Knitting Some More: We Purl

Last night, the daughters and I had our second knitting lesson.  In lesson one, we learned to cast on, and to knit.  In lesson two, we learned to purl and to bind off.  I can only best attempt to describe a purl as a backward knit stitch.  Any more attempt at a detailed explanation would only be more confusing.

After we'd practiced purling for a few rows, the instructor told us she wanted us to try knitting and purling in the same row.  The room got silent, and all needles stopped!!  Then she explained it wasn't impossible, we should just pick a number --preferably the number 2 or the number 3--then knit that many stitches followed by the same number of purl stitches and just alternate until we got to the end of the row.

So we did.  I found it wasn't impossible, but it did require rather a lot of concentration. I even got so brave as the try to do an opposite pattern (purl, purl, knit, knit) after several rows.  When I got to the end of my yarn, I bound off.

This is what I ended up with:

Next week we tackle an actual project!

Climbing the Laundry Mountain

Mount Washmore.  Mount St. Laundry.  Whatever you call it, I'm guessing that if you have kids at home, more often than not you have a geographical phenomenon that occurs in your laundry area.  A hill of dirty clothes, towels, sheets, blankets, etc, etc so large you can hardly see your washing machine, let alone reach it.

Never fear, it can be conquered!  I have scaled it's heights, managed to not die of lack of oxygen (or toxic fumes or substances contained within the mount), and chiseled it down to a gently rolling field.

Back in the day when all my kids were young, and still at home, I had what I called my DLR.  That stood for Daily Laundry Requirement.  It was two loads a day.  Yes, two.  And yes, every day, seven days a week. (I had a couple of bed wetters, you see. . .)  I washed, dried, and put away two full loads of laundry every day of the week, and this method kept the laundry mountain from making a reappearance very often.

If we went away somewhere, like camping or on vacation, every fourth day was designated as Laundry Day.  On Laundry Day, DH would drop me, a load of quarters, and two very large bags of clothes (think military 'sea bags') off at the nearest laundromat. Usually we timed this for right after lunchtime when the laundromat was pretty empty, and I would proceed to spend the next 2-3 hours using about 4 machines at a time to get our laundry caught up.  He took the kids to a park or other fun spot while I did the laundry.  Lest you think I was getting the short end of the fun stick, I loved Laundry Day.  Because I am naturally an introvert, by the fourth day of our vacation/camping trip a couple hours alone in a laundromat with a book was just what I needed to regain my sanity!

When we moved to this little place here, I was able to gain a bit more space for my laundry area, and also a counter for sorting and folding clean laundry onto.  However, it took me a good two years to realize that under this counter was the perfect spot to put a sorting system for the dirty laundry.  With DS1's help (mainly because DH was busy and he also didn't think my idea would work), I installed a couple pieces of scrap 2x4 across the legs that held up each end of the counter.  On those 2x4's I laid a big wide board (I don't remember exactly what it had been in it's first life, perhaps part of a folding door?).

Now I had an upper and a lower area for laundry baskets.  Each area could accommodate three baskets (yes, I actually did own SIX laundry baskets:  two for our camper, and four for the house.)  With six baskets all stowed neatly under the counter, I could keep everyone's dirty laundry off the floor, thus making easy access to the washer and dryer.  I assigned my baskets like this:

• upper section: light colored clothes (the 'warms'), white socks ('hots'), and 'delicates' (lingerie, and other hand wash items)
• lower section: dark colored clothes (the 'colds'), jeans, and towels.

Sheets and blankets unfortunately still went on the floor, but one bed's worth of bedding at a time could fit into the washer, so I tried to always make that my first load of the day.

Each day, I would go to my laundry area, see which basket (or baskets) were full, and wash that particular load of laundry.  Since I have the super sized washer and dryer, it was really easy to open the door of the washer and dump the entire basket in.  No counting, no measuring.  If the basket was full but not overflowing, it was exactly the size of a load.

It has been a few years since those days.  After the first child graduated high school and left home for the military (where he quickly learned to wash his own clothes even though I hear they all came out olive drab in the first few loads, including his tightie whities [tightie drabbies?]), I decided it would be good for his siblings to learn how to wash theirs. I made a chart of how to wash each type of laundry (darks, lights, delicates, knits, towels, jeans, etc.)  I assigned each child a day of their own to wash their clothes, with two "open" days each week for catching up if for some reason they were unable to do laundry on their assigned day. I outfitted each child with a hamper of their own.  Now, dirty clothes stayed in their bedrooms (hopefully in their hampers rather than on the floor) until their laundry day arrived.

So there you go.  Two tried and true methods of conquering the laundry mountain.

Squash Recipe #8: Squash Soup

Finally, a new squash recipe!

Last night, I made soup out of squash.  I tweaked a recipe from a book (because not all the ingredients they had listed sounded tasty to me), and my soup came out pretty satisfactory.  It wasn't gross or anything, I'm just not sure we have the palates for a veggie soup that isn't your traditional veggie soup, if you know what I mean.  We're definitely not used to having liquid squash.  Or soup that doesn't have chunks of meat and veggies in it.

If you are interested and want to try it for yourself, here's how I made it:

Squash Soup

1 3-pound butternut squash (or 2 smaller ones to make about 3 pounds)
2 cooking onions
butter
1 quart of chicken broth (you could probably use less--original recipe called for 3 cups but I all ready had it frozen in quart containers)
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
sour cream (optional)

• Dice your onions, and peel and dice your squash (remove the 'squash guts' too!).  Then, in the pot you are going to cook your soup in (at least 4 qt size) melt 1-2 Tbsp butter (I suppose you could use veggie oil instead) and saute the onions until tender--roughly 5 minutes.  
• Add the diced squash, the chicken broth, curry, nutmeg, brown sugar, and salt to the pot.  Bring to a boil. 
• Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium, put a lid on the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
• When the squash is tender, shut off the stove, and puree the soup in a blender or food processor.  It will take several batches to get it all pureed; I think I did it in 4 batches.  
• Return the soup to the pot, and stir in the milk.  That's it.  Your soup is now done.

Serve in bowls.  You can swirl a teaspoon or two of sour cream into each bowl of soup if desired.  We did, and liked the way it tasted.

I served this with thick slices of homemade bread topped with Monterey jack cheese and broiled until the cheese melted (2-3 minutes).  It was also good with slices of hot buttered toast (my lunch for today--leftover soup).

Our South Carolina Girls Meet Snow

K2 and K3 were both born in South Carolina.  K2 has never lived in a northern climate, and when she was up visiting us last summer for DD1's graduation, she told us that she had never experienced snow before.  So we all started praying that there would be lots of snow at this little place here when DS1, K2 and K3 came up for Christmas.

All fall, snow for Christmas looked like a bleak prospect.  The temperatures were above average for most of three months.  We had not a single snowfall during firearm deer season.  Only a dusting  during muzzle loading, which was followed by another above-average temperature spell.  Christmas, and our South Carolina girls, were drawing near.  We prayed earnestly.  Please, please God, let us have snow, and cold!  And not just a little snow, but enough for K2 and K3 to get to play in.  Sledding, snowmobiling, making a snowman.  Not just a little cold, but enough that the snow would last more than 24 hours.  Cold that would give K2 a real taste of winter in Michigan.

God always answers prayers.  Sometimes His answer is "Yes", sometimes His answer is "No", and sometimes his answer is "Wait and be patient".  This time, the answer was "Yes."

We got a little bit of snow a few days before Christmas.  The weather stayed below freezing.  We got a little more on Christmas Day.  Even more was predicted for the 26th.

DS1, K2 and K3 arrived early in the morning of the 26th, ahead of the storm.  We had perhaps an inch and a half of snow on the ground at the time of their arrival.  Despite having been in the car over 14 hours (and 900+ miles) and being awake most of the night, K2 was so excited that she took pictures of snow on the toes of her shoes!

On the afternoon of the 26th, snowflakes fell from the sky.  More, and more, and more snowflakes.  About two inches worth of snowflakes.  K2 was excited.  K3, being not quite 8 months old, just looked out the window in wonder at the snow, not knowing she should be excited. I would say perplexed was a better description for her expression.

I had bought K2 a sled as a Christmas gift.  It wasn't fancy, just a pink plastic saucer, but it was the first she'd ever owned.  After dinner, all the kids bundled up (K2 borrowed snow pants and boots from us northern girls), gathered up sleds, piled into the Suburban, and drove into town to the sledding hill.  K3 got to stay at this little place here with Grandma and Grandpa (aka me and DH).

She got her turn at playing in the snow a few days later, when the sun was out and the wind wasn't.    She wasn't so sure about the cold air, and the bright light off the snow made her squint.  But she was happy to sit down while her Mommy made a snowman with her Aunts and Uncle, and Daddy helped Grandpa to get the snowmobiles out.  Happy, that is, until she lost her balance and did a face plant into the snow.

This resulted in much kicking of the legs and fussing.  A few minutes later, she was allowed to go back inside with Grandma, while the snowman building continued and the snowmobile riding commenced.

First, DS1 took K2 for a ride around the yard and hay field (there wasn't enough snow to ride in the bigger crop field, where there are rocks that could damage the track of the snowmobile).

After a few times around as a rider, K2 got to try snowmobiling solo.  DS1 switched her to the not quite so powerful red snowmobile first.  After a cautious loop around the house, K2 got more confident and gained speed.  Maybe we'll turn her into a snow lover yet!

A Knitting We Will Go

A while back, I mentioned that I was going to learn to knit soon.  I purchased knitting lessons for my daughters as Christmas gifts, and the local knitting shop that I purchased them from had the unbeatable deal of 1/2 off the second student, with the third (fourth, fifth, etc) student free!  So of course I wanted to be a student too.  I'm the free one ;0)

We had our first lesson last week.  It was scary at first, not knowing what we were in for. I mean, knitting is mysterious, and difficult, right?   My daughters and I nervously arrived at the shop at our scheduled lesson time and waited for the instructor/shop owner to show us what to do.

The instructor told us as beginners, we were going to knitting kindergarten.  And that, just like real kindergarten has big chunky crayons, knitting kindergarten has big chunky needles and yarn.  So we were each outfitted with an oversize pair of needles.  We had our choice between lavender or red.  I chose lavender.

my big chunky needle, almost as thick as my index finger

We also got to each choose a skein of thick yarn.  I of course chose green (of course, because green has been my favorite color my entire life).  

From there, the instructor showed us how to cast on, and we all practiced casting on for about fifteen minutes, getting the hang of how to hold the yarn, how to put the needle through the yarn, and counting how many loops we'd cast.  Once the three of us felt pretty confident in our ability to cast on, the instructor moved us forward into the knit stitch.

For the next forty-five minutes or so, we knit.  It wasn't as mysterious or difficult as I'd thought it would be.  In fact, it was fun.  We knit, and we talked. We knit, and we laughed.  We knit, and we made mistakes, which the instructor showed us how to fix.  Suddenly, we'd been at the knitting shop for an hour and a half. . . time flies when you're having fun.

We went home, taking our needles and yarn with us.  At home, we showed DH what we had learned.  We knit some more.  I wondered why in the world I hadn't learned to do this years ago.  It was relaxing and productive all at the same time.

showing off my knit stitches

Next week, we get to learn how to purl.  We can't wait!

Putting Down A Horse

I've been involved with horses for many years.  I bought my first one in 1984, and have owned horses or worked at horse farms ever since.  Seen a lot of things.  Done a lot of things.  And, it seems in the last 8-10 years, put down a lot of horses.

Now, lest you think I'm some sort of horse killer (my Dad is starting to tease me about being the equine Dr. Kevorkian), let me explain why I'm more and more present at the end of equine life.  Mostly, it's because where I've been in the last 13 years, is at a farm made up mostly of retired and aging horses.  The eldest there will be 31 in March, the youngest 14!  Since the average lifespan for a horse is 25-30 years, well, that should explain it all.

Yesterday we had to make the decision to put down another one.  This was one of the younger ones, not quite 21 years old, but she was in a bad way yesterday morning at breakfast time, and despite having the vet out to treat her, things were getting progressively worse. About 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I made the call to the vet again, and we all knew how the story was most likely going to end.

The problem was colic, which can range from a mild belly ache that a horse comes out of on it's own, to a twisted  or otherwise obstructed gut that ends up rupturing and causing agony, toxemia and death to the horse.  Unlike people and other animals, horses are anatomically incapable of throwing up.  So a 'simple' sour stomach can be fatal for them, due to the build up of gas and pressure in their guts. Next time you have the flu and are wretching miserably, be thankful that you are a human and have the ability to vomit!

With this particular horse, it first appeared she might have a fairly mild colic, and we hoped that it might be reversible.  Even though the horse was uninterested in her breakfast hay, she was laying calmly, breathing slowly, evenly and not labored.  Because there was only sawdust (stall bedding) on one side of her, I could tell she had not been rolling.  Rolling is a common sign of a painful colic, and unfortunately can cause a twisted gut to occur.  One worrying thing, though, was that her ear tips were cold, and she was trembling slightly.  Cold ears on a horse that is indoors, is a sign of shock.  Not good.  That was the main reason we called the vet even though the horse showed no signs of pain.

The vet was able to come within the hour, and treated the horse with some muscle relaxers, which is the common treatment for a colic.  She also 'tubed' the horse, which is inserting a naso-gastric tube through a nostril and into the stomach.  With tubing, the vet can get an idea of the state of the stomach from the smell that will come out of the tube.  The vet can pump in water to 'wash' the stomach (it will come out the tube when the stomach is full, often bringing with it stomach acids and chunks of undigested food) and/or pump in mineral oil.  Oiling a horse will often help them out of a colic if it is caused by a clump of feed or manure that is lodged somewhere along the approximately 70 feet of digestive tract that a horse contains.

Then we waited to see how the horse would do.  All was well for several hours, but when I went to check the horse at 3:00 in the afternoon, she was much worse.  Her breathing was labored, she had definitely been rolling--violently enough to have scrubbed off a patch of hair and skin above one eye--and her ears were ice cold.  After consulting with the owner (of the farm and of this particular horse), I again called the vet out.

The vet came right away, being only about 15 miles down the road at that time, examined the horse again, and tubed her again.  This time, the stomach contents were smellier and darker than they had been when we'd tubed the horse in the morning.  That is a sign that instead of passing along the digestive tract properly, the food matter was being pushed back into the stomach after it had left for the intestines.  Meaning a blockage was there somewhere, and nothing was moving out the end of the digestive tract.  Without surgery (very expensive, and not an option for most retired horses who don't have wealthy owners), there was really no way to remedy the situation.

The owner, the vet, and myself, made the decision to not put the horse through any more suffering, and we prepared to euthanize her.

Euthanizing a horse is pretty simple.  The vet gives them a huge dose of barbiturates, which pretty much causes them to have a heart attack, and that is that.  It is quick, and supposedly painless.  The vet injects the drug into a vein in the horse's neck, and by the time the (large--2 @ 60cc) syringes are empty, the horse's legs are buckling.  You quickly and gently guide the horse to the ground, a few gasps and some reflexive leg movements, and it's done.  The vet will listen to make sure the heart has stopped beating (normally it has by now), touch the eye (it is very sensitive, if the horse is still alive, it will react to this), and pronounce the horse expired.  All this usually takes less than five minutes start to finish.

This was done outside, near the driveway.  To remove a dead horse from inside a building is very difficult.  By taking her outside before performing the euthanasia, we were able to put her down in a spot that made removing the carcass easy.  At the horse farm, we have designated a grassy area near the driveway for this task.

Around here, there is a service we can call to retrieve and dispose of the carcass.  It is not cheap, partially because they have to come from about an hour away, and partially because they have to obtain permits from the Department of Environmental Quality for burying the carcass, which is pretty large (roughly 1000 pounds). They are only allowed so many permits/burials per year. Current price:  $300.  Like I said, not cheap, but it's pretty much our only option in this area anymore.  People with lots of land, and a backhoe, or a friend with a backhoe, do it much cheaper but on the hush-hush so as to not get in trouble with the DEQ.

Yesterday made equine #6 that I personally have held while the vet performed the euthanasia.  That is why my Dad makes the Dr. Kevorkian jokes whenever I mention we had to put another horse to sleep.  What can I say?  If you're around horses long enough, and especially if you manage a horse farm, it's something you will have to do sooner or later.

Reset

I don't know about all of you, but December was a tough one for me.  So much needing done, unexpected auto repairs, having to retrieve DD1 from college out of state (and the rockiness that has been transitioning back to having her living at home again), the death of my grandmother. . .  and less than a week later having to put Old Dog to sleep. . .  Well, I'm really glad to see January get here.

With the new year, I'm pushing the 'reset' button on life.  Taking a deep breath, taking a step back for perspective, taking notes on changes to make and prioritizing things that need to be done, taking charge again.

Reset on my weight loss/exercise efforts, which got totally blown out of the water the last half of December.  I'm glad to only have gained 2 pounds over the holidays, but I miss my daily workouts during the week.  Time to re-implement those.  Not only do they keep me trimmed and toned, but getting a good heart-pounding sweat on boosts my mood for the day too.

Reset my decluttering and cleaning efforts.  Somehow what DD1 was able to fit into half of a dorm room seems to be sprawled throughout my house, no longer containable in a small space.  Add to that the influx of new items from Christmas gifts and I'm getting positively itchy from all the disorganization.

Reset on a daily and weekly schedule now that the holidays are over, guests have returned home (or will be returning soon--DS1 and crew left today, DS2 leaves this weekend to go back to college).  It sure was nice to have all of my children home for the holidays this year, and to see all the extended family that we did, but it will be nice to get back to a predictable routine.

Reset on my menu goals.  I haven't posted any new squash recipes in a few weeks because, well, we slacked off on eating squash.  The one time we did cook it, it was an old favorite method: steaming.  Also with the busy-ness, we fell back into the old high-carb way of eating--lots of pasta, lots of potatoes.  Time to get back to the more balanced protein to carb ratio, with the carbs being veggies other than potatoes.

Reset the household budget.  With tax changes, and other costs increasing, time to examine our income and expenses, check if we are meeting our financial goals, and rewrite the budget if necessary.  It sure would be nice to put a bit more in savings this year, especially since what we had got eaten up with repairs to vehicles (water pump, plugs, wires and O2 sensor on the Suburban; new battery for the little red car) and travel expenses (1500 miles of gas to move DD1 home, plus another 500 miles worth or so--plus a hotel room and eating out--for attending my grandmother's funeral).

How about you?  What things are you wanting to push the reset button on now that a new year is started?