I Should Be Thinking of Spinning... But No I'm On Renovations... Again

It is Tuesday. Last week I was making an effort to get my buns in a tight swimsuit so that I could swim for two hours. (You don't want to think about a squash in a swimsuit... too much like veggie tales!). That night, my shoulders felt like there was a nasty little fire burning inside of them. Teapot had messaged them but I ended up having to take meds to put out the flames. Today, a week later, I am expecting my friend for a day of spinning. It is rather difficult to wrap my head around the fact that a week has gone by, and I have been pissing away time all week and getting nothing done in my work books so today I will get out some fibre and spin. Today's question will be spin three separate colours and keep them separate in plying by "Navajo plying" which is a technique that draws on a crochet chain style of plying.

Recently I have been getting the itch to work on my crappy looking house. There have been some dust bunnies move in recently and I'm sure that if I'm not careful, they will let Murphy back in when my back is turned! (If you read here regularly, then you will know that Murphy, of Murphy's law fame, had lived under my china cabinet with his buddies the dust bunnies and they would conspire against me at every opportunity! {No I'm not making this up and I'm not delusional... well maybe a little delusional..}

See this is the china cabinet where they lived!

Until last year when I got the hutspa to kick them out of my house. Now they have taken to living under the deck. But they keep trying to get back in... and when I'm not diligent those dust bunnies reproduce prolifically... it's all Murphy's fault!) I am not happy with the way my house is looking. I suddenly had a brilliant idea the other day. (Teapot was not so sure.) When we moved in to this house, we were tickled pink that off the bedroom there is a lovely little balcony. The problem is that it is on the east side of the house. So in summer time it is far too warm to sit out there until well after dark at which time the bats (which love it) decide to swoop and swarm around it. This makes it virtually unusable.

Notice the junk up there... that's because nobody uses it!

So I decided that I will put my studio out on the balcony.  It is a small space but that is pretty normal for around here. It is about 4ft. by 14 ft. So this spring Teapot and I will purchase 2x4s and we will close it in and weather proof it. It will not be warm but it will be a good space to store my unspun wool and plastic containers full of junk which takes up 90% of my studio.

See... there's plenty of space here for studio storage. And we will use glass to close it in with a couple of opening windows so the light won't change in our bedroom.

 I will keep my loom downstairs and my wheel and Lazy Kate. I will also try to find space for my rigid heddle loom downstairs too. That way I will be able to use the whole sunroom as a living space and then the dining table can come into the room off the kitchen which believe me is an all round better use of space. This also means that we have no choice but to buy a love seat and two, maybe three, new chairs. Our sectional couch just will not work in the sunroom.

As a result of this slight change in our accommodations, we are going to finish the flooring downstairs. This means a year of living with wretched plywood again. The first step to finishing the flooring is bringing the floor up to the level of the kitchen by putting half inch plywood down as sub-flooring. Then we are going to go shopping to buy (finally) the recycled rubber flooring from Home Depot that we chose back in 2008 when we did our big renovation.

This is the flooring from Home Depot

 (It's hard to believe that it will be 4 years since we started the renovation on April 4th 2008.) It is an awesome product and we have already used it in our downstairs bathroom

Sorry this is not the clearest picture but this is the easiest stuff to keep clean. I just love this flooring.

and my parents living room. We thought about putting a hardwood or a laminate product on our floors but with dogs and snow and mud in spring we need something that will stand up to the wear and tear and be easy to clean. I used laminate in the kitchen when we took up the carpet first when we moved in but I can safely say that I didn't really like the product, so we wanted a different option this time around.

Is it hard to tell that spring is getting closer? Every year I go through this... I make plans... I change plans and some come to fruition but some don't. Hopefully this will be the year that gets us closer to being finished. I'm quite frankly sick of living in a renovation zone. But every little thing we do is one step closer to being finished. Last week I had the electrician come and finish all the electrical... except for the outside verandah lights... that he will do in the spring when temperatures warm up. But at least I now have the bathroom lights finished and we actually have a light in our bedroom and now I just have to get the new lights for the kitchen which will take regular bulbs instead of halogen bulbs.

Yup... spring is coming and my nest feathering is definitely rearing it's ugly head... I had better go do some work on my spinning before I get any more brainy ideas!

Are you getting nest feathering ideas too?!

Terrifying Squash??!!! Who Me???!

I just was reading to Daughter #1, (whose been struck with a cold of the bulbous nose-itis sort) my post of yesterday and she said, "Mom, you are a Terrifying Squash... of epic proportions."  I'm not sure if I should be insulted by this or if I should take it as a compliment.... but coming from a Daughter who is completely besotted with swords and ninja chicks I think I will err on the better side of valour and take being a Terrifying Squash as a compliment... Honestly... I'm to afraid to ask her to clarify!

Like A Large Rotund Squash

All day I have been perfecting my veggie impressions. First I tried my impression of a Spaghetti squash by sitting on the couch in my yellow nightgown.

Yes this is the right colour and the right shape... I'm quite like this actually.

Then I tried perfecting my veggie impressions by sitting on the couch in my green top and black pants and I thought I did a good impression of a Butternut squash.

Yes this too resembles the way I looked today.

Then at supper time after I had put the pork chops in the oven, Teapot cooked the veggies and I thought I did a very good impression of a Turban squash since, Teapot delivered my dinner to me on a plate while I was vegging on the couch like a sheik. I intend at some point this evening to try my hand at resembling a gold nugget squash... (maybe I will win the latest 649)! Basically what I am trying to say is that I have passed this day in complete laziness.  After such a day, words such as "large" and "rotund" and "squash" are very applicable.  I did nothing... at least nothing useful. However, having said that, I can also say that it is not my fault.  I was squaring up for my first fire in the fireplace out on the deck today. It was lovely... blue sky.... sun, sun, sun.... but I went out through the door and basically turned around again since the frickin' temperature, which was supposed to be -4, was more like -14! I had a look at the thermometre and it was reading -10! What the hell is this business of -10 at the end of February. Like... we haven't had that kind of cold for weeks. I'm totally boycotting winter! Where the hell are the spring-like conditions of only two days ago. It would appear that I have no choice in the matter... it is either poop blossoms or freeze your buns off. Darn it all. I had been looking forward to a chance to enjoy the deck. But I guess I was jumping the gun by a month. : ( Still, with the sun shining on me as I sat on the couch, the veggie impressions were quite authentic!

Teapot went for a walk today and walked about 10 kms. He headed off into our wonderful forest that borders our property. At first he wasn't sure where he would go... he wanted a ramble and so the direction he took was a wandering one. He walked the deer paths keeping the dogs close to him. And after coming upon a moose nibbling greenery off the tips of some alder bushes,

he decided that maybe he should go in a different direction. There is a ridge of hills that goes along the back of the subdivision where we live. (I say subdivision with my tongue in my cheek since our "subdivision" is a group of acreages off the main highway leading into town.) Anyway Teapot finally decided to head up over the hills to see what he could see... which is the point of any ramble through the bush. As he was getting to the top of the hill, the dogs' interests were taken by something behind and below them in a scattering of bushes, which meant that Teapot was out in the front. That's when he came face to face with a wolf. It was sitting ahead of him, on the path which he was on,

and when it caught the sound of the dogs behing Teapot it took off in rapid style... Teapot in his wise mind turned around and headed back down the hill the way he came.

Over the years Teapot has had several face to face interactions with wolves. At one time he was walking along on a hunting trip and a whole pack of wolves surrounded him as he was walking... they never touched him, they just kept going and he stood there with his gun in his arms... but that was a long time ago. Today's wolf experience was not as dramatic... with just one that obviously wanted nothing to do with him, Teapot felt safe... he said he would have gone over to check out the tracks of the wolf but he was afraid that the dogs would get a whiff and take off after the wolf. That's the last thing we need.

In all the years of living here I have never heard of a wolf being so close to our home. I have to wonder if that is why the coyotes have been so active and close to our house. Usually the wolves and coyotes won't stay in the same hunting area because they hunt the same food though wolves generally go after larger game while coyotes tend to be satisfied with voles and mice a squirrels as well as deer.  I do know that there have been brought into our region last spring..., thanks to our ever knowing wildlife officers,... some 15 cougars.   They might be pushing the wolves closer to town. (Take note: "idiots" and "wildlife officers" are synonymous because they do stupid things like bring cougars into a northern region to cull the numbers on Vancouver Island forgetting that "northern region" and "remote region" are not synonymous!)

All winter there have been nights when the doggies sit in the pen outside and bark far more than they should... (we usually let them in before they annoy the neighbours)... Knowing that there are wolves that close to our home makes me wonder if sometimes the dogs are not barking because they sense a wolf close by. Maybe the wolf is thinking about the moose... who knows...

I love wolves. I think they are awesome... and having said that I also know a few of my neighbours would be displeased to hear my confessions of liking wolves.  There have been horrible stories in our region of hunters on snow mobiles driving wolves across the ice till the wolves can run no more and then they shoot them or run them down.... it is too terrible to think of.  Wolves are generally cautious and will not attack unless they are desperate and have more than one with them... and most importantly, you are alone. If there is more than one and the "food" is not easy pickin' they still will not attack generally. As for hunting wildlife that people want, I say too F#*^#$in' bad... they were here first and as far as I'm concerned we can go to the grocery store when they can't... so it really burns my balls (no I don't have any but it burns them all the same) when wolves are treated so badly. Same thing with coyotes. I have lived here in the wilds of the north for 15 years... in a house that is on the edge of their territory (and make no mistake... it is their territory)... I have only lost two chickens to coyotes and nothing else... I have never had wolves take my animals... that's because I have good fencing and a really good chicken coop. The only reason I lost the two chickens is that one was too stupid to go in the house at night and went under it instead... and the other was taken when it was free ranging in the middle of the daylight. Actually I've had more trouble with foxes and bears than coyotes or wolves. They have a right to the wilderness just as any animal does so I get kind of frosted when I know that people treat them so badly.

Teapot's wolf... the one he saw today... is in the middle of ranch territory and he will find it hard to survive the prejudice that many ranchers bear wolves... so I wish him well.... and I wish him well away from here where he can live a long and natural life with no threat to it.

And as for me... I'm no threat... no threat to wolves... no threat to coyotes.... no threat to foxes, bears or cougars... I'm not a threat to the dogs... or to Teapot... (though sometimes he says I am)... no I'm no threat at all 'cause I'm just a large rotund squash sitting on the couch... vegging on a Sunday afternoon.

I think I will go try out my gold nugget squash impression... hmm.. better check those 649 numbers...

Snow In The Great White North... Now There's A Thought

Yes,... we did get our dump. It started snowing about 4 p.m. yesterday. I look out this morning and the ground is white once again... something that hasn't been the case since back in January. At least we don't have to look at the poop for a while! The snow must be pleasing to someone because when I woke at 6:30 a.m. I had a look out the window in the bathroom and there to my wondering eyes was a pair of nutscases people out for a walk in the new fallen snow. Maybe they wanted to see their footsteps in this pristine snow... maybe they were out with a doggie... I'm not sure why they were out there, but then I can't always account for odd behavior, (not that walking in the snow is all that odd... just that at 6:30 a.m. it seemed a little strange!) It seems like something Teapot might do... roll out of bed and take the dogs for a walk in the new fallen snow. Actually now that I think about it it might have been a cool thing to do..... (ok I'm losing it!)

I am not unhappy to see the snow. This year the snowpack has been low and of course that wears thin really quickly along about July, when the grasshoppers come to stay for the summer. Did you know that you can eat grasshoppers. They, I think, are supposed to be manna from heaven... but honestly I'm quite happy to eat meat and veg and leave the grasshoppers to their hopping... still chickens love em!... and I love chickens.  I was thinking about chickens not too long ago.... maybe we should get a few wee silkies again.... I wonder if I can talk Teapot into it.

Today is a French Toast and coffee day. Normally we are planning all sorts of things on Saturday. Teapot will need to go haul some water for us but otherwise we are staying close to home today. Last week Teapot took our truck (the one that we bought last fall) in to the Ford dealership in FSJ. We had noticed almost right away that something was up with the transmission. When we hit about 60km per hour the transmission would flip out of 2nd gear and into 3rd. However it wouldn't stay there. it would go back and forth in and out of 2nd gear to 3rd over and over until we hit 70 kph then it would go into 3rd and stay there until the next change.... it would buck back and forth and to be quite honest it was really annoying. We knew this needed to be dealt with since it was on warranty and the warranty wouldn't last forever. So Teapot brought it in last Monday when he had a day off from school. Almost a week later, we are still without our wheels and this is not good. We have been given a loner from the dealership but it is quite a bit larger than our own truck and uses gas like it is going out of style. That is one of the reasons we will be staying close to home... we have blown through our gas budget this month and then some just keeping this monster truck running.... (although I do have to say, that it looks like a really cool truck). Still Teapot had to bum our old water tank from the friend that we traded with back in the fall. He hauled water home yesterday since we couldn't haul water all week while our water tank is still in FSJ with our truck. This truck can handle large capacities of water so we are able to haul 300 gallons at a time. Three runs and our cistern will be full.

Well looky there, since sitting here an hour ago, the sky has turned blue and it has stopped snowing. Maybe the snow won't last... I'm not sure if I am happy about that or not.  Still it is quite grey to the south... so you never know when it will start snowing again. Moisture is pretty important if I want a green summer.

I'm off to get that cup of coffee... maybe make the bird feeder if I use the last of the coffee and of course I'm going to spin. Back to level 5.

Hope this January day is full of blue for you.... blue sky that is....

A Day About "A" Things.... Alpacas, And Anticipation

For the last few years hay has been a great concern to Teapot and me. We had many animals and not enough land to provide for them. But with all the farms around we didn't worry too much when we got our sheep and alpacas because we knew there was enough hay around to purchase. But as you all know, as the years passed, hay became the primary issue in raising our animals. Well as you also know we finally decided that raising sheep was not for us. We liked the alpacas but the sheep really, if truth be told, irritated the hell out of us.  It got to the point that if you walked out through the door they would baa and fuss and try to run at the fences because you might have food. We'd give them more food and they would just get fatter and the never ending racket would never end. Summer would come and we would put them in the fold at night and let them out in the day, and when they weren't running the fences and terrorizing our neighbours and pooping all over their lawns they were staring at us and baaing for oats. So last summer I finally made the final decision to sell the buggers. And so they went. But by the time I sold them I had arranged for 18 large bales of hay. Five of them we used over the end of the summer and the early part of the fall while there were still sheep here. But finally the fall came and we had a hauling business haul in another ten bales in the hopes that when we ran out, spring would be here and we would be able to haul the rest of our hay ourselves. The last of the sheep made his way to his new home and Teapot  and I were left with a pile of new hay and one horse and 6 alpacas. 10 bales of hay is a nice chunk of hay.... I don't think we realized just how much... Since November we have used 2 and 1/2. Now I knew that the alpacas eat a whole lot less than sheep but this is far beyond our expectations. At this rate they won't run out of hay till June and we still have three more bales to fetch in that have been paid for.  So we are sitting on more hay than we really know what to do with. The nice thing is... if hay is well protected it can be used well into the next year.... I'm not sure if we'll have enough for that but as the temperatures get warmer then the alpacas will eat less, so I am sure the hay will last well into the summer anyway.

Other signs that spring is coming:
This morning I woke at 6:55 a.m. and there it was... light in the sky. Getting out of bed seemed much easier to do. Teapot and Daughter #1 just went out the door to school and it is full daylight. If it were a sunny day the light from the sun would be touching the tops of the trees. To the north there's a little blue in the sky but to the south the sky is dark from storm clouds. It looks like all across the country there is snow coming.... but they never mentioned snow in the forecast for us in the North... so I wonder, will we or won't we get snow in the next few days. If we do then I might safely say that the February thaw is over and the March snows will be blowing once again. March can be a snarky little month... but it helps to have a week break thrown in to ease things before Spring arrives. Teapot will be heading off to Haida Gwaii for a few days with the JCRs and we decided that that would be best since I am in the market for new furniture to use in our sunroom for the summer months again. He will get paid for being away.... and that will be money to help us buy new flooring... yeah!... which is the first step to making the sun room into a living room. Then we are looking for a leather reclining loveseat that will fit in there. Just the fact that I am beginning to think about the sunroom for the main living area is a sign of spring. But it leaves me with a slight dilemma... what do I do with the loom!?

There are certainly birds making their appearance for spring every day. I should finish off the coffee so that I can use the can finally to make a new bird feeder. I have been seeing great flocks of snow birds.... and then I have even seen a crow or two. The ravens are starting to fall in love because you see them rubbing their beaks and getting cozy.

Even the Redpolls are starting to put on their colours....

it is still a little early for anything else. But by March then we should start to see other birds arriving like finches and a few ducks and geese.... by the end of March there will be a huge influx of birds.... and I can't wait because that is my favorite time of the year. I sit out on sunny days on the deck and put in a fire in the fire pit and enjoy the sounds of new birds arriving.... I spin, knit or sew as needs be and all around me arrives spring. And tea over a fire pit is far nicer than tea in the house on the stove. That and a lemon biscuit... makes for a fine tea break... and a fine spring day.

One last note:
It did get sunny yesterday and I did knit a little more and I did watch a nice movie while doing so... It was just a little too cold to go out on the deck... so I sat in my living room and enjoyed the sunshine streaming through the window.

Hope your late winter days are full of sunshine and anticipation for good things in spring.

In The Dark Of The Night

Don't you just hate when you have one of those all consuming nights where you spend hour after hour tossing and turning worrying and wondering about what will be. In the daylight, things just don't seem so problematic. Last night was one of those nights for me... toss, turn, worry, worry... it does no good. Thinking about things that can't be changed make worries pointless bed mates. And then the coyotes started. From 12:02 a.m. till about 1:45 a.m. the coyotes were yipping and howling... they must have dragged down a dear. I worried about the horse... I worried about the alpacas,.... and then I worried about the rabbit, (though the rabbit is close enough to the house that I felt she would be ok). Still, when the coyotes come that close they have a reason and generally I hope it is not my animals. Still that was not the only thing I worried about.... worry, worry, worry... I hate it.

On nights like that I hold Teapot's hand and try to stare out at the stars and watch their passing. Orion is in the sky again and he always cheers me. He has super strength... is all powerful.... and last night he came to my bedroom window with Northern lights.  Blue ones.... Still he couldn't chase my worries away. He was in the south through the bedroom window and the Northern Lights were in the Northern sky, through the bathroom window...  I was surrounded by night visitors. It made for an active night... but I really would have liked to just sleep.

Today the sky tells me that this will be a grey dull day. I think it will be a good day for some more knitting. I am trying to knit that lap comfort blanket for our guild and I made some good progress yesterday. Tomorrow will be a day to return to the level 5 homework... four more samples before I start the TPI questions... My goal was to start them on the 1st of March. A good goal I hope. But for now it is daylight and the dear ones have gone to school. I guess it is time for me to move on with my day too. It is certainly time to put those night worries out of my mind.... also a good goal for today.

A little sun wouldn't go astray and what a lovely pick me up. Maybe a nice uplifting movie too that will take my mind off those worries.

A Dull Roar

Things should get back to normal today. At least I am hoping so.

It has been a week of non-stop running around. The Blueberry was one thing but when I got home there were several days with plans made and activities to complete. Yesterday was swim day.  As I said I had been invited to join the seniors swim day... and even though I am not a senior, I decided to take them up on it. The Community Events Coordinator for several years has been trying to get a group of people interested in twice a month (every second Tuesday) taking the Lion's Club van (which is a 15 seat passenger van) and heading off to an indoor swimming pool in Chetwynd, which is about a 45 minute drive away from our town. We have a pool here in our town but it is an outdoor pool and shuts down  during the winter. So most people in the winter time head off to the Chetwynd pool which has a really great indoor pool. So there is a lot of interest from seniors around here but none serious enough to take the Events coordinator up on her proposal. Some times she get three or four people but some times she gets none and it is hard to justify this program if there is no one to swim.  So she has been looking around the community to find extras who will join in this program. Insert me. I am a stay at home mom and while I am not a senior,... I am creeping up there and the Events Coordinator is a good friend of mine. It seemed like the right thing. So yesterday we headed off for a day of two hours of swimming. It was great. 30 lengths I did which turns out to be almost a kilometre of swimming. It was a beautiful day and the roads were awesome and once again I forgot to take pictures.... I know I am pathetic. I felt great.... until last evening.... but that is another story. Before I get to that I have a few photos to post of the Blueberry retreat.

In hind sight I'm kicking myself because I really didn't bring along my camera... I thought that the camera on my iPhone would be good enough.... it wasn't... It sucked. So here are a few pictures of what was going on at the Blueberry and to those who had their picture taken but didn't get it posted it probably is because the image was just too blurred to keep.

Now this picture needs some explaining. It is an image of Noah's Ark... but it it not just that... It is the coolest image ever because the whole image is made with 234 smaller images. The whole image is made up of small four inch square images done in colour schemes so that when they are put together they colouration makes it look like Noah's Ark.  This mural was hanging on the wall of the Blueberry's big room. The Blueberry in actuality is a summer Christian Bible camp... in winter they rent the main building which is a huge log building, to anyone who wants to use it for retreats. The Scrapbookers use it quite frequently and so do the quilters and then there's us spinners and weavers. It has a huge dining area that we set up tables in to work at. But there is another room off the main room that has a mic and amps and guitars and drums and it is where they have their church type services. That's where this image was hanging and I liked it so much I thought I should take a picture of it.  For my level 5 homework I have to design a skein of yarn based on a photograph or image of some kind and when I saw this image it gave me something to think about.... I think I will base my skein on this image.

This is two of the spinner and weavers that I have such a good time with. They are a laugh a minute but they would say that so am I... Norma is on the left and she was a Home Ec teacher for years and years then Marjorie is on the right and she feeds the five thousand. She works with street people because her church puts off once a week a free lunch for street people.... so she literally feeds the five thousand... only with more than just a few bread and fishes.  Now while I organize the food for the Blueberry.... these two ladies keep the kitchen running and keeps us all in order. They are awesome. Always they are working to make sure we are not poisoned with food that has been left out too long and also they take food out and get it ready for eating... they are wow and amazing.

 Marjorie was finishing several scarves and hats... this is one of her scarves.

 Now here are Linda who's the money lady.... we pay her for our retreat.... and in the background is Mary.... she likes balls... and to be exact, she likes the balls of Arne and Carlos!

And here are the balls of Arne and Carlos....

Don't Arne and Carlos have nice balls.... (you can see why we laugh so much while we are at the Blueberry! We do tend to be a little like a bunch of 14 year olds giggling over anything to do with sex.) By the way Mary had a go at knitting Arne's and Carlos' balls and I think they are really awesome.

 Linda had finished the purple scarf and then she was working on some spinning too.

Cheryl was working on her tapestry and she also was working on a pair of knitted gloves which only had the fingers left to be knitted. The tapestry is awesome... but very time consuming.

This is a sample sized picture of one of my level five homework skeins. This is my garnetted yarn. It is a very pretty black merino with colourful silk noils blended in. I was very happy with it.

One of our members from FSJ while we were at Blueberry was going through a life altering and dreadful experience.  She was in hospital having surgery for Breast Cancer.  So our minds were very much on her.... and we missed her dreadfully at the retreat. She is not the first of our group to go through Breast cancer and cancer in general. In the last year or two our group has been hit over and over again with cancer if not in our members then in their husbands. So two years ago we decided that we would start making comfort blankets for those in distress... whether it be in the form of cancer or just distress of illness or loss of a loved one. The idea was that 15 inch squares would be knit by various members of the group and then donated to a stash held by one of the members till such time as it would be needed for one of our members. But we have not been able to get ahead of the people we love finding themselves in a stressful health situation. I have begun knitting one on my own... I am determined to try to get something done so that maybe we can get ahead of the game.

It is dreadful to watch your friends dropping like flies... sometimes they get up again but sometimes they don't.

So last night I was working on my comfort blanket which is a dark green only... later I will add another colour but I have no idea what colour I'll use. That's when the swimming of yesterday morning began to make itself known. By the time bed rolled around last night I was so sore that I'm sure my neck and shoulders even looked red. It was terrible. I went to bed early hoping that that would help... but eventually I had to get up and open the bottle of Tylenol. This morning things are feeling pretty good.

I'm sure today will finally be a time of settling down... and getting back into the swing of things. You know that dull roar I'm hoping for.

I'll let you know if today was a dull roar....see ya tomorrow.

All Over Once Again

I'm home. I have been for a whole 24 hours. How in the world did it come to a resounding end so fast?

Wednesday seems only like yesterday but already it was 5 whole days ago. Teapot and I left here right after school on Wednesday, and we arrived at Blueberry at about 5:45 p.m.  It was just in time to get my casserole into the oven and ready to eat for supper. Unfortunately the oven wasn't warming it fast enough and so we ended up eating the darn thing almost cold! Other than that the food for the week was amazing. Between eating home made basil pasta with garlic chicken and asparagus to Taboulie salad, from cheese cake with fresh mandarin orange slices drizzled with dark chocolate, from home made cookies of all sorts to  fresh fruit of all sorts, the food was just outstanding. I didn't get my Aspic made... I kind of figured that was pushing my luck... so I will save that for another time.

As for spinning... 556 metres of merino, plied and off the spool into a skein ready for washing. Then I spun two 100 gram bags of black alpaca/merino rovings... into singles. I am turning that into a 3-ply yarn. Two of my skeins for level 5 are now finished.... I have a garnetted yarn done and I have a two tone yarn spun off two different colour rovings at once. I finished the large 14 inch pin loom woven sample piece. I didn't get a chance to work on the tapestry but I did get some of Teapot's mittens knitted. So all in all I am happy with the results.

The weather has been glorious for the last week... temperatures have been hitting highs of +6 degrees and the sun has been shining for the most part. At Blueberry there is an outdoor wood burning furnace and the first night there the caretaker must have thought we were cold.... at night in bed it seemed like hell had risen up and swallowed me whole. I woke in the night with a mouth so dry I thought it had turned inside out. In the dark I fumbled to open the window... I unhooked the lever... but the window would not budge. I thought that I had chosen the wrong blasted room and so went in search of one of the empty ones in hopes of finding a room with a window that opened. I found one and scampered back to my room in the hopes of dragging my gear to the other room with the working window. I had a problem though. Being an old log building with squeaky floors, I was trying to figure out a way of hauling my gear to the room with the opening window without waking everyone up! I really wanted to cool down but I didn't want to make a big disturbance in the middle of the night. When I got back to my room I fumbled around in the dark and found my cell phone and switched it on so that it would work as a flash light. I made one last ditch effort. I had a look at my window and worked the locking lever back and forth in the hopes of getting the window open... the curtain was in my way so I hauled that back and that's when I discovered that the window actually had two locking mechanisms. Well that made all the difference in the world... sometimes I wonder at my stupidity. The rest of that night was fine and as a matter of a fact all nights from that point forward were really good.

I am sad actually that it is a whole year before I can go to the Blueberry again. Sometimes I wish we could have more than one retreat... but we have tried and we never get a good turnout later in the year. People are busy... people are doing things and so our retreat goes down the tubes. One year we tried a retreat in the fall but that didn't work either. No... I guess February is the month of our Blueberry retreat. And that's that!

Meanwhile Teapot and the girls held down the fort at home while I was away. Poor Teapot had dogs with diarrhea to deal with and Daughters who didn't do their chores when they were supposed to. However, it worked out in the end as he got everyone back on the straight and narrow.

Today was a day of relaxation, unpacking (slowly), electrical work since we had a friend come by and finish off a couple of more electrical outlets. As of this moment in time, we are now completely hooked up except for five light fixtures and some wiring for lights on the deck. (The renovation continues.... will it ever end!)  Teapot had to go to town today to take the truck in for some servicing and while there, he mentioned that the truck had been bucking a bit when it was shifting from second gear to third. The transmission is now in parts and we have a loaner from the dealership for the next few days. A red monster truck. He arrived home with a whole pile of groceries at supper time so once again a day of family time was lost. (Darn!) We are trying every which way to have some family time together but it never seems to happen. But I guess we will have to keep trying because when he got home a friend called to say that his truck had broken down on the highway and he was looking for someone to give him a tow. That will happen tomorrow afternoon. And so another afternoon bites the dust for family time.

Well, all are in bed and I am getting tired. I have some pictures to post from the Blueberry but it is going for 11 p.m. I think I will post them tomorrow. That will be later in the day because for the first time in a long time I am going swimming. The seniors club has a few younger seniors that want to swim and they are having a hard time getting enough people to go with them so they have asked a couple of young whipper snappers (I'm one of them!) if they would come along just so they can justify using the Lions Club van.  I'm going just so I can help them out and because I love swimming. (Not because I'm a senior.... I'm nowhere near that! Sure I'm not even menopausal yet! So don't go calling me a senior cause I'll send nasty thoughts your way! ... Just kidding... maybe)

So for now I will say nighty night cause Teapot is warming up the bed... but not too warm because I'd hate for hell to swallow me whole again! : )

Blueberry Retreat Day 4 Already

I don't seem to be doing very well with this damn phone I've tried posting a blog post twice and cyber space eats it. The food here is awesome, the conversation is delightful with many gales of laughter. I'm not getting much work done on my levels but I'm getting above bit done on Teapot's mittens and yarn for his hat. I will write more when I get home and have access to the REAL computer. I'm off too spin grey Alana/merino and knit mittens. Later, i will be spinning two colors at once, eat food, yum! Ta ta for now.

Blueberry.... Today.... Oh My!

Wednesday morning at last. The crescent moon is shining down in a medium blue sky. Teapot and Daughter #2 are getting ready for school and the other Daughter is lying abed with stomach ills. I am surrounded in chocolate. The living room looks like a chocolate bomb and flower bomb hit at some point recently. Valentine's seems to have been better than it started yesterday. I spent the day cooking and baking. I made a Curry Pork and Beef Shepherd's pie and cheese biscuits, and Birdseed bread buns and white and millet bread buns. Today I will be baking once again and trying my hand at salmon aspic.

I've made jello molds before but I have never made aspic. Aspic is slightly different from Jello molds because you are usually using clarified meat or fish broth to make your mold. Aspics are generally hard to make because traditionally they did not use gelatin. The meat was simmered until it formed a gelatinous substance and then other things were added so that the mold would look nice and taste even better. Now-a-days gelatin is used to help form the jelly substance and the sky is the limit for what you can put in it. Have a look at some of the pictures I found of pretty aspics.

This one has macaroni and wieners.

This one is ham and olives.

This is my favorite one for just shear prettiness with tomatoes and mint leaves.

This one has peas and asparagus and some kind of fish I think

Not sure what's in these but they are so pretty.

Carrots and asparagus and inside there is a meat substance I think.

This one I think would be really tasty... love mushrooms in beef broth...

I think they just look amazingly pretty. Clarified broth with anything that your heart desires for ingredients... think of the amazing combinations you could put together.

Anyway, I packed mostly what I am taking to the Blueberry, yesterday afternoon. I am taking a variety of wool and fibre for spinning. I am taking silk cocoons and my mawata frame and washing soda. I am taking my weaving frame pin loom in the 14 inch size and I am taking my weight scales and the bamboo and cotton for the level 5 50 hour project. I am taking the mittens that I started for Teapot as his Valentine's gift... the one's I started about four years ago and never finished. I am not taking the silk socks to knit... I am leaving those at home. I am not taking my rigid heddle loom and I am not taking the logwood dye and stuff. I am leaving all of that at home. I have one more lot of Tea buns to make today that have to have no dairy in them... this will be difficult since flavouring them will take a little stretch of the imagination and I can't use baking powder and I can't use anything with cornstarch... this leaves very little to bake with... I will use oil instead of butter or margarine since both have dairy in them.... I will use baking soda and cream of tartar instead of baking powder because baking soda has corn in it. I will use water instead of milk. But what to flavour it with I don't know.  I thought about garlic and onion powder since they are both ok ingredients and I thought about
jalapeno and ham.... that should make it tasty eh!

I still have personal packing to do... but that won't get done till later since I have to do some shopping before I go and I have to dig out my sleeping bag and foamy.  There are beds but they are institutional beds so I always bring my foamy... and we have to provide our own bedding. It's a lot of work getting ready for the Blueberry but I love going and once you get there it is so worth it. Four days... four full days of relaxing and spinning and most importantly laughing and gabbing...

The day is getting on... Teapot and Daughter #2 have been gone for over an half an hour. Daughter #1 is stirring and I had better get to it if I am going to be ready to go at 3:30 this afternoon. I'll be posting from the Blueberry so stay tuned...

Today And Tomorrow And Then.... The Blueberry

Jeepers creepers... for heavens sake... even the best laid plans get smoked. So my partner in crime.... my buddy... my pal extordinaire... no not Teapot... ok let me clarify that.... my SPINNING partner in crime... my Spinning buddy... my SPINNING pal extrordinaire.... is not able to come to the Blueberry retreat. Poop! (I'd use stronger expletives but I'm not in the mood... "poop" will suffice thank you very much!) So the dyeing will be once again not completed. I will be leaving the merino and logwood at home. (sigh) However, on the up side... my decision regarding my spinning wheel is made. I WILL bring my spinning wheel.... and now today I will sit down and figure out what else I have to bring...Oh decisions decisions.... (sigh... that's two today so far...)

Since it is February 14th... I will wish you all, Mar Faultin'!!

I can see you all now... what the hell does "Mar Faultin'" mean. Well if you are a regular and have been reading here for a while, you will know that "Mar Faultin'" means "good morning Valentine". Right,... I'm not sure what language it comes from, it might even be something from the dark ages... I just know that people in the little town where my mom and dad grew up would say Mar Faultin to each other on Valentine's day and it meant "good morning Valentine". So I will say it again.... Mar Faultin to ee. (Good morning Valentine to you). I hope your day is full of hearts and love and romance. So far I have stepped on Daughter #2's foot as I tried to kiss her cheek... All I got in return was complaints and irritation. Then Daughter #1 stayed in bed because she has a twinge of stomach flu and felt like she was going to throw up! This of course was very flattering to me... "Oh mom,... don't kiss me... I'm going to puke!" The dog tried to slip me the tongue.... which was very scary and somewhat disconcerting since I had recently brushed my teeth and so am weary of what the hell I have on my breath after all night long... as a result when my true Valentine tried to kiss me, I put my hand over my mouth and turned my head to the side and mumbled something like...."the dog likes my breath.... you however, may not." I am hoping that this is not an indication of the rest of Valentine's Day for me.... it could be bad.

We will be celebrating via the parents house which will tell you why I have nixed Valentine's Day as one of the most unromantic days of the year. When other people are celebrating love with candlelight, wine and sex.... I will be discussing the merits of stomach medication with or without food with my dad and reminding my mother of the next church service five times in ten minutes while Daughter #2 rolls her eyes around in her head fifty times in one evening and Daughter #1 tries to avoid spewing... and Teapot quietly gets tea and ignores all by staring diligently at his cell phone. Yes.... Valentines' with all it's significance is lost to me. Romance blooms not on Feb 14th but at any other time of the year when my dear one and I can avoid all familial obligations. That will be some time in July possibly when we sneak off for a walk through the woods and some hand holding and other stuff that you need not know about... (if your mind is in the gutter then that's your problem... I'm glad to have aided the Essence of Valentine's day.)

On that note I will head off to the kitchen to cook Shepherd's Pie for my contribution to the Blueberry food. I will avoid all things Valentinish as I'm not sure I want to particularly go down that road right now.... especially after the start it has had.... we're not quite sure where it will end.

But I do hope you enjoy it.

In the meantime... I'm all about the Blueberry.

Blueberry.... Jumping Excitment In The Tummy Region and Other Stuff

Ok... the count down is on.... Monday.... Tuesday..... Wednesday.... BLAST OFF! I'm getting a little excited. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm really going without my spinning wheel. I don't know.... I can't make up my mind... I think it will be a last minute decision. Really I should leave it behind and that will force me to do what I need to do... which is dyeing... and weaving.... and tapestry.... and weighing... NOT SPINNING. Errr.... not sure though if I can do it.... am I strong enough to leave the wheel behind! We'll have to wait and see.

Wool Basket Fighting 101:
When my good friend Anita passed away two years ago, her family came to clean out her house and when they had sorted through everything there were several things that they thought I might like to have.  So I headed over to have a look at all that Anita had left. Among the stuff was a largish basket that she had used for putting her clean and picked wool in. This was great because I love baskets plus this one had poignant meaning for me since I had seen it every time I had gone to her house for a cup of tea. I brought it home and sat it in my living room and a few weeks later when we had our summer dyeing retreat I filled the basket with unspun wool that I had dyed. It wasn't very long before my old black cat Midnite discovered the comforts of the wool basket. He took ownership of it quite quickly and so now we refer to it as Midnite's basket. In the bottom of the basket is the same pile of wool that I had dyed at that retreat. It is now squashed down and somewhat felted and it is covered in black cat hair. Recently the wee kitty has decided that she likes the basket too. So now each morning the two cats have a fight over who will get to sleep in the basket.

The fight will go something like this... Midnite will come into the house, after a night outside on the town. He will have his breakfast and then head for his basket with the expectation of a long and fruitful day of sleeping and coziness... but then shortly after he settles down the wee kitty, (Little Monster, and never was a kitty more aptly named) will come along and bat at Midnite's head. This will progess to licking Midnite's ears and then slowly she will ooze her way into the basket, dislodging Midnite from the basket in the process. Midnite will proceed to his bowl to have a look and see if he left any crunchies there acting as if he meant to vacate the basket all along. Then he will sit in the middle of the living room looking more and more like a thunder cloud as time goes by. Meanwhile the kitty will settle into the basket of wool as if she is the Queen of Sheba.  Finally, after an half an hour of missing his basket of wool, Midnite will go over and stare at the kitty in the basket for a while. This will then progress to Midnite licking the kitty's ears and so the cycle begins but with opposite cats doing the kicking out. Over and over this scene plays itself out until about mid way through the morning Midnite (who is a much fatter cat) will promptly get fed up with the whole business. At that point, diplomacy will frankly end and he will sit on the kitty's head.t  This puts an end to such shinanigans as the kitty will indignantly remove herself from the scene and go sleep on Daughter #1's bed. I get a great kick out of watching the fight each morning. It is a quiet fight. No cats make any sound... they just diligently go about their business asserting who is top dog cat. So far there is no real contest... Midnite wins by weight alone... but as he gets older I think there will come a day when Little Monster may take the trophy. Meanwhile I have given up on ever spinning the wool at the bottom of the basket... 'cause I know that as the human in the house, there is just no contest. The basket belongs to the Cats and as a result everything that is in it too.

Whitney Houston:
So sorry that such a beautiful voice has been lost to us... though I think in reality her voice was lost to us long before this... so sad to see the slow denigration of this lovely lady... so much to live for... so much thrown away... perhaps now she will find the peace her life never afforded.

Awake?... Wide?.... What Does That Mean?!

So here I sit at 25 minutes to eight. Teapot and Daughter #1 have left for the school. Teapot won't be long but Daughter#1 is off for a day of down hill skiing. She is going with the JCRs. Teapot decided to stay home today. I think he has been feeling like he's been away enough in the last few weeks. My eyes are having a really difficult time staying open. Why am I up... mostly because I was having terrible dreams.... disturbing and confusing. I opted to get up as daughter #1 was leaving... (I wanted to give her a kiss good-bye). I'm so thankful that Daughter #1 is quite comfortable with mummy displays of affection. Most teenagers in my experience want nothing to do with a kiss from their mothers. But I force a kiss on Daughter #2 while Daughter #1 is quite alright with it each and every night... and before they leave the house in the mornings too. The other reason I'm up is because that blasted dog next door has decided that Saturday morning needs to be disturbed with a good bark. (I really am learning to hate that f$@#%$#ing dog!)

So for all intents and purposes, I have made inroads into the merino spinning. There were moments of panic when I went to get the two spools yesterday and forgot where I had put it. A half hour of frantic searching almost sent me to the hospital! However, I found it eventually, exactly where I had put them, in a knitting bag for safe keeping. (I'm really going to have to start writing stuff down if this forgetfulness continues.... mind you it was months ago.) I have also made great inroads into the tapestry. I stated balling all the little skeins of yarn yesterday and then decided that my warp was just too open. So I took off the warp and rewarped the whole thing so that my warp would be closer together. I have an inch done almost all the way along the bottom. Today I will stick with the merino since I need to have that finished by Wednesday... and the tapestry can come along as one of my wee projects. I am wavering back and forth.... should I... should I not take my spinning wheel. Am I nuts.... am I not nuts..... wheel... no wheel. I am definitely taking my loom. Thursday will be dyeing... and I could work on my tapestry.... Friday will be warping the loom and weaving. Saturday will be weaving... I could bring knitting and the pin loom for Sunday.... hmmm. Wheel or no wheel.... I can't imagine going to the Blueberry without it. But it really is a good time to force myself to get these other necessary things done. Oh I don't know what to do. I could bring my scales too and start weighing out the fibre for my level 5 50 hour project.... then I definitely shouldn't bring my wheel. But I might fall over from the DTs!!! I better bring my wheel..... oh shit... help!

I just finished one of my Christmas books. It was a murder mystery called Dyed In The Wool. It was good ... as murder mysteries go... not really my thing but I did get into it after a while. I guess the author is writing a series of murder mysteries... the murder is situated in a wool shop and then the rest of the book involve the same characters... with a bit of a love interest between the wool shop owner and the investigating officer, well I can safely say that it read... well ok. I certainly couldn't give it a two thumbs up... maybe a one and a half. (Not sure how I'd do that... especially when I only have one thumb to begin with.)

Well, Teapot has just walked in the door... and hurrah.... the dog next door seems to be settled down... I'm going back to bed with the dear one.

See ya tomorrow.

Here We Go Again... Friday.... And Other Stuff... Mostly Boring

So... write ups. I'm just about caught up with the write ups... I just have two more to do... Problem: I have run out of plastic paper protectors and double-sided sticky thingies. This is extremely irritating since I am unable to finish any of the write-ups entirely.... I mean I do finish the write-ups but am unable to get them into my book... gotta have the paper protectors, which sucks, 'cause I was right next to a Staples store on Wednesday... I could have got the stuff then... like, how irritating is that. For now I am doing all that I can for each question and setting it in my book in baggies... in the hopes that I can get my supplies soon.

Today I'm spending time spinning merino... I do have those two more write-ups to do but they won't take long. The merino is for my level 3 50 hour project. I will be dyeing that next week. I can't believe that the Blueberry retreat is only a few days away... I'm so excited. It's one of the best times of the year.... My goal while there is to finished the level 3 50 hours project if I can. I will probably bring along my wheel just for comfort.... and evening relaxed spinning. But the goal is the 50 hour project for level three... I will also bring along my scales and the cotton and Bamboo for my level 5 50 hour project... remember the plan to spin for socks?  And I have one other little project that I will bring along... that's cotton for a small project that I dyed in class last summer... I am working on a Sumak tapestry.

This is the drawing that I did while at Olds last summer. It will be the picture that I use for my tapestry.

These are the skeins that I dyed for the tapestry.

And this is the beginning of my tapestry... the first step... string a warp. it will be 6 x 6 inches. Just a wee tapestry... but a wee one is probably all I have time for. 

Oh and here is my constant companion who keeps looking up at me as if he's saying when are we going back to bed.

Not today little guy... too much to do..

I think he is mad at me.  But that's the way it goes. I'm off to get at that merino... I have half a spool to spin and then I have to ply.

I'll be glad to spend the evening with the family....  with, maybe some movies for movie night.

TGIF

Write-ups And Other Stuff

It kind of has been a non-stop day. Finally at 4 p.m. I had to go have a quick snooze after a bad night... (last night was the full moon). After tossing and turning for the first part of the night I finally settled down around 2 a.m. which did not mean I was bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Then I came down stairs to face a sink full of dishes which I had forgotten to do last night after supper and noticed as I was going to bed. After a "Nah", I headed up to bed... and what did I do, wasted my time trying to sleep.... fooling myself into thinking I was going to fall asleep any time at all... I should have gotten up and done the blamed dishes in the middle of the night... I'd have been better off. Then it was off to FSJ for another flippin' appointment which took all of 7 minutes. 75 minutes driving in for a 7 minute appointment... an expensive lunch at A&W (snork) and another 75 minutes home! What a waste of time.... actually not really but you get my drift... the appointment was necessary I just wish they could have given me an appointment on the same day as the last one, then it wouldn't have been such a waste of time.

In the end, the evening yesterday and the rest of this day has been spent doing write ups for my level 3 homework and I even managed to get a couple of write ups done on the level 5 homework. I'm getting there... so I guess some progress is something to be happy with.

Teapot has departed for a meeting at the school with the Rangers which meant a hurried supper and no radio since Teapot seems to be the antenna these days for the radio which crackles and spurts and hisses when he's not here. Even the radio is complaining because he is away so much. I guess it's just one of those days... you know.... the kind that just seems like you should have slept through it.  (Remember I am part old bear... and sleeping in wintertime comes naturally to us old bears!)

Still the weather around here seems generally moving toward spring... I'm not sure that's good since the snow levels are decidedly down and of course we are always aware that grasshoppers love hot dry summers... and that's usually what follows early springs and winters with low snow falls.

I just read through this and almost deleted the whole works since I sound dreadfully gloomy. But then I took the time to write it so I guess I will post it even though it's not worth a cobbler's cuss.

Anyway, I hope your day is going better than mine and I hope you are not bored and I hope that flippin' big round nightly silver globe is not playing havoc with your tides... and rhythms... and I hope your not having bad events in your life either.... let's just end here and say I hope your day is a whole lot better than mine was... not that mine was particularly bad... just that I hope yours was better.....

Over and out.... till tomorrow when I hope I have had a better sleep and have something more interesting to write about... for heaven's sake are you still here.... go... I'm sure you have better things to do!

Ta ta ( I couldn't resist getting the last word....) ; )

Canada Reads...

My book got nix'd! Poop!

Canada Reads 2012

So.... Grey Again....

What a beautiful day yesterday. Teapot and I went into FSJ for a medical appointment... and the weather fully co-operated. The roads were totally clear and the sun was shining brightly... we got home at supper time.  Before I left I had managed to finish the two samples... the one that I had partially finished the night before and the other one that I hadn't even started... and that was section 3 in the level 3 done. Last night I started on Yak. Now Yak is something I've never spun before so it was a totally new experience.... I had no idea what I was doing. I only had about 30 grams of fibre to work with which isn't a whole lot, so there was no room for screw ups. I started with the Yak blend first and worked my way backwards. Yak and Bamboo was first and it worked but I under-plied it so I will have to fool with it a bit today. Then I did Yak and wool and it tuned out just fine. Then I went to bed. I will have a go at fixing my mistake on the Yak and Bamboo sample today and then I'll get my plain Yak sample done and then I'm not doing another blessed sample until I catch up on my write ups... I swear... I'm not going to spin any more until every bit of book work is caught up!

Teapot and the girls went out the door a little while ago and it was getting light... but then they were late getting ready this morning. Teapot and I never use an alarm clock, but as we get older, I'm finding that we occasionally over sleep... especially at this time of the year when that memory foam mattress grabs on and just won't let go. This morning the river fog has rolled in over the land and everything is a shade of grey. Grey snow, grey frost, even the trees have a grey pallor to them. The hay bales are greyish green and greyish gold and even the alpacas have a coating of frost and have a grey look about them. Certainly not the beautiful day that we had yesterday.... mind you maybe the sun will burn off the fog later.  Here's hoping.

I thought I would leave you with this....

Remeber back in the fall when our friends traveled to Switzerland and I showed this picture...

So picturesque... so lovely.... here's what it looks like this morning......

Now that's an ice sculpture!!! ... and not man made either...

I think they might need a little lock de-icer... : )

I'm off to spin Yak.... and do those flippin' write-ups.

Well... I'll Be Knackered

Whoa....Nelly! What a day yesterday. I got down to it in the morning and finished that whole bag of alpaca/merino rovings.... spun.... and done! I'll do another bag sometime when I have a few minutes but that won't be today.... I have other things planned for today. After I had finished that, I had intended on getting the write-ups done for my silk samples which I didn't get done the day before... But I'll do those this evening and tomorrow maybe instead.... it's all because Daughter #2 wanted to do some work on the computer so I gave up my computer time yesterday afternoon and let her have at it.  Instead I got my question sheet for the level 5 homework out and thought the next section should go fairly smoothly... was I right?.... Damn straight I was! Done thank you very much.... I finished all angora samples last night so I will have to write up those as well. Then Teapot needed to do some computer upgrades on some of the software we have and so while he was doing that last night after supper.... guess what!... I decided to get out the stuff for the next section in level 3..... Burn!!! I finished most of that too! Two sections in one day.... hello.... you are reading the blog of an Olympic spinning champion! (Hee hee... I love exaggerating!)

All fun and craziness aside... I am feeling pretty darn good about getting so much done. Five whole questions in one day... but now I am feeling like I have really fallen behind on the write ups. Today, I will finish the last sample for the 3rd section in level 3 and then I have to go to FSJ this afternoon for an appointment that I cannot get out of.... so the write ups will have to wait till tomorrow. Wednesday I should be ready for Yak! That's the fifth section in level 5. Woo hoo. I'm feeling really good. I want to get the Yak section done by Friday and all write ups done.... then I've got a section to do on weird yarns... spirals, snarls, marls, etc... I would like to have them done before I go to Blueberry... then when I get back I will be facing TPI in both levels.... that's a good way to start March right?

I do have to say that I was really pleased with the angora samples... they are terrific.... very consistent... even if I do say so myself... but my instructor will probably find fault... that's always the way. Still they do look pretty darn good.

So the sky is lightening... and off to the east, there's a lightish blue close to the horizon. It's 8:30 and I can safely say that the days are noticeably lengthening.... I love it. Spring is on it's way.... the birds are making more and more noticeable spring-like noises. Saturday was warm enough to sit out on the deck with a nice warm sweater.... I didn't do it because Pops and Mom showed up for a cup of tea... that's the first time Dad has driven that far since the scare of two weeks ago when his knee swelled full of fluid. It was good to see him mobile again.

It's the 6th of February.... and with all of the above.... things are looking pretty good! As I say that I think I should be knocking furiously on wood.... and I hope Murphy is still out living under the deck... since I kicked him and his plague of dust bunnies out from under the china cabinet he's been less problematic. Still I don't like to speak too loudly since he might hear me and trip me up as I'm leaving the house. One of those days I'm going to catch the wee bugger and get rid of him for good! then I can say all kinds of nice things and feel like I'm not tempting fate.... (Murphy and Fate seem to be holding hands and making out a lot in my neck of the woods!)

So today... I'm off to finish the wool and silk sample that I didn't get plied last night, and then I have one more sample of wool and silk and maybe a little cotton to throw in, and I'll have that other section of level 3 done. Then it's write ups till noon, and then I'm off to FSJ.

Here's hoping that your Murphy had a face plant in a snow bank and is leaving you alone while he nurses his bruises!

Happy day.... this Feb 6th day....

Dull Grey Day Once Again

We've had really awesome weather of late. The January thaw was on us for the last few days of January and the first couple of days of February... but this morning I got up to grey skies overhead and what looks like snow ahead. Yesterday was such a beautiful day and then today is not.... but maybe snow is not the worse thing in the world... we could be having freezing rain which is what the forecasters are calling for in some of our areas.

Yesterday I managed to almost catch up with my write ups.  I even managed to get the section 3 in level 5 done since that was just writing up the Burn test results that we did in class way back in June of last summer. The funny thing is, I decided to use a picture at the beginning of each section of my binder and I got the brilliant idea to use one of the pictures that I took when I burned my level 3 books back in 2010 as the picture for the section divider of the Burn Test. It looks like this....

Somehow it seemed fitting! Yup there are my level 3 book from my first effort going up in flames.... hmmm bright flame, some black and grey smoke..... smells like burnt grass and chemicals.... must be a little cotton, some silk, wool, hmmmm mohair... what else..... yup it's a burn test alright!

I will continue working away on them today and hopefully finish up before the day is over. Yesterday morning I was folding laundry in my bedroom and when I went through the odd sock basket I found a bag of alpaca/merino rovings

that looked so delightful that last night when I finished my write-ups for the night, I sat right down at my wheel and watched two movies while spinning almost the whole 100 grams.... well, I almost finished it... I have about 20 grams left. I will finish that this morning before I get down to the rest of the write ups. Ever since I sold some of my skeins of yarn a few weeks ago I've had it in my mind to spin for selling... I like the idea of selling my yarn so I will carry on doing a little here and there when ever I can. This is what I finished last night...

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, though I do need to finish up the merino for the 25 shades of logwood before I go to my retreat at the Blueberry on the 15th, and I should be getting that spun.

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the Blueberry Retreat.  I am hoping that I will be able to get cell service so that I can write short things here on my blog while I'm away... however the Blueberry is way out in the middle of nowhere and there may not be cell service.... that's a real possibility. I guess we'll see! I guess I will be taking some of my homework to work on while I'm out at the Blueberry. I was thinking of trying to get all the dye samples done for the level 5 homework... I have most of my dyeing done so it is just a matter of mounting sample and working on a small tapestry. Then there is the 25 shades of logwood.... if that turns out alright I will maybe bring along my loom and get that done too.... maybe not take my spinning wheel at all!  I might actually have to go through detox though! Nope I'm already abandoning that idea. ; )

So today is peaceful and quiet and all is ready for me to go finish that bag of alpaca/merino rovings.... yup.... I hope you're having a nice Sunday too.

See y'all tomorrow....

Black Out

I had started to write here yesterday but then I decided to keep working on my silk embroidery and get it finished so that I could post a picture. Things didn't quite work out the way I planned. It's not that I didn't get my silk embroidery finished.... I did.... but the problem was that I finished it in the dark last night. I had been working away at the embroidery pretty much all day because I had finished all the spinning the night before and I had washed the embroidery yarns and hung them to dry. I knew they would be ready for yesterday morning so that I could get going with the embroidery part of the embroidery.

Diligently I worked away on it all day, starting with the Muga silk and getting the branches of the trees done. I had next used the Bombyx silk and worked the moon but somehow the moon looked like crap and so I took it out again and tried making it bigger. It still didn't look right and in the end I decided not to put the moon in at all.  the face of the owl was the trickiest part but I managed it and as a result it does look like an owl. The cinnamon silk was the last and it was used for just a few stitches on the body to give the owl's feathers some definition. I think it look pretty darn good even if I do say so myself. Have a look and tell me what you think....

It still needs to be pressed because there is a natural crease in the background fabric but for all intents and purposes It is finished and I think I like it just as well as the original Chickadee that I did way back when... Honestly I can't tell you how pleased I am with it.

Meanwhile as I was working on the body of the owl last night there was a very loud pop and everything went black. So for the next three hours we had no power. I had to finish the owl embroidery by the light of my head light.... (you know... I had one of those flash lights that is attached to an elasticized strap and you wear it on your head.)Finally at about 10:30 last night just as we were heading back to bed on came the furnace and the power and lights came back on in very short order.

So except for the silk Mawata which I will do next week after I get some more silk cocoons... (finally found them among my stash but there were only six left so not enough for my Mawata)... the silk section for the level 3 homework for all intents and purposes is finished. Today I will do all the write ups and then I will move on to the next section.

It feels really good to move onto another section. I feel like I am making real progress. So I will end here and I will head off for a day of write-ups and I might even get started on some more stuff for the levels tomorrow.

Have a great weekend...