A little Halloween levity in the neighborhood … Happy Halloween!
Just Fun
It’s a tough job …
But somebody’s got to do it.
You never know when she might come back out
and need the engine nice and warm.
Show Me the Sheep
Each year in early September the weekend-long Annual Sheep and Fiber Show is held by the Garden State Sheep Breeder’s Association at my county’s fairgrounds. It brings sheep breeders from at least 4 surrounding states, but also a goodly amount of vendors selling wool spun from their own sheep, alpacas and llamas as well as products made from that wool. There are breed exhibits of the animals as well as show competition and judging, but the big favorites are the sheep shearing demonstrations and the sheep herding demonstrations, (my personal favorite.)
Here are just a few photos of the event and of the animals themselves. Missing are the sheep herding demonstration, (too far away), and the thousands of multi-colored skeins of yard at the many vendors’ stalls.
Handcrafted wooden knitting needles with delicious ornaments on top.
These crocheted skulls caught my eye – very cute!
These thick, gorgeous mittens were made from yak hair.
A Suffolk sheep
One of two llamas at the festival. Llamas provide a source of wool for spinning and crafts
Some sheep had coats. I didn’t ask but I suspect it was to keep them clean until they were done being shown
One of my small treats to myself is handmade soap when I come across it at a reasonable price. At one stall there was quite a variety and I picked up a few of these small-ish square bars in oatmeal-almond, (above), lemon pound cake, coffee and vanilla, and “Kiss the Cook”, a brownie-like aroma. Made of skin-soothing ingredients such as olive oil, and lanolin and sheep’s milk by some soap crafters, they were all heavenly. I’m now set for getting clean all winter long with a guaranteed happy smile. These soaps were made by Saratoga Suds `n’ Stuff in Saratoga Springs, NY.
My favorite photo of the day. Sheep are very sweet animals, and this one exemplified their gentle personalities.
Are We Done with the Snow Yet?
Who wanted to hear reports of a possible 2-4″ of snow happening during the day? Or … according to some predictions, 4-8″. Neither are horrendous amounts, but can it just be over already?
Happy to say, all their predictions turned out to be wrong and this was a non-event in my neck of the woods; now it’s raining softly. But as it started to snow ever-so-lightly this morning, I took a couple of quick photos from the back porch. The snow had such a lovely quality.
See?
Yeah, that’s not it. I just had some fun in Photoshop because the snow, at that time, really was so fine you could barely see it. Although the dusting on the ground is pretty.
So I’m offering another quote on Spring ….
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~Hal Borland
I don’t know who Hal Borland is, but I hope he knows what he’s talking about.
Does this Candle Make Me Look Fat?
In choosing candles, I am most often drawn to food scents. There are several reasons for this. One, it fills the house with a wonderful aroma, as if there were something tempting baking in the oven right now. Two, I have yet to be allergic to a food scent, whereas florals and some other scents can give me migraines or worse. Delicious food scented candles are nothing but pleasurable.
But I wonder …. do they make us look fat? That’s become an old joke by now*, but you have to wonder … considering all the research that has been done on things that inspire or drive us to do one thing or another, do food-scented candles make us fat? In other words, when that lemon pound cake candle is burning, does it make us want to get up and go eat something sweet or does it perhaps fulfill the urge to nibble on a sweetie?
I bet someone in the wide world of research has a grant on that but only you know for sure when you light that wick. The two candles pictured here, Lemon Pound Cake and Maple Butter, are both delicious and by Village Candle, one of the best candle makers I know. Village Candle is located in Maine, and all their candles are made at that location. So if you’re looking for a candle made in the USA, here’s one for you!
*One of the funnier examples of this was when a friend who rides had tacked up her horse – who she described as rather vain – and “overheard” him say to another horse, “Does this saddle make me look fat?”
Still A Dreamer 