant (click on that link for a terrific review of this restaurant, with photos of their delicious food, too!) is a local joint here in Cedar Crest, owned by a family who prides themselves on quality, freshness and a great connection to the community. Anybody who’s anybody in the East Mountains knows how terrific Burger Boy is, and many people drive from all over the state just to enjoy one of the best green chile cheese burgers in New Mexico.

(I don’t care how tasty Green Chile Bill’s burgers are. I don’t like the way he’s looking at my daughter!)

The restaurant is nestled right below the Sandia Mountains, and is tiny, with only 7 tables centered around a cozy pellet stove in the dining room, along with bar stool seating at the front. We were happily seated right beside the cozy little pellet stove today and enjoyed browsing through a newspaper someone had left behind, while we waited for our food to arrive.

We’ve only eaten our lunch here, but can’t wait for the opportunity to visit for breakfast. (check out that link above to see photos of their amazing pancakes and Paul Bunyan Breakfast. Mmmmm!)

Do you have a favorite restaurant where you like to visit as often as you can to get your “fix”? And what items do you usually choose off of the menu?

My Worst Christmas Ever

Life is crazy, isn't it? One minute you're fine, making plans on what you want to do tomorrow, and the next minute everything just flies out the window, plans and all.

Christmas literally stunk like a rabid skunk for me. Upon waking up I knew my knee was seriously in trouble, but I didn't want to ruin anyone's Christmas fun, so I hopped and dragged myself from bed to peer down from our loft that looks down into the living room so I could at least watch the holiday festivities.

I grabbed my demon-posessed, borrowed camera, hoping with all my heart that one of those packages under the tree held a new camera just for me. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my camera that was stolen in October in Santa Fe. I was holding out faith that, Yes Virginia...there truly was a Santa Claus.
But my hopes were soon to be dashed.

These are the images that my camera-from-hell captured from my lofty vantage point. That's my daughter Jenna showing me one of her gifts, a plastic Parasaurolophus that she had asked for. Jenna loves dinosaurs and bones, so she was thrilled.
My twinlings only asked for 3 things this year, so just like Jesus' gifts, that's all that they were given. Oh, and a few stocking stuffer goodies, like toy cars and candy. And since my hubby and I are 'only-children' we don't have any extended family that send our kids lots of gifts. So our Christmas gift tally was rather sparse and simple. But my kids were quite happy with their gifts and spent all day playing with them. Or should I say jamming in their room with the PS2 Rock Band set-up. What did your kids ask for this Christmas?
What did I get for Christmas you ask? Hmmmm....Nothing. Nada, Zilch, Zip.

Ok, I take that back. My Dad and stepmom did give me a gift card for $30 to Target. And my friend and riding buddy, Val gave me a cute horse print oven mitt, brownie mix and a plate full of delicious treats.
But hang on to your hats.....wanna know what my dear husband gave me?
An empty box with an IOU for a camera that he had just ordered from Amazon the day before. I wish I could have been excited, but the camera he had ordered wasn't even in comparison to my camera that was stolen, and I was really wishing for one with more zoom and better quality pixels. So, I held that box and tears streamed down my face, like a big old baby.

I cried and cried. And not just about having no camera gift for Christmas. I was hurt that he couldn't even pick out a bar of soap or lotion from the Bath store for me...or a candle. Anything. And that my hubby didn't even take the kids somewhere to pick out a few small things for me. I think it's so important for kids to also be involved in giving and not just receiving.

But more than anything I cried that the barn looks so far away from our house and impossible for me get to. And I cried that I can barely take care of myself, let alone my family. And my heart is breaking knowing that it may be months before I can spend time with all my animals or care for my chickens and gather eggs. Life is barely worth living if you can't do the things you enjoy.

And right now my stepmom, Dad and even my kids are driving me a little nuts. I admit that I tend to be a control freak and I do like for things to be done a specific way, but I'm not overly anal about it. But being stuck in this bed means I have to rely on others to do things for me, and though I'm grateful, it's frustrating and annoying that I can't just do it all myself.
It seems that everyone is just ignoring me and doing things the way they want to and just telling me 'to get over it', 'it's fine', 'stop worrying'....words I don't have tolerance for.

While I appreciate that my stepmom is preparing meals for everyone, she is also taking over complete control of my house and even my kids. We're on septic here, but she insists on running the washing machine, dishwasher, sink water, and even taking a shower...all at the same time....while the ground is frozen. gah! Where is all that water going to go?!
And when I tell my kids they can have a treat, my stepmom will tell them no. Which causes my daughter, who has Aspergers and OCD to be majorly confused and break into meltdowns. When I ask my sons for help or to come upstairs, she encourages them to ignore me, and then she either comes up or yells up the stairs asking what I want. (Hello! I wanted my sons, thank you!)

When I've been on the phone I've seen her shadow on the stairwell past my bedroom. What is she listening for?
When she comes up to my room to bring a plate of food, she sees the cat and starts gagging and over-reacting and telling me to get the cat away.....(The poor cat has nowhere else to go, she's locked up here in my bedroom, along with her food, water and litterbox, while my stepmom and Dad are here.)

I avoid talking with her at all, because she's not capable of just a friendly chat. No. She always has to control the conversation with advice telling me how I should do things. It's always, "You need to do this or that" gah!!

I tolerate these holiday visits because I love my kids and believe they should have family around that love them, and since we don't have much family, I want to make sure they have every opportunity to spend with their grandparents.

But jeez! It takes every ounce of my self-control to bite my tongue when my stepmom lays my kids down on the sofa, when they aren't feeling well or are out-of-sorts, and then starts rubbing and rolling magnets all over their bodies. gah!!!
I respect alternative medicine, I truly do. I use herbal remedies myself, but magnetic therapy....used on my children....without even my permission??!
I really don't think I'm being unreasonable here, am I?

Ok, I really didn't mean for this to turn into a rant or a whine (I'll take brownies with my whine please. You keep the cheese), especially since my parents do sometimes read my blog (Hi Dad!). But I really don't care right now. Maybe they'll read this and actually pay attention, and not be so narcissistic. Maybe try to be a little understanding and see where I'm coming from here. I'm really having a hard time and don't need anymore stress.

Anyway, right after breakfast, Ranchman John drove me to the hospital. It was horribly painful just trying to make it down the stairs and out the door and into the back of my van.

The hospital was mostly quiet, except for a few nutjobs in the ER. There was one guy on the other side of me who apparently partied a little hard on Christmas Eve, got drunk and was taken to ER. They let him sleep it off...until 1pm the next day, and even fed him breakfast. A beter deal than the Hilton. They kick you out by 12pm. lol!
They wanted to call his wife and kids to come pick him up, but he was too embarassed, so they called him a cab. How does someone do that to their family? Drink so much, end up in ER, and then not even tell their family where they are...on Christmas?! What a jerk.

Everyone was really nice to me in the ER and a few of the workers came over to share with me their own horse related injuries. It made me feel alot better, especially from the people who still rode and owned horses after their injuries.

I had an X-Ray done, and no broken bones. But the swelling is so bad that an MRI wouldn't be much help for at least a week or two. So, I'll have to wait on a sure diagnosis. But the PA did do a manual exam of my knee and believes that my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and most likely, my Meniscus cartilage are damaged. Not good news. I still can't bend my leg or lay it flat. And the pain is terrible.
They started me off with Vicodin, but all it did was make me tired. The pain was still there. So they followed that up with a Percocet and Motrin. Finally a little relief.
I did take my evil camera to the hospital with me in case I got bored.
I was given a comfy leg brace/splint which is such a Godsend, now that I don't have to hold my leg to keep it from moving and causing pain. They also gave me crutches, which I'm also grateful for. Mobility is highly under-rated. Being able to move yourself to the bathroom, on your own, is a true measure of freedom.

So, with my new freedom of mobility gear, and my pain med prescription, I was in much better spirits as we left the hospital. (Do you notice the scarf and hat? I just completed them on Christmas Eve morning. They are made with alpaca, mohair and camel yarns. Very soft, too. Looks like, with my strict bedrest orders, I'll have lots of time to knit now. lol!)
And while I appreciate Ranchman John's careful Chauffeur skills, he's still in the proverbial doghouse for now. Grrr....

What else am I grateful for?

1)My laptop
2)Pillows
3)Chocolate
4)Tea
5)My family and friends
6)My favorite Blogs to read
7)All of my very supportive and caring Blogger Buddies
(and not necessarily in that order)

Thank you for the kind comments you've all been leaving for me.
I read them all, and they truly lift my spirits!!

Have a safe holiday weekend,

A,B,C....It's Time!

The Alphabet Challenge is officially over! Woot! Woot! And now it's time to leave your comment listing all *26 Alphabet Subjects* (in order, please).
I won't be approving any of the comments for 2 days, so that everyone participating in the Alphabet Challenge, has a chance to leave their comment.
I'll go back and look through the comments and check your lists. On Monday I'll draw a name, and that person will be the winner of the handmade hat and scarf set!
The hat and scarf were knitted by me, using beautiful yarn spun from Icelandic Sheep wool and Mohair(Angora goat) fiber. If you live somewhere very cold, this scarf and hat will keep your neck and head toasty warm.
Thank you to all of you for following along with the Alphabet Challenge. It's been a lot of fun and I enjoyed all of the great comments you all left for me, too.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

Alphabet Blog Challenge

Today's post will be fairly short. Sitting up is challenging to do without feeling dizzy. You see, my dear readers, I spent a scary Friday night and most of Saturday in the hospital, due to alot of pain that made me feel like I might die. I'm on alot of medication right now and am mostly bedbound, but I wanted to check in briefly to update the blog with info about my upcoming blog challenge, that I hope many of you will participate in.

The Alphabetical Blog Challenge: 26 Letters in 26 Days is basically a challenge for me and a contest for my readers. I will be posting about one letter each day, including a photo, taken somewhere on our ranch or in New Mexico.
My readers' challenge is to post a comment including a word beginning with the letter of the day. And at the end of the contest, to compile all 26 of the Letter of the Day subjects, and post them as a blog contest entry.

There will be a pretty nice award for the winner: A hand-made hat and scarf set!

This is not the scarf and hat set, but rather one I just finished for a friend (shhh!), but you can get an idea of what you'll be receiving. I call this one the 'Turquoise Camel' because both pieces are made with a camel/alpaca/sheep/cotton blend.

But this is the yarn I chose for the hat and scarf set contest winner! A beautifully warm, cream Icelandic Wool and a lovely, soft turquoise Mohair (angora) blend.
I hope you all will join me in the Alphabetical Blog Challenge.

Contest starts Monday, November 24!!