Sadie's Cone

Remember my jogging buddy Sadie?  It is too cold now for me to be outside much because it bothers my athsma and all the bad weather bothers Sadie too.  Poor Sadie - since the arrival of snow and ice and SALT - she licks and licks and licks her paws and gets them all split and sore.  She has a mighty limp going on right now.  The only way to get her to leave her paws alone is to put on the cone.  Doesn't she look like an angel dog with her halo?

She is such a sweet dog and just loves it when I come over - here she is trying her hardest to get in close to say hi - except that cone thing hurts when she bangs it into your leg.  Ouch!

Here is her "little sister" Sophie.  Sophie is a mini Australian Shepherd.  My sister has always had labs and full sized A. Shepherds and Sophie is the 1st mini.  She is ever so soft and energetic.  And she loves to steal anything you put down - last time I was over she stole my sneaker before it was completely off my foot!  Last night I held on to them as I took them off and put them in the closet - but believe me - she was standing right there at the ready.

Their very beautiful Christmas tree!

While we visited I worked on my sock.  Almost done, but I am thinking I need to rip back a bit and start the toe decrease further up?  I don't know what happened here because usually I knit until I am a few rows above where my big toe starts and then start decreasing and get a perfect fit.  This time - well, I still have 2 toes sticking out.  No problem, I thought I would just add a few more rows but this is needing more and already my sock is starting to have a chimney.  Hummm.  Any ideas?

Concert of... Boots

One of my nephews is in a school choir - they go to school EARLY to practice.  They just had their series of holiday concerts.  I didn't go to the night time one at school, but they had another performance at the local senior center during the afternoon that I went to.  It was a full house, I tell you and very well received.  Here are some photos of the great art work that the school had on exhibit in the hall.  Fun, right?
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What struck me as very funny, as the kids were lining up and trying to get into position - how many were wearing Ugg boots.  I think my feet would be too hot if I wore boots all day as shoes, but it is the very "in" style statement in this area!  There are 17 kids in the choir and here you can see 5 pairs of Uggs!  I wonder how many more kids they would have if practice was after school instead of in the wee hours of morning before school!  Based on the size of the class, 17 is a very strong turnout.

It was a great concert - the kids all worked hard and put lots of spirit into their performance!  It was so nice that they were able to be bused over to the Senior Center to give this extra performance.

A Writing Exercise

Do you like to write?  I like to write.  And every once in awhile I actually put my mind into it and have a little fun. 
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A couple of weeks ago I went to a little writing group with my sister (she goes weekly).  We were given 5 prompts to pick from and then 20 minutes to free write.  Afterward we got to read what we wrote and the group would discuss what they LIKED about the piece (this exercise re-enforces the strong points/phrases in your story).  The variety of writing was great - poetry, prose, stories - lots of things to make you think.
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Want to try?  Just pick one of the prompts below, set the timer for 20 minutes and write - incorporating your prompt somewhere in what you write.  If you need a few extra minutes - take them, but really the idea is to wrap up your writing time in "about" 20 minutes.    I have never done a Mr. Linky post before but if I can figure it out I will do another blog post and put a Mr. Linky spot on it for sharing.
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Here are the prompts we were given:
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1.  Something seemed different
2.  Some things you will never forget
3.  It's all you could expect
4.  I can't remember
5.  It's too soon to tell
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And here is what I wrote (I couldn't pick just 1 prompt so then went ahead and tried to use all 5 within the 20 minute writing time).  Just remember -this is the unedited version of what I wrote free-hand with pen and paper that day.  It needs some tidying up, especially with the verb tenses, etc., but it has potential - somewhere along the line.  Who knows?  I keep my writing in a 3 ring binder.  Really messy pieces I type and print out (believe me - I scribble all over my paper!).  But more often than not - I just stick the scribbled paper in my binder.  Well, we all have good intentions, right?  And only 24 hours in each day.  But anyway - on to the writing exercise:
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Long and mournful, the foghorn's call beckoned.  The sound slowly wrapping around the scrubby pine trees, drifting down the steep rocks and floating out to sea on the dense fog.  From the top of the cliff Nettie stopped her careful descent down the slippery slope and paused to listen.  Something seemed different.  The foghorn brought a new memory.  The sound came again and wrapped around Nettie's heart slowly nudging her memory.  Secrets long held only in the darkest part of her nightly slumber - just a whisper of something that happened in the far distant past.  
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The combination of the fog, the foghorn,   standing high on the cliff - all were pricking her subconcious.  "I can't remember", she uttered.  But she was lying to herself.  She did remember that frightful night so long ago.  "I can't remember", the words were sad and thick in her throat.  She stood and looked down at the fog and listened to the crashing of the waves below.  It's all you could expect on a night like this.  The nothingness but this place here and now.  She listened waiting for the foghorn's call again.  Rooted in her spot up so high from the tragedy that haunted her.  This nighttime misery she endured time and time again.  Because the foghorn had a story to tell.  And slowly Nettie would remember bits and pieces.  A mind will shut down, close off memories, but some things you will never forget.  The memory is there - behind a locked door.  She wanted the foghorn to finish the story.  So she waited and waited because the pieces of her past were floating around and around in her head waiting to be put together.  Could she will her unconscious mind to reveal her true past to herself?  It was too soon to tell.  But she knew this.  The foghorn held the key to the locked door.
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OK - so that is what I wrote.  Now it is your turn!

Making a Few Small Christmas Presents

I finally set-up my sewing machine for an afternoon on the dining room table.  After cutting a bunch of squares I set my sister to work sewing them together.  And we made this cute little doll quilt for one of my niece's.  It isn't finished in this photo - I need to get a piece of flannel for the back and will tie the intersecting seams with purple embroidery floss.  And you need a matching pillow for a doll quilt, right?  Except I didn't have enough of those fabrics (I used 2 fat quarters) to make a pillow so I used muslin for the center and bordered it with the print fabric - dark purple on one side, light purple on the other.  I think it is cute!
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And since I was on a roll, I continued right on and made a few lavender sachets.  You can't see too well in this photo, but I did use a decorative stitch along the outside edge.  They are always a fun little gift to tuck into a small gift bag with a bit of tissue paper.

Christmas Tree Season

You can count on me to love any Christmas tree.  I have had all sorts of fake ones - hand made ones too, even a white one that my Mom declared looked like a toilet bowl brush.  And real ones - some years we have had really interesting real trees.  Once my Dad brought home a one sided real one - Mom said "no way".  So Dad went back out into the woods and found the twin and we tied the 2 together - the tree was pretty rounded at the bottom and then the top branched out - we had a 2 top tree that year!  And just the other day one of my sister's and I were remember Nana & Grandpa's old silver tree that had a colored disc that went around and around and turned the tree red, blue, gold and green.  Funny!
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Above - one of my sister's real trees (I have lots of sisters so don't even try to keep them all straight!).  I have clearer photos, but I sort-ov liked the blurry light effect.  Even though that means you don't get to see all their great ornaments that her daughter did an excellent job of getting just so on that tree.  We got it this past weekend from a really fun tree lot.  They had lots of trees staked to the ground so you could see how they looked.  Nice trees!

They had nice wreaths.

But the very best part of all - they had a bon-fire set up with s'mores fixings (the good stuff - Hershey's chocolate!), hot apple cider and hot chocolate.  No extra charge!  This is their 1st year selling trees and I would say that everyone will come back again next year.  Who can say no to a new tradition involving s'mores and Christmas trees! 

Oh - and a very friendly black lab - but I forgot to take his photo.

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Here is a photo of the tree where I am right now - someone lent it to us and the decorations.  I think it looks pretty at night with the lights on.  My sister (a different one) is going to draw an angel and we are going to make a cone to tape it onto for the topper.  If you have an extra tree in the basement or garage - maybe someone in your community would like it.  I am happy that someone had an extra for us.

Last weekend we went to my nephew & his familys house.  We decorated that tree and had a nice family dinner.  Don't ask me what my crazy camera did for this photo, but here you go.

In Austria, my husband's sister uses real candles and glass ornaments.  The tree doesn't get set up until Christmas Eve and comes down before New Years.  It is a real tree but shaped differently than what I am used to with big spaces between the branches to allow for those candles.

I always like my own ornaments - when I am where they are at Christmas!  We have lots of apples, beads, crochet snowflakes, angels, musical instruments, birds, little wrapped presents and a great assortment of ornaments - even one that I painted when I was 3 years old... last time I had it all set up was 2 years ago (photo below).  I guess next year I should pack the ornaments and ship them over to Austria (they are in Canada and I am in the US so that plan won't work for this year).  Because my sweet little boy and husband are over there with no ornaments of their own this year - someone is lending them ornaments though and DH plans on getting a small tree this week.

And they do have an Advent wreath (here's a photo from last year) and my collection of rhinestone trees.

And a box of presents from Santa are enroute - winging their way across the ocean even as I type this.  At least if I don't make it over there Santa will.  After all - Santa rides for free in that magical sleigh of his.  Airline tickets are so expensive over the holidays this year that we are juggling plans and trying to make things work without blowing our budget.  But at the very least, you can always count on a tree making things look festive.

Finished My Socks!

Ta-Da!  Finished.  The other night one of my sister's was here visiting and she wove in all the hanging yarns for me while we chatted.  Isn't that great company?  I don't like weaving ends.
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I have cast on a new pair - this pair won't have such long cuffs. Do you ever get to this stage and stop and wonder if you should make your start of a sock into a glove?  I think this pattern would be very pretty for gloves, but maybe in a solid color. 

Knitting is more portable than sewing with a machine, so that is what I am going with these days.  I do have a few small sewing projects I would like to get to, and maybe, maybe I will get around to it some time this week?  Maybe not.  I am busy.  And when I am not busy - I try to get outside to enjoy my beautiful Cape Cod.  Yes, it is cold, but oh so lovely.  

One of these days I might be able to sit down and catch my breath enough to tell you a few good stories, but in the meantime enjoy my photos!  As the saying goes - a picture is worth a thousand words.

Fat Quarter Vase

The other day someone brought my sister these beautiful flowers!  We did not have a vase in the house that was heavy enough to support their weight, but small enough to keep the stems together.  We ended up cutting the top off an Ocean Spray cranberry juice container.  I wrapped a fat quarter around the bottle and tied it into place with a ribbon.  I just love our new vase!  Easy to change the fabric to match the season or your flowers too!  Give it a try!

Borrow a Dog for an Exercise Buddy!

I would love to have a dog, but you all know - with my travel schedule it just is not possible.  But I am from a family of dog lovers, most everyone in my family has one - and believe me, I can borrow a dog!  Why didn't I think of this before?  So, meet my new jogging buddy Sadie.  She is a member of one of my sister's households and seeing that she is a lab - she is always up for a nice little trot.  
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OK, so she could use some help with her leash manners.  She actually tripped me today and I fell, skinning my knuckles.  No major injury thankfully, but now I have added a few knots to her leash so I can easily guide her back over to my right side.  But it really isn't her fault - I think she just doesn't know any better.  She is a trotter - my sister says she pulls wicked on that leash, and I guess she does if you want to just go for a walk.  Like a horse who doesn't want to walk going back to the stable!  But a trot seems like a good pace for her and she is happy enough to trot along side of me.
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Of course, as soon as I try to take her photo, she pulls out into the lead.  I have to gently remind her that we are "partners".  And she seems to be understanding the concept a little bit more.  Don't ask me why, but a long time ago when I had a Rotty - she totally understood Partners but Heel just didn't sink into her thick head.  So, partners it is!

I am so happy to have her with me.  I don't like jogging on the trail all by my lonesome - because I am afraid of coyotees.  Seriously!  Even though I know that running into a pack of coyotees in the middle of the afternoon is a long shot - I hear them yipping all night sometimes.  They make me nervous.  Not sure she would be much of a protector, but I feel better having her along.  So, it is good for the 2 of us.  Trust me - you won't find a more willing and happy jogging partner than an active breed of dog.  A lab fits the bill perfectly!
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I have doctors orders to exercise 3-4 times a week if I can because I have asthma.  Exercise is important for lung capacity so that when I am having a bad day - I still have some breathing room in my lungs.  The doctor told me that the best Rx she could write was exercise (but I do have medicine back-ups!).  I take that seriously and usually I will try to do a 5K at my fast walk/trot pace a few times a week.  I built up to 5K over a period of time.  I do a "mellow" Pilates or yoga video a few times a week too.  I have a few tapes - they all cost about $5 each (a bargain!) and I rotate them around.  Bad air quality means indoor exercise (you can check your area on weatherbug.  And cold air is the worse thing ever for my breathing so that means indoors too if it is very cold.  But if I get lazy or my schedule gets jammed up and I skip exercise altogether, after a few days I really do feel my lungs shutting down a little bit and I start to get short of breath just from something simple like going up the stairs.  
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So, if your Dr. suggests exercise, I highly recommend that you try your best to make it part of your daily schedule!  Sometimes I have a monthly gym membership and then I will do alot of walking on the treadmill.  But I've got to say - it is much more fun with a dog!  If you don't have one, try borrowing one!  I like watching our shadows as we make our way along the trail - no cars allowed!

The Gift of Food

A few weeks ago I was at my sister-in-laws house - she is a great decorator and this is a photo of what she had on display just coming in the door.  Just thought I would share!
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Today's post is about the gift of food.  One of my sister's is recovering from a major surgery - right now I am staying with her and helping out.  When you are sick, you need a full time secretary to keep track of everything, let me tell you.  Nurse visits, doctors appointments, medication schedules, etc.  And I am happy enough cleaning and cooking, keeping her company and knitting on my socks when things are quiet.  Her husband is back at work full time and if I wasn't here she would be alone all day.  And she needs help.  There are just no two ways around it.  It has been good for both of us to hang out together - it has been a long time since we could do that!
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If you know someone who is sick, please consider the gift of food to bring over to the household.  Really.  My sister has been home now for about 3 weeks and we have been really lucky to have a steady supply of food gifts.  Beef stew (yum!), coffee cake, carrot bread, banana bread, turnip soup, winter stew, chicken soup, lentil soup, cookies, muffins, homemade jelly - it has all been eaten.  One weekend my nephew and his wife came and she brought an entire hot cooked meal with her - ribs, potatoes, soup, salad.  Another day she sent over chicken and baked beans, macaroni and cheese.  This week company came for dinner - and they brought the entree of pasta casserole and we fixed the salad.  Don't get me wrong, I am cooking plenty, but sometimes it is nice to just open the fridge and have a selection of things all prepared, just waiting to be heated up.  
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And my nephew's wife - she has the best recipe for baked beans - I have to get that recipe so I can add it to my list of food to gift to other when needed.  Or potlucks!  I don't know though - she makes a great macaroni and cheese too.  I would say it is almost a toss up!

An October Project

October was supposed to be a restful month for me and coming off a long, busy summer I was looking forward to it.  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans!  First off, the end of Sept. some house guests clogged the toilet and then left it running (and left the house - city people?).  By the time it was discovered - the upstairs and downstairs flooring had to be replaced, the bathroom vanity and the ceiling.  This involved 3 trips to the hardware store, which is 3 hours away (6 hours round trip).  I had to unload 40 boxes of hardwood flooring by myself - now that was an accomplishment!  My house was a construction zone for the month.  Besides the fact that you never totally make out with insurance companies, so I was upset about the additional unbudgeted expense, sigh.  
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The living room is long and skinny and after many different furniture arrangements, we have it divided up into a reading/knitting/visiting corner with the TV & TV couch on the other side.  This photo was taken shortly after the flooring was replaced and I haven't been able to clutter up my corner yet!  On the other side of the long couch is the dining room table and that leads into the kitchen.  I have had these futon couches for about 15 years now - love them, especially the little sofa one - it has a matching foot rest that you can use to make a bed if needed, but we use the foot rest with the bigger couch.  The little one is much more comfortable than the big one for sitting on and my son loves the big one for sprawling all over - the perfect pair.  Easy to take the covers off and wash too!
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Well, at least my house will look neat and tidy when I return in the Spring.  Because... once again I am on the road - actually I left Canada before the end of October so it was a big rush to get my house put back together so I could be out the door by my deadline.  And the whole time that construction was going on, I was trying to finalize my financial figures for the quarter, pack my office, pack my stuff and close down the business.  

It was the first time I have ever made this road trip without my son.  It went really fast - I didn't have to stop at every rest area, I could play the radio on whatever station I wanted and I could even blast the A/C when I got tired.  But I still missed him alot.  In a few days we will have been apart for 3 months and I still don't know when I will be going to Austria.  Thank goodness for Skype to help keep us all connected!

One Lonely Sock

Ta-Da!  One sock!  The 2nd one should go much faster because for this one I had to make lots of changes along the way compared to my friends written instructions (which she wrote out by looking at another sock - she just knits with no pattern).  I've written down all my notes.  And then after I knit the 2nd sock for this one, I am going to knit another pair using these directions, with more changes!  I guess that is how one goes about getting a perfect sock pattern for themselves.
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This sock is a bit wide for me, but seeing that it is done - I won't be changing it.  But the next pair - well, I think it will have to be a good 10 stitches narrower through the foot.  See the 2 side-by-side?  You can see that mine is a bit wide but not overly so.
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I have to learn how my friend makes such a perfect rounded toe - even though I grafted my stitches I still have the slightly squared look.  I did some internet searching and came up with the suggestion to slip the outside stitches over each other with a crochet hook before grafting and that will help get roundness.  Any other tips?  But really, look at her perfect toes.  And the decrease stitches fall centered where mine seem to be at the top of the foot.  Hummm.

And look how that sock looks on my feet!  Oh so comfy!  I think part of why I love the red sock so much is the Kroy yarn, but I have to say - I am wearing my blue sock right now and the Regia yarn I used, although thin is very warm!  Warmer than the Kroy (red sock) which is on my other foot.  Any other favorite sock yarns out there?

And how are the rest of you doing with Judy's knit-along? 

Sock Knit Along Progress

This is my little knitting helper - one of my sister's dogs!  She loves to sit on my lap and watch me knit - and I let her do that after we had a serious discussion about NOT stealing my ball of yarn, LOL.  If you look closely at the photo you can see I am wearing my friends red sock - just as a pattern reference, you know? The yarn I am using is Regia - I am not sure I really like it all that much because it is not as soft as Kroy.  I need to find some Kroy for the next pair!  Or is it Croy?  I think it is Kroy and let me tell you - it is a favorite sock yarn with my friends in Canada.
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These are winter socks so have a longer leg.  I am down to the heel split, but have lost my 4th needle - I think I left it another sister's house!  So - hopefully in the next few days I will be able to get my lost needle and get back to knitting.

How about the rest of you?  Socks on the needle?  Oh - and yes, I was going to try the 2 pairs at once method, but first I have to get that 1 ball of yarn divided into 2 and sometimes it is the simpliest of things that seem so difficult at times, so I am happy to stick with my dpn's for this pair!

Meet my Tractors, Part I of a Long Story

I have a sort-ov long story about the history of my tractors.  So, this is 1 segment of the story and then another day I will add another segment because otherwise I think you will be sitting here forever reading about my tractor saga.  
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Exhibit A:  The big Kabota tractor.  It has everything - post hole digger, front end loader, mower deck, york rake, brush hog and rotatiller.  I was originally talked into the purchase of this thing by my husband over 10 years ago because he needed a riding lawn mower.  Take it from me - never fall for the line - "oh, you don't need to go look at it, Honey - they deliver!"    Because this one was too big for the lawn that needed to be mowed.  None-the-less we are well prepared should we ever buy some huge spread somewhere, maybe have a few hundred head of cattle or something? - obviously it would have to be something bigger than our current property.  Well, my Dad likes "yard ornaments", I guess my husband does too.  Except Dad's tractors are really old fashioned and have character.  Got to remember to do a post just in honor of Dad's tractors.  This one is just ugly, but I suppose functional.

Enter Exhibit B:  The "small" Kabota, minus the jumbo grass collector bags that attach to the back.  This one is bigger than your average riding lawn mower.  Actually, it would come in very handy if we ever happen to own - say - a 19 hole golf course some day.  Again - I fell for the line of having the mower delivered.  It does do a hum-dinger of a job mowing - but it needs some sort of service.  Which means I have to either buy a new flatbed trailer (I sold mine because I got tired of driving around all sorts of BIG things for many miles through 2 different countries), or borrow one to get it to the service center.  But I do know some mechanically inclined people who may be able to fix it for me in the spring.  In the meantime, since I am not there and it will be snowing, I am not too worried about it.
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Not tractors, but part of my whole mowing the lawn story:
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Not pictured:  Exhibit C:  The self-propelled Sears lawn mower - the kind you push around.  Because even though we have 2 tractors, we needed something much smaller to get into the smaller spots.  First time someone else mowed the lawn for us they ran over a bunch of rocks and ruined the blade thing underneath.  We have tried to mail order the replacement part, but Sears doesn't mail order parts.  We have been to Sears, but they didn't have that part the day we were there.  You have to understand, it takes us 6 hours round trip to get to Sears so we don't go so often.
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Not pictured:  Exhibit D:  My very own, very old electric lawn mower.  I won't give this thing up for anything because is always works like a charm, will practically mow through a forest, is light weight, you can push it either way... it is an oldie so is very tiny - I can pick it up with one hand and bang it up and down if the mower part gets stuck and it is instantly unclogged.  It has a beautiful, long, GREEN electric cord (green for grass - get it?).  Except my husband stole my cord this summer to plug in a very important freezer and I just never got around to buying a different cord for the freezer and who is stupid enough to unplug a freezer in the summer to mow a lawn?  Not me, because that would be the 1 day that the sky falls down on me and I would forget to go plug it back in.
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So, there you have it - 4 different "lawn mowers" to pick from at any given time, except the big tractor is too big to be called a mower, right?  You would think that it would be an easy enough task to get the lawn mowed every so often, but not so!  You will have to stay tuned for the next segment of this story.
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Oh - and by the way - that small Kabota tractor photo - yours truly had just mowed that small patch of back yard - I also have a very huge meadow but that is so grown up I have to figure out how to use all those handy-dandy attachments on the bigger tractor in the spring.  I am sure that will be a story all of it's own.

Sock Knit Along

I am soooo ready for a rest.  Well, finally things are settling down for me - I have lots of stories to tell over the winter, let me tell you!  But for now I can kick back for a bit with my feet up.  And I am prepared - I have my stuff for Judy's Sock Knit-Along which starts November 1st.  Here is the link for the knit-along - LINK
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I have never knit 2 socks at a time, but I am willing to give it a try.  So, here are my supplies.  I got one needle at 16" for the front of the socks and a 24" needle for the back of the sock.  The lady at the shop said it would be easier to keep track of with 2 different sized needles.  OK.

Do you just love the afghan on the bed?  It is at my sister's house - a friend of hers made it this summer for her guest bed - a queen sized bed!

Refooting a Sock

Here are 2 socks that my friend's Mom knit for her - she wore out the foot on the left sock so her Mom "refooted" the sock - as you can see - she didn't have enough of any 1 color to refoot so she made do with what she did have.  That is the way it is where I live - nothing is wasted.  Do you refoot your socks?  You just cut off the bottom part leaving extra room to pull back the yarn so you can pick up the stitches and refoot.  
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Most everyone around here knits socks, mittens, etc. and you know knitters when we get together - love to show our current project to each other.  Well, her Mom showed me the current sock she was knitting in this pattern and I really wanted to try the pattern.  Except... well her Mom has been knitting this pattern ever since she was a little girl but there is no written pattern - my friend and her Mom just knit from memory.  Have any of you ever seen this type of pattern?
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Yesterday my friend and I were traveling together and she brought these 2 socks and some notebook paper so we could write down the patterns.  She would look at the sock and then write down what to do.  And not only that - she is lending me these 2 socks to refer to if I get stuck - she has an entire drawer full of them since both she and her Mom knit them.  And then Mom refoots them when the foot part gets worn out.  Yup, I would say she has a drawer full.  So, these 2 lovely socks are mine for the winter - she probably knew what she was doing when she didn't give me a matching pair, LOL!  That red pair is knit out of the most wonderful, softest wool ever - I think they would be on my feet constantly if I had 2 of them.  Oh right - I will have 2 of them once I knit up my own pair!
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You can just see the corner of my friends sweater sleeve - she knit that sweater over 14 years ago and it looks brand new to me.  Last time we were together my friend grafted my sock ends, well yesterday she taught me how to do it and we fixed my son's socks that I showed last post with pointy toes!  Plus she had some hunter mitts (fingerless gloves with a pull over mitt) that she let me graft as well so the method would stick in my head.  For some strange reason I think that the order of grafting a sock is similar to hooking up jumper cables to a car.  Well, whatever works to help you remember, I suppose.
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This week was the end of bow season and the start of gun season for deer.  You allowed 1 deer for each weapon.  My friend's husband was lucky enough to get 1 on the last day of bow and then 1 on the 1st day of gun.  I forget what the doe weighed, but the buck is 80lbs.    If you disagree with hunting, consider this - if people around here are thrifty enough to take the time to refoot a sock, well then, you better believe they are happy when they have  2 deer in the freezer before deer season is over.  Bow season here was very poor this year and I know that the people who did not get a deer during bow are very anxious to at least get a deer during gun.  I know lots of places don't let you put out apples for deer, but here you can and even with the apples out the bow season was 75% less than last year.  I am hoping that all my friends get their deer this fall.

Sometimes I think we live in a society that is all too eager to throw something out and buy new rather than fixing a small part that is broken.  It is nice to live where I do, with people that appreciate the value in the small things in life and are happy to take the time to teach you how to do it too if you are interested.