A Cabin

One of the things that Dennis had on his "to do" list was to build a cabin at Hermit lakes. So I decided last fall that this would be the thing to do. The cabin will be finished in a month. I have found a friend at church who builds cabins & he is doing a wonderful job. I'm excited about being able to go away from home for more than 8 hours without finding someone to feed animals or whatever!!! This is the outside................................so so looking forward to it.

The Farm

As I stated in my previous post, the last 8 months have been something else. Due to all that has been going on and the economy I knew I needed to downsize with the alpacas. Then during shearing time I also had a broken ankle. Luckily not a serious break, but still broken & in a boot. I got hit in the jaw by one of the alpaca boys & decided that I seriously needed to make some changes. I have managed to find a place to donate the alpacas to & they will end up with people in the Navajo nation.

I have a special spot in my heart for the Navajo people due to my Aunt & Uncle being missionaries to them for many many years. So I feel good about this. They are still with me at this point, but hopefully we will be moving them in about 2 or 3 weeks. In many ways it will be a relief to have one less grouping to worry about & that ties me down. I will miss them though.

Time

Seems like time flies............it has been a truly crazy 8 months. I'll work on a couple of posts to catch things up.

Family life. Willie & I have been having quite a few issues. But we have discovered that Willie is now diagnosed as bipolar and that has truly been much of the issue. He still does not feel that he is. But his symptoms are much like bipolar 1. A psych nurse counselor that I went to see a while back indicated that due to his epilepsy and all the seizures he has had in the past.........some of the problem could be damage from those. So no matter the diagnosis, if the medication helps that is what we go with.

I am working toward getting Willie counseling & hopefully vocational rehab, then perhaps a job & a group home & onward to his own apartment. It is slow going, but some progress is being made. He is better than he was a year ago. So I would ask for your continued prayers in the upcoming months.

Busy Fall

What a busy month November has been. It isn't an easy month to begin with. I turned 60 this month. My mother died a year ago this month. Dennis died 2 years ago this month. My father died 5 years ago this month. Besides all the emotional stuff to deal with.............well I did get a fair amount accomplished.

The entire block that my parent's owned in Center is finally on the market. I managed to get everything cleaned up & ready to go. Mom & Dad's house has been on the market for about 3 months. I feel like I'm finally getting some progress done & a big weight off my shoulders. I still have much to do with Dennis estate............well, not the estate as such, but moreover items of his that I want to give to his children.

In the meantime, here on the farm, the second loafing shed is done. My barn has new electrical wiring. The fencing around the new sheds is done. My wood room has been cleaned up & rearranged and I have two more cords of wood ready to burn. Oh, I had a professional chimney sweep come & discovered problems with the chimney. They are now fixed. I have gotten a lot accomplished that needed to be done. I'm looking forward to December & a new year beyond that.

Felting Class

On Friday the 26th of Nov. we will start at 10 am (that gives Lois time enough to come over from Ignacio that morning) and do scarves. I only have two people signed up at this time due to scheduling conflicts, so I can add one or two more if we find more interested.

On Saturday the 27th of Nov. we will start at 9:30 am to do the vases. I have 3 people signed up to do vases. We could potentially add one more to this class if someone else shows interest.

Anyone else interested? Please email me. Felting is so much fun.

Fall

As I said in my previous post fall has been busy.

I've had the workers that made the loafing shed tear down another old one & put up another new one. I'm very happy with their work. So I ask them to do a lot of handyman jobs that have needed done, some for years. They are going to start on that next.

I'm having the barn rewired. There are pictures in a book about Monte Vista, of the barn supposedly taken in 1887, so it is old. The old wiring frightens me as I know the barn could burn very quickly. So another project.

The two big ones I need to work on are Dennis' items from his parents farm in Spokane. I need a list for Dennis' children and working on Mom & Dad's paperwork items. Those are both priorities. Helping Mom & then her death messed up me finishing up Dennis stuff. So I need to restart this.

The hay is put up & I 'm almost ready for winter!!

Rusty

September came & September went..................busy busy.

Rusty is adjusting well. He still sleeps in his crate at night & sleeps quietly. He KNOWS that this is what is expected of him. So far he has done well in the house. He & Jamie are crated during part of the day depending on what I'm doing, etc. He is getting along very well with both girls, which is great. He knows the "plan" of the day & what we do that he is involved with.

When I go out to feed the alpacas & rabbits all the corgis usually come along. He joins in well with eating some alpaca food and eating rabbit poop. He feels the rabbit item is a special treat. So far he doesn't seem interested in the cat, where as Jamie is chasing Princess every time she sets eyes on her.

Malen is slowing down, I can see it more and more. She is still my sweetheart and I love her dearly.