Best Laid Plans....

My Father and Mother just celebrated their 77th birthdays... their birthdays are just one week apart. Yesterday you will recall that I had planned on going on a picnic. X that one... Pops (that's my father... ) called and invited us to go to their house for cheese cake which he had bought for my mother's birthday and had forgotten about. So we ended up there instead. It turned out to be a nice diversion actually. Then Daughter #2 and I came home to watch movies... we've been doing movie marathons each night. Sometime watching three in the run of an evening. Mostly they are movies that are at least a few years old.  I really want to go out on the deck but the wind dies down at night and out come the mosquitoes... that's where the new sun room comes in handy.  We open all the windows in there and sit back in comfort and enjoy the night breezes without the irritation of mosquitoes. It's great... I really think that Teapot and I should look into seriously building a screened porch and maybe make it a little more elaborate than I was first thinking.  The west side of the house has been beckoning to us for several years. I keep thinking that we should build a deck out there but it suddenly occurred to me that it would be a great spot for our screened porch.  We could use clear plastic for the roof.... like the kind that you use for green houses... you know that corrugated stuff. Then have screens that are removable in winter. Or we could get a little more elaborate and make it more fall and spring proof.  We could use sensible glass for the roof and turn it into a real room with a wood stove and sliding glass doors everywhere.  Mind you I could be just dreaming.  I'm sure it would cost an arm and a leg.  Teapot hates them but I love house renovations.... it means something new is happening.... and a change in your location is like going on holiday.

So there was no picnic...

Teapot will be home tomorrow... they are traveling today. they are supposed to be in Grand Prairie tonight which is like a hop skip and a jump away... I might even actually get to talk to him.  All the time he has been away he has been where there is no cell phone coverage, and getting to use the pay phone is a fight against all of those JCRs who are calling home.  I've missed talking to him. Daughter #1 is with him and I will be glad to see her too. It seems like they have been gone a very long time.

All day yesterday... I spun. Something I haven't done for a while.  I've been knitting all along... and I'm sorry to say that I still don't have my shrug finished for the 150 hour project.... I ran out of black wool 12 rows from the end.  So now I'm waiting for Rit Dye so that I can finish dyeing the last skein that I have... meanwhile I have started on the 50 hour project for level 5.  I am making a table cloth out of Ramie and linen.  I started spinning the Ramie yesterday. So far so good.  I am happy with the spinning and Ramie is not so bad.... I know I know... you're all laughing that I would choose linen after the hullabaloo I made last year about hating flax.... but I'm not spinning line... I'm spinning tow and there's all the difference in the world.  I will spin Ramie which is white and lustrous and weave it on my 6 inch pin looms and then I will spin linen and use it to join the blocks together. It will be a picture of beauty as the crisp white of the ramie and the ecru of the linen come together.... I'm excited!

So I just had my juice and toast and I'm off to spin Ramie...

Summer Is Supposed To Be Great... Right....?

Remember the days when summer meant going to the beach... or to the lake... swimming at all hours of the day.... living in your swimsuit. Sun burns were common. running through the forest was part of the game and when school ended the summer stretched out before us with endless possibilities.

What I want to know is why my summers don't look a bit like that any more. Every day.... it's feed the animals. Feed more animals.  Weed the garden. Sleep when you can... (avoid the rain although I do have to say that this last week has been pretty good).... worry about money and how to pay the bills.... (Teapot doesn't get a pay check in the summer). Worry about hay and how much we are going to get. Haul water.... haul more water.... and go to the dump with loads of junk that seems to be generated from my home.  Not once have I dipped my paddle this year... Something's wrong.... right?

I'm feeling the urge to shed.... shed some animals... anyone want some sheep?  I'd like to hang on to my alpacas though... but the horse... well I'd be quite happy to see the end of her...  and Honeydew.... well in a heart beat she could go.

We used to take the kids camping.... We used to take the kids canoeing... I want to go back to that.  Lament lament lament...!

Something has gotta be done! You wait... there will be some big changes around this farm... just you wait!

I'm going to be sittin' by a lake... and I'm going to swim and canoe... I'm done with this sittin around doing nothing.

Yup... Summer is going to be like it used to be... picnics that's how I'll start... with a picnic for Daughter#2 and me we'll do it today too.

Nary A Picture To Be Had

Daughter #1 took the camera with her when she headed for JCR camp a week and a half ago and so I don't have any pictures to post from the dyeing retreat. Now that it's over I can safely say that for the first time ever I really didn't want to hostess it.  Not that I didn't want to see my friends and not that I didn't want them to be here... just that I wasn't feeling up to it.  For about 6 months now I've been feeling bone tired all the time and was actually quite fearful that it might be heart related. But I think that the Doctor has finally figured out what's happening with me.  Just before I went to Olds I figured it was time to see a doctor about my ankle and maybe get some regular tests done to see if all was well with my blood pressure, cholesterol, and my thyroid. So I went to see the doctor two days before I headed off down to Olds.  When I got back I kept thinking about my test results and wondering if anything had showed up... after two weeks of waiting to get a call from the doctor's office I had heard nothing and so I thought since our clinic is all frigged up and no one doctor is reviewing charts.... (we don't have a family doctor anymore) that maybe I should check out what had come back from the blood tests. Friday I found out that I'm anemic. I have lots of red blood cells but they are small which means that there is not enough hemoglobin to make them fat and without the iron they can't carry enough oxygen around to my body.  No wonder I'm tired all the time.

I've been oh so tired..  like bone weary tired.  Like put my head down and sleep all the time tired. Even doing a sink full of dishes just about kills me. And it was getting worse recently. So now /I'm taking iron supplements and it may take a week or two before I start to see a difference... but hopefully soon because I still want to just lie down and sleep all the time.  So you see, when everyone arrived at my house on Friday for a joyful weekend of exuberant dyeing I was not really on the same page. I just wanted to go find a place to lay my head.  But it is all over for another year... and while I was not at my best all the others seemed to enjoy it.  And that's what counts.  I did a little knitting but kept finding that I was making mistakes and having to pull everything out and re-knit.  So then I spun for a while and I tried out my Trindleman spindle with 1/3 cashmere, 1/3 yak down, and 1/3 bamboo.  It is lovely to spin on that spindle... I'm quite enraptured.  We also went shopping at garage sales... I was the big winner. I came home with a rocking chair... a painting, an iron headboard and foot board, an hand woven table cloth, a lamp, a willow basket, and several pretty doilies that were hand crocheted in cotton...and in really good shape too. By Sunday there were lovely colours all over the deck. Purples, turquoise, and blue in every shade. Some had done crowded pots, and some had just dip dyed, but they all had lovely results.  For the most part the weekend was a success.

I'm off to work a little on my knitting... Almost there!

The Dyeing Retreat Starts Today.... Please Can We Reverse Time ; \

Well the dye retreat begins today. Blah ick ugh... the weather sucks.  It is supposed to be rainy today and sunny tomorrow and Sunday.... I'm hopeful. The mosquitoes want to eat me and pester me and make life firmly miserable.  There's recycling to do, and garbage to go to the dump... the lawn mower gave out and so we will be camping in our jungle lawn where killer mosquitoes lurk. The deck is in dire need of being cleaned up but I will do that this morning. The garbage will go to the dump since a good friend is working there and I will take a thermos of tea up and we will have a visit in the shack... there's quite a nice shelter/shack and you can see good stuff going into the share shed.... it's all good.  I have to stop off at the Thrift store for some weaving shuttles that just came in. A quick visit to the doctor's office for a check up on the ankle... (which has moments when its better). And then I should be home for an afternoon of cleaning up my damn kitchen which is a crazy crater right now. I made an apple pie yesterday and just as I was about to clean up after making it and getting it in the oven the contractor who did our house renovation two years ago showed up... I had to leave with him to take him to Mom's and Dad's place because he's going to be doing some renovations to their bathroom.. we hope... So the kitchen was left a la mess... which I partially cleaned up last night when I got home but by the time supper was finished I was pooped. (Well I did have to chase sheep in off the road and haul water (4 tanks) and after all was said and done it was my Dad's 77th birthday.... (the apple pie was for him... his favorite). So by the time I sat down last night knitting was the last thing I had on my mind.  For the first time in a very very long time I sat with nothing in my hands and watched a movie.... I don't do that very often. Even when I watch a movie usually I'm spinning or knitting. I certainly miss Teapot's help... he usually hauls water and feeds and chases sheep and goes to the dump and does the recycling... though the last is generally a shared task.

Now along with all of that I'm training a puppy to not pee and poop in the house... this has generally been unsuccessful so far. He's too young to rub his nose in it... he's doesn't know what that means so you have to catch the wee bugger as he is starting to squat and run out the door and put him on the ground before he poops on you.  It is rather a hilarious scene to see my rather large carcass running for the door with a mini poop machine in my hands.... held at a distance. Yesterday he discovered the thrill of peeing in the furnace. Our furnace is in the crawl space beneath the floor and the vent for it is in the floor beneath the steps.... well the little bugger peed in there knowing full well that no one would ever find it... I just so happened to hear psssspspsssspspsp and looked up to see him standing there with a rather glazed expression on his face. Yup.... I can't reach down to clean it out... my arms are not long enough... so thank God we are not using the furnace right now or else we would have a fine aroma in the house.... Teapot will have to face that one when he gets home.

Meanwhile I'm trying to train the damn kitten to use a litter tray. That has not always been successful either... right now I have a tub full of stinky cat's pee and water and shoes... the cat decided the other day to pee in the closet where we keep our runners and shoes etc... 2 pairs of flip flops, 1 pair of red high heels, and 3 pairs of runners are now soaking and being washed.... they will be finished today and then I have to clean the tub out with bleach. Yeah gotta love those pets.

So if you're coming for the dye retreat be ready to experience Frankie in extreme wacko mode.

Arrrrrrgggggghhhhh.... I think I'll go have some tea and some breakfast.....maybe that will make me sane....

Nah... that's just impossible.

It's A Fine Marnin' This Marnin' Narmin

Remember that from last year.  It really applies this year because we have a new puppy... (I know.. that's the third doggy... but honestly there won't be anymore) and his name is Narmin. (For you proper English speaking types that's Normon). And it truly is a fine marnin this marnin.  The sun is out... there's a gentle breeze keeping the mosquitoes bearable.... it's not too hot... and I don't have to go back to the museum today... I can knit... Now can you get any finer than that? It's a fine marnin this marnin Narmin. If it's as fine a marnin tomarrow marnin as it is this marnin Narmin, it'll be a fine marnin again tomarrow marnin, Narmin.

I'm having a bowl of strawberries with cream and sugar poured over them for my breakfast. Yum!  They are local strawberries and quite frankly outstrip the California ones ten to one for taste. I'm hoping that a few weeks of sunshine will bring out the berries in force this year.  For the last few years it has been next to impossible to get local berries because it was so dry. The strawberries are ripe.... the raspberries are about to be just right for picking, and the Saskatoons, then just a few weeks from now it will be time to pick blueberries. That will just be a pleasure.  Is there anything so gratifying as a day berry picking with a picnic in the middle and maybe a quick swim in a nearby lake?  Summertime pleasure at its best.

Narmin is sleeping at my feet.  He's a good little puppy and he is only 7 weeks old.  The first few days were a bit of an adjustment.  He was peeing and pooping all over the house and if you didn't catch him right away it could be quite a mess. But we are getting better and he is starting to whine in an effort to let us know that it is time to take him out. Thank heavens we don't have carpet. He is a sweet looking little fellow. He is a Shi-tzu and Red Heeler cross so basically he is a mutt... just the kind of dog we like... pure bred dogs have too many problems... at least that has been our experience.  While we like Jiggs and Baily they were neither fulfilling our lap/cuddle requirements and so we got this little guy. He likes to sleep on our bed with us unlike the other two... well Bailey likes to sleep on the bed but she likes to push everyone off so we've had to curtail her bed sleeping with us.  Jiggs doesn't like sleeping with us... I think she thinks it is beneath her dignity... which is really weird because when we first got her she loved to cuddle up with us... but not any more. Jiggs is a very self reliant and individualistic dog.  She is not at all in need of our company... she could live out doors and have nothing to do with any of us except for the food thing.  Bailey is totally not self reliant and wants to be a lap dog only she's too damn big. So then there's Narmin... and so far he's very cute and likes to have a cuddle as long as it is not too confining.  He follows me everywhere. Still, he's a chewer and so far has wanted to chew on any fringe... like the ones on my wool rugs. Fingers are also great for chewing.... and toes. Slippers are he best chew toys and he likes to fall asleep with his nose in a pair of slippers. He's quite an interesting little character.  The only real problem with him so far is he falls asleep at about 8 p.m. in the evening and wants everyone up at 5 a.m. which totally sucks... cause I want to sleep and he wants to play.  However, I managed to hold him off to 7 a.m. this morning and his reward was a nice long 1 km walk through the bush... lovely. That's probably why he's passed out under my feet here. He has very short legs and a bushy round bum and walking that far for the little guy just about exhausted him. Still, it got me out of bed and doing stuff already... (though I really want to go back to sleep for another hour!)

The coffee pot is brewing and the smell of rich brown coffee is calling me to the kitchen and the knitting sits on the side table in the sun room waiting to be picked up.  I watched The Spinner's Tool Box yesterday and will give it a bit of a review tomorrow along with Rigid Heddle Weaving (the dvd). I'm off for a day of relaxation and two more patterns on this sleeve and I'll just have the sewing together, the darning in ends, and the knitting of the band around the body left to do... a couple more days I'm hoping on that shrug, and I'll be finished.  Then there is the upcoming dye retreat....

Well I'd better get at it.  See ya!

The Visual And The Tactile

So I've been sitting at the Peck House at the HH Museum for the last two days demo-ing spinning as a traditional/ pioneer skill.  There were very few who showed up, which didn't surprise me as most of the people in this town have at one time or another seen me demonstrate spinning... mostly we were hoping to pick up traffic of those passing through our community. There has been such bad weather of late and with all the road closures etc. there are very few passing through our community... still it was fun to show off the art/craft to those who came.  As a result my 150 hour project has been suffering from neglect... not entirely... because I have been working on it from time to time, especially in the evenings, but not enough... never enough!  This morning though I woke early and came downstairs for reasons I will talk about later (like tomorrow if I get the nerve)... and started knitting right away. While I was knitting I decided to pop one of those DVDs that I purchased from the Interweave Hurt Book Sale. I happened upon Margaret Stove's, Spinning for Lace. Wow, it is awesome. It is by far the best DVD that I have viewed in terms of usable information.  She never opened her mouth on the video without teaching me something I didn't know. Obviously there's a lot to learn out there yet.

Now there's something that could be done for a Group Study for Master Spinners.  Hmmmm...! Maybe I should suggest Margaret Stove to come for the Master Spinners who want to keep working.

Next video... A Spinner's Tool Box. We'll see if that one is as good.

So it looks like it is going to rain again this afternoon. After two days of sunshine I am hopeful that those dark clouds coming our way are full of wind and nothing else... otherwise any farmers out there haying are not going to be happy.

Having just got home from the museum, I'm about to continue on with the second sleeve in my shrug. It is looking awesome and it feels simply .... well, there are no words.  I wish we had feel photos.... you know pictures of how things feel rather than just how they look. There is beauty in this shrug that I am making and I am not trying to brag now... but aside from how it looks (which is quite nice)... it is how it feels that makes me want to sing it praises and that is not something I can take credit for.  It feels nice because the merino sheep have been bred to give fine soft fibre, and the silk worms produce an exemplary fibre, and the Cashmere is.... Oh! The Cashmere is beyond heaven... oh heavenly goats!  I have enough knitted and sewed that last night I was able to slip one arm in one sleeve.... and it feels like the silkiest cloud you have ever felt... it makes you want to get naked and just wear it... sorry I had to describe it that way... it would be like rolling in hundred dollar bills for you tycoon types, or,  for a connoisseur, drinking the finest Scotch Whisky and letting it slide over your palette after twenty years of not drinking at all.  If there were Greek Gods they would be fighting to roll in my Shrug.

Do you get my drift... the Shrug is glorious. The only thing I can think of that even closely compares is new born baby skin... on the inside of your arm. Soft and smooth and sleek all at the same time.  I cannot sing the praises of Cashmere highly enough.

 If I could wear Merino/Silk/Cashmere underwear... yeah... I think I would...

Ok.. enough... I won't say anymore... there have been too many over the top images already!

God.. it's really bad having a visual imagination. I'm just sayin'....

So with that in mind here's another image at the other end of the spectrum.... and thank God it is not a tactile photo....

Ha ha... that's it for me today... I'm out of here... ya hear? Gone...

Good Night To One And All

I've been knitting for the last few days. 150 hour project... is coming along really nicely... though slowly. It looks awesome... even better than I thought it would look.

I woke this morning to a ripping thunder storm... one of those ones that every crack of thunder seems like the sky is going to open up above your head and something awful is going to fall out of the sky and squash you smartly.  Then it rained.... like nothing I've ever seen before... the rain was so hard.... (how hard was it you say?)... it was so hard that it was like someone tipped a bathtub over and poured it over our heads.  But then the weird thing is it just cleared up after that and out came the sun and it was down right steamy and hot hot hot. Teapot says that this is the change of the summer and we will get hot weather from here on in.  We'll see... and if things are like that it won't be fit out since the mosquitoes are dreadful this year.  We'll still be house bound unless we're covered in Deet.

Teapot and Daughter #1 are headed off down to Cochrane, AB for a trip with the JCRs.  It's all good though I have to take care of animals alone while they are away. A few weeks ago Teapot decided that the sheep and horse could get out on graze if we put up a temporary fence around the lawnier parts of the yard.  So up went a temp fence and if ever I had wories about the alpacas I don't any more. Mishka the female alpaca stays inside a three strand fence that in some areas is no higher than just above my knees.  Howeydew the llama, has to stay cooped up since the fence would be a joke for her. The sheep fit through the wires but because Mishka stays inside the wires they don't wander far. Usually on our property or within a short range of our place.  Meanwhile the horse goes into another area with a temporary fence and is loving the fact that she can eat green stuff instead of hay. However, with all horses and animals in my experience... the grass is always greener... so she lifts the wires and heads off in her own direction... it's good that she is such a placid horse because Daughter #1 has been known to be dragged down the road holding on to the tail of her horse until such time as Dreamer will stand still to get the halter on her. Then she is quietly lead back to her digs with head hanging low.  Silly horse.  While the dear Daughter is away I think Dreamer will be staying inside her paddock and living on the bit of grass that has been able to grow up in there recently.... that and hay.  Meanwhile the alpacas are grazing on their two new paddocks and enjoying the new digs... they will hopefully be ok there till Teapot gets back.  Still the whole thing is a worry when I'm here on my own... Daughter #1 is a good help but sometimes she's a bit hard to jump start.  Hopefully there will be no surprises.

Well it is getting late and there is a sleeping dog with it's chin on my foot and I think it's time to hit my pillow... all is peaceful and Daughter #2 is sleeping, Daughter #1 is reading in the sunroom and is too excited about her trip to sleep... she'll have time in the vehicle to do lots of that.  Teapot is packing the last of his gear. They leave at 10 a.m. My knitting is sitting on the side table next to my chair in the sunroom... it's calling me... I just wonder to I have the hutspa to knit another row or two or should I just face reality and head off to bed....

I think bed is winning.

Good night... and stay tuned for my foray into Pioneer days at the HH museum, I'll be in costume...