04.18.08
Posted in Gardening, Redwood Living at 8:32 am by Lynette
The old adage that life isn’t always fair can also be applied to my yard. I’ve toiled for years, YEARS I say; 19 to be exact. Digging, planting, pruning, fertilizing, building soil, adding amendments, killing slugs, patiently worrying about late freezes, snow and hail. And what do I get? What I say? This
Beautiful blossoms on my two pear trees. These trees were planted for the two oldest kids. They have never really produced pears. Mostly because we usually get a freaky high wind and pounding rain in April when they are blooming. But NOoooo, not this year. The year we’ve sold the house. The year we’re moving. Yes, the deal is final, the papers are signed and the loan has been funded.
I’m sure this year will be a bumper crop of pears. The new residents of our house will think what a bonus. Beautiful pears fresh for the picking from the trees.
Sometimes Mother Nature is just cruel.
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04.07.08
Posted in Gardening, Knitting, Redwood Living at 8:12 am by Lynette
When I awoke this morning at 5:43 I rolled over after sleeping in the same spot all night and thought. Is it Monday or Sunday? If it was Sunday I easily could have slept in which doesn’t happen much. If Monday, it was time to get up. We spent the weekend at the Riyescott Hill House (this is what we call it) which overlooks our property.
By 
staying there we were able to get alot of work done. The owners of Riyescott Ranch have decided to rent out their 3 bedroom 2 Bath house as a vacation rental. We were the first to try it out. If you are looking for a quite, secluded vacation home to stay a few days or week in, this is the place. Located above the Pacific ocean you have a 360 degree view of the ocean and mountain range in southern Oregon. It was quite, beautiful and restful. You can email Linda here for more information.
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Saturday we helped Linda sow one of her pastures with new rye grass seed. The kids learned the valuable lesson of throwing seed into the wind. Katie came home with grass seed everywhere; inside her shoes, hair, pockets and pants. That night we shared a wonderful dinner to celebrate the soon to happen close of escrow. Wine, tri tip and roasted potatoes/parsnips with green salad and strawberry shortcake. The company was good and the food great!
Sunday we finished loading the 3 raised bed with top soil we rescued from the soon to be cut away bank for our house. KT and I planted red pontiac potatoes and soft neck garlic. The third bed will get soy beans next weekend.
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It’s time to start thinking about what you will be knitting or corcheting for the Knitting Olympics this year. As you know, the summer olympics are in August. During the last summer olympics the Yarn Harlot floated the idea we knitters get involved in the Olympics by starting a project during the opening ceremonies and finishing it by the closing ceremonies. It was fun project to participate in and the idea really took off. You can go here to see more.
Since we will be moved by then I’m thinking about what I could challange myself to knit. A sweater seems like it will be too much. Especially a complicated pattern that I would really need to pay attention to. Maybe a top down sweater that is knit in the round, for me of course. I’ll need to start looking at patterns and decide which yarn to buy. Anyway, I encourage to join in the challange.
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Recession? Yes, I do believe we can officially call it a recession. Since my living expenses are not tied to my sock knitting business I had a revelation this morning in the shower. ( I always seem to get my best ideas in the shower.) I’m not going to let this downturn in my sales get ME down. I am considering this a good time to increase my inventory. In the past as soon as I would list a pair of socks they would sell. Now I can knit away, without pressure, and list the socks as they are finished. This way I’ll have loads of pairs ready for the fall/winter buying season.
How’s that for make lemonade out of lemons?
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03.25.08
Posted in Gardening at 8:37 am by Lynette
Even though it is overcast outside;
Even though it is chilly outside;
Even though we are still having night frosts;
My seedlings are alive, ALIVE I SAY, A L I V E!
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02.14.08
Posted in Gardening, Knitting, Redwood Living at 9:52 am by Lynette
Thursday, February 14, 2008
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Here is a photo blog of my day.
The cat, Calypso, and is always under my feet. Today she was very interested in my ironing socks.
Yesterday I received this box in the mail from Territorial Seeds with enough seeds to feed the whole town of Brookings.
I have to inventory it and start splitting the order up between me and Linda. See those square pots on the top row? Those are cow pots. If you are a fan of ‘Dirty Jobs’ as we are you will remember the show he did with the Cow Pot guy. I can hardly wait to try them. In fact, if you go to the above link you can actually watch this season’s first 4 episodes.
Today is packaging day. Here is an image of the socks I knit for a customer. These are all Lana Grossa, expect for the one Toofootsies which is a yarn made from shrimp. If you are interested in me knitting socks from your yarn, you can go here to print out the form to mail with your yarn. My current lead time is 4 - 6 weeks.
Finally, the Rainy Day Yarn Club packets are going out today. I’m a bit behind due to several reasons but never fear, they are on their way.
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10.26.07
Posted in Gardening, Redwood Living at 8:17 am by Lynette
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Does this look like my new studio? It could be. Shipping containers are the latest thing in building. They are sturdy, water tight, movable and secure. You can frame in a door, cut in windows, run electricity…really, you can almost do anything.
Today the DH and I went looking at shipping containers. I’ve been toying the idea of using one for my ’studio’. I would put it in the back forest, have a friend cut in a couple windows and WA LA, instant Fortress of Solitude.
They cost about $3,000 and depending upon what was shipped in them I could use one. The first we saw smelled like garlic. Really, like garlic. Next we talked to a local discarded equipment perveyor (junk man) and he said he would charge us $200 - $300 to move one if we found one we wanted. Low and behold, Land O Goshen…there were TWO in the paper today for sale. They only wanted $1000 for each. This sounded too good to be true.
Well Yup r doodle, it was too good to be true. They were previously used for growing pot, Mary Jane…you know that illegal stuff. Now I will admit I have smoked a few in my day and tried really hard to inhale. Although I would not be the first in line if it was legalized, I but would at lease be standing around the corner. But I could not use a pot reeking shipping container to dye yarn and run my business nor could I use a garlic smelling container. On the flip side I may come up with some really interesting color combinations if I used the pot smeller for dying….Hmmmm.
After talking to the junk guy I learned the ‘problem’ with using the shipping container for an office is the sweat. Yes, they sweat when it gets cold. You have to basically build around the outside and frame in the inside so I’ve thrown out that idea and will stick in my garage room.
Oh well, it was a good idea anyway. |
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10.14.07
Posted in Gardening, Redwood Living at 3:24 pm by Lynette
What does this 
plus this
equal?
12 jars canned apple fie filling and
This KT’s first apple pie
In addition we did this
smoked fresh caught ocean salmon.
(We decided to trump the jerk neighbor’s smoke with ours!)
While Calypso did this
So you think she is waiting for a phone call?
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10.12.07
Posted in Gardening, Redwood Living at 9:18 am by Lynette
The mystery squash. It is a volunteer, came up by itself in August. Is growing like gangbusters but I have no idea what it is. It is currently about 16 inches long….could it be a loufa or is it a spaghetti squash? I’ve not grown either but you never know. I did toss a lot of old seeds last year. It has grown out of the mulch bin. Who knows….do you?
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08.07.07
Posted in Gardening, Knitting, Redwood Living at 7:24 am by Lynette
Memberships still available to the Rainy Day Yarn Club. Welcome this past week’s members….Cynthia, Charli, Susan and Athena. Welcome knitters and feel free to go here to join the Yahoo Group set up specifically for us.
Dyed yarn this weekend for orders from my EBAY store. From Left to Right
Pacific Sun, Test dying (I’m thinking Twilight), Pumpkin Spice, Forget Me Nots, Test Dye (probably Autumn Fade) and Monday Mocha
The Sunroom makes a perfect place to dry dyed yarn. It will dry in 24 hours and be in an enclosed, pollen free space.
The view from my ’studio’ window. It has become a jungle out there and I have been certified as a Backyard Habitat by the National Gardening Association.
I get a real sign too!
Monarch on the Butterfly Bush. 
These bushes are native to our area and grow everywhere. Mine are about 12 feet tall and this year we’ve added Monarch butterflies to the Swallow Tails we had last year. (I thinking about this color combination for the first installment of the Rainy Day Yarn Club)
The sunflowers are blooming and, as you can see, the bumble bees are having a feast. How about these colors? Maybe this will be the next color combination I test dye.
Last night when I went out to feed the chickens I saw several bumble bees sleeping inside these sunflowers. What a nice thought, wrapped up in a sunflower.
Ahhh
Have a sunny day!
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06.11.07
Posted in Gardening, Knitting, Redwood Living at 8:36 am by Lynette
It’s Monday here at the Haven of Bliss (If you never seen this movie it is a good rent, one of our favorites!), the last week of school for the two youngest (and I guess you could also say the oldest since she is now a teacher :-). My day is full starting with a trip to the gym then on to deliver lettuce, purchase groceries and knit a shawl on my Silver Reed.
I’ve started going ( or you could say returned to) our local ladies fitness center. When I was in the aggressive weight loss mode I went 3 times a week and monitored everything I ate. I lost 45 lbs over 9 months but then I got sick. I was always battling a sinus infection or bronchial thing and I thought the problem was I was exposed to all that recycled air and germs in the gym. So I stopped going and everything has slid south (think gravity and rising bread dough and you get the picture). Now that I’ve got my illness under control (between my 3 doctors and I we’ve figured out the right cocktail of medication {my friend would call all the meds I take a crutch but that is what gets me through the day!}) I have been infection free for the past 6 months. My goal for going to the gym has nothing to do with getting in shape but it would be nice to stop the slow and inevitable slide south of everything below my neck that having 4 kids by c-section seems to have resulted in. I only want to increase my fitness level so I can make better use of the oxygen I breath in.
Next I’ll deliver 8 bags of organic lettuce. One of the things my kitchen garden does very well is grow lettuce. I planted 24 plants a couple of months ago and they are ready to harvest. I’ve asked around and there are no takers among my friends so I’m donating it to Our Daily Bread.
(This is ‘Mr. I’m so happy to have my picture taken’.)
A few years ago I was the local organizer for a movement called Plant A Row for the Hungry. It encouraged local gardeners to plant a bit extra and donate fresh veggies to food banks in their area. I used to give my extra to our food bank. I even volunteered to help distribute food boxes just to complete the circle in my mind. I was amazed, astonished, angered that some of the people who received their food boxes actually stood at their cars, rummaged through the box and tossed, threw, trashed my lettuce before driving off. I couldn’t believe it, that was MY lettuce, the lettuce I started from seed and loveingly transplanted into the garden. I remembered the nights I walked through the garden with a flashlight and gloved hand picking slugs from the plants. Watering and caring for 60 days resulted in ungrateful people throwing it in the trash for the crows to eat. I was speechless. Did they toss those extra large pies and cakes donated from CostCo? No, of course not! Now my extras to to Our Daily Bread, they serve meals 3 times a week. At least I know it will be served to someone.
The least favorite ‘chore’ of being a stay at home Mom is grocery shopping. I can say I hate it. It is such a waste of time, you buy it, they eat it and you have to do it all over again, kind of like laundry. It is a necessary element of life and even though it really only takes me about 30 minutes to do it when I’m in the groove, I still hate the time to unload and stock the kitchen. I would much rather be knitting. That brings me to the last thing on my list.
Today, being Monday, I’ll knit another shawl for sale on my Silver Reed. I purchased it to help with dying yarns and it does a great job knitting blanks for that purpose. Last week I decided to try something different and this was the result.
There are purists out there who will consider using a flatbed knitter as cheating. I still knit by hand every day. But you cannot beat the consistent stitches and professional look you get by using the hand operated machine to knit a shawl in 6 hours.
So onward and upward into the day.
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04.12.07
Posted in Gardening at 7:21 pm by Lynette
What is wrong with this eye candy picture? Nothing really. This is how I start my pumpkin seeds. I empty out eggs, add dirt and seeds and water. I’ve found that by planting these pumpkin seeds around Easter I can put them out in May and actually have orange pumpkins for October & November pies.
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