She Likes It

The very moment I stood up for a break, there was Annie, right on top of the MS3. This was taken yesterday morning.
Today, just now actually, I discovered I will have to rip back at least five or six rows. I don't know if I have the patience to release the stitches and try to make the missed yarn over (in a most obvious spot at that!), because then I will have to go back and fix what I tried to "fix" in a cheater's way of getting extra stitches. I knew it couldn't be this easy. I was having FUN knitting lace...with beads! Totally entertained. Should have known there would be a catch. But the fixing will have to wait for later. After work and after the kids are in bed. Last night I was foolish enough to knit on MS3 while watching Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest. Serves me right.

Today In the Barn

That's Snowflake, my last remaining sheep and a Meat King rooster (most likely Sunday's dinner!).

Touring Nova Scotia

Last Saturday we packed up the kids and a neighbour's one to boot, and started driving. We had grand intentions: swimming in the ocean (I even wore my bathing suit) and maybe even finding a place to go clam digging. Turns out we didn't do any of that but still managed to have a good time of it. The three boys were in the back seat talking about cars non-stop. (By Yarmouth I was ready to leave them by the side of the road I must admit.) We enjoyed some beautiful scenery and not much gives me more joy than watching the many changing moods of the ocean. Naturally we stayed off the main highways. Our first stop was in Shelburne where we stopped into Frenchies and a used book store (Whirli Jigs, I think). Shelburne is beautiful, even more so than I remembered. I wanted to drive out to Government Point and see what has become of the Canadian Forces Station where I spent a better part of a year many moons ago, but the guys were intent by then to find somewhere to fish. And so we drove on. We haven't gone far when a cold dense fog moved in. Once we drove into Barrington we could barely see anything, let alone the ocean. It wasn't until Mataghan that the fog cleared miraculously and the day turned glorious once more. We stopped around Comeau's Point (don't quote me on that) and the guys tested their fishing skills. One of them foul-hooked the ugliest fish I

have ever seen, in the process of which they managed to break a rod. While they were fishing, the kids and I wandered around the wharf, surprised to see quite a few cats, completely wild. We also saw this. There were many make-shift homes placed between the rocks for the poor creatures. It also appeared that the fishermen were in fact feeding those cats. We found the odd plastic tub of dry cat food. My son was so moved by the sight that he wanted us to drive to the nearest store and buy cat food. Frankly, his concern was greater than anything I've ever seen displayed towards his younger sister!

The last stop of our tour was in Digby at the Captain's Table where we enjoyed a fabulous supper of fish and chips. Delicious. The two youngest, being great fans of Garfield, ordered lasagna and garlic bread, adult servings at that! LOL

It was almost 11pm by the time we made it home.

There really is no place like home.

Did You Hear??

Yarn Harlot will be coming to Halifax in August! Hee hee hee. I get to run away from home without the kids for one entire day. To be with my own kind. Yipee!! It's not like I idolize her. It's more than that. It's about going to see a regular woman, normal and perfectly down to earth (or at least so I gather) who made good in this big bad world. Knitting and being proud of it. At a time (FINALLY) when women (and men) knit in public and are not immediately led off in those nice white jackets that buckle in the back. I will stand in line to meet her. I may have been a knitter for many years, but Stephanie inspired me to try new techniques. To get out of my comfort zone. That can never be a bad thing.

It would appear that as of late, I've been all about jumping on the bandwagon. So it is with some trepidation that I confess to joining the Mystery Stole 3. Yesterday I finally bought some beads. I will be knitting with black New Zealand wool. It will be pretty. If I ever start.

It's been a While

Time sure flies when there is a mountain of things that need to be accomplished by a deadline.



For two weeks we worked like fiends to get this house ready for sale. Not country ready. City ready. That is one thing I learned to do well from having to sell homes in over-crowded cities. Not fun at all. Strangers tromping through your home; actually it's not a home anymore once it's listed for sale: it's only a house that you occupy until you are free of it to move on. That's what this house feels like to me now. Empty. Not literally. Far from it. But majority of personal touches are down and packed away. The family portraits and photos are off the walls. The house echos now with our voices, the bare walls everyday reminders that we are just marking time now, in this place that we once thought of as home.



It feels like we've stopped living, afraid to get anything out of place, lest it create more last minute cleaning before a showing. It's sad and depressing. And tiring. I feel completely spent. Exhausted. I cannot even imagine what the kids must be feeling. "Don't do..." and "...stop it; you're making a mess..." were not in our vocabularies in the run of a normal day. Probably because my mother was such a neat freak while I was growing up, I made a conscious decision that my kids would have more freedom in that department, for the good and bad of it.



I feel empty. I don't like feeling empty.



Before I go, I must tell you that we had a showing yesterday. (We're not even up on the MLS.ca yet; this was word of mouth.) It was a perfect day for it, all sunny and warm and lovely, especially for checking out "The View" from the highest area of the property. That's all this man was interested in, "... no offence to your house, I am sure it's nice...". Seriously. He spent more than a quarter of an hour looking at the view, considering suitability for building a house with "the view", because that's what his wife wanted, but couldn't be bothered to join him. And my one thought? Why did I just spend all that time cleaning (for he never set one foot into the house) when I could have been spending that precious time with my kids???

High on Paint Fumes

Hello!

• Bad news: the whole upstairs has to be painted; the addition has to drywalled; my indoor Chinese laundry lines must be taken down. Before the house is even listed on the MLS.

• Good news: paint hides many sins (fumes notwithstanding); we have a fantastic real estate broker. From the three we interviewed, he was by FAR the best choice, judged by honesty, timeliness, and knowledge. With almost 150 acres on the line, Peter Hebb, with his background in surveying and forestry, is our ideal agent.

Fixing up a house just to sell it seems like a overwhelming task. One has no way of knowing if the "fixes" will make any difference to a prospective buyer. Everyone says that the cosmetic touches both draw buyers in but also don't make any difference in offers made because people will change things as soon as they move in. Seems like an oxymoron to me. Why waste time, money and energy on something that buyers will most likely change anyway, but without, won't even come in to look at what you have to offer?

You want to know why we didn't pick one of the more popular agents? Apparently the land, and landscaping, will not be what will persuade someone to make an offer. (Besides the fact that he low-balled us right from the start!) I swear my jaw hit the floor. Yes, to give him credit, he did say the fact this place has not seen chemicals in over 5 and a half years will make this property more attractive to some buyers. But not the apple, or cherry, or plum trees. Nor organic blueberries and blackberries, enough though there is even to sell. We were too disgusted to mention that this land provided us with all the meat our family required to last through winter and spring.

My apologies. I rant. It was not my intention today. Now I must go paint some more.

An after-thought: did you know that this week, organic blueberries are selling at $3.99/half a pint??? Only half? Imagine that. I have at least 3 acres of them right here at my back door. Life is sweet.

News

Do you like my lovely new mug? So cute it almost makes me want to gag on my less sunshiny days. Sheep on a mug are the only kind that I will be seeing in a relatively near future.

My dumb-ass sheep took off for the road again yesterday. A couple CARS finally cornered them down by the community centre, where they thought on what was good for them, and let themselves be herded home by one of the car drivers and were met half way down the road by my hubby, who, using major self-restraint, escorted them into the barn, LOCKED them up and threw away the key (figure of speech, that last bit). Any hoo, the only reason that they are not hanging in my favourite butcher's cooler right this very moment is that he turns it off for the summer. It's going to be difficult replacing eye candy of that high a quality!! Heh Heh

Didn't tell you what my hubby said, eh? If I get rid of all the sheep (lambs included) I can buy ALL THE WOOL I WANT!!!!!

For some whom I haven't told yet, this dream acreage that I live on will be going up for sale Very Very soon. The real estate agent is stopping in on Monday to assess the property and land. Yup, we're moving on to (greener?) pastures with a river view! I don't want to jinx it by telling you where we're heading. Once this place is sold, I will definitely tell all about it. In the mean time, you'll be hearing about the trials and tribulations of selling a property with kids out of school messing up every spot I clean.

Oh, let the fun begin.

HELLO OUT THERE!!

Even though I just posted a sock pattern on March Sweater Madness (see sidebar for link) that I want to make in a really "must have" kind of way, here is another one. Soooo lovely and doesn't even look all that difficult. Hee hee hee.

And I really do need more socks, especially pretty ones.

Hold that thought! There may be another pattern that I simply MUST make...

See that? I knew it! It's a good pattern day! I could dance. No. Better yet, I could go dig out some lovely sock yarn from the stash and start knitting!!

There is a slim possibility that, knowing Mother Nature and her shifty, sneaky ways, if I get really involved in some activity indoors, the rain will pass but I will be unable to tear myself away from my socks to go work on the garden!

A quick word about Sunday's outing to the big bad city. I forgot just how much I enjoy going to the theatre. And the city is not such a bad place, on a Sunday, in small doses.

Julie Martell played Belle, and Cogsworth was performed by Jeremy Webb; both were brilliant! For those of you here in NS, Beauty and the Beast will be at Neptune until first week of July. Well-worth the drive and the price of a ticket! I wouldn't lie to you. For a relatively small theatre, Neptune put on an incredibly professional production. I will make an effort to become a regular at Neptune, that's how impressed I was.

And a bonus! As we were walking back to the vehicles, guess where I stopped in with my group?? Hint: 1547 Barrington Street. No? Anybody hear of The Loop Craft Cafe? A small shop filled with luscious yarns and good quality needles (psst: you will be hard pressed to find any acrylic), with tables and chairs in the upstairs loft. Very sweet. Go. You'll like it.

On the Knitting Front

The knitting has really slowed down here. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe I don't like knitting any more (HA HA HA HA As if!). I *heart* knitting. That's not the problem. I have been busy. Yeah, that's a good excuse!

The animals need more care this time of year. It's not about turning them out on pasture and being done with it. I've started to slowly ween the calf off the cow, simply because the cow is losing too much condition to meet the calf's growing demand. So I've been having the cow free-range. Yup. I tried putting them in separate pastures, but no one got a wink of sleep for two days. Not so good. Tired farmer makes for a VERY cranky farmer. Bonus of the free-ranging cow is that she does a really nice job of mowing off the grass around the garden so I don't have to. Quite convenient. The sheep on the other hand have to be watched with a hawk eye to make sure they don't wander off as they seemed to have acquired a taste to do so. They used to be so well behaved.... Now I let them out of the barn for however long I have time for and then back they go. Baaad, baaaad sheepies.

So the knitting. The mitts and matching hat in progress are for a neighbour. She had the brown wool spun up at the Rumour Mill (local) and I'm slowly turning it all into winter wear. You will remember the trigger gloves I made for her hubby, and a hat. This yarn is quite heavy and I am using a fairly small needle to keep things warm, and wind proof.

Today I am driving to the city with my woman/child to see a performance of Beauty and the Beast at the Neptune Theatre, part of her teacher's "special treat". She's been dressed and ready to go since the crack of dawn. I'm still in my housecoat. Perhaps it's time to get ready. The meet up at the school is in an hour and a half. Lots of time....

From The Library

I am addicted to books. And the library. I especially like that I can order books through interlibrary loan without any extra travelling for me. Before getting into my current reads and a review or two, allow me to get on my soapbox for just a moment.

Thank you so much to the mayor of Bridgewater and the local government who believe that a new, bigger, much needed library should remain a LOW priority for the indefinite future. I appreciate your decision SO MUCH that I hope your vehicles and office air conditioning give out completely and are unrepairable during this summer's most definite heat wave; to the same effect I hope that this winter, when we are dumped on by one severe snow storm after another, your very expensive snow blowers will refuse to blow snow and your computers go on strike. Because to me, all those excesses that you can't live without are really LOW priority in my life, and I hope you suffer, as your constituents suffer without the promised new library! Thanks again.

Ok. I'm done.

The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon. Brilliant. I put off reading the last chapter just so I wouldn't be "done" with it so fast. I want my own copy. Now. So I can highlight specific sections for quick reference in the future. Very informative. Contrary in the face of big agribusiness and their government hand-outs. Teaching how to live on small acreage and still provide for family and livestock, and survive without going broke. Couple points of dissatisfaction: spelling mistakes, and in the later part of the book when the author admits to using non-organic methods to spot control specific weeds or pests before they spread out of control. It could be that I assumed that the author condemned any use of herbicides or pesticides, etc, without coming right out and saying so.

Dante's The Divine Comedy. I am reading Inferno, about three quarters done. It's a wonderful read. I always considered it to be a too difficult a read for me, since I did not attend college or university. I was quite wrong. I am not sure how many different translations there are, but this one by C.H. Sisson is smooth and intelligible. Contemplating my past actions is slowing down this read with ponderings of which circle I would be found in.

Slip-Stitch Knitting is one of the InterLibrary Loans I was quite enthusiastic to get my hands on. However, I am quite disappointed with this book as a whole. The only saving grace is that I didn't spend any money on it.

This book was published by Interweave Press in 1998, whose track record leaves something to be desired. I found the author wordy, the charts silly and the samples sloppy. At the very least they should have been blocked to even out their appearance and show some pride in workmanship.