Early Christmas

My Christmas present from Hubby is here! And I am so excited.

Now we have been married almost thirty years; second marriage for both. And I am sure it is the same for other couples that have been married awhile, the idea of a surprise Christmas gift is non existent. Not only do we have most of what we need, we also have most of what we want. And what we wanted 6 months ago may no longer apply.

So as usual at this time of year it is “What do you want for Christmas?” “Nothing” or "Let’s just give it to the kids”. But this year Hubby was paying attention when I was wishing for more knitting needles. He said he wanted to give me a gift certificate to “that yarn place you always buy from”. I have two favorites for yarn. The Purple Iris in Marshall, MN and Knit Picks on line. And Knit Picks has the needles I like. So Hubby gave me some money to spend as I pleased. This is what I got.

Yarn, needles and a new book.

The yarn is lace weight Shimmering Bayou. The needles are sizes 5-8 Harmony wood interchangeable tips with 2 extra cables. And the book is “A Gathering of Lace” by Meg Swanson. I have never done lace knitting before, but have fallen in love with the looks of it. So I purchased the “Folk Shawls” by Cheryl Oberle a couple of months ago, and now this book. And I WILL learn to knit lace; I am determined. I started with a simple shawl pattern for a gift (the Drop-Stitch Shawl) which is almost done. Next I am going to do the Wool Peddler’s Shawl out of Cheryl Oberle’s book. I already have the beautiful red wool to do this.

Then I figure I will be ready to knit a shawl for myself. And I have changed my mind (a prerogative that Hubby is always puzzled by). My wonderful Maple wool that I have been spinning will be used for the Highland Triangle Shawl from "Folk Shawls".
Maple's natural and peach dyed 2 ply.

I have about 400 yards of Maple’s wool plied and ready to go. I think I’ll need about another 600 yards, which I will start spinning on after the holidays.

And what did Hubby get? With age comes tired eyes. And he was having trouble hitting the target with his 22 rifle. A scope was what he wanted and so a scope was what he got. And he is very happy. As am I. No surprises, no strange gifts that you have to politely smile over, no gifts that you can’t use; all equals less stress for the holidays. I am always trying to find ways to reduce stress. And for me, fiber and fiber tools are better than jewelry.

Bob's Unhappy Adventure

What is it about certain animals that grab your heart? I’ve had a lot of pets in my lifetime; dogs, cats, fish, a hamster and even a bantam chicken. I have loved them all, but always one a little bit more than another. I actually had trouble starting this blog. Just thinking about some of those favorites that have been long gone put me in a funk for a couple of days. The death of some of my pets was expected, or sometimes best for the animal, and a lot have been sudden and devastating. But the passing of some, no matter how logical or right or necessary, is hard to take.

But this is not about all the loved pets that have gone out of my life. This blog is about Bob.

What do we know about Bob? We know he is not a feral cat; way to easy to approach. We know that he is not a barn raised cat; he wants to be too close to me and in the house. We know he was hurt at some point, possibly being thrown from a car; his tail is damaged, probably broken part way down, and he has trouble running with weak back legs. We are pretty sure he’s not too bright; couldn’t figure out how to use the cat door into the cat house. And…. I know that he has beautiful pale green eyes and a cute speckled nose, he is affectionate, and loves me almost as much as food.

And we now know that even though he is still a tom, he is not much of a fighter. Right after I had written about him last time, Bob and our neutered cat Pickles got into what I think was a “king of the hill” fight.

Pickles.

And Bob lost. He ended up with punctures on his back. The holes got slightly infected so we cleaned them and used some antibacterial cream for cats and dogs (we get a lot of little scrapes here) on the wound. It looked great. For about a week. Then the day of Thanksgiving (why do emergencies always happen on holidays), we noticed that his back was swelling and he would not let Hubby touch it. He did let me look at it, but with a lot of complaining. Black Friday arrived and we called the vet. The swelling had increased to the size of a golf ball. Our vet got us in that afternoon, so Bob got his first (at least first for us) car ride in a crate. Now Bob is a fairly big boy, 10 pounds and still filling out. So he was uncomfortable in our cat crate. But he only cried until we got in the car and started talking. It seems that he was not as scared knowing we were there (see, not a barn or feral cat). He was very well behaved in the vet waiting room, and even though scared, he was very good in the examining room. His real trouble started when the vet suggested that the wound be flushed out.

I am very grateful to that vet for having the foresight to ask us to go to the waiting room. I didn’t see what happened, but I heard it all. Bob was screaming with pain and fear and anger all at the same time. I was in the waiting room almost in tears. The vet had told us this was the only thing to do, unless we wanted Bob knocked out to deal with the wound, in which case he would have had to stay in the clinic over the weekend. I knew he would be unhappy there, so I opted for the flushing. As I heard him crying, I changed my mind, but too late. They were finally finished. Now most of you that have had children or beloved pets know how I felt in that waiting room, hearing him cry and not being able to help him. I felt, oh I don’t know how to describe it, except broken hearted. Even thinking about it now hurts. And Bob? Poor Bob was so scared that he did the 3 Ps in his crate; pooped, peed and puked.

Bob checking out my shop in the cat house (note the shaved back).

Anyway, time heals all. Right? So Bob is home, with a shaved back and 3 weeks of antibiotics. We felt so badly for him, Hubby told me to get yet another heated cat bed, and he has been moved into the cat house (as close to the lap of luxury that Hubby will allow). Then we put a towel over the cat door so Bob can go in and out. He just can’t grasp the mechanics of the plastic flap. And we will leave the barn to the feral cats, with a big dish of food and beds in the hay.

Bob today.

So for now all is well, except our checkbook. Any grants available to take care of abandoned cats? And hopefully Bob’s next trip to the vet will only be for neutering and a tail dock. But then ….that will be another Unhappy Adventure for him.

Just Some Things

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did. Joining us was Daughter Brook, Granddaughter Erin, Sister Connie and her husband Norm. The food and company were great. Then Brook and Erin spent most of the weekend here (they only live 45 miles away). While Hubby messed around outside and Erin read, Brook and I crafted some Christmas gifts for her. I can’t tell you what we worked on, because some of the recipients read this blog. But I think they will all enjoy the final product. We also got to see one of my nieces; Connie’s daughter and her husband from Seattle. We don’t get to see them too often, so we really enjoyed it.

Let’s see…..oh yes. They are finally done harvesting around us. Last night was the last of the combines, working into the wee hours of the morning across the road from us. When we woke up this morning, they were gone. And the farmer that does the land to the east, south and west of us got the field chiseled yesterday. So Hubby was out this morning dragging the driveway (it’s a ¼ mile long) and fixing up the mess they make with the HUGH machinery. That should be that last time he’ll need to do it until next spring.

Harvest is done.

I think Minnesota’s topsy turvey weather has straightened out. We had snow the day before Thanksgiving, which took a couple of days to thaw. Today is in the 50s, but the cold is coming in tonight. So winter is on the way. Hubby and I even took some time to check out the new fancy snowshoes online today (ours are old wooden ones). We are (at least I am) looking forward to some snow. I love snowshoeing. And we have all this land around us that we can use including our grove. Last year, there was so much snow in the grove that we were snowshoeing up in the top branches of some of the trees. That’s an eerie feeling. I bet we scared a few squirrels out of hibernation. And of course, nothing looks the same from 10 feet up, so I’m glad we only have 3 acres of trees. You can’t get lost in that.

Last year’s snow.

Hubby wants me to tell you…. He got his deer after days of sitting and watching does go by. A good sized buck that has blessed our freezer with hamburger, steaks and sausage. No, I didn’t take his photo. I’ll just say he was beautiful in life and leave him with some dignity.

And now, an update on Bob. Well, I’ll wait until later to write about it. I don’t want to make this blog too long. I’ll just say, Bob had an adventure…and it wasn’t the best….. But he’s fine now.

Another Gray Minnesota Day

It’s been a little bit since I last blogged. Bob is fine. Thanks to everyone that asked.

This morning I am looking out the window at gray and brown, a bleak winter picture with high winds. But yesterday morning I saw another beautiful sunrise. Our sunsets are hidden by the grove, but the sunrises can take your breath away.


Another Minnesota sunrise.

I will stay in the house today, for several reasons. 1. The combines are harvesting and there is DUST, CORN DUST and MORE DUST in the wind. So bad for the allergies. 2. It is cold…well not cold like Minnesota can get cold…but with the high winds and 50 degree temperature, it gets cold to me. I keep blaming it on blood thinners, but maybe I am just a wimp. 3. Hubby is out hunting in the grove; deer season here in Minnesota. So the dogs and I will stay in, bake bread, frog a couple of sweaters, and keep quiet.

For years I have been very vocal about my feelings on hunting. I have always accepted that Hubby hunted, but I never wanted to eat the results. I was a Bambi lover. But I also have always stated that if I was hungry enough, I would shoot Bambi myself. Well….we aren’t that hungry, but the economy has cut down on the meat in our freezer, and a buck would fill it up. I have started eating buffalo, so I figure that some deer mixed with that or hamburger won’t taste too bad. It’s sad how my principles go out the window for food. What does that say about me?

Sister Connie and I just got back from a quick trip to St. Joe, Missouri. We went to meet our brother’s fiancé. And I will have to say…I will be very glad to call her a sister. Donna is a wonderful woman, and what’s even better, she makes my brother’s eyes sparkle. We haven’t seen Charles that happy for a very long time. Thank you Donna. Welcome to the family.


Charles and Donna at the Missouri River.

On the way down to St. Joe, Connie took me to the Steamboat Bertrand Museum. For all the Archaeology friends out there that haven’t seen it, I’ll show photos later. Renee….Now I know what you mean about Museum Quality and Quality Museums. WOW.

We also saw the Patee House Museum, the Pony Express Museum and the Jesse James House. Can you tell we all like history? I was impressed with the Patee House; wished the Pony Express Museum had more; and not as impressed with the Jesse James House. But its Renee’s fault…she taught me how exhibits should be done, so I look at all museums with a critic’s eye.


Sunset on the Missouri River.

I liked St. Joe. Beautiful old buildings, nice people. And the roses are still blooming there. But I was surprised and disappointed. We were told St. Joe has about 80,000 people.......no fiber shops were found, not one! What’s up with that?