Happy New Year!

Ok, so I’m a little late, but I can explain…

I had a wonderful time for Christmas with my cousin, Glenna (see this post). We sat around and I knit and she read, and we talked and laughed and cried, ate prime rib, drank wine and margaritas, and generally let our hair down. The time was too short. She is the perfect guest!  I also dyed some yarn for projects - some are included later in this post.

The day that she came, I had a farrier appointment (pony pedicures). It took me 20 minutes to catch Merlin after he busted out of the barn :-(  I’ve been having trouble with him for awhile, and have hesitated to mention it here – the upshot is that he’s dangerous because the human race let him down. I had decided to take him to the local livestock auction while Glenna was here (some of the source of tears).

I have $100,000 knees – I don’t want to mess them up “saving” a damaged horse. His behavior is like that of a fear bitter dog. If he’s cornered, he fights – he’s too big to fight with. He also picks on Chris, who is currently injured and lame because of some interaction (but getting better), and harasses the alpacas. Life will be much calmer for the large quadrupeds when he’s gone.

I hadn’t planned to get another equine (you can tell where this is going...).

There is a feedlot in eastern Washington that a group rescues horses bound for slaughter and rehomes them. I was cruising CL last week and found this:

(can you say "dressage pony?")

She’s a 10 year old, grulla quarter pony, 13.3 hands. I called – she was still available for adoption. In their evaluation, they found her responsive to leg and rein, and very calm.

My New Year’s plan was to go to Prineville, spend the 31st with Correy, cook duck and hang out. We did that, but on New Year’s Day, she and I drove to Washington to pick up the pony. We arrived at the holding area (half-way house for feedlot rescues), to find her happily munching away on a large bale of hay with other horses. Since she was near the fence, I held my hand out with a treat. At first, she was “busy” eating, but kept looking over. Finally, she came up, took the treat, and let me scratch her – ears, neck, shoulder (beautifully sloped), pretty much anywhere. When I put the halter on her, she just stood there calmly. She leads beautifully – slack lead line, head just slightly ahead of my shoulder. She also loaded in the trailer nicely. All in all, she seems to be a very level-headed, easy-going, and very friendly.

She’s still at Correy’s, in quarantine. Being a feedlot rescue, they have been exposed to various diseases, and Correy has the ability to separate her, where I don’t. After a couple of weeks, depending on the weather, I’ll drive over to bring her home. I’m hoping to get some riding in this winter – hauling the little one will be much easier than shoe-horning Chris (once he’s sound) into the trailer! I’ve named her Kiri – her previous name was Jingles. My mom’s childhood nickname was Jingle, and somehow it just didn’t seem appropriate to call her that.

The kittens are running rampant – Chaos has slept under my bed, and in the living room on a sweater – he’s really coming around. The other two, Mayhem and Ted, are still pretty standoffish, but they come running for food. Last night, they were both in my bedroom while I was reading; Mayhem sniffing my hand, Ted just watching from around behind the dresser – progress.

Harry and Lyra are good, though Harry is fighting his flea allergy. I’m going to try some new stuff, as Frontline seems to have stopped working.

I’ve also been knitting. I used some of the yarn (see this post) that I had spun to make this cowl. It’s warm and I really like it!

Note the tassel - it's kind of my signature.  I love putting I-cord and tassels on things - this helps me get it on the same way each time.

I’m making another out of merino/silk from KnitPicks that I dyed – the Victorian Neck Cozy from Ravelry (link here). The copy of the pattern that I printed was in black and white – the yarn I dyed is a lot like the yarn in the color picture!

I’m also working on another hat, this one’s for Correy. Her maternal line is of Sami extraction (Northern Scandinavia, Lapp, with a little Alaskan native thrown in), so I’m using some of those colors and patterns in my “yurt for your head” style. It’s barely underway here, but it’s a start!

 I have resolved to increase my fitness level and eat better. It’s so cliché, but I really need to do something about my cardio-vascular fitness. To that end, I’m embarking on riding my bike (on a wind trainer) three times a week, and looking for healthier meals. I’m starting slowly – don’t want to shock my system, or anything…

So far, I’ve had almost 30 inches of rain since 11/1/10. The storm on its way this week should top that. The ground has been frozen for the last few days, giving everyone a respite from the mud.

I’m also welcoming back the sun. I did chores last night until after 5:00, and it was still light enough to see – YAY!