Fiberjoy

The sun, rain and snow have been playing for air time in our area this week.

Maybe it wouldn’t feel so  novel if we hadn’t just reveled in a sunlit week when the leaves noticeably unfurled splashes of the shade of light green that dazzles the eyes, and the cherry and plum trees arrayed themselves with blossoms. The week spent in the courtroom had moments of balm while strolling along the sidewalks journeying to and from the car. Regretfully I didn’t get any pictures for no cameras are allowed in the courthouse and our car was parked five blocks away in the free parking structure. The last day we’d planned to take pictures but in our haste to get home and celebrate the good news all else was forgotten.

Driving to Abiqua Strings Ensemble practice a little after 6pm Thursday evening (the 27th) I had to stop to admire the beauty of the fresh fallen snow on the Cascade mountains. This view is looking East from Hazelnut Ridge about 2 miles from our place:

We live about 300′ above sea level but by late Friday morning the rain turned slushy, big fat plopping dollops of snow which continued to vie with sunbursts and rain throughout the weekend.

Miserable business being out in this stuff.

The daffodils that only a week before had cheerfully greeted each sunny day

continue to bravely endure the freezing cold rains, snows, and deep, early morning frost.

This week I’ve been spinning baby camel lightly layered on top of corriedale. The plan is to spin singles of this blend then spin singles of the natural dark brown corriedale and ply them together. Eventually it will be a vest for Ed. Originally I planned to knit the vest but lately weaving has been on my mind. Soon it will be time to wrap the loom with another project that’s been on the back burner far too long
.

I’m learning to upload to youtube. A couple weeks ago Aurora helped me film a short video of spinning cotton to put online.

I continue to read and hear many comments that Turkish spindles are too heavy to use on delicate fibers such as silk or cotton. I’d been spindling for only a few months when I bought some natural colored cotton to spin. I failed miserably and hadn’t tried it since.

A month ago a customer asked about spinning cotton and it seemed time to give it another whirl. I’m happy to say that yes! I can spin cotton with my Turkish spindle, and to add extra weight to that fact, I used a 2.8oz spindle.

The video was taken of my third time spinning. I was still getting used to the very short fibers and spinning on a throw rug which slowed down the process. The video is just under 3 minutes long. It’s not fancy, I plan to learn more editing and adding music but for now, please take a look.

It’s been an exhausting week of daily court hearings concerning the wreck our daughter Aurora was in 2.5 years ago. One fine October day in 2005 she was driving along the main highway to town for a bit of shopping when a delivery truck plowed into her small Toyota pickup. No one saw what happened. The first people on the scene was a firefighter and his wife who called 911 and then stayed with Aurora who drifted in and out of consciousness. The driver of the delivery truck told them, and the paramedics who quickly appeared at the scene, that he thought she was coming slow enough that he had time to make the left hand turn. Shortly thereafter his story was changed and the organization he worked for chose to believe his new version.

Aurora has since suffered severe migraines, dizziness, light-sensitivity, and the worst is she now has an attention disorder which causes her not to remember information and directions. It gets worse under stress or fatigue. She works as a receptionist in a clinic that had to assign her a partner who follows up and double-checks her work. On the stand her supervisor admitted that they keep her only because she’s good with the patients and is a hard worker who tries her best.

In the meantime the insurance company was refusing to pay her mounting medical bills. She had to get a lawyer as a last recourse. We were hoping that when they knew the facts they’d settle out of court, sadly, they didn’t.

To prove that yes, she has suffered mild brain injury she had to endure many various tests, psychological, neurological, medical, plus her educational transcripts were obtained, work records evaluated, medical records scrutinized until she felt her privacy had been totally invaded.

We’re still stunned that she, the victim, was dragged through this grueling experience just to prove her innocence while the driver of the delivery truck briefly showed up for a brief examination on the witness stand, then quickly disappeared. No inspection of his work records, no psychological tests, no deep probing by counselors or neuropsychologists. Even prior driving records were barred from court. How is this possible?

She was proven innocent with compensation for all past medical and specialist bills. It doesn’t take away the grind and pain of the last two and a half years, the loss of privacy and trust and the ongoing migraines and attention problems.  But now she can focus on adjusting to her limitations and moving forward to the best of her abilities.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the assurance we have in Him that there’s a far better life waiting after we’ve shed these old clothes of this present place.

We are truly grateful!