A Few Sheep Shy of a Farm

This week seems to be flying by and without a lot of progress around here . . . and so I’m going to keep this short.

A friend of mine from the Monday Night Knitting Group is working with a group of people who are trying to establish a new Milk Bank here in New England.  There are a handful of such organizations around the country and they do great work.  They collect Human Breastmilk from donor Moms and supply it to babies who really need it, like premies and newborns with health issues.  Its a terrific resource for babies in need and our region could really benefit from having one again.

As part of their effort they have found an opportunity to be given a grant for $10,000 to get the whole thing started (buy equipment & advertise for donors etc) but in order to have a shot at the funding they need people to go and vote for the idea.

Please follow this link and vote for this idea – you will be asked to fill out a brief registration (they want a user name, password and your email, no big deal) and then you can vote.  Thanks!

http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/1248-Got-Milk-Help-save-babies-li

I’m planning on signing up as a donor provided everything is on track this spring after the little one arrives and we get a supply established.

who said something like “If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait 5 minutes.”

Today is a great example of that.  If you were to scroll down a little to the botttom of yesterday’s entry and examine the photos that I took yesterday of the little guy on his bike and of the chickens, outside on bare ground in the yard you would see that we’d had enough of a warm stretch that all the snow we got in December had, finally, melted.

Apparently, Mother Nature decided that since its January there was something wrong with that picture and this is what we woke to this morning:

So, much to the disappointment of a certain toddler, it is no longer bike riding weather!

However, being 2.5 he managed to make the best of it and got out there to play in the snow for a bit.

He didn’t last too long because after rolling in the snow for a bit he decided to remove his mittens to get a bitter grip on some snow and his little hands froze!  I think he was really only out there something like 20 minutes before I heard “Mommy, Cold!” and it was time for us to head inside.

While he was playing I went to feed and check on the chickens.  Here is what their coop looked like when I headed down there this morning:

I decided, based on past experience with these particular chickens and snow, not to bother trying to let them out today . . . they aren’t going to go anyway so why not keep the coop shut tight and warm.  Actually, it was warm enough inside that the water wasn’t the least bit icy or anything which means they should be just fine inside today.  There were 3 eggs waiting for me, a darkish brown, a pink and a blue.   After getting 9 yesterday it will be interesting to see just how many there are today.

Knitting wise I’ve made a little progress on the Minimalist Cardigan; the fronts are at about 5.5 inches so far . . . I hope to work on it a bit more today as time allows.  I’m also hoping to go to knitting group tonight but we’ll have to wait and see how the roads are later. 

Time to go do a bit of the “dreaded” housework so that I can claim some knitting time . . .

that is what weekends used to be for around here . . . apparently its going to be like 20 years before that happens again!  We were up and having cereal at 7:30 am this morning:

Isn’t he cute? He didn’t really want the sweater but it was chilly this morning so I managed to wrestle it onto him.  Actually, that is the sweater I’m going to pack away as soon as I have a chance to wash and depill it.  Its getting a little snug and the sleeves are short . . . but its served well and seen some hard use . . . and could be worn later by a certain baby sister . . . so into storage it will go.  Not to worry, he still has like another 7 handknit sweaters in his drawer – not that he’s spoiled or anything, but certainly can keep warm!

Yesterday was an interesting day . . . I took the little guy with me to take care of the chickens in the morning.  I usually do it on my own, its faster and easier, but the weather was nice and I thought he’d enjoy being the one to find the eggs in the nest.  He had a blast! We let the birds out into the run and then went inside the coop to scope things out.  one hen was still in the nest box so we left her alone and took the scratch grains out to the rest . . . when we stepped foot inside the run the big rooster decided he needed to challenge the little intruder.  He’s never given me or Dom a bit of trouble – guess we are just too big or him to mess with . . . . well, a 2.5 year old is apparently a different story. 

I have a certain amount of experience with reading “bird behavior” – my Dad now has a parrot that I had gotten as a teen, a yellow nape Amazon named Cujo, and he earned his name! Spending years around him has taught me a few things about knowing when a bird is about to do something he shouldn’t . . . and roosters behave remarkably like angry parrots . . . 

As soon as he started to charge I drop kicked him clear across the pen.  Not hard enough to actually hurt him . . . sort of scooped him off the ground and “tossed” him about 8 feet away . . . he came back over but stayed a few feet away and watched.  I puffed myself up enough and kept between him and the little guy – who was comepletly unaware he was in any danger – while he scattered grain on the ground.

After that we went back inside to check for eggs – hen still in the nest – so we fed some of the hens through the fence for a bit.  When the hen had finished and I had shooed the roosters all back outside (they came in to posture and crow at him!) then I too him in to collect the eggs.  Lets just say its a good thing our eggs have very thick shells! He doesn’t quite get that eggs are something that needs to be handled gently and was throwing them into the basket!  None broke but it was close . . . . there were 5 eggs, 4 brown and 1 blue and he was very excited to get to find them.

And now I know that the flock can not be at liberty when the toddler will be out in the back yard! Lesson learned!

Later in the day Dom took him outside so he could ride his bike.  It was a warm day, warmer than we are likely to have again in January . . . and he loved getting to be outside and riding his bike:

He doesn’t yet understand about peddling but he sure has fun anyway.  In fact, he’s busy nagging us as I type this about going back out to ride it again . . . which might happen today though its colder but by tomorrow he’ll be going sledding if anything since they are predicting 10-12 inches of snow!

As for the baby sister – I think she is going to be every bit as active as her big brother! When I finally had him in bed last night and tried to sit and relax to knit she started squirming and kicking . . . and didn’t stop the entire time I was sitting.  It got so uncomfortable that I actually got up and started moving around myself so that she would stop for a bit.  And lets not even get into what happened when I tried to go to bed last night! 

I did manage to get a small amount of knitting done on the sweater – I’ve got about 4 inches of the fronts done so far and I hope to get more done toay . . .  but first I have to get the boys out the door for church if I want my knitting time . . . and on that note, I’ve gotta run!

And back a while later:

The boys are gone to church and I went out for my morning visit with the flock.  Vi has been asking about chicken/egg photos so I brought the camera down to the coop and took a few pics while I waited for one last hen to lay her egg . . .

While she was laying an egg the others were outside – this is the Buttercup rooster – the smallest in the bunch:

And here are 2 of my blue egg layers:

And this one keeps getting out, goes right over the fence but at least she’s been good about letting me catch her to go back:

And some of them like to hang out on the fence, this is one of the smaller roosters and a barred rock hen:

And this is one of my 2 buff rock hens – they don’t like to be handled much but they also don’t generally cause any trouble so I call it even

When the white rock hen finally layed her egg and came out I went in to find that the nest she was in had 3 eggs (one pink, 2 blue), her egg was actually on the floor closer to the door and there was a blue in the box next to where she had been and 2 more browns in the other end.  7 eggs total this morning and 3 of the blue!

I posed them all in the prefered nest for this pic . . .

ok, off to knit before the boys get home!

Why is it that toddlers want to be up – like wide awake and hungry – at 7 am? Don’t they realize that parents aren’t necessarily morning people?

And I made the “mistake” of staying up till about 12:30 last night to finish the back of the sweater.  I was soooo close to finished with it that I really just couldn’t help myself, I really did have to finish it.

And have I mentioned that I haven’t been sleeping well the past few night? I’ve had a hard time going back to sleep when anything wakes me up . . . and between the toddler, and getting up to pee, and then the baby squirming . . .  lets just say I’m not exactly well rested right now.

Usually, when the muchkin has me up this early, I give him a bowl of cereal and then try to “nap” on the couch while he watches cartoons until its time for Dom to get up and we all have breakfast together . . . since Dom works mostly nights we’re on a “different” schedule around here than most folks . . . but this morning I decided to go ahead and actually get up – I made coffee, I wound off the 2 skiens of yarn that I need for the front of the sweater and now I’m getting in my computer time . . . In a few minutes it will be time to go fix breakfast . . . I think we’re having eggs today

Baby update

I haven’t been talking about the baby much . . . but things are going well. We’re 23 weeks into the pregnancy now and she must be getting big.  I believe she’s nearly a foot long and weighs just over a pound now according to the email from one of those calendar thingys I signed up for. 

What I can tell you is that she is every bit as active as her big brother.  I used to only be able to feel her moving if I was resting – holding pretty still and paying attention.  Yeah, not any more.  This kid is having a virtual dance party in there! I can feel her moving all the time now – even when I’m standing up or doing things and moving around myself.  And she’s moving enough to both wake me at night or keep me awake.  Don’t get me wrong – I love getting to feel her moving, especially knowing this is the last time I’ll be pregnant and get to experience this – but it is weird having another person in there – someone who decides to change positions every time I roll over at night etc.

Minimalist Knit-a-long

As I mentioned above, I’ve finished the back of the sweater last night.  based on the widths, I figure that puts me at about 1/3 of the way finished.  A few minutes ago I wound off 2 more skeins of yarn for the two front panels.  I’m planning to knit them at the same time so that they will actually be the same length.  I did the math last night to recalculate the pattern for the gauge I’m knitting at and should be able to do the fronts pretty easily.  I haven’t really looked at the sleeves yet but I’ll figure them out sometime before I finish the fronts. 

Perhaps, if I really work at it I can finish this sweater in 2 weeks time? Maybe?

Its been a grey miserable day.  We had really heavy rain and scattered thundershowers all day long.

Mimmo and I had planned to go to playgroup today.  Unfortunately, they planned a meeting about 30 minutes away and with the weather and all I just didn’t have it in me to dress him up, pack him up, fight to get him into the car without the appearance of a drowned rat from puddle stomping and deal with driving up there . . . then scrambling to do something for lunch . . . etc.  Just not happening today.

That has meant a day of being trapped in the house together (Dom’s working a double shift!) and with him bored.  And did I mention that he didn’t take his nap today? Yeah, we’re having tons of fun.

 We did try the Creme Caramel last night.  It turned out pretty well . . . there were 1 or 2 minor changes I’d make for next time but they really are minor tweeks to what I did.  I’ve got 2 more dishes of it in the fridge but I’ve been asked not to feed any to the little guy until his father is home tomorrow – he wants to see him eat it!

Today was a slow day in the chicken coop, only 5 more eggs . . . but 2 of them are blue! They really are neat to find in the nest box.  We’ve been giving away 1/2 dozen size cartons to a few friends lately and we’ve started including 1 blue egg in each box as a kind of novelty. 

Actually, Dom took some to work and gave them to one of the managers.  Someone up them in a fridge and then someone in the kitchen actually used them to make  souffle for a customer! How funny is that?  The chef asked him not to leave any more boxes with the funny blue eggs in the fridge

Knitting wise I’ve been working on the Minimalist Cardigan and the KP socks on and off as I can in between other things.  I’ve got about 3 inches left on the back of the sweater which I hope to finish tonight.  I had planned to take a photo to show you my progress but the lighting situation, due to the weather, has been terrible so it will have to wait.  I’ve pulled out 2 skeins of yarn to start the fronts with . . . I’m planning to knit them both at the same time . . . better shot that they will be the same length that way, know what I mean?

The KP sock is coming along very slowly . . . I’m finding it rather boring but I really, really want to get it done and off the list so I try to do a few rounds here and there just to keep it moving.

A certain little someone keeps asking if I’m making his sock or his sweater . . . and he’s very disappointed that neither project is for him.  I think I’m going to have to start another pair of socks for him soon.  He doesn’t really need me to knit him another sweater as his Godmother just knit him 2 (Thank you, Mari!) and that brings the total in his drawer to 9 if I remove the one that is getting a little snug.  Socks on the other hand, he actually can use a few more pairs of . . .

Speaking of socks; Emma asked in comments about how I darn socks. I’ve been using directions that I found here:

http://www.hjsstudio.com/darn.html

I’ve found them to be good directions and I’ve darned 8 socks so far with at least 4 more that currently need darning – thank you very much sucky nylon area rugs!

Time to go lock up the chickens . . . .