Lots of wool.

I still have some fleeces that needed to be washed. This is Annabelle's. The 1st is before washing. The 2nd picture is after. I'm not the best fleece washer. I just use Borax and blue Dawn. I wash a few times, then rinse. I see a huge difference, but the tips are still a bit dirty.

I plan to dye some of the whiter wool sometime soon. I want to use natural dyes. I also have some Jaquard dyes too. So I will be experimenting. I would love to grow a dye garden too. I want lots of flowers anyway, for the honey bees.

This is some of Amarillo's wool. With some of Sugar, the alpaca. So about 25% alpaca. It's so soft. So this took me a few weeks to do. And this is not even a little part of her wool. There is SO MUCH MORE!!

This is Buttercup's wool. 2 totes full! I just don't know how I'm going to get all this spun up. Plus I have about 16 more fleeces in totes just like this.

This is some roving I bought at SAFF. BFL lamb. It's so pretty. This is just 1 of the rovings. I bought 2 like this. So I have some really pretty tan colored alpaca. I thought I might spin some of that with some white and ply them together. I'll see what it looks like first. But I think the dark blue with some tan would look pretty.

This is some that I bought last year. I can't even remember what it is. But it's really pretty. And long! It's in the washer right now. I think I'll use my combs to get this made into roving.

                                                              Look how pretty this is! I love it.

So, I think I'm fighting a loosing battle here with all this wool. There is just no way I could have all this spun by the time the next shearing comes around in May. It's a little overwhelming, just looking at it all. I think I'll start looking around here for a mill that's close enough to drive to. I was thinking if I could just get it made into roving, it would be so much more manageable fr=or me. Because the preparation is what takes so long for me. I'm not really liking my little drum carder. So I have been using hand combs. You know how long that takes to just get enough for 2 bobbins? A LONG TIME!

Anyway, that's all I've been thinking about lately. Wool. If anyone knows of a good mill close enough for me to drive to, please let me know. I think there's one in Ga. but I just have to find it. And in N.C. And another near Nashville.

So back to washing wool and spinning! Have a great week y'a;;!

Bird house tree.

This tree has been slowly declining for years.  Most of the branches have fallen off. But it gets new leaves every spring though.

We started noticing how much it's leaning now. With all the rain and muddy wet ground, and the huge ant hill, it's leaning toward the shelter.

We have talked about cutting it down several times. But this morning, I saw some birds going in this hole. This is the bird houses for so many birds. They've been making nests in this tree for years. After I saw the birds going in this morning, I said that tree cannot be cut down. Maybe just the top of the tree can be cut off, but not the trunk.

                                                            This is the other side of the tree.

                  The big ant hill. There are no ants in it now. But you can see how much it's leaning.

                              I love old trees. This would be some good firewood. But not for awhile.

Blocking blocks.

I found these today at Aldi. I was so excited to see these there. And on sale for $14.99. There's 26 blocks! For blocking my knitting, like sweaters and shawls. I hope these work.

For all you knitters out there, have you used these ABC blocks before? Are they as good as the ones that at specifically for blocking?

Now I need to look for those blocking pins. Instead of using little nails. Probably not such a good idea.

Goat bellies.

 I am finally seeing bellies on these girls. Freya should be due around the first week of March. I think she's looking really good right now. This is her 2nd pregnancy.

Olga would be due around the 2nd to 3rd week of March. I was worried about her even being pregnant because of that little episode a few months ago. I had to give her a lot of Ivermectin for a few days. I keep feeling for udders, but still nothing there. She is looking bigger each day. This is her first pregnancy too. So I have no idea what her udder and teats will be like. Not very big at all probably, the way she looks so far. But I am hoping she'll balloon out soon.

My friend Ron came last night to get Oden. He has 3 Nubian does he wants bred. I hope he does the job. So far, he's bred 4 does. 2 have already kidded with a set of twins each. 2 does and 2 bucks. And all 4 so far have no horns! I hope Ron can keep him til summer. I think the girls miss the old goat. But they'll get over it.

 I made my husband call his doctor yesterday afternoon. He's been in so much pain the past few weeks. And it was getting worse. He couldn't walk a step without screaming out in pain. It was horrible. So he called about 4 yesterday and actually got a person! And an appointment for this morning at 11. So got over there and in and saw the doctor real fast. She seems to think it's either a strained muscle in his back or arthritis. She sent him downstairs to the imaging center for x-rays. Gave him a scrip for a muscle relaxer and another for arthritis. We went to eat lunch after, then went to get the meds. He's already in his recliner, soon to be asleep. Poor guy. I hope this helps. The doctor will review the x-rays as soon as she gets them. Then will see if he could use some physical therapy.

It's raining here. So all the ice is now mucky mud. We needed more mud. Didn't have quite enough.

Sunday morning...

Some good things...

Cottage cheese. And not the low-fat stuff. That's not real.

Van Morrison. He's just good.

Spinning wool from my own sheep, right outside the door of my studio.

Fresh eggs from my hens.

Raw goat milk.

A good farm truck.

Cat Stevens.

Fleetwood Mac.

OLD VW bugs. And VW buses. They smell good too.

A warm house when it's cold outside. Wood stoves are good.

Knowing you're loved.

Allmon Brothers.

CCR.

Good hay. Happy sheep.

Big huge pregnant goats.

Carlos Santana.

Things I've made with my own hands.

Marshall Tucker. There is no bad Marshall Tucker.

Hot tea with honey.

Chickens running free around the yard. In winter. Not spring or summer. That's not good. They get into the garden and make a mess. Chickens running free in the garden are not good.

Nice warm wool socks.

Down comforters.

Running water.

A clean house.

Real food.

And most of all, God's love and mercy.

Knitting along. And some good cookbooks.

Still knitting on this shawl. I knit while I'm sitting with Mrs. T on Friday and Sunday. And whenever I can anywhere else. I wanted to see how long it was taking me to knit across a row. So I set my stopwatch on my phone. Ugh! It took me 20 minutes to go across one row! I think there are about 320 stitches right now. That's a long time to just be knitting 1 row. I might be knitting this shawl the rest of the winter. Have you ever timed yourself knitting before? Don't do it!

I bought a nice grass fed tenderloin a few months ago from Main St. Meats in Chattanooga. I have never cooked one before. So got out my cookbooks to find a recipe. I really love The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I have made several of her recipes so far. And found one for tenderloin! So I made that last night. It looked just like her pictures too, when I was cutting it. The cutting board was all bloody, from the very rare tenderloin. She said that's how men and wolves like their meat.

So while I was looking, I got these 2 books out. I love them. I really like a cookbook with stories and good pictures. These 2 are really good. Cooking With Shelburn Farms by Melissa Pasamen. And Fields of Plenty by Michael Ableman. That last name might be wrong, I can't read my own writing. Both really good books with stories.