So, you don’t think Chappy should be blond, huh? Well, what about these options?

No? Not even a cute redhead?

I guess we’ll just have to stick to the original.

I mean, really, how do you improve on THAT?

My mother had a fabulous time last night at the Carly Simon concert but today, she barely has a voice. It was scratchy and cough-y from the cold before she left the house yesterday, but after the concert and all that “so loud you have to shout” chatting with her Carly-board friends, today, she sounds just terrible. Poor Mom! Though, I told her you can’t go to a fun, concert event with friends and have a fabulous time on top of being sick and not have to pay for it. Well, today, her throat is paying, poor thing. Still, it sounds like it was well worth it–she wrote about it and posted pictures on her blog, so go take a look!

And it’s lucky, too. Even though I knitted for an hour last night, my sweater doesn’t look that much different than when I posted my last picture….

• Tags: Chappy, Family • Permalink:Warhol // 7 Comments »

Okay, Chappy wants to know how you think he’d look as a blond?

(Um, I DID tell you I was having fun with Photoshop, right?)

Hey, go wish a happy birthday to my favorite shepherd, would you?

So, where are Mom and Dad tonight? They’re at Joe’s Pub in New York, seeing Mom’s favorite performer. She was SO excited. It was a complete, last-minute thing. It’s a private performance whose tickets went on sale while we were on Martha’s Vineyard, but there was a cancellation and, long story short, Mom got to go. Thankfully, she was at least feeling better today. She’s still coughing and has a couple more days before she’s over this cold, but Sunday night was pretty much the worst point. And, that lemon-poppyseed cake I baked over the weekend? Luckily, I hadn’t thrown away the empty poppyseed bottle yet–it was just the right size for bringing some cough medicine in her purse!

Anyway, it’s been a quiet evening for me and Chappy. After showers this morning, it turned out to be a really lovely afternoon. We took a walk after work, I made a waffle for supper, topped strawberry-rhubarb sauce I made on Saturday. Relaxing, really.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Notes // 8 Comments »

So, here’s my sweater at its current state. I just got the two fronts down to the underarm and just joined them to the back. At least it’s sweater-shaped now. Or shows clear signs that it will be.

Remember I was talking about cameras the other day? Well, I thought you’d be interested in seeing my current collection. Though this photo does not include the original digital Canon Elph I got in 1999 or the Nikon Coolpix I followed it up with–I gave the Coolpix to my Dad and the Elph is buried in the office closet at the other end of the house. And, of course, I used a camera to take this with–my current Canon Elph.

So, what do we have here? Clockwise from the silver Canon S2 IS (digital) at 9:00, next is the 35mm Canon Rebel SLR I got 11 years ago (with its Tamron zoom lens). Then my 35mm Olympus SLR that I bought in London in 1987 when my prior camera died with its flash and its zoom lens). A 35mm Nikon point-and-shoot that I got in 1985 as a high school graduation present, and then a point-and-shoot Leica that I had somewhere in between the Nikon point and shoot and the Canon Rebel. (And no, please don’t ask me for specific model names and numbers!)

Really, that’s a smaller stash of cameras/accessories than I thought I had! Not an unreasonable collection for, what 23 years of photo-taking.

Okay, you must see this adorable dog-related video that I saw over at Rose-Kim Knits.

Did you know that May 1st is RSS Awareness Day? I know that a lot of you read mine and many other blogs with feed-readers like Bloglines, Newsgator, or Google Reader, but some of you don’t. But, if you read more than, say, three blogs, or if you like regular news updates, or want to know when other websites you visit have updated … RSS feeds are GOOD. They are handy and convenient and time-saving and all kinds of wonderful. That orange square with those arcs that you’re seeing everywhere? That indicates that a website has a RSS feed–which means that you can subscribe to it. You sign up with the feed-reader of your choice, tell it to subscribe to that site, and that’s it. Whenever there is an update, it will show up in your feed reader, saving you all the trouble of having to click to all the sites just to see that nothing had changed since your last visit.

Which, of course, saves you so much time that–if you’re anything like me–you’ll subscribe to LOTS of sites. It’s like that rule about nature abhorring a vacuum. I mean, you have to fill up that time with something.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Another Boring Title Here // 10 Comments »

Well, Mom has definitely caught Dad’s cold and has been more or less miserable today. I spent most of my day either in the kitchen (waffles for breakfast, pot roast and baked potatoes for supper), or reading. (A book on photography, that book on Photoshopping pictures, and I’m still working my way through the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters.)

Here’s a really interesting article about how shoes are BAD for our feet. Fascinating, and similar to something I read a few months ago. It’s just a shame that I really hate going barefoot (grin). Stepping on a bee, more than once, in a summer when you’re about 5 can have that affect.

That book I bought yesterday, about Photoshop tricks for digital photos? Oh, my. SO worth the money. Look at some of the touch-ups I’ve done with its tips.

Improved the colors:

Improved over-exposed flash photos:

Brightened too-dark photos:

Click for bigger, as always. Already, this book (here’s the link again) is well worth its money. (These changes–practically effortless–and the tip on renaming batches of photos in Photoshop en masse is like a dream come true. I think I’m in love.)

Oh, and then–speaking of reading–there was this.

Speaking of reading, look what I got in the mail yesterday. A bookplate signed by one of my favorite authors, Anne McCaffrey. I read about the possibility of getting one a while ago and sent an e-mail just gushing, to ask for one.

I … have been hooked ever since. In fact, I just re-read the Pern books last week because, well, that’s what you DO with favorite authors. (The people who don’t understand the concept of “comfort reading” clearly are not real readers.) I have a copy of the Dragonriders game stashed in a closet, too–that old one, with the cardboard markers of each character … You get the idea. I like the knitting references, too, because I’m a diehard knitter and spinner myself. I saw on the blog that Anne doesn’t knit much anymore, but quilts these days, even though she has a stash of needles and patterns in the attic. Well, be still my heart! The very thought makes me drool. And then, of course, there are the other authors that I’ve found because of Anne McCaffrey. I would never have discovered the Liaden series if I hadn’t seen it mentioned, and if she hadn’t written the intro to the multi-volume books that were published a few years ago. She had a blurb on Sharon Shinn’s “Archangel,” too, which has since become one of my favorite books. Really, the number of hours of sheer reading pleasure I’ve gotten either directly from Anne McCaffrey or from virtual recommendations of hers are uncountable. So, while entirely understanding if it’s not possible because of sheer numbers and fatigue, well, I had to at least ask, right?”

But when the envelope came yesterday? Who do I know in Ireland, I wondered. Imagine my delight when I opened it. So cool. Now I just have to decide what to do with it!

And meanwhile, hope that Mom gets better FAST. She’s got someplace she needs to be Tuesday night and has to be better for it! Send her get-well vibes, would you please?

• Tags: Family, General, Reading • Permalink:Sunday Snippets // 12 Comments »

Here’s some irony for you. I made a point of bringing home a couple of these lovely grocery/tote bags, but when I went to the store this morning? They were still sitting at home, so I had to use those plastic, store bags anyway.

See, I’ll tell you exactly what the problem is. I don’t want to empty this bag. I don’t want to put away the yarn. I don’t want to put on the t-shirt. I don’t want to put the bags in the car, ready for a trip to the grocery store. No. Because that will mean that the MV Fiber Festival is really over. And as much as I want to play with that yarn, admire my postcards, and be environmentally-responsible and use these bags for trips to the store … as long as they’re all sitting in this cute little tote and not put nicely away, it still feels like the fiber festival is recent. Fresh. Somehow still going on. The minute I break up the “set,” it’s over, like when you do the laundry after a trip. Once the clean clothes are put away and the suitcase has been stacked in the guest room, that’s it. You’re home. It’s done.

I know. I need to accept reality. But … last week at this time, I was on Martha’s Vineyard, and now I’m not! (Sniffle.)
It doesn’t help that it hasn’t been nearly as nice a Saturday today as LAST Saturday. Sure, the rain they were forecasting held off, after just a sprinkle last night. And it was a nice, 63 degrees. No complaints, really. Except that Mom has now caught Dad’s cold. That means that she opted to stay home this morning, instead of doing the usual, Saturday morning outing for coffee, so I went out on my own.

I went to Best Buy to look at the camera I’ve been thinking about. The Nikon D40 Digital SLR which I’ve heard such good things about. I know, I know. The last thing I should be doing right now is spending money on a new camera, not when the money situation is so awful. But … I can actually justify this. (No, really!) I’ve told you about the problems I’m having with my S2 IS, and I’m just not happy enough with the camera to want to pay to get it fixed–especially when I can’t clearly define the problem. Nor do I want to “upgrade” to a reconditioned model of a later version of the same camera for $165. However, this Nikon is going for about $460 at Amazon, which is a great price for DSLR. And then, I have an Amazon.com visa card and for whatever reason, have been hoarding my “reward” gift certificates for months and, with the gift card my sister gave me for Christmas, I’ve got $250 in certificates. Which means I can get this camera for about $210 in cash–well worth the additional $45 over getting a reconditioned Canon S3. And, besides, there’s that handy tax rebate from the US government coming. Why be entirely practical and use it to buy something necessary, like, say, gasoline for the car?

(Hey, incidentally, may I point your attention to the Amazon link to the right? If you ever need to buy something from Amazon.com and you link from here, I’ll get a commission. Not a big one, perhaps, but something! And with money as bad as it is, every bit helps, and if you’re going to buy something anyway….)

So, anyhow, I looked at the Nikon and I looked at the comparably-priced Canon Digital Rebel XT which was also nice. I even have a 35mm film version of a Canon Rebel that could share the same lenses, but … okay, maybe this seems silly … but the XT uses a compact flash memory card, and both my current cameras and my computer use SD cards. Which means that I can just pop the card into the computer to copy pictures–no need to hook up the camera. That convenience is wonderful. As is the fact that I already own several appropriately-sized memory cards. So, really, I’m leaning toward the Nikon. And it was good to see it in person, too, feel it in my hands. Nice camera. (And then, I suppose there’s always a chance that I could win a D60….but I’m not holding my breath!)

After that I went to the bookstore (I had a coupon and used it to buy ONE book, on using Photoshop for digital photos, and just looking through it, I’ve got to tell you, the tips are great.) I bumped into a very nice woman, named Pam, who was browsing in the magazine section when I came by. I mentioned that I was looking for a specific magazine that my Mom had asked me to pick up because a friend told her it had an article about the MV Fiber Farm. We chatted a bit as I flipped through the magazine, looking for it, and she told me that she subscribed to it, and that if I lived nearby, she’d be willing to take a look through the last issue to see if it was in there. Turns out, she lives about 2 miles from here. In fact, almost midway between me and Kim. I don’t really expect that I’ll hear from her (though, Hi, Pam! if you stopped by), but wasn’t that nice of her to offer?

Then, just as I was getting into the car, my phone rang. It was Dad. “When are you coming home? I’m starving to death.” Um, huh? Turns out I had told my poor, sick Mother that I would stop at the store for her to pick up milk and juice and a few other things, and at the top of the list she gave me, it said, “Lunch.” I had assumed that was a reminder to me that I needed to get something for my own lunch–Dad usually eats PB&J or grilled cheese. But, no. She meant lunch for him, too, and he managed to wait all the way to 12:02 before he picked up the phone to call me (grin).

So, I left the bookstore, drove to the grocery store. Grabbed a cart (that was conveniently in the middle of my parking space so that I had to get out of the car to move it anyway), and then zoomed around the store, assembling four (plastic) bags’ worth of groceries. I paid and loaded up the car and was just wheeling my cart to the space designated to shopping carts, when another woman who had just gotten out of her car smiled and said she’d take it. I recommended it to her as being an excellent cart, with no wobbly wheels, and then got in my car and drove home. All in 32 minutes from the time Dad called. (Really, I’m much more efficient in a grocery store than I ever am in a bookstore.)

In my whirlwind tour of the grocery store, I picked up some strawberry and rhubarb to make a treat for Dad. My Eating Well magazine came last week and it had a recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb strudel. Well, I’ve never made strudel before, but it sounded interesting. Of course, I couldn’t remember what the recipe called for except the fruit and filo dough, but I did my best. I tried their Lemon-Poppyseed cake, too, which was quite tasty. (And, really, should go quite well with the sauce that I turned the extra strawberries and rhubarb into.)

I took Chappy for a walk, too, and all-in-all, it wasn’t until about 3:30 that I had a chance to sit down and relax, and I didn’t even turn my computer on until about 5:30 and then, just as I was about to start writing this blog entry … my server went down. Eep! Apparently they crashed last night and had some residual effects today. I’m glad the problem is fixed, though, and that it wasn’t something on my end because, really, I don’t think I’ve got the energy to deal with that tonight.

As I say, it’s been a full day. Because, on top of all the things I just told you? I had to rip out some of my sweater–pretty much everything I’ve done in the last week. (Note to self: Be grateful you didn’t have time to work on your sweater on MV last weekend.) The button bands weren’t working the way I’d hoped, so I had to tear back to where they began. Not awful, really, but still, I never like having to frog.

And now, I really need to get to bed. I told Dad I’d make him waffles in the morning to go with that strawberry-rhubarb sauce … if, that is, he didn’t want to eat the strudel instead! (grin)

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Ups and Downs // 14 Comments »

Did you know the Interweave Knits Summer Preview is up?

• Tags: General • Permalink:IK Preview // 5 Comments »

Well, I told you that we stayed to the very end of the MV Fiber Festival the other day–they were cleaning everything up when we left, and how nifty was this pile of multi-colored stools?

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Non-Sitting Area // 5 Comments »

We had a little more water in the house than we really needed today. The connection between the water line and our refrigerator isn’t, um, quite as water-tight as one would hope. Luckily, Dad went down into the basement this afternoon and spotted it, but he and Mom spent some time down there vacuuming up water while waiting for the plumber–who has to come back tomorrow. And did I mention that my Dad’s got a bad cold? It’s true that none of us had been sick since he got that air purifier, but ironically, when he was at that seminar for that company last weekend, he brought home a cold, poor fellow. So, naturally, cleaning up water in the basement was just what he needed today.

And then, a co-worker brought his daughter to work today, and when I walked into the room to get something off the printer, I said, “I see you have a helper today!” “Yep, she’s in training.” At which his daughter snarled, “I don’t want to work here.” Hmm. Okayyy. How very charming! So, I did a few more things and two other co-workers walk in to ask me a question, but stop first to say hello to his daughter. He says, “Daughter, this is Jimmy and Mrs. B.”

Hmm. Two things about that. First of all, “Mrs. B” is known universally by her first name. In fact, nobody at our office goes by a title–it’s first-names all around. So, by introducing her by “Mrs,” he immediately made poor Kathy feel old. And then, did you notice? He never introduced me. I’m standing right there and not only hadn’t he introduced me when I walked in and said hello, but five minutes later he very obviously makes a point of introducing his daughter to two of my coworkers, right in front of me, all while I was apparently invisible. Not maliciously (I don’t think), but out of sheer cluelessness … (which, pretty much describes the way he does his job). Sheesh.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Minor Irritations // 8 Comments »

I know, I know. I’ve been talking so much about cute sheep and goats lately, I’ve barely mentioned my knitting. And so, I give you this completely bizarre-looking picture …

As an explanation of what you’re seeing … this is the top of my sweater. I’ve knitted the back from shoulder-to-armhole and am now knitting the two fronts from shoulder to armhole. I’ve got about an inch to go until the fronts are the same length as the backs, at which point, I’ll join them together with some additional cast-on stitches for under the arm and the rest of the body will be knit in one piece. Since everything is so very, um, curly at the moment, it’s more or less impossible to get everything to lie flat to be photographed. I’m also knitting the button bands as I go, so the fronts are wider than the back and so don’t look like they fit properly. But, trust me, things are moving along.

Sure, there was the lost time last week when the picked-up stitches from the invisible cast-on at the shoulders looked just dreadful and it took me two nights’ worth of knitting to undo that and get things working properly again. And, of course, I got no knitting done on this sweater at all this past weekend, but we’re back on track and progress is being made.

I went back to work today, too, so I’m tired tonight. It wasn’t quite an insane day, but it was a full one. Chappy’s pretty tired tonight also. Dad said he pouted this morning after I left for the office–it was the most time we’ve been apart since Thursday–but at least his energy level is more or less back to normal. (Unlike Dad’s–he caught a cold during his weekend seminar, poor guy.)

Chappy still can’t get over the fact that he met BABY GOATS this weekend!

Oh, and if you’ve been reading any of the discussions about copyright restrictions on knitting patterns over on any of the knitting sites, well, go read Fleegle’s take on it. She’s got perhaps the best and most entertaining “copyright” statements around. Although, now I’m going to need to rewrite my Will….

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:General Knitting Update // 4 Comments »

How great a picture is this, huh? When I took Chappy out for his, um, personal needs yesterday morning, the sun was just up, and our inn was so close to the water, I couldn’t resist walking up the street to take a look. I just caught this shot, of him sniffing into the sea breeze, ears flying in the wind. Love it!

I like this one, too.

Anyway, yes, yesterday was our last morning on the island. We got up, had breakfast, and then went over to Espresso Love so Mom could get some blueberry scones for her stash. Then, we drove to Oak Bluffs so Chappy could get some biscuits from Good Dog Goods, and then we went to Vineyard Haven to stop at the Chamber of Commerce to see Susan one last time before we left. We walked around town for a bit, but were at the Steamship Authority by 12:00 and then hung out until our 1:15 ferry, grabbing a quick snack for lunch at the Black Dog. (I had a multi-grain roll with butter and a ginger cookie, Mom had a corn muffin and an oatmeal raisin cookie.)

The drive home was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Mystic for about 20 minutes, as is our custom–it’s a nice spot for stretching our legs, and it’s dog-friendly. (In fact, their store of cat and dog-inspired stuff is one of the few places I regularly find things for Boykin Spaniels.) Other than that, we stopped at a McDonalds on I-95 for a quick supper and to feed the car, slowed down for a bit due to an accident at the far, western end of CT, but were home about 7:20. JUST before the sun completely went down, and I was very grateful that I’d brought my Chappy baseball cap with me, because the sun was so low and in my eyes for the last hour or two that sunglasses just would not have been enough.

Today has been pretty low-key. Slept until 8:00 in my own bed, gave Chappy a much-needed bath. Took my car to a car-wash for an also much-needed bath. Stopped at a grocery store. Stopped at the mechanic for a new lightbulb for my brake light. Put away my laundry. Took Chappy for a walk. Made spaghetti and meatballs for supper. (Okay, I did the meatballs and sauce, Mom cooked the spaghetti.)

If you haven’t noticed, I updated the posts from the last few days so that they now include pictures! So, if you’re interested, please go back and take a look. There’s the post from the day we travelled up to MV, the post ALL about the MV Fiber Festival, and then the post from Sunday when Mom and I got to meet the itty-bitty baby kids. Additionally, there are lots and lots of pictures over on Flickr–here’s my page of pictures, but there’s also a Flickr group for festival pictures. Not only that, I got to add Susan to my “Bloggers I’ve Met” list–something she was almost as excited about as I was!

Also, about the MV Fiber Festival, not only was there the article in the Wall Street Journal, but there was a follow-up on their blog. AND a really lovely article in the Vineyard Gazette. Not to mention a 15-minute video that Patrick’s son Harry put together. For bunches of reasons, Susan is very, very excited and happy. She’s added a bunch of stuff to her Etsy page, too.

Now, you’re probably wondering what I came home with, right?

Really, I restrained myself VERY well.

As a shareholder, I was gifted a tote bag, a t-shirt, and a pin, but then I bought an extra bag, anyway. They’re light and sturdy and meant to be used for things like groceries, so I figured–what with today being Earth Day, and all–I’d get an extra.

I bought a set of the postcards, too, which may have been unnecessarily frivolous, but Susan takes such nice pictures and those little sheepy/goaty faces are just too cute.

And, of course, some yarn. The two skeins of worsted-weight yarn on the right (in colors Parsley and Saffron) are for me, though I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet. They’re both great colors, though, so how could I resist? The two skeins of Chili sock yarn are still, technically, Susan’s, but I get to knit it up anyway, since I told her I would make her a pair of socks. I mean, you all know how, um, speedy I am about knitting socks, but hey, it’s practically summer out there … there’s no rush!

And, that’s it! I’m proudly sporting my MV Fiber Farm pin on my purse. I’m thinking about turning it into a refrigerator magnet, instead of risking losing it on my purse. And then, I am trying to think of the perfect project for that yarn. Would you believe that–other than socks–I didn’t do any knitting all weekend? I never touched my cardigan (except for showing it to Susan), and my spinning wheel never made it out of the bag. I had totally planned to spend some of Sunday afternoon sitting on that porch with my spinning wheel but it really was too cold. The only other stuff I bought this weekend was basically food. Biscuits from Chappy’s favorite bakery and some coffee beans from my favorite cafe. Oh, and a Black Dog frisbee that Chappy got very enthusiastic about in the Black Dog store the other day. And, well, doesn’t a kid deserve a toy on vacation once in a while?

• Tags: Chappy, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard, Sky • Permalink:MV Leftovers // 6 Comments »

So, day three, and our last full day on the island. It started off really well, though—we got to see the really little babies over at Susan’s. Oh, so cute.

She actually gathered a group of people this morning at 8:00, but we were running late. (Our innkeeper really likes to chat.) But when we called her to tell her, she said that she would drive them back to their hotels and then meet us there. We then displaced extra wisdom and waited outside one of the inns and then followed her back. (Much easier!)

So, back to those babies. Adorable.

The littlest ones were even smaller than Chappy and he was oh, so intrigued. So many interesting smells! And there were chickens, too! Chappy’s never seen a chicken outside his food dish, so that was particularly intriguing.

And then we stood there and chatted and gushed over the sweet kids for over an hour. It was just fabulous seeing Susan again, and she was so in her element with all those four-legged, wooly creatures. Clearly, she’s meant to be a shepherd.

Did I mention that Patrick and Logan came by to feed and water the goats?

After we finally managed to tear ourselves away … (and you know, Susan, that we really DID mean that invitation to NJ where you could wear non-goaty clothes for three days in a row) … we drove into Edgartown and Mom had a blueberry scone for lunch (bliss). I found a wireless internet connection and was able to post about the fiber festival (which I had luckily written out the night before), and we spent some time just walking around. Not as long as we might have, though, because the temperature started to drop, and the wind kicked up, and, well, brrr. It was still beautiful, though—bright and sunny, and about 54 degrees.

We came back to our room (can I just tell you that I’m in love with this window seat), so Chappy could get a nap, and then headed back to Oak Bluffs to meet an e-friend of Mom’s. Which was nice enough, except we were sitting outside and the temperature was diving down to about 47 with wind, and it was COLD. By the time we left, Mom was frozen and I was feeling so very grateful that I’d put my Ribby sweater on before leaving the room. The decision at that point of stopping for something (hot) to eat and bringing it back to the inn was easy. Mom went into Linda Jean’s to place the order, I took Chappy to the car … and found it so cold on the walk, that I decided I would pray for good Parking Karma and try to move it closer to where Mom was, so she wouldn’t have to hike in the cold.

I was lucky, and did get a good parking spot, and then called her cellphone to tell her where I was, and then we came back to the inn. Brady very nicely made Mom some tea which was helpful.

Um. We’re all decided that we will NOT be going out for another walk tonight. And that the decision to take the car into Oak Bluffs instead of walking (which we did last night) was definitely the right choice. (Considering how frozen Mom looked just walking to the restaurant, the walk back to the inn with food? Not an option! In fact, she’s sitting on the bed right now, wrapped up in one of the shawls I brought.)

Tomorrow? We have to go to Edgartown to get Mom a stash of blueberry scones to bring home, and Chappy wants to go to his favorite dog-store to get some biscuits. Susan told us that we MUST stop by the Chamber of Commerce to see her at work—especially since everybody there reads Mom’s blog. I mean, gosh, I suppose that if we HAVE to…. And then our ferry home is at 1:15 (unless we follow tradition and catch an earlier one), and we’re all hoping that Chappy will be fine in the car. As in, not carsick. And that the traffic won’t be too bad around rush hour. Wish us luck!

• Tags: Chappy, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV Sunday // 6 Comments »

(Note: I found an internet connection but it’s SO slow, I can’t upload all the pictures I’d like to load, so this post is going to be mostly text UNTIL I get home. I promise, on Tuesday, I’ll add pictures!)

So, where to start when trying to describe such a fantastic day?

Oh, of course. I know.

Susan and Patrick (seen here with his son, Logan) are just wonderful people. Mom, Chappy, and I walked in and Susan immediately excused herself to the person she was talking to and practically ran over to give both of us big hugs. (And a pet for Chappy, of course.) Then Patrick (who is something like 9 feet tall) came in and she said, “This is Deb, Joan, and Chappy” and his face lit up as he said, “I’m so glad you could make it!” You know, not in that polite kind of way that you welcome people, but in the truly sincere, “I really do know who you are and really mean this” kind of way. Mom and I both said that there are people you meet who are nice and likeable and just lovely people (which pretty much describes everybody we met today), and then there are people that you immediately want to be friends with. Susan and Patrick fall into that category. Would you believe, though, that of all the pictures we took today (216 of them between me and Mom), we didn’t get a single picture of the two of them together?

And then, the sheep and goats. Well, they’re just adorable—especially those babies that we’ve been reading so much about. So. Cute. It was particularly cute when we walked Chappy over. He was curious and stretched toward the goat closest to him, but when several more came over to take a look at Chappy? Well, he decided that they were all a lot bigger than he was, and you know, he was on vacation and didn’t want any trouble. They all decided that he was a potential threat, and so Chappy backed away from them, they backed away from him, and it was really pretty funny.

Throughout the rest of the day, I got some pretty good pictures because the group of them would all turn to face Chappy—presumably because he was (genetically, at least) a potential threat. Do you remember in the movie Babe, how the sheep call all dogs “wolves,” and don’t trust any of them? That’s pretty much the reaction Chappy was getting. The adults would close ranks around the babies, and at least some of them would stand guard. But, as I say, that made for some good photos.

And then, the fiber festival itself. It took place in the Ag Hall (that’s the Agricultural Hall, but nobody uses the full word when describing it). First, it’s a beautiful building. It was actually a barn in New Hampshire that they transported in pieces to MV and rebuilt it several years ago. This was my first time seeing it, and it’s just beautiful. Lots of warm, golden wood color, great structural elements in the beams and ceilings. Just lovely. And while the festival got a really nice turnout, the building was never so jam-packed that you couldn’t see the building.

There were musicians down at the far end playing some really nice, mellow music, and there were some booths from other island fiber places. One table had a display of skeins dyed with different natural dyes (onion skins, hibiscus flowers, comfrey, nettles, and so on) and set with different mordants so that the colors looked different from skein to skein.

It was fascinating watching the sheep and goats be sheared. They’re so patient about it—not that they really have a choice. The shearer, Jeff, did a great job. And, really, we all just stood around watching for huge chunks of time. Just really cool. Even Chappy was impressed. Mom got excited, too, because we saw Sally Taylor (Carly Simon’s daughter) there, too. That alone would have made her happy.

Susan and Patrick did proud by their shareholders, too. Not only did I get a tote bag and a t-shirt, just for being there, I got lunch, too! The entire festival took a lunch break. They set up tables and chairs in the entrance hall and we all sat together and ate. Including a whole bunch of Ravelrers. And, here’s the horrible part, I can’t remember all the names. (I’ll try to find them later, when I can get internet access again.) But one name I DO remember? Nora—one of the sweetest little 11-months old you’d want to meet. Her Mom drove to Falmouth this morning, took a shuttle bus to the ferry dock, rode the ferry to the island, and then caught a bus to the Ag Hall—all with an 11-month old and a stroller. And Nora was just a bright, sunshiny, little girl all day long. She wailed in protest at something a couple of times, but was back to being happy again within 60 seconds. All. Day.

Chappy was good, too. Despite not having a chance to nap all day long, he was sweet and charming almost the entire day. He barked a couple of times when he saw other dogs—not in a “go away” kind of way, but as anybody would when travelling in a strange land and see somebody who speaks the same language they do. And he and Fritz, an Island Sheltie not only hit it off, but played, too. His only real fall of grace was, a couple of times, when he had finally relaxed enough to let his guard down and then did a “Woo-woo-woo-woof!” bark at people who dared to walk past him. Including Patrick’s younger son, who went off and stood in the corner for a few minutes afterwards. Chappy kind of felt badly about that, but really, considering how tired he was by that point, he was so good!

At this point—I’m typing this at 8:30 on Saturday night—Chappy is just exhausted. Not only did he have a long, full day out in the sun, watching the sheep, occasionally barking at unsuspecting bystanders, but he didn’t get much sleep last night. I know this because he kept waking Mom and me up—jumping on the bed, off the bed, on the bed, off the bed. And, at one point, jumping INTO the bed, when the throw rug on the floor slippe as he launched himself, so that he hit chest-first into the side of the bed which, you know, is quite a shock in the dark! Oh, and then there was the extra awakening when the clock-radio alarm went off at midnight … let’s just say that none of the three of us exactly got a full night’s sleep. And we were up around 6:30/6:45 which, really, is ridiculous while on vacation. I’m not that worried about tonight though, Chappy is so zonked out on the bed at the moment, I really can’t imagine that he’s going to have trouble relaxing enough to sleep.

Oh, and yes, I DID buy some yarn, but restricted myself to two skeins. I did think about buying enough to make a sweater but decided that that would be too pricey. And besides, if I’m lucky, my spinner’s share of roving will be big enough to make a sweater, which will be even better, right? I AM coming home with two more skeins of yarn, though—I offered to make Susan a pair of socks, if she gave me the yarn to do it in. I know, it SOUNDS remarkably generous of me, but really, this way I get to try out more of the yarn and I didn’t even have to pay for it. How sneaky of me is THAT?

Really, it was a wonderful day. We got there about 9:50 and left about 4:40. That’s a full day and we weren’t bored even once. Every person we met was great. Susan’s mother and sister were so sweet and helpful … and tired. As were Patrick’s sons who are both really nice kids and helped out all day without complaining (that I heard). (And, again, Chappy says he’s sorry about the barking—he was just startled.) The Ravelrers were all great and interesting and funny, and it was also great at lunch when several of us pulled out our knitting. There’s just something so cozy about a group that can do that. The weather could NOT have been better. It was right about 70 degrees and sunny—a little warm in the sun at times, but never actually hot, and the Ag Hall was nice and cool for when we felt a little warm. It was a stunningly beautiful day. And did I mention that we weren’t bored once? And that we really liked Patrick and Susan a lot?

How much? Well, they’re planning on doing something similar for the Autumn shearing and, gosh, I do have vacation time in October … I wonder what weekend that will be? Because this CSA share was one of the best $100 investments I’ve ever made—and I haven’t even gotten my share of the wool yet. But for this much sheer (shear??) fun? Absolutely worth every penny—and do you know why?

Because Susan and Patrick made a point of making it so. They could have just taken the money and sent the wool in due course with maybe a note or something. But, no. Not only does Susan write her blog, filled with lots of pictures of her flock and updates so that the animals have real names and faces to make that wool extra special with that personal touch. But they make their shareholders feel really welcome and appreciated. We’re not just people who sent money. We’re like an extended family. Or at least, it certainly felt that way. So. Cool. All that great publicity (did you see the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning??) couldn’t happen to nicer people.

Really. Perfect day. Even if Chappy couldn’t quite get his sheep imitation down . . . every time he tried to say “Baaaa,” he just couldn’t help turning it into a “Baaaaark!”

• Tags: Chappy, Friends, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV: Baaaa…rk! // 11 Comments »

So, that nifty medicine the vet gave us to help counteract Chappy’s car-sickness? Well, five minutes after I gave it to him this morning, he spit up on the kitchen floor. And then again ten minutes later. And again ten minutes after that. And once more just before we got into the car to leave.

As you can imagine, we were feeling REALLY confident when we left the house this morning. We even got all the way out of the driveway before Mom pulled over so that I could get in the backseat with him. He relaxes a bit more when he has somebody to lean against, to help absorb the turns and bumps.

Luckily, he did not actually get sick in the car, though he looked a little queasy for the first hour. Now, the vet had said to give the medicine to him two hours before travelling, and granted, I was only able to give it to him one hour before, so I don’t know if it actually kicked in, or if he finally just relaxed once we were on our way. But either way, that first hour? Um, I’m a little hesitant to try giving it to him again on Monday!

In other Chappy news, the GOOD medicine that the vet prescribed for his diarrhea issues the other day? Somehow that got left at home. I hope he has enough in his system to take care of the problem! Of course, he basically fasted all day—he got a biscuit at a café around 3:30, but otherwise, nothing else before he got his supper at about 7:00. He was hungry!

Anyway, the drive up was uneventful (which is good). The weather is perfect (which is even better). We caught an earlier ferry–which is entirely normal. I honestly can’t remember the last time I actually rode on the ferry over that I had tickets for (grin). Our first stop was Mocha Motts café for a snack and a chance to just not be in the car. Chappy made friends with a little German girl about 3 years old who was so eager to pet him.

The inn we’re staying at, Brady’s, is right near the water, and our room has a beautiful picture window with a window seat. How perfect is that? I’m sitting there right now, looking out at the full moon.

Our room is a nice, large old bedroom. White bead board on the walls, old wooden slats on the ceiling, and some interesting angles in the corners from the peaks of the roof. Lots and lots of pictures on the walls—old photographs, maps, paintings. There are piles of books everywhere, and even an old, manual typewriter perched on top of the desk. Of course, there are so many books piled on it, it’s pretty much impossible to use it as a desk, which is also one reason I’m typing this over on the the window seat. That, and the fact that I just adore window seats.

The inn—which is also Brady’s house—also has a beautiful, wrap-around porch outside which is just beautiful. We sat out there for a little bit this afternoon after we checked in and I was thinking how wonderful it looked for spinning. If I hadn’t been so tired, I might have brought my spinning wheel out there for a while—although I’ve never tried to spin while sitting in an Adirondack-style chair.

The inn also has a resident dog—Amie—a little, 10-year old spaniel who was very hospitable, greeting us today. And who was very helpful about offering to clean Chappy’s dinner dish. While also being very polite about not trying to insist. (Isn’t that helpful?) Also, while we were waiting for our supper tonight—we had placed an order at the Newes and was waiting outside with Chappy for our takeout—a little boy came outside to ask if he could pet Chappy. Turns out, he has a dog at home in Vermont … named Chappy! Such a surprise—good thing my Chappy had a name tag around his neck or the little boy might have thought we were making it up.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a wireless connection anywhere nearby, so I’m typing this on Friday night but don’t know when I’ll be able to post it. For all I know, I’ll be posting everything about my trip on Monday or Tuesday after I get home!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV Travel Day // 4 Comments »

Well, off we go to Martha’s Vineyard for the fiber festival tomorrow. We can’t wait!

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Chappy, Eye-Candy Friday, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Vineyardward // 5 Comments »

Hey, look what I got today! Remember when I told you I won a box of cookbooks?

Of course, I don’t really have the time to go through them yet–what with all the packing and all. Since I came home from work, let’s see … I gave Chappy his bath, did a load of laundry. Then I portioned out five days’ worth of meals for Chappy, which includes all his vitamins and the yogurt and all that fun stuff. Cooked supper. Packed. Worked on my sweater.

Hmm, I could have sworn it was more than that.

And, oh yes, hurry up and leave your comment over at the MV Fiber Farm post if you want to be entered to win a weekend at Shephering Camp. Susan decided she couldn’t wait for 300 entries and is going to select a winner on Sunday. You don’t want to miss it!

• Tags: General • Permalink:We’re Cooking Now! // 4 Comments »

Here’s an update on my sweater for you. I’ve got the neck shaping done and will start the button bands tomorrow. Isn’t it lovely?

Okay, that’s fine. I know it doesn’t look lovely, exactly, but I’m pleased with it, and isn’t that what matters? (grin)

And a glimpse at what’s on my spinning wheel. Not the best picture, I know, but I didn’t feel like fighting with the macro feature on my camera tonight, so this is really all you’re going to get–tonight, anyway!

So, let’s see. What else? Chappy seems to be feeling a little better. At least, I hope so. He’s pretty quiet about how he feels, you know, so that’s not particularly helpful. But, we’re hoping.

Tomorrow, I’ll be packing. Because, gee, have I mentioned? We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard on Friday. To the Fiber Festival. Woohoo! We’re very excited. I’m bringing my laptop but am not sure where I’ll find internet access. I mean, there ARE places on the island that have it, but most of them are cafes and there are these pesky laws about bringing your dog inside, you know? Not only that, but my laptop’s battery is … inconsistent. I’ll be sitting there and the little battery-meter on the task bar will say something like 80% full, and then literally two minutes later, it’s beeping at me and telling me the battery is low. Which means that I can never really depend on knowing how long I can use the computer–say, sitting in the car outside a cafe–before I need to turn it off. But, who cares? We’re going to be having so much fun anyway.

Okay, I’ve got a few things to do, so I’ll leave you here for the night. Ta!

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Topping Off // 4 Comments »

Well, it’s Tax Day here in the U.S., and I’ve already spent my tax refund. On my favorite investment.

Which would be, of course, be Chappy. Not that I had much choice. The, er, problems he had the other night? Well, they haven’t exactly gone away, and what with our trip coming up on Friday and the long ride in the car, I thought it was probably better to get that looked at. So, here’s a picture of my boy waiting for his name to be called at the Vet. And the cost of the visit? Just about exactly what my tax refund will be.

As Dad said, at least I invested it in something I love.

Now, as a Public Service Announcement? Neva, one of my (blogless) readers, has a good friend whose 16-month daughter Emily was diagnosed a month ago with a brain tumor the size of a baseball. You can read more about this saga here, but in the meantime, they’re asking for prayers for their little girl, and–only if you feel so inclined–there’s a donation button there, too, to help pay for the staggering surgery and chemo costs. Personally, I’m still trying to picture a tumor the size of a baseball inside a 16-month old’s skull, and I know I’m sending what help I can. Please go read her story and take a minute to send her some much-needed get-well thoughts? Because, really, that is just too horrible a thing to happen to such a cute little girl.

Really, it makes my dog’s bouts with diarrhea these last few days seem completely inconsequential by comparison. (Well, you know what I mean.) But, anyway, here’s another picture of Chappy at the vet–sitting nicely on the scale, getting weighed. As of this afternoon, he weighs 36.1 lbs. And since I amused the technicians by taking a picture, naturally, I needed to share it with you. On the plus side, they gave me an anti-nausea medicine to try for his carsickness this weekend. Considering it cost $35 for two doses (gulp–why don’t they tell you the cost beforehand?), I certainly hope it works!

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Tax Day // 8 Comments »

Hey, remember that bag I made a couple years ago? The felted satchel? Well, I decided it was about time that I write up the pattern. So, I did. And I’m offering it for sale–just in case you’re interested!

Size: 15″ x 9″ x 14″

Needed: 5 skeins EACH of two different colors of Cascade 220, wooden dowels for the framework, a magnetic snap–or alternative hardware of your choice!

And, the cost? Just $5.97.

You can buy it on Ravelry, if you’re signed-up, just click the link here:

Or, if you’d like to buy it directly from me, click here:

• Tags: Finished Knitting • Permalink:House Calls // 1 Comment »

Did you know that Monday is Blogger Appreciation Day?

Well, it’s kind of unofficial, but here’s the idea:

We’re in it together, blogging is about collaboration and together going further than we can by ourselves - so why not help another blogger today by shooting them a word of encouragement, a pep talk, a congratulations, an idea to help them improve or some other positive constructive message. Better still, do it publicly on your blog and tell the world about another blogger who you appreciate.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Appreciation // 2 Comments »

Another button decision, although I think this one is easy.

Top-left: “Sleek Set.” Nice enough a button, I suppose, but way too dark a blue.

Bottom-left: “Armory.” Despite its slightly gold appearance, this is a silver button. It would look just fine, but doesn’t quite have the appeal I was hoping for.

Bottom-right: “Cervantino.” An interesting possiblity, I think, since the colors of the ceramic swirls are all in the yarn (except the red), but possibly a bit “much.”

But, really, the Top-Right, “Petaluma,” to me, is the best of the bunch. The color blue is perfect to accent that blue roving, which means it matches the sweater without being too “matchy.” It stands out without being obnoxious about it. Could I wish for something a little more special and beautiful for this lovely sweater-to-be? A perfectly-matched glass button, perhaps? Something spectacular and beautiful rather than just “nice”? Well, maybe. But this will work and look good, right? And that’s really all that matters.

I do have one little problem, though, but not with the buttons. I THOUGHT I had different lengths of the Addi Lace #4 needle that I’m knitting this sweater on, but it turns out I don’t. I have two. 24″ which is what I’m knitting the back on, and a ridiculously-long 47″. In fact, I have two of them–which is exactly my problem. I thought one of them was 32″ which would have been perfect for the body of the sweater, but noooo. That’s not what I have. Which means I need to either order another one and hope that it comes before I need it (which might be while away on MV next weekend), or I’m going to have to substitute with a regular Addi and hope (haha) that that doesn’t affect my gauge. Sigh. How did I make THAT mistake? Really, there’s not much choice–I can’t depend that mail-order would get me a replacement before Thursday, and I’d rather not spend the $16 anyway. I’ll just have to deal, right? I did stop at Nonna’s today to see if they had the size I needed, but they didn’t, and I don’t really dare go to any other LYS to go hunting–too much temptation. (In fact, I walked about three steps into Nonna’s and then stood there and chatted with my arms crossed–I didn’t dare take a STEP toward any yarn!)

You’re probably wondering about the title of the post, right? Today started like any normal Saturday. Mom and I went out for coffee, made a stop at the store on the way home, and took Chappy for a walk with Dad. But then, in an instant, it switched over to a lazy Sunday afternoon, with pot roast on the stove, and me curled up with a good book and a cup of tea. See, Mom and Dad almost always go out for dinner on Saturday nights (even if it’s just fast food or pizza), and pot roast is traditionally a Sunday meal. But tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of a pair of good friends and neighbors, and Mom and Dad are going to a party instead and they won’t be home for Sunday Dinner. So Mom and I decided to move it up a day. It’s really uncanny how just having the smells of pot roast wafting through the house can make you think it’s a completely different day of the week.

Actually, I’ve had this problem all week. Tuesday felt like Wednesday. Wednesday felt like Thursday. Thursday felt like Friday, which finally came along yesterday. So if this morning felt like Saturday and this afternoon feels like Sunday, well, that means tomorrow’s going to feel like Monday, right? Except that, since I’ll be home and not at work, it should, by rights, feel like a holiday. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Oh, and that hole in the shopping center? Mom and I walked around the back today, just out of curiosity. Doesn’t that look just lovely?? (grin)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Short Weekend // 8 Comments »

Well, my cardigan is coming along. See? The back is about 7-8″ long at the armhole. When it gets to 9″, I’ll start the fronts. I do need to come up with some kind of design element to get some of this blue into the sweater, though.

Sitting on top of it is the skein of blue I made from my leftover singles. That’s about 70 yards of yarn. My second skein of cardigan-yarn is hanging in the bathroom, drying right now.

What am I spinning right now? I just started this. A merino/tussah blend from the Sheep Shed that I bought at Rhinebeck in October. It makes me think of Spring, something about the old-rose color. It’s not my usual color palette, but I had picked up a hank of it and couldn’t put it down. So, I paid for it (of course) and brought it home. And, it IS pretty.

I’m having trouble getting good photos of it, though, because my camera is acting up. I have two Canon cameras, both well beyond their warranties, and the S2 IS is misbehaving. Nothing outside the Auto setting works as well as it used to–the lighting comes out very funky, giving a weird look to the pictures. The regular Macro setting doesn’t work at all, and the Super-Macro only works outside the Auto setting … which means the lighting is weird. Not 100% of the time, but, unpredictably. I contacted Canon and was given two options: As a loyal customer, they’d sell me a reconditioned S3 IS for $165, or I can ship them my camera and they’ll tell me what it will cost to fix it, which seems a little vague to me. Sigh. It doesn’t help that this Nikon D40 looks so darn tempting and is getting such great reviews over at the Digital Photo Forum. (For that matter, the Canon Digital looks good, too, and I have a 10-year old film version of it whose lenses I believe I could use, too.) But really, I have no business looking at cameras, and the Amazon certificates I have just won’t cover that, you know?

Chappy had a little … episode tonight. He came tearing in through his dog door and more or less left a trail of diarrhea up the stairs, poor boy. Not sure why, but hope he’s okay. He seems fine. I do wish that he had stayed outside IN his bathroom, though! And right now, we’re all glad to have that air-purifier–which also removes smells–and which we’ve moved to the upstairs hallway for the night. Because, um, well, let’s just say the carpeting is kind of aromatic at the moment, shall we? He seems all right, though, so fingers crossed!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Tonight’s Progress Report // 8 Comments »

For years of my childhood, this cafe scene hung on our kitchen wall. I’m not sure what the metal is–copper, maybe?–but I spent many hours picturing myself sitting at one of those tables. Mom came across it recently in one of the closets and I just couldn’t resist taking its picture to share with you.

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Cafe // 5 Comments »

Just a few, random things tonight:

If you want a chance to win a weekend at Shepherding Camp on Martha’s Vineyard, leave a comment to this post over at the MV Fiber Farm blog. Susan isn’t doing the drawing until she has 300 entries, but doesn’t this sound great?

This giveaway is for one two-night, three-day weekend for up to two people (who don’t mind sharing a room with twin beds) on the beautiful Island on Martha’s Vineyard on a mutually agreeable date. The trip includes lodging and three meals a day and all the farm work you can stand. The winner will spend the weekend at our townhouse (we do not live on the land where our animals live. Some day…) and on our farm, getting to know the flock, doing morning and evening chores with us and learning everything you ever wanted to know about the gentle animals that grow your yarn. Of course, if you want to spend some of your time at the beach, that’s okay too. You do not have to be a shareholder to win.

She further says that, “So email this url to you friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, preschool gymnastics coach, milkman and dog groomer. (If you know anyone in North Dakota, South Dakota or West Virginia in particular, because, according to the analytic software we use, no one from those states has ever visited at the blog. Weird, huh? I mean, people in 26 countries visit regularly, but the Dakotas and West Virginia remain elusive. What gives? It’s starting to bug me.) ” So, you know, feel free to spread the word. Because, really, a fully-paid weekend on Martha’s Vineyard with adorable sheep and goats? Well! What’s not to love? (You do, though, need to pay your way TO the island.) A week from tomorrow, and that’s where Mom, Chappy, and I are heading!

And then, speaking of winning things, Chris posted one of her many contest announcements the other day–this time, a chance to win a box full of cookbooks. Well, guess who won? Me! How cool is that? I guess having that annual Stollen Day ordeal has its uses sometimes. I admit, I don’t really have much use for the Indian cookbook or (possibly) the vegetarian books–we’ve got limited dietary options in this household–but I’m very excited about those Italian books! Thanks so much for picking my name, Marsha!

Okay, this is just weird. There was a thread on Ravelry the other day about what to do if you’ve connected circular knitting with a twist, so I chimed in with my favorite fix–drop the stitch at the join, ladder it down, untwist, and then pick up the stitches, leaving just a twist at the cast-on. I’ve done this myself on at least 5 different projects and I know it works. But, one of the Ravelers said that when she tried it out, she ended up with a twisted ladder, and didn’t see any way to get around that. And, here’s the weird part–when I tried it, after reading that, I’m getting a big twist, too. When I never have before. And I can’t figure out why (yet). But I’ve done this any number of times on my own projects without any problem. Did that comment jinx me? Am I doing something different, suddenly, than I’ve done other times? So bizarre…. This I’ve got to figure out.

• Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
• Turn to page 123.
• What is the first sentence on the page?
• The last sentence on the page?
• Now . . . connect them together….
  (And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

My nearest book is The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog by Elizabeth Peters.

Howard arrived in time to see the end of this performance.

“Bravo!” he called as the band began to play the performers off the stage. “That looked wonderful, I can’t believe I missed it.”

“Waylaid by thieves, no doubt?” I inquired gently, inquisitively raising one eyebrow.

“Of a surity. Definite thieves. I barely escaped with my life.”

“Yet you managed to escape with your theater ticket intact. How very fortunate. Were there many of them, to detain you through the entire first act?”

“Dozens.”

“But you managed to save your wrist watch, your cufflinks, and the flower in your lapel. Are you quite certain there were more than one?”

“The plural, decidedly,” said Howard.

This was fun!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Random Things // 7 Comments »

I’ve mentioned before that we’ve been having some serious money problems, and I thought it was about time I shared with you what my Dad is doing.

Inhale Now. I don’t know how many of you have asthma or allergies, but I do, and that was Dad’s starting point. He was looking for ways to make money, and decided to focus on air-purification, and found EcoQuest’s Fresh Air units. He signed up as a dealer and we’ve had one of these in our house since the end of December–just in time for the acid test, when my best friend was home visiting from California. She’s allergic to Chappy and hasn’t been able to spend more than 20 minutes in our house in years without her asthma kicking in. Well, two days after we got that unit, she visited for almost six hours, with Chappy sitting just a few feet away on his pillow. Dad gave a trial unit to a good friend who has emphysema who was able to sleep through the night for the first time in years. Pretty impressive, right?

Mind you, they’re not air filters–they actually purify the air, killing upwards of 99% of germs and mold spores, which makes them good not only for allergy-sufferers, but for anybody with a germ problem. (Like, say, having the kids bringing home germ after germ from school?) They sell little petrie dishes, too, so that you can test how many germs are in your house before the unit is installed and then again one week later–the results, I have to tell you, are impressive. And did I mention that none of us has been sick since we got this? We got through a whole winter without any colds. Even Chappy’s skin problem which never quite goes away has improved. It gets rid of smoke and smells, too. And one unit–less than 12″ square–is enough for our entire house. They come in other sizes, too–I even have a little, palm-sized unit plugged into my office at work.

They have water-filter units, too. And laundry! Oh, I have to tell you about the laundry unit. We don’t have one of these yet, but one of Dad’s friends does. It somehow “charges” the inflowing water so that you don’t need detergent. Or fabric softener. Or hot water. At all. Which not only saves money, but is good for the environment. Because that’s the other thing we like about this company–they’re all about being environmentally-friendly. They work on the LAWN principle–the Laws of Air, Water, and Nutrition. (Um, did I mention the Nutritional Supplement program? It sounds nothing less than revolutionary, some of the testimonials Dad’s been hearing from other dealers are downright inspirational.) And, one of their next big launches is a unit that somehow makes the electricity coming into your home more efficient, or something like that–anyway, it reduces the amount of electricity you use, which has to be a good thing!

So, I’m telling you this for a couple reasons.

One, I hope you’ll go check out Dad’s website (www.inhalenow.com) which has links to the products. (If it asks for a password, type “guest”.) We’ve been very impressed with the ones we’ve tried so far.If you’re nearby, you get a free trial with the unit for a week before you have to make up your mind. (And, if you’re not nearby, maybe you do, too, though I don’t know about the shipping?)(Edited to add: Checked with Dad–you’d have to pay the shipping back if you didn’t like it, but otherwise, no cost.) Regardless, though, it’s absolutely no pressure if you want to try it out.

Two, if you’re interested in making some extra money, maybe you’d like to become a dealer yourself? There are links for that, too. It can be part-time or full-time, and there’s no question that this can be profitable. Dad’s not making quite enough yet to cover all our expenses, but he is making money at this. And he gets to buy stuff for us at wholesale prices (like the extra air purifier he gave me for my bedroom, or the water filter in the shower, or the vitamins he and Mom are taking). They have a nice profit system set up so that you not only make money by selling things yourself, but if you sign up other people, you get something like a finder’s fee/commission on each sale they make–or that people they sign up makes. And, you know, every little bit helps!

Like I said, we’ve been very impressed with every thing about this company so far–not only the products, but Dad has been impressed with the company’s entire outlook and business methods. If you think it could help you, too–healthwise or financially–please check it out. Or contact Dad directly.

I’m telling all of you this because I know you’re all helpful, caring people who might be willing to take a look just to humor me. Not to mention, um, maybe spreading the word? And, naturally, I want to help my Dad all I can. But also, we really ARE impressed with these and, well, like any good blogger, it’s all about spreading the word, right? Just like I have on countless great yarn bargains over the years.

(Oh, and, um, I designed his website and have never done that before–I’d appreciate feedback on that, too. What do you think? Please, though, be kind.)

Thank you, all!

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Opportunity // 8 Comments »

So, last night I finished plying the leftover blue singles. That’s a fair amount of extra, pure-blue yarn, wouldn’t you say? I don’t know what I’ll do with it yet, but it’s definitely going to grow up to be an accent of some kind to that cardigan.

And, do you see how evenly my blue roving was divided?

I only have this much left on my woolee winder bobbin–you can see the leader yarn though the spaces. Even if the merino and corriedale singles didn’t end up having the same number of yards, at least I worked it out nice and evenly anyway. (And, really, I would rather have had extra of the blue than extra of the navy.)

Now all I have to do is wind both of these off onto the yarn skeiner. It’s so satisfying, having all the yarn for this sweater done! (Well, okay, still the skeining, washing, drying, but that part’s easy.)

Oh! And, finally, I have an answer to what that big hole in the shopping center downtown is for. I found the website of the leasing company and found this.

The layout and designer art for what it’s going to look like. That big hole? It’s a drive-through window. Just what every shopping center needs in the middle, right? I find it interesting that there’s going to be a parking lot in the back, too, although that opens onto a one-way road, so it wouldn’t exactly be amenable to people trying to find parking spaces if it’s particularly busy! Anyway, I’m glad to know what that will be–it’s been bugging me. And, just what we need … another Walgreens. They just built a brand-new one not two miles down the road….

Hey, would you believe, I went to the bookstore with Mom after work–she desperately wanted this book, Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon–And the Journey of a Generation, and they just got it in today, so I drove her over when I got off work. That’s not the unbelievable part. The unbelievable part is that I went to a bookstore and didn’t buy anything. (Cough) Maybe I’m getting sick?

• Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink: