jUST iN tIME....

They're Here! The 2009 REAL Sheep Wear SHETLAND Wool calendars have arrived and Mom's mailing out the first group today.

What a great gift idea! Why wouldn't everyone want to look at pictures of Shetland sheep every day? Who'd want to look at pictures of birds, or cats, or dogs, or even worse ~ scenery when they could look at us beautiful sheep???

Mom says: "Different Strokes for Different Folks". What ever THAT means!

We know that We'd sure rather look at pictures of Shetland ewes than at cats or dogs!

That's right. The Calendars are here and I'm mailing them out as fast as the checks come in! I did order some extras, so if you'd like to get your very own copy of the 2009 REAL Sheep Wear SHETLAND Wool Calendar, CONTACT ME for info on where to send your check. Calendars are $25.00 each and that includes shipping to the US...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A BLESSED AND WONDERFUL 2009!!!!

P.S. all proceeds from these calendars go to caring for my wonderful flock of Shetland sheep!

CHRISTMAS,Knitting...

* All photos are "biggifiable"...*


The girls and I have been busy.

My middle Grandson asked me to make him a scarf for Christmas! It even has POCKETS! And of course, it's knit from wool from Grandma's very special flock of Shetland sheep...

Of course, if Matt gets a home-spun, hand-knit scarf, Nick better too!


Biggest Brother, Josh's, scarf is still on the needles. It's so FUN to knit! I'm using a multi-colored strand ~ spun from the lock from wool I roo'd off the neck of my ewes, before shearing, the year before last ~ and a solid strand of black. Alternating every two rows in a simple 2x2 rib. It is so fun watching the colors change. And it's wonderfully SOFT! This one may be hard to part with....

DREAM says...

"Don't worry Mom...

We'll grow more!"

Swimming...

When I was a child, I loved the water. As a baby, I enjoyed my bath and splashing the water all over the kitchen. As a young girl, I remember "swimming" in the bathtub. Pretending I was an otter and flooding the whole bathroom as I swam back and forth in the tub. I loved to swim. Diving and twisting and turning. Holding my breath. I grew up close enough to the Mississippi river that, even in grade school, My brothers or friends and I would sneak down to the River and play for hours. I can remember jumping off the docks on houseboats, into inner-tubes and paddling to shore. I think I learned to swim when my older brother, Russ, grabbed my inner-tube and I had to get to shore on my own! That was scary, but I made it!

My astrological sign is Pisces (the fish). It seemed appropriate when I was younger. As a young adult, I lived for the beach. Baking my slender young body in the sun's rays and frolicking in the river. I learned to water ski the summer of my senior year in High School. Several of the kids in my class had the use of their family boats and a group of us practically lived on the River.

Even after I got married and had children, I loved the River. My husband and I bought a boat and my children grew up playing on sandbars and splashing in the mighty Mississippi. I loved to jump out of the boat in the middle of the river and swim in water where I had no idea where the bottom was. I was ageless. The River was timeless. I felt like I was suspended in time when I swam under water. That was always my favorite. Stroking and slicing my way through the murky darkness. I was a fish. An otter. A seal. Suspended animation.

As I grew older, I found myself swimming less. The water was too cold. Or I didn't want to put my ever expanding body into a swim-suit. It was too hot on the sandbars and sunburn is bad for one's skin. Riding in a boat is so bumpy and loud. Climbing in and out is awkward. I still like sitting on the beach. At least I think I do. I haven't gone for years. A cruise might be nice. If I didn't have to wear a swim-suit. At least I think I would enjoy a cruise. It's not likely to happen anyway. I'm getting older. I'm embarrassed by my body. And by my droopy eye. I'm no longer attractive. I think that was part of the fun of swimming. The image I had of myself ~ in my mind's eye. That image is no longer one that I enjoy. So I chose not to look.

I don't really miss swimming. It seams more like work than fun now. Too much effort to stay afloat. I'm more comfortable being alone. Playing with fiber and enjoying my animals. I rarely want to leave my home. Swimming seems to have lost it's appeal. Although, slipping silently into the dark murkiness still holds some allure...

To my children: Please do not freak out that I wrote this! I am NOT suicidal. Or even slipping into a deep depression. It's just something that's been swirling around in my thoughts lately and I wanted to write it down. I actually think it's kind of a neat analogy.

I'm OK.! Please don't get all worried and scared so that I can't feel comfortable writing my thoughts on here....

I love you!

Mom

Stupid Ram...

Or maybe not?

Hunter has decided that he needs to keep his girls as far away from any other sheep (and ME) as possible. So, instead of staying in the paddock, in my backyard, with a nice, cozy barn and lots of hay conveniently available, he has to herd his girls to the farthest corner of the pasture. Up, what in the summer appears to be a slight incline, but in 10 inches of snow, pulling a sled full of hay feels like Mt. Everest!!

Hunter and Godiva seem to be especially close today. I know that Zaria was the first to be bred, on Monday. I'll be happy when they're all bred and he lets them come back down to the barn!

Breeding Group...

I finally put my breeding group together! We had a major winter storm hit the area on Monday and into Tuesday so I had a couple of unexpected days at home. Monday I put my breeding group together.

Just one breeding group this year. Three of the ewes in the group no longer even belong to me. Those three are "Godiva" ~ fawn/mioget yearling out of Flash Flood and sired by Windswept Bravo (black & white, HST); Zodiak and Zest.

Those of you who know me, know that Zodiak and Zest are VERY special ewes to me. I didn't want to sell them. But the opportunity arose to place them in a home in which I knew that they would be loved, appreciated and cared for as much as they would be here. I had decided that there were only two couples in the world that I would entrust Zodiak and Zest to and one of them took me up on it.

This is my dear friend Linda Westover with Zodiak in 2005 (?)

Linda and her husband, Pete, drove all the way from Pennsylvania to purchase a ram lamb and a ewe lamb from me. During their one-day visit, a lifelong friendship was formed.

Pete & Zest
Oh yes, the sheep liked them too... ;-)

It's funny, the friendships that can be formed because of these incredible, little sheep. Linda and Pete have bought more sheep from me over the years. My Beautiful Baby Girl and I drove out to Pennsylvania, 2 years ago to deliver sheep, pick up Bella and visit with Linda and Pete. They have supported me through some of my darkest moments in my battle with depression. I truly love this wonderful couple. I feel good knowing that Zest and Zodiak will be spending the rest of their days with Linda and Pete. Plus, it means that we'll see each other again next summer! Zest and Zodiak will stay with me until arrangements can be made for Linda & Pete to pick them up sometime next summer. (no hurry!)

I will get to keep a lamb from Zest and Zodiak. I'm praying for an HST ewe lamb from Zest! I know that Zodiak will give me beautiful HST girls ~ she always does!

Godiva will also be staying on for a while in the Bluff Country. She is owned by my good friend Terry (the one I taught to spin ~ many years ago!) and Terry & her husband may have to put off retiring to their farm "up North" for another year or two because of the current economic conditions. Poor me ~ I'll have to suffer through another year or two of having this lovely little girl around....

I can't wait to see what she gives us for babies!!

That's it for now. I'm having trouble posting lately. I feel anxious and need to get away from the computer. I'll try to post pictures of the three of MY girls that are also in with Hunter since Monday. Soon.

Just in the NICK of Time.....

The 2009 "REAL SHEEP WEAR SHETLAND WOOL" Calendar is on the way! I finished editing and put in the order at MIDNIGHT , last night/this morning. I had to get it in because the free shipping offer expired today! Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

The cost for a Calendar will be $25.00, which includes shipping. Lest anyone think I am getting rich off of these things, MY cost is $15/each. And that's if I order enough quantity to get a discount and order during a free shipping offer. So, I actually make about $7 per calendar. I hope nobody thinks that's excessive...

The calendars are printed on card stock paper(by Kodak), full color and each page is suitable for framing. I use my previous year's calendars for various decorating and promotional displays. Anyone wishing to order a 2009 Calendar, who has not already reserved one, can contact me

What ELSE have I been up to???

Carding and blending.

This is a mix of Fawn Shetland, llama and kid mohair!

Spinning ~ I'm going to make myself a scarf/wrap!



I'm trying to work on a couple of Christmas presents, too. It seems I'm not very good at multi-tasking!! ;-(

I haven't even put my BREEDING GROUP together yet!!

I'm working LOTS of overtime...
There just aren't enough hours in a day!

I'll try to post more often

Bella and Sadie are keeping an eye on things for me while I'm so busy....


P.S. Lucca CROWED!!!!

What a MESS....

OK. So I tallied the votes on the Calendar. There were some surprises and some that I assumed would make the cut. Unfortunately, when I started moving the photos, in the album, to put them in the order of votes, it changed the number on each photo so I couldn't just count to find the right ones! Do you know what I mean????

Anyway ~ I'm still working on it. Will get the order placed tomorrow. It's gonna be NICE.....