I Have Good News And Bad News.

To all those who expressed deep interest in how the heck a Sheep might ply using that space alien contraption shown in last night's post, I bring you glad tidings! I'll be happy to show you!! That's the good news! Let's all dance!!!

But, um....OK. Here's the thing: that was an older picture. I've already plied that stuff. The bad news is that it might be a while before I have enough on the spindle to wind off onto one bobbin, let alone two. You will have to exercise a little patience, I'm afraid.

Sorry about that. I'm spinning as fast as my little Sheepie hooves can go and will make every effort to have something ready for a demo in a timely fashion. But, my definition of a "timely fashion" and that of the general public might be a bit different...

Meanwhile, there is little to show today in the fiber category. I did play with the spindle for a bit and even knit on two different projects, but nothing is really near completion. Nor is anything of such great interest that I think anyone might want to see a WIP photo at this juncture. What can I say? "Tis a busy time of the year here at the House Of Sleepy Sheepies.

Spring always is, what with the end of the school year drawing nigh. And I've only two more night classes to go before I can call "The Class I Do Not Care For, But I Need The Credits For My Teacher Recertification So I Forge Ahead" done. This is a good thing, but I still have several assignments to finish and a rather important presentation to fake my way through on Wednesday so that has kept me hopping. Add to that my decision to pick up a few more hours at Job #2 in order to make some attempt at off-setting the recent vehicle repair expenses, and I'm not getting much done in the way of knitting or spinning.

Tellya what! How about I show you some butter? That'll be fun, right? Yesterday, in anticipation of today's jaunt over to see Mommy and Daddy Sheep, I baked up some whole wheat bread with almonds, sunflower seeds and a wee bit of the milled flax just to make sure that we were all getting our Omega 3 whatchamacallits. It needed a little something to "go with" so I made a batch of the sundried tomato/basil flavored butter that Daddy Sheep enjoys. I like to make flavored butters and this one was one of those little experiments that one performs when one thinks something might work but aren't totally sure that it will go as planned.

It did! And then some!!!

And it's easy-peasy. If you've ever made flavored butter, you know what I mean. For this one you'll need:

4 or 5 sundried tomatoes that have been "plumped" in simmering water . Make sure to blot off as much of the excess water as possible afterwards

Between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp. of dried basil (Use as much or as little as you wish. It's all "to taste," really)

1 stick of butter softened to room temperature

Cracked black pepper to taste

Then you need to:

Chop the sundried tomatoes relatively finely

Dump everything into a bowl

Mix, mix, mix

Put into a pretty container and wipe the excess from the sides because this is sort of messy

Refrigerate until set

Eat

It is also fun to put the butter into a mold and turn it out before serving. This is for those fancy-schmancy occasions where you want people to think that you've spent hours on their entertainment. And you aren't limited to the flavorings in this recipe. I've made honey butters with and without cinnamon, saffron butter and garlic butter. All were quite tasty!

Now, I must bid you all a pleasant evening while I return to my labors on behalf of Job #2. I have, once again, been called into service to create a promotional mailing. Those of you who were reading last summer will recall that this has not gone particularly well for me in the past.

And my track record seems to be staying true. Please pass the bread and butter. I'm going to need the carbs...

SA