Flip Flop

I know most of you saw my post yesterday with the flood waters knocking on my door at work, and the mini geyser in the lawn.  Well, today there's a snow storm......that's right folks, you heard me........ S N O W and lots of it.

I know it's kind of hard to see, but just above that bush in the lower left corner is where the geyser appeared yesterday.  Welcome to Wisconsin, where freakish weather is normal.

Yesterday's high temp: 58 degrees F
Today's high temp: 25 degrees F

33 degree change in 24 hours and now I'm sneezing and my throat is sore.......stupid bugs are awake again, but I will defeat them!!!!

February or April???

I'm getting a teensy bit concerned about the weather lately.  Today's high was 58 degrees, now keep in mind that this IS Wisconsin and this IS January.  We had thunderstorms with thunder, lightning and lots of rain last night, today we've had a couple down pours and several "good" rains and now water is everywhere.  Not a typical January in Wisconsin, not by a long shot.  Tonight's weather prediction is that the temps will continue to drop and they think we could get as much as 6" of snow and then the weather will turn frigid.....again.  The animals are very confused, and just when the I thought the weather was cold enough that all illness bugs could be cut to a minimum, it got warm again.  

Here are a few shots of how it looked at my workplace today. 

Just outside my office door

Around the corner from my office......you can see our 3 seasons "break room" in the upper left corner

Entrance to the shop......

Lovely............isn't it?

Sneak Peak

Hump day, Wednesday, the middle of the week.... everyone seems to sigh and moan with dread when we talk about Wednesdays.   I happen to like Wednesdays....we are halfway to the weekend and I get to spend time with my knitting pals on Wednesday nights, a small island of fun in the middle of my week.  I do dislike Tuesday, the day before hump day, 4 days from the weekend and the day that makes it seem as if the week will stretch on forever.  ugh.

I decided to walk around my workplace today and take some shots that shows you some of my world here at work.  (yep, I'm getting low on subject matter)  The pond belongs to my boss, it's just down the hill from the shop and office, it's a photographers dream during warm weather.  I think every school team  within a 50 mile radius comes here to have their picture taken on the arched bridge to the island.  Prom goers, high school seniors, engaged couples and prom goers flock to the pond to have their picture taken.  We also have a covered deck that sits on the hill overlooking the pond that we use as our three seasons break room, it's quite beautiful and very peaceful. 

Winter pond shot taken today

Summer pond shot taken this past summer

 

This was a mirror that we made for my boss a couple years ago for Christmas and it hangs in the entryway just outside my office.   The mirrors and glass items that my husband sandblasts are never something we sell, we only do them to donate to some of the charity auctions or simply give them away as gifts.  Every mirror or glass item we do is a one of a kind creation and we really enjoy making them.  I design the layout and order the vinyl and Mike does the real work.  It's tough to get a picture of a mirror, so excuse the weird angle of this shot. 

Who doesn't love a party?

My friend, Michelle of Boulderneigh had this on her blog today and I thought it was a lovely idea, so I'm going to come along for the ride.

My name is Kelly and I started my blog in 2009 because I wanted a way to brag about my Shetland sheep, as well as my spinning and  knitting projects, I liken it to a mother bragging about her children.  I've found that I love to blog, and I've found some great online friends along the way.  I don't always have something witty or intellectual to say, but it's a way to share my happiness, worry or sadness.  I think my bonus in working on my blog is the feeling that people you've never met face to face care enough to comment, celebrate, empathize or simply pray for me.  How great is that?

I live in a little valley in Southern Wisconsin with my husband, along with our outside "residents" a  flock of registered Shetland sheep, a couple geriatric llamas, one alpaca, 3 horses, a lot of chickens and 2 Marmemma guardian dogs that watch over the outside critters.   Inside our house are 2 incredibly spoiled cats and Tess, our 11 year old German Shepherd cross.   The animal numbers have increased significantly since my son went away to college a few years ago.  I've been accused of replacing him with animals and I think he's probably right.

Our goal for our little slice of heaven is to grow as much of our own food as possible, with as little chemical input as we can manage, as well as supporting other local growers, artisans and farmers in our area.   Since finding a lovely group of women that share my love of all things fiber related, I've kind of fallen into a group that mirrors our lifestyle of sustainable living.  This blog, my connection to the fiber community and the people I've met from being a part of it all has become my safe place to land.  I feel like my life has been heading to this place since I was born, everything about it just feels "right". 

I love the idea of having a give-away for leaving comments, and since I've spent a fair amount of time knitting 100% Shetland caps this winter, I've decided that I'm going to offer one as a prize for leaving a comment on this blog post.  No strings attached, just leave a comment and you will be included in a drawing for a cap.  All you have to do is tell me your size, and I'll knit you a scrumptious Shetland wool cap to keep you warm.  You do not have to have a blog to enter, just leave a comment, that's it.   No matter where you are located, I am willing to send your prize to you.
Make sure to leave me your email address so you can be contacted if you win.   The winner will be announced on Feb. 1st on my blog, so make sure you check back. 

Here's an example of one of my caps.  Shetland sheep come in 9 natural "whole" colors and several modified colors, so there is no need to dye the yarn to make them pop!

Good luck and remember to check back on Feb. 1st for the winner.

Truth in advertising? I think not

I just wanted to make everyone aware of a gross over statement from a well known candy maker.   The fact that this candy is made in Canada may or may not be relevant......just throwing it out there. 

Without further ado, I present a bold faced liar!!!

Do you recognize these?  

 

 

I have been eating these little candies since I was a little girl (never mind that I know I shouldn't be eating them, I do it anyway)  and after eating Smarties on and off for years, I have NOT felt one teensy bit smarter.  In fact, I think it's having the opposite affect on my limited brain power and I am considering a scathing letter written to the Smarty people and give them a piece of my mind.  Aye?

Could it be that these little candies could be the reason I walk to another room only to forget why I am there?  Or could it be that they have caused me to drive all the way to town only to drive right by my destination?  And all this time I thought it was my advancing age that was to blame...........whew, glad I got that straightened out before it was too late.

Landon is home!!!

That's right folks, you heard me.........Landon came home on Friday!!  He's gaining weight and looking better every day.  Emily couldn't resist the urge to try out his cute little cow hoodie.  I could swear he's saying, "You are dressing me up to look like a WHAT?" 

Thank you to all of you for your words of kindness and the numerous prayers, your kindness warms my heart.  Bless you all.

More surgery

Landon has healed from his aortic repair but continues to have problems eating.  The doctors and his parents have decided that in order to stop the constant irritation of a feeding tube inserted into his nose, that he will have one surgically inserted into his side.  He is starting to gain a bit more weight now, but still needs to increase his intake, which cannot be achieved through oral feeding at this time. 
I just got the message the he will be going in for the procedure about 4 pm today, please send prayers for his continued progress so they can all come home. 

Here are some recent photo of Landon

One of their kind nurses found a bouncy seat for Landon

Sleeping angel

Landon and Daddy

One of my favorite shots of Landon and my BIL, Nick.  He's a great dad. 

I have no clue why I don't have a picture of Emily and Landon here, I'll have to fix that.
ps~ I knew Em would be a wonderful mom,  I love it when I'm right, she is amazing.

Toodles for now from Landon's favorite Aunt.  (big grin)
pss~Landon has a lot of great Aunts.  

I'm a simple woman

Simple minded?  Sometimes yes, and sometimes...no.  It just that simple things make me happy......I think I've mentioned that on this blog a time or two.    Well, one of those simple this happened this past weekend, I got juice (aka-electricity) in my ram shed!!!!  That's right folks, TWO light bulbs, a light switch annnndddd.......wait for it.........a receptacle to plug in my heated buckets!  I was so delighted by having lights in that shed that I turned them on and just stood there for a while enjoying the illumination.  My husband just laughs and shakes his head at me.   My rams were not as impressed by the new addition to their digs, seemed a bit ungrateful to me, you would think they'd be leaping with joy.  (go figure)

side note: This is only a stock image from google, the actual lights in the shed are much nicer.

I have a husband that refuses to be idle, even when he's got time off work and burning up unused vacation time, he's working all the time.  While off from work this past week he's been helping out his dad at the shop while his brother, Nick, is at the hospital with his son, he split and loaded fire wood that he delivered to his parents, insulated the sky light in the kitchen, helped our son move to his new apartment, drove milk truck on the weekend, went to Menards and got a new walk-in door for the garage, insulated ducting for the exhaust fans in the bathrooms and waited on me last weekend when I was so sick.  What on earth would I do without this great guy?  I have no idea........

Other OK Acres happenings.........

Do you remember that little, cute Maremma puppy we drove to Minnesota and brought home last year?    

Bianca as a puppy with John wondering what in the heck happened to his peace and quiet.

Well, here she is now.......doing what these great dogs do best, protecting her flock.  We've had a few play/chase issues, but she's finally settled down enough to stop that goofiness.  I'm not saying she's not still pretty goofy, but she's really become a great guardian for us.  She now dwarfs John, our geriatric Maremma.  He's a solid 100# dog, but Bianca makes him look like he's small when she's standing next to him.  And he puts up with so much crap from her, it amazes me.

Bianca "guarding" the hay pile.  

See what I mean?  He just stands there and lets her be a pain in the rear.  

The good thing about Bianca's relentless pestering of John is that he's much healthier this year.  Since Bianca keeps him moving, he's lost weight and is no longer struggling to get up or move.   He runs around the lot and pasture with ease once again.  It makes my day to see him so happy again.  He really had a tough time of it when we lost Annie.  John is 10 years old, but he's acting like he's a puppy more and more these days. 
I apologize for the picture quality, it was foggy and overcast when I took these last 2 photos and they are not the greatest.