Monday, October 3, 2011

October Stay-cation

One thing our family does really well is work.  Declaring a "day off" is difficult.  As the "mom" of the household, I declared Sunday morning that we were going to have a much-needed "fun day".

With so much to do around here, it's hard not to commit to an hour or two of labour before taking the rest.  If it hadn't been for a broken ax handle, we would have put in an hour of chopping and piling our winter wood before hitting the road.

It's seems funny to say that on our day off from the farm, we drove to an agri-tourism destination called Leisure Farm.   The farm is a popular day-trip around our parts, although mostly for families with small children.  Our tall, teenage daughter still loves it though.  It was a beautiful, sunny October day.


This pig was hilarious.  He had his own pile of reject pumpkins that he was pigging out on.  Most times, he had his whole head stuck inside a pumpkin, and would then emerge with an orange-pulpy face.


There were about eight turkeys this size, trying to snooze in the sun by the parking lot.  It never lasted long, because some young children would invariably wake them up so that they could chase them through the parking lot.

The farm had wagon rides, a corn maze, a playground, a kids craft room, a marshmallow roast, and a kiddies haunted house.  You could also buy pumpkin, apples, lunch and baked goods.

This year, I reluctantly paid $14 for my daughter and I to go through a haunted house.  The sign said that you had to be at least 12 years old, so I thought it might not be too corny.  Well, my daughter and I had a very good scare.  My hats off to the young people that put it together, it was very professional.  There was always something touching you in the dark and the scenes that you came upon were very realistic and scary.  I probably have a bruise on my arm from my daughter clutching me so hard.  We screamed a lot in the dark and then laughed a lot when we got outside.  It was worth my money.

Here is a picture of my multi-tasking last week.

Judith McKenzie's "A Spinner's Toolbox" made is easy for me to get through peeling 10 lbs of carrots.  I had a hard time making time to finish watching that video, so having to sit to peel carrots was a good excuse to multi-task.

This video is a must watch for anyone who spins without the benefit of a good workshop or lessons.  I've been spinning yarn for about six years, and I cannot beleive that there were so many basic things that I did not know!  She covers worsted, semi-worsted, woolen, semi-woolen, slub and boucle styles.   I'm anxious to do some slub and boucle yarns as my next spinning projects.  I highly recommend this video to any spinners.

5 comments:

Debi said...

What a fun day! I miss my bunch even more reading your story. It was a memory-made now for you and your daughter. Love your pictures and thank you for sharing your day.

Val said...

Hi Norma,

I have had this dvd since it came out and cannot seem to find the time to watch it. There is always something......

So the next time I am cooking dinner I will get out the portable dvd player and watch it. I haven't been able to take any kind of workshop and am self taught...and maybe I have learned some 'wrong' things?
Thanks for the idea of multi tasking.

Norma from Misty Haven Alpacas said...

Prudence P. - Thanks for visiting.

Val - you know, I have knit my handspun and woven my handspun created without any formal training. It works....so I'm convinced there is no WRONG spinning. However, I will be glad to improve on technique just enough to be able to plan how I want the yarn to look before I spin it. But I NEVER want to be the type of spinnner who worries more about technique rather than just enjoying the process of spinning fibre through my hands.

Azure Accessories said...

lol, sounds and looks as though you both had an amazing day! Surprisingly enough I've never been to Leisure Farm.

It is nice to take a break now and then...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Norma!
Cheers

luckybunny said...

Sounds like a great way to spend a day and even the haunted house sounds good! Great fun for this time of year. I'm glad you took the time to call for a fun day, you deserved it.

LOL I like your multi-tasking! Impressive!