Quote For The Day And A Few Other Things

I had a comment saying that the links I placed in yesterday's post were not working... they work for me.  They are two links to YOU Tube videos of men Air surfing... They fling themselves from airplanes with surf boards attached to their feet and fall to the earth surfing the wind currents using the board to help them.  Then when they are almost down to the ground they open their shutes and land as though they are birds. It is quite something to see. If you want to view it and can't get through on the links in yesterdays post just look up Air Surfing on You Tube.

The rain is still coming... in small amounts and so we find ourselves cooped up in the house. It is giving me a great opportunity to knit... and so I knit. My 150 hour project is coming along nicely... But I need to keep knitting. My posts here over the next few days will be short as I try to knit as much as possible.

Here's a quote for the day... Teapot read it to me from a book he is reading and quite frankly I found it to fit my personal philosophy quite nicely....

There is pleasure in pathless woods;
There is rapture in the lonely shore;
There is society where none intrudes,
Where horned owls hoot and night hawks soar;
Not that I love man the less but nature more.
                                                   (Unknown, possibly C. W. Mitchell)

Wackos In This World

Sometimes insanity can be pathetic.....


But sometimes insanity can be awe inspiring.....

Check this out

and this

I Can't See Through This Fog...Oh... That's The Sleepy Dust In My Eyes

This morning even the mosquitoes are walking. I'm sure that the fog is so thick that they just are too nervous to fly. Really it doesn't surprise me that it is so foggy. We have been having so much rain this year that it looks positively tropical out there. Still I'm not complaining, though I do hope the farmers are able to get their hay off. The fog is golden coloured off to the east so the sun must be trying to burn through.

I peered out through the murk at half past 6 and wended my way downstairs for a cup of tea and to let the dogs out for a bathroom break. I needed to stay by the door and keep an eye on Jiggs since she ran away last night. We are thinking that there is something that distracted her in the bush, like a baby deer or maybe a bear (I'm thinking baby deer since the alpacas and llama are quite peaceful). Usually she will come when she is called but not this time. Then Teapot got mad and that made her run faster. She was gone for a good half hour and only came back when Daughter #2 coaxed her home.  So while I watched through the window this morning, I began to read The Alden Amos Big Book Of Hand Spinning. I've always been told that if there is one book that a hand spinner needs in their library it's The Alden Amos Big Book Of Hand Spinning. So this year, while Interweave Press was having its Hurt Book Sale, I decided to finally buy it... it's hilarious. Alden Amos, I think, must eat shards of glass for breakfast to be so sharp. (That's a compliment.. weird I know).  At one point he is talking about cleaning fibre and in this instance silk in particular.... he says, "About the only time you have to clean silk before spinning is when you have raised, purchased, or fallen heir to a quantity of mangled, semi-occupied cocoons. In which case you have my sympathy." Ha ha, he cracks me up....  Anyway, the books is awesome. It has everything that you could ever want to know about hand spinning and then some. I've already learned lots and I'm only on pg 49.

Fog seems to be a prevalent issue these days. Last night, when Jiggs went missing, I decided that perhaps I should take the truck and have a look for her on the road. I didn't really think that she had gone that way... I really figured that she had run into the bush, but then I'm not an expert on freaked out dogs who are thirsting after something to chase. So off in the truck I went. That's when I noticed the fog from hell.... there is a streak of some substance on the windsheild of the truck that no sane person can see through. It is the fog from hell.  It's hard to drive when you are constantly putting on the windsheild wipers in an effort to wipe away the offending substance on your windsheild. Suffice it to say that I wanted to get out and like the proverbial grandma produce a tissue from the sleeve of my sweater and wipe the offending slime off. However, SINCE I'M NOT OLD, (I only fall asleep in my chair because I have narcolepsy...  just joking) I didn't have the required tissue. In the end I didn't drive far and by the time I got home Jiggs was there and it was raining again. (I must say... a little sun would make me feel better if it would only come out for a little while.... but really I'm not complaining!!) The humming birds too seem to be staying in the trees... because I'm refilling the feeders for them and the only thing coming to the feeders are the ants that promptly fall into the feeder and then drift to the top of the syrup, dead. So I'm wondering if the hummingbirds too are feeling that there is just too much fog... still they have to eat... perhaps they have left for the year and are roosting in sunnier climes.

It's years like this that remind me why we left Ontario... The mosquitoes there were unbearable. They would land on the window screen by the thousands and to go outside the door meant that you were taking your life in your hands. It's years like this that make me think that a screened porch is just the ticket.  Teapot and I have been seriously thinking about a screened porch since the year of the renovation, but it has not gotten past the planning stages at this point. Still I may have to prod Teapot into taking out his dreaded hammer if we are to survive this summer.

Oh looky!  There's blue sky above.... maybe just maybe I can sit out and knit today... for I finished spinning the two spools of Merino/Cashmere/Silk that I was spinning yesterday and I even got it dyed. So now it's straight knitting for the next few days and hopefully.... hopefully, I'll be finished with that level 4 homework...

Have a great day. (And try not to sleep in the fog... because even walking mosquitoes will find you and enjoy a good suck).

Spinning Day... Dyeing Day

Right now I'm plying the last of my 150 hour project... I know I've said that before but this time I know that I'm spinning the last amount. I have 450 metres of yarn coming off the bobbins in about 2 hours from now. I started to fall asleep at the wheel (ha ha that's so funny... I wonder if the cops will pull me over for that!) mostly because I went to bed really late last night after spinning the last two baggies of fibre. This morning I got up at 8 a.m. and started spinning right away. But even with a coffee in me (actually two) I found that my eyes are getting heavy so I should be snoozing instead of writing on my blog... but here I am.. all the same.

Teapot, I'm sure is sick of doing everything while I spin. He just punched down bread and put it in the pans so that I wouldn't have to wash goat stench off my fingers (I'm spinning unwashed Cashmere which is kind of rank). I'll be glad to get this stuff plied and in the dye pot. I'm looking forward to getting back to knitting.  My goal is to get this in the mail to my instructor by Monday.... and yes I will post pictures of it before it goes in the mail.

I just received in the mail yesterday a stack of books that I bought from the Interweave Hurt Book Sale. Oh joy and bliss!  Videos and books to peer at and take pleasure in.  Last night I lay in bed perusing Spinning Control (I can't remember who wrote write now and I'm not running upstairs to get it either!) and this morning I watched the video Spinning Rare Breeds. Awesome so far... loads of information that nobody would want to have except for us nutty spinning types.

It has stopped raining... though it continues to threaten. Everything is so lush that it looks like a jungle around here. Yesterday Teapot and I walked the forest trails in the wet and by the time I got home my legs were soaking wet and my feet. Jeans went into the wash because they were wet to the thighs and the runners had to be left on the deck.  The walk itself was lovely... we looked at the reams of Bedstraw  plants that are growing profusely. And Teapot pointed out the beautiful blooms of the Wintergreen plants that are also blooming in profusion. I have not seen any orchids this year but it may be too wet. Mushrooms are everywhere. Teapot brought home some giant puff balls which were yummy with steak the other night. Still my favorite are the good old fashioned regular puff balls.

I'm off for a quick snooze before I carry on with that plying... I can't believe that it is over a week since I got back from Olds and I'm still feeling pooped. Yup it's a sure sign that I'm getting old.

Well I ain't dead yet....

Slogging Through

Slogging through Seems to be an apt title today since I seem to be slogging through a bunch of stuff.  The rain has been pouring for a few days now and though right at the moment it is not raining it seems to be possible that at any moment the skies will open up for another downpour.  the forecast called for a drying trend two days ago but it has not stopped raining heavily all the same... so much for predictions!

Everywhere there is mud... have a look at this...

The water is pooled every where and will not dissipate...

This is a rare thing indeed...
Even my flowers got hit....

They look so pathetic in their barrels with the petals all beaten down.
... and through it all we're slogging through. All that praying that I did last year must be coming back to bight me on the bum. Everything is looking lush and green and I guess we did need the water but why things can't come in a more measured way is beyond me.

I've been slogging through spinning for the 150 hour project. Yes I ran out of yarn and need some more...  not much, but some, so I have been spinning for the last few days whenever I possibly can. I'm doing ok and I only have two more baggies of fibre to spin so I should have that done today if all goes well and there are no interruptions.  At least that is my plan. But I really have my mind on the next project so I'm slogging through the 150 hour project too.

For the last few days I've been helping the parents move furniture around in their house. They have decided to move Dad's chair into the spare bedroom in an effort to give him some privacy.  His chair is is home... he sleeps in it and eats in it and pretty much lives in it. We also brought him in a book shelf and desk so that he can continue working on his 3000 page book of genealogy. He has been working on it for twelve years now.  He has traced our family back to the time of William the Conqueror. so he has written a book  of our family. It's actually quite interesting... but time consuming.  Meanwhile it has been a slog cleaning up the papers and Christmas cards and birthday cards that date back ten years... real horders they are. They also had a leak in their bathroom so Teapot has been doing his best to fix that... slogging is actually an understatement for all of that.

Teapot and Daughter #1 leave at the end of the week for summer camp with the JCRs. They are headed for Cochrane, AB, for ten days of fun so we are trying to get done everything that we need to do before they go. It is an intensive time for sure. Too much to do in too little time... but we're slogging through.

For family member who want to see them I leave you today with another picture of the girls... on the eve of that graduation ceremony of two weeks ago.

Can you tell that Daughter #2 doesn't think much of getting her picture taken.??? Yeah kind of...

Have a great day and hope you're not slogging through like I am... and no more rain.... at least for a few days... not likely!

Rainy Days

We've been having a few days of rain and a few weeks ago while I was in Olds, certain areas in our region were dealing with flood-like conditions. The rain we've been having again this week is really making life difficult for those who were hit not so long ago. Teapot and I remain dry as we are on higher ground but our poor alpacas are suffering in this rain. They are in the new paddock and though there are tons of trees to get under, they are all soaked through to the skin.  I really wish we had a shelter for them in there. But you can't put shelters everywhere, so they will just have to suffer through this wet weather.

This rainy day started with me waking early and not wanting to wake Teapot I felt that perhaps I should evacuate the bed in an effort to let him sleep.

Normally rainy days in summer means that I would haul out a puzzle and go to work on it but not this day. I've been reading blogs and passing time on the Internet. (I'm giving myself a free day from spinning as I twisted my ankle again last night and thought that a day from treadling might aid it somewhat. And it was getting better too...) I happened to read a blog post that quite interested me... it was a review with a philosophical bent of a movie called The Tree Of Life. I've not heard much about this as I'm not getting a whole lot of information regarding current movies these days... (with no T.V. movie info and for that matter popular culture news is not really a prevalent part of life.) So after reading the review I went to IMBd to check out whatever info I could find regarding the movie.  It seems to be a somewhat philosophical look on life in the 1950s and familial relationships in middle America. So having read the review and watched several trailers I'm about to embark on a commentary that might be somewhat off base.  I will have a look at the movie at such time that I can find it on video... until then I must be patient.  So bare that in mind as you read what I have to say...

The movie opens with this quote apparently:

"The nuns taught us there were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.

Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.

Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things."

Opening lines from the movie, Tree of Life

I ran into trouble right away. The one thing that I have noticed in life is that Aristotle still reigns supreme in our concepts of how life is or should be... for I do believe that it was he who initiated the idea that the realm of the spirit and the realm of the passions... i.e. nature... i.e. our baser nature.. should be completely separate. 

I have a very different view of nature... I believe that nature can bring us closer to the spirit. I believe that the two cannot be divided. That they are intrinsically connected and that in trying to separate the two, it tears us apart and turns us into anything but the truly human. By exploring how the two are connected and by keeping them connected we are able to be more human. We are undeniable a source of both nature and spirit and when we try to separate them that is when we get into trouble. 

For example;

I see a dish of ice cream... I want to eat it but I know that if I do I will get fatter.

In Aristotle's way of thinking... I have two questions before me. Do I deny my self my physical want, thereby reaching for the higher moral of the spiritual, or do I succumb to my baser nature. 

I think that way of thinking is just plain wrong. When we deny one or the other that is when we get into trouble. It is the Middle-Road Theory that I prefer. 

For example: 

I see a dish of ice cream and know that if I eat too much it will make me fat and possibly sick in the future. So I eat some but not a lot, thereby not denying my physical wants but also reminding myself that too much of a good thing can be bad.

Nature and spirit are neither denied and in the end it is a healthier choice because I've learned to bring both together, denying neither part of my humanity.
 

This is a somewhat simplistic example but it helps to make my point.
 

If we were taught this from our youth the world would be a much happier place I think.
 

As we go along in life so much comes into play. The more we learn, the more there is to consider in each and every challenge we face or decision we make. In the end we only entangle ourselves further by denying that which is a part of us, be it spiritual or natural.  The natural is not the enemy. Just because we run naked in the rain is not a bad thing.... (I don't do that really!!! I might get a black eye. LOL) But neither is the spiritual the epitome of the enlightened life... have you ever found an intellectual to be someone you really want to spend time with?!  Even the Dalai Lama eats ice cream.

The human-centric idea in the initial quote from the movie is what has gotten the whole world in trouble in the first place.  We cannot separate ourselves as being above the animal world. It is the idea that we are better than animals that I have difficulty with...  I believe that we are animals. We are as much living beings as anything else on this planet and denying that is truly the mistake. We are no better or no worse than anything else... (which could lead me into a whole other area of this philosophy... maybe I'll expand on that tomorrow... or maybe I won't!)

So though I have not seen The Tree Of Life... I look forward to seeing it and exploring what was the view of the person who conceptualized the movie.  But always I will bare in mind that nature and nurture come together to be beautiful... in every aspect and should never be separated.

And that's it for waxing poetic on this rainy day... I'm off to move furniture at the parent's house... and maybe do a little spinning depending on this ankle of mine.

Hope you all like the new look of my blog...

While I Was Away

While I was away the kitten grew and started to really walk and play.

There was a terrific downpour which over flowed all the rivers, and washed out many of the roads.

 

And Daughter #1 attended the Graduation ceremonies this year. She was a candle barer for one of the boys that was graduating....

Thanks to my good friend G who was a mom to Daughter #1 and helped her with her makeup etc while I was not able to...

Sometimes I wish Fibre Week at Olds College was a little later in the year. (sigh)