Sprained Ankles and Crutches

Well apparently the universe is telling me to slow down since I went down the front steps the wrong way on my ankle and now get to hobble around on crutches for a while. Definitely not the cool fashion accessory that it was in teenage years.

I haven't got the shopping done for the festive season, I hate handing the job over since I actually like going shopping and finding cool things. Tim is busy with a few small projects and for him that usually means he only wants to focus and work on those and every mundane task around the house or chores needs to take a back seat or in other words, "Not going to happen". This should be interesting the next week or so since he is going to now have to do the grocery shopping, goat feedings, and run laundry up and down the stairs and make some meals plus keep up with his deadlines. I am usually the multi-tasker in the family and don't mind it at all, though the grocery shopping and meal making I would gladly pass on. It's just kind of boring and food preparation is the worst when you have a never ending complaining 9 and a half year old that hates everything and sits for hours (litterly hours) picking at his food and trying to stop gagging with every mouthful.

I'm in the Christmas Craft show called Busy Hands that is upstairs of Books & Company this weekend and I don't really know how the heck I'm going to manage it. My mom is coming to take care of the shop at the barn and Tim was supposed to go to Waterloo with the kids for the extended family xmas dinner with all his aunts and uncles. I'm taking my knitting and some other things to sell along with Tim's concrete sculptures. I think Tim is going to have to do the carrying in of all the stock and setup and then drive to Waterloo and be back in time to take it all down and load it into the van on Sunday. We are trying to figure out if I can manage to do this show on my own while he is away or that maybe he will have to skip it this year.

Too bad this weekend wasn't so busy and of course that I hadn't fallen down some steps and ended up on crutches! So here I sit with my laptop and knitting and watch the kids having a blast outside on their first snow day of this school season. Poor Tim is stuck with all the chores for a while and the kids are already getting annoyed with my requests to help here and there or to get me something. This is only day 1! Hopefully for everyone's sake I'm a fast healer!

All Handmade Show coming up!

Well I'm jumping in with both feet and Tim's feet too! We are going in Vicki's very awesome craft show which has become more and more successful every year. The rules are you can only sell the things that we created ourselves. I'm going to take my hats, Tim's concrete sculpture, and my latest venture... dat dat dat daaaa... all natural scented soy candles!!! We are going into production work to create scented candles that don't dirty the air with nasty chemicals like those paraffin wax ones. I love scented candles and the paraffin ones are now starting to bother me and my asthma. I also want to get creative again and have something that we can sell that is "County made" and then offer the candles at a wholesale level to other stores so we can have a business that will keep us going all year round. The shop is great but it's only open seasonally and it's too quiet for us on the shoulder seasons so we need a business to keep us going financially and fill in those gaps when the shop is quiet. Tim was offered a job back in the city of Toronto that would be for about 14 months and we made the commitment to turn it down. This is very scary since it would have made a very nice financial cushion to see us through for a while. It is really hard on all of us when Tim is gone all week and exhausted on weekends. Not to mention us missing him and him missing out on everything the kids are up to and of course all the drama that happens in a normal school week!

So decision was made to say no and find work here for Tim. He is going out and shopping around his unique style of Graphic Design, and Illustration work and hoping that will bring him some jobs and he is vamping up our website and ads to show that he can do that kind of work. He always takes unique approaches to design and everyone he has worked for and created ads, logos, business cards and such have been thrilled with his concepts and he is an incredibly talented artist. He makes some wickedly funny character drawings and comic style illustrations.

Of course these types of jobs are all found through word of mouth so pass around the word and thanks to the joys of the internet long distance creations are completely possible! Tim is currently working on our very funny family Yule card. He did a caricature of all of us and we printed it on cars to mail out last year. This was last year's version. He managed to add in all our individual quirky bits that makes it so perfect for us. I can't wait to see what this year's will look like, hee hee!

Our Baby Goats Are Here!

We finally went to visit Little Blessings Farm, a short drive from us, where Tricia Daley raises her pygora goats. Pygora goats are a cross breed of a small pygmy goat with an angora goat with the long curly coats that can be spun and turned into mohair yarn.

These two sisters have a pygmy mom and an angora dad and were born this past spring. We will hopefully get their birth date from Tricia soon so we can celebrate it when it comes around.

Right now they are super timid and nervous since we brought them home in the dark last night. It was only 6 pm but it was completely black outside. The poor girls stood on the ramp most of the night so I imagine they are pretty tired today. This is the first time they have been separated from their mom and the rest of the herd.
We brought food out this morning and with some coaxing only one would eat from our hands. As soon as we left the pen to get the kids on the bus they started naa-ing out for us to come back. They sound oddly like a child crying right now. The one girl seems to have more of the angora coat with lots of curls and length while the other one is a bit shorter and less curl more like the pygmy's coat.
They need names and we are all a bit stuck so we are giving them some time to get used to the place and for us to get to know them and see their personalities. I kind of like the idea of coming up with something very girly for them. I like the idea that it has something to do with the colour white or the moon and so far Luna is the only thing I can come up with I sort of like.

Names are so tricky at first and then the name seems to just be taken on by the animal and you can't imagine it being any other name. Our cat Baxter, a big black and white boy was named Pixie at the humane society but it seemed so wrong for him. Now he could only be a Baxter or Bax for short and it suits him to a tee. I'm liking the names Cora, Holly, Molly, Lu-lu, and of course the kids don't like those at all and want Frizzy and Fluffy! Short names work better with animals or at least ones that can have a short nickname so you can call them easily.

I really hope these girls are less timid and will be able to be good pets for us to play with, walk and have customers visit. We were spoiled by Coco, Smore and Nana Aggie since they were so easy to have around and had no problem being fussed over and petted. Really they were more like demanding the attention than anything.

I moved 2 cords of wood in our barn a week or more ago on my own so that we can create an indoor pen area for the girls. Goats don't like the rain and with the snow not far away we need to give them a better shelter from the wind and snow. We've got all the things we need to make the pen, Tim just needs some time to nail the thing together. We might even have chickens this spring to live with the goats, we'll see how it goes this winter. I just hope the coyotes don't discover our baby girls. I don't think they could get into the pen but they sure will scare the goats and us! Not to mention once they know they are there they will return over and over to work on the problem of getting into the pen. This year we have a higher number of coyotes in the County and you can hear them most nights and they come pretty close from the sounds of them. Once the river freezes they use that as their main route to move around. Those paw prints are pretty big on those things. Apparently we have hybrid coyotes that have mixed bred with wolves so they can get pretty big. We live very close to McMann Bluff where a few packs live since it is all heavily wooded and a large acreage where they can live undisturbed by people. I need to get one of those crazy horns that they blow at sports games since I don't want to ever own a gun so if the coyotes show up I can run out there making a hell of a wracket so they will be scared off. Or I'll have to start practicing with a slingshot and stones!!

Samhain Gathering

This year my friend Charlene and I decided to go on an adventure to the Womyns Spirit Retreat in Hockley Valley. It was this past weekend and was a gathering of women at the Ecology Retreat Centre there to honour and celebrate Samhain.

There were about 50 women and we all arrived on Friday afternoon and that's about the time the rain started really coming down and then the hydro died up at all the buildings but the dining hall and kitchen, which luckily was on a different circuit. It was actually fine since we had flashlights and there were woodstoves in most of the buildings. There was no heat of course in the bedrooms but I luckily had my old wool poncho along from my younger backpacking days so tucking that over me in my sleeping bag kept me cosy all night. The first ritual of the night was done lite only by candles which of course makes it much more magical.
The next morning was still dark when I got up and headed for the only working bathroom down the path at the dining hall. It was all good though since Linda the cook was up and about and had a pot of water already to go for tea, I was a happy girl. I love mornings of solitude to watch the sun rise. After I finished my tea and I could actually see outside a bit better I headed for the labyrinth to walk as the sun brightened the sky behind all the grey clouds.
Char and I met some very interesting and amazing women and learned alot from the weekend. We each took some workshops in the afternoon, though I think Char regretted the choice to do yoga. Her muscles were not too happy with her after that!
I got to play with beeswax and learn a new way to use it which I am going to totally use for Yule gifts!

We learned a whole bunch of songs and chants from the rituals and I actually have come away remembering a bunch of them! I can never remember tunes to songs but I think we sang them so much and they are fairly simple they finally stuck with me! Yeah! I also came up with lots of ideas for Leah's coming of age ceremony that will probably happen this spring. On Sunday for the last ritual we actually cast the circle using bubbles, it was so fun!

Char and I both want to go again next year and possibly bring along our daughters. Leah has already said she wants to come but she needs to go through her coming of age before she can join the women's circle. She would probably have just as much fun with the younger girls circle though she does get shy with new kids.

It was a beautiful weekend and I really enjoyed it and I didn't mind the loss of hydro or the rain that came and went. The vegetarian food was fabulous and luckily they also had gluten free for those of us that needed it. It was wonderful sharing and learning from all the women that were there and I'm looking forward to next year.

The Winds Howl and the Trees Fall, Again!

Can you see Leah and Quinn behind our newest fallen tree?

The wind very suddenly and abruptly blew through our place and just up the road on Morrison Point this afternoon. 5 trees fell on Morrison Point and I didn't even realize this one fell down until Leah came home from school and was bouncing around in excitement over the destruction!

The roots were yanked right out of the ground and left a very large crater in the shoreline. It ripped off a few limbs of the cedar and pine trees on it's way down as well.

I was busily working in the upstairs of the barn painting the studio room and didn't even notice the tree falling! Of course there was a constant howl of wind and crashing of smaller branches against the tin roof to distract me from the bigger crash of a tree falling.

This is the 3rd tree to fall in 2 years. At this rate we are going to run out of trees and shade very soon! I'm going to go out and buy a nice oak tree I think to replace this one this weekend. In about 60 years it should be at least as tall as this one. Hopefully someone in the future will appreciate the tree like I appreciate the person who planted all our trees that we have today. This tree was a black locust, at least that's what I think it was. It used to bloom large white clusters of flowers just after the lilacs finished blooming and they smelled incredible. I will miss this tree very much.

Published Writings!

I was asked to write a piece on Quinn's summer job as an actor in the Festival Players production of "Schoolhouse" so here is the link to that story. Firsts in Prince Edward County
Quinn had a great time and is already thinking about trying out for another play that is happening this fall. Leah also has the bug and is really keen to show Quinn he isn't the only thespian in the family!
There are other stories here that are fun to read and I've gotten a real kick out of having my story about Quinn being on here. It was harder than I thought to write but I did manage to muddle through.

So I haven't blogged in a while, too insanely busy I guess. The Galloping Goat summer art camp for kids was a success but also exhausting. I also went to Montreal with Tim and my friend Charlene and her guy for 3 days and we had a great time. The gift show was going on so there was alot of shopping involved and the guys were good about it and didn't hover too much!

Now it's the first day of school for Quinn and Leah. Quinn is now at Leah's school since he is starting grade 4 today so he is now officially at the big kid school. Crazy how that time flew. It seems like only a year ago I was desperately wishing for Quinn to finally be in grade 1 and full days at school and "BAM" he is in grade 4 and Leah is in grade 7 and really, really close to high school!! I think time is speeding up!

Milford Fair is coming up next, Saturday Sept. 19th. I'm not prepared, we were supposed to come up with a clever parade entry but so far nothing. I need a creative fun idea. I have had the offer of goats to borrow again but not sure if we are going to do that again or not.

The busy pace never seems to let up and now we have more stock coming since I ordered more merchandise in Montreal. Hopefully we'll have a gorgeous fall with lots of visitors to the barn. It really is the most beautiful time of year.

Horse time

This is Indee, she is this gorgeous painted horse that I met a few months ago and have been lucky enough to ride most weeks. The first time I saw her I was immediately drawn to her and there was something about her that I loved. This isn't a great picture of her here, with her ears back but she is very sweet and gentle and willing to please. The trick is for me, a new rider (I used to ride as a kid) and her being a bit green (this means she hasn't got alot of experience or training in having a rider and the signals that tell her what I want her to do) is to get our signals right and both of us knowing what to do with the information I'm sending her with my legs and hands. I tend to give crossed signals since they are different than the signals that I was taught as a kids when I rode english.
Indee is a trail horse and is happiest on the trail and carrying her big western saddle. I tried riding her tonight with a much smaller english saddle. The western saddle is great for trail riding and very comfy and helps with balancing but when it comes to riding in a ring and using your legs to give signals and doing a rising trot the western saddle gives alot of blisters! Indee and I had our best ride tonight with me giving the right signals and her understanding me better and willing to go along with my directions.

Indee is actually for sale and I am in love with her but don't really know that much about keeping a horse and certainly can't afford the cost and the upkeep but everytime I ride Indee I can't help but dream and wish. If we had more land, a bigger barn, steady income... the list goes on. I even told Tim I would sell my motorcycle in a second if I could own Indee. I have wanted a horse since I was a very little girl and was always horse crazy and read every horse fiction book I could get my hands on.

Indee will be at the stables where Leah and I ride for the rest of June and then she is heading back home since she didn't sell. I keep thinking that maybe I could make a deal with the owner to pay for her board for a year and then get to ride her whenever I want, so at least it would feel like I own her.

I love my cat Baxter and have a strong attachment to him, but our dog Belle I never connected with the same way. I had a dog from a puppy when I was 13 and I had an incredibly strong connection with him and was devastated when he passed at 16 yrs old. Now I seem to have made this connection with a horse from the moment I saw her and she seems to feel the same. She comes to me when I call her and when Leah tried riding her she couldn't get her to follow her directions and Indee wouldn't do anything but try to follow me into the stables. I've even had dreams about her. It's a bit ridiculous I know, I feel all the same obsession I had when I was a child and just wanted to be with the horses all the time.

At least I have a few more rides to enjoy with Indee and maybe in the future I'll find a way to actually own her. You never know and if it is meant to be everything will fall into place.