10 Years

10 years ago today, I started this blog.

I've had periods of low and high activity.

I've had periods where I read and commented on a lot of other blogs, and periods where it's all I could do to get my own posts out.

I still have far too many draft posts started.  Most of which will never get published.

We're still working on building Alpacamundo.  Now we are also building Colorado Tibetan Mastiffs.

It's still a small window into what's going on inside my head.

I love this blog.

Thank you for reading it.

One Lovely Blog Award

Kara at The Practical Frog Blog popped over yesterday several days more than a week ago to award me with the "One Lovely Blog Award". Which made my day!

I learned about Kara thru the Slow Living Community.  I subscribed to her blog the first time I read it.  :-)

One of the things that strikes me about Kara is how she appears to have boundless energy.  I'm a busy person, but I think she is much busier than I am.  She's a student, has a few different jobs and leads her family down the path of greener living.  From where I sit, I think she must be pretty remarkable.  :-)

I do wonder where the name Practical Frog came from though.  I've done a little poking around and so far, I haven't figured it out.  ;-)

In order to accept the award, there are a number of things one must do...

1 – Show your Thanks – Thank the person who awarded the honor and link back to them

2 - Share seven things about yourself.

3 – Nominate up to 15 Blogs that you admire.

4 – Contact the Bloggers by leaving comments with them about their Awards

So first, the interesting things about myself:

• It's been a while since I've written about it... mostly because it's been a while since I've done it... I used to be an Adaptive Ski Instructor in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I was a member of an all volunteer organization that taught private adaptive alpine ski lessons.  Each student was paired with one or two instructors for six weeks of classes.  In addition to my students, I taught the other instructors 3- and 4-track techniques.  I loved it very much.
• Since I mostly grew up in Colorado, I've been on alpine skis since I was 10 or 11 years old.  But haven't been on them since we got our alpacas.  Just having too much fun.  :-)
• Hubba was an avid alpine skier when we met and regular skiing was part of our plan.  We skied a lot together in the early days.  If I wasn't skiing with him, or working with students, I skied alone.  I love skiing.  Hubba has been on a ski moratorium since he started road racing several years ago.  A shoulder injury could sideline his racing career.  Although, now that we are definitely not going to London this year, I think there's a very good chance we will put wax to snow this winter.  We both really miss it.
• There were lots of professions I wanted to have when I grew up, but I have always wanted to be a farmer.
• I'm not really a fan of politics, but could see myself as a lobbyist... for the right issue.
• My first job as a professional engineer was working on the Space Shuttle.  Something I am and will always be very proud of.
• I have fresh-cut lilies in my kitchen so my house smells amazing right now.

On to the blogs I admire:

15 is a very long list, so here are a few blogs that I really enjoy and haven't mentioned in a while.  They are all written by people I admire.  While I have only met one of these women in person, I consider all of them friends. :-)

• Voie de Vie - Denise is an artist with a crochet hook, paints and other fun things.  She will not knit socks.  She says, nope, not ever!  I still adore her.
• Wisdom Begins in Wonder - The WonderWhyGal is the current host of Fiber Arts Friday and commented on my very first FAF post almost 3 years ago.  She's an alpaca breeder, fiber sorter, spinner, knitter, weaver.  I haven't met her in person, but I feel we've been friends for a long time.
• Spinster Beth - spinner, knitter, gardener, kitty and puppy momma and former Marine a Navy Veteran. (if I remember that correctly).  My very first, and currently only pair, of hand-knit socks were made by Beth.  I feel very blessed.
• AllyB That's Me! - Ally is a beautiful spinner and sock knitter.  I know she knits other things, but she is very prolific with those socks.  And she finishes every post with a comment from Little Dog that always makes me giggle.
• Bits and Pieces - Vivian is especially talented with a pair of knitting needles.  She has an affiknitty for cables and a sweet little Rascal.
• Broken Clay - I met Katja through Hubba a couple of years ago.  She's an engineer, travelling maven, athlete and very funny, well-written person.  I don't know that she's a knitter, or spinner or crocheter but that doesn't mean I like her any less.  ;-)

So there you go.  I hope you take some time to visit these amazing women.

Liebster Blog Award

It's really nice when folks leave comments and even better when they regularly leave comments.  Through the exchange back-and-forth we get a sense of knowing each other.  But it's especially lovely when someone takes the time to spell out why they like you.  So I am honored to receive the Liebster award from City Garden Country Garden.

City Garden Country Garden is based in Melbourne, Australia and is fortunate to have two gardens to play in... as her name suggests there is a small city garden and a much larger country garden.  Of course we've never actually met and I can't say I know her real name, but I feel a kinship.  We are both pursuing our second year garden in our current locations and learning as we go.  I suspect I'll learn a lot from her as she is embarking upon winter gardening, and I have never even tried it before.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

• Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers to share the love with
• Show your appreciation to the blogger who awarded you by linking back to them
• Post the award on your blog
• Link back to the blogs you are awarding so that everyone else can pay them a visit

These are the blogs I would like to pass the Liebster Award on to:

AC Engineered Knits - she's a knitter, an engineer, a PhD candidate and dog lover.  I'm not entirely sure when or where I came across this blog, but I love it and her sense of humor.  Especially when she posts her "angry" or "frustrated" faces.  They always crack me up.

Wattsolak - knitter, dyer and brilliant toy designer.  Also a good friend of my sister, who decided that the two of us needed to know each other.  I wish we were able to spend time together.

Knit 1, Raised 4 - a relatively new blog to me.  A couple reinventing themselves as farmers, much like we are.  I love her simple approach and beautiful photos.

Remembrances - also a newer blog to me.  She's a potter, fiber artist and gardener who is embarking upon an Eat Something She Grows Everyday challenge, which is intriguing to me since Ontario, Canada is much further north than Colorado.

Serendipitous Intentions - there are some blogs that you just anxiously await their next post.  This is one such blog.  I believe she is able to find beauty anywhere.

If you are unaware of any of these blogs, I hope you take the time to check them out.

Fiber Arts Friday: Ready for Shearing

It's that time of year.  Time for our annual harvest of yummy alpaca fleece... tomorrow!

I've been making preparations over the last several weekends to get ready for this day.

The combs and cutters have been cleaned and sharpened.  The barn swept and rearranged.  The mats are scrubbed and set up.  The collection bags are labeled.  The checklist has been prepared and supplies all set out.

And the house?  It's (nearly) sparkling clean too.  :-)

I roasted a turkey earlier this week and started baked beans.  I will finish preparing the food today as well as the rest of the last-minute items.

A group of wonderful family and friends are coming out.  There is no way that we could do this day without their help.  So I want to make sure they are all well fed and cared for.

It's a little damp right now but the weather forecast looks good for shearing.

Now for a bunch of gratuitous photos of our alpacas... who will all be looking a lot different tomorrow.  :-)

Kocoa and Daisy

Keyla, Frieda and Apple

Keyla decided it was a good time for a nap.

Clementine and Big Thompson

Gus and Yoda

and Noodle and Wonton because...
Noodle can find something interesting nearly anywhere

I hope you have a great Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Teachers

Today is National Teacher Day.

As a product of public schools and state colleges, I would like to say that most of my teachers were great and a few made a huge difference.

I've had an amazing career and life so far. A big part is due to all of the teachers, professional and otherwise who spent time coaching and helping me understand "why." They probably don't really know how big of a difference they made.

For my teacher friends and family, you may not really know how much I admire you. You do an amazing job and our future is in your hands. For that, I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving here in the US.

Since Thanksgiving is about the bounty of the harvest, yummy food and spending time with the people we care about, it is my favorite time of the year.

This year, we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  It doesn't happen very often, so I'm excited for everyone to come over.

There will be plenty of snacking, cooking, feasting, socializing, playing games, knitting and crocheting, watching the Macy's parade, National Dog Show and the CU-Nebraska Football game and playing with alpacas and dogs, but mostly we'll be cuddling the new nephew who arrived last week.

Happy Thanksgiving.  May you enjoy the bounty of the season.

Lucky 13

I got a reminder from Facebook that my wedding anniversary is coming up.

It made me laugh.

Certainly there are a lot of dates that I do not remember.  However, the anniversary of my marriage to my best friend is one that I do remember.

Books, Alpacas and Marathons

Hubba left for Japan this morning.

He is headed to Oita City for the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon.  It is the largest wheelchair-only marathon in the world.  This is his fourth time competing and the 30th anniversary of the race.

I have been to several races with Hubba and the Oita event is by far the most organized.  There are a huge number of volunteers that help to make the entire trip a wonderful experience.

The importance the Japanese culture places on being a good host comes through...

because of that, we feel it is important to show our gratitude.

We continually say thank you, try to experience the city as much as possible, tell them how much we love being there, and we bring a few gifts that are a small part of who we are or where we are from.

Since this is Hubba's fourth trip to this race, he's gotten to know many of the volunteers.  They know that we have moved to our own farm and raise alpacas.

So I felt it was important to find something that reflects alpacas and/or Colorado... enter Mary King.  She and her husband own and operate AlpacaKing in Fort Collins.

Mary wrote a book about one of her alpacas.  It's a fantastic and uplifting story about believing in something even in the darkest of times and seeing it through to a positive outcome.  The book is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes... in a good way.  :-)

Alpacas are relatively new to Japan and therefore quite popular... especially with their cute faces.  So one of Mary's good friends, who is from and lives in Japan, had her book translated and published in Japanese.

I thought this was the perfect gift for those volunteers who help so much during the race.  Since I am not making the trip this year, I told Hubba to tell them the book is from me to thank them for taking such good care of my beloved hubba.  ;-)

If you're interested in reading the story of Rocky, you can get the book from Mary directly or email her if you're interested in the Japanese version.

If you would like to watch the race and won't happen to be near Oita City on Sunday, there is a live broadcast, 10:45 am to 2:00 pm, Japan time on Sunday, November 14th... that's Saturday evening if you happen to be State-side.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Andrea of Wisdom Begins in Wonder, bestowed the Beautiful Blogger Award upon me.  My horoscope said I would be very lucky this week. So, there you go, I AM very lucky this week.  :-)

As a recipient of a Beautiful Blogger Award I am asked to share 10 things you may not know about me, then provide a list of 10 bloggers I adore.

Little Known Facts:
1.  I used to be a Rocket Scientist... technically I was a Manufacturing Engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine and a Test Engineer on part of the International Space Station, but Rocket Scientist is more fun to say.

2.  Before I was a Rocket Scientist, I worked for the Coors Brewing Company.  Beer, then Rocket Engines.  That makes sense, right?

3.  I prefer to work for young, entrepreneurial companies that are pursuing new ideas.  I am currently at my fifth (Astral Technology Group) and also building my own (Alpacamundo).

4.  I love to camp, but haven't been in years.

5.  I love to learn about new (to me) things and ideas.

6.  I ran finished a Half-Marathon several years ago, but haven't run much since.  I think this is odd since my husband "plays chase" for a living.

7.  I want to write and publish a book.

8.  I was an Adaptive Ski Instructor for 8 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

9.  I married the exact, right person.  My Husband and I develop goals and priorities together, then support each other in their pursuit.  I am extremely lucky in this regard.

10.  Life is too short to eat bad chocolate or drink bad coffee.

I suppose this is a new version of the chain letter, but since it doesn't say do this or else you'll be the recipient of bad luck, I am happy to share some of my favorite blogs and bloghers with you. Yes, I know some have been nominated before, that's a testament to how awesome they are.  I hope you will take a few minutes to check them out.

Bloggers I adore:
Holly of Knit With Snot For You
Katy the Alpaca Farm Girl
Kathleen of Alpaca Homesteading - - A to Zena
Maya of Springtree Road
Jamie of Two Chicks and a Hen
Kristi the Fiber Fool
Leslie of Home-grown Love
Suzy of Hip Mountain Mama and One Small Change
Suzie of Juniper Moon Farm
Caryn of It's HELLCHICK time!
I would put the Andrea, the WonderWhyGal on this list, but I think that might be against the rules. ;-)

Thank you Andrea for this award... you are an inspiration to me.

Fiber Arts Friday - Remembering

I was going through my brain the other day and found my very first Fiber Arts Friday post.

I had been reading FAF for a while and wanted to participate but never quite had it all together until last summer.  Now, ten months later, it's a regular post that I plan for each week.

I think blogging about my projects has helped me become a better knitter and spinner.  Certainly FAF and Twitter have helped me build relationships with other knitters and spinners who have provided guidance, support and challenges which have improved my skills.

I did give my sister's husband and son the matching hats for Christmas and I finally gave the initial scarf and hat to my sister for her birthday last month.

They gave us some very exciting news that day, which means I will be attempting these very soon.  :-)

I love you guys.

Enjoy the rest of Fiber Arts Friday over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

I'm an Author

I just realized it.

As a kid, I wanted to be an author. I did not want to be a journalist, but I thought one day I would write a book. I had no idea what my subject matter would be and wasn't confident in my writing skills.

I took extra writing classes in high school. Mrs. Vlasin's Expository Writing class was my favorite. We were allowed to write about what we wanted to write about. No book reports. No history research papers. Just writing about the things we cared about. We learned how to critique other people's writing and therefore our own. The class was about style and technique, not dates and names. Talk about the freedom! This class was right up there with the math classes. I loved it.

Of course I went to college to become an engineer and forgot about the fabulous experiences in Mrs. Vlasin's class for quite a while. As I moved into Project Management and Business Process Development, I felt the lessons returning. I enjoyed writing and was often requested to edit the work of my colleagues.

Then it hit me this morning. I have a blog. I post to it on a regular basis. I write about things I care about. I'm an author.

I would still love to write a book. I've started a couple but have finished none, so far. The subject matter is still elusive, but I feel I'm getting close.

Mrs. Vlasin's used to say, "I'm not a good writer. I'm a good re-writer." By that she meant that editing is important for good writing. She would say to write what you're thinking, just dump it all out on paper. Then refine and rearrange, save some sections for other pieces and finally remove all of the "th" words you can.

I know being a high school teacher is a very hard job. Teachers do not really know if they've ultimately made a difference or not. So I want to thank my public high school writing teacher for inspiring me and for making a difference in my life.

Mrs. Vlasin, I am an author because of you. Thank you for teaching and inspiring me.

First Posts

I read several blogs for several different reasons. 

After a while, I begin to feel like I know the author...  At least I begin to know the part they share on their blog.  Whether it's personal or business, I begin to understand how they think and what they think is important.

When a blog has made it to my Must Read list, I begin to wonder why the author started blogging in the first place.  I mean, I know why I started blogging, so I wonder if they started for the same reasons.  Which means sometimes I will go in search of their first post. 

Some of these bloggers have hundreds or thousands of readers.  However, at one time they all had zero readers and zero comments.  Which makes it really interesting to read some of the early posts.

Here are links to the first posts on some of my Must Read blogs.

Wisdom Begins in Wonder: March 2009
Alpaca Farm Girl: August 2008
Alpaca Homesteading - A to Zena: August 2009
Seth's Blog: January 2002
Sasha Dichter's Blog: July 2008
Springtree Road: January 2008
Indexed: August 2006

And just for grins, here's a link to my first post: October 2008.

Have a great day.

More Progress with our Alpaca

I entered the corral alone today!

I did the feeding and helped with the mucking as we have been doing for the last few weeks.  Since this has been working well, I asked my husband to wait outside the gate while I put wood pellets on the muddy spots of the big boy corral.

I carried my trusty tennis raquet, told the alpaca to move back and sprinkled wood pellets on the mud.  For the the most part he respected my presence.  He did not enter my space, but took longer to disengage. 

When we finished and I exited the corral, I was shaking like crazy.  But I was in the corral alone!  I consider this major progress.  We will do this a few more times before moving to the next step.

I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback and support.  I am encouraged to learn that some have had similar situations with quick and positive corrections.

Fiber Arts Friday - It Fits!

Thank you to my Twitter knitting buddies for offering advice on how to decide how many stitches to cast on for my husbands hat.

He says he likes it.

Find more Fiber Arts Friday awesomeness over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

#thankafarmer

Thank a Farmer this Thanksgiving.  I think it's a great idea.

You can participate on Twitter and Facebook.  Here's how.

Hat tip to Katy Spears for filling me in.

I saw an Eclipse

I spent close to eight years working on a dream. It was Vern Raburn's dream and I bought it hook, line and sinker.

Our mission was to change the way people travel. Many said it couldn't be done. However, a lot of us spent most of our waking hours making it happen.

Eclipse Aviation's Type Certificate and Production Certificate were history making.  The 500 is the quietest and most fuel-efficient jet ever produced.  Even with the final price being more than twice the original, at $2.7M it is still the least expensive new jet on the market.

In the end, Eclipse Aviation filed for CH7 Bankruptcy and was sold to a group of customers for a small fortune. The new company is called Eclipse Aerospace. They are servicing the existing 500 fleet and have plans to restart production in the future.

I write this post because I saw an Eclipse 500 as I was leaving the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport yesterday.

It was the first time I had seen one since I left Eclipse and Albuquerque earlier this year. I couldn't help but smile. I loved the plane and the company, I learned much while there and I greatly admire the drive and belief of my fellow Eclipsers.

The pictures below are of production #13. It was my first and only ride on the aircraft I dedicated 8 years to. It was an honor to work on this product and it will always have a special place in my heart.

We are Blessed

Twelve years ago we said, "I do."

Today?  We still do.

Albuquerque

There are some businesses/people I will miss now that we've returned to Colorado.

• Bob Raught Auto Repair
• La Montanita Co-op
• Hey Jhonny
• Dr. Chapman
• Sanchez Dental Associates

These businesses and the people who operate them have been a big part of our life for the past 12 years.

Independence Day

As we embark upon the US Independence Day weekend I am reminded, of course, that my country is engaged in multiple wars and that our Independence was gained via a war.

I am also reminded that my country was founded on ideas.

• The idea that people should be allowed to think what they want.
• The idea that people should be allowed to pray to whoever, however they want.
• The idea that a people can be whatever they want. All they need is vision and fortitude.

My friends and acquaintances who grew up in this country always laugh at me when I call it Independence Day. They think it's funny that I don't call it the "4th of July" like everyone else.

My friends and acquaintances who grew up in other countries and are now in the US understand the meaning of Independence Day. Many of them came to the US so they could pursue some of the same ideas that this country was founded on.

As an educated women who is a business owner, able to vote, sign contracts, drive a car, go to school, be whoever I choose and pray however I choose I am proud to be an American.

The 4th of July is a day to remember all we intended to be and to celebrate that we can.

Be good to your friends, be good at what you do and keep in touch

If you aren't good to your friends, good at what you do and make an effort to keep in touch, something like this would never happen...


Furlough on Friday
Interview on Saturday for great project
Accept job on Sunday
Start work on Monday


I am grateful for my friends and excited about my new project.