she's just saying...

Knit your chicken a sweater

From the BBC, in honor of Amber and her chickens.

In from the cold: chilly chickens given a winter warmer

" How would you feel? One minute you're in a warm battery shed [laying shed]squashed up alongside someone who's pecking out your feathers - the next you're out in an open field with nothing to protect you from the elements. Thank the Lord for chicken jumpers...

Queenie and her three friends are feeling the cold a little more than most this winter.

Recovered from a battery farm in November last year, they were largely without feathers and - away from the artificial heat of the chicken sheds - have been feeling the winter weather.

Click here for video:	Chickens with jumpers

But owner Brigitte Hawley from Benenden has come up with a clever way of allowing her hens to enjoy the outside world, while being as snug as their more feathered friends.

A knitted chicken jumper - or 'Chux Tux' as Brigitte calls it - is the latest must-have item for feather-challenged chickens exploring the brave new world outside of the battery.

Poultry pullies

The 'Tux' can come in different designs depending on which parts of the bird are in need of insulation. Brigitte can also create poultry pullies in a variety of colours.

These hens have all been re-housed by the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, a charity that works with farmers to give a new lease of life to 'spent' battery hens when their egg productivity starts to take a slide.

The good news is that once out in the open - and with the help of a Chux Tux - the hens soon start to re-grow their feathers. Great news for Queenie and for the next reformed battery hen to inherit her winter coat."

I'm in love...

with my knitting group. A stimulating mix of women from early 20's to late 60's (guessing here!) who have instantly bonded over sticks and string. They're funny, smart, positive, open-minded, nonconformist, creative - all the things I look for in my companions. New faces keep arriving and the group welcomes them in. Not to mention the good wine and food.

I can't say I get a lot of knitting done at our gatherings, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. If you're interested, click on the Bend Knit-Up link to the right. (Or left. Things keep moving around here.)

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

 

Yes! Success! After two days of messing with it, the blog is back up and better than ever (I hope). So no excuses for not posting comments! I seem to have lost a bunch of my old ones in the move, but I cherish each one I receive.

So don't be shy, or be shy and be anonymous, but do post back. It would make me so happy to hear from you (a little mother guilt there). Thanks!

moving day

I've had it with Blogger.com and am moving my blog to Typepad. As my dad loves to say, "you get what you pay for." Hopefully I won't lose you all in the process. Bear with me as I rebuild the whole thing, redirect the domain, import posts, re-categorize, build widgets, re-format, etc. etc. All I can say is that once again it's an opportunity for learning . . .

Good thing I have a lot of spare time at the moment.

doggone blog gone

IF U CN RD THS it means my blog is back up. It just disappeared again today for no reason. I'm getting really fed up with blogger.com.  It might be time to switch to typepad. What a hassle.

Flash

I realized I've only posted about my cats, and the dog is getting jealous. So here's a little about him.

His name is Flash and he's a border collie/heeler mix. He's turning 11 this month and is as energetic as ever, just not quite as often. He's got all the border collie traits: obsessed about frisbees, a bit too smart, loyal, bossy, and OCD. He has no use for other dogs as they get in the way of his "work," which is bugging humans to play fetch ALL THE TIME. He's kind of barky and a little more protective than necessary.

He's known throughout the neighborhood for his endearing habit of barking furiously while spinning in a tight circle when people walk by. I can identify my address by saying I'm on the corner with the spinning dog, and everyone knows it immediately.

He's getting older and it's starting to show: he's crazy all day but at night he has that little old man stiffness and a limpy shoulder. He's been part of my life for almost all my years in Bend and I can't imagine living without him. 

Labels: Bend, dog, pets

What's on the needles

Monthly tally of all my WIP's (works-in-progress to you non-knitters).

1. Two socks on two circular needles: Cascade Fixation
2. Two socks on two circs: Trekking
(I can explain why I have two pair started at once - Judy taught a group at my house on Sat. and I had to jump in and participate, of course. But socks don't count anyway - this is something upon which all knitters agree. Just like sock yarn in stash.)



3. The child's guernsey in cotton that will never die or be finished (H now says he wants it, so I have to re-knit the ribbing I started to pull out, never mind the sleeves, etc.) This is threatening to move to the "in hibernation" status.
4. The entrelac scarf which I've got to finish before our entrelac felted bag knit-along starts NEXT WEEK.
5. Various swatches for future projects which of course don't count either, I really don't even know why I'm mentioning them.

Not so bad! Knitting Daily did a poll on how many UFO's (unfinished objects) the average knitter has going. The bell curve average is 3-6, so I'm right in there. Especially as 23% of respondents have 10 or more going.

I've decided that by airing my count monthly, I can't get too far gone - it's keeping me from a secretive casting-on binge. I'm actually one of those knitters for whom UFO's create a bit of anxiety and nagging guilt, but I do like having options to knit among depending on the setting.

OK, all you knitters out there, what's YOUR count?

Labels: knitting

Caging the peonies

(And it's pronounced PEE'-uh-nee, not pee-OH'-nee, by the way.)

So, the reluctant gardener became the active gardener, of course. Just as inevitably the plants and flowers begin to awaken each spring, so does the urge to mess with them.

I did a little preventive maintenance this week (unlike me - normally I wait until things are completely out of control).

I bought and installed peony cages. Seems cruel, I know, but it's for their own good.

I'm also messing around with the irrigation now before the grass is all burnt in July and it's too late.

I've ended up with way too many garden beds and zones to deal with. The front beds, the street strip, the rhody glen, the side garden and path, the back 40, the vegetable plot and the xeroscape area. Not to mention the porch and patio pots, the water feature and the rock garden in back. And the herb boxes. Each year I start the season by saying this is the year I'm not going to do anything and let it all go wild, and each year I find myself at Schillings with a $150 bill in early May.

I'm not complaining, just observing the natural and inevitable change of seasons, both outside and within.

Labels: Central Oregon, garden, seasons

tunnel vision

Hello. My name is Melissa, and I have glaucoma.

I always thought really old people got glaucoma, but there you have it. I was diagnosed several years ago, with no symptoms and normal eye pressures at the time. Two different doctors detected some optic nerve damage during my routine eye exams (2nd opinions: good). No one else in my family history has had it, and there's no identifiable cause, but it's been progressing steadily over the last several years.

Thankfully, I have no loss of vision or other symptoms yet. But I've been on a number of different eye drops that have not been able to control my increasing eye pressure, and today I had the first of several laser procedures in an attempt to slow the progress. Basically, they burned little holes in my right eye to reduce the pressure. In a few weeks I go back for treatment of the other eye.

I find it hard to admit publicly -- it just sounds so weird and how do you put it again old. But if I can get it, so can you, so go get your eyes checked. It's a 2-minute, painless test that could keep you from going blind. Is that motivation enough?

End of public service announcement. I'm going to go knit.

Labels: glaucoma, pov

getting back on the (work) horse

My consulting gig just got a nice new contract. Work is a good thing, I've realized yet again. What with parenting frustrations and relationship failures, it's about the only arena I get consistent positive feedback.

And parenting is the only time that I constantly doubt myself, regret my actions, and generally feel like I'm screwing up. But I digress.

I like the work I do, and I realize every day that I'm lucky to be able to say that. Unlike so many others, I know what I want to do, and I'm pretty much doing it. Unfortunately, not quite enough to live on, but that's a different post.

Labels: solo parenting, work

Breakups...

suck.

Just when you think you're ok, you get blindsided out of nowhere by the realization that it's over. Of course, you somehow only remember the sweet moments and completely forget the misery of the bad.

Which would you rather have, the pain in the relationship or the pain of it being gone?

Moot point, as it is over, and is not coming back.

Which you know rationally is a good thing, but which means nothing when your heart is broken.

Labels: pov

Pinch me

I must be dreaming. If you haven't heard, Beck and Wilco are both performing here in Bend the same weekend, Aug. 23 and 24. The summer is looking up.

Got my tix already! Who else is going?

Labels: Bend, music

entrelac-less

I pulled out the "Silk Garden" entrelac block. I realized it was too wide for a scarf and too small for a purse or pillow or anything - it was useless, actually. Weirdly, it took all evening to take out, as it got very knotted up and nasty. Started up again much narrower to make a scarf.

It really takes a lot of repetition to understand the stitch. It's all about reading the knitting and remembering the sequences. Since it's widely known I have no short-term memory, this is proving to be tricky.

And the instructions are tedious.
I think I'll have to make a cheat sheet.

Labels: knitting

croup-ier

Is that a sea lion in the kitchen at 4 am?

No, it's only H with the croup. A quaint old-fashioned virus, it causes kids to cough like a barking seal in the middle of the night. As we can attest.

Trying to keep a perpetual motion machine quiet isn't easy. Lots of lame movies and TV shows, hot tea with honey and lemon, chasing away the neighborhood kids, tying him to the bed. Just kidding.

I caught him on the phone in the bathroom, calling a friend to see if he could come play.

Meanwhile, I'm at home as well. Why do we feel guilty when we're home from work, even with a legit excuse? And it's not that I have much work to do, and it can all be done from home. Still I feel like I'm skipping school, not being able to enjoy it while I'm waiting to be caught.

Meanwhile, the seal is hungry - that never changes.

Labels: solo parenting, son

hell no I won't go

I can't face getting up at 4 am Sat. to stand in line to sign H up for the Bend Parks & Rec summer programs. The doors open at 7, so to get your choices, you truly have to line up at 5. 5 AM outside, that is. It's cold and dark and miserable. We huddle in chairs and blankets, wearing our ski gear, waiting it out. Many jokes about how a few years ago, it would have been for concert tix.

Just as bad is the upcoming signup for Kids Inc, the before/after-school care BPR runs in the local schools. Great program, limited space. Last year I got in line at 5, and people were camped out from the night before. It was miserable, boring, cold and damp under the trees at Hollinshead Barn.

I love love love BPR (not only because they're a great client of BendFocus) for the incredible job they do with programs, parks and trails. But there's GOT to be another solution for this registration fiasco.

What it does is reward the most determined, obsessive, clued-in parents who are able to stand in line for hours those mornings. Those who aren't in the know, are new to town or don't have the resources to get there early are screwed for summer camps or childcare for the school year.

Which is fairer, a random drawing or survival of the most determined?

I don't know, but for summer at least, I'm going to attempt the on-line registration that opens at 7am tomorrow and hope their server can take it. And you'll see me in line at 5 am for Kids Inc in a few weeks.

Labels: Bend, pov, rant, solo parenting, son

a change of seasons, and I don't mean the weather

A work update (names have been changed to protect etc.):

Our wonderful company has been acquired by the big globe, a long-planned event that was the finish line for us from the start. It's thrown our 350+ employees into a state of flux while the orb sorts through the bodies and determines our fates.

Very weird time! We're assured of several months of employment regardless, but my group has very little to do right now. By very little, I mean nothing. (Hence the blog.)

Lots of emotions running through the group: sadness, excitement, boredom, anxiety, impatience, relief. Nothing's happening but it's all we talk about.

I'm feeling all those myself, with a lot of anticipation mixed in. I've always liked change. For someone easily bored, it keeps things interesting. No idea where I'll end up, though I think it would take a major earthquake to launch me from Bend. There are a couple of potential options out there and I'm pretty confident that there will be more to come. I've always landed on my feet and in good shape in events like this previously. I have to trust the odds and keep, for lack of a better word, the faith.

Labels: Bend, blog, seasons, work

Anybody? Anybody?

Feel free to chime in with meeting location ideas, or anything else for that matter. I'm feeling a little alone here . . .

Labels: blog

Where can we meet?

Another fun gathering of the Bend Knit-Up last night. The new shop is very cool - old building, great light, more wine choices and good energy. Unfortunately, we don't think it's going to work for us going forward - we're too big for the room! We could easily take every seat in the place, scaring off the walk-in traffic. Plus, we're feeling a little too much pressure to buy food and wine, at fancy wine shop prices.

The ongoing search for a good meeting spot in Bend continues.

Our criteria: good lighting, guaranteed seating for at least 20, parking, not noisy (we make our own), ability to bring in food and drink or get it there. Oh, and cheap (or free!) as we meet weekly.

Places we've tried or that aren't available: Starbucks, the Tea House, library (unavailable), Athletic Club, Barnes & Noble (we meet there on Friday mornings - that's enough for them).

Does anyone have any ideas for us?

Labels: Bend, Knit-Up, knitting