Favorite Things

Urban Adventure Bag designed by Noni…..

2014-01-11T12:16:00.002-06:00

I just finished this fun felted handbag for my friend, Melissa. It was knitted with wool and then felted by hand. I lined the bag with pockets and sewed in a double purse zipper. The strap was purchased at a yarn shop and was created by JUL.

2014-01-11T09:33:00.000-06:00

New Beginnings…
It's January 11, 2014:
It's been a couple of years since I have blogged anything. Life has a way twisting and turning and taking you into a whole new world. Gratefully, that is where I am starting off this year. On June 15, 2013, Scott and I got married and I became Mrs. Paul Scott Baird and I am excited to share our fun and adventures here. No one may actually read this but I will look forward to looking back at the memories! If, in case, you are reading this I hope it will bring a smile or a laugh!

"Mr. Thomas Burr Has Accepted Your Request to Be Friends" and Why This is Important....

2011-10-11T19:36:00.004-05:00

So, unless you are a classmate or one of my brothers, the name Tom Burr means nothing. Period. You will bypass this and think it too personal or too irrelevant. Tonight, I am posting this to capture my immediate reaction upon opening Facebook and reading the news of Mr. Burr's passing. Now, I took Biology with Mr. Burr. We dissected frogs, and fetal pigs, and cats in Advanced Bio. He was our teacher. Not someone who, at that age, I had any interest in actually "knowing as a real person." Then, a couple of years ago, I created a Facebook account. Mr. Burr was one of the first people who popped into my FB world through other classmates. I remember thinking how interesting this encounter was. Here was this man who obviously had touched thousands of minds. I asked myself, "What do you honestly know about Mr. Tom Burr?" Well...thanks to FB it took very little time to understand fully that this was an amazingly talented, intelligent, and interesting "Teacher Turned Friend." FB allowed me to appreciate his interest in religion, in nature, photography, blogging, and of course in humanity. I have often questioned the amount of time that I have spent on Facebook. I have scolded myself for squandering moments and even hours. But tonight, I realize that without FB, Mr. Burr would have just been that Bio teacher from Ramsey High. I would have missed a great opportunity. With that, I will gladly steal as many FB moments as possible. I will remember Mr. Burr when I'm using my macro lens to photograph a great butterfly or a beautiful flower and the unknown possibilities of "Friending" someone you only thought you knew. Rest in Peace, Mr. Burr and Thank You!

11 Days of "Time Off"

2011-01-02T20:12:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Sunday night; January 2, 2011 and my R&R is about to come to an end. It's back to work for me tomorrow and I suppose it's time!
During my time off from work, I did lots of different things. I slept in almost every day. I lounged around in my PJ's until noon on several days (without guilt.) I learned to make Ciabatta bread from Cooks Illustrated and discovered their wonderful web site. I knitted, and knitted, and visited my favorite yarn shop. I reunited with my Aunt Dottie and Steve and his family. I discovered my Aunt's book of short stories which made me laugh and cry! I played my flute for myself and for others!! I read yarn magazines, watched the Today show, took in 3 Netflix movies, honored my traditions of PJ's on Christmas Eve and Lobster Boil on New Year's Eve and of course, Bloody Mary's on New Years Day! I hung out with my Sadie and Bear Brown. I fed chickens, collected eggs, fed my alpacas and a Bull named Chaps. I did a little photography and a lot of cooking which I love to do.
I could go on and on but you get the gist. I did whatever I felt like doing and I enjoyed every minute.
Here's what I did not do:
I did not....
Sleep in a hotel
Eat out - anywhere!
Answer many emails
Worry about work
Fly in an airplane
Or...get padded down by someone who claims to be security in an airport!

It was a lovely and relaxing vacation. Can't wait to do it again.
Happy New Year!

New Year's 2011

2011-01-02T19:43:00.000-06:00

A couple of FO's. (For the non-knitters, that's "Finished Objects.) The mittens were knitted in November of 2010 and are really fun. They look like Bomber Mittens.
The Shawl was knitted between Christmas and New Year's 2010.

The Latest Creation.

2010-10-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

This is a Kim Hargrave's pattern from her Heartfelt...The Dark House Collection. It was fun to work on and most all of it was knitted on an airplane. The scarf that is paired with it was a faux fur yarn and knitted up very quickly.

It's Fall....

2010-10-02T08:27:00.004-05:00

...which brings a lot of change on a farm. One of my favorite times is on a Saturday morning. The air is crisp and the sun is shining. It's the perfect time to put on the furry lined Crocs and head to the barn with my bright red cup filled to the brim with steaming coffee. The girls love it, too, as they follow along with me. They know the routine and they seem to run along in anticipation. We head to the chicken run, open the door, and watch the hens and rooster hurry out to hunt for grubs, ticks, and other goodies that don't come in a sack of feed. And, since the weather is cool now, they get an extra treat. I keep a bag of "Fancy Scratch" just for this occasion. Chicken Scratch is cracked corn and chickens absolutely love it! They can't have scratch in the hot weather because the corn raises their body temperature and can be fatal. So, today is the perfect day to indulge them! I sip my coffee and watch them scurry around scratching at the ground while they gobble up the scratch.

Of course, what would a Saturday be without a game of Jolly Ball? This is Bear's favorite game. She found the Jolly Ball in the pasture when we first moved to the farm. A Jolly Ball is a big, rubber ball with a handle on it. It's really a horse toy but Bear B just adores fetching it.

So, while the chickens scratch the ground, and I sip my coffee, Bear and Sadie play Jolly Ball and everyone is happy. It's Fall!!!!

Chicken Little and Life on the Farm

2010-04-18T19:43:00.002-05:00

Last Summer, Steve's Uncle David gave us a Hen and her 3 Rooster Chicks. Begin a Banty Hen, we named her "Chicken Little" and we adopted her into the flock. Time went by and we eventually parted ways with her little brood and she continued to want to "set" on her eggs. A true mama. Well, this Spring, we decided to grant her her wishes and allow her to stay put on the eggs to see what would happen. Lo and behold!! She hatched out a couple of babies. Fascinating and curious stuff! While in the hen house, one of the chicks disappeared and we moved Chicken Little and her baby to a brooder in the barn so they could have some peace and quiet.

Chicken Little and her little yellow peep were living large. It was so much fun to see the chick peak out from under Mama's skirt and to ride on her back in total security and comfort.

Now, a baby chick will grow pretty quickly and we decided that it was time to introduce some new little pullets into the brooder figuring they would all get along just fine. Not so much! Chicken Little would have nothing to do with the new babies. In fact, she was a mean surrogate pecking at the 5 other little peeps so they would stay away.

Here is where the Life On The Farm kicks in. Steve tells me it's time to separate Mama from the babies. Oh Boy....I'm thinking, it's okay, I'll put her in the hen house and all will be fine. About 4 hours later, I went out to check on the new arrivals only to find Chicken Little sitting on top of the brooder with her baby peep sitting as close as possible on top of the waterer crying for Mama!

Life on a farm is reality and I have learned so much about the circle of life in just a year. My heart strings tug at the thought of Chicken Little and Little Peep's angst. But, I know that if we do right by them, they will soon reunited in the Hen House and all will be fine.

2010-02-07T13:29:00.003-06:00

The Chicken Coup - Today was Cleaning Day! Kind of a nasty job but the chickens are so messy that it's a necessary evil. They ran around squawking the whole time because we were cleaning the coup when they wanted to lay their eggs. We're still getting plenty of eggs this winter - at least 12 to 13 per day!

The Alpacas

2010-01-03T09:29:00.004-06:00

Meet the boys....Cowboy, Zephyr, and Trey arrived on the farm in June 2009. They are registered, male Huacaya Alpacas. Alpacas are camalids (or members of the camel family.) The have pads and toenails instead of hooves and they are ruminants which means they chew their cud. Why have Alpacas on the farm? Their fleece makes marvelous yarn and they are "easy-keepers." In the Spring, I will shear them and send their fleece off to be processed into natural fiber yarn for knitting. The last 6 months have been a unique learning experience around what they eat, how they play, how to handle them on a lead and halter, etc. They really are sweet boys and although they resemble Llamas, they are their own special creature. The most common question that we hear is, "Do they spit on you?" Yes, they will spit when they are threatened, but I have never seen these 3 guys do that. They have been a lot of fun and I will post more pictures in the Spring when it's time to shear.

The Farm House...BEFORE

2009-02-15T10:16:00.000-06:00

This vintage 1970's farmhouse sits on about 20 acres in Carl Junction. Steve is embarking on a remodeling project to update the house. Ideally, we'd like to sell it along with 5 acres and then we will build our home on the back section of the remaining 15 acres. The barn is actually an indoor riding arena with stables and is really very cool. That will remain on our property. When I say "ideally" it's because I think Steve may have us move into the farm house while construction on our home is going on. Because I sense that this may actually be the progression, I've taken a vested interest in the project.
So, I will add more photos as things come together. His goal is to be done
with the remodel in about 2 weeks which means he could be done
when I return from Arizona! Fun stuff.

Knitting Has Become an Obsession

2009-01-10T15:13:00.004-06:00

At least it's a fairly harmless habit. I knitted this Kim Hargreaves sweater called "Tess" in about a week.

Trick of Treat!

2008-11-02T07:48:00.000-06:00

Halloween 2008 with Luke and Lilly. Lilly was Tigger this year and Luke as a Giraffe. We went to dinner at Garfield's so we could trick-or-treat in the mall. We had a blast and Luke was fascinated by all of the costumes.

Growing Up

2008-11-02T07:40:00.001-06:00

Bear Brown is 7 months old now and getting big. She loves to play Frisbee almost as much as she loves to pick on Sadie. She's totally different than Murphy in both looks and personality. Her energy and appetite are endless so she goes to Lucky Dog for day care at least once a week. They are amazed that at the end of the day, all of the other dogs are exhausted but Bear is still going strong. We take long walks and play all of the time. So much fun! The other picture is the house we moved into in September. Yes....another move and the house is just 2 doors down on the same street. We think we'll be in this one for awhile. (At least through the holidays, I hope.)

Once A Beautiful Pair of Mittens

2008-10-25T09:39:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at Aran Cable knitting was a great pattern out of Vogue Fall '08. These mittens were so fun to knit and they were great therapy while recovering from surgery. All of this was good. Until Bear Brown decided they were soft and inviting. Yep, the 3rd photo is a product of Bear's handy-work. I came out of my office to grab another cup of coffee only to find the culprit with my right mitten in her mouth. Damage done! Hours of work...unraveled before my very eyes. So I will order some more yarn and set out to knit a 3rd mitten. "Bear Lesson" #501.....keep all things soft and pretty put away - not on the counter.

Overlooking Breckenridge

2008-10-05T09:30:00.001-05:00

These were taken from Boreas Pass overlooking Breckenridge. The ski slopes are behind me in the first pic. The pass was really pretty with the fall colors of the turning aspens. Later that same day, there was another 4 inches of snow dropped on the peaks.

Rocky Mountain National Park - Sept 2008

2008-10-05T07:25:00.002-05:00

Steve and I went to the Rockies in September. I had a week before starting my new job at Roehl so we decided to take a last minute trip to Colorado. On this particular day, we took a trip through Rocky Mtn National Park which was truly amazing. We saw moose, elk, and breathtaking scenery. The 2 young elks were hanging out in front of a house in Estes Park...they were really very tame. The elk in the middle was NOT tame. This picture was taken about 25 yards away from him in "his" meadow. He was patient with us for several minutes but then it was obvious that he'd had enough. Before he ran us off, we were lucky to watch and listen as he bugled to a nearby heard.

The House on Marshall

2008-08-19T19:06:00.003-05:00

This was taken early in the summer. Much has changed including that there will be new owners in about a month. No heart ache here. Just time to move along.

The End of Summer??

2008-08-19T18:26:00.002-05:00

How odd that the end of summer is marked by when the kids go back to school. I've never lived really close to a school until now. Steve's latest subdivision is in "Schoolview Estates" which means that I have a bird's eye view of the kids' progression every morning from my office. Seems too early for "back to school" but time really does fly and it's a pleasant reminder of the excitement that I used to feel for the newness of a new beginning. It conjurs memories of really fun clothes and back to school supplies. As adults, at least we have Levenger!! Of course, one of my favorite things.

Bear Brown in her baby pool.

2008-07-28T17:54:00.003-05:00

Time Flies....

2008-07-28T17:27:00.003-05:00

And I'm either too busy or too lazy to maintain a Blog. Well, life has changed so much for us. In May, we lost our wonderful Murphy Brown to cancer. This was a sudden thing and one that hit in a quick and unjustifiable way. She's at peace and we have the sweetest memories of her loving friendship. Pictures constantly remind us of how lucky we were to have such a great companion. Steve, Sadie, and I miss her sweet ways very much.
Life has an amazing way of introducing new and wonderful "favorite things." Enter Miss Bear Brown. Bear (yes, there are such thing as girl bears!) came to us at 8 weeks old. She's now 4 months old and a real pistol-waver. She loves to come flying into the room waving her pistols at everyone and everything. Alas, she has made her mark...on skin, furniture, flip flops, and Sadie. We're seeing great signs of a retriever, though. This fall, Steve is vowing to take her duck hunting. Let's hope she doesn't get tossed out of the blind for bad duck manners!

Martha's Vineyard August 2007

2008-02-11T17:43:00.000-06:00

2008-02-11T17:35:00.000-06:00

Murphy Brown is our 6 year old female chocolate lab. She and Sadie are the best of friends and they take turns in the "most spoiled" category. One of her best tricks is to collect the bowls at meal time and bring them back for an extra treat.

Sadie

2008-02-11T17:32:00.000-06:00

Miss Sadie is the princess of the house. She is a beautiful sable colored cocker spaniel with a very sweet disposition that makes spoiling her a "must." She is most content on the arm of Steve's chair snuggling in and watching me knit. Her favorite sporting event is to run after Murphy with her tennis ball in her mouth while Murph actually engages in "Fetch." She sometimes gets wanderlust so we have to keep a close eye on her.

2008-02-11T17:30:00.000-06:00

January 1st 2007 ~ Key West, FL