Letters To The Editor

Sometimes you just feel like you have to write one. Here's mine:

Exercise Western Spirit is a misnomer. It should have been called Western Fiasco or at least that is how some Hudson’s Hope people have come to view it. Hudson’s Hope, a scheduled stop on this trip, and home to a Ranger patrol, got sold out for a few beers and good steak. When snow became scarce along the trail of 4CRPG’s ill fated Exercise Western Spirit instead of the "tough getting going" the "tough flew the coop". The portion of the trip between Powder King and Hudson’s Hope should have been an opportunity to experience the Canadian Rangers at their best but instead the officers in charge of Exercise Western Spirit tucked their tails in and used it as an excuse to speed their way to softer comforts. What their reasoning was we can only surmise. The people of Hudson’s Hope who had planned and prepared for months an occasion of community pride, became an occasion of community confusion.

4CRPG has been planning an exercise called Exercise Western Spirit for over a year. The trip was to take 30 members on Light Over Snow Vehicles commonly called snowmobiles across northern British Columbia, northern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, and northern Manitoba to the coast of Hudson Bay where they would end their journey at Churchill, an ambitious trip of over 3400 km. The basis for this trip as they succinctly put it on their web site was to “showcase the unit capabilities and put to the test the skills and abilities of the Canadian Rangers of 4CRPG. This exercise is also an amazing opportunity for us to meet Canadians and talk about the Canadian Rangers.”

The sad thing is that Exercise Western Spirit and all the Rangers and VIPs traveling on this ambitious trip showcased nothing and had no amazing opportunities with the people of Hudson’s Hope because, in all their wisdom, the officers involved in making the decisions, decided that the steak and beer that the Legion in Fort St. John offered was better than the efforts of the community of Hudson’s Hope.

On February 7th, 2009 the trucks and buses that carried the supplies and people of Exercise Western Spirit rumbled through the town of Chetwynd and on toward Dawson Creek and Fort St. John in an effort to get to their comforts without so much as a sideways glance toward the road leading to Hudson’s Hope.

The Rangers of Hudson’s Hope were left to explain why suddenly Hudson’s Hope wasn’t worth stopping in. The Mayor and the RCMP who had been notified of the event were ready to welcome Western Spirit into the community, the spouses of Rangers and the parents of Junior Rangers who had bought and cooked and prepared food for the 40 people of Western Spirit, were all left high and dry.

Working Through It All

So 4CRPG will not be coming to Hudson's Hope after all. The powers that be have made the decision to by pass Hudson's Hope. Too bad since there are a lot of people who have worked hard to make their visit to HH a joy and a pleasure. It's too bad they didn't think to do that back a year ago when the decision was being made on which route to take. Following through the mountains around Tumbler Ridge might have gotten them farther on snow. Their problem is they have run out of snow. Hudson's Hope is in the grip of it usual February thaw. We are surrounded by ice, very slippery ice, but no snow. Next week we may have snow but right now we don't. No snow... no sleds.

Speaking of snow.... I have finally finished my latest sample of yarn. It is a lovely evergreen colour with shots of blue and purple throughout and over top all, there are little white silk noils. It looks like snow flurries that have landed on an evergreen forrest. I prepped that and got it ready for my books yesterday. I have enough to knit a pair of mittens with a star in the back of the hand.

The wrist has been hurting a lot in the last few days.... probably carpal tunnel syndrome. Knitting and spinning has to be put on hold for now. I'll finish my woven bag today and I'll get the service done for Sunday. I have been putting this off and now need to focus where the focus belongs. Sunday afternoon will be spent making beer and maybe some jerky if Hubby is feeling well enough.

One by one we have succumbed to this nasty cold going around. First Daughter # 1 came home from school hardly able to keep her head up and then I dropped with the clogged nose. Daughter # 2 managed to hold off till yesterday and then Hubby. He has been running a temperature all night long. I'm surprised that we have held off as long as we have. Everyone in around town has had it... the school is peppered with it..... I can't see how you can avoid it.

Today if my wrist doesn't give out again I will be working on the next spun sample.... giving an inelastic fibre memory. I will use llama for the inelastic fibre and I will use wool to give it memory. I'm sure it will be lovely. If the weather is as nice today as it was yesterday... I'll even take my wheel outside in this beautifull sunshine. It may have scared off 4CRPG but I love the sun....

Spinning Up A Storm.. Or At Least A Few Flurries

I've spun lots this last week or at least it seems that way. When I look in my book I am satisfied that I have made headway but yet I think I should be farther along in my assignment. I thought I was finished mohair but when I put my mohair/wool sample in my book it looked pathetic and so I proceeded to start again. Four mohair samples and I am finally finished them all.

I can safely say that I don't really care for mohair. It's not that I won't ever spin the stuff again but it's not something that I'll want to do too often. Mohair is good for specific purposes like a yarn that is really strong. I know I am going to be spinning mohair again for this assignment especially for the braid. I do have a lovely blend of mohair and silk which I will be using for the braid component of this year's work. But generally mohair is not a nice fibre to spin unless it is in a blend and only a small portion then.

I blended merino and polwarth and silk noils today and came up with a lovely nubbly yarn. The assignment called for a textured yarn using a silk blend. It is very pretty. I spun enough so that I can knit something with it too.

Tonight Hubby is off with the Rangers and I'm expecting he will be late. I am making bread as I am writing this because I will be helping to feed 40 men who are with the 4CRPG group arriving by ski doo tomorrow sometime. Since I have to stay up till the bread is baked I might as well spin and write. I spun some of the merino for Daughter #2's leg warmers. It is a lovely blue and will be soft and just right for what she wants.

I know I won't have much time to spin for the next few days as I will be busy helping out with the JCRs and with this Western Spirit expedition. Hubby is strung out and is very worried that it won't come off well. He should have left it in my hands. Make the best of it there is no snow... or a least very little. How in the world are they going to ski doo on back country that has no snow. It should be interesting.

I am staying up no matter how long it takes. I have to find out what happened. After dinner tonight I headed off to Knit Night. Hubby called me while I was there and said I had to come home since the guys were out in the bush stranded and he had to go pick them up. I am dying to hear this story. I'm sure that they had no choice but to stop since there just couldn't have been enough snow.

So here I sit baking and spinning in the quiet of the night waiting..... waiting..... and spinning. It's just too bad that while I'm spinning up a storm I couldn't spin up a few flurries to help these poor ski dooers on their way.

Ouch! That Hurt!

I fell and fell hard. Women who are as big as I am don't fall softly. We fall and we fall hard. I tripped and where did I trip??? I tripped in the church. This is a very good place to trip and fall because you can start talking to God right away. Things like,
"OK God, am I still alive?" and "Why would I be punished by a fall such as this in your house?" and "Are you trying to tell me something." Then there is, "#$@$@@%@ God, that hurts!" and @#$#^*&^ how do I get up out of this God when everything is hurting so badly," and, "(sigh) I think I'll just stay here on the floor." Then there was, "God, that was a nasty lesson in humility!" and "Am I that bad???" and "Holy Cow..... sorry God I was a bit dilusional there." What it comes down to is, "Ouch! That hurt."

I have been nursing sore body parts ever since. Particularly my nose. I thought I had broken it since it was what broke my fall. Daughter #2 was there at the time and had the presence of thought to go get an ice pack for me. Since there was no ice my ice pack came in a very strange shape. There I sat on the floor of the sanctuary (never did I need that more) bleeding (from the nose that broke my fall) crying and laughing at the same time. Why laughing you ask? Because I had a pack of frozen wieners on my nose.... in the church..... on the floor.....

I am happy to report that the nose is not broken. My knee is only bruised and my elbow is slightly skinned out. I'll live.

I fell again the next day. This time the dog tripped me. I walked out onto the deck at my house.... the dog was lying peacefully. She looked up and noticed I was coming which must mean there are deer in the yard because the owner (me) doesn't come out on the deck this time of the year without there being deer around. She spotted one which happened to be on the other side of me and so she proceeded to run pell mell for the deer, taking me out like a bowling pin in the process. I landed on the top two steps with my head slamming against the rail.... now I have a bruise on my hip and a golf ball sized lump on my head. Ouch! That hurt!

Today I managed to get to the church for a meeting with the Archdeacon (demon as he lightly calls himself) of the Anglican church, the Lutheran pastor for the parish of Dawson Creek, and a retired UC minister. I, as lay preacher here at St Peter's Church, thought this would be a good meeting to enable this parish to move forward, since our deacon just retired. Instead we went backwards. I am not allowed to serve the Reserve Sacrament any more and as a lay preacher I don't think I ever was since this Bishop was installed. Somehow, after I was given permission with the old Bishop before he retired, something went wrong. The new Bishop re-instated me as a lay reader after he became Bishop, but somehow my full abilities were limited because of new rules in the National Anglican Church.... someone forgot to tell me that. For the last five years I've been serving Reserve Sacrament and not sanctioned by the greater church.

Sunday I fell!
Monday I fell!
Tuesday I fell from grace!

I am afraid of tomorrow.

The Dark Days Are Over

It's Feb 2nd.... and while that doesn't make it spring it does mean that the really short days are over. I noticed last evening that at 6 p.m. there was still light in the sky. This morning Hubby and the girls just left for school and there is light in the sky. I really like the fact that the days are getting longer.

Our living room faces due South and so in the day while the sun is still low in the sky the room is bathed in glorious sunshine. It makes for a wonderful feeling to sit where that sun shines full on me and get the benefits of vitamin D. I spin and feel that warmth on me and patiently wait till spring when I can do the same outdoors on the deck.

The thing that I don't like about February is the fact that the snow is melting and leaving treacherous ice in its wake. There's not a place you can walk without feeling like your feet are going to fly out from under you and land you on your back with a knob forming on the back of your head.

The other thing I don't like about this time of the year is the poo. It is everywhere. Dog poo, in frozen chunks shows its disgusting lumps through the white of the snow and just grosses me out. Llama poo is everywhere in great towering piles. Alpaca poo spreads out from one spot to another like a wave of algae on an infested lake. Sheep poo is just a murky squashy mess to walk in.... it is everywhere... you can't avoid it. The cats bury theirs but you can smell it under the deck waiting to make it's spring debut until I can pour bleach (two or three containers) over it to lessen the stench. Why can't animals use a toilet like people.... then it just disintegrates underground.

Hubby wants a little tractor so that he can pile up the poo to compost and be turned to soil. I'm beginning to think this wouldn't be such a bad idea. I've never had this much poo to deal with.....

I remember one of the first water colours that I painted was of seagulls on the rocks by the sea shore and I painted their droppings and all. The one thing I have discovered is that people do not want to buy paintings where poo is prevalent. We like to gloss over the fact that faeces are a fact of life and if you don't like it you had better not farm or bird watch either. Many times I have been watching chickadees come to our feeder and thought how gross the feeder looks with all the bird poo on it. Even the chicken coop is a mass of poo this time of the year. Makes you almost long for some snow to cover it up....

The fact is that I like to shovel the stuff in the evenings when it is frozen but not frozen in to the snow yet. That way you can shovel it up and away without gagging from the smell. Frozen poo is much better to deal with than soft thawed decaying stuff.

February is heart and stroke month. It's Valentine's month. It's roses and get romantic month but I think it should be ice and poo month! Can't wait till March.

Another bit of W.A.W.O.W.

Ta Da! All finished.

W.A.W.O.W.

This has been What A Week Of Work thus the W.A.W.O.W. I have been busy all week. I haven't been out through the door. Now you may think that is terrible since the weather has turned milder. You might think its a chance to be lazy but for me it meant a week of catching up on my level 2 homework. I am not caught up, but I am making progress. I am not reading, and I am not watching T.V., (we don't have that anyway), I haven't been wasting my time on the internet. No, indeed, I've been spinning and I have pictures to prove it.

I started out the week with the very good intentions of getting the section of questions on mohair finished but then I got caught in another power outage. I couldn't weigh my blended fibre as I have an electric weigh scales and so I looked through my questions to see what I could work on that didn't require a blend. Ah ha! I found a question regarding needlework. The question said to spin a yarn (wool so no blending) appropriate for needlework and finish a small needlework sampler with your yarn. I began by reading what was considered a good yarn for needlework and decided on duplicating a three ply called Persian. I copied that as best I could in yellow, wine, and blue. I spun a ten yard skein in each colour to include as my samples along with enough to finish the sampler. Then I dug out a needle appropriate for needlework (not all of them are you know... go figure!) and began to investigate which stitches I would be using.

I had taken out a library book some time ago on the stitches used for needlework in which there are over 200. Sheesh! Deciding which stitches to use was not going to be easy. I started in on the stitching and what do you know..... I Iike needlework! I can see how this could become addictive. I am just about finished and as usual I can't wait to show it off.

Meanwhile once the lights came back on there was all the mohair I had been working on lying all over the living room. so in between finishing the yarn for the needlework and actually doing the needlework I have been carding, combing and spinning mohair and mohair blends. I also was trying to get everything that I had done in my book with labels and commentaries and everything that needed to be done to meet the requirements for my homework. I have accomplished a lot I think. Have a look.

This is llama spun and in my book with a 3"x3" sample for a vest.



This is a sample of a knitted shawl in alpaca.



These are yarn samples I have spun this week. The three top ones in wine, blue, and yellow are the samples for the needlework.



This is my needlework sample.



This last sample is a blend of mohair, wool, and silk which I will use for my mohair with texture sample. I can't wait to spin it!



So there you have it.... W.A.W.O.W.