Friday, December 18, 2009

Handspun Revolution

Spinners go check this out. Speaks for itself.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

It's Fluffy Out There

Almost all of this is just since last night and it's still coming down heavy. Yep, we must be in Idaho.









Friday, December 11, 2009

Flat Christmas Tree


The first contribution to the Flat Christmas Tree project arrived in the mail today! I'm so excited about it. Sue at The Critter Ranch created and sent this darling felt Christmas Llama piece to go on our special project. The fibers were donated by her own critters and we just love it! Check out the cuddly cuteness!! The kids are just in love with this piece and so looking forward to seeing the other pieces that are coming!


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

What We Did On Black Friday

We did NOT go shopping. In fact, I have never been to a store the day after Thanksgiving. Why ruin a perfectly happy record. What we DID do is remodel the outdoor cooking area in our front yard. And when I say WE, I mean the Farmer Man did all the work while I supervised from a lawn chair. This is the old, much beloved cooking area. We have made many meals here in the last two years. We learned that it had some flaws, however. Notice the crab apple overhanging the whole affair. Every summer for the last two years that poor tree has borne the crisped evidence of a family who loves to cook out. We also learned that our original plan was too small and it blocked traffic flow in the yard. So, we finally set out to improve the plan and clean up the mess.
Here is the site for the new cooking area. Everthing was leveled, mostly, and roots etc were removed. The excavated area behind the cooking area will eventually be a small patio where I can set up a prep/serving table. We do a lot of entertaining in our yard in nice weather.

The base is being laid. Moving these cinder blocks wasn't too bad, though a couple of them are fairly heavy.


Here is the finished overview of the new cooking area. There is a flat spot to the left where we can put lid lifters, rest lids, put the salt and pepper shakers, etc. Next to it there is a cooking well that accomodates on of our grill racks perfectly so it can be used for either dutch oven cooking or grilling. The next well will serve as a place to start the coals and keep additional coals heating. Love this! It also fits the smaller grill perfectly so we can use it to cook if needed. The third bay is perfect for dutch oven cooking or for setting finished ovens to rest before serving. There is another, smaller, flat area to set lid lifters and utensils. The front features a lovely stone landing which I adore. Now, those stones were a buggar to move. Made me hurt to watch!



A close up of one of the paver stones. Isn't it cute?




Here you can see the diffenrent wells and the grills we use. I can hardly wait to cook here!





Turkey Hunt Winner!

The Turkey Hunt "Gobble Gobble" yarn was inspired by this guy. This is Little John and he is my son's Blue Slate tom turkey. Isn't he gorgeous? He knows he is! I love his colors and his "I'm too sexy" attitude and so from his inspiration this was created...
This is a pre-washed photo of "Gobble Gobble". It is approximately 64 yards of bulky spun merino lamb, silk, banana fiber and bamboo. The grey sections are lumpy, bumpy and squishy and the pink sections are sleek, smooth and ultra shiny. I love it!
Now, who is getting this fun bit of fibery, turkey yumminess? Drum roll, please......craftypuppylover! Come on down! You will be receiving this quirky yarn in the mail. Thanks to everyone who played. Stay tuned for other games and specials for the remainder of the Christmas season. We've got some fun stuff planned.