My Friend Left, but Other Things Have Happened...

Well, my friend, Bill, is gone now to Denver before he heads back to Nicaragua in two weeks. He has family and friends there. He says his stay with us was fine, but it was way, way too cold for him, not to mention the lack of sunshine.

We've lived in Walla Walla for almost 4 years now and this is the first time we've been overcast this much. Usually, it's sunny most of the time and it's overcast only when it rains or snows or is foggy, but when it's foggy, it burns off by noon. Oh well...the same thing happened when I lived in Seattle and my youngest sister, Linda, came to visit. It was the worst winter we ever had with flooding, tons of rain and overcast 100% of the time. The next year, when my second youngest sister came to visit with her husband and his family, it was beautiful with sun every day and warm enough weather that you didn't need to worry about wearing heavy clothing or a raincoat. Much different than the weather in WI at the same time: lots of snow, wind, and cold. That is the main reason why I moved from WI to live out West. Seattle might not get much snow in winter, but it's moderate most of the year. Walla Walla is hot in summer, cold in winter, but usually there is sun all year long because we're in what is considered the Banana Belt of the area. Spring is earlyt here as well, so lets see what happens this spring. I already have 4 seed catalogs...and I can plan for what I want to grow next year.

Looks like some of my ewes are already pregnant, so that is great. I will probably start having lambs the end of February to the beginning of March...then start the sales and the shearing. I can hardly wait.

The last 3 alpacas will be shorn this spring as well, so will have plenty of fiber to spin...

I love having doing my spinning and other crafts that I do... They give me such a sense of peace, very similar to meditation or prayer. I noticed that some of the knitting and crocheting magazines have prayer shawls, so that's a good thing.

I was asked by the "Country Register" to write an article about my farm and business, so I'll get that to them as soon as possible, an article for Fiber Femmes (fiberfemmes.com), and another article for the "Country Register" about the fiber cooperative we're starting up in the Blue Mountain area of SE Washington, NE Oregon, and SW Idaho. I can harldy wait. I have to write up an outline for the Kirkman House Museum to see if they can help with this, but it's possible, so I need to cut this short and get that done ASAP.

Other than that, I've finished 1/2 of a pair of socks for my SIL, Joann, and have 4 more Christmas projects to go...

So, get all yoru projects for Xmas finished, and I will chat with you all again later.

Hugs,
Jet