So, I’m mad today.

You may not know that the state of New Jersey requires that all dogs get their rabies vaccination every three years. It’s mandated by law and a requirement to your dog being licensed.

My town offers a free Rabies Shot Clinic every year, and every three years since he was one, Chappy and I have attended. I even blogged about it when we went three years ago.

I was just finishing up my late breakfast at 10:00 when a bell went off inside my head … it’s the first Saturday of November! Isn’t today the Rabies Clinic? I ran upstairs to the computer, did a quick Google search and … yep. Today. 8:00 – 10:30. But … 10:30? I can just make that! I grabbed Chappy’s leash and my purse, hopped in the car and zipped over to Morris Ave … only to find signs saying 8:00 to 10:00.

I’d missed it by 20 minutes.

Now, it’s possible that the Neighbor News accidentally posted the wrong time. And, of course, it’s not like I had time to dawdle, looking for other websites to verify the time, but the fact remains that, for the first time ever, I did not receive a reminder in the mail about the rabies clinic. If I had, I would have been there bright and early at 8:00, just like every other time I’ve attended.

As it is, now–also for the first time ever–I’m going to have to take Chappy to the vet for his rabies shot. Which means that, in these troubled economic times, I’m going to have to PAY for it. Pay for the shot. Pay for the visit. I’m guessing that’s going to cost me about $50-$100 for the vet’s time and the vaccine. My dog is worth it, certainly, but in this instance it’s an expense that I should not have.

And all this after subjecting my carsick-tending dog to a rushed drive across town, 5 minutes after he’d eaten his breakfast.

And yes, I sent my town an email complaint. How could they NOT send me a postcard? They have every other year!

Chappy’s day didn’t get any better an hour later when I packed up the car and headed for Jessica’s.

For a change, I didn’t bring my spinning wheel. I mean, really, with the stressful (and unnecessary) dash across town, I only remembered to bring a snack about 10 minutes before I left! (For the record, instead of home-baked goods as usual, my snack this time was a bag of Pirate Booty I grabbed from the pantry.)

Oh–here’s a hilarious Proof-Reading-Gone-Wrong story. So funny.

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Okay, first thing to tell you? Rhinebeck was cold this year! When we left the house at 7:45, it was only 40-degrees (F), and it didn’t get above 52 degrees … and since the sun occasionally hid behind clouds, well, that felt pretty cold.

We got to the fairgrounds at 9:45–almost exactly two hours after leaving home–and at pretty much the same time we got there last year, except the parking lot was already at least three times as full. As the same time last year. At 9:45 in the morning! Right away, we knew the crowds were going to be bad.

The first thing we did–after getting some hot coffee–was to find Susan from the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm. This is she (on the right), Patrick (in the back, and leaning forward, because he’s so very tall!), Erin, her farm manager (on the left), and Logan, one of Patrick’s sons (in the front). We all chatted, laughed, and shivered, and I gave Susan the bar of Jersey Girl chocolate that I “owed” her. (When I sent her her socks in July, I had wanted to include something from New Jersey, but well, it was July and not the best time to mail chocolate–especially good chocolate–so I wanted to wait until I saw her again.)

After a while, Mom and I headed off to do some shopping. We ran into Cheryl … well, not literally … although I did physically bump into Sandy at Briar Rose. We also saw Kim for the first of many times while near the Sheep Shed, and she pointed out Franklin. You know, Franklin, who I interviewed at Knitting Scholar last week?  It was so great to meet him in person!

I took this just about noon, and it doesn’t begin to capture the true crowdedness of the fairgrounds.

Then there was the Ravelry meet-up, which was huge, and was COLD. I saw Kristy, Sharon, Sairy (pictured), and Annie, and Jessica … and a few other people whose names are escaping me at the moment. (Doesn’t Kristy’s Venezia sweater look wonderful?) But the meet-up happened just at the point where the sun disappeared, and was up on a breezy hill, so yeah … cold. Still, I got to chat with Mr. Ravelry for a few minutes, too (aka Casey), so that was pretty nifty. He had a little Bob mascot in his pocket, which made me wish I had a tiny Chappy I could carry around with me, but that’s okay. Mom and I were joking all day that Chappy was on his cell phone, listening in on the day to see how often his name came up. (And, no, he doesn’t really have a cell phone.)

There was still a gathering of the usual “group” outside Building A, where I bumped into (among other people), Jessalu, Sandy, Leigh, Carole, Risa (whose hair has gotten so long!), Chris, Marcia, Beth, and Laurie.

Not to mention Margene, Norma, Scout, Amy (although I had a total brain-freeze when I met her and wasn’t 100% sure my memory was working and didn’t want to call her “Amy” and then be wrong, and so came off as an idiot, but well, what can you do?). Juno, Wendy, and Stephanie. And, finally, Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon knitting who I ALSO interviewed over at Knitting Scholar.

That pretty much covered everybody I really wanted to see except Claudia and Silvia, and we bumped into them about an hour later (in almost exactly the same spot as last year). Julia from Moth Heaven, too, who gave me a Twist Collective button. Deborah. And, bunches more people whose names I simply can’t think of right now (for which, as always, I apologize).

Oh, and Laurie? Mom’s blog is MV Obsession. Please go over, folks, and tell her how nice it was to meet her!

We swung by the Angora goat showing (Patrick and his son are hard at work at the table), but decided it was too cold to sit on the metal bleachers, so we went for some hot apple crisp instead.

Just before the MV Fiber Farm shareholder gathering at 3:30. Which was nice (with cookies!). It was really fun, but again, kind of chilly. Patrick’s son Harry worked on his knitting, Logan brought up the idea of a spinning wheel. Susan shared some news which I would tell you but don’t want to be the first one, so I’ll let her make it official. (And, Mom’s going to hate this picture of herself, but *I* like it. She was sitting behind me and, without looking, I just pointed the camera over my shoulder to take a shot. It’s  not perfect, but I like it.)

(Updated–no, she absolutely hates the picture. Hates it. Like every picture of her these days. She says it makes her look 82 years old. So, I changed to a thumbnail size and took away the link, so this is all you can see of this picture!)

We left about 4:45. Or, we tried to. Well, first, we got into the car, and Mom said, “What is that smell … Oh no!” She had stepped in, er, something and had it all over the bottom of her shoe. She tried to wipe it off with a paper towel, but ended up leaving one shoe in the trunk of the car for the drive home. (Better that smell stays in the trunk of the car, you know?) The parking lot was insane. It took 15 minutes before I was able to pull out of my parking spot! I think I saw Cara, actually, blocking a car so that her husband could pull theirs out. (If it wasn’t her, it was some other intrepid knitter.) Seriously, the cars simply were NOT moving, and when I turned my head and looked to see where our little lane of traffic merged with a bigger lane, which curved around to merge with the actual “exit” lane which worked its way around to the actual road … NOTHING was moving. So, once I finally got out of my spot (thank you nice driver), instead of turning left into the totally-stopped traffic, cut across the lane, turned right up the grass, and went out the back way, wending my way past the vendors and out around to 9G the back way. SO much faster. Even though traffic was tied up at the light at Rt 9, I said to Mom that I bet we wouldn’t have been out of the parking lot yet.

Anyway, it was TONS of fun, as always. We got home about 7:45, and I’m tired–though, thankfully, not as headache-y as I was last year. I’ll show you my “loot” tomorrow (because yes, I did buy stuff. How could I not? Money might be tight, but this is a once a year event AND my birthday is in three weeks, so, well, what could I do?)

Oh, and you’ll be pleased to know that Chappy weathered the long day without me.

Tags: Friends by --Deb
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Tags: Friends, General by --Deb
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So, I went to Jessica’s yesterday for some spinning and socializing. I even finally (finally!) finished the batch of spinning I started several years ago.

Well, okay, it wasn’t years, but it WAS months. As in, April. But, anyway, I treadled away for about two hours while we all chatted and laughed and had fun and finished just as we all took a break for food about 3:00. And, well, something didn’t agree with me. I finally left Jessica’s at 4:30 and felt pretty much sick most of the drive home (not nauseated, but, um, lower than that, if you take my meaning. You don’t really want me to be more graphic, right?)

So, I got home about about 5:00 and my parents were out to dinner, and I managed to get my wheel, and my big knitting bag to the door and opened it, and turned to turn off the alarm. Except, I wasn’t really concentrating on anything other than getting in the door and to the bathroom and so my fingers stumbled on the keypad with the wrong number. And then I tried again, but it didn’t take the number that time, either. I dropped everything to the floor to try a third time, and by now the “beep beep beep” is getting faster because my allotted minute is almost up and then ….

WOW! That thing is loud. Ear-piercingly, mind-numbingly LOUD. Really, really, obnoxiously LOUD. And obnoxious. And LOUD.

Now, at this point, all I really want to do is get to the bathroom. Poor Chappy is bracing his paws in the hallway with his eyes wide, trying to figure out why his house is making this awful noise, and I CAN’T GET IT TO STOP. And then Chappy started to bark this awful, high-pitched, terrified bark, like he was screaming, “Make it stop! Make it stop!” (Which, really, is exactly what he was saying, I’m sure. I know I was.) But that didn’t help matters, either–my little boy was in distress!

I don’t usually fall apart in minor crises like this, but I wasn’t really at my best last night, and finally, I just grabbed the phone and went out the back door with Chappy so we could hear ourselves think. I thought I heard the phone ring–and the alarm company IS supposed to call–but when I answered it, there was no dial tone. That’s actually happened a couple times this week, so I don’t know if it was a fluke or if the alarm somehow interrupted the phone signal, but so that didn’t work. I made another dash into the kitchen to try to get the alarm to turn OFF, but still no luck, and by now I’m thinking the police could be on their way. So I headed to the front door and reached for Chappy’s leash … and looked down … he had dashed out the front door on his own and was almost to the driveway, he was so frantic to get AWAY from the awful noise.

Meanwhile, I still really needed to go to the bathroom, and the noise is making me just as frantic as Chappy, and, darn it, I can’t stand there all night, waiting for the police to get there or the alarm company to call and turn the thing OFF. So I tried one more time at the number pad and … blessed silence.

I apologized to Chappy, and would normally have immediately sat down to soothe my poor, frantic dog, but … no, I really had to go to the bathroom. And why hadn’t the alarm company called? And, when were the police going to come? So I tried to be as, um, quick as possible, and then went to sit with Chappy in the dining room, watching for the police car I was sure must be on its way since I hadn’t heard from the alarm company. Well, poor Chappy was still shaking and practically climbed on top of me for comforting, and I was apologizing to him for scaring him so much. I’ve NEVER heard him bark like that. If the noise was so godawful for my ears, I can only imagine how much it hurt his more sensitive ears. And that made me feel even worse.

But, because of my, um, abdomen issues, I couldn’t sit with him for more than a few minutes, so I figured I’d carry my wheel upstairs. Of course, he followed me up and wasn’t watching where he was going and ended up hitting his head on the bottom of the wheel at the top of the stairs. (Neither of us was at our best just then.) I glanced at the phone as I put the spinning wheel down and … red, blinking light. That means there’s a voicemail message. (The downstairs phones don’t tell you when there’s voicemail–no help at all.) So, I call in and, yep, there’s a message from the alarm company, telling me to call a certain number and quote a 10-digit long “report number.”

Naturally, something was stuck in my desk drawer so that I couldn’t get to a piece of paper to write down the number. But eventually, I did, and dialed the 800-number with shaking fingers, gave our special passcode, and was told that, since the alarm had been cancelled soon enough, the police had NOT been dispatched. Which was a relief. I would have felt terrible about their making the trip for my own stupidity, but also, I really needed to spend some serious time in the bathroom and didn’t have the time to wait for them. Not to mention that my mother would have been frantic if she had gotten home and found a police car in the driveway!

So, at least that was something. All in all, I had a great day until about 3:30, a still nice but not so great from then until 5:00, and then all hell broke loose.

And, yes, even though I didn’t eat anything last night, Chappy got some extra supper AND an extra-good biscuit last night. He deserved it!

At least I have a beautiful skein of yarn to show for it. I don’t know the yardage, though. Dad walked in the room and started talking to me while I was winding it onto the skein winder–I was at 103 rotations at that point, but then lost count. “But, you were reading,” he said in self-defense. “Yeah, but I can count and read at the same time.” He just went away, shaking his head. You’d think after all these years he’d be used to the fact that I really can read and do all sorts of things at the same time!

Tags: Finished Spinning, Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Okay, here’s a unique question.

You know I’m in NJ, but my best friend–you remember Dawn, right? The one I gave my Peacock Shawl to?–She just started studying how to become a film producer at AFI in Los Angeles. Her team is gearing up for their first project and, because they’re also the first group, they’ve got a tight schedule.

What she desperately needs is someplace to film a couple of scenes in what looks like it could be a graduate student’s apartment–you know, clean and decent, but not chockfull with things like stainless steel appliances and such.

She’s new to LA–she’s lived in California for over 10 years now, but only just moved down from the Bay area–but this means that she doesn’t know a lot of people she could ASK this of yet.

They would need to film over October 4-7th, during daylight hours, and they need a kitchen with a window, and a bedroom with a window. (It doesn’t even need to be an apartment, technically, because they could film it as if it was one.) They have practically no budget, but could afford to pay about $300.

I know–it’s an odd request, but, well … I promised I would pass it on …

Please leave a comment if you think you’d be interested–or know somebody who would be. Dawn is a responsible 40-year old and I’ve known her since she was 7, so I’ll vouch for her basic human decency. (Or, really, would I be asking a bunch of people 3000 miles away for a favor? Well, I mean, you ARE yarn people, after all–you just probably have MUCH better tans than I do!)

Thanks, everyone!

This has been a FSA (Friend Service Announcement).

Tags: Friends by --Deb
4 Comments »

Well, I got this email today:

Oh my Lord! I may never ever take these socks off. Ever. Even at the beach. Thank you so much Deb. Made my whole day. Hell, made my whole week!

I think it’s safe to say that Susan got her socks and that they fit, huh?

Speaking of Martha’s Vineyard, Chappy’s blogging e-friend Fenway, an 8-month old Border Collie from Maryland, is up for “Dog of the Month” over at MV’s PlumTV.com. Right NOW, he’s got 30 votes, to the leader’s 154 … so, since Chappy isn’t eligible, go give him a vote, huh? In fact, his Mom (whom he calls Ms. Alpha) said in an email:

Here’s a really great coincidence! I was driving home at dusk yesterday from the Stop & Shop in Edgartown, and guess who signaled they wanted to pass me? (I was really going pokey slow). None other than the blue truck with the logo for the Fiber Farm!!! I took this as a really good sign that this will be a great vacation. Thanks for plugging Fenway, too.”

Clearly, she’s a kindred spirit, huh? (For the record, she used to knit and wants to get back into it.) And, I mean, really, I bet Fenway is the only one of those dogs with his own BLOG. Yes, he writes his own, instead of having his people do it. So as bloggers, don’t you think we owe it to him to vote? (I will say the picture of Ozzie in his tub is pretty cute, though.)

Now, about my boy–He was disappointed today. It was a bright, sunny morning and then, just as I came home from lunch, the skies opened and it poured. My windshield wipers were on High the entire drive home–and I can barely remember the last time I used that setting! So–no lunch time walk. That was bad enough, but I filled the time in by trimming his nails. Torture! And of course, just as I was heading back to work … bright blue sky again. Just to rub it in.

Well, we said, maybe we can try at 4:00. … Guess what happened at 3:30? Yep. Just enough rain to make everything wet again and the air all sticky. And then I came home and gave him his Friday night bath. I tell you, this boy is just terribly abused and tortured. But, look at his cool new hair-do. (And yes, he does need a haircut, but then, so do I!)

I can’t believe the Olympics have started already. This 12-hour time difference just seems so bizarre–the Opening Ceremonies started 13 hours ago but I still have 1 hour to wait before they begin here. I’m just really hoping the media controls itself this time around and doesn’t splash spoilers all over the front page of websites about who’s winning which medals. The Olympics are about the only sports I ever watch, and I don’t want to know how they end ahead of time. (And, seriously, I’ll watch almost anything if you put the Olympic Rings on it.)

One Olympics event I’m watching from the sidelines this time around? The Ravelympics. I figure I’ll stick with Stephanie and be a Winter Olympics competitor. (Remember?) I’ll be cheering all of you on, though. Like Sharon, who is not only tackling a huge project, but made a great video for it–go watch it!

And, one other nice, funny video for you: 9 Phrases Women Use. Dad, in particular, got quite a kick out of this, but we all thought it was funny. Anyone who’s watched the sexes trying to communicate over the years is going to appreciate this one.

Tags: Friends, General by --Deb
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I’m really tired, so this is going to be short and sweet–more pictures than words. The short explanation of my day? After having an urgent family-finances meeting, baking cranberry-corn muffins, and after consoling Chappy through a massive thunderstorm that rolled overhead, I climbed in my car with my wheel and my knitting and headed to Jessica‘s for an afternoon of fun and friends. Good day, lots of fun. Got home about 5:45, fed Chappy, took him for a walk (to gain back some of the Mommy-points I’d lost by abandoning him in a storm), watched a movie (My Best Friend’s Wedding) with Mom, and now … exhausted!

You’ll have to forgive me for not filling this post with all the relevant, bloggy links, but I did snap some pictures–they’re not great pictures, but at least I tried.

Jessica’s bunny, Stitches, is darn cute, too–and getting so big! I absolutely loved the tufts of fur on the very top of her ears.

And, if you haven’t seen Jessica’s Etsy shop for fiber? You really must go. I was privileged to see the pile of finished fiber that she hasn’t posted yet and it’s really lovely stuff. I was sorely tempted, but considering the scary-finance meeting we had this morning, and the fact that my Visa bill with the needed-but-we-really-couldn’t-afford-it new computer from last month arrived yesterday, buying some really just wasn’t an option. At some point, though? Oh my, yes. It’s really gorgeous.

On the plus side, I finished my second bobbin of that old-rose merino/tussah blend. Considering I only started that bobbin three weeks ago, and the first one took me three months, that’s pretty good! Now all I have to do is ply it and those 8 oz will be done. It’s really quite pretty.

Okay–climbing into bed, now. I’m on Harry Potter #3, and Chappy is privileged to sleep on the bed tonight, so …

Oh–one more thing–this great You Tube video of the “Evolution of Dance.” (The embedding never seems to work on my blog for some reason, but the direct link to the video is right here.) I admit I didn’t recognize all of the dance moves, but more than half, and the man is talented. I saw it over at Liz Strauss’s Successful Blog.

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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As I told you yesterday, Kim came over for a couple hours of spinning this morning.

I started this bobbin almost exactly three months ago, so it’s really a good and helpful thing that she gave me an excuse to sit at my wheel and SPIN. I haven’t started spinning the second half of the roving yet, but, well, give me time. The roving, if you don’t remember, is a skein I got from the Sheep Shed at Rhinebeck last year–8 oz of merino wool and tussah silk. The color doesn’t have a name (that I know of), but I keep thinking about it as “Old Rose.” It comes out as almost a rosy-grey, very nice.

It was nice to have another knitter to show my current project to–and to get an informed opinion as to whether or not it’s likely to work as I hope. Unfortunately, of course, we both suffered from camnesia and forgot to take pictures. (For that matter, I completely forgot to ask if she got a new camera to replace the damaged one. So, um, Kim, did you?) I did, however, provide blueberry scones to go with the “Box o’Joe” she brought with her from Dunkin Donuts, so I didn’t completely fall down on my hostessing duties.

I spent most of the rest of the day reading. I finished The Mirror of Her Dreams and started A Man Rides Through, both of which I’ve had for years. In fact, they are a rarity in my library in that they make up a series that doesn’t “match.” I bought the first book in paperback and was so anxious to find out what happened next, I bought the sequel in hardcover.

I remember this quite clearly, in fact. It was my junior year in college when I really had no right spending $20 on a book, but the first one ended with such a cliffhanger, I just had to go and look at the bookstore to see if, by any chance, the sequel was out yet. (This was early 1988, before the internet.) I hopped in my little VW Golf and went to the nearest bookstore and almost jumped for joy when I saw this sitting on the shelf. I remember that my fingers almost tingled with anticipation while I paid, and I even stopped at a Dunkin Donuts on the way back to Drew to get a headstart. In fact, it was the end of the week, and I was heading home for the weekend, because I remember spending hours on the couch that afternoon, while Mom made lasagne in the kitchen … and then Dad getting home from work and coming in to say hello at one of the worst possible times, story-wise.

Now, as to why I picked up the book in the first place–well, there’s a story to that, too. I liked the cover (so much better than the current one, I think), but more importantly, the title reminded me of a line from one of my favorite books.

It turns out, there was a reason for that. Because the stanza from the song/poem it reminded me of is quoted right there on the title page.

I was pretty impressed, too, because John Myers Myers’ Silverlock isn’t exactly common reading. I’ve mentioned it before, back in 2005, but it made quite an impression on me back in high school, and it was definitely one of the books I brought with me to college. A completely unique book with an enormous cast of characters–just about anyone who lives in the canon of literature is either in there or could be in there. Of those who make an actual appearance? Just a few: Merlin, the Mad Hatter, Beowulf, Hester Prynne, Odin, Circe, Thomas Rhymer, Puck from Midsummer Night’s Dream, Robin Hood, Captain Ahab, Prometheus … the list goes on. It’s not always pleasant, mostly because A. Clarence Shandon is not always a pleasant character, but I’ve never found anything else that compared. And the writer? Well, one of the raves at the beginning of the book mentions that he must get “drunk on words” and it’s clearly true. At one point he describes a character’s infatuation with, “She fell for him like a ton of bricks through greased air.” Isn’t that perfect? Because, you know, a ton of bricks doesn’t fall quickly or hard enough on its own (grin).

Actually, I can’t recommend Silverlock highly enough, though I’ll grant that it’s not to every taste. How much do I like it? Well, over the years, I’ve bought three copies. Just in case! (A wise decision considering that I’m down to two copies because one was never returned.) So, anyway, even though I hadn’t liked Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series, when I realized that he was obviously a Silverlock fan too, well, I had to give it a chance. And, here it is, 21 years later and I’m still drawn to rereading the duology. That’s a sign of a good story in my book–even if they ARE in different sizes.

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading by --Deb
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Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you about the high school friend I found on Ravelry, after about 20 years? Well, the world is getting even smaller. When I posted the other day about the Bunch of Grapes fire, Sarah saw it and, having just come back from MV herself, posted about it on her blog … where Joan read it and told her she couldn’t believe Sarah read my blog and that she and I were good friends in high school. Because it turns out that Joan and Sarah are good friends, AND that she and Jessica went to library school together. What are the odds?

But wait … there’s more! At just about the same time, I saw a post on Copyblogger about good articles for freelance writers to read, and one was a link to Julie over at Writing Roads–a blog I hadn’t heard of before. In her post, she mentioned living on Martha’s Vineyard. Naturally, I had to leave her a comment. I mentioned Mom’s blog, and she replied with two links–one for the MV Fiber Farm, which I naturally know all about–but it turns out that she and Susan are good friends, and that Susan is all excited that she and I found each other.

I tell you, this world is getting smaller and smaller all the time. But, how COOL!

You’ll all be glad to hear, I’m sure, that Chappy had a good birthday.

  He had his family home, got out for a walk, played with his toys, got lots of extra attention. Not to mention popcorn. And half a cheeseburger with his supper.

He even got another present–a new blanket for his favorite chair.

Not to mention a little more cake. (Yes, I think he’s had enough sugar for the day!)

We picked a winner for his RSVP contest, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow. AFTER I figure out what the prize should be…

And, jeez, I have to go back to work tomorrow….

Tags: Chappy, Family, Friends, General, Martha's Vineyard by --Deb
7 Comments »

Yep. Today we celebrated Chappy’s turning 7. (Although his actual birthday is Monday–and his Party Invitation/contest is still open until then.)

Naturally, the birthday boy got a cake and was sung to. Though, no, he did NOT blow out his candle on his own.

He really enjoyed the cake, though.

Carrot cake, with buttercream icing–his choice.

And there were presents.

He thought this toy from his aunt, uncle, and cousins was particularly fun–it “crinkles” in the middle, like a soda bottle or a milk carton–and since he adores playing with empty milk cartons, this made him very happy.

Really, we all had a good time–though special thanks go to my brother-in-law,  nephew, and sister for doing weeding and yardwork before the rain really started to come down.

His friend Cindy came for dessert, too, which made Chappy really happy.

The only real disappointment of the day? The weather didn’t cooperate, but who can control the weather?

About the fire in Vineyard Haven yesterday? There’s video of it on Plum TV, and it’s just so heart-breaking to watch. According to today’s update, the Bunch of Grapes bookstore looks to be a total loss–in terms of stock, if not the actual building. Susan said on Ravelry today that, “It was a bit of a down day on the Island. Pat and I just walked by BOG after getting coffee at Mocha Motts and it was so sad seeing all the smoke damaged books in the window and the postcards on racks.” Poor Martha’s Vineyard!

On the plus side, she also said on Ravelry today that she’s raised $3000 for her uncle’s wheelchair. Don’t forget, you, too, can be eligible to win her entire stash of yarn (that didn’t come from her own sheep and goats).

Tags: Chappy, Family, Friends, General, Martha's Vineyard by --Deb
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Well, it’s been a long time since high school, but here am I, with my best friend Dawn and our friend Jenny, also known as Silvia (long story). We three used to hang out a lot together–and you can see why I always felt so darn short!

Today, Dawn and her brothers threw a surprise birthday party and I was invited, as was Jenny, her husband, her daughter, and her parents–who happen to be Chappy’s very favorite neighbors.

There was a lot of fun had with a little bubble “grill.”

The cake was pretty popular, too–especially with the smaller set. This enterprising young man pulled over a chair to try to get a better look–or a taste! Unfortunately, the adults stepped in before he got too close. There were a couple more attempts to take advantage of that chair, too, to no avail.

The cake was tasty, but the best part?

The label on the box. What WERE they thinking when they wrote these abbreviations?

All in all, a nice day–except for the periodic rain showers. And the fact that poor Chappy had to stay home. How did the weekend go by so FAST?

Tags: Friends by --Deb
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I know, you’ve been desperate to see some signs of knitting, haven’t you? Well, here you go. My string bag, almost finished. A couple more rows, a bind-off, and then handles. But, seriously, I need to find something more “serious” to do.

And, here’s a blast from my past. There’s a thread on Ravelry for graduates of New Jersey schools, and I saw someone who posted the same middle school and same high school as I went to, only two years before me. When I clicked on her Ravelry ID, I realized that I knew her! In fact, we were good friends my sophomore year, before she graduated and headed off to college. Here’s a picture of her and my best friend at the Renaissance Festival. Because, naturally, after I found her, I went rooting through my old photos (grin). Talk about a small world. We’d completely lost touch sometime during college, so this was particularly fun, running into each other.

Speaking of high school, guess what I was doing 23 years ago tonight?

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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(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 by --Deb
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Well, Chappy made a new friend today. Stella, who recently adopted Kim‘s family.

We walked around town, gave some directions to lost people, and then stopped for coffee (for the humans). Chappy was feeling just a little disgruntled by then–people kept coming out of the coffee shop, asking all sorts of questions about Stella. What kind of dog is she? She’s so cute! How old is she? Can I take her picture. (Yes, really. One woman leaned out of the door of the coffee shop so she could take a picture on her cell phone.) All while they more or less ignored Chappy.

Which he just couldn’t understand. Wasn’t he just as cute? Not to mention fluffier? (Well, he is.) So he would go over to the person and wag his tail, looking all adorable. “Um, hello. I’m cute, too!” And they’d politely pet him and tell him he was cute and then go back to fawning all over Stella. It was like being out with a movie star. I think Chappy’s feeling just a little neglected–especially since Stella was ignoring him, too, when all he wanted to do was play. Poor guy. He’s not used to this kind of treatment!

That said, we had a lovely time. It was interesting, though–for the first time in my experience, being out for a walk with two dogs, they consistently stopped to sniff at completely different things. Usually, when one dog finds a good “sniff,” the other will come over to check it out, too. But not these two, they just did their own thing and mostly ignored each other during the walking portion of the outing. Kim and I got to chat, though, which was nice. We even saw one of the owners of Nonna’s yarn shop walking to her car. We even had two cars stop with people asking direction. (One we could help, the other? Um, no. And Kim, I looked it up–that other street was along Indian Lake, back behind the A&P. A section of town I’ve pretty much never really been.)

That hole in the shopping center I showed you a couple weeks ago? Here’s a close-up. They literally cut a hole in the building–roof and all–and then put up walls. Why, oh why?

This is what the rest of the shopping center looks like. There are exactly three businesses doing business in there– a Blimpies, a dry-cleaner, and a bank. Everything else–including much of the parking lot–is a construction site.

The rest of my day? Reading (Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters and Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker) and relaxing on the couch with Chappy, who’s exhausted from all that excitement.

And, oh yes, I went out to get the mail and timed it just as our mail-carrier was pulling up to the driveway. She said, “I’ve got a story to tell you.” This morning, before starting her rounds, she brought her mail truck to a local gas station to fill up the tank and have the oil checked. Well. When the person opened up the hood to check the oil … he saw something move. A full-grown raccoon, just curled up alongside the engine. Yikes! It sat up and looked at the two of them, crawled down the ground, back up into the engine … and finally headed off on its own. Sandi said that she would have happily given it the truck, that she wasn’t going to risk making it mad. So, really, we’re lucky to have gotten our mail at all today. That post office creed about ‘neither rain nor hail dark of night‘ says nothing about wildlife, you know.

Okay–I’m going to go crunch some numbers for my cardigan now. And, it just occured to me–if I want to knit the button bands as part of the sweater (which would be easier), I kind of sort of need to know what size buttons I’m going to be using, huh? So–before the number-crunching, off to the Button Drawer….

Kim, we had fun!

Tags: Friends, General by --Deb
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It’s not exactly the best photo in terms of composition, since the only one you can see clearly is Risa, but see what Chappy and I did today? That’s Risa, Alex, and Kat all on our couch … and waaaaay in the background, in the far corner, is Chappy.

That would make you think that he was trying to avoid the four-year-old-inspired chaos, but in fact, he was thrilled to take part. His tail barely stopped wagging the whole time, except for when fatigue set in and he took a nap. The one who was wary was Alex, who didn’t want much to do with Chappy at all. He sort of petted him a couple times, but mostly, he was happier when his Mom was between him and Chappy. I thought he’d gotten over that, but I guess not.

The new surprise was that Katherine wanted to sit with ME. That’s definitely never happened before. Not only did she share my chair with me for a while (taking Chappy’s spot), I actually got hugs and kisses. AND got to help her on with her coat! Wow. That’s huge. We all entertained my parents, too–Dad even came down and watched the end of Stuart Little with us because he was so enjoying the sounds of laughter coming from the family room. (We’ll just gloss over the part where Kat fell on a walk and needed to come back to the house for band-aids. Or when Alex’s feelings got hurt because she wanted to play with me instead of him at the end of the visit, so that he sat on the driveway and sulked. And we’ll hope it wasn’t my banana bread that disagreed with Risa. But, um, really, why dwell on the bad parts?)

Now that he’s had a chance to sit down and relax, Chappy is exhausted. (For some reason, spending the day with two four-year-olds has that affect.) I don’t think there’s any question but that he’s going to sleep well tonight.

(Oh, and this is the dirty look he gave me for taking that picture. “Mom! I’m trying to SLEEP!”)

I finished my blue merino singles last night. And still, got to tell you, I love, love, love this color. Though, honestly, it photographs differently every time (grin). Also, yes, one bobbin was evenly-wound by my woolee winder, and one was wound by me manually moving the yarn guide on my my wheel’s flyer. So, I’m a little obsessive, what’s wrong with that?

I have a Saturday Sky picture for you, too, though technically I took it yesterday morning on my drive to work. Actually, the sky on Thursday on my way to work was pretty stunning, too, but I had a police officer right behind me and felt kind of funny pulling over just to take a picture, so I sort of skipped that one.

Oh, and Kat’s new earrings are adorable–little, sparkly pink flowers. And now, I need to clean kisses off the television. The twins got all involved in the scene where Prince Phillip woke up Sleeping Beauty….

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky by --Deb
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So . . . there was Jessica, of course, showing off her new house.

And Risa, Kim, and Ina, with their spinning. (Ina’s spindle of singles was wound about as perfectly as humanly possible, I was very impressed.)

Kristy worked on the sweater in her beet-dyed yarn because, of course, she doesn’t spin (but seems like a lovely person anyway) (grin). Since she wasn’t spinning, she got the comfy chair. (I mean, really, doesn’t she look comfy?)

A group photo–including Jessica’s cat, Simba, who is a sweetie.

I finished my first bobbin of that blue-blue-blue merino. Now, I was told that the color didn’t look like what anybody expected, that my earlier pictures made it look more like turquoise. So, I can’t say for sure that the color you’re seeing is the color I’ve got, but I think this picture is pretty close. It’s just a lovely, medium shade of clear blue.

Oh, and so I left about 4:15, hoping that I’d be able to get Chappy out for a quick walk when I got home, before it got too dark or too cold. Well, guess what my street looked like when I got home?

I don’t know where that blue sky of the morning disappeared to! For that matter, I had my sunglasses on for most of the drive home, too. Go figure. But this did mean that Chappy did not get a walk . . . although, I’ll admit, I’m tired enough not to be overly concerned about that. I had a fabulous time, but all that laughing and spinning and chatting and eating and stuff sure can take a lot out of me!

Tags: Friends, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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It was pretty and sunny for most of the day, today, but as I drove home, you could see the clouds coming in. I pulled over into the local elementary school’s parking lot to take the picture–you can still see the mound of snow left from plowing the parking lot last week.

Anyway, the weather forecast right now is:

Tonight: Periods of snow. Low around 24. South wind between 8 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Um, I don’t want to complain, or anything, but, see, Jessica has been trying to have a housewarming/spinning party for a couple of weeks now. It was cancelled two weeks ago because HWJF had the flu and she didn’t want to risk passing it on to the rest of us–which was much appreciated. I think, though, that the problem was that she kept referring to March 1st as her “Snow Date,” and Mother Nature took her seriously. Just, er hopefully not TOO seriously. I’ve got that pretty blue roving on the wheel, and everything . . . and you know how Jessica loves blue!

This photo, by the way, is one I took this on our walk last weekend, when the snow was fresh, just minutes after our ice-covered little maple tree. These are our neighbor’s stairs, but there was something very nifty about the play of shadow…. Couldn’t help myself!

Fellow spinners, did you see Abby’s post about spinning sock yarn?

Okay, got to go finish my book list for the month. Happy Leap Day, everyone!

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky, Weather by --Deb
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As I told you yesterday, I DID have a nice time this morning. I took my Little Gem and headed over to Kim‘s house. I was there for about three hours, drinking coffee, eating banana bread, talking and laughing a lot, while Liam entertained himself with movies and Playstation. Oh, and you’ll be pleased to know that I did not get lost at all on my way over there … though, having to back all the way out of Kim’s street (you heard me) is a little nerve-wracking. It’s slightly uphill and with the angle of the car and the high Volvo seat backs and my own, not-so-tall self, being able to see to do so was … challenging. I imagine I’ll get used to it eventually!

The three hours were productive, too. I finished my first bobbin of singles of my NOT “clown-barf” roving. I’m showing you two pictures because the colors look so different in both of them, even though it’s the same exact bobbin. The first one was taken at Kim’s, in the natural light coming in her window. The second was taken here, in the light of an incandescent bulb.

Needless to say, the first picture is slightly more accurate as to color.

The only drawback? Having to leave Chappy at home this morning. Most of you have never seen him pout, but trust me, he does, and he was not happy about my going out without him. I’m told that he didn’t howl (which he’s been known to do), but that he sulked. I timed my return just right, though–Mom and Dad were just putting on their coats to head out to the movies with their Christmas gift-card, and so Chappy wasn’t alone for even a minute today … though he’s still not happy about the fact that we all went out and left him. But, you know how dogs are–they expect their family to be within sniffing range all the time. Packs are supposed to stay together, you know!

Anyway, it was fun, and I’ve had a fairly lazy afternoon, too–which I needed. You know how, when you’re really, really tired, you feel it in your knees? How the mere effort of standing just seems like a strain? That’s how I felt when I got home from work yesterday. Just really, really, really tired. So a few hours of spinning with a friend followed by a few hours on the couch with Chappy and a book? Ideal. I might just be able to summon up the energy to knit tonight.

And, oh yes, I’m just tickled at how much conversation is going on in the comments over on the post where I talked about leaving comments in your own comments.  Most of us respond to comments via e-mail, but many (non-knitting) bloggers respond in the comments themselves, to generate conversation. And I’m finding it fascinating that I’m getting so many comments talking about comments. Something about the irony of it, you see. Not to mention that they’re pretty interesting–which supports the theory that, when they’re substantive comments about “real” topics having an “outloud” conversation can be at least as good as a “private” conversation in e-mails. Certainly, that post has had more comments on it than any of my others recently! And Harry–who’s a non-knit-blogger but is joining in because I linked to one of his posts–is bringing some interesting insights to the party . . . and, in a perfectly nice way, coming across as clueless about the tight sense of community we knit-bloggers usually have. Again . . . I’m finding it fascinating. I guess that sometimes the “comment on your own blog” thing really is a good idea.

Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Okay, first, the good news–I found the yarn in the dyelot I needed! Flying Fingers yarn shop in Tarrytown. The only unfortunate part is I didn’t see my e-mail until after 11:00 last night and they’re closed, now, until January 4th. But, who cares?  Of course, I’d already given up and placed an order at Infinite Yarns because Anne had been so helpful. I sent her an e-mail at around 11:30 last night asking if it was possible to cancel it, because I really don’t need 8 skeins of the stuff, but no complaints if I can’t. It’s my own fault for (1) giving up too soon and (2) being a little too eager to support a helpful shop owner. I’d rather not have spent the extra $35 just now, if I can’t cancel it, but, well . . . it is beautiful yarn, right?

Now, I was away from the computer all day yesterday for a perfectly good reason. My best friend is home visiting from California, and we always make a point of getting together . . . and it usually turns into an all-day thing, and whoever could complain about that? She got down to my house a little before 1:00, and we chatted and opened Christmas presents for a while.

Her present? Well, I gave her a combo Christmas/birthday gift, since her 40th birthday is just a few weeks away. It was a bit of a wrench to part with, I admit, but so worth while. Not only was she very touched, but it looks fabulous on her. (You’ll remember that, on me, it looked huge and out of proportion, even after I tried reblocking it to be smaller.) Obviously, it was meant for her.

And, I know she’ll take good care of it, too. I did love that yarn, though–but at least I still have its first-cousin Peacock Stole to keep me company.

After we opened presents, we decided that we were hungry but that we wanted to go to the movie. So, we headed into the kitchen to look at movie times in the newspaper, and tried to find one we wanted to see that would give us enough time to grab lunch first.

She was really hungry, though, and said that, “I could really just go for a big tub of popcorn.”

Well! I’m always happy to oblige! I turned around, picked this up and plopped it down on the newspaper. “Here you go.”

Because, yes, it’s a huge tub of Popcorn Factory popcorn, courtesy of my aunt. It arrived on Friday . . . great timing, huh?

We ended up eating chicken salad that I very quickly threw together, and then went to see Charlie Wilson’s War, which we both enjoyed. Because, well, how can you not like Tom Hanks? And his chemistry with Phillip Seymour Hoffman was fabulous–their scenes were just great. Really, the whole thing was good. Funny, yet thought-provoking. It’s just a pity that “we blew the end-game” quote at the end was so very true.

Anyway, after the movie, we decided we weren’t really hungry enough for supper, so we came back to the house for some pumpkin pie and to give Chappy his supper. Except, we’d barely gotten our coats hung up when the phone rang. It was Mom–she, Dad, my sister, and my niece were on their way home from New York (they had Christmas-present tickets to see Curtains)–and would we like to meet them at Wendy’s for supper? Well, um, okay. I fed Chappy and we all kind of stood around for a few minutes, and then, back in the car. (You know, considering how much I dislike Wendy’s I sure have eaten there a lot lately! That’s at least three times in the last few months, whereas before this summer, it had been years.)

Here’s a look at my pretty, new yarn.

Yes, it’s a little over-plied. But since I had planned on this being sock yarn, I’m okay with that–it would just wear really well.

Although, I’ve been thinking that maybe it would like to be something other than socks. Like lace.

To recap, this is the Socks that Rock superwash merino roving I bought at Rhinebeck in 2006 from the Fold. 9.25 ounces, in the Carbon colorway.

It took me a full week to ply it all. And it’s got three plies. I didn’t check the w.p.i before I skeined it, but going by little Spinner’s Rule, it’s between 24-28 w.p.i. and it’s a fairly consistent size.

Really, I’m quite proud of it.

(Oh, and it’s not quite as blue as it’s photographing . . . It’s got more yellow and purple and really not much blue at all . . . go figure.)

I hope you’re all enjoying the end of your year . . . only a day and a half left of 2007!

Tags: Finished Spinning, Friends, General by Deb
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Well, today’s party was a success (even if Ina, Dorre and Kristy couldn’t make it–through no fault of mine, I swear) . . . there was still a surprise.

Liz was here! She drove up yesterday and was here for at least most of the party before blowing us off to go to another party in Manhattan this evening…. (No, really, I’m kidding. Although, technically, that WAS why she left, but it was with regrets.) Here’s a picture of her and Chappy waiting for the first guests to arrive. I love the, “Aren’t they ever going to get here?” expression on both their faces.

Risa and Jessica on their drool-worthy almost-matching Schacht Matchless wheels. (Gosh, those wheels are pretty.)

Liz giving Kim a plying lesson.

Kim’s first, plied yarn!

Chappy looked like he was thinking of giving spinning a try, but when he stretched his legs out, he couldn’t quite reach the treadles.

So, since by that time, Chappy was tired (all those happy, energetic greetings take a lot out of a dog, you know), so he curled up UNDER his pillow on the chair in the window for a real, serious nap.

Boy, oh boy, did he ever look cute.

Did I mention that we had a sock yarn grab bag? Kim and I didn’t want to ask people (or have them feel obliged) to bring us presents, but we wanted something fun, so . . . every person brought one (or two, depending on size) skeins of sock yarn and we put them all into a basket and then picked. Everybody got to bring home something new, which is always good, huh?

All in all? Lots of fun. But I think Chappy’s got the right idea. I’m exhausted. But happy! Even if all my guests are gone now . . . still, I suppose falling asleep in front of everybody would have been rude, huh?

Oh, and the shingles? Starting to feel better. Some of the little blisters are starting to dry up, and the pain part feels a little “deeper,” not so much on the surface–since this virus travels along the nerves, I’m counting this as a good thing, like it’s subsiding back down the nerve endings. It’s just a pity, now, that my throat’s so tired from all that talking….

Tags: Friends, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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