T-minus I don't want to think about it...

Whew – had to go back to work to get a rest!

Saturday, I was the energizer bunny – I unloaded 20 bales of hay into the barn, rearranged part of the barn to accommodate more hay to come, loaded up the truck for the first of several dump runs (it’s right down the street – why don’t I go more often?), and drove to Corvallis to get sack feed. At the current time, the sacks of feed are still in the truck.

When I got home, I hit the wall… big time.

Sunday was spent on pain meds and reading a book – so much for getting the turkeys moved! However, there is progress on their new pen:

I need to back up – Friday was Pony Pedicure day. Some of you may remember when Merlin got done last time and the blow up we had (see this post). This time, I broke my vow not to catch the boys in the barn – it was the easiest thing to do. Since they both have issues (Chris weaves, Merlin leaves his body), I got them in with their vitamins, and lots of hay, and fed everyone else. I came back and stood between these rather large brown hunks of horse, and calmed them down. Chris started eating, and Merlin actually came back to his body! They both ate some, and then when the farrier arrived, I caught Chris and tied him up (since I can), and caught Merlin and held him. Of course, Chris was the perfect gentleman for his pedicure – his feet are really awful (cracked and split), but I can see where the new growth is coming out much better with the supplements that they’ve been getting. Merlin was a little apprehensive, but I had filled my pockets with treats, and so long as he was eating or looking for a treat, he was fine. He did really well. Meanwhile, the alpacas were standing around the outside of the barn humming and wondering what was going on.
Since then, Merlin has been more accepting of me coming up to him loose in the pasture and patting and petting him, and he even seeks me out for strokes. He’s still very much 9 going on 2 – and I will start him over in a logical, calm progression as soon as I’m mobile again.

And just because they’re cute, here’s an updated picture of the piggy girls:

See this post (link here) for the contrast in size…

Speaking of mobile – in 1 ½ weeks, I’ll have new knees. I know better than to listen to all the horror stories that people tell about what they’ve heard, but I want to be on my feet as quickly as possible, and I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen. I need to be able to drive back to work in about 3-4 weeks. I have the choice of the short (lots of bending to get in) automatic Volvo, or the tall (easier to get in and out) standard truck. Neither is great, but I’ll make it work.

I’m almost done with my dad’s sweater:

About 20 years ago, he and my mom were in Maine and bought enough Peace Fleece yarn for my mom to make a sweater. Over the years, she’s knit and ripped, knit and ripped, and never finished it. When my sister and I were going through all of her stuff after she passed last September, we found the balls of yarn and the ribbing. I told my dad I’d take it home and knit it. Well, as you can imagine, the yarn was toast. There were lots of places where it had been chewed completely through, and more that were only partially chewed. On top of that, the yarn was just plain awful to handle. So, I called my dad to get permission to chuck it and get new yarn. Permission was given – my sister bought the yarn and I have been knitting off and on since December. I found a pattern in an old Interweave Knits that was close to what I wanted, and with modifications, I was off and running. Since my Dad is coming up to stay with me, I wanted to have it done before he got here. Right now, as you can see, all I have left is to sew the right sleeve on, sew up the underarm seam, and put the buttons on.

YAY! I’m very proud of myself. The yarn is Knit Picks’, Wool of the Andes worsted in Arctic Pool Heather (the picture does not do it justice). I really like this yarn – I buy a lot of it to dye to sell, since it’s rather inexpensive. It has a really nice handle and their heather shades have a real depth to them. The buttons are hand-cast pewter from The Ram's Horn - they have beautiful stuff (link here).

Since I am not able to do everything I wanted, I’m scaling back my preparations. The turkey house is almost done, and with the installation of roosts, birds, food and water, I’m calling it good. I would like to get more feed stockpiled. The house is coming along, but needs more work. I’m getting there… Really!