Spinning, gardening and reading…

I’m finally getting back into the spinning groove and here’s what I’m working on… more handspun merino.

I started this on a Saturday and have been squeezing a few minutes here and there to create this handspun yarn.

Also, a few moments ago, I put some merino into a crockpot with… Wilton’s dye gel. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take it out and hang it on the clothesline to dry. I can’t wait to see how it looks.

Remember Sissy? She’s that adorable Shetland sheep.

I finally got around to cleaning some of her wool and I made a few rolags. They’re not the most ‘perfect’ rolags that I’ve made, but they’ll do. I’m still seeing a few bits of VM (vegetable matter). I’ll be sure to pluck that out when I spin this into yarn. Every time I stumble upon these little bits of debris I smile and try to imagine what Sissy was doing, how she sleeps and how inquisitive is she?

Gardening Party hosted by Vickie…

When I visited Vickie’s lovely website, I saw that she’s starting a new linkup, so if you have a garden and want to become inspired by other gardeners or just see what others plant, link up! It’s going to be hosted on Tuesdays and yes… I know that I’m a day late posting what is in our garden. I’ll do better next week, ok?

What’s in our garden? I’m glad you asked!

 

In this first picture, you will see a portion of our garden. If you look closely, you’ll see a ‘shrub like’ plant. That’s my fennel. It returns each year. I use it in a variety of dishes, from soups, to stir fry, poultry and even juicing! Do you know what? In a few months, it’ll be taller than me. Well… that’s not saying much. I’m only 5′.

I must say, what little we’ve planted thus far in our garden is coming along quite nicely. We have about an acre of garden and live on four acres. Behind the garden is our woods. that’s a little over two acres. The above pictures show fences in the garden. We use those to support our beans.

The sage survived the winter. Even with the three-day blizzard! A few hours ago I picked a handful of sage and fennel. I washed, put into a pot and am making a delightful herbal tea. A few ways I use sage are in stir fry, teas, meat dishes and soups. I also dehydrate for long-term storage.

 

Collards were planted today. If you look past them you might see three rows of yellow onions that I planted last month.

What I’ve been reading?

My hardcover copy of An Old Testament Theology by Bryce Waltke arrived on Monday. It’s a biblical commentary and an appropriate companion for my in-depth research of the scriptures.

Speaking of study bibles… I use the John MacArthur Study Bible. I read it daily for my devotions and my daily rereading of the Bible.

Here’s a snapshot of a page from An Old Testament Theology. I have a few biblical commentaries and while the layout of this is different than what I’m used too, I’m enjoying it immensely.

When I want to learn a bit more about what I’m reading, than what appears in the study notes at the bottom of each page of my Bible, this does a great job… as it should! It’s a large book, written in small print, and is 1040 pages!

I’m linking too, Ginny’s yarnalong and Vickie’s Gardening party.