Sat. Jan. 24th… Clear, Cold, Windy… Yet, Just another day……

Another day of winter, but once completed, it will surely place us closer to that March 20th earmark we are all awaiting. SPRING!!!! Yet still, I never find it difficult to see the beauty of winter, even though we tire of the cold winds, the inconvenience of the old and dirty snow. Perhaps one day soon, it will snow just enough to renew the fresh, clean appearance of an undisturbed snowfall in the yard…… covering the millions of footprints made by deer, rabbits, fox and crows as they bid for ownership of any morsels left over from the squirrel feeder or bread we toss out for the birds. Many times I have found squirrels emptying the bird feeders…… hanging upside down from them to retrieve the bird seed, even though the ground is littered with zillions of seeds the birds splash everywhere as they eat. I have found deer browsing under the bird feeders, eating tiny seed with the dexterity of a brain surgeon…… truly amazing, the things you see in the outdoors. We have come home to find our chickens feeding amongst deer, turkey, squirrels, birds and rabbits all at the same time in an area the size of our side yard……… all munching and dining on something pleasing to their individual tastes, as peacefully as siblings of the same species, inhabiting the same area.
The wind is forever moving…… carrying scents and air currents across the nation… the air we breath this morning may also be present to another, that will breath it again, in New Jersey or even Florida later in the day… or tomorrow. As surely as the wind will carry Canadian winds to us here in New York, so then will the south west, deliver milder air, as the currents change from a winter pattern to a spring like pattern soon. I smile when I see the currents moving from Ohio and Tennessee, across Pennsylvania, for I know their temperatures will be felt here sooner or later.
Although we love the winter, with all it’s beauty and tourist pull for skiing and other winter outdoor activities…… we also love the summer activities available here and this spring will be especially exciting with the arrival of the Alpacas, the building of the hospice gift shop, the return to trout fishing, river fishing in the Hudson and later in the summer…… arrival of our Angora rabbits.
We have almost received the official declaration of having “farm status”, which will help us monetarily with farm business and we continue to deal other legal ramifications that, when achieved, will ease the problems we now have before us.
We are setting up bookkeeping procedures and cataloging our activities and listing our receipts for the three entities here……
The Cluckin’ “A” Critter Farm, LLC…… then, Nature’s Friend’s of Hospice, Inc…… and then, there is just the plain old, Vicki & Skip.
In the next two days we are preparing for the eleven day visit of our great friend, Robin, from Georgia. Somehow, yesterday she fell and broke her ankle, but she called Vicki last evening and told her that she informed the doctor that took care of her, to put a cast on it and pronto…… because she was going to New York on vacation Monday! I hope she doesn’t have a lot of pain while she is here. We are masters at managing pain after Vicki’s herniated disc episode last summer, so we’ll make her stay as comfortable as possible. We’ll pick her up at the airport on Monday sometime.

Friday, Jan. 23rd… Got the lumber for the stalls today……

Today we had an appointment at the Greene County Dept. of soil and water conservation to have a soil assessment on our farm acreage completed which is the final step to getting farm status officially from the county. We have informally passed, as noted by a phone call Vick made the other day, inquiring as to why it was taking so long and if there was anything wrong. The person she talked to said that the paperwork had just cleared and we were approved, so now we were to go to Cairo, to the soil and water conservation department and get the paperwork from them for the soil analysis. We returned from there this afternoon with the needed paperwork and now we can take it to the town clerk.
Ed Pooters, from Middle Field Lumber called and said our lumber list was finished and ready to pick up too. We jumped into the truck and headed over to his mill, paid and loaded the wood and was on our way back in less than 15 minutes. The lumber is for the stall railing inside the barn needed for the Alpacas. We will work on that when it is a little warmer and we feel better. I still just don’t feel 100% yet and there are too many people with the flu or Bronchitis everywhere around us, so we have learned to stay away and be cautious when we feel a little down. It’s better to take it easy and stay ahead of the cold and flu season…… especially since we are retired and can lay down and rest when we feel lousy. I think your body can fight off the infections and germs if you are well rested, warm and drink lots of fluids.
We did go to GNH to see about tickets for the chicken and biscuit dinner they are holding at the Methodist Church tomorrow afternoon and evening. It is volunteer offering dinner, where you donate whatever you like…… Imagine, the ladies of the church…… elderly gourmet cooks, their entire lives… making chicken and gravy over biscuits! And a pile of it!!!!! We can’t wait!
It was brought to my attention…… and I believe correctly diagnosed that my ankles are aching from the way I sit while operating the knitting machine. I’ve also noticed a tender area in my side that hurts when I breath. It is quite probably muscles now working which I’m not used to using, that is causing the pain. It was diagnosed as “Scarf el Tunnel Syndrome”.
Now whadda ya tink a dat? Anyway……here are a few pictures of the scarf pile and ones we’re working on.
Finally, here’s a few pictures of our little girl, that has become a lady in the last week or so. She is better with the diaper, but still embarrassed that she has to wear it. Our little diaper dog………


The latest scarf and hat combo.... Only gonna be around $32.00 + shipping.

Here's the red & speckled scarf and hat combo....

$32.00 + shipping too.

The red, white & blue is just a tasseled scarf.

$22.00 + shipping.

An embarrassed Casey Mae, to say the least.

How disgusting and rude to show her when she is this embarrassed!

Sheesh....Do ya gotta show me?

Ah boy....here we go again.

Jan. 22nd… A day spent making scarves & a hat……

Since I was recovering from a day of yucky feelings, left over from yesterday and Vick had just about the same thing today…… we just hung around here at home, working on making scarves for the hospice gift shop. We made one that is red white and blue and another that is red with colored speckles and a matching hat to go with it. I’m gonna fire up the machine and make another one of yellow and blue after finishing this blog entry, but I’ll take a little break for a glass of wine with Vicki first. I’m really starting to enjoy a glass of Bully Hill’s “Sweet Walter Red” sweet red after dinner wine in the evening. It’s actually pretty good for you…… keeps your stomach in tip top working order, the way I understand it!! Anyway, it’s really good and lingers on the palate when sipped and allowed to circulate around in your mouth before swallowing.
I have some new thing going on with my ankles now. They are so sore, even when sitting, that it is difficult to sit still. They both feel like they have been severely sprained for some reason. I didn’t do anything that I can remember which would warrant this type of pain. I guess they’ll feel lots better when they quit hurting…… Usually that’s how it works, you know…… when the hurting goes away, it feels pretty darned good then. In fact…I’ve always noticed that I really didn’t mind the pain once it was gone.
Vick just finished the knit hat and is now working on the sewing of the scarf along the side and ends. It’s a long process, because I think this red and speckled scarf is about nine feet long and seven inches wide. It will be one that can be wrapped around ones neck and still remain long enough to be inside your coat, or can be wrapped around the neck twice and worn outside the coat. Shorter scarves never stay in place because they are just a tad too short to do so. Well, I think I’ll stop now and get to work. Uh…after my wine that is... yummy, yumm, yumm……

Thurs. 1/22… Dear God… if you have some time Please Consider……

Dear God, I’ve been meaning to touch base with you on a few issues and concerns about current events, both in my life and everyone else’s. Knowing that I am not one of your more shining stars, due to the many mistakes I have made and continue to make on a daily basis, I will start with those concerns for others within the world I also occupy. Could you do something about the Middle East conflicts which are constantly raging out of control? I know you want man to settle their own problems with the heart and conscience you gave them, but there are too many innocent little children being hurt, maimed and killed as those adults continue to make their massive, selfish, mistakes, which seem to drive us further and further into the turmoil. I know you want everyone of them to one day, come to the conclusion that, realizing that their religious beliefs and those of the other guy are basically the same…… and that you are only judged upon your own beliefs and actions, so we had better quit doing things which are offensive to you, such as killing someone because they believe in you in a different way. I think perhaps you could inject a small tidbit of understanding into each person, in the amount which seems appropriate to you, so as to limit the suffering and injuries to the children.
Next, could you speed up the process of searching for a cure for cancer and some of the other nasty diseases that kill more little innocent kids? I really wish we could please you by using our resources and wealth to accomplish this task, but unfortunately, too much funding is wasted on perpetuating the first problem….. So, could you help us find a cure in the name of the little ones and we’ll continue looking for the adult cures… where there is a difference?
Finally, I will only address one more problem of the world in general…… and that would be for you to intervene in any way you can, to help us stop destroying the world we live in. You created such beauty all around us and gave us a brain to develop miraculous things, yet we mar the world we live in, poison the water we drink… the air we breath and continue to do so as we argue about the causes and ways to reverse the damage done. You know…… most people say they care, but continue to litter and selfishly use anything they want, at any cost.
Now…… I was going to ask for a little help for myself with what I thought were big problems, like my knee troubles and aches and pains as I get older, but I think I’ll just let the list be comprised of the things others need.
Upon reflection…… I’m pretty healthy, happy and wealthy… Oh… and thank you more than anything for Vicki. A greater, loving gift, I could never hope to receive, because after all…. I have YOU and HER! Perhaps you can just work on the others. Sincerely, one of your little creations, Skip

Wed. Jan. 21st… Not up to snuff… like the rest of the world???

We got up this morning early… and as Vick got ready to go to an appointment, I fed and watered all the animals & gathered eggs. We left by 8:45 and headed to Schenectady to meet with Kim, a professional photographer that does Giclee’ prints and other technical print processes. She is going to do a few Giclee’ prints of Vicki’s watercolor paintings for my cousin in Mississippi. Kim is the professional printer Stanley Maltzman uses to do any prints of his artwork any time he wants to sell print copies, so we decided to drive up and drop off Vicki’s originals and have the prints made. We are going to have many for Kim to print off for sale in the hospice gift shop later.
Not feeling just exactly up to snuff on the way back, I curled up on the couch in front of the pellet stove from the time we got home until we went to the library for an art gathering we have once a month and we painted a little.
BAD NEWS!!!! We started the red ball of yarn last night, got a three foot section completed and then found that the machine malfunctioned and we started over. This time we got about two feet completed and it jammed again, dropping several stitches, which required we start over again. At this point, we both decided that it was not worth the hassle, because upon examining the quality of the knit, we found it to be too thin and flimsy to use this yarn anyway, so today, on our way home, we stopped and picked up some more yarn…… only suitable to be used as the scarf and hat set we want to produce.
Right now, since I don’t feel the greatest, so I will just schlump around this evening and hope to feel better tomorrow. I blame it on everything being upset today with such an early departure. I didn’t even make a pot of coffee this morning or anything…… so maybe I’m just down a quart or something. Well see.

Tues. Jan. 20th… A day of production… Presidential & us Peons

The inauguration and all the associated programs of the new president, including the parties and presidential balls, are still going on and will, until the wee hours of the morning. It all happened without incident, thank goodness! I did hear about a bomb threat in New Jersey, on one of the highways, just a few minutes ago but it had nothing to do with the inauguration… at least they didn’t say it did. We watched a little and then went on with business as usual…… after all, we need to keep busy. Below are a few pictures showing the scarves we have done so far and what we have in process right now. We are making them as fast as we can, both on the machine and by hand… because Vick has Hospice Hearts to make too. I don’t know……. I might add another section to the Hospice page or lengthen the page to add a button, where you can order these scarves on-line until we get the hospice gift shop built this spring. I have a picture of the building I designed, which we are ready to take to the town hall to apply for the permit, so we are ready to start construction as soon as the first hint of spring arrives. The town clerk and building inspector seemed to think there wouldn’t be any problems getting the permit since it is for a charity like hospice, so we were happy about that. I need to get cracking on this because I will do the wiring inside too and that will need to be inspected and approved before we can open it to the public and have our grand opening. Anyway, maybe we could sell several scarves during the construction which would allow us to build the hospice revenue we will turn over to the Columbia-Greene Hospice program. Watch the last picture…… the red ball of yarn…… it’s a ball of yarn tonight and I’ll show it to you tomorrow night as a scarf measuring about six feet long with fringes on the ends.
I’ll run the knitting machine and Vick will feed me the yarn from the ball…… in about thirty minutes, we will have a six foot scarf and Vick will start sew it into a two-ply, warm, fluffy scarf. If it were not for the sewing which takes a couple hours, we would have the scarf done in about forty-five minutes. When I am done with the machine, we have a knitted piece six feet long by fourteen inches wide. We then double it and sew it to a finished size of six feet long by seven inches wide. The last thing we do is add the fringe tassels. Anyway…… watch for the red ball to transform to a beautiful scarf.






These four scarves are ready for sale. The pastel one and the red one, was done on the machine by both Vick and I...the blue and brown & white one I did by hand.



The one on the knitting needles is the one I'm working on right now by hand.

The red & black, purple and off white ones are in process by Vicki. She is doing these by hand and was waiting for more yarn to finish them.

The red and pastel ones have to be sewn across the ends and down the six foot length and then, the tassels added. Vick does the sewing... I do the knitting on the machine while she feed yard to me from the skeins.

We're knitting fools and won't be able to keep up when people start to purchase them. They are only going to cost $22.00. We are proud to announce that 100% of the net proceeds goes to hospice....... we get nothing but the pride derived by making them for such a good cause.

This big red ball of yarn tonight will be a scarf tomorrow evening. If Vick didn't need to sew over seven feed of it by hand, it would be done tonight in an hour.

Later this summer, we are looking forward to knitting these items from our own Alpaca wool, harvested, carded, spun and knitted into merchandise, right here on the farm, that we will sell in the hospice gift shop, with 100% of the proceeds going to the hospice program. We know that people will be glad to purchase such exotic items, especially when they are made from Alpaca wool, right here on the farm..... and positively... when every penny spent, goes to such a worthy cause! We can't wait.

Tues. Jan. 20th… Back to normal on an abnormal day……

The weekend is now over, Bill, Loraine and Andrew are back to the regular grind, at home, in Long Island and we are starting to return to the hum drum of everyday life again, until the beginning of next week, when we drive to Newark Airport to pick up our friend Robin, who is flying in from Georgia for an eleven day stay with us. Vicki hasn’t seen Robin in about three years or so, when Robin flew into New Jersey and visited Vick. She primarily went there to drive her father and his vehicle back to Georgia, where he would then live with Robin, but she dropped by Vick's house and visited for a bit before leaving with her dad and driving home. Vicki is very happy and eager for Robin to arrive and I am looking forward to finally getting to really know her……… other than briefly talking on the phone or in an email.

Today, history will be made! I saw the hoards of people standing in the freezing cold, awaiting noon and the inauguration of Barrack Obama as the 44th President of the United States…… and again I fear for the safety of the man in such a large group of amassed people. As I’ve stated previously…… although I didn’t care for him and didn’t vote for him, I now stand behind him and support him. The suspicions I had about his squalid relationships with the wrong people in the wrong places and their agendas un-becoming to the welfare of our nation, are still in the back of my mind, but I will wish him well and pray that I was paranoid in those suspicions and hope for the promises he has made to come true…… after all, we are all in this thing together and we all agree that things must change. I wish him God speed in his endeavors, now and in the future.
We just got our weekly fax, telling us what our Tuesday soup lunch will consist of today at the Two Kids Bakery. We treat ourselves to a nice soup and homemade bread lunch, every Tuesday, with Keren and Reggie Ratcliffe, the owners of the bakery. We have come to enjoy the weekly visit and can honestly say it is one of our favorite places to have lunch. Everything is so very delicious because they use the highest quality ingredients to produce the tastiest soups, sandwiches and breads around. We will take our friend Robin there next week for a scrumptious lunch…… after all, she has read so much about them, that she can hardly wait to get here and dine there with us.

Monday Eve, Jan. 19th… Our company has left… we’re all alone…

The holiday is done…everyone has gone home and we have the house to ourselves and it’s really quiet right now. I know that Bill, Loraine and Andrew loved their weekend… but were ready to go home to the comfort of their own surroundings… TV… meals and yes… to some degree… even to get back to the grind of familiar things like work and getting ready to return to college classes and the Lacrosse practices. We will not be lonely because we have each other… and all the critters, not to mention five dogs always under foot. When Bill pulled out of the driveway and they were on their way home, we gathered ourselves up, put the dogs in their assigned places and went to Gem Woodstoves, in Cairo, to pick up ten bags of pellets from George, the owner. He wasn’t there, so we did as he told us to do when Vick called telling him, we wanted to come down for them and after loading the ten bags of pellets, we placed the check in his mail slot in the door. Upon returning and unloading them unto the porch, we took off for Coxsackie and had a pizza at Paul’s Pizza and Pasta. The pizza was as good as usual and since Vick was all cooked out for the day, she really enjoyed being waited on. We got home, I took the garbage out to the road for tomorrow morning, Vick grabbed a Disaronno with crème and I, a glass of Sweet Walter Red wine and we both settled in front of the computers to read emails. After reading and addressing any that needs answers, we will knit or do something for the hospice gift shop until bed time. We also, always await a call from Loraine, letting us know they arrived at home without any trouble, before going to bed, so making things for the hospice program is a good way to pass time until they make it home and call. I updated Loraine’s web page with an addition of a consultant or colleague’s business card, as she has done for Loraine on her web page earlier. I then added a restricted page for Loraine that will allow her to track where her visitors are coming from and when they visited. She will also be able to tell how many people visited each day, but only she will be able to see these statistics, thus, keeping the professionalism intact on her site. She has recently published a book on an auditory processing disorder which afflicts many people without their knowledge. Take a look at her site, read about the book and if you think for a moment that you know of someone that may have this disorder, please change their life for the better by directing them to her site for the help this affordable book can provide. Her site is http://www.psychdocinfo.com. Once there, just click on the “my book” button at the left.
Tomorrow we will inevitably end up at the bakery for our weekly soup lunch and then get a haircut at Hairtique, where Spring will again enjoy Oriental chewing gum that Vick gives her, to “make her day”, as she stands there all day long, just a cuttin’ hair. If the temperature is as high tomorrow as today, I will try to start the Cub Cadet, Which I am convinced will start now that the temperature has moderated a little, because we never had trouble starting it at 30 degrees before. When it was zero out, I wasn’t surprised that it didn’t start either.
Tomorrow is the inauguration of President elect Obama, which I hope goes smoothly, even though I didn’t like or vote for him. I think there is some weirdo’s out there that will try to stop him from being president by wanting to harm him in some way or another, and even though I didn’t vote for him, I would hate to see him hurt or killed by these weirdo extremists. Perhaps he can do as he said and pull the country out of the crapper, but I doubt it, because unlike popular belief…… I don’t think the woe’s of the world should be singularly placed on George Bush’s shoulders, because there are a lot of other factors and fingers in the pie too……therefore a new baker probably can’t make the crust more fluffy if the other helper’s keep on throwing in flour, milk and eggs, like in the past. I wish him luck and good health… he’ll need it!

Monday, Jan. 19th… Battling the harsh winter cold up here……

During the stay of our company from Long Island, New York, we seldom have any free time to do blog planning or picture processing, etc., etc. without taking time away from the company which I feel to be rude and unappreciative of their visit, so I do little in the way of blog writing or planning. This would then appear to be a sign, that I don‘t care about our readers, which is definitely not true either, so at this time, I would ask that you all please remain patient and allow Vick and I the consideration of being in the middle, between not wanting to make our family guests feel neglected……. And you, our readers, feel unappreciated or either.
During this time in the morning when everyone remains in bed, snuggled under the fleece blankets, enjoying the last day of their three day extravaganza, in which they do not have to be up before daylight, struggling through the morning commute of the busiest of cities in the world…… I sit and try to form something interesting, yet intelligent enough to be, at least equivalent to a poor copy of the farmers almanac……… and you know…… that could be an insult to the almanac sometimes.
This morning, among my thoughts were tidbit wonderings of how to overcome the freezing problems of the animals water. We have already purchased heated buckets…….but just how cold can it be outside and still have them keep the water from freezing. That is now the first question I will research over the net when our family heads for home this evening. I thought about wrapping some type of insulation around the bucket to protect the heating ability from the overly harsh -15 degree temperatures we have had the last several nights, knowing that when the outside temperature starts to moderate toward more realistic 15 degree nights and 30 to 35 degree days, the water may warm up to become tempered around the seasonal norm. I doubt the ducks will care about drinking warmer water than they have been. The question is……… what to use for insulation around the bucket that a duck will not shred to smithereens or soak, which will in turn, freeze and be useless? More research!! I wish I could find a dense, closed cell, pliable foam sheeting that I could duct tape around the bucket, which will be waterproof. Perhaps one of those foam exercise mats would be useable. That and a roll of duct tape could solve our winter problems. Hey…… thanks for your help… I couldn’t have done it without ya!

Sun. Jan. 18th… Losing eggs, going here.. Going there & dancing……

We went out this morning, fed the animals… watered them and removed the frozen eggs from the refrigerator… There were probably 15 to 18 dozen we lost due to the freezing cold. We had moved all but that amount to the house and placed them into the refrigerator yesterday so we would not have to go out there to get eggs in the freezing cold when someone came to get them. Boy, am I glad we did. I noticed that the temperature dropped to a frigid 34 degrees inside the refrigerator, so We brought the eggs into the house…..all but the ones I dumped today. Had I continued to bring them all inside, we would not have lost any eggs to the frigid temperatures which finally reached about 15 degrees inside the refrigerator. Once the temperature dropped like that, they froze and cracked in the boxes and became unfit to keep or sell.
Last evening, Vicki, Me, Bill, Andrew and Loraine made it to dinner at Green Hill Café in Norton Hill, and then headed for the Villa Vosilla where we watched Joe perform in their dining room, for the dinner guests. It is the first time I ever had the privilege to see or hear Joe perform in a professional setting, or while he was formally entertaining. He was great! He sounded good and performed and played as smooth as ever, proving to all involved that he was not past his prime…….
in fact… not even nearing the rocking chair mode he was afraid he was approaching. He performed from six until ten thirty, playing for forty-five minutes, then taking a fifteen minute break, then back to playing again. We recorded his performance, but he asked that we would not post it on the blog, which we agreed to. We will however post the following pictures snapped as we watched and recorded the program on DVD.

The Great Joe Drao....Live

My beautiful Vicki and Me

L to R : Kenny, Joe, Vicki & Skip