Winter sheep activities: from shelter to wool

We had a plan. The lambs were to return to the sheep farm for the winter. Fino and L. didn't build the shelter last spring with winter in mind.

I should have known that was a futile plan.

L. is a sweet talker. She also happens to be a hard-worker and that's a helpful (to her) combination in life.

She sweet talked the sheep farmer in to letting the lambs winter with us because she loved Minnie so much and didn't want to part with her. She also explained she had every intention of learning to spin wool this winter (more on that in a bit) so she was all about taking good care of the lambs.

She sweet talked her daddy in to building an addition on to the sheep shelter for hay and grain storage (the warmer weather storage we were using is now full of bikes and other items that can't be in the snow). She agreed to assist (and mostly finance with her sheep show fair premiums) with the building project.

She sweet talked G.'s cow farm connection to sell her hay over the winter.

Then her daddy found a way to deal with the frozen water issue with the lamb's small water pool (formally used as a child's sandbox/pool toy - thanks Meg!). No sweet talking needed as this piece was a necessity. It required an investment of a submersible water heater. Fino built a small wood stand to place the heater on so it wouldn't melt the plastic material of the pool and it works great (even on the coldest day of the year the water was not frozen).

And voila! (which was far from instantaneous) L. had a winterized home in our backyard by early-December for her lambs.

The lambs are doing great despite the frigid temperatures. They regularly choose to spend time outside their shelter. Although they do have a slightly different look right now...

The snow beards make us chuckle and don't seem to bother the lambs a bit.

When December rolled around, L. moved on to her next phase of her winter sheep activities - washing her lamb's fleeces (sheared after the fair).

This is when I fell under the kid's charms.

Now I know why there is a reason people don't wash wool, even many of the people who raise sheep specifically for their fiber (many sent it out for processing - wash and card by machine to make roving). It's a darn lot of work.

With a tip from a fellow 4H mom and fiber artist, we used an old laundry basket and poked a bunch of holes in the bottom of it (for water drainage). We had another larger bucket to submerse the wool-full basket in the boiling water to rinse clean.

It takes about three rinses (with no agitation because you have to be careful not to "felt" the fiber by mistake) of boiling water to get the water to run clear from the wool.

We spent about four hours washing small batches of wool (our basket wasn't very big) with this method and only made it through about 1/2 of one of her fleeces.

Like I said... a lot of work.

L.'s sheep club leader set up a couple of wool spinning classes to teach a small group who were interested in learning to spin their lamb's wool. The kids learned how spinning wheels work and then had a chance to try their hand at spinning with some roving material.

Much easier said than done.

L. loved it and was loaned a wheel (a semi-sweet talking transaction because she was so excited about the project) and has done a lot of practicing at home with it this past month.

I purchased some low-grade roving for L. to practice with and she hopes that by the time she works through that supply, she will be able to spin thin strands of yarn (as they should be) without bumps. Then she thinks she'll be ready for spinning her own lamb's wool.

Next on her winter sheep activities... crocheting a small project with her hand-spun wool.

I think I can say with confidence that L. likes sheep.

XC skiing at Five Fields Farm... with friends

A visit to the hilly terrain of Five Fields has had such great reviews from my kids that my co-worker Shannon and her friend Jill decided to do a meet-up with us in Bridgton to give the trails a whirl for themselves.

Shannon's Trial and Error column in the Sunday Telegram mentioned our adventure at Five Fields. It was full of silly laughs and I was reminded yet again how much fun it is to have a variety of friends who are up for a day on the trails with us.

When the kids were little I found it a little stressful to be uncertain about what to expect at a place. You can read some words that describe it but there's nothing like a map and some pictures to really put all the pieces together. So I take along my GPS unit when I can (i.e., remember it) to record a track of places we visit. I enjoy making these maps because I hope it gives others a sense of the terrain with a topo map and general scenery with a few of our pictures.

Five Fields is a ton of fun for intermediate skiers.

(You can read a full review of this trail system from my column last year...)

XC Skiing at Five Fields Farm at EveryTrail


If you're really down on this snowy weather we've been having, I'd highly suggest finding a winter sport to try. And get another family to join you. Family adventures are always more fun with a couple of friends in tow... for everyone in the group. It also ensures the winter flies by!

L. with her knee skiing... again

Not to be outdone (because she couldn't get on her knees like L.), Shannon pulled her own little trick out... a leg lift.

Another year, another snow pig drawing from L.

Preview: Auburn Winter Festival

Even if winter isn't your favorite season, you'll find a reason to like it after a visit to Auburn's Winter Festival, which starts this coming weekend.

From the snow playground, bonfires and pond hockey at Walton School to family movie days at Auburn Library, and from a teen discount skiing night with the Lewiston Maineiacs at Lost Valley to a wacky relay race, there's something for everyone during this 10-day festival.

A highlight will definitely be the Really Ridiculous Relay Race on Feb. 5, the festival's second weekend. It involves six-member teams and there are three parts to the race.

The first part is a three-person dog sled team -- which is really a shopping cart on skis with a musher and two "dogs" pulling the sled. The second leg of the race is a snowshoe sprint, and the finale of the relay is a two-person ride down a hill in a canoe.

"It's a really wacky event," said Tracey Steuber, administrative assistant for the city of Auburn and one of the event's organizers.

Those not up to the relay challenge can opt to take a river raft ride at Lost Valley. Sponsored by the Leavitt/Edward Little girls' hockey team, the rafts cruising down the mountain should prove a novel experience for those with an adventurous spirit.

This coming Saturday features the three-on-three pond hockey tournament at Walton School.

A fundraiser for the Auburn Youth Hockey League, the tournament draws a big audience. Tim Horton's of Auburn will be in the area offering free coffee and hot chocolate to spectators.

When the kids get tired of watching hockey, they can check out a winter playground created on the school grounds by Auburn's Public Works Department.

"They usually make an area to slide with culverts the kids can crawl through. Sometimes tires are used, too. They get really creative with this area," Steuber said.

The outdoor skating rink at Walton will be open for free public skating throughout the festival (and the rest of the winter). A bonfire sponsored by Tim Horton's, offering free hot cocoa and coffee, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday and again on Feb. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Lost Valley and the Maineiacs have teamed up to host a special Teen Night at the mountain, with discount lift tickets for teenagers from 5 to 9 p.m. this Saturday. There will be an autograph session, and teens can meet Maineiac players.

Other events include snowshoeing and snowmobile riding with the Sno Gypsies Club at Mt. Apatite, an ice fishing derby at Taylor Pond, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at Lake Auburn and a variety of special events at Lost Valley and Auburn Library throughout the festival.

"Auburn's Winter Festival is a celebration of everything winter. I think one of the things this year that was special was the collaboration of all the community organizations in the overall planning process," Steuber said.


AUBURN'S WINTER FESTIVAL
WHEN: Saturday through Feb. 6
WHERE: Various venues in Auburn, including Walton School, Lost Valley, Mt. Apatite, Auburn Library, Ingersoll Arena, LV Brookside, Taylor Pond
HOW MUCH: Varies by event
FOOD OPTIONS: Varies by venue
DON'T MISS: Really Ridiculous Relay Race on Feb. 5
KID-FRIENDLY FACTOR: Great
BENEFITS: Auburn Hockey Youth League, Leavitt/Edward Little girls' ice hockey, Share Center and Healthy Smiles for ME
IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Snow or shine
MORE INFO: www.auburnwinterfestival.com


Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram January 23, 2011.

The woes of female footwear and a shoe fairy

I ran across one of my old blog posts from 2007 that made me laugh today. It's been a long time since I thought about L.'s shoe fairy. And now that she's 13, I can confirm she still has a serious affinity for shoes and the footwear aisle is still her favorite one to browse at the store. Some things are just part of you from Day One.

These days I'm most appreciative of L.'s refrain from throwing a temper tantrum in the store when she leaves without new shoes. Although varying degrees of whining for a new pair of (usually impractical) shoes is still sometimes heard before leaving a store.

I'm sure others have a few fictious friends for the toddlers/preschoolers in their life to help them through the day. I'm nostalgic for these days when a special fairy could swoop in for a mom assist. Teens are a little more hip to my more creative mothering tales.

Oh and now that G. is 14, I can confirm that her feet have not grown since she was in 6th grade/11 years old. It's nice to be at the end of the ever-growing footwear dilemma for her even if it means she steals my shoes/sport footwear sometimes.

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Originally posted Friday, September 14, 2007

This week was all about footwear at the Almeida homestead. Not the "wouldn't it be nice to buy those shoes" week. Oh no. Our week would fall in to the "Whaddaya mean they don't fit anymore?"

So like most parents of fast-growing kids, I am going broke buying footwear for my 11-year-old's various activities that include tap and ballet shoes.

The hard-to-face reality of the situation for me is that my 11-year-old, G., is wearing my size shoe now -- that'd be a women's size 11.

I know that sounds a little scary but I think she will likely surpass my 6-feet stature in just a few short years. G.'s about 5'4" tall now so I'm pretty confident her body will eventually catch up to her feet.

The good news of the week was that G.'s dance teacher told her that girl's feet typically stop growing around 6th grade. She's been in the dance shoe business for several decades so I'm counting on this being the last year we have to replace shoes before she wears them out (actually I don't think she's ever worn out a pair in her entire life).

But sadly, G.'s shoe size now requires special ordering for dance shoes and that means waiting a week or more before she can get them.

The every day shoes are slightly easier to find *if* we can locate shoes that meet her criteria.

"They have to be comfortable and feel right."
"They can't look like boy shoes."
"They can't make my feet look too big."

And mine.
"That's not appropriate for an 11-year-old."

The sad thing is that this is only September. The jump in shoe size will break the family budget again before December when we have to track down boots for both downhill and cross country skiing as well as snow boots and ice skates.

Of course, she could *borrow* some of my gear but then I can't do the activities with her. Although I suppose I could use Fino's ski stuff since he's the same size too... I know, it's all a little weird.

My slower-growing 9-year-old is not happy with me at the moment because her shoes still fit so I'm not buying her any new ones.

L. loves new shoes.

When L. was little I would go out of my way to avoid the shoe section of every store I visited with her. On the rare occasions I forgot, my little L. would pitch a fit to bring the house (or store) down if she didn't get a new pair of shoes that very minute. It was the throwing herself of the ground and sobbing kind of display. I didn't give in to her demands very often but sometimes I took the easy, cowardly way out and got the darn shoes she couldn't live without.

And this started before she could walk.

I'm not exaggerating (family and friends who know L., feel free to chime in to confirm this).

I decided when L. was about 18-months old to tell her about the Shoe Fairy who would only bring good little girls shoes. This particular Shoe Fairy did not like it when little girls pitched fits at the store.

The Shoe Fairy did visit L. periodically for a number of years and although the temper tantrums have waned, the whining and badgering for a new pair of shoes hasn't.

I know parents of boys have additional expenses in the footwear department between growing feet and shoes wearing out more quickly. But girl footwear has it's own special challenges.

I'm needing a Calgon moment about shoes right now.
 

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Zippity do dah fun at Sunday River

We went on a winter zipline adventure at Sunday River and had a blast. The kids loved every minute on the course. Our tour guides Jellis, Cassandra and Steve were great and their fun and games (once safety checks were made at each station) made for a fab morning at the mountain.

I'll get to sharing more about the adventure but just had a chance to put together a video of our time on the zipline course. I also took along my GPS unit because recording speed during our winter sports activities has become part of our fun (last winter we clocked 16 mph at Five Fields Farm trails on our cross country skis). We recorded 25.1 mph on the Twin Zips line. No one has felt confident enough to bring along the GPS for downhill skiing yet but we're working up to that... more on that later.

I made an interactive map of the zipline course but I need to note that the course is made up of 6 separate lines in the woods and another set of lines called the Twin Zips at the base. The ziplines are not all connected. Zippers go from point A to point B on one line, disconnect and walk to the next line.

The map says we covered 1.8 miles of terrain during our time on the course but not all of that is hooked up on the lines. Even so, it was a great mix of zipping and walking through the woods on the mountain.

I also need to qualify that our GPS recorded the speeds on each line but that doesn't mean they're precisely accurate for every rider. They are in no way official recordings of this trail. Just our own personal experience on them.

Sunday River's Zipline Course

Anyone ever tried a zipline? They sure are fun, especially during my family's favorite season of the year.

A guessing game: Where was the AlmeidaFam?

We took a trip to a super fun place and just got back this morning. It was only supposed to be a single overnight but the snow storm forced us to stay an additional night. It was such a hardship to stay that second night - not!

I thought I'd make a game of guessing where we were - and what we were doing in the pictures. Just post a comment with your guesses.

#1 - We had a zippity do dah first day with this! There was not one ounce of fear from either of the Almeida kids - just smiles and laughs through the whole course.

#2a - We got L. back on downhill skis for the first time in three years! (She had a bad fall a while back and hasn’t been interested in getting back on a mountain… on these kind of skis. But her cross country skis with no edges and minimal control on downhill terrain doesn’t bother her a bit tho - kids, go figure!) Guess what mountain she's on.

#2b - What a difference 18 hours can make at the mountain. Our snowy second morning didn’t stop us from getting on the step-up-from-bunny-slope trail for some more downhill fun. The new powder was great.

#3 - L. catching snowflakes like this was a total novelty for her. And neither of the girls has had this sort of snowball fight venue. Do you know the name of the building that houses this particular feature?

#4 - If there are dogs around, my kids are thrilled. There’s a new adventure just about to start at this place and we met a few dogs from the working team that will be taking to the trails in a couple of weeks. My kids can't wait to visit again to see the dogs in action.

And this is just L. karma so no guessing required. If there is a pig of any kind around, my kid is going to find it. This happened to be the only piece of animal art in the resort's lobby and L. was very happy to see it was her favorite animal.

Libby Hill gives xc skiers some thrills

When you think of cross-country skiing, your first thoughts might not be about hills and speed. But my kids' skinny skis have seen plenty of both because it's their favorite part of the sport. So our recent skiing adventure on the groomed cross-country trails at Libby Hill in Gray was right up their alley.

We met some friends at the trail head and decided the best route for the group - five kids ranging in age from 6 to 14 - was the Moose Odyssey Trail. The trail twists and turns up and around the small mountain. It's 3.1 miles but offers smaller loops if you know how to read a trail map.

Unfortunately, my map reading skills tend to elude me each time I visit this trail system, but more on that later.

The first half-mile of this trail has a 100-foot elevation gain. That doesn't sound like a lot, but on cross-country skis it's a heart-pumping endeavor. Our 6-year-old friend lagged a bit behind, so I picked up my pace to keep up with the older kids. My friend hung back with her little one.

After that initial climb, the trail leveled off but still had plenty of small hills. The kids found a particular hill they really liked, so we lingered there.

If you have recreational cross-country skiing kids like mine, you'll discover there is a natural tendency to ski on knees and butts (with boots still in their bindings). In case you have never seen this, let me assure you that my kids and their friends can glide down hills in either position fairly easily. For me, it's not only undesirable to contort my less than nimble ankles for this, it's far from an easy thing to balance down the hill without a wipeout.

We had planned to ski a smaller loop of the Moose Odyssey Trail -- about a mile -- by using a connector trail. I missed that turn-off, but luckily spotted a trail map on a tree after I realized I wasn't where I had planned to be. After consulting the map, I thought we could catch another connector trail a short distance away.

A few minutes later, my 11-year-old friend questioned my directions when he hit a fork in the trail. "Wendy, the yellow trail is on the right. I thought you said it would be on the left."

Normally I'm a decent map reader, but for some reason I am never exactly where I think I am supposed to be on the Libby Hill trails.

The older kids and I decided to play it safe and ski the full distance of Moose Odyssey -- all 3.1 miles  -- because I knew it looped back to the trail head. Since this was one of our first snow season outings, we were all pretty tired by the time we met up with my friend and her 6-year-old there.

We all compared notes on the trail system and agreed the grooming was great and the hilly terrain a ton of fun for our intermediate skiers. But we also agreed it's not the easiest trail system to navigate because of its winding nature. The twists and turns can confuse even those with a good sense of direction -- and that is before taking in to consideration the distraction a couple of kids can be.

But the blazes and posted maps are easy to spot and I've never actually been lost. I've just spent more time out on this trail system than I had planned during each of our visits (in both winter and summer).

My 14-year-old has a plan for the next time we visit this trail system.

"I am going to take my water bottle on this trail every time, because it always takes longer to ski and hike around here than Mom says it will. But it is always fun -- especially when we're skiing down the hills."

During our next visit this winter - and there will be another one because we really liked these groomed trails - we will plan accordingly. If we estimate our chosen path will take one hour, we'll just plan for two.

LIBBY HILL, GRAY
LENGTH: 8 miles of non-motorized trails
CONTACT INFORMATION: http://libbyhill.org, 657-2323
GROOMING: Yes
PARKING: Yes
FEE: Free
EQUIPMENT RENTALS: No
BATHROOM: No
ABILITY LEVEL: Intermediate. There are a lot of hills on these trails, so skiers need to be confident with snowplowing down a hill and duck-walking back up.
DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes
KID-FRIENDLY FACTOR: Great. For kids with some cross-country skiing experience, the hills can offer a thrill.
OTHER: The trail is wide enough for skate skiing and passing room. Also note that the groomed cross-country trails begin behind the Gray New Gloucester Middle School on the other side of the chain-link fencing that surrounds the athletic fields. The trail at the kiosk on Libby Hill Road is a snowmobile trail (and a lot of fun to explore as well).

KIDS' REVIEW
THE 14-YEAR-OLD: "I like these trails because I like going fast on the hills. Some of the turns can be a little tricky to make on your skis, but the hills make it really fun."
THE 13-YEAR-OLD: "I didn't like going up the first hill because it was big and super long. But I liked going down all the steep hills with my friends. That's the part I liked best."

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram January 9, 2011.

Craft Corner: Ear Warmers

By WENDY ALMEIDA, Staff Writer

Getting kids to wear a hat can be a challenge in the winter. But if you offer them a way to customize their own gear, you're more likely to get them wearing something warm on their head.

Making an ear warmer is an easy endeavor for a novice sewer. With some adult assistance, this pattern can be made in about an hour (less if mom makes it herself). It's also a great way to put scrap pieces of fleece fabric to good use.

MATERIAL:
* 16-inch by 10-inch piece of fleece fabric
* Scissors
* Pins
* Thread
* Sewing machine

INSTRUCTIONS:
* Cut out the ear warmer pattern from this page that is shaded in blue.

* Lay the piece of fleece fabric down and fold it in half lengthwise.

* Place the pattern on top of the folded fleece, making sure to match the fold edge of the pattern with the fold of the fabric.

* Pin the pattern on the fabric and then cut it out. Be sure not to cut the fold side.
* Un-pin the pattern and lay the cut fabric out flat.

* Fold the cut piece of fabric lengthwise with the  right sides facing each other. Each end should have a curved side.

* Pin the fabric in place and then start sewing from one end of the curve and across the straight edge to the end of the second curve. Be sure not to sew the ends closed.

* Turn the fabric right side out and poke out the curved corners with your finger (or carefully with the end of a pair of scissors).

* Fold one open end over about 1/4" and then tuck other end in to it. Pin and sew together using a zigzag stitch.

* Use a straight stitch (or zigzag if you prefer) to add a finished edge to the ear warmer along the seam.

Note:
* This pattern is for a large child hat size that will also likely fit a small adult head. Add an extra 1/2" to the  fold side of the pattern to enlarge for a full adult size.

* Do not sew the top folded part of the ear warmer as that will give it an awkward sit on the head. The fold will better curve to the contour of your head without stitching there. 

 Once you cut the pattern out, unfold the fleece. It should look like a long wide band.

 Fold the fleece lengthwise and pin in preparation of sewing the ends together.

 Be sure to leave the end edges (note the edge my daughter is holding in her left hand) open so you can turn it right side out.

 Poke out the corners on each end with your thumb or finger.

 Fold one open end over about 1/4" and then tuck other end in to it. Pin before sewing together.

 The zigzag stitch will ensure the piece can stretch without breaking the seam open when pulling on and off the head.
 

 The finished product took my 13-year-old about a hour to make from start to finish.

 For beginner sewers, choose fabric with a small repeating pattern. But as kids get the hang of the pattern, they can experiment with lining up characters on the front (like the cat or sport's logo) to make their own customized ear warmer.

The pattern - not to scale online. The print version in Raising Maine Magazine's January 2011 edition is the correct size to cut out.



Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine January 2011

Winter gear sizing causes math challenge

I'm not a fan of math. I can figure out sale prices easily, having spent my entire life in search of good ones. But when faced with figuring out cross country ski boot sizes for my kids each year, it takes a while for me to recall my basic math skills.

Because here is the reality when you have active kids like I do and have to figure out sizing for each sport's equipment: The term “standard” does not fit with footwear for winter sports.

Ice skates need to fit snugly and some of the figure skates brands run large, some small. But skates run in street shoe sizes so parents can estimate fairly accurately the size skates their child will likely need. At least you'll have a place to start when choosing a pair for your child to try on first.

Downhill ski boots are mondo point sizing, which is an international measurement for downhill boots and requires it's own sizing chart. But even if you know your child's street shoe size for ice skates and maybe even their mondo size for downhill boots, you still need yet another sizing chart for cross country ski boots. Those run in euro sizes.

Keeping up with kids and winter sports footwear can be a bit mind-boggling.

For adults these various sizes aren't too hard to keep track of because your foot size generally doesn't change. But add a child or two and every year you're going to spend some time scrambling to figure out what size boot each child needs.

Since my family enjoys all these winter sports, I often find myself doing a measurement in both metric and Imperial to ensure I know what size each child's foot is for each of their sports' boots. This makes me feel a bit more confident while I scour my second-hand sources, online retailers and seasonal rental options for their sizes without needing them to try something on.

There are some children's sizing charts available that convert street shoe size to euro but I have found street sizes all run differently depending on the brand of shoe. This is true for sports footwear as well but at least with an actual ruler measurement of my child's foot, it can help ensure a more accurate fit.

My kids have rented their cross-country ski equipment from the Healthy Hometowns Program through the Maine Winter Sports Center. The center offered a tip on assessing a child's euro boot size when we first started renting its equipment that I have found helpful - and more importantly, accurate.

To measure a child's foot, have them put their heel up against the wall. Take a ruler with Imperial measurement markings (inches) and record the measurement from the wall to the tip of the child's toe. This next part is the piece that a lot of people don't understand. To convert the measurement into euro you need to round up to the nearest 1/8 of an inch.

For instance, my daughter's foot length this year was 9 3/4” which corresponds to a size 41 euro. But when I add the 1/8 of an inch on to her measurement, that bumps her up to a size 42 euro. When I asked her to try on both sizes, it was the 42 euro boot that actually fit her.

It's a bit confusing so why bother to figure this sizing stuff out for your kids?

Because there are a lot of online and/or second-hand deals to be had and that can save you a lot of money when outfitting a whole family with cross-country ski gear or any sort of sports equipment.

No matter how you slice it - in centimeters or inches - when you have kids with an interest in winter sports you're going to have to do some math. You might not get much help with the ruler measuring but you might want to keep a calculator handy for the addition - or more accurately subtraction - when tallying up your final costs. 

Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, January 2011