Rain, rain, and more rain & the bear is back

And we really needed it.

I secretly like rainy days. It is a wonderful excuse to nap, watch TV, relax, and lay around in my pajamas all day. In this case, I got to do it all weekend.

As a matter of fact, I just woke up from a nice 2 hour nap.

Yesterday, I woke up to thunder, lightning and a downpour at 8:30am. I am not sure if you noticed, but all my inside plants have been out on the deck for the past week or two. They were my first thought when I looked out my window and realized it was a solid sheet of rain!

So there I am, first thing Saturday morning, running in and out of the carport rescuing houseplants, in my pajamas still and soaking wet after the first trip. And cold! Sadie stood in the carport watching me. I think she was laughing at me. I know I was laughing at me. What a way to wake up! But she would not venture out into the rain. Many dogs dislike the rain and they will "hold it" until it stops.

It cleared up around 1pm and the sun came out. It was gorgeous. So I hauled wool out of the shed, set up the sorting table, filled the soaking tub, got the cushions out for the chairs, and sat down to spend a relaxing afternoon sorting wool in the warm sunshine. Yeah, it sounded good. But storm clouds moved in insidiously. Without warning, it begins to pour! There I am, again, soaked and running back and forth from the deck to the carport. This time I am rescuing wool. I had 4 bags of wool I was trying to dry in the sun. Almost all of it was soaked. So were the cushions and I, again. Only thing that smells worse than wet wool, is DIRTY wet wool.

Now I have wool hanging all over the house, in various states of drying. That night, when I let Sadie in, a moth snuck past me into the house. It is amazing how one moth can make a grown up woman panic and go on the hunt with the fly swatter. :)

Letting Sadie out at night has become a group project. I ran into my aunt in town on Saturday and she mentioned our bear is back. He was at her house at 6am. So, now, when I let Sadie out at night, I run a reconnaissance first. I turn on all the deck lights, hook her to her zip line, then go outside and look and listen. When I am satisfied it is safe, I open the door, tell her "Okay" and then she will come out and do her business, while I keep watch (yep, in my pajamas) and then we both go back inside.

About 4am Saturday morning, before the rain, Sadie woke me at 4am with her barking. The neighbor's light was on in the front of her house. I found out later, she has a motion light there. And the neighbor next to her, had their hummingbird feeder raided. The bear drank the contents of it without tearing it down, just bent it enough for us to know he had been there.

So, my vigilance is not unfounded.

Now, I am going to have a cup of coffee, play with my wool and enjoy the rest of this rainy weekend. The week will be rainy too, but I'll be at work. I can only hope for a power outage to get out of work! :)

The Fiber Fiesta?

Oh, and of course, I am finding time to play with my wool collection.

We had a warm day this week and I hauled it all out on the deck. I am sure my neighbors think I am nuts. Mary Jo comes over when she sees me out sorting my wool and keeps me company. She pets Sadie while we chat and I sort.

I jokingly mentioned on my knitting group's discussion board if anyone was interested in a fiber fiesta. Why did I choose the word, "fiesta"? I am not sure, but I think it was because it began with a "F" and sounded good with the word "fiber".

I couldn't get back to the discussion board until two days later and boy, was I surprised! They were not only interested, they were planning the menu! The theme? Yep, Mexican! So, I provided a couple days in August to pick from and we will go from there! I wanted it to be after the Michigan Fiber Festival and my 4th grade MEAP Week. So I can relax and enjoy it.

How fun! Hm, I hope the deck is big enough...

And because I didn't have enough room on my Riverfest entry, I am including the photo of Sadie and I in this post.

The results for my gall bladder ultrasound came back and it was negative. I'm fine! It is a bit unusual for anyone to have their gall bladder in good shape after weight loss surgery. It's been 6 years! No regrets.

Dock Diving

Time is flying by all of a sudden.

Saturday and Sunday, Sadie and I went to the Riverfest. Saturday, we walked around, visiting and looking at all the vendor wares.

Sunday was the dock diving. No, I did not enter Sadie. I tried to teach her in the past, and she had no interest at all in jumping off a perfectly good dock into the cold water after a toy she didn't want in the first place. It didn't cost anything to enter and everyone was just having a great time. There were dogs, like Sadie, that just looked at the owner and sat down. I have an assortment of photos to crop and get posted.

Several of my Dog Scout friends were there with their dogs and entered the event. I shot some great photos of them doing there thing after the crowd dissipated.
We stayed for the duck race too. You buy a ticket that matches the number on the bottom of a rubber duck. They dump all the ducks off the bridge and they float downriver to the finish line.

It is not a fast paced race.

What was also pretty funny, was all the dogs that have been trained to jump into the water after toys. They all had to be restrained from jumping into the water to retrieve the 100's of rubber ducks floating temptingly in front of their noses!

Oh, I should note to my readers that my friend, Erin, that thinks I am Ms Decorator, left a message on my machine today. She was unable to leave a message on the blog, but wanted to be heard. lol

1. Apparently, I have the percentage incorrect, she is at her table 98% of the time she is home (my calculation included sleep time).
2. She wants to point out that if people saw my previous house (or this one, not sure which house she was referring to) when I bought it and when I sold it, they would think I was awesome (okay, awesome is my word, but it was along that line).

I have been finding myself saying some negative things lately. Nothing in particular, but I have noticed it the past two weeks. I hope to change that and be more positive. Today was very difficult. I was very upset when I left a training today, but not as upset as my boss. There was a lot of negativity during the training session. We brings me full circle. If I am being negative, it could be effecting others. Certainly it isn't close to what I witnessed today, but every little bit contributes.

So be positive! How can you help it with all these adorable dog photos to look at!

Humpty Dumpty Day

This has been a roller coaster week for my energy level. I am listening to my body and going to bed early when I need to and my energy has returned the next day. All good.

Last night, I attempted a cabled ply. That's a spinning thing. I am not sure if I was successful. But I was able to work on keeping my tension even, untangling center pull balls (not supposed to be practicing that), and even my cussing vocabulary. It was not really a fun experience, but as I mentioned, I was probably too tired to be even trying to ply.

Match.com is continuing to surprise me. I am viewing lots of eligible men and they are viewing me. Several emails exchanged, but so far only one stands out. We are chatting online right now. It is a bit frustrating. Due to where he lives, there are a bunch of funky problems with connectivity. I have confirmed that fact elsewhere, so I know its not bull.

My buddy, Erin, called me tonight. We haven't talked in ages. We made plans to get together tomorrow. We are going to Wal-mart then she wants my opinion on a new paint color for her dining room. She spends 90% of her waking time there. For some reason, she thinks I am a decorating guru. Must just be that she has eclectic taste. lol

I spent the morning at the hospital getting an abdominal ultrasound. They are checking my gall bladder. I think I mentioned several weeks ago, I thought I gave myself food poisoning (I don't think I was serious). I haven't had any stomach problem since, but it is a good idea to check. After weight loss surgery, it is common to have problems with the gall bladder. I have some relatives that have already had them removed, so it is best just to get'r done!

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. The two I am concentrating on the most are fiber related. Knitting and spinning, Knit Picks Podcasts and Yarnspinners Tales's Podcast. It is common for them to review books. And of course, I want every book they mention. And as luck would have it, I work in a public library building! I write down the titles in the car, transfer them to a list, print it, and hand it to the librarian. The books arrive on my desk about once or twice a week!

Also, I usually find a reason to go in the library at least once a day. I always find something else to distract me. Yesterday it was the Outside Projects book on my new widget - My Current Reads. I always HAVE to have a book to read, and working next to the library is like being on crack.

I just checked my camera and I have no photos to share with you! I will see if I can find something totally unrelated on my Flickr that is fresh, to appease my rabid readers. lol

sunday

I awoke feeling much better this morning. I had actually started feeling good a few hours before bed and was able to vacuum, do some laundry and catch up on some chores.

It has been cool but sunny all day. Breezy too! It wasn't too bad though, I managed to take the plastic off the gazebo alone. I used the wind to roll the plastic as I removed the slats holding it down. Worked out great. Of course, it is always in hindsight that I thought, "hm, maybe I should have told someone where I was going?" Gee, ya think? Climbing around on a ladder is iffy, but it was sitting on sand. lol The worst of it was Sadie. She was stuck to me like glue and I was afraid she was going to take me down with her 25' lead I had her tied up with. I finally put her in a chair and made her sit for awhile and she got the message. Left me alone after that. The lake was choppy, but awesome, as always. I always have to take a photo for my blog and my NC relatives who love it so much. I took an idea from Jordan, and took the photos from low in the grass for something different. Hope you like it, I liked how they turned out.

We went for a walk, dropped of the recycling and then I came home and got the garbage ready. I was putting off the chore I didn't want to do, and should have done a month ago....going down in the crawl space. I hate crawls. Nasty dirty things. I put on my gloves and work shoes and went in the hole. I needed to open the vents. Yes, I could open them from the outside, but in the winter, I stuff insulation back behind them to try and keep heating costs down. It is a four block crawl, but in some places the vents hang down so far I need to lay down and wiggle under. I get filthy.

I found another problem while I was in the crawl and it involved a lazy cat, on life number 8,5, and removing some smelly insulation under my closet. Some more carpet had to go too. Good thing tomorrow is garbage day!

Finally, I get everything cleaned up and I need to make myself something to eat. So I make a salad and head out to the deck to eat and relax. A friend came by with her 65 lb, Lab puppy, Maisy, who is adorable, and we all had a nice visit. We introduced Maisy to Mister, it was her first cat, and both behaved very well. Barb and I chatted about what I have been missing at knitting, fiber, spinning, festivals and life in general.

Ever notice, it isn't easy to take photos of black animals! Again, outdoors is better.

Saturday - Gorgous summer day!

I had a rough end of the week. I was tired and really sore. I have been having a flare since Thursday. No fog, just pain. Meds are helping and I am taking it easy. It has been a couple months since I had one like this. No worries. :)

Last time I was at the doctor's office I grabbed a brochure for people who have loved ones with fibro. Recently, I have noticed there is very little information available for people dealing with loved ones with chronic illness or have had weight loss surgery. Anyway, in the brochure there was one piece of advice that stuck out for me. It was "Try to be positive, even when you are in pain. Make it clear to others that being positive does not mean that you have no pain." That surprised me in a way. I had done such a good job of ignoring my pain all these years, that I didn't realize that it wasn't normal! Of course, now that I am aware it isn't normal, I am in the process of trying to figure out the triggers, Because of that, I am trying to become more aware. Since this blog is a form of journal, I will write about how and when in an effort to learn more about how it effects me. Even though I am writing about it, I am still the same person I have always been! At least since 2003 when my surgery changed me, physically and mentally! lol

I worked a half day on Friday and went to Cari for a haircut and highlights. When she was done, she played around with my hair to see how it would look straight. I said, "you have to take a picture! Jordan would be so proud that I had a straightened hair do - even if it was only temporary". So, afterward, she took my photo...and it wasn't easy. It only worked when we went outside. Natural light works best for photos! :)

I am sitting on the back deck. It is rather windy (too windy for the gazebo), and now the sun has moved so it is getting a bit too cool. There are lots of green worms dangling from the trees and the wind keeps blowing them onto me. I am going to explore other options elsewhere. lol

Weekend projects

Here a few photos of the projects I have been working on.

The one I have been wanting to spend more time on is the Wensleydale roving I bought from a contact I made in Texas. While there, I wanted to visit a LYS (local yarn shop) or spinning shop, but couldn't find any doing google searches. I ended up searching Ravelry instead only to find that there are no shops nearby in Cypress. I tried meeting up with one of the Ravelry contacts to look at her hand dyed rovings, but it didn't happen. So I bought the roving, based on sight only. Those of you that don't buy fiber don't realize, fiber fanatics, like me, prefer to grope (feel) the fiber before buying it. Fiber is a sensory addiction - touch, smell, color, and hordeing. Those are my senses anyway. I don't have 50 pounds of wool laying around for nothing, ya know. lol

Back to the Wensleydale... This stuff threw me for a loop. I was breaking and tearing it when I was trying to draft it, didn't like the texture, and kept throwing my hands in the air in frustration. What do you do when this happens? STOP. Just like spinning and the wheel gets away from you...STOP. Stop and re-evaluate the situation.

So I stopped. And I emailed the seller, droolingoveryarn, for assistance. Bless her, she delivered. I love it when the seller, instructor, or any contact honors "service after the sale". It goes a long way in my book. She explained to me how it was different than the fiber I was used to, how to draft it, spin it, and wants me to follow up with her with how I am doing. I am a visual learner, so with that information, I searched Youtube and found a video showing how to draft Wensleydale roving as well.

Why is this type of fiber so different?

1. The staple length. Staple length, simplied, is the length of the fiber. I have been working with fiber with a staple length of 3-4 inches. Wensleydale staple length is 7 - 17 inches!! Huge difference.
2. The texture. The texture is courser, but it also has a wonderful luster to it. When I became used to it, I really liked the texture and the sheen.

There are other differences, but those are the ones I am familiar with at this time. I haven't spun with it yet. Click on the photo to see a much larger photo of the Wensleydale. You can see the texture and luster!

The other project I haven't been able to get to yet is the roving I sent to Zeilingers for processing. If you remember, I sent it to them because I couldn't get the VM (vegetative matter; hay, dirt, grass) out of the locks and I didn't want to throw the wool away. It was a beautiful dark brown when spun, and I had plans for it already for a knitting project. Wow! They worked a miracle with it! I have 3 lbs of clean roving to dive into now.

With summer finally arriving I want to spend my time outdoors. Sometimes, I can't combine my fiber prep hobby with being outdoors, but usually I can. I set up my spinning wheel on the deck, listen to podcasts (knit picks with kelley petkun is my current favorite), sort wool with or without the homemade rack, and now, I am transitioning to washing my wool outside. With all the fleece I am having to scour (wash), I was becoming concerned about using my washer and having all that lanolin in my pipes, drainfield or septic.

Okay, nuff writing about my projects, they are sitting all around me as I type this on my back deck. I am itching to get my fingers into the fiber! I will upload the photos, add the links, for this entry and get back to it.

Yesterday, Saturday, July 4

Yesterday, July 4, basically involved keeping a low profile. There are WAY too many people "up north" right now. It is thee biggest holiday weekend of the year. Many down state plants close down for a week or two and the tourist industry depends on the free time and money they have to spend. I found out on Friday, that walking with Sadie was not going to work. She is basically a lizard head due to the fireworks everyone is setting off.

So, after a relaxing morning sitting on the deck, drinking coffee, sorting wool and checking my online personals (doing good there!), I packed some reading material and headed to the gazebo. All the lake neighbors are up and have tons of family and friends. This is normal and welcome. Even Sadie warmed up to a few of the neighbor's company and allowed them to scratch her back. The lake really wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, but I was told the South Park was packed with boast around the lagoon. Incidently, the South State Park is on twitter. I am currently playing with twitter to gain a better understanding of it. If you would like to "follow" me, my user name is "beachbump".

After a pleasant day at the beach, we came home, grilled some burgers and settled in for the evening. I made up the spare room for Tina and Sheila, they will be arriving on Monday and I am really looking forward to seeing them. I wish I didn't have to work, but I have a deadline looming on a project and I am a bit behind where I want to be in order to feel comfortable. :)

I washed the wool I sorted this morning. I think it is from a ram that LC Guy sheared for an older woman. Most of the wool from her sheep is matted, stained and full of VM, but this wool is really soft and washed up to a nice bright white when I washed a few samples. I have an idea for the matted wool too - a rug. I fell in love with my sister's rugs in Texas and wanted to duplicate them somehow. This may be an interesting base to work from. Hmmm....we will see!

The rest of the evening, I spent watching TV, reassuring Sadie as fireworks popped all around us, and plying up the beautiful domestic wool I finished spinning on Friday. There was 8 ounces of it and it is interesting to watch the varying quality of my work as I ply the final product. Interesting, yes. It is far from perfect, and it is still a learning process.

Another excuse? Yep.

molly

Several factors combined to make today long, painful, and foggy. No worries, but it is just another reason for not updating everyone about all the luscious fiber surrounding me right now. I haven't even had a chance to play with any of it yet. :(

Don't despair! In lieu of the update, I have included a photo to spotlight the captivating charms of a creature by the name of Molly.

Molly is sporting a coat of various colors, a gently loved scarf of denim, sporty cloven footwear (not shown), and is refreshing her palette on the fence after dining briefly on my sweat coat while I took photos. She is very active and adventurous, standing in the feed trough, digging in my tote bag, and spilling newly opened cans of pop. She is affectionate, not afraid to demand additional attention, and communicates loudly when displeased. If you let her, she will follow you everywhere. (Can you tell I am doing the online personals thing again?)

Last Monday, I learned that sheep and goats do not have upper teeth, only lower teeth. Pretty cool, eh?

Ran out of time again today!

me and donkey

yes, I ran out of time again today.

The sun came out around 6:30 and I couldn't resist. I slapped a leash on Sadie and off we went for a walk.

The traffic in the neighborhood has increased. The 4th of July weekend is the busiest of the summer for the lake. We will be keeping a low profile. Either the gazebo, the hammock, or working on processing the wool. I don't know why I call it "working", it is such a pleasant way to pass the time.

Photo is from last Monday at LC Guy's farm. The lamb, Donkey, is about 2 weeks old. More photos later, I promise!