Around the Farm...

Frankenfoot is all healed on the outside and feeling pretty good.

Inside, there is still some swelling around the joint and it lets me know when I need to sit down for a while and rest.  I see the doctor tomorrow and hopefully he'll tell me I'm not overdoing it.

Strawberries in abundance from Bountiful Baskets! Over the past two weeks I got 16 pounds of them.  I put up 8 pints of strawberry jam,

and dried 12 pounds of them in my dehydrator.

It's amazing how they shrink down to nothing...

I've been making some fermented things:  yogurt, sourdough starter, and creme fraiche.  It all sounds very fancy but it's stinkin' easy.

strawberry yogurt, sourdough starter, creme fraiche

In fact, there's no reason to buy sour cream when you can make creme fraiche in 24 hours.  Get a pint of heavy cream (whipping cream) - NOT ultrapasturized, and dump it in a bowl.  Add 3 tablespoons of buttermilk and gently whisk into the cream.  Put a clean cloth over the bowl (I use cheesecloth) and leave it for 24-36 hours.  Our house is chilly in the winter, so it takes a little longer.  When it's thick, it's done.  Put a lid on it and stick it in the refrigerator.

Yesterday I worked in the herb garden, building up the bed and making a (hopefully) dog unfriendly border using some paving stones that have been lying around for ages.  I also transplanted my bay laurel tree from a container into the ground.  This morning I'll plant some peas, nasturtiums, and calendula seeds. (Or maybe not.  I just went outside and it's freakin' cold and windy.)

Murnie checking out the new border.

At the back of the garden, you can see my upcycled bowling ball.  Here's a close up:

I got the idea for it on Pinterest here.

Remember the lace wimple I blogged about a while back?  Well, I got busy with it...

and now it's finished! I learned a lot by making it - provisional cast on, how to add beads to your knitting, and a picot bind off.

I must remind you that I am neither a professional model nor a professional photographer...

So while some of us are buzzing around doing a million and one things, others of us are just lying around taking it easy...

Murnie the Dog

Rosko the Chihuahua

Sophy the Cat

Nelly-cat

New Stairs

This is my friend, Ron.

He is an amazing artist, along with being a superior craftsman and a really great person.  He took our ugly stairs, landing and hallway with the carpet that was two days older than Methuselah

here you can see the nasty carpet with Sophy-the-cat being excessively cute

and transformed them into a work of art.

good-bye, yucky carpet!

laying out a pattern...

the upstairs hallway

the upstairs hallway, finished

laying of the carpet and the landing

Everyone approves!

Not only is Ron an amazing interior designer, but he does incredible artwork.  If you are in the Las Vegas area and are interested in having him do any work for you, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him.

Hurray! This was a BIG thing to cross off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list...

Free at last!

After watching her curl herself up into a little ball and leverage the cone against her belly so she could reach her incision, I decided to remove the dreaded/dreadful cone.  After all, if she could reach the incision with it on, there's really no point to her wearing it.  Poor little thing!  What a relief to be able to scratch her neck and wash her face, as well as the rest of her body!  She was so happy.  And this morning, her incision looks clean and healthy.  No more conehead!  Here she is sitting on the monster rug that I finally finished last night:

I got the idea for the rug from a book called Mason-Dixon Knitting.  It's made from those loops that are used to weave potholders (remember, on those square looms?)  I had a bunch of them that wouldn't stretch enough to fit the loom, so I figured, why not?  The rug ended up being really thick and it weighs a TON.  Heaven forbid if I ever need to wash it.  It measures a little over 2' x 4'.  I could have made it bigger, but it was so heavy that it became uncomfortable to work on.  I have no idea where I'll put it (a giant bathmat?  indestructible kitchen rug?)  And I can make more because my supply of potholder loops is inexhaustible!  But I probably won't...

Grapes and Sophy the Cat

Every year, our grape vines look like they've given up the ghost.  And every year they manage to give us a few bunches of sweet, tiny grapes.  These are still hard and sour, but will be delicious in a few weeks.  I hope to get them before the birds do...

This is Sophy, our little rescue kitty.  A student brought her to my husband's school when she was only 3 weeks old.  She was handed around the school the entire day with no food and was pretty traumatized by the time David got her.  She was so tiny, she fit in the palm of my hand.  I took her to school with me every day for two weeks because she had to be bottle fed every few hours.

     Now she's 5 months old and one of the Wild Things.  I think it has something to do with being orange.  She is extremely affectionate, which also may have to do with orangeness.  (She behaves exactly like Teacake, another orange cat we had years ago.)  We had her spayed on Monday and she must wear the dreaded cone because she keeps fussing with the incision:

 Poor kitty!  I wonder how many channels she picks up with that thing...