Dyeing

I have an awful lot of Max’s
fibre , and while it has the most wonderfully soft handle, it spins up into a grey/brown mix and I want to dye it. I took about 16grms of carded fibre and pulled into a sort of roving, soaked it for a while in water with vinegar added; then drizzled some magenta, turquoise, and red dye onto it, then sprinkled yellow powder in a couple of places; encouraged the dye to spread and mingle by putting cling film over the top and squishing it, and steamed it for a good 30 minutes.

I was very pleased with the result. Even more pleased, I cannot tell you how much, that I didn’t manage to felt it.



I spun ( so want to say ‘span’) it up into a fine single and Navajo plied it. I’m really like the result and after knitting with it – on 4mm needles - I want to reproduce the colours as closely as possible to make my Dad a waistcoat for his birthday in early April.

So, can I replicate the effect with 300 gms?

I’m feeling nervous about this. I suppose I should have weighed and measured the amount of dyes I used, but, I feel that although I might not get exactly the same colours what I do get should still be attractive. The biggest problem I foresee is coping with 9 or 10 carded batts and having them come out near enough the same.

I think what will happen is; the colours will generally be of the same hue and tone in each batt, and if I am not happy with the colour variation between the batts I could re-card them once dry into more homogeneous colours.

In order to keep the graduations of colour through the garment I’m going to knit it in the round – and steek the armholes and centre opening. Again, this should help with colour variations, it will be a design ?ploy. I want it to have an opening in the front as Dad had a stroke years ago and can’t use his right hand.

I have enough fibre, but am I dying enough? It seems like a huge bag full but only weighs 350gms.

I’ll wing it. I will take notes this time and so should be able to reproduce the colours reasonably well.



Umm, far to much red. Something a little strange happened, the blue didn't seem to take, an awful lot of it washed out of the fibre while there was hardly any red coming out, and yet I added the blue to one end of each batt. I have run out of glauber's salts which you are supposed to use with these discharge acid dyes so maybe that's the problem, I hadn't used any with my original swatch so thought it would be okay.

It's okay, just. (There is a lovely teal shade in there which I would love to get again). I don't think Dad will like this as much, so I'm going to swatch using some black and try a simple fairisle pattern or maybe mosaic?

Mrs Beeton's

Diane asked about the Mrs Beetons - they are wristwarmers from a Knitty pattern, written by Brenda Dayne of Cast-on. They are a very easy knit if a bit fiddly especially when you are trying to knit the two frills together and have 7 double ended needles in your hand!

It's only since living in northern France, which is actually colder in the winter than the south of England, that I've appreciated that little bits of wool around your wrists, ankles and neck do a hell of a lot to keep you warm. As I don't like anything in the slightest bit snug around my neck I rarely wore scarves except for the floaty variety. Then, feeling cold in doors one day I put on this fairly flimsy cheap, bought job and found I instantly felt cosier. I think the wrist warmers will help as well, especially driving when woolen gloves are a bit to slippery on the steering wheel. I know leather gloves have grip and style, but have never been able to keep a pair for more than a week before I lose one. Then I hang on to the sole remainder for years as I can't bear to throw it out. I'm the same with earings.

So, it dawns on me that knitting scarves may not be a complete waste of time and just as I complete one it looks as if I've left it too late! After several weeks of relentless winter, today has been absolutely glorious, sunny, warm and still. We joined our English friends and about 10 others - all French, for a group ride through the countryside.

The Published Plan:
Meet at 1.0pm at bar in Le Perrier
Short ride to visit an organic bakery - demonstration
14K ride to another village for "Tout Feu, Tout Flamme" - (Pancakes/waffles cooked over open fires)

Actual Event
Met at bar, general milling around, no-one knew what was happening, after 20 minutes a general straggle of cyclists started towards the bakery.
Arrived at bakery, looked at excellent bread for sale in their shop, tried a bit, left.
Cycle the 14k which takes an hour because 2K was down tracks, some of them very very muddy and my slim tyres wouldn't grip so I had to walk.
Arrived in village, nothing, nobody around. Others caught up with us "have you eaten yet?" No, eaten what?!
Then old chap emerges from small, rustic building and proceeds to put some tables and benches out on the grass, then he goes inside and lights a fire with twigs in the rustic ovens inside the building.
Conflab with friends, agree that food is at least 30 to 45 mins away, feeling a little chilled, and possibly we will be cycling back when sun is much lower and it's a lot cooler. Decide to forgo any food and say cheerio to the French people we know. Danielle gets a map out to show us way back (I have map and know the area well but keep quiet). Says, "You must go this way, not along the main road as it's too dangerous and it's longer anyway." Annette and I have cycled along the main road on other occasions, traffic low, especially on a Sunday, recently resurfaced and wonderfully smooth. And it's shorter distance" Say bye and go back to Le Perrier via the main road, it takes 30 minutes.

We arrived at the bar and had beer and delicious bread and cheese. Superb, the sky was clear blue and we sat in the sun with our friends, "See what you'll be missing!" said Annette. Just so.

Eighty-eight and counting things about me

1 I am half German on my Dad’s side.

2 I don’t speak German.

3 I love summer.

4 I love puddings.

5 I have to watch my weight.

6 I learnt to spin because I had an alpaca.

7 I have low irritation tolerance.

8 I love cycle camping although it’s 10 years since I last did it and I’d probably miss my bed now.

9 I started cycling with a purpose in mind (other than just to get to school or my friends house) when started reading an Ordinance Survey Map; 1 Mile to 1″ of the area I lived in and wanted to explore.

10 I love maps, I could sit and read one for hours.

11 I’m not a serious cyclist but I take my cycling seriously (somebody else said that and it sums up how I feel).

12 After 58 years I’m beginning to know myself a little better.

13 I’ve been deluding myself for years.

14 I’m short but don’t feel it.

15 I’m a qualified nurse.

16 I hate Bed & Breakfast unless they leave me alone.

17 I didn’t know what fear was until I had children.

18 I hate the control commerce has over the world, I believe we are drugged by consumerism.

19 I like buying stuff.

20 When I was young, I wanted to have a pony, I never had one, or rode regularly, so I lived vicariously through my daughters and they both learnt, and Bec kept a lovely dun called Spice for a few years.

21 I wanted to learn to type because I was fascinated by it, so I learnt touch typing at night school.

22 I love computers.

23 I cycled from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in my 50th year, I carried all of my own gear, except for a few days when E carried them (by car) on my first day, the middle weekend, and the last 4 days when he joined me in Scotland. I didn’t want it to end.

24 I love the smell of TVO (tractor vaporising oil) and fresh hay. Must be from my days as a child on my Grandparents farm.

25 I went to school in Glastonbury, Somerset, cool place.

26 I wish I wish there had been a Trinny and Suzanna when I was young.

27 Is my favourite number.

28 I usually take a very long time to make up my mind about something, I like to research, if I make a snap decision, or I’m forced into one, I usually regret it later.

29 I live in France, but I want to go home to England, soon, this year, please.

30 I’m lazy.

31 I hate the dark, grey and cold of winter.

32 I’m very bad at keeping in contact with people, but I often think of them.

33 I like Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian and all sorts of food.

34 I wish people would place as much value on the food they eat and feed their children, as they do their cars.

35 I believe strongly that animals are sentient beings and are far more intelligent than we like to think.

36 I like my own company.

37 I don’t tolerate fools, unless they’re very funny.

38 The last time I giggled uncontrollably was when my husband and I rode my little scooter together.

39 As I get older I feel more anxious, I worry a lot about things falling down, our buildings in particular. Weird.

40 It really annoys me to see people trying to get to the front of the queue, in airports, the ferry terminal, etc, but I feel dead chuffed if I beat them, so I’m just as bad, I just try to be a little more subtle.

41 I swear I will never knit entrelac.

42 I can remember 3 things I learnt as a child which had an impact on me, seeing the war graves in Europe, learning of the slave trade and the holocaust.

43 One year I want to attend the Remembrance Day parade at the Cenotaph in London.

44 I would like to take a felting course.

45 If I could change one thing about my body I would love beautiful nails. I have horrible fingernails and lousy toe nails.

46 I’m quite a good cook.

47 I can only stick about 2 hours visiting cathedrals; galleries; monuments and the ilk; I much prefer just to sit in them and just ‘be’.

48 I have two brothers, both younger than I.

49 I like driving cars, I love big powerful engines, going fast, and rock music playing loudly.

50 My favorite film is ‘Local Hero’, for the scenery, music and story.

51 I don’t like housework but I don’t like a dirty house either

52 I think I’m a typical, libra.

53 I broke my right collar bone when I was 17 and I fell off a horse. It was great, it got me off the geriatric wards.

54 I had my hair permed when I was 17 after I’d broken my collar bone as I was anxious I wouldn’t be able to do my hair, (in the days of rollers) it went wrong and left me with a friz when everyone else had Vidal Sassoon sleek jobs.

55 I had two natural births. I didn’t plan them that way, it’s just how it worked out.

56 I’m right handed but always hankered after being a ’southpaw’, I can use my left hand for many things if it’s more convenient.

57 I love jewellery, but I rarely wear what I’ve got, things hanging on me irritate me. So don’t waste your money buying me any.

58 I don’t like anything close fitting around my neck.

59 I save things for ‘best’.

60 Consequently I’m not a smart dresser.

61 I admire people who dress brightly, but if I venture too I feel like a prize idiot.

62 I think there is a bright, artistic person well hidden inside of me.

63 I have this feeling I may end up as a bag lady.

64 I’m usually very good at finding things, it might take me a bit of time but I find ‘em, even things other people (my OH) have lost.

65 However, sometimes I really lose stuff and it never ever turns up, not even when we move house.

66 I don’t like being asked questions.

67 I’ve been divorced once.

68 ..and married twice.

69 I don’t think I’m cut out to be married.

70 I can be secretive, that’s not a good thing is it?

71 I love to grow things, I get a real kick out of seeds germinating and plants propagating.

72 I love gardens and plants, I would spend a fortune on plants if I could.

73 I would rather have my garden landscaped than my house decorated.

74 I’ve never knowingly met anyone famous.

75 My default setting is to like people.

76 My hair was brunette; is now ‘pepper and salt’ , it has a natural wave, I wouldn’t mind if I went completely silver. But it won’t, so I tint it.

77 I really really really ht al ths txt wrtin an usin i insted of I.

78 I cry easily.

79 I suffer from depression sometimes, had treatment for it once as I couldn’t function at work. Usually I just have to wait until it passes, which it does.

80 My thumbs and my big toes turn up at the end.

81 I like photography

82 My Myers Briggs profile is INFJ, I think.

83 I’m an introvert

84 I worry about the environment, in fact I worried about the environment long before it became popular, worrying about the environment I mean.

85 Just once, I would like to have an expensive holiday in the Maldives or somewhere like that. That means flying of course which is bad, but, as I rarely fly, I think I could justify it just this once.

86 My favourite wine is Lehman's, Barrossa Valley Shiraz.

87 I love stationary, I would buy and fountain pen and notebook every week.

88 As a child, one of my best day-dreams was being shut up in WH Smiths overnight so that I got to read all the books, play the records and use loads of paints, pens and paper.

89

Loose Lattice Scarf, and a Mrs Beeton

Blue Scarf
Originally uploaded by Alpagalaine.

I finished this scarf a couple of weeks ago and then decided to do some Mrs Beetons to go with it. I'm very happy with the scarf, it was an easy pattern to memorise and knit, but I don't like the wrist warmers. Firstly, once I'd cast on I knit to many rows before I should have decreased, secondly, I didn't have the required sets of double pointed 4.5mm needles so they are on 3.75mm and 4.0mm and the fabric is a bit too firm. I do have some circular needles but they have the most horrible stiff cords - bought many years ago before I discovered Addi Turbos and I hate the way everything is such a fight with them. And, I didn't have any beads to add! So, I am being very patient and I've ordered some beads from Regal Crafts in the UK, and some Brittany Birch double pointed needles from Angel Yarns. The beads arrived last week and I've played knitting with them and like the effect very much. I'm waiting on the Brittany's which I ordered later, they are on their way. In the meantime I'm alternating with making a felted cat bed from my copious stash of brown, uninteresting wool I spun when I was first learning the craft. I will add some orange for interest - can't have cats in a boring bed. I found a couple of large hanks of Margo's fibre I'd also spun up several years ago which is quite fine and should suit the Lacey Shrug from Knitty. I decided a shrug would be useful and we went out for dinner one evening with friends and I was a little chilly in my light, browny, orangey blouse and had to wear a fawn lightweight cotton ribbed cardigan. Not the sexiest. Not that I do sexy very often, but I'm trying to be less of a frump.

No more navel gazing..

It's time I stopped feeling so sorry for myself.

I opened the door this morning to let Poppy in who was doing her usual 'lets bark and show 'em who's boss around here' on the front door step. It was just dawn, enough light to see AND THE BIRDS WERE SINGING, they were tweeting and twittering and I know it's still early February but there is that hint of fresh softness in the air that promises so much.

I've just signed up for another Web-ring SpinKitties, not authorised yet so the links wont work just yet, but I'd better start posting some spinning and knitting pictures. I was looking at the membership list, (it's growing, get in quick!) and clicked on a few random ones as you do, and found this lovely poem by JR Tolkien posted by Katherine. I've never put 'reading poetry' as one of my pastimes, but, I do actually enjoy quite a lot, and find it moving and thought provoking. I enjoy the rhythm and sound of the words but I've never been able to remember and quote lines. Like many things, I remember the emotions, feelings, a general sense, an impression, rather than the actual words. Apart from Philip Larkin's "They f**k you up, your mum and dad.." that is.

Farm is up for sale

Well, we've done the deed and the farm will shortly be on the market. The estate agent thought it should sell by spring. I think that's agent-speak and very optimistic as they often are, I'm convinced it's going to be a long time and we will be in a sort of limbo for months. I am just in a very pessimistic mood. DH is much much happier now, he has been told by the agent that it's not worth spending more money and time on renovations so he's not, and having a well earned rest. I have very mixed feelings about it. I really want to be back in England but I feel overwhelmed by the whole prospect. We have so much to do beforehand, equipment to sell; loads of junk to sort and take to the decheterie (re-cycling and disposal) animals to sell or find homes for; downsizing from a farm to a tiny English home is going to be difficult. We are going to rent in the UK at first so that removes the anxiety of buying straight away. But, big decision last night, E asked if I wanted to keep any of the alpaca so we decided take the two young female alpaca, Bella (who should be pregnant), and Copper back home with us and find somewhere they can be liveried. But I don't understand me, I've been crying to myself every time I think of not having the alpaca around, they are just such magical animals, and I look out of my windows and can see them at any time. I should be very happy to think I will still have two, but I didn't feel that, I still feel worried and anxious about it all. I need to stop looking at the move as one whole gi-normous effort and break it down into manageable chunks. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time lol. There is one huge thing the house buying/selling French system has in it's favour. Once you have agreed a price with the purchaser, you exchange a binding contract within 10 days. In the UK sometimes this doesn't happen until the very end, it might even be the same day you have planned to complete the purchase, and it's not at all uncommon for things to go pear shaped and people withdraw at the last minute. So once we do finally have a buyer and contracts exchanged, we will have about 4 months to do the final preparations and move without the worry the vendors may change their minds.

My pre-occupation with all of this is not helping my 'healthy eating and exercise' plan. Our closest friends are coming over for a big Sunday lunch with us today - this is so we can tell them of our move - so, I'll start tomorrow.

I belong to Weight Loss Resources UK which enables you to log all of your food and exercise and so check you are eating the right amount of the right foods. It helped me lose 10bls last year which I've put on again. I now weigh exactly what I weighed 12 months ago, bum.

Next week I pledge to daily:

- use WLR and fill my diary in daily
- only eat while sitting down
- only eat with E
- get 1 hours exercise, walking or cycling
- drink 1.5 ltrs of water
- no alcohol for a week.

My strategies for achieving my goals

When ever I feel the urge to nibble - go and card some alpaca
Set a time for my exercise, don't think, just do it.
Plan and prepare our dinner just after lunch so that I can stay out of the kitchen when danger time approaches, early evening.
Just focus on one day at a time.

Loose Lattice Lace Scarf

Loose Lattice Lace Scarf
Originally uploaded by Alpagalaine.

The stitch pattern comes from Volume Two of the Harmony Stitch Guides. I've been looking for a stitch that would be lacy but with a cushy, cozy feel which I think this has. The yarn, the blue alpaca, is going a very long way, but probably not enough for a sweater, I thought I would use some of it to make some Mrs Beeton's as well with some contrasting yarn for one of the ruffles.

Web rings and stuff

I was browsing the list of members in Angel Yarns knitting forum along with usernames any websites members have are mentioned. And, as you do,I do, spent over 2 hours wandering from one to another, then on a tangent to others and so on. There were some good ones, weird ones, there seemed to be several (+3) selling shaped cloth nappies???! Many blogs have buttons for web-rings and I keep coming across the "Spinning Wheel" list, and "UK Knitters", I've been thinking of joining the spinning wheel one, there are aparently 40 or so waiting. In UK knitters there are 221 'active members' in the ring, and 447 waiting to join! What the - no point in adding to the mess. Now I'm feeling quilty for saying that, maybe the owner isn't well. Maybe there is a limit?

One blog I read was written by a retired women born in the year of the Rat - so about my age! She had been on a trip to the southwest of England and said she had been keeping an eye out for Alpaca as 'they look so strange'!! I was going to send her a link to some pictures, but I lost the page and now can't find it again - as I'm writing this I remembered the 'history' panel and guess what - I found the blog here!

I'm also, sort of, thinking of starting a new blog in Wordpress just related to moving back to the UK, but, that would be silly wouldn't it? I have enough trouble with Blogger I don't need more. I did play around with my old site yesterday though, the navigation isn't intuitive to me but you can save your post as you go along WITHOUT BEING SENT BACK TO THE MAIN POST PAGE EACH TIME!!! I have learnt to my cost to save regularly with Bummer but it does my head in to have to open the post up again to continue where I left off. I know it's only a few seconds and a couple of clicks but I don't want it! The main irritation I had with Wordpress was how dreadfully slow the site was, and it sometimes froze altogther but it was fine yesterday.

My only reluctance to join a web-ring is I'll feel I ought to post more about spinning or knitting or I might get booted off! I don't want to just talk about the latest pair of socks I've knitted - tell me just how many times you read a blog and there's YET another pair of stripy socks LOL!

Yard Work

The first to arrive was a JCB (digger)at 08.00 who began very noisily scraping the surface to level it.



Around 08.30 more Frenchmen and their equipment arrived and one rolled the exposed surface while the digger put the rubbish in a pile. When the first lorryload of stone arrived and was dumped it took the unwanted material away.


As the stone arrived it was spread by the JCB and rolled, it took 5 lorry loads for the yard alone.





A small plate compactor was used for the edges. It took 2 full days to do the yard and drive and, it still needs to have a layer of grey gravel put on top but now it's the weekend they've disappeared, I hope they haven't forgotten.

I can't get used to this great expanse of greyness outside, I will definitely have to have several planters with flowers along the edge to soften it. We kept the chickens shut in while the work was on, they don't seem at all impressed, one of their favourite foraging areas has gone. They wouldn't even walk on it when they first came out but flew right across!

We are getting our yard and drive re-surfaced today!

Outside of our house is a large yard and our drive to the road about 200 yards, both are just stone and gravel. I suppose due to the lorries that have delivered our sand, cement, blocks; the oil tanker etc etc the surface is full of dips and bumps. It is also muddy, and weedy even though I pull them up and sometimes spray they always come back. We got a devis (quote) back in the autumn for having it done, fell over when we read it and shelved the idea. However, during this very wet winter we have become very fed up with it and think the whole place would look more cared for, and therefore a little easier to sell, if the yard and drive were re-surfaced. So, we visited the bank manager and got a loan! We were told that work would start around mid-february but got a call yesterday and they will be here this morning. There a little snow lying around and maybe the firm have been delayed on one of their larger jobs and thought they would just fit us in, it should be just 2 days work. Woopee! Photo's to follow!

Getting Healthy

I need to lose a few pounds. Nineteen to be exact - (crikey, in my mind it was a stone and a bit...) I was reading Crazy Aunt Pearl and she wrote a long post about losing weight, the pressure to be thin, men, using being fat as an excuse etc etc. It obviously resonated with lots and lots of people judging by all of the comments she received, 300 and counting. Buried amongst the comments was a link to Real Age and I'm two years younger! You get a personalised health plan based on the answers you give to some quite extensive questionnaires. If I follow my plan I will be 4 and half years younger in 3 months! How long before I hit 21 again LOL!

But to be fair to the site, it doesn't make false promises, the improvement tails off dramatically - 5 and half years younger in 3. Generally everything was based on the latest, researched evidence - and it's free!

So, although I am reasonably active most of the year, I tend to do little during the winter, hence a 8 lb rise since October. I'm going to lose this flab once and for all this year! My biggest problem is self-sabotage. I get to within a few lbs of goal and suddenly start eating for England. Go figure.

The plan: Move more, eat sensibly, cut out booze almost completely, do a 20 minute strength and flexibility workout EVERY DAY. I will now go off and produce a graph to monitor my progress in Excel.

Do not play with fibre when it’s wet, do not play with fibre when it’s

Sandie's fibre, dyed sea green.
Originally uploaded by Alpagalaine.

I don’t learn not to leave fibre/yarn alone when it’s wet. I was dying my 800+ yards of Sandies fibre which has taken me hours to process and spin up; I’d soaked the 3 skeins in glaubers salt solution overnight in preparation for dying it this morning. I began thinking I would use a pale shade of turquoise and perhaps some very small amounts of yellow and maybe darker blue – perhaps scatter dye powder on the wet skeins and steam? In the end I chickened out and went for one shade. I used a very small amount of my stock solution of turquoise – probably no more than 30 mls for the 750 odd grms of yarn. Brought it up to simmer over 2 hours, I was very careful to keep it just at the point a few bubbles were breaking the surface, and after about 30 minutes all the dye had discharged, I just loved the colour – the dye had taken very evenly! I was so pleased! I had taken so much care and it had paid off.

I was going to leave the skeins in the pot until it had cooled right down but became impatient and took them out and spun them dry. Then realised I hadn’t rinsed them! The skeins were fine at that stage, yarn separating easily. I washed them in the sink with some wool wash, there was a lot of lather….I SQUISHED THEM TOO MUCH!! All I noticed was they felt a little harder after I’d finally rinsed the suds away, ‘umm, I thought, dying not agreeing with this’, spun them again, when I took them out of the machine the second time aaaarrrggggghhhhhhhh! All the yarn was stuck together. I started to pull it apart, and it did separate, slowly and with much tearing of tiny fibres and pulling the ply’s apart. I worked and worked around all 3 skeins, one was particularly bad, must have got most of the squishing..

I thought I’d better separate all the strands before it dried in case they became totally impossible to separate, so I wound each one from the swift into a ball winder, then wound it back onto the swift. So now I have some lovely fuzzy yarn! Not once did it break, alpaca is so strong.

I’m still not sure what to do with it, I fancy “Symmetry in Silk” from The Best of Knitters’ Magazines ‘Shawls and Scarves’. I also think it would weave up very well, but I am reluctant to do it until I’ve had more practice warping. And, perhaps, it would work better if the yarn was fuzzed up after I’d woven it and not before!

Hedgehog!

E found this little chap/chapess wandering around the cellar as he was having a tidy-up down there. It's been very mild (but very wet) this winter so far and this one obviously has come out of hibernation.

This was his nest, he has been made a new one in a cardboard box stuffed with hay and tucked away in the corner of the barn away from the dog. They are so sweet!

Better news

Betty goat seems to have recovered thank God. She's acting normally again, appears to be able to see and is generally almost her old self. I've absolutely no idea what might have caused the strange behaviour - perhaps a 'blinding' sinus headache?!

The photo was taken a few weeks ago when it hadn't been raining solidly for a month - well, that's what it feels like. I tried to post this last week but Blogger was acting up, it seems to be fixed for the second.

I have been preparing some of Sandie's fleece. She is classed a fawn but looks white, when you spin her fleece though it looks very off white, almost grey. I'm going to rainbow dye it when it's all plyed, not totally multi coloured, I love cornflower blue, maybe with other touches of yellow and green. It's likely to be very much down to luck what it actually turns out like. I don't have any sort of structure or plan when it comes to dying. So I am trying to be a bit more focused and I have some water colours which should help me with the colour and shade selection. A lot of my dying has been done using full strength solutions and I didn't appreciate that weaker ones can produce some really pretty colours. That's the plan anyway.

I will have less than 600 mtrs of fine 2 ply, shall I make a Clapotis? Will I wear it? It might not be enough. I really ought to get out another bag, sort, wash, card, spin, and ply that. BUT I WANT SOMETHING TO DO NOW!!!! When you have bags and bags of alpaca fleece you really can't go and buy yarn, sob.

Enough already!

Okay, 3rd visit to the vets with Betty (and George, I'll come to that later). On Sunday Betty was acting strangely, she would stare into the distance, and stand still for some time, this is not normal for a goat! She would walk the perimeter fence of the enclosure with her head slightly turned to the left. She would eat hay and treats, but her left horn felt very warm, the same side as her bad eye. The eye is almost healed, but the pupil slightly enlarged. I didn't think this warrented a call out unless things deteriorated which they didn't so off to the vet yesterday. He wasn't sure what was going on, her temperature was barely above normal and confirmed the ulcer on the eye was healing well. He explained there is a sinus immediately below the horn and perhaps there was a slight infection there? He did give her antibiotic and anti-inflamatory injections. We didn't ask a direct question, about her eyesight, but I think she has. But, in a way that doesn't explain the weird staring and pacing the fence and standing in a corner because at the begining when her eye was at it's worse it was almost completely clouded over - she wouldn't have been able to see out of it, and she behaved quite normally. It's a "wait and see" situation. She is still very interested in tit-bits and hay, but, I think her general browsing and grazing is much less. I've kept her and some companions restricted to the veg garden (nothing in it this time of the year, well, nothing now) which is next to the goat house as it makes it easier to catch regularly for treatment, but this morning I think I will let her into the proper enclosure and see if she is more inclined to eat then. We need some warm sunny days, goats hate this wet, cold weather.

We also took George to the vet as he has had a runny nose for ages and his left eye also shows a slight infection, he was given a long acting antibiotic injection and that was it, no drops, hooray!

I'm feeling very stressed, very short tempered and irritable, and this is the second night I've woken at 02.47, and not gone back to sleep. I dream of lying by a pool in the sun, and no housework!

Computer Crash

Had serious problem with windows yesterday and had to reformat the hard drive so the next few days will be spent re-loading programes. I suppose I can just sit here, knit, and hit 'restart' all day! It all started when I did a system restore and then lost the help/support function and everything was going wobbly, not visually, but odd stuff was happening so the tech support just said 'wipe', so I did. It's just such a time waster.

Goat's eyes are so so. I can still see a very small lesion on Betty's, and George's were mucky so he's having ointment. We have to Betty back to the vets for them to check it on Tuesday and we will take George as well has he seems to have a continuously runny nose - like for months. It's clear but makes his nostrils a bit crusty. I think they need a supplement but I'm not sure what to give them. I've read of a seaweed based one being good, and there are others I can get from the UK.

I spoke to soon

Betty goat's eye still isn't better a week after the new ointment so we took her back to the vets and we now have some drops to be instilled at least 4 times a day. I wanted to post a picture but blogger is mucking about and won't let me.

First proper week of 2007

One week of 2007 completed! It's the dull, damp, slog of mid-winter to get through until spring. The weather has been mild (5c- 10c) recently which of course means rain, mist and mud, yesterday it actually reached 11c! Last winter we had snow mid November and the temperature didn't get above 5c for 16 weeks, I know, I counted. I know lots of people in the northern hemisphere have temperatures much colder than this, but because in some climes it's unusual, our houses, clothes etc are not set up for it, so we, no, I am uncomfortable. We have central heating and double glazed windows, but we keep the CH on for background heat and run two woodburning stoves during the day, but they are difficult to control and won't stay in overnight. In France they don't know how to make decent woodburning stoves, they are very inefficient compared to Scandinavian ones and even some British makes. The other thing that's not helping me is - hormones. I don't take HRT and recently I've found my hot/damp sensations are increasing, they don't really 'affect my quality of life' so I will put up with them, I'd rather not take anything. Maybe I should look for some herbal remedies?

Update on goat's eyes. Betty's eye just wouldn't completely recover so we took her to the vet's again on Wednesday and had a different ointment for her and this seems to be doing the trick, finger's crossed.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! May 2007 be your best year yet, and you and your loved ones keep safe, happy and healthy.

(((((hugs))))

The story of Brian

Brian is our peacock. He is still young and hasn't grown his long tail yet - that will come in this spring (wow, can't wait!). He was given to us by some friends who had him and his 'wife' but they have a smaller place which is beside a road and so he had to stay in a large pen for most of the day. One evening they escaped, Brian came back but his companion didn't. So they thought it would be kinder if we had him as E had always said what our 'lawn' needed was a peacock strolling around. When we first brought him home, about May I think, we kept him in the barn. We were advised to keep him in for at least a month, and on one web site - 6 months! After 2 weeks we felt very sorry for him, he'd been watching the chickens wandering around all the time so one evening we let him out, and he just linked up with the chickens and roosts with them each night.



He displays to the hens, and his tail is coming on a treat, he can now rattle it when it's up. He makes a lot of lovely noises, from clucking to hooting like a goose when he flies. He only calls occassionally, but this will probably increase in the spring. It's only loud if you are standing next to him! I would love to get him a hen but they are very hard to some by, I'm hoping by the spring there may be some around.

His treat is dried cat food and he comes to the steps to get some. His only bad habit is sitting on the roof of our car -

Sorry my Flickr Badge has disappeared for a while, they seem to be having problems..