tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26168250526462755822012-02-16T09:46:55.771-07:00At the intersection of art and science, my life as a artist.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.comBlogger1041100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-60293660657376137222011-10-28T20:38:00.001-06:002011-10-28T20:38:29.257-06:00

We have our work in a wonderful local gallery here in Loveland Colorado (the FB page for you to like:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Independence-Gallery/171529599540195) that shares space with a high quality framing shop and a wonderful bead store.  It's such a great synergy helping all three business to stay in business. But that's not what I wanted to let you know about... A person brought

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-51137447427897237762011-10-18T23:43:00.000-06:002011-10-18T23:43:31.363-06:00

We are really really spoiled.  We have fresh eggs available everyday. And they are blue. Our chickens are of the Americana-type breed.  I've tried to figure out what they are really.  There is a lot of different names they seem to be titled, like Easter Egg chickens.  So after some hours of trying to figure out what they are, I just gave up and call them "Americana-type"

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-75622183677231369912011-10-12T23:45:00.000-06:002011-10-12T23:45:54.816-06:00

So I finally wrestled Picasa to the ground.  I don't know why it is so hard for me to use.  Nothing is intuitive on it.  Every thing I want to do has some name or process that doesn't make sense to me.  But the good news is: here are pictures! Making a button from recycled copper from scratch: These are just some left over bits of copper.  Using the hardy hole in the anvil and the rounded

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-89462130182249950682011-10-11T23:53:00.001-06:002011-10-11T23:53:20.140-06:00

Guess who got side-tracked.... But I now have 4 cases of mead out of the carboys and into bottles.  2 cases are a quite dry apple mead with oak that tasted pretty leathery today.  I imagine it will be a couple of years to come into it's yumminess.  The other 2 cases are an apple mead I made last year with some fresh squeezed apple juice.  It was pretty good but should be better in a year or so.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-47855992302075613482011-10-11T00:46:00.000-06:002011-10-11T00:46:29.927-06:00

Been making brown!  Walnut hulls!  So beautiful!  Pictures soon. Some of the skeins are getting multiple dips to get darker brown.  So pretty. The exciting new thing off my brain and onto my jewelers' bench  is BUTTONS!!!  I have made recycled copper buttons! I used some old roofing scrap that had been badly damaged in a really interesting way with some deep scratches as the top of the button.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-63612490525631856322011-10-03T22:03:00.000-06:002011-10-03T22:03:19.094-06:00

Make sure to save the weekend to tour Loveland's artists' studios and other places of interest. Loveland Art Studio Tour We will have one of Curtis' statement necklaces as a door prize! There will be jewelry, naturally dyed yarns and some knitted/woven items, shawl pins, herbal bath and body care, and other fun thing to buy! See artists' demos! Snacks!  Mead!  Chickens! We hope to see you

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-45270446484989711542011-10-01T17:28:00.002-06:002011-10-01T17:28:51.294-06:00

The dyeing with weeds frenzy continues unabated.  Nothing is safe. Gardeners' Revenge colorway is made up of a bunch of different colors all made from stuff you didn't know was anything but compost. We have put Russian thistle, dockseeds, pineapple weed, apple leaves, goose foot weed, and walnuts in the pots so far. Goosefoot goes in the pot! We added iron to this to make some seriously

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-67289798824611280822011-09-12T20:02:00.001-06:002011-09-12T20:02:26.769-06:00

We had a great time at the Pastels on 5th event!  We took the entire studio out and made a day of it, we had matching tee shirts emblazoned with our self-proclaimed job titles.  And then went out for great sushi to celebrate Curtis' birthday a day early.  A lot of fun and for a great cause.  The money raised is going to help fund a safe house for battered women in Loveland. Ildanach Studios

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-36322886807540187382011-09-08T00:06:00.001-06:002011-09-08T00:44:19.933-06:00

My shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FoxRydeGardens?ref=si_shop What an adventure!  Etsy is amazing.  A huge community of all sorts of crafters making such a mind-boggling array of products.  I've posted up a few of my shawl pins and had 2 very lovely sales.  How wonderful!  Please come and see my shop, but also spend some time looking around.  You will be amazed. I have been spending a couple of

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-66100472392985850452011-08-26T20:33:00.007-06:002011-08-26T21:20:06.579-06:00

No reason for this picture, just a lovely picture of my rescue Airedale, Henry being adorable in the snow last winter. Enjoy! My friend M said in a comment: "As far as writing/blogging goes, I think the best always comes from deeply felt things we haven't quite figured out yet. The road we're on isn't a passive object that we act on; it has its own ideas on what the journey's going to be about.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-62049763807128453532011-08-21T18:30:00.005-06:002011-08-21T18:41:00.320-06:00

I just re-read my entire blog. It was really interesting/difficult/charming. I can see the seeds of where I am today in them. Here is a hint. I will be posting again soon. Thanks for your patience.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-85743263348542598372010-07-25T23:33:00.002-06:002010-07-25T23:54:17.223-06:00

Reality shows are generally not my thing. But as we are artists, my husband and I have been watching this one. It is the basic premise of a bunch of various folks, various challenges, and one by one voted off the show. The ones of this genre that I have watched have been cooking shows like "The Next Iron Chef" (we totally loved Micheal Symon from the get-go and were really glad he won; the

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-5568994184410697882010-07-13T21:36:00.002-06:002010-07-13T21:54:40.550-06:00

Kyra pulled through just fine, we have no real idea of what was wrong. I am blaming a hard heat cycle. Girl troubles, blech. I haven't had the time to see her a lot this summer but I enjoy her a great deal when I can.I have started selling my herbal bath and body care products, Fox Ryde Gardens, at the Farmers Markets this summer. I've been too beat up from the various car accidents that I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-39432353647851281302010-04-21T18:00:00.004-06:002010-04-21T18:30:13.568-06:00

I think that the pain of loving people and critters is immense. The pain that having that love opens you up to is beyond my capacity with these frail words to describe.Spoiler alert - don't worry, so far as I know, everyone is fine. I just had a brush with the loss of my horse and need to talk about it with you.My mare Kyra had a bout with colic about 3 months ago. It was a sudden onset colic

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-4835286364816168612010-04-07T00:16:00.006-06:002010-04-08T17:47:07.947-06:00

I planted lettuce yesterday with my friend Susan, who's garden blog "Digging In" is wonderful. You can click on the link to read her blog. Go ahead, I'll wait.See, she's amazing. Anyway, she took the great pictures of the process which is wonderful as I couldn't have done it, my hands being full and all.I've tried the fine sand and seed mixture before. It worked very badly last year. We got dense

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-70657512467793801992010-04-04T20:12:00.002-06:002010-04-04T20:51:42.760-06:00

Alert readers will notice that most of January, all of February, and all of March went by without comment. The short version:January happenings: a three day boot-making workshop in our studio that I mostly knit during and helped with feeding the 20 some folks who attended; prep for a western trade show; prep for a show in MT worked by our sales rep up there; started to clean the basement full of

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-7060765815347704572010-01-17T10:47:00.005-07:002010-01-17T11:19:54.402-07:00

It is always such a blessing to turn that corner of darkness and stroll towards the light. I grab those few minutes and hold them tight this time of year. We've had a pretty warm January after a week of very intense cold temps - way below zero. The snow that came in December is still on the ground, which is unusual. Usually the ground is so dry that the snow just goes away. This year there

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-60017506250911228882010-01-04T23:36:00.004-07:002010-01-04T23:59:23.556-07:00

I made this dip for New Years - it doesn't have a name. I think of it as an artichoke tapanade but it's both a bit more than that and a bit less.1 can artichoke hearts, drained1 can black olivesjuice of half a limesalt to tastelots of fresh ground pepperolive oil, add until it mixes easily1/2 cup or so mixed Parm and Asiago cheesePut it all in the food pro and blend until it pleases you. Adjust

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-79621249956434833052009-12-29T11:05:00.002-07:002009-12-29T11:32:30.876-07:00

It's been a better year this year than last for our business. We certainly felt the pinch of drop in retail sales long before the Powers That Declare called it a recession. And oddly, since the Declaration, things have picked up. I blame the anticipation. When I was a firefighter, driving to the fire was way more scary than picking up the hose and running into the building. Thinking about

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-81737688737483633782009-12-28T11:20:00.007-07:002009-12-29T11:00:08.228-07:00

I have gotten several requests for this recipe. I don't know where she got it, so I apologize if this is a recipe from a book or otherwise held in such a way as I shouldn't be posting it.I got this recipe from my friend Kay. She was an amazing cookie baker. She had this tiny, I mean beensy little kitchen. The stove was on the left, the fridge just a shade to the right of center, and the sink to

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-49130862876522405322009-12-12T00:20:00.002-07:002009-12-12T00:59:04.420-07:00

Something I've been thinking about learning how to do is make cabochons. These are polished domed gems without facets that we use in our jewelry. Most of the time you see them in ovals or rounds but we like weird shaped ones. But they are hard to find. So today, on a whim, we went to a very small show hosted by the local mineral enthusiasts club. I learned how to make a cabochon today from

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-18759592187606001312009-12-06T21:09:00.004-07:002009-12-06T21:26:53.072-07:00

Can you believe it?It's been snowing all day here in Northern Colorado. The snow has been coming down in tiny tiny flakes like being assaulted by powdered sugar all day. I know what a doughnut feels like.It's built up to about 10 inches. That's a lot of sugar. It's lovely but very cold. The dogs have been in and out all day. They track in the snow but at least it's not muddy. I just can't go sock

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-86740989063538592422009-09-06T23:28:00.003-06:002009-09-06T23:41:15.981-06:00

I am feeling very blessed. This will be short as it is late and I am tired. But wanted to at least touch base and let you know I am still here!Last week I started my volunteer equestrian internship at Glade Ranch. It was an amazing amount of work but wow, I am learning so much. My body is very tired and my mind is taxed but it is wonderful.The Sock Summit was incredible. I took pictures

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-6290256971169619822009-07-26T21:00:00.004-06:002009-07-26T21:30:36.612-06:00

There is so much going on in my life right now that I am .... what? I am many things.I am thrilled that my dad will be turning 90 years old in March. The four kids are putting together a birthday party for him, currently I am spearheading it. And trying to delegate like mad. But have "catering snacks for 200" on my calendar for the end of March. I sure hope I can delegate the sorting

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-65489389985770684802009-07-13T21:04:00.002-06:002009-07-13T21:32:31.732-06:00

Here's a recent photo of my horse, Kyra. She's a Friesian/Shire mare who's 10 years old. I've had her since she was about 9 month old. She's an amazing joy.I have to look at the photo of her because things have been too busy to get out to see her. We've been doing some traveling as well as working like crazy.Every year I promise myself more life in our life. I remember seeing Buckminster

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-16937045524201351262009-06-19T23:27:00.003-06:002009-06-19T23:50:01.294-06:00

whew.We got back from LV safely. It is a lovely drive through the mountains. Last time we drove home from this show it snowed a lot on us and the drive took hours longer than it should have. But not this time.The studio has been at about 150% of capacity since we got back. Which is wonderful and we are blessed. But we are tired. We even hired back our intern on on hourly basis to try and

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-10072933469774179532009-05-31T14:05:00.002-06:002009-06-01T17:11:43.811-06:00

At the nekkid party!

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-79125724193191378902009-05-31T14:02:00.006-06:002009-06-01T17:10:54.088-06:00

On the display. A few of these designs have been ordered. It seems like other people can sell my work better than I can!

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-9988284571124943692009-05-31T14:02:00.004-06:002009-06-01T17:09:32.039-06:00

Hello from Las Vegas. Weird town. I snapped a couple of pictures of our jewelry booth from the tradeshow where we are working. I call it "the naked party" booth. Our handmade recycled copper jewelery in modeled by the torsos and are selling well. We went and actually visited the Strip. We viewed the Belliagio's water show and really enjoyed it. Walked around Paris and Bally casinos. Lost

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-37901381045596412612009-05-19T21:02:00.002-06:002009-05-19T21:34:25.187-06:00

I can't seem to control myself. I went to the evil Home Despot as I had a gift card and bought the aforementioned $20 of annuals. The neat-o thing (who says "neat-o" anymore?) thing was I was able to guess the color scheme my husband had planned for the area I bought them for. Those who know him can also guess his color scheme - blue and white. But in the natural world blue is most purple, so

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-73307037549456204092009-05-16T19:02:00.003-06:002009-05-16T21:40:14.144-06:00

In the mondo piles of cheat grass that needs to be cut. He looks very silly there! But you can see his crazy wild eye brows and button terrier eyes. His right front leg was shaved for the neutering operation so it's not deformed, just a bit bald for now.So I was torn up with the loss of Baxter. I was spending stupid amounts of time on Petfinder.com looking for another Baxter and not finding

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-50492809363548813932009-05-16T18:59:00.002-06:002009-05-16T21:19:49.312-06:00

Alert readers will notice that I haven't posted for a while.I lost Baxter, my terrier mix, known as the emergency back-up dog on April 12th. I've been really torn up about it and unable to post. I knew I wanted/needed to tell folks, but was too upset to do it. Baxter was an amazing dog. We called him the Doctor Dog. He would always look deeply in people's faces and sniff them deeply. We

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-9439407801606300002009-05-16T18:54:00.004-06:002009-05-16T21:05:31.619-06:00

And Boudy's paw.Henry is a rescue Airedale terrier mix. We think. Rescues don't come with a lot of information. We know he is Airedale because he has a lot of characteristics. But he's got other characteristics, too. He's about 5o pounds and thin at about 15 months. I think he'll end up in the 65 to 70 pound range once he fills out and grows into his paws.He was an owner surrender as far as I can

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-46557247880861482412009-04-21T19:25:00.003-06:002009-04-21T19:29:20.142-06:00

Sorry to be the opposite of verbose so far this month. In lieu of a post, here's a picture of the daffodils springing up around our property! More later. Make sure to hug the people and creatures in your life. They may not always be there for you to enjoy.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-20359118835938980032009-04-05T14:32:00.004-06:002009-04-05T15:22:11.580-06:00

We were supposed to get this gigantic dump of snow of epic proportions this weekend. Everyone canceled everything. The stores were stripped of vittles. Mass hysteria, cats and dogs living together, killer bees!!! Not so much, actually.We got much less than we did the week before, about maybe 5 inches. Now it was a nice wet snow and the moisture was much needed. But not the big dump

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-27372287705780690312009-03-27T09:14:00.006-06:002009-03-27T09:52:57.679-06:00

My wonderful flowers, now dry and dead. It always seems so unfair to me that flowers last such a short time. I know it's relative to my sense of time. They last just exactly the right span in their time line. They are always a reminder that I shouldn't be too busy to stop and contemplate the wonder that is nature. And I have thoroughly enjoyed having this bulb bloom, especially at this time

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-89309877158630679772009-03-22T16:05:00.006-06:002009-03-22T18:41:05.375-06:00

A lettuce bed planted today! There are 2 kinds of loose head lettuce and one kind of mixed lettuce under row cover. The row cover acts as mulch and shelter for the little lettuce seeds. One thing that also happens frequently with small seeds like lettuce is they get pushed around by water droplets and shift positions. But mostly the row cover is there to minimize the water needed to get them

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-47744726128213142682009-03-16T18:25:00.002-06:002009-03-18T22:15:23.534-06:00

Crap. I had this long talk with myself about how I oriented the camera phone for the picture that was right. And did it wrong. So much for my memory. In the background you can see what is left of my greenhouse after the winter winds - there is no roof. The chicken house with chickens and the southeast corner of the studio. The weird block thing right behind the flower is shingles, the top

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-49123114898237800142009-03-13T10:07:00.003-06:002009-03-14T11:06:10.386-06:00

Here's my flower yesterday! 3 of the 4 blooms are opening. It is heartbreakingly beautiful in it's prime. I have it in the big window that faces south and it's visible from a long way! A beacon of beauty and life in the late winter.It's now about 8 weeks from the theoretical last frost date. It's time to get those seeds started! I plan on getting some herbs like parsley and thyme started

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-1623386583158089012009-03-11T10:41:00.002-06:002009-03-12T10:03:32.799-06:00

You'll have to tilt your head as I don't know how to fix the sideways photo from my phone camera.This is an amaryllis that I got more years ago than I can remember that is blooming. It hasn't bloomed for me since the first time. I can't help but see it as a good omen.When my husband and I were first together, the Christmas cactus that he had from his mom's funeral started to bloom and has

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-14001772959643428882009-03-01T22:38:00.002-07:002009-03-01T23:25:40.532-07:00

Yum. Been wanting to bake all week, but have been busy caring for my wonderful husband who had all 4 wisdom teeth out at once. So mostly I have been making soft foods and trotting bags of ice to him.It's been an interesting puzzle to solve. Making foods that are actually yummy but have no crunch or resist. I find myself also making things bland then remembering that he can have flavor, just

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-33500854276065543572009-02-02T23:17:00.001-07:002009-02-02T23:35:31.063-07:00

Had my fourth riding lesson today and I'm feeling pretty good about it! We even had a step or two of trot! I spent most of the weekend at the barn which was quite heavenly. It's hard not to get all itchy and grouchy about wanting more but I sure wish I could ride my horse.Here's a picture of our studio being built. Eventually all the spaces between were filled in with straw bales. It sure is a

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-76110463854508482582009-01-25T14:28:00.001-07:002009-01-25T14:28:48.078-07:00

Little kitchen herb gardenOriginally uploaded by foxrydeTrying this as a blog from flickr.Here is a tiny herb garden from transplants just outside my kitchen door. I got so many wonderful meals from this garden. Sliced cukes with bronze fennel and wine vinegar. Yum.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-52119897776716322252009-01-24T20:08:00.004-07:002009-01-24T20:27:02.474-07:00

Here's a rainbow over an open field somewhere. It looks like a double one. Or half a double one.This photo I sent directly from my phone. I have been trying to add pictures from Flickr for a while now and it just won't. "Won't, won't, won't" to quote Kreture. sigh. I had some really lovely pix of the rock garden and the tiny herb garden all ready to inspire us for Spring.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-86966018912492299122009-01-24T17:44:00.002-07:002009-01-24T18:16:18.168-07:00

I've been gardening since I was very young. Everywhere I have lived, I have put in some sort of a garden, even if it was just a couple of square feet with a tomato and some lettuce. Mom canned when she felt good enough to manage and I've carried on canning something most years.It's a bit of a challenge since moving into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where I live at around 5000 ft. While

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-76775250163869234912009-01-20T23:24:00.002-07:002009-01-20T23:43:15.301-07:00

I promised this recipe to A a while back but have been too distracted to blog. So here goes:Pad Thai SaladI used mung bean threads in this salad to bump up the protein, but you can use the very tiny crystal rice noodles instead.Noodles: put the dried noodle nest in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes until the noodles are hydrated.Dressing: Pour in a

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-37386516638729318372009-01-11T18:38:00.005-07:002009-01-11T19:49:19.233-07:00

This is the first weekend we've had the house since December 19th. It was great having my husband's family and my father here over the Christmas holiday, and then my dad stayed on until last Thursday (1/8). He headed off to spend a few months with my younger brother in Texas where the weather will no doubt be better/warmer than here. We had a good time but it's good to be alone in our house

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-59352972087110777482009-01-01T11:33:00.003-07:002009-01-01T11:57:45.362-07:00

We had a quiet NYE with my dad. My husband and he went to our favorite local independent pizza place and got yummy calzones. We watched a couple of movies from our tiny movie stash: Superman Returns and Memoirs of a Geisha. It was restful and fun. I knitted a bit on my sweater working in a few more inches on the length of the body. As soon as I finish this skein, I am going to start knitting

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-61255285533593901832008-12-18T17:57:00.002-07:002008-12-18T18:32:14.706-07:00

is getting the house and studio ready for my husband's family and my dad's imminent visit. Things like cleaning, making beds, baking cookies, decorating, etc.What I did do was went through 4 very large boxes of stuff I had stored at my parents in the early 70's. My dad brought them to me several years ago and I've been putting off looking through them. They have been stored so they were musty

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-30209549242215979562008-12-15T10:19:00.002-07:002008-12-15T10:30:35.334-07:00

It make me sit bolt up right in bed spitting mad this morning when All Things Considered said that the bail-out had not curbed financial exec compensation. Those rat bastards should have to sell ALL their mansions and carry brown bag pb&j sandwiches to work in their 1987 Ford Pinto with bald tires like the rest of us.I am shaking impotent mad about the whole thing.{breathe, breathe, breathe}

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-35347341431665508132008-12-14T19:16:00.004-07:002008-12-14T19:47:11.788-07:00

We like so many have be struggling with the economy.We apparently unlike many saw this coming.We borrowed some money from family and paid off our credit cards and have been living in a cash economy for about 14 months now. We don't have any credit card debit. I actually reduced the available credit on one card to $1000 and cut up several more. It's hard but I feel good about it. Except when I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-22941173763276547392008-12-14T18:49:00.002-07:002008-12-14T19:16:29.486-07:00

When I left the studio a few minutes ago, the gizmo that sits on the side of the building and sends readings to our satellite clock said it was -10 degrees. The snow squeeked under foot in that extra chilling way. I love 4 seasons but I don't love extreme enthusiasm for them. I prefer a more temperate 4 seasons really. What would one call the gizmo - it is a thermometer since I can't read it?

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-44689805067069268472008-12-12T00:13:00.003-07:002008-12-12T00:38:48.597-07:00

What is the magic that makes a sock a sock? It's the technique of turning the heel. I sort of puzzled out how to do it today in between having 3 (three!) crowns glued into my very numbed head with the help of the Yarn Harlot and a bootlegged pattern. I feel quite proud of myself.I took a break from the sock this evening as I am puzzling out the next step and worked a dozen more of the long long

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-52904509627519915282008-12-10T09:31:00.002-07:002008-12-10T09:39:57.129-07:00

Sunday I got the raspberry mead racked into a new carboy and prepared to bottle. I am trying the traditional wine method of stabilizing as the mead is a lovely red. Reds tend to oxidize into browns in storage without some help.I got it bottled on Monday night so there are 18 more bottles in my cellar. I don't want to drink these for at least a year. The mead was drier than I usually make so

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-8599568915415361162008-12-07T11:16:00.004-07:002008-12-07T11:28:44.673-07:00

Whee! It's been such a busy couple of months/year that I haven't had a chance to do any focused brewing. Which means that my mead stash is very low. I am down to under 4 cases and one of those is a set back for another year or so to mellow. I have Christmas present and hostess gift meads to give out and nothing much to give. There is no way I can be done with a mead in time to give out so I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-43942513834271245472008-12-06T22:43:00.003-07:002008-12-06T23:09:34.474-07:00

We only do a few benefit retail shows now as we are kept very busy with our wholesale. Our shops have been re-ordering only what they need to restock shelves without making any large commitment to new items. We have a very liberal return policy which has been very soundly used this fall. We may have to re-visit how liberal due to some folks sort of abusing it. But I understand that everyone

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-50972768564590773532008-12-01T21:49:00.002-07:002008-12-01T22:21:44.672-07:00

So I got rear-ended the end of October. Not a bad accident, blessedly, but my neck/back was re-injured. And the guy that hit me was verbally violently angry with me and that has caused no end of stress. He actually called to rant at us the day after the accident!So instead of being in the final days of getting ready to be released from treatment, I am back at it again. At least I have a

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-26329712575329340732008-09-29T12:17:00.004-06:002008-09-29T12:50:01.883-06:00

What has been consuming my life recently is running an only mead competition. The event happened yesterday and it went really well! We had over 60 entries with well over a third coming from outside the state! We are thrilled!You can read about it at the website: http://www.grotegang.com/liquidpoets/2008Muse.htmlMead is not beer, nor is it wine. I think it's time to make a separate mead presence

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-64827996020322561082008-09-15T22:55:00.002-06:002008-09-15T23:30:38.892-06:00

Just overwhelmed. I have been sort of rushing by the place on the list of places I visit frequently that is this place.Too much has happened of things I too painful/difficult to talk about/dwell on to be able to figure out how to write to you about it.So, I plan to draw a veil and do some general arm waving towards the doings of the last couple of months and move on. Perhaps details will seep in

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-55408631660013451732008-07-15T19:04:00.002-06:002008-07-15T19:45:48.225-06:00

July is tough in Colorado. It's hot. It's hot and dry. All the wonderful riot of color and growth in June becomes sere and crunchy in July. The ground crunches underfoot. The green hills become gold. It is lovely, but the heat saps my energy. It's been over a month since we've seen any rain on our property. I know there's been rain a bit north of us, but we are dry dry dry.Our crazy busy

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-29266367337521815952008-06-18T18:05:00.003-06:002008-06-18T18:17:54.620-06:00

We have closed the studio for the week. "Normally" we would be spending this week sweating at an SCA event near Kansas City called Lilies. We've gone to it many many years, my husband more than myself. But this year, we decided to stay home - P called it a "stay-cation" which is a great word.The grand plan was to get a lot of the things done. It is now Wednesday. We did work on the yard on

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-87106110421966803102008-06-05T01:22:00.002-06:002008-06-05T01:34:30.247-06:00

Can't sleep again. Sleep is such a struggle for me. After so many years of sleep interrupted by pain, I seem to have lost the knack. I envy my husband. He lays his head down and is asleep. I am up after trying to sleep for a couple of hours.It's been raining tonight. It always feels like such a blessing when water actually falls from the sky. The little gardens that M and I have planted

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-62123655586961595652008-05-26T15:14:00.002-06:002008-05-26T16:00:27.921-06:00

It's Memorial Day, gray and cloudy, raining off and on. I'm sick with a stupid chest cold. I got sick last Thursday and dutifully stayed in bed and took all my herbs/homeopathics/OTC things I normally take to whip one of these things. And it didn't.My energy was pretty good so I got up and worked on Friday as we are in the really busy season of our studio. We are stocking up our stores for

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-59934641733755160412008-05-23T14:26:00.002-06:002008-05-23T14:38:37.609-06:00

We are fine. The weather was to the east of us. We got quarter sized hail off and on for a while which ripped up some leaves, but no real damage.We had some worries for friends who teach/live in the area, but all are accounted for and well.I have always been terrified of tornadoes. Growing up in central Iowa, the tornado season was always a torment for me. Some of my worst nightmares involve

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-31193666437111714462008-05-20T23:48:00.002-06:002008-05-21T00:09:52.144-06:00

Sometimes I absentmindedly click on my blog to see if it's been updated. der.I think about what I want to say a lot during the day. Most of what I think about is completed in my head and never makes it to you. I wish I could hold on to it and get it put out there as I think some of it is pretty profound/interesting. It seems like most of what gets into my blog is less than profound/prosaic. I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-59992521749317213202008-05-06T21:23:00.002-06:002008-12-11T05:52:11.069-07:00

To the left of this text is a picture of Kyra from last fall. It's not a good one to show how big she is, but here you go! You can see the foothills to the east of her stable. I got out to visit her tonight (I actually left the studio before dark!) She is shedding mightily and was terribly itchy. I brushed at least a small pony off her. She was drooling with delight during the process.I got

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-27069910243514092972008-05-04T22:05:00.002-06:002008-05-04T22:32:33.376-06:00

I brewed my first beer on Saturday (yesterday). It was a very simple extract beer but instead of hops, I added herbs. Herbal beers are known as Gruit - and so the title of tonight's blog. Herbal beers are way older than hop beers. I am still a bit foggy on why it became a big deal but there were Church proclamations and secular laws passed on using hops instead of herbs in beer. It's pretty

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-91776270972630233432008-05-01T01:20:00.002-06:002008-05-01T01:40:00.240-06:00

Vegas was Vegas. sigh. It really is a town for boy-men. It seems to have dropped the attempt to court families and just gone whole hog into the Sin City deal. There are pretty much naked women on bill boards plastered everywhere.On our walk to the Convention Center we passed a bank of 6 newspaper boxes. The first day I was thinking about getting a paper. I stopped and looked and there were

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-8203735534438849462008-04-22T22:39:00.002-06:002008-04-22T23:09:10.812-06:00

The latest snow that has happened since we moved to Colorado was on Mothers' Day. In the middle of May. And it was a huge storm as I recall. So I may be jumping the gun (which is always better than the shark) in thinking of it as Spring.I found my favorite garden tool lost in the greenhouse. It's got a short handle and on the head is a chopper hoe on one side and a 2 prong on the other.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-71499969911706157272008-04-08T22:50:00.003-06:002008-04-08T23:10:12.524-06:00

Sunday was a glorious day between snows. My friend B came over to use the studio to make some jewelry components and we also went out to breakfast at Schmidts.Wonderful Sunday breakfasts! M and J and I have been going out to Sunday brunch a couple of times a month. I always feel like a Princess when I get to go out to brunch.So after a wonderful brunch, we all came back to hang out in the

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-61026698681933659092008-04-04T23:50:00.002-06:002008-04-05T00:16:51.674-06:00

Well, actually it seems to whiz by.Too much happening to really catch up in the amount of energy and time I have available to me right now. But will try to hit the highlights!I had to go through 2 full courses of antibiotics to even sort of get my sinus infection under control. The sulfa drug (10 days of twice a day) took down the pain but after it ran out, I started to get really sick. I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-19984355772920156672008-03-10T20:04:00.002-06:002008-03-10T20:24:27.305-06:00

and went to the doctor's today. I actually made the call on Sunday, leaving a voice-mail message requesting an appointment. I tried to weasel out of it this morning saying I felt better, but I really didn't. So I went to my appointment sternly admonished by my long suffering husband to go anyway!And yes, I have a sinus infection. And yes, it has worn me out. One of the perils of not being 20

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-37157646688467146422008-03-07T00:16:00.002-07:002008-03-07T00:47:28.709-07:00

I woke this morning in the near darkling in a sweat from a horrible dream in which my incredible horse, Kyra, was unable to breathe and was dying. I was drenched in hot sweat and my stomach was rolling in fear. I took many deep breaths and started in with the thought process I had to learn in response to the many terrible fears I battled during my struggles to recover from a serious brain

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-68088790711522397012008-02-29T23:58:00.005-07:002008-07-15T20:06:16.186-06:00

I really really wanted to brew today. I have planned to make a traditional mead (read: plain honey with nothing else added) and put a case back to be gifted to folks on the next Leap Year Day in 4 years. But as I look at the little clock on the bottom of my screen, I see that it is officially 12:02 a.m. and my carboys are all still empty.We had a terrifically full day with work including meeting

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-45086422141200182722008-02-12T23:08:00.003-07:002008-03-01T00:23:42.831-07:00

Ha!I finally went to the BlogSpot page to see what is going on with spellcheck. It is not me. It is not my occasional techno-black spot. It is Them.I feel much better. When it is up, I will go back and spellcheck my old posts and edit. (3/1/08 - yay! Spell-check is back!)I got back from the mead comp and got sick. Went right to the burning feeling under the cheekbone that is sinus infection.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-30239660407806369242008-02-11T10:28:00.001-07:002008-03-01T00:25:02.783-07:00

(I can't spell check again. Sorry! I wonder if it's me or Blogspot....) (3/1/08 - all fixed!)The IMC sort of ate my life for a while, but it's over now. I had a good time, even if I worked way to hard to actually relax at all. Saw good friends, met lots of great people, and oh yeah, drank a bit of nice mead.I got a chance to judge, but not very much. The way the categories shook out over the

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-8190795325841291122008-02-06T10:26:00.000-07:002008-02-06T10:37:51.995-07:00

I had a really good time at the party! There was the "right" number of people there and enough space to find a quieter place when I needed it. A common reaction to a brain injury is crowd panic. I had it pretty bad. So I was unable to do things like go to a restaurant unless it was off time so it was mostly empty. And even then, I was better in a booth with my back to a wall.But anyway, it

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-637998794059754152008-02-03T11:32:00.000-07:002008-02-03T12:23:52.576-07:00

hmm, spell checker is out, so I apologize in advance to all my editor friends. The results were posted for the Meadllenium all mead competition held in Florida and I logged on to check how the braggots I brewed with a good friend had done. As I have said before, we've done pretty good with them. But alas, we didn't win anything. It's nice to win, but I know from past experience how different

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-4533228860977972272008-01-26T00:32:00.000-07:002008-01-26T00:51:34.422-07:00

Just in a wierd headspace.Observed the 5 year anniversary of my last car accident on 1/23/08.Thought at lot about it, wanted to blog about it. Still can't really.Winter drags on. We have about an hour more of light than we had at the Solstice. I recently read an article about Stonehenge. All the articles I have read before have always focused on ancient people celebrated the Summer Solstice.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-55895266006788366382008-01-14T19:57:00.001-07:002008-01-14T20:07:03.362-07:00

Woke up this morning thinking of all the things I need to get done. We didn't get as much done over our "break" as I had hoped. So I keep thinking of ways to carve out some time to finish up the finishing up of our house. The plan is to wrap all four walls of the guest bedroom with bookshelves. We learned with the book shelf in the living room to make sure the boards are finished before they

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-88949571112605813292008-01-04T22:56:00.000-07:002008-01-04T23:23:49.076-07:00

Sorry, it's been nice to relax a bit. But that meant that I wasn't very motivated to blog.We had a nice quiet Christmas. I bought a used PS2 game and Deotrich and I spent a couple of days killing things. It is a D&D game that uses about the same engine as the Baldar's Gate games so it was a system we are used to. Good story, about the right length for a weekend, uncomplex. After playing

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-80162650358003233952007-12-21T21:21:00.000-07:002007-12-21T21:32:56.664-07:00

Had a fantastic fire tonight to welcome back the sun. Starting it burning about 6 p.m. and it took a long time to get going. There was a brisk North wind that both helped and hindered. I used a whole bunch of newspaper to get it going.It was very cool in that the paper I used was an old Ames Trib that my dad brought with last time he was here. In the paper was the wedding announcements of

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-61274826287443717372007-12-21T12:01:00.000-07:002007-12-21T12:53:15.497-07:00

It's the rare combination of Solstice and Friday night today. I am going to light a fire and welcome back the Sun.A friend of ours said that we are the best Pagan Christians she knows. We are Christians, if not church go-ers. But I also believe that it is right to cherish and care for that which the Lord made. I get so anguished at all the attempts to divide that even in writing I become

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-58018053666925979312007-12-17T23:15:00.000-07:002007-12-18T00:01:47.299-07:00

Yay! I got to work a bit with Kyra today after her lesson. Rick rode her quite a bit today. She was looking pretty comfortable at the walk and looked lovely. The wind was really gusty and the snow was falling off the roof of the arena in random big noises. But he still got up on her. This training method amazes me. I have always been taught to sort of grab at the one time the horse does

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-47715078124318809382007-12-17T09:41:00.001-07:002007-12-17T10:03:12.374-07:00

Every year this gift giving frenzy time comes around. You know the one I'm talking about. I have written before about my mixed feelings.So today, you get more of my mixed feelings.I never know what to give people. Do I give them things I make routinely that they can actually buy for themselves? Do I make something that I have been mulling making to sell and let them test drive it for me? Do

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-58565395957014133892007-12-10T17:57:00.001-07:002007-12-10T18:29:44.100-07:00

It snowed pretty hard most all weekend. I ended up not doing much of anything that I had planned because of it. I probably should have tried to, but something my husband said kept running around my head. He said something about not being able to live through me having another accident. I understand on a lot of levels but it is not pleasant to hear. We have agreed that 3 accidents is plenty

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-77522529569779138802007-12-06T20:56:00.000-07:002007-12-06T21:42:32.430-07:00

I try to get out everyday to watch Rick work with Kyra. I am amazed and teary most every day. She changes and grows before my eyes. The gentle progression of training is incredible. I was kicking myself the other day for not doing this sooner, for trying to do-it-myself. Then I realised that if I hadn't tried to do it, I wouldn't know how hard it is. It looks so smooth and natural when Rick does

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-79976752421845263342007-11-28T23:27:00.000-07:002007-11-28T23:50:34.658-07:00

So Kyra had her first official day of her 30 days of training tonight. We started at about 3:30 p.m. and it was a bit chilly.She was a nice quiet well-behaved mare. She was a cream puff. I was so proud. Rick decided that she was ready to go to the indoor arena. He was just going to work her in her pen where she was very comfortable, but she was ready for more.She did a great job of being calm and

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-471974930252887412007-11-26T23:01:00.000-07:002007-11-26T23:13:28.438-07:00

Okay, after looking enviously at my younger brothers blog that has a cool map that shows where his readers are from, I finally got up the nerve to try to add one to mine. (he has a couple of blogs - where he posts depends on which one is actually working - try: http://www.xanga.com/sbuchele orhttp://www.buchele.blogspot.com/)As he lives and works in Ghana and one of his daughters is in Japan, I

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-15529611925433027342007-11-26T09:58:00.000-07:002007-11-26T10:57:56.225-07:00

Amid all the published gloom and doom about retail sales this season, our first of two Holiday shows went alright. We are not much of tracking the dollars last year and comparing them to this year, but we are happy and some of our lovely things have happy new homes! This is the show I have been grousing about the management changing things around. The show was different. They tried to do more

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-40901978588099071082007-11-18T11:54:00.000-07:002007-11-18T12:55:59.549-07:00

sigh. How does the time pass so quickly? I haven't posted in weeks!I guess I haven't been pondering too many things, just chugging along working and sometimes playing. I tend to post when I am trying to figure something out. I am still not sure entirely what the focus of this blog is or should be but I suppose in time, that will become clear by manifest.It has always cracked me up that one of my

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-28524507578008672642007-11-01T23:39:00.001-06:002007-11-01T23:46:34.845-06:00

Pamela and I won the November brew club meeting Best of Show for the Old Ale Braggot tonight! That means a lot to us to win! We got a $5 gift certificate to the local home brew store! Yay!Had a rough night last night. We have been eating really well for the past 6 months or so since we went off wheat. It's really hard to eat fast food if you are avoiding wheat. Well, due to scheduling this

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-85848497459526149312007-10-31T23:27:00.000-06:002007-11-01T00:09:38.159-06:00

Pamela and I entered 4 brewing contests this fall with the various braggots we brewed this summer. The Summer of Braggots! Braggots are a historical brew and a blend of beer and mead. It's actually pretty undiscovered country in that there aren't a lot of recipes around and very little agreement on how they are made.We are using what I believe to be the oldest method of a double ferment. An

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-29319188990357562392007-10-30T15:40:00.000-06:002007-10-30T15:52:49.174-06:00

Time does sometimes make things feel better, even if perhaps they aren't better. But feeling better makes it better. *grin*We now have 2 booths for the show and they are right next to each other. I didn't ask where they are located, I figured that with any luck we'll be where we normally are. The person I spoke with was much more pleasant. I am glad I didn't go with my dark side urges and

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-85020580217383366892007-10-27T09:44:00.000-06:002007-11-18T12:57:34.689-07:00

Annie, our much loved intern, started grad school in July. She had been working in the jewelry studio off and on for a bit more than a year and was doing really well. She was a joy to work with. Luckily, Jenny was needed a bit of summer work and she overlapped a bit with Annie and did a fabulous job. A real joy in the studio but had to leave in August to go back to her Real Job as a teacher.

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-13882188790340339762007-10-18T09:12:00.000-06:002007-10-18T09:28:44.753-06:00

It's been an incredible long and lovely fall here in Colorado. I don't think we've had a hard frost even yet. Since we are not growing a vegetable garden with tender plants, I sort of loose track of it.The colors on the trees have been stunning. The native trees seem to only by yellow for the most part. The cottonwoods and aspen. Different shades and complexities of yellow. The hillsides are

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-56892082095524668382007-10-16T22:49:00.000-06:002007-11-18T13:00:23.359-07:00

I recently opened my 4th bucket of honey to make some more mead. This is my 4th bucket which makes over $500 spent in honey. Yikes.That being said, I think it's probably not my most expensive hobby by any means. I suppose my horse is the most expensive with SCA coming in next. And that $500 has been spread over time, I opened the first bucket in November of 2005 so that's not so bad.But it did

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-32192809646843233122007-09-30T19:17:00.000-06:002007-09-30T20:06:01.021-06:00

So the days slip one into another and any time to contemplate their passage is swallowed up by the need to sleep, cook, and clean, and oh, that other thing, work. One of the things that loosing Emma gave me was the courage to commit to my horse, Kyra. We get to choose whether to love and loose or to not love. I realised that I was afraid of loving my horse as loosing my gelding, Honor, almost

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-48417450690984978712007-09-17T23:16:00.000-06:002007-09-18T00:09:57.909-06:00

Some friends and I were chatting tonight. They were amazed that have begun to blog. It seemed like they felt that it was risky, something about the visibility of it was disturbing to them.I guess I sort of am amazed that I have a blog as well. I would say that I am a fairly private person, that I listen more than I talk, that I help more than am helped. I started this thing as a ways to claim

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616825052646275582.post-44867538240461276262007-09-15T11:38:00.000-06:002007-09-15T12:16:57.997-06:00

It has always seemed to me that when a person dies, their stuff should go with them. Not as in buried with, although that is fine as well. But is should all just go away. I am an over-the-top sentimentalist about stuff. I have dried flowers from my first boy-friend, along with a lock of his hair. I don't believe I have ever thrown out a card from friend or family, I do throw out the ones from

Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03563962252969628463noreply@blogger.com2