91热爆

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (New Year's Day)

(Luke 1:42-43, Douay-Rheims Bible - click on verse for a link)

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: That he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons." Gal 4:4-5 DRB

"The ruler in Israel will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord, his God.
He shall be peace." Micha 5:2-4 NAB

Two friends came first-hoofing on their Highland ponies!

Jan. 1, 2007

I have survived my first Hogmanay!! Erlend almost didn't. He's staggering around the fairm looking a bit worse for wear this morning hehehe!! er...I mean, poor thing.

We almost didn't make it out for Hogmanay but Erlend somehow managed to get all of the calves dosed and all of the kye fed by half ten. When he dragged his exhausted self home for a late tea I surprised him with a home-made fresh-from-the-oven apple pie. THAT sure boosted his spirits!

Our first stop of the evening was to ring in the New Year with some dear friends! I was a bit peckish and much to my dismay our hostess laid out a huge bowl of these unbelievably tasty crisp thingys. And as the hours passed I inhaled the whole bowl!!! I felt like a locust.

While we awaited midnight we were treated to a record containing live Flamenco music from about forty or fifty years ago - the real stuff where the singers sound like they are speaking Arabic and you can just hear the Moorish influence in the music and the singing style. Ooooh it gave me goosebumps!

When the New Year arrived our hosts poured generous glasses of champagne and we had a rousing toast. The radio blared with bagpipes so we all got up and started to dance a modified version of The Dashing White Sergant until we wore ourselves out. So back to our chairs we went - and oh no! Another bowl of those incredibly addictive crisp things appeared. I ate so many of them my mouth withered from the salt!

After we had celebrated the New Year we all bundled up and headed out into the rainy windy night and scurried to another house. A few minutes after we arrived the place filled up with firstfooters - each bearing a bottle of whisky! "Happy New Year!" we all said and shook hands all round. The house was so full I wondered if the walls would burst! We stayed a lot longer then planned and so we had to return home instead of visiting more folk because Erlend had to get up early and feed those endlessly hungry kye! As I stepped out into the wind I realized that my jacket was useless. We had to walk home (whisky!) and I was in misery. Our hostess lent me a jacket that was too small for me so I tied it onto my head so it formed a hooded cape of sorts. That did the trick! We got Zeb The Farm Dog out of the car and walked him home using a length of bailer twine as a lead. He looked rather baffled by the whole situation!!

Jan. 2, 2007

This has gone on for THREE DAYS!! Three fun days filled with visiting loads of folk as we all make the rounds going from house to house, whisky in hand. We almost didn't make it out first footing today because a coo decided to calve right before dinner - roast duck*** at the In Law's! - and then she decided to try and kill her calf. So we had to work long and hard to get her yoked and gated so the calf could sook. FINALLY we were able to get away from the farm and first foot! (And Pepper, the heefer that lost her calf, has adopted this calf that was almost killed by its mum. A happy ending!)

Our first first footers came last night wearing silly hats! Then we were away again visiting folk ourselves. We had a lovely visit with an elderly lady in her wee stone house down the road. Then we stopped by the In-Laws. Then we were off to various neighbors where we talked farm stuff and stuffed ourselves on goodies. I had ginger wine mixed with lemonaide - WOW was it good! At one house we had loads of folk show up and we were treated to a few rousing waltzes on a mooth organ. (What amazing music comes out of those things!!)

Earlier in the day, while being first-hoofed, we arranged to drop off a roondy-bale of stray for one of the Horse Ladies. So we first-footed them in our big red tractor with a huge roondy-bale clutched in the jaws of the shear-grab thingy. (It looks like the tractor has a big dragon head complete with sharp teeth!!)

We made the rounds from house to house, each visit full of laughter and good cheer. Sometimes we would meet up with other firstfooters and other times we were the only ones. When we could no longer pry our eyes open we hopped into the tractor and headed home. For the third day in a row we slept until 10am.

The kye are so used to us getting up late that they no longer roar for their breakfast at 8am sharp.

Jan. 3, 2007

We didn't make it out firstfooting today because a tank burst in one of the barns (the one full of calves sick with pneumonia no less!) and flooded the place. Erlend spent most of the day cleaning up the water-logged silage and getting the tank fixed. So we went to bed early and then...we couldn't sleep!!!!! We were up until all hours of the morning reading books as we desparately attempted to fall asleep. Today we can hardly walk in a straight line we are so tired. (No sleeping until 10am this time!)

Jan. 4, 2007

We woke up to Radio Orkney today! It's been a long time since Radio Orkney was last heard!! They took the holidays off. Sadly most of the news and the letters from the Mailbag were the typical griping and whining. I wish people would write about interesting stuff. Things they'd seen or experienced or enjoyed. We just had Christmas, Hogmanay and New Years - wasn't there SOMETHING to be written about all of this celebration?? Nope. I swear, if I hear one more blasted comment, news bite or letter complaining about TRANSPORTATION I am going to go mad.

Anyhoo, if the fairm allows us slaves to escape we're going to catch up on all of the firstfooting we've missed because of sick kye, flooding tanks and crazy mum coos trying to kill their calves.

*** This was my very FIRST roast duck and it was to DIE for!!! I now have a new favorite food!

Photos of a calf being born:

Erlend and I came home around 2am after another evening of first footing only to find that a first-calving heefer had gone into labor! The poor girl needed some help so Erlend calved her while I was able to get some pictures!











A lovely black bull calf !!

I have waited ten years to buy these! I am quite chuffed that my four volume leather-bound set of the Liturgy of the Hours has arrived so swiftly! The whole point of these books is to enjoy a schedule of daily praying of the psalms and Bible readings up to seven times a day, every day of the year through all seasons. This is very useful for busy folk!

Back in America I had a little blue Toyota car - I loved it! Imagine my delight with my handsome husband gave me a Toyota quilting sewing machine!! (I had no idea Toyota made sewing machines...but hey, good on them!!)


The beginning of my long stitch project: poppies in a bowl. It turns out that long stitch is SUPER easy - you just make, um, long stitches.

Orkney winters get FAR more daylight then we ever did in Alaska and I am greatful for that!! I've noticed that, like Alaskans, Orcadians are very crafty people. They sew and work at needle arts and engage in all manner of artsy crafty things! Being indoors so much because of the wind and rain has given me the chance to join in (when in Rome...) and take up some new hobbies! Erlend bought me a quilting sewing machine for Christmas because I decided to try my hand at the art myself! And I have also taken up long stitch - which has turned out to be the PERFECT way to spend time warming up by the fire.

If you have ever wanted to take up a hobby I say GO FOR IT !! We only live once, ya know. I think we humans have a tendancy to totally defeat ourselves before we even begin because we believe that we "can't" do something. Well, I said I can't I can't I can't for years. Then, after realizing I was wasting my life I got my rear end in gear and ended up on stage singing opera!!! It's amazing what we can do when we believe in ourselves and we are willing to spend a lot of time making mistakes as we learn. After all, everyone is a beginner at some point in their lives - even the professionals!!!

Do what I have learned to do: start with something small and simple and pick away at it for a few minutes a day until you build up your confidence! Remember, even professionals burn out. Don't do too much for too long or you'll get sick and tired of it. I've abandoned far too many hobbies and projects because I threw myself into it and burned out.

Let's face it:
IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF THEN WHO WILL ???

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt

If a trout is a troot and a towel is a tooul, why isn't an owl an ooul??

Today the Orkney wind is blasting like mad. Husband is out with the veet having the cattle tested for some kind of disease. It's just one of those days when everyone is cold and wet - a perfect day for serving warm home-baked bread dripping with butter and local-grown roast lamb!!!


This is the second time I've made bread in my life. It is wholemeal bread with olives! If you don't know how to bake bread and would like instructions on how to make it go click .


Lamb is my favorite meat in the world! This lamb comes from a friend's farm up the road. It's roasted with mint!

The Posty was just blown into the mudroom with a Christmas package from my Aunt Diane. I can't wait to see what it contains!! Poor Posty - I wouldn't want to be out in that weather all day!!

Some veg waiting to be steamed

The corn chowder cooking on the stove

Dinner is served!!

Hungry yet?

Mama-moo didn't have any milk to spare

Daddy! (one of three)


Mini Moo

This here lady is a yow - and she is very insulted that anyone would call her a tup!! She's off in a huff and hasn't nickered** at me for days!!

This photey was taken in the summer when all dangly bits would have been blissfully dangling if she were a tup. BUT she's no.

Her name is Elsie-yow and she's in lamb and as female as they come.

Elsie-yow is a Texel and Texels are stout muscular things that dooooo look a bit manly even in the female variety. (But don't tell Elsie I said that!!)

When Elsie-yow has her lamb I'll post a picture of it sooking fae her udder. Udder. That's something tups don't have. That ought to be proof enough! (As this is 91热爆's forum I can't post a photey of more compelling proof.)

** Sheep nicker just like little wooley horses.

Seems like everyone is down with a nasty bug round these parts! And this mysterious and very powerful "bug" seems very heavily linked with the flood back in October. Folk are ill - and they are VERY ill! And have been ill for months! Most have been unable to shake a "cold" that has been going away and then coming back over and over again since The Flood.

I was ill too. Relentlessly. I suspected myself of being a hypocondriac for a while there. And then we got coal and were able to heat the house. NOW I know where the old wive's tale came from: "Put yer coat on ya little whipper-snapper or you'll catch yer death a' cold!!

YOU DO CATCH YOUR DEATH A' COLD! Lordy! Specially in windy rainy Orkney!

I sure hope everyone returns to health soon! Erlend and I are fighting a cold - but it's no bad. Just enough to make us sound stuffed and pitiful. I wonder if it's the raw power of the coal fire that's keeping us fit thus far?? (knocking on wood...)

The dog thermometer says "It is COLD in this hoose!!"

(Brought to you by Zeb the Farm Dog)