Monday, October 08, 2007

First Week

So remember how like an hour ago I was posting about it being the first week of September? Yeah, well somehow it's now a full month later.

We spent Sunday afternoon in Hood River picking apples and pears. We found a farm that was selling several varieties of apples and pears for 30 cents per pound! Considering you can't find an apple for under $1.50 per pound in Portland, those prices seem ludicrous. We got huge apples and tiny apples, red and green apples, apples for pies and apples for eating. Oh and the pears. This pear amazes me every time I look at it. I had no idea there was such a thing as a striped pear. It's huge too, quite possibly the largest pear I've ever seen.

I'll be doing some major canning this week. I love the idea of stocking up for the year and then going back to the farms and starting again. I always thought that canning was a huge undertaking. Mostly thanks to my mom, she makes it seem like digging trenches would be a picnic compared to canning. I don't know where she gets that. It takes some time, but it's definitely worth it and fun too. Plus, when you can your own foods, you always have a gift on hand.

We also visited an alpaca farm yesterday. I had no idea alpacas were so very soft. The fiber is amazing and spins the softest yarn. It was like cashmere. I fed this guy some alpaca pellets which he seemed to enjoy.

Here is a preview of the Halloween treat I referred to previously, a wooly Boo garland!
I'll be adding a couple to the shop this week. There are some crocheted acorns in the shop too.

3 comments:

{kimmymade} said...

1) I am SO VERY impressed that you can. Seriously. 2) Alpaca are my favorite animals at the petting zoo, and I always tell my husband that I want a pet alpaca one day. My favorite yarn to sew with is baby alpaca. It's ridiculously soft, and looks great, too. Now if only I could knit with it... 3) That garland is awesome, btw. I'm very tempted to buy it. I have a Happy Birthday garland, so perhaps I can get a collection going. 4) The acorns also rock :-)

Anonymous said...

That's weird! I visited an alpaca farm yesterday as well! Was it national alpaca day or something?

Richelle said...

I love going to the farms and gathering the great stuff. We have them all over around here. I'm not much for canning, mostly because of my mother, but I have always made my own jams and applesauce.

Alpaca yarn is some of my favorite yarn to crochet with. Did you get some while you were there? WE have an alpaca farm here where they actually sell the handspun yarn. The prices are ouch, but the yarn is worth it.