Fluffy , Feathery, Bundles of goodness!

Our baby chicks arrived yesterday from Cackle Hatchery! We've got six hens and 1 rooster each of Cuckoo Marans, Salmon Favorelles, and Americauna. They are the cutest little things I've ever seen though it seems like a few of the Salmon's are hell bent on suicide. All in all it's going well, the kids are in heaven, I'm in love, and the husband is taking it pretty well all things considered.

Chaplin Creek Fiber Festival

This weekend we went to the Chaplin Creek Fiber Festival and it was awesome! They had a historical days thing going on at the same time and we got to see mounted shooting, the historical village, and lots of other neat non fibery booths. We had a really great time, the weather was beautiful and the people were friendly. I can't wait to go back next year.

When we're traveling we usually try to stay at a small family owned place but we had a hard time finding that kind of place around Franklin Grove so we ended up going to the comfort inn. For a chain hotel it wasn't bad. The receptionist gave us a discount when we told her that we were in town for the festival and we stayed in the whirlpool suite and got to make it into a nice mini vacation for us.

On the second day vince finished his second weaving project (a nice rug) and I worked on spinning some of the merino/angora roving that I had dyed. It had been calling my name since I'd put it out in my booth and finally I just couldn't take it anymore, it had to be spun. It's spinning up nicely and I can't believe I waited so long to sit down and play with it.

I also picked up some amazing Merino Fleeces with the kind of crimp that makes you drool, not that I needed more fleeces but sometimes you just can't help it.

My amazing wonderful husband is weaving!

Vince sat down and finished his first project on his new 32 in. Rigid Heddle loom! It's a pretty wrap that will be perfect for fall with 100% wool used as the warp and bushed mohair and sparklies used as the weft. It came together really nicely. I love it so much that I snuck on etsy and started shopping for some new yarns for him, and he liked it so much he started pestering me for yarn so much we had to run out to the store and get him some to tide him over until what I ordered gets here. Crazy. I may have created a monster but in a good way.

My Beautiful Biscotti

Look how pretty she is! This is right before shearing, and her fawn color just looks awesome with all that wool. Biscotti is scheduled to be bred to my man jazz sometime late fall/early winter if all goes well and I am so excited about the babies. Biscotti is one of my favorite girls and I always mean to get her out to a few shows but I rarely make it.

Anyway, just thought I'd share her bunny wonderfulness with everyone today.

Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival

We went to the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival June 4-5 in Indiana and had such a great time. I procrastinated and did not reserve us a hotel room and the husband totally surprised me by thinking ahead.

We had so much fun there and got to meet people that I'd been talking to online forever, the selection was huge and I bought quite a few little things for myself there. I spun a beautiful yarn straight from willum on the first day and the second day he was the raffle prize and went to a really nice new home.

That night I started trying to talk to the husband about where we were going to stay and he got this smile on his face, so I knew that something was up. He just kept driving until we got to this hotel, and it looked pretty run down on the outside, I'll admit, I was a little worried but when we got inside it was much nicer and as he was talking to the front desk I realized that he had called ahead and reserved us a room! My husband is so not usually the type to do that sort of thing so I was almost in shock (and a little worried). They gave us our keys and we headed towards our room, imagine my surprise when we opened the door and walked in!

It was a cave!! He had booked us the Cave Room at the Greenwood Indiana FantaSuites!!! I'd never heard of them before but it was the most awesome place we've ever stayed. It was difficult to get pictures since due to the cave ambiance it was pretty dimly lit in there but I moved the lamp around a bit and managed to get some good shots. The bed was comfy, the jacuzzi was almost big enough to swim in, the shower was huge, the cave paintings on the walls made me smile, it was just awesome. Too good for words.

So now of course the husband is in charge of researching and picking out where we stay at all future fiber fairs, it's something that he seems to enjoy doing, and obviously he's good at it. I can't wait until next year, I think we'll try out a different suite next time :)

Wonders babies are here!

You can see pictures of them here.

Fiber U - Lebanon Missouri

It's been much too long since I've been on here and I've accumulated quite a few things to blog about!

This weekend (july 10-11) We headed out to Fiber U in Lebanon Missouri to vend and see all of our fiber friends. We had a really great time and the festival went well for it's first year. I sent some very nice alpaca fleece from Big River Alpacas off to Ozark Carding Mill to be blended with Milk Protein for a super nice roving while we were there and my husband bought himself a 32 inch Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom. My friend Maggie from Robin Ridge Rabbitry came along and the three of us each put in an entry for the Fancy Kitty Bench Picker that they were giving away with the agreement that if any of us won we would share it and on Sunday when they called a name it was my friend maggie!! So now I have a beautiful new picker sitting on my kitchen table and I've been playing with it since I came home!

I really hate chain hotels and restaurants and the husband knows it, so we try to avoid them when at all possible. Once again he came through and picked a place (one of his official festival duties) for us to stay that I just loved! We headed down to Richland, just a bit down the road from Lebanon to The Cave Restaurant and Resort. We had a nice dinner at the restaurant, which is actually inside of the cave! The food is simple but good, it definitely fills you up and the medium rare steak that I ordered was perfect, just warm in the middle and cooked on the outside exactly like I like it. Then we headed down to our little cabin, which was super convenient, very rustic and absolutely perfect for us :) The Cabins have a full kitchen stocked with utensils, silverwear, dishes, and everything else that you could need plus a full sized stove, sink, fridge, table and chairs, ect. I was so thrilled, we sat out on the porch and watched the sun set, accompanied by the two friendly dogs that live on the property. It was such a great place to stay and so quiet and private. We had such a great time and I woke up totally refreshed and ready to face the second day.

Lastly, on the way home we got a little hungry so we stopped in Rolla for a bite to eat. Our gps led us to check out a little place called A Slice of Pie and though the town had just been hit by a storm that took out the traffic lights and many local businesses power too they were still open and so friendly, we bought two slices to snack on for the drive home and as soon as we started in on them wished that we'd bought a few more. I got the blackberry crumb and Vince got Pecan and both were really really good.

And that's all for today. Next post will be about our trip to Indiana for the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, I had meant to blog about that quite a while ago but sometimes life gets so crazy!

crazy

wow has everything been crazy. It's all better now. Got an extension on our move out date so we are packing and hopin g that renovation s keep on schedule. Everything is mostly good and I'm really working hard to stay on top of everything. More later (like pictures from the indiana trip)

Back in the saddle!

Literally and figuratively! I went riding for the first time since before the baby on sunday and I am still sore! The shop is open and I am slowly getting updates done. I am attending to all of the things that I hadn't for so long. I feel good and I'm so happy to be back!
The spindies shop on etsy is looking great and the paintboxes are getting better every month.
www.spindies.etsy.com
and I'm carding up dreamy batts in larger quantities for my shop www.punkjordane.etsy.com

a trip down the stairs

Well I'm up and moving again but really sore. I went out to water rabbits the other day and took a spill on the stairs. It was raining and I forgot how slick those steps can be. I guess laying in the mud all that time until I caught my breath and managed to make it back to the house must've gotten me sick because I've felt like crap for the last couple of days on top of the horrible muscle soreness.

and more

Lost one of my girls today, same mysterious swollen spot and sudden death. Pulled every cage out of the shed, scrubbed every inch of it, put husband on a ladder to get down any webs, searched for holes and cracks, checked screens for holes, disposed of current bale of hay, cleaned and scrubbed the cages individually, I think it might have been a wasp or something ( are rabbits allergic to wasp stings????), found a small nest/hive thing on the porch right by the door and now it is gone.

I just hope that we killed or removed whatever it was, I don't think that I can handle loosing another one of my fur babies. This month has been a hard one.

My glasses seem to be holding together this time, won't be able to get a new pair until... well, eventually I'll get a new pair.

My little darlings somehow broke (or otherwise it magically broke on it's own) the mouse pad on my laptop so I had to go out and buy a new mouse (after a major meltdown)

soooo have had laptop six 1/2 months and so far it's keyboard has stopped working properly, it's screen has been shattered (it's now hooked up to my other monitor), and the mouse thingy no longer works.

My husband shattered a crock on the porch this morning and I promptly sliced my foot on it, then when I went to yank out the chunk in my foot I cut my finger. Yes, this is getting somewhat comical. I could go on, there's actually more but really, I don't even want to think about it.

On a good note, while out and about we drove past a christian resale shop and to my amazement I saw a human powered push mower sitting right out front. I had to stop but I didn't really have any money, was down to my last $10 before we got the next paycheck but still, I had to stop and look. I've wanted one soooo bad for at least the last year. I made the husband go and look, knowing that he would come back and tell me how much it cost and we would drive away but there was no price tag on it and I guess he felt sorry for me because he went in to ask about it and the man followed him out and they talked and then husband came over to the van and tells me, that it's a donation. and I'm like, what? and he explains that the wonderful person who donated it just requested that the person who took it made a donation to the church's childrens charity. Well, we needed $5 in gas to get home so I scoured the van for change and donated $5 plus all the change that I could find and brought home an awesome new mower. we stopped in at his uncles on the way home and replaced the missing bolts and then we oiled all the moving parts once we got home and it's so awesome!
One of the neighbors came over to check it out with her kids and they were so interested in it everyone wanted to try it and soon enough my whole back yard had been mowed! Everyone thought that it was so neat, even the husband is converted.
now, I know what one of those mowers actually cost new so I'm thinking that we are going to sell our old gas guzzling beast of a mower and then I'm going to go up there and put half of what we get for it in that donation box

Anyway, that was my bright spot in a long month of horrible, I'm really hoping that it's a sign that the coming month will be better.

catching my breath

Well, the keyboard is still messed up and it's my laptop so I'm not sure what is going on there, but no one has thrown up for two whole days and I am halfway through the laundry pile. Getting my now very late angora of the month clubs done and ready to ship on monday (barring anyother catastrophes.
Paid $450 to get the van fixed and it seems better now, but I guess after spending that much it had better be!

and I got my potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and a few other things in the ground finally!

Off to bed with me.

looking up

Well, the internet has been paid enough to stay on for another week, the bank issue has been resolved in a mostly satisfactory way (even if I did have to resort to tears), and no one else has died on me so maybe things will start getting better.
My mother in law has gotten me a beautiful new rug so that our floor is not just plywood anymore.
My computer keys are still acting funny, though shutting off the computer and then turning it back on really seems to make it better for short amounts of time.

Off to make the kids lunch and then tackle the mounds of vomit covered laundry that four puking kids have created, I estimate about 15 loads, minimum.

It gets worse

Last night one of my german hybrid bucks died. Vince brought him in after dinner with what appeared to be a sting or insect bite on his left upper lip and I stayed up until 4 am trying to keep him going but he appears to have had a severe allergic reaction to the bite.

My keyboard is barely functioning, I can't figure out what happened or why but it is really difficult to type and the keys are not functioning properly.

My bank has charged me a huge overdraft fee when I had a positive balance and now I have to go attempt to straighten it out.

My internet will be shut off tomorrow if I cannot straighten out this bank thing.

I'm down and still being kicked. The husband ate my sausage this morning, right off of my plate and I almost cried.

wow, thinking about digging a hole to hide in right now.

I Surrender

That's it. 3 of 4 kids are throwing up. This means that we are under strict stomach flu protocal. Rule #1 no dehydration, lots of fluids. Rule #2 Do not puke on mommy (no matter what else that means you will be puking on) Rule #3 Do not put your bucket down for any reason (not for hugs, bathroom breaks, eating, nothing)
Those are the stomach flu rules. My stomach has a hair trigger and they've all learned that if they're not careful we'll be cleaning up my mess to go along with theirs. Now we all know that if they're sick it's only a matter of time until I get sick too. Not Good. I had thought that somewhere along the line I would get better at this part but it still hasn't happened.
Gosh, I really can't imagine what else could go wrong this month, but I'm sure that I'll regret saying that soon.

wow

It has been such a hectic month. You know, the kind of month that kicks you in the teeth over and over again so that you finally get to the point that you know that something good has to be headed your way??
I'm still waiting, but I'm hopeful.

As of tonight I am caught up on 99% of the computer stuff. All packages are shipped, most emails, convos, and other communications have been answered, excepting my angora clubs. I've gotten a few rabbits sheared but have more to do before I can send everything out.

Hopefully I will get to it all tomorrow.

This month started out with my little man Cassius getting pneumonia, then he had an allergic reaction to the penicillian, and shortly after we started to recover from that my darling husband stepped on my glasses and smashed them into three peices..... so I'm pretty much blind right now, can't see well enough to do very much on my own, though they are currently drying from my third attempt at repair. This time I've used superglue as before but added tiny bits of toliet paper to help the bond and tape to hold them together until the glue is good and dry. Possibly this might work which means I might be functioning at above 50% as early as tomorrow.
I hope so, there's a feeling of helplessness and nakedness that comes with the loss of my glasses. My eyes are getting worse every year and I worry that I will be blind by the time I'm in my 50's. Deep fear.

For now I'm trying to be happy with what I do have. I have beautiful children and a bountiful wool room. My bunnies are healthy and for the most part so are we. I have adequate garden space, some of which is already planted. and some days, I have my sanity.

hmm

Today is better. Sometimes I let things get a little out of perspective and I start to freak out a bit more than I should. Being a mom, and a wife, and a person is hard. Being someone who isn't exactly mainstream is a bit harder and I am often so driven that I start to loose track of things.
I've been very introspective lately, whic is odd in itself because usually I'm so busy with kids and fiber stuff that I don't have a chance. I am constantly amazed that I have become that person who says things like "In Bed!" or "Don't look at me in that tone of voice!" . That I am someone who can create something as wonderful as yarn (which is much more... important than some might think) or children (also, very important :)
That I am so young and still so old, all of these things, and where my life has taken me are a source of wonder and it gets overwhelming sometimes.
I think that I will go and spin, and contemplate, and think happy peaceful thoughts. The kids are in bed and the husband has offered to feed the rabbits.

We all have bad days

today is a bad day. I am feeling burnt out as a parent, a teacher, and an artist. I look around and I am overwhelmed. We are broke, my children are misbehaving in ways that are beyond the normal range (at least in my mind) and my "office" behind the couch has turned into a sorry mess of bags and boxes of wool with no sense of order or hope of finding what I need. My box of stuff needing to be dyed and/or carded is overflowing, I have a basket of unfinished yarns, and the list goes on.

Wow. I don't usually let it get to me but today, I just wish I could go back to bed and sleep until someone fixes it. I have wool block (figurativly speaking). It's funny how most days I get through by thinking of my larger goals and telling myself that if I don't finish something that day I will get to it tomorrow and then some days like today it all seems so far away.
This comes on the heels of realizing that this might not be the year we get to put a down payment of a nice chunk of land. Instead we will be buying a new stove and fixing whatever it is that has gone wrong with our van. It's a big setback and it's hard to swallow. I'm so desperate for change, to be out of this tiny house, to have someone willing to babysit, to have well behaved children, to have time to sit down and enjoy myself for more than 5 min without something falling behind.

I think today we will go to the park and try to take a break. Maybe tomorrow it won't all seem so bad.

What a week

Well this week we learned that rabbit shows aren't so bad, That ivomec won't kill a child (but it will make you wish he was potty trained), and that when you fall behind even a little bit it will take at least twice that amount of time to fully catch up.

Today started out really horribly, when I was attempting to pack orders and the husband was napping someone stole a pack of chocolate pudding and a cup of water and when I went in to check on them they had made chocolate pudding paint and covered most of a bedroom with it....
Which interrupted maggies game of math blaster and caused a chain reaction of badness and punishment that kind of threw the whole day off.
By dinner time we were mostly back to normal and the husband and I were sitting in the living room eating and watching the kids at the table ( no more room at the table for us now) and just being in love with how wonderful they are I heard a funny noise. A kind of squeeking chirping noise. So I get up to go look and guess who's standing next to phinny's chair begging for butter beans?? Not the usuall suspects. Not the cat or the dog. Nope. It's Charlene. Charlene is a guinea pig and often she is let out to have a little stroll around the house by the kids and then left for a bit longer until suddenly I'm sitting on the couch and something bites my toes. Charlene likes toes (or maybe she doesn't like them). but today our fat little piggyness was sitting there begging just like a tiny fat little dog. Too cute. She's the kind of pig that has no fear. Not of cats or kids or bunnies or anything else that I can tell.
Oh well, I'm tired. What a week it's been.

title here....

Today I actually accomplished something! I shoveled out both compost bins, 12 wheelbarrow loads full and then flipped what wasn't done cooking yet and then the husband changed all of the rabbit cages.
Then I brought in every single one of my girls and groomed, did toenails, and ivomec.
Tomorrow I will (hopefully) get to the boys.
Then I came in and bathed two of the kids. Now I am covered in bunny fuzz and badly in need of a shower but I did get something noticably done.
Of course, that means that I didn't do anything done in the house today but still.
Sunday is the peoria show! Will be there with bunnies to show and some for sale.

Giant bag o' wool to brighten my day

Happy Valentines Day

I am so sick that I want to curl up and die. Of course, as usually for some unknown reason no one in my house is able to do anything without my help. I swear they are not usually this helpless but the second I can't handle everything it all falls apart. It's ridiculous and it makes me angry and being angry and sick at the same time is worse than just being sick.
Everytime I start to feel better and get my hopes up it comes back worse the next day. Oh I hurt and I'm tired and my stomach, my stomach obviously does not want to be associated with my body anymore.

Babies

The first round of breeding has been completed, but we are still accepting on our waiting list.
We have had two litters of English (both fully reserved) and 1 litter of satin (there are still some available).

In april we will start round two of our planned breedings for this year.
We have planned
a litter of German Hybrid (76.75% German) that should have alot of color and awesome density.

1-2 litters of french, our breeding buck this year throws sables, seals, brokens, and other wonderful color variations so it should be a real rainbow of french babies.

1 Litter of English from a fawn doe and choc. tort buck

Possibly a litter of satins carrying fawn.

To be put on a future waiting list please email me at fluffingtonfarms@yahoo.com and let me know if there is a specific color of breed that you are looking for.
You will then be notified of babies available and given first pick according to your place on the list and what you are looking for.

buckling down

Today is catch up day. My printer is out of ink and the husband got called into work so I can't go get ink and ship today as I had planned. So Instead I am trying to knock of some of my to do list.
I've so far gotten my desk clean. 3 hours. Wow. but I did finish ripping up all of the carpet in my living room except for what my desk is siting on. In a moment I am going to take this huge pile of fibers and start spinning. I want to finish two yarns today minimum. Then I'm going to tackle the scary pile of boxes of fiber next to the desk waiting to be sorted. and then...... Hmm, that's where the to do list gets a bit overwhelming. But either way, I am going to accomplish something today.
I guess blogging doesn't really count as an accomplishment, not in the clean house, clean children, well organized fiber stuff sort of way that the husband seems to think that I am capable of.

The polls are open!

come on over and vote for your favorite yarn from the Fluffington Farms Spin Along!
Please only vote once, the polls close on the 11th at midnight.

Also pictures of the new babies are up on the meet the buns page.

Natchwoolie

As some of you might know, Natchwoolie (brenda) has suffereed a terrible loss. All of us in the fiber community are hurting for her, and to help see her through this difficult time Spindies is auctioning off some wonderful benefit fiber with all the proceeds going towards her support. Please come check it out, place your bid, show some love.

A day of birth and death

This morning my beautiful mr. blue died. my husband went out to check on everyone this morning since it was cold and snowy and he brought him in because he wasn't acting right. After two hours he died in my arms and I am heartbroken. Not sure what went wrong, he didn't touch his food or water last night but before that he was his usual perky piggy self.
After it was over I got up and washed my hands and went in to do a check on my preggo's and tigerlily was having her litter. As My blue boy went out of this world her new babies were coming into it. Now usually new babies would have me jumping up and down excited but today, it's just not the same. So we have the babies I have been waiting for, finally. But my boy is gone.
What a horrible day.

A few more Testers Needed

I am looking for a few new testers for bath and body products.
For this you need to be able to give dead honest opinions and thoughts about the products you will be trying and have no serious allergies.
For more info just email me at fluffingtonfarms@yahoo.com

Today

Today I am shearing. Trying to get caught up and get the last of Jan.'s bunnies done so that I can start on Feb.'s bunnies. It never fails to amaze me how something so huge and fluffy can go to something so little and scrawny.

Boys for Sale!

I've just posted a few boys for sale on my sale page. 1 Satin Buck and 3 English Bucks. Transport may be available. Please email me for more details at fluffingtonfarms@yahoo.com

The Dunes

Well, for some reason I thought that it would be a good idea to help chaperone an overnight pool party at a hotel for 12 kids on Saturday. Just my cousin in law Brenda and I with a large group of unruly children.... Didn't get to sleep until 5 am and I swear I am still worn out. But on the way home we were driving by the dunes and we figured that since we were in the area we would go for a little hike. 2 mile hike on 3 hours of sleep might not have been the best of ideas but the kids had a blast and I am still in love with the beauty of the dunes. Can't wait until summer when we can play in the water.

Finally Catching Up!

Just finished a small update in the spindies shop and now I'm getting ready to start on the etsy shop

Cage Building.... Bah Humbug!

Building cages for the rescue bunnies today, right now the husband has taken over cutting wire for the roof so I get a break. We are using recycled wire so luckily my only expenses were j-clips, tools, and time. The bunnies are settling in pretty well and most of the matts are off.

Did it again

Went on a rescue mission tonight and brought home three boys. They appear to be English or English Crosses. One has a dropped ear and the other has two completely floppy ears, the last one seems normal. I've been cutting off the worst of the matts since I got home and though it will be alot of work to get them in good condition again it makes me smile to think that they can now move thier tail freely (they were totally matted to their backs) and stand comfortably now that their feet aren't covered in rock hard matts. I've also finished with the worst around legs and necks so that they can actually start to move like rabbits again. Hopefully will finish completely tomorrow.

Too Cold

Well I finally did it and caved to the cold. Still waiting to finish rebuilding cages before I install the automatic watering system and changing frozen water bottles 2-3 times a day, having to keep newly sheared bunnies inside for a week or two even w/ their coats on, and practically freezing to death every time I went out to check on them got to be too much so I went and bought the feared heater for the bunny shed. I've been so afraid of putting a heater in there. It would kill me if it caught fire, however I've already lost a litter to the cold and I have four rabbit due to be sheared this month and as much as I'd like to they can't all live inside until their wool comes back. So I bit the bullet and made a stand in the middle of the shed and put the heater in. Again I am thankful that I insisted on putting the shed where it is. It is on the back side of the house with about a foot of space in between the outer wall of the shed and our house. On the other side of the wall, inside the house is our bed. I sleep against the wall and I can hear every little thump. I can hear a waterbottle falling off of a cage at 2 am and while the husband isn't always thrilled about my "that thumping sounds funny, we need to check them" obsessivness I am once again thankfull that they are so close because of course, before we put the heater in we installed a super sensitive extra loud smoke alarm at the same level as the heater and against the wall near my bed. We also spent about 45 min running the heater in the house to see how hot it got and once it was going hot dropped and threw bits of fuzz and hay at it in various ways to see just what would happen. Mostly nothing though one lucky toss did manage to get some angora into it and onto the heating part, it just kind of sizzled a bit until it was gone, not even any smoke and def. not any sparks or flames. Still, I am a bit nervous about it and I wouldn't leave it running unless I was home. So though I am anxiously checking them more often that before they are now warm and cozy and seem much happier.
On a less stressful note both passion (satin) and marigold (english) are in the house in their maternity suites hopefully getting ready to gift me with some beautiful babies. I am about 75% sure that marigold is not pregnant, but I brought her in anyway because I would rather be safe than sorry. Passion on the other hand I'm pretty sure she is, though I've never been very good at feeling for bunny babies unless they're actually jumping around in there.

The newest bunny adition

Look how cute she is! Still working on names