tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68268270757712426092024-03-13T03:02:48.533-07:00Field Of ViolettesValariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-61145396903355381412021-03-17T08:43:00.000-07:002021-03-17T08:43:22.175-07:00Hatch-Along, day 11<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiLiwC0wiar7vf9AupBfaMEr7n4_Z7Su0JAcujAf5ar0KrGp2mfi6jl96Ghi3hoDfAEr3bJcDXZbg9lawS5FLI_jfiIZUlIACKfr35ezL1PQjnJPg5o7t_3QlRgodt_JY7JRycF_LxcF3/s2048/160525108_276581697332340_6223947992070616903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiLiwC0wiar7vf9AupBfaMEr7n4_Z7Su0JAcujAf5ar0KrGp2mfi6jl96Ghi3hoDfAEr3bJcDXZbg9lawS5FLI_jfiIZUlIACKfr35ezL1PQjnJPg5o7t_3QlRgodt_JY7JRycF_LxcF3/s320/160525108_276581697332340_6223947992070616903_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly laid eggs- 5 light brown eggs sit on a scarf.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure <a href="http://www.fieldofviolettes.com/p/disclosure.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p>Yesterday marked day 11 of incubation on the latest set of eggs. I started out with 48 eggs. Because my chickens lay between 5-8 eggs a day, it takes a bit to get up to 48 eggs and some of them were a little older than is typically recommended. Not every egg that is laid is going to be a good candidate for hatching- some of them will have defects in the shell that don't make a difference when you're eating the egg, but will influence the success of hatching. </p><p>I get a good number of "good" hatching eggs every day. To be a good egg for hatching they must be free of bubbles and other defects like being too porous, having hairline cracks or thick areas of shell, and if they are too large or too small they should also not be used. Using the clues given to you by eggs can increase your hatch success rate and reduce wasted space in the incubator. As I said, these not preferred for hatching eggs are still perfectly fine to eat. </p><p>You also want to select clean eggs, dirty eggs risk adding bacteria to your incubator and ruining your whole hatch. Washing eggs for hatching is not encouraged- knocking off debris and things with a paper towel can help reduce risk, but selecting clean eggs is the best bet. Make sure the bedding for your chickens is nice and clean so you get nice, clean eggs. I use <a href="https://amzn.to/3cGhM6X" target="_blank">nesting pads</a>. The nesting pads help pull any waste/poop away from the surface to keep your eggs nice and clean, and you can throw them in the compost pile when they're soiled enough to need to be changed. I currently have 3 nesting boxes with 9 hens, and I need to change the pads about every 4-6 weeks. You can pull them out to knock off solids and extend their life, which helps reduce costs and waste. <br /><br />I store all of my eggs pointy side down in case I decide to incubate them- this helps keep the yolk in the proper place and sets the egg up for successful hatch. It's also important that they are kept cool but not cold- too cold will cause a drop in hatchability of the eggs as they are embryos and they are slightly delicate. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below are two examples of eggs that failed to develop more than a few days, and a couple examples of typically developing eggs. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM71Md5uSkMLuwnvrMx86j-wGs-yy1nzySuVk_D9bZ7Sq96eifF-K3UFCXH_wnBjBGJjrtTjXfTAqrw6D9vLuiDYj_rgWZARuJNMX34qNtin6lxzdKxT4TOEUsjLTHpL8I32ngEzmCTDSR/s2048/161805703_896569701095034_1524159116965540266_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM71Md5uSkMLuwnvrMx86j-wGs-yy1nzySuVk_D9bZ7Sq96eifF-K3UFCXH_wnBjBGJjrtTjXfTAqrw6D9vLuiDYj_rgWZARuJNMX34qNtin6lxzdKxT4TOEUsjLTHpL8I32ngEzmCTDSR/s320/161805703_896569701095034_1524159116965540266_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brown egg being candled- you can see a blood ring, which indicates early embryo failure.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieK2OtfSO8RXFpv1hCfbKTvEYuk_thk7K_iXGDl2PukaNCq069yv9HM450eifATqitmnBZ80DfVRyTyWpyzSt3eBXm42nkOiRcolZSP_XxBWB79szbXflqgIOwpNHb8U3i8_cJ_ImLY0q/s2048/160328034_200455495211559_8523078472125251226_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieK2OtfSO8RXFpv1hCfbKTvEYuk_thk7K_iXGDl2PukaNCq069yv9HM450eifATqitmnBZ80DfVRyTyWpyzSt3eBXm42nkOiRcolZSP_XxBWB79szbXflqgIOwpNHb8U3i8_cJ_ImLY0q/s320/160328034_200455495211559_8523078472125251226_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A porous brown egg- you can see a lot of flecks in the shell that indicate the egg is very porous. The egg has not developed at all and you can see where the yolk is floating at the top of the egg. This is an example of a not-ideal for hatching shell. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeStyW4c3moVLor-cYL-NEp7OUZUYhYPsYeohrv9cPMfPys4pL1sydYOOOFmRTVHAr7Fp5sF8cnTthh5vOdmOevWrIeEWVFjFofdDCQPwWpRaIFhF70SXKI1dK3o4E9TjnJHszqWEAPwJ/s2048/161437367_888366945287098_2100074074315657552_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeStyW4c3moVLor-cYL-NEp7OUZUYhYPsYeohrv9cPMfPys4pL1sydYOOOFmRTVHAr7Fp5sF8cnTthh5vOdmOevWrIeEWVFjFofdDCQPwWpRaIFhF70SXKI1dK3o4E9TjnJHszqWEAPwJ/s320/161437367_888366945287098_2100074074315657552_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typically developing day 11 embryo. You see shadows of the baby, and there was movement in the shell. There are pencil marks on the top to show air cell development.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-VI1-zzuSKHqrNizZUAZRGYgH2Cgjzi8GI3n3yHepWh5j4_QMAGIKsP2oG4V1HtG0vky0W_I4Ecs1TtWOdM7bjQqQyvRIL9RjBTtwoamWjJSm4FVpVS1FWnAiFf0LKuzsgIP5bNDRtF6/s2048/160182828_477333886636537_5490518286041724211_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-VI1-zzuSKHqrNizZUAZRGYgH2Cgjzi8GI3n3yHepWh5j4_QMAGIKsP2oG4V1HtG0vky0W_I4Ecs1TtWOdM7bjQqQyvRIL9RjBTtwoamWjJSm4FVpVS1FWnAiFf0LKuzsgIP5bNDRtF6/s320/160182828_477333886636537_5490518286041724211_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typically developing day 11 embryo. You can see veining at the top of the shell, and the baby is nestled in the middle/bottom as seen in the shadow.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-81087991554804428442021-03-12T17:24:00.010-08:002021-03-13T08:08:04.487-08:00First Hatch With My Incubator!<p>This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure <a href="http://www.fieldofviolettes.com/p/disclosure.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p>Decided to hatch out some of my Silver Laced Wyandotte's eggs since I have a rooster! </p><p>Started the eggs on the 1st of Feb so I
would easily remember when to start watching for pips (the initial hole in the shell that signals hatching is going to start). It was late in
the day when I started the incubator, which I had been running for a
while to make sure it got up to temperature and I could figure out
how often I needed to add water.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Started with 20 eggs- some of the eggs
were an experiment. We lost a hen to a bobcat when they were free
ranging and I was hoping that putting in 6 eggs from when she was
alive would give us at least one that was her baby. Unfortunately, none of the month old eggs developed at all. I pulled them after
candling (holding a bright light up to the egg in a dark room to see the inside development) on day 8 or 10. I hadn't seen development when I candled on
day 5, but wanted to give them a little extra time to see what
happened. I removed them because I was worried about them exploding
and contaminating the other eggs, all of which were developing.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Incubator went into lock-down (you close the incubator and don't open it unless it's an emergency, no more turning eggs) on day
18, after I candled and noted location of air pockets. I did not open
the incubator after this point until after all eggs had pipped, and
only to remove the dish of water I had in there to replace with a
sponge to prevent drowning. Temperature and humidity did not drop a
significant amount.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Our first chicks hatched on day 22. I
now know that the incubator calibration was slightly off, and
temperate was a little low and humidity was a little higher than I
would have liked. I now have a Bluetooth enabled hydrometer (tracks temperature and humidity) in the
incubator to make sure everything is exactly where it should be.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I would call round one a very
successful hatch. If you don't count the old eggs that I didn't
expect to hatch, there was a 100% success rate.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There were three eggs that were
struggling to finish zipping (completing the process of cracking the egg all the way around). On the end of day 23 I assisted them
with manual zipping and left them in the incubator with the plan to
assist more if they hadn't made progress by morning. All chicks were
hatched when I woke up on day 24. Two of the assisted hatching chicks
had minor problems- one was a bit sticky, with membrane stuck to
their body and a bit small. The other chick had curled toes on one
foot, and was struggling to walk well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuuIBt8rnziuchK_0uU1WMuzMOxF-ODDOv0Nvd-sUrg6jf2-I8W6hw8RoUYiI1n4wZl67eH7Xi8EI2Igwiasv2JTQ6qXQi5syso1hA7EAqgnN6dLySqqewUi4zT8Cu297LuI9_GQwIANQ/s2048/152071851_424082791995428_8436076715723806219_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuuIBt8rnziuchK_0uU1WMuzMOxF-ODDOv0Nvd-sUrg6jf2-I8W6hw8RoUYiI1n4wZl67eH7Xi8EI2Igwiasv2JTQ6qXQi5syso1hA7EAqgnN6dLySqqewUi4zT8Cu297LuI9_GQwIANQ/s320/152071851_424082791995428_8436076715723806219_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bottom half of a chick, their right foot has toes that curl in and won't spread out. The curled toes look a bit swollen.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuuIBt8rnziuchK_0uU1WMuzMOxF-ODDOv0Nvd-sUrg6jf2-I8W6hw8RoUYiI1n4wZl67eH7Xi8EI2Igwiasv2JTQ6qXQi5syso1hA7EAqgnN6dLySqqewUi4zT8Cu297LuI9_GQwIANQ/s2048/152071851_424082791995428_8436076715723806219_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div></div>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I helped the chick with curled toes by
making a little shoe out of tape and gently uncurling the toes so
they were straight. The shoe stayed on for 3 days, then I took it off
to check progress. The foot was completely flat and the toes were the
same as the other chicks. I put them back in the brooder and they
were running around with zero issues, other than getting used to not
having their shoe anymore and therefore having full use of the foot.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaOW80BM64xyfQHOY7MwDc8bdVOs9KIeysJ3Q9nfbJzXme3zz3wB7GP2xJQcsYDJpPU-vrTKUK0Ntg7oLaLI5A0TDh6zdL3o4jO0XGfVmS5cXLwhiwqdkCCllNIDzpUBmHbp-gjqjF-pE/s2048/156415744_480436696448235_7355763553629344530_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaOW80BM64xyfQHOY7MwDc8bdVOs9KIeysJ3Q9nfbJzXme3zz3wB7GP2xJQcsYDJpPU-vrTKUK0Ntg7oLaLI5A0TDh6zdL3o4jO0XGfVmS5cXLwhiwqdkCCllNIDzpUBmHbp-gjqjF-pE/s320/156415744_480436696448235_7355763553629344530_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Footie after having a "boot" on for 2-3 days. Their toes are straight and normal sized.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />The sticky chick was small and not
moving a lot when they were in the incubator. They seemed very tired from the effort of hatching. I waited
overnight, leaving them in the incubator with footie, the chick with the curled toes. They still
hadn't dried/cleaned up by when I got up, so I got paper towels and a warm dish
of water. I got a paper towel soaking wet, then gently wrapped it
around the chick to help loosen the leftover membrane and goo from
their delicate skin. As I was waiting for it to soften things, I fed
them <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSOD8KG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GSOD8KG&linkCode=as2&tag=fieldofviolet-20&linkId=d28e277305222a29977d60a4da19f909" target="_blank">nutridrench</a> with a medicine dropper.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTuU_031Cclt-UBrYkjDu_soW61J9oeazQX5HG9Rk3CR9vLUxQY2_Q_HtDg9l8IQFTt0WtlYAznazIdRFa7gsxNs5Xj2Vc71v4fTwX8hj-nbrQdrD4U03SP0oeO0jOYuD12dS8tLZqRvh/s2048/154123510_2880026005615295_8523203002878755674_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTuU_031Cclt-UBrYkjDu_soW61J9oeazQX5HG9Rk3CR9vLUxQY2_Q_HtDg9l8IQFTt0WtlYAznazIdRFa7gsxNs5Xj2Vc71v4fTwX8hj-nbrQdrD4U03SP0oeO0jOYuD12dS8tLZqRvh/s320/154123510_2880026005615295_8523203002878755674_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chick wrapped in a warm paper towel, looking toward the camera.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOSWIsrEXudUlZ8p0LjjY-7ZuIyUUW4XcuVpWTzRZLt-LAeM7frvF05vB8h1nlucl5l4YiOviwj7zb28h1i2s8vU8E4-QfR_gnQyggKxZGDWIZ9x3Nsx8qwOfsVGuZUeZCa_sF1krEoCr/s655/scraggles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="506" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOSWIsrEXudUlZ8p0LjjY-7ZuIyUUW4XcuVpWTzRZLt-LAeM7frvF05vB8h1nlucl5l4YiOviwj7zb28h1i2s8vU8E4-QfR_gnQyggKxZGDWIZ9x3Nsx8qwOfsVGuZUeZCa_sF1krEoCr/s320/scraggles.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scraggles before a bath, after being in the incubator for a while. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />After a few minutes I gently dabbed
with the paper towel, getting off as much as I could without pulling
or tearing their skin. I then put them back into the incubator to
warm up so they wouldn't get chilled and die from that. I repeated
this process every half an hour until they were mostly clean. We call
this chick Scraggles. Scraggles is doing great now and running around like all the other chicks. They are a bit small, but they have been working on growing and getting new feathers. </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bNmdgl4EUUzcXFQjmF6yj6t1hebqhY9PuuTQu0Lszf9wDiOCqJe1YSvqOX3QrGEKnqwJtkSsMvCruapBrof003-wsJ-sKFjlbK8hOXdyaeGeO0c8Hiqq2lA2SeOu7N6Gz6Ra5L66JiOG/s2048/160729853_285246056370325_4991618231453569433_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bNmdgl4EUUzcXFQjmF6yj6t1hebqhY9PuuTQu0Lszf9wDiOCqJe1YSvqOX3QrGEKnqwJtkSsMvCruapBrof003-wsJ-sKFjlbK8hOXdyaeGeO0c8Hiqq2lA2SeOu7N6Gz6Ra5L66JiOG/s320/160729853_285246056370325_4991618231453569433_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chick wrapped gently inside a hand towel. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fU89pnwX5R87wanPGlXVCeBRdTamRs6C8W7uqVPyU3CIkOyYyJZvJKh6pzJqV7hPo3Y7jONQPcrOBp-VS-18UajcnXenyjjA7SLVxFAFk-QdPg4c0yS7r0grvwReTot86JmXRVrSKsSL/s2048/159171615_350619119526213_6364181091498492442_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fU89pnwX5R87wanPGlXVCeBRdTamRs6C8W7uqVPyU3CIkOyYyJZvJKh6pzJqV7hPo3Y7jONQPcrOBp-VS-18UajcnXenyjjA7SLVxFAFk-QdPg4c0yS7r0grvwReTot86JmXRVrSKsSL/s320/159171615_350619119526213_6364181091498492442_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scraggles after their bath, dried and much fluffier than before. They are still not perfectly fluffy and are a bit small. </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All in all it was a successful first hatch, and a great learning experience. I have a full load in the incubator now. It's day 7 for those eggs. Follow my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fieldofviolettes/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> if you want to see real-time hatch pics and other slice of life pictures! I also post content on my <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dystopianista" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, including videos of eggs and chicks! </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If you are interested in buying something to "treat" my chickens, my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XNT0MCUENFU3?ref_=wl_share" target="_blank">Amazon Wishlist is here. </a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gVn70lFA4AH5WTfsaTwzHQKWMnpt0-Y7nWmp0HGMzfs66IGOSychk5ED05m5e3WmX67aRCPQoM5WCmXimiGvKJ6n68QEjtXO1cnnIRuLZCcPe5baHoL9xneet9LVIKTJ432yTPRunaWG/s2048/152046169_242325730825126_701160017871677225_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gVn70lFA4AH5WTfsaTwzHQKWMnpt0-Y7nWmp0HGMzfs66IGOSychk5ED05m5e3WmX67aRCPQoM5WCmXimiGvKJ6n68QEjtXO1cnnIRuLZCcPe5baHoL9xneet9LVIKTJ432yTPRunaWG/s320/152046169_242325730825126_701160017871677225_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Multiple chicks stand in a brooder, there is a hole in the side for adding water and you can see one chick clearly through the hole, with their beak sticking up and their chest puffed out. <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjqzAlJbpY_jbMhryc5qWMLP2kOzbovbW4ioRuiiur4AT_zPUNDSUgwTk89ef3CA9CjcY4YE0VWoH5C5q7G5SEpQ-Awz4fdTIg4__iAgy94T3c1zseFtmwyyW3q-qVmABk-pNxssjOxSn/s1440/151732953_802760377006547_8553497181631931465_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjqzAlJbpY_jbMhryc5qWMLP2kOzbovbW4ioRuiiur4AT_zPUNDSUgwTk89ef3CA9CjcY4YE0VWoH5C5q7G5SEpQ-Awz4fdTIg4__iAgy94T3c1zseFtmwyyW3q-qVmABk-pNxssjOxSn/s320/151732953_802760377006547_8553497181631931465_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A day old chick in Valarie's hand, the chick is mostly yellow on the bottom half and darker around the head and wings. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m94hV5UilaGsuA8c-cmnGC3YtymzyCiqcJx79DGWBaA9M53uzpyAUT3iZ5pDStyBaUFOqwyTxgHjnX9FQ2VNI23qGMmettko61-yQ3cFYaVYlZQlEsdj6Xu8yp486VNlOrVkUGAXnPA_/s2048/151992827_440182773847606_2909582217105527471_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m94hV5UilaGsuA8c-cmnGC3YtymzyCiqcJx79DGWBaA9M53uzpyAUT3iZ5pDStyBaUFOqwyTxgHjnX9FQ2VNI23qGMmettko61-yQ3cFYaVYlZQlEsdj6Xu8yp486VNlOrVkUGAXnPA_/s320/151992827_440182773847606_2909582217105527471_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day old chicks stand in pine shavings in a brooder.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz-AOJ9eKLzom13ryqvaNAIs83qiIs2WSogtpR-oVrSH0YGmWa9Hcd3YVaXUZpsji2wZbL7RtXAoIzNSiVckT4M3BbAwWXZr4P3UJpg14d_Wc4Ua22glHpCdiDatOqOff0pDrVw6BcUNy/s2048/152046183_708446659816072_9123683410911533211_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz-AOJ9eKLzom13ryqvaNAIs83qiIs2WSogtpR-oVrSH0YGmWa9Hcd3YVaXUZpsji2wZbL7RtXAoIzNSiVckT4M3BbAwWXZr4P3UJpg14d_Wc4Ua22glHpCdiDatOqOff0pDrVw6BcUNy/s320/152046183_708446659816072_9123683410911533211_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A just born chick in Valarie's hand in front of the incubator.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xAoiJmgelNwsgYguBjSUoqCbpwuU2x3YuovGWG6H2UUj3kQzZ_OF3gwYqNrOQE2cAsyvh-4mP3q1wfN0od76oJkjyYnVbNIlRTu8ESXF84rBVDUe0CTN4sOLN68Z9e7OQ6Oo1YRNrB7X/s2048/152476475_452774146080030_9080239657650394418_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xAoiJmgelNwsgYguBjSUoqCbpwuU2x3YuovGWG6H2UUj3kQzZ_OF3gwYqNrOQE2cAsyvh-4mP3q1wfN0od76oJkjyYnVbNIlRTu8ESXF84rBVDUe0CTN4sOLN68Z9e7OQ6Oo1YRNrB7X/s320/152476475_452774146080030_9080239657650394418_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 chicks sleeping in a brooder, with food and water in the foreground. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxaxhFV7jB7olbUfjG6lz9tgiHCq566rG2nt1ayp248HAXrlq5e7sgHzuqV_bJCHy8ojnjb6dTO4Na2v3CO-w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzFHehwLj_pMyuPR1DyyDkOZiqTQs1yTz_QY_JskwWdAkkCWZ7Z39lYlk5rv29n8ms_nxtB575AwNet90htIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-72591636825580558422020-08-05T14:46:00.004-07:002020-08-05T14:46:58.098-07:00First Egg!I am so excited, we got our first egg today! I wasn't expecting it because I believe Wyandottes typically start laying around 24 weeks old and our ladies are 19 weeks old.<br /><br /><br />So this morning I went out to get them and let them out to free range for the first time at the new place, and Kyle asked me if there was an egg. I looked, but I didn't think there would be one. But it was there!!! A tiny, perfect, cute little egg.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMV6ikblsz-tVBYA55ktBiYxICEotXrGf2e7BEDZSbksAUzKi1bp51DNs0ho4U2-cabRRSTnIJ6AA9ot7uontJYxXeO-cKeINrqCzFtzlS7i6Pg2juoJ-OyJw2Z9rTs3wzXtl3zIDaMZs/s1600/117176974_290453698687064_1611817158675593483_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMV6ikblsz-tVBYA55ktBiYxICEotXrGf2e7BEDZSbksAUzKi1bp51DNs0ho4U2-cabRRSTnIJ6AA9ot7uontJYxXeO-cKeINrqCzFtzlS7i6Pg2juoJ-OyJw2Z9rTs3wzXtl3zIDaMZs/s320/117176974_290453698687064_1611817158675593483_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a small chicken egg inside of a shotglass to show scale</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBGnUoiDJSbf9pjSpygPLyyTbxRl4dxUZ1lo1ZFP3jxdYGzB969alDa-rAlGFfNP5B__lZf_HKIJCSwDzcpPYZtJdxlfVXfv-0R8RfzseypVAwTYp_SFU3x1s4SkCnC4lYdI7Mg-uUzdF/s1600/116908861_218202799513390_49636749405260089_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBGnUoiDJSbf9pjSpygPLyyTbxRl4dxUZ1lo1ZFP3jxdYGzB969alDa-rAlGFfNP5B__lZf_HKIJCSwDzcpPYZtJdxlfVXfv-0R8RfzseypVAwTYp_SFU3x1s4SkCnC4lYdI7Mg-uUzdF/s320/116908861_218202799513390_49636749405260089_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 chickens sit on the ground, taking a dust bath.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuwo4C7C7fc7UheophShHglvowz5s1Myszoc4RoEG4nTm2LFgXWPncaSQ_hs6nKJhzrPP7dU9cI1wlvaN188VO_38NbRXeyefqLw9Ba6WvsvxeH4Dw9DMVcaYr-Ou58CfxIhNVvuN4LRx/s1600/116335772_650172112560122_6493241693024377700_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuwo4C7C7fc7UheophShHglvowz5s1Myszoc4RoEG4nTm2LFgXWPncaSQ_hs6nKJhzrPP7dU9cI1wlvaN188VO_38NbRXeyefqLw9Ba6WvsvxeH4Dw9DMVcaYr-Ou58CfxIhNVvuN4LRx/s320/116335772_650172112560122_6493241693024377700_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a hand holds up a small chicken egg</td></tr>
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-73280282677112859442020-05-20T16:50:00.000-07:002021-03-12T16:50:32.567-08:00Silver Laced WyandottesNow that we are finally in a place where we have the space (and zoning laws, ugh) for chickens, I finally got some!<br /><br />I chose the Silver Laced Wyandotte breed because of their temperament and the fact that they are a dual purpose bird. They are also cold hearty which is important here in New England. Hopefully even though I have a few birds we won't get overwhelmed with eggs.<br /><br />So far things are going great! We have them in a barn stall for now that we converted into a chicken coop. Plenty of room for cold winter days where they can't get outside because ofValariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-84280919978639961992020-04-09T16:50:00.000-07:002021-03-12T16:51:12.621-08:00Chicken Tractor and Nesting BoxesWe got the chicken tractor finished and the nesting boxes done as well. Since we have 10 chicks 3 nesting boxes should be fine for now. They're relatively easy to make if we need to make more at some point. Both projects were finished over the course of a couple of days.<br /><br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-89647528069962536492020-03-26T06:46:00.000-07:002020-03-26T06:46:07.425-07:00Grocery Delivery, I Miss You.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First of all, I want to start by saying
that I know we are lucky to be relatively healthy in an acute way
right now and I appreciate all the hard work that grocery workers are
doing right now. I can be frustrated in the breakdown of the system
without being angry at the people that are just doing the best they
can in a difficult situation. <br /><br />With that said, all the
shutdowns of grocery delivery are incredibly frustrating for me in
multiple ways. From a food allergy standpoint, it is frustrating that
I can't access a way to cut down on time taken shopping. You see, I
have to read every label of multi-ingredient items every time I
purchase them. This makes shopping in stores take longer than it does
for most people. If you see someone slowly making their way down each
aisle, reading label after label, it's someone with food allergies.
We can't just pick up a different brand and roll with it, because
that brand might not be safe for us. I know a lot of families that
call and speak to a representative of every brand they buy to ask
about manufacturing practices. This takes forever and is
infuriatingly slow on a regular day, let alone one where call volume
is infinitely higher than usual.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some textures aren't the same across
brands, and something that is a safe food for someone with food
aversions is not the same in another brand. The look and feel and
overall textures of certain foods are comfortable and safe and known.
New foods in a time that is already full of upheaval of routine is
adding fuel to the fire and making a difficult situation even harder.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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Trying to find the balance between
getting enough to last for a while in case your safe foods aren't
back soon, and not taking so much that another family that is in the
same situation can't also do the same is so hard. Watching the
breakdown of the food delivery system is... something else.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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On top of having to carefully read each
label, which takes forever on a good day, add in my chronic illnesses
and it is a recipe for extreme frustration and fatigue inducing.
Trying to shop in store is challenging for me on a good day, with all
the stimulation and uncontrollable factors. With people panicking and
being absolutely awful to fellow humans, it is something that brings
feelings of complete dread even thinking about. The hours for
“elderly and sick” customers are way too early for so many
people, and I am nowhere near able to do any sort of shopping that
early in the morning. The fact that many people that NEED to use
these hours are also people that rely on rides and public
transportation, and it is inaccessible for many people that need
them. <br /><br />Grocery delivery made my life so much easier. I didn't
realize just how much I relied on it until it was no longer
accessible. I am lucky that I am able to make due without it, and I
have support to help me if needed. A lot of my friends don't have
that same support and safety net.
<br /><br />I spent an hour putting together a grocery order only to have them tell me HALFWAY THROUGH CHECKOUT that there were no slots available anymore. This was an advertised service. Why are you advertising your service if it isn't actually available? Infuriating.<br /><br />Valarie</div>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-53084457307381420562020-03-14T07:02:00.001-07:002020-03-17T10:56:00.140-07:00FREE Home Learning Activities<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ0LFXRae8JVEwFNm4f7FpDb0zTqZ_IInIZjtu8yCXt-kRo47C_guQN8jfu_rtvKgItLGP7n7oreXrT4rk2gtXMJNniA8ct6T9gzJmSz3139235tbHYAlhv0PP-SdTH1or9gTmXsn3bU7/s1600/learningactivities.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="641" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ0LFXRae8JVEwFNm4f7FpDb0zTqZ_IInIZjtu8yCXt-kRo47C_guQN8jfu_rtvKgItLGP7n7oreXrT4rk2gtXMJNniA8ct6T9gzJmSz3139235tbHYAlhv0PP-SdTH1or9gTmXsn3bU7/s320/learningactivities.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black text on a purple background that reads "FREE home learning activities to help keep children busy while stuck at home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Most of these resources are going to be for younger age groups as that is what I need for my child, but I will try to add resources for older kids/teens as I become aware of them. This will be updated as I find new and interesting things.<br />
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I am going to try an only post things that are free, to help minimize financial impact to people who were not expecting to have their children home for weeks or months. This post may contain affiliate links, but they won't cost you anything to use.<br />
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Apps:<br />
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<a href="https://www.duolingo.com/learn" target="_blank">Duolingo</a>, is for learning languages and has an online version and also android and apple app. The free version is great and you only have to watch/view an ad after a lesson. There is a paid version but you can get by just fine on the free version.<br />
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If you have a kindle fire tablet Kids Edition tablet, the Freetime Unlimited that comes with it has a ton of educational apps, books, and videos. You can set daily educational goals and manage apps and content from your <a href="https://parents.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon Parent dashboard</a>.<br />
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Websites:<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers</a> has a LOT of free resources if you have printer access. This has worksheets and lesson plans for all grade levels. There are paid resources but there are a lot of free ones, just make sure to use the "free" filter when searching.<br />
<br />
Here is an <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1o6kEgCKLn3cyIm2hehhhSTIk7yRTd0C3zx49JS4wwCI/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR2ivcsEu3BQA7a-LO7xaptOw2NG3DJ_Tw0SnLfewicelu3jbQmxhpDShGo" target="_blank">awesome Google Doc</a> with all kinds of links and ideas for activities to do. I am unsure of the original source, please let me know if you find it so I can credit them!<br />
<br />
Here is another amazing Google Doc from <a href="http://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/" target="_blank">Amazing Educational Resources</a> that shows a bunch of websites that are offering free services due to the novel coronavirus.<br />
<br />
Yet another fantastic Google Doc with a list of <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/preview?fbclid=IwAR0501sPxm0G5FWq3xYzf2AsA6hniGQWxHMIHgZnLogP6HU4uf7tRqigTJM&pru=AAABcQeWneg*tGaqFwYPw00W4eSqq7uYrQ" target="_blank">Virtual Field Trips</a>.<br />
<br />
Scholastic has put out a <a href="https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html" target="_blank">20 days of reading</a> webpage that is free, and they provide you with a login. This is mostly aimed at Elementary aged children.<br /><br />This is a great <a href="http://www.breezyspecialed.com/2020/03/distance-home-learning-packets-and.html?fbclid=IwAR0YC8K_Xq2plkHmc213McOYz7yLyh1lL1sVAftrVvqD-lCreDtS_ZXtzHs" target="_blank">Special Education list of resources</a>.<br />
<br />
Please note that if you are a lower income family, internet companies have been offering free services for people with specific guidelines. Check with your local provider to see if they are offering free internet services for the short term due to this crisis.<br />
<br />
Please comment any resources that you know about below! Thank you to all my wonderful friends that have shared resources with me, I appreciate all of you.<br />
<br />
<br />
It might help to keep on their general schedule. Make sure you schedule time for play and snacks!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIud9QET4VEOJUQCXiyyYvr5a_lNIDfLtNJPF3vUhLHj_O9Z4Kmgz1T7wt3nII3BLtRpyrc6zIAi4Ye8MhcP99lqmJ2xxA5SBoMILM-qzGSpwO4r0QlGaLnTIqhLu3CsVyF8qk3dLILf5F/s1600/89801612_10158327679928708_2649677333354512384_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="960" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIud9QET4VEOJUQCXiyyYvr5a_lNIDfLtNJPF3vUhLHj_O9Z4Kmgz1T7wt3nII3BLtRpyrc6zIAi4Ye8MhcP99lqmJ2xxA5SBoMILM-qzGSpwO4r0QlGaLnTIqhLu3CsVyF8qk3dLILf5F/s320/89801612_10158327679928708_2649677333354512384_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty from That 70s Show drinking a margarita out of the blender. Text above reads "Me when I realized the kids are probably headed home for a 24 day weekend.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-34876284288530904462019-09-28T17:59:00.002-07:002019-09-28T17:59:30.833-07:00Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Nothing super exciting but I've done a few paintings. Need more supplies but I think it's something I will continue to try, I forgot how much I like it. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7mDa8cK92dDEHI733SF05wwDWkfr7Z8dexr5dLlvk5K0cX2NG4LJdGnIGlVXoywQ0LIk3H3TiKEGgLZltW_E4W-jMxka-FwYlOXLvko2LD82ktKr6R1Nkqi8tF2XU6nmWoE3HimWH4FS/s1600/60206775_10157405957558708_3764670716209790976_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7mDa8cK92dDEHI733SF05wwDWkfr7Z8dexr5dLlvk5K0cX2NG4LJdGnIGlVXoywQ0LIk3H3TiKEGgLZltW_E4W-jMxka-FwYlOXLvko2LD82ktKr6R1Nkqi8tF2XU6nmWoE3HimWH4FS/s320/60206775_10157405957558708_3764670716209790976_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small canvas panel with a painting of a dumpster on fire with the initials VV in the lower right corner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx9KTzTwXzNqo8ar3JFbSfPP3FI0z5vSP-ACP2aDSs4KhI85IAVovG5lQ4zZ_KZDEozG99RRMOgPBBDFxc3EKjEDRY2Mq253RjhnFW8ItRHlPwsgB0-zkKPGbPIBM4zZEE511jZVc0QHE/s1600/60554385_10157406034268708_3931364246713008128_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx9KTzTwXzNqo8ar3JFbSfPP3FI0z5vSP-ACP2aDSs4KhI85IAVovG5lQ4zZ_KZDEozG99RRMOgPBBDFxc3EKjEDRY2Mq253RjhnFW8ItRHlPwsgB0-zkKPGbPIBM4zZEE511jZVc0QHE/s320/60554385_10157406034268708_3931364246713008128_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small galaxy-inspired painting done in blues and whites</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-67956498615450073482019-04-03T13:29:00.002-07:002019-04-03T13:29:33.448-07:00Yummy Rice<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfhy0tq-7jljNjip0QWYiBoFe_CCwucfWUyIusm4Y2BkImFpO9rZxlNWzRW30V9EtKeE0Jo-w0JY2XqwmlDRQLdmVIa1ESMeryQsEgEgMgPbJU6t0Lpy1J258DdINJs5ytM5C0z-vOvAm/s1600/55931129_10157298674113708_150566211774578688_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfhy0tq-7jljNjip0QWYiBoFe_CCwucfWUyIusm4Y2BkImFpO9rZxlNWzRW30V9EtKeE0Jo-w0JY2XqwmlDRQLdmVIa1ESMeryQsEgEgMgPbJU6t0Lpy1J258DdINJs5ytM5C0z-vOvAm/s320/55931129_10157298674113708_150566211774578688_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[image description: rice in a red bowl. there is a dollop of sour cream in the center of the picture. Rice is red/yellow in color and has bell peppers and chicken throughout]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First of all, I eat high sodium because
it helps keep my heart rate in the normal range, so you probably want
to use low sodium substitutions if you are looking out for sodium intake.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was approx 2 cups of dry rice
which was enough for me to have a few days of lunches in addition to
my dinner the day I made it. You can make more or less, just increase
quantities.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
2 c white rice<br /><br />water sufficient
for the amount of rice, so 2 cups of my rice uses 4 cups water/broth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
1 can diced tomatoes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
½ bag frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables
(green/yellow/red bell peppers with onion. You can use fresh if
preferred) you can add more than half the bag if you want,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
½ pound protein. I used chicken.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Goya-Foods-Adobo-Pepper-16-5/dp/B01NALHAY9/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=adobo&qid=1554323253&s=gateway&sr=8-3" target="_blank">Adobo seasoning</a> to taste</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Goya-Sazon-Con-Cilantro-Tomate/dp/B0089RV5JG/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=sazon+goya+con+culantro+y+tomate&qid=1554323296&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull" target="_blank">Sazon Goya con cilantro y tomate</a>, 1
packet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Knorr-Granulated-Bouillon-Tomato-Chicken/dp/B008OFGXEK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Tomato+bullion+with+chicken+flavor&qid=1554323334&s=gateway&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Tomato bullion with chicken flavor</a>, or
similar amount of low sodium chicken broth with a can of tomato
paste. Use the amount recommended for the amount of rice, so 4 cups
of water would use 4 servings if that makes sense. You only need one
can of paste for 4 cups of water.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cut the chicken or whatever protein you
are using up into small bite sized pieces, or cook and shred
beforehand. Add a couple tbsp of oil to a large pot and heat on
medium, adding the veggies and protein. Sprinkle with adobo to taste,
and cook until the protein is browned/mostly cooked and onions are
starting to get translucent. Add water/broth and seasonings, then
add rice and stir well. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then
reduce to a simmer once boiling point has been reached. Add a lid and
let cook until water is mostly absorbed. If you're using a caldero
and want crunchy rice turn the heat up to medium around the halfway point of
cooking, otherwise just keep on a simmer. It usually takes about 30
minutes total to be finished for me. Once most of the water is
absorbed, turn off stove and remove from heat and let sit for 10
minutes.
</div>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-84186716469499293872018-07-14T20:33:00.003-07:002018-07-14T20:39:28.661-07:00Medical Bills<div dir="ltr">
Being chronically ill is hard. If you read my previous post about <a href="http://www.fieldofviolettes.com/2018/06/fsa-flexible-spending-accounts.html" target="_blank">my frustration with FSAs</a>, you will see I have been struggling a bit lately. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Knowing that doing certain things helps with your conditions, but not having the energy to do the things is hard. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Knowing that certain things (like eating specific foods) helps exponentially, but not having the money to eat that way is hard. And when I do have the money, it seems like I don't have the energy. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Not being able to get a diagnosis because all the testing that is required costs a lot of money is incredibly frustrating. Having your insurance deny certain tests because they cost more than the cheaper tests even though you'll end up having to have both done since the first one won't show what is needed is infuriating. And I end up paying for both, when only one was necessary. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
What tends to happen for me is that the doctors just shrug their shoulders and say well we don't know but maybe you can see a specialist. The specialist usually either doesn't care enough to go further after the one test they do is negative, or they don't really know where to start. I have been having chronic health issues for over 8 years. That isn't including my problems from my TBI and PCOS. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Finding a doctor that actually cares and is trying to help you as much as they can, but not being able to see them anymore because your insurance stopped covering them is hard. <br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Fighting with insurance to cover services that are very obviously covered in your insurance, is hard.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
If you can find it in your heart to help with some of my medical bills that would be so appreciated. If you can't afford to help, shares are just as appreciated. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
If you would like to see bills/screenshots of monies owed feel free to send me an email via my contact page. I can also email you a receipt showing I paid the bill once that is done. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
My current goal is $1500, to pay my primary care doctor and to get up to date on payments for my Gastroenterologist and the endoscopy costs. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Donate:<br />
<a href="http://paypal.me/valarie">paypal.me/valarie</a> or my <a href="http://paypal.me/pools/c/85g1rfif57" target="_blank">PayPal pool</a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Cash App: $sylvyana<br />
<br /></div>
Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-89204083559496529392018-06-05T13:59:00.005-07:002018-06-05T13:59:53.010-07:00FSA "Flexible" spending accounts. <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">Lets
talk about “Flexible” spending accounts and what a crock of shit
they are.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">So
you save money on taxes; barely, you're basically just not taxed on
it as income so it marginally reduces your tax burden. In order to
get this modicum of savings on your no more than $2650 per qualified
individual, you have to waste time jumping through hoops and getting
stupid letters of medical necessity from your doctor. Using the money
at a doctors office isn't enough proof that it is a covered service.
No, you need to mail in a copy of every damn receipt of every service
you use the card for. The only place that I haven't had to submit
receipts for is the pharmacy, and I'm assuming that's because they
denote anything that qualifies as a FSA item on the receipt. <br /><br />So
once they decide that they want to have a receipt for a service, they
freeze the card. I find that I can usually pay a bunch of things off
in the same day before it is frozen, but that isn't always the case.
I try to pay the largest bills first. If you send in the receipts and
they aren't detailed enough, they will request a letter from your
doctor stating why the procedure or visit was medically necessary. Until all of this is done you can't use the card to pay for anything else, including prescriptions.<br /><br />I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but when you
have to also fight the insurance to cover things that are deemed
medically needed by your doctor but that they want to deny because it
costs them too much money it is infuriating and frustrating beyond
belief. Our healthcare system is a disaster and needs ground up
reformation. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">It's especially frustrating because there is no easy way to give them the receipts. I wish I could just email the receipt at the time of service, because that would make things much easier. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">I won't be doing another FSA after this year. There doesn't seem to be any benefit to it anymore. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">Oh, and our insurance rates are going up again! Lucky me with these preexisting conditions. Hopefully I continue to be covered. Hard to stretch the money when my doctors are chasing diagnosis and I need expensive tests. And I need another surgery but I am putting if off for as long as possible because again, $$$.<br /><br /><a href="http://paypal.me/valarie">http://paypal.me/valarie</a> if you feel like kicking something in to help pay medical bills. I pay it forward when I can but I'm really struggling right now. I was hoping that my credit would finally recover since I've been covered for a while now and we've been working hard to pay all the bills, but I still have quite a few outstanding things that need to be paid so they don't go to collections. I am looking for a job but it is hard to find something that either pays enough to cover childcare or allows the flexibility to work around my husband's schedule. I also have limitations as to what kind of work I can do, and standing for 8 hours is out.<br /><br />Oh did I mention that my insurance no longer covers my naturopath? If I want to see her anymore I have to pay completely out of pocket. They don't even cover it as out of network, even though she is listed as in network on their website and I verified that before renewing our insurance policy last open enrollment.<br /></span></div>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-24659089979905487222018-01-02T18:34:00.001-08:002018-01-02T18:34:13.438-08:00Some of my projects from 2017Here are some of the projects I completed in 2017<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9JG7dO4mH4yxvceQ5i6qZeNycZSMmihu7J3bj37qiAwvmBDUEgsdz5U51onFZUno7G9-pbDSPPc112EndOXP35N-4SIMNu_UmXbpk_CMrZBUwNBeGMXEd9h34F0jeLkTFKdOWCLrqBU/s1600/25360714_10156049420198708_1697356792_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="355" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9JG7dO4mH4yxvceQ5i6qZeNycZSMmihu7J3bj37qiAwvmBDUEgsdz5U51onFZUno7G9-pbDSPPc112EndOXP35N-4SIMNu_UmXbpk_CMrZBUwNBeGMXEd9h34F0jeLkTFKdOWCLrqBU/s320/25360714_10156049420198708_1697356792_n.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0iZHKyHIfP9Iwlvi2kRaKWkrfafKF1sttgaPrqvL4AceFMvefGeweS6WPJL0WYf3U40MPSOrbSQTMIL-T_938VaS4aCyU3QLofWgwNB0R4GSniS1G55wkX5l0ripaiEhtXkFQlTsY6GT/s1600/25360845_10156048982958708_1003533846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="640" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0iZHKyHIfP9Iwlvi2kRaKWkrfafKF1sttgaPrqvL4AceFMvefGeweS6WPJL0WYf3U40MPSOrbSQTMIL-T_938VaS4aCyU3QLofWgwNB0R4GSniS1G55wkX5l0ripaiEhtXkFQlTsY6GT/s320/25360845_10156048982958708_1003533846_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MUOiRtdXnoGiLQRnraFa55YfAow8cxyC0GNBlvoittdq4BOo7nHNLz-W5Xa6A-dcEWnHn5_8kYcgtC0l8rMi1oqIL_CEERhOcu7xR1XBeuL0CrgzUCCV7EK4Izy69feWmSEBVf7Hk1ym/s1600/a436b68ef9fc7431ec305f5779ad1a74.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="589" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MUOiRtdXnoGiLQRnraFa55YfAow8cxyC0GNBlvoittdq4BOo7nHNLz-W5Xa6A-dcEWnHn5_8kYcgtC0l8rMi1oqIL_CEERhOcu7xR1XBeuL0CrgzUCCV7EK4Izy69feWmSEBVf7Hk1ym/s320/a436b68ef9fc7431ec305f5779ad1a74.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-66005318390072149602017-09-15T17:35:00.000-07:002017-11-03T17:36:39.096-07:00The Little GymI had the opportunity to have tiny human try out a class at The Little Gym thanks to Moms Meet's Influencer program.<br />
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<b>Sebastien, what was your favorite part of the class?</b><br />
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Doing that upside down thing!<br />
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<b>Somersault?</b><br />
<br />
Yes, the somersault was my favorite part.<br />
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<b>What else did you like about the class?</b><br />
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I liked the people that was teaching me, like that person that showed me how to do the things.<br />
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<b>Did you like the kids that were in the class with you? </b><br />
<br />
Yeah I did. I really liked gymnastics!<br />
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It took a few minutes for him to warm up when he first started the class, but he really got into it once he started. There were two teachers and the class was split into manageable groups so they could give a bit of individual attention to each child. We did the "Funny Bugs" class. You can learn more about <a href="https://www.thelittlegym.com/alderwoodWA/classes" target="_blank">The Little Gym here</a>. The class was an hour long. He really seemed to enjoy himself, and we plan on going back once things settle down a bit in our personal lives.<br />
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-60168323655729166422017-08-30T11:23:00.000-07:002017-08-30T11:23:08.776-07:00Gluten Free Birthday CakeI made a gluten free birthday cake for my dad's birthday. Everyone said they really liked it and I think it turned out really well.<br />
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I used two boxes of the Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix. One yellow cake and one devil's food cake. I doctored them both just a tiny bit.<br />
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To each mix I added:<br />2 tbsp (approximately 1/2 a pudding cup) Vanilla pudding<br />
3/4 tbst vanilla<br />
2 tbsp almond flour (blue diamond brand)<br />
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I marbled the cakes a bit but could have done a better job on that part. I frosted the cake in homemade buttercream. My hands have not been cooperating with fine work so I used store bought candles as the only decoration. I couldn't find my turntable so the frosting job didn't come out as smoothly as I would have liked.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeThx0-mEAx4iYrONFencCNHRdCbiI3fb_xvFejPRhGfzlsudP7dxhptUoAGO4JBqcDmVKpSyw6GNp0S5QQ18ZsT2OYz-WIV0IPzVB_Q7ZnJVvYWpvDL-vV1In-Vkg1xSe2eCT0_otxCea/s1600/21244424_10155731491378708_2006323873_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeThx0-mEAx4iYrONFencCNHRdCbiI3fb_xvFejPRhGfzlsudP7dxhptUoAGO4JBqcDmVKpSyw6GNp0S5QQ18ZsT2OYz-WIV0IPzVB_Q7ZnJVvYWpvDL-vV1In-Vkg1xSe2eCT0_otxCea/s320/21244424_10155731491378708_2006323873_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: partially pieced together layered cake. Cake is sitting on a plate for ease of frosting.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__zAZ4Sr0SDZJpLgFwkKYxlwONDKr9ENVYLO_NXqhVpYcOJfsa6Au-SPsm-KgNmbBM-RXpzNZ2xRuskUWax-sqOa0DE0bu0ESex3bA2GDBZvwJPAwBrtJYsKR17iXq8xdmt-NCpADSH61/s1600/21245416_10155731491393708_1312862182_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__zAZ4Sr0SDZJpLgFwkKYxlwONDKr9ENVYLO_NXqhVpYcOJfsa6Au-SPsm-KgNmbBM-RXpzNZ2xRuskUWax-sqOa0DE0bu0ESex3bA2GDBZvwJPAwBrtJYsKR17iXq8xdmt-NCpADSH61/s320/21245416_10155731491393708_1312862182_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: Cake layer being filled with pudding. There is a pile of pudding in the center of the cake with icing around the outside to keep the pudding inside the cake.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs40H7MiF22nyJp-Wz8qlpq4Lr-38tpo7eej_BDW61WUXfkj1RJU_WbrQ4VDdMntSn0XpD2hq9G8VAkib9whcLbmsWgwNfP4Uy2zpAH9JZE65ZxOJdqJjb4G7x15UKkn9vJRWT7u-Dgzbi/s1600/21208673_10155731491593708_1355235650_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs40H7MiF22nyJp-Wz8qlpq4Lr-38tpo7eej_BDW61WUXfkj1RJU_WbrQ4VDdMntSn0XpD2hq9G8VAkib9whcLbmsWgwNfP4Uy2zpAH9JZE65ZxOJdqJjb4G7x15UKkn9vJRWT7u-Dgzbi/s320/21208673_10155731491593708_1355235650_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: The pudding has been spread around the cake layer.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRqExzAJC2REdQm-oEPAQFHiQsvmr2UWSImnEGWnt9AzY59eKDT1NwVwlc8CgiIwvYIIgL_4M85VOQKtp0jCozTpkZF1JzQB24CI-1UWyc7f99Lbi37I4jqtWRak6h99jgM9Ehm-BEp0d/s1600/21244825_10155731491663708_1342177603_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRqExzAJC2REdQm-oEPAQFHiQsvmr2UWSImnEGWnt9AzY59eKDT1NwVwlc8CgiIwvYIIgL_4M85VOQKtp0jCozTpkZF1JzQB24CI-1UWyc7f99Lbi37I4jqtWRak6h99jgM9Ehm-BEp0d/s320/21244825_10155731491663708_1342177603_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: fully filled and torted cake waiting for crumb coat.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouJvQCaKcf_Jnqc6H7WEake2ea84L5KcNjq8IJ0gamVZ6Rgd55uNLcJEECTVtTzDkJheb56CJTaQhZCkxrrHU36f6cV8ZvQNhZaPbbklGtgj8gMcezujgF97pi7ZG2ojKQLz3UOajTAka/s1600/21208482_10155731491733708_135949201_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouJvQCaKcf_Jnqc6H7WEake2ea84L5KcNjq8IJ0gamVZ6Rgd55uNLcJEECTVtTzDkJheb56CJTaQhZCkxrrHU36f6cV8ZvQNhZaPbbklGtgj8gMcezujgF97pi7ZG2ojKQLz3UOajTAka/s320/21208482_10155731491733708_135949201_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: Cake sitting on a plate with crumb coat layer freshly added.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKlDu4Vyf-uqBAYPgaMHs6xp_53U-fxhe0yAMtcYORgElYjODICp_fOmaQu3vyD9My4w9hyIMntDDPaSXwpI-2fRZio44iKUZOIqH1dTBDK3iZeUZapsS_deuHS_3aVVXmoVIzbi8BYKL/s1600/21209163_10155731491933708_1978792782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKlDu4Vyf-uqBAYPgaMHs6xp_53U-fxhe0yAMtcYORgElYjODICp_fOmaQu3vyD9My4w9hyIMntDDPaSXwpI-2fRZio44iKUZOIqH1dTBDK3iZeUZapsS_deuHS_3aVVXmoVIzbi8BYKL/s320/21209163_10155731491933708_1978792782_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: Completed cake sitting on the middle of a table. Candles saying "Happy 60 Birthday" have been placed on the top of the cake.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfh-bHCuDyPTs-yFShdO4n4g5FkWsrHIXbfyxvWM3jN6qRwIGPpv0Cfv-lJnoIYzPcKyq7tTopIMWqyuKIah-PX2REWO2rrHaScLtcvEaiAOYvYlPLWVInmnilKby4XMknGJoaP9ZQttCY/s1600/21209035_10155731491963708_1971605996_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfh-bHCuDyPTs-yFShdO4n4g5FkWsrHIXbfyxvWM3jN6qRwIGPpv0Cfv-lJnoIYzPcKyq7tTopIMWqyuKIah-PX2REWO2rrHaScLtcvEaiAOYvYlPLWVInmnilKby4XMknGJoaP9ZQttCY/s320/21209035_10155731491963708_1971605996_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: Cake being cut. You can see a cross section of a slice, and it shows a mixture of yellow and chocolate cake.]</td></tr>
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-2762968772232595652017-08-05T09:00:00.000-07:002017-08-31T11:06:37.317-07:00Prepping with Food AllergiesDid you know that <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #292b2c; font-family: "pt" serif , serif;">an estimated 6 million children and 9 million adults in the US deal with food allergies? Food allergy diagnoses have been steadily rising in the past couple decades.<br /><br />Check out my post over at The Prepared about <a href="http://www.theprepared.com/guides/prepping-survival-with-food-allergies/" target="_blank">prepping with food allergies</a>. </span></span><br />
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I discuss:<br />
Why you should have food storage if you are dealing with food allergies<br />
Ways to find safe foods<br />
Tips on foods that might be safe for people dealing with certain allergens<br />
How to prepare safe foods for long term storage in your home.<br />
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I hope you enjoy the post. I was really excited to write about something I am so passionate about.Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-91215290516979582132017-07-03T09:00:00.000-07:002017-07-03T13:01:48.710-07:00Plarn project<div dir="ltr">
Plarn Project- 2 large tote bags. </div>
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Plastic bags used: approximately 80 bags. </div>
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Finished dimensions of bag: 19" by 19" with a bottom approximately 4.5 inches wide.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHvEViAaNsBiT69J8-HnmBkEyahlMqT3pI03fApbWJAV6cca2HHy431g8iSc8n3XoQO2llqGbsfcBeuAM9RKsmB0eaSODBuOHhPyfnsxLkSpmNWe5Ew3-sHDUyAHGFGMQkY6XrM1F6NwV/s1600/19668386_10155524352383708_933098389_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHvEViAaNsBiT69J8-HnmBkEyahlMqT3pI03fApbWJAV6cca2HHy431g8iSc8n3XoQO2llqGbsfcBeuAM9RKsmB0eaSODBuOHhPyfnsxLkSpmNWe5Ew3-sHDUyAHGFGMQkY6XrM1F6NwV/s320/19668386_10155524352383708_933098389_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: Large tote bag filled with items sitting on cement. Bag is folded slightly over and handles are sticking out to the side.]</td></tr>
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I had 90 ends total in the heddle, within the reed it was 21.5 inches wide and at the weaving surface with draw in was 20 inches. I got approximately 13 picks per inch which gave me about nine inches of weaving per five plastic bags. I feel like it takes me about 15-20 minutes to create 5 bags worth of plarn. I created small amounts of plarn as I wove because I was not exactly sure how much plarn I was going to need. I don't want to make too much because of how easily it tangles, and I worried that it would be unusable in future. So I made the plarn as I went, which extended the length of time it took me to complete the project as I was stopping regularly to create more plarn. </div>
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I worked this project on my 32" Kromski Harp Forte rigid heddle loom. I mostly beat with the heddle, however if the yarn was gaping too much I was making sure that I would go through every 4 to 6 rows and push the yard down. I used a crochet hook to do this it worked pretty well. For the most part as long as the strips were cut in the same width then they would not need to be pushed down. Once I figure this out I have made sure to be more precise when cutting my plarn. It also worked better if I didn't advance the fabric as much as I typically would. I would only advance four to five inches instead of the full seven to nine inches. If I was having to beat harder than it would be more likely to have to be pushed down. Also for some reason the tension worked better when I was weaving slightly closer to the heddle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwhZXTOlYgfecfrp5IGvKYtm-XMU2y4Mrc1a6z7YG3yQYhGYn88PCdc8Aarr9A7iHnNDfsy7lQn7y4PcMRxsbJgcTJE06X2amqOAMe3KiVD1-v3XHNxhCIjujn1CcaVI400IaNEtsyQLI/s1600/19691223_10155524352573708_2137044412_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwhZXTOlYgfecfrp5IGvKYtm-XMU2y4Mrc1a6z7YG3yQYhGYn88PCdc8Aarr9A7iHnNDfsy7lQn7y4PcMRxsbJgcTJE06X2amqOAMe3KiVD1-v3XHNxhCIjujn1CcaVI400IaNEtsyQLI/s320/19691223_10155524352573708_2137044412_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeTAy_61MeQvl1PKn8oB9RfkOjzBiCVW5NogCqXVsuut7hWcBTA-vIOc-fAWByHr8BQyVbFdHHVq2FJI13QWSS1uWod8vBk-MnA__TV5PZBcX5aCojHywLN_WQyHbmHd-9RG9zngGiBYs/s1600/19691444_10155524352548708_172208226_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeTAy_61MeQvl1PKn8oB9RfkOjzBiCVW5NogCqXVsuut7hWcBTA-vIOc-fAWByHr8BQyVbFdHHVq2FJI13QWSS1uWod8vBk-MnA__TV5PZBcX5aCojHywLN_WQyHbmHd-9RG9zngGiBYs/s320/19691444_10155524352548708_172208226_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: bag with seams sewn shown inside out on a wood floor.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCMK6GrHuTco0MB8bdENz0pauXaiG6ji-0-NxtQaDQB0o0q4FcCLAPqA3-7tdmX6itXxsdX9VcPwDvmLNV1Un3kOT4skDxMCtfHGEaB6qB90HVfGdywOcd2PXZE_fn5j6QhpeU8wsrLdB/s1600/19692201_10155524352523708_1148385782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCMK6GrHuTco0MB8bdENz0pauXaiG6ji-0-NxtQaDQB0o0q4FcCLAPqA3-7tdmX6itXxsdX9VcPwDvmLNV1Un3kOT4skDxMCtfHGEaB6qB90HVfGdywOcd2PXZE_fn5j6QhpeU8wsrLdB/s320/19692201_10155524352523708_1148385782_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: close up of seam being sewn. White thread is used to sew the seams together using blanket stitch.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5xjbbg1qP8GGuWwzi4myFB7KJ6KWriO0o2MlcsP37AjaVGGO3DpdimeeL87ubSoZEvGmcUybOkNeQho3vx4jumKwWTXDpqlHhCh8tgum9Yx90KDGaLTOFZLfLKEtkAPFDrEHsSBrIQhv/s1600/19692213_10155524352593708_2095900492_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5xjbbg1qP8GGuWwzi4myFB7KJ6KWriO0o2MlcsP37AjaVGGO3DpdimeeL87ubSoZEvGmcUybOkNeQho3vx4jumKwWTXDpqlHhCh8tgum9Yx90KDGaLTOFZLfLKEtkAPFDrEHsSBrIQhv/s320/19692213_10155524352593708_2095900492_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: woven fabric freshly off the loom laid on a hallway floor. There is a tape measure along the fabric, and the header of the weaving is in the foreground.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriz6IplmglFczaKuJvetMbebLG_SdZuoMPKsHRZawjCmVcvYddicnsPPf-XYjQtsYdm4o-csmmrAz1nWprj3OcPwPOTmPh9keOA8V45vHfNlMR13OPQSoBZwGUZzFGWZ_i_CjgrkqOu2n/s1600/19756069_10155524352543708_683333455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriz6IplmglFczaKuJvetMbebLG_SdZuoMPKsHRZawjCmVcvYddicnsPPf-XYjQtsYdm4o-csmmrAz1nWprj3OcPwPOTmPh9keOA8V45vHfNlMR13OPQSoBZwGUZzFGWZ_i_CjgrkqOu2n/s320/19756069_10155524352543708_683333455_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0ok6n8AnGVdNjTiboZ0e6Lcnoj7_ud3FxOOqJ_cqR1nI2-ELKcK9KU6GM8GcQLPVNGD0vmNAWm3n4y-the7XOtDYVOF2lj-J_NZiCRQtEN8sbv96MWV3JEIXikvHIWBixirTOz8q_nK8/s1600/19756069_10155524352583708_849068452_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0ok6n8AnGVdNjTiboZ0e6Lcnoj7_ud3FxOOqJ_cqR1nI2-ELKcK9KU6GM8GcQLPVNGD0vmNAWm3n4y-the7XOtDYVOF2lj-J_NZiCRQtEN8sbv96MWV3JEIXikvHIWBixirTOz8q_nK8/s320/19756069_10155524352583708_849068452_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image description: binding being sewn onto woven fabric. Picture shows the sewing needle in the down position and fabric being fed through sewing machine.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1q73YscDq4chjGjljBB8NN0FYbnbrb9BTkhY4LZb-jL626OmG2NR2nvUzqA3af2SN0hNBfed30NSk8UEDzvc-7MueFPvTj_9FCr5UJVxGMCYbLvPQa_leJTopetQ2uqc0jnvOx6tBuaX/s1600/19756299_10155524352473708_32916586_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1q73YscDq4chjGjljBB8NN0FYbnbrb9BTkhY4LZb-jL626OmG2NR2nvUzqA3af2SN0hNBfed30NSk8UEDzvc-7MueFPvTj_9FCr5UJVxGMCYbLvPQa_leJTopetQ2uqc0jnvOx6tBuaX/s320/19756299_10155524352473708_32916586_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the plastic fabric was sewn and cut into two pieces. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulluzlgLjBP0J-zR-Sz33iNLyTWFgoKDSyEetMo5EQOvz6u0OQSQiCVqdukl9MLqLCuwwIenvNyylyTpZJcJTy0idHHMX3p06apvo8P7SddFdpt8GkzqXxByzcrTEc6rjpthgOZax_1o7/s320/19758403_10155524352378708_707540886_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image Description: closeup of woven fabric turned on its side. There are two lines of sewing in light thread going down the fabric.]</td></tr>
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I had 90 ends total in the heddle, within the reed it was 21.5 inches wide and at the weaving surface with draw in was 20 inches. I got approximately 13 picks per inch which gave me about nine inches of weaving per five plastic bags. I feel like it takes me about 15-20 minutes to create 5 bags worth of plarn. I created small amounts of plarn as I wove because I was not exactly sure how much plarn I was going to need. I don't want to make too much because of how easily it tangles, and I worried that it would be unusable in future. So I made the plarn as I went, which extended the length of time it took me to complete the project as I was stopping regularly to create more plarn.<br />
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I used knitting cotton that I used for dishcloths as the warp. It is worsted weight and I threaded my reed every other slot, which is what gave me my 90 ends. I've been using mostly white bags; Safeway, Target, some Dollar Tree bags- there might be random takeout bags in there as well. The Safeway bag are my favorite. I like the color variations from them as you get the white, the red, and the black. I used the white bags because of what my choice of warp was. I used the Bernat Holiday pound of yarn. </div>
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It looks like they recently changed Safeway bags to be a grayish Brown background instead of white so I won't be using those anymore. I only use the plastic bags when I forget my reusable shopping totes. </div>
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I wrapped the bags on my shuttle in a figure 8 as I would wrap any other yarn. The plan is much wider than typical yarn so it's more like wrapping a rag around than a strand of yarn. I cut my bag pieces approximately three-quarters of an inch to 1 inch. If I cut them three quarters of an inch then I get about 16 wraps around my stick shuttle in the figure eight pattern. Any more than 5 bags or trying to double wrap the stick shuttle is going to cause problems because it's so wide it's going to snag on your weaving. You can't weave too close to the heddle because it can cause snagging. </div>
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I tied the bags together in an overhand knot to join them. You cannot pull on the plan or you risk snapping it, but if that happens all you have to do is just tie the bags back together. It looks a little different than if you were weaving typically where you didn't tie the yarn together and you just overlap. I didn't trust that process with plastic yarn because I was worried that it would slip and cause holes in the fabric once I was using the bags. I plan on using them for shopping and I do a lot of bulk shopping so my bags can get pretty heavy. </div>
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Weaving with plarn is an interesting process. It takes a lot more bags than you think it would but it is nice to repurpose something that would otherwise probably not be reused. I don't know a lot of people that take the time to recycle their bags properly. I feel like this way they're getting a second life and not contributing as much to environmental issues. I am hoping that the bags hold up well to repeated use, and I may try a different type of handle on the second bag to see which one wears better. </div>
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I made the handles out of fused plastic bags. I did the bags 8 layers deep. I also made a binding for the top of the bags out of fused plastic, that was 4 layers deep so it would be easier to sew. I had absolutely no problem sewing the bags on my machine, which surprised me. I have a Singer Stylist 7258 for reference. </div>
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I'm not sure if I would do this project again, but I do really like how it turned out and I look forward to using my bags to carry stuff around this summer. Once I see how they hold up I may make a couple more with slightly smaller dimensions. I think a 12" wide bag would be nice. </div>
Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-56967358862914121722017-01-27T10:10:00.000-08:002017-01-27T11:59:23.722-08:00#BLM hat walk-through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Please do not sell this pattern or items made from this pattern. You are welcome to make items for donation and to share with others.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">If you enjoyed this free pattern and walk-through, please <a href="https://donate.idex.org/checkout/donation?eid=66399" target="_blank">donate to Black Lives Matter</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3-QbS2B_GK813nPcfauvQ9-MpmHOeNotIlMVf5cAdp8BZVqEcNkVgvLCIuEgWcSlhCBi-4fihu7SgZLsJmJ8o4XWAAvZ8RTqEwiZgzqGWk2KkS2duuEV-SjN24Pw9Pc5fEpyhKy6Bp3b/s1600/16388368_10154985249143708_7302849401630230420_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3-QbS2B_GK813nPcfauvQ9-MpmHOeNotIlMVf5cAdp8BZVqEcNkVgvLCIuEgWcSlhCBi-4fihu7SgZLsJmJ8o4XWAAvZ8RTqEwiZgzqGWk2KkS2duuEV-SjN24Pw9Pc5fEpyhKy6Bp3b/s320/16388368_10154985249143708_7302849401630230420_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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[Monotone picture of a black beanie on wood veneer background. Hat says "#BLM"]</div>
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<b>NOTE: this pattern is still being test knit, so if you notice an issue please do not hesitate to contact me. </b></div>
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If you are wondering "why do Black Lives Matter more than other lives, don't all lives matter?" I recommend <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1By9bUjJ78snEeZuLXNGBdlVMJgEQWMEjR-Gfx8ER7Iw/mobilebasic" target="_blank">perusing the BLM website at length.</a> You can also <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1By9bUjJ78snEeZuLXNGBdlVMJgEQWMEjR-Gfx8ER7Iw/mobilebasic" target="_blank">work through this syllabus</a>. Please hold off on commenting about the movement on this blog until you've done those things. Comment moderation is on. Hateful comments will not be allowed. </div>
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My gauge was about 5.5 stitches to an inch and 6 rows to an inch. it knit up quickly. I could have probably gone down in a size of needles to have the hat comfortably fit tiny human. </div>
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If you don't like this pattern, the chart should work on most patterns with plain knitting as long as you have 13 non-decrease rounds to work the chart. If you are not good at color work, you can knit the hat without knitting the chart and try out <a href="https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/07/duplicate-stitch-knitting-tutorial/" target="_blank">duplicate stitch</a> following the chart.</div>
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If you need add or subtract stitches to get your hat to fit, you are going to need to re-calculate your crown decreases, which you can do <a href="http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/tools/knittingHat.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </div>
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The amount of yarn for the colorwork is such a small amount it was easier to work with on a bobbin than trying to deal with two balls. </div>
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Gauge: 5.5 stitches to an inch, 6 rows
to an inch.</div>
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Materials:<br />
5 double pointed needles,
size 5mm or size needed to obtain gauge.</div>
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2 colors of worsted weight yarn, one
dark for the main part of the hat and the light for the color work.
My hat used 30g or about 1 ounce of yarn. The amount of the second
color needed is very small, around 7g.
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Tapestry needle.</div>
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Stitch markers or waste yarn.
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Cast on 84 stitches using a stretchy
cast-on. I used long-tail. Join to work in the round and place
marker. Knit in knit 1 purl one ribbing for 1 inch (2.5cm).</div>
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Knit one round. Knit another round,
placing a marker after 20 stitches. Knit to end of round.
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Knit to marker and begin working chart,
carrying the 2<sup>nd</sup> color around to the next row.
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Make sure your tension is loose enough
when carrying yarn or you will not be able to fit the hat on your
head.</div>
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Once finished with chart, knit using
main color until hat measures 6 inches (15cm) from cast on edge.
Begin decreases as follows:<br />
Knit 1 row, placing markers every 14
stitches. Use a different color stitch marker for the start of the
row.
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Knit decreases as follows until there
are only 2 stitches between each marker:</div>
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Row 1, decrease row: SSK, knit to 2
stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker. Repeat around.</div>
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Rows 2 & 3: Knit.</div>
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When 12 stitches remain, knit one row.
Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Pull tapestry needle threaded with the
yarn tail through remaining stitches, flip hat inside out and weave
in ends.
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Variation for ponytail hat: Work 3 sets
of decrease rows and bind off loosely. Weave in ends.
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Chart for dark background/light
lettering:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWd6guWSWlWMMEpEDGdpyB6UuWElcOBqQLxBrktRaIUZyGRnWjeKzFXOkaryFujO6thPcpFOa9Dgs8j3xorQuDC4l8UqugOZSWQgTSJDUBn3Tat6N-xX2sQ51wSllqjrmZbd6WZFccd4lN/s1600/6acae19947019bd03f42c7e7c219efe4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWd6guWSWlWMMEpEDGdpyB6UuWElcOBqQLxBrktRaIUZyGRnWjeKzFXOkaryFujO6thPcpFOa9Dgs8j3xorQuDC4l8UqugOZSWQgTSJDUBn3Tat6N-xX2sQ51wSllqjrmZbd6WZFccd4lN/s320/6acae19947019bd03f42c7e7c219efe4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Inverse chart:</div>
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SSK: <a href="https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/05/how-to-slip-slip-knit-ssk/" target="_blank">Slip, slip, knit</a>.
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K2tog: <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Knit-Two-Together" target="_blank">Knit two stitches together</a>.</div>
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Please do not sell this pattern or
items made from this pattern. You are welcome to make items for
donation and to share with others. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blm-basic-beanie" target="_blank">Link to printer friendly pattern.</a></div>
<br />
If you enjoyed this free pattern and walk-through, please <a href="https://donate.idex.org/checkout/donation?eid=66399" target="_blank">donate to Black Lives Matter</a>.Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-87740003384568339702017-01-06T22:53:00.000-08:002017-01-06T22:53:28.488-08:00Waffle Weave Scarf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Draft: Waffle Weave as noted by this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eEkt_GpiqQ&t=81s" target="_blank">YouTube Video</a></div>
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Notes to be added later.</div>
<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-730675623151603922016-11-29T13:48:00.002-08:002016-11-29T13:48:28.750-08:00NaNoWriMo Winner!I did it! I actually wrote 50,000 words this year. I've had my <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/">nanowrimo.org</a> account for 5 years now. This is the first year I even attempted to start.<br />
<br />
So what made this year a success? I think that it was the fact that I was able to write non-linearly by using the Scrivener software. Getting the discount on the software was another big motivation. I like that I can do all of my planning in the program and that it makes it super easy to compile all of your work into an easily readable and shareable format.<br />
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I'm really proud of myself for finishing. I can't wait to start working on making it more readable in December.<br />
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-52262527195841816992016-11-01T18:47:00.002-07:002016-11-01T18:47:45.077-07:00My First NaNoWriMoI'm really excited to attempt to do NaNoWriMo this year. I've thought about it before, but never really had the motivation to do it. This year I have been thinking about it, but didn't do any planning leading up to it. Well today I actually met the word goal. I'm going to attempt to tack a few more onto it so I can be a bit ahead and have a cushion just in case I have some rough days. This is especially important to me since I have a demanding 3 year old to keep entertained while I am writing.<br />
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1700 words so far today. Fingers crossed I can keep it up.Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-43285235200021490592016-08-13T22:22:00.002-07:002017-01-19T09:41:10.323-08:00Juicy Ann Mesh Onbuhimo<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My wearee is currently 36" tall, in 3T pants and weighs about 35 pounds. This is the toddler sized <a href="http://www.juicyann.com/product-page/531a4152-1185-3cb5-0d62-86c7145918c5" target="_blank">Juicy Ann Buckle Onbuhimo</a>, which you have the option of fully customizing. They have three sizes, Standard, Toddler, and Pre-K. They also have a SSC now but I've not tried one. They also do <a href="http://www.juicyann.com/product-page/a46af7e3-5a75-2da6-bef9-63ffb12b8b6d" target="_blank">Wrap Conversion Onbuhimos</a>.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Reasons I really like it:</div>
<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.19in;">Lightweight.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.19in;">Perfect
for keeping in the car or in a bag for quick ups or unexpected
trips/emergencies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.19in;">Well
made, strong seams, sewing looks great.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.19in;">Nice
and cool.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 0.19in;">Padding is very comfortable yet still flexible.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
absolutely loved the padding on this onbuhimo. It is so incredibly
comfortable I couldn't believe it. It seems to have a bit more "give"
than the Tula padding, and more structure than my Lenny SSC padding.
There is a fantastic amount of legs out padding, making for a
comfortable ride. S loved how comfortable it was and asked
specifically for that carrier when he was going to be worn. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 0.19in;">The
mesh makes the carrier super breathable, and very comfortable to wear
if you run hot like we do. It didn't get above 80 while I had the
carrier here, but it did keep us from getting sweat marks or feeling
overheated when wearing for longer periods. I </span><span style="line-height: 18.24px;">definitely get </span><span style="line-height: 0.19in;">hot really easily, and I didn't have to worry about the sweat marks I usually get after wearing him for any length of time. The straps didn't dig into my armpits. </span><br /><br /><span style="line-height: 0.19in;">I like that the chest clip is completely adjustable. I could move it wherever I wanted it without worrying, and didn't have to worry about choking myself. The strap length worked well for me even though I'm on the larger side. They would have been even better if I could have gotten a higher seat, but I didn't want to </span><span style="line-height: 18.24px;">aggravate</span><span style="line-height: 0.19in;"> my wearee too much when trying a new carrier. He always needs an adjustment period before he'll let me work on getting the sweet spot. The nice thing about this onbu is that it seemed comfortable without having to fiddle with it too much. Even if he didn't have a perfect seat it didn't cause me a bunch of pain or cause the numbness in my arm I get if I don't properly adjust my SSCs. </span></span></span></div>
<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Overall I really liked the Onbuhimo and plan on purchasing one for my stash, though I haven't decided what size I want to invest in. It was easy to adjust, and it was very comfortable. I could see this becoming our favorite carrier.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqi0ZQInwtvZlS-HqcCAaUJ8vDkqp-alheP3bPOKPWADIN_OanwmNZnKaGPL1FO_kKTWzIzJgR9KgNUb_h6SbRFyM_Mz9LCqvt02Bx9hA0nCiizlLKtQTKSH8yoihz5DpLOkC3vN4m5ZhM/s1600/13942295_10154424604893708_1211788219_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqi0ZQInwtvZlS-HqcCAaUJ8vDkqp-alheP3bPOKPWADIN_OanwmNZnKaGPL1FO_kKTWzIzJgR9KgNUb_h6SbRFyM_Mz9LCqvt02Bx9hA0nCiizlLKtQTKSH8yoihz5DpLOkC3vN4m5ZhM/s320/13942295_10154424604893708_1211788219_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image Description: Picture shows the Onbuhimo hanging on a black hanger against a white interior door. The focus is the "right" side of the onbuhimo, showing mostly the mesh panel and a bit of webbing. Carrier is teal colored and roughly a rounded rectangle in shape.]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNfx72UV4hTkxoJwySgjU2bq1rQzXietxjQe7f7mOwPhPTLWfS2QOf7SoFWEGUFfBcRZY4DWys_5c-dHUI5A3_SgFkrr3eGaFTBnZvOd8y_kkbmYtNvFxl6kPA5uZKANoE0Z9bK_Ep6oK/s1600/13942321_10154424604953708_868933209_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNfx72UV4hTkxoJwySgjU2bq1rQzXietxjQe7f7mOwPhPTLWfS2QOf7SoFWEGUFfBcRZY4DWys_5c-dHUI5A3_SgFkrr3eGaFTBnZvOd8y_kkbmYtNvFxl6kPA5uZKANoE0Z9bK_Ep6oK/s320/13942321_10154424604953708_868933209_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Picture shows the Onbuhimo hanging on a black hanger against a white interior door. The focus is the "wrong" side of the onbuhimo, showing the straps and the mesh panel. There is a white warning label in the middle bottom of the carrier.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsc591qrMnqegffHolOXC4qmSoJ9m2AiAMD-yj_isEUR-W3Em7le0awRdhlHCn8GQbJUa6z26nV8XxQ9aWxfoTIRDdk_Uiq46Pfgsby3vcgXRTKI-uHRe2gvO74SVaPFtRbGdYyv0RdqB/s1600/13714483_10154371055523708_85878176_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsc591qrMnqegffHolOXC4qmSoJ9m2AiAMD-yj_isEUR-W3Em7le0awRdhlHCn8GQbJUa6z26nV8XxQ9aWxfoTIRDdk_Uiq46Pfgsby3vcgXRTKI-uHRe2gvO74SVaPFtRbGdYyv0RdqB/s320/13714483_10154371055523708_85878176_n.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Picture from the back of a person with their hair in a bun wearing a toddler. Both are wearing pyjama bottoms. Toddler is looking back towards the camera. Image shows the seat of the carrier well. Toddlers pelvis is in the "M" position.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfTxTN9Gei9x9uANNzSLdCO1Hp2HQ6JnoESzKrXxujtVC7SnXJyaeouiZIxUM66aEj4pozRNedAGRprh3ZBDANg6sS1QoanNRyL0XM8_37aLmgSlVAAeN4O6VGq2q4Y80HllbomyfZuRh/s1600/13942730_10154424605278708_1712813672_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfTxTN9Gei9x9uANNzSLdCO1Hp2HQ6JnoESzKrXxujtVC7SnXJyaeouiZIxUM66aEj4pozRNedAGRprh3ZBDANg6sS1QoanNRyL0XM8_37aLmgSlVAAeN4O6VGq2q4Y80HllbomyfZuRh/s320/13942730_10154424605278708_1712813672_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Selfie shot in a mirror, attempting to show the seat of the carrier. Foreground of picture has a shoulder and toddler hand.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_N_sA8GZxjK0B27Hd2VtJGdTewqYaaSN-2496Y_SbfSxDmSqJbB2LpeidhF1dtpVSzGMtXU1S9H8CWbh_i-vNQE58Cu0otPKjOxjUAVpoVgCMoZMrcCA9aX3i8YuyTX0ORbrGkTG5Va4/s1600/13705105_10154371055598708_491062386_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_N_sA8GZxjK0B27Hd2VtJGdTewqYaaSN-2496Y_SbfSxDmSqJbB2LpeidhF1dtpVSzGMtXU1S9H8CWbh_i-vNQE58Cu0otPKjOxjUAVpoVgCMoZMrcCA9aX3i8YuyTX0ORbrGkTG5Va4/s320/13705105_10154371055598708_491062386_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Selfie of adult and child from a side angle. Picture shows the thickness of the onbus straps and placement of the chest clip.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ToPo4AX_FyFYBkLqn5eNni3K59kDV1qeDhE7hcvi7tSRoFyF-88bhMFMcDqAjHuCqwmCm_qX3lPmvfa1djdL11xBBRUUsreZdTaZ20aVeOnW2ts1MDschFg-q97nwNlhN5qPRiXduY3x/s1600/13942677_10154424604913708_1401591955_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ToPo4AX_FyFYBkLqn5eNni3K59kDV1qeDhE7hcvi7tSRoFyF-88bhMFMcDqAjHuCqwmCm_qX3lPmvfa1djdL11xBBRUUsreZdTaZ20aVeOnW2ts1MDschFg-q97nwNlhN5qPRiXduY3x/s320/13942677_10154424604913708_1401591955_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Hand holding part of the webbing is in the foreground. Elastic is folded over the excess webbing.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Elastic for holding excess webbing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IeYeDUNUrCjG_JcrPLAhVuYtEx5xlsmPx4psvBdNAM3iyts4BInwMchnsk1wTfbghMKnPPK7GXQ_1mJ3xb2Q3EYLw7mbc7MPPaDaW34E7jZRHYj74edVq4k0Ccnw39vxligDIJEA5ci1/s1600/13941123_10154424604863708_1038619340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IeYeDUNUrCjG_JcrPLAhVuYtEx5xlsmPx4psvBdNAM3iyts4BInwMchnsk1wTfbghMKnPPK7GXQ_1mJ3xb2Q3EYLw7mbc7MPPaDaW34E7jZRHYj74edVq4k0Ccnw39vxligDIJEA5ci1/s320/13941123_10154424604863708_1038619340_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Hand grabbing the legs out padding, showing thickness. Padding looks to be about one inch thick.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Legs out padding is nice and thick while still being moldable for added comfort.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9Bljed6SPnbuLmXIPlQCc3QeRXljEOTg42_KTw0YfXnEXUt3dgJkSZM7LkJO_RxpIizcPIMy8JPvG9QDp6XzoqFZMkc0tZ_A2b3DkmKq3I6PN1v_99dLD2fzT-55DNvOWsru-_TqnqC8/s1600/13942598_10154424605273708_431075239_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9Bljed6SPnbuLmXIPlQCc3QeRXljEOTg42_KTw0YfXnEXUt3dgJkSZM7LkJO_RxpIizcPIMy8JPvG9QDp6XzoqFZMkc0tZ_A2b3DkmKq3I6PN1v_99dLD2fzT-55DNvOWsru-_TqnqC8/s320/13942598_10154424605273708_431075239_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Selfie of adult and child from a side angle. Picture shows the thickness of the onbus straps and placement of the chest clip.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Pretty easy to get the hang of, though I am an experienced back wearer with SSCs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalH41GaVi0lhRffI3-eTtl7oPEtT_N0dea6kPyhAvF1y6XYVSravmsqmTL48Qu53_jm2JbnIrovk1fbtwCrQoZWzam4dwHpDZ0D60mq-rPs2x3TCzrzAramyVGWRiojPEXKcXSZSmOmo1/s1600/13933524_10154424605078708_2009521585_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalH41GaVi0lhRffI3-eTtl7oPEtT_N0dea6kPyhAvF1y6XYVSravmsqmTL48Qu53_jm2JbnIrovk1fbtwCrQoZWzam4dwHpDZ0D60mq-rPs2x3TCzrzAramyVGWRiojPEXKcXSZSmOmo1/s320/13933524_10154424605078708_2009521585_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">[Image Description: Selfie of smiling adult and child. Child is being worn on the back in an onbuhimo carrier.]</span></td></tr>
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<div lang="zxx" style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Comfortable and happy wearee! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Edit 19 January 2107 to replace "Onbu" with the proper term, Onbuhimo. For reasons why post was edited, please <a href="https://notyourpodbutai.tumblr.com/post/154698098962/respecting-east-asian-traditional-baby-carriers" target="_blank">read this blog post</a>. </span></div>
Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-34488591465098867712016-07-18T20:10:00.001-07:002016-07-18T20:10:19.455-07:00Gluten Free Veggiemac8 oz gluten free elbow macaroni<br />
8 oz frozen vegetable mix of choice<br />
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Sauce:<br />
2 cups milk<br />
2 cups shredded cheese<br />
1/3 cup tapioca starch<br />
3 tbsp nutritional yeast<br />
1 tsp salt/salt to taste<br />
1 tsp garlic powder<br />
pepper to taste<br />
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This is a very filling but pretty fast and easy meal. You could always substitute a vegan cheese sauce if you're dairy free. Unfortunately I haven't found a vegan cheese sauce that I'm a big fan of, so when I am avoiding dairy I tend to avoid "cheese" sauces. This has 3-4 servings, but you could probably add a couple more ounces of either macaroni or vegetables and still have enough sauce as I tend to like LOTS of sauce.<br /><br />I got my tapioca starch and rice pasta from the bulk section at WinCo.<br />
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Prepare the macaroni in boiling water per the instructions on the box, adding the frozen vegetables to the water when there is 5 minutes left for them to cook.<br />
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While the macaroni is cooking, mix together the items for the sauce in a medium bowl. When macaroni and veggies are cooked, drain and set aside. In the now empty pot pour the sauce and adjust to medium heat. Stir until sauce is thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Once thickened turn off the burner and add in the macaroni and vegetables. Stir well and serve.<br />
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-46083884038127486702016-07-16T16:22:00.000-07:002016-07-16T16:22:32.028-07:00New LoomI found a loom in my price range (very cheap). The person I bought it from tried weaving and had difficulties so decided to pass the loom on to someone that could use it.<br />
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I'm very excited that I now have a 4 shaft loom in addition to my rigid heddle loom. I look forward to experimenting and possibly weaving myself a piece to have converted to a onbuhimo style carrier before my son is too big to be worn anymore.<br />
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Without further ado, my new to me, yet to be named loom:<br />
4 shaft Rasmussen table loom with a 12 dent reed. It needs some TLC but is useable as-is once I replace the front dowel and cord.<br />
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!Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-908282113849219672016-04-19T17:57:00.000-07:002016-04-19T17:57:57.742-07:00Whole30- or how I stopped feeling like a burst can of biscuits. Today is Day 19 of our <a href="http://whole30.com/" target="_blank">Whole30</a>. Kyle is doing it with me, which has definitely helped me be successful. Last attempt I think we got to day 4 before we gave up completely and just went back to eating crap.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left is about 7 weeks ago. Right is a couple days ago. Huge difference in inflammation. </td></tr>
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<br />Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826827075771242609.post-24415407467909749792016-02-10T09:09:00.002-08:002016-02-10T09:12:11.113-08:00My New Toy!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
I finally took the plunge and got a loom! It's a Kromski Harp Forte 32" rigid heddle loom. I love it because it folds up, so I can tuck it in the closet when I'm not using it. My first project was a simple plain weave scarf. Nothing fancy. It's fun and very relaxing. I see why weaving is coming back in to popularity. It always makes me happy to see traditional crafts continuing. I'm on my 4th project. I'm really enjoying weaving. I have a hard time with the warping, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Weaving is super relaxing, and I like how much faster it is for me to do even if my hands aren't cooperating for the day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KxWDwCU6s0AHI5vRVs0rLw3ZLxJ1FAZ6_6zHXJhaDS-8cr7XEiiO935OA8m3fWl8pZLM1ldpSJZ8b-B9BKQDu1aFlONTfianu6o150zYm1Mv28Y9GoK32XMlndOZuQAVS1Is75pg_z3a/s1600/ss%252B%25282015-12-16%252Bat%252B11.18.48%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KxWDwCU6s0AHI5vRVs0rLw3ZLxJ1FAZ6_6zHXJhaDS-8cr7XEiiO935OA8m3fWl8pZLM1ldpSJZ8b-B9BKQDu1aFlONTfianu6o150zYm1Mv28Y9GoK32XMlndOZuQAVS1Is75pg_z3a/s320/ss%252B%25282015-12-16%252Bat%252B11.18.48%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Scarf<br />
[Image Description: Heather green balanced plain weave scarf with hand tied fringe. Selvages are slightly irregular. Scarf is folded over on itself.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Blanket in 3/1 Lace<br />
[Image Description: Picture of a project under tension on a Kromski Harp Forte 32 inch loom. Foreground shows a stick shuttle wrapped in baby blue yarn. Middle of the picture shows one 2 inch strip of black weaving with 2 inches of blue following. Warp is baby blue with a black stripe.]</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Blanket in 3/1 Lace<br />
[Image Description: Picture of a blanket on a wood floor. Blanket is mostly square, with a blue body and black stripes.]</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubgWtwO3LKncrx3seOwxXAp9xVwo1LqsjFyPjgFQtzZdJxJSnElFUm_6oobAuArrMMvcolbO-e97qbkVGkgb2SvPDfbZHtKTPgrNXbdT2bfJtz-ESv12RCRXef1n-ms4el67kdsGEUxR8/s1600/12674387_10153954131633708_565911173_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubgWtwO3LKncrx3seOwxXAp9xVwo1LqsjFyPjgFQtzZdJxJSnElFUm_6oobAuArrMMvcolbO-e97qbkVGkgb2SvPDfbZHtKTPgrNXbdT2bfJtz-ESv12RCRXef1n-ms4el67kdsGEUxR8/s320/12674387_10153954131633708_565911173_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">[Image Description: Picture of a blanket folded, with one corner turned up. </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Blanket has a blue body and black stripes.]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtJvfWkqJ0zEOLPVVzbaj1HGt9RLhyphenhyphenMY0h8Tt3HM2xX1EWPbEIQgabya6HUfYO5DeYbUGGyvjQkekE-i2Q3u7LlkK1Z5LTqdiUDQCgzGRZGP2ULrd-H-t3h8n9NMTwe_MCgRZ1z0DF5H2/s1600/12736364_10153954129933708_858674063_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtJvfWkqJ0zEOLPVVzbaj1HGt9RLhyphenhyphenMY0h8Tt3HM2xX1EWPbEIQgabya6HUfYO5DeYbUGGyvjQkekE-i2Q3u7LlkK1Z5LTqdiUDQCgzGRZGP2ULrd-H-t3h8n9NMTwe_MCgRZ1z0DF5H2/s320/12736364_10153954129933708_858674063_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">[Image Description: Picture of a project under tension on a Kromski Harp Forte 32 inch loom.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> Project is blue and yellow, with a 2/2 threading pattern. Picture is sideways and shows the heddle.]</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXDDxj-ZVa7UtjlaYsv5t_uCye06-r8i07UYG88glXapta_Eo4t0RFu6oqhjC_OzE2SEpbFdkN58tWYUy5bhVtZKoexo7qwMQMi0cZWuAoA-bM5O8mi8vuTI9RrGi4-s0xWts0WsKbf6k/s1600/12695992_10153954130768708_175622674_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXDDxj-ZVa7UtjlaYsv5t_uCye06-r8i07UYG88glXapta_Eo4t0RFu6oqhjC_OzE2SEpbFdkN58tWYUy5bhVtZKoexo7qwMQMi0cZWuAoA-bM5O8mi8vuTI9RrGi4-s0xWts0WsKbf6k/s320/12695992_10153954130768708_175622674_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">[Image Description: Picture of a project being threaded on a Kromski Harp Forte 32 inch loom.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> Project is blue and yellow, with a 2/2 threading pattern. Picture shows the heddle 3/4 threaded.]</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyaVEGwJBYnCGJRgtZcZ2Jw4YYn1T1IuoPTox1eW9ELQEDNYhhpZxydWOK1fCPvhxyamVWQ3ucjo9Eq1h42c9uY8e-X_crOFUOfrZFF2ujouYdtYfRRLVPmdoJ-Od6S1o1JKHHpjsYKPO/s1600/12736262_10153954130408708_1747796575_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyaVEGwJBYnCGJRgtZcZ2Jw4YYn1T1IuoPTox1eW9ELQEDNYhhpZxydWOK1fCPvhxyamVWQ3ucjo9Eq1h42c9uY8e-X_crOFUOfrZFF2ujouYdtYfRRLVPmdoJ-Od6S1o1JKHHpjsYKPO/s320/12736262_10153954130408708_1747796575_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">[Image Description: Picture of beginning rows of blue and yellow, showing the hemstitching in the first few rows. There are a couple lines of black plain weave header woven before the hemstitching.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> Project is blue and yellow, with a 2/2 threading pattern.]</span>Valariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06774188827472642259noreply@blogger.com0