Need help with carding wool please!

This is my new Ashford carder. I would love some input here. Because I really don't know if I am doing this right. I'm thinking I have more felt than really good crimped wool.

And this is so not a thankful post right now! Because this is frustrating to me.

Because this looks like a nappy beard here to me. I am adding Alpaca wool to this sheep wool to make it a little softer. Maybe I'm putting too much wool on the carder? It's pretty thick.

                                                    You can see it a little better here.

This is it rolled up. I am loving the blended colors a lot. I'd love to knit a sweater and hat some day from this.

Here is some I added white wool to. I like this color so much. I am drawn to soft warm brown colors.

So the lady at Ketner's Mill who let me use her carder for the very first time, made a really long piece of roving as she took it off the wheel. She took off a little section at a time and it just all stayed together and she rolled it all up in a ball and let me have it. I can't figure out how she did it. When I do it, it's just one small piece and never stays together.

I have to say this is a little frustrating for me. I have not even tried the spinning wheel again. Well, I did once and just cried because I cannot get the wool to go onto the bobbin. No matter which way the wheel spun. I so need help.

But if any of this makes sense and you can figure out what I'm doing, please let me know. I would love to know if I'm just wasting my time right now.

Day 16: Home grown, home raised and home made.

I am so thankful that I can raise and grow my own food right here on our farm. I never use anything processed. Not much store bought. I always make from scratch. If I don't grow it, I buy or barter from the farmer's market. It's just something I have done now for many many years.

I'm making vegetable beef soup from beef I raised. And broth I made from the bones. Tomatoes, basil, corn I grew. Carrots from another farm. Potatoes from the store. I didn't have much luck with potatoes this year.

I am hoping the doctor will let Tiny out, at least by Sunday. He's doing so much better. His feet are looking really good now. He's restless. Wants out of there. He's walking all over the halls. The doctor had to chase him down yesterday. So hopefully he'll get out soon.

I'm cleaning today. Won't mop til I know for sure he's coming home.  It's been raining and I have 2 dogs who come in and out. Like children. So no sense in mopping. I need to make a menu for a week at a time now. I'll need to see what all I have in the freezers and pantry. I have plenty of meat and canned and frozen veggies and fruits. I will start making bread again too. I got lazy getting bread for the pigs and other animals. There was always some really good bread in the bags. I hated to give it to the pigs. But I got lazy and quit making my fresh ground whole wheat bread.

So today, I am thankful for home grown, home raised and home made foods.

Day 15: Getting better

My husband is getting better. Slowly. But better. He had a test done on his kidneys this morning to see if that may be why they can't get his blood pressure down. His kidneys are good. I told him not to eat salt and see if that helps. His BP this afternoon was 176/75. So down a lot.

He also had a foot specialist come to see him last night after I left. He checked his feet and said it looked like he was burned. Tiny said it made him mad because he'd try to explain to the guy what happened. But the specialist kept saying it was burns. So they are now treating him as if he were burned.

So the more we think about it, the more it could be possible he was burned. He has a new truck with a really good heater. The heat comes out under his bed. He sometimes sits on the bed with his bare feet on the floor for a long time. He cannot feel anything below his knees. So, with the heat blasting on his ankles for a long period of time, it could have caused 2nd or 3rd degree burns. And burns make blisters. And that's what he had. The doctor said this could take a long time to heal.

We also saw his other doctor as we were walking down the hall. He told him about the results on the kidney test. We asked how much longer he has to stay. Doctor said they need to get his blood thinned first. So who knows how much longer.

But he is getting better, day by day. We just need to get him home now.

PS: Tiny just called. He said the nurse came to change the bandages on his feet and they look so much better! I could tell by his voice that this has made him a lot more positive about the outcome. Thank you all for your prayers. They really do help.