A New Rug

We used some of our Christmas money to buy a new rug for the living room.  We got this one at Walmart for $70, and I love it.  Our other one was a boring light brown sisal rug, which I really liked when we first bought it, but after 4.5 years here it was getting worn and gross looking.  This new one is a Better Homes & Gardens brand, and a year subscription to the magazine comes with it. Bonus!  We also bought some new pillows for the couch.  I'd like to spice up this room a bit, since it looks a little bland to me.  I think I'll pick some colors out of the rug to paint the walls, and maybe do some sort of curtains for the windows. 

I've got all these great ideas for the house, but it seems the budget is the limiting factor...that's life I guess! 

Christmas Day!

We had a great day and it went by so quickly.  Breakfast was some bacon and sausage from the local butcher shop, with some Jamaican Blue coffee (love that stuff).  Then we did some present opening, some relaxing, and then dinner with David's dad and brother. I entered a drawing at the butcher shop and won a free ham, so that was dinner!  We also had some delicious mashed potatoes (courtesy of David), macaroni and cheese, sourdough rolls, and the best lima beans I've ever had.  We got some smoked bacon ends from the butcher shop, so we cooked those with the lima beans, and the result was amazing. 

Here are some pictures to sum up the day!

(the box was too big to wrap, so David decorated the box)

I got a Snuggie!

Santa brought Kylee a game called Beat the Parents...a trivia game that pits parents against kids.  It was fun!

It was a great day, and I'm already looking forward to next Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Eve! We're getting ready to go to David's granddad's house for the annual Christmas Eve get together.  David is making mashed potatoes, and made sourdough rolls and eggnog, plus lots of cookies.  There's going to be lots of other good food there too.  I can't wait!

We finally got some Christmas lights on the house!

While I was putting lights on the porch, I saw two little Carolina Wrens snuggled together.  They're there every night.  I guess it makes a nice little bed for them. 

There's not a whole lot else to say today!  Merry Christmas!!

Handsewn Owl Pincushions

My mom made a gaggle  flock parliament (had to Google that one) of these cute little owl pincushions, and they're for sale!  Each one is unique, but there are 2 fabric choices, pink or green. 

They're $5 each, plus shipping.  Shipping will depend on if you want them mailed priority or first class.  If you'd like one (or more), please send me an email at aggieterpkatie@yahoo.com.  Just specify number, and whether you'd like pink or green. I'll choose the individual owl, so the pattern may be slightly different than the owls shown in the picture.

There's still time to order for Christmas, especially with Priority shipping!

Snowy Sunday

Yesterday was the Christmas craft show.  I managed to take one picture before my camera batteries died.  Oops!  It was a successful show, but I still have soap, coffee cozies, lip balms, lotion bars, and some felted ornaments for sale. 
















Today it snowed!  And I think we also got some sleet mixed in there too.  I love taking pictures of the sheep when it snows.  All but the lamb were covered with snow, so I guess the lamb was the only one who wanted to go in the shelter.

 

Barley looks so pretty in the snow. 

Whatcha doin?

Bean

The chickens weren't thrilled.  Some of them have never seen snow. One young rooster flew from the coop door about 10' out, then stood there for a few minutes and flew back to the coop.

The rabbits seem cozy.

I would have taken a picture of the goats, but they are goats and they refused to come out of their shelter.  Smart girls. 

Craft Show Saturday!

Tomorrow is the Heck With the Malls craft show in Centreville, MD.  I'm finally ready!  I laid everything out on the table today to take inventory and make sure I had everything together.  Devin is coming with me as my helper.  He came last year too and was a big help.  As much as I am looking forward to the craft show, I'll be glad when it's over so we can start our Christmas decorating at home.  Plus, I really need to knit some things that aren't craft-show related, so it'll be nice to have it behind me.  If you're in town tomorrow, come on by!

Purl & June and Small Business Saturday!

Did you know today is Small Business Saturday?  It's a great reminder to support small businesses for your holiday shopping.  Purl & June is ready for Small Business Saturday.  I've been working to stock up on soap and other crafts, not only for SBS, but also for a craft show next weekend.  

There are some new items in the shop now, and new things will be added every now and then for the next week or so.  

Here's what I've been busy doing lately.

Each coffee cozy I sell in the shop is knitted, then felted individually. Then after the felted cozy is dry, I needle felt the details (like sheep, or whatever the design is) onto it. 

I've got several cozies drying on the windowsill at the moment. 

Lots of soap is curing, waiting to be sold.  This is just a small part of it all.

The holiday soap sets are back in the shop, along with the needle felted Christmas lights. 

So if you're doing some holiday shopping this weekend, please consider supporting a small business, whether it's local to you or online.  There are lots of other artisans out there working hard to provide quality products, and they all need our support. 

RIP Cogburn

My favorite little chicken died last night.  His name was Cogburn, and he was only 1 of 2 chickens I have named.  Only the special ones get names (or at least ones that stick).  He was one of the first chicks I bought, before we even bought our house.  I bought a handful of chicks a week before we closed on our house, because I was so excited! 

He was always a very spirited little chicken, and he was fun to watch.  He would let me catch him now and then, and I'd let him ride on my shoulder or if it was really cold I'd tuck him into my coat.

 

He got picked on by the big rooster every now and then, and I think that's what happened to him the other day.  I was out of town for work for a few days, and after I came home Devin told me Cogburn was hiding in a bucket. That's definitely not normal, so I found him and he had been injured, with a fairly big slice in his back...probably from a bigger rooster.  I treated him, and put him in the garage with the woodstove going, so he could stay warm and rest.  The next day he was doing better, and was eating and drinking well.  This morning I found him and he had died during the night some time.  I'm pretty bummed out, because he was sort of our little mascot around here. 

 

I'll miss his trilling little crow, and how he always used to come find me for treats (he knew I'd give him the good treats). 

 

 







Brrr!

It is cold and blustery out today.  What better to do on the windiest day of the year but put plastic around the rabbit cages?  We had put tarps up temporarily, but today we took those down and really wrapped the whole thing with plastic.  If the rabbits have a wind block, they should be fine outside in the winter.  The only exception may be if there's a new litter or if we're going to get abnormally cold stormy weather.

















I think they should be pretty snug now, and I plan on adding a flap over the opening so we can totally block the wind on the colder days. 

The lone baby rabbit is really growing fast.

The goats are not happy at all about this cold weather.  Their coats are all puffed up and they're staying hunkered down. 

The buck should be going back home soon, which will be nice.  He's a perfect gentleman, but fewer mouths to feed is always nice. 

The sheep don't seem to mind the cold weather. I guess if I was covered in wool I wouldn't care either!  The dogs didn't really mind it either. They were too busy playing with their sticks.

And lucky Tucker got to come inside for a while today (he's normally outside since he won't use the litter box reliably) to snuggle and stay warm.  He loves snuggling with the kids.

We've got the pellet stove going and are staying comfy on the couch watching tv! Is it cold where you are?

October-November Update

I haven't been posting much lately, so here's a quick overview of some of the things that have been going on.

The leaves were so pretty this year when they changed!  I caught this picture one day when there were some pretty altocumulus clouds (I learned that from the local weather guy's facebook page). 













 

It seems like they didn't last long though....before I knew it they were gone.

I love the scenery in the winter though....doing the chores at dusk is nice because the sky is always so pretty.

I caught a pretty sunset one evening a few weeks ago.

I call this "Sunset Over the Goat Pen".

Now that it's cold and getting below freezing, we had to winterize the camper.  We ran RV antifreeze all through the plumbing.

One weekend when David had plans with his uncle, the kids and I went to Fifer Orchards for their open house.  They had free hay rides, free cider, and free s'mores!

David and Elmer watched some tv...

And then Elmer got tired...

I planted some wheat in the pasture to extend the grazing season.  I'll graze it this coming week, then fence the sheep off for the winter.  Come spring, as soon as it warms up a bit the wheat will shoot up and I should get some more good early grazing. (the wheat is the bright green grass below)

A borrowed buck is here to breed Ida and June. His name is Lucky, and he's a yearling Oberhasli.  He's very sweet, and has a teeny little baby voice.  I tried to get a better picture, but this was the only angle I could get.  Of course I am pretty sure he bred the does, but I forgot to write down the date!  I think it's mid-late October, for late March kids. 

And there's a new bunny.  There should have been more, but for some reason both does kindled a day or two apart, and neither one pulled fur for a nest!  Most of the babies died of hypothermia before I found them.  I managed to save one of them, and he's doing just fine.  This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, so he's twice the size now. 

I tried to re-breed the doe who lost all her kits, but I don't think she settled.  Sometimes rabbit breeding isn't as easy as it should be!



Ok, that update gets me caught up through mid-November.  Maybe I'll get over my blogging slump soon and be able to keep on top of things from now on.  :-)