Can you hear the crickets?

Finally a quiet week at Shadowlandwest. One of these days I'll even make them practice piano!

We did get some good relaxing in this week, thank goodness. Kids were too tired to go to open swim in the afternoons, would rather stay home; me, too so there wasn't a lot of motivation to roust them out. They did go to swim lessons every day and had a playdate on Tuesday at our house.

Lots of spinning and knitting was accomplished. 10 Minutes a Day is a great motivator, expecially since it turns into 30 or 40. Finished Grand Opening and started a sock: which is luckily going much faster than the Obama sock. Handspun is magic!

Other than that, it's been a lot of laundry, dishes, cooking and work for my writer who is doing a book about a model who became a rock star wife and a big drug addict. Very interesting story, indeed! Between this book and the next one right after, I should be set up for money to carry me over the vacation, if I ever book the tickets. Lazy or in denial about the airfares, whichever. It's hours and hours of stuff, though.

Trying not to drive much and that seems to be working out. It was just too hot to bike last week and the best times are certainly early morning/early evening. I think the pool really is too far for the kids, mostly for coming back at the end of the day.

Almost finished with the second spinning project for the week, some Spunky (I think) South African Fine that I spun half of when it arrived. It's not really as blue as this but I'm shooting with the video camera's still picture mode as the point-and-shoot is not working and needs to be sent away for repairs, ho hum. Software all mucked up. But it is lovely and will make some nice socks from The Eclectic Sole. Haven't decided which ones as I don't yet know the yardage. I simply must start getting more yarn from my 4 ounce bundles, though. 350 would be fine, but 290 is too nervous making!

Hope you're having a lovely week. Contact your Senator and Representative about their FISA vote, if you can. A Constitution is a terrible thing to waste.

Peace.

Now that that's over...

Our air conditioning works again. And the heat wave has passed, thank goodness!

I find myself all at sixes and sevens knitting-wise. There aren't enough hours in the day for everything I wish I were knitting, and yet I have abandoned some projects that I was very excited about not so long ago. Bettna is in hibernation. Loribird's handspun blue socks are frogged. My optional round Sock Madness socks are put away and Pomotamus...hello?...the Fair entry forms are due, you say? Oh, just send the orange ones. I'm busy.

Busy with what? Knitting Obama swag!!



Can't get a really good picture since the words go all the way around. They shouldn't be taking very long, but since I'm making up the pattern (not the chart, h/t cjaneknit!) I keep having to frog back for size issues. I am now doing the heel on 34 stitches instead of 30 and will knit the foot on 68 instead of 60. I could have worn them, but they would just not have made me happy.

Meanwhile...

I just got my copy of The Eclectic Sole (thanks, Dad!) and want them ALL. But in handspun. So I'm spinning. I joined the 10 Minutes a Day Ravelry group and am managing an hour or so most days. I will make some progress on handspun sock yarns at this rate, which is lovely since I am so chomping at the bit. The Rivendell pattern really needs a solid or a semi-solid in a lightish color. Right now I'm just trying to finish off all my half spun hand dyed stuff. My Tour de Fleece goal is to try to spin up everything that I've previously started. That should set me up for handspun socks for the winter, I think.

I continue to think about, dream about, fantasize about sweaters, the ones in progress (Bettna, Scoop du Jour, Must Have Cardigan) and the ones coming after (Tangled Yoke, Kauni, October Frost) but it's been to hot to really do anything. I need a plan.

I had the pleasure of meeting a friend from Ravelry last week, Diane, who came over to learn to spin. What fun! She's terrific and we will I'm sure spend much more time together. She has weavers who would like to do a Weaving Badge with our girl scouts, they would like Alyce's giant rug loom that Alyce would like out of her garage. Thanks for coming over, Diane!!

Is that enough links for everyone? Sorry if you're not in Ravelry, but if you're a knitter you should be!

Today we are going to the pool, to the park, back to the pool, then work, work, work, but there should be three good hours of knitting in there somewhere. Have a lovely day!

Oh, and Barack, now is the time to LEAD. That FISA bill is the sh*ts and you know it as well as I do. You can sit back and let Russ and Chris do the dirty work, but you wouldn't lose anyone if you were standing next to them. Just saying.

Peace.

99 Degrees at 8:38 p.m.

That is all.

On the First Day of Summer my True Love Gave to Me...

A day when we don't have to be anywhere till 11:00 a.m.

Enough yarn to satisfy any reasonable person.

A plan to teach spinning to a Ravelry buddy.

Enough work but not too much.

Swimming lessons!

A park program to take the kids (and feed them) so I have time to teach aforesaid Ravelry buddy to spin.

I'm loving even the anticipation of our real summer routine's beginning tomorrow.

We spent part of both days this weekend at the pool and it was really nice. We will be there again every morning for the next 6 weeks and many afternoons for fun as well. I'm thinking about bringing the wheel...

Progress photos in many areas:

VBS: We had such a wonderful week at Power Lab!

Knitting: Sock Madness 2, Final Round. I'm taking a break from these to knit something summery. They are SO thick and warm I can hardly bear to work on them right now.

Spinning: This is the roving from the yarn in the modular strips of the above sock. I ran out of yarn, found some more singles, ran out again, found some more roving, then realized I didn't really want 3 strips per sock (after knitting 5). But I might as well finish it off!

Tonight I'm swatching for a shell in Knitpicks Cotlin. I will knit it in the round and hopefully get through it in a week or so. Wish I could stomach starting Kauni, but I might have to wait till our air conditioning is working.

I'm hoping to get plenty of crafty time in next week while we are finally less busy. Hope your summer is starting out great!

Peace.

Still here!!

I have once again survived Vacation Bible School!!

And it was the best curriculum ever! So if your church is planning to do Power Lab this year I cannot recommend it highly enough, it was great!

However, I am too tired to upload photos or anything so I will try tomorrow.

Hope all is well with everyone!

GObama!

Peace.

Last days, first days

My friend J called this afternoon to see if I was excited that it's the last day of school. I guess so. It will be nice not to have to wake my daughter up in the morning. It will be very nice not to have to do spelling homework for a while or worry about lunch money and all that. But I don't have that feeling of an endless expanse of free time before me any more. It doesn't make me jump up and down, I guess. Plus next week we have VBS and I'm a teacher so that's a bit of pressure for me, if not them. But it's going to be SO fun!!

What do I look forward to nowadays?

Pajama days.
Time to knit.
Knowing the kids are safe in the pool while I...knit.
No choir practice. (I like this but it's nice to have time off)
Knowing I'll see my mom for a long (not long enough) trip later.

It's not so much the expanse of the whole summer, but the expanse of each day. What to fill it with, how to stretch it out. What to read, what to make, what to dream about. Will there be fireworks this year? Will DS pass Level 2 swimming? Different goals, different days.

Ultimately, I would like to slow down. They're growing so quickly and I'm so proud of them. But too soon they will be gone. Already my daughter plays in her room on her own or with a friend, not needing me for long stretches. And I find myself missing her, even though the rest of the time I just want to go ten minutes without having to leap up for something. Right now, she's just on the other side of the door but that won't always be the case. I shall try to appreciate that she's there.

Meanwhile, I have been spinning in my last couple of weeks of semi-free time. Dance with the Dervish: BFL top dyed by Crown Mountain Farms, Navajo plied for socks. I will use this for the main color yarn of my Sock Madness Final Round modular socks.

Grand Opening: BFL from Spunky Eclectic (not club), 2-ply for (are you ready for it?) socks. I will knit these up this summer sometime. Such easy spinning, such flow with these projects.

Are you excited about summer? I'm ambivalent, but today, yes, as soon as I get a chance to sit down.

And thanks for the birthday gift, Hillary. It was great and you did a wonderful job this morning. Now let's go out and make us some change! GObama!

Peace.

June 2, 2008, 6:50 p.m. PDT

I am still alive.

Barely.

Tomorrow I don't have anything in particular (except my trashy house). We will bike to school. I have cancelled piano/guitar lessons this week. No homework. Tired mommy.

No knitting, no spinning. Not much coherent thought.

But...

The Girl Scout troop went horseback riding and out to dinner and it was a great success. My daughter has a lovely seat on a horse, who knew? Ramrod back.

And the Cub Scout meeting also was lots of fun. DS got a huge trophy with his Pinewood Derby car perched on top of which he is extremely proud and rightly so. I will have pictures when I've recovered.

Am I getting what I want for my birthday? Terry McAuliffe says yes, others say no. We are currently at a magic number of 28.5.

Peace