Monday, July 18, 2011

Alligators in the Toliet!

I finished the afghan I made for my nephew and his lady love as a wedding present. Since there is some trouble in paradise with the parents on both sides, I am not sure when or where the wedding is going to be. Both parents have grandiose ideas of where and how they want the wedding. The lovely couple want simple and friends, etc. They have stated quite plainly that they will just elope and the parents can have the wedding they want without them. We will see what will happen.

In the meantime, I finished their little gift. I mailed it off to them and it should be there today or tomorrow. Let them enjoy it this Fall and know that I love them and want them to be warm and happy.

Have you heard of the urban stories of snakes or alligators in the toilet that come up and bite you on the butt? That is not the same story of the outhouses that have to be kicked before entering stories. Well I have proof that strange things show up in toilets.


I didn't have on my glasses. When I looked into the bathroom, I saw a piece of gray dryer lint on the inside of the toilet. It was too big to be a wad of hair, so it had to be dryer lint. When I got closer I saw it was actually a gray tree frog.


The only way one could find its way to this bathroom was with Noodles help. He probably brought it in and lost it. As soon as it disappeared, he lost interest and it moved in. Well, I will say this was one lucky tree frog day. I didn't pee on it or flush it down the toilet. I took it back outside where it truly would be happier, even in this draught.

I have been watering every day, but I am afraid I am going to lose a lot of things. It is promising to be 100 plus degrees every day this week. I can't do anything outside in the heat of the day. I get up early just to sit out on the screened porch and have breakfast. The rest of the day has to be indoors and air conditioned.


My cousin and his wife and grandson stopped by for a quick visit on their way home to Virginia. I got an email this morning that he sent yesterday afternoon. There are still things he needs to get out of the house and garage, but I think he and his sister are going to rent out the cabin and house. At least they will be used and lived in.


I am spinning some weird wool roving that I got from CJE a while back. It has a slick processed feel to it. She says the thrift store got it in and called her about it. She has spun some of it, and it washes up nicer than it feels while spinning. I plan to overdye the yarn once spun. It is a blah light brown now, and I think it needs something to jazz it up.


I am turning the heel on the number two purse sock. I picked up some other sock yarn the other night to try out a pattern I found. I spent some time trying to get it to look right, and it didn't. I ripped that out and put the yarn back. The next night I tried a coupla more patterns, and finally I found a pattern I really like. So now I have another pair of socks started. Isn't that stupid? Oh, well.


I am almost through with the sleeves on the handspun sweater. I am itching to start the body now. The wool feels really squooshy and I love to squeeze it. It is merino, of course, and it is going to have a really nice hand to it. I am so in love with this yarn. I just hope this sweater turns out okay, because I will be disappointed if I don't get to wear it.


Nothing else new. Just trying to stay cool and less humid so I can spin and knit. I need to do some sewing, but.....


Stay cool, stay creative, and keep challenges at bay.




Friday, July 8, 2011

Obsessions and Life!

I think I am finally at the point where my "hobbies" are my life and that is just fine with me. I am reflecting some today, because yesterday two friends told me they are retiring. Both are knitters, and one plans to get into her weaving more and the other plans to get into her spinning more.

My advice is there is no advice. I wake up every morning and then have to decide what day it is in the "real" world outside my little sphere of being. I go through morning chores, and then I decide what has to be done today. Then again, all that can change when someone calls me and says, "Can you come over and help me with ........?" So then I stop and go and come back and my focus is off and then I may just sit down and knit for a while.

I find I don't have to do laundry more than once a week. There is more laundry in the summer because I do yard work and I do change my clothes more often. I have enough underwear so I don't have to stop and do a load of wash just to have clean undies. I still remember when I had to do a quick laundry of clothes for work because suddenly I realized at 10 pm that the pants or shirt I needed was dirty. Or that I was needing something that was not in the closet and sure enough, it is in the laundry basket.

Also, if you are eating lunch in front of the tv, you can watch that show in the middle of the day. No more having to tivo something to watch "when I can".

With no husband (or significant other) or children, I can spread my stuff out all over the place. I can put the blocking board out on the guest bed and leave it until the knitted piece I am blocking is dry. I can put the warping board up and count out my warp threads without worrying that someone needs me right now and I have to stop in the middle of the project.

I also don't have to cook all the time. I have stuff in the freezer that I can dig out and fix. I don't mind leftovers, either. If I have something a second day, it's still good. Then the rest can go into the freezer for a later showing.

Do not rush because there are no expectations. There are no rules that say you have to be up and at it by 6 am anymore. If you like getting up at 6 am and want to sit out on the deck and drink your coffee, then do so. But don't feel bad if you read that good book until 2 am and you don't get out of bed until 8 am.

Life is fun, and Life is crazy. There are always changes going on all over the place. But I don't push myself any more and I don't "have" to make choices that I used to make. I may do spinning like crazy for a week while listening to an audio book. I may decide that today is the day to finish up that afghan I am making and I will not budge except to go to the bathroom. I still like to set goals, but they are realistic goals like "I will get this done within the next two weeks."

So to my friends I say, just relax. It will all happen when it happens. Just work on the small stuff for a while before settling into the big stuff. You are going to enjoy the freedom of providing yourself your own entertainment.

Best of luck, and good health to both of you. Have a good beginning of the next phase of your life.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Wow! It's July!

First off-this is a fuzzy picture of a queen anne's lace seed head. Doesn't it look like a basket? I love them. I wish there was a better-not fuzzy-picture. You can see one in the background and get the idea.

This is a fuzzy picture of the blackberry iris that I purchased last Fall when I was on the high road south of Taos. There was a lady on the side of the road with a few plant containers of some local plants. This was the only pot of these, so I got the one. I also bought a pot of purple-ly yarrow, and the flower head is a little bit different from our yarrow. It seems to be adapted to the drier desert air they have there.



I do not know what kind of moth this is. As you can see the wings are transparent. It is very pretty anyway. I hope it isn't what is eating the hostas. I have had a terrible outbreak of grasshoppers with all the dry and hot weather. They have almost eaten my tansy plant down to nubs. I had planned to dye with it this year since it is now established. Well, I am now on Plan B of keeping it alive through the heat and summer. I didn't get to the comfrey in time for dyeing. It has died down until cooler weather comes along.


We did get a brief morning thunder shower yesterday. It was a gentle female rain and cooled things a mite. Until the sun came out and the humidity returned, I opened the doors and windows and aired the house. I was concerned about the neighbors across the ravine and their fireworks burning up the grass. But the rain kept things safe.


Since Patty found where my next door neighbors throw their food waste in the woods, I am now on Patty patrol. I go out with her and monitor her every move. Friday in the heat of the day, she spent most of the day over there. Her stomach was so distended and the farts were horrendous. She has tried several ways to convince me that it is okay for her to go out by herself, but I am not fooled. She has even tried to wait for me to turn my back and get busy in the yard, and then make a dash to the fence. I caught her three times yesterday doing that. The neighbors go to visit relatives this week some time, and I will give her freedom then. When they aren't home, there is no trash in the woods.


I am now plying the turquoise wool. I have downloaded a program to create weave patterns, and I spent a good time yesterday playing with that. I want to dress the loom with my new pattern, but I can't decide what yarn in the stash to use.


I am almost through crocheting the afghan for my nephew. Then wash, block, and mail. Yeah!


I have company coming this weekend, so cleaning is a priority this week. I don't like to clean, but it makes me feel better when I do it.


My cousin is driving with his wife and grandson to their property in Grove next week. He is meeting his sister and brother-in-law, and supposedly they are going to do something about their mother's things. Sigh! I told him it was time when he visited in the Spring. It is a major ordeal to organize a time for everyone to get together. I told him I would come over if he needed me. Otherwise they will drive over here one day to visit.


I guess Noodles has graduated to the big time again. Yesterday while we were out in the yard, he crooked his tail, ran galloping over to the backyard box elder and climbed up high in the tree. I haven't seen him do that since he broke his leg. So I guess he is strong enough now to do that. Isn't that amazing? Maybe I can quit trimming his back nails and let him trim them on climbing. Sometimes even old cats can amaze me!


I guess that is all for now. I baked some cookies and they are cool enough to sample. Then into the freezer for this weekend.


Have a good week. Talk at ya later.