A Whirled Yarn

Where are those gosh durn pictures?

 

Okay, so I admit it...I have failed at Project 365.  Completely.  Miserably.  But I have a rather good excuse (relax, it doesn't have anything to do with coal power)...I just can't tell you quite yet (oh relax Honey, I'm not pregnant again).  I just need to finalize a few things before I announce my new and ambitious plans to the world (or at least to the four people who read my blog).  I know it's hard to believe I have the fortitude to commit to a spanking new project when I can't even take one measly picture a day...

But in the mean time, The Harveyville Spinsters met this weekend at Ewephoria Farm.  It is the best sheep farm, like, ever.  With the awesomest sheep and absolutely to die for fleeces.  I mean it really, you need a fleece, you see Tina.  She'll set you up fine.  My sheep came from Tina.  So, when I found we were going there anyways, it seemed prudent to bring along adequate sheep transportation and a halter.  Because...you never know.  Plus, it is almost my tenth anniversary, and it is common knowledge that the tenth is the wool one.  Really,...it is...go look it up.

So I took just one sheep halter with me to guarantee that I would only come home with one sheep.  Well guess what?!  The second little sheepy was so small, I didn't even need a halter!  I could just pick him right up!

So here they are..Daisy and Clover...

 

Daisy may look brown to you...but part that fleece and she is black.  Black!  I am so stinkin' excited!  And the little guy, Clover, is a Shetland.  So he looks rather like a woolly pig with funny little horns.  Adorable!

 

All the pictures have been taken at a distance as they are still extremely shy.  They spend their time trying to stay out of the rest of the flocks way. 

I really don't know why they don't want to buddy right up to this...

Or this...

 

It won't be long before they are shamelessly trying to stuff their entire bodies through a four inch square of fence in order to get a cookie...just like everyone else.

The grass may be dead...

But the roots still live! (Grassroots?...get it? heh,heh,heh...ya, well...)  Fueled by Chai tea and 85% cocoa extra dark chocolate (and believe me I have a serious buzz), I have been scrounging the back alleys of the Internet all morning, reading more (and more, and more) about the Kansas coal fired power plant proposal.   Along the way I found a very interesting and alarming fact ..."Less than half the Kansas State Legislature has a college education".  And we are supposed to trust they have any clue what they are doing?  Why is being as dumb as the rest of us supposed to be an admirable quality in a political figure?  I kinda would prefer they were smart and could think for themselves.   But I'm funny that way...

Anyhoo, I got an email response from Senator Pyle in which he said:

"Don't you worry your sweet head little darlin', we need coal fired plants in order to provide energy to build those nice wind thingamagingys all you nutty, silly, crunchymommas want in the future. "

Okay, so I may have paraphrased...a little.  I wrote back:

"But Senator Pyle, why then will we be sending 3/4 of the power to Colorado and Texas?"

And I got back:

"Don't you worry your sweet head little darlin', we need coal fired plants in order to provide energy to build those nice wind thingamagingys all you nutty, silly, crunchymommas want in the future. "

So then I asked:

"But Senator Pyle, why would you remove power companies from any CO2 regulations, setting up our state as a mecca for coal power plants that the other states don't want?  Are our children's lungs somehow more expendable than those of children in other states?"

And I got back:

"Don't you worry your sweet head little darlin', we need coal fired plants in order to provide energy to build those nice wind thingamagingys all you nutty, silly, crunchymommas want in the future. "

And then I wrote:

"But Senator Pyle, why are you destroying our beautiful state and endangering the health of children for a measly 200 hundred possible jobs? (and why are you taking our Christmas tree, Santy Clause, why!...sorry, we may have watched the Grinch a few too many times this season...)"

And I got back...well for gosh sakes, you can guess by now.

Do you think he is not taking me very seriously,...hmmm...

Let's show him that, although we may be just sweet little darlins' in his opinion, we vote and we count.  Let's fill their inboxes until they remember that we elect them to their office, not the coal companies. 

Hey, and if your not from Kansas, you can fill their inboxes too.  Why not, give them something to think about...heh, heh, heh,...ya, well...

Find your legislators at http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do or call the toll free Kansas Legislative Hotline (doesn't that sound so important! Hotline...) at  1-800-432-3924.  The person at the end of this number is extremely nice and will answer all your questions... even if you forget to ask them all the first four times you call...

And for those of you who are bored with my political activism and want to get back to things like pictures of my manure pile...(hmmm, pile...Pyle...I'm not going to say it)...I close with a gratuitous cows on the frozen prairie picture.

Enjoy, little darlins'...

Are you a mother in Kansas?

  For some reason Typepad insists on removing my paragraphs, so sorry!!

I am (and I've got the goofy picture to prove it! By the way, the Absentminded Prof put Sam's hat on backwards, not me.)!

My family and I work  hard at recycling, keeping our heat down and turning off our lights to help the environment  But our state legislature is doing exactly the opposite.  Both Senator Pyle and Representative Carlson of Pottawatomie County voted to allow the creation of new coal fired plants in Kansas with little to no pollution guidelines.  Only a small portion of the proposed coal plants would supply Kansas with power, the rest will be sent to other states.  However, all the pollution, cancers and other health problems will be left here for the people of Kansas.  Does this sound like good common sense?   The current legislation promoted by Pyle and Carlson would make is very easy and even encourage companies to build even more coal fired plants in our state and send the power elsewhere.   We will become the air pollution dump of the Heartland!  How can people who were elected to serve the best interests of the people of Kansas give in so readily to the demands of big business?

Please let your opinion be known to your elected officials!  If you live in Pott or most of Wabaunsee your representative is Richard Carlson, carlson@house.state.ks.us , 785-296-7641.  Your senator for Pott (also Brown, Jackson, Atchison and Doniphan) is Dennis Pyle, pyle@senate.state.ks.us , 785-296-7379 (bizarrely enough he is on the Natural Resource Committee, obviously not doing a very good job).  If you live somewhere else, you can call the Kansas legislative hotline (1-800-432-3924) for help in finding your legislator and to ask how they voted.  Or you can get an email address by going to www.kslegislature.org, clicking on the link for House or Senate, then clicking on the link for Find Your Legislator.  Both methods are very easy and don't take very much time. Giving your representative your very important opinion is the only way we have to stand up for our family's health and our beautiful, clear blue, Kansas skies.

Please feel free to copy this post and send it to all you know in Kansas.  This is my one women/mother stand against poor judgment!  Please join me and show our legislature we care about this issue and that we refuse to be pushed around by the big businesses who want to destroy our state and our health to line their pockets!  We are Moms and we rock Kansas!!!

If someone wants an emailable copy, just let me know and I will send you one!

How do you tell the temperature on the prairie?

By the size of your snowman...

...of course.

You know you live in a farmhouse when...

...This is what you get to deal with before that first cup of coffee in the morning...

So, I have a farmhouse in Kansas, (I meant that to sound very "Out Of Africa"...you were supposed to hear Meryl Streep as you read it...although the choice of accent was up to you.).

Our farm was originally acquired through the Homestead Act, and was in the same family for over 100 years.  The next family were hog farmers.  And like a lot of Kansas farmers, they preferred to live in town.  So our house, (as old locals love to point out when they find out where we live)... was used to house pigs.  Interestingly enough, our old house in Ithaca, NY had previously housed hippies and chickens.   Past farm animal use is apparently quite a selling point for us.  The hog farmer was eventually a victim of shortsightedness as he and his family did end up living in the house, immediately post pig.   They tried to make up for this poor planning by covering everything and anything with plastic, faux wood paneling and green shag carpet.  Perhaps the environmental overstimulation helped them to forget...

Well, there aren't any pigs left, but we still have proof that we are a small but authentic farm.

To begin with, we have one of these....

Pretty awesome, huh,...it's a grain storage thingamagingy.  Please notice how the trees have been cleverly placed to hold up the structure during a strong wind.

And we also have this...

This is the hay/poop wagon (sorry kids, you never really used it anyways).  You can use it to haul hay and grain to the paddocks and manure to "The Pile".  Tractors, you know, are way over rated... they are expensive, they pollute the air, and you can't fix them with a pair of bike training wheels.  In fact, I would bet you money there are more tractors owned by people living in subdivisions around here than on farms.  We knowingly call that "All tractor and no livestock".  (But, ahem, if you hear of a reliable, cheap, used tractor in my area...please let me know).

We also have the original settler's cabin...

Again, cleverly being held up by trees.

We have power line poles mysteriously standing lonely in the middle of pastures...

And of course, the absolute proof that you have a genuine farm...

Yes...I took a picture of our manure pile. 

Circle your Wagons

I have lots of fun things to check out all for a very good cause.  The Yarn Museum and Homestead Wool and Gift Farm are co-sponsoring an exhibit, contest and auction/sale of some incredible yarns by some very talented people (blush...me included of course).  The theme is "Circle Your Wagons" and all proceeds from sale/auction go to help pay medical expenses for a very ill fiber artist HollyEqq.

Here is my yarn "Prairie Circle"...

I know. I know, the name sounds like a culdesac in the burbs, but I was thinking about a circle of pioneer women working together on a quilt for another woman in need.  Very deep, I know.

.This only happens TODAY, So go check out the exhibit, vote for your favorite at Pluckyfluff's blog (remember, mine is there, hint, hint) and buy some yarn!

Ahh Hahh!

So this is why we bought a camel back sofa...

Keep in mind...this is supposed to be a barn cat.

This one is for The Country Doctor's Wife...eyeballs and all...

 

Viewer discretion is advised...

Caution...the following are graphic crime scene photos...

 

You may recognize the victim as the lovely, little Victorian teacup that had recently graced many a yarn-in-progress photo.  It was an up and coming teacup that had a promising career ahead of itself.  A Christmas gift and honor student, the teacup worked hard holding all my little beads...many of which are now wedged between the floor boards...

(Please ignore the dust and the dog hair that I don't dare remove... they may actually be holding the floor up.)

In the right place at the wrong time, the teacup fell victim to a known trouble maker... 

who has been brought up on many such charges in the past.

The weapon... a deadly stuffed horse.  (Although highly illegal, they can be easily obtained from your sister's bed).

 

This incident is just another illustration of the growing crime rate in our area.  Starting 9 years, 5 months and 11days ago (but who is counting, really) many have fallen victim to not only this perp (he is relativly new on the scene)  but also his two accomplices.

In memorandum, here is a list of the fallen.  Please remember that due to the incredibly long list of victims...some may have been unwittingly omitted...or cut due to space.

1. Any and all house plants...either felled by flying objects, running toddlers with no sense of direction or complete neglect due to other overwhelming obligations like nursing...still counts as their fault.

2. Any sense of Feug Shui this house may have had.

3. Most of my antique cup and saucer collection started during the brief care-free period between school and marriage.

4. Most of all the old crap my husband bought at auction during the very long, care-free period between school and marriage.

5. Romantic dinners for two.

6. The dog-child status once bestowed upon our pets...lucky for them.

7. Anything resembling my own sanity.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Teacup (circa 1900-Feb 2007).

How to make a cupcake...

1. Take one gorgeous batt of pinks, tencel and lots of white merino and angora. 

2. Spin in strings of pearly white and pearly pink sequins.

3. String glow in the dark pink thread with pink and white pearls, pink Swarovski crystals, funky bubble gum pink flower sequins, these yummy beads that look frosted with sugar and some awesome hand made cupcake beads from Candyland.  (Can I say pink one more time!?!)

4. Ply baby, ply!

5. Devour...

Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink.....there I did it.  Feel much better...

Just whirling...

Back to work...making some thick and thin "Cupcake".  You know, Gandhi urged his government members to spin everyday.  Just think how calm and grounded the world could be...