Wahsega Valley Farm

Lotsa crochet

I had a lot of fun making gifts this holiday season and thought I'd finally post some pictures. I mostly crocheted, but also made some body butter (with a new recipe I came up with) and painted Margot's little chair. Oh yeah, and Mike's "Why I Love You" jar that I mentioned in this post. I love making things so had a great time - and benefitted by improving my crochet skills - though still have a long way to go for other things I want to make. Anyway, here are some pictures.

This is Margot's chair as it looked when Jesse, her daddy, had it as a child - only Mike had already repaired two of the spindles here.

 
And here is how it turned out after I painted it, in Margot's room. It's much happier looking now, huh?

 

I made this hat and scarf for my friend Laurie in Mill Valley, California. It's my favorite yarn right now in my price range...Lion Brand's Homespun - love the colors:

 
And this set was made for Sarah, with her modeling it in this post. The scarf was made from this super easy pattern in more Homespun. I love how it spirals and want to make one for myself soon. Very quick to make.

 
The scarf below was made for Mike's daughter, Jessica, and the picture just doesn't capture how pretty this yarn is. It's more Homespun by Lion Brand, in "Tudor".

 
I made this long circular scarf for Sarah. It can be wrapped like a shawl, scarf, over the head - and in any number of ways. I wish I had a better picture of it and what it can do.
 
And here's a sweater for Margot to wear with her little jeans:

 
And the sweater set seen in a previous post:

 
And one of the cardigans:

 
And Margot wearing it at home:

 
And another sweater (I was having so much fun experimenting):

 
And Margot modeling it:

 
Another cardigan and scarf:

 
And Margot wearing it:

 
I also made some hats, shown here. The top one is Mike's and the other two are for my son, Jesse and/or Sarah:
 
Here is Sarah, wearing one:

 
And Jesse and Margot with their hats on:

 
Phew, that's a lot of pictures and my computer is really slow today. I think that's about it!  

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy 2011!

 

Opening gifts

I love the holidays - and seeing my son Jesse, Sarah and granddaughter, Margot. They came up from Atlanta on Wednesday after the snow melted and spent the afternoon with us. I'd not decorated very much in the cabin since there really isn't room for a big tree or other decorations, but here is a shot of our little Christmas area:

 
And from afar:

 
And from the other direction:

 
Tiny decorations for a tiny cabin...

We had fun opening our gifts and here is Margot wearing one of the sweaters I made her while she was practicing standing up - with Sarah holding the chair steady. The little chair was Jesse's when he was a toddler. Mike replaced and hand whittled the two side spindles and made the whole chair more secure and comfortable, and I painted it. I'm going to post before and after pictures in another post; it turned out so cute!

 
 
Jesse was giving Margot a "horsey ride" here and she loved it. She's added the matching hat and is wearing it in the "slouchy" option.

 
And here's Margot wearing her new scarf that matches a little cardigan sweater I made for her (not shown), while holding her juice cup and one of her new moccasins.

 
Here is Sarah trying on the hat and scarf I made for her... I just knew she'd look beautiful in it! ...and Jesse smiling in the background of course.

 
And here is one more shot of Margot in another hat I made her. She wasn't feeling great when she first arrived since she'd just gotten a shot for a bad ear infection she's had - so was a little quiet and subdued, but she livened up quickly. She is the best natured baby ever and so much fun to be around. And Jesse and Sarah are such good parents; I love seeing them all together.

 

I'll post more detailed pictures of all the things I crocheted tomorrow for those who are interested since most aren't in this post. I made some hats for Jesse too, but didn't get a picture of him trying them on... and quite a few other things...

Here is the present I made for Mike this year, "50 Reasons Why I Love You", in a little bottle:

 
He takes out one "reason" a day, each morning, and reads why I love him. It was fun making a list of all the reasons and I've come up with a few others since I filled up the bottle. I'm thinking about just adding them as I think of them.

 
And Mike gave me a honker of a pressure cooker - one I can use for canning when my garden really gets going. Check it out; I love it!

 
We had a wonderful extended Christmas and today is New Years Eve already! Holy cow, time is flying by. Our big plans are to stay home and have a quiet evening tonight; we're not one for crowds and noisy places. I think we'll try the new wine that Jesse brought Mike. We won't make it to midnight though; we never do!

Happy New Year everyone!

A white Christmas

 
 
I had my first white Christmas this year - and it was beautiful! It snowed once on Christmas day when my son was around 14, but it lasted only a couple of hours and didn't stick around. But this snow came down for almost three days in chunky soft flakes and covered most everything - until the wind blew it out of the trees. The cabin was cozy even though it was in the 20's outside, and we enjoyed the whole day watching the snow and enjoying the quiet. Here are a few pictures.

The creek in the front pastures...

 
Looking at my garden area with the mountains in the background...
 

The bench above the garden...

 

A close-up...

 
Our cabin...

 
Looking out the kitchen window as it snowed...

 

And looking out the same window the next day (a little to the left) when the sun came out and after the wind had blown the snow from the trees...

 

And here is Sophie hanging out inside when there was just too much snow for her to deal with...

 
It's finally warmed up and the snow has melted, though there is still a patch here and there. Tomorrow or the next day I'll post some inside pictures and some of the things I made, including Margot modeling one of her sweatersI crocheted. We didn't finish our Christmas festivities until yesterday since my son's family couldn't get here before then because of the weather. Making Christmas last longer was pretty nice though.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Snowglobe

Holiday lights and the Capitol Christmas tree

On Thanksgiving Eve Mike and I went to our little town's lighting of all the holiday lights and see the Capitol Christmas tree. It's the tree that will be in front of the White House very soon and came from Wyoming. The reason it's here for a couple of days is because the driver is from our town. The tree is huge! Well, what we could see of it was huge; it was lying on its side and completely covered.

Here are a some pictures of the evening, starting at our little farm as we were leaving...

We now have goats and horses! Well... kinda. These are our neighbor's from across the street, but they are now in our pastures. Kelly, the neighbor, put up an electric fence and they're now out there until he reconfigures his land and makes it flatter for them. They seem to be liking their new surroundings and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them.

 

 

We drove on into town as the sky started to get darker and I wondered how my camera would fare without a tripod. I'd decided to not take it since there would be lots of people there. Some of the pictures were a little blurred, but most came out quite nicely. I didn't use the flash once for any type of shot. The light source was just the lighting in town.

Here are some of the cute shops and downtown area all dressed up for the holidays.

 
 
 

Some of the decorations were quite simple, but very pretty.

 
There were some carolers up on the stage singing...

 

And Mike shot a couple of me...

 
 
Here is the Christmas tree on the tractor trailer and part of the crowd. The town square was packed, but the good thing about small towns is that they clear out so quickly. No traffic jams!

 
And, to the left (below) you can see more people and Mike in the bottom left corner with the light colored hat.

 
Here is a kinda goofy picture of Mike in front of the truck hauling the tree.

 
And one last shot of the crowd.

 
It was fun seeing our little town come to life with all the lights and people. Mike ran into quite a few of his shop customers and we ended up eating out in one of the restaurants on the square. We lucked out on the weather; it was clear and cool.

Thanksgiving thoughts

Ah... Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I was just lying in bed in our little loft watching the sun come up over the mountains and was overcome with how much I have to be thankful for this past year. There's sooo much. I'm not going to make a list or anything, but suffice it to say, I feel very fortunate. The "good" is always mixed with the "bad", but there is so much good. And without the bad, how does one measure and appreciate the good?

The sun is just about up and I'm thinking about my day. I'm going to take a break from crocheting and spiff up the house so it'll be nice for tomorrow. Mike is leaving work early and we've got a date to watch the Christmas lights get turned on in our little town tonight. All the shops are dressed up in their Christmas best and it all looks so quaint and pretty. It's a very small town... the "downtown" is basically a square with shops that surround it - and it has an old fashioned feel to it. I'm going to take my camera and tripod to see if I can get some nice pictures. All the little shops will to be open tomorrow! Since this town is a bit of a mountain tourist destination, they like to have them open for all the guests staying here; it will be bustling with activity!

I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that I am finally living in the woods in the mountains in a little cabin. I've wanted to be here my whole life... and here I am with Mike, the man I've wanted my whole life as well. I'm glad I learned patience - or I might have given up on my dreams a long time ago.

Thanksgiving? Yep, I certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

 
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world
in a conspiracy of love!

- Hamilton Wright

~~~~~

Christmas is almost here! One might wonder why I am moved by Christmas, seeing as I am not a Christian, but I am moved very much. It brings tears to my eyes... and one day I will explain what it means to me.

In the meantime, Mike and I are going back to the cabin tonight with the car loaded down with more essentials - and I am not sure when we'll be back. So I want to shout out: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my friends, family and dear readers. I wasn't able to send cards to all I wanted this year, but you have been on my mind. Thank you for all the cards sent to me; they made me feel so special.
 
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Beauty and Love

Beauty and Love
by Andrew Young

Beauty and love are all my dream;
They change not with the changing day;
Love stays forever like a stream
That flows but never flows away.

And beauty is the bright sun-bow
That blossoms on the spray that showers
Where the loud water falls below,
Making a wind among the flowers.

New Year's Eve

Now comes the time to make a new year's resolution or two. I think I will ponder that today...