Plundering the fiber place
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "How Do You Talk to an Angel" by the Heights
My dad was sent back to the nursing home from the hospital yesterday. But he had a rough night, and was still asleep when we went over to visit him this morning. We stayed a while, but decided not to wake him up, since he was so tired. I hope he's feeling better soon.

Tonight DH and I will go over to Alyson's house and look at the van that we are buying for DH's mother. It's an early birthday present for her, and a surprise. Alyson though, used to own a lovely fiber store down in Chicopee. I'm going to see if she still has stuff for sale, and pillage the boxes. :) I'm specifically looking for silk caps if she has any left.

I'm exhausted this afternoon, so I think I'll go feed the rabbits and then part myself in the chair and knit until Dale comes home.

I'm glad my brothers were home
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "Talking in Your Sleep" by the Romantics
Dad is still in the hospital. We are hoping that he will be well enough to go back to the nursing home tomorrow. I'm going over this afternoon with my youngest brother, mother, and my two boys to visit before Luke flies back to California.

We had an eventful day yesterday. My mother, Luke, my husband and I took my two boys, and my niece and nephew apple picking. I have to say that I absolutely love the farm where we went picking. We've been going there for over 25 years now, and I feel a special connection to the place. DH and I had wanted to buy this farm, but we were a week too late in finding out that it was for sale. I have to say that the current owner has done wonderful things to the property, including fixing up the antique colonial that sits on the property.

Anyway, the kids had a wonderful time, and Dale taught them how to pick apples. Dale is an expert apple picker, having picked for an Easthampton apple farm for several years when he was younger. The kids got the hang of picking quickly, and we filled 2 peck bags in short order with Empires.

As for today, I did have a sad discovery this morning. I found one of the 3 week old baby bunnies dead in the nest. It appeared to have a broken neck. I suspect that Annie might have accidentally killed the baby when she jumped in to nurse this morning due to the way the baby was laying. This is one of those unfortunate things that happens, but the rest of the litter is healthy and active.

This and that
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega
My dad is still in the hospital. The doctor had planned to release him yesterday, but he had a set back the evening before. We are hoping that this gets straightened out soon. Any good thoughts sent his way would be greatly appreciated.

I've been busy though, even with Dad in the hospital. I finally got the picture to Kelly are Romney Ridge Farm for the We Fiber Folk Calendar . We are July! The baby shown in the picture is one of Annie's latest litter, which are now 20 days old. They spent their first full night outside last night, and were doing well when I checked on them at 7 this morning.

My brother Luke flew in from California yesterday, and my oldest brother Greg came home from NJ on Thursday night, with his wife and two children, who are each one year older than my two. Our kids have the best time playing together, and it has been wonderful to watch them enjoying this time together. They all visited their granddad in the hospital last night, which made my father very happy.

We are also busy preparing for the renovations to our house. The downstairs bath will finally be finished, and I'm having new flooring installed in our family room and hallway. The FR is also getting new paint. I'm hoping we can have all the windows in the house replaced before the snow flies too. I sure would like to have lower electric bills this winter, and burn a bit less wood! :)

Now Playing: "Hard Habit to Break" by Chicago
Update on my father first: He was taken to the hospital on Tuesday night. He'll be there for 3 or 4 days, until they get his meds back in order, and they've had a chance to run more tests. It's scary, and frustrating all at the same time. My dad doesn't need this.

Other than that, I knit a bit on my sock yesterday, and today I'm going back to the hospital to visit, and then I'm going out to buy carpeting for my family room. My new furniture is in, and I want to redo the whole room before the furniture is delivered. I picked up fabric samples from Templeton Furniture yesterday, and while there, purchased a mantle clock which had to be ordered. It plays the Westminster chimes, so it will sound just like the clock that my grandmother had on her china cabinet (it's still there, but it needs to be fixed). I love that clock and Dale had promised to buy one for my birthday 2 years ago.

Please send some good thoughts my dad's way. He could use them.

Some of the things I see...
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and Wings
Topic: Daily musings

while on my trips around Western MA for my job is the wildlife, especially in the hilltowns. Last Monday, while on my way up to Middlefield for a job, I saw four wild turkeys crossing the road in Huntington (pronouned Hun-ing-ton) in front of my car. I was able to pull up next to them, and get this photo of two of the turkeys.



And later, in Middlefield, a deer jumped across the road about 200 feet in front of my car.

Not a bad day for wildlife sightings.

And here is a picture of the sock in progress. I'm up WAY too early this morning, so I decided to work on the sock a bit before starting my work at the computer.



And here is a picture of Annie's babies, who are still living in my office. They are now 17 days old. Aren't they cute? :)

Slow weekend
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: "Never A Time" by Genesis
I have spent the entire weekend with a cold, which means no visits to my father. But I'm sure he understands as they don't need me bringing a cold to the nursing home!

What I have done is start a pair of socks. I need something easy and mind numbing to do, as I can't take cold meds (they will kill my stomach). So, I cast on for a pair of socks in a pink/white/cranberry/brown Regia that I picked up at Webs on Monday, along with some 12" Addi Turbos, and two Joy bobbins for my wheel. I cast on 70 stitches, knit for about 3 inches, and decided that they were too big. And after some coaching from Cath, the Scullery Maid and Claudia, I ripped out what I had done (complete with picot edging, inspired by the two ladies mentioned above), and started over with 60 stitches, knit for 7 rows, did the YO, K2Tog, and then 7 more rows, to form the picot edge. I'm happier with this sock, and have a couple of inches done.
I did have a quiet evening last night, as DH took Nate over to my SIL's surprise birthday party (Cal stayed home with me). Today, DH is taking the kids to his family reunion. I would go, but they don't need me sneezing over everything. I am on the downside of the cold, but it's also windy and chilly outside, which I don't need. The sooner I get my health back, the sooner I can go see my Dad, and start working again.

One of the hardest things in life
Mood:  sad

is to put a parent into a nursing home. I had to do that on Monday with my father.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease back in 1990. This is a progressive disease, that robs the patient of their muscle control, causes dementia, and other sorts of horrible effects. My father had finally come to the point where my mother could no longer care for him, even with help from CNA's, who we had coming for 4 hours every evening.

This has been the hardest 3 weeks of my life. I had find the nursing home, interview them, fill out the paper work, tell my father that he would be moving there, and then move him in on Monday. So far this week, I've made 7 trips to the home (which is 35 minutes away), but it still doesn't seem like enough. This is my dad. Someone who has loved me no matter what I've done, walked me home from kindergarten where he worked next door, guided me through the horrible teenage years, gave me away at my wedding. I remember him taking a picture of me, sitting outside under the birch trees in our front yard with two pumpkins, when I was 2 (this is one of my earliest memories). My dad has always been there for me, and I want to be there for him. So we'll slowly move into this unknown area, and go from there. I can only hope that he adjusts to living at the nursing home. I'm doing everything I can to make the transition easier for him. I hope that he's enjoying the food I'm bringing him, and I'm going to start crocheting an afghan for him to keep on his bed. I put together a small photo collage, with two pictures of my kids, and pictures of the place he was born and raised in in Nebraska.

As I said, this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but it's for my dad, and I want him to have the best that we can give.

Forgot to Mention....
Mood:  sharp
Now Playing: "Big Log" by Robert Plant
That we also purchased a beautiful old/new bench at Brimfield. It's a former church pew, which has been painted black (the vendor had them in various colors). We'll give it a coat of marine varnish, and put it out at the end of our drive so that we can wait in comfort for Cal's bus each day.

If my feet weren't hurting so much tonight, I'd seriously consider going back to Brimfield tomorrow afternoon to see the rest of the vendors we missed. Next Spring, Carol and I have already decided that we'll go during the week, when there are fewer crowds, and when we have more time to wander about.

And now I get to look forward to the Old Deerfield Craft Fair, which is next weekend!

The Treasures of Brimfield
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" by Bryan Adams
Brimfield blew my mind! So many antique (and non-antique) vendors in one spot. I don't really think of myself as an antique nut, although I do love old things, but this place was amazing. And I scored my biggest deal of the day before we even got to Brimfield, at a little antique store in Palmer. This is my newest treasure:



I was able to talk the dealer down by almost 50% off his asking price on this wheel, because it needs work, and he didn't know wheels. I'll send this up to Dave at the Merlin Tree, and let him do his doctoring magic, and then I'll have a lovely little chair wheel.

My next treasure is a pristine cranberry barrel label, one that I've never seen before. I collect vintage cranberry labels. I started this on our honeymoon, almost 8 years ago, and have continued, picking a few up here and there each year when I have a little extra spending money. My goal is to have each one framed, and hang them in my kitchen. So far, I have over 20 labels, and I was able to pick up another 8 at another dealer, for $5 each. Score!

Here is the big label I purchased. DH is going to make a round frame for it for me.



We had a lovely day with Jim and Carol, and Carol scored a few items for herself; two small wooden baskets, and two wooden buckets. One of the baskets had fruit labels on each end, which were in nice shape.

I did see a total of 4 spinning wheels in Brimfield, and we only covered approximately 1/4 of the vendor area. One great wheel (badly warped, and missing the minor's head), and three smaller wheels; two antiques, and one which was approximately 30 years old. The best antique wheel was only selling for $325, and all the pieces were there, but since I already have one that is similar in size, age, and style, I decided to not purchase it. Some other lucky spinner will find that treasure. :)

Exciting News!
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "Kissing A Fool" by George Michael
The new website is officially up and running. Bay Colony Farm went online Monday, and I'm thrilled with the results. I want to thank Audrey for doing such a fantastic job and all of her hard work.