home again...

from 4 days in Duvall, WA with "the kids and grandies". took Amtrak up on Tuesday a.m., met by Kate, Alex and Zylie... and then to their new home in the country setting (which Chris denies is a "farm"!) It really seems to be a perfect place for them, with lots of space indoors and out. Alex and Zylie have the main room on the ground level... once the living room of a fulling equipped living space... inlaw apartment? for their playroom. There is a full kitchen on that level which will be great for science experiments, tie dyeing, etc. (including Kate's dyeing experiments). Kate's office is also on that level. On the middle level is LR, DR, kitchen, BR, Alex's bedroom and a deck that wraps around 2 sides of the house. The deck is one of my favorite spaces... it's wide and overlooks a part of the yard, with hills and mountains as the view. That's where the bbq and hammock are. It faces east, so is a shady and comfy place at the end of a day. And the third floor is where Zylie's room and C&K's room and the big bathroom with the jacuzzi tub are located. Chris even got a ride-on mower with the house .. what a deal! AND there is a basketball court where I (ta da!!) made 2 baskets out of my first 4 shots! Now anyone who knows me will know for certain that I am not a jock or anything like that! but, hey, i got **2** baskets. Zylie was all about deciding names for our teams and Alex was too busy making up rules for the games to bother with playing, but I had fun making baskets!!! Where the yard meets the woods are lots of blackberry bushes. The berries are getting ripe and juicy and here's Alex about to get that biggest, juiciest berry of all:

Chris was doing his mowing duties and Zylie was trying to get me to take a photo of him:

and Chris at work:

and since Alex and his aikido class was part of the week, here is Alex:

and a cute one of Kate and Zylie:

It was a good visit, their new home is great and perfect for them... and it's always good to be back home in my nest. We had dinner on the way home at Santorini, one of the Greek restaurants we like. It always makes me anxious to be back in Crete where there is real Greek food and friendship. two and 1/2 months and we'll be there again!

blueberries

The main blueberry bush by the patio (part of the edible landscape!) is really loaded with berries this year, and unlike last year, the birds haven't found them! So while Jeanne was here for full moon, she picked bowls full of 'em. There is a limit to how many handfulls of blueberries i can eat, so i asked Pop if he'd like to come out yesterday and make a blueberry kuchen, then have dinner with us. It being the weekend, he was bored by lack of planned activity at his assisted living (no bingo!), so agreed to the plan. here's how he made his delicious kuchen:
-- place purchased pie crust in pie pan
-- put in 2 1/4 cups blueberries (or whatever it takes to fill pan)
-- combine 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon, sprinkle over berries
-- place foil over edge of pan and crust
-- put in pre-heated 400F oven for 15 min.
-- remove and reduce oven to 320F
-- mix together 2 eggs (or egg sub. equivalent) with 3/4 cup sour cream and pour over contents of pie pan and remove foil from edge
-- place in oven and check after 45 min. It should be bubbly and firmish. if not, return to oven until it is.

While the kuchen cooled, we ate the lovely dinner that Jim prepared.... grilled salmon, Greek salad, orzo pilaf and corn on the cob. ummmm... bliss! I think i'll make this and it better be soon, before the birds do find the blueberries.

I've been on a dyeing marathon again, and sent boxes of rovings to Lynne for a class she just did in NH at Harrisville Designs and one coming up in Michigan end of August. Just got some domestic wool top (Brown Sheep) which I think I'll get lots more of. It dyes beautifully, is soft and spins up nicely into a really cushy yarn. haven't knitted with it yet, but it is lovely yarn!! and it's domestic wool, which is a definite plus!

Taking Amtrak on Tues. a.m. to Seattle, then to Duvall to spend a few days with C&K and kids in their new home. It's in a country setting about 7 miles from where they were living, 5 acres, lots of trees around. Wondering how long it will be before sheep show up there... and maybe chickens? Makes me smile, because after growing up here on the farm with sheep, llamas, bunnies... and having the chores related to that, Chris said he had no desire at all to ever do that again in this lifetime! we'll see...

the simple things

How sweet it is! one of my favorite things about summer is fresh from our garden red, ripe, warm from the sun tomatoes with crispy bacon on grainy bread.... ahhhh, delight!!

I scored at Good Will today. Found a wooden picture frame the right size for an oil painting that my step-brother, Jim, gave me. Finally had the forethought to measure the painting before going shopping... whooda thought? Also, found a light-weight jacket with hood and lots of pockets that i'll take on our travels this fall, and it's red and doesn't even look like it's ever been worn. I love shopping at Good Will!

doncha just hate it when....

you know with absolute certainty that somewhere in this larger than life stash of unfinished projects and random bags there IS a #6 circular needle longer than 16"??... and 30 minutes of agonizing searching fails to uncover (literally)it??? I hate it! Tonight I decided to resurrect the Sakori vest/could be jacket and managed to finish the seed stitch border on the other side (bottom front edge up over shoulder and down back edge), re-read instructions for creating the front borders, was ready to start and all I could find was the 16" #6 circ. and that just isn't going to work!! So, i gave up the search and will go to bed. It will be the second night in recent history when it's cool enough to sleep and will probably require a blanket... yippeeee.

and a note for the garden diary: picked the first red ripe tomato today (yum) and there are 3 eggplants almost ready to harvest, and several more cucumbers and zucchini squash. Jim got all the raised beds lined with wire so the underground rodents aren't eating the beets and pulling the green bean plants down into their dining rooms. whatever these creatures are, they are bigger than gophers and have been known to chew thru the main large (probably 3" to 4" diameter) roots of 10 year old wine grape plants.

my birthday

well, it's a little past midnight and it's 82F outside right now, probably about that here on the second floor of our house. tho it's air conditioned in the basement and first floor, the cool just doesn't get up here very well. but, this is OREGON, for goddess sake... it is just not spose to be this hot for a prolonged period of time. it's not spose to be 104F for 2 days in a row!! damn! anyway, it's my 68th birthday and i just don't want to be this old. don't want to be dead yet either, so i guess 68 is the alternative to dead. My dad took us out for dinner tonight at one of our 2 favorite Greek restaurants. one reason to go there was that we had a 2 page hand-written letter from Marina, a friend in Vamos, Crete... written in Greek.. and we wanted to get it translated. The owner, Denny, did that for us and it really made me nostalgic and missing Vamos to hear what she wrote. It was mainly a response to what i'd written her in January and the pictures i'd sent. i love the people we became friends with there and miss them so much. I'd love for my dad to go with us to Crete in November. My heart is just so heavy tonight. Pop is in pretty good health for a 90 year old man, but he is just so sad and lonely without DeDe. He's outlived 2 wives, had a very full life, realized many of his ambitions, is successful and well-respected and loved... and he's lonely and tired and just doesn't have much energy for life. i think he's really wanting to die and i'm not willing to give him a lot of pollyanna shit about bucking up and there's lots to live for and yadda yadda yadda... because he wouldn't believe that and i have too much respect for him to do that. we (the family) have tried to help him focus on short term goals that would be interesting/fun etc., but he sees right through that. i totally believe that his 90th birthday party/big bash was from his point of view, a living wake which gave him an opportunity to connect with people who had been an important part of his life. he and i had a touching and teary conversation after dinner, and i told him again that i'll miss him so much when he's gone, and that i do understand why he hasn't much enthusiasm for living. he told me that he spends a lot of his time reading and re-reading DeDe's diaries, many of them dating back to the times before he married mom and she married Rush. he told me he's been doing some writing about his time with DeDe. and despite all this, i do wish he'd decide he had the energy to go to Crete with us... i know he'd love it and everyone there would adore him... and that couldn't be a bad thing. that long, long airplane trip is tough though.

more fiber/yarn

tried again on the other part of the current project, and was much more successful!!

I'm calling it "October" ... that's what it made me think of. Carolyn said the other one reminds her of violets.... so that's its name.

Oh, yeah, October!.. that's when we leave again for a big trip. departing Oct. 16 for 12 days in Italy, then back to Crete til Nov. 23. We will be renting the same house we were in last fall, so it will be kind of like "going home". We received a letter this week from our friend, Marina, in Vamos, Crete... a 2 page letter that looks like it's just chock full of news. The problem is... it's written in Greek. So this week we'll go to one of our favorite Greek restaurants (Santorini) in Portland and see if our friend, Nikos the bartender will translate it for us. And ... we'll probably have to have a glass of Mavrodaphne and dinner!

new yarn

this is what I am currently spinning. It's BFL (which I love spinning!)

It was actually destined to go to the shop, but I grabbed and stashed it, along with a slightly different color combo (the photo of which looked crappy, so will try again on that one). Kept 2 pounds total, so it ought to be enough to do something with, tho i haven't been visited by my muse on that one yet. stay tuned, i just might come up with something.

and more photos

this fiber is a merino/cashmere blend which I bought at BSG from Dicentra (Lisa Milliman. it is just heavenly to spin and makes a poofy, drapey yarn. With the fiber and yarn is a spindle that Jim Child (Hatchtown Farm) made for me after our first trip to Greece. This was from a chunk of olive wood that I brought back from Crete. I've forgotten its specifications, but it is tiny and spins silk beautifully. This yarn was spun on my Ernest Mason wheel which I've been using lately.... the spindle was just lying there begging to get into the photo!


The next photo is a baby kimono sweater I recently made from well-aged stash yarn (wool). The pattern was in Mason Dixon Knitting, a book i am really enjoying, tho would never have bought it based on that cover!! wonder who talked the authors into that??!!
this is a sweater i know i'll knit again! easy, made up quickly! won't do stripes next time... too many friggin' ends to deal with!

flowers

I was inspired by Angi to put up some of my flower photos. One of my favorites:
and then one of my favorite day lilies

4th of July

in Sewanee, TN. There was a mutt show where Lynne and Monk placed with a new Monk trick! here they are receiving their trophy
next to them was the clown who was nothing but an annoyance to the MC.

Lynne and Monk resting after the awarding of their trophy


and back at home, Monk got a cigar (doggie treat) as a special award!
isn't he cute??

Color in Spinning and Knitting

Back in Sewanee with Lynne now... and it was a fantastic class/retreat/workshop weekend at The Red Rooster Retreat in Alabama. There were 10 students, 7 were from the workshop last year at Shakerag, so it was great to see old friends and meet some new ones.

Everyone learned something and loved it... no matter their experience in spinning and knitting. It was so great to be in a place where the classroom and sleeping rooms were in the same building... in fact, everything was in the same building...!
Lynne has such a wonderful gift as a teacher. She is so clear in her explanations and demonstrations, and so patient. Her classes at Harrisville and Michigan in August are full, but there is still some room in the class in Taos, NM in October... just before the Taos Wool Festival. http://www.taoswoolfestival.org

I had so much fun as an assistant/helper! got to spin and knit and learn some new knitting techniques, and just hang out with kindred spirits for 3 days! i'd do it again in a newyork minute. Am already missing my home tho, cause i know the flowers are just glorious and Jim is lonely there with just the dawgs (that gets old after a few days, i know from experience) and of course, i miss Meika and Tasha. But i am looking forward to 4th of July celebrations in Sewanee and then going to Knoxville to spend a few days with my sisters (the bio ones)... life is good!

off to TN

leaving this a.m. to TN, then Alabama with Lynne to be her assistant for a workshop retreat. 3 1/2 days of fiber and color with a bunch of fiber fanciers!! it just doesn't get any better! then to Knoxville for a weekend with my dear sisters! (the bio ones) (as opposed to twisted ones)

and I just gotta say... Tom Diak (Grafton Fibers) is truly an artist, and a fine person in the bargain!! story at 11. gotta see if i can close my suitcase and get outa here!!

from Eugene Saturday Market

The earrings I bought are silver disks with an image etched on of "She Who Watches". This legend was included with the earrings. I tried taking a pic of them, but they're just too shiny... the image is the top center one. They were purchased from Philip Dietz of Spirit Rocks (Springfield, OR)


This information was also included


And I bought cloth origami cranes to give to my sister to hang in her new home to bring good luck and love. They are really sweet..

about the bunny cake

Yep, Charleen, it's the same bunny cake you mention in your comment! I don't bake much anymore, but always love to make that cake. It was the first time the grands had seen one, and were quite impressed. Of course, it probably helped that there were M&Ms decorating the bow tie.

another Black Sheep Gathering

We went to Eugene on Thursday afternoon, even tho nothing starts til Friday... the other choice was to arrive in Eugene on Friday in time for an 8:30 a.m. class, which i just don't think i could have pulled off. The class was great (even if it was early a.m.). Linda, Jeanne and I all took Joan Schrouder's class on knitting tips, techniques and tricks and I'm SO glad I signed up for that. the best trick was knitting back backward... and i need to go practice that so I won't forget. There are others I need to practice, and she gave us really helpful handouts, so I should be able to do it!! Shopping was, of course, a consuming activity and was productive. I was able to find some washed, super shiny and soft mohair locks at an excellent price, well.. actually Linda found the vendor and we both snapped up a couple of pounds! I actually didn't buy very much, a kilo of recycled silk thread at an excellent price, part of which i'll use for blending with wool and part i'll package and sell at NW Wools. and i found a couple of small bundles of merino/cashmere on sale at Lisa Milliman's Dicentra booth. seems like i always buy something from her because her color sense is just so wonderful. There was lots more I wanted, but just tried to keep in mind what my stash looks like and managed to curb myself. Must admit to lots of "enabling"!! It was wonderful to see old friends, and BSG is always a place you can count on getting lots of hugs, which feels so good! This morning we went to the Saturday Market ... and it was overwhelming to find so many choices of really beautiful jewelry, lots and lots of tie-dyed everything, enticing aromas of greasy overpriced food, the usual soaps and candles and the interesting contrast of old hippies/hippie wannabe types and tourists. I found a woman who made really lovely cloth origami cranes and good luck fishes and bought a string of 3 cranes for my sister to hang in her new home. also bought earrings... silver with etching of the "she who watches" petriglyph from the rocks along the Columbia River gorge... for my other sister. Then we got lost in Eugene again and finally found the fairground. I just don't understand why i get so flummoxed driving around Eugene, because usually i have no problems finding my way around. it's just that city that does it to me! After a little more shopping and enabling, i sat watch at the Fiber Arts display for an hour, then Jeanne and I drove back to home. This was the second year of not having a booth at BSG and i do miss that!! it was awfully hot today.. mid 90's. i'm so grateful for ac in the car. oh, and we got 52 mpg on this trip! yippeeeee. gotta get organized and get packed for trip to Tennessee on tuesday.

More birthdays!!

This was indeed a party weekend! My very sweet son, Chris, had his 35th birthday on Sat., 6/17.... and I celebrated a bd with him actually ON his birthday for the first time in a lot of years!! for many years now, Black Sheep Gathering has been on or close to his bd and I've had to be in Eugene to sell fibers and, of course, party with twisted sisters and other friends! guess i'm just a bad mom, but... well... it was always my biggest fiber show of the year, and i honestly don't think it made much difference to him after he grew up! Anyway, he, Kate, Alex and Zylie came down from Duvall on Saturday, I fixed him a bunny cake (blast from the past kind of thing), Jim cooked his birthday dinner, and then we got busy planning for Alex's 6th birthday on the 19th. In the meantime, Sunday was Fathers' Day and Chris took Jim and all the rest of us to Newport Bay for brunch... which was a magnificent meal, and was quite enjoyable til Zylie got pissed off about something, made her way out of the booth by crawling under the table, and in her inimitable dramatic gesture of displeasure, began pulling her dress off, which is her supreme expression of displeasure..... no shrieking or tantrum. Her favorite dresses to wear (when she will agree to even wear a dress) are the cotton knits which are very easily removable!! And then Monday, we got into party prep mode, and Jen, Judy, Jordan, Maisy and Max came at noon, Deborah and Jack got here soon after, and Alex had a really fine celebration! The party had all the trimmings he had requested... choc. cake with his name on it and with M&Ms and sprinkles, balloons, goody bags for his guests, lots of presents, pizza, really LOTS of balloons!!! Chris and Kate really do this bd party for kids in a big way!! Soon after the party ended they packed up and went back home... and wanna guess who collapsed with an ice pack on her back?? aw, you know.....
Kids partying:...


Alex w/gifts


and he DOES love Legos!!


escaped balloons drift up to the ceiling, which in a dome is a long way up!


Chris and Zylie


Kate, Chris and Jordan


Jack (Alex's cousin)


more photos later

global warming

yesterday we went to Portland to see Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. In my not so humble opinion, this is an absolute must-see movie. Though I've been aware that global warming is a fact, I really had no idea the extent of it and what is actually happening to our planet. The possibilities are mind boggling of what could happen in the next decade if we don't ALL make some effort to stop this. Here at home I know I can do better, tho we do try to "live green" and garden almost organically, there's always more that can be done without a lot of effort or inconvenience! If i sound evangelical that's how I'm feeling right now! What's happened/happening on our planet is really shocking! If you can see this movie, please do. Here's the website to learn more:
http://www.climatecrisis.net And it really does come down to individual choices, plus insisting that our leaders make the right choices.

new fibers for sale

I have listed some handdyed Corriedale top and Merino/Kid mohair for sale at
http://woolgatheringsfibers.blogspot.com/

O frabjous day! ...

Callooh! Callay!* It is indeed a frabjous day Why??? because the sun is shining, it's warm outside, the flowers of my queendom are picking up their heads from the mud where the rain had slung them, rhodies are blooming in wild glory, clematis covers the arbor, there are even roses in bloom! and the poppies... bless 'em for seeding themselves in unexpected places. when the sun first started peeking out today, i went for a walk about to check on things. truth be told, i was out to assault the slug population with my shaker of salt, and was quickly diverted into deep appreciation for all this glory of great goddesses and mother of us all ... abounding everywhere i looked. and then i went to my studio and made an attempt to pay homage to the poppies and the multitude of reds, oranges, cream, pale pale peach, many pinks. in my eye it will remind me of the poppies, whether anyone else sees this corriedale roving and thinks of poppies doesnt really matter to me! photos maybe ... when it's dry.

and here's a photo of the Poppies corriedale top. havent spun any of it yet.


*thanks to Lewis Carroll and his jabberwocky

update

it's been so long since i made an entry here that i hardly know where to begin. have not been doing much dyeing or spinning, but have been working on a baby sweater from the Mason Dixon Knitting book... it's a super easy kimono type and i'm using some washable wool yarn that's been lingering in my stash for many years. i probably shouldn't mention any knitting projects on this blog as it seems to be the kiss of death of projects never to be completed. I've really been enjoying this book and there are a few patterns I might use, but besides that it's good reading... entertaining and funny.

And... yesterday was Jim's birthday. His family had been wanting to get together to go over some geneology stuff, so we just combined that with a birthday party. And i guess i was possessed by my inner domestic goddess... while roomba vacced the kitchen i actually baked a cake from scratch. it's been many many moons since i've given in to that impulse and the carrot cake actually turned out quite edible. I used a recipe from a low-fat cookbook, whose name escapes me at the moment, but it's by 2 docs from OHSU and we got it right after his bypass surgery. so, it was low enough in fat that he could eat some! I got a big bunch of salmon at Costco and we were going to barbeque it, but the rain has still not quit, so the fishy went into the oven and came out quite delicious. there's a LOT left over, so now i need to find a recipe for what to do with it before it rots in the frig.

have i said lately just how much i adore my roomba robot??? damn, i totally love having my very own robot to clean the floors and she does a damn good job, too. top on my wish list now is a wet mop robot. between muddy dog paws and the general tracked in mud resulting from farm livin', the floor is always in need of mopping and i'm almost never possessed by that inner domestic goddess who inspires me to clean... thus the kitchen floor usually looks like a pig pen.

What else? have sporadically been dyeing fibers to take to the Shakerag reunion in
Alabama... so far there's silk top and merino/kid mohair top, and i want to get some BFL and/or corriedale dyed up. have been lacking in motivation and energy to do much of anything lately... so, haven't done much of anything until there's an urgency of some kind or guilt sets in.

I've written to Elena in Vamos to start looking for a place for us to rent when we go back to Crete next November. Plans are to go to Italy for 10 days or so before going to Crete, and we can't go til Jim gets his grapes harvested. (hoping for an early harvest)

when i get the baby sweater closer to finished (have back, one arm and left front done so far) i will post a photo.

yarn

here's some yarn i spun while at the beach. it's the merino/tencel superwash that's been aging for many moons. took some pictures of other yarns from the weekend, but the color was so far from true that i trashed them. guess i need to dig out the instruction manual for this camera. i'm sure it will do lots more things than i've managed to figure out.


and here's Buster... one HUGE cat. the dogs are afraid of her (as they should be!!)She follows me around like a puppy when i'm outside.


it's raining again and the weed population and size is exploding... yikes...

Stephen Colbert

this is a link to the transcript of Stephen Colbert's address at the White House correspondent's dinner. i've watched his show on comedy channel and been amazed at some of his comments..... now i am in awe of the man for saying things about this administration that the media has tiptoed around and avoided! read it for yourself and be amazed!

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811

sorry i can't make it easy to click on, you'll need to copy and paste the url. maybe i'll get it figured out later.

PSA

in the public interest, i pass along this information which i received this morning:

Subject: New STD Warning!!


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior.

The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim and pronounced "gonna re-elect him." Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for the past four years. Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include: anti-social personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive dissonance, inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and paranoia, inability to accept responsibility for own actions, cowardice masked by misplaced bravado, uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history, tendencies towards evangelical theocracy, categorical all-or-nothing behavior.

Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease originated only a few years ago from a bush found in Texas.

is it spring yet??

sure looks like it today! though the temp did get down to 32 last night. the yard and flower beds are really showing the effects of all the rain.. the weeds are high and lush green and trying to take over again. the vegetable garden is lookin' pretty good tho... well, the weeds are out and some of the raised beds are fertilized and tilled and Jim has cleared a space where the new solar panels will go on the north edge of the garden. the flower beds are an entirely other story and are high on the do-it list. i'm pretty much a month behind in everything since April was taken over by my dad... both his hospital stay and his birthday party.

had a relaxing and happy time at the beach with 3 twisted sisters. we rented a condo this time which was on the 4th floor so had a wonderful view of the ocean. it was pretty cool, too, to see the seagulls soaring from such an up-close vantage point. I spun some silk and plyed it with an aged bobbin of mohair locks. it is SO soft and shiny!! also spun a bobbin full of the merino/tencel and totally love how it looks. the disappointment was the mohair locks i took ... it was chockfull of debris. that's the last batch of mohair i will buy online from an unknown source.
silly me to believe that her defininition of well-skirted and VM free would be the same as mine. in all these years i've had a pretty crappy track record on buying mohair fleece, whether in person or on the internet. should i keep trying? oh, i probably will. didn't get any beach pics, but may get around to taking some of the yarn i spun and posting them.

made my reservation this a.m. to go to TN in late June, after BSG! so, there's something i can check off the do-it list! bravo.....

life is good!

and today I spent some time in my studio dyeing! definitely a good day here!! and tomorrow at noon i'm leaving for a weekend at the beach (a rental condo in Rockaway, OR) with a few twisted sisters. here are some of the fibers i'll take with me...

this is a 50/50 merino and tencel blend that has been languishing - i mean aging - in my stash for a very long time. I really love the soft, muted colors. See, it isn't ALL about in your face color, just mostly.


dyed mohair locks using lanaset and/or pro washfast dyes with the heat it up in the electric skillet, add vinegar, splash on dyes and simmer.


Blue Face Leicester top featuring "in-your-face-orange" and "attitude pink" which may not make the cut for the beach trip. i'm in the mood to spin some silk and love spinning it on my Journey wheel which is packed and ready to go! will need to go digging in the stash for some sensuous silk.

My dad has improved to the point that he wants to go back to his apt. at assisted living, so Curbhead will take him there tomorrow. Hoping Home Infusion nurses will come early tomorrow a.m. to remove his picc line... last infusion is midnight tonight, for which he and i will both be grateful!

my Dad's 90th birthday party

and what a party it was!!! THe day of the party (22nd) i had doubts he'd be able to find enough energy to last the 5 hours the party was scheduled for... but he seemed to be having a good time up until the end and was more than ready to crash into bed when we got home. I don't have an exact count of how many people showed up, but had 110 who RSVPed that they would be there! The setting was very nice... The Kingstad Center in Beaverton, OR, which is a conference center that used to belong to Nike, was bought several years ago by the Kingstad brothers and is used for meetings, receptions, parties, etc. Their menu choices gave lots of choices and the buffet table they set up was wonderful... great food and nicely presented. Hawley, the event planner, was great to work with and was there while the party was going on. Bud (Curbhead) really came thru with entertainment, a trio and a keyboardist who alternated with each other for at least 3 of the 5 hours of the party. And David had put together a slide show of family pictures which included some of Pop's baby pics. Anyway, it was a wonderful event!! but i'll wait awhile before planning another one of this magnitude!!!

So Pop stayed 8 days at King City rehab and i was not happy with their "nursing care". he had already had a week of inactivity in the hospital, and other than the 30 min. of PT and 30 min. of OT/day, they seemed happy to just let him lie in bed. he was still on his 3 weeks of IV therapy and even if we'd arranged to have that done by the home infusion nurses, he was no where near able to take care of himself. so, i brought him home to stay with us, with the warning to him that i would not let him just lie around in bed or sit all cozy in a chair all day... so he had advance warning!! Kaiser has been wonderful about the home care... 2 RNs from the home infusion dept. came out the day i brought him home,and the next day. we picked up his antibiotics at our nearest Kaiser pharmacy, the pharmacist called to be sure i had the equipment i needed, PT has been to visit him and OT is coming tomorrow. there is a 24 hour on call person if i need help. and everything is going very well. i took the infusion to the party for his afternoon dose. so he'll be here til he finishes the iv on Thursday, and since he's already doing well with his own care, he'll probably go back to his apartment on friday.


i've got a couple of fiber projects this week... a custom dyeing job for a friend and a pile of blue face leicester roving that's dyed and ready for weighing and tagging and taking to NW Wools. friday some of the twisted sisters are going to the beach for the weekend... and i am SO looking forward to it!

very cute..

hard to believe that my grandson, Alex, is almost 6 years old! I snitched this from Kate's blog. She took it when the 2 of them were out whale watching last weekend. He looks like he's enjoying his day!!

Friday already

A short update.... took my dad to King City rehab on monday to continue the iv antibiotics and get him steady on his feet after a week of lying in bed in the hospital. He's doing well and is anxious to go home!

Accomplished my 2 goals of the week... get the paper work done for taxes and get them to the tax guy, and clear out/clean up my studio for a dye workshop on saturday. well, the studio is almost ready. i guess i need to do workshops more often to keep it from looking like something the board of health would condemn. and i discovered a LOT of dyed fiber and yarn that needs to be moved out of here and into someone elses stash! being a pack rat can be a real burden sometimes!

so, today i'll finish up in the studio and then go visit my dad. didn't go yesterday, but knew Curbhead would be there so Pop wouldn't be without family there to visit with him. and next week... finish up the party planning, including figuring out what to do for table decorations. hoping some inspiration will come to me soon!

long week...

My dad is still in the hospital and on IV antibiotics for a 3 week course. The short story is: infection in his wrist of unknown origin and unknown organism, finally went to surgery on Wed. or Thurs. to flush the wrist with antibiotics and put in a drain, lots of pain and pain meds and very little activity, will go to King City rehab center tomorrow for a week to work on getting his strength up so he can go back home with a calibrated pump which will deliver the antibiotics every 8 hours. and 2 weeks from yesterday, we will whisk him away to his big 90th birthday bash to be celebrated by family and lots of friends, with some musical entertainment, lots of good food and wine and merriment! Della, my nephew's wife, made a wonderful invitation and is working on banners and scanned enlargements of lots of photos of Pop and family thru the years. if you can manage to have a graphic artist in the family... go for it, as it's very good thing! which reminds me i need to do some web searching for some ideas for table decorations. have spent a lot of time at the hospital this week, which means that i STILL haven't gotten all my tax stuff together. luckily (i guess), it was a pretty slow year on the business front with 3 months in Crete, so there are fewer papers to shuffle this year. Also, high on the do it list is getting my studio in shape for a dyeing workshop next saturday, and the way it's lookin', that ain't no small task. where is Cinderella when i need her???? and i am SO wishing for that simple life in Crete!

Fiber Workshop with Lynne Vogel

Lynne Vogel, author of the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook, will be teaching Spinning for Colorwork Knitting at the Red Rooster Retreat, Crane Hill, Alabama June 29-July2 2006, assisted by Sandy Sitzman, twisted mom. Red Rooster is a residential craft retreat center where we can come together and indulge in color up to our eyeballs to the exclusion of all else, except maybe the swimming pool. We will cover loads of colorwork knitting and spinning techniques during this three day, three night intensive. We hope you will join us for the fun.

You can find more information on Lynne's Blog

http://workshopcentral.blogspot.com

We are asking that you reserve a place in this workshop by April 15. Please contact Blaine Harkness at BHark12345@aol.com to register.

a long night in the ER

My Dad came up with a sudden onset of swelling and pain in his wrist and hand, so I took him to the ER about 7p.m. last night. Foolishly, I thought since there was no full moon, no big events going on in town, it was not friday or sat. night, that the ER wouldn't be TOO crowded... and was I ever wrong! There were 16 people ahead of him.. lots of them children and very unhappy screaming babies and very sick-looking folks. So, we sat and waited as his pain and swelling increased. He had no fever and for an almost 90-year-old man, is really in pretty good health, so he didn't get on any high priority list (if there is one) Finally, about 10:45 we were taken to an exam room, and the first diagnosis was probably cellulitis and they started iv antibiotics and then gave him some morphine... which did not even touch the pain, about which he was becoming more and more vocal. So, because of this pain they began talking about other possibilities for diagnosis. So, before being admitted at 4a..m., he was seen by the ER resident, Kaiser Internist, surgical resident, xray, CT scan, had blood work. Poor guy... i felt SO sorry for him and couldn't do a thing for him! He kept trying to send me home, but I stuck it out til he was in a room and had morphine PCP going. Today, an orthopod was added to the mix, thought it might be gout and tapped his wrist for fluid... and there was none. so, hmmm... still no definitive diagnosis, but he still has iv antibiotics and morphine going, blood work still to come back and still in pain if anyone touches his hand or wrist.

I'm glad it's still more than 2 weeks before his big 90th birthday celebration, so he'll have time to recover from this whatever it is! He said he wanted a huge blow out birthday party, and that's what we have planned! We've rented a room at a really nice conference center, ordered up lots of yummy sounding food, plenty of wine, Curbhead and David are in charge of entertainment, there will be a slide show of some sort... and we've sent out about 110 invitations (so far!) Sounds like a good party, huh?

Think i better go take some magic vitamin C potion to ward off anything nasty i might have breathed in while waiting in the ER last night.

coffee

followed the link from Charleen's blog to discover what kind of coffee am i..... and now i know!

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

dog hair

I'm sitting here wondering what a Siberian Husky with a buzz cut would look like. There would be a definite advantage in getting all that hair off her in one fell swoop... rather than wading thru her coat blowing process and rasslin' with her to get any of it off with a brush. this is just day dreaming, however, as Jim would never tolerate such a thing being done to Meika. Actually, she could look kind of cute, especially if i followed up the hair cut with the application of easter egg dyes. And this will never ever happen....... sigh... back to vacuuming the dog hair off the stairway carpet. i think it's blue under there.....

And no, I DO NOT like spinning dog hair of any kind at any time ever!

spring???

well, the weather goddess celebrated spring with one lovely day here, appropriately - on the first day of spring!!... and it's been rainy ever since! everywhere i look around my queendom it's green, with little spots of color peeking up from the ground and trees looking ready to burst into spring glory... and then there's the weeds. ah, yes, the weeds.

I took Jim to the airport at 5a.m yesterday (which means i got up at 4a.m.... eeeek) and he flew to Phoenix to meet up with Chris and see some Mariner baseball spring training camp games. I'm glad he didn't have tickets to see the Blazers play the Suns last night, as they got thoroughly thumped, and have now lost something like 21 of the last 23 games. They have gone way past pitiful and are now an embarrassment! Lots of young talent on that team.... they just have to learn to use it, I guess. can't believe i'm writing about sports!!

so, while it's just me and the dawgs here, I'll get a bunch of dyeing done. I got a lovely serendipitous result the other day that I'll try to repeat. Using ProChem Washfast acid dyes, I poured the bright turquoise next to the iris, with just a tiny space in between them... and where they blended together there was a most glorious electric blue!! Loved it!

The only other "must do" (besides outing and inning the dogs) is to get address labels printed for the invitations to Pop's 90th birthday big bash on april 22. he emailed me the invitation list and (so far) there's 104 invitations to send. it's going to be one big party...

a good movie

here's what Netflix says about "Iris", starring Judi Dench:
"Iris Murdoch was l'enfant terrible of the literary world in early 1950s Britain -- a live wire who thumbed her nose at the conformity of the era via a voracious sex life that included male and female partners. In this snippet of her life, Murdoch (Judi Dench) faces the onset of Alzheimer's disease alongside her adoring husband (Jim Broadbent). Kate Winslet portrays the young, free-spirited Iris in flashbacks."

I watched this movie the other night and enjoyed it very much, in a bittersweet sort of way. I admire women who thumb their noses at convention... so really liked it on that level. Also, enjoyed her wit and intellect. The bitter part was watching this bright and gifted woman lose it all to that dreaded disease. It did give me a glimse into what my mother's life must have felt like to her as she gradually lost touch with reality. I'm not sure whether Mom actually had Alzheimer's or if her dementia was more due to mini-strokes which gradually diminished her thinking processes..... but it doesn't really matter which it was...the result was awful for her and for her family. It may sound like I was depressed by the movie, but I wasn't. I love watching Judi Dench and thought the movie was well done, and kind of broadened my perspective. The thought of the possibility of losing touch with my reality at some future point is frightening, but I refuse to dwell on it and thereby waste the now with worrying about what might be!! so there!!

and now am wishing "Pink Panther" with Steve Martin would be on dvd SOON! maybe i'll go back and watch "All of Me" with Steve Martin and Lili Tomlin... my all time favorite movie of his!!

life...

it's a stunningly beautiful day in my queendom.... actual sunshine, warming to mid-50s and no wind!! BRAVO!

We did go to OMSI with the kidlets on Wednesday and had a wonderful time. there is SO much to see there that we could have spent lots more than the several afternoon hours we were there. The last exhibit we were in was devoted to cartoon making and even had an area where the kids could do their antics while being filmed, and needless to say, it was quite popular.. esp. with Alex. A plus factor was that there were not many other people there, so no crowds around the fun stuff.

Hope to get to Costco later today, or tomorrow, to get a long worktable to put by my sewing machine. The new sewing place is making slow progress as I've been busy in my studio getting more fibers dyed for NW Wools. Stopped by the shop last week and the shelves are nearly bare again.... a good thing, I suppose, but it means i have to actually do some work, which i'm getting used to not doing so much of lately. One of these days i'll take the "semi" out of "semi-retired" and see how that feels.... i have a feeling it will be pretty fine!! Also, need to get some fibers dyed to take to Alabama end of June when I go to help Lynne with a class. That will be a fun time as it is part of the reunion of the class she did in Sewanee last spring, and it's a long weekend retreat/spin-in kind of thing. Then will be in Sewanee for 4th of July, and after that go up to Knoxville to spend a few days with my sis in her new house. First weekend in October will go to Taos for the Wool Festival and to help Lynne with a sock class there.... so will need to be dyeing more fibers for that. So, the reality is that I am still having fun with the "semi-retired" state of being. And we are thinking of going back to Crete mid-October, and including a couple of weeks in Italy.

new sewing space.. in progress

and a bit different view

these are some recently dyed, and now drying, rovings:

(with the usual disclaimer of "colors are distilled a bit by camera and computer monitor... yadda yadda yadda..."


Life is GOOD! veddy gud... BRAVO!!

Progress

I spent a lot of the day creating my new sewing space on the balcony... including finally giving the plants up here some overdue attention. Emptied an etigere (i think that spelling is wrong, and "spellcheck" has no idea what i'm trying to spell!!)
and will use it for stashing sewing stuff... yep, a fabric stash lives here, too! This project will need to go on hold til later in the week as Kate and the kids are coming down tomorrow for a few days... oh, goody, i hope we get to go to OMSI or the Children's Museum or the zoo!!

and, ooooops, just remembered some fiber i dyed last week that hasn't been rinsed and dried yet, plus the pot of fiber left soaking and waiting to be dyed. and Lynne is sending me some Ramboulliet (?sp. again), both yarn and fiber, to try out in the dye pot. lots to do.

life is good!!! BRAVO!

photos coming soon. really....

Roomba!!

other big news is that the robot is in residence and i have to say I Love It!! we are having a bit of a problem right now as Meika is shedding big time, the biggest blowing of coat that she does all year. she's looking like a mere shadow of her normal fluffy Husky self... and still piles more keeping floating around on the floor and there's always more tufts of fluff sticking out of her coat. anyway, the problem is that roomba doesn't do well with this massive amount of hair. it wraps around the wheels and the brush and just about everything that lends itself to being wrapped around. it does really well in the living room on the carpet and just zooms around doing her cleaning job. a dream come true. i've ALWAYS wanted a robot of my own to do the cleaning. AND the company also makes a robot that wet mops the floors. be still my heart. and now i can hardly wait to show her in action to Alex! Robots are his consuming interest right now. he and his dad built one and programed it while i was there last weekend... it's a Lego kit. it was a treat to watch them working on it together and then to witness his robot in action. Alex was so excited with one of the tricks.. when it bumps into something it sings a song and then does a dance!! this techie stuff is really great!! i'll get a picture of Cinderella my roomba robot soon. really.

********************************
and here is Cindy Roomba at work:

what's new...

well, life has happened a lot since the last i wrote here. i'll just start with today and see what happens after that.

closing of another chapter here at dome central... my big rustic clunky floor loom went to a new home. it was given to me in the early 80's when Pam divorced & got rid of about 7 looms. this one was made in Texas many years ago, somehow or other got to Damascus Pioneer Art School in Damascus, OR, and was given to Pam there. so, knowing it was time to move the loom on, i called Becki (who bought my Pat Green big carder last year) to see if i could give her this loom, she said "yes" and came today with a friend and a pickup, and we broke the loom down (taking pictures and marking coding in chalk as we
went along so they'd be able to get it back together), and away it went. and since it's probably been 10 years since any weaving has happened here, and i just sold all the 3 pounds of yarn i'd dyed for a blanket to weave for my son, the time was right. and to make it even sweeter... as soon as i get all the dust and debris vacuumed up from where the loom sat... i will move my sewing there on the balcony, under the skylight and get another long work table, and get serious about making a quilt for Alex-The-Awesome-Grandson!!

the loom...


and a current picture of Meika and Tasha, just because they looked so sweet and angelic. but, do not think for a minute that the bright light behind Tasha's head is anything other than sunlight!! she hasn't quite gotten enough control over her great need to mangle yarn and unspun fiber to deserve a halo. i think sometimes her teeth just itch and she must get a fiber fix in order to be happy! she is a sweet dog, tho, and tries hard not to be overcome by fiber urges. i do still barricade my fiber corner just in case! she will be 3 on march 15, so really should be beyond the puppy chewing stages. the birthday date is one i picked arbitrarily, since street dawgs don't come with birthdates.

which muppet am I??? Moi????

You Are Miss Piggy

A total princess and diva, you're totally in charge - even if people don't know it. You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won't settle for anything less. You're going to be a total star, and you won't let any of the "little people" get in your way. Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift!

The Muppet Personality Test

I have always adored Miss Piggy!! who knew i was so much like her? 'spose maybe i rigged the quiz? who knows.....

new stuff, but nothing fibery

Lynne just started a blog and since she told me how to put links in my blog(!!) here's the link:

http://handspuncentral.blogspot.com

i was feeling pretty clueless and pitiful because i could not see the icons she described... then i switched from Safari to IE and still had no luck. finally, thought i'd try the dell, and woohoo... here it is! much as i love my mac, i sure do wish the rest of the world would fall in line here and get behind mac!!! on the other hand, by keeping the brain cells firing with trying to figure out this techie stuff, maybe i am warding off the dreaded alzheimers.

also, received the cds i just ordered from Amazon... The Anonymous 4 (who i recently discovered and fell in love with) American Angels and 1000 A Mass For The End of Time. and both are every bit as glorious as i'd hoped they'd be. i was a bit leery when looking at the titles of the tracks on these because of the religious nature, but love the first one i heard so much (The Origin of Fire) that i decided to take a chance. i'll write more about this music later. headed for bed now..........

lookin' better

Some improvements going on here! The rain stopped long enough today that the sun actually showed itself, and tonight I could see the almost-full moon. And the big improvement is that my handyman (very dear dh) climbed up the ladder while it was still raining and fixed the leak over my studio (thanks for your good wishes, Charleen... it must have helped!!) And the drain problem seems to be improving after pouring some bionic-super-good-for-the-septic-tank stuff down it. AND, as i was looking for a knitting project so as to avoid the neverending stole for awhile, found a little sweater I started for Zylie (who knows how long ago), which looks like about a size 4 or 5 so i'm ahead of her there, which looks like a good project. will take some photos tomorrow. it's purple, pink (2 shades), green, lavender and varigated.... love the colors! I was actually amazed at how many UFOs I discovered lurking in those big plastic storage bins, disheartening in a way, but on the other hand lots of kind of mindless stuff to work on without having to plan out a new project.

whoo hooo

I finally gave up waiting for Cinderella to show up here for cleaning duty! (Goddess knows she is needed here) I've always wanted a robot to call my own which would clean the floors for me... so went to irobot.com and ordered a Roomba vacuuming robot. If it lives up to the advertising, I'll be a most happy woman... and the floors will at last be cleaned regularly. This little miracle even has a scheduling feature which allows me to program it to automatically do the cleaning at a scheduled time.... whoopeeee and bravo. I keep thinking about the SNL bit... an "ad" extolling the virtues of the "woomba" which causes me fits of giggles!!

on the fiber front, not much is happening. My studio is being flooded from above and below. The roof is leaking big time, with steady rain for 24 out of the last 25 days. And yesterday, the drain started backing up when the clothes washer emptied. A bit of a depressing state of affairs. Plus, I had to rip out about 14 inches of the neverending stole due to a huge mistake for a distance of about 6 inches... which even i and my casual approach to life could not ignore. tried to make myself believe that it wouldn't be noticeable, but that didn't work! spent some time yesterday looking at websites in Crete... sigh.... after hearing that there had been a 6.9 earthquake there on sunday. seems there was minimal damage to buildings in Hania, but Elena said no problems in Vamos.

finally fiber!!...

While i was in Crete, i did do some knitting (very little spinning). I took with me some Falkland Islands wool yarn which i had dyed in bright primary colors. Finished 3 kids' hats... sent one to Zylie for her birthday, gave one to Socrates, the 3 year old son of a friend in Vamos, and one for Laura, the 1 year old daughter of our Danish semi-son, Soren. I still need to finish off the loose ends inside the hat and wash and block it, but here it is in its current state:

(modeling the hat is a bear which is a xmas gift for one of the dogs)

this is another shot of it which shows the top better:


and here's the shawl/stole i started way back when and thought would be finished by now -


and:
the color looks crappy on here. i'll try again later sometime and see if i can get truer color.

weather alert... and we made it home!!

we had a weather event yesterday!! it's been tres cold for a week, with below freezing at night, and yesterday was the turning back to warmer point, which often means that ugly transition when moisture coming down is warmer, then hits the surface temperature which is freezing and becomes freezing rain and slick roads. anyway, we picked up my dad at noon and went to
lunch at mcmenamins grand lodge in forest grove, and then to the matinee of Music Man at theater in the grove. the sky had been getting steadily grayer and the air smelled like snow... guess what, flurries started as we went into the theater and by intermission, snow was coming down like a sommonabeech and cars were sliding up to the stop light in front of the theater!! when i made the announcement to pop and jim that i wanted to go home, i was not met with any resistance! we had to slide to hillsboro first to take pop home (tried to get him a taxi, but none of 'em answered their phone!!), then slid out the sunset highway and made it home!! yippee and bravo!!! our little Ruby2 Prius did a marvelous job on slick streets and going up hills!

and now it is time to get serious about preparing for the holiday celebrating. as always, i've been waiting for cinderella
to show up and clean house for me, and she just never does, the bitch. so, today i'll finish unpacking my duffle and huge suitcase and finish putting away the recently washed contents. some of the stuff in the suitcase still smells like the cretan sun from hanging on the clothes line on the balcony. must say, i dont miss washing all my dirty clothes in the sink (Jim used the bathtub for his because he saved up til there was a bunch of 'em). then will bring the gift wrapping stuff up here
and set up a card table and get goin' on wrapping. Jim will get us a tree in the next day or so, and i'll do some minimal festivus decorating. must have candles and greens out before solstice!!! and so, this week i plan to just dink around my queendom, get organized maybe, do a little bit of cleaning up, wrap gifts, figure out what all i'm fixing for xmas dinner and the tribe. for sure, i'm going to try Charleen's cranberry relish with walnuts in it!! C&K and kids will come down in time for dinner on the 25th and stay for a few days. it will be lovely to spend some time with them and play with the kids. Jen and Maggie and their little girls will be here on christmas day, too, and that will add to the festivities!!

We're home again....

and i'm happy to be here, and trying to get settled back in. after the very simple and quiet village life in Crete, it's been almost culture shock going back to my "normal" life here... especially when i braved the cold and crowds, and went shopping at Nordstrom's Rack. .. eeeeekk. If it weren't for the grandkids and other relatives i'd be most tempted to let the holiday season just pass on by while i sit and spin and get back to dyeing some fiber. Other than xmas day dinner for the whole tribe here, i'll try to keep things pretty simple (no cookie baking, minimal decorating, no more shopping!!! I did some in Crete and most of the rest of it online)

I took a supply of yarn with me and made a couple of kid's hats, a treasure bag, and got the shawl/stole about half finished.

I am eternally grateful that i was able to live in Vamos for 3 months, and for the friendships there, and i miss them and know that we will go back.

a picture from Crete

This is the remains of an olive oil factory at the old monastery at Karides, Crete. You can see the huge round stones used for pressing the olives. This was a lovely place to visit, and is quiet and deserted except for the 2 or 3 monks who still live there and take care of the place.

home soon

Our 3 months of living in Crete is a week away from over and it's been a wonderful adventure! Will move back from the travel blog to this one after December 6. Leave me a message if you'd like to have the URL to the other blog and i'll email it to you.

more cuteness

last friday was zoo day for part of the tribe..... and here's the smallest members

Max (held by Jen), Alex, Zylie, Jordan and Maisy. it was rather a comedy watching 5 adults chasing in 5 different directions after energized kids. at least there were enough adults to divide up the responsibilities. i especially like the butterfly exhibit which will be here for a couple of more months. polar bears and sea lions were the biggest hits. it was really interesting to watch the sea lions playing and chasing underwater. a lot of their playing reminded me of the way Meika and Tasha play together.

countdown = 13 days

and i'm wishing we could just leave right now! well,no, i'm not packed yet... stuff is piling up in a heap on top of my duffel bag and i can really start getting organized after this weekend. maybe tomorrow i can spend some time with my new camera and figure out how to get the photos downloaded on the dell, then i can take a pic of the stole/wrap in its latest incarnation. also, need to spend more time with dell and hope i dont end up banging my head against it. i WILL conquer the alien windows!!

the garden is giving us an abundance of little tomatoes..... not cherry, it's the grape tomato, but they sure do look and taste like cherry. and there's been enough basil to freeze 2 batches of pesto!! ahhhh..

catching up

Have i said that i really like the new Prius?

actually, i love how it drives, how comfortable it is, how much room there is for all our "stuff" AND the fact that we got 51 mpg the last 2 tanks full of pricey gas. that mileage was with a combination of 70mph on the highway and stop and go city type driving. i had heard that the car sacrifices pep and power to the economy, but i havent found that to be true at all. have had no problem with getting plenty of power for passing etc!! love it! and it is kind of cute, too... not in the category of Mazda Miata, but cute nonetheless!

and then there is the current knitting project... the stole! once again my "casual" approach and lack of planning has risen up to bite me in the ass! you'd think i'd have learned by now to be sure i have enough fiber dyed for the project i want to do, even tho i dont have all the yarn spun.... but no! took a critical look at the accumulated yarn and decided i'd better do some figuring as to how much i'd used so far and how much the stole would require to make it 60 inches long. it would have been SO much easier to do this calculating while i was dyeing the fiber... but did i? no! of course, i now need at least 6 more ounces and i know damn well i cant dye fiber to match closely enough for it to work, and of course, all the original fiber is spun up, so i cant do the old trick of mixing first dyed and second dyed fiber as i spin it and work that into a "design element" (and i DO love "design elements"). so, plan B developed: use same Iris and Turquoise diluted, then alternate the more intense and the softer shades. Last night i ripped out the 14 or so inches i'd knitted, decided to eliminate the olive-y yarn completely. now just need to get this new batch spun up, which should go quickly as i love spinning the alpaca/merino/silk, and i'll have a bag full of yarn and a travel project. pictures later, maybe.

last month when i went to the beach, i visited my friend, Gail, who i hadnt seen in way too long. our kids went to school together in Banks, are now in their 30s and both of us are now grammas! Gail's grandson, Sam, is precious and sweet, and let me give him lots of hugs!


have been keeping busy with working thru the list of things to get done before we leave (in 18 days). got some audible books downloaded and on my iPod (John Irving's _Until I Find You_, Ann Cameron's _Colibri_, Sue Monk Kidd _The Mermaid Chair_, Mark Haddon _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime_, Patricia Storace _Dinner with Persephone_) plus lots of music including Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits (1987) which hearing again has turned into a huge blast from the past experience... oh, my! it amazes me how much i've put on the iPod and barely dented its capacity. have been trying to get used to the dell laptop and windows. what an alien experience that is. am beginning to wish i'd been able to find the $500 or $600 more it would have cost to have a mac laptop. i did get a wireless mouse which eliminated the frustration of the damn touchpad. well, "they" say that by learning new things one can keep the brain cells and synapses firing and stave off the onset of oldtimers brain..... this dell challenge should fill that bill!

had lunch with brother Curbhead on wednesday at Maggie's Buns in FG, which was fun and we agreed to do that again. what i had to eat was a wrap with eggplant, feta, tomato, hummus... and i plan to make that for supper one of these days. will add basil leaves and sliced kalamata olives plus a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. yum. Last weekend my dear friend Anne came out for dinner.... first time she's been out since she helped me choose the tile for my new kitchen and also, the first i've seen her since her dear Dave died in Jan. Anyway, she's planning a 3-month trip to SE Asia in december, and since Pam is moving there in october, they had lots to talk about and will get together when Anne is in Chung Mai. on sunday, Ryan and Sonia came out to help Jim with wine bottling and to get more pointers on grape harvest since they will be in charge of it this year while we are picking grapes and olives in Crete. Also, Marge (DSIL) and Loren came for dinner as we wanted to be sure we see them before we leave. Today Pop is coming out for dinner. Judy's bringing him. she and i had wanted to have dinner at a steak place before i leave, but that just prob. wont happen, so we'll have to settle for Jim bbq-ing some fish and we'll share a bottle of Retsina. tomorrow is a twisted sisters spinning get together here at dome central... havent seen anyone but Linda since BSG, so it'll be great to see them. hoping that Rachael will get back from her weekend up by Port Angeles in time to see everyone. ive been needing some chocolate in a big way, so will make some super-chocolate brownies for tomorrow and an orzo salad.

and next weekend, C&K and the kids and puppy will be here for a wedding on sat. night (Jim's niece Brittany is getting married). on friday night we'll have dinner with Pop - the monthly Candlelight Dinner at Avamere, which was quite good the last time we went. grandkids and wedding saturday. then Chris will leave early sunday to drive back to Duvall and fly out on another microsoft trip to London. Pop and (Curbhead) Bud have planned a family dinner at Bud's as a going away for us and BD for celebration for Bud. Then with 9 days til departure, i'll do my best to avoid any social getting together, going anywhere etc, and try to figure out what's essential to take with me for a 3 month stay... and get it packed. i keep reminding myself that there are stores and plenty of opportunities to buy anything essential that i forget. it doesnt totally sink in. but since i cant count on finding yarn and fiber and knitting books, i am definitely packing lots of those things. have gotten a big bunch of Falkland wool yarn dyed up in bright colors to make some kid things for xessmass as there wont be much time for that when we get back.

i dont know if anyone has read this far ... it's been pretty long and blabby, but this is the end for today!

cuteness

after time spent with the grandkids, there's always additions to the cuteness files.
Alex and Z looking at the video Jim just took of them


On monday we took the kids to Remlinger Farm which in addition to the farm store, has fun and rides for the kids, including some farm animals they can pet, a train ride, canoe ride, roller coaster plus plus plus....
Zylie riding the pony and very pleased about it


Alex loved the canoe ride!


there was an old school bus the kids could climb around in. while Alex was "driving", Z was enjoying the view... probably the closest either of them will get to a school bus...


the train ride gave them a chance to rest for a few minutes from the heat and activity of the day.



there's lots more photos, but that enough for now. Kate and i did some trading that seemed to make both of us happy. she is now the owner of the Louet spinning wheel which has been living at her house for awhile... and i am the new ower of a Canon digital camera which Kate wasn't using since she upgraded. I'm delighted and hope to learn more about its features this week, so my next photos will be better quality than these!! I'm afraid that half the weight in my luggage will be gadgets and the wires to connect them... and of course, the instruction manuals!

Less than a month now til we leave for Crete and i'm putting a moratorium on putting any more commitments on my calendar between now and then. We have something going on every weekend between now and sept. 7.

we had a great time with the grandkids and their parents, and their puppy, Tiki, too! there's nothing to warm a gramma's heart like a little girl running toward you, arms outstretched, big smile on her face, saying "it's grammmmaa"!!

The "usual" is going on in the fiber department.... a dye pot going with BFL top steaming away and lots of dyed and dried rovings/tops waiting to be bundled up and taken in to Northwest Wools. will take a photo of the progress on my shawl.

on the road again...

Tomorrow Jim and i are driving to Duvall for the weekend plus. today is Chris and Kate's 10th wedding anniversary.. and they will celebrate tomorrow with an adult's date night out and about in seattle... and we will stay with the grandies. then on monday night Chris and Jim have tickets to a baseball game (yawn...) and we'll come back tuesday a.m. I'm gathering up all my techie stuff to get their help on making dell work with my iPod, the spyeye webcam thing, dig.cam etc. also, taking some of my orchids to live with Kate while we are gone. the others, i'm hoping my neighbor will come in and care for them. did some shopping at AAA today. got my international driver's license and some plug converters so we can use our electical things there. i'm trying to train my hair to get along ok without a hair dryer and curling iron, and hope that works out. the less baggage like that that i have to take along, the happier i'll be. just need the basics, like: coffee pot, reading light, fiber, spinning wheel, yarn, knitting needles, fiber.....

Rachael

Pam and I picked Rachael up at the airport last night. it's so wonderful to see her again... it seems like more than the 2 years she has been gone. she looks wonderful and seems happy to be home. it will probably be something of a culture shock for her after spending all that time in a small village in the outbacks of Tanzania..... and i know she has lots of stories to tell!! i hope she'll make it to our twisted sister gathering in a couple of weeks. pictures soon.

going to be another day in the 90s, so no dyeing going on here. more fibers and yarn to go thru and de-stash... and that will be inside in the ac.