Almost Christmas

Well so far I still have the computer up and running, will be so happy when son #1 has time after New Years to fix it up for me. We have had such cold weather and blowing snow so have drifts all over the place, so far all animals have survived, you really wonder how at those temperatures. Have been busy baking goodies for the kids Christmas bags, I have to find time to bake something for myself as I can not have gluten.RH finally picked up a tree so will get it put up tonight and then I will be trying to keep the cats from dismantling it. We are going to be by ourselves for Christmas day as Son #1 is on call at work so has to be close enough in case of an emergency which always happens in the holidays, son#2 works in the oil patch so he is working over Christmas and daughter just phoned and said their van died and can not get it into the garage until after the holidays, the older grandson's have serious girlfriends this year so will be spending Christmas day with them so we will all get together later when everyone is free. So we are planning a quiet do whatever we want day with the animals, just hope it is a nice day and no one needs to be out shoveling snow.
I finished the scarf and hat and can not wait to make some more, love the way the colors swirl up on the scarf, the hat is a bit on the large side so might make the next one a bit smaller. Have been busy making small quilted Christmas ornaments for gifts, I sent them off and forgot to take pictures, have to remember to take pictures of the one's I am just finishing.
Son #1 had bought a digital camera last year that has settings galore but decided it was just too complicated for them and they bought another point and shot one so I said I needed a new camera so let me give it a trial run and I will see if it is what I want, the other day I got out the instruction book and it took me ages to even figure out how to turn it on....is that a good sign or what!! The book told you how to turn it off but there was nothing to say how to turn it on. I did get it turned on and took a couple of pictures and actually got them downloaded onto the computer. It has a great zoom factor and I noticed the neighbors cows on top of one of the hills quite far away so went out and took a picture.....wow it was like they were just across the road!! I think I am going to love this camera!!....if I ever get everything figured out...have to do some cheat cards to carry with me until I get the hang of it. I took a great picture of our poinsettia with it so will post it Well better run and get things finished up around here or maybe just lay in a sunbeam with the cats....it is still twenty-eight below but you would not know it with the sun coming through the windows, better enjoy it while we can!!

Ohhhhhh it is cold out there!!

It has been so cold for the last couple of days, we had a snow storm with strong winds and have drifts all over the barnyard. We had sorted animals around trying to get them all some shelter, we had some of our gift llamas that had taken a dislike to some of ours and would not let them up for food or water, one nasty llama girl does not like the alpacas so she was chasing them and running them off in the female area so we moved goats out of the shelters into the barn and put them in there with a couple younger llamas and a couple of older llamas that the nasty llama was chasing around, the funny thing was the two older llamas were llamas that she came with!! So they had shelters but when RH went out the next morning the alpaca girls decided not to go into the shelters and were laying out by the fence almost covered with snow, he tried to herd them in and one of them jumped into a big drift and she could not get out so he had to dig a path for her to get out, so he closed them into the paddock and fed them in the shelter and last night they stayed in. Until now we have not had that much trouble mixing in different animals but this has been a big worry with the cold weather. The male that came with the herd is on the thin side and was sheared so is really suffering in the cold weather so we put a large animal coat on him and he is better. This is just too much stress!! I am amazed that the animals can survive weather that cold!!
Meanwhile I have been struggling along with my computer problems managing barely to read e-mails and send them but then the computer would not recognize the printer, so could not print anything!! Like what else for goodness sake....I am trying to get my Christmas letter printed and mailed. Oldest Son was coming out yesterday to help me get the computer back online in exchange for a haircut but the weather was too bad but he managed to get out today even though it was thirty below, he did not have time to clean up the computer but he got the printer working and identified some damage the virus did and I will be able to manage until after Christmas when he has a couple of weeks off work and can get out to fix things up and he got his hair cut and we had a good visit.
Now on the knitting front, on the Yarn Harlots blog she had been knitting those scarves with the two colors of yarn and it gave me an idea....that I would dye a solid color of yarn to go with my multicolored yarn and knit a similar type scarf, and I love the way it turned out, I have a picture of when I first started it and it is neat the way the colors swirl along. I just finished it tonight plus a hat to match and will get pictures tomorrow. I knit two rows of the multicolor and then two rows of the solid color in knit one, purl one. On the hat I did the knit one, purl one for five centimeters to start with then knit the rest in stocking stitch in two rows multi and two rows plain. Now can not wait to start the other colors....but I better get my Christmas letter written and mailed and finish shopping for Christmas. For all my nieces and nephews, nineteen of them at this point I make up a small bag of goodies each, I do not see them that often and I feel that doing this makes me remember their names and they remember mine...right..I just use brown sandwich bags and use a stamp of a llama and some cats and decorate them. I also better get baking this coming week as I do up bags for children and Grandchildren full of baked goodies and a jar of homemade jam. Jam is already made so just have to get the baking done up. I am running out of days so I better get a schedule so I can get everything done in time. And "Please" to the powers that be over computers.....keep mine going until my computer fixer son can get at it!!

Finally online again!!

I think the computer having problems is too stressful!! A virus tried to get in one night through a chatline while RH was on the computer and he did not notice or tell me there was a problem so when I went to shut down the computer before going to bed here it was!! Although I blocked the line it was coming in on and hoped I was o.k. my internet was closed down....I worked for hours trying to get it working...would take a break and then get at it again, RH had some info to send to people before his conference call this coming week plus I live in the middle of nowhere and my computer is my lifeline, specially my daily online chat to sister Jean. Sent an S.O.S to older son who deals with my computer problems but without him being here he could not offer any quick fixes so I was on my own. Finally by going in the back door so to speak I managed to open my e-mail and read messages but could not send e-mails.....o.k. went to bed and tried again yesterday morning...managed to stop all the alerts that something was going to take over my computer and finally....could not believe it...I could finally send e-mails and access the internet. I can not believe I did this on my own!! RH managed to get his info sent!! It still is not great but I am managing so far so hopefully this post will go.
So now what else have I been up to....have to think...this computer thing has consumed me for four days so have to think.....oh..yes..I knit the little doll for my niece's youngest little girl, she was born the day after Christmas last year so is coming up a year old, knit some fingerless mitts out of some llama yarn, two pair....I am really having a mind blank I tell you...will have to go refresh my memory, I know I was knitting.
Meanwhile we have been trying to get the herd of llamas mixed into our herd which is not easy I tell you, the male had always been in his own paddock by himself and we run ours together now we have so much space as it is healthier than being confined in small paddocks, well when we first put him in the main male area he was getting beat on and not fighting back, so put him in the younger male pasture and they beat on him and he would not fight back, finally put him in a small pasture by himself and he went down to a corner and stayed and looked depressed so went down and brought him up and put him in with the geldings in their pasture and so far so good, we were afraid he would start beating on the geldings. Then I noticed one of the females from the new herd chasing my alpaca girls and not letting them up to the barn and the water, so now we are solving that problem by moving goats around so we can get the alpaca girls their own area with a few of the younger llama girls. We have had a bit of snow but any day we could really get dumped on and I would like to have everyone safe and comfy.
Well better get this posted while the going is good. Off to make some bread and dye up a couple skeins of yarn and get my dye stuff tucked away until after the holidays. RH is off to a Christmas party today so I better make the most of the time.