Hey! Hay.

Ian and I drove up to Bird Flat Ranch today for hay.
It's just six miles on the other side of Doyle. Tim and his son Luke run the whole thing by themselves, though Tim has been working this hay operation for 30 years. The ranch itself dates to the around the 1920s.
I think the ranch is beautiful and couldn't stop taking pictures, kicking myself for not packing the DSLR. The Garrod Family has a history of ranching in America dating to 1892 in the Bay Area.
We had a conversation about horizons. Tim said when he first moved here, it took some adjustment to accept the open land and lack of trees. Now when he goes to see the family in the Bay Area, he can only tolerate it for a short time before the claustrophobia sets in - Luke agreed and I know exactly what they are saying.
I've driven by hay before and just made a mental note. Oh, there's a lot of hay. Up close it looks a lot bigger.

The closer you get, the bigger it looks.

The scale of our 4-banger Toyota against the mass of hay absolutely dwarfs our poor truck.
Tim loaded seven bales and said he could load more if we wanted, but you can see the hay is sitting pretty heavy in the back of the truck. It's been a long search for good hay, but we've found what we were looking for. The hay is good, the animals don't waste any and it's $4 cheaper than in town. They don't deliver but that's okay. I'm already looking forward to going back.
I think this is beautiful and sometimes I have to stop to remind myself - I'm here because this is where I live. I'm not on vacation. This beautiful land is home.

In the middle distance are sheep. They also have a herd of Polypay they raise for meat and hides. As we were leaving Luke gave me a fleece to sample. He's hoping to be able to find a market with hand spinners and recoup some of his shearing expenses. I was glad to oblige and will give him feedback the next time we're there.

Knitting

I finally finished this sweater. I started it in June and should have finished it a long time ago but somehow I wasn't happy with it. I got the latest Vogue Knitting and some knitting catalogs after we got home and realized that I didn't want sleeves to the wrist, so I tore them both back and finished them below the elbow. Then I tore out the bottom ribbing and added all the yarn I had until I ran out.

It's actually supposed to look like this and that's what I love about Diane's patterns. You can make them to work for you. It looks lumpy and unfinished because, you see, I do not have a washing machine or dryer. That phone call I got for appliance delivery was very confusing. The truck came but they only had a dryer. It was a part of the order that I had canceled that didn't get cancelled. I had originally started to order replacement appliances online, until I learned that if I went into Sears and opened up a credit card, I'd get a serious price reduction. I cancelled that online order, went into the store, opened the card that saved me $210 and am just days away from getting my fabulous new Best Buy appliances as rated by Consumer Reports. I'll get my sweater washed and blocked after that. Well, actually after I wash the literal mountains of laundry that we have stashed everywhere. And that's in spite of two trips to the Laundromat.
I've also started a new scarf from this Madeline Tosh yarn that's been upstairs for a year or two. I bought it for a scarf and then realized that I never wear scarves - until I made the discovery last month that I don't wear ornamental scarves. Flat scarves that warm my back and neck I've come to the conclusion are imperative, and I have just two of said items.
This was the scarf I took for trip knitting. The pattern requires constant concentration so I came home with about 5" completed. At one point my metal ring stitch marker migrated and when I realized it, I had to tear out two precious inches.

So why this sudden flurry of knitting? The evening we arrived in Oceanside was the same day they had taken baby Gus to urgent care for ear infection and URI. The day we got home I awoke with the first cold I've had in a year. I spent about four days on the sofa, under the influence of Dayquil and/or Nyquil. I watched a lot of documentaries and I knitted. And now that I'm much better, I have a finished sweater - soon to be washed and blocked and worn - finally.

Our book club met today for A Dog's Purpose which really wasn't a book for club book discussion at all, yet we spent two hours talking about it. Annie enjoyed the book and had emailed me some suggestions for discussion so I took them with me. Think of it! Thanks to the blogsphere, she contributed to a book club in Nevada, all the way from The Netherlands.

Here's a teaser from the author. I was skeptical when I started the book but then ended up reading it in a day.

I was going to end there because it seemed like a perfect chapter closure, but in the strangest of all strange worlds that I live in, I'm sure you want in. In our beautiful valley of Eden, there is a snake. Just one. Nevada's gift to the United States of America is Karl Rove. Yes, indeed, right here in River City. He is a local boy. And his brother now has a residence in our valley. Ian, whose military training was in surveillance began noticing on his morning drives with the dogs that on occasion that house would have a cluster of black SUVs. They're all over Washington DC but not so common here. Most of us eschew black vehicles on dirt roads.

It was after a lawyer who used to live here moved from his rather post digs that Ian began reporting these SUV clusters. I listened with half an ear. The thing is that all of us who know Ian get this earful, and in the end he's most usually right. I hate it. Eric Rove - I didn't put 2 and 2 together on my own - Eric s a combative resident who hates the horse and hound rides and is a thorn in the side for the Red Rock Hound hunts, which I and my dogs love. I just want everyone to be nice and get along, but Eric isn't nice, especially when it comes to the horse rides. And he tailgates. That makes me cranky more than anything. When we all try to develop a neighborhood out here, it hurts to get it thrown back in your face.

Ian has insisted for the last year that Eric's house is a retreat, based on the black SUVs from time to time. Yesterday he told me was another black SUV day. Today the newspaper reported that Karl Rove spoke to the Prospectors Club in Reno. I can tell you now that you can Google your hearts out and you won't know another thing about that club. It's a black cluster of casino and Republican leaders in Reno - word. I feel betrayed. I want Eric to move. He's not a good neighbor.

New Years 2011

We got back from the zoo about 3:00 and Alexia was chomping at the bit. We'd held her off from going down to the beach and I couldn't say no anymore, though I did say no to her bathing suit. It's January. It's cold. She ran with unabandoned joy through the surf until she was thoroughly soaked. At one point, watching the tide swirl around her feet, she got dizzy and simply fell over. If you've ever experienced this, you know exactly what happened.
She ran up and down the beach, collecting anything that resembled a seashell. Nothing was too small and she was thrilled. I texted this picture to my daughter who replied, I don't remember sending black pants. You didn't - she was soaked!
Noah, McKay and Alexia collaborated on building a sandcastle, and I understand that this was a big step for McKay who is uncomfortable with the surf. Two dads, one grandma, three beers and a lot of gratitude were here.

I took this video of her glee.

Alexia understood that she couldn't be on the beach without an adult, but she sorely wanted to be there every minute. I was pleased when she acquiesced to a reading time on the deck. She is reading an original series Nancy Drew, which warms my heart since I read those exact same stories when I was her age - the power of the written word!
New Years Eve day and more family. Solomon has once again managed to capture all the iPhones. Adults and children alike are having a great visit. MasterCard can't buy you this.
We had an extra special treat this year. Petey brought his banjo and played for us. He allowed the children to help him strum. If you know banjo, he plays claw hammer, which he calls old timey music. We always eat it up. MasterCard, eat your heart out.
The next day, we "hopped onto the 5 to the 405" - that's LA-speak for where I drove - and went to Gardena for Japanese New Year. Everyone is connected through high school, to the third generation. Ian drives home as I certainly can't after the saki blessing of past, present and future. I was soaking up the kids in the family room and failed to get a picture of the food - sushi, sashimi and tempura to die for. They're spoiled me for restaurants. This is just one room. There had to be a hundred people in the house!
Karaoke is huge with the Inouyes and Alexia wanted desperately to participate. She told me later that the words just came up too fast, which I thought might actually be a good educational motivator.
Gus didn't know there was a word scroll so just sang, thanks to Junior who is absolutely great with the kids. We had so many experiences and visits and hugs, it's hard to chose what to share. It was all this and more. I hope you had as much joy over New Years as we did.

Working up to New Years Eve

This is our car in Adelanto.

This is our car in Victorville.

This is our ride to Oceanside.

I guess it falls into the category - into every life a little rain must fall. We left Reno 5:00 a.m. on December 29th driving south on Hwy 395, having decided to power through the 10-11 hour drive to Oceanside. We figured it would be like a long work day, and after all, we would be trading drivers. Alexia was an absolutely model child for the entire time. One the complexities of that route is the dearth of eating places. It was after 2:00 when we got to Adelanto and the end of 395. We ate at Bravo Burgers, changed drivers and I'd only gone two miles when I heard how loud the fan was roaring, then noticed that the gauge was pegged on hot. We traded again and Ian drove us after to where we had eaten, and where there was a gas station, a rare breed along Hwy 395. Much of that highway is desolation so we're were feeling pretty fortunate.

Steam was pouring from under the hood, apparently more dramatic from the coolant hitting hot engine, but it was clear the car was disabled. I went into the gas station and asked if they knew of any tow services while Ian released the pressure from the radiator. We had a AAA tow truck within 10 minutes - he told Ian was just getting ready to drive a car to a spot about 90 minutes away so came to help us first. He towed us to a AAA garage in Victorville. Alexia was so scared but the tow driver explained carefully how he had made our car safe and she managed to get her tears under control.

At the garage, the guys took over, ordered the radiator, thermostat and hoses and said they'd get on it first thing in the morning. When they understood our trip, they suggested rather than rent a motel room that we rent a car and get down to Oceanside, which is what we did. Ian drove back the next day.

While Ian was in east-bound traffic on the I-15 with all the folks headed to Las Vegas to celebrate New Years Eve, we went to the San Diego Zoo. He said it took three hours going and two returning. The zoo was DS Dougie's idea and I'm sorry Ian missed the opportunity to visit with his son - we had a wonderful time.
This trip was really for the kids. I've seen this zoo many times and it was fantastic to watch the cousins enjoy it.
They were complete hams and wanted pictures taken at every photo station. Noah had gotten a camera for Christmas and Alexia wanted to pose. I'd love to see what's on his camera! That's not to say that they didn't enjoy the animals. They loved them, especially the gorillas.
This is all our group, eleven of us, including four children. Even though buses and trams were part of our admission, we chose to walk and talk and make memories.
The zoo meets and exceeds its reputation, and good thing since it costs as much as Disneyland. However, these elephants aren't animated. They've added mikes in some of the cages so the children can hear the animals in real time. All of this and we were just into our second day of the trip.

We just got home this afternoon. I'm so excited. We had a message on our phone from Sears saying that they will deliver the washer and dryer on Friday, a week early. We have SO much laundry. We'll be eating rice and beans for a while, but we are rich with memories from the last week. I want to share the beach next. I take it for it for granted since I grew up with it, but Alexia saw it for the first time. I forget how fortunate I am to have grown up on the West Coast.

Until Next Year

I picked up Alexia on my way home from town. Her daddy had her washed up and packed up and ready to go. Ian is packing the car and we're leaving at 5:00 a.m. for Oceanside. I just talked to my sister-in-law a few minutes ago. She says it's beautiful on the beach and recommends that we pack shorts. Oh, the change in time and place!! I grew up in San Diego and resented the warm winters. Now I'm excited to enjoy a few days of it.
My last minute knitting is done and ready to wrap - after I finish packing my suitcase. Alexia modeled it for me, and I have to say, I'm concerned about it for a three-year-old. I guess I'll have to go with Amy's saying in this case. It is what it is.
I finished the sweater yesterday, but without a dryer, I had to dry in on a towel by the fire last night. I sewed in the zipper this morning. I tried to make an NC patch but you really need a serger to make a patch. Mine looked pretty pathetic. It really would have looked cool, had I been able to pull it off.

I took my Consumer Report printouts to Sears yesterday and was out of the store in 15 minutes, $1430 dollars poorer. Opening a Sears card saved $210! I would have liked a front loader with all the bells and whistles but the laundry room it just too small. We decided to replace both machines, but delivery isn't until the 13th. From Sears I headed to the Laundromat.
Does this bring back any memories? It's been a long time since I've used one of these. I was pretty clueless but they have change machines now so not having saved enough quarters is no longer an issue. There are no signs for times and prices so I ended up having to ask other people. I left feeling quite humble. The laundromat is a way of life for many people and it's not cheap. We dismiss homeless people as dirty but getting clean isn't easy and it comes with a hefty pricetag. They're going to be my peeps for the next couple of weeks.

A High Desert Christmas

Before: This is our hay shelter after the wind storm that burned and devastated much of Reno.
After: Fred has been working on it a little at a time and Christmas Eve day he came over, got our teenage neighbors to help him hoist up the roof, and we're back in business. It's beautimus and anchored with two bags of cement and Jimmy Hoffa.

Princess Alexia.

Neighbors Carol, Myrna, Carl and Angela.

I'm glad I wasn't near that discussion, between a liberal and a conservative. I think that's what I love about our friends out here. Respect is still practiced.
Christmas Eve is our open house for family, friends and neighbors. Wait, that sounds bad - our neighbors *are* our friends. The two boys in this shot are mine - my youngest son Matt and my SIL Mikeal - who was celebrating his 20th anniversary of marriage to my daughter. Sadly I'm not a photographer and don't think like one so missed getting a shot of them together.

Christmas morning Ian and I exchanged our gifts and I slipped off to Mass. I know it sounds silly to drive that far for a church service, but this is the first time I've gotten to attend Mass on Christmas and I had my heart set on it. As soon as I got home, we lit off for Carol and Harry's to celebrate Christmas day.
They had their own open house and celebration and the absolute star was six-week-old Delia. She wasn't the grinch that stole Christmas - she was the doll that stole Christmas!! I love this photo and the look on her daddy's face. As I share my holiday with you, my wish is that you loved yours just as much as I loved mine.

However, mine did end with a bang. That would be the dryer blowing up this morning. It was cheap when we bought ten years ago, so I have to acknowledge that we got our money's worth. However, we're leaving in two days for SoCal and I will complain about the timing. We have an online subscription to Consumer Reports so I spent a couple hours researching replacements. The winner is Kenmore. I'll go to Sears tomorrow after I go to the laundromat and I'll get a Sear's credit card - that card provides about $200 in discounts. Then I'll come home and order the machines - we've decided to replace both - and have them delivered and installed when we get home. Bah humbug!

I Know What I'm Doing - Who Said That?!

I woke up Wednes-
day morning and started to knit on the baby sweater with my cuppa when the light went on. This is Plymouth Encore and at 70% acrylic, this is the size the sweater will be when blocked. I looked up the yarn online and realized that the yarn is 20 stitches to four inches, and the pattern called for 18 stitches to four inches. It was an in-town day so I eliminated two stops and added one to Jimmy Beans Wool. It's over 50 miles from here, but when I'm in town already, it doesn't feel so bad.
My trip to town started with making a date to have lunch with my DD Chris. It was the day after her final exam and so we decided to eat on campus and then shop at the bookstore. She was telling me about the video that Kiernan and Alexia had made the night before about zombies as we walked through the building. In the back, I could hear something and then something again. Finally I heard - Sharon! It was Amy! We haven't seen each other for months and were passing through space and time at that moment - an unexpected treat.
I walked into the JBW store, which was surpris-
ingly busy for its remote location, and a clerk who was clearly helping someone else asked if she could help me. I said - I need to buy some yarn. Have I come to the right place?? Sometimes I crack myself up. The lady she was helping was holding some mohair in the exact color I was looking for. The clerk looked at my pattern and directed me to the same color in Lorna's Laces.

Then I wasn't sure about the second color. I asked if she could Google school colors for UNC, Chapel Hill, just at the same time a staff person came out from the back to see if she could help. She spun around and said, I graduated from there. Can I help you? This is what I came home with and even if I only have a week to make it, I'm really excited. I want to make an "NC" patch but won't know what size until the sweater is blocked. I've never made a patch before, but it can't be too hard, right? Benita included some white cotton in the box of fabric. I figure I'll iron it to some fusible interfacing, zigzag the outline and then cut it out, right?
This is a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. I always photocopy patterns so I can write on them. When I got home, I realized I had left my copy at the store. No problem. I'd work off the original, only I couldn't find it. No problem. I'm using the copy that Diane emailed in 2003! The other one will show up some day, but it's obvious I need another studio cleaning. If you look closely on the bottom right you will see where Charlie has nibbled on the page.
Given the baby sweater deadline, I spent way too much time yesterday on the rug but I got it done. I've hemmed all my rugs - not a fan of fringe - but decided to hemstitch this time to eliminate the rug unraveling as I'm trying to zigzag the edge.

Again, I ran out of warp and was fighting for the last inches of string. Math and I are not friends, though we have worked out a tenable relationship. This time I was just wasn't listening, or something.
I pulled it off the loom last evening and laid it on the balcony. I couldn't wait to see it.
And here it is on the floor. This is an area just inside the French doors and heavily trafficked by our three large dogs. They have battered the wood terribly. I hate to cover our beautiful floors but I hate what the dogs are doing to them. I cleaned and oiled two areas today and really appreciate the protection my rugs provide. The subcontractor who laid the floors used an inferior sealant. The rugs are a necessary patch job for now.
I washed all the rugs today, getting ready for our Christmas Eve open house tomorrow. This is an earlier rug and I have to say that I like darker colors and more reds.

Hard Boiled Eggs: I bought a dozen eggs, planning to make Deviled Eggs for tomorrow. I read several places how to make perfect hard boiled eggs and printed an AllRecipes one that include the recipe and the technique. I could not get the egg shells off. My eggs look like they had teenage acne. I had a half dozen left so went back to the internet for how to make hard boiled eggs that you can peel, I boiled the other half dozen with 1/2 tsp of baking soda, chilled them for a couple of hours in ice water, and they peeled effortlessly. Apparently it has something to do with the Ph balance of fresh eggs. If you change the Ph balance with the baking soda, you don't have to think in advance and use older eggs.

"The trick to peeling hard-boiled eggs easily is to ensure that the eggs are several days old. Hard-boiling eggs that are farm fresh will yield to eggs which are virtually impossible to peel. Buy eggs and store them for 5-10 days before hard-boiling farm fresh eggs. This is because as the eggs age, the carbon dioxide present in the albumin seeps out, thereby reducing its acidity. Research reveals that reduced acidity assists in easier peeling." I got that information here. All I know is - the eggs are peeled.

Ho Ho Ho Countdown

I swore off handmade Christmas presents a number of years ago, but now we've got babies in the family and I can't resist. Believe it or not, this is a hat drying on our sugar canister. When it's dry I'll attach the tassel on top. The hat was much harder than it looked in the picture.
I'm a late starter on this present, but neither one gets delivered until New Years when Ian and I got to SoCal to celebrate the holiday with his family. I know I can get this cardi done in time, but I need to make an athletic patch to attach. That's the part that worries me.

I started a handmade Christmas from the year I was married. We lived in Pensacola Florida on Mike's corporal's pay and we were broke. I saw a Sunset magazine article where you could form thin rolls of cookie dough into the shapes of ornaments, a faux lead glass technique. You baked the dough briefly on a cookie sheet, cracked hard candies into the spaces and returned it to the oven to finish baking the dough and melt the candy into a glass-like sheet. When finished, I hung my beautiful ornaments on the tree, where the lights slowly melted the candy onto our few presents and the floor.

I continued to make handmade presents for everyone later when Mike was a student and we had no money. I remember the look on my father-in-law's face when he opened his present to find a special macrame wine bottle. Those were the materials I owned. I know he loved me because it was still around years later.
I took this picture earlier this week as I was working on my warp. I love being right here and stealing from Melissa, I'm calling it a loom with a view.
I finished up the last load of laundry and rousted Charlie from his favorite place in the sun. I got it tied on and hemstitched this morning. If I only use the leftover fabric strips, I might get it done by Christmas Eve.
It looks like a fabric bomb went off. I have strips and fabrics strewn around. I have a lot of strips cut from earlier projects so I've tried to spread the strips into intensity and hues. Other than that, there's no plan or forethought. I'm a quarter of the way done but have to be in town tomorrow. I'm not ruling out a new rug for our Christmas Eve open house - yet.
We keep our tree up a full month and I spend time looking at it every day. The chili pepper reminds me of Carol and Harry- from our shared CSA basket. The Campbell kids ornament to the right is from the Sorrentinos, the amazing couple who adopted my pregnant 15-year-old daughter's baby 25 years ago and came into our lives three years ago. The orange glass pumpkin is from Amy, a sneak buy from her on our vacation trip near Santa Cruz and the needlepoint ornament next to it was one of the last my mother-in-law was able to do.
I could take you on a tour, any quadrant of the tree. I see here the crocheted snowflake from my mother, who passed away 11 years ago. There's a little golden rooster lurking just to the right of it from Laura. This is what I do with the tree throughout this month. It's the richest tree around - rich in memories. I completely understand how this time of year is hard on people who have suffered loss.

And so, yesterday I cooked my first leg of lamb, with much help from Ian, the retired butcher. It was beyond fabulous. Tonight we had lamb pie. It was beyond fabulous. I chilled the Crisco before making the crust. I read about that in Cook's Illustrated. I nearly fainted, it was so flaky. It was beyond fabulous, or did I say that already?