Category Archives: Out and About

A sheep herding competition

September 20, 2013

One evening I had a missed call from my friend Sarah. In the message she said something about a sheep herding competition. I had to listen to it twice because I was surprised at the suggestion. Without knowing a lot of details I agreed to go because I have a flexible schedule for just such things, I was intrigued, there was going to be a fiber tent, and it was on Vashon Island-one of the islands in the area I had yet to visit.

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I biked over to her house on that Friday morning to meet up with the group so we could carpool over. We drove to West Seattle and then onto the ferry. It was an especially foggy morning so the ride over was a bit ominous, but I liked it.

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This is the only picture of a dog I got. I was a little too distracted by the fiber tent and forgot to take any pictures of the sheep herding. Although I’m not sure they would have turned out that well anyway. This puppy was so sweet though. As soon as you went to pet him he cuddled right up to you and also he loves hugs. Um can I take this one home?

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During the sheep herding there was some down time so I went to check out the demonstrations at the fiber tent (fancy title for all things fiber related-knitting, weaving, spinning, felting, even yarn dying). When I got there this really nice lady was showing me how to needle felt. I had done it before but she seemed so excited to be sharing her craft that I just went with it. She then had me come sit with her and work on my own creation. I felt and probably looked like I was part of the event. When I was done she sent me away with a large bag of wool and a needle for making more fun things at home. How sweet is she!

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The lady face I needle felted.

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So I didn’t get any pictures of sheep but I played around with yarn all day long. Does that count? Anyhow we all had a great time and Vashon Island is adorable. I can’t wait to spend a weekend there sometime soon.

A book reading

September 18, 2013

I’ve been absent for a couple of days as you may or may not have noticed. I decided to go to Austin somewhat last minute and I had posts ready to go for the days I would be gone but I got too busy before I left to actually schedule them. It’s alright though I’ve been learning lately to let some things go in order to enjoy myself more fully.

Before I left for Austin (which I’ll be sharing about soon) I went to a book reading by Langdon Cook. When I first moved out to Seattle I read his first book called Fat of the Land all about foraging in the Pacific Northwest. His newest book is called The Mushroom Hunters and as you probably guessed is all about mushrooms. I’ve been following along with his blog so when I saw that he would be doing a book reading at the local book shop I planned to attend.

We were supplied with a mushroom pate and wine and an ample amount of body heat as the tiny room filled with people. It was worth it though because everyone was fascinated by his stories and of course the morel giveaways during the event (I did not win). When the reading was over I waited in line to get my book signed and biked home happy and intrigued to do some mushroom hunting of my own (with professional guidance of course).

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My farmers market finds

September 13, 2013

This week at the farmers market I couldn’t buy very much because we are heading out of town this weekend and more importantly I rode my bike and I only had a small bag with me. I’m starting to go enough that I have my favorite booths and farmers. My current favorite booth is one being run by a lady who sells organic tomatoes and this week also grapes. Her prices are fantastic and she’s really nice.

I spent $14.45 and got 1 artichoke, 1 pound of tomatoes, 1/2 pound of mixed grapes, a few sweet red peppers, 2 hot red peppers, 3 yellow cucumbers, 4 sweet onions, 3 heads of garlic, and a small watermelon.

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I did manage to get most of this in my small bag but I had to tie another bag to the outside with the rest of my things. It’s a good thing I live pretty close to market so I didn’t have to bike far. We’ve eaten almost everything but I have a mixed vegetable pasta planned tonight so I plan on using the rest plus a few other things from the fridge.

Have a great weekend!