Solstice Day!

I prepared myself for this change in season by cleaning out things.  It started as a simple cleaning out the underwear drawer to cleaning out three drawers and the closet.  As I accumulated things, I started looking around the house for things that I don't use or don't need.  I ended up with a box that was overflowing, six grocery bags, and a small table.  It felt pretty good to get rid of things.  Luckily the Goodwill folks opened a drop-off branch right down the way from me.  It is close and convenient.

Today I got up early to enjoy the coolness of the morning.  I dropped Patty off at the groomers and I headed south to Boston Mtn. for the spinning guild meeting.  It was a long, long meeting as far as our group meetings go.  There was a lot of stuff to discuss, so I got a lot of crocheting on the baby blanket.  I am really getting tired of the blanket, but I am persevering to try to get it done sooner than later.

I was able to sell some books at the meeting and that made my savings account happy.  I don't know what is going to happen when I run out of friends.  I don't want to get stuck with a lot of books.

After picking up Patty, she and I headed up to CJE's house. JE was visiting and I thought I would check in with them.  It was a good quick visit, but I didn't want to stay away from home too late.

I made a good supper with a baked potato and some barbequed chicken on top of the baked potato. Easy dinner.

Tomorrow I am going to go to an oral storytelling class that is being held on a vintage train.  It should be fun.  I have stories to tell, and that isn't the problem.  It's how to get them out there.

So now to go to do some meditating and some prayer work for this glorious Solstice.  I always think it is the end of summer instead of the beginning.  Oh, well.  For me a new year starts and new goals and plans to be made.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

I Made a Committment

Yesterday I got the invoice for the first 100 books.  Whew!  I am financially in shock right now.  I quickly figured out how many books I need to sell to make the money back.  It is a step through the rabbit hole and I don't know where the crazy queen or the mad hatter or any of them are hiding.

I am presently signed up to do a book signing in four different venues.  It is a teeny-weeny baby step into the unknown.  Hold good thoughts for me world.

I finished the blue skein.  Really, really pretty.  I think I did a good job with the color and the spinning.

My yard is lush and green and wild and out of control.  I know I say this every year, but there is no reigning it in.  I did manage to get the riding mower out today in between rain showers.  We have had the pre-summer stuff of one cloud goes overhead and rains.  After it passes on to the west, the sun comes out.  Hard to get excited about mid-July when the drought hits, but right now it is all green, lush, and wild.

Patty is somehow getting into ticks all the time.  Even with the poison stuff on her, I have to check her over constantly.  Luckily I have figured out that when she starts scratching, I look closely.  I find an average of two or three a day.  Noodles has been indoors more as he ages and the other cat is hanging around.  I have found some on him, but only when he is out foraging.

I just can't get too excited about knitting right now.  I pick it up and knit a few rows, but it is not interesting to me.  I got some new fabric to make a quilt top.  I think what I am planning is taking the striped quilt top that is not appealing to me and make it the backing for the new quilt top.  That way it is reversible.  It's a thought anyway.

So CJE reports she is finally getting well.  She is still taking the super-duper decongestant and the antibiotic.  So I guess she is feeling better.  I think she is still sleeping a lot, but her body is finally healing.

I had a good birthday.  R texted me and we had a nice text-conversation back and forth.  Isn't that funny?  My niece S sent me a picture of flowers on Facebook.  And Google wished me happy birthday.  I guess welcome to modern times, huh?

Not a lot to report.  Just wanted to mention the book.  I am so excited to finally be finished with one part and now the next journey begins.  This is the part I don't really care for-the meet and greet and marketing stuff.  I realize I have to do some of it, but I am not going to kill myself to get it done. I want to have fun with it.

Time to take Patty out and go to bed and read. 

Almost June

I have been a horrible blogger this month.  A whole lot of nothing going on.
-Yard work takes precedence over everything else.  It takes a big chunk of time to mow, trim, and weed eat.
-CJE and I went to Hollister, MO for an OWL (Ozarks Writers League) meeting.  We stayed in an old hotel that has been restored to nice accommodations.  The noise level from the bar and the people in the hallway made me feel as if I was in some dormitory somewhere.  CJE was deadly sick the whole weekend with sinus infection.  Not a lot of fun.  She slept the whole trip.
-CJE and I went to Eureka Springs after OWL meeting, stayed at the Writer's Colony Saturday night, and then attended Books in Bloom on Sunday.  Again, CJE sick, sluggish, and not feeling right. AE called me to talk to her, and we headed home after that.
-Moving slowly, but steadily, along on the sleeve of colorwork sweater.  After ripping out the four inches, I think this time it will stay in.  Looks good to me now. Interesting part- decreases every four rows. Repetitive pattern not so interesting to create, but looks pretty.
-Had a spurt of interest in spinning some yarn, and could not face white.  So dyed it pretty blue color.
The yarn will match my bachelor buttons outside.
-My yard is again covered in bachelor buttons and weeds mixed in those.  I am amazed at my neighbor's abhorrence of the untidiness of everything.  I like it, and I don't care that they don't.  She is afraid of snakes.
-Noodles has decided now to systematically kill off every chipmunk that might be around.  I wish he would kill other rodents, but he has his own menu.
-Patty was boarded while CJE and I were on our weekend trip.  She came home with some weird habits from the other dogs.  Noodles had to slap her down twice until she remembered she was out of control.  Things back to normal now.
-The dreadful privet bushes out front are blooming.  It is a very sickening sweet smell that I am highly allergic to.  Since I keep windows and doors open and sit on the screened porch, there is no avoiding the smell or pollen.  UGHHH!
-I started a barn-raising square.  I had so much trouble with the cast-on and double points.  Gave my one square to CP at LYS, and told her my problem.  I showed her the granny square afghan I am crocheting with the yarn I bought.  JF came in, laughed at me, and said she always teaches people to use the magic loop method.  That was a DUH! moment.  I never thought of that.  She said everyone on Ravelry that had problems used double-points. DUH!
-I had my birthday this weekend.  Weirdest thing-Google had birthday cupcakes, etc. When I pressed the Google logo to see who had a birthday the same day as me, it popped up "Happy Birthday, Juliann".  Now it is strange to know I have a relationship with my computer.  I also got a birthday email greeting from Toyota.  Too strange, huh?

So see not a lot going on.  Just mundane things that occur around here.  Not a lot going on.  I am moving towards sewing, but haven't gotten there.  Goal for the summer is finish the two quilts I started last year.  I want to do some small sewing projects too.  Just moving towards hottest part of summer when I am not as interested in knitting. 

So soon we move into June.  I really like June.  It is a transition month with the Solstice in the middle.  I enjoy the screened porch in the first part of the day, and seek coolness for the hot part of the day.  So come on June-I'm ready for ya.

Patterns of Life

Sometimes I am sad.  Sometimes I am okay.  Sometimes I am happy.  I don't know what regulates all that.  I know that Patty and Noodles are happy most of the time that I am home and on our regular schedules.  Schedules are important to them. 

Today when I woke Patty was smacking her mouth getting her mouth wet after drooling all night.  Noodles was yelling.  I was dreaming a sad dream about my friend that died in January.  So up we go, out the door into the rain, potty time completed for the two of them, and then BREAKFAST!  Food is very important to them.

It is so strange since Noodles can come and go as he wishes with the cat door.  Every night and every day he goes for the first walk with us and the last walk at night.  The rest of the time is his own imaginary free time, until 3 pm.  That's dinner time for the two of them.  Of course, they have to beg for shares of my dinner, but please do not go over the 3 pm time for them.

I also now have wild birds in the mix of schedules.  I cleaned the sugar water for the hummingbirds as scheduled.  I threw out more ground seeds and filled the big feeder.  I have one woodpecker that will "talk" to me if there isn't enough seed.

So I made a promise over the weekend that I will get the sleeve going on my stranded sweater.  It has languished long enough.  I made a commitment to myself to finish this before the heat is on.  Yesterday was a struggle.  I picked up and knitted 131 stitches around the sleeve hole. I counted at least six times, and I got six different numbers.  I finally put a stick in between stitches once 50 was counted twice.  That worked.  I was able to do the first row fine, but the second row had to be completely unknitted.  Sigh!  I finally got the second row finished.  But somehow now the third row is not working.  Double Sigh!

So today after everyone was fed and watered and I finished my emails, I said out loud to myself," Today we are going to get this set up finished and the sleeve moving along."  Here I sit typing instead of sitting in my knitting chair and knitting.

I notice that I have a lot of bumblebees.  I haven't seen as many honeybees as usual.  Some of my etnobotany friends say that is good.  The honeybees are invaders of the bumblebee territory anyway.

Oh, well.

I am turning the heel on the second sock that is commissioned.  I am so over socks right now.  I did decide that my easy-peasy summer project is going to be a barn raising afghan.  It is knitted in squares.  I am using Noro Taiyo sock yarn.  I like the two colorways I chose.  It is begun in the center, and for some reason it took three tries to get the stupid circle to close.  I am real close to done on the first one.

I finally remembered that seeds have to be in the ground by Good Friday!  I remembered on Good Friday.  I know that is not a real rule, but it was my grandmother's rule.  So I seeded some perennials and some sunflowers.  I never get a good crop, but the few sunflowers I get are loved by the finches, chickadees, and nuthatches.  I did plant some dye flowers, but I think my seed was old.  We will see.

Today is a nice soft rain day.  It was going good for a while, but has stopped momentarily.  I think we still need rain.  It hasn't been a bad April, but this is usually a rain month for us.  Weather is so unpredictable any more.  No patterns to follow.

So keep on knitting through the frustrations and keep on trying.  My new motto.  See ya next time.

It Is A Time of Changes

I sometimes wonder about how Life catches up with us some times in the Spring.  We had such a delightful warm spell that was then thrown aside for ugly cold weather.  I will not complain about the rain, and with all the rain we are now in a moderate drought according to the map I looked at online.

We are promised warmer weather by Saturday and for a few days.  Then another chill down.  I am hoping that the major freezes are done.  It isn't so awful when it is cool at night and early morning.  As long as there is warm sun to sit in, I am fine with it.

Along with these changes, my forsythias have decided to open a few buds.  The redbud trees are trying to open their pretty pinky purple buds.  The pasture daffodils are finished.  The henbit is still purple in the yards everywhere.  The Bradford pears are all blooming.  It is all very confusing.

With the seasonal confusion, it seems that everyone I talk to is having some kind of change in her life.  It is very odd.  One friend thinks perhaps it is a magnetic shift.  I certainly don't want the poles to shift in my lifetime.  But a lot of people have folks developing cancer and that is sad.  It is certainly a time of changes.

I am now into my "beginning" panic stage.  I actually have two weeks to be prepared.  The three or four days before the show is errands run, hair cuts, etc.  No time to make something.

My friend OS is visiting her cabins in Oklahoma for her Spring visit.  I will call her tomorrow.  I do not have much time to spend with her this trip.  I hope she is understanding of that.  My cousin is making his annual visit a week from this Saturday.  So time to spend with him too.  It is a busy month.

I am done with the knitting for this show.  I think I have enough, if that is in fact real.  How do you have enough?  I am still trying to get the loom warped to make a cotton scarf.  The weaving will not take long.  I will just have to make a time to just do it.  I am spinning bison/silk roving right now that is luscious.  I have a goal set to complete the second bobbin by this weekend.  Then the plying, washing, and blocking.  That will probably be all I will have time to complete.  I will see.

I was just standing at my west window admiring the sunset tonight.  We haven't had many sunsets in the past week.  It was a gorgeous deep pink, salmon, and gold.  Really magnificent.

I ordered a Square to put on the IPad .  I am anxious to try that out.  It will be nice to take credit and debit cards.

Not much else is new.  Patty found a composted veggie pile behind my neighbor's house.  The cat ate the little chipmunk I had been admiring earlier that day.  I thought he and Baby had eaten them all when I first moved in.  I was so happy to see one.  The woodchuck is happily eating greens from the bachelor buttons.  Today he/she ran a squirrel off that was quite amusing while window watching.

I am ready to plant some sunflower seeds and other flower seed.  I have to assure them that there is an end to the frost.  I know that drought will get them if I don't get them planted soon and germinated.  My little Japanese Indigo plants are slowly growing.  I talk to them regularly.  I have a bed prepared for them, but it will be a while before they are ready to transplant.

So no other news.  I am just tired.  I am ready to do something other than think about this show.  I plan on resting for at least one week afterwards.  Then time to plan the next show.  But rest comes first.

The ball park down the street opened for the season tonight.  That means fireworks on Friday nights.  I guess that is surely a sign that seasons are changing.

Enjoy your weekend.  Enjoy the heat and warmth from the sun.  Yes, there are Spring storms planned, but right now I want to enjoy the heat.

This Has Been A FULL Moon!

I have had a very frustrating electronic week.  I will not go into details right this minute.  I think I will take something for the headache and go to bed.  I think a good cozy mystery is what I need more than anything.

I am really, really close to finishing the green scarf.  Yeah!  I have had a little trouble with my aches with the really cold weather we had.  Now that it has warmed and a little bit of sun appeared, I am fine and dandy.  My knitting slowed tremendously, and now I am in catch-up.

I am spinning some bison/silk blend and it is heavenly.  I am still watching my BBC soaps on Netflix, and enjoying them.  Occasionally I turn to Miss Marple to take the edge off reality.

I will catch up with my blog tomorrow.  Just felt I wanted to vent a little bit of my frustration.

It is getting close to my show in April, and I am almost ready for that.  I am nervous about putting my toes in the water again after so many long years ago.  But I am feeling good about this one.

My friends seem to be having so many problems.  Mine seem so small in comparison. 

Oh-Patty found another decomposing vegetable pile behind my neighbor's house.  YUCK!  STINK!  She had to have a bath yesterday.  And I watched her like a hawk for any pancreas problems that she is prone to.  SIGH!

Okay-now I have to go lay down and forget the electronic world-except for my Kindle, of course. 

It Must Be Time!

Time for the Snow Tire and Daffodil Festival!  It has been really warm and windy, and now the new front is supposed to bring a mixture of rain, sleet, freezing rain, ice, and who knows what.  I worry about ice on power lines more than anything else.  I do need to recharge two of my batteries before then.  Isn't this crazy.

Blogger is again not letting me upload photos.  I wish they would get their s__ together. 

I finished one pair of the commissioned socks, and I am on the heel of the second sock on the second pair.  I want these to be DONE!  I am so over the sock business.  I am dreadfully behind in my inventory for the fiber show in April.  Oh, well.

I am also spinning along on the merino I got from HandHeld.  It is gorgeous stuff.  I am almost finished with the second skein's singles.  Then plying, then DONE!

I have had a minor little bug, and my head is full of fluid.  I mope around from room to room, but I am not sick enough to go to bed.  If I am in the front room, I knit.  If I am in this room, I spin.  I did lie down a little while yesterday and read my good book. 

It is really dark outside.  I hate the waiting part of a storm of any kind.  There is a frenzy at the bird feeder that is a telling sign that weather is moving in.

Not a whole lot going on.  It is that time of year where the anticipation is more exciting than the actual weather.  It isn't Spring yet, but soon.  We have had a bit of rain, which bodes well for us.  We are still in drought, but hopefully we will have a wet Spring to help out.  I am debating about planting Spring greens-lettuce and spinach.  I have seed potatoes, but not yet on that. 

Noodles has really been hunting lately, but so far he hasn't brought any kill into the house.  Today he is curled up in bed.  I bet his leg aches.  Mine does. 

Stay safe.  I am going to plug in some batteries and line things up just in case.

Another Dreary Gray Day!

I have been a very poor blogger lately.  I seem to be working constantly on spinning, knitting, or weaving.  Yet-there seems to be little of interest to show.  I finished my winter sweater.  It fits perfectly, and I like it a lot.  The targhee brown wool is perfect for a tough-wearing sweater.  It is my go-to favorite sweater to wear now.  The pink is my handspun from my stash.  I did not remember it being varied colored, but there it is.

I did make one of those pretty little bags in the Jane Austen Knits Fall 2012 issue.  I used leftover yarn from stash.  I lined it with a soft fabric from an old dress.

And I did a little bit of dyeing.  This is kota (Navajo tea) that has been languishing around in my stash of dye materials.  I did two batches of wool, and the second has a softer duller yellow.  The fabric was the cloth I used to strain out the bits of dyewood.  So I washed it, and after ironed it is in my pile of hand dyed fabrics.  I poured some of the dye liquor into a gallon jar and added some silk fabrics I had in a pile of stash fabrics.  I left it to dye in the sunlight for three or four days.  They are very nice, too, and they are now in the pile of hand dyed fabrics.

I am on sockie two of another pair of socks.  I am knitting a sontag, and I have started a pair of fingerless mitts with some handspun yarn I found in my stash.

I finally kicked myself in the butt and finished the kitchen towel that I hated on the loom.  I then found some larger yarn in my drawer of dishcloth yarn.  I finished that towel in one day.  I am going to finish one more towel and get the loom free to do something fun.  I will have 4 kitchen towels, and one of my friends wants the last one.  It will have some funky colors in it that she likes.

I sold a pair of socks on my website!  And I have an inquiry about some of the handspun yarn.  Whew!  I guess I am waiting for lightening to strike, because not much has been happening there. 

My lesson today has been about Flickers.  I know them as large woodpeckers that are sometimes a nuisance.  One cabin I lived in had a flicker that beat on the wall every day at the same time-very early in the morning! 

When I looked out my back door today I saw a large bird that was pecking along the ground.  It was much bigger than the robins out there.  I got my bird book and sure enough, I was right, it was a flicker.  I have never seen them peck on the ground.  As I was reading the description, habitat, etc. in the bird book, it mentioned that flickers are the only woodpecker that pecks the ground.  It was searching for beetles and larvae. 

My other lesson is harder for me today.  My friend CF came for an overnight last night.  She drove from Jasper, and left her dog here.  She met her daughter in Fayetteville for a night at the symphony.
This morning when we pulled up the covers, her dog had "dug" a spot on the quilt.  It will need major repair.  Sigh!  My friend OSM's dog peed in three rooms with carpeting.  Now this one dug a mess into my quilt.  Sigh!  Sigh! Sigh!

Something came into the backyard last night.  Noodles woke me up with caterwauling at the back door very early at 5 am.  Patty would not leave the house after the initial pee break.  One time I took her out, she shivered and shook and ran back onto the deck.  Noodles has been outside patrolling all day.  He has been watching the edges of the property and smelling everything.  He comes in, roams around the house, and then he is back outside on his duty rounds.  My friend's dog went all over the back yard with her nose down smelling.  I did find some scat in the middle of the yard that looks like small mammal-maybe raccoon or possum.  I found coyote scat last week, but that is not so unusual.

So I guess that is all that is new and exciting around here.  Another dreary weather day.  We have been unusually mild while elsewhere it is freezing.  We were to have some rain today, and we haven't.  It is reported that we are to have a Spring-like storm on Tuesday.  Maybe, maybe not.  The birds have been feeding in a frenzy, which is a sign of weather change.  I believe them more than the weather man. 

So back to plying.  Have a good week!

What To Do On A Cool, Rainy Day!

Unlike the bored dog, this is the best solution to what is happening outside the house!  It is around 65 degrees, raining, and not very pleasant if you have to go outside.  So why not just cover up the nose and bury your face, and sleep through all the mess?

Otherwise, the bored dog is bouncing around and cannot settle!  What a nutcase!

I am almost finished with the Sheep Heid hat.  I am down to the final row on the rams horns, and then on to the final bit of decreasing.  Yeah!  I did cast on the brown Targhee wool I got from Ozark Carding Mill.  Gail told me it is from their own sheep that they sold when they moved to Oklahoma.  And that is all on the knitting front.  Two projects.  I am going to cast on a shawl as soon as I finish the hat.  I am seriously eyeing the bowl of sock yarn.  Hmm!  More socks?  Fingerless mitts?  Hmm!

Well, I went to Knitting Group last night.  I was a bad girl and went down to Hugo's and ordered a blue cheese burger.  OMG!  It was so good!  C shared the burger with me.  Thank goodness!  Then I topped it off with a piece of the coffee cake that D brought.  So much for the 5 pounds I lost!  I only knit two rows on the winter sweater beginnings.  Oh, well, I socialized some.  That's important.

CJE and AE returned from their trip to Indonesia.  She sounded excited and still on adrenaline when I talked to her on Wednesday.  It appears the moms did okay while they were gone.  Neither had a crisis, and neither one had to go to the hospital. 

So now I am going to eat some lentil soup and see about the decreases on the hat.  I want to get that done.  I think I am going to use a balloon to block it.  I'm not sure.  The color I chose for the ewes is not very dark, so I may go back and embroidery around them after I block it. 

Tomorrow is Spinning Guild.  I have to go because I am supposed to bring the door prize for the day.  I want to take my sweater to the craft store for the fiber art show in a few weeks.  I am going to combine everything I can in the one trip to conserve on gas.

My friend OSM is coming from California soon, and I am waiting on her call.  I think she is going to her cabin in south Oklahoma first.  If so, Patty and I will drive down for a coupla days.  There is a historic marker we are looking for down there.  We will see.

Have a safe and warm weekend.  After all this rain, I will certainly have to mow again.  But the temps are supposed to be much milder.  Fall is coming too fast around here.  We are still having the hot days, but then we are increasing in the cool days.  I noticed that the light is changing pretty quickly also.  Sigh!  I hate the darkness of the coming months.  Oh, well, nothing I can do about it but be grateful for a warm house and warm food. 

So off to lentil soup and cornbread.  Then onward to the hat.

Knitters Like to Party!

 This is our newest member of our knitting group!  She was born July 31, and she is such a beautiful baby!  She and her mommy and daddy got lots of nice things.  Our group always makes a blankie for new ones in the group and that was given to her very early on. 

We had so much food it was sickening.  I thought it was nice to bring gooey brownies made with Ghiradelli chocolate, but Tina brought coconut macaroons, and tarts!  Then there was cheese, chips, crackers, cupcakes, fruit, and Molly's surprise.  Something like Maui Wowie-homemade ice cream with Kahlua, macadamia nuts, chocolate drizzled on top with sprinkled nuts, and then she put whipped cream on top of all that.  I did not eat that.  I did not want the sugar overload.  My gosh! 

It was loud, it was fun, and it was more than any baby should sleep through.  But she did!

I took Patty with me, and she was very good.  She nosed around until more and more folks arrived.  She settled under the table and watched me.  At one time she heard the baby making noises, and she looked for that.  But otherwise, quiet and well-behaved.  And she ignored the shop cat, Sasha. 

I did go to the County Fair, and the man actually asked me if I was a senior when I got to the gate. That was nice.  It was senior citizen day and admission was free. I saw a bunch of animals, and I looked over my friends' lovely things in the exhibit hall.  I met lovely Olivia in the sheep barn.  She had her first sheep, and it was a Jacob.  She told me she drove 6 hours to Missouri to find a "show-quality" sheep.  Since she was still a baby sheep, she did not shear her for the show.  I gave her my card.  I found one French angora rabbit and it was for sale.  I emailed a friend who is looking for another rabbit.  It was very lovely and well-groomed, of course.

So Isaac arrived some time last night.  The wind was interesting up to bed time.  I did not think we got any rain, but when I woke up there is a light rain falling steadily.  Hopefully it will be light enough to just soak in.  The frogs have been chirping on the back deck area.  I fed the birds and they are squabbling for food.  So, not a bad day for fiber art indoors.


Noodles pulled the quilt that I am sewing on down and made his own nest.  I need all the help I can get to finish the hand sewing.

So have a good Labor Day weekend.  I am staying home rather than go camping with friends at Mirkwood.  The latest report is that no one knows for sure if the creek has flooded.  I don't really want to drive for miles and find out we have to go somewhere else.



 

What a Tease!

Yesterday afternoon clouds moved in and there was thunder all around us.  I noticed that the wind was blowing a little more.  I walked out to the deck, and it was cooler.  It was in the high 80's!  Oh, boy, a real storm.  But as the afternoon carried on, no rain.  No rain.  How could Nature tease like this.  On the weather report at 6 p.m., other places got rain.  No rain.  Still dry.

This morning it was cool-around 79 degrees.  There was some tiny bits of dew on the grass stems.

CF is coming today, so I took advantage of the cooler weather and baked some multigrain rolls.  I ate a warm bit of bread with soft goat cheese, and it was heavenly.  I had forgotten how good hot bread tastes.  The muffins I made is not the same as chewy multigrain rolls.

Isn't Life the funniest thing?  A silly thing as hot bread, clouds that cool the air, and the news that my nephew finally married his girl.  Yeah!  I am so proud of him.  They stood in the surf and had a friend of his marry them before they flew off to the Keys for a honeymoon.  Yeah!

I gave Patty a quick bath to cool her off and to help with her appearance.  She badly needs a trim, but that will wait a while.  This week is really busy.  She and I have a ritual that I rub her with the towel and say "Shaky, Shaky" and she shakes and grins and jumps.  We do that for several rubs, then I gently comb out her leg hairs and her mustache.  Then she shakes all that apart, and runs into the house and out again.  It is so funny!

The sun is out now, and the heat is on.  I don't know how long I can go without the a/c.

My neighbor's dogs are getting really tired of the new routine.  They want their mama and daddy to just come home and go back to their routine.  Abby is "acting out" and is sullen.  Beau could care less, but wants to stay out in the sunroom on his couch.  They do not like being shut up in a small laundry room all day.

I have not worked on the new quilt.  I finally found the fabric I want for the binding on the quilt I got back from the quilter.  Yesterday I measured and sewed and ironed the binding.  Today I hope to get it sewn on.  Maybe tomorrow.  It depends on when CF gets here. 

I have been spinning while listening to an audio book.  I am not pushing myself, but I want to hurry up and finish it up.  I am spinning the second skein of the camel/merino.  I really like the first skein, and hope this one is as nice as the first.

CJE loaned me a video on Combing Fibers.  I have never really combed fibers very much, but I got kinda excited about it.  It isn't as easy as she makes it look.  I am thinking of saving up money for a pair of mini combs for finer fibers. I have been thinking of how to process the bison easier than I have done so in the past.  I also would like to have a set of paddle combs to blend with.  I want to experiment with colors a little more.  CJE has a pair of Viking combs, so that would be something to practise on.

Well, I guess I will dust mop the floor to get up some of the dust bunnies.  Thank goodness, no one really expects me to clean my house.  The sheets are clean on the bed, and the bathroom is clean.  That should count for something.

Well, down to business.  Later.

It's July-It's Hot!

I am certainly not going to talk about the weather.  It's July-It's Hot!  And dry!  Watching for fires.

Sometimes I find certain amusements in my two fur kids.  Noodles has been teasing Patty a lot lately by lying in her bed.  Then one day I put my basket on the chaise while I was doing something else.  And there he found his nest.   Maybe the message is "Fill the space you are in".  He is a 17 pound cat, and it is a wonder what he can do with his body.  Today he is snoozing in my photo cube I set up on the screened porch.  A great cave place.

Patty has been going to the neighbor's to find junk thrown out.  The other day I had to walk over to their yard and scream at her.  She is great with her selective hearing.  She came trotting up with something in her mouth.  It was a piece of garlic bread they had thrown out for the birds and critters.
Today she just wants to play on the floor and eat her "chewy".

I finally put out a bowl of water for the woodchuck and other rodents.  I know that everyone is looking for water lately.  I put water in the bird bath everyday.  I also put out half of a small watermelon the other day, and it was gone in one day. 

Oh-I am happy, happy, happy that my grocery store has yellow watermelons.  I don't know why, but I really like to eat fruit in season.  The melons I have been getting lately are super sweet and wonderful when cold.  The peaches are local grown.  They are small, but oh, so sweet and juicy.  The corn is really sweet now too.

I have finished one skein of my baby camel/merino that I plied with black alpaca.  I really like the contrast of the natural beige and black.  Now onto #2.

I finished sockie #1, and I started #2. 

I am still knitting on the soft, squooshy, merino wrap. 

I am still weaving the dishtowels.

I am still sewing squares for the next quilt.  Oh, I should be getting the latest quilt from the quilter today.  I can't wait.  Then I can put binding on it and be done.

I am still using the air conditioner.  Can't take the humidity and wool together.

So that's it! 

My nephew's wedding was cancelled for tomorrow.  Something going on, but he is not talking to his dad about it.  That's my brother-who is really upset over it all-and I emailed my nephew with all the love a meddling aunt could muster.  I just want him to be happy.

No plans for the 4th.  Just trying to stay cool and hydrated.

Have a fun time tomorrow, enjoy the week, and stay cool!

August in May

Well-the weatherman says we are in an August weather pattern for two weeks-August in May!  Can this weather get any stranger?  I have been watering already, since we have had no significant rain whatsoever.

I am almost finished with the last motif for the vest, and then onto the easy ribbing part.  I am ready for this to be done.  I can only do the knitting in the early morning hours or in the evenings.  It is too hot during the day to have a sweater in my lap.

I am supposed to go to a wedding this afternoon.  I have talked myself out of that, but I feel guilty.  This is a lifelong friend's son, and I know him.  But I don't know the woman that well, and the wedding is all about them anyway.  I would only be there for my friend, but she will be caught up in all the activity that I won't be missed.   See how well I justify not going!

Patty is going to the doggy hotel for the weekend today.  I am going to Eureka Springs with CJE for Books in Bloom, and then we are going to Little Rock Monday to take someone to the airport.  So a little change of pace here.

 I gave Patty a bath this morning, so she is clean and not stinky.  She is going through an itchy spell.  I can't find any reason for the itching, but she does.  Of course, she rolls in the grass. 

Things are drying up fast around here.  When I walked to the mailbox yesterday, the grass is beginning to crunch.  It is so sad. We have had such lush greenery, and then for all that to dry up.

Nothing new to report.  Just wanted to check in and update a little bit.  I have a new project in mind after the vest.  It will be a long time knitting, but hopefully it will be exactly what I want.  Details are forthcoming.  And it will be after I turn on the air conditioning.  So far I have avoided that.

Have a good weekend.

Creative Incubation

"This is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be, This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen."


Joseph Campbell, in 1985 interview with Bill Moyers

I sometimes find that people think I am the "crazy cat lady" or the old curmudgeon.  I go into hibernation in the winter.  But when I saw this quote, I knew it was more than this explanation.  I am using this natural time of hibernation to go inside and create and find my peace of mind however I can find it.

Certainly the world is a crazy place, but for the most part it doesn't involve me.  I stay home and create in my space I created to find peace.

It almost sounds selfish to say I enjoy my solitude.  But solitude should not be equated to isolation.  I am not isolated any more like I used to be.  I do go out occasionally, and I do interact with others. 

I do talk to the cat and dog, but for the most part Noodles is the only one who interacts back to me.  He and I have an "understanding".  Poor Patty is not so swift in the brain matters.  So, I guess one can say I am the "crazy cat person".  I have wonderful conversations with him.  And he listens.  He looks at me full own and listens.  I know, I know, crazy, huh?

I am sorry for all that is happening in the world right now.  There is sadness, earthquakes, weird weather all over, and yes, the world is still going on.  But I have managed to sit in my chair and chug along with the Fair Isle vest without worrying too much.  I did get to see the Sherlock Holmes movie the other day on the t.v.  I didn't know the actors, but I really enjoyed their antics.  The end was clever with a flying dragon and the heli-hotair balloon over London.

I have a hawk that visits the big bird feeder in the garden.  He is not after seeds, of course.  But it was some shock to look out and see this huge bird sitting on top of the feeder and not a sign anywhere of the little songbirds.  I have never seen this happen before, but maybe it has and I didn't catch the rascal in the act.

We had one day of a very wet sloppy snow, and it is gone with the warmer weather.  Yes, it got chilly for one week, and now it is closing in on 50's again.  Sigh!  I give up trying to understand it.

I am also getting close to making a decision for the brown sweater.  I had to hunt for the pattern that I started with.  I went through 4 books, and finally found it.  I actually am combining several patterns and making it my own.  There will not be a gusset.  I don't want the ease there, and it is always a wad of fabric I don't like.  So I am calling this a semi-gansey or maybe a faux gansey.  Anyway, it is my own fault if it doesn't work out. 

So nothing else to report.  I just wanted to share that wonderful quote I found of Joseph Campbell's. 

January Is A Strange Month

 A while back, I asked a photographer why I always have trouble photographing my skeins of yarn.  I know I have a little bitty point-and-shoot camera, but surely there has to be some way to take a good pic of yarn.  My main problem is the glare that comes from the skein.  I don't know if there is something in the fiber or the dye, but it glares.  The photographer suggested I get a portable light diffuser and try that.  So I got one.  My photo assistant had to help me with this.  This first shot is with the sun behind me.  See my shadow?  This one is with the sun facing me, but the camera down facing the light diffuser. 

 We seem to be having a little turf problem in the family.  Noodles has tried to be the dominant one in this family.  Friday night he took over Patty's new bed.  This is Patty's Christmas present and she LOVES her bed.  Well, you can imagine what happened when Patty saw that.  She rolled her eyes and couldn't get up courage to take it back.  So she jumped in my chair and made a nest of the towel I keep in the chair for pet hair.  I took the chair back, straightened the towel, and told her to get up her courage and let him know what she wanted. 

 So she jumped up on the chaise, turned her back, kicked everything off that she could, tried to dig up the quilt that is on the chaise for pet hair, and generally sulked through the evening.  It was  pathetic.

Today, two days later, Noodles ate a few bites of Patty's breakfast.  I don't think he has the teeth to chew such big bites.  But he managed two bites.  This is pathetic.  And dramatic, huh?

So this is my photo of the newest yarn.  There is no glare.  As he suggested I added a black board to absorb light.  The only problem now is washed out colors.  The pink is really coral and the blue is really turquoise.  So I am happy I fixed the glare problem.  Just how to do I get real color?

So what is happening with the weather?  If anyone figures it out, let me know.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

In knitting, I am working on the semi-gansey I am planning.  I love, love, love the targhee wool I am using.  I am convinced that this is going to be one tough sweater.  It will be an everyday sweater for sure.  No fancy stuff with this sweater.

I am also knitting the ribbing on the Fair Isle vest.  I finally made some decisions on the colors I want in it, and ordered all the yarn Friday night.  I think it will be non-traditional by the time I get it done.  I am using a  k1p1 rib instead of the corrugated rib.  The person I am knitting this for is thin and uses his vests as a substitute for fat stores.  So I wanted a snug rib to hold it close to his body.  There is more stretch there with this rib and I think it is more appropriate for him.  I am also doing the ribbing in a light color instead of a dark color.  He wears khaki pants a lot, and I think the color I chose will go with the khaki pants.  There will be less transition between colors.  Okay, I know that last one is an excuse for using the lighter color instead of the darker color.  But I think it will work just fine.  

I haven't been spinning this week at all.  I finished the stretched merino, and I am so not in love with stretched merino.  I have been knitting like crazy on the two sweaters.  I also taught a class yesterday, and I had to knit my sample pieces and get the instruction sheets copied, etc. 

So what to spin now!?  Well, I think I want to tackle the camel/merino that I bought a long time ago.  There isn't a lot there, but I can always order more if I get excited about it.  I also have a new bit of BFL handpainted that is really yummy looking.  4 ozs is multi-Fall colors of cranberry, orange, green and yellow.  4 ozs is just cranberry.  I like it a lot. 

Has anyone else noticed there is nothing on t.v. any more?  I have my favorite shows, and I suffered through all the Christmas reruns.  I like HGTV, but I don't care about million-dollar homes and how people decorate them.  I also cannot take the sulky, spoiled kids who are buying a home and want two sinks in their private bathroom, a spa tub, a rain shower, and BIG walk-in closets.  And big, beautiful kitchens that have all their wants included.  I was flipping through channels and I caught, "I don't really cook anything at all, but I want to be able to have my friends hang out in a pretty setting.  I need a lot of room to go from the refrigerator and microwave."  Please tell me this is crazy!

Well, it is time to go see if there are any podcasts I want to listen to while I putz around in the studio.  I just finished a good audio book, and I may have to get another one out of the local library.  

Have a good week.  I think we are to have rain tomorrow, and one bad cold day.  But the rest is looking good.  What a strange January this is!! 

Whew! It's Raining!

Before I get into discussions of weather, Patty likes to chew on her chewy. But she puts her front end down and keeps her back end up! What's with that? Even though she has no teeth, I found out that she likes the chewy jerky treats. She can gum them all day and it is so much fun! I am finding this a good exercise for her tongue too.

I have been watching The Dog Whisperer every day, and Cesar Millan says dogs live in the now. They have no emotions about what is happening, just what is going on right now.

So in that case, I am now happy with the rain and cooler temps. I ran errands this morning and the car thermometer said 69 degrees! Sigh! Just two days ago it was 100 degrees. It was actually cool! I have opened windows and the porch door! It is so nice for "the now".

I turned the heel and put the gusset on H's #1 sock. I read an email from someone who went to the sock summit that said Ann Budd's response to second sock syndrome is that the first sock is actually the second sock. I don't have to trick myself into thinking that way. I like to finish a pair.

Our local library has a new electronic system to download ebooks. I was so excited and really scanned pages. I downloaded two audio books and put some ebooks on Hold. I had forgotten in the library system several people vie for one book. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted. I haven't heard another word about the books on Hold. Hmmm!

We had a quick storm blow through Monday night. It was really nice to smell the difference in the air yesterday morning when I took Patty out at 7 am. Yesterday afternoon I noticed that I had two small hollyhock blossoms way up top, and the chicory had 4 blooms. I guess that is the way the desert works too. After a long spell of no rain, things bloom as soon as there is some moisture.

So last night the storms started coming in. Lots of thunder, a little bit of lightening, and some wind. Today it has just been raining. Occasionally I hear thunder. What a relief!!!

Nothing else to report. Just working on the same projects. Two of my friends are going on vacations soon, and R and H are leaving for Seattle for a quick vacation. It is that time of year. Our local school systems start school next week to make up for snow days. It will soon be a new season. Two more months of heat, then Fall briefly, then winter again. Isn't that amazing after this heat we have had?

Have a good rest of the week. Just be happy with the "now".

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.

At Least The Sun Is Shining!

The weather is so weird! Now this week has been milder weather with a lot of sunshine. Then next week we are going back to frigid weather again! Sigh! I know it is boring to keep on harping about the weather.

I have finished the quilt top. I want to get a backing together and send this off to the quilter to finish the quilting. So the wedding quilt is a little bit late. I don't think they will mind.

That has been my whole focus this week has been the quilt. I did go outside and work at picking up more trash in the side yard. The former owners just dumped their trash on the ravine side, and they had a burn pile there also. Last winter I did not pick up much, but I am making an effort to pick up more this year. It is an endless job, since a lot of it is piled upon one another. Just as one pile is unearthed, picked up, and taken away, there is another mess underneath it. Really what is needed is to shovel it out, but where do I put it? I did hire someone to do that with the most obvious metal and upper layer when I first moved in. The local dump is very, very expensive.

I did finish that skein of yarn to finish my handspun sweater. I am back to that again. I am on the waist shaping stage, and have to keep up with that with the cable pattern.

I went to Thursday night knitting last night. Darn! My LYS, HandHeld, has roving now. Shoot! I had to buy one, but gosh! did I really need another thing to spin? I have a lifetime supply as it is. I have a pile that I started of "play" fiber that I want to get to soon. If I can motivate myself, I will have some really pretty yarn by Spring.

Patty just came home last night from the hospital. She has been undergoing heartworm treatment. Evidently she was negative for mature adult worms when she got rescued last February, but there were eggs or larvae that matured in the time I have had her. She tested positive on her yearly checkup. I have been giving her the monthly treatments, but that only kills eggs or larvae. Now I have to watch her like a hawk for the next two weeks for any symptoms that might occur from the treatment. She also is on an antibiotic for the bacteria that come with heartworms, and baby aspirin for thinning her blood. There is always a chance that a dead worm segment can morph into a blockage in a blood vessel, and, like a clot, can kill her. She seems to be pretty much back to her normal happy self since she is no longer contained in a cage. She was pretty depressed when I picked her up yesterday, but she seems to be really perky this morning.

There is a young adolescent male cat hanging around here lately. Noodles is beside himself trying to defend his territory with a bum leg. He is the aggressive one, not the interloper. The little guy is very friendly, and does not look malnourished or abandoned. He sure does need a trip to a vet to take care of the wandering gene that goes with that part of his anatomy. He needs to stay home.

The days are getting longer, and it is more light out when there is sunshine. It is the time of the year I start getting antsy for warmer weather. I did order some seeds last week. I am getting ready. I have plans of how I want to do the yard this year. I removed the fencing that took forever to put up, but it is useless. It just made the mowing harder last summer. I can't get the posts out yet. I will have to wait for more of a thaw.

Oh-I did finish the gray socks, and I am still working on the pink socks. But as you notice, I am not knitting very much.

That's it, I guess. Try to stay warm and toasty until the real warm-up comes. These teaser days are a killer for me. But I try to get out in the sun when I can get the sun. Next week I go back to hibernation stage.

Have a good weekend. More later.