Thursday's Road Trip!

If you didn't make it to this week's fiber day, then you missed one heck of a trip! We met at 9:00 am at my house.


We loaded up and headed for Farmersville, Texas, home of Fiber Circle Publishing (now yarn shop). Wow! If you haven't made a trip up to Diane's yarn shop in awhile, you are in for a treat!


Walls and walls of yarn are to be found EVERYWHERE! There is a second story with a balcony that is loaded with great things.

Everyone was enamored with a certain "pom pom ball yarn". Diane immediately began giving us an impromptu lesson on a scarf design. We had a blast!


Diane's shop is filled with yarn, knitted scarves, hats, sweaters, vests, shawls, etc. You name it, she's got it! Diane is an avid knitter and crocheter and published magazines on both for many years. She designs her own patterns and is very willing to share with others. Also included in her shop is a decadent fudge, some yummy jellies, jams, smoked jalapenos, and many dip mixes. You just can't go wrong with this place.



Later, we headed down to the 'Sugar Hill Restaurant' for a delicious lunch. For $7.95, you get an all you can eat buffet of wonderful hot food, many cold salads (tuna salad, chicken salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad, green salad, etc.) and soup. The food was wonderful. Give it a try when you are in town.



We finished up our road trip with filled bags of goodies, anxious for our next visit. This is a fantastic yarn shop. We had so much fun! Don't worry Diane. We'll be back! We're HOOKED! :o)

A new home

Thanks to my dear, sweet friend, Peggy, I found out about a place called the CC Young Retirement Community. There had been a number of women living in this retirement community that loved to weave. However, as the years went on and the ladies began to pass, the looms became unused. In comes Hinke from the Dallas Weaving Guild. She had been mentoring these ladies on the looms for awhile. Hinka was to find new homes for the looms. I was blessed to have received one of these 4 harness looms. My daughter and I were so excited, we could hardly contain ourselves!

My dear husband drove me down to the retirement community and began figuring how exactly we were going to get this thing through the doors. We got it out and loaded into the back of our truck. Down Central Expressway we went with our loom in the back. I can just imagine what many people must have been thinking!

My daughter began immediately working on the loom to make a scarf. Harrison was quickly behind her to try his hand at this age old craft. They've already woven quite a bit and are still enjoying the thrill. I can't wait until I get a turn!

It's raining, it's pouring!

Wow! We sure did experience a lot of rain today! It began in the middle of the night and continued for most of the day. That didn't dampen the spirits of Del and her daughter, Carissa. They had been planning a trip to our place for awhile. So, we made out way out into the rain to check on the animals.

Tysin, our LGD was thrilled to meet our visitors. He loves a good scratch on his chin.

We then made our way over to the chicken coop to check out all of the chickens. They had already laid seven eggs by 10:30 am. Carissa was thrilled to get the opportunity to collect them for us! We then proceeded over to the alpaca area, where our guests fed the alpacas a little brunch snack. They were still a little full from breakfast, but were happy to take a nibble or two from the offerings.

The chicks were a big hit. These chicks are living in our backyard until they are big enough to fend themselves from the snakes that appear in the barn every now and then. We've learned our lesson from taking them out too early. The snakes just love the chicks!

It just wouldn't be the same without a kiss goodbye. Lucy decided to give Carissa a little kiss. You could almost imagine her saying, "Thanks for the snack!".

What did you do on this rainy day?

Butterflies

We have a plant that is some sort of magnet for caterpillars.
We pulled approximately 42 caterpillars off of the plant and added them to my smallest child's bug house. He kept them in his room, periodically adding leaves so they had enough to eat. Eventually, the caterpillars went into cocoons.

Today, we noticed five of the cocoons had opened and five beautiful butterflies had emerged! It was raining hard that day, but my littlest decided it was best to let them out to spread their wings. It was a beautiful sight to see! We still have another 37 to go!

Would you help?

I'm trying to get together 140 blankets (lap blankets) for the residents at Collinwood Nursing Home in Plano, TX. I discussed this with my Thursday group of fiber enthusiasts. They've agreed to help out. I then went to the DFW Machine Knitters Guild meeting on Saturday. They are going to help, too! Are you interested in donating a blanket to this cause?

Psalm 112:5-9 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

Paca D'Lites Ranch hits the NASCAR race track!

The North Texas Power Truck Association got together to help out charity. Each member brought their trucks out to the Texas Motor Speedway to take some laps around the track...FAST!

Here we are on the entrance ramp to the speedway. There was a pace car at the front and another car at the rear. Everyone had to make sure and keep up or they would be escorted off of the track. We reached speeds of anywhere between 85 and 100 mph!

Honestly, I didn't think it would be much fun, until we actually DID it! Whew! What a BLAST! The whole family was in the truck. My husband drove and each of the three kids was in the back seat. We all got to experience the ride together.

The best part was, all of this went to charity!

At the end, they tempt you with, "You wanna do this again?" Ha ha! If you get the chance, check this out next year. There were all kinds of car clubs out there, too. Have fun!