Monday, January 31, 2011

And This Little Pig said A Day of Contrasts

Well day one of the babies, and they are doing great, and so is Evie, she is such a good mum, I might actually get a betters night sleep, fingers crossed, but I'm sure I will still be up several times and at any slight noise :)

Also Evie would like to tell you that her mother (me) has been slack and did not change my bedding until after she took the photos, something about the puppies and me 'just looked so cute'!
We love our mummy.
So this morning in my sleep depravation, when I took all the girls out at 5am, I must not have shut the back door properly, so at 7am when I stood at the sink making a coffee I realised the door was slightly ajar... well my cats, my indoor, not aloud outside cats, had had access to the backyard for over two hours. Ahhhh...

Thankfully Sylvia was sitting between the door and the screen (with the dog door), such a good girl she had not gone out. Stella was just around the corner of the house, and Levi, well the evil one had gone over the side gate was in the front yard!!! All fine, thankfully, and Levi came when called.

Once back inside the full extent came to the for, Sylvia, my Silly had been outside. She is my calico, my moggie RSPCA girl. Well the photos tell the story... please note she is in her mid-summer clip.
My Silly is white, as in snow white.
This evening while I was watering pot plants on the front verandah, it was still 40C (105F) at 6.40pm tonight, this little fella must have taken shelter from the sun. He was looking right at me.
Not quite sure what he was pointing at... PM phone home :-)
Well we all survived day one, even with the heat, and tomorrow will be just as bad, but the puppies will be one day older... LiBBiE in Oz

Sunday, January 30, 2011

And This Little Pig said One... Two... Three... Four

FIVE!!!!

Yes people five puppies, so while most of you were sleeping, and after two sleepless nights, and definitely not looking forward to a third, Miss Evie did the right thing and started this afternoon, Sunday January 30. Please note these are photos just after birth, so some are a little icky.

Pup 1 - 3pm Girl, black and tan
Pup 2 - 3.53pm Boy, chocolate and tan
Pup 3 - 4.35pm Boy, chocolate and tan
Pup 4 - 6pm Boy, black and tan
Pup 5 - 6.17pm Girl, black and tan
This is what you call suction :D It's first born girl.
Just as puppy 2 arrived the phone rang, it was my good friend Sue, what are you doing she asks... Having puppies, as in right now! Can I come in? Absolutely!

See many hands make light work, and Sue is a nurse, she can come in really handy, for things like tying off puppies cords when Miss Evie was just a little too enthusiastic. Also when I took Evie out to the toilet, she changed all the paper in the whelping box, and put down clean bedding. Trust me it was clean. That is also Sue's hand above getting Evie to drink a little goats milk, Mum had sent down.
So what have I been doing these last couple of days of puppy watch, well a friend of a friend managed to get a lend of a copy of Sampler & Antique Needlework Vol 28 Fall 2002. This is the top section of the 2002 Rhode Island Sampler, designed as a tribute to early students at the Balch School, it was designed by Sally Hesketh.
It is quite a big sampler, but I really like the top, so decided to only do this part. I changed a few of the colours, the Lady, the Gentleman and Shepherdess, where all in shades of brown. I also realised that Samplers really should have your initials and year of completion, so had to rearrange the three birds in the middle.
Completed on raw 30 count linen, over two, a narrow piece, a little over 2 inches in height, and 11.5 inches in length.
Finished around 1.30pm this afternoon, right in the nick of time.
Well there you go, second finish for the year, and not one of my Crazies, and five beautiful puppies, what more could you ask for?

Well a good nights sleep... LiBBiE in Oz

Oops nearly forgot, thank you everyone for the lovely comments and emails re Evie and the puppies, been just a little busy... Thanks again.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

And This Little Pig said Still Waiting

Yes one and all we are still waiting! Evie's actual due date is today/tomorrow, and she has her legs firmly crossed.

Last night I was sure she was going to go, so up and down several times during the night to check, and all I got was, "Yes I was asleep."

So this afternoon we all sat outside and enjoyed the late afternoon, it was at least 10C cooler!
So we had some quiet time, I really love feeling the puppies move under her skin, or wiggly and squiggly. So do you think she is bigger? And if you look down towards her back leg, that lump is a puppy.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

And This Little Pig said Aussie Aussie Aussie... Oi Oi Oi

Yes it is Australia Day! An old photo of Stella as a kitten, posing for me, on the Aussie flag, well she is an Australian Mist, Australia's only home grown breed of cat! Must find the colour photo.
Today is a public holiday, with Evie so close to having her pups and it being extremely hot... as in 41C or 105.8F we stayed home in the air-con. I spent the day stitching, watching the tennis and the cricket, while the girls all laid round under the ceiling fan, enjoying the cool.

I managed my first finish of the year, and my first Crazy. LHN Ornament Joy to the World. One down, fourteen crazies to go. I changed 'Joy's' hair colour, my 869 just looked too green, I even dug into my old floss box, some of these thread are 20 years or older, and while it looked more brown, it just wasn't right. So I frogged it, and replaced with 433.
Someone asked, I think it was Danni :) Where the Hunter Valley was in relation to the floods in Queensland. Well here is a map of Australia, on the east coast, top to bottom, is Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and well you can't forget Tasmania the little island at the bottom.
Here is a map of the Hunter Valley, can you see Newcastle on the coast, if you look at the map above, it is above Sydney, in NSW.
LiBBiE in Oz

Monday, January 24, 2011

And This Little Pig said Sky, Nests & Eggs

I had an extremely busy weekend, yes Danni, I'm fine :D I worked on Saturday at a cattle sale, and this was the only photo I managed to take, before I was quite literally run off my feet. I was sitting at the registration desk, looked up and thought, 'really blue sky, should take a photo of that through the trees.' So I did. It was hot, started early, finished late, and did not turn on any computer until I went to work this morning. Don't think I have ever done that before.
When I got home this afternoon, the first thing I saw was that a nest had blown down and was sitting in the middle of the backyard. No baby birds or eggs, thank goodness.
The inside...
Closer inside, that looks like cow hair.
And what's a nest without eggs, even if they are chook eggs, Barnevelder eggs from the farm.
Love Barnie eggs, brown with lovely dark brown spots.
I have been stitching, will get update photos tomorrow, with hopefully my first finish for 2011 and my first Crazy!

Currently on puppy watch, even though Evie is not due till Saturday, she could go anytime from Wednesday onwards. So put the whelping box up tonight, just have to convince Evie this is were the puppies are going to be be born, not under the lounge-room chair!

Nite all... LiBBiE in Oz

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

And This Little Pig said Cow-Day-Wednesday

Well hello one and all, this is going to be a different Cow-Day.

Last night I said I was having an early night, as we had over 500 head of cattle to sell and weigh today. Well I arrived this morning to do up all the paperwork and when I was finished low and behold, we had over 600 head....ahhhh.

So needless to say, I really did not get a chance to take any photos, and all of my 'held in reserve' photos are in my home computer (windows) which I still have not taken in to get a nasty virus removed by my IT man. Must remember to do that tomorrow.

So I have a special picture for you all, I did it last this up late last year...
Cattle County is my first real attempt at designing any thing, I saw this saying, and thought I can do this! You should have seen my first attempt at a cow, it wasn't very pretty. The girls all have slightly different ears, and eye placements, along with different shaped rumps (tail placements).

I have not given a colour key, as you can do anything with these girls, solid as above, or black and white in different 'cow' like patterns below.
Or even...
... the rainbow girls.

So all the usual stuff, free for personal use, not to be reproduced for sale, oh and if you wish to stitch, please send me a photo. I have yet to stitch, I still have all the crazies to contend with!

LiBBiE in Oz

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

And This Little Pig said We Have Been Keeping a Secret

When I came home this afternoon, I grabbed the Sony Nex-5, and thought I would take some shots of the dogs. I was playing with the settings, and found the continuous shutter setting. Yes!

So while taking the photos, I realised that we would not be able to keep our little secret any longer, particularly since Evie decided to pose like this...
Yes that is a belly full of puppies :-o) we have 12 days to go. She is in whelp to Quincy's father Larry.

Evie wanted to know if this angle made her 'bum' look big?
Then she wanted to do the regal lady-in-waiting pose.
Also being pregnant is not slowing her down, and she is keeping up with her exercise.
Quincy and Evie playing the lets chase people walking their dogs from one side of the house to the other. You can just see the absolute joy on Quincy's face.
Doesn't the Nex take a great action shot.
Meah is not happy, as well... you see... she has been made play with the obnoxious one. Quincy doesn't give her any choice, while Evie will play, she is not up to rough and tumble anymore.
I did do some stitching today, here is the result.
Nothing but frogs, I didn't really have to, but I wasn't happy with the colour I had already stitched, it was just too dark, I kept staring at it. So while I was at my LNS, I grabbed the next shade lighter, I put in a couple of stitches, and am so much happier.

Well it is still early, for once I am not blogging round midnight, big day tomorrow, we have over 500 head of cattle, and I opted out of doing the paperwork tonight... 6am job in the morning.... Oh well it 
was my choice.

So this little pig is off to bed... nite... LiBBiE in Oz

Before I go, I would just like to say thank you for all the kind comments of support from yesterday, the accident is still sinking in, and the surviving lady is doing well and listed as stable. Funerals later in the week, and early next week. Still lots of hard times ahead. Again thank you.

Monday, January 17, 2011

And This Little Pig said Very Sad Day

I don't usually do this, in fact I never have, but is has been a God awful day.

When I arrived at work today, one of my co-workers asked what I knew about the car accident that happened on Sunday, three elderly ladies, sisters were killed.

I hadn't seen the news, so knew nothing about it, another co-workers said the accident had occurred just outside the small town just down the road, where I grew up.

This is where the God awful feeling came in, so went on-line to the local paper, and they had actually named the three ladies, two sisters 78 and 88, along with their sister-in-law she was 84... all gone. These lovely ladies in their twilight years where all good friends of my grandmother, and were great pillar's in the local community.

Rang round the aunts and uncles to make sure someone had informed Grandma, she now lives in Queensland (she is safe from the flooding). Grandma is devastated to say the least.

The fourth lady in the car, is in hospital and listed in a stable condition.

These four dear ladies had just been to Mass, and where on their way to visit a friend for morning tea. The really scary thing is, that if my grandmother had still been living in town, and with my Granddad now gone, she could have been in the car as well.

Now a family has spend the day organising furnerals for their three aunts and a small country town mourns a great loss.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

And This Little Pig said Crazies in Review -- Photo Heavy

Well what do you do, when you have just spent 15 hectic days, doing 15, well 16, new starts. Well if you have gone just a little bit cuckoo like some of us :D You start another small sampler.

I know, I know I think I will have to get myself a 'gift certificate' to the funny farm.

First a review of the first 15 days of 2011... Gathered up all my starts and went outside and photographed in natural light, cheated and used a tripod.

Group Shot
Day One - LHN Ornament ~ Fa La La
Day Two - LHN Ornament ~ Pear Tree
Day Three - LHN Ornament ~ Snowy Pines
Day Four - LHN Ornament ~ Red House in Winter
Day Five - LHN Ornament ~ Under the Tree
Day Six - LHN Ornament ~ Happy Skater, JCS 2010
Day Seven - LHN Ornament ~ The Merry Skater
Day Eight - LHN Ornament ~ Winter Sheep
Day Nine - LHN Ornament ~ Frosty Flakes
Day Ten - LHN Ornament ~ He's A Flake
Day Eleven - LHN Ornament ~ All is Calm bonus chart Bless Our Home
Day Twelve - LHN Ornament ~ Joy to the World, who is currently the headless, handless, footless angel
Day Thirteen - CCN ~ Pumpkin Cottage
Day Fourteen - LHN ~ Pumpkin Hollow Farm
Day Fifteen - Gracewood Stitches ~ Northern Nights
The sampler I started today, is a freebie from a French blog, I will have to look up where it came from, and let you know. I have also made some changes to personalize it.
Well starting tomorrow, I will be going back to my LHN Family Sampler, which has been neglected for the last 16 days. It is supposed to be finished by the end of March. Just one more WIP for 2011.

Before I go, one of the many upsides of doing the Crazy January Challenge, is that I have blogged everyday, it has been a bonus.

Goodnight LiBBiE in Oz