Fibergasm

Today I went to Cottage Fiber for a spinning lesson. I was under the impression that the cost was $10 for about an hour and a half. But, because I have a techno-spindle, which she makes and sells, the lesson was free! FREE! Although it is rudimentary at best, I am spinning on the techno-spindle. I think this is one of those things that you have to practice and practice to get right. Don't laugh!

I was in absolute heaven there. Tons of cool fiber, yarns, looms, spinning wheels--you name it. She shares the space with a weaver. He had one ginormous loom that was about 14 feet wide. And another smaller loom that he had warped with colors that correspond with the stars. The warp was from his astrological reading. How interesting. The place was totally inspiring. And the woman who runs it is so very cool.

She showed me how to card my own fiber so I can create my own colourways and roving. So, I bought some fiber and carders. I'm so jazzed.

During our conversation, I learned that she intends to close her shop. She's been in business for three years now and has not received the support from fiber artists she thought she would. Now, that's a bummer. I finally find a place I LOVE and it's going to go out of business. I know that the owner belongs to the KC Fiber Guild, so I'll just have to join that next.

When I came home from my lesson, I had a package from Spunky Eclectic waiting for me. Here is the new color.

It is called Snow Squall. The inscription reads: If you've ever lived in snow country when a really big storm is coming in there is a weird mix of grey and blue in the sky. One minute you have this crystal clear turquoise and the next it's deep blue and then all of a sudden it's grey and about to snow.

I also got my spinning wheel earlier this week. I talked to the woman that owns Cottage Fiber and she can give me lessons. I can't wait. But, I'm going to spend time with my hand spindle so I can get the hang of it.

I was hoping to have my socks done from last month's Spunky Eclectic sock yarn. I was busy knitting away when there was a pet fiasco. Piddles chased the cat sown the hallway and he hauled ass into the office and jumped up on the desk, tipping over a FULL glass of water all over my lap, keyboard, and my knitting, which was on my lap. The whole ball of yarn was soaking. So, It's currently drying out.

I've put that muddy puppy down for a nap. I'm going to spin, spin, spin.

One down

I finished one of the clown socks. I never would have purchased this colourway on my own. It was my first shipment from the Spunky Eclectic Sock Yarn Club. I decided to be a good sport about it and knit it up anyway. I wondered if I was out of touch and these types of colors are actually fashionable. Dustin remarked that he liked the socks when I was knitting on them when I was over at my parents' house yesterday. So, maybe it is cool and I'm just an old fart. However, I hope that my next shipment is more of a subdued colorway.

I've been trying to have Natto and rice for breakfast each morning. It's incredibly cheap, filling and about 330 calories. My fascination with Natto is that it is supposed to help prevent osteoporosis, which my mother has been ravished by. The Japanese have Natto with rice for breakfast. The Japanese also have a very low osteoporosis rate. And when you think about it, the Japanese don't use a bunch of dairy products in their cuisine. They have to be getting the calcium somewhere. About a year ago, I was diagnosed with osteopenia, which is the early stage of osteoporosis. The doctor put me on Actonel, and I was pretty good about taking it for about 6 months or so. I am a little wary of the medication because the long-term effects of taking it can cause a degeneration of the jaw. This last time my mother was in the hospital, they took her off Fosamax as they wondered if some of her swallowing issues were caused by the drug. She's been on Fosamax for about 10 years now. So, I'm trying to have Natto once a day in hopes that I can avoid getting worse. This meant a little shopping trip to the local Asian grocer today so that I could stock up on Natto. I also purchased Soba Noodles for my lunch today. I used this recipe and it was very good.

I put the stock in containers and have it all in the freezer. I forgot what a gigantic mess making stock is. I really didn't want to spend the majority of my day off in the kitchen. But I also don't want to start the work week with a messy kitchen. I should probably go clean my office. But, the second sock is calling me.

3 Day Weekend

It's a three day weekend for me. Yay.

My plan was to spend the majority of my time cleaning like a banshee. When I separated from my ex-husband about ten years ago, I spent most evenings going through the clutter. He is a huge pack-rat. I got the garage and basement all organized. I've noticed I've gotten kind of slack since the kids moved out and now my crap and Sam's crap has been piling up. So, I wanted to go through stuff and reorganize. I've been going through stuff and chucking it or boxing it up to donate and getting everything as neat as a pin.

I returned two tops my MIL gave me for Christmas and had a $110 credit at Dillards. I high-tailed it to the housewares department. Normally, it would take me about 3 minutes to blow through that at a kitchen store like Williams Sonoma. But, this place didn't have that great of a selection. It took us a long time trying to find something suitable to get. I ended up getting a rice cooker and an immersion blender.

I found myself taking a break from all the cleaning by knitting on socks. I'm just using a plain sock pattern. However, I am using the Magic Loop method and it is going very fast. This yarn is too bright for anything but that. It's very soothing to knit socks. And this bright colourway is just what the doctor ordered. It has been so cold and gray these days.

I discovered that Piddles has chewed the corner of the carpet in the family room. I'm not upset about it because my plan is to replace this awful carpeting with some type of Pergo flooring. Hopefully, this Spring. The dogs just make too much of a mess to have carpeting.

We are making a huge pot of chicken stock. I roasted the chicken pieces and the aromatics before getting them into the pot. It should make a nice rich stock.

My mom's condition seems to be stabilizing. She went to the doctor on Friday and had a blood test. They still haven't figured out how or why she is losing blood.