Way out in the Middle of Nowhere

I'm enjoying a rare day off. Actually, it's made even rare-er due to the fact I'm actually getting PAID for this! I'm going to go up to a friend's yarn shop and help her take great pics of her store so she can post it online and get better sales. But here at the house, the things are pretty quiet. That's actually GOOD. The geese are doing well, even Sweet Pea, who lost an eye to some sort of mishap two weeks ago.  If you look in the photo, he is the one goose whose eye does not reflect the flash of the camera. Which is why I took the photos in the first place. We were pretty sure that the eye was damaged beyond healing and we've been putting Triple Antibiotic Ointment in the eye to make sure that the eyeball heals over and will be sealed away from bacteria.  As a goose, he'll not want to fly anymore, but as a domestic goose, he'll be fine. We've had a goose before that was born with one eye that did just fine. Knitting-wise, I've been ...

Hubby pulled the last of the veggies from the garden last weekend.  He was not happy about the harvest, nor the entire growing season.  We were fortunate in our area of Wisconsin to get a lot of rain last summer, but we never got flooded. But what we did get from the garden is has been canned and put up for the winter: 5 pints of carrots, 10 pints of parsnip, 8 bags of Brussels sprouts, 14 bags of sweet corn, and 2 liters of Kimchi/Sauerkraut. On the needles lately is this The Entrelac stole that is made from Yarn Bee Chloe yarn from Hobby Lobby.  They had a 30% off sale and the colorway that I chose was 'pick of the bunch'  With that kind of large changes in color, it almost begs to be made into something Entrelac.  So I cast on stitches, did 5 blocks of 10 stitches and started knitting. On size 6 needles, the project is going, albeit slowly. We are coming up on the anniversary of this little buggers' entrance into the family.  Zeus was a rescue...

I don't think I took a photo of it, because I wanted to make sure she got it before the end of semester last year, but I made a baby blanket for one of my classmates. It was made out of Red Heart bulky yarn in the colors of teal and brown.  The gender of the baby is still not completely known.  3 Skeins, knitted on size 13 needles made for a huge blankie. The good thing was that it kept me warm while I was knitting it. OK, I found a photo of it in progress. Lately, I've got some things on the needles, but nothing done.  This is my clinicals semester at school.  I've got one day of class, and 4 days of clinical studies.  That means each of the areas of study for the last 2 years gets an intensive focus in a work environment.  For me, it's been at school, but in another 2 weeks, I'll be starting my hematology rotation at a clinic in a nearby town. New bosses, new people, learning the hands-on stuff to my book learning. I've heard rumors of it being bru...

I started working on the year end review like 3 hours ago, but I was distracted. First my nephew came over with his family to get eggs, then he got stuck in the driveway. Our 2nd snow of the year has made most of the driveway a skating rink. I've not been outside of my yard in a week. But then again, I'm on vacation,, so. I'll pick a few random photos to share. Dave shaved. Say that 3 times real fast: dave shaved dave shaved dave shaved. Yep, that's our bathroom and me holding up my cell phone to take the pic. Total time it took me to tell him never to shave again? 30 seconds. He looks like this Brother..........the one I don't like. Miss George and I spend a lot of time together. She has the bum leg,, so she would rather just sit and hang with us. She's a great Mom though, and her two daughters are out and about with her all the time. She will not go into the coop for the night without one of her girls with her. You've seen her in the big blue p...

30 day writing challenge? Screw that. It wasn't near as much fun as I thought. I'll just go back to normal here: Knitting and birds...with a bit of class thrown in. So I'm finished 98% wise on a request from friends of mine to make booties and a hat for their upcoming baby.   I chose the baby UGGS and a pumpkin hat. The hat just got dyed orange so it's not available for photos. The Uggs turned out decently but the pattern needs tweaking if I ever do it again. These are going to be too big for a newborn. It was worth a shot, though. I got in a pissy mood the other day and it got so bad that I couldn't even stand myself, so I took time off the internet and started knitting something  It's the start of a pattern called a heelhead scarf with a bit of change to the pattern. Link to the pattern:  IT'S A FREE PATTERN! YAY! Right now, It is about 2' long, but before I start increasing for the hood part, I will make it another foot, then start. The...

I swear that there are times when my husband spends more time in front of that mirror than I! I know he's done showering, but I don't even WANT to know what he's doing in there now... So here's my two knitting projects going on right now: The shawl is called Geese in Flight so DUH, I had to knit it. It's actually an easy pattern to memorize. I'm on my 2nd skein of yarn and it will end up being my own shawl, I think. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/geese-in-flight-shawl Then there's this Scarf: knitted from Fisherman's wool. It's a Purl Bee pattern, I think. April Showers Scarf It's supposed to be done in a lighter weight yarn, but here in the frozen tundra, the heavier yarn will be better. 

With all the rants lately, you'd think I was not knitting. Actually I am, I just don't talk much about it. With part time work, part time flock,  part time school, I DO knit, just mostly when I'm sitting at the end of the day watching TV. Incidentally, the thing that we've been watching other than movies lately is Grimm. We're trying to catch up on the whole storyline. It's an interesting show. I swear Monroe and his wife make  the show with their candor. My 1/4 German ancestry comes in handy during the show too. My Paternal Grandmother is German, and much of my kin live in the same town today near Sparta WI. I know German. First up is my prayer shawl  that I've been working on so long I swear it will have it's own birthday soon. It's the usual yarn from Hobby Lobby and a pattern that's easy to do. The Pattern:  * I usually start off with about 6 rows of garter stitch at the beginning and end so the shawl has a bit of structure. * 1 row ...

Today we will be accepting the delivery of a pair of new recliners to replace that old busted up part of a sectional sofa/recliner that has been my rest for over 6 years. I'm excited! I'll be able to sit closer to my hubby, watch tv and take good naps. On the knitting front, I've been going through the spare bedroom where my sewing/craft excess is stored. I found a few more projects and will think about whether to frog or finish. In an effort to puzzle out a pattern I saw online of a cute little fox hood for a kid, I tried to create a semblence of it in an adult size, without the ears and with a pattern to the hood. My effort was interesting. At first, I made the hood part too short. Which made it just insane to try to wear. This is when I added another 2" to the whole thing.  All of the yarn in this hood was handspun, two ply. I held 3 strands together and worked on size 11 needles to give it a ton of warmth. I casted on 90 stitches on circular needles. Then ...

I've been searching high and low for my unfinished projects. Some are a complete surprise to me. Some aren't. For the Finish Part this time: As I come across stuff, I wonder...do I know this thing? Do I have more yarn for it? What in the hell was I thinking? Well this next one is known, and I have more yarn for it, I just don't like the colorway. BUT...it was on sale so.... [Image retracted, just an entrelac thing..trust me] It's an Eleanor Shawl, in Lion Brand Amazing color way Joshua Tree. I think it looks hideous so I tried to frog it. Nope, no go. The yarn is very clingy. So I guess I'll slog on through to the end with this one. I've got another 4 skeins of it left to go. They make nice gifts as nursing shawls for new moms. Owlie sleep sack was not in the For F 15, but was made on impulse for my Godson's new baby, William. I wanted to give this pattern a shot for a while. I made modifications to it, like the bottom is buttoned so you can c...

Is it safe?Are all the integrals gone? I'm also sporting a Deephaven Cowl that I finally finished! I will never have to take another difficult math class again! Yes, I advanced far enough to pass Calculus 2 with a dip into Differential Equations. That is, unless I bombed the final. I would not recommend that someone decide to abandon their course in University two weeks before a final. You find that your give-a-shit busts in every way. I wanted to do well in Calc, and I didn't even take the Circuits final, because..there was just no way that I was going to get anything other than an F in the class anyways. And If you are in WI, thinking of taking the UW Platteville "Collaborative" course in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, DON'T. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY...................DON'T! Mango, made for a couple who sat next to me in Calculus. They have a daughter who is young. It's a ruse: They take your money, show you a decent la...

I supposed to be studying Circuit Modeling, and yes, I'll get back to it. That in itself is at least a 12 page rant. The book I was supposed to be using sucks, the Proctoring is bullshit, and I've got at least 5 supposed professionals from the UW who are annoying me with their inability to think outside the procedures. If one more person sends me the 'procedures.doc' and insists that I peruse it again..I'ma throwing a brick at them. Yes, I know the bloody 'procedure' and I know you're hiding your inadequacies behind them. These people couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag without their ever-loving, vaunted 'procedure' And here's the kicker for all 5 of them: I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PROCEDURES! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT LAME EXCUSES!! And their inadequacies has made me rethink my college of choice..maybe NIU has a better program... Onto knitting: Three people in one week let it be known they have cancer. Three...

So here I sit, on a Google sponsored site: Blogger. Of course, I have nice photos and videos on Google + because they INSIST! I must put my cell phone photos there...but I cannot share them on blogger...........a Google site without downloading them and then uploading them again. Stupid, moronic and vapid. If you want to compete with places like Facebook, you need to start acting like you can do better than them. It's been a summer of 'meh'. Meh as in I just have not done much except sit on the ground staring  at goslings or taking naps. Yah, sure knitting is going on. This is the photo of my prayer shawl with the pattern I've devised. So far I'm into it for a skein and a 1/3.  I'm thinking it would take about a skein and a half to get about a 6' shawl. It's almost done. Then there's another one in purple that I'm making as well. Each one is from a pattern I've modified from looking at photos of other shawls/baby blankets. The patt...

I'll let you in on a little secret: In my mind, I have like 5 ideas for blog posts every week. Due to age and my schedule, by the time I get to the posting, I forget them. Some ideas: A nice listing of hobbies/interests that I understand, but just don't 'get'.  List of what I've learned from my Grandmother. It boils down to three things: 1, independence 2. frugality, and 3 putting family first. Moments in my life where I've dodged HUGE bullets.  I lead a blessed life, not because it's all been easy, but because there were moments in there where I was given a choice between easy and correct. I chose correct.  If I were to write a book, which story would I choose? Mindless rants about how people drive, stare at their phones or just are assholes. Yeah, like that  hasn't been overdone on other blogs! inane photos of more geese, ducks, chickens and knitting. Oh you know  that will happen anyways, right?  Summer is summer. Tyranny of the shoulds ...

This is Nelly who has a baby gosling nestled under her wing with it's little head sticking out by her butt. Look closely and you'll see. I tucked this pipped egg under her wing 3 days ago and it hatched. Her eggs weren't viable. She's last years' gosling and they really don't get the hang of brooding and such until the 2nd year. We've got a few gals that are really good Moms; Luna is foster Mom to Elsa and she is just loving it. Molly is just a natural Mom who has always had good clutches of goslings. Nelly is slowly picking up what to do. The last 2 days we've had her segregated 98% of the time from the flock so that the gosling can get on it's feet, learn to eat and drink and learn who is Mom. Today they are out on the land checking out stuff. Nelly's got the jist of keeping the kid near her, but does not understand when the baby needs to have mom lay down so it can warm itself under her wing. She's very protective of her; attacked...

Ok, one thing first: I have become the mother of a gosling. She hatched out last Friday. We've taken her everywhere this last weekend as she is very needy. I'm in negotiations with Luna, one of our gals to see if she will watch the gal outside for those times when I'm needed to be inside. So far..so good. Luna is very shy but very taken with the baby. She'd love to be a Mom to her. OK before my computer dies again:  I've knitted 6 of these hats so far. Of all the yarns I've used, I like the Patons Kroy best. It's thicker yarn than the other sock yarns which makes a nice, warm hat for 3 seasons out of 4. I find myself wearing hats a lot lately to keep my hair out of my eyes when doing chores and to keep warm.  The upside to them is that they also make good pouches to keep baby goslings in. The babies like to feel as though they are under Mama's wing, so I will pop them into a hat, roll down the brim and let their noses peek out.  Do I need 6 more ...

It's a good color after all that white/gray of the last 6 months. The grass is greening up. I see shoots of the daffodils beside the house, and buds are starting on the trees. I'm knitting a green hat from the leftover Knit Picks sock yarn from the shawl. The stupid yarn was just hollering at me to be used, so I found a nice hat pattern from Pattons: Basic beanie  that will use up the rest of it and make something that I will actually use. You see, I've decided to forgo an actual gym membership, not because I don't like working out, but because it takes 1/2 an hour to get TO the gym and 1/2 an hour to go back home...to spend an hour working out. I've decided on using that time to work out here. I'm calling it the 'Rocky IV' workout. Unfortunately, I've seen all the Rocky movies. Rocky IV was when Rocky goes to Russia to fight Dolph Lungren. Dolph gets the state-of-the-art facilities while Rocky gets a barn with a tree stump. High Tech meets O...

It's the song that's playing right now. You know, I went through my entire Spring Break and did not drink once? How lame is that? So we got an update on Elvis the Grebe. Apparently the name did not stick, so the Grebe will be it's name from now on. The Four Lakes people sent the Grebe over to Milwaukee to the Wildlife Center at Wisconsin Humane Society. They have more experience with water birds and such being so close to Lake Michigan. The Grebe is chilling in a pool that allows it to dive for food. They want the bird to gain some weight before release.  Our animals are in mating mode. There's hookup and breakups, and it's just hectic out there. We're dealing with an animal who keeps stealing eggs in the garage. We've tried live traps, snap traps, glue traps, sulfur bombing, and poisoning. So far, not so good. I'm now putting poison into egg shells so that the stupid thing will GO AWAY. I've got 4 girls that want a place to lay their eggs an...

I'm determined to not let it get me down, but then it pretty much did. Last Saturday I was out doing night chores and slipped on the ice. I went down carrying to canisters of water. My arm was not happy to suffer another injury. The left knee has a bruise and oddly enough; my stomach muscles were pulled. Aleve is my friend this winter. A quick look at the chickens that were hatched last weekend. We had 8 hatch, and another two are expected today.  This is the 1st week of the 3 week long hatching fun that will culminate in us having 30 chickens to raise to butcher and eat next fall/winter. They're doing well. I have one that hatched last night that is a bit more tired than the others. As you see in the photo, we first stuck them in the bathtub after realizing the usual spot in the laundry room was not going to work. There is little heat in the laundry room, and the heat lamp was not putting out a consistent temp. **Normally, the weather outside by now is consistently ...

So sometime in the last month, I hurt my elbow/bicep/lower arm area in my left arm.  Probably toting those stupid cans of water out to the animals. Writing notes makes it hurt, reaching out and grabbing my ipad makes it hurt, any effort to bear weight on it makes it hurt. So I sit here with a heating pad wrapped around my left elbow to see if I can get relief. So far............meh The weather has turned warmer...meaning it's now over 10°F instead of under.  Our eldest pair of mating geese have left the flock and set up house in the garage next to the dead van.  Ron and Sissy were in there one night as I was getting everyone ready for bed. Both honked and honked and would not move. OK, fine. You get to stay in the garage. A heated bucket of water, a tub full of food and some cushy straw and they're all happy. Yep, our old van bit the dust during that last cold snap. We found a Jeep Cherokee to replace it. Old, loud and full of electrical issues, but hey...it runs a...