Spinning the weekend away - without a hangover!

I spent Friday and Saturday recovering from the weird stomach cramping that kept me up most of Thursday night and Friday morning. I think it was my goulash, but that seems so unlikely. At any rate, I am staying away from it for awhile. I took it easy and went to bed early Friday.

I rose early on Sat and Sun. I felt pretty good and did some chores around the house. I have developed a way to bribe myself in order to get "chores" done around the house. I work until at least noon (Saturday it was 2) before I allow myself to sit down in front of the spinning wheel. The wheel is my reward. lol It is seriously addicting. I thought knitting was addicting, it doesn't have anything on spinning!

I finished blending and spinning another blue blend (dark, see photo, no pic of the yarn yet, it is still on the bobbin. Then, I started on some super soft creamcicle looking roving. It is spot dyed. It is super dark in the center of the ball and the spots fade and become less frequent as it works toward the outside. In this photo, I have pulled it apart so you can see the color better. I absolutely love the feel of it and it is mesmerizing to draft and spin.

I finally "threw in the towel" and packed up the remaining brown wool and shipped it to Zeilinger Wool Co. in Frankenmuth. I couldn't get all the hay out of it and I was tired of trying. The price is so low that it is not worth my time to do it myself. They have a way of crushing it out. I told them to do their best, but I didn't expect a miracle. :) It will be about 10 weeks before I get it back - they are busy!

LC Guy bought two more sheep a week or two ago and is going to shear them while I am in Houston. He is going to save the fleece for me and I will pick it up when I get back. It appears I am not going to run out of fleece to learn on for awhile. I haven't spun any of the processed wool on the wheel yet. I am going to wait until I have the brown to work on as well. I only have 3 bobbins and don't want to use them to store the white wool on until I get the brown wool back.

I have started mentally packing for Houston. Two bathing suits, coffee, creamer, and popcorn. That should be all I need. lol

I have found someone to house-sit while I am gone and take care of my critters. More on that later after she has met Sadie.

This skein is the blue blend I did on May 26th. It turned out rather nice!

More finished fiber

Because of the conference, I am home early today. As I mentioned last night, I never have enough time in a day to do all the things I want to do, so today it is raining (we need it bad) and I am going to spin the blended blues I started last weekend.

I have a couple more skeins I neglected to photograph and wanted to include them here. I love the brown/white skein. I am sure that has to do with the amount of time I have into it. Not a complaint at all, I am enjoying every dang minute of it. My neighbor can attest to the numerous sunny days I have spent on the deck, sorting, cleaning, washing, drying, carding, and now, spinning.

I am off to enjoy this rainy, gloomy day! :)

Tuesday

Lots of news, but too busy to give it all the attention it deserves. :(

Primary news is that my parents and I are going to visit the Twisted One in Houston next month! Steve, a/k/a the Sneaky Bastard has worked his magic again for the second time in less than 6 months.

Memorial Weekend was a well needed time to rest my body and exercise my creative muscles. I blended my own batts on the drumcarder, converted it to roving, and started spinning it. It is so lovely! And so fun and satisfying to say "I did it myself". I also finished spinning some soft and luxurious merino/alpaca and the picture does not do it justice.

We met for knitting group last night. We have traditionally met on holiday Mondays and saw no reason to buck tradition.

I am at another conference this week. This one is at the RAM Center at Higgins Lake. I can come home in the evening.

(warning: run on nonsensical sentence follows)
I wanted to spin some more this evening, but the time flew after I left the conference after dinner of steak and baked potato. It was about 7pm when I got home, let the dog out and called Sheila with the news that I found their little cottages on the way home. I emailed the photos to them, modified these photos and now I am hurrying this post to my blog because I want to actually be able to WATCH Deadliest Catch.

And of course, a photo of Sadie, looking adorable and on a clean portion of my floor!

Chicago - days 2 and 3 and Saturday I spun!

I know, I know, I am behind, yet again.

Chicago was madness! After the last session at 4:45pm on Thursday, I did some power sightseeing on foot. The streets were crowded but it was a friendly crowd. The weather was absolutely beautiful and all of Chicago was out and about. There were street musicians everywhere, people wearing Cubs shirts getting high fives from complete strangers, and everyone was glued to a cell phone or an iPod. I enjoyed the walking and people watching. As a result, I covered way too much territory and wore myself right out. But I get ahead of myself.

First stop was Millium Park. There were cool statues and sculptures. My favorite was a silver reflective sphere. Depending on where you stood, you were really big or really small or you were reflected multiple times like a circus mirror sideshow. Then, I went "next door". Someone at the conference told me the Art Institute was open until 8pm and free admission. I was there! I didn't take any photos there for some reason. They had Monets, Manets, Renoirs, and Degas' and many more.

I was getting tired and still had to hike back PAST the hotel several blocks to the John Hancock Observatory. I don't recommend this to anyone! What a rip off. $15 to ride an elevator to the top and look out the windows! I paid $2 in Cincinnati to ride to the top and hang over the side of the roof! lol I was disapointed with the last stop. The sun was going down, I was tired and really sore, so I headed back toward the hotel. I still had not eaten dinner, but nothing looked good. I stopped at Macy's and a couple other stores to try and find the patant leather purse (or a cheaper knock off) that I kept seeing on women's shoulders. No luck, the cheapest was $89!

I finally got back to the hotel, changed, and went to the hotel restraunt for dinner. I had a wonderful flatbread with motz cheese, beef and peppers and other unknowns on it. Something labeled "Scottish" was on it too. I overheard the lady at the table next to me say she wanted to know what I was eating. I picked up my plate and did a Vanna impression and told her it was great (with my mouth full). :) After eating my fill I returned to my room (now about 9:30p) to change into my bathing suit and headed to the hot tub to soak for about an hour. It was a nice end to a wonderful day!

In the morning, I checked out early and took the porter's advice to take a cab to Shedd Aquarium. I was really looking forward to seeing the baluga whales and dolphins and sea horses that Brandi's family had told me all about when I dropped Sadie off. But first, I detoured to the 4-D theater. It is 4-D theater because in addition to the 3-D glasses, they add "extra" pokes in your back (did NOT like that one), vibrations, bubbles float in the air, wind blows, and when the whale on the screen surfaces, they spray you with water! There was a cord under my chair that whipped my ankles when rats ran at you on the screen too. The kids were screaming and having a great time and I enjoyed the whole experience.

Then I spent some time listening to the guide at the main tank. He was talking to the diver in the tank feeding the fish. That was way cool. There is a big turtle in the tank also. He swims funny because he was rescued and nursed back to health after getting hit by a boat prop. He could not be released back into the wild. My camera was not cooperating. All my pictures were blurred. You can not use a flash, so I was frustrated. Damn fish move too much! lol

After looking at all the exhibits, I tried to find the whales and dolphins. I finally decided to ASK where they were. Major disappointment. The exhibit with the whales, dolphins and penguins was closed for renovation. Crap! It was only 11:20am. I might as well go back to the hotel, eat the free lunch, and go to a session (ack! work?).

We left Chicago at 2pm and I got home, exhausted and sore, at 10:30pm. In the morning, I went to pick up Sadie, came home, and took a nap.

Saturday, I decided I would try to spin again. I had to try. But first, I watched a video on YouTube about spinning. I picked up two helpful tips, tried them, and was off and spinning without any more breaking yarn or frustrations! It is not perfect, but it is pure enjoyment! Here is a link to the video I watched. The lady is a hoot and I watched most of her videos!

More later, and I will also add some photos. Work got me a laptop of my own to use, and I am in the process of transferring all the data from one to the other. All my photos are on a jump drive!

Chicago 2009

After a few bumps, we finally left work around 10:30am. Kyle prefers to drive, so I was content to be a passenger. I caught up on my knitting. We gained an extra hour. It rained off and on the whole way. As you can see from the photo I took just outside Chicago, the cloud cover was low, hiding the tops of the skyline.

After we checked in, we exchanged room numbers. We had exchanged cell numbers on the way. Then went our separate ways. After about a hour of unpacking, I figured it was dinnertime. I tried Kyle's room, but he was out already and after checking for him at the hotel bar without seeing him, I decided it would be nice to go somewhere and enjoy a meal. I really didn't want to stay in the hotel, so I approached the concierge for a recommendation. I wanted someplace close that a lone woman could enjoy. She was happy to help. She was so sweet. She reminded me of our neighbor at the lake, Mrs. Flory! Same voice, glasses, and mannerisms. She directed me to a small place about 4 blocks away and asked me to stop again when I came back to tell her how I liked it.

The name was La Madia. It was small and cozy with comfy, upholstered chairs, huge windows, and a pleasant relaxed atmosphere. I could not tell you the "type" of food, but it was unique and delicious! Even the ice tea wasn't the usual ice tea. I drank 3 tall glasses of it. I probably will be up all night. lol I like to try new things when I am traveling. So, I ordered a wild mushroom bruschetta. Yep, mushrooms! I won't touch them at home, but this was pretty good. I ate 3 of the 4 served me and wondered how I was going to eat the main course, Straw and hay pasta w/chicken, crimini, mascarpone cream and white truffle oil. Oh my goodness, it was wonderful. It was a shame I couldn't eat all of it. I tried, but didn't even get close. When I left, I grabbed 2 menus and gave one to the concierge when I came back to the hotel. She was thrilled to receive the menu, hear about what I ate, and that I loved it. Hey, if the Twisted One can do movie reviews, I can do restraunt reviews!

My room is similar to the one I had in Detroit in March. The same cloud-like bedding that sucks you in. I am full of good food and don't have to be at the first session, a few floors below me, until 10:45. Aaaah, just what I need after not feeling well earlier in the week.

In my wanderings, I picked up a brochure for Shedd's Aquarium. It is too far away to walk, but it has the bus route to take. I will check with my buddy, the Mrs. Flory of the Marriott, and see if the hotel offers a shuttle.

I filled out my breakfast order and hung it on the door. They pick it up and in the morning, at the time you indicate on the order form, they deliver your breakfast! I love it. A pot of coffee and a muffin will run about $15 w/o tip though.

oh crap, I am hearing a crying baby in the room next door! I hope the bed overcomes the noise.

More tomorrow...

Friday/Saturday - The Spinning Wheel is here!

Friday I took my car to the dealership to discover 2 things. First, there is a recall on my door lock fob. Apparently, it occasionally will not work. Horrors! You would have to open the car door by using the key! Do they have refresher courses for that?
Secondly, both the bearings are going on the rear of my car this time. Also covered under warranty. I have been through this before with the front driver side.
Hm, they will do a recall on the fob, but not on a well known problem with the bearings? Which is more of a liability?
They will order the parts and get back to me.

When I arrived home, there was still no package by my door. I was running out of patience waiting for my spinning wheel to arrive. I pulled out the fleece from the lambs and went out to the deck to pick the small amount of hay out of it. I called Barbara, and she had just come home from fish dinner at Jack's and jumped back in the car to see the fleece and help. I heard the phone ring while I was outside, but didn't answer it.

I should have. It was mom telling me the wheel had been delivered to their house! So Saturday morning after coffee and a trip to Higgins Lake Greenhouse for a hanging plant for Mother's Day, Sadie and I went to town to pick up the wheel.

It wasn't too difficult to assemble. I may still have some alignment issues, but it works and all the parts seem to be there. The seller even included a bag of angora rabbit hair with the wheel! It is so soft, you have to feel it to believe it. But it will be a long time before I get to that! I am having a hard time. The hard part is the spinning. I keep breaking the yarn or it just comes apart. I was pretty discouraged on Saturday. I set it aside and didn't try again until Monday (today). I did a little better, just enough to give me hope.

Sunday, in addition to going to mom and dad's for Mother's Day, I concentrated on finishing the bag of white wool that is Wilma's (the sheep's name). I sorted, fluffed, and carded all I had left. I will have to take a photo. It seems like a lot of wool! I decided that the brown wool of Laverne and Shirley's is going to be shipped out for processing. There is too much tiny bits of hay, grass, and other vegetation in it for me to clean. I read that there are two ways to get rid of it...chemicals and crushing. There is a place in Frankenmuth that has a crusher and I think I will send it there and have it carded and everything as well.

I came home early from work today because I wasn't feeling well. I felt the flu coming on and was hoping to nip it in the bud. I leave for Chicago Wednesday morning. I still have to pack and get Sadie to Brandi's house tomorrow night. It is 9:30pm and I still feel crappy, so tomorrow isn't looking good either. We will see. Well, I'm off to try and get more rest.

Shearing day

Thursday - the shearing went great! I had a great time. It was a warm and sunny evening. After the shearing, I helped him worm, vaccinate, and trim hooves. All of it is different with sheep than horses, yet familiar too. I don't think I have the physical strength to man handle sheep or even the lambs though. The oldest lamb was 5-6 weeks and 45 lbs. Molly, the goat, won my heart with her antics. While we were occupied with the shearing, she rummaged in my bag, in the clipper bag, untied my shoes, unfolded my blankets holding the fleece and several other little stunts. She is like a cross between a two year old and a dog.

This is the flock. The really white lamb, Mork, and the smallish black one with white on her head and chest, Willow, are the ones he sheared. He gave me the fleece. The black fleece is a bit different. Apparently, it is a breed that has hair. I will need to read up on this more, I'm curious. There are a few cows on the farm too - young, but huge. This is the smallest.

It is really hard to see the youngest member of the flock, Squiggy, so I included a cameo of him. He is about 3 weeks old and really cute! Love the half and half coloring.

I will have to continue catching up tomorrow. It seems like I have been so busy!

Today, Mother's Day, the family had dinner. Dad got take out fried chicken from Glen's and Cari made AWESOME potato salad and we devoured it. Then there was pie and cake. We could hardly move when we were done.

Election won!

Dad won!
Mom said he was told that he set the record for the highest number of write in votes for any candidate for the college. He got 109 votes. :) Not a landslide, but its a win!

My spinning wheel is clearing customs in Chicago, according to the tracking info. However, I don't think it will be here in time to take to LC Guy's with me tomorrow. I may be on my own for this. Argh!

I think the bearings are going on one of the back wheels now. I had the front driver side replaced about a year ago. It is a known problem with Equinoxes. Good thing I love the dang thing. Mom was in the back seat on the way to the art show and mentioned the noise. I recall buying the car because it was quiet, but when the noise builds gradually, you get used to it. So it was great that she mentioned it. I told her today that I have an appointment on Friday at the local dealership to see if it is the bearings. If it is, it will be covered under warranty.

I am still washing the same wool I mentioned last post. It is on wash number 6 right now. I don't know if it is because it sat longer than the rest, if it was dirtier because I may have picked the easy stuff out first, or the detergent isn't very good. I'm thinking it is the detergent.

I haven't heard otherwise, so it is still a go for tomorrow to shear the two lambs. He has bought a goat and some ducks since I was there before, so I made sure to charge my camera when I got home! It is supposed to rain, so the plan is to shear in the newly enlarged shed. I'm geeked, but don't want to get too worked up after not being able to be at the last one. Fingers crossed!

Pictures are worth a thousand words...

Last Wednesday
4/29/2009
From the kitchen window











Friday - Flowers from my boss. I added a rose to the arrangement yesterday. Administrative assistant week and teacher appreciate day...I have never seen such a vibrant purple.


Art Show - Thursday evening. Packed show, as always. Two guys hiked a young man up in the air to pull down Dad's J.C. Kristi went with us. It is her second KCC art show "up north"

Friday - While Kristi was still at her conference, I took the girls for a run. They spooked up a deer. The deer in turn, spooked me!















Monday evening at the barrow pit. We stop there occasionally so Sadie can run some energy off before knitting for two hours. I knit, she mooches scratches and any other attention she can get. Oh, and greets everyone. Walmart would love her.





Coming soon:

• The spinning wheel is enroute. It left the Netherlands yesterday.
• We have planned another day for shearing two lambs; this Thursday.
• The election was today. We should know later tonight or tomorrow if Dad made the Board.
• I am watching the neighbor's dog Sund - Tuesday
• Tuesday I will be taking Sadie to the baby sitter's
  
• Wednesday morning we are leaving for Chicago. We hope to be there early afternoon. I want to go to Shed's Aquarium and my co-worker wants to hang out with his cousin.
• Thursday and Friday is the conference and Friday we drive home - arriving LATE