Took a beautiful drive to Tehachapi, CA the other day to check out some alpacas for sale...

3 males, a Momma and her baby....not registered, no history on them, poor conditions,.....not a good situation. Did have a great time of course seeing them and other farm animals.

Looking to simplify preparation of loose tea? Our electric tea maker is the answer. Say goodbye to kettles, teapots and over-steeped cups. This wondrous appliance does it all - heats water, steeps leaves, and keeps tea warm so you may enjoy it all day long. Variable timer and temperature control lets you adjust the strength of an infusion, ensuring a perfect cup of tea each time. Works well with all tea varieties.

Ordered this and received it within a day from Adagio. Was so excited to use it...first time the boiling water blew out the top like a whale spout...second time the same thing happened...third time only filled it to the three cup line and it did it too. Obviously something defective on this machine so sending it back to the company.

Found out about a new yarn store thats opened which the AV Fiber Fiends are real excited about...can't wait to check it out!

Fiber Goodies...

Yesterday as I was leaving to go get my haircut the mailman delivered me a package....saw who it was from and immediately ripped it open. It was from my niece, Lila, and my bil/sil! Lila painted me a picture for my birthday and they bought me this awesome yarn. It's Farmhouse Silk Blend, dk weight in the colorway, Magenta (which is like my favorite color)! It's 34% silk, 33% cotton, and 33% American Grown Lamb's Wool. Gorgeous...350 yds.... I've got to find a very special pattern for this...any ideas????

I'm in a charity group on Ravelry that knits/cro's chemo hats...a lady contacted the moderator and asked her if she knew anyone who spins and would like some raw alpaca fiber...she thought of me and had the lady contact me and she sent me this awesome alpaca fiber! I'll need to process it and then card it before I use it. So with some of my birthday money I'm going to get some hand carders to card it with. Then I can knit some warm, lovely hats with it!

Playing with Fiber!

This is Princess Penelope...she's such a love. Got lots of alpaca kisses from her...she loves to have the backs of her ears rubbed. Such a sweet girl! When they go down like this it is called "cush." She stayed like this for a long time and let me love on her!

From the left is Primos Etta, Princess Penelope, Millie Truffle Star, and Snowmass Sallie.

This handsome boy is Stormdancer.

He likes to lay in the sun on his back, which is not a common thing for alpacas.

He is also the cry baby on shearing day too....they said he cries like a girl and makes a big racket!

This strapping fellow is Ceaser.

These are the youngins'.....Beatrice, Billy the Kid, and Delila!

Pictures all done by Jimmy Wolfe.

First visited these guys on April 8 and again yesterday. They are so sweet! The owners have answered so many of our questions and are just fabulous. It's amazing the stuff we have learned about them. How they give birth in the mornings between 9-11 so the baby which is called a cria will be able to run from predators by evening. The females have a gestation of 11.5 months. They can live from 15-20 years of age. So fun to learn new things!

Silver Sun Alpaca Ranch!

Me and Jimmy in the pen with all the alpacas!

Ricky answered soooooo many of our questions and we had a blast at her wonderful ranch. If you are ever in Santa Ynez, CA...you should stop by and visit her alpaca ranch...awesome!

This is a three week old baby that almost came up to Jimmy. Ricky's dog, Buddy, was right at his side! I think this was the fattest lab I've ever seen but such a sweetie! Of course it made me miss my Fuji even more!


Three week old laying down and the week old one standing behind by the white alpaca.

Your monitors are not wrong, this is a blue eyed alpaca. She's not deaf nor blind either!

One of the males in a separate pen...reared up to show off for Jimmy to take his picture!

And of course I had to get some roving from Silver Sun Alpaca's...its called Under the Sea! How cool is that since we were staying on the beach...its also been my ring tone for like forever!

More from our trip tomorrow.....