Ramble the Travelling Ram

Well after two wonderful weeks in Minnesota, Ramble is off on his adventure to California. We had a great time while he was here and will miss his quiet presence. Ramble  celebrated Christmas here, helped wrap presents and was able to meet several of my grandchildren. Here are a few more pictures from when we went sightseeing around Minneapolis.

He has been a busy little Ram.  He came to work with me on Tuesday and was a great help with my spreadsheets.  I did catch him eyeing my candy stash, so thinking he might be hungry, we went to lunch.  On Wednesday he got up early, grabbed his hammer and helped the workers install our new windows.  Quite a talented little sheep.  Yesterday, Ramble and I hung out by the fireplace wrapping Christmas presents and listening to Christmas music.  He has a lot of fun with my snowmen and all of my stuffed moose.  Hopefully big plans for the weekend.  Like Ramble I have become mute due to a cold, but am hoping to feel good enough to take him to see the sights this weekend.

Ramble arrived in MN just in time to help my grandson light his menorah. Ramble stayed far away from the flames. He then played with the driedel with blue puppy. He is now relaxing from his trip.

Well, we have had a swell time with Ramble! He is quite the helper I can tell you – we did not get out much, but he did add a certain flair to Thanksgiving!
On his first day here, Ramble came along with me as my friend Amy’s show-and-tell at the Jenkintown Nursery School. Amy is an art teacher, and the teachers had read the story ”Charlie Needs a Cloak” to the 4-year old class, so Amy brought in me, my spinning wheel and some wool. Of course Ramble came along too! Unfortunately I cannot post any pictures from the pre-school, but here is Ramble all ready to go:

Later that evening, since he had been to school and all, he helped my son with his homework. See them here working on a project for the “Future Cities” team.  Amazingly, Ramble is a very good speller.

Thanksgiving dinner was at my house this year, Ramble helped with the cooking, added to the decor, bonded with the turkeys and was generally sociable, contributing many interesting opinions to the dinner conversation.

After dinner, he and my older son enjoyed some cats, a fire and a good book.

The holiday ended and I had some work to do – Ramble helped weight packages for shipping, and of course we had to weigh Ramble tipping the scales at 11.6 ounces.

He is ready to roll, and will head off to his next stop tomorrow. Watch for his new holiday bling!!
Cheers!
Lisa (lasdcm)

So, after a short time here on the prairie, Ramble and I…along with our friends Suzy, Sierra, Mary and Erin headed east. We’d been invited to Juniper Moon Fiber Farm to celebrate the new home of our fav sheep and goats..and to participate in a photo shoot.

It was way early when we set out. Ramble was excited that rather than traveling in a mail bag, he’d actually get to sit in a seat. And very excited to meet his new best friend Sierra. She promised to take good care of him and to make sure he saw all the sights.
He behaved very well on the plane, stayed in his seatbelt, but was really glad to get off in Dallas to meet Mary and Erin. Before long, it was back up in the air on our way to DC.

We had a bit of time to explore DC and Ramble was right there as we gazed at the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the cool neighborhood we got lost in. Then it was off to pick up Lori at the airport (she came from CA)and head out to VA.

Part of that trip was a bit scary but he slept through it..or else he was hiding his eyes. But finally we got to our hotel AND an IHOP…whew were we ever hungry.

The next day found us at the farm where he got to meet Susie and Erin and Paige. We helped around as much as we could, visited with the animals and just generally enjoyed being there.

On Saturday, the excitement reached a new high. The shearer was there! The photographer, the stylist and the writer were there. And loads of “aunties”. So many people wanted to meet him, he was just all a twitter. He was really rather afraid of the shearer. He actually liked his wooly coat. But after she said he wasn’t in the deal he relaxed and even got to sit on her lap.

He just had a lovely time but was sooo tired that he slept all the way home. And after an extended rest, he’s now on his way once again. Stay tuned.

Ramble arrived on Weds. just in time to go to my spinning guild meeting that night. There he met some friends

and got to snorgle in the softest alpaca down I have ever felt.

He checked out all the yarnstorming supplies and helped pack the next box to go out.

He helped Bob install the new faucet for the kitchen,where he admired the wonderful work he had done.

I was sick over weekend so Ramble spent some time meeting the rest of the family.

Yesterday he learned the fine art of cheese making, learning all the steps to a success.

Tomorrow he will be packing for the next leg of his journey. We had a great time with Ramble. I wish we could go with him when he visits the farm, hope everyone has a great time.

(cross posted from Knit Mainea)

It’s been a rather quiet last week here in Maine for dear Ramble… after the excitement of the Dempsey Challenge and being made Jr. Warden, he felt he needed to relax a bit. He’s got a LOT of travelling left to go… he doesn’t want to use up all of his energy now!

On Saturday, Husband and I had a kid-free day so we took Ramble with us to Freeport and Brunswick. He was super excited to sit on the big red couch at The Knitting Experience Cafe…

And to meet Chesley!

Chesley helped me pick out some yarn to make a Hallowig for my friend Dee who is currently undergoing chemo for breast cancer while Ramble hung out and looked at all of the yarn in the shop.

Monday was Columbus Day… and the day of the Spunky Spin-in! On the way down to Lisbon, Lisa, Ramble and I stopped at the Liberal Cup to have a beer. And of course Ramble insisted on getting some pictures!

First, here is Ramble looking at the Kennebec River. I think he was hoping to catch sight of a sturgeon, but alas, we just watched the tide.

Here we are contemplating the tide…

And here is Lisa explaining to Ramble how a *river* is considered tidal water (due to its proximity to the ocean, the Kennebec is affected by tides. It’s pretty nifty!).

Ramble loved looking at the trees turning colors, too… but we’re not yet at peak. Next he wanted to get up close to the bear that sits outside the Liberal Cup.

First he let the bear hold him, but was concerned about the claws.

He thought maybe standing on the bear’s snout would be a safer option.

Once inside, Ramble had a Ramble sized glass of Ex-Wife Extra Bitter Ale.

We had the most fabulous waitress… and Ramble had to flirt a little with her. (By the way, if you happen into the Liberal Cup and sit in her section you will LOVE her!)

After leaving the Liberal Cup we headed down to Spunkytown, AKA Lisbon. Amy (Boogie) was having a special Spin-in to celebrate the fabu David’s visit to the states. David is our Australian hottie… and the proprietor of Southern Cross Fibre. Those of you who are long term readers of Knit Mainea will remember him from my pictures of Rhinebeck last year.

Ramble was thrilled to listen to David’s accent… although he may have forgotten to ask David to say “Crikey!”

And of course no visit to Spunkytown is complete without a snuggle with Amy.

Ramble will be moving on to his next hostess at the end of the week…he’s excited about what the next visit will bring. I, however, will be missing him… it’s been an absolute delight to have him visit!

(cross posted from Knit Mainea)

Ramble has had a whirlwind past few days, so he’s super glad he got a chance to relax the first night he arrived. On Friday he decided he wanted to see what my office was like so he hopped into my bag and came to work. He was only here about an hour before the word spread and friends started dropping by to say hello.

There are a lot of things to check out at the office. After hearing people discuss Wildlife Management Districts, Ramble wanted to take a look at a map to get an idea of what district we were in. Jenna was happy to show him the map in the lawbook.

He then wanted to take a look at the stuff we have in the lobby where the Information Center is. First he tried on a hunter orange IFW hat, but found it to be a little big for his fleece.

Then he chatted with the River Otter in the display.

And finally, he contemplated how the big moose got his head stuck in the wall.

Of course he was also gracious to pose with the hat I’m knitting… the yarn is MVFF goodness… pattern is Claudia.

The most exciting part of Ramble’s day, though, was being made Jr. Warden for the day. This was a huge honor and he was thrilled to be chosen for the position.

On Saturday we went leaf peeping, but it was raining cats and dogs. We both agreed that it would be better for his fleece to be kept out of the rain, so I have no pictures of him outside in the leaves. We’ll try again this week… hopefully the weather will cooperate.

And yesterday was the long awaited Dempsey Challenge! Although we could hear McDreamy speaking from the stage, we could not see him. Ramble was disappointed in not getting his picture with McDreamy, but happy that he was able to participate in the event and walk the full 5K. Here he is posed with my parents, Boy and me… all members of Team Tiger Lily.

After the walk was over, Husband, Boy and I took Ramble around to the informational tents they had set up and into the Gritty’s Beer Tent. Ramble got to have his own cup of Dempsey Challenge Ale.

He also got snuggles from Boy.

Today he’s relaxing while I’m at the office… said something about playing some Mafia Wars on Facebook… and he’s busy planning his last weekend here in Maine… on Monday we will be visiting Spunkytown to hang out with some friends.