Trailer-- Before and After Project

Do you all remember back almost a couple years ago, when I purchased a small ratty travel trailer, that was going to be the kittens winter home (before they went outside the next spring which never happened and we all know how that ended up which pretty much means I somehow became the crazy cat lady overnight with way too many cats in the house not the travel trailer...cough)?

Well, plan B was that it would be a wool room after the kittens got done with it. Since the kittens never used it, it became not really a wool room per se, but a giant junk drawer with a small area to store the fresh sheared wool when Spring rolled around.

Are you still with me? Okay, so now almost two years later, Plan B is actually taking shape. Only sorta different. Now it's Plan C and the travel trailer is going to be my wool room/arts/crafts/storage of materials area. At least that is the plan.

There is one sorta hitch to it though--it leaks--really bad. So, that has to be taken care of before I get too carried away with things. In the meantime I have plastic drop clothes to cover stuff when rainy days come along.

So, I don't know about you, but I always enjoy a set of before/after pictures when someone takes on a real messy project. It sometimes inspires me to tackle ugly projects. With that said, I hope you 'enjoy' my befores and afters of the little trailer.

Before we get going though, there are some things to know. I got the trailer cheap. It was full of nasty junk, and even nastier rodent droppings and debris. Lots and lots of it. I wore a mask while cleaning. It stunk to high heaven of mouse. Before it was purchased (and not used or cleaned) by the people I got it from, a gentleman was living in it full time. I don't think he was an excessive pig, but well, he was a man, and he lived in this tiny area. That being said, the kitchen area was covered--and I mean covered---with built up grease. There are still some areas that are sticky, and I had to completely remove the overhead cabinets because of the grease buildup. Don't forget those rodents either---leaving their droppings in the sticky goo. Enough said?? Not quite--there was also a small fire at one point that scorched the kitchen area. Anyway, I think you get the picture--it was a stinky awful mess.

At this point I still don't want to put much money into it, until I'm sure the leaks can be fixed. So mostly all that I have done is lots and lots of elbow grease cleaning and scrubbing, dismantling and removing non-essential things and so on. My Dad removed the stove for me (which was an awful greasy stinky mess--do I sound like a broken record yet??)

The initial cleaning all took place within a few weeks of getting the trailer. So it's been mice and droppings free for almost a year and a half and smells pretty darn good for an old travel trailer. Unfortunately it had become a catch all for everything that needing 'temporary' storage. Last weekend I spent an entire day taking everything out, scrubbing it down again, working on removing the glue from the flooring (still have a few spots to scrape up) and then organizing and putting back those things that belonged in there. I love it now. It needs paint and paneling and some repairs, but who cares!

Okay, with all that being said, are you ready for a before and after tour?

Come on in...if you dare...

This is right after I got the trailer....

And here is Cat (Ballou)--she'll be your tour guide. She's the newest member of the staff and will be primarily modeling scarves and other wool products in the future. For the most part she is pretty quiet, a bit mysterious, and sometimes just plain creepy when I forget she is there.....

Here we are at the door looking in....can you say...icky?

Still at the door glancing to the right...

And now an after shot, also taken from the door. Check out that cool retro 70s floor covering that was revealed after I tore up that nasty (shudder) carpeting! The cabinet now holds small storage bins for my wool crafts.

Before picture of the very nasty table, but it was solidly attached and cleaned up well. The curtains came down the first day (and they didn't survive washing...)

Here we have what was the 'bedroom'--which was basically a pile of boards and paneling. I think they had tried to make the bed bigger. Once I carried all this stuff out there was a small bench area, which at one time had a fold out bed.

In this shot, Cat points out the 'new' bench, wool storage to the left, and the cleaned up table. She also wants you to note all the lovely west light that comes in, so that this area doubles as a 'greenhouse' in the Spring. (and in case you are wondering Cat is fingerless..but we don't like to talk about it).


Next is the totally gross out before picture of the 'kitchen'. It was bad, real bad, and I'll not tell you all the gory details. This is also where the fire was, up the back wall.

And here you have an after shot--stove removed (thanks Dad), a few pretties on the wall to cover some of the mess, wool storage where the 'frig was, and wool craft supplies on the counter.

Alright...we are almost done, I promise. Here we are standing by the table looking back towards the door (door is to the left) we came in.... The chemical toilet (surprisingly clean when I got it) is to the right, and a small wash area straight ahead. There is the cutest tiniest little sink in this nook.

And..an after of basically the same area, slightly different angle--you can see the door in this one. That is a tiny closet there next to the door.

And that is the tour. It is a quiet, rather peaceful area now. I'm looking forward to using it to draw and craft in. If the leaks can be fixed, I can leave projects out, instead of having to bundle everything away (remember the whole reason for the trailer, again? Cats--cats that are in the house instead of the trailer...)

Oh...and here is the mess that waits for me when I step out of the trailer.

Can we come in too, please??
(sorry girls, this is a no fur zone...)

Weekend Musings

Much needed rain moving in

What a week. The weather continues to be hot, humid and just miserable. Last weekend I worked most of the time dismantling, boxing up and cleaning the old computer desk and surrounding areas. I think it was Monday night that my Dad helped me move out the old washer and dryer. Then I had to clean a whole lot of accumulated gunk from out of that corner (where it had been seeping) and get things ready to paint.

See all the 'help' I had???

Tuesday & Wednesday nights I painted, stained and reglued some tile. Wednesday night we also got a surprise and much needed rain--1 1/2 inches. In between the rain, I loaded up my truck with junk. At work we had a big dumpster brought in to move out a bunch of stuff out of the rental house and our boss told us if we had anything (within the 'list' of acceptable items) we wanted to toss in, that we could. When I got the little travel trailer it came with quite a bit of it's own nasty junk. I ended up loading up two t.v.s, two vcrs, three fans (grills removed as they are handy for lots of things!), a bunch of pots and pans and hotplates, and some old antennas. I was very happy to get rid of this stuff.

Thursday the washer and dryer were delivered with Dad hooking it up and Mom standing guard duty at the door so no errant cat would dart out. The kitties tend to scatter and hide when strangers are around so it's not as difficult as it sounds. I went in to work a little early to unload the truck into the dumpster...and nearly started an avanlanche when I opened the dumpster door. Yikes. Thursday night I used my washer and dryer--and the washer wouldn't spin out.

Friday the guy came back and fixed the washer. Friday evening Dad and I moved the new computer cabinet from the garage to the house, using two, two wheeled dollies--one on either end of the bottom of the cabinet. It was a little scary, but it worked like a charm with only minimal lifting and shoving. Once in the house we transferred it to two towels so that it scooted easily across the floor. Once it was in the house, I cleaned it and let the cats 'inspect' it.

For several days the heat indexes were around 109.

Saturday I was pooped. My back is still bothering me (not sure if I mentioned it, but I was 'down' in my back for three or four days several weeks ago). I got up early and wormed the three Shetland lambs and then walked the upper pasture to check the fences and for thistles, beggar lice and cockle burrs. The sheep have been off this pasture since May and it's grown like crazy. Unfortunately one section has quite a crop of rag-weed--nearly as high as my head! I've been putting off moving them onto new pasture due to the heat and the stress fresh 'greens' might cause. But they need to be rotated. They've been working on the front area around the house of the evenings and on their pretty gnawed down regular pasture during the day.

Because I use Ivomec wormer I didn't want to worm anyone while grazing them around the house. (Ivermectin can be fatal to collies) I hope I didn't wait to long on the lambs. I was also hoping for cooler weather to worm them anyway, but that ain't happening.

Once I got those outside chores taken care of early in the morning, I started working on getting the computer hooked back up. There sure are allot of wires that make these things possible! There were some glitches, but everything got straightened out fairly easily.

Then frankly I haven't done much on the productive side for the rest of the day! I'm still trying to decide how I want to set up the computer cabinet with all the misc. junk that I have (paper, books, office supplies etc.)

Oh, and one of the lambs got caught up in a bit of old barbed wire that I didn't know was there. Since it was down by my folks house, my Dad called to tell me, and I headed out to unwind the lamb. Only when all the sheep saw me they came running and screaming in so that the little guy felt abandoned and freaked out and broke free--dragging about three or four foot of barbed wire. Thankfully he doesn't seem to be injured, but it wasn't much fun convincing him to hold still while I cut and untangled it from his wool...all with sweat pouring into my eyes. I hate this summer.

This next week will be taken up with preparing a whelping area for Ashley, so I doubt much painting will happen---maybe a little squeezed in here and there. Still praying for a break in this miserable weather!

I do love my computer cabinet---oh my how I love it! And the orange walls are starting to grow on me. I think once the room is done, it will be very mellow and inviting. At least I hope so.

Have a great week.

Kitties first birthday--a rare picture with them all in the frame (plus Meshach)Starting lower left and working clock wise--Noah, Tempe, Trinity, Gabe, Verity & Chaco--Meshach is in the upper right.

Pawprint Inspected and Approved!

My name's Meshach, and boy-kitty we've had a week of excitement and change around here! Them young whipper snapper's couldn't hardly handle it all.
We had to help our 'bean clean out some old stuff, haul it out, clean floors and walls and then we helped paint too! Then we re-glued tile and stained some woodwork--just in time to get two big metal boxes that make lots of noise. The 'bean calls 'em a 'washer and dryer'. If that weren't enough to get our paws in knot, we also helped move in a big giant cat cabinet last night! (computer cabinet, Meshach). This morning we was lots of help too, when the 'bean was trying to hook up all the computer wires and muttering under her breath....

Here I am in the cat cabinet! Doesn't it just go perfect with my fur?

Yes, indeed, I think a little kitty bed would go perfect right here--so I won't have to lay on this plastic bag. The 'bean mentioned something about the 'monitor' having to go in here, but unless that is some sort of kitty bed brand, I don't think there is going to be room for it.

Uh, oh...we've got a problem, but I'm on it! It's, er, it was a little crawly spider. While I'm busy checking the rest of the corners for intruders I'll turn it over to the brats, uhm, cats....

Tempe here! I'm already up on the top of the cat cabinet--even before the 'bean got a chance to dust it. It's mine and I love it. Also if you notice the 'bean painted the wall behind the cat cabinet too--of course with our help. In a rare stroke of genius our 'bean picked out a color to compliment my, er, our fur. It's called 'gingerbread'. (The 'bean denies that she picked out paint to compliment her clowder of cat's color(s), because if she did something like that, she would be a crazy cat lady.) I'm going to let my brother say something now, cuz he won't get off my cabinet if I don't.

It's me, Gabe---don't tell anyone, but I think the 'bean took one of my fur samples in to match the paint to---and it's not really called 'gingerbread' but 'Ginger-cat'! I'm just sayin'...but you can judge for yourself.

Sage says---I don't care what color it is and if it matches or not, it's all mine and I'll swat that camera right out of your hand if you come a little closer!

(Just to note that it has indeed been a busy week, and having so many helpful furry helpers it didn't always go smooth. And there might be a few spots of gingerbread paint on a few cats...There will be more updates and more pictures to come, but for now all the 'heavy' stuff is done. Lots more painting to do, but I have to move stuff out of the way first--much of it to the new desk. Have a good weekend!)

Weekend Musings

And the heat goes on.... and on and on. What a summer. From a bitter cold, long winter, almost straight into a steamy hot long summer. I'm praying for a long cool (note, not cold) fall with some good rains. I feel like I'm in some kind of stupor, and I feel like I'm not alone. It's hard to get focused or motivated on anything but the necessary chores and day to day living. Thank God my old, old air conditioner keeps cranking about some cool. It stays about 80 in the house most of the time. The front gets warmer, usually close to 85 or 90. I run the air from about 6 to 11 p.m. and then again around 3 a.m it'll start warming up and I'll kick it on til I leave for work around 7:15. The house stays shut up--windows down, and only one door open for ventilation during the day. It really stays pretty decent in here most of the time, although occasionally it'll get real muggy for some reason.

So enough of the weather whining--except it's getting awfully dry too--ahem. I'm about to get out my yearly summer movie "The River" so I can revel in the constant rain that practically destroys their lives. It makes me feel better. Twisted I know.

I'm in the middle of a big project (for me). Not one to start something small and work at it slowly, I decided last week, after months of procrastinating, to contact the used appliance man. I've been without a dryer for almost a year. Yep. I hang almost everything out on the line or up in the house to dry on hangers. My Mom is sweet enough to dry my towels for me once a week. Dryer troubles are bad enough, but I also have a leaky washer, and I'm ashamed to say it, but it's been seepy leaking for several years now. I stuff towels around it to mop up the water, but evidently enough got away to slowly turn the base of my pre-fab computer desk to mush. Yes, I knew all this was happening, but in that if I don't see it it'll go away mindset time just went on by. Fortunately I have cement floors and concrete block walls, or the damage would be much worse. About a month or so ago I noticed that my computer desk was developing a decided list to the right. Hmm.. that couldn't be a good sign. Sure enough the damage was much worse than I had thought..much, much worse.

Here is a picture of the 'new' computer cabinet that is still in the garage.

Then I had the good fortune to see the computer cabinet at the yard sale not too long ago and got it for an excellent price. It's been sitting out in the garage since I bought it, waiting for me to get a new washer and dryer before moving it in...after all I don't want to damage it! So one thing leads to another and now I'm immersed in the big project.

I bought a matching used Kenmore washer and dryer for $326.00 including tax, and now am 'under the gun' to get things moved out and ready. (Talk about a throw-a-way society--I couldn't believe all the used machines he had--a washer or dryer would breakdown, and the people would turn the set in, even if the other was still okay and just get a new set! Good for people like me anyway!) In all my brilliant planning I decided that I should paint the walls behind the desk and washer and dryer area. Woot. For a visual --picture an L shape--the washer and dryer sit along the short part of the L against the wall and the desk and a shelving unit sit along the wall on the long side of the L. All pretty much breathing down each other's necks, since lots of space I do not have.

Back to the desk...which I've had, oh, at least six years, maybe longer. On the surface it was 'cluttered' but most of it was current and needed clutter. However the cubby holes...oh my...the cubby holes. I found floppy disks in there! And software from my first computer. Why am I such a pack rat? Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon sorting through everything and boxing up the keeper stuff. Today I dismantled the piece of junk shelving unit (which also had a permanent list to the right-but not from any damage) and took it outside. Of course first I had to unload all the clothes off it. Now, once I get this posted I'm going to dismantle what is left of the desk. This means I'll also have to disconnect the computer and pray it survives it all since it is temperamental on it's best days.

After I get the desk out--no doubt piece by piece--then my Dad will come up and help me disconnect the washer and move it and the dryer outside so they can be hauled off when the 'new' ones come.

Then I'll be ready to paint. Well, after I scrub everything down, then I'll paint. Did I mention I only have about three evenings to do this? However, I do tend to get things done when I have a deadline, instead of procrastinating about it.


In other exciting news I got a bunch of free lumber (destined for the dumpster) from work! All nice 2 x 11 shelving stuff with some smaller bracing boards included, some of it already stained. The stack doesn't look that impressive, but trust me there is allot in that stack. I will use some of it to build a nice proper shelf for next to the new computer desk and washer and dryer, once I get everything installed and see how much room there is. The rest of it will either be used in the 'someday' breezeway remodel or the craft trailer.


Then there is the frog farm that I manage..... One morning I noticed the dogs water bowl was pretty nasty looking and there was a large toad floating around it--no not dead, just enjoying his own private pool. So I had the brilliant idea to re-use this old glass pie plate and create a nice little toad spa. A win-win situation. He would have his privacy, and the dogs would have cleaner water. Well I don't know where the toad is, haven't seen him for a few days, but one day I did see this frog in the toad spa. Hmmm... then a few days later there were three frogs in the toad spa! The dogs water is still being used too, as it's nasty and cloudy again. Whatever. I am not even going to waste my energy on frog wars. A bucket for the dogs and the toads, frogs and all their cousins can just have the bowls!

The kitties had a low key birthday with Meow Mix treats had by all. Everyone got a big smooch and happy birthday even though I had to chase a few of 'em down to do it.

Wonder what happens when you have six kittens, two cats and a fresh bucket of paint???

Have a great week!

Saturday Musings

The Shetland girls awaiting their morning grain.
Front L-R is Tabitha & Blackberry, Second row is Rouen to the far left, then Luna, Rosemary & Persia, behind them is Lark and Willow with little Eve in the very back. This is my Shetland ewe flock minus three (Duckie was waiting outside the catch pen to make sure I wasn't up to something, Rosetta was at the hay feeder not paying attention, and I'm not sure where Chickie was, probably right up next to me.)

It's another grey gloomy day in the Ozarks. The temperature is about 46 but it feels colder because of the dampness. A good day to stay in and do inside projects. I keep hoping for a nice warmish sunny day on the weekend so that I can catch up with a few things outside. I would really like to sort through some bags of dorset/merino wool to find the nicest fleeces to have processed into roving and send the rest off for quilt batting. The damp misty weather isn't really conducive to doing that though!

Here's the big girls, chowing down in the main barn. L-R Hope---yes, she likes to eat her breakfast from the high ledge..., Nancy, Annalea and Gracie. Gracie is the mother of the other three and gets extra portions because of her age. There is a salt block between her side of the feeder and the others, and the other girls are trained to not invade Gracie's space.

Later today I will pack up my last three Shetland fleeces from 2008 /09 to send off to be processed into roving. It's been a great year for fleece and roving sales and my inventory is gone. I have two large batts of Merino/Dorset cross wool (great for felters!) but otherwise I'm sold out of roving. It's a great feeling.

Yesterday I had my taxes done, and the outcome was nice. I had my doubts with the tax change rates this year, but it worked out well. During the process of getting the paperwork ready to take in, I had to figure up all my income versus expenses. Combining fiber sales and sheep sales, for the first year ever I've actually made a profit from the little farm. A tiny profit, but none the less, a profit!

Looks like it's time to take the ring off the hay bale, so the girls can finish it up

I also got my hair cut yesterday. Probably not a big event for many of you, but...well, with one thing and the other I had managed to put off getting it done for at least a year. It was long, and becoming very annoying. I do trim my bangs myself, but my shearer, uh, hairdresser was as shocked as I at how long it'd been since I had come in for a cut. Five inches off, some layers and reshaping (to clean up all that bangs trimming) and it looks pretty nice and feels good. Lest you think I now have short hair, it's still about three inches below my shoulders.

The sheep love it when the ring goes off, they can land right in the middle of the hay and finish it up. That is Rouen and her daughter Duckie on the left (Rouen's fleece has felted badly from the rise), with Hope behind them and Gracie in the front. Little Rosetta on the right. That is bony old Blue way in the back. He is on special rations to try and get some weight on him.

Since the little trailer is not going to be a kitty condo after all, my thoughts are filled with how I want to re-do it. Plans are to convert it to a tiny wool storage area, and perhaps also a crafts room. Maybe a bedroom, since it's obvious I'm just in the way, according to the pet population. (just kidding...I think) I would also like to preserve the seating and table so that I can work on crafty things out there without having to put every thing away. The stove, refrig and at least one set of cabinets could be removed. I don't think I can get the stove out, so I will probably end up just boxing it in. I also plan to remove part of a built in bench seat around the table so that I can maybe put a nice comfy chair out there. The walls need to be painted or paneling replaced too. It will be so nice to reclaim my pantry area where I keep all the wool related things, but it will be awhile, I think.

Boone is pretty sure it's his new house. Not sure how he came by this idea, but every time I go in there, he is right behind me. Getting in and out for a big dogue is not an easy feat either, since there is only half a concrete block for a step. Once inside he pokes around and then goes over and climbs up on the bench seat at the end. He usually sits down and looks out the windows. You can see he is very proud of himself too. Funny boy.

Time to rise and shine chickens!

Inside the kitty population still continues to adjust. There was a casualty the other night, of an old tiny kerosene lantern I've had forever. Surprisingly it wasn't the kittens either, but Sage, who decided to jump way up on the curio cabinet and evidently miscalculated and brought down himself, an old electric fan and the little lantern. He used to jump up there all the time, but it's been awhile and I guess he was out of practice. I've put everything that I can behind glass or in a safe place, but there are just some things that I have no place to keep hidden away. In a year or so the kittens will settle down some, and I can go back to 'normal'. I'll probably get a new couch then as well. My old one is, well, old. Very old and the upholstery has begun to tear in a few areas, not helped any by rambunctious kittens. I had decided to start looking for new one anyway, but with the sudden addition of the kittens, I will wait until they are older and well trained to their scratching posts.

It's keeping me on my toes that is for sure, having four younguns in the house. I can't just turn my back and leave anything without them being right in the middle of it. I've got about five million cute pictures of them though, and lucky for my blog readers I only post about two percent of them. ha....

Have a great weekend!

Yep, it's still muddy.....

The pictures were from my morning round of chores....

Vacation.....Poof....

Sneak Peek of Jackdaw's Breeding Group

L-R--Rosemary (fawn), Luna (Musket), Selena (very back--Fawn), JackieD (black/white smirslet/flecket) and Willow (grey)

Well, it's almost over. This is my last day before I head back out to work on Monday. I'm disappointed in what I didn't get accomplished. I know that I did get allot done, but with the rainy weather, the outside tasks that I needed to do (mowing) didn't get done. Out of ten days of vacation there were two..count them...two..days that were dry and sunny and today is one of them--and the other was one day when I was at the lake.

Kitty Play-pen--COMPLETED--kitties installed.
It is mostly in the garage, with only about a foot outside. They can get plenty of sunshine, but safe from rain.

Last night we got a killing frost, so I'm headed out in a bit to pull and stack the rest of the garden plants. It's beautiful and sunny today and the leaves are falling in mounds. This afternoon I'm going out to sit in the sun and play with the kittens, maybe read a little and do nothing else!

Tempe---attached at the foot?

Last night we had a Fire Department soup supper fund raiser. I'm secretary for the department, so I get to take peoples money when they come in. ;-) We charge 3.00 per adult (less for kids), and 10.00 for families. There is no limit to what people can eat. It's a pretty good deal, and by not charging an arm and leg everyone can come and get a good meal for a good price. People also seem to feel more generous because of this and last night we made over $400.00. That is very, very good for this small community. We (the membership of the FD) bring various soups and desserts, so there is minimal expense for the department. All that is paid out of the budget is for paper goods, crackers, cheese etc. We hold the event in the Community Building. The FD operates with volunteers and on dues and donations only. No government funding or anything like that. We have to pay insurance and work comp, utilities and upkeep of the trucks and grounds. Our dues are 30.00 per family, and at the moment we are operating in the black. So far, with two soup suppers a year and sometimes a yard sale, we have been able to keep from raising our dues. The turnout was really nice last night and people seemed to enjoy themselves, even though the fire was spluttering around and it was chilly in the building.

Fall foliage....tattered poke berry bush

My house is kinda a mess right now, but I hope to get it in some semblance of control today. I've been working on several areas and have things scattered about, waiting to be relocated. I just can't figure out with all the work I did this past week, how things can look so...undone. Sigh..

Verity...I promise someday you'll be as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside...and if not...who cares?? ;-)

Oh well, despite the groanings, it was a great vacation. I did get some work done--the important stuff anyway,-- and just enjoyed not having to rush to get everything done before or after work.

Have a great week.....

Working Vacation....

Although the gloom is so thick it hurts my eyeballs, at least its not raining..yet. This morning after chores, I got right to moving the rest of the panels around to get ready to move the breeding groups together. Friday seems to be the chosen day--can you tell I'm procrastinating?

As I was moving panels around, I had the dogs with me, safely enclosed in pasture fencing. I looked up and there were four or five little kittens halfway down the driveway, looking for me. I didn't say a word, but kept an eye on things. After I got the panels up, I found a piece of twine and put it around Boone's neck so he and Ashley could interact (safely) with the kittens. Ashley is a scardey cat herself, so I didn't worry about leashing her. One little hiss and she'd be a bowl of jello. Boone...him, I don't trust. He is more than fine when I'm there keeping an eye on him, but I've seen him kill a baby skunk before and I know that in his eyes kittens are not different. It's a shame really. I'm used to dogs being so mellow about cats, it's hard to accept. He has come a long, long way, but it's when I'm not around that I would worry.

So anyway.. later today I'm going to try and get that gate fixed on the kitty pen, as I just can't watch them all the time, and I don't want Tempe to come to a bad end.

Ashley...all worn out...

Although it's pretty wet outside, I worked on harvesting tomatoes. As you can see, this harvest is a world apart from the 'potato harvest'. This little basket represents just a fraction of what is out there. I picked as many as it would hold and will go back out later and start tearing up vines and pick more. Not sure what I'm going to do with them all!


Yesterday it pretty much rained all day. It was cold and it was yucky. I spent most of the afternoon inside working on clearing off one of my shelves, while listening to James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small. This particular shelf has had cardboard over the front for about three years! Hmmm... Sage is three years...wonder if there is a connection??

Finally I realized that my costlier knickknacks (some Hagen Renaker pieces for you horse collectors) were never going to be safe, and I was tired of the cardboard decor. I ended up boxing up many of the fragiles, keeping only the Hagen Renakers out, which went into my glass case. I hope to sell a couple of them, if the market ever stabilizes. Now the book shelf is clear, except, well, for books. I dusted and cleaned and sprayed for spiders and am moving some of my books from the big shelf into there. That will free up some space for the piles of books sitting around in back!

Looks so much better in there, even though there are still some piles of uncovered 'debris' that needs to be put elsewhere. (Why did I have old 45 records on that bookcase, when my record stash is in the other room??)

I also spent some time updating my website. I added some roving and some beautiful merino x white batting. This stuff would be lovely for felting or spinning (although the staple is a shorter 2.5 inches).

Yesterday when I said a post of the kittens was coming soon...I didn't mean that soon! Evidently I have lost track of the days, because I thought I had scheduled it for the next day. Couldn't get it to go back into it's hole either, once it was posted! Oh well....

Boone thinks this vacation stuff is tiring work!

Have a great week! I'm sure enjoying my time off.

The Boys are Getting Ready....

Fairlight Jackdaw

....shining their hooves, striking elegant poses and in Jackdaw's case, adding a little finery to his fleece. Breeding groups...hopefully...will go together later this week. The weather is yucky, but I only have a few more panels to move around. The groups will be small this year--three ewes to Jackdaw and two to Jeffery. Getting Jeff up will be the hardest part, he and his twin wether brother Callum are like wild deer when they suspect something is up. Cal will have to be separated from his brother during the breeding season, so I will make him a nice little paddock where he will even get the shed! I don't think he'll mind a bit. Hopefully I will get some nice pictures of the rams and the ewes in their groups to post. If the sun ever comes out....

Fairlight Jeffery

Did I mention the weather is yucky? Raining, overcast with a chilly breeze. I worked out in it some this morning, moving panels around and will venture out again this afternoon--hopefully by then it'll at least not be raining. The fire is burning, but feels weak and sounds splutterly.

There are plenty of projects to do inside. My website needs to be updated, there are several areas that are screaming out---de-clutter me!! I also need to get some packages ready to mail...(I hope you haven't given up on me Vicki!)..for when I go into town later in the week.

Yesterday I did get the pantry/wool storage area cleaned and organized but it is indeed a slippery slope in there. Roving is not the easiest thing in the world to store, especially on narrow shelving! I was caught in a wool avalanche twice before I could get it all stacked just right.

Really...this is clean and organized!

There seemed to be an enormous amount of junk that needed to be thrown away. I have no idea where it came from. None. Is anyone interested in purchasing a very old cast iron meat scale? Hmmmm? No?

I mentioned that the potato digging was a bit pathetic. I went out and pulled a couple of the shriveled plants up and there were quite a few smallish potatoes clinging to the roots.

With thoughts of a sizable potato harvest I went back into the house and got two baskets to put the haul in. The 'haul' turned out to be about a dozen very small potatoes. Two baskets were not needed.

Even Boone was appalled..."do we have to survive on that all winter?"

On the bright side the soil in the potato growing container is beautiful and full of earth worms. Next year, if the season isn't so rainy, I might have to actually come up with a potato storage plan!


I also got all my winter coats and outerwear washed up/aired out and ready to roll for the season. Little by little....

Outside there is allot that needs to be done--finish the cursed kitty play pen (I hope), get all the front area and yard mowed and trimmed up. Harvest the tomatoes and pull up the plants, fill the wood box and kindling bucket, put up plastic over the chicken house window..not to mention the chicken house needs cleaned out.... I'll get as much as I can done, but there will always be a few neglected tasks, as winter comes blowing around the corner.

For now I'm off to de-clutter.....
(Kitten post coming soon!)