Sometimes, a change is gonna come...

I've been putting off writing this post for about 2 months. 

I've put my house up for sale. Annie is in training and not at home, Prize went to a much better home than I could give him, given the craziness that is currently my life.  It's very weird not having livestock at home (other than poultry). With Annie in training until mid-September, I don't have to worry about her. When I pick her up, she'll be rideable, and I will be able to continue her training in dressage and driving. Kiri will be caring for the 'Tater (Who's Your Daddy), who won't be weaned until at least December, and probably later, given that mid-winter isn't a good time for that kind of stress.

I have come to the realization that I can't live where it rains 80-90 inches per year.  I have asthma, and this last year has just about killed me.  My 1984, semi-permeable mobile home is full of mold, mildew and assorted fungi - probably the reason I developed my anaphylactic mushroom allergy. I have had more lung problems in the last 2 years, than all the years before, and find myself increasingly short of breath (ok, I'm out of shape, too, but not that bad...).

I've also realized that I'm not like normal people.  I thrive on change.  Oh, I can stay put in a job for several years, but then I need to be doing something different. I've been at my current job for 6 years.  To say that I'm feeling chaffed, is putting it mildly - twitchy is a better adjective. My current job is as close to a dream job as you can get - good people, good, interesting stuff to do, and good pay.  However, it's in a location that will do me in. 

Some of my favorite jobs were temporary in nature.  I would go, clean things up, kick butt, take names - they loved me and I moved on. Life was good.  I also really enjoyed working for myself, setting my own hours, doing fun stuff in between doing my work.  I'm not all that concerned with my future - so long as I keep putting in my share, the universe has always provided what I need at the time.

So, my plan is to sell the house (mainly the land - the house isn't worth much), and move east to central Oregon.  The climate is more like Reno - I miss that way more than I thought I would.  It's has more "big sky" than where I live now. Walton is in a canyon, and while the trees and green are very nice, my eyes are feeling squished. 

By the end of summer (Sept/Oct) I will have relocated.

The hardest part right now is that I feel like I've failed as a farmer.  Anybody can have chickens...  Someday, I'll have another place and have pigs and sheep and maybe goats (along with the ponies), but for now, even the chickens are going to a new home soon (which they already have, thank goodness). It's very strange not to have hooved stock outside the back door - that's what brought me to Oregon in the first place! I wanted a place where my sheep could graze for at least part of the year, so I wouldn't have to feed so much hay. Now I have unused hay in my barn.  It won't go to waste - I'll haul it over to Correy to help feed Kiri and 'Tater. But it's like it's the end of a dream. I'm hoping it's just a suspension, and that I'll get back to it. 

The universe may have other ideas, though.  There are other things in the works, which are too nebulous to mention now.  If they solidify, I'll post about them later.

In the meantime, I'm purging stuff like mad.  I'm hoping to get down to just the bare essentials beyond bed, loom, fiber stuff, cd's and books - that's not asking too much, is it?

Reno and back in 4 days...

Ok, so "normal people don't do that...  But I never said I was normal!

I took Kiri over to Correy's on the 27th, and we left from there Saturday morning, traveling through Klamath Falls, Alturas and into Reno.  It was snowing almost all the way down (not sticking, thankfully), an being drier on the east side, the road was mostly dry, too.  That meant I could actually cruise at 70 mph, which my truck likes, very, very much - I got 17.1 mpg on that leg of the trip (less than one tank of gas from Bend and over 500 miles).

We got to my sister's, who was not home, and went to dinner with my dad, who had beat us by a day coming up from So. Cal. with the trailer.  We went to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Golden Flower, where we had War Won Ton Pho, and salad rolls - yum!

Side note:  I'm still not used to the fact that I'm a) allergic to mushrooms (like, epi-pen allergic), and b) they're in everything.  Of course they are in the pho...  I picked mine out and gave them to Correy.  Fortunately, my reaction doesn't set in until about 30 minutes later, by which time we were back at my sister's.  I was feeling a little weird (like my head was full of helium) - oh, and did I mention that I left my epi-pen at home?? - so I took two benedryl.  I haven't reached the stage of being instantly affected, nor do my breathing passages close up quickly, so the benedryl still works.  But if I don't quit forgetting, pretty soon, I'll be in trouble...

On Sunday, we kind of lazed around, went shopping at Borders and Jimmy Beans Wool (yes, I bought yarn), and I made Alpaca shank stew.  Unfortunately, while we were out, my sister and BIL came home, and he turned the crockpot down, so they didn't cook in time, changing dinner plans.  We salvaged them and had them on Monday.

Monday morning, Correy and I went out to Red Rock and visited with Sharon and Mim.  After a tour of the pastures and seeing the sheep and adorable goats, we hung out in the Womb Woom - talking fiber, playing with the dogs and cats, and catching up.  We left in time to meet Allison and Amy at Walden's Coffeehouse for lunch.  What fun - Amy and Allison duelling with their iPads and we were all laughing.  It was really, really good to see all the Reno friends - I miss them.

Got back to my sister's, where we were expecting my niece, Harmony and her husband, Jeff, my nephew, Mackenzie, and his girlfriend, Aubrie. They were all adventurous enough to try the alpaca stew (and loved it...), along with the bbq'd chicken and roasted veggies - it being Memorial Day, bbq-ing was mandatory.

We left early (5:43 am) on Tuesday to wend our way back home, trailer in tow (dang - I forgot to take pictures!!).  We had quartering, cross and headwinds all the way up and still got 11.5 mpg pulling the trailer! After dropping Correy off at her daughter's in Creswell, I got home at 5:30 pm - whew, what a long day!

Everyone at home was very pleased to see me...  I was very glad to sleep in my own bed.

Home again!

It's a girl!!

I delivered Kiri to Correy's house Friday evening, and then we left for Reno (more on that trip in a later post).

I was on the phone with my sister, whose birthday is today, when Correy called to let me know Kiri was no longer pregnant, and had delivered a filly sometime late last night or early this morning.  Her name is "Who's Your Daddy," barn name to be determined.  It appears that she will be bay, with a left hind sock and a star. Correy's mare is not interested at all, for all that she's due anytime now, as well!

So, debut pictures:

Kiri looks relieved .  Correy says she's not pleased with the calves trying to check the filly out!  I can't wait to get over there to play with her!!