Last Week to Get Ready!

I met with JE and CJE yesterday to finalize our plans for the booths and the set-up and all that stuff. I feel much better that we have a sorta kind of plan. Of course, I know that in reality that our intentions could be pure, but we may have to punt and say a few prayers to get everything right once we get there and see the space.

I still have to price and tag a few things. I want to get everything packed by Wednesday evening, but it may be Thursday before things are completed. I am really excited to go, but I am nervous at the same time.

I am getting really close to done on the back of the handspun sweater. Yeah! Just the front to go after that. Of course that is just the knitting. There will be blocking and sewing it together to finish. I am really happy so far. I am glad that I ripped out all the lace and did everything right. I wasn't so happy at the time of trying to get it right, but now I am happy with it.

Noodles' leg is slowly healing crooked. The big bones have found each other and are overlapping. The process at the end of the tibia sticks out and makes a noticeable huge bump to the inside of his leg. He is outside right now on the deck. Yesterday he walked to the edge of property and sprayed a huge amount of urine to mark that part of the territory. Then he went into the brier patch and stayed over in the woods for a while. I worry that some of the wild kitties will attack him while he is unable to fight right now. But he is trying to act normal.

Patty is getting really brave and has found a way out of the yard into the woods. I haven't worried too much since there are briers and woods debris and other blocks to her escape. But she found a hole under the neighbor's fence that allows her access to the back woods. Sigh! What a difference from that meek, scared little dog a few months ago!

I probably won't be writing this week, and I suppose I will be doing what I am supposed to be doing-getting ready for the show next weekend. Sigh!

Have a good week. I hope this weekend has been relaxing for everyone.

Gratitude Week!

Gratitude is the fairest blossom that springs from the soul.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

This is the week that I remind myself that I have so much to be grateful for. It is often hard to sort through the emotions and the ego that say, "I wish........"

Noodles was able to get out of his cast, and is now quite happy that he doesn't have to drag that thing around. I had a conference with my vet, and she finally agreed that the best thing to do is leave him alone. The bones may never heal together, but hopefully it will eventually heal without infection. Noodles is part Bengal, which is still a wild cat. He is used to being outside, in the bushes or woods, and he is a hunter. He has been learning to be three-legged. He is ten years old. Sigh! Sometimes decisions are hard to make. But he is happier and he is monitoring himself pretty well.

The frogs are calling for rain. It is so warm today and it is hard to believe this is Thanksgiving Week. The weatherman says that a cold front is coming in for Thanksgiving, and that it will be really blustery and cold. Okay! I can't watch the parades without some holiday chill.

Patty finally got a bath this morning. I couldn't stand the smell any longer. I washed all the bedding, too. Later this afternoon we are going to do a little bit of grooming-nails, ears, trim. She looks really shaggy, but I hate to give her a traditional cut in the winter.

I know that all the folks on the t.v. say people are buying more, and that people are out in the stores more. But I made a quick trip to the mall to Penney's to look for a tablecloth for the show in a coupla weeks. I purposefully went at opening, thinking I could beat the crowds. There were no crowds, and there were big empty parking lots. There were sales people that are jumpy and really willing to help out. I went across the street to go to Home Depot, and that lot was pretty vacant too. It was so weird. I was wondering if I was in some kind of alternate dimension.

Not much to report. I am only knitting on the pink fair isle socks and my handspun sweater. I am spinning some yarn that I dyed with sage last Fall. It is hard to be a nurse and mom and do all the other stuff.

Yesterday we had a little group at our sock club meeting. We met at SDH's house, and that was really nice. I kinda like this meeting at people's houses. It is more intimate. We will skip December, and start again in January.

Have a good Thanksgiving! Enjoy the feast.

Broken Bones!

Sometime Thursday evening between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., Noodles got into a fight. I was at the Thursday Night knit group, and when I got home I was trying to get dinner ready, etc. I heard a funny noise in my studio-his food bowl is there-and when I peeked in, he was standing kinda funny. I then saw the wounds and the blood. I grabbed him to check it over, and his rear foot just flopped.

Friday he went off to the vet's office for the day. She did not want to cast it since he had wounds. But when she looked at the x-rays she knew she had to do something. He broke both the fibia and tibia right above the knee joint. They were really severe. Being an occupational therapist, I could tell right away this was serious. But when I saw the x-rays, my heart just sank. This was going to take a long time to heal.

It was a very long tedious weekend. Finally yesterday I gave up, opened the door, and said, "Go for it." He is much better in the attitude department since I have given him some modified freedom. He is not an indoor sissy cat, and he wanted out of this house. I had a terrible time with the potty business. Now he is allowed to go out in some of his favorite places.

I really don't care if his leg heals perfectly at this point. I just wanted to respect him and try to give him some freedom. Today he has a plastic bag and little sock over the lower part of the cast since we had rain last night.

This is much like having a toddler with an attitude. He is no longer on any pain meds, and I am hoping maybe the uncomfortable part of the cast will slow him down a little bit.

And to top it off, I was eating some scrambled eggs and toast this morning. I felt something stuck in between two back teeth. I have really close teeth in the back, and I am always digging stuff out with floss. I put my fingernail in there, and out popped a piece of tooth that chipped off. Now we are talking about a rush to the dentist. I go tomorrow morning. I am going to my friend AE, and maybe that will help my dental phobia some. At least he knows me. Strangers never seem to take it seriously when I tell them I don't go to the dentist regularly because of my fear.

JE came over to visit Saturday after the Weaving Guild meeting. She was surprised when I told her over the phone about Noodles. It was good to have someone there to help distract me from being so worried. She is making some really pretty counting bracelets to sell at our booth at Mt. Magazine. I have gotten distracted from what I was doing last week. I need to get back on track again.

I was digging around in my basket yesterday, and I found my last pair of gloves in the bottom of the basket. I guess I never finished the fingers. I have two fingers and a thumb to finish. I think I can do that without thinking. I tried to do my fairisle socks yesterday, but I couldn't concentrate. And I am not doing any lace on the handspun sweater for the same reason. I messed it up once, and it was such a pain to repair.

I found these mushrooms in the back yard in a wood chip pile. The color is accurate. I cannot find them in my i.d. book.




I have to go peek out the back door now and check on the kid. He gets this look on his face if I stick my head out and ask him if he is okay. People don't understand that he and I have always been able to communicate pretty well. A friend of mine once told me that she was impressed that both my cats always looked people in the face as if they could understand what that person was saying. She said most cats do not make eye contact and they certainly don't appear to be listening.

Patty has been totally oblivious that anything is wrong. She is pretty upset that she is not the center of attention right now. Dogs!


Have a good week. Catch up with everyone later.

Happy Six Months to Miss Patty!

Miss Patty has been here 6 months today! I am letting her hair grow out through the winter. She is happy, healthy, and getting so much braver than the first time I showed you her photo.

She is now spending a lot of time outdoors during the day by herself. A lot of time means maybe 20 minutes. When your bravery is measured in minutes, that is a long time.

I think I have finished all my outdoor chores for the Fall. I am always getting myself into some kind of mess that reminds me that I am now in my sixties, and there are reasons to call someone to do chores. But -no!- I can do this one myself! Yeah! Right! It took me all day long to do this chore.

I have always wanted my gas cylinder bell in a different location, but my neighbor snuck over in the early morning hours of my first week in the house and hung it in the tree by the deck. When there is full leaf on all the trees, it does not catch a good wind. I have full knowledge that it is very, very heavy, and hard to hang. So I left it.

When I went to Taos I found two galleries that had these same kinds of bells-just fancier, of course- and that made me want mine in a good wind place. So I have been studying this for a month of where to put the silly thing. There are no trees, except the one that it was mounted on.

And how am I going to mount this thing. So I found this cast-iron thingie that I thought would be sturdy enough. Then I decided I wanted it in a place that someone would not be able to steal it.

Sunday I climbed up my extension ladder about 13 feet off the ground and tried to screw in the cast-iron thingie. Well- the screws just would not go in, and it took many trips out and up the ladder to finally get that done. Then I decided maybe it really wasn't strong enough, so I put something over the support piece to support that.

Okay! Now I had to remove the bell from the tree location, and I got out the eight foot stepladder. That took a lot of effort, strength, and at least three trips to do that. I mean this sucker is heavy! I rested a little bit, and contemplated how I was going to carry that heavy thing up my extension ladder 13 feet and get it onto the cast-iron thingie!

But it is done. Everything groaned a bit when I placed it onto the support. It held. If it falls, nothing will break. I would just have to repair the wood. But my god, it took me all day to do this. And I really was shaky in the arms by the time I finished this last part.

I got the stalks cleaned out of the garden, and the pokeberry stalks cut back. I got some grass cleaned out of the front bed. It is too dry to pull out much grass. I got the rain barrel and spout cleaned out of all leaves and gunk. I disconnected the rain barrel for the winter. I cleaned out the gutters this morning of leaves directly under the tree.

A little bit of spinning going on. This is the orange, happy yarn that I finished last week. I am spinning on my sage dyed Romney right now , and I am not working really hard. I am finished with my toddler-sized socks, and almost done with the last pair of fingerless mitts.

I am starting to get labeling done for the Fiber Extravaganza at Mt. Magazine.

Oh-speaking of Mt. magazine, my son RC and his fiance HJ are getting married at Mt. Magazine on January 22, 2011. And yes, it will be cold! And yes, they want to have the ceremony at the scenic gazebo outdoors!

So back to work. Did anyone see the Conan O'Brien American Express commercial in India making his curtains for his show? Too funny!

Perseverance!

Wow! I am back on track with my homespun sweater! It took over 4 un-knitting tries and much, much concentration. Last night there was victory! I am to the point of decreasing the armholes! I really thought that maybe I was retarded. I just could not get the unknitting to get to a point of figuring out the pattern. I was off my count by two stitches. During CSI last night I took a deep breath, unknit the last row one more time and found the two stitches and was able to get my lace rows on track! WHEW! What a mess.

I also took these blurry photos with my old camera. I did buy a new camera, thought it was easy to use, and it isn't as easy as I thought. Somehow the old camera has forgotten to tell me that there is an error 45, so I did get two shots for the blog.

The reason I took the photo of the marigolds in the weeds is because I did not plant marigolds, I was weeding one day and saw them over to the side. Volunteers are nice to have, but so late in the season is another thing. I did not weed around them, and I am letting them re-seed themselves again. Another perseverance example, huh? I have not "felt" good for a coupla days. I decided maybe I just need to rest and get myself back on my own schedule again. So yesterday I put on the podcasts and made myself spin all day. I was able to find one more little pkg of pin roving that appeared to match the bright orange and yellow yarn I spun. Now that I have finished it-spun and plied-it is not exactly a match. But it is a fraternal twin. I like it.

I like to listen to podcasts or an audible book or something while I am spinning. Especially if I am on a spinning marathon. There certainly is limited interest in t.v. and I especially have been turned off by the election mess. The media is still full of it. As if they can prove anything by talking so much about it. No one knows what is going to happen until it all happens.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my conversation in Tacoma two years ago with another fiber lady that said she belonged to the Slow Fiber Movement. I found a link today for the Slow Cloth Movement. I think this quote from Elaine Lipson sums it up:

"It's not a project or technique; it's a way of working with textiles in any ____ that begins with recognizing the value and beauty making things with integrity and skill." My computer did not print all the way to the side and I can't read the missing word(s) where the blank is. CJE and I talk a lot about only doing things that create joy for us and that we love.

Sometimes I wonder what my perseverance is with this handspun sweater. I got so frustrated when I made the big mistake, recognized it, and was disgusted. I threw it aside for some weeks. But then I was determined to correct the mistake, and that has taken me a week to do. And now I am back on track. I don't think of myself as having a deadline with it; it's just getting it done. It will be a beautiful sweater when completed. It will last a long time. Believe me, the yarn has held up to a lot of unknitting and tugging and poking and pulling. And it is still a nice yarn. Handspun yarn is meant to last a long time.

So I guess I am on the train now with the Slow Fiber Movement. I want to create something I like, something that shows my skills as a spinner and knitter, and yes, it will take me a while to complete it. Actually I have the upper part of the back and the front to knit. Then I block it, and sew it together.

I want to get the dyeing done with the red oak that I have and I have a coupla other things to dye. I looked at the walnut tree, but it appears the squirrels have been busy there too.

So keep working. We have time on our side and we want to use that time wisely. Oh- Fall Back this weekend. I hate daylight savings time. Don't even get me started on that. Have a great weekend.

Happy Election Day!

I am sick-I mean really, really sick- of all the stupid campaign ads. I have gotten so used to just walking away from the t.v. when there is all that crap going on. I mean-Campaign 2010- is the newest slogan!

Anyway, the weekend went pretty fast. We got a late start, and we ended up at our meeting place later than planned. Our ride was waiting on us. It took a major effort to unload all our gear! One would think that we were staying a week or two. But luckily we had eaten in the car while driving, and all we had to do was set up our tents in the dark and settle in.

It was the worst coldest night I have ever spent in a tent. It wasn't just me, either, because everyone in a tent was complaining about being cold. I have spent many nights in a tent with the same sleeping bag, and I have had my tent covered in snow and frost. I have never been as cold as I was Friday night.

Patty was shivering so badly that I stuck her down into my sleeping bag. Now you have to picture me in a mummy down bag with a little dog stuck in the bag. I was not able to zip it totally closed, but I was able to pull it up and around my head.

We got up pretty late, despite all the noise of the early risers. You have to imagine that there are always early risers that start the coffee, start the hot water, and are generally pretty noisy. There were more small, little children than we have had in a very long time. They were pretty raucous and tree-climbing and pretty much having a great time in the woods.

After our Saturday night meal-always a community meal- we had our trick or treat time for the kids. Then there was the spider hunt, which the kids all love. Finally we had a video session with everyone telling their memorable story about Mirkwood. It was the 30th anniversary, and this was a documentation and testimonial video. I snagged one of the couches in the cabin as my sleeping place for the night. It was much more comfortable than a cold tent.

Patty blossomed. She went from person to person and socialized all the whole time. She really won everyone's heart. I was like a proud parent watching her. She actually snuggled in my lap a couple of times during events and took little naps. She pretty much ignored the other dogs. She never barked or made any noises. Oh-and she actually did a First. She drank out of the creek! I was so proud of her. It took a while to figure out she was not going to get a bath, and that it was safe to just drink the water.

I got little knitting done. CJE, JE, and I did get a lot talked about our booth at Mt. Magazine.

Last night my son and his new fiance (notice no longer girlfriend) called to talk to me about their trip. My heart is so full of love and emotion about it that I can hardly express much. She told me she finally is able to talk about the trip without crying. She loved the family ring, and the history behind it. We laughed about their last visit, and how hard it was to keep everything secret and how hard it was getting the ring out of the house without her knowing. They are thinking of a January wedding. Pretty quick!

I have been studying cameras. I have pretty much settled on something, but I have not really gone into the stores to shop for it. I know blogs are pretty boring without pics.

Time to find something to eat. Have a good week!