Sheep and Wool Swag

What a busy weekend!  We started in earnest on Friday.  In the morning we hit the farmers market for yet another big ol’ box of scratch and dent tomatoes.  We dropped them at home and then headed east to Jefferson to take in some sheep and wool at the (appropriately named) Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival.  Since we went on Friday this year instead of Saturday or Sunday, we missed out on the shearing demo and hall of breeds (which were just starting to set up when we were there), but we did get to see some brand-spankin’-new widdle lambies.  The wee lambikins were only hours old and so cute.  Mr. Beeb insisted that he was a baby baa for the rest of the afternoon.

After bribing the small fries with the promise of a shaved ice if they cooperated, Mama got to look around the market.  Oooo…so many pretties.  Due to budget and time constraints, only two got to come home with me.  I had to get a handpainted sock blank since I want to be Molly Bees when I grow up.  She recently finished knitting these socks from this sock blank (scroll down)

Obviously, the picture doesn’t stay intact, but I just love these colors!  The blues!  The greens!  The blue-greens!  And that wild splash of pinks and oranges.  I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  I have a pair of socks on the needles, so I’ll be in a big rush to finish those so I can start these.  I’m about an inch away from done with the first sock, so I hope they go quick.

After a bit of an incident with Gale’s Art last year, I had to stop again this year.  So many pretties that it was hard to choose, but I decided to go with some impossibly soft blue-faced Leicester in natural colors.  I still covet the trindle spindles I saw last year, but I need to get back to spinning more before I can possibly justify more spindles.  I have a feeling that Gale’s Art might become an annual thing…

When we got home from Sheep and Wool, I peeled, cored and chopped tomatoes and now have four and a half gallons of chopped tomatoes ready to be turned into barbecue sauce.  I made one batch and am trying a couple of other recipes to find if we have a favorite.

Yesterday, Mike and I went to downtown Madison to watch our beloved Hawkeyes demolish their cross-state rival Iowa State.  We got to watch on a big screen and we weren’t the only ones screaming at the TV for a change.  The kids had a fabulous afternoon playing with their adopted grandma.

Ms. Bean and I had a quick trip up to Madison this noon to see a doctor.  She has been a bit under the weather the last week or so (snuffley and coughing), but this morning she woke up so congested that she was wheezing.  She got a nebulizer treatment and perked up considerably.  We’ll be doing the nebulizer more at home and following up with our primary care doc this week.  Based on the timing of it, I have strong suspicions that she has the same seasonal allergies and drainage as me.  I have been taking enough antihistamines to keep from getting all congested, but the nice weather that lets us sleep with the windows open might be taking its toll on both of us!