The Wrong Color

I repainted the kitchen yesterday.

I wasn't smart enough to think of taking a before picture

until I was half way through.

The good news is that everything got cleaned.

The bad news is that the color doesn't look this good in real life.

If you look at the reflection in the mirror,

you can see more of the color it actually is.

It's a BRIGHT celery green~

more like the moss that is in the first picture.

Needless to say, tomorrow morning 

I will be at the paint store bright and early.

I should have taken a major clue

when it required the extra-white base.

Every other color in the house has required

either the deep base or ultra-deep base.

I think I will try this formula with a deep base.

I will let you know how it works out.

At least I know what color I don't want now.

It's a good thing I like to paint.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

***Ooops~I Got It Right***

Ever feel like if you do something right,

it must have been an accident?

I was cutting up some wool for an idea I'm working on.

I had just been telling my mom 

that I needed to find a soft peacock color to add.

I went to darken a little bit of tan that was too bright,

and I discovered that I had left a piece in some dye

probably 2 months ago.

Can you guess what color?

It was exactly what I needed.

If I would have tried to get this color,

I would probably ended up with orange:)

I have plenty more dying and cutting

before I can even get started on stitching, 

but I am so glad to have this piece.

These are the things in life I call miracles~

the perfect little things that happen without planning them.

They are like unexpected gifts.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*~* A New Sign ~ Mustangs*~*~*

A new sign appeared on the road to town 

a while back.

There are several herds of mustangs around here.

The signs appeared after someone hit one on the road.

I can't imagine the damage hitting a horse would do

to a rig.  I hope they were okay.

I have hit deer, and that's no joy.

A horse weighs about five times as much as a deer.

This is actually a pretty decent looking bunch.

Just a note to those who think that the "mustangs"

they show in the movies are what they really look like,

that's like saying that the pictures you see in magazines

aren't photo-shopped and air-brushed.

The horses in movies are well kept herds.

I can actually vouch for that as my SIL's

uncle owns one of the largest herds that is often filmed.

Real mustangs often resemble those prehistoric images

on cave walls.

They are dumpy, mangy, and inbred as well as mean.
They have to be in order to survive.
There are plenty of wolves & mountain lions 
that would gladly help control the numbers if they weren't.

Actually, in this picture are just a few of a much larger herd.

There are more just over the ridge.
This herd in particular has had to be managed.
Oregon is open range
which means if you don't want various critters 
to wander onto your property,
it's up to you to fence them out.
So of course, folks have fenced them out 
(in order to protect their private livestock,)
and as there is no selective breeding program
among the wild, they were quite prolific.
In turn, they were becoming malnourished and even more sickly.
There was quite a debate over it.
I actually like seeing them.
I am not however, opposed to seeing them managed.
Some people think that it was inhumane and unnatural,
but I don't like seeing animals suffer.
So natural or not, I would rather see the healthiest
and strongest let roam and the runted and sickly
put out of their misery.
That may sound harsh, but it is much more humane
than letting them starve to death or die a slow death.
I have seen that too - not pretty!
This year they appear to be in relatively good shape
for being on the tail end of a harsh winter.

There is already a spring foal in this group.
It just looks like a dot behind the black and white one.
 A friend got the binoculars out, and
it's a little mostly black filly.
As the wolf numbers this year are half again what they were last year,
it will be interesting to see what wild life numbers will be.
(Just another note: the wolf breed they reintroduced is not the native breed.
The one they have reintroduced and protect is roughly twice the
size of the native breed requiring of course roughly twice as 
much to eat in order to maintain and prosper.
But that's another big topic.)

As spring flourishes, I look forward to seeing not only the foals,
but also the fawns, ducklings, quail chicks (so cute,) and
all the newbies about.
The mountains always seem to provide an awe inspiring scene.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

!!!!!!! High Waters !!!!!!!

Over the past couple days,

there has been flooding in the area.

Our lazy little river that flows at a meager 50ish cfs

in the summer was raging up over 4000.

Usually those large rocks are

several feet above the water.

 The cool part is that the waterfalls are running.

This is 'our' waterfall.

It actually belongs to the person who owns

the property across the road, 

but it faces us.

We are pretty fortunately situated

in that our house sits at a nice level

above flood stage.

Farther down river, there were folks who

were not so happily situated.

I don't know that there was any real damage

as far as homes go,

but fields, yards, and corals were all under water.

Livestock was moved to higher ground.

Today it dropped back down below flood stage for us,

but there are several tributaries that flow into it

as it flows on down so that things are still

pretty soggy down river.

I am very thankful it was no worse than it was.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*~*Hubby's "New" Toy*~*~*

This is Hubby's "new" toy.

It's a 1949 Ford sedan.

It was his great grandmothers.

She bought it & as hubby put it,

"must have just bounced off of everything."

My guess is she didn't know how to drive 

when she bought it and learned by running into things.

She drove it for about 20-25 years,

then it sat in a barn for 30 years.

Hubby bought it from his uncle about 10 years ago.

Since then it has been stored at his brother's.

We were finally able to get other projects/things/stuff/junk

out of the shop so there is room for it.

He is like a little kid at Christmas - so excited.

I told him that he shouldn't be bored for about 20 years.

It will be a complete restoration.

He decided not to take it back to original,

but to customize it.

From the outside, it will look pretty much original,

just under the hood and interior will be different.

Maybe by 2049, we will be able to go for a cruise;)

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

* Hell's Canyon Oregon*

Hell's Canyon Oregon

Neither Hubby nor I had ever been to

the Hell's Canyon Damn so we decided to go.

If you appreciate rugged beauty or

if you like outdoor adventure,

this is a must. 

This is above the damn.

I think we were actually on the Idaho side for this one.

From below the damn 

looking back up at it.

Now back on the Oregon side.

In the summer, there are rafting tours

from about here all the way down to the

mouth of the Snake River.

We have been farther down river,

but had not been this far up.

This is right next to the damn - 

a visitors center.

I don't remember how deep it is,

but it is more impressive in real life

as the size of the rocks and the volume of water

are truly grand.

The picture doesn't give you a great perspective

of the scale.

The other thing I enjoyed

was the variety of rocks.

As we were driving, areas of the cliff sides

were green with copper,

or plum colored.

If you know what causes a plum color,

please let me know.

It was beautiful.

There was also metamorphic rock

that was all speckley.

(Another me word.)

It was a fabulous mini vacation -

the only vacation we've had in some time.

That evening, we went to a Gothard Sisters concert.

You might look them up on youtube if you like Celtic music.

It was all within a few hours of home.

Hope you enjoyed the mini-tour.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches