Happy Fourth of July, everyone. (And I do mean everyone, even if it’s not actually a holiday where you are!)

I’ve spent my day doing good, old-fashioned kinds of things.

  Like, finally skeining the purple–yes, purple, despite the blue color in the photo–yarn I spun a while ago, and then setting the twist for both it and the green. Both colors are currently hanging in the shower to dry. (Note the clever re-using of the old, outgrown dog collars to attach the yarn to the towel rod. Yes, really, I’m rather proud of that idea.)

  I knitted the neckband and the shoulder seams of my NbaT, which looks in this photo more like it’s been dismembered, rather than not-yet-assembled, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that it’s feeling no pain. All I have left is to sew in the sleeves and do the side seams, and it’s done.

  I did some cleaning and some laundry, although I didn’t actually vacuum my room, which really needs it. But look what happened to my silk pillowcase! I washed it like a good, clean human being, and as I was putting the pillow back in, it split, right along the seam. Frustrating. But the most frustrating part is that it came in a package of two, back when I bought this (silk, to help keep my curls intact while I sleep), and I cannot for the life of me find the second one. I don’t know how often I’ve mentioned that I’m almost obsessively neat, but I just generally don’t lose things. Whatever I’m looking for may be in the second place I look, or even the third, but almost never anywhere beyond that–I’m a firm believer in the “Put things where you’ll look for them first” rule, and it almost never fails me . . . so where could that second case be? And in the meantime, it’s a choice between a cotton case, which feels good, but grabs my hair and ruins the curl, or satin, which is synthetic and gets too hot against my skin, occasionally producing a rash (sigh).

  Other than that, though, it’s been a pleasant day. I spent at least part of my afternoon following Tradition. . . . watching “1776: The Musical” on tv. I love this movie, and have ever since my 5th grade teacher used to play the Broadway soundtrack to us in class, to work to, when we were being good. I did a report in 7th grade on Richard Henry Lee because of his “Lees of Old Virginia” song. I first heard of the remarkable marriage and correspondence of John and Abigail Adams from this show. Then, when we got our first VCR (around 1981), my best friend and I stayed up late one Independence Day to tape it off of Channel 9 WOR. I didn’t realize then that the version had been “sanitized,” not until I saw this cut with various, archaic profanities left in. The songs are catchy, and it’s remarkably accurate, historically speaking, as to what really did go on in the Continental Congress that hot summer. This DVD includes the long-lost “Cool, Considerate Men” number, which I had never seen. But ultimately, it’s William Daniels as John Adams that makes me love this so much. He’s perfect in the part, and a delight. My best friend and I used to watch this over and over (and over), so that I can recite whole, long sections along with the characters. And, we counted once, in the censored WOR version we had on tape, John Adams says “Oh, Good God” thirteen times, and we laughed at every single one of them. I hadn’t seen this in a couple of years, but still, it’s a tradition to at least think about watching it, every Fourth of July. It’s patriotic, fun, and educational, too!

Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning // 2 Comments »