Sweet Amanda's Birthday Tights

Amanda loves her funky tights and we love that they keep her legs warmer so here is a display of her new birthday tights.

The Justification

It was getting impossible to even wipe down the stove because the glass is pretty sharp. So, FYI, if you get a stove like this one or aquire a glass top electric through a home purchase like us, do NOT put hot things on it when it is cold or cold things when it is hot!

The Replacement

electrolux icon 48"

I have been waiting about 7 years for a stove like this. Dear kept pushing me to replace the ones we had (old house and here) but I kept saying no, I do not want to buy a replacement unless I absolutely have to or unless we get the opportunity to buy what would really work for us. This will make canning time go so much smoother. I can not even express how much of a pain canning time is with a tiny stove. I could not cook meals for a month because the stove top was taken over by only 2 pots! I did not really need 2 ovens, but Dear wanted 2 and they will actually work out really well for us since the small one is 15” wide inside we will probably use that one all of the time and the larger one will be reserved for massive cooking projects (many loaves of zucchini bread) or turkeys. The one I was looking at a few years back was $4000 more than this one, but it was the only one available at the time and I could not justify that price, but then Electrolux came out with this one and I have been pouring over ratings and reviews on this stove and the only “bad” comment was that one lady was surprised you actually needed to use the simmer plate that was included. So, I think this will be good. I also did not want to get some fancy stove that no one could repair or that I would have headaches with the manufacturer and the warranty. This one is sold at Sears, so it is really close by if I need anything or if I need to harass anyone.

My old stove had a glass top and someone put a hot dish on it when it was cold and cracked the top. The glass has gradually been sagging and the heating element has lost a lot of power. I have cooked on the hazzard for about 2 years. So now the count...We have replaced a refrigerator and purchased a Kenmore Pro, a washing machine with a Kenmore HE4T, we bought a Bosch dishwasher, and 2 chest freezers (both Kenmore). Our kitchen should look fabulous, right? Wrong, we still have the ugliest kitchen in the world. We have 3 different counter top styles (green, tan, and charcole), we have 3 different cabinet styles (awsome Geneva metal ones, crappy stock wood ones, and really crappy metal ones I had moved in the house from our garage). Our floor is green cobblestone linolium with a huge hole in it because it was bubbling. Our sink is an odd white plastic two bowl. So, please do not be jealous. You can do so much better. I don't even want to talk about our one bathroom or I may cry. But the stove!!!! So functional. I am truely excited about that.

New Yarn in the works

My mother asked me to make a single ply frm these 2 rovings for a weaving project.

I am not thrilled with the thickness and consistancy, so I will spin it finer, but take longer...but I love the way the color turned out! The rovings are both from Ashland Bay, purchased at Paradise Fibers.

Personal Growth and Accomplishments

This week I broke down and started to work on some of my building projects. I need to have 13- 4'x4' panels built for the sheep for this winter and I need 3 to 4 mangers / hay feeders. Mary and Button are due at the end of November, so I have to get going on the panels for their lambing pens and their hay feeder. I made one useable prototype feeder and 4 panels (I need 4-5). I am really proud of myself. I did this all with a hand saw, a drill, and a hammer. I predrilled almost all of the holes first as well. "Dear" was gone most of the week, so this was my project. It feels so good to create something useful, especially since the process is pretty new to me.

(The manger photos were taken inside the large building that needs to be re-roofed. Also, a small plastic bin will fit into the base of the manger to cut down on hay waste.)

Soap

The soap is curing and when I cut it it broke, but it is still soap and my does it smell good. I particularly like the Neroli, Frankincense, and Rosewood combo. They are all fabulous, though.

Pickled Peppers

Amber's Merinos picked a peck of peppers to pickle promptly.

New glasses

Wow she is pretty!

Since getting her new glasses with prisms she has spent a lot more time reading. Hannah has a problem with the function of her eyes. She does not have lazy eyes, but she has to use eye muscles purposfully when us "normal" people have eyes that function with not a lot of thought. We say, "ok, eyes, time to read." and our eyes automatically work together to grab the letters. Hannah's do not. She has to use her eye muscles to position her eyes in the right place so the letters are alligned properly. I never would have known she was having this problem if I did not take her to the eye doctor. Thankfully I did. She looks adorable, so grown up. She likes the transitions too. The frames are made by Candies.

When's lunch?

In 6 more weeks the table will look a little less feathered. YUM!

Left Unfixed

We received an estimate to reroof the quonset. It is 36' x 100' and all curved wood trusses. I love the look of this building. Sadly, though, the roof is starting to leak. So, what was the magic number????

$14,000!

Not sure what we are going to do. All I know is, we will not let it tumble to the ground like so many old barns do.