wisdom of today

"Politics is like the circus..  The worst job is cleaning up after the elephants."  -James Carville

that was then

Victoria, BC... sometime around dawn some weekend in 1973 or so..

quilt progress

well, the front (fun) part is done.. onward now to the back and putting the whole thing together!

ides of march

i think i'm in one of those sluggish cycles... so if i owe you a phone call or email, i probably DO know it and just haven't done anything about that knowing.  but i will... really i will.

this is a photo of a quilt i'm working on.  the idea came from one of my (many)quilting books

that showed what they called "liberated houses"... meaning they hold very little likeness to reality, very primitive, and using lots of color.  fits me to a T (or tea? or tee?).  i ended up doing some of the blocks with trees and a couple with people (kids?).  this will be my nap quilt and the next one in the Q will be Jim's nap quilt.

here's the latest addition to our tradition of a photo of Anna and me whenever we get together.  we've been doing this for YEARS, and last time i visited her in Boise she had an array of them out for my amusement!  it's like having an index tab in a journal... each photo brings up a segment of time, history and memories!  i sure am glad we've kept on doing this thru all these

years!!  we've decided we should go back to Victoria BC and repeat a set of photos we took there and we'll have a "then" and a "how'd we get this damn old?".  actually, when i get my new printer and have a scanner that fucking works with this computer, i'll scan the "then".

blessed event

and what could be cuter than babies?  talkin' about guinea pig babies, and the grandkids were absolutely thrilled... Kate? not so much!   she had taken pains when looking for a companion to the first piggie that it be another female, because she did not want to deal with litters of little piggies.  (can't blame her there!)  so about 3 weeks after Ella came to share a cage with Lenny, Kate went to feed them one morning and found 3 tiny newborn guinea pigs which look just like Ella.  so, doubting any kind of divine intervention, the conclusion is that Ella brought them with her when she moved in.  they really are cute ... or just adorable, as Z would say.
Zylie was so excited about the babies, she drew a picture of the event!  i love it!!
thanks, Kate, for letting me use your photos....

dinner with Sonia

On Tuesday, we got a call from Sonia saying she's in town for surgery.  this was a huge surprise as she and Ryan have been in the Peace Corp in Burkina Faso, Africa for over a year.  the short version is that they were in a bus accident 6 months ago, Ryan's shoulder got messed up and Sonia's hip was broken, Peace Corp flew them to So. Africa to get fixed, when Sonia went for her 6 month check-up a couple of weeks ago they found that she is still broken, so sent her home for another surgery which she had yesterday.  the photos here are from tuesday night when Sonia came out for dinner (it was Jim's night to cook and it was lovely!!)  Since what they eat in their village in Africa bears very little resemblance to what they were used to at home, Ryan encouraged her to eat lots of the foods she loved and drink some "estate" wine.  She's been workin' on that.  We did what we could to help.  and took some photos for Ryan.... and here are some of them:  top down - broiled salmon and veggies, chips and salsa, Sonia and our dogs, and a toast to Ryan!

Hope you enjoy the photos, Ryan.  We'd have loved seeing you, too!!

Madrona Yarn Market

We didn't quite make it for the Saturday opening of the Yarn Market at Madrona (in Tacoma), but we did get there well before everything was all sold out!  went to Everett first to pick up Pam, then went on to Tacoma, found the hotel,  and lunch... then went shopping!  and it was great to see some familiar faces and get some hugs (always sweet... esp. Morgaine).  first photo is the yarn i couldn't resist (displayed upon the high chair which was made for my dad by his grandfather.  my dad is almost 93, to give a time perspective!)

and Zylie was enamored with the yarn and wanted to hold it for a photo.

it was a really fine day.. and we got home in time for the Valentine's dinner, which was a delicious lasagne, fresh baked bread and a heart shaped ice cream cake from B&R... which Chris, Alex and Zylie presented and we loved!!

sunday in duvall

Tiki... trying to ignore it all!

Alex watching SpongeBob

Z looking like a very demure princess 

and Chris working (or something)

dyeing day

Kate wanted to try fiber and yarn dyeing!... so i took an assortment of acid dyes up there with me, and Sunday was dye day, and i have to say that Kate showed great enthusiasm and talent and spent the whole blessed day from 11a.m. til almost 6pm immersed in the process.  the photos show some (but not all!) of the results... which were quite spectacular and beautiful!  I did a couple of the rovings (was trying to recreate "Spot", without huge success) (i haven't done any dyeing since last summer, probably august) (and i miss it, but everything for dyeing is stored away)  Enabler that i am, i sent Kate the link for ProChem, where i buy my dyes, and she was off and shopping.  She has a really great set-up for fiber dyeing.... their house used to have a completely separate apartment, which means there is a complete and spacious kitchen which is perfect!

  

fiber content!!

I've just finished my third pair of Spirogyra fingerless mitts (Lynne Vogel )

The yarn is a merino/bamboo that i dyed sometime last summer... or fall... or spring.  well, at least i'm pretty sure that I dyed it.  Obviously, i enjoy knitting them!

I'm going by amtrak tomorrow to Seattle, then Duvall.. and am SO looking forward to some time with Alex and Zylie and their parents :-}  It has literally been months since i've been up there!   Kate and i are probably going to Tacoma to the Madrona fiber fest... just to check out the market... probably on Sat.  And, Kate wants to try fiber dyeing, so i'm taking a bunch of dyes with me, probably way more than i need to take, but better too many color choices than wishing i'd brought more.  and she took home a supply of fiber last time she was here.  So, it looks to be a fibery weekend!  Planning to come home on tuesday, but that could change.

a good day!!

though it started too early by my standards, we were up at 8a.m. doing the cinderella routine for a 10a.m. real estate visit (and the inner cinderella is past ready to be done with this summoning).  some real estate rules of conduct say that we must vacate the premises during a visit, so Jim took the dogs out for  long walk and i went to good will and had a successful search!  found a pretty 6-cup tea pot and some fabric yardage for the quilting stash... about 2 yards for 

$3... bravo!  went back home about 11 to get ready for a twisted sister fiber day of spinning, knitting, having show and tell, grazing (of course).  we had almost the complete contingent of sisters, (10 of us) but missed Linda, Lynne and Alina.   it's been many months since we last got together, so we had lots to catch up on.  and the grazing table was, as always, loaded with such good treats.... and oh my dear goddess!  my chocolate needs were very well met.... mmmm.

disappointment.... :-{

well, it's pretty evident to me that some slackers somewhere didn't do enough in the crossing of digits!  the sunday appointment didn't come on account of illness... agent called Sat. night and left a message which dh didn't pick up til we were almost out the door of the spotless and sparkling house.   we went out anyway and took my dad out for lunch.

i'll get some photos up tomorrow of the almost finished sweater.  i'm jazzed now and anxious to get it done.  Lynne sent me some really delicious handmade ceramic buttons from her stash.  i have a couple in my stash that would work... and now together with hers i think i'll have enough and they will look gorgeous.  We both bought a bunch of them at SAFF a year ago.  

real estate

Tim-the-real-estate-broker called early last week to tell us an agent wanted to show our house on Sunday (tomorrow), then called back on Thursday to say there'd be another showing on Friday.  This requires, of course, that the house be spot-less, with no dogs or any sign of dogs around, the kitchen counters absolutely bare.... tidy, neat, clean, not my strong suit by any stretch!  so, i looked around and sighed a few times... then summoned my inner cinderella, and together with the mister, we got 'er done!  and you know, like when it rains, it pours?  on friday morning in the midst of this massive cleaning effort, some guy drives up and says he saw the for sale sign and could he please come in and look around??  he showed quite a bit of interest... but, we'll see... talk's cheap.

And beings as we have to be away from the house during a showing, we took our laptops and went to a cafe in Banks which has a wireless connection... and it felt like magic had been visited upon my computer!  I got 6 software updates downloaded, plus 3 other many-megabyte things, plus 5 books from audible, checked my email, read much of Huffington Post, and played a couple of games of solitaire, all in about 2 hours.  On my dialup at home, all those downloads would take at least 72 hours... HA!   how i do love wireless connection!  Tomorrow, we'll take my dad out for lunch while there are strangers in my house.  I'm so ready to have this step of the process done so we can move on to getting a house built in Duvall, get moved up there and be out of this limbo!  aarrrghh

If you are so inclined, please keep your digits crossed and hopes high that there will be a home buyer with money this weekend who will make us an offer that we cannot refuse.  and IF everything happened to move along as i wish, we could maybe possibly even go to Crete for easter again in April.  i'm certainly not counting on it... but would be delighted if it worked out that way.

the travel channel

I got sort of a taste of Crete tonight, watching Anthony Bourdain in several locations in Crete.  he is profane, irreverent, and a kind of goofy madman... but does put on an interesting show and doesn't just go to the known tourist spots.  he gets out and has some interesting adventures with the locals, wherever he goes.  although a lot of it is staged just for his show, there were "features" on tonight that were totally new to me... for instance, i've never been to a lamb roast where they shear the sheep, slaughter it and prepare some dishes that he calls delicacies involving intestine and spleen and other "goodies", then roast big chunks of lamb in a quite rustic manner over an open fire.  of course, the raki was flowing freely (Tony had some choice names for it, like paint thinner etc), and he did over-indulge in that and the local wine!  after the meal, some of the men dressed in the traditional garb did a rousing dance and shot off rifles... part of the ritual, i guess, tho not something i've seen there.  and the Travel Channel is likely the closest i'll get to Crete for awhile.  we are in a limbo waiting for the house to sell so we can move north to Duvall and get a new little house built on Chris and Kate's 5-acre lot.  my preference would be to skip all the intermediate steps and be living there right now!  i've always been in favor of instant gratification, and wish that were the reality... but it's not.  in the meantime, i've been knitting and working on a nap quilt, and enjoying both!

Inauguration Day

and a frabjous day it's been!  it would have been perfect to have been in DC with those 2Million or so people... even tho i dislike crowds and avoid them whenever possible.  we did spend much of the day watching MSNBC and the events of the day, often teary-eyed!  what can i say other than i am filled with joy and hope and overwhelmingly happy to see the end of the Bush error.  i really do believe that President Obama will be good for the country and the world.  the only thing i'd have liked to see different in this day is a separation of church and state... and if it's necessary to ask for blessings, don't stop at blessing the USA... bless the whole planet as we ALL need any help we can get.  and i LOVED that Yo Yo Ma played during the event, and that it was that piece even tho at the moment i can't remember the name of it.  and now i'll go to bed, encouraged with the thought that there's hope now of getting ourselves out of the pit in which we find ourselves.

ETA:  the name of that music is "Simple Gifts", written by Joseph Brackett in 1848

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right

Star Flower Cuffs

I knitted these cuffs using one of Lynne's latest patterns, with some of those left-over balls of yarn in my stash.  this is one of those high almost-instant-gratification projects.... fun to knit and even for me,  fast!!

xmas at last!

Chris and Kate and kids were finally able to get out of Duvall and make the trip to Banks, having been snowed in at xmas, then kept at home on new years day by flooding.  So they were finally able to open the gifts which had been sitting around here collecting dust.  On Saturday morning, Kate's mom came by for a visit, bringing Kate's 2 nephews.  Then Judy came with her 2 grandgirls and grandboy.... so there was a grand gathering of cousins having  (what else?) a grand time!  We opened gifts, had lunch, Maisy got to choose the bestest brownie in the pan, Chris became the major attraction with the kids.  He gave rides to each of them on his shoulders, then they ganged up on him and provided weight resistance for his push-ups!  he stood up to the challenge quite well!!

the top photo is Maisy, my great-niece, attacking the brownies.

then Alex about to get his "ride", with Zylie waiting in line.
kids helping Chris with his work-out.
more Alex and Chris.

UFO

I have pulled out of the pile of UFOs, this unfinished cardigan which was started in 2005, and has gone through lots of revisions and rippings.  Part of its problem (well... MY problem) is that i started it with no pattern and just a kind of glimmer of an idea of how it should look at the end of the journey.  It seems that it will  become a square neck, shortish, boxy cardigan in stockinette with 2 or 3 inches of garter stitch along the bottom and sleeve edges.  there will also be garter along the front edges and around the neck.  the main part of the knitting is finished, with half a sleeve and the finishing trim to do yet.  this time i'm determined to finish it and not send it back to unfinished limbo!!  after all, most of the yarn is purchased stash and is wool, silk and cashmere, and rather spendy.  the color work is mostly done in my handspun, also wool and silk and some cashmere.  so, now i've made a public declaration and i will have to finish it!

(top photo is front, 2nd one is back)

Also, i've now had almost a week of liberation after being confined to home with a driveway sporting about 18 to 20 inches of snow and an inability to get out of here.  it's not a bad place to be confined if the confinement is MY choice rather than out of my control (ah ha.. "control" is the big issue here!)  Anyway, at the point of my sanity being seriously in jeopardy, i was able to go out last monday, after 2 weeks of being snowed in.  and what did i do?  well, i went shopping, of course... Costco and Fred Meyer.  and since xmas was pretty much cancelled here due to snow and no electricity, we had the family holiday dinner on new years day.  but Chris and Kate and kids weren't able to get down here til next weekend, so we'll have more celebration then!

white christmas

and in my not so humble opinion... it's highly over-rated!  there's at least 18 inches of it on the ground and more was drifting down from the sky when i got up this a.m.  At this point i've lost track of how long this weather event has been happening.... and how many times we've lost electricity, how many times it's come back on for how many short periods of time.  in other words i'm awfully damn tired of it.  i think probably even the weather forecasting guys have lost their enthusiasm for it.  i do get a laugh at how excited and into it they get when there is a "big weather event"!  but... enough already.

and all of this being snowed in for probably 2 weeks, and reaching serious cabin fever state has given me pause (i love that expression).  this was by far the strangest xmas day i've ever had... nothing bad in the whole scheme of the world... just unusual and strange.  i really missed the ritual and the usual conveniences (like electric power, for instance)... and most of all i missed spending the day preparing for the big gathering of the tribe, and their arrival, and the excitement of the kids.  i miss the kids and the mayhem and chaos and flying wrapping paper.  i had plenty to eat... warmed up on the woodstove left-over soup was tasty, i was warm enough,  and had a couple of gifts for Jim tho there are several still out there somewhere that the USPS and UPS haven't been able to deliver yet.  And i felt so bad for my dad.  when i called to wish him a merry xmas, he wasn't quite sure that today was the 25th.  sounded like life was very quiet and lonely at his assisted living place and not a thing i could do about it.  all i could do was assure him that a warming up is coming and i'm hoping for/planning on being able to get out of here by monday and i'll see him then!  

I talked to Chris and Kate while we still had power (and phone!) and they're very snowed in also!  mostly, it's quite lovely to live in a rural area with space and nature all around... but there are times when it's a pain in the ass.  but in the end, the lovely outweighs the pain.

and the dogs LOVE the snow (Huskies are like that).  this being a dome house, the accumulated snow finally slides off the roof into huge piles and there's a big hill of snow in their play yard. when i let them out there today, Meika went charging to the top of the hill and challenged Tasha with a bark and that stance that means "come on and play".  Tasha took the bait and they were off, with wrestling and racing around and charging back up the hill o' snow til they were both grinning and panting!  looked like great fun!!

winter solstice

and we celebrate the coming of the light and longer days.  and here's the irony of the day... it's the longest night of the year, right?  our power went off at 3p.m.... meaning there was about 1 hour left of semi-daylight ("semi" because the sky was dark grey with snow clouds), making this certainly and literally the longest night of our year!  so, jim went out into the 12 or 14" of snow to bring in some firewood for the woodstove so we'd at least have heat, then built a warm and lovely fire, and i brought out a futon and quilts and pillows for naps in front of the fire (our living room is pretty sparse since we started - ummm - downsizing in preparation for moving).  we had pretty well resigned ourselves to being powerless... and lo and behold, after just 3 hours.. the power came back!!!!  and this is quite ok with me.  i'm totally happy with humming along to the not-so-longest night of the year.

i'm wishing everyone a bright and warm winter solstice, and joy as you dance naked around the bonfire.