Victoria

Sunday was a very long day of traveling. My first flight I was seated next to a 17 month old screaming toddler. The second flight, I was seated next to Mr. Hog The Arm Rest. The best flight was on Air Canada from Edmonton to Vancouver in a newer jet. Too bad the flight attendant was a knitting Nazi that insisted that my knitting had to be stowed prior to take off and landing.

I had to go through customs in Edmonton. This means completing a questionnaire on the plane asking you if you are packing heat or transporting infested monkeys. Then, you have to get off the plane and get your bag, standing in line to answer questions from an officer, and get in another long line to go past another officer. I felt like they were going to throw me in jail or something.

I took my very first ferry ride from Vancouver to Victoria. It was beautiful. I was not prepared for how much cooler it would be. I packed a wrap to wear, but I could only stand being outside for about 10 minutes before I had to go inside to warm myself.

On Monday, Caitlin and I took the dog on her morning walk. I guess most mornings she takes the dog to the beach. The beach is different here. The beach has stones and driftwood. Later on, we walked around downtown Victoria. Caitlin had to work in the afternoon, so Danny and I went to the Bug Zoo to see her give a tour. Then, Danny took me on a drive to see the houses and the University of Victoria. All of the houses in Victoria have little postage stamp gardens in the front yards.

I got a ton of knitting done. It's amazing how much knitting you can get done when you have no distractions.

Happy Feet and some FOs

Tonight is Spinning and CSA pick up. The weather continues to be gray and wet. So, no wool processing. But, it's supposed to be nice for a few days, so maybe I'll do some tomorrow.

I got some new shoes. I love the colour.

And I finished the second Snow Squall sock. (It's about time!)

I wanted to get my size 3 needles cleared off for Vacation Sock knitting. Currently, I'm working on plain stockinette socks using the Perfect Storm colourway from Spunky Eclectic. It's all fine and dandy, but I'm knitting them on size 0 needles. I know I'll love them when they are done, but they will take for-freaking-ever. So, I think I'll bring some new fatter yarn for socks for vacation knitting and then pack these in case I actually get the vacation socks completed.

I also finished both pairs of the Felted Mocs for Caitlin and Danny. It's a pattern from Little Turtle Knits, which is out of print now. Too bad, because it's a great pattern. I'll take pictures when they felt them to fit. They are very cute felted up.

I'm knitting my first garment using my own hand spun yarn. I'm making the Baby Surprise Jacket. I've been reading about this pattern for some time on Ravelry and I wanted to take a swing at it. Supposedly, hand spun yarn makes the jacket look even better.

I realized that I missed my Blogiversary. I thought I had started last year on Memorial Day. But it was May 20. I'm always a day late and a dollar short. I'll have a celebratory give-away once I return.

I've decided to upgrade my Spunky Eclectic from the Sock Club to the Fiber Club. Now that I'm feeling a bit more confident with my spinning, I think I'll enjoy the fiber more. Plus, I have enough sock yarn to last me for the rest of my life. And then some.

Two and Three

Tuesday, I decided that I would give NOT accomplishing a lot a whirl.

Everything is measured where I work. How much work you do and how well you do it. It's kind of hard to get out of that mode of thinking. So, instead of processing wool and cleaning out closets, I decided to poke around a local book store. I bought a hard covered book. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. I felt a little guilty buying it. Funny, because it's no big thing for me to get a new cook book or a knitting book. I like it so far.

It's all about Chinese here as of late. The cilantro chicken with the fresh water chestnuts we made Monday night was delightful. Fresh water chestnuts are fantastic! Though Sam remarked that it was too complicated or a weeknight meal. And I've been making things from my Kylie Kwong cook book. However, I've learned her recipes are far too salty for my taste, so they all need to be adjusted.

I finished the recycled sari silk garter scarf. I have yet to take a picture of it. I wasn't paying much attention when I cast on. I just wanted to be sure it was long enough. When I finally cast off, the sucka is about 10 feet long. Dustin and Tate stopped by in the evening to hang out. Luckily, I had made Jamaican Jerk Burgers, slaw and baked sweet potatoes, so there was plenty for everyone. I offered to give Dustin the scarf, but he declined saying it looked "older lady-ish." Grreaate. I cast on for a simple garter shawl using a beaded rayon yarn I bought years ago. But, after knitting a little bit, I just didn't like the way it looked. I actually wondered what possessed me to buy the yarn. It looked fugly to me. Does anyone have any ideas? Or does anyone want it?

Lately, that's been happening a lot. I get a small portion of a project done and it just looks fugly to me. So, I found some organic cotton in my stash and started the garter triangle shawl. It's very soft yarn. Last night I wondered if it, too, was fugly.

Wednesday, I cleaned the kitchen and refrigerator like a mutha. It was also the first pick up day for my CSA. This week's bag contained bok choy, spinach, lettuce, spring onions, and asparagus. I also got a dozen eggs and a small container of raw milk. I think I'll make a frittata for dinner tonight using the spinach and asparagus. And then a nice salad.

It was so nice to go out to dinner with my family Wednesday. The restaurant is less than a mile from my parents' house. It's increasingly harder for my Mom to get around. It was hard for her to walk from the front door to the table and to get seated. And it was kind of sad because neither one of my folks can hear very well, so conversation is hard in a public place. I ordered a soft shell crab appetizer and the veal liver. Tate got crab bisque and sea scallops. It's very kind of my cousin to spring for such an expensive extravagant meal.

I realized that I have the second felted slipper to complete for Danny before I go to Victoria. This morning I dug through the UFO basket and found it, but I couldn't remember where I had stopped. So, I frogged it and started over. That's okay, I hadn't gotten that far. Next, I have to make Caitlin and Danny a pair of the recycled sweater slippers. Those just take a few minutes to make.

June 14th is WWKIP Day. I'll be heading over to the Plaza for that. Anyone want to join me?

Day One

My trusty beagle awakened my right on time--6:15. It would have been nice to sleep in, but then it's good to get things accomplished.

I started the day washing fleece. This is white merino I got off of Ebay.

Here is how I do it. Stuff the fleece in a lingerie bag.

Fill an insulated cooler about half way with HOT water. Add a bunch of Dawn dish detergent.

You don't want to move it around a lot. But, you do want to make sure it's submerged.

The cooler keeps the water hot. You are, after all, melting that lanolin off the fiber. I let it soak for about 40 minutes. Repeat two more times. Rinse three times in HOT water for 20 minutes or so. The middle rinse add some white vinegar.

Then, I spin it out in a salad spinner and set the lingerie bags on a little drying rack outside in the sun.

The process takes a long time, but it's not a lot of "hands on" time. Tomorrow, I will tackle the merino I bought at the Fiber Festival. It's a very light fawn color. I think it will look smashing blended with the white. And then dyed.

I certainly don't want to spend all my time cleaning. But, I do feel compelled to organize. I got the bathroom hall closet cleaned out. It wasn't that bad because I think I got around to it last year. I'm taking baby steps with the closets. The ones in my office and bedroom terrify me.

I've been reading about Vitamin D deficiency. So, I spent about 15 minutes in the sun today. I'm taking the holistic approach to my osteopenia. I've been taking Vitamin K2 supplements. I also need to get more calcium supplements. My mom has been taking Fosamax for years. She's now having troubles with her teeth and jaw, so the doctor has taken her off of it. I think she's been on it for 16 years or so. I was diagnosed with osteopenia at an earlier age than she was. I certainly don't want to be on a medication like that for years and years. Who knows what the side effects would be.

The recycled sari silk garter scarf is coming along nicely.

Tonight, we are having Cilantro Chicken with Fresh Water Chestnuts and Baby Bok Choy for dinner. I also got some Gai Lan to have with it. Or I could just make that for my lunch later this week. Sam took a half day off so we zipped over to the Asian grocer where we found everything for the dish. I'll let you know how it turns out. I've never had fresh water chestnuts.

I won't be going to Spinning on Wednesday. My second cousin is coming for a visit and she always takes the family to a swanky French restaurant. I can never decide whether to get the veal liver or the veal sweetbreads.

Sunny Sunday

The Great Purge has begun! I decided to start cleaning up the laundry room, where crap has piled for a LONG time. I took five grocery bags and one large moving box FULL of clothes and bedding to a Planet Aid drop off box. I also took out two bags of trash. And that’s only about half of the room. The jury’s still out on whether I have enough stuff to make a garage sale worthwhile.

I got my hair cut and colored. He colored it a little darker than I’ve had it. And the top is light. Of course, I will never be able to make it look the way he does. We made beer can chicken, mashed cauliflower and sauteed mushrooms for dinner last night.

I saw that Kim was tagged for some sort of blog thing. I wasn’t tagged, but I’m going to play along anyway. Kind of like an annoying little sister.


What was I doing 10 years ago?

Things weren’t all that happy for me ten years ago. I was in the middle of my awful, long, expensive divorce. My husband was in arrears, so I was totally broke. The man I was seeing decided to call it quits because my soon-to-be-ex-husband vandalized his car outside my house one night. I think this was about the time that I picked up knitting (again).

What are five things on my to-do list for today?
(1) Post on my blog. (as we speak!) (2) Start washing the mountain of fleece I’ve purchased.(started) (3) Make a game plan for my sabbatical (4) relax and knit. (5) Get Piddles’ nails trimmed. (done)

Snacks I enjoy:

Chips & salsa. And not your standard chips or salsa. I like the designer kind. Chips & guacamole. 365 brand organic cheddar popcorn. I guess I’m not much of a snacker.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay off the house. Get ALL of the remodeling/home improvements done Sam & I have been talking about for years. Buy each of my kids a new hybrid car. Buy a second home. The jury is out where. I’d like to investigate the Pacific Northwest. Pay off Dustin’s school loans. Make a ginormous donation to John T.’s business. Pay for Tate’s college education at the school of her choice. Buy a drum carder.

Places I’ve lived:

Montclair, NJ, Overland Park, KS, Parkville, MO, Kansas City, MO, Prairie Village, KS. Man, I’m boring!

Five people I’d like to know more about:

Barbara, Kim, PJ, Marilyn, Jamie (the Shepherd)

I got Intertwined from the library the other day. What a cool book. Here I've been trying to make my yarn thin and consistent. This book show you how to create thick and thin yarn with blobs of this and that. So, I tried to make a skein or two of art yarn. I think I'll try to make a hat with it. I love the crazy bats.

It's finally here in all the glory

My sabbatical just started. I'm off work until the first week in July. Woot!
I haven't had much to post about the last few weeks. The weather has been gross here in the Midwest. We lost our power this past Saturday in a wind storm. And the dang furnace had to be turned on a few times because it was so cold. We just never seemed to have more than one sunny day.

All of this left me quite grumpy.

All I could say over the last few weeks was:

It was cloudy today, so I couldn't take any pictures.
I feel grumpy.
I can't wait until my sabbatical.

Boring, huh?

Spinning is coming along great. I went to a teeny Fiber Festival this past weekend and purchased quite a bit of raw wool. I've spun some of it in the grease. But, the big plan is to wash and card it during my time off. I found out I can rent a drum carder from either the Fiber Guild or the Weaver's Guild. So, that's what I'll do with this wool. If I like it, I'll look into purchasing a drum carder.

I have an appointment at the salon for a cut and color tomorrow. Then, I'll set up an appointment to get my tootsies in order using the spa dollars I got at Xmas. CSA starts up Wednesday. The crappy weather is behind us. It's all good.

Because of my grumpiness, I didn't feel much like any complicated knitting. I've got another pair of plain stockinette socks on the needles. And I've cast on for a plain garter scarf using recycled sari silk. I'm knitting it horizontally rather than vertically. Gotta love garter.

I hope to keep you updated on how I spend my time off.

It's been a LONG time

It’s just been too cold and cloudy to post. I wasn’t able to take any pics due to the natural light situation. Crappers.

I’ve taken the first two wet felting classes, and the third is this weekend. We’re supposed to make a purse. It should be a blast. Here are some of the things I have made:

It's hard to get a good shot of the scarf. Dang.

I’m about done with the Snow Squall socks. I’ve recently been validated regarding my preference to make SIMPLE socks. Knitting has been going slow for me; perhaps it is this icky weather that has got me down. I dunno.

The mitts are too large for me. I have one completed and the other almost done. Though I will give them to my son, Dustin, it’s always harder to knit for someone else. Especially for one that loses the things you make. So, these are at a stand-still.

And, I’ve been spinning.

Less like barf and more like yarn, eh?

I found out that the space that the renegade spinners meet might start to charge. This means that they will either break up or find a new place. Boy, I hope it’s the latter. Meeting with the renegade spinners has been a great help to me. I will be sad if my Glorious Night will no longer be.

I posted a response to Dave Daniels' Cabin Cove. I’ve pretty much been a wiener when posting comments on blogs. But, he actually responded to me and had some fabulous suggestions on becoming a better spinner. His work is phenomenal. I was quite honored to have a blog STAR respond to me. Thank you, David.

I have really been loving the Kylie Kwong cook book. Everything we have made has been spot on. We went to the Asian Grocer and got some more supplies. And, I finally found the Indian grocer nearby. Curries are next.

My sabbatical is less than three weeks away. Oh--Caitlin got a job! So, that is good. She has to have a job in her field to stay in BC.