I moved!

Greetings!

I have moved my blog.  Please come visit me at

www.smashingtheserene.typepad.com

Cheers!

Fox

Sitting in the Corner

Last week was productive.  I applied for a number of jobs, had one interview and set up another for this week.  I also received a few rejection letters.  That was a bit of a bummer.  I suppose it goes with the territory.  I just pulled out the knitting and instantly felt better.  Wool, it is a cure all.

We also had a delicious dinner and an evening full of laughter with great friends.  Laughter is also a cure all.

Signs of Spring are continuing to pop up all around us.

This snowdrop is close to opening.  The wildebeest in the back ground is on the prowl.  I would advise that you make no sudden movements when he is this focused. 

The tulips have started coming up as well.  Scout loves tulips.  I love Scout.

On the bridge over the river.  Another week full of blue skies.  I will continue to take Oregon winters over Indiana winters.  Rain?  What rain?  I am sure that I will regret this statement in April, May and June!

 The morning sun coming through the trees in the backyard.  This also my view from the kitchen window.  I have never enjoyed doing dishes as much as I do now.  With this view, how could you not enjoy doing the dishes?

Morning walks continue to set the pace for our days.  We are averaging three miles a day at the moment.  Most days more as we are starting to incorporate an evening walk into our routine.

I watched this bird flying for quite awhile the other day.  I am not sure what kind of bird it was.  Based on the way it was circling around I think it was definitely a bird of prey.

I had forgotten that February is actually Girl Scout Cookie Month.  A special shout out goes to the girls who set up a table outside the grocery store.  I was able to score my years supply of Victory Cookies (they freeze wonderfully and I really do make them last for the whole year)!

Lately, when I come into the living room, I find Fletcher sitting in the corner.  I really wish that I knew what he was thinking while seated there.  Is he:  communicating with the Cylons, choosing a book to read, contemplating the meaning of life, or plotting to take over the planet?  I think he is communicating with the Cylons and has granted them access to the Defense Mainframe.  Okay, so maybe I have been watching quite a bit of Battlestar Galactica this week...it is so good.

How was your week?

The Outtakes

I am a couple of days late on "my week in photos".  The problem is that I broke the camera on Thursday with all the pictures on it.  I had been using Stephen's Kodak DX7590.  I was taking some photos and the strap got caught on the back of a chair and went flying right out of my hand and then bounced along the kitchen floor.  The lens does not want to operate properly now.  So, it is back to the Sony point and shoot for me until I can afford a better camera.

So, last week was was uneventful in these parts.  I finished up my resume; started a rough draft of my cover letter (it is still a work in progress); lined up my professional and personal references; and started to apply for jobs.  My goal is to apply for at least two jobs a day.  I am hoping to start hearing back from some of them soon.

Stephen was busy chopping wood, painting the bathroom and perfecting our chicken pot pie recipe.  This last pie was the best one yet.

As I was going through my photo library, I thought this weeks theme would be "The Outtakes".  I have taken numerous photos since I started this project back in November.  So, here are some of my random favorites from the last few months.

How was your week?

Thirty-seven days until Spring!

As the Wheel of the Year continues to turn, last weekend marked the celebration of Imbolc .  The midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.  Signs that Spring is just around the corner are everywhere and my inner gardener is itching to dig in and start growing.

Since last Spring, most of our conversations about gardening and livestock have been prefaced with next Spring.   Next Spring we are going to do X, Y and Z!  Well, next Spring is almost here. 

Due to our water & well issues this past Summer, we were not able to grow any vegetables ourselves.  This was the first time in over eight years that we did not have a garden.  The water & well issues have been resolved and the gardens have been cut in and the soil has been amended.  I have sorted the seeds we bought last year and I have been going through the seed catalog making a list of what we are missing.  The mapping of the gardens has begun my friends! 

I am excited for this new growing and preserving experience.  Growing vegetables in the Willamette Valley will be different from growing vegetables in Indiana.  The climate is different, we are at a higher elevation and the growing season is shorter.  I am also super stoked to get a start on our asparagus bed and grow artichokes for the first time.  I am going to give eggplants another go in a raised bed this time around.  Our last experience with eggplants was awful.  We had an infestation of flea beetles and they destroyed all the beans and peas.  Isolation of the eggplant is my plan for this year.

We have also begun looking at different chicken coop designs.  I believe that we have settled on a design and construction should begin in March.  It will look something like this.  We are going to start with a small flock.  One rooster and 4-6 hens.  Working our way up to a dozen hens.  We are still researching exactly what breed or breeds we are going to start with.  So far, dual-purpose breeds (eggs & meat) has been the primary focus of our research.  I would eventually like a wide variety of breeds including a couple of the ornamental variety. 

I would also like a couple of ducks but that might be something for next year.  And turkeys...again, next year or the year after that.  Then goats, eventually a cow and perhaps a pig or two.  And don't even get me started on my plans for sheep!  (Shhhh, this is all a surprise for Stephen.  Thanks for helping me keep the cattle a secret.  He loves surprises.)  

In addition to chickens, we are going to try our hand at beekeeping this year.  Due to the black bear population in our area, we are going to have to be careful of where we place our hives.  Mostly likely up on platforms of some sort.  I am joining the Lane County Beekeepers Association and I will be set up with a mentor in our area.  I will have a better idea of what we need to do to protect our hives in the next couple of weeks and we can then begin building our boxes.  We also have some wonderful friends that have been beekeepers for a couple of years now and they have offered their knowledge and help.  I am looking forward to harvesting our own honey.

With thirty-seven days left until the Spring Equinox we have much to do in preparation to kick off this exciting growing season on our homestead.  I am ready!

Image credits:  Photographs of prints I own:  

Seasons Pentacle and Pagan Holidays by Fiona McAuliffe.

A Letter...To a Blanket

Dear Moderne Log Cabin Blanket,

It is hard to believe that we started our relationship over two years ago.  There I was, wanting to know everything there was to know about knitting and then knit it all.  Fresh from a dishcloth knitting high, I was ready for something different and there you were in a book.  A full page glossy color photograph.  I loved you instantly.  Your crisp lines and bold blocks of color.  Stunning.  Straight knitting and picking up stitches?  I could do that.  After all, you were just an extremely large dishcloth.

Around the time I first saw you, I had also been thinking about a wedding gift for my youngest sister.  I wanted to give Mandy and Josh an heirloom.  I want to make this heirloom, a knitted heirloom and you were the answer.  

Excited about this endeavor, I went to my Friday Night Knit group and deliberated over colors and yarns.  In the end, choosing the Cascade 220 Superwash in Sapphire Heather (1951), Mystic Purple (1948), Lichen (867), and Cordavan (863).  I then showed my other knitting gal pals your pattern and the yarn.  Mare simply said, "Oh my," and laughed, as only Mare can and  Courtney hoped that, "I wouldn't become discouraged with knitting because of this blanket and never knit again."  I laughed and assured them both that it was going to be alright.  You and I had a plan.  One block a month over the next nine months.

I made a swatch and determined that going up a needle size would be a good idea.  You, after all needed to cover Josh!  All went according to plan, until April.  My intentions and plans with you slowing starting to come undone.  You were gradually abandoned for smaller and more interesting projects.  Anything and everything that wasn't garter ridge after garter ridge.

Then July came around and I thought it would be a good idea to take you on vacation with us.  I envisioned large blocks of time in which you and I would "get back on track".  That did not happen.  It was not your fault, you were there waiting.  It was my fault.  I did not make the time and many of our activities were not conducive to knitting a blanket.  You did have a great time in Oregon and Colorado when you were brought out for a bit of sightseeing.

Remember when you were small and easy to knit in public?  Those days were long behind us.  We were two blocks behind but I was still hopeful.

Before I knew it the wedding was upon us.

We were still at seven blocks.  I wrapped you up so that Mandy and Josh could meet you.  They loved you instantly and looked forward to the day that you would be theirs.  I assured them that within the year you would be done.  Little did I know that moving across the country and winding down my job would consume so much of my time over the following six months.  That and knitting all the smaller more interesting projects.  Anything and everything that wasn't garter ridge after garter ridge.  I am pleased that we did manage to complete one more block together in this time.  I really tried to make an effort.

So, fast forward to May of 2012.  I devised a new plan.  One block and the border were all that remained.  Step one:  pick up the stitches for the final block and knit a couple of rows.  Step two:  knit a couple of ridges every day until the block was complete.  Step three:  complete the border.  Step four:  mail before the 1st of September.  Easy enough.

Step one:   no problem.  Step two:  we started out strong.  Then it all went off the rails.  Again.  And once again it was all my fault.  I just could not bring myself to knit you.  I was bored with you.  Nothing tempting or exciting about your endless garter ridge after garter ridge.  So, I put you away and got a jump start on the holiday knitting instead...after all they were all smaller and more interesting.  No endless garter ridge after garter ridge in those projects.

Then the holiday knitting was done and there you sat at the bottom of basket.  Looking at me longingly.  Pleading with me to just be done with it!  So, I hunkered down and spent the next week and half finishing your last block.  A Harry Potter movie marathon ensued along with countless episodes of The X-Files.

At last, you were off the needles.  Immediately, I knew something was not quite as it should be.  The last block was wider than the rest of the blanket...my gauge over the last two years had changed.  Drastically.  I started to panic.  I wanted to throw up and cry at the same time.  I spread you out on the bed, took a few pictures and emailed Mare and Courtney.  Both suggested that "blocking the shit out of you" was the answer.  I was convinced that ripping the last block out and re-knitting it was the only answer.  They talked me down off the ledge (thanks again my friends).  I then proceeded to "blocked the shit out of you".

As you were drying (and recovering from having the shit blocked out of you), I knit Ms. Fox to restore my faith in knitting and to muster up the strength to finish you.  Once you were dry, I was able to clearly assess the situation.  The stitches still looked slightly larger but I could live with that.  The rest of you was now as wide as the last block.

I wove in your remaining ends and started to work on the border.  In my mind, it was a simple whip stitch border, so that is what I started doing.  It looked weird and sloppy to me.  So, I pulled out the pattern and reread the instructions.  I could not believe what I was reading.  Pick up the stitches along one edge and knit four garter rows.  Repeat on the remaining three edges!  My brain was screaming, "NO.  NO.  NO."  More garter ridges, I had reached the end of my tolerance with garter ridges.  So, once again, you were folded up and placed in time out.  But only for a week while I meditated on what to do for your border.  In the end (and after a consultation with Courtney), I decided on a crocheted edge.  It provided a nice sturdy braided edge to finish you off.

In the end, you are:

9 blocks, 19 balls of yarn (4,180 yards), approximately 330 hours of knitting, and 108,840 stitches.  One hell of a blanket.  An heirloom, if you will.

I can not remember such a feeling of intense liberation as I drove you to the Post Office and sent you on your way.  After some time and distance, I know that I will look back on our time together fondly.  You are with your forever family now and they love you.  I hope that in time you will forgive me for any negative thoughts I had about you or moments of intense swearing at you during our time together.  I am moving on and I hope you can too.

Hugs and Kisses,
Fox

Friends, fence boards, yarn bombs, and the coast

Hello!  I am extremely happy to report that I am writing from the comfort of my living room.  Whoot! Whoot!  It was a rough start, the satellite Internet was installed on Friday and we were only able to access unsecured sites.  That meant no ravelry, gmail, blogger, or facebook.  By yesterday afternoon it was all sorted out.  The highlight of the day for me was getting the printer hooked up AND working.

The last two weeks have been awesome.  We had dear friends out here visiting from Indiana.  Our house was their base as they went out and explored the wonderful state of Oregon.  They are avid snowboarders.  While here, they were able to enjoy three mountains and five days of snowboarding.

The day our friends arrived, we had two cords of fire wood delivered.  It was Fletcher's dream come true: a mountain of wood (and in his mind all his).  Here he is eating as much of the little bits as he could.

That evening we went to our favorite local eatery, The Axe and Fiddle.  Pictured here is a pint of Laurelwood's Organic Free Range Red.  Yummy!

I spent the rest of that week doing fence repairs (and knitting, of course).  Fletcher worked his way down the fence line busting through fence boards.  It is definitely time to replace this section of fencing.

After a long day of breaking out and playing chase (me chasing him), Fletcher was exhausted and passed out right after his dinner.  Silly boy.

While our friends were here, we went with them to the coast to our favorite spot.  Yachats (YAH-hots), the gem of the Oregon Coast.  We arrive mid afternoon and spent a couple hours playing on the lava rocks near Thor's Well.

 Before heading to our rental, we went to the top of Cape Perpetua and enjoyed a few tasty beers while watching the sun set over the ocean.

The next day was wet, overcast and cold but that did not keep us down or put a damper on our spirits!  

 On our walk up the beach to eat breakfast, I spotted two of MY yarn bombs from July 2011!  They are a bit shabby looking now.  Seeing them again has inspired me to make more.  I started one last summer but never got around to finishing it.  Watch out 2013.  Prepare to be yarn bombed.

Here they are in their original state of glory:

 

While we were eating breakfast, Erin spotted some sea lions and seals.  Since we were still a bit wet from our walk, we decided to head upstairs to the restaurant's lounge loft.  We proceeded to spend the next couple of hours drying out our boots; enjoying drafts of Mirror Pond and watching the progression of the sea lions and seals.

The rest of the afternoon was spent agate hunting!

Erin found an amazing mussel and returned it to the ocean.

Our last day out at the coast was the exact opposite of the day before.  Dry, sunny and warm!  We went back to Cape Perpetua and once again spent the majority of the morning out playing on the lava rocks in between the tide pools.

We were able to get much closer to Thor's Well.

Because I took so many photos, here are a few more of my favorites:

 

How was your week?