Damn these days off...

Seems like I work my butt off more on days off than on my job.

Seeded and cut up Principe Borghessi tomatoes, then put them in the dehydrator for "sun"-dried tomatoes. (These tomatoes are from plants that AnnaMarie gave us last spring, bless her!)
Processed a pile of roasted red peppers and put them in the freezer. (I tried canning these, years ago, but they came out really mushy, so I've been freezing them ever since. Unfortunately, the freezer is now full, and we've still got corn to go...)
Baked a loaf of bread.
Made wraps for sandwiches for the week. (The recipe makes 8. I lose interest in the project around number 6. The last two are a sore trial to my patience.)
Cut up and started cooking down the last batch of tomatoes for the year.
Made a great big kettle of Leek and Potato Soup for a potluck we attended tonight. A vegan version, no less. If I'd been making it for me, it would have been all about bacon and cream and butter. There are leftovers, so I'll be decking it out for Madman and me. Lactose-intolerance be damned! I need cream...

And I need to sit down...

I wish I'd thought to take pictures...

We had our first workshop for the Transition Caledonia group today - Madman gave a talk on non-hybrid gardening and seed-saving. It was a small, but interested group, with lots of lively discussion. Madman always shines when he's in instructional mode, especially when the subject matter is near and dear to his heart.
Of course, the high point for me was that AnnaMarie and Wes came down south for it. We got to show off our garden, our hoophouse, and our critters. They brought their little Corgis along, who acted like perfect little ladies for the entire visit.
Now, I had not known that Corgis were sheepherding dogs until AnnaMarie told me. (And seriously? I thought she was joking... Those short little legs? Herding sheep? Yeah, right...) She directed me to some videos of Corgi show trials, and sure enough, they are sheepherders!
Though when we tried introducing them to our sheep, I think we would have had dogherding sheep if we had put the dogs in the pen...

Seriously...

The more I think about this, the more I'm behind it.
She has a Voice. She has an Eye.
And dudes, she's taking her knitting to Antarctica.
How cool is that?
She's a sock knitter. At the South freakin' Pole.
Imagine it.
Let's get the word out. Tell your family. Tell your friends. (Hell, tell your enemies...)

Knitting. At the South Pole.

Anyone know the Harlot?

We need to send Bullwinkle to Antarctica

Seriously.
Go here for details. And beautiful pictures.
I love her. Besides the fantastic pictures, and great sense of humor, she uses even more parenthetical remarks than I do. (And that's a lot.) (Not that I'm counting.)

Tomatoes' Last Hurrah

That's pretty much it for the tomatoes. Late Blight has done in the vines to the point that we had to pull the rest of the fruit. We've got a few that are still ripening, but I don't hold out much hope.
I've got a big kettleful of sauce bubbling on the stove at the moment. I'll get it canned tomorrow night. Between the rain, cold weather, cloudy skies, and blight, we got nowhere near the yield we normally get. We'll probably have to (*gasp*) buy tomato sauce this year, for the first time in more years than I can remember.
Next year will be better. (That's our Northern Gardeners' Motto. We have to keep believing it, or we'd give up altogether.)
We had a light frost last night- it singed the squash and the beans a little. Not a Big Killer Frost, but not welcome, either. The cucumber plants are now walking around with "The End is Near" signs.

Ply me to the moon... (sorry, sometimes I just can't help it.)

Okay, this video just changed my life...
Sarah Anderson's Navajo Plying. I don't even remember where I first got the link. I watched it, bookmarked it, and thought "Gotta give that a try next time I'm stuck with Navajo plying."
I've whinged many a time about chain-plying. I always feel like I'm about a hand-and-a-half short of being able to do it.
Tonight was the night. I had singles left over from the 3-ply alpaca I'm spinning. (As I always say, why, oh why, do the bobbins never come out even...) Loaded up the video, watched closely one more time, then gave it a shot.
I mirror-imaged her, since my right hand is my orifice hand. And holy crap! First time ever that I chain-plyed without extensive and vehement cursing! The twist was consistent. The little knobby loops disappeared.
One less thing to whinge about.
Life is good.

I Just Wanna Ply

(Put your arms around me, baby. Put your arms around me, baby...)


Ready or not, here I come... As soon as I hit that "Publish" button, the wheel will start turning!


In the good news department: I got to meet the Extreme Gardener and her husband tonight.
Turns out they're literally our neighbors - only a couple of miles up the road. Madman and I gave them the grand tour of our little crazy acre. They scritched our sheep and smiled at the chickens, and we talked garden, garden, garden. We compared notes on plant varieties, swapped stories of gardens past, and shared plans of gardens yet to be. Incredibly nice people! Looking forward to seeing them again.