Crafty feline. The kitten helps out

A quiet evening at mum's watching a movie with my brother and beginning my new crochet project.

 I flew over for a week to help out after mum's operation. After a bit of thought I didn't pack the nearly finished double bed afghan in my luggage. (K has it ready to put in the car so I can do it in Newcastle when I fly back there to join him in a weeks time.)  Instead, dedicated crochet-er  that I am,  half my suitcase was filled with a lovely green yarn  that I decided to crochet in  a new stitch from Kristin Omdal's Seamless Crochet: Techniques and Motifs for Join-as-You-Go Crochet. All joined up and no need to thread a needle at all. I bought this book from the Kindle site. I love to find new techniques and then use them in my afghans.

So I'm sitting in mum's chair.... I have the use of it for the week 'cos she won't be able to get in and out of it until her new knee can bend properly..... I've got one eye on the TV and half an eye on the pattern and half an eye on the hook and yarn. Doing quite well I thought as the first row of  circles dropped off the end of my hook.

Rascal, the resident kitten, was fascinated by the new project and took on the role of quality control officer; creeping up to ensure that my yarn was in fact pulling from the ball in a timely fashion,


grabbing it for me when the ball moved,

checking the stitches to make sure they were correct,

assisting with tension by standing on the  yarn,

and making sure there were more balls in the basket for future use.

Apparently he is an expert knitter as well assisting mum to hold her needles as she works.

I think animal antics might be very entertaining here this week.

Cheers Sue

A Ferg  on the Move




 

Of markets, lost phones and hot weather

Lagan markets were on last weekend. In this district there is a market in one of the local towns just about every weekend. We have often packed up and headed north by the time they restart after the holiday season so we were keen to pop across and have a gander.

K did his usual and topped up on chutney and sauces.  

There was a bloke selling chilli products. They are pretty good too. We grabbed a few gluten free baked goods sold by a couple who are just up the road from the farm.

There were the usual mixture of home grown and cooked goods, second hand things and knitted and crocheted baby items. I had a long yarn with a lady discussing finishing and edging afghans and we swapped stitch ideas. Add scones and coffee and it was a fantastic morning.

K made friends with a leather worker who makes and repairs watch bands.

 Today was really hot and K fired up the generator to run the air-conditioning in the caravan. I am very grateful K solved the generator, air-conditioner mismatch earlier this year because instead of hunting shade I was able to turn out cupboards and pack for a quick trip to Adelaide to mind mum, mine that is, after an operation. Found a few things to repair, a few to throw out and reorganised the yarn stash so I could take something to do with me.

Mr Fix It showed his age today. Had to make three runs to the hardware supplier for bits. Didn't do the part buying equivalent of measure twice , cut one. Think twice, drive once.

I showed my age by leaving my glasses in a shop yesterday and by misplacing my bright orange phone twice. (I bought an orange phone cover to avoid just such an incident. Works well doesn't it) I guess we are about even in the absent-minded stakes, although the sight of me with my posterior in the air scrabbling under the car to find my ringing phone probably rates a bit higher as entertainment.

Catch you all from Adelaide soon

Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move  

 

Gas bottle woes. Or they don't make things to last

Just a gentle winge about parts. The gas tap that switches between gas bottles is not working again. Mr Fix It has had it apart to clean twice already.

Tried to get a new one again today. Hope it will live longer than its predecessor.

Don't know why it is so hard to get good quality replacement parts these days.    I have noticed that replacement computer batteries never work as long as the first one did. Filters never last long.

On a much happier note I am well into my next crochet project, a bed spread sized afghan in a clever combination of ripples and diamonds I found here http://stitcheryprojects.com/2012/11/25/crazy-ripple-blanket/


Cheers Sue


A Ferg on the Move

Mobile phones. Or I had 3 bars once upon a time

You might remember my blog about the vagaries of phone service generally and in country areas in particular. In it I described the things I have to do to stay in touch.... http://fergsonthemove.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/staying-in-touch-or-things-i-have-to-do.html?m=0


Mobile phone service remains sketchy on the farm. K has his aerial on the shearing shed and a couple of times a day plugs his phone in to check sms. My phone doesn't have a spot to plug in so I still have to catch up on the drive in to town or go up to the gate and stand in the middle of the road.


The mobile phone gods must hate us. Two o'clock in the morning seems to be the "ok the phone is gonna work now" time. Emails and sms arrive to the tune of  his and hers matching beeps.

So imagine our utter shock and not so quiet delight when the signal on both our phones didn't flicker and die as we drove in the farm gate late at night returning from Crookwell. We were both so excited that our daughter got a celebratory SMS from both our phones. At 11.45 pm. Its not just teenagers who can't tell the time.


I stayed up even later reading blogs expecting the signal to disappear any moment. I even sat in bed the next morning downloading a few books with 3 bars on my phone. I could have been in the big smoke. A real place with real communication services.


Alas this excitement was all for nought as the Telstra service went into melt down the next day and I haven't seen a phone bar on the farm since. Oh well...back to standing in the middle of the road. Or I could hike down to the dog pen. K gets messages there.

Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move

Home again. Of echidnas, sheep and grandkids

Grey skies and drizzle at the farm while we were away. It was brown when we drove out last week. A bit of rain, some sun and the grass begins to grow again. Little green shoots and a carpet of new pale green. Not very high yet.


 I am impressed by the amount of care our son-in-law takes to preserve the feed and the land in general. Stocking rates, amount of rain and knowledge of every little bit of country inform the movement of stock, breeding numbers and the drenching and vaccination regime. I have learnt heaps from him and he is very patient about my endless questions, and does not even roll his eyes....or at least he doesn't when I am looking.




  We hopped right into the caravan routine when we got home. Bread making, picking blackberries and such....


A pair of echidnas enjoyed the ants scurrying after the rain.

The satellite dish had blown over so K did some magic jury rig to reattach the LNB. The sun was shining by the time we made it home Saturday and a quick check of the battery power confirmed that the solar system is still functioning effectively.


Sunday afternoon was crutching and drenching time. The sheep were mustered the evening before in the cool and the well oiled machine of shearer and his nearly four year old daughter a well as grandad K went to work. We two women knitted, crocheted, baby sat and made afternoon tea and dinner. I gave my BBQ a work out roasting vegetables. We had chicken and pork. There isn't any lamb left in our freezer so it is good that there are a couple of lambs picked out for processing. Is it really bad that I look at a well developed lamb hind quarter and see roast?


Baby and granddaughter were exhausted by the end and lounged on the caravan bed watching a video while the rest of us had a cuppa crammed into our tiny space. Togetherness at its best.

Good life


Cheers Sue


A Ferg on the Move 

Frugal yet generous

As I began this post I noticed that it is number 107. Imagine that. And you are all still reading.
When I was persuaded to start this blogging thing by Phil Pogson of House of Simple last year I had no idea how rewarding it was going to be. I find myself looking at the business of each day with a new eye, checking for things to capture in photos and stories.




House of Simple is all about simplicity and positive frugality. This post is in the way of a nod to the HOS family as well as a thankyou for a special and long lived friendship with another family we treasure as well.

We have just got back from a few days with some very good friends in Sydney. C and D met K in Western Australia well before he met me. He stayed in their house, the same one they own still, after a conference with a big mob of other teenagers and young people, beginning a friendship that has lasted the test of time.


Now they have frugality down pat. Never a cent seems to be wasted. Nothing replaced if it can be economically fixed. Electricity not wasted. Car kept running not a new one bought. An old washing machine until recently. Frugal.


But generous. That house is always open to visitors. A parade of young people needing a place to stay, with minimal board, families, oldies flow through the house. Money is always there to help others.


C bought K a bulk lot of salt reduced peanut butter he found on special, issued two jars and put the rest away to give us next time because we don't have the space to store them. He made yoghurt in bulk to give to family and use themselves. (C would vie with K for his Mr Fix It title. You should see the yoghurt maker C has crafted out of an old electric fry pan fitted with a metal collar. Makes 9 litres at a time.)


We came home with onions from a bulk bag C and D bought cheap to share, peanut butter and a litre of yoghurt so I wouldn't have to make some late at night after we unpacked. They fed us, lent us the washing machine so we didn't have dirty clothes in our bags when we left. D hung them and brought the in. I have never managed to beat her to the clothes line even if I stake out the laundry. I think she slips in the back way as soon as the machine clicks off.


The kettle has just the right amount of water in I when it boils. The outside temp is monitored so as to time window fan and aircon use to the minute. Bulk foods preserved, family showers timed. I admit that in my younger days I saw this frugality as meanness. .... I was very short sighted in my youth.


So HOS and C and D ... We love you lots




Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move