Posted on by agilejack

Fish Soup and Dorothy in a Hat

Rico and I had a sheep herding lesson this morning. After several days of rain we were blessed with cloudy but dry skies and sheep with pink toupees.

We worked on shedding today. Shedding is basically where the dog and handler work together to split a group of sheep and let one group or sheep leave while you hold the other group. It’s really challenging for both me and Rico. And that Rico is such a good boy. He worked so hard today and it was so much fun to see him think so hard.

Here’s a video of a very accomplished and national trial winning sheepdog handler and dog doing a shed. Rico and I are NOT at this level! this is really spectacular.

After our herding lesson we hightailed it home to get all our stuff together to head down to Hopewell, Oregon, for our Finnish potluck dinner. I prepared all the things I needed for my salmon soup last night so all I had to do was toss stuff in the cooler and hit the road. I made the soup at my friends place because it’s a simple recipe and I didn’t want to cook the fish until the last minute.

I have to say, this recipe is a keeper! I was not quite sure until I put the dill on top after I dished up the bowl, and that was just what it needed!

Look at all that butter sitting on top of the broth! It was just a little rich and decadent. But definitely a recipe I’ll keep and serve again.

There were only four of us at the dinner. We had a couple casseroles, some lovely sweet rolls and my soup.

It was fun to see everyone. One of or friends was unable to join us because she has Covid. But we took her some food and left it on her fence post.

While we were there I took my boys out for a run after dinner. The property next door has all kinds of animals. We really stirred the curiosity of the llamas.

And when one of the horses saw that the llamas were interested, she came running! Bender let her know that he appreciated her.

He’s such a good dog. I think the horse was disappointed that we didn’t feed her.

The skies were beautiful on the drive home. This was at about 8 pm. Oregon has some amazing skies.

Once I got home I fed the boys their dinner and then we took a quick two-mile walk.

When we got home I hit my sewing room and sewed up the hat that I cut out yesterday.

I really like this one. That fabric feels vintage to me, and the colors are so wonderful. It feels like it will be a well loved hat the day that it has its debut. Maybe I’ll have to keep this one too.

Here’s a few more images to soak in all that gorgeous fabric.

I’m hoping to get out and play some pickleball tomorrow morning but the weather isn’t looking very positive. I’ll check in the morning but I’m thinking it will be a pickleball free day.

I’ll join some friends for dinner later in the day.

40 Replies to “Fish Soup and Dorothy in a Hat”

  3. Just stopped to say how much I enjoy your blog 🙂 It is quicker to email than try to remember my login to comment there .. Great hat. I love watching dogs working with sheep. What I would also love is your fish soup recipe – it looks delicious!!!! I now have a hankering for fish soup.. LOL Ciao for now Roma

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  4. I second your sharing the salmon soup recipe. I eat salmon every way possible but I’ve never had salmon soup!
    What weight interfacing are you using in the brims? I’ve used heavy and light weight but think I’m going to try s medium weight as neither seems perfect. Two of mine go to my daughter and great son in law today. They’re definitely “hat worthy”! Tomorrow a friend is buying me lunch for making one for her… with her materials! Good deal!!! These are great fun and good for using small pieces of leftover favorite fabric. I’m thinking about trimming a left over block to use for the top. That would make it a “Franken Bucket”! Maybe piecing the crown too.

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    1. Here’s the soup recipe. I shared it on my blog a few days ago: https://food52.com/recipes/73800-lohikeitto-finnish-salmon-soup

      I’m using Pellon Med weight non woven fusible interfacing. 931TD. Joann’s carries it. I buy many yards when it’s on sale or wwhen I have a coupon. I use it on all the hat pieces. It’s got some structure and body but is still soft and comfy.

      I’m looking at all the scraps these hats are generating and am thinking of some kind of scrappy approach. That might be up next! I feel the need for something more creative.

      Anne

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  6. Oh,my! You made me hungry 🤤 again! The soup sounds luscious but the casserole on your plate doesn’t look shabby either! Recipes? The line of llamas watching Rico is too cute. Your day sounds perfect 🤩

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  7. So fun to read this all, chock full of everything! The animals are so interested and so interesting. OH, and that fabric….I’m with you, bought lots of it. I’m with the others, as would love to share the recipe with my BIL’s Finnish partner, they get together w/others for Finnish dinners too! I have some dill popping up and never heard of a salmon soup, looks divine. Love your sky and dog pic, both keepers for sure!!

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  8. We were on a GoAhead tour of Ireland in May of 2018 and stopped along the Ring of Kerry to watch this sheepherding exhibition.
    I have the video marked Private but I’m hoping this link will let you access it. So fun to watch. The other voice you hear is the German translator for another group of tourists watching with us.

    The other Irish question I have for you comes from our 2011 non-guided tour. We were around the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin and kept seeing sheep with the colors on them. What is the meaning of the pink paint on those heads in the first photo?

    I love the colors on the hat.

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    2. they use the dye on the sheep to mark them. So maybe they’ve all been treated for something, or they need to keep them as a group for some purpose. They even use dye packs on rams when they’re breeding… each ram gets a different color in a chest pack and they leave that color on the ewes they mount, so you can see which ram bred with each ewe… so you can keep track of the pedigrees of your lambs.

      Anne

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  9. Sheep with pink toupee’s? Is there a reason for – I am assuming pink dye?
    Interesting shedding video. Rico and the horse look like good buddies ❤.
    Sweet Llama’s too!
    Another beautiful bucket hat!
    Our local grocery store had wild sockeye salmon for $22.00 lb. Yikes. What type salmon did you use in your soup? Looks like a fun and delicious potluck 😋

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    1. They use the dye to mark the sheep for some purpose… maybe they were all treated with a dip, or they had their hooves trimmed, etc… It’s an easy way to keep track of groups of sheep at a glance.

      I bought the only salmon that my local organic grocery store had at 10 pm! I think it was Atlantic. Which is odd since I’m in the Pacific NW. I didn’t have many options. But it was good!

      Anne

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  10. Love the photo of you in your latest hat. I think of the phrase “let the fabric do the work”! I’m still showering my creativity into Japanese Rice Bags.

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  11. I love your hats and would love to try making one for myself. I have a very small-sized head (head size: 20.5″ – hat size: 6-1/2 to 6-5/8. Can the pattern you’re using be sized down for me? Thanks!

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    1. You can print the hat at different percentages to size the pattern differently. My head is 23 inches and 105% fits me well. 100% is probably good for a 22 inch head. So you might want to try one printed at 95%. You might have to make one and see how it fits and adjust from there.

      Anne

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    1. Curious animals like that just make me laugh! I think they were all hopeful I would give them a handful of grass over the fence. They were so disappointed in me.
      Anne

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