Hello all!
I'm back from the West Coast and I have lots of pictures and stories to tell. Today, however, I am recovering from the jet lag. I have never travelled much so I've never experienced jet lag. It wasn't that bad on the way out there. I was on their schedule the next day. Unfortunately, today, it is kicking my butt! I stayed up until 2am last night ( didn't get home until after midnight), then woke up at 7:30am. I thought, good, I'll just stay up and get back on East Coast time. Not to be. I fell asleep at 10:30am sitting in a chair with my 50 lbs. nephew in my lap! I managed to wake myself up enough to go back to bed where I stayed until around 1pm. My goal now is to go to bed at 10pm and see if I can't get up for morning practice at the Zen Center. Wish me luck!!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Vacation
Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and words. It is a fitting tribute to a good dog.
As the title says, I'm going on vacation. I have to say that if my dog had to suddenly sicken and die, I'm glad she did it while I was home and not thousands of miles away. It would have truly broken my heart for her to be as sick as she was and feeling like I had abandoned her. Never mind my poor mother having to have her put to sleep. It is just better all around this way.
Anyway, I am leaving for the West Coast tomorrow to visit my friend Jess, the Reiki Master and best friend from Junior High. I'll try to blog if I can. I will certainly take a lot of pictures and fill you all in about it when I get back. Also, remember that the shop will be closed from tomorrow (7/1) to Tuesday, 7/11. No Knitting or Spinning Groups next week either.
Now, having finally finished the Knit Out's 501(c) 3 application (not as bad as I thought it would be), I must pack and get ready for this trip!
As the title says, I'm going on vacation. I have to say that if my dog had to suddenly sicken and die, I'm glad she did it while I was home and not thousands of miles away. It would have truly broken my heart for her to be as sick as she was and feeling like I had abandoned her. Never mind my poor mother having to have her put to sleep. It is just better all around this way.
Anyway, I am leaving for the West Coast tomorrow to visit my friend Jess, the Reiki Master and best friend from Junior High. I'll try to blog if I can. I will certainly take a lot of pictures and fill you all in about it when I get back. Also, remember that the shop will be closed from tomorrow (7/1) to Tuesday, 7/11. No Knitting or Spinning Groups next week either.
Now, having finally finished the Knit Out's 501(c) 3 application (not as bad as I thought it would be), I must pack and get ready for this trip!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Yesterday was a sad day here. Actually, today is still sad but what can you do.
Yesterday, I said goodbye to my little Maggie. She was a grand old lady of 16 ½ and had lead a long and eventful life.
I got Maggie and her sister Ginger one day over fifteen years ago when my friend Cordie dragged me to the shelter because she wanted a dog. I already had a dog so was just ‘along for the ride’. Did Cordie get a dog that day? Nope. Me, I got two!
Until only a few years ago, I always, always had three dogs. They consisted of a succession of large breed rescue dogs (none of whom lived very long because they were old to begin with and big dogs just don’t live that long) and Maggie and Ginger. When my last big dog died, I made the landmark decision not to get another (there’s only so much time you want to spend washing spit off the ceiling as you get older). This was just fine with Maggie since she had spent most of these years trying to bully and dominate all of these 100+ lbs dogs. Considering she topped out at 20 lbs, she managed to do this with surprising success. I often wondered if she would have been Alpha Dog if she had been just 10 lbs heavier.
When I lost Ginger about a year and a half ago, I was very much afraid that Maggie would pine away without her. After all, they’d never been apart since conception. Just the opposite happened. Apparently, Maggie had been waiting her whole life to be an only dog. I remember watching her as it dawned on her that “Omigod! They’re finally all gone!!” So she had a glorious year and a half of being my only dog.
It is so strange not having a dog in the house. After all, this is the first time I’ve been without a dog in over sixteen years. Maggie has been gone for less than 24 hours and I can’t believe how much my life was regulated by her presence. For sixteen years, I have had a constant subroutine going in my brain that consisted of ‘Does the dog need to go out?’ ‘Does the dog need to come in?’ ‘Is there fresh water in the bowl?’ ‘Did I leave something around that the dog will chew up?’ ‘Has the dog gotten enough love today?’ and so on. It’s unbelievable! It’s just constant!
I feel like Maggie’s passing brings me to the end of an era. She was a good girl though she was never very snuggly. She took her job as a dog seriously and did it well. I’m glad she got her time as an only dog and I think she was very happy in the last few years of her life. It is hard to believe she’s gone.
Yesterday, I said goodbye to my little Maggie. She was a grand old lady of 16 ½ and had lead a long and eventful life.
I got Maggie and her sister Ginger one day over fifteen years ago when my friend Cordie dragged me to the shelter because she wanted a dog. I already had a dog so was just ‘along for the ride’. Did Cordie get a dog that day? Nope. Me, I got two!
Until only a few years ago, I always, always had three dogs. They consisted of a succession of large breed rescue dogs (none of whom lived very long because they were old to begin with and big dogs just don’t live that long) and Maggie and Ginger. When my last big dog died, I made the landmark decision not to get another (there’s only so much time you want to spend washing spit off the ceiling as you get older). This was just fine with Maggie since she had spent most of these years trying to bully and dominate all of these 100+ lbs dogs. Considering she topped out at 20 lbs, she managed to do this with surprising success. I often wondered if she would have been Alpha Dog if she had been just 10 lbs heavier.
When I lost Ginger about a year and a half ago, I was very much afraid that Maggie would pine away without her. After all, they’d never been apart since conception. Just the opposite happened. Apparently, Maggie had been waiting her whole life to be an only dog. I remember watching her as it dawned on her that “Omigod! They’re finally all gone!!” So she had a glorious year and a half of being my only dog.
It is so strange not having a dog in the house. After all, this is the first time I’ve been without a dog in over sixteen years. Maggie has been gone for less than 24 hours and I can’t believe how much my life was regulated by her presence. For sixteen years, I have had a constant subroutine going in my brain that consisted of ‘Does the dog need to go out?’ ‘Does the dog need to come in?’ ‘Is there fresh water in the bowl?’ ‘Did I leave something around that the dog will chew up?’ ‘Has the dog gotten enough love today?’ and so on. It’s unbelievable! It’s just constant!
I feel like Maggie’s passing brings me to the end of an era. She was a good girl though she was never very snuggly. She took her job as a dog seriously and did it well. I’m glad she got her time as an only dog and I think she was very happy in the last few years of her life. It is hard to believe she’s gone.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Dye Day Wrap-Up
I do wool dyeing in my kitchen which means I have to clear out anything edible. I cover my counters with plastic wrap then newspaper.
I tried three times to do a sage and here’s what happened:
Not really,
ah, nope,
and, not even close.
I came to the conclusion that I really needed to buy a dye that specifically says “sage” because I’m obviously unable to mix it.
Look for all the yarn to get posted on Etsy in the next few days. Remember, if you order after June 29, you'll have to wait for me to get back from vacation to mail it to you.
It is important, and I can’t emphasize this enough, to have dedicated pots, pans and utensils for dyeing. Dyes are quite toxic and you never want to use dyepots for food!
With wool and any other protein fibers, you use acidity and heat. Here is the yarn soaking in water and vinegar.
I also use this stuff called synthropol to help the yarn take the dye better.
After that, I apply the dye. I do a bunch of different techniques (none of which I managed to take a picture of, sorry about that) but they all end up with the yarn wrapped in plastic wrap and then steamed.
Once the dye is set, I rinse the yarn
and take it out to the back fence to dry. You may think the skeins stay all nice and neat during the dye process but a lot of them end up looking like this.
I have my tricks for fixing them but there is generally some foul language involved.
I had a lot of fun dyeing yarn yesterday. I did a bunch of my favorite colors and experimented with several more. Subway Knitter suggested several colors to me and I actually was able to do a couple of them. Both gunmetal gray and raisin came out really well. The picture doesn’t really do them justice.
I tried three times to do a sage and here’s what happened:
Not really,
ah, nope,
and, not even close.
I came to the conclusion that I really needed to buy a dye that specifically says “sage” because I’m obviously unable to mix it.
Look for all the yarn to get posted on Etsy in the next few days. Remember, if you order after June 29, you'll have to wait for me to get back from vacation to mail it to you.
Monday, June 26, 2006
I've Dyed Until I'm Dead
Remember this?
Now it looks like this
and this.
I can’t believe I got through all that yarn by myself! Usually, Kerry, my trusty minion and Queen of All Orange, plays hookie and helps me out. Unfortunately, young Kerry is busy moving into her newly painted house and, though the allure of sock yarn is great, was not able to join me. I’ve been dyeing yarn since 9am and, as my mother likes to say (warning, Mommism coming up) “I’ve died and I’m too dumb to lie down.” Which is, of course, why I’m sitting here at the computer blogging.
I think I’m going to sign off now, though. I have a bunch of pictures and will do a full dye day round up tomorrow. Even though I got all the yarn dyed, my kitchen still pretty much looks like this.
I think I’ll order pizza and deal with it in the morning.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Pictures
Here are the pictures that blogger wouldn't let me upload yesterday.
From Monday, we have the graduate!
A fine young man and, as he will often tell you, now a ninth grader!
From Monday, we have the graduate!
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A fine young man and, as he will often tell you, now a ninth grader!Tuesday-See how much knitting I got done on the bus. I know it's not that much but its's on size 3's!
Next we have Kerry edging the livingroom
and the Lovely Deb painting the bathroom. I got her pretty bad with the flash but I'm fairly sure her vision has returned by now ;-)
Everyone should have a sunny yellow kitchen with white trim!
I didn't mention it but Kerry and Deb seem to paint very successfully with out using drop cloths! This is a new concept for me. I found it quite challenging but I managed not to ruin their floors.
Wednesday-The winding goes on! I love a big pile of yarn!
This is what I had left at the beginning of the day yesterday. I've gotten a lot more done since then and I'm hoping to finish it up today!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Busy, Busy, Busy
Good grief! Where do I start! I feel like I have been in constant motion since I last posted!
Well, here’s what I’ve done since you last heard from me.
Sunday
Went to morning practice at the Zen Center then grabbed some lunch and met Guido and his Pumpkin for a delightful sail on the Charles all afternoon.
Monday
7am Get up early and got everything ready and printed for my evening Knit Out meeting.
9:30am Get on my bike and head up to see my grandmother.
Half way there, hear my bike make a sound something like toingggg, think, “This can’t be good”. Stop and find out that I’ve broken a spoke. Fortunately, I’m only about ¼ mile away from the bike path bike shop. Stop and get my spoke fixed.
10:40am Get the rest of the way to Arlington Heights and visit Grandma.
11:20am Head back home
11:45am Get home and get ready for Big Nephew’s eighth grade graduation
12:15pm Head over to CVS to get said nephew a card and some money to put in it (never say I leave these things until the last minute).
12:25pm Meet my mother and brother headed out the door to go. Mom says “hurry, hurry”! My mother is compulsively early. Run in and get my bag.
12:45pm Get to Baldwin School
1pm Watch one of the sweetest and nicest (and most brief!) graduation ceremonies I’ve ever been to.
2pm Head home
2:20-3:30pm Wait for Little Nephew to get home from daycare so that we can go out to a late lunch to celebrate. Listen to my mother and brother argue about the fact that he doesn’t like Thai food and why do we have to out to eat any way.
3:30-4:30pm Eat a fairly tense meal with my family. Amuse myself by introducing Little Nephew to bubble tea.
4:30pm Return home and collapse for 45 mins.
5:30pm Change bags and head out to Knit Out meeting.
6:30-7:45pm Have a very productive Knit Out meeting. Thank you to every one who made it!
8:45pm Return home after stopping at a friend’s house to feed cats while they were out of town.
9pm Sound asleep
Tuesday
8:30am Leave the house to run some errands and catch the 350 bus to Burlington to go help some friends’ paint their brand new house. The bus ride was perfect knitting time.
10:30am Arrive in Burlington. Receive the 25-cent tour and spend the day painting Kerry and Deb’s delightful new house!
5:40pm Head home and collapse. Beginning to really look forward to opening the shop tomorrow just so I can sit down!
Wednesday
AM Go to the post office, bank, grocery store and pick up shop. The only problem with being closed three days in a row in the summer is that I have 50% more time to mess up the shop before I open again on Wednesday.
PM Open shop, wind yarn. Spend two hours sending out Knit Out related email, wind yarn some more. Have knitting group.
Thursday
Well, today has been pretty slow. All I’ve done is ride my bike up to Arlington Heights and get more groceries from Trader Joe’s. I’m sure I’m going to have lots to do today but for now I’m ignoring the list and having a little bloggy fun. I tell you, it’s a good thing I’m taking that iron suppliment or I’d have needed medical attention sometime mid-Monday.
I can't seem to post pictures this morning but check back. I have some fun ones and I'll try to post them later today.
Well, here’s what I’ve done since you last heard from me.
Sunday
Went to morning practice at the Zen Center then grabbed some lunch and met Guido and his Pumpkin for a delightful sail on the Charles all afternoon.
Monday
7am Get up early and got everything ready and printed for my evening Knit Out meeting.
9:30am Get on my bike and head up to see my grandmother.
Half way there, hear my bike make a sound something like toingggg, think, “This can’t be good”. Stop and find out that I’ve broken a spoke. Fortunately, I’m only about ¼ mile away from the bike path bike shop. Stop and get my spoke fixed.
10:40am Get the rest of the way to Arlington Heights and visit Grandma.
11:20am Head back home
11:45am Get home and get ready for Big Nephew’s eighth grade graduation
12:15pm Head over to CVS to get said nephew a card and some money to put in it (never say I leave these things until the last minute).
12:25pm Meet my mother and brother headed out the door to go. Mom says “hurry, hurry”! My mother is compulsively early. Run in and get my bag.
12:45pm Get to Baldwin School
1pm Watch one of the sweetest and nicest (and most brief!) graduation ceremonies I’ve ever been to.
2pm Head home
2:20-3:30pm Wait for Little Nephew to get home from daycare so that we can go out to a late lunch to celebrate. Listen to my mother and brother argue about the fact that he doesn’t like Thai food and why do we have to out to eat any way.
3:30-4:30pm Eat a fairly tense meal with my family. Amuse myself by introducing Little Nephew to bubble tea.
4:30pm Return home and collapse for 45 mins.
5:30pm Change bags and head out to Knit Out meeting.
6:30-7:45pm Have a very productive Knit Out meeting. Thank you to every one who made it!
8:45pm Return home after stopping at a friend’s house to feed cats while they were out of town.
9pm Sound asleep
Tuesday
8:30am Leave the house to run some errands and catch the 350 bus to Burlington to go help some friends’ paint their brand new house. The bus ride was perfect knitting time.
10:30am Arrive in Burlington. Receive the 25-cent tour and spend the day painting Kerry and Deb’s delightful new house!
5:40pm Head home and collapse. Beginning to really look forward to opening the shop tomorrow just so I can sit down!
Wednesday
AM Go to the post office, bank, grocery store and pick up shop. The only problem with being closed three days in a row in the summer is that I have 50% more time to mess up the shop before I open again on Wednesday.
PM Open shop, wind yarn. Spend two hours sending out Knit Out related email, wind yarn some more. Have knitting group.
Thursday
Well, today has been pretty slow. All I’ve done is ride my bike up to Arlington Heights and get more groceries from Trader Joe’s. I’m sure I’m going to have lots to do today but for now I’m ignoring the list and having a little bloggy fun. I tell you, it’s a good thing I’m taking that iron suppliment or I’d have needed medical attention sometime mid-Monday.
I can't seem to post pictures this morning but check back. I have some fun ones and I'll try to post them later today.
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