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.....