Saturday, April 16, 2011

Some itty bitty little ladies

The biggest excitement this week for me think was the arrival of 35000 ladybugs at our local greenhouse, where I go almost everyday (sometimes 3 times a day) to get my green fix. They came all the way from California by plane and then by bus from Edmonton and then by DHL to the greenhouse, quiet a journey for itty bitty little lady bugs. The little ladies were brought in to keep the aphids under control, our greenhouse does not use pesticides of any kind, they bring in different types of bugs to kill other bugs. I did manage to get some shots, not very nice ones, for some reason the last few days I haven't gotten very nice close up shots, not sure what is going on.







All that black stuff is poop, they pooped a lot.....it was a long journey





Aww, here is Grace, the greenhouse rabbits who eats the weeds. There should be baby rabbits for sale here by Easter......Lord help me not to buy a rabbit, I have fantasies of rabbits and chickens in my backyard....and a goat, maybe a sheep..anyway

Then I just meandered a bit with my camera

Sp pretty and green

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The last of the ladies

What else happened this week?

I've been spinning some pretty funny blurry lookin yarn......I know now why they call spinning art but haven't discovered why it is referred to as therapeutic and peaceful.....oh what a tangled mess we spin we at first we set out to...

What the heck is this you ask......why it's art


The pea fence got hung up.....ok so it's just a funny lookin net but you wait until the peas are climbing it. If it looks half as good as it does in my pea fantasy I'll be happy. 

Some leaves got raked and some snow melted

The greenhouse got heat and water today, a trial run tonight and then tomorrow the plants move in

The bird feeder got some action finally

The cucumber are stretching their necks for sun.....and getting a little leggy

My second batch of sprouts got started......I am loving sprouts in my salad. My the way, don't sprout pinto beans......taste terrible

My vegetable bowl art is back to being invaded by fruit......I'm trying to make it look better and maybe it will taste better, which I think is working, I had a great fruit salad for breakfast today

My down time projects, a knitted head band to keep my ears warm and the very lovely Jane Eyre

A batch of fresh home made yogurt....weird picture again. 
So aside from the tax prep (which is running around the house scratching my head saying "I know I saved that somewhere", and "now, where did I put that" ), running back and forth from the golf course, still having internet problems and no phone yet..grrr.......that was my week. I've blown a week away again it seems. Oh....and I made delicious fruit ice creamy/sherbety/creamy dessert which I will share another time, my picture were not nice at all.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A cheesy fire

Two days ago it was windy, cold and even snowing a bit outside so I decided I might as well have a cozy evening beside the fire. Even though I do not like winter, which is why I winter in Mexico, I can appreciate a cozy evening by the fire. So I lit the fire, which is done by flicking a switch.....I know, so cheesy. I have fantasies of one day having a wood burning stove in my home, just like I fantasize of one day of having two chicken in my backyard....these are my dreams people, seriously. Anyway, I flicked on the cheesy fire and made myself a pot of tea and gathered my bags of wool and sat down and drafted the wool into long thin strips as I listened to wind howling outside.....it really was howling I am not making that up. It was nice.

Yup, I still have 2 squash under my chair that survived the winter....right there under my chair, I am saving them for a special dinner. 

The end result was 4 balls of light, fluffy and creamy colored wool, I am still thinking I am not going to dye this batch. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Yes SIr, Yes Sir two bags full......

It's official, I am an old spinster now, GUESS WHAT I HAVE?







A friend of mine's brother called a few days ago from Value Village in Edmonton and said there was a handmade spinning wheel and would I want it for $89....yes please, yes please yes please. Two days later I became a spinster....well not really, I haven't actually spun anything yet. I have no idea how to use this but I am so willing to learn....because, I've had 2 bags of wool stashed away since last fall. I got 2 bags of wool given to me from a farmer that didn't know what to do with it and just gave it away. I have always wanted to go through the whole process of getting wool right from the sheep to a wearable garment but when I got the bags of dirty, poopy, and oh so smelly wool I was a bit stumped at what to do next, it didn't look at all like the how to videos said it would look so I sent it to a place down south and they washed and carded it and sent it back to me all soft and fluffy and ready to spin. (16 lbs of it) It is so beautiful, so pure wool and so real. The funnest part I always thought would be the dying (I wrote about my dying daydreams last year here) but now when I saw the beautiful pure natural wool I have lost the interest in dying it.... for now. I can see a beautiful oatmeal colored chunky sweater...natural and real. Who knows, the dying bug might come back.....first, I need to learn to spin with this baby. I have found many videos, just need to get started.....but, it''t tax time, yup, I always come back just  in time for tax time, so that must happen first before I can sit down and spin.
No end to the excitement around here...oh and it's snowing.