The beginning of the end

I have finally been able to start wearing shoes which means I can finally start weaving again.  Delaney will be five months old next week and is becoming more aware of her surroundings all the time.  I decided to see how she would react to watching me weave and she loves it.  I originally thought one hour sessions would be a great place to start.

To my surprise she feel asleep and took a thirty minute nap while I made tons of clattering noises.  I was a little too ambitious however and ended up with a very sore back.  I've had to cut back to 30-minute sessions for now as I build my muscles back up.  Four months is a long time to be inactive.

While Delaney naps, I take a rest and read; sometimes I nap too.

For those of you who have read this blog from back when we lived in Nevada, our beautiful valley experienced a devastating fire last week and one home was lost.  Click for big to see the homes that the firefighters saved - all but one!  This is what the view would be from our old house.  Not only is it ugly, there's no vegetation to prevent catastrophic runoff next spring.

I think this photo speaks volumes.  Our mailbox looked just like this.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I spent my final day as living history interpreter for this year and one last afternoon of cribbage.  Izzie is a seasonal hire, a 19-year-old college sophomore and Jayden is a 17-year-old high school junior who just had completed a 3.5 mile hill workout with his cross country team before coming down to his volunteer shift, both amazing, motivated and responsible young people and I will miss them.

I have finished this area of our yard and will leave it alone to grow together, probably a couple more years before it looks mature and planned.  Next year I'll start to plant that area behind it which is just dried grass and aspen tree volunteers.  We'll need to add irrigation there before I can start planting.

I've had help from our songbirds who have dropped seeds here and there, some grew and some didn't.  This snapdragon is between a rock and a paver so I don't expect to see it again next year.  They've donated a lot of violas in random spots and I am quite happy with their cheerful little faces.

This is my favorite of the random donations.  I used an app I bought called Picture This to identify it as Chinese Hound's Tongue.  We're hopeful it will be back next year.

The sure sign that the seasons have begun to turn is this red leaf in our maple tree.  Even though the days are in the 80s, the morning temps are in the low 40s, quite chilly and the tree is taking its cue from that, which means less outdoors time and more time spent indoors and the end of summer.  I hope to be weaving an hour a day by next week.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

My daughter and her family including grandson Kiernan drove up from Reno the day after we got back from our trip to retrieve Alexia.  We enjoyed several days with them and then they hit the road, to be back to Reno on Monday.  Alexia had an orientation to attend.  Nevada has a program called Nevada Youth Legislator where high school students can apply to the state senator in their district for this position.  There are 21 state senators so 21 high school students, most of them in the south where the population is.  She still isn't clear on their mission but it is going to be a great learning opportunity regardless.

She applied to Senator Heidi Gansert's office and was accepted.  A term is for two years and next year the Reno kids will fly to Las Vegas for the orientation since they came up this year.  She even has her own business card!

And State ID.

It's back to babysitting on Thursdays and Fridays for me.  Delaney is now four months old and can roll over!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch - the living history department bought a hand crank ice cream maker on eBay.

It's been a huge hit with the kids.  They line up to take turns cranking and then go to the end of the line so they can do it again, even though they know we're unable to give them any of it.

But the past two weeks have been too hot to do much of anything, too hot to bake, and too hot to make ice cream, so we've been playing cribbage.  Izzie taught me last week.  Her grandmother taught her when she was seven and now she's taught us.  Yesterday we played a tournament and surprisingly it was a big hit with the public.  Many adults have played it and the kids love helping us add up the cards - 15-2, 15-4.  It's not as easy as it looks as these reproduction cards only have the spots, no numbers.  It's gets confusing after a while.

Our county fair was just a couple of weeks ago and my demonstration shift was the first morning it opened.  In spite of the air conditioner not working in our room, we still had very good turnout.

My scarf took the Superintendents Award.  I don't know what that means or who the superintendents are, but that's a mighty big ribbon.  It's headed to the State fair tomorrow.

 And I settle back into my routine, enjoying the last days of summer.

Changes and Progress

I got a text from Clover that she had left an envelope in our mailbox.  It was ten $20 bills, totally unexpected.  I was just happy to know we weren't going to see the hottub on our power bill anymore.  I took myself directly, do not pass go, to our local nursery and bought five shrubs:  forsythia, two varieties of elderberry, burning bush and a quince with peach colored double-blossomed flowers, plus three daylilies.  A friend gave me clippings from her yard and I plan to get a few more.  There's still a lot to be done but that's all I'm going to do this year. 

The move was Thursday evening and they had the hot-tub heated and running by the weekend.  Clover sent me this photo.  The outcome pleases me no end.

Last Monday Alexia and I were back at the High Desert Museum living history ranch and Izzie once again baked a rhubarb pie from the garden.  The pie plate was missing so she baked it in the muffin tin as tarts.  I have a feeling this was pretty true to authentic baking, figuring it out without a recipe.

Izzie started as a volunteer when she was a high school student Alexia's age and now as a college student is hired as a seasonal worker.  It took two people to get the tarts out of the pan with four forks but they were just as good as the pie she made last week, notwithstanding the improvisation.

Alexia and I drove up to Redmond on Tuesday to take a painting lesson with Erik Holland.  His girlfriend moved here earlier in the year and is a nurse at the hospital, and has also joined my bookclub.  Erik decided not to make the move just yet as he's still teaching high school art.  This is his demonstration piece on two-dimensional art. I haven't had time to finish my piece but plan to before Wednesday because we have a second lesson that evening. 

I snapped this candid shot Wednesday July 4rd.  She and I went to Tuesday Morning at the Outlet Mall for yarn because we've decided she's ready to tackle a real project.  I found a shawl pattern on Ravelry that has basic stitches and is also interesting.  I was trying to figure out what we did that day, we tend to keep ourselves pretty busy, so I asked her.  "We bought yarn and then knitted for like five hours."  Yes we did!  We said on Patio A by the water feature in the tree's shade and knitted until could could knit no more.

We were supposed to go to a neighborhood yard party that afternoon but got carried away and the mac-and-cheese that I had taken from the freezer to bake was still sitting on the counter at 5:00, but the potluck started at 4:00.  We didn't go.  But we did light off legal fireworks that we got at Costco, watched an episode or Outlander, then Lex and I went down the driveway to watch the fireworks shot off at Pilot Butte and Grandpa toddled off to bed, keeping terrified Sammie company.  The same people who had wandered up our street looking for a good vantage point for the official fireworks ended up coming in our driveway and watching with us again.  They had guests from out of state so we all visited and watched.  It was really quite fun.  As they left we all laughed because we've never seen each of in daylight and would never recognize each other if we did. 

This is Alexia's scarf, and she's a little frustrated because there are mistakes that you can see if you look for them.  My grandmother always said, Who's going to notice that on a galloping horse???  Isn't that the truth?!  She has finally forgiven herself and continues to knit, says it's a fun project.  She's doing great for a first project and I'm really proud of her.  BTW, the Ravelry pattern is River Fog.  I've knitted it for a prayer shawl once and am now knitting it again.

This is my weaving project.  I have a long way to go but I can only weave so long as a time.  I am having to rebuild my strength and tolerance.  Sigh.

Meanwhile, I'm getting my things together to go to my last Ambassador shift (the volunteer who keeps the doors open) at the Bend Art Center.  Bankruptcy has eliminated another nonprofit organization.  I'll post more on that next time when I know more.  We're very sad but are looking at this as an opportunity, a Phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes event.

Yay for me!!

We're starting to settle into a routine with Delaney.  Julia still plans to just work two days a week.  Newborn care runs about $300 a day and she doesn't make that much a day.  She's happy to not be working full time right now and I'm thrilled to have Delaney two days a week.  I was reading to her and tried to catch the moment with this selfie.

As of last Monday I'm back at the High Desert Museum as a living history interpreter, wearing my Birkenstock sandals.  Since they're not period appropriate I'm seated in a rocking chair with my skirt covering my feet, and I'm either knitting on a pair of socks or drop spindling.  On occasions I have to get up to help direct visitors and so far no one seems to have noticed my toes.

Staci is a new seasonal worker so Emily showed her how to bake a rhubarb pie in the wood cookstore using fresh rhubarb from the garden.  It was a great success and Staci was very proud.

This doe has been hanging around our yard, obviously pregnant and only getting bigger.  I took this picture as I was backing out of the garage, on my way to HDM.  She is alone these days and the neighbors are keeping an eye on her.  We seriously have each others phone numbers and text for updates.

Clover who lives two houses away texted Ian and me on Sunday morning to let us know that the twins had been born at Sandy's house, right in between us.

Once born they go to ground and just don't move.  Mom was eating grass and really quite trusting of us, given that the babies were between her and our little cluster of neighbors.  Ian is a morning person and saw her bring them into our yard about 5:00 Monday morning.  The three of them are still here and we are leary of provoking any kind of protective response from her.  We went through that last year and once is enough.

I'm not able to do much yard work other than bend over and pull weeds so it's wonderful to see my hard work from past years.  This is my first attempt at irises.  I was given about a dozen rhizomes which I planted last year.  Six of them are award winning, a gift from Petey, Ian's friend from college and now my friend. His cousin's husband raised them for show and had written the name of the iris on the dried flag.   This one is Wicked Cool, which it is indeed.

 I've been having my morning coffee on the patio, enjoying the plants as they grow and come together.  It's starting to look like I meant it to look like this.  Granddaughter Alexia and I created a little fairy garden and she'll be here next month to see how fabulous it looks now.

It's been two months exactly since my surgery and today was also my first appointment with my surgeon.  I have a lot of healing to go but he's given me exercises and told me to get back to doing the things I like to do.  I've done a lot of knitting and reading but it's summer and I want to enjoy all three months of it.  I celebrated my good report at my favorite nursery with two plants for my shade garden and two for my sedum garden.  I've always wanted to be able to grow an astilbe and am concerned that it might be too big for the area where it will go.  I had planned on another hosta but my good visit made me adventurous and I went for it. I'm excited to get back to yard work, and while it's still cool will take my first walk in the morning in my Teva sandals - I'm still too swollen for a shoe.  Yay for me!!

Still Winding Down

I arrived at Bend Art Center for my usual volunteer shift last Tuesday and felt like I was late.  The studio was in a flurry of activity and clearly work had been in progress for quite some time.  I had my iPad and had planned to read my email and Facebook before doing anything serious, but clearly I need to get right to work.  Oregon Art Beat, a program on OPB and Public Broadcasting was filming a segment featuring our artist Ana Aguirre.

Five hours later when we were cleaning up and the film crew was packing up, I asked everyone to let me take a group picture.  Ana is third from the left.  The last hour of filming they decided to incorporate the five of us in dialogue with Ana while reviewing her work.  Oregon Art Beat always features three artists and each segment is 10 minutes.  This one will air after the first of the year, they thought January or February. This is a wonderful opportunity for Ana and great PR for the art center.  Plus it really was fun to be part of it, though I hadn’t intended to work for four hours when I went in that morning.

Thursday I was back in the studio working on prints for the member show in December.  The show is called Deja Vu and the prospectus says we are to submit two prints that reference each other.  Two years ago I had a print selected for the show but last year I was unprepared and had nothing to enter.  The deadline is early - October 15th, and we’re leaving for a week right after that so I knew either I started working on something now or I had to forget about it.  Both prints use the same collograph plate, so Saturday I showed it to one of the teachers at the art center and asked for her comments.  She feels that the right print might benefit from also having a diver.  “Play around with it.”  So tomorrow when I go to my volunteer shift, I know what I’ll be doing - playing around with it.

Friday was a beautiful day at the High Desert Museum Miller Ranch.  Ordinarily the ranch would be closed on weekdays after Labor Day but enough of us volunteers agreed so it’s still open on Thursdays and Fridays through the end of this month, and then just weekends after that.

The 12 x 20 square-foot ranchhouse is a replica of one that was home to a family of seven.  The loft is open for several feet next to the back wall and using a ladder stashed in the corner, the five children would have slept there in the winters, and on the porch on sleeping palettes in the summers.  The living history department is down a full-time staff member so I’ve agreed to volunteer for Harvest Day and then I’m done until after school lets out next spring.

I knitted these socks last summer and just finished these mitts.  I have another pair on needles and will give both pair to Linda before I leave.  She’ll need them on the weekends when they’re bundled up, waiting for the wood stove to heat the cabin.

The weather is changing quickly.  It was 27 this morning and Ian has already pulled up the tomatoes.  I see red maples all over town and am excited that we have one of our very own.

My very favorite is the Burning Bush, eunymous elatus.  I planted this the first year so it’s got a long way to go before it’s mature.  It’s so red that it looks fake.  I’ve wanted one of these for at least 20 years and now I finally have my own.

Busy Time in Bend

It’s been firecracker hot this past week with temperatures in the triple digits and smoky as fires consume vast swatches of the West, but life goes on at the High Desert Museum ranch house.  Kids Camp is in full swing and their activity with us yesterday was cast iron cookery over an open fire.  Ethan was super cautious about keeping the flame safe and the event went off without a hitch.  They made griddle cakes to use with the butter they had churned in the morning.  We’re seeing a lot of visitors from foreign countries this summer.  It takes me a little more thought to explain homesteading and the homestead act to them.  We try to stay in character, but for them I realize I have to explain the “why” behind how I became a homesteader.

My daughter sent me this picture.  Alexia kept knitting on the circular needles, teaching herself how to decrease from YouTube videos and also how to make a Pom Pom.  I taught her both English and Continental knitting, but she found her gauge looser and more consistent with English which was her method of choice when she went back home.  I had explained that Continental has less motion so reduces the risk of repetitive motion injury and is also faster.  She switched over in the middle of this project and then went on to teach herself how to purl.  I never showed her how to cast on but no doubt she’ll find a YouTube video for that too.

I bought this Zoom Loom years ago when we visited Webs and have only made one square.  I asked her if she’d like it and she was thrilled so the hunt for a shipping box has begun.

Meanwhile son Josh asked me to knit a red cap which I had planned to start in June when I discovered that the 20-year-old driveband that came with my Patrick Green carder was kaput.  I haven’t had time until now to get that project underway.  To my surprise the band I ordered from Susan’s Fibers is the right length but thinner and also performs much better.

I spun the first half of the fiber while demonstrating at the Deschutes County Fair and suddenly life got busy all over again.  The second bobbin is on hold but it really feels good to be interested and excited about spinning again.  I’m glad my spinning malaise was just temporary.

Crook County Fair asked me to be their spinning and weaving judge again this summer which I once again enjoyed thoroughly.  It’s an intimate little fair and the people are delightful. This entry however took the cake and left us all scratching our heads.  It’s a felted fleece designated as a seat cover, however, the fleece side was full of VM (vegetable matter) and was so greasy with lanolin so that none of us wanted to touch it and felt we needed to wash our hands afterwards.


At the end of all the categories I had two special ribbons to award.  I gave the Judge’s Award to this exquisite silk yardage.


And then there was this astonishing nuno-felted horse’s mask.  The felt itself was perfect, but the more I looked at the tiny details, the more I discovered: seed beads nestled in the felt, a half-dozen different bird feathers beaded and attached, slips of horses mane attached in a similar fashion.

A picture of the mask in use was attached to the supplementary material.  I was thrilled to give this Best of Show.  It’s going on to the State Fair next and I’m anxious to see how it performs there.
BrewFest starts this Thursday and we will have a houseful of guests for about four days.  All of Ian’s kids will be here and two of his grandkids; six of our seven kids will be together which is the most any time since our last family gathering in 2014 before we moved, and thankfully the temps are predicted to drop!