My coworker had a baby boy in mid November so I knitted a little hat and mitten set for the little guy. I'm not quite sure if she knows about my blog, so hopefully it'll still be a surprise when she gets them in the mail in the next day or so.
The hat is the Very Basic Beanie pattern, slightly modified. I did the decreases much faster than the pattern called for because I was worried the hat would be too big for the baby. I used the Fast Baby Mitten pattern for the mittens (obviously, hehe). The yarn is Caron Simply Soft, which I really like a lot.
It's a little nerve wracking knitting baby things without a baby to try them on for size. The mittens look slightly long to me, but they also look very cute with the cuffs rolled up. I hope she likes them, and I hope they fit!
Yesterday morning we went to the kids' school for Breakfast with Santa. They had some neat activities, including Santa's Workshop and a cookie walk. The kids shopped in Santa's workshop for presents for their mom and dad, and they got one each wrapped by a volunteer.
It was a little crowded, so we said we could handle wrapping the other presents at home.
Then the kids each got to visit with Santa and get their picture taken. We had to wait in line, so we entertained ourselves while we waited.
Then it was time to see the big man himself! Kylee went first...
And then Devin. He told us on the way there that he was going to ask Santa for an automatic room cleaner, but then chickened out when he got to see Santa.
On our way out, David and Devin stopped for a friendly game of hoops.
Kylee was more interested in her candy cane. I don't blame her!
David has several musicians on his mom's side of the family. Saturday evening they all got together to play so we went to see them. They play a lot of old country, and they play this song, Cabbage Head. I believe it's also called 7 Drunken Nights (a longer version). I'm sorry the sound quality isn't better, I recorded it with my camera.
The guitar player all the way to the left is David's cousin, Hank. The one singing the song is Hank's dad, Uncle Ricky. The guitar player second from right is Uncle Ricky's soon to be stepson, and the player all the way to the right is David's Uncle David (Ricky's brother).
Cabbage Head
I came home the other night, so drunk I could not see And there was a horse standing in the back where my horse's supposed to be. I called my little wife, come explain this thing to me. Why is there a horse standing in the back where my horse is supposed to be?
"You fool! You fool! You crazy fool, can't you plainly see? That's just an old milk cow that momma sent home to me."
I walked this whole world over a hundred times before, and a milk cow with a saddle I ain't never seen before.
I came home the other night so drunk I could not see and there was a coat hanging on the hook where my coat's supposed to be. I called my little wife, come explain this thing to me. I said why is there a coat hanging on the hook where my coat's supposed to be?
You fool, you fool, you crazy fool! Can't you plainly see? That's just an old bedsheet that my momma sent home to me.
Well I walked this whole world over a hundred times or more, but a bedsheet with pockets I ain't never seen before.
I came home the other night so drunk I could not see, and there was a head laying in the bed where my head's supposed to be. I called my little wife, come explain this thing to me. I said why is there a head layin in the bed where my head's supposed to be?
You fool, you fool, you crazy fool. Can't you plainly see? It's just an old cabbage head that my momma sent home to me.
I walked this whole world over a hundred times or more. But a cabbage head with a mustache I ain't never seen before.
The other day after the kids had done their homework, I decided to show them how to make paper snowflakes. They're cheap and easy to make and no Christmas season is complete without them!
I showed them how to fold the paper and then gave them scissors to cut shapes out.
Devin concentrated hard on his.
Snowflakes also make good masks.
Devin was pretty amused by the dog bone shape he got in his.
So, here are the chickens. Yup. Nothin' much to say about the chickens.
My little Old English Game bantam hen hatched 5 babies several months ago, and I forgot to blog about it. She has 3 babies left, and they're all tiny like her! See them to the left of the black rubber bowl? The two little black pullets are smaller than their mom. The mom is the one at the bottom of the group of 4. The little black and white speckled is a cockerel I believe. In the above picture, the two white chickens are broilers. I kept the smallest 8 birds back when we processed our last batch in early October. I'm letting them get nice and fat and we'll process them s we need/want them.
Many of the chickens are molting and looking rather pitiful.
And the silly birds prefer drinking out of the sheep trough.
And the guineas continue to be super-freak ninja poultry.
Last year I had issues with Darla. I bought her as a bred ewe, and she wasn't bred. I'm not sure if she never was, or if she aborted very early on or what. I had to scramble to find a ram in January and it was a headache. And come June very pregnant ewes get hot and uncomfortable. Ask Darla, she'll tell you. I thought I had that problem solved this year because I kept one of Purl's lambs. I planned from day one to use the ram to breed Darla in the fall and then we would have him processed for the freezer.
Well, things were going fine. I saw Darla come into heat in October, and I saw the ram attempting to breed her. I figured everything would be fine. And I thought it was, until a few days ago. Darla was back in heat! Noooo! I'm thinking the ram just isn't quite getting the job done. He attempts, but they're pretty lame attempts. I did a quick exam (because sometimes there will be something causing interference with full extension, if you know what I mean). I didn't see anything wrong. I'm not sure what the issue is, but I need a ram for Darla and I need one fast. Hopefully my neighbor will let me breed her to Horatio again. If not, she'll have to remain open this year.
Nothing much is new with Purl. She's her usual cute, fluffy self. Old reliable.
I always want to hug her, but she frowns upon that.
