live and learn

last tuesday our fiber guild had a tie dye party at the local library! we were dying our guild t-shirts. what a blast! i usually don't dye cotton-i'm a wooly gurl. we mixed our colors and folded and twirled. We then had to wait....something i'm not good at... till friday to rinse. here it is before i rinsed.
see the green-it was blue when i mixed it and poured it on.... the alchemy of the color mixing turned it green. here is the unveiling-drum roll please......here's a close up.when i washed my shirt....a lot of the dye washed out. it's still beautiful-just lighter. but i'm excited to do more-like dye the family's grody socks...yes-they like to walk outside in their socks. that soil just doesn't come out.we did a mushroom hike yesterday and found over 35 different kinds. when we arrived at our local secret mushroom spot-where no one ever goes. two cars were leaving. and we noticed lots of spots where mushrooms had been harvested. i'm sure the were harvesting boletes! you can get a good price for boletes and matsutakes-which grow around here. i only found one bolete. i did find an interesting cluster-that looked like "jack-o-lantern"-which is poisonous. but the spore print did not match up. i'm perplexed. here's a picture:i've been getting ready for my annual craft faire at the north columbia school house this coming saturday. as usual.. procrastination happens. heavy sigh. oh well. live and learn. i seem to have trouble with the learning part. i have all these great ideas and i never get them done before the sale. later.

gobble gobble! (thanks sara!)

it's thanksgiving morning. the family is still sleeping. blue has grown out of two crates and i haven't been able to get a bigger one yet. so.......i have to get up with him. (or all hell breaks loose!) i thought i'd get caught up on my blog. but i'd rather be sleeping in. i haven't been sleeping well-so i'm feeling worn out and tired.

we always watched the macy's day parade on the tube when i was a kid-alas we have no tv. liam has never seen it. maybe carey watches it at his mom's. i hear the big smurf float was awesome. for those who also missed it.....
we finally got a little much needed rain yesterday. not enough though. i'm worried. i'm having to water the fall garden. i planted some soil builder cover crop in my raised beds. it is finally coming up. i love borage. it thrives in the cooler weather!


blue's not allowed in the garden-he loves to dig...in all the wrong places. sorry blue!

i planted onions and garlic for the first time ever. i'm very excited. it's been so warm look at my garlic already!my radishes are about 3 inches tall, i don't know if my beets are gonna make it. i planted everything too late. the lettuce is like half and inch tall. procrastination happens. on the hen front.....the gurls have been molting.....not a pretty site.egg production has been very low. but hey...i think they deserve a break! the stray dogs have been migrating thru the property a lot these days. free ranging days are over for the time being. i almost let them out yesterday. not 5 minutes later 3 large strays were there ready for trouble. my throat hurts from screaming at them. i'm going to expand the fenced in hen yard this winter so they have even more room to run around and give them more shade in the summer. i'm starting to plan some murals for the hen house....it's gonna be fun! it's a bit plain right now.i have a new apron to add to my collection. i got it from joan at "ala mode" in grass valley. i wish i had a picture of her cute little vintage clothing store. maybe i'll do that another day. i've been visiting her store which has moved around; since carey was 4 years old- he's almost 17 now-gulp!close up of the pocket.....
happy thanksgiving everyone! i have much to be thankful for. i feel blessed.

for the love of old shoes

no time for post toastie this weekend...... it's courrier time!!! got to get the paper done and sent to the printers!! but i want to leave you with a picture i love. a picture that makes me smile, a picture that makes me feel good, a picture that says wow! i want to get to know this woman. i found this picture while cruising around ravelry. i added her blog to my list. please check it out. thanks for the wonderful picture magnusmog! enjoy. check out the hand knit socks!

bring back the apron!!

i was going to try and post last night but my tired bod wouldn't allow it. you see we went on a hike not a particularly strenuous hike but a long one. at least 7 miles. we think it was longer-aching protesting hips say so. we decided to hike to the end of canyon creek trail which follows the north fork of the yuba river. we always seem to turn around before we reach the end. blue was very exciting as he had been sporting(much to his grief and embarrassment) an Elizabethan collar for 7 days and just had it removed on thursday. blue got neutered. when i picked him up he was wearing this! at least he doesn't look as miserable as morton the corgi-click on the collar link. the vet staff informed me i had to keep him quiet for 7 days-no running, jumping, stairs etc. i looked at them in disbelief. "helloooo what did you say? i've got a 5 month queensland heeler here and you are asking me to do what????" keep him quiet. that's a joke!!!!! they could have at least given me some doggie downers to bring home and aid me in this impossible task. so after a week of trying to restrain him-i was exhausted and at my wits end. hence the nice long walk.

what a beautiful day. temps in the 70's and scary but true no rain in sight! when we finally made it too the end of the trail we were excited to have our picnic. yet the place was already inhabited by others..1000's and 1000's perhaps millions! yes, we had to share the space with an orgy of ladybugs. this being their breeding ground. you couldn't walk without stepping on them. you couldn't sit on a rock with squishing them.this picture is just a few square inches-they were everywhere! we tried brushing off rocks to sit on and they would crawl all over you-and get under your clothes....kind of creepy. i don't want to bog down this post with too many photos but maybe i will share more pictures of our walk. liam did some mushroom collecting. here's some of his score as he was classifying them when we got home.
as promised here is a picture of the awesome hand woven bag i bought from bj at our farmstore spin day. see previous post. it holds my spinning wheel oil and my little hook. don't ya just love it!!!
i had started spinning some awesome naturally dyed fiber from tactile at the farmstore. i finished and i love it!!! i can't wait to make something with it-after the damn holidays-i've got way way too many projects going between gifts and stuff to sell at shows. here's my yarn: ooh la la and it's soft too~ i've decided to bring back the apron. i collect old aprons. i have a plethora of them.( i so love that word!) but they stay in a drawer. no one ever sees them. i've decided to let them out. i sported this one today.

yeah-i guess i wanted you to check out my boots too- remember these? flea market 8$ red wing effin boots! here's more of the apron.too sweet for words. i'll try and post a few more pics from the weekend during the week. blue needs another walk!

guineas and geese

post election bliss bummed out by the passing of prop 8. taking away the rights of Californian gays and lesbians right to wed. very sad and unfair-what is wrong with people? it hurts! what can i say? i voted. heavy sigh.

on a lighter note today.... we had a spinning gathering at a local farm. members of our fiber guild met at jenny brown's farm store in oregon house. what fun it was to get together with friends spinning without guilt(as i was not at home plagued with chores.) the rain cleared for us and we had a splendid time.
i was spinning some marvelous natural dyed merino roving from tactile.
here was my little space.....

my friend sue had a gorgeous basket full of rovings from her own sheep. see it? all the beautiful natural wool. B.j. brought her weavings, lavender, yarns and hats too. i bought a handwoven bag from B.J. to hold my spinning supplies.. photo to come. i also bought a beret. knowing i could knit myself a beret....but when you fall in love with a chapeau made of alpaca, mohair and wool you just gotta have it. they were my colors.the picture does not do the hat justice. way more green..... i was trying to take a self portrait -ha! i have lizard eyes. slurp slurp!
there was a wine tasting of local wine. yum. i had to have local honey, local pomegranates, a bottle of ...something i can't pronounce unless i'm in mafia mode(hence the accent)-sangiovese. birdsong and sara said it perfectly. possible mafia connections? and yes, believe it or not i bought some beef. jenny raises her own grass fed beef and i bought a chunk of her summer sausage that was to die for. most of you know me as a vegetarian. but what can i say...when my body screams at me for meat and i start acting a bit too carnivorous for my own liking.. i need to imbibe. i don't want to be caught chasing deer down the road in a carnivorous frenzie. here's my score: jenny had a woodstove installed in the barn for warmth... but we had such a glorious day we took advantage of spinning outdoors. the geese and guineas hens supplied us with glorious music and entertainment. there were many more spinners and a weaver but i didn't catch it on camera. too busy having fun i guess..

HIP HOP HOORAY!!!!!

what can i say? i'm so excited!!!! the people were finally fed up!!! thanks to all who voted. we were so excited watching the states votes come in. liam was really into this election. he wore his buttons yesterday.when word was out that obama was gonna be prez-liam got his party popper and let it explode and was using his gramophone to cheer into! CELBRATION!!!i don't envy obama's new job in any way.....what a royal mess he has to deal with. it's gonna take some time........ and finally a president you don't mind seeing in a swim suit-heh heh heh!!!!!!!

election eve!

wow! i'm so scared about this election. i can't even believe we vote tomorrow! gads-i hope i can sleep. i can't even discuss it. i'm wearing my shirt though!!!!!!


but i actually have a bit of fiber for you! i received some beautifully dyed targhee fiber from a fiber swap on ravelry. i love targhee...so soft and spongy!

i finally got to spin it!!! yipee yahoo...eeee!

i'm happy to put something wooly on my site. i even started some holiday gifts!! but can't show pics!

now to Halloween-the boys had fun carving-as you can see "pilsner" really wanted to help too.carey went to a sleep over for a movie marathon night. liam dressed up as the ghost of Lester Allen Pelton. he's into local historical stuff. we went trick or treating and it was like the ole days. very small town fun. i dressed up as a coastal leprechaun-ess from belfast complete with a bull kelp shilaylee(spelling?) hubby was my husband! we ended up at the local watering hole where dancing and singing was had by all. birdsong dressed as a witch and her hubby were there too! been a long time since i've done that! fun!it's been raining for days-finally! this rain is gorgeous and wonderful to me.....i love rain. especially after not having any for months. things are turning green already. last thursday i finished the last of the chicken coop roofing right as the rain began...whew! a bit messy but it's finally done. that was close as it's been pouring! well, i'm feeling my energy being sucked into the machine. i need to get off and do some knitting!! get out and vote tomorrow!

HAPPY SAMHAIN

i'm on the top of the world looking down on creation.......

after posting the last post- i realized i had an unexpected day on my hands. i was giving the "courier" the whole weekend. i was dumbfounded with a whole day at my disposal. once again i was faced with my "to do" list. i looked at my options. finish the roofing on the chicken coop; clean the entire house, fall gardening-including planting my garlic or spending quality time with my sweet boy liam. big brother carey already went back to his mom's house as family was visiting.

i opted for boy time!!!!!! it's been a long time since liam and i played hookie. we always seem to be working! liam loves hanging out at the sierra buttes about an hour north of here. we awoke early and hit the road. first stop downieville. too early for anything to be open but the mountain bikers were there getting ready for end of the season rides. we walked town with" blue" who was very rowdy as he hadn't had his usual morning romp yet. the biker boys loved him and his spunk! ha!
we ventured further north to sierra city. we always have to stop at the mining shop-liam buys glass insultors there. he bought one he didn't have yet-for 5$. he was thrilled.

we decided to be adventurous and go all the way up to the gold lakes region by bassets station. to a destination that left us stranded and stuck in the snow a few father's days ago. yeah still snow in june up there! we wanted to hike to Haskell peak. we didn't make it the first time so many years ago so we decided to go for it. no snow yet-ha!

we drove up the gravel road 8 4/10 of a mile. found the trail head no problem.

wow! it's only 2 miles i say to myself. well after huffing and puffing a bunch i realize it's 2 miles up hill. in fact the trail starts at 7000 feet and ends up at 8107 feet. well, let me tell you-i could feel it! all in heart and lungs-i don't even smoke. i thought i was gonna die. talk about being out of shape. ugh!
here's a view about half way up. the smell was incredible but the air was getting thinner. we trudged onward. i hate to say it but the only thing that kept pushing my ass up that mountain was the fact that i packed one ice cold IPA in my pack. that was to be my treat, my reward for making it to the top.we made it!!! yeah!!! what a view. my camera couldn't handle it. here's liam- photographer in action."blue" walked up this mountain like it was a flat sidewalk-damn him. he wasn't even tired.

in fact he was barking at me to continue..... yeah, i had to growl at him. okay..... i need to be honest here. we actually didn't make it to the tippy top. we were about 50 feet short of it. it's not that we couldn't do it.... rather we had an obstacle and we carefully weighed out our choices. there was a guy up there doing some spiritual work-yes, i spied on him with binoculars. A. i didn't want to disturb his quest and B. he had a huge wolf with him. not that we were afraid of the wolf. they are usually quite mellow, but being that "blue" thinks he's the most bad ass dog around will pick a fight with the biggest dog he can find. we didn't want that to happen on the mountain side. this is the mellow ugly side of the peak-see the guy! but the other side is very steep and a rolling puppy could gain quite the amount of speed and end up in nevada. so we opted to stay on our own peak-we named it "ruff" peak. we had a wonderful snack of apples, crackers and cookies. the way down was easy and quick but hard on my knees-creak creak. we found a stump-liam had to pose with lichen in hand. afterwards we did the interpretive trail at sand pond but all the signs were blank! needless to say.... today is monday and i can barely move ha! but happy for a day well spent. my hips are so sore. i tell the boys...use it or loose it! i need to hike more. i leave you with some eye candy from liams's photos.i just love the bendy trunks... from the weight of the snow!

my pathethic poor pitiful me post.

when i started this blog, it was mainly going to be about my fiber addiction... mixed in with little tidbits of my rural life. yet, when i look at my blog now i see how busy my rural life has become and how little time i have for my favorite addiction-the very thing that keeps me going. there are no fiber posts anymore. this makes me depressed as i look at other fiber blogs and see how prolific everyone is. i feel unproductive, pathetic and like a real fiber loser!. i so want to create more. i want to delve into my passion- but i also feel incredibly stretched thin in all directions with my responsibilities. so stretched that i feel like some bratty kid just got a hold of me and i'm a freakin Stetch Armstrong doll!


i just want to run into the forest screaming .....uh...i guess i already do that on occasion-the forest always makes me feel better. which is why i don't live in the concrete jungle anymore-as i can revel in the dark side there.

what's a gurl to do? there are just so many hours in day. by the time the daily necessities of life are done-homeschooling, meals, chickens, gardening, dog walking, laundry, property work and what little bit of housework i can manage(just ask hubby) gets done-i'm beat, done, spent...... no energy left for fiber, no energy for banjo practice, no energy for reading or writing. if i do try and partake in some fiber fun during the day i'm plagued with guilt that i should be doing something else. to top it off our family just took on our local town newspaper-the camptonville courier. we didn't want to see it die, as the current editors were letting go after many years of hard volunteer work. our community needs a voice so we took it on rather than see it die. lately, even blogging is starting to feel like a chore instead of enjoyment. insert heavy "sigh!"

it's not like i don't want to do all these things....except maybe the housework-i hate housework with a passion-i'd rather dig a ditch!!!! i just can't seem to do all i need to and do it well-there are compromises. like no laundry or other housework got done when the deck was built. so now i'm trying to play catch up. the paper needed to get done this week. carey and i (as hubby was out of town working hard)managed to get a bunch done in the past few days..yet once again daily chores suffered. i need a house elf! dobby where are you?
now i know i need to calm down and realize no one's "to do" list is ever done. i need to just chill. but it's hard. my new mantra is "lighten up" but mantras have never worked for me. maybe instead.... i just need a new tattoo-that's it some nice big chola script writing up my forearm-on the soft under belly(painful) part with the words"Lighten up!" carved into my arm, yeah- yeah that's the ticket!

nah.... tatoos are too expensive these days. it was a nice thought though.

guess i'm feeling overwhelmed and sorry for myself(boohoo.) i just really needed to vent a bit-yes, i had my cry in the woods too but i have 2 angels to thank who must have sensed my angst... anyone who truly knows me knows 'im a boot gurl-thru and thru....dear friend jeannete gave me some awesome doc martins: check these babies out!!!!


and another friend karen up in washington just sent me a package-a gorgeous glass pendant her brother made. in my colors! the picture does not do it justice.


last weekend i built the deck,but i also started roofing a part of my chicken coop that wasn't finished. it was just painted plywood last winter with a tarp. well, i only got as far as the roofing felt. once again too much on my plate. i 'm dreading the shingles. i need to finish soon as i see the welcomed rain is suppose to be here nov. 1st. i can't let the felt get wet. better get on it sunday!!!
well, another day gone and done......at least we got the paper done today with a bit of aid from rod(thanks!) the previous editor yet i missed the natural dye workshop with Darlene Hayes at sue's house. oh well such is life-i'm feeling better now. thanks for listening and let me whine.

here's a picture of one tired boy and his faithful side kick.