twistin sandy's blog

want color?? i'll show you color....

2012-02-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

8 blocks toward next quilt! my back is feeling better = more sewing!! still having ice time on the sofa several times a day to insure healing.

Maya Angelou

2012-02-06T00:36:00.000-08:00

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

~Maya Angelou♥

because i need to whine

2012-02-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

i've spent the past week developing a close relationship with an icepack, the sofa and daytime tv... not the way i want to spend my time. i just don't have enough time for crap like this. i didn't know that sciatica could be this painful and debilitating! and i don't know what set it off. i've had bouts of low back pain since my early 20's and that runaway horse i was on... no, really! and icepacks and/or one of those back brace elastic belt things always makes life "normal" again. and the belt is pretty standard accessory for serious gardening. so, after lots of ice and too much lying around, i'm doing some standing and walking without searing pain down my leg and feeling like my leg is going to give out under me... which if that happened could create a whole nother problem. the golden years?... my ass! this afternoon i did some more cutting and planning on the latest quilt project (no sewing)(that involves sitting, which hurts). ok - now can i have some cheese with that whine? white stilton with apricot bits would be good.......

p.s. - daytime tv is AWFUL

sox

2012-01-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

another UFO finished! can't even remember when i started these... but it's been a l-o-n-g time. i know i dyed the white with spots yarn, maybe the other one, too. and they are on purpose fraternal rather than identical.

fabulous fabric

2012-01-28T22:11:00.000-08:00

today counted as a "bonus day" in my book... like early spring... bright and sunny sweater weather. seemed like a good day for a lunch with friends followed by a bit of retail therapy at the Pine Needle quilt shop in Lk Oswego. met Pam at NW Wools, then Laurie and Elsa at Koji's on Barbur (name has changed and i can't remember what it is now)... lunched on teriyaki chicken (excellent) and salad (not excellent as any salad that consists of iceberg lettuce and pale hard slices of what they pass off as tomato cannot be called good). the company made up for it. and then an hour or so of wandering amongst a huge array of most excellent fabrics. i haven't found many quilt shops like this and it almost makes me hyper-ventilate. so next quilt will feature that beautiful print in the photo and the one with gradation from purple to yellow (called, i think, ombre) and some bright pinks and warm yellows. i need to go thru my stash to see what else i have that will work. not sure yet, but thinking this will be "liberated log cabin". i'll put in the name of the book that has it tomorrow. right now i need to go watch the figure skating.

added monday, 1/30/12 - today there came in the mail a belated solstice gift from Lynne and in it was a bodacious bounty of fabric! unbelievably! - there are at least 2 and maybe more that will be perfect in the next project, and in fact, the pink with curved black stripe in the block on the left was in that package! looking like it will be "liberated log cabin" taken from Freddie Moran and Gwen Marston's books. also, getting inspiration from Melody's blog . she really does some fabulous colorful art!

fibery things ~ catching up

2012-01-28T00:38:00.000-08:00

well, i had 2 fabulous fibery weekends and neglected to say a thing about them! on the 14th i went to a class at Northwest Wools, JazzKnitting taught by Ilisha Helfman (author of the book, Jazz Knitting). this was really an eye-opening, interest-expanding day for me! and that's saying a lot from someone (me) who has never had a particular fondness for those really tiny, skinny (like US #0 and #1) knitting needles. Ilisha uses an approach that i live by... no patterns or step-by-step-this-is-exactly-how-to-do-it way of doing it. she showed us examples, gave general instruction.. and we started knitting... and it was great. my first ginkgo leaf only looked like a ginkgo leaf if you consider that no leaf in nature is "perfect". it would have been a stretch to call it a ginkgo leaf, but mine was perfect in its own right. her work is really inspiring! a good fibery day it was... and several of my friends were also in the class, which made it even better.

my second ginkgo leaf, which i love better than the first

and this one started out to be something else, not sure exactly what, but this is what it became. i think it looks like a flower, so that's what it is and i love it.

and last weekend on Sat. i went to Knitted Wit's trunk show at Kathy's Knit Korner in Forest Grove. Lorajean was there with Michelle Bernstein of pdxknitterati and they had some beautiful fibers and patterns displayed! before i went, i took a serious look at my yarn and fiber stash, so managed to resist all but one of Michelle's patterns (infinity entrelac scarf). and besides my love for entrelac, i love that i can use ANY SIZE needle i want!

on Sunday, went to Linda's for her post-holiday holiday party for all who work at NW Wools or teach there. yep... i'm not currently in either of those classifications, but am so happy that Linda "grandmother"s me in and i get to go, too! so i spent the afternoon eating good food, enjoying the company of fiber folk, and spinning that braid of fiber that my talented and artistic 9-year-old grandgirl, Zylie dyed for me and gave me for xmas (see some previous post for photo). on the way back home, we (Laurie, Crystal and i) made a stop at the Pine Needle quilting shop in lake oswego. we got there about 15 minutes before their closing time, but Laurie managed to find just what she wanted and made her purchase just in the nick of time! i didn't... and just might get to go back tomorrow. i need to find a fabric with dragonflies. i really do need to....

it 's about time - finished

2012-01-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

finished, done, complete, and ready to hang.

lower right

lower half

upper right

upper half

so..... now what?

black bear

2012-01-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/bear-gives-birth-minnesota-video_n_1222588.html

last night i followed a link on Huff Post and watched a video of a black bear in the wild in Minnesota give birth to her cub. it was absolutely fascinating to watch! the Wildlife Research Institute has a webcam and infrared light in the bear's den and they've been monitoring her (Jewel) and other bears. i felt so fortunate to be able to see this! at times it was difficult, because of the dim lighting and the shadow, to see it well, but i could tell when she was actually giving birth and hear her "talking" to her cub as she was cleaning it up. it reminded me so much of the experience of watching my ewes and their new lambs! and the whimpering and crying of the newborn cub sounded so much like human newborns that is was eerie! so happy i got to see it!

time piece

2012-01-19T10:32:00.001-08:00

today's the day to finish up the time piece. stay tuned. these are the borders i'm putting on, and i still need to put more watches and watch pieces on... getting close!!!

weather ~ we all have it!

2012-01-19T00:20:00.000-08:00

and sometimes it comes in black and white... mostly white.
and sometimes it's quite inconvenient... like the past couple of days here in my queendom. we had some snow a couple of days ago... not a big problem really. we knew it was coming and were prepared with food, alcohol, dog cookies, and propane for the generator in case we needed it. watched the tv weathermen go all orgasmic over the prospect of SNOW, and the lower ranking of reporters sent out to remote spots around the metro area, especially to the higher elevations to report on the expected traffic problems. it got really funny during the first day and evening when these pitiful reporters were on camera telling us that a few minutes ago there had been snow falling, tho now suddenly it had stopped and even if there were no traffic problems at the minute, they did expect the roads to be slick any time now. (temp in the mid 30s F). and the weather guys were right... there was rain, snow, rain... all of it in various places around the portland area. some got snow... some did not get snow. sunday there was some on the ground around here and a bit of a freeze over night. on Jim's walk with the dogs they got as far as the end of the driveway and he slipped and fell.... nothing bad, but enough to end the walk. and then last night we got hammered! we must have gotten 8 inches or more... HUGE! but the temp was still hanging right around 32ish F, which was enough to keep the snow sliding off the roof all night long which is an eerie sound... sort of like a truck sliding off the metal roof on our dome home. so there were huge piles of it around the perimeter of the house. later today rain started, and wind and lo and behold... mid-afternoon lights went off along with computers, phone and anything that requires electricity. so Jim spent a couple of hours collecting extension cords and rigging everything up to use the generator which we've had for 2 years and not had to use. the priorities were the refrig and the small freezer which lives in the kitchen... so they got pulled out into the middle of the kitchen so they could both be plugged into the same cord. by then it was 5:00 and i was going thru the options of what we'd have for dinner that didn't require cooking... slim options. and Jim was muttering that he'd probably get it all set up and within 30 min. the power would come back on.... yep.. just in time to watch Rachel Maddow... the power was back, we had hot food rather than cold sandwiches and lived happily ever after... with the honking big cord and freezer and refrig still in the middle of the kitchen... just in case we lose power again. gotta say tho... it's nice to have that generator if we need it.

and the pink flamingo on the patio gives a touch of color to the scene!

and yes, i do know that some places on the planet have lots of this a lot of the time and i freely admit that we are a bunch of weather weenies here in the PNW. we're not used to it and don't want to get used to it, and we'll go on ad nauseum about snow when we get it. and i restrained myself and only posted 2 of the 94 photos i took of snow.

fred rooster and other art

2012-01-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

this is fred rooster who came to me from a very generous santa, and who awaits springtime when he can be in my garden in all his glory. i'm acquiring a nice selection of "art" for my garden... much of it from good will (but not fred!)

and then at Good Will i found this fabulous heavy metal (i think it's cast iron) shoe/planter. i especially love the lace effect on the side at the back and on the front. and then there are the tassels! oh my! be still my heart... this is perfection! (Jim just groaned...)

fred will remain on the hearth and the shoe will be on the kitchen window sill until spring arrives and i can find the perfect spots for them in the vegetable garden or in a flower bed.

for anyone (Anna) who might question the name of the rooster... he was given that name by his creator. i am not responsible.

my gardens will look SO fabulous!

and we have our flight reservations for Vamos, Crete in april! and our friend Gary will house/dog sit for us! now that we're definitely going again... i'm getting excited!! another Greek Easter!

"time piece" update

2012-01-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

seems i haven't posted an update on this piece in quite awhile... so here it is. have lately been doing some outline stitching which i would have thought would be rather tedious but am actually enjoying doing it. i have more watches and watch parts to put on it here and there, but after they're on it becomes very difficult to do any ironing, which i need to do if i want to put more fused bits on it. i'm enjoying this process very much... just hope i'll know when it's finished and stop. it will have border of some kind and a backing and will hang in the living room.

yesterday my wonderful neighbor, Carol, came to give me a cranio-sacral treatment. she worked for several years to become a certified therapist. this is the second time she's done a home visit to give me this therapy, and i get really good results from it. as i have an ongoing issue with low back pain, that's what she concentrated on... and it worked really well... in the afternoon, i went on a full round of errands, including the dreaded costco trip which involves lifting heavy stuff into the cart and then loading them into the car and at the end of the day i didn't have the usual heavy ache in my back that requires time on the sofa with an ice pack. hoping it will last!! she's coming back next week for another treatment. to be without back pain is a wonderful way to be.

the new year

2012-01-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

here's my thought for the new year!

so sweet... and fibery!

2011-12-28T00:33:00.000-08:00

as if they hadn't long ago secured a life-long hold on my heart...my grandkids came up with yet another very special treat for me! Alex carded this luscious luxury fiber batt for me with silky sparkle and lots of purple. that gorgeous spindle is one that i'd "favorited" on etsy... and is even better in person!

and Zylie gave me this BFL roving that she'd dyed for me. i mean... really! have we got a family thing going on here, or what!??

i could go on and on and get really sappy, but it all comes down to lovely gifts from my grandkids that are just totally perfect! as are they.

ETA: he's 11 and she's 9.

D.Landreth Company Heirloom Seeds

2011-12-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

i recently ordered and received in early december the catalog from Landreth Heirloom Seeds and it's one of the nicest catalogs i've ever seen. besides the fact that they have a huge variety of seeds and sets, there is a section with color photos of the actual flowers and vegetables... not airbrushed or drawings... real photos! if it sounds like i'm on their bandwagon, well it's because i am! i saw mention of them on facebook and went to their website. Landreth, like many small family businesses is struggling to stay afloat. i guess part of my reaction to this company was that it is a small business, the oldest seed house in the US and they supply" heirloom seeds and classics for the garden"... and i want to support them! so, check out their website, order a catalog. i've started a list of seeds to order for next spring and summer.

2nd annual cookie making day at dome central

2011-12-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

this is the best cookie in the world... has dried cranberries and white chocolate chips and butter and cream cheese. don't know its name but will put up the recipe later.

tree still needs some pruning.... it grew as a volunteer in the pasture and we harvested it, lopped off the top of it... and here it is.... and it's a hell of a lot cheaper and easier than going to a tree lot somewhere, looking at every one of the 250 trees to find the "perfect" one, finally settling on one that you don't really want but you are getting wet/cold/tired/find it difficult to appreciate these trees now that dark has set in, wrangle it into the pick-up bed, .... see? i remember this gathering in of the xmas tree and found joy in not having one for the past several years. actually the aluminum festivus pole makes so much sense! uh oh i'm feeling that familiar grinch setting in and must get more coffee in the system and hope for the best.

olives and stuff

2011-12-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

during the summer i posted these photos of our very young olive trees (there are 3 of them). they seem to be thriving.

and Jim brought in the harvest last week. and here they are... all 17 of them. they are on day #8 of the curing process which i found online. i did this curing thing a couple of years ago with a couple of handsfull of olives i brought back from crete, and they turned out quite good. hoping next year will bring a more plentiful harvest.

and time marches relentlessly on toward xmas... and i'm slowly getting dome central and myself ready for the multitudes of family that will be here for dinner and festivities on the 25th. that is also the day that brother Curbhead has suggested for the planting of a tree over my dad's ashes on the hill overlooking the vineyard that he and mom planted almost 40 years ago. that was Pop's wish, and with all the family here, it seems to be the right time. the holiday decorations have been brought up from the basement and going thru them, it seems to me that i jettisoned probably half of them in the downsizing blitz a couple of years ago. so i made a trip to my local friendly good will to find some candles to fill in the spaces... scored 7 that were totally brand new still in their cellophane wrappings... bravo. and the tree will go up on Sat., providing J carries out his assignment and finds one. cookie making happens on monday with Maggie, Jordan and Maisy for the second year which i guess makes it a tradition. for one kind, we will make the absolutely heavenly cookie that Kate makes.. it features white chocolate and dried cranberries and is ohmydeargoddessdropdead delicious. might have to make 2 batches. need to get going on gift wrapping... wonder how long i can procrastinate that damn chore.....ooops, the inner grinch slipped out there for a moment..

short days of winter

2011-12-09T00:26:00.000-08:00

and it's 13 days now til winter solstice... time for bonfires and dancing and the beginning of longer days. bring on the light!! i found the following quote on Skippysgarden blog -

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September',
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
-Oliver Herford

last roses

2011-12-07T00:30:00.000-08:00

the last roses of summer, and that seems so strange to say of roses picked on dec. 3 here in what is usually the rainy wintery time in the PNW. but, whatever... makes me happy to have roses from my garden sittin' on the counter 3 weeks before xmas. and that reminds me... ta da... i'm officially squelching my inner grinch this year and will put up and decorate a tree in the living room and also will bring out the decorations and put them around. well, after i banish the layers of dust on every surface... the left-overs of summer on a farm and dogs that seem to spend their outside time attracting dirt into their fur. altho i have been told that the dust helps protect the surface of the wood furniture. i would like to believe that.

and the inspiration for all the festivity at dome central? well, the kids (grown and grand-) will come down on the 24th and it just doesn't seem right to have santa-believers in the house on xmas eve and not have a tree.

here's the latest update on the time piece (i love calling it that!!)
all this has been fused on now, 2 watches have been attached... i found some fine almost-invisible thread which i think will work to keep the watches in place, tho i might have to use super-glue in places. and i learned something about using dupioni silk as a foundation fabric... don't do it! that's what the solid green is and it's stretched and puckered and is creating a challenge. so, there will be a LOT of surface embellishment on that piece.

anniversary

2011-11-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

the 23rd was our 33rd wedding anniversary... that's a long time and it's been what most marriages are... good times, some not so much, struggles, triumphs, lessons, adventures and enough goodness and love to keep it going. my very sweet dear dh came home with these flowers (proteas), a whole fresh crab and a delicious after-dinner wine... and fixed dinner for me. just couldn't ask for more.... winner!! that was anniversary eve. on the actual anniversary day, (which was thanksgiving eve),

Chris, Kate and kids arrived and we all went out for Thai dinner in Forest Grove. then there was the tgiving feast day at Jen and Maggie's home... wonderful family gathering with lots of traditional foods... plus 7 pies (i want to know how that happened because i want a repeat!!) 21 people and 7 pies!? oh my dear goddess of goodness... i ate so much over the last 3 days that i hurt myself... in a good way... sort of. and then today is Kate's birthday. it's probably a good thing that they left for home at about noon, before i could make a cake and arrange more feasting. i'm not sure i could have done another day of that kind of eating.

anyway... i really love these flowers. they are really exotic looking and Lynne tells me that if i keep changing the water they will last a really long time. so i will.

time

2011-11-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

for Anna, Judy and Pam... so they can see what's going on with this latest project, which eventually will hang on a wall. i've discovered the joy of fusing fabric and it is SO much fun. and i have a huge collection of old watches, most of them i've worn at some time and some are old watches that DeDe, my 2nd mom, had stashed away. also, i have my mom's and my grandmother's watches. i've always wanted to do something with them, so here is the project. and it is called "it's about time", with references to old time-worn sayings (sorry) (not really) and quotes relating to time... "time flies", "time on my hands" etc. if you have any you'd like to suggest.. please leave a comment. all suggestions are welcome!

so, i've been busy fusing pieces of fabric, cutting out shapes trying to find the best placement for them. so far, the only thing that's been fused to the background is the tree. everything else is awaiting its permanent location. at the bottom right i have pieces i've cut from a very worn and ragged quilt that my great-grandmother made for me way back at the beginning of time. the quilt top is so worn out and tattered that there's really no way to restore it, so i decided the best way to honor the work of my great-gramma's hands was to include pieces of the quilt here! it's hard to see, but there's a watch face there. also, planning to do some beading and hand stitching. it's a long-term project and so far i'm enjoying it.

some of the watches and pieces --------

my life as a turkey

2011-11-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

now... that's a grabber, isn't it? watched a fascinating program last night on PBS with that title.. about a dude named Joe Hutto who is a writer and naturalist. someone brought him 16 newly laid wild turkey eggs and he incubated them til they hatched, became their "mother" as it were and raised them in the outback of florida until they were finally grown and left. it was really a touching story and fascinating to watch this guy devote a year of his life to raising up these turkeys. people and turkeys are so very interesting.......

i LOVE PBS!

and here's a quote for today, having nothing to do with PBS: "if you go through life with your head in the sand, all that people will see is an ass". can't remember where i got that, so no attribution. sorry.....

on creativity

2011-11-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

this is brilliant... inspiring and i'm so glad i watched it!!

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html#.Tqq8PMbhUj4.facebook

a really fine week!!

2011-11-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Anna with the grape crushing/wine making crew... Jim and James

it's been a year since Anna and i have gotten together... too long between visits! she arrived last wed. around noonish and we headed straight for Maggie's Buns in forest grove, one of our favorite places for excellent food, indescribable chocolate creations, and an interior decor which is whimsical, arty, tacky, and the staff is always welcoming. they catered my dad's memorial event and i can't say enough good about what they did for us!! so, we had a huge and fabulous lunch, and took home some dinner for jim and chocolate treats for us. after over-stuffing our faces, we thought there was no way we'd want anything else to eat for the day. but we managed to make room for cheese and crackers and wine for supper and that was perfect!

on thursday we went to portland center stage for the matinee of "Oklahoma!" and i loved it just as much as the first time i saw it 3 weeks ago!! this has never been one of my favorite musicals... until this production and i gotta say it was outstanding and fabulous! in his researching of the history of the Oklahoma territory in the 19th century, the director, Chris Coleman, learned that there were over 50 all African-American towns and that one in three American cowboys was black. he decided to do this production with an all African-American cast and boy howdy did he come up with some high caliber talent. the bios in the program of the cast and creative team are amazing... and they proved themselves on stage. in case there is any doubt... i really really loved this play!

after the play we made a visit to the Penzey Spice store where i always find more spices to add to my pantry. Anna found some, too... like how could she not? by then we were, of course, hungry again so stopped at a sports bar for juicy burger and tater tots.

the rest of our time we mostly spent shopping and eating... good will, some "antique" (junk) shops, mexican food, art sales gallery(Valley Art), Thai food, a community theater play which is best forgotten, brunch at the Hands On Cafe at the Oregon Art School, perused their gallery and found nothing i could remotely afford. we spent one rainy day just hanging out at home watching movies... and snacking. the week also included a nap on most days, which we desperately needed after all that shopping and eating! also had time to discuss our lives, adventures, opinions... and to put forth our solutions for all the problems of the world. it was a productive and satisfying time and i was sad to see Anna leave.

old and new

2011-10-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

ah... a diabolical dichotomy... one foot in the '60s listening to Tammy Grimes in the original broadway cast of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", which i actually did see on broadway in new york!! and the other foot in the digital computerized world of the new Kenmore washer and dryer which were delivered today. they replace a washer that was new in the early 90s... no shit... it was a Kenmore and it actually did last that long. this new one is high efficiency, computerized, low water, "senses" the load and adjusts accordingly, and makes the damnedest noises... plus it locks the lid. come on. reallllly? and the new dryer replaces one of unknown age... probably not as old as the washer. it was given to us after the original owner inadvertently closed her cat in there... and turned it on. yeah, i know... grim. needless to say, she wanted that dryer out of her sight immediately, so it came to live here. and served well. no more cats!

and tomorrow my very dear friend Anna arrives for a visit. our friendship dates back to the early 70s and has seen us thru lots of adventures, personal complexities, adventures, road trips, marriages (one each), problems, happinesses, joys, heartaches, ... and it endures. one of those friendships where it's ok to just go to the beach and sit around in jammies all day talking, drinking wine and watching movies. and i'll just stop here...my mind is going into the way back time machine when i just couldn't have made it thru the days of being a single mom with a small toddler child without Anna!! a friend for whom i am eternally grateful. Thursday we'll go to portland for the matinee of "Oklahoma!" which i saw a couple of weeks ago and loved it so much that i want Anna to see it and i'm delighted to see it again. it's at Portland Center Stage in the old armory building in NW... a must see if you possibly can. then maybe we'll go to the beach or maybe victoria or who knows...

plant sale.. uh oh...

2011-10-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/329806/

well, what can i say? show me neon purple berries on
a shrub and i gotta have it!

Beautyberry 'Profusion' (Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii)

everything was 50% to 75% off (at Larson's Nursery
in Hillsboro,OR) and perhaps i went a bit over-board, but got some plants i really love! 2 roses for the new rose bed at one side of the veg. garden, miniature pomegranate, 2 heavenly bamboo, a pink gaura that is gorgeous...etc etc. and more! no words for how much my poor ole back hurts after digging holes and planting just a few of this bounty.

dwarf pomegranate hoping it will be happy here and will thrive! and now must get ice pack for my back!

more Montana

2011-10-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

we saw LOTS of bears (none of them alive!!) and mooses (what IS the plural? spellcheck says that's not right). anyway, the kids were very patient about posing for pics for their mom and gramma. i was totally surprised that Z would even go into a place where there were stuffed animals, esp. heads hanging on the wall. she loves animals very very much, and doesn't like any form of anything that was once living. doesn't even like museums or anyplace where there are figures of the human form. needless to say, she doesn't like dolls either...

anyway, we were in a steakhouse near Whitefish which had a sign out front welcoming hunters. think we should have known what the decor would be?? the dinner was wonderful, but i could have done without all the mounted heads of moose, deer, long-horned sheep on all the walls.

Kate, Jim and i visited the Black Star brewery in downtown Whitefish. good beer... i tried the Wild Huckleberry (samples are freely offered) then had a glass of the Frog Hop which was a nice pale ale. and, yes, i did buy a teeshirt.

Jim enjoyed his porter... isn't that a cute photo! i love it!!

another moose... placed on a shelf up above the lobby.. strange. this one is at the local theater where we saw "39 Steps" which was a slap-stick and silly comedy... which we liked.

stay tuned... more montana to come.

i'm baaaack from Montana

2011-10-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

last week we rode Amtrak to Whitefish, Montana... got back this afternoon. it really was a great week! Kate and the grandkids drove up from WA and spent the week with us. had a nice little place thru our time-share. the leaves were changing color and yellow was the predominate color, which was gorgeous, but it did seem strange not to see the variety of reds, oranges, browns of the leaves around here. most days were sunny... or part-sunny ... and close to 60s... no rain or snow!!

roadside information about Lake McDonald

we really lucked out on the day we chose to drive up to Glacier National Park... very clear and sunny day. and not many other cars headed in that direction. the big bummer thing was that the road was closed up into the area where we could have seen the actual glaciers... not because of snow, but because this is the time it's best to get road maintenance and repair done. we did find lots of beauty, photo ops and chances for the kids to do some running around. including driving around about 3/4 of Lake McDonald.

quilt show - Hillsboro

2011-10-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

on sunday, Pam and i went to the West Side Quilters Guild show in Hillsboro. we wandered thru the exhibit room for a couple of hours absorbing inspiration and taking photos of favorites to be able to jog our memories later when we tried to remember what it was that inspired us! these were some of my favorites. seems i have some sort of thing about houses. have made one with "liberated houses?, Gwen Marston style and will prob. make more! and color! love the bright colors.

this was one of Pam's favorites and she is probably at this very minute working up something in this style.

the black and white caught my eye, too... and then one with purple thrown into the mix.

harvesting

2011-10-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

i feel like a freakin' manic squirrel getting the harvest gathered in and getting ready for winter. i do love the harvesting part... and up to a point, i enjoy preserving it for winter... but there is always a sadness about it for me. i know it's the end of summer, which means the grey, wet days are ahead for the next several months. for me autumn = sadness, winter = gloom, spring = delight and joy, and summer = happiness. and despite all that, i love living here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and i love my life and there is very little i would change!! ok, one thing i'd change is: i'd hire maid service and i'd have a gardening assistant (for weeding and carrying heavy things and pruning trees and bushes ). since there's little to zero chance of either of those changes coming about, i'll just do as i always have... ignore the dirt and the weeds for as long as i can.

this has been a year of abundant tomato harvest and i've been slogging my way thru doing something with them. spent yesterday making and freezing tomato sauce and making salsa. will try freezing some of that and see how it is when thawed, but i fear it will be very watery. have also filled one drawer in the little freezer with perfectly beautiful red ripe tomatoes. will use them in soups, etc... dip in boiling water, slip skins off, place on cutting board and stab with sharp knife, put shattered pieces in soup. apply first aid if the stabbing knife missed the tomato and a finger was in the way.

it was so windy today that i decided to take hanging fuchsia baskets down before they blow down. they are on the ground on the patio so the deer can reach them easily and finish their nibbling of the blooms. at this point it really doesn't matter. i've been amazed at how many different flowers they like.... nasturtiums, cosmos, dahlias, geraniums, roses of course but i moved 3 yesterday so they are all now in the garden behind the 8' fence!!

and now the wind is blowing hard and the rain is pouring and i will forego all the platitudes and cliches about the need for rain. time to get a drink and settle in front of the tv machine and knit on that second baby jumper dress for one of our baby girls in Vamos. see you on the flip side (whatever that means...)

spinning new stash

2011-09-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

this polworth/silk fiber looked so luscious that i had to start spinning it and i was not disappointed... soft, shiny and spins so easily! mmmmmm... very happy i am!

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

2011-09-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

once again the yearly pilgrimage to Canby for the OFFF. this year i woke up to a beautiful sunny saturday and felt very very happy that i did not have to get up at dawn, drive an hour and spend the rest of the day selling fiber! (can you tell i'm feeling content in retirement... and perhaps a bit smug??) I spent the day with my grandkids while their parents spent the day in a booth at the fair. late afternoon we all went to a bbq and celebration of the autumnal equinox. huge crowd of people and loaded tables of food. there was a labyrinth which the kids enjoyed.... esp. when they got to the middle and found a supply of bubble blowing stuff! i reconnected with some local folks i hadn't seen in a very long time, enjoyed meeting some women who had been to OFFF earlier in the day, and promised i'd show up at the monthly craft night at the library where spinners and knitters meet.

and then on sunday it was one of those typical fall days around here... first a short period of sunny, followed by drenching rain.. repeating itself thru the day. not the best kind of day for an outside fiber booth, about which Chris commented that it was the last time he'd have a booth OUTSIDE at OFFF! luckily he had sides for the booth that he put up and took down thruout the day. not all outside vendors were so fortunate. anyway, i took the kids and went there about noon, did lots of browsing, seeing a lot of people who i love, dashing into one of the buildings when the pouring rains came, did a minimum of actual buying. i left there feeling very happy that Kate and Chris have taken over my business, and extremely proud of what their creativity and dedication has done for Woolgatherings!!

this is my stash enhancement ~ beautiful bright dyed silk cocoons (a gift from Janis Thompson of Dye Lots), a bump of alpaca roving (25% off sale), a braid of Woolgatherings polworth/silk that i've been dying to try, and a bundle of merino/bamboo top from Knitted Wit in a soft and shiny lavendar... yummy! the button and beads in the top photo were from a new vendor i found inside the main building (where i was during one of the downpours)

knitting and garden

2011-09-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

it's going to take me forever to weave in all the ends on my "Justify"... so i took an unfinished photo. isn't the model fabulous? this was a real stash buster project and really did involve NO new spun or purchased yarn. i'm happy with how it came out... now just gotta get the ends done.

i saw one of my favorite most fascinating creatures in my garden this morning! i've been watching for her all summer... check out this info. i just read that praying mantids can be kept as pets... who'd of thought......

we've eaten a few of these eggplants and there's still more to come. yummy, indeed! this is the first white eggplants i've grown and i'll wait a while longer to see if it gets any bigger. haven't had much luck with growing eggplants, but keep trying because i totally love 'em!

tomato information

2011-09-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

back on sept 5 i was mentioning a tomato i really really love and couldn't remember its name. i tried adding to that post and it disappears.... so, the name of that heirloom tomato is Japanese Black Trifele.

dyeing, spinning, knitting content

2011-09-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

i dyed some superwash BFL (SO perfect for baby clothes!), spun it up in ~worsted weight 2-ply, and knit up this little jumper dress for Iris (in Vamos, Crete) for her 1st birthday in november. i added the triangles on the bottom because i thought it would look cute. I have lots of yarn left so will prob. make a cardigan sweater for Daphne (also in Vamos) for her birthday in january. i surely do love knitting for babies... it goes so fast!

also finished (well... except for weaving in all those many many ends) the Justify , Lynne Vogel's pattern at Knitty.com. and i like the colors in this one much better than the first one i knit, which i gave away to someone who liked it! anyway, photo to come soon.

goal for today...

2011-09-12T15:12:00.001-07:00

more baby love!

2011-09-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

sweater for Naomie... proving that i actually DO eventually finish knitting projects... esp. when pushed by a deadline. i love this yarn.... wool, cashmere and silk. so very soft!

yesterday Sonia and Ryan and their 5-week old baby girl, Naomie came for a visit. so, i had another opportunity for baby love and thoroughly loved it!

Jim is trying to get a smile from the baby...

Ryan, Sonia and Naomie.

a sunflower in my garden ..

2011-09-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

this.. obviously... is a sunflower! i love sunflowers almost as much as poppies. or maybe as much as. whatever, they give me smiles and i always wish i'd planted many more. maybe next year....

and this is a plate that Zylie made and gave to me. it's an owl with reverse image on each side. it is guarding the flowers and buried duck in one of my flower beds.

it's finally happened!

2011-09-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

yes... summer has arrived in my queendom! yes, today is sept. 4 which does not really qualify as "summer" by most calendars. and finally there is a bowl of red ripe tomatoes on the kitchen counter. they are really much redder than shows in the photo. and it's just too bad i can't convey by photo just how sweet and juicy and delicious they are... and likewise, how luscious was the BLT i had today. in "my" garden (as opposed to "Jim and James big garden") i've planted several heirloom tomatoes, and one of them called a black something-or-other (i'll need to look at the tag again) (it's that damn slipping memory thing again...) (good thing i can still remember my name, where i live and where is my yarn and fiber stash... the important things) oh, yeah, that black heirloom tomato ... i've had 2 of them and they are my most favorite of all.. so sweet (and good on BLT) and i must write its name down so i can remember who it is and plant it again next year. i'll put it in my desk calendar. remind me next June that that's where i can find it.

and about fibery things... i'm about 4 edging triangles away from finishing the Justify wrap (not counting all the yarn ends i need to weave in). whew. that was alot of knitting and a lot of stash used up. next up is a jumper/dress for one of the baby girls in our Crete family. she'll be one year old in november and maybe i can have it done by then. the yarn is bright colors in BFL superwash. details later.....

also fibery related was my panicky freak-out 2 nights ago when i saw a MOTH flying around the living room. i went after it with vengeance and a dish towel and must have offed it as i didn't see it again. but that was enough to send me into a "protect the wool" mode and i went thru every bit of yarn and fiber in the vicinity, plus took my 2 little turkish rugs (WOOL) outside, put them on the drying rack and beat them severely with a broom and left them in the sun for a day. also, the WOOL Tibetan weaving of the Deity of Protection hanging on the wall came down and got a thorough vacuuming front and back. and the turkish rugs got the vac treatment, too. happy to say, i found no evidence of MOTHS, and now all is clean and stash is organized (somewhat) and in bags and i'm done with my freak-out.

astounding..

2011-08-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

this amazes me! not only is my 11 year old grandboy taller than i am,

but in his new suit and tie, he looks closer to 16 than 11. they were here getting ready to go to portland for an event, and he was mighty like a peacock strutting around the place looking fine. that smile stayed on his sweet face as he posed for photos... here with his sister (she's almost 9),

and below, with Papa. (can you tell that Jim isn't getting ready to go anywhere except back outside to his labors in the dirt and among the grape vines.

i was sitting on the sofa when i took the photos, so the angle is kind of weird.

what time is it???

2011-08-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

it's that much anticipated time for BLT with fresh from my garden red, ripe, warm, juicy real tomatoes! makes me oh-so happily filled up with goodness... sigh. this really nicely tops off what's turned out to be a good summer. Jim and James' BIG garden is producing over-abundance of vegetables, much of which goes to the local food bank. we got the message from friends and neighbors that they'd received enough already of cucs and zucs, but not answering their phones or doorbells was going a bit too far.

(what time is it??? did you think i was going to say "it's howdy doody time, boys and girls")

spinnin' sistahs

2011-08-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

it doesn't get much better than this! some like-minded women, spinning wheels, an abundance of fiber, food, show-and-tells, lots of stories and laughing and the bonus..... a 3 1/2 week old baby boy! that's the kind of day i had and all is good in my queendom and i'm feelin' happy. (and suddenly the old old song "Feeling Groovy" has come into my head)

Carole - happy about the sweater she's knitting with her own hands-spun yarn, and Crystal - happy about the yarn she's spinning.

Lynne called from TN so she could be part of the gathering of sisters and Laurie is having her turn on the phone with her. we all miss Lynne SO much and wish she'd find her way back to the PNW!!

we all agree that Lynn is a wicked-fast spinner... the fastest and most prolific we know!
Jane loves her new Majacraft wheel!

i'm knitting the Justify wrap for the second time. it is a Lynne Vogel

pattern and can be found on Knitty. it's a mobius and is impossible
to get a good photo of it at this stage... so will get one when it's finished.

i got in some serious baby lovin' time. Rachael got to spin and i got to snuggle Donovan!
oh, the sacrifices i make!

friday

2011-08-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

aren't they just too cute?? 10-day old goat kids... bottle babies because their mom rejected them. there were 4 of them...... one died and mom kept one. anyway, my friend Lisa was at the farmer's market in beautiful downtown Banks at the same time i was and asked if i wanted to see some babies. of course i did! and i didn't even ask if i could bring one home with me!

however... even the goatlets couldn't ease the bitchy reaction i was having to the damn airshow going on at the hillsboro airport. unfortunately, i had to go shopping very close to the airport and right under where major antics were going on. and i didn't know what i was getting into! i'm aware that there are people who find entertainment and amusement by watching the airshow. i think it's an evil waste of my taxpayer $$, causes considerable air pollution and waste of gas to run the damn things, causes snarled traffic on the freeway with idiots who park their cars on the shoulders, pull out their picnic lunches and watch the show. nincompoops! and the repeated extreme noise is beyond annoying and not healthy for sentient beings. i hate the fucking airshow and want it to go away. and that's the end of my rant. unless i think of something else i don't like about it.

sailboat followed by baby love!!

2011-08-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

that was a really fine enjoyable day.... whichever day it was this past week. well, hey, i remembered which week it was!

Pam and Larry are living on their sailboat on Hayden island since they returned from Turkey (and other places) and they invited us to have lunch with them. i was hoping Larry would meet us at the gate with a life jacket for me... he didn't... so i mustered up my courage, convinced myself that the walkway to get to their boat, over the water in the marina really was not as narrow as it seemed (looked about 18 inches wide to me). i like boats, especially sailboats, but can't enjoy being out on the water in them unless i'm pretty well wasted. this one was tied up in the marina, so that was doable. anyway, lovely salads lunch, merlot wine, cookies and turkish apple tea. yum! and so good to see them again. we were neighbors in Vamos, Crete for a couple of weeks in april (or may??). good times!

------->> Larry standing beside the boat and Jim on top of it.

pretty boat, huh??

and Pam inside the boat lookin' fine and feisty

and then, following Rachael's most excellent directions, we found Rachael, Matt and Donovan's home (somewhere close to St.Johns) and we got to meet Donovan! what a cutie and cuddly too. i got to snuggle him for awhile (ahh, babylove!) and i'm sure he loves me, too! when he woke up he shared with me some of his surplus meal. poor little guy got more on himself than on me. so... the bonding is complete and i'm in love! he will be here tomorrow with him mommy, so i'm counting on more snuggling. i might have to fight off his gramma and some twisted sisters, but i'm up to it and i'm fully capable of pulling rank!

isn't he adorable? and his mom is looking beautiful and happy!

summer!! bounty!! garden!!

2011-08-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

ha! i beat the birds and the deer to blueberry harvest. i wonder if it has anything to do with the rotten egg/garlic solution that i've been spraying around lavishly.... gotta say it smells pretty awful for an hour or so after applying, and then is just faintly there. if that's what is keeping them away from berries and fuchsias it's worth the time and effort.

and what would summer happiness be without zucchinis and beans? (also, yellow crookneck squash
and peas) some of this harvest is from the gigantic garden that Jim and James planted.

a baby olive tree that Jim planted and if you look really close you can see the teeny tiny baby olives in the pic on the right. bravo... someday we just might have our own olive crop!

see that almost ripe tomato? i can hardly believe my eyes and now my taste buds are getting anxious for BLTs. must go get some bacon so i can be prepared. hope that's not the only ripe tomato this year....... (it's an Early Girl... tho mid-august isn't the usual "early")

and in the garden of Jim and James, there are all kinds of wonderful stuffs ... here's ------> a pumpkin and it's vine is trying to take over the place, with many more pumpkins and squashes coming along.

resident deer

2011-08-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

and one of her twin spotted fawns.

Glendi - Greek for celebration

2011-07-31T00:17:00.000-07:00

today we went to a Greek festival at the St. John Orthodox Greek Church in Beaverton and took the grandkids. ate some authentic Greek food, watched the dancing, took a tour of the church and listened to the choir do a short concert (beautiful!), kids spent an hour watching the "reptileman" do his show... and loved it so much that Zylie wanted to go back to his next show.

kids had a baklava sundae... ice cream, crumbled baklava over it, then whipped cream, drizzled carmel and topped with a cherry. didn't take them long to finish that off!

these were kids from Agia Sophia school who gave a dance demonstration... very good.

and Zylie got her face painted!

it was a good day and i enjoyed it. gotta say that i sure don't have the energy, stamina and patience that i used to have.

no words needed.....

2011-07-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

(from MSNBC photo blog)

things i KNOW

2011-07-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

i know i will never ever ever ever plant lemon balm again. it is evil and is trying to take over my queendom... not only does it multiply itself with strong, deep, far-reaching runners, it also seems to re-seed itself in far corners of the farm. same with oregano, which is a wonderful seasoning for many dishes, but it is also out to take over the world.

i now know that the yellow sap/juice/liquid in the stems of poppies is a washfast and seemingly permanent dye. it started out as a yellowish spot on my favorite lime BSG teeshirt, has turned a brownish rust color and shows no signs of leaving even after serious pre-wash treatment and several washes. it's also showing up on other clothes i wear in the garden... mostly old stuff that i don't care about.

and another thing - deer do like geranium and pansy blossoms, after they've finished off those beautiful fuchsia blooms. i've noticed they only eat the flowers, probably leaving the stems and leaves so that there will be more of their favorite flowers for their browsing pleasure! the eau de rotten egg potion hasn't turned out as i expected... it smells overwhelmingly garlicky with very little rotten egg. i'm wondering if i ruined it by adding the last of a carton of fake eggs that was in the refrig. i'm thinking that the preservatives in the fake eggs may have stopped the natural rotting of eggs left out in the sun and heat. one thing for sure... no more of those preservative-filled fake eggs are going in my refrig. i only ever used them because of Jim's low fat/low cholesterol diet, but i'm going back to farm fresh eggs from neighbors or the farmer's market! (the recipe for the eau de rotten egg as a deer repellent is in a previous post)

and i know it's late and i'm going to bed!

summer?? HA!

2011-07-17T14:28:00.001-07:00

lifted from OPB on Facebook

Oregon Public Broadcasting- OPB
Surely the answer to the Question of the Day:
INSTALLING SUMMER...
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Install delayed....please wait. Installation failed. Please try again.
404 error: Season not found. Season " Summer " cannot be located.
The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name
changed, or is temporarily unavailable in Washington/Oregon.

last weekend

2011-07-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Skein - just waiting for pets and skritches

and the perfect finish to Linda's and my adventure last weekend was spending Saturday evening and overnight with friends in Sisters... Jane and her mom, Blanche... and of course, Skein the Aussie as the welcomer, entertainer and all-around wannabe lap dog! Jane prepared a fabulous meal, and i of course took photos of the main dish, the dessert and the wine. (i wonder if it's weird that i love taking pictures of food??!) We spent hours telling our stories, laughing a lot, drinking wine, playing with Skein, getting fluffy bunny love from Jane's angora rabbits... and having a wonderful evening. i'm sorry i didn't take pics of breakfast the next morning... fresh fruit, yogurt, and brioche that Blanche had made.

this beautiful dish is Chicken Marbella and was absolutely as delicious as it looks!

plum crisp (looks like rhubarb and thankfully NOT)

perfect combo! we found this excellent Moscato from the Greek island of Samos while we were in SunRiver and had to get it.... because i LOVE moscato wine and Linda and i were in Samos last spring. perfect reason and perfect wine?? yup, you betcha!

Skein knows he was born to be a lap dog and Linda cooperated and enabled him!

produce from the garden??

2011-07-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

guess i'll need to rethink that one and dig out the green tomato recipes. it's raining and 60s, and the forecast looks like nothing but wet and no warmer than mostly low 70s for the next 7 days... with possibility of partly sunny next weekend. and the deer will prob. eat all my flowers cause the foul-smelling formula will be washed off. gloom... guess i'll go back to bed and look at the sunny, warm pics from Sunriver and Sisters last weekend. then take a nap. naps are good. i love naps.

and in other news... Meika went for grooming and intensive brushing and came back about 20 pounds lighter and with a very uppity attitude! Tasha had missed her mightily and cried for the 3 hrs. Meika was gone.... and Meika would have nothing to do with her when she came home!! don't know if her attitude was uppity because she looked spiffy and smelled all girly... or she was pissed because Tasha got to stay home while she went to be tortured. whatever... she does look and smell beautiful!

Sisters, OR quilt show

2011-07-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

this was my favorite quilt!

i wish i could have seen all the quilts, but after 4 hours we gave in to the fatigue and heat and went to our friend, Jane's for the evening and overnight.

quilt show - Sisters, OR

2011-07-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

for this yearly one-day outdoor huge quilt show, the main streets of Sisters are closed and quilts are displayed on buildings, in buildings, in big tents, in the park.... and this town of ~2500 is transformed by thousands of people wandering around examining these works of art. it must be a gigantic undertaking to stage this event and there were lots of people there to appreciate it all. while i do know that it takes a lot of work to make a traditional quilt and i can appreciate their beauty, i much prefer the more original approach.... and really love the ones with applique and embellishments, so of course those are the ones i took photos of!!

this quilt was really inspiring to me. the fabric was hand dyed, then cut in half vertically... one half used for the base fabric, the other used to cut the leaves from. it was really a work of art!

i loved this one because of the appliqued butterflies... sweet!! and the subtle earthy colors.

road trip

2011-07-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

Linda and i took a road trip/adventure to central Oregon last week. stayed thursday and friday nights at Sunriver, south of Bend, where we used our time-share and had a great studio apt. with an actual "murphy bed". the place was lots roomier than i'd thought it would be. was right next to the golf course... which would have been really great if we were golfers. the weather was fantastic.. sunny and warm. we rode bikes, walked, set up spinning wheels on the porch and watched golfers. in other words, we had a slow and relaxing time! i hadn't ridden a bike for probably 20 years. when i told that to the guy checking out the bikes, he told me not to say that out loud... there'd been 3 or 4 recent crashes by people who'd said that... and injuries that involved hospitals. must admit i was a bit wobbly at first, but did ok.

Saturday morning we went to Sisters for the annual outdoor quilt show. when we were about 5 miles away the traffic slowed to a crawl... lots of people going to the quilt show and many trying to get past Sisters on their way to portland and other places to the west. the thru traffic was detoured thru the side streets, as the main street was closed for the day to accommodate the quilt show.

Santiam Pass, OR

2011-07-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

very dramatic scenery yesterday driving across Santiam Pass from Sisters, thru a former wildfire burn area. sky was brilliant cloudless blue with the silvered remains of burned out trees silhouetted against the blue.
(taken from a moving car with my old olympus digital camera)

2011-06-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

and one, actually two more things... don't know how i left them out. the light green is loosely carded mohair, wool and alpaca blend.. so soft! and spins like a dream. from Schildt Ranch. it looks great plied with the Debouilet that's lying on top of it.

and eri silk i bought from Carolina Homespun. Morgaine said this is a new product she's carrying, from India. and i think she said it's the first preparation from the cocoon. but whatever... it's incredibly soft and fluffy and dreamy.

ok, dear diary... that's really all of the BSG adventure for this year. i haven't accurately figured it out, but this is somewhere around the 25th time i've gone to BSG. the first 2 or 3 events were at a sweet little park/camp ground in Cottage Grove. yep... that long ago!

more BSG

2011-06-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

another enjoyable thing about being in eugene for BSG is the Saturday Market in downtown... it is h-u-g-e! lots of vendors of fresh produce, fruit, flowers, handmade soaps and arts and crafts, plus food booths.... oh, my..

and then there's my purchases at BSG... not big stash enhancement at all.
i bought some beautiful mohair from Sharon Chestnutt (Cloudspun Angoras)

from Lisa at Dicentra a small bundle of blue faced leicester... because i love her dyeing and i love BFL.

and decided (with a bit of enabling from Terri at Rainbow Farms Pygora) to try Debouillet top since i'd never spun any before. i'm definitely not disappointed with this fiber! it's very soft and easy to spin... and the colors are lovely!

and then, i found the Jenkins turkish spindle! he has several different sizes and a new style called the Aegean series, inspired by a woman who showed him the turkish spindle she'd found in a junk shop in Greece. so, i tried it, loved it and bought it. now that i've spun on it, i love it even more! it's not more than 5 inches high and spins forever. oh, yeah... and it's made of Olive wood imported from Israel. beautiful pattern in the wood burl he used.

the under side of the Jenkins turkish spindle

Black Sheep Gathering - June 2011

2011-06-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

i really enjoy roaming around the animal barns and getting my sheep fix. i think all of them had plenty of hay in their pens... but 2 of these seemed to believe the hay was greener in the next pen.

i love the angora goats... especially the kids! they have the sweetest little faces ever. don't know how i ever got thru raising animals without bringing one of these home with me.

the wonderful Lisa Milliman of Dicentra Fibers! (her fibers are lovely, too)

i wonder how many pounds of fleece is on this sheep......

Rachael came to the BSG on Sat.... looking beautifully 8 months pregnant, healthy and happy... and ready for some fibery fun.

Sharon Chestnut has been raising angora goats for many years and has always sold some of the best mohair fleeces i've ever bought. this year she let me pick out which fleece of all the goats in her pens i liked best, then she sheared the goat and i bought almost 2 pounds of the softest, shiniest kid mohair ever!

traditional feast

2011-06-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

one of our traditions at Black Sheep Gathering is to go to Ocean Sky Rest. (in eugene) for a massive Chinese feast on sat. night. unbelievably delicious and abundant... you can probably tell by the happy faces around the table. i forgot to get photos of the food before it was devoured... and all that was left was a little bit of the garlic eggplant. that dish is another part of the tradition. good food and a great evening... capped off of course by a gathering in a motel room for spinning and knitting... etc.

eau de rotten egg

2011-06-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

in the book i found on deer-proofing your yard/garden/flowers, there is a recipe called eau de rotten egg, and i mixed up a batch today!

in blender, ~ 4 cloves garlic, 2 cups H2O, run on high till garlic is pureed.
   ~add 2 eggs and (optional) 2T tabasco sauce, red chili pepper
   ~whir it all till well-mixed, put in covered container and wait 2 or 3 days till it's thoroughly vile smelling. apply by sprinkling or pouring on plants the deer love.

i put the covered jar in my studio where it gets hotter than the hinges at high noon in hell... really... so it should be pretty rotten in a couple of days. stay tuned for results.

fiber and fabric therapy

2011-06-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

to make the celebration weekend in duvall even better, i had some uninterrupted time in the quilt shop and really truly enhanced my fabric stash. i do have a quilt in the planning stage for which i needed to buy some extra special fabric... which i did, um, and over-did. also stopped in at one of the antique/junk shops and found a really cool old book ... for $1... published in 1949. it has detailed instructions for embroidery stitches, which will be very useful in quilt embellishing.

and... Kate and i took her new and wonderful motorized Duncan carder for its maiden voyage and what a treat that was! she pulled out piles of all different kinds and colors of fibers and we both had at it.

the frustrating thing is, tho, that the carded batts are fluffy and look like there's a lot of fiber there... but the HUGE batt that i carded only weighed 2.7 oz. i spun it tonight and didn't even fill a bobbin. humph. but i did love the spinning of it... very easy to spin and it's got sparkly in it which makes me love it even more!

celebration weekend

2011-06-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

J and i amtraked north on thursday for celebration of Chris and Alex's birthdays and father's day.

Friday was Chris' 40th (yep, fortieth!!) birthday and the kids were so excited about it that they had his gifts arranged on the table before they went to bed thursday night... and got the opening session started almost before Chris had had his coffee in the morning. their gift to their dad was a new golfing outfit... stunning to be sure!

and here he is... ready for his golf game. he said his friends were quite impressed with his new look, but none seemed anxious to join him in this look. i think he looks fabulous!

for birthday dinner we went to the local Mexican restaurant in beautiful downtown Duvall. good dinner and verra good margaritas!

sunday was Alex's 11th birthday and his choice was to go to Salty's for their magnificent brunch which really defies description in their abundant array of lusciousness... oh, my! even at 8:15 a.m. i was able to over-indulge and enjoy. (normally i can't even look at food before noon... give me strong coffee only)

Kate and Zylie, lookin' quite happy after the brunch. Z was mighty proud of that cute flower in her hair. while we waited for our table, she wandered a bit and came back with a satisfied smile and told me she was so happy she'd worn that flower because so many people told her they thought it was beautiful!

Kate wears her new Montana cowboy hat with

pride! lookin' fine!!

needs no explanation

we rode amtrak back to portland after the brunch. it was a wonderful weekend. it had been several years since i'd been with Chris and Alex on their birthdays. .. and i loved it!! the brunch was also father's day celebration. i miss my dad.

deer not dear to me

2011-06-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

things i know:
~deer also like fuchsia (sp?), which spells doom for 3 hanging baskets
~they are not bothered by stinky dog hair strewed upon plants and flowers
~they have no timidity about cruising around the patio and enjoying plants and flowers close to the house
~of course, they enjoy roses (flowers and leaves and buds)... but i already knew that
~they haven't seemed to take an interest in pansies, but i'm not about to put pansies in place of fuchsia
~they have acres of grass, weeds and wild growing stuff around here that they could eat and it pisses me off that they're eating MY plants and flowers
~so now i need to research ways to keep deer away from what i don't want them to eat

almost summery

2011-06-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

in my queendom i can almost kind of say that we are into a state of almost summery. one important sign is on the dashboard of my car where the MPG reached 50 today, which i love to see! (am i gloating? nah... ) in the colder months it sits at around 47 or 48 MPG, and in warmer months goes up to 50--> 52.

and i got my first spider bite... just below my ear. i have thru bad experiences learned to wear socks and long pants when i'm out in the garden, and usually long sleeves, too... but this little bugger was probably hanging down from a tree and i walked right into her. happily, i still have a tube of magical medicine - called Fenistil - that i got in Greece and haven't been able to find around here. it's better than benadryl or any other bug bite stuff i've ever used. takes away the itch and some of the swelling. i have no earthly idea what's in it... but it works.

i've almost got the garden planted. still left to put in is this big lovely pot of basil ... bargain of the last Trader Joe's visit. there's at least 6 or 7 hardy looking plants in this pot for $2.99. i love TJs for a lot of reasons and this is a big one!!

and the sugar pea plants.... lots of lovely blossoms but no sign of anything else. yeah... patience is needed. actually the weather has been perfect, with the cloudy cool weather they love... so what's the problem here???

another spring/summery kind of thing is the deer showing up with their babies. i've seen a couple of fawns and Jim has seen twins.... or at least 2 small ones together with 1 big one. i do love to see them. do not love them munching on plants and flowers.. which is why most of my roses and all of the veggies are behind an 8ft. fence. didn't know they like geraniums. they do. so had to put something else in the huge planter of flowers that i've got going. it seemed logical to me that the smell of dogs would deter them, so i relieved Meika of a few huge handfuls of stinky doghair and placed it strategically on and around flowers. stay tuned for how helpful that is.

the volunteer poppies are spectacular this year... really brilliant almost neon colors. and i love 'em so much that even tho they appear in less than convenient places around the garden, i just can't stand to pull them up.

and the yellow crook-neck squash have blossoms... always reliable, they are.

i don't know the name of this salad green that Jim planted in the greenhouse. i don't really like the taste and texture of it... but sure do love watching it grow! it sprouts tiny babies on the tops of the leaves. looks so strange... and makes me think of Dr. Seuss' characters.

so... it does seem almost kind of like a summery kind of thing around here. or maybe i'm delusional. maybe tomorrow will be warm and sunny... but i doubt it.

spinning away the day...

2011-06-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

ahhhh - a good friend, spinning wheels, lots of fibers! an excellent way to spend a day.....Laurie came out today so we could dye some wool for a class she'll teach at Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, June 24, 25, 26. can't believe i'm saying this, but it was too hot in my studio today for dyeing.... i know, that 's unusual for what we've been having. so, we set up our wheels in the living room and spent the next few hours spinning yarn and talking. deeeelightful, it was! and i'll do the dyeing when the clouds come back in a few days.

above is superwash BFL i'm spinning for next project. the lighter color fiber is some that Kate dyed, and the darker is some i dyed. the dark skein

i plied a single from each batch and i think it will be perfect.

then i got into a bag from really old stash... back in the day when i had the cottage industry BIG carder (sigh... sometimes i really wish i still had it). this is probably merino wool, maybe superwash, with bits of brightly colored silk fiber carded in. i especially love how this yarn knits up.

Laurie brought the new Knit Noro book for me to look at. ends up, i got to keep it, and we called Linda and asked her to hold 1 of the remaining books for Laurie. love this kind of negotiating. the other is a quilt book i just bought, by Laura Wasilowski, whose quilts and books i totally adore. would love to take one of her classes.... if she ever comes out this way from Chicago. i'm planning a hanging quilt using some of her fusing techniques and if it goes the way of what's burbling over in my mind, it will be very colorful, whimsical and kind of a story of my life. stay tuned... we'll see if i can stay focused long enough for that kind of undertaking. i'll really really need the close attention of my muses!

i'm starting to ramble. it was a lovely day with a twisted sister!

eggplant/aubergine with cheeses

2011-05-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

tonight we celebrated Jim's birthday by having a few friends here for dinner. here's what i fixed ... and i gotta say it was pretty damn fabulous! there's no real recipe, just revisions to a couple that sounded good. for about 8 healthy servings i started with 3 medium eggplants, sliced across in 1/2 inch disks, dipped in egg beat up with a little with milk, then breaded with seasoned breadcrumbs (salt, pepper, Pensey's Greek seasoning), baked for 20 min. each side at 350. while they are baking, saute a chopped medium onion (Vidallia or Walla Walla), lots of chopped garlic, lots of sliced mushrooms (prob. at least a pound), dried basil from last summer's garden, more Pensey's Greek seasoning. at the end, add 2 or 3 TBLS balsamic vinegar, mix it up and set aside. now the cheese... about 8oz mozzarella sliced thin, a few slices of something interesting from the refrig (English cheddar with garlic and herbs, in this case), a lump of good Greek feta and about a cup of shredded parmesan. you will need tomato sauce, which could be made from scratch (i wonder where that "from scratch" came from)... but i prefer to open a jar of my dear friend Paul's sauce..
which is as good as mine and lots easier!

when the eggplant is finished baking and the sautéed onions and mushrooms are ready, the layering begins with some tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish, then eggplant slices (some of which can be cut up to fit in the spaces that are empty), then the onion/mushrooms, mozzarella, crumbled feta, "other cheese", parmesan, layer of tomato sauce, more parmesan and topped with any breadcrumbs left over from the first step up at the beginning.

this is how it looks ... side view ... after all the layering. bake uncovered in 350 oven for 30 to 40 minutes til it's bubbly and smells delicious. we had a green salad, fresh spring asparagus and warmed many grain bread ..... and carrot cake and ice cream. i had put 2/3 of the cake in the frig after we had a piece friday night of the 1/3 that Meika ended up stealing from the table and finishing off (see last "bad dog" post). and, by the way, she had no ill effects from eating all that cake!

this is how it looked before baking.

bad dog!

2011-05-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

picture of a bad dog......

this very bad dog just groaned and gave out a huge burp... then closed her eyes hoping i'd think she is asleep. she reverted way back to puppy behavior, quite unbefitting her almost 11 years. while we sat in the TV room enjoying a piece of Jim's birthday cake and a glass of Marsala, bad dog Meika took 1/3 of a sheet cake off a plate on the kitchen table and had eaten most of it when i found her with the remains on the floor. she looked not the least bit ashamed, just annoyed that i took it away from her. sure do hope carrot cake isn't "bad" for dogs. it was made-from-scratch cake which i very hardly ever make ever since i discovered that cake from a box seems just as good to those who eat it. and many don't seem able to tell the difference. thankfully, the other 2/3 of the cake is still in the cake pan waiting til monday when we have a few friends over for a birthday dinner for Jim.

we've been home 2 weeks and today i finished unpacking, finished folding a mountain of clean laundry, shuffled more of the photos we had on display at Pop's memorial service, and wondered again if i'll ever get this disarray into reasonable order again.... and if i'll ever again feel like i've gotten enough sleep.

in general

2011-05-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

the morning after the memorial service for my dad... all of us tired, contemplative, glad to be together! Chris and Alex half collapsed on the kitchen counter. Chris with an aching back from Alex trying the way-back to a time when his dad could give him piggy-back rides. not so much any more.

Nancy, my step-sister from Pittsburg, was here for a short visit for the memorial... wish she could have stayed longer. so glad she was here!

and the dogs.. lurking under the kitchen table, always the opportunists waiting for the kids to drop a tidbit of a treat. they do pretty well with enduring the chaos of having lots of people in and out here (and Tiki from the north competing for her share of the attention and tidbits). they did get lots of treats!

Zylie having a game of World of Goo on my iPad. i'm pretty sure she does way better at it than i do.

and then there's my wonderful grandboy, Alex. he is quite proud that he is (at 10 years old) taller than his gramma. gotta say tho that it isn't the accomplishment he thinks it is... i think i'm growing shorter almost as fast as he is growing taller. well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but i've been asked lately if i'm getting shorter. and indeed, i am. also, Alex has some tall genes from his mom's side, certainly not from his dad's genes.

if any fiber friends have noticed that snappy new shirt i'm wearing... yes, it does have a pic of a drop spindle on it and "SPINNERS" logo. Kate found a website promoting a minor league baseball team in Lowell, Mass called "Spinners", so we became fans and have the shirts to prove it. never in my wildest dreams did i ever see myself as a baseball fan in any way, shape, or form.... but just couldn't stand for this shirt to not be mine! and if you want to be a "Spinner" too... go here.

and now i'm going back to trying to catch up on sleep and enjoy the quiet here in my queendom. maybe tomorrow i'll go to the plant nursery, stock up on veg and flower plants and play in the dirt.

RedTail Hawk chicks

2011-05-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

i've been watching the raptor cam on a building in Portland. 3 of the 4 eggs hatched while i was gone and watching those chicks makes me giggle! they are getting their big bird feathers and keep flapping their wings and trying to walk around the nest... and are so awkward it's comical! it's so obvious when they are waiting for a meal to be delivered. they can't settle down.. keep moving around the nest, flapping wings and waiting. when the meal arrives, the parent has been "preparing" it for them by pulling off ... um, whatever it takes to make it easy for them, then starts feeding them bits. usually there is one that can't wait to be fed and starts helping itself... awkwardly. they are so damn cute and funny! nice way to get the a.m. started for me.

Sailboats in Hania harbor, Crete

2011-05-09T09:52:00.001-07:00

photo 3.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

sailboats in Hania harbor. this one is for Larry!!

Hania harbor horse and buggy

2011-05-09T09:49:00.001-07:00

photo 2.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

me and my new friend, the horse and buggy guy at the harbor in Hania. had a good day of wandering in Hania and doing a bit of retail therapy. i am beginning to really enjoy the bus rides in Crete.. since i. finally managed an appreciation for their skill (and attitude, which is the whole. secret to driving in Crete).these guys are driving buses on roads that are about the width of a bus...and it is two way traffic. you gotta have attitude! serious attitude!

Vamos .. Agroulida house

2011-05-06T05:13:00.001-07:00

photo 2.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

patio in front of our house. we have 2nd floor apt. Pam and Larry had the one below us... they left this a.m. to go back to Turkey for a few weeks and to look for a place to rent next year. i'm thinking it would be good to go back to the south part of Turkey to visit them next year.

we have not had ideal spring here on Fantasy Island.... a bit of everything including horendous sustained winds from the south... Egypt, which bring warmth, dust and sand with them. no fun being outside during those.

Jim and Larry walked the infamous Samaria Gorge yesterday, which took hours and really tuckered out their leg muscles.. lots of very steep downhill on rocks. awww - poor guys...

Vamos... sheep

2011-05-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

photo 3.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

and back end of the sheep going home!

photo 1.JPG

2011-05-02T10:03:00.001-07:00

photo 1.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

in front of our house, the sheep being herded home at the end of the day.

beach

2011-04-29T05:42:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

more from the beach at Kalives. our village is high in th hills and only a 30 min bus ride from the ocean!

beach

2011-04-28T08:39:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

Jim walking the beach of the Cretan Sea, in Kalives

our new house

2011-04-27T10:07:00.001-07:00

our new house, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

view from balcony of our new house. love it!!

salad

2011-04-27T10:05:00.001-07:00

salad, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

looks like EB came by and left a little something on my salad...

photo.JPG

2011-04-25T06:43:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

bousouki music after dinner

photo.JPG

2011-04-25T06:42:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

at easter dinner

photo.JPG

2011-04-25T06:40:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

Larry, Pam and Nellie the lap dog

photo.JPG

2011-04-25T06:39:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

photo of the day... from easter dinner

photo.JPG

2011-04-24T08:58:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

on the walk home, at the top of our street... gorgeous view of Lefka Ori (White Mtns) and that blue blue sky that i love! finally spring has come just in time for Easter. had a lovely lamb dinner with friends. now at Liakoto with Pam and Larry having ouzo and internet. and tomorrow we move to a new house which is further up the hill. this steep incline uphill to get to anywhere is killin me...seriously steep!!! Tuesday shopping in Hania, pick up tickets for boat to Syros to visit Marina, then evening. with Elena, Toine and Iris.

yorgos and jim

2011-04-24T08:07:00.001-07:00

yorgos and jim, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

Jim and Yorgos....

yorgos and me

2011-04-24T08:05:00.001-07:00

yorgos and me, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

with our old friend,Yorgos, at his taverna Aeraki in Almiryda. lovely evening... good food and of course, good drinks.

photo.JPG

2011-04-23T02:55:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

Crete: Spring of 2011

2011-04-20T05:43:00.001-07:00

photo.JPG, a photo by twistinsandy on Flickr.

and this was the beauty of spring for the first three days we were here. and then, so much like what we left in oregon... gray, rain, but very very humid. i could almost see the mold growing.
but consuming me is a conflict of emotions! the saturday, sunday and monday before we left before dawn on tuesday, i was with my dad as he went to the ER after falling and hitting his head, but turns out the more important pain was in his hip... yep.. broken hip. after a not very encouraging conversation with the ER doc, we got him transferred to the Kaiser Sunnyside hospital so he would be in the right place if it was decided to surgically repair the hip fracture. by then, Bud and i were there with Pop, talked with the orthopedic surgeon and we, together with Pop's consent, decided on surgery for sunday. by the time sunday a.m. rolled around, Pop's upper respiratory congestion had become pneumonia.... very common in the elderly, especially when the general health condition has been on the downhill slide. so, surgery is cancelled... and now what??? it is one week before his 95th birthday, he is in pain, he's congested and every time he tries to cough it causes extreme pain in his hip, he is kind of in and out of awareness of where he is and who is there, and is receiving morphine for the pain as needed. it became very apparent that this was the last hurrah... and Pop knew it, too. at one point on sunday, he was really quite alert and put his arms out asking for hugs... which of course everyone there heaped on him. it seemed that he was giving us his goodbyes.and i'm so very happy that this happened for him and for all of us. in the past he had told me that he'd made his peace with death (and that was several years ago) and has also told me that if something dire happened to him i should not cancel my plans to be in Crete... or anywhere that i was having an adventure. so why do i feel so conflicted??? Pop died at 5a.m. on april 16, the day before his 95th birthday... and i was in Crete. i miss being with family. i miss the shared love and family memories and hugs and tears. i know i could not have changed anything by being there. on monday the iv morphine was increased and according to his advance directive, no heroics or life support measures were begun. it became a "comfort care" situation, and so the vigil began and a family member was with him around the clock until he stopped breathing. and in my heart and tears i celebrate the wonderful life he lived, the many many people he leaves behind who have been touched by his love, compassion, talents, intelligence, dedication to his principles, the multitude of these gifts that he shared and the many who benefited from his having lived. it seemed he was always ready for new adventure! one of those was the decision to retire early, buy property in farm country and start a vineyard. that was a huge undertaking to which he and my mom devoted untold hours and sweat and achieved big success in the wine-growing industry. after Mom died in 1993, Pop reconnected with DeDe, who had been an important love in his life before he met Mom. he convinced her that she should leave Florida and come live with him on a hill above a vineyard in oregon. i'm so happy that she agreed to do that and became my other mom, which led to a wonderful integration of adult children and their families. and so now i have another sister and 2 more brothers on the east coast, to whom i am connected and love even tho i don't see them very often. it's like that ripple on the surface of the pond after throwing in a pebble... Pop's touch reaches out to so many and connects us all. i'll always miss him and be ever so grateful for the life he gave me and shared with me and all those i know and love because of him and his love.

photostream

2011-04-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

did not mean for all those photos to show up in that last post. glitch!

twistinsandy's photostream

2011-04-17T04:51:00.001-07:00

twistinsandy's photostream on Flickr.

spring in Crete!
Elena and Iris

bd - Jordan and cake

2011-04-04T22:17:00.001-07:00

bd - Jordan and cake, a photo by twistin on Flickr.

ok...i'm. working on it! getting close to figuring out the blogging/photos/travel thing. and pleeeeze if you have any clues for me pleeeeze leave it in a comment. SSS...save sandy's sanity or what's left of it.

oh. yeah, this is Jordan with the March birthdays cake...

blogging from Crete

2011-04-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twistin

i've been unable to find a satisfactory way to upload photos from my iPad to this blog... or to one on Xanga, a new one on Wordpress, and probably one or two others that have gotten lost
in the muddle of trying many different "solutions". it is looking like i can upload to flickr and the link (if it works) is above. if you try that link and you get to a photo of Meika and one of Bud with Elsa, then it does work and i can upload there and link to new photos, which is a way convoluted way to do it and it totally pisses me off that this is not the simple blogging with photos that i envisioned when i bought this gizmo. other than this pothole, i do like my iPad and am having fun using it. so... if all this works out, i'll put a link in the side bar.

intricate and beautiful

2011-03-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklaptop/steampunklaptop.htm

go to the above link to see this man's beautiful, fantastic work... art. i could spend hours and hours looking around his website at the computer stuff and other art.

2011-03-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.— The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer (via colporteur)

(via colporteur)

what's going on

2011-03-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

well, for one thing weather finally warmed up enough that i could spend some time in my studio. a friend wanted me to dye some bright superwash BFL for her to spin for socks. after doing that (of which i do not have a photo), i just kept on pouring color onto white fiber... and this ---> and this is part of the result. the turquoise and blue make me think of the sky and waters of Crete and of course, the sun!

and i couldn't stop after i went through all the superwash. there was also a bag of BFL/tussah silk. Jim wants me to knit him the Sakori vest from Folk Vests (Interweave Press), so i dyed some of this fiber for the vest... and of course, spun some of it before it was even quite dry. i love it! next to see how it looks knitted up.

and i've also been watching things grow... unexpected things. i had a ginger root which started growing a nub/sprout thing as it lay neglected and unused on the counter. i put it in a pot of dirt and just barely covered it with dirt, leaving the sprouty thing exposed... and just look what's happening here. i don't suppose there's a remote chance of it growing up and living in this climate, but it's amusing me for the time being. also have a sweet potato suspended in a glass of water which has been growing and trying to take over the kitchen window sill. straight from The Little Shop of Horrors!!

iPad issues

2011-03-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

i'm trying to get everything set up with my iPad so that i can blog while i'm in Crete for a month. have run into a glitch with not being able to upload photos from iPad to blog. so my mission now is to find an app or a way around this problem. i'm so prepared for blogging ease while on the road that i bought a wireless keyboard... lightweight and easily portable. now just gotta solve the photo upload thing. onward and upward in search to solve problem....

better living through chemistry??

2011-03-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

check out this article:

Worms' diet the key to coloured silk

low on memory?slow synapses? rusty brain cells?

2011-02-21T00:34:00.000-08:00

or perhaps the ole brain is just overloaded and it takes longer to cram new things in there. last week i bought an iPad and since i've been using macs for years and years and it's all seemed quite intuitive, this may be a horse of another garage. it's taking s-o-o-o lo-o-o-o-n-n-g to figure out how things work on this new beast. i keep going back to the user's guide, then can't remember what i just read long enough to practice doing it on the iPad. i have slowly and painfully figured out how to download and install something called "dropbox", which enables me to send patterns and files from my macbook up into the stratosphere somewhere and then coax them to come down to the iPad. eventually, i even got them into my iBook.... after i finally figured out where in the hell it was hiding. part of the problem in my vision, which i'd really really hoped would be all perfect... near, far and inbetween... after new lenses got implanted in my eyeballs.... it's not. i bought a pair of cheapo magnifying "readers" glasses and of course, cannot keep track of where in the hell they are. i'm for sure getting my exercise by going up and down the stairs looking for them. if i perch them on top of my head, they fall off... pulling out some of my hair on the way. i did go to the optometrist and will pick up the new glasses tomorrow. bravo!! but it's been a huge disappointment that my vision is not perfect now... tho it is very nice to see how bright the world is when i'm not looking thru tan and cloudy lenses.

and here's the other thing that's taxing my brain these days. i'm really really trying to learn to speak Greek. we got the Rosetta Stone computer program several years ago and both of us worked on the lessons for awhile... then slacked off. i think it is a good program and if i can keep doing my lessons for at least an hour every day, i just might have some success. i've missed a few days, but am finally getting past "the automobile is white. no, the automobile is not white, the automobile is blue" lessons, which is a good thing as that phrase is quite difficult to work into a conversation. much better chance of working in "the man and the woman are dancing."

so... tomorrow the dentist, pick up the new glasses, take advantage of the 50% off sale at Joann's to get fabric to make a travel skirt (loose and with big pockets! comfort is the goal..__), skip the bank to put in $$$ to pay for the iPad because it's a holiday and they are closed, stop at Freddies to stock up on groceries so we'll have eats and drinks when we get snowed in on Thursday... well, that's the prediction anyway... 4 to 5 inches of it. and i don't mind it at all if i don't have to go out. and if per chance the power goes off, Jim will get to try out the generator. might even work in a stop at good will... monday is usually a good day at good will.

better go rest up those brain cells... they are very tired tonight!

PBS

2011-02-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

gotta say i've been enjoying the programs on PBS far more than anything else on the tv... well, except for maybe Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Nova Science Now is back and they've had some really interesting programs, like the intelligence of dogs and dolphins and parrots... very impressive was the dog that knew over 1000 words and could even reason things out. the "tester" put out several of the toys the dog knew the names of, plus one he'd never seen which they gave a name to and told him to go get that one. the camera showed him looking at them all and finally choosing the unfamiliar one. pretty astounding dog, that one! the same night, there was a program on the robot, Watson, which will compete on Jeopardy with the 2 winningest contestants. 4 computer guys at IBM have been working 4 years on this project... and you can read about it here: PBS-Nova
i love the saturday night programs, too - i've seen a lot of the world thru their travel programs, and even decided we want to go to Croatia next year, after watching an hour feature done there!

and i will unabashedly make a plea here for donations to PBS. there's a strong possibility that congress will cut federal funding to PBS, and i think their programming... the entertaining and the educational is very worthwhile and would be sadly missed by many people. so, come on folks, go to pbs.org and support excellent programs. it will make me happy and big bird will be happy, too!

spinning and knitting..

2011-02-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

a couple of months ago i found a mystery fleece in the basement which the fiber goddess must have left for me, as i had no recollection of where it came from and of course it was not labeled as to the sheep breed represented in the bag 'o wool. so, i washed some of it and dyed some and put some of it with a variety of other fibers in a fiber mix which i sold. the rest of it went into a bin in my studio with a whole bunch of other unlabeled fiber... and luckily this was all recent enough that i knew what it was and why it was there!! all this to say... the green fiber here was part of that stash and looked tempting and since it had been an age since i'd spun any yarn straight from the fleece without processing it first... it seemed a goood thing to do... so i did! and really enjoyed the feel of the fleece which still had a bit of grease in it tho it'd been washed and dyed. i was trying to ignore the buzz of MSNBC pundits on the tv and kind of zoned out to some other place, which brought me to the days when i'd shear my sheep, then rush to my spinning wheel with a big handful of each fleece, so anxious to check that year's bounty of wool that i wouldn't wait til it was washed and dried. ah, the days of sheep keeping and a wealth of wool.....

another find in that mess of boxes in the storage place in the basement! in a big ole zippered bag was an entire project... meaning the pattern and the yarn and the completed back piece of a vest!! sweet discoveries some days. it started out to be the Sakora vest from "Folk Vests" (Interweave Press)... then i started my typical tweaking and knit it side-to-side rather than bottom to top, which brought other adjustments and tweakings when i knit the fronts. the fronts and back are connected at the sides with 4 or 5" knitted piece, which looks kind of silly in a photo, but is ok in person.

so a happy ending to an aging UFO... well, it's not the end til i finish one more tweak.....

the back