Over Good Ground

Worry, worry, worry...

2012-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

I realized this morning that I sometimes have these moments of brain overload. Yesterday was one of those days.
I'm usually able to focus on all the important things that I contain in my head ,which is usually way too much, but I think the stars weren't aligned properly yesterday and until I got THE PHONE CALL.... I was basically a basket case.
Thinking about too many things at once and not staying in the moment can cause Monkey Mind. The FEAR monkey is the worst one and does the most damage.

Our sweet daughter-in-law, Robbin, went into the hospital yesterday morning for an operation. She had a tumor removed and a complete hysterectomy.
Our son called us late morning and told us that she made it through the operation OK. He didn't have any other information. That was enough to hear right now. We will wait to hear the lab results.
I will be going down on Saturday to stay for awhile. I wish I was there now, but I will be needed more when she comes home. The "beans" will need Noni to take them to the park and keep them out from underneath their parents feet, as much as possible... and bake cookies.
I love this daughter in law of ours. She's a lovely, loving woman and she's the mother of our grandchildren for which we are eternally grateful.
I know she will be fine, but please keep Robbin in your thoughts and prayers.

Winter Weed with Diamond Raindrops

2012-01-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Life is so mysterious.

It is filled with drops of exquisite beauty and barbed moments of pain.

Sometimes there are signs in the mud that something is coming or has been there... waiting to bring chaos.

There are trails that are slippery and steep and we don't know if we should try to use them.

We get caught in our lives and we feel that we are the only ones who are dealing with this pain and confusion.

We don't understand how others could live their lives as if everything is all right.

We isolate ourselves in our houses...

And fear the "wild river" that we can't seem to contain,

where life moves swiftly over stones unseen.

Until ...

We see the evidence before us.

Plain truth... without thought.

It's not here.... on a old sign post,

fighting the possibility that something is coming... bringing suffering with it... trying to protect ourselves from what hasn't happen yet.

But it might be here...

Or here... in the grateful eyes of animals... and friends, and relatives.

And even here...

Because life is everything and each being has an assignment that we need not interfere with.

So I will try to let go of tomorrow and busy myself with the moment at hand.

My first resolution of the year:

Life is an impermanent experience that I will try to accept and understand, but also try to see without being afraid.... without fighting or misunderstanding the experience.

I love this analogy... ( from "It's Easier Than You Think" by S. Boorstein)

She writes:

The Familiar image is a children's cartoon character, like Daffy Duck, walking along freely and suddenly stepping into taffy. In a hasty, awkward attempt to extricate himself, he might fall forward and backward and eventually be totally stuck in the taffy. Even children see a better solution.

The best solution would be the nonalarmed recognition, " This is taffy. I didn't see it as I stepped into it, but I felt it after I got stuck. It's just taffy. the whole world is not made out of taffy. what would be a wise thing for me to do now?"

I will try to not get stuck in fearful things that haven't happen. I will try to be less frightened about what my mind creates.

Finally... a few more resolves:

I will not get trapped in my "story" and live my life with regret.

I will suffer. I wish I didn't have to, but I will.

I will be kinder to myself.

I will not cling to my own suffering.

I will start a journey of happiness at any moment of the day.

It's a beginning...

What does all of this mean?

2012-01-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

The Gadsden flag , coiled and ready to strike, on the back of The Prospector's truck is a symbol. It's fiercely American but provocative.

It's nothing new...

The Rattlesnake as a symbol has been around for a while. It was a symbol for the colonies when our country was fighting in the American Revolution.
I don't think the symbolism of this threatening snake has disappeared, but I don't know who the snake is anymore.

I watched and listened to the news this morning and it made me wonder what is really going on. A group of Occupy "revolutionaries" in Oakland , California were protesting again, and this time my reaction was different. It made me angry.
I'm not sure what it is they are doing. I'm not sure what they want besides chaos, anarchy and the ruin of a good American city. They don't state their case as a whole. They don't have a focused protest, that I can see, except to destroy downtown Oakland.

Here is some of what happen...
OAKLAND (AP) – About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.
""These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that's exactly what has occurred today,"

The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building

AND THEN....Michael Davis, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said "Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."

"It was very emotional. I thought it was a very good day for the movement because it brought us back together," Davis said. "We all were here in spirit and everybody actually helped everyone today."

"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."

( Thanks to USA Today for the info. The whole article is at: www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-28/occupy-oakland-protests/52852280/1 )

A VERY GOOD DAY FOR THE MOVEMENT?

I can't figure out who the "rattlesnakes" are here.

I think that I will stay right here on the mountain and deal with the rattlers that come and go, usually one at a time. They are pretty specific about their motives... food, water, survival. They were here first and I respect and understand that. I think I'm a rather intelligent person that lives a fairly mobile and productive life.

I understand that there are folks out there that are angry and feel that their lives are unequal, unjust, unfair, inaudible and incurable, but is this kind of protest the answer? Who is provoking who?

Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world".

Is this the change that some folks really want? Is this really "non-violent" protest? Is this the protesters "means to an end" and is it a valid one? I don't think I'm seeing the true picture here?

I'm trying to see this whole event in the right light. I'm trying not to say all the trite things about this, like so many others...

"Why don't they get a job.",

"They are just professional dissenters." and

"If they don't like this country... leave."

...the easy and unintelligent answers to a growing unrest.

I'm reminded of Metallica's lyrics...

"... Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail,

Once you provoke her, rattling on her tail."

I wonder if anyone knows what they're doing.

I need to take a walk and think on this... here, right now, the rattlesnakes are sleeping for the winter.

Felting my Friendships

2012-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

I chose to spend the afternoon with a friend, yesterday. It was a wonderful visit. She lives in town and her home is one of those beautiful old Victorians that line the hills, up behind Main St., in Jackson.
She slipped on some ice during the holidays and did some major damage to her ankle. She has been in a cast ever since. Now, she is in a black boot and will go back into a cast again next week for another month. The ankle is not healing well and another cast is required.
I tell you this because my very active, giving friend who does for so much for others and never stops moving, has handled this accident with her usual optimistic self. I'm in awe of someone who can weather a fall like this, pick herself up and continue to be the positive, glass half full person that she always is.
Even with the complications that have arisen, she is still thinking ahead to trips she wants to take next year and getting a walking cast on, next week, so she doesn't have to sleep downstairs with the cats and maneuver the narrow passageways of her charming home in a wheel chair anymore. She needs to get back to buying groceries for a house bound friend of hers and volunteering at one of the local thrift stores.
I'm sure she has had a few "Oh, @#*&!" moments but she is a trooper and I'm so proud of her.
So, I took cake... and magazines... and small gifts, etc. hoping to lighten her spirits, There was really no need. She greeted me, in her wheel chair, like she had just come in from working in the garden. We had deli sandwiches ... and we talked, talked, talked... laughed and talked some more... until it was time for me to head back to the highway, pick up the mail and drive home. The visit did us both good. It always does.
I left her in good hands. She has a husband that takes good care of her and treats her like a queen.
So I'm telling you this because...?
Life is long (or short, depending on how you perceive it) and "@#*&!" happens. None of us is going to get out this alive, so we need to make the best of it. We can play games, whine about our bad luck, carry grudges and complain about life, but... have you talked to other folks lately?
Everyone is having problems. They all have "thorns" in their sides...Some even have large knife wounds.
My friend could have been bitter, angry and blameful about all this, but she wasn't. I'm sure she wishes that she hadn't gone out on that icy old balcony. I'm sure that she wishes the ankle would heal faster. But, she isn't being "why me?" about it. She's waiting and hoping and making plans for the future. All that positive energy has got to accelerate the healing process.
I'm convinced that life is, in large part, about attitude and expectations and.... looking at the good things in life, so you have this deep well of good thoughts and ideas to carry you through the times of drought and fire.

"The world is full of cactus, but we don't have to sit on it. ~Will Foley
My friend never sits in her "cacti". Well... she is sitting a lot at the moment, but she's looking ahead of all this. She is an example to me of how to weather a storm. She's an example to us all.

*********************
So today is "finish a felted scarf" day. Here are some choices. What do you think?

This is the scarf. A combination of gray wool and a taupe, mystery yarn. I had no idea how it would turn out. I have a huge amount of it that I got at one of the thrift stores and ... wait. I do have some with a wrapper on it. It's SPINNERIN 100% wool yarn called Suzanne. That's why it worked so well. I used it continuously with the gray wool yarn but in two places I dropped the gray wool and used only the "Suzanne" yarn. After I felted it the taupe yarn tighten up and looked much better. The gray combination felted really well. I'm very please with the results.
So, now I'm ready to embellish.

Buttons? (with dog hair underneath... how embarrassing.)

A shell from the Pacific Ocean?

A different button? There's that dog hair again. I think I felted the hair right into the scarf. Maybe I could make it my trademark... Corgiwool, scarves from the dogfarm.

Some antique lace?

Old lace... and a button?

Or the ruffled edge of the "cute" shirt I bought at the thrift store. Remember the shirt made out of gray jersey with ruffles? What do you think? It's hard to get the colors true, here on the post, but you can get an idea. There are so many possibilities. Maybe lace is too lightweight for this scarf. I'm not sure. Maybe it needs to be a heavier lace... or none.
I would really like your input.
**********************************
Today I'm on to brighter possibilities...

When my sister was here we went to Amador City, my favorite little gold rush town. I bought this yarn at Sandy's Country Home store. She dyes and spins this yarn herself. It's so beautiful. It's a bit harder to knit with because it goes from thick to thin and felts up very thick... but I can't wait to use it.

Oh, yum!
**************************

On my afternoon walk a few days ago, I thought that I would love to find some yarn that looked like the oak trees with their bright moss, tiny ferns and lichen growing on them.... Looking like they were going to a party, with the help of the rain and some northern exposure, and getting all dolled up for the occasion.

I would love some yarn that looks like this...

or this...

Or possibly a softer green like the new grass that is coming up on the trail.
Think I can find some yarn that looks like this? Think I can wear a California Winter around my neck?

Dangerous Places.

2012-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is a dangerous place for me to go.

I should know better. I went in to find eight buttons for my gray vest. I came out with more buttons than I needed.

and some beautiful flannel fat quarters (Fat quarters are precut, quarter yards of fabric.) that I probably didn't need.

But they were on sale... and they are beautiful... and they were already cut... and, well... look at them. I will do something with them.
A friend brought me a rag quilt a few weeks ago . It's a lap quilt and she has been wanted to show me how to create one. So now, I'm ready. I just need a "back" for the quilt, some old flannel for the inside, some thread and scissors (I have these), and the time to spend the day with her so she can show me how to do it.
It wasn't like I didn't have a plan... and these gorgeous pieces of fabric might not have been there when I went to this store again... and the sale is only until the end of the month. So.....

Then, I went to the On A Mission thrift store in Jackson. I LOVE this place. I needed some tulle for my Nuno felting. Well, this may be a "thrift" store but this is also another dangerous place for me to visit. I found the tulle and some... other really wonderful stuff.
Yes, It seems that I needed these other things too.
I found some clothes to use for the fabric.

All useable for nuno felting and adding to scarves. I love this print skirt, above. It's a cotton gypsy print and will be great when scrunched up in a scarf.
This skirt is a J.Jill that actually fits me.

I don't wear skirts anymore but if I did... it fits.I love the almost "eco" print look to the linen fabric. and the bottom edge has brown lace on it. I paid $3.50 for it. I will use those bottom edges for a scarf and the print for the pieces of the scarf. I can use the zipper and surrounding fabric for a small purse to match the scarf. Oh, the ideas... from one skirt. It's endless.
I also bought a top made out of gray stretchy jersey .

This one doesn't fit me, so I don't feel bad cutting it up. I mean it fits, but I'm max on the "stretch" and it looks a little young on me. I've got to be careful about this. I don't want folks to say, "Did she even look in a mirror this morning?" Sometimes you have to act your age. Yea...Darn! I don't think "cute" is what I'm about at this stage of my life. You have to be careful about "cute" in your 60's.
All of the edges on this shirt are ruffled and could be added to a scarf. There is lots of fabric here and grey goes with everything.
I did buy too much. So, shoot me. It's all inexpensive and fun. I also bought some small bags of fabric to send to a friend who quilts and is living in the middle of nowhere in southeast Oregon for the winter... with not a thrift store or fabric store within hundreds of miles. She is living on a ranch in a cabin and the one thing she did bring with her is her sewing machine.
She's a quilter. She carries a sewing machine like she carries a gun. It's her MO (modis operandi, mode of operation, etc.). In those parts you never know when you're going to have to sew up a pair of pants or kill something. Besides, it's kind of hard to quilt cowhides and coyote pelts.
When I got home I realized I had over done it with the fabric. I just need someone to show me how to do this quilting stuff and then I will be ready... with my fabric... and that first quilt will be BEAUTIFUL.
In the meantime, I will cut and patch, sew some trim on and tomorrow you can help me pick out some buttons for my latest felted scarf.
Take care.

Sons, Rivers and... lost dreams of the Super Bowl.

2012-01-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Our son came up to visit this weekend. "M" lives in Oakland, down in the Bay Area. We loved having him come up even for a couple of days.
I made some beef stew.

And baked a pie.

It should have been a cherry pie (our son's favorite), but cherries were a little out of season so I used frozen mixed berries. It turned out fine and no one turned their noses up at it.
On Sunday "M" took us out to breakfast (a real treat) and we showed him some of the local changes that were in progress..

We try to impress our grown children with the new advancements in our small town. We try to find entertaining possibilities to brag about. Well, Tractor Supply Company is coming to town.

Hey, we live in a town where construction of anything is an exciting event. They had to rearrange a creek to do this. The Prospector has been wanting to take his gold pan down there and check out the piles of dirt that are being moved around. The signs say "no trespassing". That hasn't stopped him before. Gold Fever is a dormant, itchy illness that never goes away.I have to keep an eye on him for outbreaks.
I don't think "M" was that impressed with the possibilities of this new store as we were, but he was polite about it. He asked us if there were that many folks that needed "tractor" supplies in the area.
We told him it was more than just tractor supplies. It would be a comprehensive farm supply store. This store would offer a lot more than tractor parts. We laughed at our excitement over another farm store coming to town.
"M" and his dad were joking about our level of expectation over a new store in town and I thought about how far we had come from the years of living in the suburbs and how our expectations had change.
I can remember when they covered the small, outdoor "MALL" in the town where we raised our boys. It was a big deal. They expanded Sears and brought in Gottchalks. It was so exciting. We didn't have to drive to the big mall an hour away anymore. We were coming up in the world.
Now, when I drive through that town on the way to the Bay Area I see all the stores that I wanted when I lived there... and more. Now, I don't look at all the "choices" as exciting.
I see traffic. I see highways under construction for the hundredth time and chaos in this small town that has grown expeditiously in the 18 years since we left it.
Now, there is everything I wanted... then.
There is even a SEE'S Candy store. I could have really used one of those back in the day.
So, we choose to move even further up into the boonies and now we get excited about the new Tractor Supply store that's being built. How far we've come... backwards.

We decided that we better take "M" to the RIVER. So we drove south out of town and, even though rain was threatening, we thought that a walk across the Clinton Bridge at Middle Bar would be the one beautiful place to share with our son. It was.

This river, the great Mokelumne, always impresses. It makes all other man-made achievements pale in comparison.
The old Clinton Bridge at Middle Bar is being threatened by folks who want to make a bigger damn,

...but we have some dedicated people who are fighting this tooth and nail.
This bridge and the surrounding area will all be under water if some people have their way. The expansion of the Pardee reservoir would cover one of the most beautiful parts of California's river system.

We joke about having water front property without moving from our mountain top, but the reality is that it could happen and all of this would be gone forever.
"M" was much more impressed with this whole scenario than with the building of a new store in town.
We took a walk across the bridge.

And he discovered a walking trail on the other side of the river. He does a lot of jogging and running in the hills of Oakland so this was new and interesting territory for him. I'm sure he will be back to run the trails here.
The river worked its magic and we could feel its spirit flowing beneath us.

This rain will bring more water to fill the reservoirs "up river" and then the water will rise and cover the gravel beds and bedrock that show themselves this time of the year.

I have bonded with this river. The Mokelumne is now my "bedrock". I feel more alive and HOME here than any place I have ever lived.

"M" left last night after supper. We will miss him. Come back soon, son.

We watched the sad game between the 49er's and the NY Giants.
Oh, well. Not everything can be perfect.
They tried. They were tied. They went into overtime. They lost.
Damn! Now the Super Bowl belongs to the East Coast.
Maybe next year....

Fred's Cows

2012-01-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

Our son called this morning and said he was coming up here over night. We were delighted. I put some cloths on and went into town to get some supplies. Even when the kids are grown they like special comfort foods. So I made a list and off I drove.
It rained all night and there were lots of downed branches on the road but nothing that I couldn't drive over or around. The storm was subsiding and it looked like I would make it down our country road to the highway without having to call The Prospector to come to my aid with his chain saw.
I went to the post office and then to the store. Then I headed back home.
As I past our neighbor's house near the highway I saw a new addition to the herd of cows that stay in the pasture across the road. I just had to stop and take some pictures. Look at this cutie with its mama.

I don't know much about cows so I don't know when this one was born but it's the newest and I hadn't seen it before.
Isn't it beautiful? Look at those sweet little legs.

A few years ago, when I was working at my last (and final) paid position, I came home and drove past my neighbor, his son, grandson, his wife and one of the local Ranchers all surrounding a young cow having her first calf. It seemed that the cow was having a hard time with the birth.
I stopped and asked if I could help. They all looked at me, in my work clothes, and then looked at each other and smiled. That did it.
I got out of the car, rolled up my sweater sleeves and said, "What can I do?"
I guess they took this to be a serious question. They said I could help and showed me what to do. I got to pull the baby out with the help of the other woman and a come-a- long. The mom was too young and was having a difficult time of it. She kept wanting to sit down. This could not happen because the baby was halfway out and it would have broken the calf's legs. So the men kept her up, supporting her with boards and straps, and the other lady and I pulled on the calf. I never worked so hard in all my life. Finally the calf slipped out and landed on the ground. I was suppose to catch the calf so it didn't get hurt. I tried, but it was hard to hold on to a living thing that was bloody and slick as... you know the expression. I, more or less, got underneath the calf so it landed on my arms as it came out. Fred's wife was on the other side doing the same. What an experience it was. We finally got the calf on the ground without being harmed.
The heifer didn't want anything to do with the calf and so we had to "put them together", as Fred called it. Finally she got the message and within a few minutes the calf was up and feeding.
I've never been so excited in my life. You'd think I had given birth to the calf myself.
I drove on home that afternoon in a state of euphoria. When the Prospector saw me he thought I had an accident. I related the story and told him I wanted some cattle. He laughed.
Then, I went in and took a shower. I never wore that sweater again. What a gift it is to see an animal born. I will never forget this experience.
So this morning I stopped to take a few photos of the new addition to the herd and that memory came back.
I still recall the excitement. It was quite a wonderful thing and I knew then, that I would have made a good rancher. I know this could have ended differently. The calf could have died. That happens. I had watched a calf born dead in that same corral. It was very sad. But, the ones that survive make it all worth the effort.
I was standing at the fence thinking about all of this when one of the young black bulls came up to me. They usually walk away when I get that close, but they were all looking at me like I had brought lunch.

Then one of the cows came over to the fence.

He was making eye contact with me. He was very interested in what I was doing.

I thought he was going to smile. He was wet from the rain, dirty and looking at me with such sincere attention that I started talking to him. " Hi, fella. Can I take your picture?" He was giving me the ol' sweet eye.
That's when he tried to eat my camera...

You've got to love this. These animals have the biggest tongues I have very seen.
He almost reached me. But, I surprised him first. I reached out and touched his nose.
Well, he didn't care for that.
He gave me a rather annoyed look.

As if to say, "You mean you don't have any food?" I was going to apologize but he turned away and that was the end of our close encounter.

Fred.... It's time to feed your cows.

Finding Myself Inside of the Rain

2012-01-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Morning Rain
by Tu Fu

"A slight rain comes, bathed in dawn light.

I hear it among treetop leaves before mist arrives.

Soon it sprinkles the soil

and,windblown, follows clouds away.

Deepened colors grace thatch homes for a moment.

Flocks and herds of things wild

glisten faintly.

Then the scent of musk opens across

half a mountain -- and lingers on past noon."

Yes, the rain has come.

And I find myself inside of it.

Do you see?

Wordless Wednesday: Tomatoes and "Beans"

2012-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Finally... something in the sky besides blue.

2012-01-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a cold, windy day... WITH CLOUDS. Just a few of them, but we're hopeful.

It was lovely and a sign that the weather is changing.
This morning we woke up to frost and 28 degrees. We are told that rain will be here by the end of the week. We will reserve dancing in the streets until we see the wet pavement.
My sister is here for a long weekend. She chose to spend her birthday with me. We have had a good time. She is celebrating the BIG one (one of the big ones if you keep living)... 60 years. This is my LITTLE sister. She can't be 60! This is just not possible.
Maybe we got confused and added a decade by mistake. Could that have happen?
Yes, that must be it. I'm really in my 50's and she is just starting her second quarter of a century. I think I have figured this out, as I write, only... wait.... I can't be 57 either, because that means I would have given birth when I was around 15 years old and I don't recall that happening .
Suck it up, Farmlady
You're old and your sister is right behind you to prove the reality of it.
Seven years always looked like a big difference, but not any more. Now, it's my sons who show me, by their ages, that there is no mistake. They are too old for me to justify saying that I had them as an unwed teenage mother. So, we will leave this were it is. I don't want to insult all the women who were mothers at 15 and I don't want to rationalize the reasons that I wasn't.
I'm heading for my 70's and Sis is just starting her 6th decade.
We will just have to slow down... together... and learn to knit. Oh, we did that already. OK.
Well... it's time to embrace "senior citizen" status.
Acceptance is the key to long life. That's what they say.
So, we have shortened our shopping trips. We take naps.
We have salads instead of Cheeseburgers and Fries.
We wimp out and use Ibuprofen when we need it.
Life is still good and we are still sister friends.
Can't ask for more than that.
Happy Birthday Sis.

A Riot of Reflection

2012-01-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I drank coffee and started the second chapter of Small Wonders by Barbara Kingsolver.

This chapter is called Saying Grace and contemplates the grandness of the Grand Canyon and our Fat Brother Mentality. It's worth the read.

I've discovered why I like multi-grain Cheerios when I don't like cold cereal much at all. It's because it goes with my house and my dogs. If I throw in a few chocolate Cheerios ( Yes, there is such a thing.) then my cereal would match Cutter completely. I know this is a bit OCD but it's just the way I can be sometimes. Since I don't like chocolate for breakfast I will just go with the multi grained, multi colored little O's that taste good and the milk that matches my carpet. Life is about the little things. Like having the right pen to write with or the right toothbrush. We live in a society that allows us these idiosyncrasies.

Barbara Kingsolver would say "It is possible to move away from a vast, [unknown] by delving into it deeper and deeper. You can look at all the parts of a terrible thing until you see that they're assemblies of smaller parts, all of which you can name, and some of which you can heal or alter, and finally the terror that seemed unbearable becomes manageable."

The "smaller parts" that I divide my life into are how I manage not to become overwhelmed with the strangeness of the world out there. A world that I sometimes find scary and uncontrollable. It's in the act of seeing the cereal that blends with the dog, that blends with the carpet and blending with the world around me that gives me a sense of stability and calm. I cannot feed the starving masses of the world but I can feed and take care of my family and the animals I choose to adopt. When I see the order of the smaller, I can, then ,(at the very least) look at the bigger more frightening picture. I'm able to create a space where my life is in control and then the media driven mass hysteria doesn't seem so... well, hysterical.

I can learn to move into the bigger world view by taking small steps that teach me to see clearly before I'm told that the world is slowly turning into climate changing warm water, protesting unrest and countries that wish to destroy us.

So I turn off the TV, contemplate my cereal and drink my coffee until something happens,

Some day I may not be talking about color coordinated cereal because there will be a bigger, scarier picture.

Life will play itself out .

There will be no end to the disasters that will befalls us. ( So say the MEDIA.)

But... there's good news.

There are only 32 days until Valentines Day and the stores are filled with LOVE.

There are 96 "la"s in the song "Deck the Halls". and...

You can buy chocolate sardines at Bergdorf Goodmans ( six for $45.)

and there is a Prius for everyone... Even one that plugs in.

Really? Everyone?

"What a world. What a world."

Wordless Wednesday: Brownie and Murphy... sunshine and comfort.

2012-01-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

A win and a loss... but everything is Ok.

2012-01-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

I found out that I won a giveaway from Linda Lanese's Felting Crafts blog and today it arrived in the mail.
This is the Robson and Ekarius book called THE FLEECE & FIBER SOURCEBOOK.

This is a beautiful book and I want to thank Linda for having the giveaway and sending me this book.

The book shows you over 200 animals and the fiber they produce. There is a section for sheep, goats, camelids (alpaca, llamas etc.) and other critters like dogs, bison and rabbits. It shows all the breeds and were they came from. This book is fascinating. There are stories about how these animals came to America and the history of each. The photos are lovely.

I feel very lucky to have won this book. Thanks again Linda.
Be sure to stop by and visit her blog. She has so many good ideas. Each post is filled with felting possibilities.

We can't win all the time but it's nice when we do. Today was one of those days when you do something that you don't want to, but you know it's the only right thing to do.
As you know our goat, Brownie, has had a time of it. Last year he had an accident and lost his horn. The stress of this, the resulting bout with Coxcidia and his weak condition were bad enough but the rejection from the other goats was worse. Especially from Bart, who would not leave Brownie alone.
A few weeks ago we found Brownie in a corner of the lower south fence. He was all twisted around with his head underneath his body and he couldn't get up. His horn was bleeding again and he was in a state of panic. The Prospector finally got him untangled and upright but Brownie was not doing well. He could hardly walk. We don't know exactly what happen but we suspect that the goats were playing around and he got knocked over, again. He's so fragile. He usually walks away when they are playing but he probably got cornered this time. At any rate, he was down and couldn't get up.
We separated him from the other goats and the vet has been out here twice. He has a form of animal rickets that makes him very weak. We have been giving him grain with vitamin A and D in it. We also gave him his first round of shots called Bose for white muscle disease. He's improving... slowly.
The area he is in won't be much protection when the rain comes (If it comes at all this year.) and he would have to have more shelter soon. We couldn't let him in with Bart and Freckles because they would butt him and probably knock him off of his feet again. The vet bills were rising and building another shelter was too expensive. So we had to make a hard decision.
We have given Bart and Freckles to a farmer in Calaveras County. He came and picked them up this afternoon. Now, it will just be Brownie and Murphy here together. Murphy has always been good with Brownie. He's kind of protective about Brownie.
We also didn't have a big enough area for these four goats to graze in. A bigger area would have meant more fencing which we couldn't afford, so we have been feeding them with expensive grass hay to supplement their diet.
Now there will only be two goats and Brownie is happily back in the goat house tonight with Murph'. I will miss Bart and Fleckles but I know that this was the best thing to do. They are fine and the woman told me that she has some of Bart's relatives at her farm. We all got these goats from the same breeder.
Now we can take care of Brownie and not worry about him being hurt again. Murphy will still be my magical goat. He will work his magic on Brownie and maybe Brownie will recover completely.
I feel a little sad, tonight, but I know it will be OK. .

Winter? I don't think so.

2012-01-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

I've taken the snow effect off of my blog. It just doesn't look right when I post photos that look like this.

I haven't cut the lavender back because it blooming like crazy and the bees are all over it.

I just can't cut the bush back with all these bees having such a great time.
Does this look like Winter to you?

I also decided to wash the windows.

I pulled the chairs and table away, took the screens off and washed them separately and used the sprayer on the hose to get all the cobwebs off before I cleaned the windows with ammonia and water. The sprayer is like a "fair warning" to bugs and spiders before the soap and ammonia hits.
Look nice and clean don't they?
Come on rain. I'm being really in your face about this.
Then I sensed someone was watching me. I turned... and right behind me up in the eaves of the porch, guess whooo was giving me the eye.

"Can't you do this at night, when I'm gone? I was sleeping and you woke me up."
"Hi little guy." I replied, "I forgot you were up there. You haven't been here for a few days."
"Well..." he said, "I've been hunting and it's a lot of hard work. So please stop all the spraying and cleaning and let me sleep."
I could tell that he wasn't a very happy little owl and then, to demonstrate his annoyance, he gave me his fiercest look.
He tries to look mean. I almost have to laugh because he's so little. I guess the little mice and ground animals don't laugh when he swoops down on them but, well... he's so cute when he tries to act tough.

I told him I was sorry but I needed to finish the windows. I told him it would only be a few more minutes.
He waited... and then, when I left the porch, he went back to sleep.
Do you see that his left pupil is bigger than his right one? Does anyone know if that's normal or not? I noticed it before. The left pupil is dilated more that the right.
So it's quite apparent that Winter decided to take a vacation this year. I might as well tempt fate and wash some windows. What the heck! You know what they say about this. If you clean your windows or wash your car it will rain... so I'm doing a rendition of a "rain dance". We'll see.
Everything seems to be enjoying the sunny weather.
Carl found himself a warm spot and looks like he's telling me,
"Don't come any closer to me with that camera, Farmlady. Just leave me be."

And the Paperwhites are blooming.

I find it all kind of strange. What do you think? If this is Winter...
THE CLIMATE

IS DEFINITELY

CHANGING....
And I don't think it's just about us and our carelessness... or emissions.
It's just changing... Something is different.
It's happening quite fast.
I can feel it in the air.
Somethings up...

I have to share this with you.

2012-01-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

My friend C, her daughter and C's new little pup, Max, came up from Sacramento for lunch today. Enjoyed the visit so much. Her daughter is visiting from Boston and it was so good to see her again. I watched her grow up in Mendocino, California where C use to live. She has grown into a beautiful and intelligent young lady.
Momma C, you did good. It says something for raising children in a Pigmy Forest. You gave her roots and wings and ... creativity. You painted tennis shoes and built her tree houses. You gave her a magical upbringing and you should be proud.

So, I didn't do a post today for all the entertaining, but tonight I was reading some of my favorite blogs and I have to share this post with you.
I'm sending you over to read Nancy's post. It's wonderful.

Go To: http://shepherdsvoice.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html

I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I did.

Happy New Year!

Corgi Cam

2012-01-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

Cleaned the house today and helped The Prospector give Brownie his shot. I will tell you about Brownie when I have day that I can do a long post. He's getting better. He had another accident and the traveling vet came to visit. That was two weeks ago. He's receiving special treatment and has his own digs for a while. I will write more later.
Today after I vacuumed and mopped and dusted the house I took a break and went outside with the dogs.
It was another beautiful day. It's almost scary how beautiful it is here.

The Corgi boys greeted me.

"You boys want to play a game?" They looked at me like Corgis do and Carl started to walk away.
I know he was saying, under his breath, "Here comes Farmlady with the camera again."
"Hey, wait. This will be fun, guys. Let's play Corgi Cam. You know I follow you around and pretend I'm one of you and we take picures from a dog point of view. What'a you say. Come on. Give Farmlady a break. She's been in the house all morning. Humor her."

Cutter looked at me and said, "I never played this game before."

"But, OK. Do I get to hold the camera? Do I get to take pictures of you and Carl?"

Carl came on the run. "Oh no you don't. I will do it. I want to be in control of the camera taking."
"Well, Carl," I said, " I think I'm going to let Cutter do this because he hasn't done it before."
Carl got that look on his face that says, "Oh yeah!" So, I told him that Cutter would be the director of this show and he (Carl) would have to live with it. That's when he disappeared into the bushes.
Cutter followed and we caught this on Corgi Cam.

And this...

Taking photos from the height of a small dog is as strenuous as vacuuming and mopping. Following Cutter around with the camera and taking photos from his point of view is kind of a feat in itself. ( You didn't really think that I would strap my precious Nikon to Cutter's back did you?)
Well, so far the results were less that wonderful so I called Cutter over to the fence and he saw the cat. That's when things got more interesting.

Carl followed us and both the dogs were preoccupied with Annie, our cat, for quite some time while I sat under the Heavenly Bamboo and wondered what the heck I was doing out here with these silly dogs when I could have taken a nap instead.
Then I called them up on the porch so I could sit down for a little bit. This is when Cutter got a whiff of "You know hoooooo.." up in the corner of the porch. Our little visitor, the Screech Owl, is still resting up there during the day.

From a Corgi point of view, the little owl is very safe up there. The dogs sniffed and look up there but they didn't bark. The owl quietly watched them until they walked away.
Then it was time to stop the game. My back was hurting and I needed to sit down for a while.

The last "dog cam" shot is a familiar one to the Corgi boys. They are always on the wrong side of this door. They either want out when they are inside, or... they want in when they are outside. It's a very well know stop for them.

You can tell I reached high and low for something to post about today. It finally came to me at about 9:30 tonight and now I'm done. I'm going to bid you all a fond goodnight because I can't think of anything else to add to this already stimulating post.

Looking at parts... of me.

2011-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

I never cease to be amazed at Barbara Kingsolver's writing. I am a big fan and I don't read a lot of books. That's a confession that I hate to admit but it's true. I have so many things to fit into my life before I leave this wonderful gift of a world and I can't sit and read when the OWL might come back to the porch and my camera calls me from the shelf. My mind is filled with ideas that will last long beyond my time here... so reading is just another thing on my list that I need or want to do.
But, this morning I was looking at Amazon.com... for fun.
I coughed all night. Took some cough meds about 3:00 a.m. and woke up drowsy. I may be coming down with something. Then, after two cups of coffee I felt better, so I went to Amazon books to see what I could see.
If you know what I'm talking about, when you bring up this site, Amazon gives you ideas and "recommendations" all around the edges of what you're looking at. This is to make you buy something that you really wouldn't have though of if they hadn't put the notion in your head with little "windows" of opportunity.
*More items to consider... *Related to items you've viewed... *Shop the best books of 2011 store and so on. Knitting, photography, felting, nature, animals, Dean Koontz ( I love his twisted stories.), Michael Pollan and The Big Ass Book of Crafts by, (OMG), a guy named Mark Montano. Now that's cool. A dude that does crafts... and writes a book about it. Almost doesn't sound real.
So, I was trying to stay focused. I went back and clicked on Barbara Kingsolver-Small Wonders-essays.
They give you a "look inside" the book to tickle you interest.
I read the forward and the first essay. This first story alone told me that I must read this book. It is now winging its way to me. She wrote most of the essays right after 9/11. for a magazine. It speaks to moving away from the "vast, unbearable pain" of any horrible tragedy in your life. How looking at the parts of a terrible thing, and the little sub stories which come of it, can help you control your pain and begin to heal on a smaller level and make the tragedy a little more manageable.
The first essay is about a family in the Lori tribe in the western province of Lerestan in Iran. They come home from working in the fields to find one of their children missing.
As I'm so easily upset by stories like this, I sometimes don't continue reading. My mind doesn't let go of things. I accumulate. But, something inside of me said, "Read it." Something saw the correlation to 9/11 and so I continued. I also trust Barbara Kingslover to tell a story with such reason and humanity that I always know I would be less for not reading it.
I would recommend this book if the only written pages in it were the first essay. Please consider this. I sound like the "recommendations" on Amazon.com. but please take a look at the "read inside" on this book and let me know what you think.
I Googled a newspaper article on this real life story and I leave it here as a testament to how far we have pulled ourselves away from Nature and how we think that we are different... but, how very much we are the same.

Iranian toddler found safe in bear's den after 3 days

By Reuters, 10/02/01

TEHRAN, Iran -- A mother bear appears to have cared for a missing 16-month-old Iranian toddler who was found safe and sound three days later in the animal's den, the Kayhan newspaper said Tuesday.

The child's parents, from a nomadic tribe in western Lorestan province, returned to their tent after working in the fields to find him missing, Kayhan said. Three days later, a search party found the toddler, who it said had probably been breast-fed by a mother bear, in a den about 6 miles from the nomadic settlement. A medical examination showed the toddler was in good health, the daily said.

Happy New Year to my family and friends.

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

I won't bore you with lots of pictures of relatives you don't know, but I would like to show you a few. We had such a lovely time and my sister had her home looking so nice.
Remember the Manzanita that she cut when she was up here around my birthday?

Remember how we lined them up and chose the best ones for her to take home?

Well, just look at what she did with them, over her kitchen window.

Really beautiful Sis! I love the lightly sprayed branches and the little lights.

And you even have a little owl perched up there... just like the little visitor on our porch.

Everything sparkled...

And, as Ben and Lily waited for the rest of the family to arrive,

I walked around and took a few pictures.

The entrance hall...

with the Santos Doll in her glitz and bling.

And, on the wall, a joyful mirror reflecting all the activity of the day.

There were drinks and hors d'oeuvres to nibble on while a wicked game of Candyland was being played in the livingroom.

Guess who was winning? Look at that sly smile. The Bean won hands down. My grandson BEAT my oldest son. Hard to believe, but he did. The Bean took his Uncle "M" to the cleaners.
Little Bean didn't even try to beat his brother. He sat on the couch and played his own game... by himself.

We had a wonderful dinner and later we had some dessert to top it all off... and candy... and, well, way too much of everything. But over indulging once a year isn't really that bad. Is it? It's Christmas. It's a time of GOOD CHEER... and FAMILY...

lots of CELEBRATING... Christmas Trees and Plum Pudding. Well it wasn't actually Plum pudding. It was Blackberry Pie and Italian Creme Cake... and ice cream... and SEE'S candy.
Oh my, I think I have to go on a diet next week.

Later, in the evening, after everyone was gone, Sis and I sat down with her husband and son to rest a while. I looked over on the sofa and saw... What?
What was this fur, upon fur, up on the back of the sofa?

What furry child is this...who laid to rest... on my sister's couch, is sleeping. I know, that was just wrong wasn't it? I tried to fit the situation into the song. What Child Is This? Greensleeves? Sorry.
But LOOK! Tis a tired pup named Fozzy Bear.

Glad that everyone was gone and his home was peaceful and quiet again. Now it was time to put the camera down, give Fozzy a rub behind the ear and promise not to invade his home again for a long time to come. Thank you Fozzy Bear. Thank you Sis. It was a wonderful day.

Guess whoo's back?

2011-12-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yes... I'm back from my three day Christmas visit to my family and I did have a wonderful time. But, I'm so glad to be home and look "whoo" arrived again, on Tuesday morning.

Looking a sleepy...

And a little annoyed at me for bothering him.

And, "If you come any closer I'm going to fly down onto that camera and attack the darn thing."
So, I left him (her?) alone. The eave will belong to the owl now. It feels safe there.
The Prospector says that it's because of this...

Maybe this small owl has chosen the corner of the eave because of the another owl (the silent one in the frame) that waits on the post.
Do you think that he (or she) notices the other owl? I wonder!
I hope the owl stays for a long time. The dogs don't seem to bother it... but then they haven't seen it yet.
It is such a delight to see this beautiful little creature out there every morning.
I'm so glad it's back.

"Now Carl...."

"You be a good dog and don't bark at the owl. He's resting.... and if you annoy him he might decide to fly down and use his talons on your cute little nose. That would be scary, my sweet dog. So, be good."

"...Where there is sadness, joy."

2011-12-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful morning. I left my sister's house and drove north along Reliez Valley Road. Before I traveled the long drive home I stopped at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery and spent a while with my mother.

The hills are dry and brown now. The oak trees watched from the hillside above the cemetery.

A Magnolia tree guards this section where Mom is resting.

I heard chimes coming from the other side of the roads that cross each other in this huge resting place. Lovely chimes ...

And a Saint Francis of Assisi quote was shining in the sunlight against brown marble...
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

What a beautiful way of looking at our world and every day of our lives.

Someone must have read another quote of his. The one that says,
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
because on some one's plaque was a small battery candle with a flickering flame. It was so pretty sitting there under the evergreens....

As if to keep the darkness at bay.

Many other places were filled with flowers, real and fake.
One had a handwritten letter, opened for all to read, in a plastic zip lock bag.

And two Bud Lights. They were for someones Grandfather. How sweet.
There were many little offerings... favorite things left in remembrance. Reminders of what this person loved.

Like the love of country...

And dark chocolate covered cherries, lemons and Sierra Nevada Ale.

And a huge snowman cookie for someone named Thomas.... with a bite out of it. Maybe a bird decided to help out and speed the ".. where there is sadness, joy." part of the St. Francis poem. Helping the cookie pieces reach into a deeper place where they could find this person named Thomas. Or... maybe the cookie will be gone tomorrow, enjoyed by maybe birds and little critters that come to find sustenance.

I realized that I had come unprepared. I didn't bring a plant or flower, beer, cookies or lemons to lay on my mother's granite plaque. I went to the car and looked for something. She would have loved a cookie but I didn't have one. She always had a sweet tooth. She would have loved a small box of orange almond nougat candy that my friend from Michigan sent me or a piece of blackberry pie that I made for Christmas dinner... but none of that was left.
I looked, again and finally found one small gift that I could leave her. It was in a bag that I had brought for my grandkids. I didn't give them the candy because they had so many other sweets.
So I took one and laid it on Mom's plaque.

You knew the St. Francis poem well, Mom. You live his poem.
You showed us how to live this way.
Sis and I are doing OK. We miss you but we will be all right.
I love you...

Isn't it a beautiful day?

Watch out for the birds. They like sweets.

Enjoy the candy cane...

Merry Christmas!

Reasons for being Noni

2011-12-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;

The spirit of Christmas which is peace;

The heart of Christmas which is love.
~Ada V. Hendricks

Merry Christmas

Everyone.

I'm Still Dreaming...

2011-12-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite singers and a beautiful song.

Enjoy!

The Beans are on their way.

2011-12-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

Guess who's coming up to see Noni and Papa?
Our wonderful grandchildren... and their Mommy.
They're on their way. They will be here for a few days.
We don't have snow. I wish we did. Still, it's beautiful. Very cold!
We are going to play in the town park and bake cookies. I bought a cookie press so we can make Spritz cookies and decorate them. The boys will get to go find chicken eggs and talk to the goats... and play with Carl and Cutter.... and sleep in sleeping bags under the Christmas tree.
Daddy has to work. We will miss him so much. Wish he could be here too.
Got to go and wrap some gifts.
Merry Christmas to all...

(p.s. The owl left yesterday morning and hasn't come back. Guess he's on to better feeding grounds.)

Sunday Visitor

2011-12-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

It was a typical Sunday morning around here.

We were relaxing... on our second cup of coffee.
The dogs were getting a little bit more shut eye.

The Prospector called me from the kitchen.
"Hey, the owl is back."
He told me, a few days ago, that a small owl landed on the wicker rocking chair on the porch. I was shopping and missed the encounter. It didn't last long and the owl flew away.
The Prospector was so excited to see one up close. We have a barn owl in the shed at our entrance which we have seen for years but recently it has been gone. We hear owls at night. I love listening to them. But, to have one land on our porch in the middle of the day was extraordinary.
This morning it happen again.
"Bring the camera!", called my husband from the living room.
When I got to the window I saw the owl. It had perched itself up under the eave of the porch overhang.
There it was...

It looked like it was tired... and a little cranky.

and it started to settle in...

But something caught its eye. An arrant hummingbird was wondering why this BIG bird was on the hummingbird's porch. These bossy little hummer's don't like other birds near there feeder. It flew quite close to the owl and darted in and out, hoping (I guess.) that the owl would fly away. Well, this little owl stood its ground and appeared more annoyed than anything else.

The hummer flew at the owl a few times and then backed off. He came back a few times, then left the owl alone. They must have come to some agreement. I know that the owl gave the hummer the "stink eye", so maybe that was all that was needed.

The little owl has tucked itself into its feathers and gone to sleep. I hope it's OK. I hope it stays for a while.
It is such a treat to have a wild thing visit us. Like all the other close encounters that we have here, I feel that we have been given a special moment... a gift.
This little guy is like an early Christmas present... already unwrapped.

A New Love In Her Life

2011-12-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I drove down to Sacramento to have lunch with my friend "C". She is the friend that lives on a lake.

It's pretty isn't it? The water is a man made lake that continues into the Sacramento River and beyond, This beautiful Apartment complex is quiet and peaceful. It's a small oasis on the outskirts of a really large city.
She had a balcony with shells from the ocean.

She has such a beautiful gift for simplicity and most everything in her apartment is white, but the exceptions are lovely...

We went downtown to eat at my first Buddhist, vegetarian restaurant called Andy Nguyen.
Their business card says, " Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." ~Albert Einstein

I had no idea what the dishes on the menu were. Not being a vegetarian, I struggled to find something that sounded good and that I would enjoy eating. I chose "Peaceful Curry". Yes, that was its name (lower right in the photo above) and it was wonderful. If someone fixed me food like this everyday, I would eat it and, I'm sure be much healthier for it. The food was delicious, filling, beautiful... and "peaceful".
Then we went to a yarn shop in another part of town. Oh yes...

And, of course, I didn't get out of there without buying some wool yarn and roving. Don't you love the name?
RUMPELSTILTSKIN. What a great name for a yarn and fiber store. It was a charming place and I will definitely come and spend more time here.
We bought a Christmas tree on the way home. "C"s daughter is coming to visit her for the Christmas holiday and so a decorated tree was in order.

OK.... This is the real reason that I went to visit my friend.

It wasn't about the nice lunch, or even the yarn store.
It was really about a dog named Max.
I came down to see her new pup.
He is a four year old Havanese.
They are just getting to know each other. It's only been a few days. I don't think I have ever seen my friend so smitten with any man before.
They are sleeping together as of last night and I'm not sure that her daughter knows about this yet.

He is adorable...and apartment sized.

He is alert and will be the catalyst for many walks during the day.

They have already bonded and I could tell that this was love at first sight.

Max only has eyes for her.

It's a match made in heaven.

It's true love.

Bambino Blog

2011-12-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

Our youngest grandson, Little Bean, is FIVE years old today.
He just grew up when we weren't looking.
From the little guy who taste tested the dirt in our garden...

And held his own with his older brother...

To being the life of the party.

He is the sweetest most loving little boy.

Love you bambino.
Noni and Papa wish you the best Birthday ever.

'Tis the Season... I think.

2011-12-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, 'tis the season...Just not sure WHAT season it is.

Mother Nature is still doing her lovely Autumn thing and it's nine days until the first day of winter.

Fall is trying to cover up the sweet Alyssum of summer without much success.

The Mexican Sage is blooming its purple flowers off.

And the white roses look better than they did all summer.

I think the Christmas decorations feel a little out of place. My "snow" effect doesn't even give me that hot chocolate and marshmallow feeling. Maybe I should take it off the blog.
The sun is shinning. It's beautiful and warm during the day.
I know this is California, but I think it needs to start acting like Winter... and soon.

So I discussed this with the tired cone flowers,

the struggling Sunflower,

and the bedraggled Boston fern.
We've decided to postpone Christmas until January 25.
There is never anything to do in January. We sit around and worry about "resolutions" and loosing weight. We get depressed. It's a tough month.
I'm not ready for Christmas anyway. The weather is confused and so is my garden.
Who says that Christmas has to be on the 25th of December?
Let's give ourselves another month. Then we will ALL really be ready.
Are you with me on this?

Weekend with a Purpose

2011-12-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit of a crunch because of this freight train called Christmas. So the weekend has been packed with doing things to avoid a train wreck and feel more at one with it all.
I have been:
1. Writing Christmas cards.
2. Making extra food for our neighbor who lives by himself and just had an operation on Thursday.
3. Re-purposeing a wool sweater. (More about this later.)
4. Sewing. Yes, I'm actually sewing like I know what I'm doing.
5. Finishing a couple of knitted/felted scarves for Christmas.
6. Taking pictures of the flock of turkey in our neighbor's yard.

Couldn't pass this up. They were everywhere. I think they are planning some kind of take over. They only seems to congregate when my unsuspecting neighbor is at work. Hope they know he has a rifle and loves turkey dinners.
7. Contemplating what it would be like to spend Christmas in Cabo San Lucas or Hawaii.
8. Dusting and vaccuming.
9. Trying to write short intertaining blog posts.
10. Realizing that Christmas is only 14 days away.
11. Having strange dreams about being lost in a Casino that looks like a department store and sells babies. Yea... very disturbing.
12. Baking Snickerdoodles.
The beginnings...

The old reliable recipe...I add a teaspoon of vanilla and preheat to 360 degrees, not 400. This takes a little longer but I like the results.

The beautiful and delicious yellow cookie dough... I LOVE cookie dough. The recipe says it makes 5 dozen but a couple of cookies less is more accurate because someone keeps eating bites of the dough.

And the finished product.

Help yourself.

Tomorrow I will tell you about Brownie and why he is taking a walk with the Prospector.

Taking a Breath

2011-12-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is for my grandsons.... and all the folks out there who still have a little child inside of them.

Listen and believe in what your heart is saying.

Did you notice the snow?

2011-12-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

LOOK! I have beautiful, glorious SNOW on my blog page. Wait... you'll see it.
It's coming. Look at the pictures. There. Do you see it?
It's very easy to do. ( Google "snow effects for blogs")
A few years back I was crying about not having snow in this part of California and whining about it on my blog post. A friend named Jo who lives were it snows all winter, decided to give me a gift of snow and showed me how to make it appear on my blog . I was so thankful I could have kissed her. I got a Christmas card from her yesterday and it reminded me of the simple gifts that we can give one another. Thanks for the card Jo. Hope you and JD have a wonderful holiday.Thanks too for the gift of snow that you so kindly gave this California girl. I will never forget the delight of it.
**************************
So, night before last the Prospector and I heard someone coming up our road. Now, we don't have people driving up our steep, dirt road after dark. They take their life in their hands. It's just not a smart thing to do. But, we have learned that the UPS folks keep very odd hours and that's who arrived.
He said that he was having a long,exhausting day and had been from one end of the county to the other. We talked for a few minutes and I was going to offer something warm to drink but he left as abruptly as he came... on Dasher, on Prancer, on Comet and Vixen... to another place, to another house in the middle of nowhere.
What he brought was a birthday present... for me. I told you I was going to extend this one out as long as I could and everything seems to be working in my favor.
Yes, it was a gift from my friend in Michigan. She told me something was coming. She loves suspense.
But... this was not just "something". This was TORRONE.

The flood of memories that this box brings are overwhelming and I will tell you why.
When I was a little girl we lived in Pleasant Hill, California. We lived in one of the first suburbs built in the 50's. It was a wonderful place to grow up.
My mother and father grew up in Napa, CA. and still had lots of relatives living there. The trip to Napa was long but we went often. I spent many summers up there and was very attached to my Mom's side of the family. It was a big family and Italian.
My great grandmother and grandfather had come from Italy and they bought a prune ranch in the late 1800's on Silverado Trail. It was a beautiful ranch and my favorite place to be in all the world besides my own home.
After my Mom and Dad moved to Pleasant Hill, Mom's family didn't come down to see us very much. It was hard to leave the ranch. So once, sometimes twice a year they would call and say they were coming. They would arrive and spend the afternoon. Usually, my great Uncle Jim (who was like a grandfather to me because my grandfather died before I was born) and my Grandmother (his sister) and my great Aunt Bina would come down together. I would run home from school knowing that they would be there. I can still feel the excitement.
If it was a summer visit, they would bring fresh vegetables and eggs. But if it was just before Christmas, they would arrive with dried fruit, nuts and a big box of La Florentine Torrone. Oh, how I loved the Torrone.

Inside the big flat box are lots of little boxes.

And inside the little boxes you find the wrapped candy.

When you open the little foil wrapper (I think it was a paper wrapper then) you find the Almond Nougat candy inside.

I remember Vanilla and Chocolate. Now there are three flavors: Lemone (lemon), Vaniglia (vanilla) and Arancio (orange). Six pieces of each flavor. Eighteen times to bite into a wonderful nougat candy with almonds in it and a paper thin edible wafer on each side. No preservatives or artificial coloring.

The edible wafer is the unusual thing that I remember when I was little. I thought that it was paper. It looked like paper but it tasted sweet and made biting into the nougat easier because your teeth didn't stick to the candy. The wafer also melted in your mouth. It was, to borrow a cereal ad phrase, "a mouth full of joy".

So, when I unwrapped this present from my friend, I squealed with delight. And as I ate that first piece of candy all those memories came flooding back. The anticipation of my grandmother's visit and her family being there at our house when I got home from school. The idea that they were coming down to see us. The hugs, kisses and the love that ensued.... It was always a day of joy and a time when I felt the circle of family was complete.

We would spend the afternoon talking, laughing, drinking coffee (Milk for me.) and they would tell me about the latest adventure on the farm or how Frosty ("my" horse) found the little lawn next to the house and started eating the grass.... how the fox got into the chicken house... about the rattlesnake that ate rats in the basement. Stories that, too this day, make me understand the shape of my life now.

Mom would have baked something delicious to go with the coffee or sometimes Grandma would bring one of her pies. Oh, it was a wonderful day. We would all sit there and share the company of each other. It always made me feel very grown up.

Dawn sent this candy because I had talked to her about it and all the memories it invoked.

I think she remembered the candy too. She has an amazing memory.

Somewhere in our high school years she moved and we lost touch. We never connected with each other again, until the day I got an email from a friend that said someone had read a comment from my sister on her blog. This person was asking if this commenter (my sister) had a sister named ........ and had they lived in Gregory Gardens in Pleasant Hill? Amazing! It was my childhood friend Dawn. She had found me.

. She had been living in Oakland, CA. while I was raising children not forty miles away. Amazing!,

Now, my son lives in Oakland. In those early years my husband worked in Oakland. I could have passed her on the street. We looked for a house there. The Prospector played softball there.

She found a comment on someone's blog and followed up on it. Seems simple enough. She says our mothers had a hand in all of this. It could very well be true.

We were just on a different branch of the same tree... "Six Degrees of Separation." ? I'm not sure, but I know that it's weird how life can be so amazingly coincidental sometimes.

I do believe that the connections one makes in life are always there, waiting for awareness and understanding. That each person you have a relationship with (of any kind) makes a new little part of you. Each relationship changes you in many ways.

Dawn and I were children. We played with dolls and took ballet together. We walked to school each day together. Well...the truth is we rode the bus except for the last few years of school... but you understand what I'm saying . Even as children we had a history... the beginnings of a Story... together.

She remembered those little Torrone boxes in a bowl at my childhood house and the memory was inside of her. The real gift is that she remembered, and that I, now, have become the recipient of that shared memory.

What a beautiful thing it is.

To eat a piece of that memory and taste the love of that distant time.

The thought is as sweet as the candy itself.

The Best Season of My Life

2011-12-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,

A cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.

If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,

This is the best season of your life.

~Wu-Men~

Thank you for the beautiful cards and lovely gifts.

For a hand made card from a friend with photos of her visit to my house this summer.

For my friend, "C', who came up Friday and gave me beautiful yarn for my obsession.

For phone calls from my sons and grandsons,

Sister-in laws and friends.

For my sister, who arrived to help me celebrate.

Who wore the coolest boots...

And hiked with me to "the place where the ferns grow".

We shared the beauty of this place for a long weekend and I, again, understood how important it is to have this relationship with her. She and I are seven years apart and were not really close when we were young because of the distance in age. Now, we are best friends and I'm so thankful for this.

She gave the goats some lovin'.

The Prospector showed her how to retrieve gold from a sluice box.

She got to sleep in... and then be attacked by two small dogs when she opened her bedroom door.

She couldn't go anywhere without Carl and Cutter following her.

Yesterday we cut Manzanita for Christmas decorations.

(Can you find her in the photo to the left? She really got in to her quest for the perfect branch.)

We lined up and compared each branch for size and perfection of twig. She piled the best ones into her car.

Then she packed up and drove back across the valley to her family in the Bay Area.

Thanks Sis, You made my birthday very special.

Thank you family and friends.

This really is "the best season of [my] life."

Cutter is a bit unhappy. He wants to know where his "auntie" went.

Friends for Lunch and a New Scarf.

2011-12-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yes! Flowers and a tablecloth. Company was coming.

On Monday and Tuesday I pulled out some stored Boxes of Christmas and did some decorating. A little here and a little there...

...to make our little house feel warm and holiday-ish.
Two friends arrived bearing good will and homemade apple butter.

One friend is in my gourd group and the other is in the goat club... and they have known each other for years... way before I knew either of them.
Both live in the valley and have farms. Sylvia has a garden (both vegetable and flower) that makes me want to move to the flat land of the central valley and dive into the wonderful soil down there. She grows gourds that are absolutely wonderful... all kinds and thick skinned. Her Dahlias are to die for and she saved us from an over population of GOPHERS a few years ago when she gave me some gopher purge. It worked.
Jane has goats,.. Alpines...lovely and sweet. I have posted about Dick and Jane's farm before, here. I wish you could stand in the middle of these goats in the field and watch them. They are really beautiful animals and some will be having BABIES next year. I hope I can go down and take pictures of the kids. Jane thinks I need some does. Wouldn't that be lovely. Goat milk to make cheese and ice cream with, and some babies... sweet little newborns. Oh yes, that sounds delightful.
So they braved the fog in the valley and our scary road, to come up for lunch.
Having them here was so nice. I made vegetable soup and salad with Pumpkin pie for dessert.
The Prospector disappeared to find paydirt in the hills and leave the afternoon to the women.
After lunch I showed them my newest felted scarf. I had tried to take some photos of it on a gourd Tuesday. No one has a neck like this but I just wanted to see how it wrapped.
Fluffy butt Carl didn't want to model it for me. He wanted to chew on it, so I tried the gourd.

It was OK, but I got a real person to model it yesterday and it made such a big difference. Thank you Jane.

I could see how it wrapped and tied on someone.
This was a felting experiment that worked out rather well. I love using separate pieces of knitting and adding crochet for trim. I love to detail a scarf with old buttons and eye cords.
this will be a Christmas gift for someone.
We had such a good time yesterday. I love having friends up here.
*******************************
I'm having a quiet day today. There are a few things to do. Got to go to town this afternoon.
Tomorrow my sister is coming up for the weekend to help me celebrate another year of life. Oh lord. I guess I should be thankful... and I am... really, but I didn't think I was going to get THIS old. Guess you just have to go with it. It's better than the alternative.
My friend "C", from Sacramento, is coming up for the day too. I'm looking forward to her visit. She is the same age as I am. She understands. We can commiserate together. We knew each other when we were 16 years old. Where did the years go?
My birthday isn't until Sunday but, since I found myself alive when I woke up this morning, I might as well milk it for all it's worth (Life, not goats.) and stretch it out for as many days as possible.
Don't ya think?

Christmas Delight

2011-11-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

I kept the Prospector up past his bedtime this weekend.
We went to town... AFTER DARK. Unheard of.
I made him take a shower so he would stay awake. We met our neighbors at their gate and , together, we drove down to MEL & FAY'S restaurant and found a parking space... one of the last.
It was one of those wonderful California winter nights... not too cold, not too windy... a perfect night to walk up and down the main street of Jackson. A perfect evening to join Amador County for the annual CHRISTMAS DELIGHTS festival on Main Street.

All the stores were open for business. This is a town that usually (except for the bars) rolls up the sidewalks after dark. But this night, once a year, they open their doors and give out goodies and hospitality for everyone. All the stores were lit up with Christmas lights and decorations.

The tree in front of the fire station was lit,
and SANTA arrived... in an old fire truck covered with Christmas lights.

Last year we brought our oldest grandson down here. How fast the year has gone.
This year our neighbors had their granddaughter with them. She is eight years old.
It made me really wish that The Bean and Little Bean (our grandchildren) were there too. Maybe we can plan better next year so Mommy and Daddy can come up with them for the weekend.

So.... We met a horse while we were walking around. This was a most beautiful horse.

I can't remember the horse's name, but the lady who was driving the carriage said that this was a Percheron, from Canada. It's a draft horse breed. This gentle horse was so big and tall that my neighbor's granddaughter was afraid to go up and pet him. With our help, she finally touched his nose. Everyone was gathering around the horse and he was acting like "business as usual" because the driver said he has been doing this all of this life.
He was pulling this carriage.

Last year they were giving rides in this buggy but I didn't see anyone getting rides this year. I did see it later going down the street with some pretty elves in it.

We walked into stores that were so beautifully lit up and even our HOMETOWN RADIO station was open. They recently moved down to Main Street. And there was a wood stove in one store to warm yourself before moving on.

Just a quick note: The photo on the bottom left (above) was a wonderful store window depicting some the towns in Amador Co. There was Plymouth, Amador City, Ione, Sutter Creek, all with a name sign and a lovely old building... and Jackson, on the left with the balcony.
Now, it's been a long time since Jackson was famous for.... How do I put this carefully, without putting my adopted town in a bad light. Jackson was famous for its LADIES OF THE NIGHT.... and guess who was sitting up there in that little balcony, in all their splendor? Yes... two lovely ladies of ill repute.

It's blurry and not a very good picture but there they are. Two redheaded hussies waiting for a gentleman's favor.
That's our reputation here.
Not the gold,
or the wonderful weather...
or the quaintness of small town America.
Or the fact that Jackson produced more than half the gold mined in the Mother Lode.
Oh no! It's all about the ladies of the night.
I think it's time to take the redheads off of the balcony.

So...

The shops were looking their very best.
The National Hotel is being completely renovated and it's looking very nice.

It's has a new front door that's really beautiful.

The owner has bought quite a few buildings on Main Street. He has a vested interest in making Jackson a destination and attracting tourists again. I hope it works. We need a bright future, like the beautiful leaded windows and doors.
It's fun to say that we have a rip roaring reputation, but we also want folks to be comfortable here. Maybe all of this remodeling and a community effort will revitalize our town. When we join our neighbors and spend an evening like this, together, we are reminded that this town is a wonderful place... to live in , to shop in and to celebrate in.

We left Main Street and walked back across the highway to our cars. This is a wonderful little town where it's safe to walk around at night. We were on our way to eat Chinese food at one of our local restaurants.
Up on the hill above the parking lot is a house that says it all, year after year.

HO,HO,HO!!

Christmas is coming.

Santa's on his way.

Life is good

We are so fortunate to be living where we live.

I make no excuses.

I'm blessed

Thank God

Amen.

A Day Apart

2011-11-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Prospector decided to stay home with the dogs and take care of the farm. I drove down to spend the day with family. I stayed overnight at my sister's house and came back home yesterday.

We all had a wonderful time. Lots of visiting, laughing and EATING.

My Sister-in- law's decorations were wonderful and the food was delicious.

Little Bean was so excited about everything and found the staircase a wonderful place to get away from the madding crowd.

I think that if someone had handed him a blanket, he could have gone to sleep there, but his feet still kept moving even though his eyes were glazing over.

Big brother, aka THE BEAN, was acting very grown up.

until someone put a soda in his hands. Then he and Mom got kind of silly for the camera.

And he went a little crazy.

This is The Bean's version of a magic trick, "Look Noni! No hands."
"You'll cut your lip."
"No, I won't Noni. I'm holding the tab."
"You'll swallow the tab!"
"No, I won't."
That's when I used my best "who's the boss" voice,
"Give-Noni-the-can."

Too much sugar? Maybe... but he gave me the can.
I took the can and then made the mistake of asking him to smile for the camera. Yea, right.
This is the portrait of a young man.... A few teeth missing, a fake smile... and a dead eye dick stare. So natural, so sweet... HA!
He's a little boy... with attitude. What a little toad, but I love him.

Then his mom let him have her camera. This was a special treat and he knew how to use it. All of a sudden he was the consummate photographer.
He spent the next few minutes before dinner taking lots of photos of unsuspecting relatives.

It was a really nice day. Wish the Prospector could have been there too. Our neighbors invited him over for a turkey dinner so he didn't exactly starve. I made him a pumpkin pie to take over there so don't feel too sorry for him.
I stayed overnight at my sister's and drove the river road home the next day.

**************************
On my way back I stopped to take some pictures of a very large herd of goats.

They were stretched out for a quarter of a mile along the road. It was late afternoon and the sun was coming through the clouds. It was the perfect photo shoot.

I stopped and got my camera out. I stood between the car and the fence because there wasn't much room for the car and I wanted a buffer from the road.
I reached over the fence to get a shot of the goats when I got this funny feeling. I don't know how to explain it. Kind of like a bee buzz only inside of me. I backed up and then I reach over again and the same thing happen. I honestly didn't know what was going on.
Well, I'm sure all of you who have livestock, making sure that your animals are safe from crazy people who might harm them and wanting to keep your animals from wandering into traffic on the road, are well aware of what was happening to me.
This trespasser, who thought she could just lean over the fence to take a few photos was getting "fare warning" from the fence. IT WAS ELECTRIFIED! My brain finally caught up with what was happening.
It's a good thing that I didn't fall against it. Someone would have had to pick me up off of the ground.
And, as if to make things more complicated, I heard a bark and a big white dog came barreling up to the fence.

It must have been lying down with the goats. It came out of nowhere. I backed up and started talking to it.
Immediately it stopped barking. Just call me the dog whisperer.

She had an identical mate right behind her and he didn't seem as friendly.
She settled right down and , although she never jumped up on the fence, she gave me her best wonderful dog look. She seemed young. I think she wanted to play or needed some human companionship.

She was very friendly in a quiet sort of way. Look at that sweet face. I would never have reached over to pet her or made any fast moves, but as long as I kept talking to her she was very agreeable.
I took my pictures without touching the fence and kept talking to the dogs. They never got too far away from me. I was, after all, a stranger. A wolf in human clothing. They were doing what they were trained to do.

Look at those eyes. So wise, so beautiful... yet warning me.

The encounter was lasting longer that they wanted it to and she was probably thinking, "Is this lady every going to leave so I can lie down and rest."

"I just want to go lie in the sun, Lady." She kept pacing back and forth until I realized that she wasn't going anywhere until I took my leave.
So I said goodbye and got back into the car.

The drive back across the valley and up into the hills was uneventful.
It was good to be home. The Prospector and the dogs were waiting for me.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Life is good.
Family is important even if circumstances make "being together" sometimes difficult. Having good neighbors helps. They are a support system and a community of friends that serve as surrogates for family when need be. I'm thankful for these people who we call neighbors.
I'm thankful for my true family and the friends that are like family to me.
And I'm thankful for my life.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~J.A. Shedd

Back At the Ranch

2011-11-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

I was so pleased with the comments that all of you made about our gold quest and the beauty of the area.
Everyone seemed to understand the reasons why we love this area and why we have "gold fever". It's an illness that never goes away... a sickness with benefits.
Like the gold ring on a merry-go-round, you reach... you try... and there is always the possibility that you may find the prize in your hand.
But, the overriding question was.... Did you find any GOLD?
So without further delay, I bring you Gold Recovery 101.

The Prospector has set up an area near the garage and near WATER (critical to finding gold).

This is a sluicing arrangement that he has made using an animal water trough, a pump, a couple of sluices and various buckets and hoses.

First he uses a classifier to reduce the concentrates to less than a quarter inch. This eliminates dealing with larger rocks and debris that clog up the trough and make the process longer and slower.

One of my jobs is to sort through the pile of bigger gravel just in case there might be some HUGE nuggets (Hope springs eternal.) that couldn't get through the screens.
Nope, no nuggets. But you never know... you need to check everything and dump nothing.
We're not talking 1848 here, just before the Gold Rush, when you could reach down into the rivers and pick nuggets out of the water. The original dream is gone. The 2011 dream is to find a place that no one has been before (rare) and go down to the bedrock. Read the river for signs that tell you it's a good place. Then you take sample pans and see if there is any "color". This is very fine gold that might indicate more in that area. Then you do the hard work which can been made easier by investing in some good equipment. The Sluice box is the answer to hours of back breaking work with a gold pan. This article can explain what sluicing is and how it works.
The Prospector has connected two sluice boxes together to catch as much "fine" gold as possible.

He turns on the pump. The water flows down over the sluice boxes and into the metal trough. The water is then sucked back up into the pump and reused.

The quarter inch concentrates, the PAYDIRT, is slowly poured into the header box above the sluice box.

Gold is very heavy. I mean very, very heavy. It's 20 times heavier than water and you realize how heavy it is just by holding it in your hand. This is the best, quick assay of what's gold and what isn't.
Because gold is so heavy, it SINKS below the water fast and in a sluice box it gets caught in the riffles and the miner's moss (matting that traps and holds heavy values inside woven vinyl fibers) below the riffles.
Are you still awake?
Here's a small diversion to keep you from saying, "Why did I ever ask her if she found any gold?"

There was Brownie. He was watching the whole operation with what appeared to be interest. The other goats came and went. I guess they didn't like the noise of the motor and the pump. But Brown was down for all of this. He was watching us intently.
I walked over to him and started talking to him and rubbing his head. Then I said something like " Oh, Brownie. I just love you. You're such a good goat. I'm glad that you're still here with us.", etc, etc, etc. And I kept rubbing his head as I talked to him.
Well ,guess what he did?
He sniffed my face, as goats do.... and then he smiled.

That is a smile. That's a cute " Yes, I'm a wonderful goat." smile.
He has mellowed so much. He use to be so annoyed all the time. Injustices were an everyday occurrences. But since his accident, he has become a sweet old goat that loves being paid attention to, especially when the other goats aren't around.
That was a smile and it was for me. I just know it.

OK! Back to finding the gold.

I love watching water flow. Whether it's from a faucet, or moving down a stream or river... or going over a waterfall. I love how water moves. But, when there is a possibility of finding gold, underneath the water, it takes on a whole new meaning.
We stopped the pump and cleaned out the sluice box.

There were no big nuggets lying on the screen but there was a lot of fine gold sparkling at us in many places.
We pulled the riffled screen up and rolled the miner's moss into a pan filled with water. The fine gold will be in the fabric of the moss. You want to catch as much as possible.

The Prospector panned some of the concentrates out and look....

This is a small nugget. A gift from the earth. So far, they are all very small.
They have not traveled very far. The roughness of each piece tells us that they haven't move over rocks and down streams very far because they are not rounded and worn. This is gold that indicates there may be more in that area.
I wish I could get closer so you could see how very beautiful this precious metal is. We would have never quit our jobs to do this but many did in 1849 and, with no work at all, in the depression of the 1930's. Some made fortunes. More folks went back home broke.
We are retired and this is a hobby. A SERIOUS hobby with a lot of "toys". We really enjoy gold panning, metal detecting and sometimes dredging, like fisherman love fishing and kayakers love kayaking.
The state has seen fit to stopped recreational dredging in this state. The Prospector is very angry about this. I will not get into a political discussion about our feelings on the subject. I won't even give you a link to information about it because I don't want to fire up an already touchy subject. I will only say that legislation of a dredging ban has been signed by the governor, without proof, and awaits a thorough environmental study. I want to see proof that dredging, on a small scale, does damage to spawning salmon and other wildlife. I'm waiting and I'm listening. But, I want the truth.
This is some of the gold we have worked for in the last week or so. It's not going to buy us more fencing or add on a room to our house but when I look at it I know that we worked hard for it and that it's out there for everyone.

We will fill this little jar and start another one, because someday we want to give them to our grandchildren and tell them our stories about Noni and Papa's excellent adventures and where this gold came from.
It's a fine balance of personal freedom, recreation and a love of wilderness . A compromise will be made eventually... I hope. I don't know what else to say.
All of these things are starting to look endangered.
Maybe I've said enough.

Gold Is Where You Find It.

2011-11-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

I made some cookies with the help of Cutter, kitchen dog extraordinaire. The recipe is on the back of the package. I reduced the sugar, added some wheat germ and baked them. They were really good, if I do say so myself.
"Excellent" said the Prospector. Then, as if to make the whole day better, we went to look for GOLD.
The day was beautiful and cool. I can't tell you where we went, but we drove half way to a place were we could leave the car and then hiked to a dry river bed.

This is an old mining road that is filled with history.

I always expect to see a ghost on a donkey coming toward us on the path. There is history here. It is in the wind and under the fallen leaves. It's a feeling... a connection with the past.
Then we come to "The place were the ferns grow". It is where one, small creek flows down into a bigger one.
Now, before the rains, there is no water. But an abundant amount of ferns tells us that there is a lot of moisture under the surface.

This is the time of the year to dig the bedrock, in the creek below. This is the time that comes before the rains and after the rattlers have gone back into their dens. Without water we have to carry buckets of dirt back with us or use a dry washer. Because we are quite far from the truck, it would be an huge effort to bring the equipment out here. The Prospector usually fills buckets and bring them back home on his ATV but today was different.Today he wanted to show me the new place that he has been digging.
I kind of knew where this place was but not the exact spot. These small claims are secrets. Areas of "don't ask, don't tell" and only shared with trustworthy friends... and (sometimes) wives. Prospectors are very closed mouth people when it comes to finding gold. They love to show you the nuggets but they will never tell you where they found them.
We turn and hike down the hillside to the larger creek below. It's a tough climb down but the Prospector has made a trail, of sorts, that helps the descent. Finally we get to the creek and the beautiful BEDROCK. For more information about why bedrock is so important in gold recovery take a look at this site. This guy really knows what he is talking about.
Even aside from the fact that gold is now at $1723.20 an ounce, it's beautiful and you can still find it sitting in the bottom of streams and rivers here in California. And, you get to be in some of the most lovely places on earth.

Bedrock is ancient. It's beautiful and it's not going anywhere. It's always in some beautiful place that makes me want to pitch a tent and live, as Thoreau said, "deliberately".

This is where the wild things live.

Where bears and wildcats come to find water and solace with the creatures of the night.

Where rock and tree root tangle together for support.

And the mosses wait for the moisture of the first rains.

A Buckeye waits to become a tree,

And the only sound in the quiet stream bed is my husband's trowel scooping dirt and a red winged hawk over head.
We will never become rich doing this but the fun of looking for the gold and the beautiful peace of this place will bring us happiness beyond riches. As Robert Service wrote in one of his poems .

"There's gold, and it's haunting and haunting;
It's luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting
So much as just finding the gold.
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace."

Do you ever think about your shoes?

2011-11-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

I have bad feet. My mother had bad feet. My grandmother walked funny, as she got older, so I'm thinking that she probably did too. Bunions, arthritis, corns, neuromas, arch problems, tendinitis, circulation problems, neuropathy...
and the list goes on and on.
It's a little crooked gene somewhere in my DNA that I call Bad Foot Syndrome. Well, that's what I call it on a good day. Bad days have another unspeakable name that I use, but I won't use it here.
So, In the spirit of Thanksgiving I would like to give thanks to my shoes.

The ones that have , in this day and age of over abundant choices and high prices, brought me comfort in my time of need. A tribute to these pedestrian, uncomplaining support systems for my deteriorating infrastructure.

From the bottom clockwise I start with the Dexter; a sturdy maryjane/moccasin. Not much arch support but with my prescription orthopedic inserts I can be quite comfortable in them for a few hours.
The next one, the Dansko, is a Sunday go to meeting shoe. I can't wear my inserts with these but they are very comfortable and make my feet look sexy with my toes all lacquered up.
The Birkenstocks are... well... the last vestige of my life before bad feet. I love Birkies and will always have a pair, even though my podiatrist told me to not wear them. He doesn't understand that they are my link to accepting my wide (but somewhat attractive) feet and to the 60's when bell bottoms and tie dyed tee shirts ruled my life.
The Finn Comfort sandals were my mother's. They are very expensive shoes. I find them extremely comfortable in summer or winter(with socks). I will wax them and wear them until the cows come home. They have sentimental value.
Next is the Nicole. It's rare that you find a really comfortable shoe, that is in great shape, the right size ( I have a BIG foot.) and are made well... in a thrift shop. But this is where I found Nicole.
I can't wear any of these backless shoes with my inserts. The doctor doesn't know about Nicole. She and I never visit the foot doctor together. This pair of shoes were purchased for $5.50 at the local thrift store.

The next two shoes are favorites because they are FELTED... of course.

Haflinger is the pretty blue one with the embroidery. It's a clog type shoe that is really warm and comfortable. I can wear my orthotics with this shoe. I don't always. They're very comfortable both ways.
The Airwalk boot is brand new.

These were not expensive. I found them at Payless Shoes a few weeks back. Payless Shoes has really trendy (sometimes weird) shoes that are made inexpensively and fall apart fast. But sometimes they get brand names in there that are a cut above and at amazing prices. These are called Airwalks. This felted boot should have a name like Sven or Elsa but someone at Airwalk, for some strange reason, called it Marlynn. I love Airwalks for there quirkiness (kind of like Rocket Dogs only less expensive.) and their ability to accept inserts without complaint. This pair was $39.99. Shoes made out of this synthetic felt are not waterproof but they are warm and, with socks, they are a good, winter choice here in California. They also have a zipper which helps getting them on and off.
As you can see. I love Airwalks and have a couple of pairs that I'm wearing into oblivion.

These shoes are like old friends. I can only wear them in the house and around the farm now. The left one is falling apart at the seams but I love these shoes. Don't you have favorites like these?
I have tennis shoes and work boots. I have waterproof boots for slopping around in the goat pen. But these are my favorites and they deserve respect for a lifetime of service to my feet.
I bought a new pair of Airwalks last week.

They're kind of Converse with some fufu on them. My insert fits perfectly in them.
Black is good. I hope they serve me as well as the others.

This is a tribute to my shoes.
I'm glad I'm not growing old back in my grandmother's day. The choices would have been black, short and boot-like with laces... or maybe, dark blue clunkers with a small heel. They didn't have inserts, orthotics and metatarsal cookies for sore spots. We are so fortunate that we have so many choices to make our lives easier and more pain free.
I salute my shoes and the manufacturers of them. I'm still not sure about the name "Marlynn" on the felt boot. But who knows, it's probably some executive's daughter's name. I can live with it.
Here's to shoes everywhere. I haven't seen them complaining at the Occupy protests around the country.... and if anyone has a right to complain about abuse and unfairness it's shoes. Don't you agree?
They are thrown, dragged, left in messy closets, separated from each other and lost.
They are lucky if they are recycled at a thrift shop, but they usually meet a horrible end in some land fill.
I just wanted to say something about shoes today and let them know that someone appreciates them.

Love is An Old Friend

2011-11-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

What was it that drew us to each other?

We were juniors in high school when we met. We lived in the same suburban houses... she on the northeastern end and I on the west. We went to different elementary schools and finally met in high school because of a mutual acquaintance.
What drew me to this life long friend in the beginning? Common interests or a need for contrast to my undeveloped and blossoming persona? The wanting of a friend with uncommon and interesting beauty in a world of conformity? Maybe it was her beautiful red hair, but I think it was more her energy of thought to my laid back, introspective, poetry writing self. She was an exciting gift of talent and creativity.
But, like a flower that unexpectedly appears in the winter and doesn't have enough sun to develop, she struggled. She would go from totally focused positive energy to anger at stupidity, and the injustices of the world. She was the spirit of protest in the 60's at Berkeley.
She was, and is, a uncommon flower in the storm of life.

This was a flower that struggled. Having been through many harsh winters even before I knew her.

My friend suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Possibly because of some DNA passed down from a loved parent who suffered too. She has struggled most of her life to maintain a balance... to look at life in a positive way and to be happy.
She is a brilliant, complex woman who is amazingly gifted. But, as a result of the drugs that give her stability, she frequently finds life flat and disconnected . The drugs take her creativity and interest away.
My friend was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder almost 15 years ago. She is a survivor. But it's not like being a cancer survivor. It's not about getting the tumor out and taking the treatments. It's not about seeing the end of the tunnel and moving on with hope and reassurance.
This is Bipolar Disorder and no matter what drugs you take, no matter how many therapist you talk to, it's an on going battle. Then, there are the scary moments when you realize that the drugs aren't working and the horror of knowing that, without constant monitoring of this insidious disorder, you might never find relief.
You want clarity. You want peace of mind.

The fence gate you see as a new direction might only lead to another set of ups and downs that are almost impossible to navigate and life becomes a series of potholes to fall into.
She dodged the land minds, running uphill until finally coming to a complete standstill, because being out of breath was as much about fear as it was about health.

I have walked this friend's road, off and on, for many years. I've seen her manic, brave, crazy in love, raising a daughter, very happy and very, very sad. I have watched her struggle with anger and be amazed by happy moments and now I see her, as an older woman, still fighting for a balance.
She is my friend and I can only give her vegetable soup and hugs as if she had a cold or the flu.
I can only give her a place to stay, and comfort... a little laughter and listening.
It never seems enough.

Why does she have to struggle this much?
Where is the god of "Give me a frigging break!" ?

I love this old friend. She knows I do.
We talked about a puppy. She says maybe a Dachshund. She loves Carl and Cutter.
I think this would be a good idea, my friend. Let's do it.
I will be down there soon...

The Other Woman... Revisited

2011-11-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

Do you see her? Do you see that ghostly apparition floating around in the front seat. I saw it.
It's probably the young woman who waited for her love to come back from the war 66 years ago. I wrote about it over a year ago and yes, she is still here.
For those of you who didn't know me then. I will direct you to this post and this one so you can understand my dilemma. Because her beautiful body is back in the Prospector's head...
and she's calling his name.

I've had her locked away... kind of like being sent to Redemption Island on the TV show Survivor. But she never loses. She's always there. Waiting to return and be resurrected. This beautiful woman has survived many years and she is not going down quietly.
Wednesday the Prospector (out of the blue) says, " I'm going down to the storage place. I need to get the battery out of the Chevy. "We" need to get the car started again... be sure she's OK."
"We"? I asked.
"I may need some help rolling her out of the shed and back in if I can't get to the battery."
I knew that she was calling his name. He hadn't mentioned her all summer. He had been busy with other projects. I guess the "honey do" list wasn't long enough.

So we drove down to the storage place, punched in the 6 digit code for the iron gate, and drove up to our rented garage. I thought I heard a voice from the inside of our space calling my husband's name.
The Prospector jumped out and unlocked the door, then he stood there for a moment and just looked at the car.
Why does he have to be so open about this affair of the heart? It's way too obvious.

I got out of the car and walked into the space to take a look at my things in the back. I have a few pieces of furniture and my mother's living room rug piled in behind Miss America. Everything was there.
Then I turned around and opened the driver's side door and looked in.

She hadn't changed. She still smelled "old" and her windows were still glazed and cracked. I just don't see what the Prospector sees. He has vision.
Then I looked at the back seat.

I don't know how many young folks "used" this seat back in the day, but there is nothing like it in any of today's cars. It's big and it's comfortable.... and it has a pillow. A pillow that says someone was indulging in comfort back here. I'll bet it could tell some stories.
Anyway, I looked back toward the steering wheel and that's when I saw this foggy stuff.

It was just there...hovering around the steering wheel. It wasn't reflected sun, or fog, on my lens. I took this photo and look... you can see what I saw.
Yes, Farmlady... maybe you've been spending too much time alone on the mountain talking to the goats and the deer. Maybe you are seeing things.
The Prospector opened the passenger door and when he did this, the fog disappeared instantly. He spent about 10 minutes getting the battery out from under the floor board. It was in an awkward place and was strapped down.
We finally got the battery out without having to roll the car out of the storage space.
Then the Prospector looked under her hood... right in front of me.
He has no sense of allegiance to our relationship when he is around this floozy and he has started talking again about fixing her up. He wants to take her back to her original, young, beautiful self.
No wonder she's calling his name.
She better not call mine. She's trouble I tell you.
She will cost him a lot of money and take him places he may not want to go.
I don't know how to fight this woman. She's beautiful in a classic sort of way. She has huge headlights, a lot of chrome and white wall tires.
The Prospector did build me a potting shed this summer. I know he loves me.
We're like good felted fabric... strong, almost waterproof and connected forever, but this other woman is a powerful object of his affection.
I will have to engage in some clever subterfuge.
I will find her weaknesses.
I will let this relationship continue...
for a while.

Wordless Wednesday: Fried Green Tomatoes.. before frying.

2011-11-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

From Yarn to Felted Scarf...

2011-11-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

I finished the Noro yarn scarf.
I started with this beautiful "Oh my. I think I'm in love." yarn.

Rolled it into a beautiful ball of amazing color that changes magically as you knit or crochet.

I crocheted the yarn, starting with a granny square, and then I triple crocheted half of the length of the scarf. I made two of these pieces and attached them to form one whole piece.
This is how the scarf looked before felting...

Pretty but very open and loose. I chose crochet because I wanted to keep the pattern from disappearing when I felted it. As it turned out, I could have made a much shorter scarf because I didn't get the shrinkage in the length that I expected.
I threw the scarf into a mesh bag. Set the washing machine on the lowest water setting and the hottest water. Tossed the bag in with a pair of jeans and an old towel. Added some liquid hand soap and agitated everything for just 5 minutes.
The scarf softened up but nothing happened.
Another 5 minutes... nothing.
At 15 minutes I started to see the wool tightening up.
Another 5 minutes. and the pattern was really pulling together.
It's fun to watch this happen and it was happening very fast.
(Again I didn't take photos. I'm always so involved in the process I forget to do this... and I was fixing dinner at the same time. Too much multi-tasking for this old lady.)
Finally at 25 minutes I pulled the bag out and checked the scarf for the last time.
It was done, baked... finished.
If I had continued for another 5 or 10 minutes the scarf would have tightened up to the point where the scarf would have been this skinny piece of wool that wouldn't look like the crocheted scarf that I worked so hard on. You have to be very careful not to over felt. You will lose all your hard work and all the colors. The pattern will blend together and disappear.
I took the scarf out of the bag and rinsed it in cool water. Then gently squeeze to get the water out. I rolled it up into a towel, laid it on the floor and stood on it to get as much moisture out as possible.
The whole scarf was very fuzzy and needed to be "cleaned up".
This is done with very sharp scissors and a steady hand. Because this is now a felted fabric, you can trim the edges and cut the fuzz off and it will not unravel. You have to be very careful though. You want to rid the scarf of the fuzz, not cut through it. I have used a razor for this on solid pieces of felting. It works well and is faster than scissors. I also have a lint shaver that I bought online at knitpicks.com This is a nifty little battery run, hand held defuzzer that can be used for anything that needs to be cleaned up or an old sweater that has pilled and looks awful. It's only $3.99 and well worth the price. I still like scissors for edges.
So, here is the finished felted scarf...

The scarf is very long. I really thought that it would shrink up, lengthwise, more than it did, so it's a very long scarf. It's an Isadora Duncan scarf, not silk of course, and not long enough to get caught in the wheels of a convertible car.
It's safe... and warm.
I'm very pleased with it. I stretched it out, pulling and shaping it as it dried, to show off the pattern.
Love the colors. Loved using a granny square on the ends.
Now... what do you think?
Buttons?

Two matching buttons in the middle of the granny squares?

Four buttons.. one on each corner?

Big and gaudy?

Vintage?

One big, one small?

Or no buttons at all.
Tell me what you think.
Maybe this scarf doesn't need buttons.
Maybe it's wonderful just the way it is.

Yarn Wonderland and Fiber Lust

2011-11-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

This unassuming little store is call The Yarn Boutique. It's in Lafayette, California. They still called this area La Fiesta Square. If you have ever been to Lafayette you will remember that this is one of the older shopping areas.The store is in the back of the parking lot near a creek.There is ample parking nearby.
This yarn store is like falling into the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland.
I was Alice and I fell into a wonderland of yarn and fiber.

Oh my! You can hardly walk around the aisles. The place is filled to the brim with every yarn that you can imagine... and equipment... and books.. and needles.. and spinning stuff... and ... more yarn.
It is an over-abundant haven ("heaven")... for the obsessed.

And BUTTONS... thousands of buttons.

Samples of completed yarn patterns are everywhere, so you can see what the yarn looks like knitted into a child's sweater or socks..
... or a scarf.

... and baskets of roving sold by the ounce.
But then, as a White Rabbit ran between my legs (It might have been a cat.), I saw the yarn of my dreams.

It's called NORO yarn.
I'm sorry, truly I am. I bought something that was not Made In America, but there is nothing like this made here in the states. If you know of a good local alternative... comment.... I'm all ears.
I don't think that the sheep care whether they are in Japan or California as long as they are feed everyday.
I know, I know... that's not the point.
I will try harder. I will have more restraint when I'm not so in love with all of this.

Each hank was $10. for... oops, I can't read the wrapper. I think it's a 50 gram ball. Which means (if my calculations are even close) that you have about one hundred nine yards of yarn to knit with.
I bought two balls of this. Noro is 100% wool. The description says Kureyon. I don't see a color name on the tag but there are specific blends in different shades and they are all unbelievably beautiful.

Since I've been home I have taken some photos of the yarn and some of the roving that I bought.

This is the Noro yarn, above. This weekend I finished crocheting a scarf using the yarn and tomorrow I will felt it.
I will do a post, with photos, on the methods to my madness Tuesday.

I also bought some Merino Hand Dyed Spinning Fiber. for my Nuno felting .
The store had so many lovely blends of colors, but I loved this one.
It's called FOREST.
It goes with my livingroom.
I may just leave it on the side table until I use it.
It's like a magical gift waiting to be opened.

This is called Anzula fiber. Please, look at this up close...

I know that I get kind of goofy about this stuff but... LOOK AT IT. It's SO beautiful!

Anyway, I have just finished crocheting a medium length scarf with the Noro yarn and, if my shrinkage calculations are good, I will have a really nice felted neck scarf for... a Christmas present.
Stay tuned...

***************
The Yarn Boutique is at 963 -C, Moraga Rd. Laffayette, CA.
The customer service is great and the prices are reasonable. They wind your yarn for you and the owner's are helpful and very nice.

Little spirits, brave and true.

2011-11-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

We knew it was coming.
We could see all the signs.

There were ships filled with pirates
adrift on the lawns.

And pumpkins,
and bats..
on everyone's porches.

As it got dark, then pumpkins appeared,
with sinister faces and strangeness... and leered
at the children reminding them well,
that now was the time
for a Halloween spell.

At last darkness came,
And when, with eager, bated breath,
They shouted "Now?".
"Not yet.", we said.
And, Oh the waiting was so hard.. for some.

Others weren't so sure. The older ones were jaded men.
Wishing more for being costume free and then...

The magic night did work its spell...

And all the men were ready.
Both SWAT and NINJA faced the night,
To battle fear and steel their nerve,
To brave the unknown, beasts of fright.

Willing to face the tradition...
With thoughts of bountiful bags of loot.
Braving the wilds of suburbia..
(As soon as the shoes and socks were on.)

Off they went with Dad in toe,
A "knight", to battle many foe.
To challenge goblins, keep witches at bay
and clears the dragon "right of way".

Mom and Noni settled in.
Ready... as the night,
to see the faces,
hear smalls voices...
( To laugh when a two year old grabs all the neon bracelets with both hands,
and one just stands there not knowing what to say.. )

A basket of glowing goodies, waiting with joy
For each brave, young girl and boy.
A basket of treats for only the asking
A night of openness, trusting... and ghosts...
Basking in years of memories. Ghosts...
waiting for their child to return,
With their favorite... a BABE RUTH...

And they came back....

From their plunderers quest...
To consider what fears they had conquered.

To tell of adventures to distant land.
To sit in familiar laps
and talk of raids and bounty.
To laugh...
And feel safe after the great adventure.
On their well lit porch.

One wonderful night a year when puppies wear glowing jewelry
and don't bark because they are a part of the whole.
Excitement prevails and life is secure.
When nighttime is not quite so scary
and you can stay outside later,
watching everyone and shouting..,
"Hey Noni, Come and look at the moon. It's getting bigger."
And all the world is a wonderful, mysterious place .

Oh yes, it was a wondrous eve.
Sweet friends, the spirits come anew.
Life is long and sometimes weary.
Believe in all things bright and clear..
Walk the nights of bleary vision,
As a child, brave and true.
Life is trusting, hoping.. seeing.
This is what I wish for you.

Halloween Wishes

2011-10-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

I wish you a HALLOWEEN filled with pumpkins on the porch, the LAUGHTER of children and the smell of CIDER in the air.

I wish you APPLE PIE..
and lots of candy for TRICK OR TREATS,
A clear, cold night...
And good COFFEE on Tuesday morning.

Wishes too, for SUNSHINE and warmth that brings a smile to your face.
.. and a talisman, or two, to ward off EVIL SPIRITS.

After watching < GRIMM > last night, I think that a few charms never hurt.
Did you see the new show? Are you watching faces?
Are you a direct descendant of the Brothers Grimm.?
CUTTER is playing it safe..

~Happy Halloween~
***************************

***********

P.S. I will be gone for the weekend. Got to go see the Beans.

Silliness Beyond All Reason Over a Covered Deck for Brownie

2011-10-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday.
They came into the goat house area as if a foreign creature of mythical proportions had arrive before them.

"What do you suppose this is?", cried Freckles, as he looked over at Murphy.
"Well I'm not sure." Murphy answered, " It wasn't here before."
Bart, who thinks he is the leader of the pack, just stared at the new "thing" that had suddenly appeared.

Then, thinking he needed to do something about this, he jumped up and sniffed the end of the offensive "thing" that was blocking the doorway.
Freckles watched Bart's every move. He felt that he needed to do something too, so ...

He first tried to lift the top"thing" off of the new post "thing". Then he tried to eat it.
None of this worked.
Then he tried to lift it with his head.

If Freckles had been about a foot taller this might have worked... but he wasn't and it didn't.
Then he had a moment of ..."This goat isn't going to be able to remove this thing"

He finally stood there, like all the rest of them, looking up at the strange new object.

Only Brownie was missing. He was watching all of this from behind the goat house.

Brownie is the reason for this new change . These three, wonderful goat boys keep pushing Brownie out of the goat house and winter is on its way... so we have decided to build an overhang and deck in front of the goat house. Yes, we do what we can. It's all about the animals around here
You see. Brownie got badly hurt last spring when he got a horn caught in the feeder inside the goat house. He preceded to panic. He ripped the horn off, spewing blood everywhere, sending the herd into total chaos.
He has had a bad time of it every since. He has been rejected by the others and, as typical of animal behavior as this is, it's very had to watch.
Brownie is weak, has been treated for Coccidiosis and (I think) he damaged part of his brain when he did this horrible thing to himself. His motor movement is slow and he is not as sure footed as goats should be.
So knowing that he is doing the best he can.. and that he has gained weight since he lost so much after the accident, we spoil him.
He gets fed apart from the rest of the goats and also gets extra carrots and peanuts to give him more calories and protein.
He is doing well but he keeps his distance from the other goats. He even sleeps outside next to the door of the goat house. So, we decided to build a small deck and overhang to protect him from the elements this Winter. We really do love this goat and feel he has had enough trauma without having to sleep on the cold ground in the rain. I'm sure this would be the last straw for him.
Yes, this is a labor of love. When it rains, we have noticed that they do let him into the house but most of the time he's sitting outside.
So.. the Prospector has finished the potting shed and has started on the overhang for Brownie.

This is the man who says that he can't build anything. He amazes me. Always has. When he puts his mind to something ... he just does it. He says, " I'm no carpenter.". Yea, well.. you are sweetie. You really are.
He swears a lot while he does it, but he does it and it's always a great job.

This morning the over head framing is almost done and the metal roof will be installed. Then the Prospector will start the decking.
Again, the goats will have to get use to another different and new "thing" in their lives. A new step up before the familiar one. As with all of us...

Murphy, after an initial rub against the new"thing", was the calming influence in all this. He is always the first to accept new "things". He senses the good and bad of things...the yin and yang, as it were.
He knows this is for Brownie. I even saw him touch noses with Brownie yesterday afternoon. He probably told Brownie that it would be OK.
He is an amazing goat. Always at one with his surroundings. Always the peacemaker.

*********************

Bart... not so much. He's still annoyed.
"Another step up. What kind of sense is this? We don't need a new step."

He'll get over it by dinnertime.

Wordless Wednesday: "From whence arrived the praying mantis? From outer space, or lost Atlantis?~Ogden Nash~

2011-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

"The Dew of Compassion is a Tear ~Lord Byron~

2011-10-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

A small bird... saved from my cat.

With feathers too short to fly. It hopped down the path and then, as I scooted it through the fence, trying to save it from Annie, it turned around... and there, as if confronted by a tiny "elephant man", I gasped in horror.
This small bird had no eyes.

Attacked in its nest? A growth that had overcome its face? A deformity of birth? I will never know.
How did this little bird last this long without sight, without feathers... without protection?
Where had it come from? Why was it here, now?
I scooped it up into a colander and walked up the road with it.
Should I put it out of its misery? Should I take it to the local shelter? Let the natural world take care of it?
What should I do?

I cannot tell you what I did... I cannot.
I think that my compassion was not strong enough, or brave enough, to do what the spirit of this tiny creature wanted.
I only hope that no one judges me for my decision.
I only hope that this impossible (untold) choice was the right one.
Maybe there was no right decision ...

Beautiful little creature, deformed and alone, only you know.
... Only you.

A Lovely Day

2011-10-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those Fall days in the Foothills when the weather was just about perfect. This is what we mean by California Dreamin'... it is the quintessential day; that wonderful time of the year when the temperature never goes above 85 degrees and because of the cold nights, it takes all morning to warm up. This is "sweater in the mornings and shorts in the afternoon." weather and... If you're going to be outside you had best use some sunscreen. It may not feel hot but it's still going to do some damage if you're out in it for a while.
I was meeting some friends for lunch. They both live down in the valley so we planned to meet in Ione.
This is an interesting town.

Ione is about 10 miles from where I live. It use to be the supply center on the main roads to the mines during the Gold Rush and was the agricultural hub of the area. It was called Bedbug, Hardscrabble and Freeze Out at different times in the past.
Now it has a population of about 7900 folks and almost half of them reside at Mule Creek State Prison which is located at the north end of town.
Dave Brubeck, the famous jazz pianist, was raised here.

I found a parking place right on Main St. and took pictures while I waited for my friends. This is the Restaurant that we chose to meet at.
It's called Clark's Corner...

While I was waiting I saw a lot of trucks with horse trailers and huge cow trucks come down Main Street. More than any other town in the area. There are lots of farms, horse ranches and cattle around here. It's evident that, even though they put a fancy golf course in a few years ago, the farmers and their critters still rule this little town.
My friends arrived and we went inside to have some lunch.

In the 1800's there were six saloons in this town. (and they thought Jackson was wild.)
Clark's Corner has metamorphosed into a wonderful eatery.. but it was once a SALOON.

Dedicated to the spirits within..? Would that be liquor or ghost spirits?
And how original... Old Red Brick Building. I think that was more of a descriptive way of finding the place that a name for the bar. As in..."Meet me at the old red brick building on Main St. I'll buy the drinks."
Or...
"I need to be in Ione by Friday. My brothers, James and Virgil are meetin' me there. Can I pay you with some gold dust?"
"What was your name again?", the train station ticket man asked.
"Earp. Wyatt Earp. I need one ticket."
No problem, Mr. Earp. Gold dust will be fine."
I'm on my way to San Francisco. Got some things to take care of."
"None of my business, Mr. Earp. Not at all. You have a nice trip."

Well, it could have happen. Wyatt came to California a couple of times. He lived in Santa Rosa for a while. He died in Los Angeles in 1929.
He might have had a drink and stayed over night at the Old Red Brick Building Saloon. It's possible. Isn't it?
I love to think about who visited or worked in these old buildings a long time ago.
I love to think that I might be stepping on the same old floor that Wyatt, or Joaquin, or Mr. Muir. might have.

Now the old saloon is lookin' spiffy.

I'll bet Wyatt didn't get a French Dip and raspberry ice tea.... or a chocolate chip mocha scone for dessert. No he didn't. But we did.... just to name a few delicious lunch items.
The food was very good.
The tables all had a lot of history under the glass for us to read while we ate.

And there were some old photos of local families.

And some tough looking men.
What a great idea to put all those photos under glass so you could read the history of the town while eating.
The restaurant is also a community meeting place for local issues, Internet communicating and just taking about what's happening in town.
We ate lunch and talked. Then we went and got dessert and then... ate and talked some more.
One friend, Sylvia, is the president of the California Gourd Associating and she is also the vice president of our local gourd group. She gardens, grows gourds and makes beautiful gourd art.
Jane, another friend, is a member of our goat group and owns a wonderful herd of Alpine goats. Alpines are really lovely animals. She has a beautiful old horse and two big ol' dogs and lives with a guy named Richard ...so I call their farm DICK AND JANE'S, like the children's book.
There's no SPOT but that's OK. Their two goofy dogs make up for not having a dog named Spot. We wouldn't want to get too silly about this.
Sylvia and Jane have known each other for many years. We had such a good time together. We laughed and talked about all kind of things... But, as the saying goes...
What is talked about in Ione, stays in Ione... or is that Las Vegas?
It doesn't matter.
We had a great time.
Right ladies?

Wordless Wednesday: "I have nothing to say, I am saying it, and that is poetry." ~John Cage~

2011-10-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Philpy

2011-10-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me this book last year and it's a good one. It is filled with a lot of recipes that were brought West by the 49er's and folks that came here to start a new life. Interesting stories about how the early settlers got here and brought their favorite recipes with them.
It's a cookbook and a history book all in one. It was publish in 1952. The year my sister was born.
Hey, Sis. I thought you were 39! No, that can't be right because I'm only 49. No... that can't be right because my oldest son is 41. Oh, this isn't working well anymore. We may have to get older... *#&%@. I will call you soon.
Anyway...
Here is one recipe, in the book, that I had never heard of but I thought the name was kind of catchy so last night I decided to make it. It looked really easy.
I didn't have any leftover rice so I made some earlier in the day.
I took a good look at the recipe first. I've been known to start a recipe without looking to see if I have all the ingredients. Since we live in the middle of nowhere and don't have "next door" neighbors, I try to be sure and have everything I need before I start cooking or baking. The chickens and the goats have heard me shout..."Oh no. I don't have any bla, bla, bla." So, I always check first.
Here's the recipe...

I did have everything I needed. I used 1% milk. and Polenta in place of the corn meal. It's a little grainier than corn meal but I like the texture. I'm Italian... mostly, so I always have Polenta in the cupboard.
My helpers were in place... sometimes I call it "underfoot".

Cutter (on the left) is always in the kitchen when I am. He's my main man when I'm cooking. Carl (on the rug) doesn't usually show up until dinner is on the table. That's why he looks a little like he's not suppose to be there.
Yesterday they were both anxiously waiting for whatever was going to happen.
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, got a bowl and mixed all the ingredients together and poured the mixture into a glass 9X12 pan. I told you this was easy...
Be sure to spray the pan with a non stick spray of some kind. Egg mixes tend to stick if you don't.
"Bake until nicely brown" ended up being about 30 mins. I checked at 20 minutes but I continued baking the bread for 10 more minutes. It's suppose to be thin and crispy. With a 10 in. pie pan, the bread would have been thicker and might have required more baking time. At 30 mins. the bread was brown, crispy and done.

I cut it into pieces and piled them on a plate for dinner.

We ate this with some steak and Broccoli. It was delicious!

It reminded me of something from my childhood but I knew that I had never eaten Philpy.
Until Breakfast...
We had leftovers and when I took the Philpy out of the refrigerator, it seems like I had done this before.
Way back in my memory was this picture of my mother cutting up Polenta, from the night before, frying it in a pan and serving it to us with butter and syrup.
Oh yes. This was the memory that had been calling to me..
This recipe was a little different. Mom's Polenta didn't have milk or rice in it.
But... when I covered pieces of Philpy with butter and popped them into the microwave for a minute and then poured some syrup over them. Oh my. Did I have a rush of nostalgia.
Philpy is heavier because of the rice but the taste and the flavor was so similar to fried Polenta. It just took me right back to my Mom's kitchen on a Saturday morning. It was a plateful of sweetness and wonderful memories just sitting there waiting for me.
I could even here my Dad saying " Pass the butter or I'll walk right down the middle of the table."
He never did, of course, and then he'd say, "Jackie, this is so good. Can I have some more please?".... and my sister and I would laugh and the whole world was happy.
I have never figured out how we had so much left over Polenta if we ate most of it for dinner the night before. Maybe Mom made a double batch so we would have enough for breakfast.
I looked it up and some recipes for Philpy don't have corn meal in them. Some say that it has "Southern" roots and is what poor people ate. Some recipes add a little flour. Some use wild rice. Some use shredded cheese and spices. I think you could just about use anything you wanted to as long as you keep the basics the same.
Enjoy the recipe. It's really a good staple for dinner.
It's inexpensive, quick and very good.

Buon Apetite!

Beginnings and Endings ... and a Time of Transition

2011-10-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of a Nuno Felted scarf. I went to a local fabric shop called the Sewing Cottage. I only went in to buy some needles for my sewing machine. I came out with all these fat quarters of beautiful fabric too.

Then today I had to go into town for some paint and I decided to stop at the thrift shop.
Well... those fat quarters are beautiful but very expensive at the fabric store. They were about $10. a yard and added up to about $20. for 8 or 9 quarters.
All of this, at the thrift store was way cheaper.

For about $8.00 I bought all of this. If you just need scraps and you're not too particular, this is a really inexpensive way to buy fabric. Some of these are hankerchiefs and they're beautiful. With Nuno Felting, I'm more interested in the color and texture than the patterns. I found some great pieces to start my project. I will always check the thrift store first from now on.
I have some beautiful fleece and roving that I've been saving for the occasion.

Fleece is washed, uncarded wool from a sheep but roving is carded and sometimes twisted into long strands.

This is wool roving that has been dyed from light to dark shades of pink. Both of these bags of wool have been dyed.
I can blend the colors by carding it again and mixing the strands together.

"Oh, be still my heart."

Isn't this beautiful stuff?
The fun begins.
*************************
I had to finish the painting of the POTTING SHED first. The outside is done now and weatherproof.

Now I can paint the inside at my leisure. Which means... sometime before the weather turns on us. There are a lot of acorns on the ground this year and I think that means a rough winter.
But...
Come on rain.
It's time for you to put some fears to rest for the winter.
We want the new grasses to push through the burned area so the deer have something to eat.

Momma and her baby are looking for something to eat.

I don't know why they hang around the fire zone. There's is nothing there for them.

And we want the weather to change bringing the cold that makes Rattlers go back into their dens for the Winter.

This four foot monster was sunning himself on our driveway yesterday.
This was a big mistake on his part.
He is now in snake heaven.

We hate to kill these beautiful creatures. They have a right to be here but we cannot let them wander around the house area. Not near the chickens and the goats... Not near our dogs.
It's a hard call and I'm always sad when we have to kill one. We have been very lucky the last couple of years. When we first moved here we had up to 7 or 8 a season.
This is only the second Rattler this summer. The other was a baby and it was on the road last week. They're moving around right now. We are being very vigilant.
This was a big one and old..

This snake had lived many years and shed many skins. Its rattles were broken off. I'm sure that it saw many battles and fought hard. This was one battle it could not win.
I'm sorry Rattle Warrior. May you find green grass and many mice in the next world.
**************************
And for all of you who are shaking in you moccasins over these last photos... here is a change of pace.

Some strange looking, small people have appeared on my piano.

Strange ladies with funny hats... And this one, below, with the blue eyes
Kind of scary...

...but the pumpkin head guy doesn't seem too worried so I guess I won't be either.
And, to Carl's undying annoyance, a CAT has taken up residence on top of the bookcase.

And it looks like a cat that is not to be messed with. That's kind of a scary grin.
I don't know where these creatures came from... but I suspect that it has something to do with HALLOWEEN.
Don't you?

Shades of Magnolia Pearl

2011-10-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

I took this class with the highest of hopes. I waited all weekend, with anticipation, for this all day Nuno Felting class at the Art Is...You Retreat and I was not disappointed.
I think we all came into this room with the desire to learn something about this amazing form of felting.

To create a beautiful scarf out of pieces of fabric and wool fleece.

This is Lorri Scott. She was our instructor. She is a self-taught fiber artist. She transforms silk, fabrics, yarns and ribbon into wearable art creations. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA. With the assistance of her sister, she guided all of us into the world of Nuno felting and by the end of the day we all had a beautiful scarf that we would proudly wear out into the real world.
The process of Nuno felting is long, rather complicated and physically demanding. First you lay bubble wrap on a towel. Then you lay out the pieces of fabric that you want to piece together. They can be odd shapes or long strips.
When you get the design you want, you "glue" them together with small amounts of wool fleece which will eventually adhere all the pieces together with the wool backing that you layer on top of the fabric. This is a very simplistic way of telling you how the process goes but there are plenty of online videos that explain this in detail. Just google Nuno felting and marvel at the amazing process.
Lorri first had us do a small piece (about 6x8 inches after felting) that taught us the process of Nuno (which means cloth in Japanese) felting.

When we were comfortable with this we started laying out the pieces for our scarfs.
I was so busy I didn't take any photos of the process... beginning to end. Darn! I'm sorry I didn't. It would have been the best way to show you what each part entailed.
When the scarf was laid out and everything was in place, we wet the whole thing with soapy water, rolled it up and started the felting process... to MUSIC. Lorri had some good music to roll with. FELT AND ROLL... FELT AND ROLL..
You do this for at least two songs before you stop, unroll it and check it to see if the wool is sticking to the fabric. If not, then you roll it back up and FELT AND ROLL SOME MORE. It takes about six to eight songs before you're done.... if you're lucky. You can use a timer or count to 1000 or some other creative way of passing the time, but good music would be my choice. If you have ITunes... Perfect.
You'll have good strong arm muscles if you do many of these scarfs.
When you get tired of rolling with you hands and arms, you can put the roll down on the floor, sit in a chair and roll with your feet.
I think this art is the answer for people who don't like to exercise other ways. This exercise also gives you a sense of accomplishment and produces something besides sweat. Well, you may sweat a little. You are going to have sore muscles but you'll have a lovely scarf in the end.
After the rolling.. there is the hot water in a bag and slapping the fabric around on the table or floor. It's good for ridding yourself of pent up anger and ugly feelings.
Then you rinse and towel dry.
Then you scrunch and roll until the fabric is all drawn together.
It's fun to watch what happens.
When your arms are ready to fall off, you're probably done.
Lorri had us throw the scarfs in the hotel dryer so they would be dry in time for dinner and knock every one's socks off.
Here are some closeups of samples that Lorri brought... to inspire us.

Talk about Gypsy colors...

And using lots of lace.

I will have to try a scarf with lines of fabric like this on (on the left). I like the look.

Then we had to show off our finished scarves. These were done by the students in the class.
They are so varied and beautiful...

What a way to use up your scraps of fabric. If the fabric is silk, nylon, muslin or any fabric that you think is loose and open enough to felt through... it's usable.

I love this one. The student used lots of pieces of fabric and almost drew a picture with the pieces. She must be a painter.

And finally my completed scarf. Again, I didn't take a picture in the class so when I got home I staged my own photo shoot.

Yes... Shades of Magnolia Pearl.
The ends of the scarf are lace curtains. Lorri recommended leaving them on the end and only felting them where they attached to the scarf. I really like this idea.
It's all lacy and open and... well... like Magnolia Pearl would make it.
Lorri modeled the scarf in the classroom and almost didn't give it back. I took this as a compliment.
What do you think? Pretty?

This is a close up of the main part so you can see how the felting shrinks but the fabric doesn't. When this happens the fabric gets pulled together and makes this new, interesting, textural construction.

I asked my grandson to model the scarf when I stopped by on my way home.
He wanted to keep it. Somehow it didn't quite go with his tie dyed tea shirt. So...

I brought it home to the farm. Maybe I'll use it over a window. Can't you just see how beautiful it would be with the sun shining through it.
And maybe I'll wear it for the holidays.

*****************************

Art Is... You Retreat was a wonderful adventure and widen my artistic awareness.

I'm never going back to being passive and unmoved by life. It's just too much fun to get my hands dirty... to be excited about things.
Life is too short to stand at the edge of the pool. I finally want to learn how to swim... in the deep end.
What ever you do... do it with passion.
The word is PASSION...
and the color is any color you want.

Finally... Petaluma Art Retreat .. revisited.

2011-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to say something about these art retreats. You can go on line and look at videos, read other blogs that give you tutorials and Google all kinds of helpful websites that teach you how to create the kind of art that you are interested in.... but, there is nothing like a retreat/workshop for really getting the hands on experience that is needed to learn a skill.
The ART IS...YOU West Coast Art Retreat was wonderful. It was well organized, offered great classes and really great teachers. This was the first West Coast venue for the retreat and I hope not the last.
Art is ...Petaluma was held at the Sheraton Sonoma, just off highway 101 and very easy to find. It was close to downtown and to many of the beautiful surrounding historic areas that folks come to California to visit.
This is wine country and the hills are covered with miles of vineyards and wineries.
Petaluma is also known historically for chicken and egg production. I don't think that they know which came first either but it was a big deal in the day. "At one time, Petaluma was known as the "Egg Capital of the World," sparking such nicknames as "Chickaluma". Petaluma hosted the only known Poultry drugstore and is the place where the egg incubator was invented by Lyman Byce in 1879." For more information go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petaluma,_California
The Petaluma River runs through the old part of town and out to the Pacific Ocean.

The riverfront has been redone with walks and businesses but the old tracks and buildings are still there from the days of producing and transporting goods.

I love that they left the old tracks and wood piers in some areas. Makes for great photo shoots.
Downtown is filled with great shops and restaurants.

That sell local wine, with half the proceeds going to Breast Cancer foundations.

Not sure what the MONKEYS have to do with "the cause" but they do grab your attention.

I always ask permission to take photos before I pull the camera out. This place, called Paperwhite, was so nice about letting me take some photos.

and when I told her that I had a blog, she said that it was like getting some free advertising. It's true. Some folks are really nasty about not wanting photos taken in their shops. Not sure why... but it's their store so I don't argue with them.

A feast for the eyes...

With lovely and varied items that were beautifully displayed.

And of course, it's all about the chickens and the eggs here... and BUTTER?
I love it! It's such a farming community... still.
Check out Paperwhite if you're ever in Petaluma.
****************************
So, on to the first workshop.
It was called TIME TRAVEL DIARY.

This was an altered book workshop. You take an old book and make it into a work of art.
The book has to be in fairly good condition. You remove about a quarter of the pages with an Exacto knife or just carefully tear them out. Then you use the remaining pages to add paint, paper and embellishments, gluing pages with mod podge or gel medium.
There should be a theme or idea in mind. We were told ahead of time to create a character or use someone from our past.The book would be their story.
I have a very hard time doing this to a book. when I created my first altered book I couldn't look at it for months. It was a book of William Blake's poetry and I had nightmares of him haunting me because I had defaced his pages of poems.
I found it very difficult to take a book apart and tear it's pages out. I still have the book but I will never do this to a book that means that much to me again.
This time I found an old book that had a wonderful vintage paper cover on it. It was called Valley People and was about people who lived in Pope Valley, CA. My character for this workshop was my grandmother, Johanna, and her life in the Napa Valley from the 1900's to about 1940.
The artist/instructor for this workshop was Serena Barton. She was wonderful.
We were a very small class and we felt like we were getting individual instruction from her. We were!
It turned out there were only two of us that showed up so we had a very private workshop. Very one on one.
Serena lives in Portland, Oregon. She taught herself to paint and even though she loved art as a child, it wasn't until she went on a vacation to Italy that she became inspired to create paintings and mixed media work for a living.
These are Serena's hands..

She is talking about the different techniques that can be used on the pages of the book.

This is a book that Serena was working one. I love the handwriting. Watching an artist create art with their hands is so interesting. Listening to them talk about how they create and the techniques use is like a gift to someone who is learning.
This is the other student in the class and some of the pages of her book.

Hers was about the divine spirit in women and their beauty and strength. It was beautiful.

(click on the photo to enlarge)

She called her book The Divine Feminine.

And wrote, in her pages, about "the rhythm of primal brightness." WOW! One page would be done in bold colors.
Another in soft pastels and transparent overlays.

It was a beautiful effort.

Mine on the other hand was a concentrated effort.
I would have taken more photos but my hands were stuck together with glue and paint.
I have decided that whatever I do to change this old book, I must keep the integrity of that original book. I find it painful to pull a book apart.
What I do, has to incorporate itself into the older addition, as if I'm building on a foundation. This, of course, adds another level to the artwork but it's part of how I deal with taking this book apart... Penitence for the sin of defacing someones writing.

I glued part of the paper cover back onto the outside of the book. My grandmother was a "Valley" person too... just a different valley. And I also left the author's name.

When I created the inside cover, I left the handwritten dedication visible in the upper right hand corner.

And, again, the name of the book...

And the table of contents.
I think that once I make these concessions to the original book I can then continue to create my art on these pages and live with myself. If not... then I will find some other object to alter.
One of the artists at the first night's dinner said that you must do 6 or 7 of the same thing before moving on to something else. By the 7th time you will know how to do it and you will know, for sure, that it is what you want to do. I think that is a cure for my habit of hopscotching all over the art world trying to find something that I like.
So, I have five more of these babies to go. I will either become an Altered book artist or die trying.
OR... stick to Felting.
Thanks Serena. You made me think outside the book...
*********************************

Tomorrow I will do a post on the Nuno Felting class. Um, um.. good.