Lies, and the Lying Liar who told them

Warning - this isn't my usual happy sort of post.  Today's post is a bit of a "get it off my chest" post, and also an update to so many of you who have asked about the winery and the blueberries.  Ah, the blueberries indeed.  Let's go back in history a little bit, so we are all on the same page.  You'll remember that I decided to move back to Canada in October....just about a year ago.  I had mixed feelings about leaving Iowa, the land that I had grown to love, my friends, my flock, my really good job, and law school, which was nearly finished.  All of that, I decided to leave behind, to start a new life back in Canada, my homeland.  I was excited to be going "home" and excited to be facing a new challenge - working for myself.  I was really excited to be carrying on the tradition of a blueberry wine business that had started nearly 30 years ago.  Lowbush blueberries are a native plant in Nova Scotia, and I was going to be growing them and making the most wonderful sweet velvety wines from these delightful little berries.

You may also remember that I visited the property around Christmas, when it was snow covered and cold and icy.  I spent time talking to the owner who was quite ill, learning a little bit about the business, the history of it, and what I'd be doing.  Richard did much of the leg work on the review and purchase of the property, since he works in real estate, and lived in the area.  It was much easier for him to do it.  I knew the house was desperately in need of TLC and updating.  I knew the farm was somewhat overgrown and would need work, but I was able to see the potential, taking the word of the senior owner, seriously ill, with nothing to lose, as the ultimate truth.

So thus it was, that I came here, with some expectations, based on statements from the owner, including...

• * he had promised to teach us how to make the wine as soon as we moved in, which would including how to use all the winery equipment - the bottling, the sanitation, the corking, labeling, the use and cleaning of the fruit press, the wine vats, etc.
• * he had promised to give us the recipes for the 12 wines that he made, stating that they would be in the file cabinet in his home office when we moved in
• * he had assured us that the 3-point-hitch post hole digger was in great working order
• * he had assured us that the brush mower on the property was in great working order
• * he had assured us that the electrical system was "ready to go" and simply needed switches added in the upper level of the house
• * he had strongly implied that his wife was dead and that he was a lonely widower
• * he had assured us that within 2 years, the overgrown fields could be brought back into full blueberry production as he had been using them a mere 2 years before that
• * he had assured us that the oil furnace (normal in Nova Scotia) and wood furnace in the basement were in perfect order

It was a private sale.  We purchased the farm as a residence, not a business.  This was because the interest rates are markedly different for home purchases versus business purchases.  This was also because there was some difficulty with my having been out of the country for 9 years...I was treated as a "foreigner," which meant that down payments even on a residence were necessarily much higher than normal.  A business purchase would have been out of the question.  Accordingly, none of the business aspects were included in the contract, because it would have turned it into a business purchase, which was not advisable for financial reasons.  But why on earth would a sweet, elderly man, who was anxious to pass on his legacy and his knowledge, lie about anything to do with the business?  We trusted him without question.  

So, at the last minute, it turned out that all the paperwork needed to be changed.  Why?  Because we had put all the paperwork in his name.  He informed us that it had to be in his wife's name.  Huh?  But she's....oh...no, she was not dead.  She was very much alive.  She had left him in 1997 of her own accord, and had been paying on the property, which was in her name, ever since.  Wow.  So, all the paperwork was changed.  I was uncomfortable, but by then, we were in "full-steam-ahead" mode.  Small glitch, we thought.  No problem.

Then, suddenly he wanted a paragraph included that allowed him to stay on the property for up to 3 more months, because he was in-and-out of hospital for blood transfusions and other procedures.  We sighed a big sigh, and acquiesced.  Many things were put on hold.  I could have worked for a couple more months, but as it was, I had to live with my dear parents, who were terribly kind about the whole thing and allowed us to inhabit the spare bedroom for 2 months.  Finally...it was moving day.  We were thrilled to be moving ahead.

Since then, we have been unfortunate enough to have learned the following;

• * the former owner refuses to help us learn anything whatsoever about making wine.  He will not teach us how to use the equipment or what to do with the existing wine in the vats in the winery.  He has stated that his ex-wife is the one with all the information on how to make wine.  She left in 1997.  He was making wine until 2008.  Enough said.  Lies, lies, lies.
• * the recipes were not in the file cabinet, and he at first kept promising them, and then eventually said that his ex-wife had all the recipes, and we would have to get them from her.  She is a lovely person who has come to visit and has tried to reason with him, to no avail.  She never had any recipes.  She never had anything to do with the wine production.  He's just a liar.  We don't even know if they ARE written down anywhere - they may have been in his head.  Whatever the case...we don't have them.
• * the 3-point-hitch post hole digger was bent, and completely unusable.  I had sold mine, prior to leaving Iowa, based on the assumption that we had a working one at the property.  Big oops, based on a lie.
• * the brush mower on the property was rusted beyond use and partially buried underground.  We subsequently learned that he had "built" it himself (he used to work as an engineer for Caterpillar) and it had been the subject of a lawsuit, which he lost, because he had not followed through on a contract to build an operational brush mower for the company that hired him to do so.  Liar, liar, pants on fire!
• * the electrical system was a complete mess and the upstairs level of the house had no power.  We've had an electrician spend about 3 weeks on the place until we ran out of money, and it's still not done.  
• * the overgrown fields that we had on the 66 acres we bought had NEVER been used for blueberry production.  He sold the 40 acres of blueberry land before we bought the remaining 66 acres.  The land is not even suitable for blueberry production because it is too wet.  This was not evident in the winter when we viewed it, and we did not know enough about blueberries to know better.  The neighbour who bought the 40 acres might be willing to sell, but that would require us to have some income with which to buy back the actual blueberry land.  Now that was a really BIG lie!
• * the oil furnace (normal in Nova Scotia) cannot be insured because the tank is metal and we need to have a fiberglass tank installed.  The wood furnace does not heat a large portion of the house because the ductwork does not extend there.  Sigh.  Lies....

This is just the major stuff.  I can't even begin to remember all the small details and issues we've had, many of which were embroiled in lies we were told about the property, its value, its potential, or the existing buildings. One example is that none of the barns, in their present condition, were usable, because they were either falling down, full of rotting wood, or otherwise compromised.  We don't expect two of them to last the winter.  

Everything I left behind was based on the premise that here, I would have a business to run, and a moderate income generated from that business.  I would not have left Iowa if that had not been the case.  I am not usually a risk-taker, and I certainly would not have taken on this property under the circumstances in which I now find myself.  It was a house of cards....lies upon lies that propelled us forward into the purchase, trusting that we had a viable business to run.  The Nova Scotia Liquor Commission, which is the government body responsible for the distribution and sale of alcohol in the province, is simply desperate for the product that this winery used to sell.  They wanted 500 cases as soon as possible.  And here we are, without a single case, because of a lying liar and the lies he told.  

Furthermore, we've learned from neighbours over the past few months, that he was renowned for this sort of behaviour.  In fact, he's been in several lawsuits over time, and has lost them all.  After his losses, he apparently approaches the winning party and tells them it was a "good fight" and congratulates them on their win, but points out with a laugh that they will never see any of their winnings because everything is in his ex-wife's name, and he has no way to meet the judgment imposed upon him.  In fact, nobody around here liked him or trusted him, and most people are not all that surprised by what has happened in our dealings with him.  It seems to be his "usual" way of operating.  

I am not usually a bitter or vengeful person, but this entire situation has made me so angry, so cynical and jaded, so hurt and defeated, that I barely recognize myself some days.  It has been the biggest disaster of my life, and hopefully will be the only disaster of this proportion.  Richard has to keep his job in the city working for possibly the most immoral and obnoxious boss on the face of the Earth.  He commutes over 1.5 hours each way to keep us afloat, because there is no farm winery income.  Meanwhile, I am trying to make the house a decent place to live, removing the years of neglect and slowly updating things, but I can only do so much on my own.  I am also working furiously at my fibre arts, attempting to build stock for the Nova Scotia Fibre Festival in October, so that I can actually bring some income as well.  

Meanwhile, we are taking stock of what we have, our assets on the farm, to see what we can do.  We have winery equipment that is likely outdated and inefficient.  We do have a large space though, with stainless steel counters and sinks, which might be useful.  We have 66 acres of land, including pasture and woodlands.  We are trying to consider all possibilities, such as...

• growing other types of berries for wine production
• using the winery space for other purposes, such as a goat or sheep milking facility and cheese production area
• turning the winery space into a fibre production facility, in essence becoming a "mini mill"
• installing fences and considering livestock, such as alpaca, angora goats, or other fibre animals
• growing specialty crops that have a market in the region
• buying blueberries from the local blueberry production facility (we are in the "heart" of blueberry country") and developing our own recipes, and slowly upgrading the winery facility and equipment.

Truly, we are open to any and all ideas at this point.  Anything is on the table.  We may have lost a few battles and some pride in this process, but we have not lost our personal skills and adaptability.  We will survive, and eventually we will thrive, but there is a lot of healing to be done, and a lot of work in the future.  We are making arrangements to have an agricultural consultant view the property and help us determine what might work for us.  It is bound to be a long and rocky road.

Do you have ideas for us?  Thoughts or suggestions on how to move forward?  We are all ears!  In the meantime, you will find me licking my wounds, trying to stop crying, and trying really hard not to regret all my decisions.  One day at a time.  So, when you ask how the winery is, I'm sorry to say, it isn't.  

Synchronized log pile climbing

Inigo and Westley are considering entering the Goatolympics in the sport of synchronized log pile climbing.  It is one of their favourite hobbies, and they are pretty darned good at it!  Here is one of their practice sessions for your viewing enjoyment!

Okay, cue the music, we're ready...

 ...and up the first log we go, careful with the back foot Westley, out of sync!

 Good!  Good tail motion!  Nice back leg syncing!

 Shoot, there's a log out of order here!  Who messed with our pile?

 Improvising!

 And now we are back in sync!  Keep it up boys!

 Do NOT stop for snacks!  Points deduction!

 Um....Inigo?

 Obstacle!!  Not fair!  Oh wait, what's this little snack....

Fine, I know, they need practice, but they're getting there!

The Elusive and Mysterious Jungle Sheep of Nova Scotia

(cue wildlife documentary music...)

Announcer:  Today we go in search of a strange and little-understood species in the sheep world.  Not just an average stand-around-in-the-pasture sort of sheep.  This little creature is incredibly rare and was thought to be extinct until very recently, when it was miraculously spotted on a small farm in Nova Scotia.  We join the farm's shepherdess for an interview to learn more.  So, tell us, how long have you lived here?

Shepherdess:  Well, just a few months really.  Before that, the property was rather overgrown and not well cared for.  I think its condition made it an attractive home for the jungle sheep.

Announcer:  Amazing!  You must be thrilled to have this creature living on your farm!

Shepherdess:  Indeed I am.  I hope they will be happy here!

Announcer:  When did you first notice their presence?

Shepherdess:  Well, I saw some unusual droppings...

Announcer:  Excellent!  Have you taken samples for the museums of the world?

Shepherdess:  Errr...no.  Not yet.  Anyway, then I heard some snuffling and saw some flashes of grey or black in the woods.

Announcer:  Wow!  Can you please replicate the snuffling sound for our viewers?

Shepherdess:  Well, um, like this... snorty-snorty-whoosh-whoosh-snort....baaaaaaaa.

Announcer:  (enthralled)  Imagine that!  You've just heard it here folks, the long lost sound of the Nova Scotia Jungle Sheep.  Tell us more about the flashes of grey and black!

Shepherdess:   I took some photographs, I have them here:

Announcer:  Startling!  You must have been very afraid.

Shepherdess:  Well, not really, they're quite small and innocent.  Not at all aggressive.  They are a bit shy really.  I had to put up some special hidden cameras after that, to get better evidence of their presence.  They were always hiding when I wanted to photograph them.

Announcer:  Remarkable!  Were you worried that the sheep would destroy the cameras, perhaps eating them or viciously shredding them to pieces?

Shepherdess:  Definitely not, sheep are very gentle creatures.

Announcer:  (with some tone of disappointment)  Oh, yes I see.  Soooo, did you get any pictures with the hidden cameras?

Shepherdess:  Yes, I did!  Here, you can see the male of the species hiding within the jungle foliage.

Here he is eating a leaf.

Announcer:  Wow, just look at those powerful jaws!

Shepherdess:  Errrr....yes, well, here is the female of the species.  You can see her lighter fleece colour.  She is considering eating some leaves from the shrub I believe.

Announcer:  Incredible, she's about to totally destroy that tree!  What a shot!

Shepherdess:  (rolls eyes)  She's only about 35 pounds, quite small really.  Very gentle.

Announcer:  Do they climb trees?

Shepherdess:  No, they lie down under trees, to rest.

Announcer:  Stupendous!  You've seen them resting then!  And do they fight amongst themselves?

Shepherdess:  Not at all, they co-exist peacefully together, as you can see here.

Announcer:  And there you have it, a rare moment of tranquility in the life of the elusive and wild jungle sheep of Nova Scotia.  Next time, join us for our exciting trip to view the incredible and frightening meadow vole of Alaska, with jaws strong enough to snap a woolly mammoth's leg...

(OK, so they're not REALLY the elusive jungle sheep.  They are my absolutely adorable new lambs from Hidden Meadow Farm.  Both are 3/4 Cotswold and 1/4 Shetland and 100% lovable!  I am soooo excited to have started a new flock of sheep here in Nova Scotia, after the sadness of leaving my sheep in Iowa.  The Cotswold-Shetland fleeces are oh-so-crimpy and bouncy - they will be superb yarns in future! )

Goats will be goats!

Despite valiant efforts to contain them, goats cannot always be contained.  Miss Lucky Nickel is a very high jumping goat, and she is no match for the average, or even above average, fence.  She is therefore very tricky to contain.  This means that she often just runs around the property, eating a bit here and there, and generally causing mayhem.  She gets in the way of outdoor projects and eats the flowers.  Now, she has instructed Inigo and Westley how to get out with her!

One of her more nefarious deeds lately has been her discovery of a beautiful garden bench that my Dad refurbished for us, and which we placed on the front porch.  The porch is still under construction, but it was complete enough that we could put the bench out and enjoy sitting on it and taking in the views of the hills and fields around the area.  Miss Nickel decided that the bench was also her throne, and she has taken to sitting on it whenever she likes.  Particularly in the heat of a sunny day, she will go there to retire in the shade and chew her cud, while contemplating other troublesome things she can do.  Lately, she has taken to holding court while sitting in her throne and instructing the other goats to lay at her feet.

Can't you hear her now?  "Westley, bring me my crown."
"As you wish, your highness."

Unfortunately, she has decided that the arms of the bench are good for chewing on, probably somewhat absentmindedly.  This made me very upset and also upset my Dad, who had put so much work into the bench for us.  We did try new methods of keeping Miss Nickel in place, all to no avail.  The bench arms will need to be refinished again, but Richard will do that just as soon as we can keep Nickel contained.  Either that, or when the colder weather comes, we shall bring the bench inside where she cannot reach it.  The intention is to screen in the porch with a low wall around the sides, such that we can sit out there and not be bothered by the swarms of mosquitoes.  When we put in the low wall, Miss Nickel's reign on the porch shall end, and the bench will be off limits.

So what do you think - are these two planning a revolt?

Stay tuned for a new blog post soon on some new additions to the farm!

Remembering Marshmallow

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.  Very sadly, Miss Marshmallow the sheep passed away recently of injuries sustained in a coyote attack.  Although she initially survived the attack and was under veterinary care, she tragically succumbed to her injuries after about a week.  She was well tended by the sweet daughters of the family where she went to live, who fed her grass that they picked themselves.  She is buried in their garden and will always be fondly remembered by them, and by me, and hopefully many of you readers who remember her story.

It had originally been my intent to bring Marshmallow to Canada with me, along with Lucky Nickel.  At the last minute, I changed my mind and decided to bring Kenzie the lamb, whom I felt was more likely to need extra care.  As you know, Kenzie didn't survive her required spaying operation to get her across the border.  Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but I am really internally conflicted over whether I did the right thing.  I can't change the outcome and must live with my choices.

Marshmallow was born June 18, 2009.  She was one of quadruplets and was abandoned by her mother, so I brought her into the house and raised her as my first bottle baby.

I'd never had to do that before and was unsure about what I should do, but I read a lot of information and did my best, and Marshmallow thrived.  She taught me how to bottle feed and diaper a lamb!

 She was a little explorer, particularly interested in yarn and spinning fibre!

 She liked to sleep under my desk while I was studying.

She also liked to sleep in my bed, when she got old enough to jump up into it!

She liked to sleep on the dog's bed too.

She grew big and strong, until she outgrew her diapers!

 Eventually, she moved outside and lived with the other sheep.  She was always a bit small - I guess she was considered a bit of a "runt" of the litter, but she got along fine with the other sheep and she became more independent and "sheepy" minded.

I last saw her on a visit to her new farm in March of this year before I left for Canada, where she was happily living in a pasture with the other sheep from my flock and with my former llama Dolly - she was with friends.  The coyote problem is widespread in Iowa, and there are no guarantees.  Even with the presence of a llama, two lambs were killed and numerous sheep injured.  It may be that the llama prevented Marshmallow from being killed at the time, but her injuries were too severe for her to recover.

 Sleep well, sweet Marshmallow.  May Mother Earth take you softly into her gentle arms and love you as I did, and may you run free in the great pasture.

7 links blog game

I don't often participate in these blog memes, but this one was a bit different, and an interesting way to review my blog over time.  Tayet Silverspoon over at "In a Goat's Shoes" nominated my blog for this little exercise - thank you Tayet!  Here's the objective:


Post the links to: 

• My most beautiful post
• My most popular post.
• My most controversial post.
• My most helpful post.
• A post whose success surprised me.
• A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved.
• The post I am most proud of.

Goodness me!  This was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be at first.  I learned something new doing this exercise - I learned about my blog "Stats" tab.  I didn't know about all that information hidden in there, but Tayet told me how to find it, and it was really quite interesting.  


My Most Beautiful Post
Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they say.  How am I to decide which is my most beautiful post, when we all have different opinions on what constitutes beauty?  None the less, I'm going to say it is this post, because it was all about the beauty surrounding me in my new home, despite the chaos that also surrounded me.  It's important to see the beauty through the veil of chaos.  


My Most Popular Post
I have posted 295 blog posts.  Wow.  That seems like quite a lot, although many people have thousands of posts...but I still had a moment of surprise when I realized how many I'd done.  Of all those, the post that is the most popular, based on number of views, is "Book Binding and Wire Wrapping."  I found this kind of strange because it's really not a post that is representative of the blog's character.  So much of the blog is about Lucky Nickel the goat, or my other critters, or even about spinning and fleece and yarn.  That book binding post was one I did after taking a class in how to do long stitch book binding, and also a class in wire wrapping.  They were during a break from law school and were just one-time events.  I haven't done any more book binding although I have done some more wire-wrapped jewelry.  Anyway, that post has the most views, at 1,827 views.  Wow!


My Most Controversial Post
Controversial?  Me?  I'm never controversial!  Am I?  Well, not intentionally.  I think, after much consideration, that my most controversial post might be this one:  An Unwelcome Guest.  That post was about the difficulties I was having with an opossum killing my chickens.  I think opossums are cute.  Lots of people disagree.  I knew that the opossum was killing the birds, but some people felt that opossums are just scavengers, not killers.  However, I caught him, red handed (with blood) with a still-warm dead chicken, in the fresh snow, and there were no other footprints.  I know he did it.  After he was...dispatched...I had no more losses.  I dislike having to kill an animal, but I was losing far too many chickens to this one.  


My Most Helpful Post
This one was easy - it's my post on how to shear a llama.  Incidentally, this is also my second most popular post, with a total of 1,413 page views.  I'm surprised it wasn't number one!  Anyway, this post has helped quite a few people learn the method I use to shear llamas, and based on their feedback to me via email or on Facebook, I know it has worked for them too.  That makes me happy.  It's good to know that my blog has been helpful to others.  I also noticed that my blog posts on how to give a goat a bath, and how to use diapers on baby lambs and goat kids, were also very popular.  That suggests they've been helpful posts for others too!


A Post Whose Success Surprised Me
As I've already mentioned, the post about the book binding and wire wrapping class being my most popular post was very surprising to me.  My 4th most popular post also surprised me.  It's this one:  Duck 1, Duck 2, Duck 3...  I'm not sure why it's so popular, but it does have a lot of cute duckling pictures.  It's a post about rescuing some ducklings from the Animal Rescue League.  


A Post I Feel Didn't Get the Attention it Deserved
Hmmm.  Tricky.  This took the longest time to choose.  I looked back over a lot of posts, and I picked two.  One of them is probably a bit selfish.  I wrote a poem, once, about a storm.  It just kind of came out suddenly as I was sitting there, watching the storm and wondering what to write about.  It only had 2 comments.  Most people probably don't like reading poetry really, but I thought it was a decent effort.  So if you feel like it, you can read it here.  


The second post that probably didn't get the attention it deserved is that post about when Cookie the goat first stood up by herself after suffering through about two weeks of infection with deer meningeal worm.  Cookie was a sweet mini-Nubian who was suddenly limping one day, and then soon after could no longer stand up.  I had to feed her and bathe her constantly and keep her comfortable while we had some testing done, which indicated she had high eosinophil counts in her spinal fluid, leading to the meningeal worm diagnosis.  It's really rather rare for a goat to survive deer meningeal worm infection, but Cookie did it.  She was laying down for probably about 2 weeks, maybe a bit longer, because her back legs were paralyzed by the infection. She had a permanent limp afterwards, and unfortunately I think that may have led to her early death about a year or so later from unknown causes.  However, her experience was a great learning experience for me and could be helpful to other goat owners also.  When she first stood up after so long of being down, I was so excited I took a picture and posted about it, but it didn't get any comments.  She probably deserved a few!


The Post I Am Most Proud Of
This one was pretty easy for me.  This post is the one about the wild rabbit that was killed by the car in front of me, and which I wrapped in a blanket and brought home to bury on my farm, in order to honour its short life.  You can read it here, and bring tissues, it's a sad one.  I am proud of it because I think most people would have just kept driving, and maybe would not even notice the small rabbit who tried so hard to escape.  I noticed, and I wanted to capture the memories and feelings I had, and remind my readers about the fragility of life.


Now I'm supposed to nominate some other bloggers to do this!  Hmmm...


1.  Isobelle Golightly the Beautiful Goat (she has a lot of posts to choose from!)
2.  Flartus, over at Flartopia (she probably has even MORE posts to choose from!)
3.  Oh bother.  I have to go put the chickens and goats away.  Ummm...YOU!  Yes you!  Reader with a blog!  Consider yourself nominated!

My Studio - wait...I have a studio??

Studio.  The very word conjures up images of great works of art....Monet in his "studio," Da Vinci in his "studio," or perhaps Henry Moore in his "studio."  Clearly, I cannot possibly have a studio.  I am not worthy!  When I first called my space by that name, it seemed to sound pretentious.  I am not so much an artist....rather a dabbler in the arts....spinning, felting, beading, a bit of sewing and occasionally a bit of drawing.  I looked up the word and its etymology, and found it to have come from the Italian for "a room for study."

Studying is something I can certainly say I have done....for years.  Kindergarten through twelfth grade makes 13 years of studying, then add in nearly 14 years of university, for a grand total of about 27 years of study.  What is studying, then?  Is it just learning facts or theories and being able to repeat them or apply them in tests and exams?  Does studying go beyond that which we learn in school?  Surely it should apply to anything we learn in earnest, whether that subject is a traditional school subject, or whether it's something less traditional and more practical or artistic.

After having come to the conclusion that my space was certainly one for study, and that it was also one in which things happened that one might call art, I decided perhaps it was not too pretentious, and that I was indeed permitted to call my space a studio.  It is not, at present, a finished studio.  In fact, it's quite far from that.  That said, it's the place to which I retreat when I need "down time" from the chaos of working on the other parts of the house.  It's a little bit of solace in the run of a day.  And now, it needs colour.

I've been spending some time sitting on my chair, just staring at my space.  I am one of those people who feels strongly affected by colours in a room.  I am not fond of white or off-white walls.  They seem cold and uninspiring to me.  For others, they can be calming and pleasant, but for me, they are stifling.  I need to feel the energy and warmth that colours bring to my world.  With that in mind, I've been trying to sort out how to proceed with the decorating of this area I call my studio.

I have two primary spaces that make up this area.  One is the spinning and sewing area, and the other shall be the felting, weaving, and "other stuff" area.

 This is the spinning area.  I love the sloped ceiling and the old hickory beam in the centre of the ceiling.  The window has a gorgeous view of the land surrounding me and I face it when I spin.  It's a bit chaotic at the moment because we haven't got all our closet space available yet so some extra stuff is being stored here for the time being.  On either side of the window, there are "cubby holes" about 3 feet to either side that will hold storage totes or boxes.  They also have the sloping ceilings.

This next picture is the wall to the left in the above picture.  It has my old desk that my parents bought me from Ikea when I entered Junior High school (grade 7 in Canada), which is now my sewing machine table and table for other crafts such as beading.  I also have a good-sized shelving unit which is destined for painting!  More on that in a minute.

This is a better view of the wall on the right hand side of the first picture.  As you can see, I have fibre storage cubbies for spinning fibre, also destined for painting.  You may also note that I seem to need more storage!

To the left of the spinning area (i.e. behind the wall you see in the above picture) is the larger area for felting and weaving and such.  As you see below, there is a sink on the left hand wall, which is currently also our bathroom sink since the bathroom has no sink.  The end wall at the back has more storage area.  That is another hickory post you can see on the left side.

On the wall opposite the sink I have made (perhaps creative?!) use of a baby crib left behind by the previous owner.  I was ready to throw it out when it occurred to me that it would hold a lot of fibre and yarn!  

The looms I have are set up in this area, ready to be warped for weaving.  To the far right you'll see an old Ikea drawer unit that holds all my craft papers, scissors, tape, paper crafts tools, wrapping paper and gift bags, and other such items.  The two windows let in a good amount of light and have a nice view out over the barns.

As you can see, though, from all of these pictures, the walls are desperately in need of paint.  The wallboard is in place, and taping/mudding has been mostly completed.  The floors need to be refinished.  The window frames need to be primed because the wood has knots, and then painted.  I don't want to paint the hickory beams or post.  What I do want, is energy!  The colours in this space have to reflect creativity, energy, liveliness, and warmth.  I will be painting all the walls, the shelving, the baby crib, and the trim.  One colour just won't be enough.  So, I've got some ideas...

Those, my friends, are "Claire Colours!"  Deep teal greens on the right, chartreuse and lime on the upper left, and deep raspberry/cranberry tones.  I've been playing around with these, trying to figure out how I want to proceed with the colour scheme for the studio areas.

These colours really speak to me the most.  I love the vibrancy of the greens juxtaposed with the deep, velvety purples.  I think this is likely to end up being an overall theme.  Since the rooms have so many wall surfaces - little sections of sloping ceiling, small nooks and areas with strange angles, I'd like to combine multiple greens in this family and do different parts of the walls in different greens.  I'm thinking I might draw some large purple and green spirals on the walls in strategic places.  Spirals exist widely in nature, showing up in diverse places such as seashells and flowers.  Triple spirals are also used in Celtic art, sometimes representing the Irish sea deity Manannan, sometimes the Pagan triple goddesses,  and sometimes the three realms of sea, land and sky.  These images are attractive to me and I'd like to incorporate triple spirals into my studio space.

I also love the deep teals of the ocean, combined with rich blue-red tones.  The light pink tones in these colour cards don't work for me, but I'm attracted to the deep, rich, saturated tones.

I need more time to think about how I want this space to look, but it's a very important space for me.  I find solace and peacefulness there, and I am anxious to have it finished, but only when I know it will be "right" for me.

I know I have a lot of creative minds who read this blog, so maybe some of you will have ideas or thoughts on how to proceed.  I'm open to most ideas at this point!  Please don't suggest painting the walls black (or white) because I'm not doing that, but maybe some of you will have ideas I haven't thought about.  The main focus points are:  energy, vibrancy, life, creativity, imagination, and sheep!